Here's to Us (What If It's Us #2)

by Becky Albertalli

“relationship” can feel too strong, sort of unearned when you compare them with actual relationships.

.

Not once did I think I was going to fall in love with the boy wearing a hot dog tie.

.

Some attractions take more time to grow and aren’t any less great because of it.

This is every relationship. You start with nothing and maybe end with everything.

“Lo sé, lo sé, lo siento,”

Just because someone says they love you doesn’t mean they’ll never say it to someone else.

I’m putting all my kiss-ass teacher’s pet energy into the universe.

I may have been the first, but he’ll be the forever.

Happiness is tricky when it comes to the person who used to make you happy.

wholesome nerd game like Animal Crossing,

Snapple addiction,

I’m always the one who texts first and replies faster, and just about every text conversation we’ve ever had ends with me. Not just this summer. It’s been like this for two years. I’ve been losing for two years.

I’m tired of not being able to own my feelings because someone else has it worse. I know I’m lucky to have a roof over my head and parents who love me and food on the table. I know, I know, I know. I can also want more for myself.

“I think it’s less about following my heart and more about understanding that my heart is dragging me somewhere.”

People don’t warn you that heartbreak is a chronic condition. Maybe it quiets down a little over time, or you can muffle it with distance, but the ache never quite dials down to zero. It’s there lurking in the background, ready to flare back up the minute you let your guard down.

I’m completely in love. I’ve been in love all along. But not with Mikey. And when I think about the future, Mikey’s not the one who’s in it.

I remember the night Ben let me read his draft, how sacred that felt. At the time, it seemed like the most intimate thing you could share with a person. Your unfinished heart. But Mario’s the one carrying Ben’s dreams over the finish line. I may have been Ben’s first draft, but Mario’s his hardcover. I guess that’s how it goes, though. Sometimes happily ever afters aren’t about your happiness at all.

There’s no start space. There’s no first page to this story. I don’t even know how to tell it. All I know is he’s gone. I deserve it. I’m relieved. And I miss him. And I want to tell Ben, so he can touch my face and kiss me and say he’s loved me all along. Except he won’t, because he hasn’t, and me breaking Mikey’s heart won’t change the fact that Ben’s breaking mine all over again.

“It’s your life. You’re always the protagonist.”

“need to stop rereading that YA book where everyone dies at the end.”