"Just because," I say with a sigh. I don't know of a reason anymore than she does other than you're not supposed to. Not that she's ugly or anything, far from it.

I sit down on the couch and scrub my hands across my face. I should be back in that alley alone, not here with someone like Cass who cares so much about me to do all this. She's making a mistake. I'm going to let her down.

"I guess technically I'm only 12, so you could go to jail for seeing me naked."