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"They're both okay, but not the best choice for your colouring," Ari butted in. She'd seen the girl umming and uhhing for almost ten minutes now. Normally Ari would mind her own business, but she was starting to feel sorry for the pink haired girl. Ari'd heard of crimes against fashion, but this poor girl was acting like she'd be given the death penalty for a wrong coloured shirt.

"Try this one." Ari picked the same style top off the growing pile on her arm. "Pale buttercup?" she read off the tag. She gave a shrug and tossed it at the other girl. "Whatever. Anyway, much better match for you - less competition for your hair."

Ari was a decisive shopper - when she decided to spend her parents' money, which was much more likely in cheaper, one-step-above-second-hand shops like this. From the 'sale' table nearby, several tank tops were quickly added to her pile - black, white, violet, jade, as though shopping were a race and Ari was already in last place.

She was a strange sight in a shop like this. Still dressed in her Crystal Academy uniform (despite being the weekend), people kept giving her sideways glances, obviously confused that Ari wasn't in one of the brand label stores at the other end of the mall.

"I've seen you at school, right?" Ari asked, as she moved past the girl in search of jeans. "Hard to miss that hair. Love the colour - natural or dyed?" Maybe that was a bit blunt, but Ari was distracted and her mouth was running freely without brain interference.

"Not my colour, really," Ari shrugged off the loss of the shirt. Pastels weren't really her thing. The colour had just been so unusual, she couldn't help but pick it up. It was no loss to pass it on, especially to someone it would suit better.

Ari nodded vaguely at Serah's explanation of the prices and dangers of dying hair. She felt like she was missing some essential teen girl knowledge, not knowing things like this. It had never occurred to her to change her hair colour, even though she saw so many girls doing it these days. Well, more from Meadowview than from Crystal, but Ari had been told that was what you had to expect from those Meadowview girls.

"I... don't think we're in the same grade." Ari's mouth twitched as Serah spoke of wandering school half-asleep. IT was easy to believe, if Serah wasn't even sure who was in her grade or not.

The redhead blinked at the offer of help carrying her things. "Oh. Uh, I'm good. More muscle under here than the uniform shows," she joked. Then paused and wondered if that was also 'low brow' and Meadowview-like, to have muscles. Why was school and social status and being a teenager so complicated?!

"I'm Ari," she introduced herself. "Nice to meet you, Serah."

Spying the jeans she wanted in her size, Ari whipped them out and slung them over her arm. "You need to try anything on, or do you know their sizing already?"

Ari shopped here enough to know which sizes and styles would fit her fine. But if Serah needed to try things on, Ari wouldn't mind tagging along. It wasn't like she had any girl friends from school - or anywhere, honestly - to go shopping with. Just her mother. And being steered towards frilly and girly got old fast.

It was reassuring when Serah made no snide comments, just taking Ari's words at face value. Shoulders relaxing, Ari smiled. It seemed she'd found one of the nicer girls from Crystal. She'd have to write about Serah in her journal so Ari wouldn't forget - well, as soon as her arms were free again.

"It looks like you've picked the right sizes," Ari said after a thoughtful comparison of the top Serah was holding up against herself. "I'd try them on just to be sure. Tops are always easier to judge than skirts or pants, too."

A laugh burst from Ari at the image of pink-haired Serah in a neon pink sweater. "Well, I see I'll have to come save you from yourself. What a hardship," she joked, secretly pleased to have someone to spend the day with.

"Changing rooms are over this way, when you're ready." She indicated towards the back of the store with her free hand.

"No, I haven't eaten yet," Ari said. She trailed Serah through the store down to the changing rooms. That was such a cute skirt that Serah had picked up; it made Ari wish she liked wearing skirts outside the school uniform. To her parents' dismay, Ari was more of a jeans, shorts or pants kind of girl.

The mere mention of a diet made Ari blanch. "Oh, god, no! I like my junk food too much to diet. And how could I live without chocolate?"

Exercise wasn't a problem. Though Ari wasn't about to mention what she did to keep fit. Serah seemed really open-minded, but Ari still didn't need anyone knowing she liked fighting.

"There's a cafe close by that does a caesar salad to die for," Ari leant against the wall while Serah tried her clothes on. "Terribly bad for you, of course. And decadent desserts to match."

Ari's mind blanked out when Serah took her hand and began leading her to the cash register. Slowly, a smile spread across her face. So this was what it was like to have girl friends? Or friends of any kind, really, she corrected herself. She'd gotten used to hugs and like from her parents, but there was no need for hand holding, so this was new and different. And not bad at all, Ari decided.

Paying for her mountain of clothes, Ari trailed out of the shop after Serah carrying several bulging bags.

To Serah's query, Ari replied, "I'm good for clothes, I think. There wasn't anything else I was specifically after..." But she didn't want to just leave, either. This was fun. "Were you shopping for anything else in particular? Or we could always just window shop and see if anywhere looks good."

Someitme during their stroll, Ari moved up to take the lead, instead of following. "Over here," she said, detouring off to the left. The cafe wasn't as prominently placed as some others, but they did a lot of repeat business thanks to the great food. You just had to be in the know about it, to pick it over the flashier cafes with their average-tasting food.

Taking a seat, Ari knew it would be a few minutes til a server came over to take any orders. She offered Serah a menu, waiting for the girl to take it, before opening her own. Though Ari knew what she was in the mood for, they were always adding more to the menu and it never hurt to look.

Ari had the menu closed after a five-second perusal. Nothing new, which meant she could order what she'd been craving all morning. She let Serah order first. When the waiter turned to Ari, her order was short and simple. "Caesar salad. Iced chocolate. Bring a dessert menu later."

She turned a wan smile on Serah as they waited. "Gossip? I'm... not so up on that. Bad memory combined with the fact that I didn't go to middle school with anyone else... Even on the random chance people told me any gossip, I'd never get it right to pass on."

Or maybe that was the point of gossip? Honestly, Ari felt so out the loop of girly things. Especially teenage girly things, in a snobby girls-only school.

One eyebrow shot up at the mention of Crystal girls getting together. Ari quickly smoothed it back into place. She had nothing against people of other persuasions, she'd just never met any that she knew of. Or realised that such things happened at Crystal.

"I've heard people talking about monsters and terrorists lately, but even I'd have to be dead not to have picked that up from the news already," Ari said with a quick grin. "I think there was talk about them appearing at Meadowview recently. Though who knows if that's true or not? Probably just the Meadowview kids trying to make themselves special."

Ari laughed, a bit uneasily, at the mention of being an outcast. She grinned, but looked away. It wasn't like that was a new revelation or anything, but she knew her parents worried about her not fitting in and Ari honestly had no idea how to go about fixing that - or if she really wanted to, with what half the Crystal girls were like. Serah seemed very nice, though. It was a shame she was a grade below Ari, or they might have been able to share classes or something.

"I'm glad you lack the snobbery, too," she eventually replied. "I was starting to wonder if there were any nice girls at our school. It's nice to finally meet one of them!"

Ari leant back as the waiter delivered their food. "I'm afraid I probably wouldn't know if it was a horrible sweater or not. But I doubt it's possible - with your cute looks, you could pull anything off."

Well, maybe not red, with Serah's pink hair (Ari had much the same problem with pink clashing with her red hair). But Serah hadn't been so colourblind as to try for red tops in the clothing store, so Ari thought they were safe from testing the horrible sweater theory out.