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"Paris! Paris, over here!"

The DC mall was very crowded, as it tended to be every weekend. This weekend in particular, however, was a busy time. Parents were dragging children of all ages from store to store, some more willingly than others, and all in the name of back-to-school sales. Penelope had been sent by her mother alone this year as a sign of her trust, but her daughter's reassurance that she would not be alone had made it a little easier for her to do so. Of course, Lois Seneca had never met this Paris that Penelope said she would be meeting, but the way her daughter spoke of her, surely she had to be a good influence.

For her part, the black-haired teen was happy to have an excuse to see Paris. She felt the need, as she did after every battle, to check in with her teammates and make sure that they were well. She would not bring up the battle, but just the sight of her teammate, her friend, was enough to make her heart swell in her chest. Now that she had spotted him, she waved her blue Wonder Woman wallet up above her head to catch his attention from the bench she was sitting on. It was rare to see the reserved girl so animated, but... well, she was excited!

Penelope was not a touchy-feely girl--she never had been, she couldn't imagine that she ever would be. It took a great deal for her to hold someone's hand, much less hug. But there were people, the dearest to her, that would be exceptions forever, and Paris was one of them. When he initiated the hug she latched onto him with something very close to desperation, refusing to let go until she felt him pulling away. She needed the feeling, needed to know that she would not lose him again.

She easily fell in step with Paris when he began to move, and she couldn't help but smile at the at his imitation of his mother. "I'm glad. I came back to school shopping with my Mom last year, but... well..." She blushed, tucking a bit of her dark hari behind her ear. "Having to explain away the bruises was hard, you know? And... Mom wants me to try on everything, even if I'm sure I won't like it. I mean, she tries, but... it's different with you here." Easier. Less pressure.. More of a chance to have fun--yes, even with the dreaded clothes shopping.

It did her heart good to hear Chris spoken of with such ease, as it meanthe was well too, but she stammered at the thought of complaining about school, "You certainly have the right, but... but I just think it must be so exciting! to go to college! Maybe... maybe scary too, of course, but nothing you can't handle, I'm sure!"

"Grades aren't the only way of showing that you can handle something," Penelope pointed out, side-stepping a mother and two children--one of them on a leash, she couldn't help but notice with a disparaging shake of her head. The kid wasn't a dog for goodness's sakes! She reclaimed her position beside Paris as quickly as she could, stopping only momentarily to look at a tasteful top made of emerald colored chiffon. So pretty... but nothing she could justify spending her parents' money on, not when she'd have no real occasion to wear it. Peneloe liked the Crystal Academy uniform, on the whole, and the thought of it made her remember to get new tights to wear beneath her skirt.

The whining pitch was definiely apparent in Paris's voice, but his friend only nodded in sympathy of his plight. She tried to keep her own voice soothing, which was hard when she had to speak above the peripheral noise of all the people around them, "Well... maybe if you take the math and the science in the first semester, that just means you'll have more time for dancing later? I can definitely see where it'd be scary, but... you're going to do amazing things, I'm sure." Then, with a shy grin to show she was kidding, "And to make sure of it, we're going to get you amazing supplies!"

"I have to take Calculus and Chemistry this semester, so I definitely understand that pain," Penelope confessed, a small crinkle of distaste appearing in her nose. She was far, far more a literature person, herself, even if she knew that through sheer hard work she could succeed. It would just be... a lot of hard work. She considered what Paris was saying about supplies and contrasted it to her own needs, and she ticked off on her fingers, "Well... if you want multiple notebooks and that works well for you, then I think that's probably best? I use a binder with different colored, pocketed dividers for my different classes because it helps me make sure that I remember to bring everything everyday. But, really, only you know what works best for you!"

One thing she was fairly certain of, and she nodded emphatically, "If you think your old laptop will die in the middle of classes or it's not compatible with whatever e-resources your teachers and libraries have, then you probably should! I mean... I know it's really expensive to get all at once, but it'll pay off in the long run if it helps you remain less stressed and more able to do your work."

Then, as if to try and cover all of her bases, the teen murmured, "Well... but I'm sure the university library will have computers available to use too, for emergencies. But probably a lot of students will be trying to use them at the same times and--oof! I'm.... I'm sorry!"

Having to maneuvar around one-too-many people had taken its toll as the dark-haired girl walked straight into a sixteen or so year old guy holding bags from Hot Topic and Gamestop. He had been holding a triple macchioto with double expresso whip and chocolate sprinkles too, but that was now half on the floor and half splattered across his Gears of War t-shirt. Penelope began another apology but was cut off by his angry, "You stupid b***h, why aren't you watching where you're going?!"

"Oh... Oh, Paris, it's really..." Penelope tried to intervene, she really did! She lowered her voice to where their troublemaker couldn't hear, even as she fretted, and she placed a hand on Paris's arm. "These kinds of people... well, they can't be reasoned with, can they?"

Their antagonist turned a shade of red as soon as the blonde chick in front of him began an avalanche of insults, and the longer it continued, the angrier and angrier he got. Red went to scarlet, and scarlet to purple, and the comment about the girlfriend? Well that was just enough, and the way he raised his hand to prepare to backhand the b***h proved it, "Alright, slut, you've WAY had it coming. You want to throw down? Let's throw down!"

The teen girl looked back and forth between the coffee-stained teen and her friend, her eyes wide. He was trying to lay a hand on Paris[?! Oh no. Some things just did not stand. She could have handled the anger directed at her. She deserved it. She had bumped into him, made him spill his undoubtedly expensive drink. Had he just waited and let her finish, she would probably have dug out some of the cash in her wallet to buy him a new one. But now, when he was trying to assault of her friend? The same friend who had fought with her in battle, who fought so that people like this ungrateful wretch could live? Never.

Penelope wasn't even aware at first how quickly she moved in between them, and she heard the slap and felt the stinging of her palm before she ever realized she had raised it. It had been a long time she had slapped someone, but she did not back down. Her normally soft voice had a sharp edge, "Leave Paris alone!"

Penelope all but trembled when she felt her friend's hand on her shoulder, and she forced herself to look directly into the bully's face. He was just a miserable soul, one that wanted to take his misery out on other people. She was kind, and soft, but she had already judged him as unworthy of her time. And if he was unworthy of her time? He was certainly[ unworthy of Paris's time. Yet Paris gave it in spades all the same, and her response? She gave a disdainful sniff whenever he indicated that they should go and began to walk as she nodded her agreement.

She managed to hold her head high until they turned the corner... and then Penelope turned frantic maroon eyes to her friend as she gushed, "Oh Paris, I'm so sorry! It was all my fault, and he said such awful things and he was going to hit you and I just... I just couldn't help but step in, even though I know you had it under control and... I'm sorry!"

She sucked in a breath, and her face flushed hot as she went back to her more timid demeanor. The bit of steel that had risen within her had sunk back benath the surface, and she bit her lip anxiously as she looked to her friend. What a terrible way to start their back to school shopping. Now Paris was never going to want to hang out with her again!

Awesome? Her friend thought that she was awesome?! That made Penelope blush for an entirely different reason, even as she murmured a protest, "Oh no, I mean... it wasn't anything special, and it could have even made things worse. I mean, what if he was in a gang or something?" Still, she didn't seem too upset over the situation.

The reserved girl had been teased and ridiculed her fair share of times as well, and her parents had always had a very definite stance about how she was to respond. Granted, it was her own, natural response, they just reinforced it. Go get someone in charge. Go to sommmeone with proper authority. Then, and only then, did you take matters into your own hands. Now, Penelope broke that rule sometimes, usually around young men heckling her for whatever reason, but it had stuck with her.

Standing up for others, though... that was far easier. She just hadn't really had anyone to stand up FOR until Harper became her friend... and then all the others had followed. Paris and Chris, Tallulah and Christa, Gwen, Aurora, and so many... so many others that she didn't deserve but that she couldn't stand back and watch get hurt. To hear that Paris felt the same way... it made her heart swell every time, no matter how often it occured. She half-bounced on the balls of her feet, even if her voice stayed at its normal, soft tone, "I know. You're always looking after me... and I appreciate it, really, I do. I want... I want to look after you, too." Then, because she thought that might sound a little weird, she added, "Not that... um, I mea, I know you can look after yourself, like I said, but... because.. you know... you're my friend."

Then, after a moment of silence, she asked, "So... um, you want to go see if we can find out if you need a new laptop? I think there's a store for that right next to where I buy my tights..." Paris's computer needs first; her comfort needs later. Seemed win win, and much more pleasant than the situation they had just left.

"Maybe... maybe you're right," Penelope replied with a smile at the gang comment, but she was more positive about the duties of friends. She didn't object at all when he looped arms with her. "Yes... yes of course!"

Then he mentioned rocking pairs. Oh dear. Yes, Penelope wore tights under her uniform--a fear of having her skirt fly up unexpectedly that she would never admit to openly ensured that. But she didn't want to wear anything too crazy, or too showy, and Paris was so... well, he was so stylish and so much bolder in his style. Yet, after the momentary flare of panic, she settled herself. Paris had a great eye, and a much better understanding of what she could and couldn't pull of then her Mom. She trusted him--even with tights. Besides, he seemed excited about it, and she was more than willing to follow his lead, "O-okay."

The store turned out to be not just a place for tights and other accessories, but also for fine shoes. The Crystal Academy student had never really looked at them because they were very high fashion, and hence very expensive, but they also had the most darling tights. Opaque and sheer, detailed and plain, and in a variety of colors. Very sturdy, too, which was equally important of course. She headed towards those racks immediately and picked up the three essentials: white, black,and nude. Only then did she start to look at the prettier patterns, and she mused, "Oh, now this is the hard part... there's so many nice things here!"