Pretty Reckless Quotes

“It started with a lemonade
And ended with my heart
This, my pretty reckless rival, is how our
screwed-up story starts”
― L.J. Shen, Pretty Reckless

“I can look at her face all fucking day. I wish it were a legit job so I could make money doing it. I would put in all the extra hours and become a billionaire within a year.”
― L.J. Shen, Pretty Reckless

“Choose your sister.'
'Sir?'
'Choose her. Don't choose Daria. You'll end up giving her less than she deserves. And my daughter deserves everything. Not half of it. Not a quarter. And definitely not messy. Let her go. Unless, of course...' He pauses, cocking his head to examine my expression. I don't breathe.
'Unless?'
'You love Daria. Then I do not allow you, under any fucking circumstances, to break both your hearts because Sylvia still holds a grudge.”
― L.J. Shen, Pretty Reckless

“I feel a brush over my arm where Penn stood just a second ago. It's Knight. And next to Knight stands Vaughn.
'Cole?' Gus twists his lips, glowering. 'What the fuck?'
Knight clasps a hand on my shoulder, hitching a shoulder up while lighting a joint.
'The fuck is, you don't fuck with my family and integrity and assume you get out of it in one piece. Or, you know, at all.”
― L.J. Shen, Pretty Reckless

“Love. Four letters can't cover what I feel for Daria Followhill. They seem too trivial, too small, too overused.”
― L.J. Shen, Pretty Reckless

“What would you have asked of me if I took the sea glass?'
'To save me all your firsts,”
― L.J. Shen, Pretty Reckless

“He pulls me into a hug. A rarity I know not to take for granted when it comes to Vaughn. I bury my face in his chest and let myself crumple, feeling my bones shaking inside my body.”
― L.J. Shen, Pretty Reckless

“Knight and Vaughn are the closest to each other, practically brothers, which is weird because they are also like fire and ice. Vaughn is a crazy artist with psychotic tendencies, and Knight is the definition of a popular jock.
One is Edward Scissorhands; the other is Zac Efron's prettier long-lost brother.”
― L.J. Shen, Pretty Reckless

“I didn't mean to save him all my firsts. But it happened, and a part of me is glad that it did. Because he was the first boy to give me a gift. The first boy to kiss me. To want to become my friend not because I was popular, but because I was me.
He was the first boy who noticed the injured animal behind the camouflage of hostility and tried to give it water and shelter.”
― L.J. Shen, Pretty Reckless

“I've loved you in secret, and I've loved you openly in front of both our worlds, and if you think I'll stop loving you if you put an ocean between us, you're dead wrong.”
― L.J. Shen, Pretty Reckless

“Prichard's got too much to lose. He can't touch us.'
'Can anyone?' Penn wonders aloud, just as Trent's door opens from the other side. Dean whistles for him to get outside, swinging my baseball bat and parking it over his shoulder.
'Maybe God,' I answer curtly.
'Even that's debatable.' Dean snickers.”
― L.J. Shen, Pretty Reckless

“I'm turning my back on Vaughn and Knight without saying goodbye because I know they won't let me go. They'll promise to protect me and fight my battles at school, and a part of me still wants that to happen.”
― L.J. Shen, Pretty Reckless

“The snake pit is crowded tonight.
It always is when Vaughn fights, and Vaughn always fights. He breaks noses almost as well as he breaks hearts.”
― L.J. Shen, Pretty Reckless

“I'm Daria Followhill.
Cheer Captain.
Rich Bitch.
Little Miss Popular.
See something you like? Too bad. I don't do boys. Men, on the other hand...”
― L.J. Shen, Pretty Reckless

“Knight is gorgeous, and not only does he know it, but he would also advertise it on a billboard if it were possible.”
― L.J. Shen, Pretty Reckless

“Game over. You win. You conquered me even though it was me who marched into your territory unannounded.'
I'm at a loss of words. So I choose to do the stupidest thing in the moment. I take a bite of the apple, press my lips to his, and we both bite it in the middle.
The Lady and the Tramp style.”
― L.J. Shen, Pretty Reckless

“Mom and Dad clap. Bailey jumps up and down. Knight gives us a thumbs-up, and Vaughns rolls his eyes but smiles. Luna, Addy, Harper, and Camilo look at us likek they've won something. Happy in our happiness.
And that's what good friends and families do.
They pick you up and pull you out of the mud of your own mistakes.
And when you're not the best version of yourself? Well, they're still there, waiting, because we're all fucking human.”
― L.J. Shen, Pretty Reckless

“She said only true love would get rid of the curse. And it will have to be requited. And real. And for life. Most of all, she said it couldn’t be just any girl. It needed to be a girl who can become a Scully, like us. But I was five, and dumb, and on pain meds, so what I heard was Skull Eyes. So I laughed and laughed and fucking laughed some more until she hit me with a broomstick. But wanna know what the weird thing is?” Daria nods. “When I saw you all broken and upset and finally mustered up the courage to talk to you, there really were skulls in your eyes. Like white marbles, bang, in the middle of your pupils.” Daria takes my hand and presses her lips to my palm. My heart quickens. “Every time you called me that, you really called me the love of your life?” she asks quietly. I smile. “Now she is following. Where have you been this semester, Skull Eyes?”
― L.J. Shen, Pretty Reckless

“His scent messes with my head. I want to reach out and caress his face. Kiss his wounds better. Beg for forgiveness. Curse him. Push him away. Cry on his shoulder for what we've done. For how it ended. For what we became afterward. Because I'm full of crap, and he is totally empty.”
― L.J. Shen, Pretty Reckless

“It's like looking at a scalloped picture, frayed at the edges. Everything blends in the background, and she stands out.”
― L.J. Shen, Pretty Reckless

“I hug her tighter because she is squirming again, desperate to run away, and I can't let her.
And when she breaks within my arms, I glue her back, tuck her in bed, and kiss her forehead, not letting go until she is sound asleep.”
― L.J. Shen, Pretty Reckless

“Tell me you still want to be my friend.' I gnaw at my lower lip.
'I do. I am. I've always been your friend, Skull Eyes. Even four years ago.”
― L.J. Shen, Pretty Reckless

“If I have to tell him what's going on with Prichard, I will. I'm not proud of it, but pride is a very slippery slope where love is involved. Marx. Love. I don't use the L word lightly. I don't go around telling people I love pizza or chocolate or Riverdale. I like those things. Love, I save for the most important stuff.
But I am hopelessly, tragically in love with Penn Scully.”
― L.J. Shen, Pretty Reckless

“Because Knight refuses to win the game. Penn is trying to kill Las Juntas' chance to win so he can save me, but Knight doesn't let him because he knows he deserves it.”
― L.J. Shen, Pretty Reckless

“You think she's gonna stick around after the jock glory wears off? When y'all go to college? You think she's worth your future? Your team's future? My future?'
Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. And yes.”
― L.J. Shen, Pretty Reckless

“Luna, my neighbor, is the one who usually saves the injured birds, frogs, cats, stray dogs, and there was even a deer once.”
― L.J. Shen, Pretty Reckless

“Sucks to be you.' There's no menance in my voice. She shrugs.
'So why are you here?'
'Because it sucks to be me, too.'
Because it sucks less when we're together even though I should hate you.”
― L.J. Shen, Pretty Reckless

“I envelop her. Even when Daria is growling like an injured animal in my ear. Even when the sea glass necklace, her see glass necklace, burns a hole in my back pocket, right next to her pompom string, demanding to go back to its rightful owner. Even when a scream rips from her throat, and I need to cover it with my palm. I hold her.”
― L.J. Shen, Pretty Reckless

“The sheer relief washing over me suggests that one of the reasons I felt like I was holding a seven-ton weight of angst on my shoulders the past few days because I couldn't be with Penn. And while I'm his hobby, he is turning out to be my...everything. My solace. My good part. My favorite thing about life.”
― L.J. Shen, Pretty Reckless