It's strange to be this close to someone and have it not be an aggressive, violent encounter. Proximity was for grabbing someone and running, for fending off a Crank's blows, or holding someone down as they went through the Changing.

This sort of closeness wasn't anything like that. There was no aggression, no imminent danger and Thomas didn't know if he'd ever get used to that. When his knees bumped against Derek,'s Thomas looked up at him.

"Mostly, yeah," he said, nodding. "I'm just really used to sleeping during the day. If I'm exhausted, I can sleep at night but I prefer to be outside at night. It's familiar. It's quiet. Even if I know this sun isn't gonna burn me, going out at night makes sure of that."