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Sue still wasn't sure himself what it was about Imogen that made him so... socially enabled. Most people who called him up on the phone, he didn't care to meet - not saying that a lot of people called him in the first place, but his reaction was typically uninterested. When it was Imogen, though, he instantly found himself making himself available. Maybe it was because they were both from that school - or because Imogen had been the one to be there right after, when all the trauma was bleeding off and he'd needed someone to relate to. Whatever it was though, when she'd asked to meet up, he didn't dodge it - he said yes and asked when, and that was enough.

Sue arrived at the appointed meeting spot fairly quickly - he'd left his room at the motel at just the right time to catch the bus, lucky for him. It pulled up across the street from where Imogen was waiting, and when it departed again, there Sue was, waving away exhaust fumes and glancing around. When he caught sight of Imogen across the street, he waved a hand to greet her and quickly jogged across.

"Hey," he greeted her, not quite smiling, not quite frowning. "How's it?"

"Same." And that was an understatement of great proportions. If only Imogen were clued in; what would she think if she knew about Sue's other half, the one that had whiskers? Every friendship he had, outside of the Zodiacs, was a little deceptive now. It didn't sit particularly well with him, but it was a discomfort he'd have to swallow down.

Better not to dwell on it. "School's just gotten started at Meadowview," he commented, simply for the sake of moving the topic of conversation forward. "How about for you?"

Sue didn't usually lie; not on the things that mattered. He'd tease people, sure. He'd bluff them right into oblivion if they were being stupid enough to deserve it. But when someone brought up a word like youma in casual conversation, let alone senshi, matters suddenly became serious. Too serious to lie about - too serious to tell the truth.

There were a few seconds of silence as Sue processed all this. If Imogen was getting mixed up with those things for some reason, she had one foot in the grave already. But why....

"What happened?" he asked at last, his voice softened. No mention of his own weirdness, of course - that would just be stupid.

F.... FOUR TIMES?!!!

Sue didn't know whether to be astonished or terrified. His face went sheet-white right quick, that was for sure. He hadn't even run into more than two, and he was at least somewhat equipped to handle those bastards! Was it really getting so bad, or was Imogen's luck just that terrible?

He was probably meant to be sympathetic now. Worried. Anxious. And on some level, he was; it was just that those healthy and expected feelings weren't the ones to find voice.

"Are you -- are you ******** looking for them or something?" he managed at last, sounding oddly furious. "Good God, Imogen! Don't get involved with those ********, you'll get yourself killed!"

Everyone she knew.... God. It really was that bad? Before Barren Pines, it had all just been newspapers. Terrorists, even, not monsters. Now....

Sue didn't seem to feel much better for having heard that, but he did calm down somewhat. "... One or two, yeah," he mumbled, loathe to admit anything. "********, though, really. What about your folks? Did you ever tell them about any of it?"

The subject was moving on. Sue did not want the subject to move on; he wanted to battle it out over how and why Imogen kept getting into trouble. But the more that he talked about those things, the more suspicious he himself must seem. Was this just supposed to be the way things were now? Finding out his friends were constantly walking in and out of danger, being able to do nothing about it?

It seemed that way. And for the moment, he'd have to accept it. When he had time to sort out his thoughts later, maybe he'd think of something better- until then....

"I uh. A couple, yeah," he answered after a few awkward moments. "They don't seem so bad...."

Not exactly a stellar recommendation for the senshi from Sue, but what could he say? Oh yeah, they're all idiots, but they're decent folk - I oughta know, I'm on their team! That wasn't going to work out. Better to be deliberately vague and uncertain, and hope that the conversation didn't tread any closer to the subject.

".... Are you, like." Sue stopped in mid-sentence, considering his next words very, very carefully. Such subjects as were in his mind had to be handled with care, lest they cause offense....

Then again, since when did something silly like that keep him from saying what was one his mind?

"A fangirl?" he concluded at last, eying his companion a bit warily.