New Hardware; Same Software (Lip)

[Serena Varsair]

The end of the school year was an exciting but terrifying time for Serena. On one hand, no more schoolwork to worry about, tons of fun ahead...but on the other hand...no schoolwork to do. A lot more effort would need to be made to actually fill all the time she had.

And wouldn't you know, one of the things she was planning to do this summer was play some video games she had missed out on during the year. She already had her new PS4 at her dorm; but her desktop had decided to have a problem. While it was a new computer, the hard-drive in it with all of her files and games and such had been used for a number of years now. The hard-drive started having problems, so she grabbed any empty DVDs she could find and saved all of her stuff. But now her computer was torn apart and missing a hard-drive.

So, now she was at the mall, buying two new hard-drives and a few flash drives for better backup. The store sold games too so it wasn't a complete and boring waste of time alone in a mall on a weekend afternoon.

Dressed as much for the coming spring and summer as she could be in Pilot Ridge, she wore a new outfit that she was very happy with. Warm enough to go around outside with the jacket closed, but inside, she had the jacket open, proudly displaying her top and upper body. It was a sunny day, she wanted to match it. Between her outfit and her hair she had gotten more than a few looks, but she certainly didn't mind.

Leaving the store with her bags of stuff, she was looking down to double-check how much space of flash drives she had gotten, when her head and body turned gently into somebody who was traveling through the normal traffic of the mall. In the sudden, but not hard, collision, sunglasses that had rested on her forehead fell down in front of her face, as she looked up. "So sorry..." She said, her French-American accent in the forefront of her speech. Blinking from the sunglasses and the sudden change of light, she realized she wasn't looking at a stranger. "Oh, hello, Lip..."

[Philip Romano]

Lip fucking hated the mall. How some people managed to wander around this place all damn day and end up buying nothing was beyond him. What a complete fucking waste of time.

Maybe he wouldn’t mind it so much if there weren’t so many people here all the time. It was like no matter what time of day he came here, there was always a huge crowd. He figured that in such a small town it wouldn’t be this busy every single minute of the day. Granted it was the weekend… He probably should have just skipped class on Thursday and come here instead. It probably wouldn’t be that bad when everyone was supposed to be school or work.

He tried to avoid this place as much as possible, but last Saturday some dick-wad spilled fucking bright red fruit punch on his only white button down at a party. And Lip was too lazy to attempt to get the stain out; it was easier to just brave the crowd at the mall and buy a new one.

So now with a shopping bag clutched in his hand, he tried to make his way to the exit as quickly as possible, when he collided with someone going in the opposite direction. He’d sideswiped a few people already in his haste, but this girl bumped right into him. Since it was a girl, he was about to grumble a half-hearted apology (if it was another man he’d probably give him a prickly ‘watch where you’re going’) when he noticed that he actually knew her.

“Hey, Serena.” He greeted, his eyes drifting down to her shirt, or lack there of it. Was that a bathing suit top? It wasn’t fucking freezing anymore thank God, but he didn’t think it was warm enough to go swimming. Not that Lip was complaining, he was actually enjoying the view. “Haven’t seen you in a while.” He used to see her every now and then around UVM, and when he was visiting Alex at Hammel, but it had been a while.

[Serena Varsair]

Shifting her bags into her left hand, Serena slowly moved her right to her face, gently moving aside some of her red strands before pulling her sunglasses back up. "Yeah, I haven't really been to the university all that much lately..." Serena winced slightly at the idea of going there right now, and it was all just a little uncomfortable at the moment. Feelings that she wasn't sure she wanted to think or feel were trying to surface.

Trying to put them out of her mind, she checked him out up and down. Always good-looking, though he was definitely rocking the weekend look at the moment. And his eyes were not on her face despite their 1-2 inch difference in height. Of course not, she did dress for attention today, she just didn't tell anyone that. "You like what you see?" Serena said with a laugh, doing a little shake for him before trying to start moving out of the mall traffic before they were run over by someone moving a whole lot faster than she had been a moment ago.

"The mall is still adjusting to the weather getting warmer, so I figured I'd wear something more summer-y until they get that it's spring and turn the thermostat." And honestly, she was used to summers in France where wearing this was a non-issue.

"Plus I was getting really sick and tired of sweaters." Looking to his bag, she smiled and added, "How about you? Getting some clothes for the summer? Or is that for new business Lip? You are graduating, right?"

If Serena had any interest in a person, she usually remembered a few things, and she definitely had an interest in this guy (okay, well most guys, and the college guys always stood out because they had that extra couple years of masculinity usually).

[Philip Romano]

Lip shrugged, “You’re not really missing much. Except the parties; you should defintely come to one before the year’s over.” The parties were still pretty great on the weekends, but it was a pain always having to crash at his friend’s dorm when he went to them. Although if he remembered correctly, they were never Serena’s scene. Not having his own place to go home to after them was probably the only thing that made him wish he’d lived on campus; other than that he liked having his own apartment in town. He never minded the drive.

Even though his eyes were not necessarily looking at her face right now, he didn’t miss the look that gave him. His lips curved upward in a slow smirk as he let out a soft chuckle. “I always do.” He said, shaking his head. This girl was definitely something else. Not that he knew from experience, but he’d definitely heard some stories from his buddies at school.

“Yeah, it was fucking freezing this winter.” And most of spring. Honestly he wasn’t that surprised that it was taking everyone so long to catch up with the weather. The constant hot then cold temperatures were really confusing everyone. As a California boy, Lip was used to the warmer weather, and even though Napa wasn’t as warm LA or San Diego, it was still a hell of a lot warmer than it was here. He’d grown used to the cold winters over the years, but he still fucking hated the snow.

Lip glanced down at his own bag, “Just…replacing something.” He said, not really wanting to go into how someone had ruined his shirt over the weekend. He was still sort of pissed about it. “And I am graduating this year.” He wasn’t too thrilled about it; being an adult didn’t seem very appealing. Though he did have a couple job interviews lined up before graduation; hopefully he’d be able to swindle his way into one.

“And you’re going to be a…senior? You’re in Alex’s grade right?”

[Serena Varsair]

"If somebody I know is there, maybe I'll give it a shot," Serena said. Though she wasn't exactly flirting with that remark, even Serena noticed how her accent made that sound. She had been becoming more aware of it the more time she spent around Americans again. "That is," She added, clearing her throat and consciously reducing her French accent, "I don't drink, so I really prefer to be with people I know so I'm not, uh, totally awkward."

Mainly, she didn't do the partying thing because it was kinda boring. There was no real point to it other than to do nothing. If it was a dance, that's one thing. If she's there and able to talk to someone, that's another.

"Well, then, maybe I should close up my jacket. Can't have you happy," She teased as he chuckled. He had to know about how she was at this point, either from his sister or from other boys at college, right? She swore, at least the boys in Europe liked both the whole friends with benefits and actually being friends. Here it seemed she could only get one or the other, and her contact list was starting to bother her.

"I don't really care either, finding ways to stay warm isn't an issue. I just kinda like summer clothes more...y'know, like this?" She ran her free hand down through the air near her exposed torso to accentuate her point. "Can't wait to be in shorts and vests."

She was used to spending time at school in the cold and summers in the warm, so being here wasn't too different (except for the temperature dropping, of course).

"Yessir. If it weren't for all the traveling I did when I was younger, I'd probably be graduating from Hammel this year. But that's good anyway, 'cause I don't know what I'm doing in college." That wasn't entirely true, she had been kinda thinking about looking into maybe sorta potentially...becoming a nurse. But she really wasn't sure (clearly). "And y'know, I get to work with a larger boy pool for longer," She added with a laugh.

With a tilt of her head, Serena asked, "How is Alex? I was only with her for one class this semester, I've barely seen her."

[Philip Romano]

“Well, I’ll be there.” Probably. He was at most of the frat parties that weren’t overrun with the underclassmen, and sometimes at the bars around campus. “You can hang out with me. But I’m not sure how much fun you’ll have if you’re not drinking.” He remarked with a light laugh, reaching up to rub the back of his neck. The DDs never looked like they were having fun. Those types of parties weren’t really meant to be experienced sober.

“Nah…don’t close it up on my account. Wouldn’t want you getting too hot.”

Lip supposed he didn’t mind winter clothes. He wasn’t that type of person who was constantly cold; he had a pretty good internal furnace to keep him warm. Still, he preferred a much milder climate, if only because he got views like this daily. “Mmm…I can’t wait for those either.” Even though he was already wearing shorts, though that wasn’t entirely all he was suggesting.

“Ah…I see.” Lip had always been young for his class since he was born in October. He supposed now he wouldn’t have minded waiting a year so he’d be a couple months older than his classmates. That would mean he’d have another year of college and wouldn’t have to get a real job just yet. God that was going to suck. “I’ll let you in on a secret though.” He said, leaning forward a little bit. “No one really knows what they’re doing in college either.” Lip didn’t, and neither did a lot of his friends. Only a select few students were really ready for the upcoming commencement.

“She’s good. Busy.” Very, very busy. “She’s been caught up in her schoolwork and looking at colleges and stuff. I really haven’t seen her as much as usual either.” That girl was always doing something. Lip remembered her saying that her and their dad were going to look at colleges on the East coast after his graduation, and then she had a bunch of schools she wanted to look at in California or Colorado or wherever during the break. “Pretty sure she has her heart set on Dartmouth.” Alex was smart, but weren’t all those kids supposed to be like super geniuses?

[Serena Varsair]

"Well, it's not that I couldn't drink. I actually can. Like...a lot. But that's kind of the problem. My powers make drinking kinda irrelevant, at least until I'm drinking bottles at a time. And I don't like the taste that much. So why bother, right?" Serena really didn't like the taste, and she didn't actually know how much her powers boosted her tolerance, but she wasn't interested in finding out.

"Besides, that means no bedroom surprises in the morning. I like knowing exactly who I'm with." Serena added with a grin.

Serena found a bench to set her semi-heavy bag of hard-drives and video games on, and put a hand to her hip with a mock look of being offended. "Most like me hot, Lip. Plus, it's kinda hard to avoid, my metabolism burns so much I'm like a huggable space heater. Emphasis on the huggable." Maybe that's why the cold didn't bother her a ton compared to most girls she knew. Oh well, guys didn't seem to mind. Then again, she probably turned their temperatures up too.

As Lip told her his secret, she laughed lightly (and quietly) and leaned forward, "Oh, I know. Spent way too much time at UVM with you boys not to." Leaning back, she put her hands to the back of her waist, "I just have too much time, I can't just not have a plan for what I'm doing."

"That's good. My family and I haven't really talked about college yet. I know my step-dad wants me to go to one of those Ivy Leagues, but I think deep down he knows that I'm not smart enough for that." Adjusting a bikini strap as she said this, she wasn't really looking at him, "Not that I disagree. Got a lot of good qualities. Book smart ain't one of them. I can just focus for a really long time."

"Dartmouth would be a great place if she could get in, from what I know. It's well-spoken-of at least." Serena didn't really know what a good school for nursing would be. Did UVM have nursing? Would she want to go to UVM for nursing? It wouldn't be the worst area to do it in...maybe.

Serena looked from Lip to her bag of stuff. She really kinda wanted to get back to her dorm and fix her computer. That was the plan, anyway. But...she could be flexible...

[Philip Romano]

“Ah…I see.” Well that certainly sucked, not being able to drink. And here he always complained about his sore throats and occasional nosebleeds. She didn’t seem too put out about the fact though, so Lip didn’t really feel too bad. He’d certainly feel bad for himself if he was in that situation. “You get used to the taste after a while.” Lip wasn’t a fan of it at first either, but it grows on you eventually. And if it’s mixed right, it’s great. Plus the drunker you are, the less you really taste.

Lip had definitely had more than his fair share of drunken hookups. Luckily he never woke up next to someone that would have been that much of a surprise. Usually it was someone he knew or was at least flirting with the night before. No one who was too heinous looking.

“Mmm…I bet you are.” Lip said, his lips curving into a suggestive smirk. He was certainly enjoying the view. Most of the girls he’d dated or hooked up with during the winter were always fucking cold and trying to scav off his own body heat. Lip usually didn’t mind, but they could at least give him a warning before they started touching him with practically frostbitten fingers.

“I’m sure you’ll figure something out.” He said, his eyes unconsciously following her hand as she moved to adjust her top. Lip went into college as a business major because it was the logical thing to do, but his step-mom suggested going in undecided. A lot of freshmen who came in were.

Lip didn’t see what all the fuss was about those Ivy League schools. Wasn’t it really just the name that made it so special? “Those schools aren’t worth all the fuss if you ask me.” Not that she did. If Alex got in, then their dad would have no problem forking over the money for it, but Lip was sure that there were plenty of other schools that would be just as good and she wouldn’t have to break her back trying to get in.

He glanced down at the bag in her hand. At least she wasn’t one of those high schoolers who just wandered around the mall to waste time. “What’d you come here for?” He asked, nodding toward the shopping bag.

[Serena Varsair]

"I've heard. The person is usually hammered, but I've heard," Serena barely held in a giggle in memory of a time she found a friend spread out on the floor, proclaiming how great the beer he was spilling everywhere but his tongue was. Barely able to contain herself she coughed into her hand. "Sorry, I was just imagining drinking a beer. No thanks." With a light lift to her eyebrows, she smiled and added, "But I don't judge if that's what you want to do."

For some reason, Serena found herself having a hard time directly flirting outside of a few suggestive comments and a bit of flirty tone. Maybe it was the fact that they were in the middle of a highly traveled area of the mall and her ears were bleeding. Maybe her contacts weren't working properly and she wasn't getting the right signals from him. He was certainly being a bit flirtatious. "Do you want to go somewhere quieter?" Serena asked, "We are kind of in Grand Central at the moment."

"I'm sure I will," She said, noticing him watching and letting her hand drop below a boob and pushing it up slightly, "What do you think of the color? Thinking about getting more like this but I think I want other colors. Maybe a nice purple. Not lavender, you know the deep royal purple." If he was gonna watch so obviously, he was gonna get called out. That's just how it worked. And since the flirts weren't coming as quickly as usual, he'd have to settle for clothing banter.

As he turned his attention to her stuff, she couldn't help but put her finger to her lips and slowly tap them. It'd been awhile since she had to describe her geekier side to someone who at least appeared to not be that oriented. Moving her hand to her hair instead, she semi-sheepishly said, "My computer's hard drive was uh...malfunctioning, so I got a new one. Well, a new two. One for the operating system and some important stuff, and one for the rest of my stuff. And uh, maybe a few video games." Well, definitely a few games. But she was trying to gauge his reaction right now, and going into the purposes of the hard drives was already pretty far.

[Philip Romano]

Lip let out a laugh as well. She was right; you usually had to be pretty fucked up to get over the taste, especially if it was that shitty, cheap alcohol that they handed out at college parties. Lip usually brought his own stuff, since the beer always tasted like piss and the hard liquor tasted like rubbing alcohol. “It’s not for everyone.” He said, with a shrug.

He didn’t miss the suggestive undertone in her voice, and a look of hesitance briefly flashed across his face. It was busy in here, and it wasn’t that he didn’t want to leave, he definitely did. But…Serena was still in high school. Not that that ever stopped him a few years ago, but Alex would probably blow a fucking gasket. She always got weirdly possessive of her friends when he was around, probably because a few years ago a couple girls were only her friends because they wanted to meet Lip.

“We can start moving toward the door.” They were sort of in the way, so they probably should start moving toward the exit, since he was done and she seemed done as well. No point in standing in the same place and getting jostled around every three seconds.

Lip smirked when she caught him openly staring, starting to head toward the exit. “Purple would look pretty hot.” He wasn’t ashamed, she was the one wearing a bathing suit top to the mall. Clearly she wanted some kind of attention. “Maybe red.” That was his favorite color, but other than that he didn’t really have a lot of suggestions. Colors and fashion wasn’t really his area of expertise.

Lip also wasn’t very good with computers. Sure, he played video games with his friends every now and then, and he had an Xbox set up at his apartment that he played when he was bored, but he wasn’t one of those techno-nerds. “Sweet. Any good ones?” He asked, taking a peek inside her bag. Girls who played video games were hot. Well, at least the ones who looked like Serena were.

[Serena Varsair]

The way he said that, Serena didn't really know if he was trying to shut down a possible scenario or not. "Yes, the door. Sounds good," She said absent-mindedly, grabbing her stuff. None of the other UVM guys had seemed that bothered by her still being at Hammel. Like they had mentioned, she was older than the average female student, and she easily could've been starting at college in the fall had traveling not killed one of her years in school. "You know, I'm old enough for consent, you aren't robbing the cradle," Serena said teasingly, hoping that he'd hear the serious fact in the not-serious tone. As far as Serena was concerned, she had been old enough for consent since she was 16, because that's what it was in Europe. Not that she waited until then, like most Americans didn't wait for 18.

"What is it with you guys and red. I understand that it is strong and aggressive and the, uh...it was the color of the main Power Ranger. Guys loved it when I did red hair last fall which is part of why I kept these, but come on," These being the red streaks in her silver hair, one of which she grabbed and shook. As they were moving through the mall, she was moving slightly ahead of him so she could be sideways or walking backwards when space would allow. Mostly because they were talking about her top.

Instant relaxation as soon as he said 'Sweet'. She hadn't really been around him to know just how preppy he was, great to know that they could at least talk a little about it without her being totally embarassed. "Um, well, I was mostly grabbing what I had missed in the past year that I was interested in. MGS 5, Witcher 3, the newest Madden...Wanted to get a shooter, but couldn't really decide on one, so I passed." The truth was that they didn't have Star Wars: Battlefront at that shop, and Serena didn't really know much about the newest Call of Duty. And the trailer had just come out for a new one, so she was just considering waiting.

[Philip Romano]

Lip let out a light laugh at her tease, rubbing the back of his neck. Her age really didn’t bother him; she was eighteen, probably turning nineteen soon. Three years didn’t really make that much of a difference. Age-wise there wasn’t a very large gap, but the fact that she was still in high school and he was graduating from college just made it sound a little weird.

What stopped him short just a bit was his sister. Alex would be fucking pissed if she found out. “Yeah, it’s not that…” He said, running a hand through his hair. “Alex just gets mad when her friends like me.” He wasn’t really implying that Serena had a crush on him like Alex’s friends did when they were younger, but he’d never actually hooked up with on of her friends before, so his sister would probably take it like that.

Then again…they didn’t have to tell Alex.

“I just like red.” Lip shrugged, with a chuckle. “I really don’t think guys think too much into it other than it looks hot.” He’d never really thought that much more about it other than it was his favorite color. It did look pretty sexy on some girls though. “I liked when your hair was red. You should do it again.” He tugged on a few of the strands lightly with a smirk.

Lip didn’t really play enough video games; he really just played the big name ones. Madden, FIFA, CoD, sometimes Grand Theft Auto. He really wasn’t a big fan of the fantasy ones like Skyrim and WoW. Those took too much time and effort to follow along; Lip usually got bored halfway through. “I got the new Call of Duty back in December. It’s pretty good.” He preferred Madden and FIFA though, since he was more into sports.

Lip reached for his sunglasses as the automatic doors slid open for them and they stepped out into the sunlight. “Did you drive here or take the bus?” He wasn’t sure how many Hammel students had cars this year. Alex didn’t since their dad didn’t want two cars all the way in Vermont until she decided where she wanted to go college. Lip would already have to drive his Jeep across the country if he decided to go back to California after graduation.

[Serena Varsair]

"No offense, but Alex and I aren't the closest gals. Like I said, barely have seen her this semester. Plus, I'm pretty sure she knows my whole relationship status..." Using her free hand for quotation marks, "You know, the whole 'door's always open' type thing. Romance is a total non-issue." Serena laughed. She had gotten so much more comfortable saying that since she arrived.

Having used English a lot less in Europe and the general moodiness from moving that she hadn't really realized was affecting her until just recently, the whole situation had made her kind of closed off. Now she was actually starting to getting more open and cuddling more freely. Americans were still more conservative, but Serena was also kinda hard to ignore. "Then again, as far as college friends go, you would be competing with a guy with muscle control and a empath, so maybe you're just not up to the challenge?" The teasing was starting to become more fun and flirtatious as they were getting out of the store. It actually was all of the distractions around them that had been hurting it.

"You're implying guys think at all when it comes to how they think a girl looks. That's it's not just 'me see red; red good'..." That's what it felt like sometimes, but then again, she had a lot of experience so maybe she had just noticed it a lot. Or the guys in Pilot Ridge just had a thing for girls with red. As he tugged on the strands of her hair, she laughed, "Not any time soon. At least most of what I got now would be natural. Sometime in the next ten years, the only thing I'll be dyeing are these red streaks. If I still have them anyway."

"Mhm, maybe I should come over some time. Though you'd probably trounce me. I'm more of an RPG girl...except with Madden. I don't think you can handle my Madden." Serena said with a small chuckle as she put her sunglasses on as well.

"I walked actually. Somewhat nice day and I had energy to burn through," Serena replied. It wasn't like she had a car anyway. She had been told that when she decides on a college and has somewhat of a plan, she'd get a car when she graduates if the college allowed it. Serena had never really been too bothered, after all, she was used to walking a lot.

[Philip Romano]

Knowing Alex, she’d probably still be pissed. Or at the very least she would think it was really weird. He didn’t doubt that his sister knew about Serena’s reputation, but the stuff that he'd heard always came from his friends at UVM. Alex had never really mentioned that…side of Serena. Then again, both he and his sister usually avoided any and all topics that involved sex or relationships around each other. He didn’t want to know about that part of her life and she didn’t need to know about that part of his. And really, she didn’t want him to know about any guys she was even remotely interested in dating. Lip had a steady habit of subtly (or blatantly) threatening any guy who came close to his baby sister.

He shrugged, deciding that Alex couldn’t really be that mad. She’d probably never even find out…

Lip let out a short laugh, shaking his head. “An empath? That sounds like someone who’s pretty high maintenance if you ask me.” He wouldn’t be surprised if the guy fucking cried after sex. He’d briefly dated an empath in high school and she would literally burst into tears constantly. He knew it wasn’t her fault really, but it would get pretty frustrating, and then she would cry more because she knew Lip was getting mad. Eventually he just had to end it; she clearly wasn’t ready for a relationship anyway. “But I’m not threatened. I always get what I want.” He said, with a smirk. His own ability tended to help situations lean more his way. But regardless of it, he usually got what he wanted, especially in situations like this. "Are you up for the challenge?" Serena had a reputation for things like this, but so did Lip.

He chuckled, running a hand through his hair. "Come on, you know that's not what I meant." She was making him sound like one of those cavemen. "I personally just like red. You're telling me you've never looked at a guy and thought he looked good in a certain color?" She probably did, along with the majority of the population. 

“You should come over sometime. I probably would kick your ass though.” He was good at the sports-simulated games and the shooter ones; those were the only video games he would play. Still, he wasn’t one of those people who just sat in front of the television playing all damn day. He had a life, so he wasn’t a master. She very well probably could beat him at Madden, but he’d never admit it. Lip was kind of a sore loser.

Lip raised his eyebrows. “You walked?” Wasn’t Hammel like a 25 minute drive from here? “Man, you must be really committed to your computer.” He laughed. Lip was athletic, but there’s no way he’d fucking walk all the way to the mall for a couple video games. Then again, he’d had a car since his freshmen year of college, and had always known the older kids on the swim team who had cars. Getting around Pilot Ridge when he needed to had never really been a problem.

“I can give you a ride if you want.” Lip said, pressing the unlock button on his keys. His black Jeep beeped to life a few parking spots over. “To wherever you want to go…”

[Serena Varsair]

"He was sweet, and I'll pretend you didn't say that. I have very positive emotions," Serena said indignantly, though with a smile. A bit of maintenance was involved, but nothing Serena hadn't minded.

Trying to put those other guys out of her mind right now, she returned his smirk, "Oh really, is that so. Well I don't mesmerize easy...ish."

Serena was kinda torn honestly on if Lip tried to use his powers on her how it would go. She heard that strength of will goes a long way, but her penchant for focusing on stuff around her might overwhlem that. She doubted it'd come up, but it was worth keeping in the back of the mind.

"Your job is harder than mine," She teased when he asked if she were up for the challenge. Of course she was, but part of why she enjoyed fooling around was because it helped her burn energy. She certainly wasn't calm in bed. Well, cuddling, sure. In the heat of the moment, oh most definitely not.

"I know that's not what you meant. And yes, all the time. And you're probably right, by the way, about the red. Red top with black vest and some nice denim shorts would probably be pretty damn sexy." After she thought about it, she had remembered that nice black vest she had. Besides, teasing him with that mental image was fun.

"Any other sport game, I'm willing to believe you. Not Madden though. Been a football fan for 12 years and been playing Madden for a lot of it," She stuck her tongue out slighty with a toothy grin following it. To be fair, most of her practice was in Europe with a very limited selection of people who wanted to play American football...but that shouldn't make a difference.

Serena laughed at the look he gave her when she said that. "Nothing to do with my computer. I just want to get to sleep some time tonight. I'm a battery, remember?" If to prove her point, since they had left the mall, she had been really energeticly bounding while walking with him. Malls and shopping were kinda slow for her and she really hadn't burned enough energy on the day yet. Maybe Lip could solve that problem.

"Sure, I'll take a ride." She went over to the passenger side of the jeep and pulled herself onto the step, before swinging out to the hood slightly and saying, "Somewhere private sounds good...or at least more private than a mall parking lot or a metahuman academy." The warmth of the Jeep tickled her stomach a bit as she leaned in. Air was cool, sun on black paint was warm.