01<@Ardweden> [The last bell rang! How does Tiffany avoid the others? Let's find out.] 01<@Ardweden> [Session Start!] 06* Tiffany grabs her stuff from her last period and slowly gets out of her last seat. Through the whole mess of the people in the corridor, she ends up going the opposite direction. All of her movements are pretty slow. If people are bumping into her in the hallways, she's not really reacting like she normally would. 06* Tiffany goes to navigate against the sea of the crowd towards the nearest stairwell. 01<@Ardweden> [Tiffany gets bumped quite a lot, but none of it's malicious. She ends up at the main stairwell, the same one she ended up under during fifth period.] 01<@Ardweden> [Her phone rings! Javy shows up on the caller ID.] 06* Tiffany breathes as she gets up the stairs and looks around. Is it less crowded up here than downstairs? 01<@Ardweden> [Yes. Most students are downstairs, if only because that's the way out of the building.] 06* Tiffany starts a bit at the phone ringing and then pulls out her phone and looks at it. She frowns at the caller ID and cancels the call. Meanwhile she goes to sit down slumped against the wall, waiting for Christina to come out. 01<@Ardweden> [For the record, Tiffany's own locker is past the stairwell she just went up, into the next hallway branch to the right.] 01<@Ardweden> [On the first floor.] 06* Tiffany cradles her knees and pulls them up a bit, just so her feet don't get tread on with people passing. She's still glancing to see if she catches Christina. 01<@Ardweden> [Tiffany does a good job staying out of people's way, and said people don't seem to notice her at all as they head out for sweet, sweet freedom.] 06* Tiffany unfolds herself a bit more once the hallway clears up again. She's good at staying small but it gets cramped up a bit every once and a while. 01<@Ardweden> [Tiffany's phone vibrates and beeps a familiar tune for voicemail added.] 06* Tiffany pulls at the phone and looks at it. She's just staring at it for a little bit and starts absently rubbing her forearm. She's not moving to listen to the voicemail just yet. 01<@Ardweden> [As Tiffany mopes, she sees Nate coming down the hall towards the stairs. And worse, he's looking her way.] 06* Tiffany glances at Nate for a moment and meets eyes with him and then gets kind of an "oh shit" look as she jumps to her feet, grabbing her backpack and trying to get away. 01<@Ardweden> [Too late! He waves and calls, "Hey, Tiffany!"] 06* Tiffany winces, slightly, as Nate calls out to her, but stops in her tracks, trying not to let him see it. She turns towards him and responds, looking half-away. "Um, hey Nate." If she were more alert, she'd probably be surprised herself at how glum she sounds with it, but she's not really hiding it well. 01<@Ardweden> [Nate walks up, a concerned look on his face. "Are you okay?"] 06* Tiffany blinks and tries to bring herself up. She manages about 2 steps below neutral, but at least it's better than before. "I'm..." She sighs. "Yeah, I'll be fine....I just kinda wanna be alone right now." She pauses for a moment. "Um...Javy just called." 01<@Ardweden> [Nate frowns, still clearly concerned. "Yeah?"] Yeah... 06* Tiffany sighs and looks at her phone for a moment. She stares at it for a little bit before responding, "I'll text him." 06* Tiffany texts Javy a "?" Simple but effective. 01<@Ardweden> ["You should. I mean, you guys are involved with some heavy stuff."] 06* Tiffany frowns, then looks more solidly at Nate. "I forgot he told you..." 01<@Ardweden> [Nate shrugs, unaffected by Tiffany's semi-stare. "Yeah, he did, and you basically confirmed it."] 06* Tiffany smiles slightly, but there's not much humor in it, as she holds onto her phone. "Confirmed what? I'm freak girl, remember?" 01<@Ardweden> [Nate rolls his eyes. "Yeah, hilarious."] 01<@Ardweden> ["Hey, that stuff... that happened today? With what's his name, Tony? He didn't hurt you, did he?"] 06* Tiffany sighs after realizing she doesn't even have the energy to be vindictive. "Look, Nate. You're nice and all but...really, I kind of want to be alone right now. I'm...I'm waiting for a friend." 01<@Ardweden> [Tiffany's phone beeps that she got a new text message.] 01<@Ardweden> [Nate frowns. He's been doing that a lot. "Then he did?"] 06* Tiffany checks the text and sighs. "No. Tony's fine...he's...well, he's the most honest people've been with me for a long time..." 01<@Ardweden> [Javy: Hey. Where are you? Got all my stuff, here with Hank and Syd.] 06* Tiffany closes her eyes, half overwhelmed, half thinking of what to text back. She finally replies, "go on w/o me. hangin out wit c" 01<@Ardweden> [Nate nods. "Okay. I'll leave you alone, I guess. Take care, all right?"] 06* Tiffany frowns. "Nate?" 01<@Ardweden> [Nate started to leave, but at that, looks back. "Yeah?"] Tell Javy...uh...tell him I'm okay, alright? 01<@Ardweden> [Tiffany's phone beeps! Text message from Javy, once she checks: Okay, have fun. Talk with you later.] I mean...uh...if you see him... 01<@Ardweden> [Nate smiles. "Sure thing." And now he really does head down the stairs!] 06* Tiffany nods and slumps back as she rubs her arm, looking exhausted. It seems like the conversation took a lot out of her. 01<@Ardweden> [After a few more minutes, Christina shows up, heading for the stairwell. She, unlike Nate, doesn't seem to notice Tiffany.] 06* Tiffany looks over at Christina and then notices she doesn't notice her. She doesn't really have the energy to call out to her so she gets up from off the wall and walks over to her, grabbing her arm gently when she has the opportunity. 01<@Ardweden> [Christina takes two steps forward and then is held back by the arm on her arm. "Hey, what-" And then she recognizes the arm grabber and goes from confused/annoyed to happy. "Oh, Tiffany! Hi!"] 06* Tiffany hugs up all on Christina's arm and shoulder then looks at her with a little tug. "Hey. Let's bounce." 01<@Ardweden> [For the record, because one has to keep track of these things, today Christina's wearing a black fedora with lavender accents (and a flower on one side). Also: black and white printed blouse and black skirt, along with heels. "Huh?"] 06* Tiffany looks up at her for a moment. "Bounce. I wanna get outta here as quickly as possible." 01<@Ardweden> ["Sure." Pause. "Are you saying you *want* to hang out with me?"] 06* Tiffany blinks and looks at her strangely. "Since when do I not?" 01<@Ardweden> ["Oh, I don't know, like half the time ever?" Christina grins. "Come on." And she takes Tiffany's hand and moves, leading her through the crowd and out of the building.] 06* Tiffany pouts as she gets meandered through the halls. "I do not. You're, like, my best friend ever..." 01<@Ardweden> ["Don't be stupid. I'm your second best friend ever." She doesn't sound offended, though.] 06* Tiffany sighs and nudges her in the arm. "Don't be silly, stupid." She frowns. "I haven't even been thinking about him all that much lately..." 01<@Ardweden> [Christina looks back, then says, "Hey... don't feel bad. You can't think about someone all the time."] 01<@Ardweden> [They survive to outside of the school! Christina lets go of Tiffany's hand and heads for her car.] 06* Tiffany blinks. "What? I'm...oh, I'm not..." She looks down at the ground for a moment. She then heads slowly towards Christina's car 01<@Ardweden> [Christina unlocks her car with the remote and gets in. She starts looking for her shades while waiting for Tiffany.] 06* Tiffany opens up the car door and throws her backpack in the back while she gets in. 01<@Ardweden> [Once Tiffany makes it in, Christina has an adorable pair of sunglasses on. Awesome, now she looks like a pimped up female Blues Brother. She starts the car and heads for the mall, a path she knows quite well!] 06* Tiffany looks at Christina for a moment and blinks, staring at her shades. "Uh, wow, Chris. Those look fantastic." 01<@Ardweden> [Christina grins. "Thanks! I got them at Macy's a couple of weeks ago." She checks for oncoming traffic and makes a turn.] 06* Tiffany lets out a huge sigh and just winds up slumping in her seat. It's about now she realizes she hadn't buckled yet and goes to do so. 01<@Ardweden> ["So," Christina says after driving a few minutes in silence, "What's up?"] 06* Tiffany looks at the dashboard as she first responds. "Nothing much..." She looks over at Christina. "What's up with you?" 01<@Ardweden> [She shrugs. "Oh, you know. The usual."] 06* Tiffany frowns. "No, I don't...we...usually end up focusing on me..." I mean...other than the design thing and the club, we really don't talk all that much... 01<@Ardweden> ["Not really." She glances at Tiffany. "I just... you know, I was just asking because you looked down."] 06* Tiffany gives Christina a small smile. "When *don't* I?" She loses it for a moment and goes back to looking at the dashboard. "I had a run-in with Tyler's little gang buddy today." 01<@Ardweden> ["... Yeah?"] 06* Tiffany frowns. "He told me some...stuff." 01<@Ardweden> ["Like... was it bad?"] 06* Tiffany sighs and closes her eyes, seemingly changing the subject all of the sudden. "Christina, you can't go out with Hank, alright?" 01<@Ardweden> [Christina blinks. Or she might; it's hard to tell with the glasses. But the surprise is evident in her voice: "What?"] You... 06* Tiffany bites her lip, playing with her lip ring, and shrinks down in her seat, sounding morose and distant. "Word's getting around. People've been seeing me and Hank hanging out together and rumors are getting around..." She shrinks even more. "Now Hank's going to be a target...I can't have that happening to you too..." 01<@Ardweden> ["I'm... but... I thought you wanted to go out with Javy."] 06* Tiffany unfolds herself and slaps her hands on the dashboard, holding herself steady. "I do! I am! I...um...I think? I don't know!!!!" I just...Christina, I'm worried about you! Things are gonna get worse for me because of Hank, and I... 06* Tiffany sniffles. "I don't want things getting worse for you because of me..." 01<@Ardweden> [Christina shakes her head. "Okay." She takes a deep breath. "It probably doesn't matter, anyway."] 01<@Ardweden> [She turns into the mall parking lot and starts looking for an empty space.] 06* Tiffany pouts a bit, though she can't hold back a sniffle. "Why not?" 01<@Ardweden> ["Well... it's not like Hank even really notices me. Right? So no problem." Christina finds a space and parks!] Um... 06* Tiffany shrinks again, looking down at the floor. "I...kinda told him that you like him..." 01<@Ardweden> [Christina stares at Tiffany - good thing she already put the car into park. "What!"] 06* Tiffany shrinks away from Christina's shout, even though she expected it. "I was trying to help!" 01<@Ardweden> ["I know, but. You just told me I *can't*!"] That was before I knew all of this was coming down! 01<@Ardweden> ["And you *believed* him? One of that jerk's friends!"] It wasn't anything I didn't think was going to happen *already*, Christina! 06* Tiffany holds her arms and softens her voice, looking away. "I was just hoping that it wouldn't...is it wrong to hope for something to turn out okay?" 01<@Ardweden> [Christina stares at Tiffany for a moment longer, then sighs. "No. C'mon, let's... go shopping." She gets out of the car.] 06* Tiffany nods slightly, then gets out of the car. She looks down at the pavement. "I really think you and Hank would be good together though...much better than the queen of the bitch squad..." 01<@Ardweden> [Christina smiles - a small smile, but it's genuine. "Thanks." She heads for the main entrance.] 06* Tiffany nods. "I mean it..." She sighs. "Look, Christina...I'm not...you know...forbidding it. I just wanted you to know what you might be getting into...if he asks you out...or you ask him out...uh...I think you should take it." 01<@Ardweden> [She's silent for a moment, then she says, "Okay. Thanks for your blessing, I guess."] 01<@Ardweden> ["But it probably won't happen, so don't worry, okay?"] 06* Tiffany winces at the word "blessing" but doesn't say much about it. Instead she says "Okay." 01<@Ardweden> [As the girls head for the entrance, Tiffany notices someone leaving. It's still a bit of distance, but that's definitely Tony, hands getting jammed into his pockets, with a dark expression on his face... and he's heading right towards her.] 06* Tiffany frowns and hisses out. "Shit. Hide me." She crouches down a bit behind Christina, hands on her shoulders, as if it'll do any good. 01<@Ardweden> [Christina freezes, then glances back and down to Tiffany. "What? What's going on?"] 01<@Ardweden> [Session End!]