Hannah Harrington Quotes & Sayings

Parents are supposed to protect you, but they seem to be really, really lousy at it. — Hannah Harrington

He is such a dork. It's sort of endearing. — Hannah Harrington

So really, it isn't as if noticing something like his well-toned biceps or his seriously long eyelashes means anything - other than a confirmation of the fact that I'm not blind. — Hannah Harrington

Stupid bitch," he spits, and that's when I mentally punch him in the face.
Except it isn't just mentally - it's for real, my closed fist is actually moving. It hits him square in the nose with a sickening crunch.
"Oh my God," Laney breathes from behind me.
"Oh my God," Jake says from the floor.
My eyes widen. "Oh my God. — Hannah Harrington

Sometimes people think they want to know things, but then they hear the answer and realize they'd prefer to be in the dark. — Hannah Harrington

Therapy is my mother's solution to everything. I'm sure she thinks there'd be peace in the Middle East if every country were forced to sit down on a stiff leather couch with a box of Kleenex and talk about their feeeeelings. — Hannah Harrington

So what if he's hot, sometimes. Like every time I look at him. Besides, annoying he may be, but he's had his shining White Knight Moment, what with the whole saving-me-and-my-best-friend-from-a-brawl-and-probable-jail-time thing. Even if I'm no damsel in distress and he's miles away from Prince Charming, such displays of gallantry, combined with his not-bad-okay-actually-pretty-good looks, make my strange lusty feelings completely justified. Practically obligatory, even. — Hannah Harrington

I love the way he says my name, like it's something he wants to keep safe. — Hannah Harrington

You know, I'm atheist, but I get it. I get why people have faith in a higher power. Some people need it. They need to believe they're not alone. — Hannah Harrington

All of them are the same type; girls with overprocessed hair and too much makeup and way too much access to Daddy's credit cards. Girls who, if you took away the designer labels, hair dye and cover-up, wouldn't be more than average-looking, but with all that stuff look too plastic to be pretty. — Hannah Harrington

It's harder than you think, to find someone who truly believes in your unequivocal, unconditional awesomeness — Hannah Harrington

I guess that's the thing about riding on cloud nine - it can't last forever. And that particular fall was hard and fast. — Hannah Harrington

I'm an expert at finding out secrets, but keeping them- especially a secret of this magnitude - is something else. — Hannah Harrington

He winks at me, and the surge of butterflies in my stomach is so strong I think I may throw up right there. I need something to calm my nerves. The most obvious remedy is more alcohol. They don't call it liquid courage for nothing. — Hannah Harrington

Listening to Eminem makes me feel like a badass. Or at least as though I have the potential for badassery. I mean, the way he sings, it's like he'd probably punch out a puppy if it looked at him wrong. Obviously I'm not glorifying animal cruelty here, I'm just saying, I could use some of that attitude. — Hannah Harrington

Running my mouth has hurt enough people already - the least I can do is to shut up. — Hannah Harrington

Except that night didn't change my life. I changed it. I have to stop acting like I have no control over these things. Like I'm letting them just happen to me. These are my choices. For better or worse. — Hannah Harrington

The truth is, the person I've been hating more than anyone is myself. It is so easy. So easy to look in the mirror at all my imperfections and think of all the ways I fall short of someone ... — Hannah Harrington

Hate is... It's too easy. Love. Love takes courage. — Hannah Harrington

Look, it's not ever going go stop hurting. That's the reality. But after a while, it'll get ... easier. You'll get used to living with it. — Hannah Harrington

I hate organized religion. I hate that people use it to justify their crappy, bigoted beliefs. — Hannah Harrington

Jake was right - I'm strong in a way June never was. Because I know that I want to be here. Even with the pain. Even with the ugliness. — Hannah Harrington

Everything on the radio is crap ... It's fast food for your ears. It doesn't make you think. It isn't even about anything - not anything real. Don't you think music should say something? — Hannah Harrington

I'm sorry. For everything I did. For everything I didn't. I wish you were here. I know it's not enough, but I guess this is the closest I am going to get, to saving you. — Hannah Harrington

It's so stupid because all I wanted was space and now that I have it, there's this part of me that's achingly lonely I could die. — Hannah Harrington

Sketchy black van? Weird stalking of my house? What are you going to do next, offer me some candy? — Hannah Harrington

Everyone stares as Andy slowly, slowly helps Noah stand. They don't really dance
they just hold each other, swaying from side to side, Noah's face buried in Andy's chest, Andy holding him up, their arms encircled so tightly around each other. — Hannah Harrington

I'm not saying he was, like, crying tears of man pain over the phone, but he sounded upset. — Hannah Harrington

It's like what those cheesy action-movie heros always say before they finish taking out the bad guys: I started this, and I'm going to finish it. Except even in the movie of my own life, I've never been the heroine. I've never been Action Girl. I've only ever been Kristen's supporting character. — Hannah Harrington

I don't know what I believe anymore. If God does exist, then He's just an asshole, creating this world full of human suffering and letting all these terrible things happen to good people, and sitting there and doing nothing about it. At June's memorial service, a few people came up to me and said some really stupid things, like how everything happens for a reason, and God never gives us more than we can handle. All I could think was, does that mean if I was a weaker person, this never would've happened? Am I seriously supposed to buy that June's death was part of some stupid divine plan? I don't believe that. I can't. It just doesn't make sense. — Hannah Harrington

You know, the husband, John Bobbit, he formed a band after that whole thing. The Severed Parts," I tell him. "I'm pretty sure he did a lot of porn, too."
Jake just lies there, staring at me. The teasing in his eyes has been replaced with a serious, assessing look.
"What?" I say. God, boys are weird.
"How did you know that?" he asks. He actually sounds impressed.
"It's called the internet. You might try living in the twenty-first century sometime," I mumble. — Hannah Harrington

And even if we did, which we didn't, it's none of your business."
"Okay."
"I just wanted you to know."
"Okay."
"If you say okay one more time, I'm going to punch you in the solar plexus."
His eyebrows jump. "The solar plexus, huh?"
"Yes," I say. "I'm not exactly sure where that is, but I will find out. And then I will punch you there. Hard. — Hannah Harrington

The house is eerily quiet. All this time I thought silence would be a welcome reprieve, but it's less comforting than I imagined. The house feels so much bigger and colder than it ever has. — Hannah Harrington

There is so much beauty in just existing. In being alive. — Hannah Harrington

I gaze out at the glittering sea, the breathtaking sky above it, and think of birds and the moment before the fall, and how my sister as a child had been strong enough for the both of us, and I wonder when exactly that changed. I don't know when, but it did. Jake was right - I'm strong in a way June never was. Because I know that I want to be here. Even with the pain. Even with the ugliness. I've seen the other side - marching side by side down city streets with people who all believe they can change the world and the view of the sunset from Fridgehenge and Tom Waits lyrics and doing the waltz and kisses so hot they melt into each other and best friends who hold your hand and stretching out underneath a sky draped with stars and everything else.
There is so much beauty in just existing. In being alive. I don't want to miss a second. — Hannah Harrington

I still go to bed sad, and wake up sad, and it still hurts like hell, but there are moments during the day when it hurts less. Sometimes I can think of June and not want to burst into tears or put my fist through a wall. Sometimes I'm close to happy and it doesn't even hurt. Much. I'll never be the way I was before, but maybe that's okay. Life goes on, I'm going on, even without her. Not every day hurts. Not every breath hurts.
Maybe that's all we can really ask for. — Hannah Harrington

I walk to my car without looking back, and as I drive away, I'm hit with a sudden wave of sadness. But it's a distant kind of sad - like when you look at your Barbies and realize you don't want to play with them anymore, because you're growing up and you've moved on, and in your heart you know it's time to make room for other things. — Hannah Harrington

Deciding to kiss Jake is like standing on the edge of a pool, staring down and wanting to take the leap, but fearing how cold the water will be.
I hold my breath and jump. — Hannah Harrington

Jake shuts the van's back doors and lies down next to me. He's really close, so close I can feel him breathing on the nape of my neck. I could put more space between us, but instead I scoot backward, leaning into him, my back pressed into the pleasant warmth of his front. Jake holds his breath for a moment, but he doesn't say anything. And he doesn't move away ... He moves so his mouth is right under my ear, brushing the skin there, and one of his hands slides up, resting on my rib cage. My whole body tingles as he starts to sing softly into my ear. — Hannah Harrington

My love for June and Jake is an anchor, bound with unbreakable chains. Weighing me down, but at the same time ... keeping me grounded. Keeping me here. Tying me to the world. It hurts, but it's supposed to, because that's what it means to be alive. And that's comforting, actually. The realization that I'm not some robot devoid of emotions. That I still have the ability to feel things this brutally, this immediate and sharp. — Hannah Harrington

Some people are just sad, all of the time. Too sad to deal with - everything. Life, I guess. I don't know. There doesn't always have to be a reason. — Hannah Harrington

Hate is ... it's too easy," he says. His face calm, calmer than it has any right to be, his eyes not wavering from mine, like he's so completely sure of what he's saying. "Love. Love takes courage. — Hannah Harrington

We've been caught in a wildly passionate, completely one-sided affair since freshman year. — Hannah Harrington

-You were in jail? What was it like?
-Boring.Dirty.Smelled like ass. — Hannah Harrington

We left behind this small town
But we couldn't leave behind the ghosts
As we headed for the coast, yeah, and you know
There was something in the way she told me
How my hair looked stupid, and
How she couldn't hold her tequila, and
How she was broken and beautiful and
Still standing, and how was I supposed to know
All along we were saving June
Saving June, yeah
She had flowers in her hair and one powerful glare
My modern day Rubik's Cube, she made me feel
Like maybe we could have it all
But you can never have it all
And now I've gone and lost
All these things that they always sang about
All the things that I still dream about
Now I'm counting up the days, counting all the ways
I never said what it means, but it's too late 'cause
June is over and so are we
And I'm the one left, with nothing to save — Hannah Harrington

Seth turns to Laney and I. "Three months ago, I'm in Detroit protesting a free trade conference, right? Some pig shoves me, I go flying into another, next thing I know I'm on the ground with a Taser in my back. I get thrown in city jail, no money and one phone call. So I call Jake. You know what this fucker did? He dropped everything, drove up and bailed me out, no questions."
"Like I could just leave you," Jake says. "You're too pretty. You're a delicate flower. They would've ripped you apart in there. — Hannah Harrington

Things get to me all the time - I just don't see the point in making a
big deal out of it. — Hannah Harrington

It always struck me in years after how bizarre it was, how two people could look at one another with such tenderness and complete love, and how quickly that could dissolve into nothing but bitterness. — Hannah Harrington

Seth says, and I quote,'Jake is an idiot — Hannah Harrington

Music can see you through anything. — Hannah Harrington

I want to stop running away from everything.
I want to find something to run toward. — Hannah Harrington

Whatever you decide, don't let it be because you don't think you have a choice. — Hannah Harrington

Boys. I will never understand them. Not even the gay ones. — Hannah Harrington

Careful, Harper. Someone might think you're actually enjoying yourself."
I can't suppress a smile. "Huh."
"Huh?" He quirks an eyebrow "What was the 'huh' for? — Hannah Harrington

Hate is easy, but love takes courage. — Hannah Harrington

I already told you, I'm not gonna subscribe to your stupid magazine!' she yells.
'We're not selling anything,' Jake calls back. 'We just came to see my favorite chula this side of the Mississippi.'
The girl pauses and shields her eyes to get a better look. 'Jacob? That you?'
'In the flesh,' he confirms with a broad grin. — Hannah Harrington

What's important is the time we spent working on it together. What's important is that Sam is the kind of guy who will trade notes on a sketchpad and teach me how to make tuna melts and drop everything to drive to a parking lot
when I need him and throw stones at my window to make sure I'm okay. — Hannah Harrington

There's no denying the fact he is really, really good-looking, in this rakish, edgy, badass, I-just-rolled-out-of-bed-and-screw-you-I-don't-need-a-mirror kind of way. — Hannah Harrington

How the hell did you pull this off, man?" "I pulled some major strings and got us a one-night pass. And Noah here has to be back before midnight or he'll turn into a pumpkin." "Pumpkin. Can we get pumpkin pie?" Andy says, "Maybe later." Sam shakes his head. "Dude, you look totally high." It's true. Noah looks way out of it. He keeps smiling his loopy smile. "Only on life, Sam." "And a fuckton of Vicodin" adds Andy. — Hannah Harrington

If you really want things to change, you can make them change no matter where you are. — Hannah Harrington

You can be surrounded by people and still be lonely. You can be the most popular person in school, envied by every girl and wanted by every boy, and still feel completely worthless. The world can be laid at your feet and you can still not know what you want from it. — Hannah Harrington

In some ways I admire Aunt Helen's unwavering certainty in God's divine plan. It must be comforting, to have faith like that. To believe so concretely that there's someone - something - out there watching guard, keeping us safe, testing us only with what we can handle. I've never believed in anything the way Aunt Helen believes in God. — Hannah Harrington

Google is so my bitch — Hannah Harrington

My life is now divided into two periods: With June and After June. I can't wrap my mind around the idea of it. — Hannah Harrington

Awesome."
"Awesome squared."
"Awesome cubed."
"Awesome to the power of infinity."
"The square root of awesome is-"
"-Asha." We finish at the same time and laugh. — Hannah Harrington

Also, tonight he reeks too much of beer and cloying cologne. This is a disappointment because I always assumed that a perfect creature such as Brendon would smell of spring rain and mountain bresses and other heavenly aromas. — Hannah Harrington

I'm still the same Chelsea Knot. Bow down, bitches. — Hannah Harrington

She does know we're coming, right?' I ask.
'Well ... ' He hems and haws a bit. 'Not exactly.'
Laney immediately smacks the back of his head. 'Jake! You mean we're showing up unannounced? That is so rude!'
'What if she isn't there? What are we going to do?' I smack him once, too, for good measure. 'What is *wrong* with you?'
'Can we please stop with the abuse? — Hannah Harrington

It seems so impossible that someone could look at [Andy and Noah], see how plainly they care for each other, and find anything ugly or shameful or worthy of hatred in it, when all I see is something beautiful. — Hannah Harrington

I don't know what I need, or even what I want, from her or from anybody. There's no way to tell her the truth, because the truth is that my heart is broken, and I don't think there's any chance of it being sewn back together. This is permanent. It can't be fixed. — Hannah Harrington

But even though I know my flaws are many (many many many), and there are always ways I could be better, and I should never stop working for that - I also need to give myself a break. I can cut myself some slack sometimes. Because I'm a work in progress. Because nobody is perfect. At least I acknowledge the mistakes I've made, and am making. At least I'm trying. That means something, doesn't it?
And just because I have room for improvement doesn't mean I'm worthless, or that I have nothing to offer to, like, the world. — Hannah Harrington

It's like he knows everything. And I don't have to say a word. — Hannah Harrington

You're nothing like your sister," he tells me. "She meant a lot to me, okay? It's true. But the things I like about you have nothing to do with her. You - you are so strong and stubborn it drives me crazy. You're the one going through all this and you still put Laney first every time, instead of throwing yourself the pity party we both know you deserve. You call me out on my shit, and I like that, because sometimes I need someone to call me out on my shit. And you get Johnny Cash, and you take these incredible photos, and everything about you makes me hurt, in a good way, and it blows my mind that someone can be so amazing and not even see it. — Hannah Harrington

It's not really a practical dream to have, is it?
He stares right at me. It's intense, being under the weight of his full attention. Dreams have to be practical? — Hannah Harrington

Are you kidding? This is perfect! This is exactly what we've been hoping for! He has everything we need.
Okay, I'll admit. Turning it down does feel a little like kicking God in the balls. — Hannah Harrington

That hate is easy, but sometimes love is easy too. — Hannah Harrington

I want the faith that there will be some kind of an answer, something more than these endless questions taking up so much space in my head, this feeling that nothing matters and nothing has a point. — Hannah Harrington

It feels weird, being out in the real world again. Around people just living their lives like normal. Their presence is oppressive. The very fact that the world is going on as usual, like nothing ever happened, makes me want to scream. I know it's irrational to expect everything to grind to a halt because of June, but still. A wave of anxiety builds in my chest, my head pounding so loud it drowns out the noise of people talking and tapping away on their laptops. — Hannah Harrington

Keeping secrets isn't my specialty. — Hannah Harrington

It's just nice, I guess. Knowing that someone else can put into words what I feel. That there are people who have been through things worse than I have, and they come out on the other side okay. Not only that, but they made some kind of twisted, fucked-up sense of the completely senseless. They made it mean something. These songs tell me I'm not alone. If you look at it at that way, music ... music can see you through anything. — Hannah Harrington

He took his pain and turned it into something beautiful. Into something that people connect to. And that's what good music does. It speaks to you. It changes you. — Hannah Harrington

With technology and everything, compact discs are going to be, like, vintage soon, right? The way vinyl is now. Like, if I ever have kids, they're going to look at CDs and think, 'What is this crap, geez, how clunky.' By then everyone will have the fiftieth edition of iPods - or maybe they'll just have music downloaded directly into their brains, like with microchips, or something. And I'll be the old lady in the corner going, 'Back when I was a kid, we had mix tapes, and floppy disks, and gas didn't cost twenty bucks a gallon, and oh, yeah, MTV actually played music videos, if you can believe it.' And they'll probably say, 'Oh, Mom, you and your stories, we're jetting to the oxygen bar, see you later,' and take off in their flying cars. You know there'll be flying cars, it's only a matter of time. — Hannah Harrington

You know, just because you think bubblegum pop on the radio represents all that is wrong with society, that doesn't mean there's not someone out there who needs that shitty pop song. Maybe that shitty pop song makes them feel good, about themselves and the world. And as long as that shitty pop song doesn't infringe upon your rights to rock out to, I don't know, Subway Sect, or Siouxsie and the Banshees, or whichever old-ass band it is you worship, then who cares? — Hannah Harrington

Listen, Harper. I realize how hard this is for you.
A flash of anger heats up in my chest. She doesn't understand. She can't. If she did, she'd leave me alone instead of trying to force me to talk about this. — Hannah Harrington

I don't want to be so scared all the time. So alone. I want to believe something can be worth it. Worth the pain. Worth the risk. — Hannah Harrington

Maybe Laney's right. Maybe June did love me. But I'm far less certain that she knew I loved her. Did she realise how much I needed her around? It's not like I ever told her. I was too wrapped up in my own world to notice what was going on in hers. Even if she did know, it wasn't enough to count. It wasn't enough to make her stay. So really, what did it matter, in the end?
The bottom line is, it's my fault. I didn't love her enough. I didn't do enough. I wasn't enough. There's no excuse. There is nothing that will ever make that okay. — Hannah Harrington

I may have at some point referred to him as a douche nozzle. — Hannah Harrington

My mistake was not in speaking out. No, my mistake was staying silent for too long. — Hannah Harrington

It must be comforting, to have a faith like that. To believe so concretely that there's someone - something - out there watching guard, keeping us safe, testing us only with what we can handle. — Hannah Harrington

You cannot be in love with someone you've really only known for barely a week and on top of that someone who drives you crazy most of the time. No matter how goodlooking and charming and interesting and understanding he may be. Not even if he's the one person who makes you feel like yourself.
Right? — Hannah Harrington

I've never been good at emotional stuff. Except anger. Anger, I'm good at. — Hannah Harrington

No problem. Just drop it back off before you go," he says, procuring a brass key. "And if he puts on Bowie's early stuff and starts sweet-talking, dammit, you run. You run as fast as you can. — Hannah Harrington

I use the time to finish reading Of Mice and Men, which turns out to be just as awful as I thought it would be. I hate stories with dead puppies. So depressing. — Hannah Harrington

We should go swimming," Anna says, out of the blue. ( ... )
Danny looks at her like she just suggested knocking over the closest liquor store. Which wouldn't be such a bad idea, on second thought, considering how fast Laney, Seth and Anna are working through the tequila bottle. "Uh sure, if catching pneumonia's your idea of a fun time. I don't want to freeze my balls off. I'm rather attached to them. Literally and figuratively. — Hannah Harrington

I need to experience things. Push beyond my comfort zone. Even if I make a fool out of myself in the process. — Hannah Harrington

People like that? People who don't want to be found? They're usually really good at staying lost. — Hannah Harrington