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"Th-thirty sounds great!" Gwen wasn't sure what to say, as the price he threw at her was just as startling as the rat... purse... that went scampering in front of them. She had expected Jett to either knock the poor rat out or throw something heavy on it, but she was more than thankful when he blockaded him from falling off of the counter. Without hesitation, she grabbed her purse, and the troublesome rat in it, and the look she gave to the creature inside of the purse could only be described as a great kaiju charging its eye lasers. "Micah, what were you thinking, you silly little rat? The counter is no place for your paws!"

It took a moment to re situate the purse, all the while trying to address Jett in a polite manner, despite her embarrassment. "I'm so sorry that happened! Micah gets stir crazy sometimes if I don't give him my full attention and he likes to explore new areas."

Finally, she got the rat to cooperate and zipped the purse back up, this time making sure to place the zipper on the outside. She wasn't sure if Jett was humored or insulted by the recent event, but she apologized nonetheless. "I'm sorry... I can clean off the counter for you if you like to make up for it. Micah's not filthy, but I wouldn't want rumors to spread and hurt your business."

'Bringing Micah was a stupid idea...' Gwen told herself, trying to laugh off the incident on the outside though knowing that her cheeks were still red with embarrassment. The hiff she heard from the purse told her that while she was apologetic, Micah was not. "But yes, thirty sounds great!"

"Thank you... most people would freak out..." Gwen held her purse and Micah close, unimaginably thankful that Jett seemed more amused about the incident. She recalled several moments where Micah had escaped his confined purse and ran amok, as there were several stores here in Destiny City that she had managed to get chased out of within her six months of living here thanks to his antics. Most of them were actually humorous events, in retrospect, but she was thankful that she wouldn't be chased out of here. "One time he had gotten out in a second-hand book store and had already started chewing on one of those really heavy encyclopedias before an old lady noticed him. She nearly had a heart attack..."

In truth, she was surprised that Micah himself didn't have a heart attack, recalling the book being thrown across the room and somehow coming out of the ordeal without a scratch. She chuckled at the memory, before pulling her attention back towards him. "Though maybe you should give Micah a good punch; maybe that'll make him learn his lesson like that robber?"

It was a joke, and she was certain that Jett would get it and not take it too seriously. If Jett DID punch Micah, the poor rat might have exploded all over the place. "Yes, wrapped and bagged, please! You -sure- you don't want me to clean the counter? I really wouldn't mind..."

'He's catching onto me... which makes him handsome, strong, and clever. I better watch out!' Gwen subconsciously tugged at one of the long, white bangs that hung over her chest before pulling her wallet out from her pocket, rat free and safe from mugger's hands (unless they wanted a sexual assault to a minor charge on their record). She pulled two tens and two fives from the wallet, keeping her purse and Micah tucked safely beneath her arm, on the off chance that Micah wasn't done with trying to cause trouble. "Micah's caused some ruckus like that in the past, but I try to keep a better eye on him. Usually."

She could go on and on for hours about her Micah's exploits, but she didn't want to risk boring him. Instead, she seemed to grow curious about the Micah that Jett had known, and she wasn't afraid to ask as she handed him the money. "I tell you what, Micahs are probably German for 'trouble'. Does the Micah that you know like trouble too?"

Her purse vibrated but this time it was her phone, but she ignored it. It was likely Maddy again... though why she'd be calling her now was none of Gwen's concern. 'You can go to voicemail! I'm having a talk with a handsome, most awesome fellow!'

Gwen couldn't help but laugh, holding her purse close and trying to ignore the vibrations from her phone. She could only imagine Micah's displeasure, as he'd likely be biting at the vibrating device to try and silence it himself, and this made it even harder for Gwen to ignore the phone. Seconds later, it ended, and she nodded, hoping that he didn't notice her phone. "He's lucky, all right. He could have been snake food, had..." Gwen had to pause, thinking of how she wanted to word what she was going to say- she didn't want to tell Jett the origins of Micah's name... that was far too many Micahs to remember! "My mom's husband not bought him. He also gets to explore many new places, too... so, he's rather spoiled, I think!"

Once again, the phone began to vibrate, the constant hum letting Gwen know that she was calling again, and not leaving a voice mail. It was going to be hard to ignore this one, so, reluctantly, Gwen opened the purse and retrieved her phone. She apologized before bringing it to her ear, trying her best to sound as civil as possible despite how Maddy was, once again, interrupting her. "Sorry... I swear, she has some sort of weird sixth sense when I'm talking to guys. Hey, Maddy, what's up?"

She was certain that Jett could hear her voice in crystal clear quality, as Gwen's ears were assaulted by her angry words again. Though her anger wasn't without merrit, "Gwen! Where are you this time? Did you take that $80 I left on the table?"

"I'm... out and about, you know how I am." Gwen patted Micah on the head as he poked his head out once more, looking dead at Jett with black, beady eyes. That nose of his wriggled, trying to take in his scent and examining it; if rats could have intelligent thoughts, one could swear that the rat was judging him. "What money?"

"Don't give me that! You know that money was for groceries- Mom was running low this month and Micah doesn't get paid until next week. What did you go buy? Another game? You have a million of them!"

Gwen could feel her rage swelling, but she tried to keep calm, both for Jett's sake and Micah, who continued its cold stare. What Gwen WANTED to do was yell back and tell her exactly what she got, but she bit her tongue until Maddy was finished. Finally, Micah retreated back into the purse after a snort, and Gwen sighed. "I didn't buy any games with it... I'm coming home, alright? Bye."

Without waiting for a goodbye, she hung up the phone and turned back to face Jett, nothing but the sweetest smile on her face, to betray the hot anger in her eyes. "And now I'm grounded. Forever, probably. I should get going before she grows ten times her own size and starts wrecking the city... I'm sorry if you had to hear any of that."

Gwen honestly wasn't sure what to say or how to respond, as she wasn't sure which one she was more surprised with: him openly admitting to eavesdropping, or him returning the money to her. Both of which bothered her, but she wasn't angry at him. She didn't take the money back, at least not immediately. "I'm no wiz at economics, but wouldn't this hurt the business? I mean, of course I'd pay it back, but what if it got you in trouble? Or fired?"

She looked down at the items she purchased and without hesitation, brought them up and held them out for Jett to take. "It's okay. I can always come back for these later. I don't want to risk you getting fired or anything if your boss finds out!"

Gwen knew that she should have just taken him up on his offer and returned later to pay him back, but her conscious wouldn't allow it. What kind of senshi, no, person would she be, if she did this? What if something happened and she COULDN'T pay him back? She was already embarrassed beyond belief; she could deal with Maddy going giftless for another week, right?

Gwen was still reluctant to take the bag back, but given his well-sound argument and his actions, it would have been rude of her to decline it. She fought down the shame as she accepted the bag once more, uncertain of what exactly to say besides shower him with a million thank you's. She had a feeling that doing that would only agitate him, but that didn't stop her from throwing out at least one. "No, I'll definitely have the money by next week, I promise! Thank you, Jett!"

Fearing that her sister would call again or his boss would come storming in at the wrong moment, Gwen figured now was the best time to make her exit. Getting back home to Maddy with ALL of the money in toe, as well as her birthday gift, would definitely put her back into her sister's good graces again...

"So, I'll be back in a week. You'll be here, right?" She asked, not making her way towards the exit until she knew when he'd be available. "Same time next week?"

Micah's furry nose could be seen through the mesh, but not so much its intense gaze. It had Jett's scent, and it would not forget it... nor how his human had that same scent on her weeks ago that night. He remained hidden, while Gwen stood in the doorway, waiting for an answer.

"Don't worry... I'll hold onto this purse with an iron grip!" Gwen called back, holding the purse and the bag with bracelets close as though to dare anyone to try to take it from her hands. If they tried, they'd be in for a rude awakening; Gwen was certain of that. "Thank you again... see you next week!"

Without another word, Gwen pushed the door open and quickly disappeared into the streets. She wasn't sure what to make of the situation, but she was certain that Jett had, once again, saved the day for her. The week before he rescued Micah from being kidnapped, and now he's saving her from having to face Maddy's wrath and going hungry for the week. 'He's either a superhero, or a Senshi... either way, he's a hero in my book. Just another excuse to see him again later...'

It was a great opportunity, and Gwen liked opportunities...