Nevena > Nevena's Quotes

“Idiots are highly flammable, love. Let them all burn in hell.”
― Tahereh Mafi, Restore Me

“I love that the girl who blushes so easily in my arms is the same one who would kill a man for hurting me.”
― Tahereh Mafi, Restore Me

“Who says you can’t be cute and kick ass at the same time?” Kenji winks at me. “I do it every day.”
― Tahereh Mafi, Restore Me

“People are idiots, love. Their opinions are worthless.”
― Tahereh Mafi, Restore Me

“I touch his face, almost without meaning to, gently , like he might be a ghost, like this might be a dream and the tips of my fingers graze his cheek, trail the line of his jaw and I stop when his breath catches, when his body shakes almost imperceptibly and we lean in as if by memory eyes closing lips just touching
“Give me another chance, ” he whispers, resting his forehead against mine.
My heart aches, throbs in my chest. “Please,” he says softly, and he’s somehow closer now, his lips touching mine as he speaks and I feel pinned in place by emotion, unable to move as he presses the words against my mouth, his hands soft and hesitant around my face and he says, “I swear on my life,” he says, “ I won’t disappoint you” and he kisses me
Kisses me right here, in the middle of everything, in front of everyone.”
― Tahereh Mafi, Restore Me

“I mean , I’ve always known I had a great face. But now I know, like, for sure that I’ve got a great face. And it’s just so validating.”
― Tahereh Mafi, Restore Me

“This , I think , is the way to die.
I could drown in this moment and I’d never regret it. I could catch fire from this kiss and happily turn to ash. I could live here, die here, right here, against his hips, his lips. In the emotion in his eyes as he sinks into me, his heartbeats indistinguishable from mine.
This. Forever. This.”
― Tahereh Mafi, Restore Me

“You know what? Who cares what you’re wearing?” Kenji says. “It’s all in the attitude, anyway. It’s about how you carry yourself.”
I look up at him, feeling the height difference between us more acutely than ever. “But I’m so short.”
“Napoleon was short, too.”
“Napoleon was horrible,” I point out.
“Napoleon got shit done, didn’t he?”
I frown.”
― Tahereh Mafi, Restore Me

“It hits me with a painful force, the reminder. Of just how much I love her. God, I love all of her. Her impossibilities, her exasperations. I love how gentle she is with me when we’re alone. How soft and kind she can be in our quiet moments. How she never hesitates to defend me.
I love her.”
― Tahereh Mafi, Restore Me

“But — why would she break up with you? Why was she crying?” At this, I laugh again.
“ Because I,” I say, pointing at myself, “am a monster."
Kenji looks confused. “ And how is that news to anyone?”
I smile. He’s funny, I think. Funny guy.”
― Tahereh Mafi, Restore Me

“What the hell is wrong with you, man? I thought we were cool.”
“We were,” Warner says icily. “Until you touched my hair.”
“You asked me to give you a haircut—”
“I said nothing of the sort! I asked you to trim the edges!”
“And that’s what I did.”
“This,” Warner says, spinning around so I might inspect the damage, “is not trimming the edges, you incompetent moron—”
I gasp. The back of Warner’s head is a jagged mess of uneven hair; entire chunks have been buzzed off.”
― Tahereh Mafi, Restore Me

“I’m sorry I ever asked you guys to be friends. You don’t have to be friends. You don’t even have to like each other. Forget I said anything.”
Warner drops his crossed arms.
Kenji raises his eyebrows.
“I promise,” I say. “No more forced hangout sessions. No more spending time alone without me. Okay?”
“You swear?” Kenji says.
“I swear.”
“Thank God,” Warner says.
“Same, bro. Same.”
And I roll my eyes, irritated. This is the first thing they’ve managed to agree on in over a week: their mutual hatred of my hopes for their friendship.”
― Tahereh Mafi, Restore Me

“I think you’re wonderful.” “Wonderful, huh?” “Yep,” I say, and link my arm in his. “You’re smart and funny and kind and — ” “Handsome,” he says. “Don’t forget handsome." “And very handsome”
― Tahereh Mafi, Restore Me

“Kenji,” I say, only half hearing him, “I’ve just realized I’ve never met any foreign officials before.”
“I know, right? Me neither,” he says, mussing my hair. “But it’ll be okay. You just need to calm down. Anyway, you look cute. You’ll do great.”
I slap his hand away. “I may not know much about being a supreme commander yet, but I do know that I’m not supposed to be cute.”
Just then, the elevator dings open.
“Who says you can’t be cute and kick ass at the same time?” Kenji winks at me. “I do it every day.”
― Tahereh Mafi, Restore Me

“It's not insane to imagine that sometimes even horrible people are searching for a way out of their own darkness.”
― Tahereh Mafi, Defy Me

“Happiness does not happen. Happiness must be uncovered, separated from the skin of pain. It must be claimed. Kept close. Protected.”
― Tahereh Mafi, Defy Me

“I want to remember to celebrate more. I want to remember to experience more joy. I want to allow myself to be happy more frequently. I want to remember, forever, this look on Aaron's face, as he's bullied into blowing out his birthday candles for the very first time.
This is, after all, what we're fighting for, isn't it?
A second chance at joy.”
― Tahereh Mafi, Defy Me

“I know I'm petty and I don't care.

- Kenji”
― Tahereh Mafi, Defy Me

“I don't think you should treat me like this, like I'm some idiot nothing, just because I don't know how to be a douchebag.
- Kenji”
― Tahereh Mafi, Defy Me

“If you want nice Kenji maybe you should check back in the morning, because right now all I've got is jack shit in the way of pleasantries.

- Kenji”
― Tahereh Mafi, Defy Me

“I'm not trying to get you to sleep with me. I just literally had to lie down. Thank you for appreciating my face. I've always thought I had an underappreciated face.

- Kenji”
― Tahereh Mafi, Defy Me

“You think these recent events are everything. You think Aaron fell in love with your friend of several months, a rebel girl named Juliette. You don't know. You don't know. You don't know that Aaron has been in love with Ella for the better part of his entire life. They've known each other since childhood...…..The reason he had to keep wiping their memories was because it didn't matter how many times he reset the story or remade the introductions - Aaron always fell in love with her. Every time.


- Delalieu”
― Tahereh Mafi, Defy Me

“In this new, turbulent reality, the one person I recognize is him. My memories of him - memories of us - have done something to me. I've changed somewhere deep inside. I feel different. Heavier, like my feet have been more firmly planted, liberated by certainty, free to grow roots here in my own self, free to trust unequivocally in the strength and steadiness of my own heart. It's an empowering discovery, to find that I can trust myself - even when I'm not myself - to make the right choices. To know for certain now that there was at least one mistake I never made.

Aaron Warner Anderson is the only emotional through line in my life that ever made sense. He's the only constant. The only steady, reliable heartbeat I've ever had.

Aaron, Aaron, Aaron, Aaron.

I had no idea how much we'd lost, no idea how much of him I'd longed for. I had no idea how desperately we'd been fighting. How many years we'd fought for moments - minutes - to be together.

It fills me with a painful kind of joy.

- Ella”
― Tahereh Mafi, Defy Me

“I feel it, I feel my thin morals dissolving. I feel my flimsy, moth-eaten skin of humanity begin to come apart, and with it, the veil keeping me from complete darkness. There are no lines I won't cross. No illusions of mercy.

I wanted to be better for her. For her happiness. For her future.

But if she's gone, what good is goodness?

- Warner”
― Tahereh Mafi, Defy Me

“Forgive me. I know it all seems stupid now, but I don't want to take anything for granted anymore. Forgive me for hurting you. Forgive me for not trusting you. I took my pain out on you and I'm so sorry. I was selfish, and I hurt you, and I'm so sorry.

- Ella”
― Tahereh Mafi, Defy Me

“I can't remember a single time in my life when someone apologized to me for hurting my feelings. No one has ever cared about my feelings long enough to apologize for hurting them. In my experience, I'm usually the monster. I'm the one expected to make amends.”
― Tahereh Mafi, Defy Me

“I love you, Ella. I will love you for the rest of my life. My heart is yours. Please don't ever give it back to me.

- Warner”
― Tahereh Mafi, Defy Me

“This is, after all, what we're fighting for, isn't it?

A second chance at joy.

- Ella”
― Tahereh Mafi, Defy Me

“Remind me to to make you smile like that again, when you aren't dying, and I have all the time in the world to memorise it.”
― Lauren Roberts, Powerless

“She is the embodiment of a bad decision. The twin of danger and desire. The fine line between deadly and divine. And I can feel myself drowning.”
― Lauren Roberts, Powerless