The Romance in My YA Horror Death Loves Me Not

Now that Death Loves Me Not will soon be out, I'm pretty sure that just one look at its cover - and especially its back cover blurb - will tell you that this book has something to do with scary stuff. It may or may not give you chills and thrills, but the genre it belongs to is unmistakable, right?
Well, that got me to thinking about those who have read Evren and liked what they've read. Would they care about buying DLMN as well?
I hope so.
Because it does have a love story, too. There always is in most horrors since it's love that often propels characters to perform selfless and courageous acts.
I'm pretty happy with how the romance develops between Eden and her best friend Stud. It's no conflagration and with sparks flying all around at first sight. It's more like a slow burn that steadily heats up as they realize their feelings have to be acknowledged, one way or another.
But...I'll leave that for you to discover. Meanwhile, here's an excerpt to show you what I'm talking about.

I couldn’t concentrate on the movie, not when Stud’s fingers kept accidentally grazing mine when I dug for the bowl of cheese popcorn we had shared. And it was accidental. It had to be.

This was not right.

            My phone made another insistent beep. It could have played an MP3 tune instead, but I just hadn’t been able to muster enough interest to make the switch from default to trendy. I looked forward to the day that having the coolest ringtone in the planet would be the most important things in my life.

            “That’s him,” Will chortled.

            I love Will to death, but sometimes I could also cheerfully strangle her.

            “Will,” I hissed, sneaking a look at Stud, hoping he hadn’t heard her.

            But he had, and he saw me looking at him, and he knew then.

            Will gasped.

My heart sank.

Most times, she was irritatingly intelligent just when I needed her badly not to pay attention.

            “Who’s him?” Stud asked with a grin, sharp as a knife, and it slashed my conscience mercilessly.

            I opened my mouth to answer, but no words came.

            “Liam,” Will answered brightly. Maybe she thought she was coming to my rescue, but she was just digging me a bigger, deeper grave.

            “She asked me if I could hook her up with some guy---”

            “Will!”

            “Did she now?” Stud drawled, leaning back against his seat.

            I squirmed under his gaze. “I just thought I should start living a, well, more normal life.”

            “Do I know him?” Stud asked of his sister.

            “Don’t worry. He’s not like you,” she said sweetly before turning back to me. “Now, stop keeping me in suspense and just answer him. He said he’s going to text you now so that’s him. I’m sure of it.”

            Doing my best to ignore the icy blue gazes of the twins, I unlocked my phone and checked my inbox.

            Hi. Will gave me your number. My name’s Liam, by the way. Liam Somerset (just in case you wanna Google me and make sure I’m not a psychopath). :D Hope you don’t mind me texting you out of the blue.

            Oh, wow. Will had really done her homework this time. The last couple of guys she had recommended thought proper capitalization was only for folks aged sixty and above. They also spoke the same weird text lingo, one that I had never quite gotten the hang of. It went something like this: hw bout a D8, shawty?

            I hadn’t even known D8 was a ‘date’ until Will told me. I actually thought it was a kind of car or place or something. And I had no idea why he thought I was short.

            I texted my reply but had to backtrack several times because Stud was no longer pretending he wasn’t trying to read my message, causing my fingers to trip all over themselves. My phone beeped in flattering speed after a few moments.

            Will and I have this fun run the day after tomorrow.

            Fun run? Where did Will get this guy?

            I’m wondering if you’d like to come and join us. It would be a cool way for us to get to know each other. If you find me boring or weird, you could just run away or something. :P

            A teenage guy, humble?

            He was either ugly or he was faking it.

            I sneaked a suspicious glance at Will but she just winked at me. That wink was a bad sign. It was usually preceded or followed by crazy stuff, which could be bad or good. You never could tell with Will.

Me: Umm...sure...what time and where?

Liam: Well, the fun run sorta starts at 5 AM...think you can make it?

Me: Lol. I guess so. I’ll just tuck in early.

Liam: Cool! I’m really looking forward to meet you. Will’s been raving nonstop about you. I’ll pick you up. Just text me your address.

Me: Actually, I’m staying @ Will’s place. Do you know it?

Liam: Yep. I’ll probably go with Hades then.

Me: Hades?

Liam: Hadrian? Will’s date? So, I’ll come by around 230. That ok?

This was the first time I had heard of someone named after the Lord of the Underworld. I mean, Will knew that was what Hades meant, right? I sneaked another look at Will, but this time, she steadfastly ignored me. I resumed texting with a frown.

Me: Yeah, sure.

Liam: Great. I’m really looking forward to see you.

            Stud stood up so suddenly, I looked up in surprise then wished I hadn’t when I saw his eyes, which had dulled into an unemotional shade of blue.

            “I have to go.”

            No, he hadn’t.

            I made him go.

            I needed him to go.

            I knew that, and I knew that I had to do what I did, but it didn’t make me feel any better.          

            “You’re such an idiot,” Will said. She tossed a kernel of popcorn into her mouth. “He loves you. He loves you not. He loves you.”

“Shut up, Will.”

There was just one last kernel left. “He loves you not.” She took a half-bite. “He loves you!” she sang and took the last bit in, munching noisily.