"Those get caught on everything too," Aaron argued.

Raven chuckled quietly. "Those are really in style, aren't they?"

Kandy's eyes narrowed, "A hairclip, then?" she asked sweetly.

"... He never wore then, you know." Laurel muttered quietly, still staring at the shoes.

Aaron frowned. "Even if I had enough hair, I'm sure it would get caught on everything."

"... Well, his others should have given out by now. Maybe he's wearing them now," Raven suggested.

"Earrings?" Kandy suggested, not missing a beat.

Laurel shrugged, "Perhaps." and turned away from the shoes, looking over at Kandy and Aaron.

"My ears aren't pierced - and I have no intention of doing so," Aaron explained.

"... Do you think we should help him out?" Raven asked Laurel.

Kandy rolled her eyes, "They don't have to be pierced."

Laurel shrugged again, eyes glancing back to the shoes. "What do you think he's doing?" she suddenly asked.

Aaron blinked, looking confused.

Raven shrugged. "Oh, probably on his computer doing something confusing," he guessed.

"Clip ons." Kandy explained, grabbing his arm and starting to drag him off.

"You think he's back?" she confirmed.

"Uh..." Aaron mumbled, not sure if he liked the sound of that.

"I'm sure we would have heard about it if he was," Raven explained.

Too late. Kandy dragged him over to the line of clip ons and looked at some small golden hoops. Picking out of for the left ear she held it up. "Not too sparkly and it goes with your outfit." she nodded happily.

Laurel paused and then nodded, managing a small smile for Raven. "I know... this is been hard for you." she suddenly said. "I..." she paused, "I can't thank you for it. But I can acknowledge it." she finally added, dropping her gaze slightly.

"Uh... I don't know..." Aaron replied. He obviously wasn't one for jewelry. "Will it hurt if it catches on something?"

Raven was silent for a moment before suddenly giving Laurel a big hug. "Any fake boyfriend would do the same~" he teased before letting her go. "Hey," he decided, "I think you could use some new earrings to."

Kandy shook her head, "It would just pop off." she replied before clipping it onto his ear. It was painless. She smiled, "Much better." she nodded.

Laurel flinched a little as she was glomped but slowly seemed to relax a bit in his embrace. "... I only wear earrings for my costumes." she explained after a moment, glancing back at Aaron and Kandy.

Aaron flinched a little in anticipation and blinked when he felt nothing. "... It makes that much of a difference?" he asked, wondering how such a small thing would matter.

"Then let's look for some costume earrings and maybe find a casual pair along the way," he said happily as he started back for Aaron and Kandy.

Kandy nodded emphatically, "You look much cooler." she told him glancing over at Raven as he approached, "Doesn't he?" she demanded.

Laurel glanced over the earrings, eyes drifting.

Raven laughed a little as he saw Aaron. "How the terra did you get him to put that on?" he asked, a little amazed. "I've never been able to get him to try on jewelery. Yeah, of course it looks cool on you." He put an arm around Aaron, forcing him to look at himself in a mirror.

Aaron still looked slightly unsure. "Oh, what about that one?" Raven suggested as he spotted something a little more daring. "That one looks more like you."

"It's a woman's touch." Kandy said with a sneaky grin, sticking her tongue out slightly at Raven. She glanced at the earring he pointed at and readily agreed.

Laurel was fingering a few pieces of jewelry.

Raven stuck his tongue out at Kandy back before letting her finish what she started and heading over to Laurel.

Laurel was fingering some small studs with amber stones. She glanced up as Raven walked over, "Perhaps you should get a pair of earrings yourself." she stated with a small smile.

"Hmm... maybe..." Raven mused. "Maybe we can all find a pair we like," he noted with a smile.

Laurel nodded slowly, "But who's paying?" she asked, "I don't have money for this." she admitted quietly.

Raven chuckled a little. "This purchase is on your fake boyfriend." He winked at her.

Laurel looked at him for a moment and sighed, "I'll never stop owing people." she muttered as she looked back at the earrings.

Raven blinked. "... You don't owe me anything," he tried to explain.

The pursing of Laurel's lips said she thought otherwise.

"Hey," he told her softly as he gently tried to get her to look at him. "Friends don't expect other friends to owe them anything."

Laurel slowly turned to stare at Raven. She was confused and it was written clearly on her face. She couldn't seem to wrap her mind around that notion and opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by Kandy.

"Hey!" she shouted, "I think this one's better!" She dragged Aaron over to them.

"Hey, now isn't that something?" Raven chuckled as he looked over at them. "That one brings out your eyes and your personality."

Aaron blushed a little as he began to succumb to the shopping spirit.

"Don't you think these would look amazing on Laurel?" Raven asked Kandy, motioning to the earrings that had caught Laurel's eye.

Kandy ran over and instantly started gushing, talking Laurel into trying them on. They brought out the gold flakes in her light brown eyes. Kandy continued to gush about how pretty they were on her until Laurel relented and allowed Raven to buy them for her. Someone Kandy also talked her way into buying the matching golden necklace for her.

Laurel sighed, relaxing a little as she smiled at Kandy babbling to Aaron.

Somehow, despite having the complete opposite personality of Kandy, Aaron managed to get along very well with her. When she wasn't trying to get him in sequins. Even though he was a fish out of water, he remained fairly relaxed, depending on everyone else's expertise.

Pretty soon it was time for lunch. Kandy recommended a restaurant her Dad's friend owned. "We'll eat for free." she grinned at them as they settled down to eat.

Once they'd ordered, Laurel glanced at Kandy and Aaron, "How'd you guys get here?" she asked. Kandy grinned, "Well I flew here of course, as soon as cutie called." she winked at Raven but snuggled closer to Laurel, "I haven't seen you in too long." she complained again. Laurel glanced at Aaron.

Aaron nodded. "When Raven called, I couldn't resist. Even if it meant leaving the United States."

"I picked him up." Kandy said, "We got here pretty fast so we killed some time together." she smiled happily. Laurel nodded, "I'm glad you're here for Raven." she told Aaron, heartfelt.

Aaron chuckled. "And for you," he noted. "The way he talked about you, for a little while there I thought he had become bi." Raven rolled his eyes.

Laurel blinked before her face flushed slightly and she glanced away. "... Did Dan not want to come with us?" she suddenly asked Raven, looking back at him.

"Yeah, where is this mythical 'Dani'?" Aaron asked.

"She doesn't care too much for shopping," Raven replied with a small smile. "Like always, she prefers to sit alone and draw."

About halfway through their meal, Laurel's bracelet began to vibrate. She froze, simply staring at it with wide eyes.


From Danny's room there was a loud crash, followed by a woman's scream. If there were alarms around the building to warn for incoming hovercraft, they would be going off.

Raven stopped talking, glancing at Laurel for a moment before swallowing and getting up. "I'm sorry," Raven told Kandy and Aaron as he went over to Laurel to stand her up. "We have to run. I'll call and explain later, but there's no time now." He turned to Kandy with a small smile. "Don't spoil him with too many nice things, it will go to his head."

--

Dani ran into Danny's room, while a pale-faced Cong ran to the computers to see what was coming.

Kandy forced a smile and stood with Laurel, kissing her on the forehead before backing off to stand behind Aaron.

Laurel stood as Raven guided her, she didn't seem to notice Kandy or anything except the bracelet which was vibrating on her wrist.

--

Danny was in the middle of the room. It took a moment to spot Bee, she was collapsed unconscious on the side of the room with a nasty gash on her temple. Danny had just finished unhooking himself and turned to Dani. His eyes were cold, it was clear he would get through that door in one way or another.

Cong could see a single hovercraft descending. It appeared to be armed but wasn't firing.

Raven and Aaron nodded to each other before Raven quickly lead Laurel out of the restaurant and straight to the juttle.

--

Dani swallowed, frozen in place for a moment. But then she suddenly dashed over to Bee.

Cong cussed, flipping a few switches and pressing a few buttons before running to Danny's room.

The wound didn't look too dangerous but it needed to be treated.

As Cong approached, Danny was just stepping out of the doorway. He didn't seem to see Cong as he headed towards the door.