[ Alan's expression turns thoughtful; a little far away but not entirely gone or checked out of this conversation. To him, this is still new; it's still something he's learning to accept as being true and unavoidable. Jesse's words only underline that for him, that even though it might appear that the residents of Bright Falls just go on living normal lives, that's not true for all of them. Some of them fight back under the cover of darkness.

So it's always been like this. Maybe I couldn't see it or maybe I wasn't ready to, but it's always been there. Things really aren't what they seem. ]

You wanted this. You wanted confirmation that what you knew was real. [ It's just a statement, looking for confirmation that Jesse was open to the possibility of the world being bigger and scarier than most people knew. He's not even sure why he needs that confirmation; maybe because knowing that she welcomes it and accepts it could help him do the same. ]

I need to learn to accept it too. I'm not quite there yet, but I'm trying. I know I can't close my eyes to it, at least.

[ Even if I did, the darkness would be there. It might even get me and take me away.

He feels her pressing herself against him, and suddenly his interest in talking goes away. He doesn't want to talk right now; he just wants to feel her and have her feel him, and so he presses himself against her in return. One hand curls itself around the sheet between them and gives a quick tug, as if asking if she wants the last barrier between them removed.

It's not even a barrier that hasn't been crossed, as they did that the night before, but he knows he'd cross it with her again and again, as many times as she wants. ]