Claire had no idea where to go, so she spoke out the first thing that came into her mind, which happened to be the first thing she saw, which happened the window view of an arcade right across the road.

Granted, she was never really a big fan of the arcade, and she didn't think Roxanne would hear her the first time she said it...

"Claire! This has got to be the best idea you've ever had, ever!"

But as they say, the contract had been signed, and now she had to deal with an excited Roxanne, whose excitement was equal to that of a child on Christmas morning... multiplied by two.

The theory was proven when Roxanne pulled her into a bone-crushing hug, managing to lift her up in spite of her short stature, and knock the wind out of her.

"C'mon! We've got to try out everything!"

... As the world icon Courage the Cowardly Dog said; The things I do for love.

The employee looked startled when he saw two teenagers - or, in Roxanne's case, an eight years old stuck on a teenager's body - putting ten dollars on the counter for entry.

One exchange later, Claire and Roxanne was ready to take over the arcade.

Claire got destroyed at Mortal Kombat, despite the help of the internet telling her all of the powerful attacks to use. She was no match for Roxanne's far superior button mashing.

"I am immortal!" Roxanne had shouted after their third game, which prompted Claire to quickly pull her into another game, a game where she wouldn't get thrashed so humiliatingly, which happened to be a shooting game where you had to work together to kill the zombies.

... Roxanne got 1200 points, while Claire got 250 (she missed and shot one of the zombie's arm, giving her half a point, and Roxanne finished it off before she could do anything.)

"Wowzers, if this journalism thing doesn't work out for me, maybe I should be a cop!" said Roxanne, posing like a poster of a James Bond film - and failing dramatically, at that. "Or maybe just a plain old serial killer."

"No."

Roxanne pouted like a child being denied its candy. "But I'll be good at it."

"No."

Roxanne's faux pout turned into a real one. "You know I'm only joking, right?"

She smirked. "I do."

"Then why are you ruining it with your bland grounded realism?"

"Because I like crushing people's hopes and dreams and watching them suffer."

Roxanne froze, her face falling. "Are you joking?"

It was Claire's turn to pout. "Can't you tell?"

"No. I cannot. Don't ever joke again." Roxanne's face was dead-serious, which discouraged Claire even more, because really, are my jokes really that bad?

"It is." Claire blinked, and her face must've adopted a questioning look because Roxanne chuckled. "I've known you for five years, Claire. I know you more than I know myself."

And I you, she wanted to say but scoffed instead, not giving Roxanne the satisfaction of being right. The girl had enough ego to fill up three trucks, she wasn't going to help overload those trucks, in fact, she was going to empty it... by getting her revenge, getting a full, perfect score on the basketball game.

"Damn." Roxanne clapped and gave an impressively loud whistle, after getting over the fact that she had zero throwing skills. "Just... damn."

Claire, the introvert, said nothing, but her eyes lit up with a new sense of determination, and suddenly she really did want to conquer this arcade.

In the end, they played five more games. In that time, Claire discovered that one; she was slightly less terrible at DDR than Roxanne was, but still managed to make her ancestors hang their heads in shame, and two; DDR was harder than she thought.

They went to the counter, and were genuinely surprised when the employee revealed that they could take almost any prize with how many tickets they had won.

The highest prize they could get was this laser sword thing from those Sci-Fi movies that Roxanne always watched.

But Claire thought the teddy bear with the tux, the tophat and the monocle looked cute and fluffy... and she kind of want to hang it in her room...

It took Roxanne one look to know what she wanted, and Claire was reminded for the hundredth time that Roxanne was smarter than she let on and cared about Claire just as much as Claire cared about her.

"The bear with the good taste in fashion, please!"

The employee, having been watching them goof off and act like total idiots, had this numb look on his face, like nothing would surprise him anymore now that he'd seen all there needed to be seen. "Sure. But you have a couple of tickets left, you can buy these snacks."

Roxanne had chosen M&M rip-offs, because the real M&M weren't there and it was one of the few snacks they shared a liking on. Even then, Claire prefered the peanut coated chocolates over the classic ones.

Roxanne had an argument with the ticket-seller because she wanted a discount and the ticket-seller couldn't give them any. Claire dragged her off from him before things could escalate, but then she had to be dragged off by Roxanne when he said some rude, untruthful things about Roxanne.

"Whatever," Roxanne said, adjusting her glasses and trying to look aloof by adopting an uncaring expression. "Buses suck anyway!"

Claire, not caring much, agreed with a simple knowing hum.

Ten minutes later, Roxanne, skipping with each step, seemingly sending flowery, childlike vibes everywhere, grinned, looking back at Claire, who walked in a slower yet controlled manner. "Claire, you rocked that arcade!"

Claire, hugging the teddy bear to her chest, grinned back a smaller, equally genuine grin. "You were cool too."

"You were a total babe!" Roxanne jumped, then stopped to turn around and look at Claire, a maniacal glint in her eyes, making them look more gold than hazel. "In fact, you could say you're an... Arcadia Bae~"

The streetlights blinked themselves awake.

Next to them, on the small road, a car passed by.

"Umm... that's good?"

Roxanne's body deflated, showing her disappointment expressively. "I forget how fandomless you are sometimes."

Claire rolled her eyes, knowing where this was going. "Well, I mean, I'm not really into movies or shows like you are. I enjoy them, but..." she gave Roxanne a look, "I don't obsess over them like you do."

Roxanne, predictably, glared. "Oi! I don't obsess over them, thank you very much. I appreciate them artistically." Roxanne was many things, an artist wasn't one of them. "Plus, it's not like you're not into anything."

"Oh, really? What am I into?"

Roxanne jumped to her, shattering her bubble of personal boundaries, their noses literally touching, causing Claire to stumble and hug the teddy bear tighter.

Someone twisted the 'OPEN' sign around on the shop next to them, turning it into a 'CLOSE' sign. A man took a long drag of smoke a couple of feet away, yet even so, she could faintly smell the awful smell of cigarette. Another car passed by, disobeying the speed limit.

Roxanne had the most 'Roxanne' grin on her face.

"Lame music."

Claire glared, giving her friend a push that sent her stumbling back. "Country isn't lame!" she said as Roxanne giggled. "It's not!"

Country wasn't the only music she listened to, but it was the only one Roxanne always made fun of.

They 'debated logically' about why country was better than pop music for the rest of the journey home - they both had quite strong arguments and counter-thoughts on the matter - and as they entered their apartment building, the debate shifted into why listening to pop repeatedly killed your brain cells, and why liking pop was the same as voluntarily giving yourself cancer.

Once inside, they weren't even arguing about anything, Claire was whining about how disappointing it was that all of her favourite singers were dead.

"I mean, John Mayall was awesome! I wish I could've attended at least one of his concerts." Claire opened the door, and Roxanne barged in, sprawling out on the sofa. Claire paused. "Wait, is John Mayall even dead?"

"Use the internet, sistah!" was the helpful advice.

After one google search, Claire gasped, squeezing the teddy bear so hard, if it were alive, it would be choking. "Holy crap, he's not dead!"

Roxanne chuckled. "How old is he? Like, eighty?"

"Eighty-five."

And with that, Claire's brain stopped working, and Roxanne had to ease her into the sofa, and gently tell her to "please keep yourself updated on worldly events, next thing you know, you'll have a heart-attack knowing Freddie Mercury is dead."

Claire, in fact, had no idea that the world's most famous frontman with a love for bicycles and wanting something so much was dead up until a few moments ago, but she refrained from saying anything. One scolding from her best friend was enough for today.

Crystal City wasn't busy in the day, but it went completely quiet in the night. Crickets, clock-ticks, and the whirling sound of the heater doing its job, preventing the room from turning into one giant popsicle.

Roxanne happily put the teddy bear next to the TV, displaying proudly like a trophy.

Then, Claire saw the smile from her face slowly dimming, and knew instantly what she was thinking.

"Rick would never try to hurt you," she said, more of a comfort than actual honesty.

Claire didn't know Rick that well, and frankly, she didn't like him. She got Roxanne into all kinds of trouble, and despite Roxanne's words that she wouldn't get into 'trouble' trouble, that didn't mean Claire wasn't worried when she found the two of them playing with fireworks. In broad daylight. Near a kindergarten, of all places. A freaking kindergarten.

However, no matter how much of a dislike she held towards him, she couldn't argue that he had some good influence on Roxanne, like teaching her never to get wasted on parties or sleezy people would take advantage of her, and never picking a fight unless she intended to finish them.

He was also one of the few people who encouraged her to try and work at Wow News because of her eye for the truth, despite her being only fourteen at the time.

"Why is everyone hiding things from me?"

Roxanne's voice, so small and so scared, pulled Claire out of her thoughts.

And suddenly Claire realized that maybe she and Rick weren't that different after all.

"Maybe it's to... protect you."

Roxanne snorted, and Claire felt stupid because of how cliché that sounded.

Roxanne put away her glasses, and some of the childlike qualities in her face left her. There was a light bag under her eyes. Claire had always found it interesting how Roxanne's eyelashes were as curly as her hair. Roxanne had admitted that they always got tangled when she slept, and made it harder for her to open her eyes waking up.

Claire started to believe Roxanne's excuses of "I can't get up, my eye won't let me" a lot more now.

Claire missed how they were moments ago, where they were kids again and her biggest concern was John Mayall not being dead. How the heck did they end up here?

"This is bigger than I thought." A rueful chuckle rang out, one that seemed unfitting to have come out of such a lovely girl. Claire hadn't heard Roxanne act like this for a while. "Jeez, now I've got to uncover this."

That sprang her bolt upright off the couch. No, no way. "Rox, what the-? Are you listening to yourself?"

After Rick's threats, him, unsubtle and taken off-guard, spilling all of these truths on her, Claire had hoped that Roxanne would finally drop this wild chase. Well, maybe not at first, but that had been partly why Claire had dragged her off of to the arcade, because she knew that once Roxanne had calmed down, she'd think things rationally and realize the kind of danger she had wanted to willingly involve herself in.

Claire expected the day to end with a rational conclusion, an end to a chapter Claire never liked in the first place.

What she, instead, got was renewed determination and vigor.

Roxanne met her glare with a challenging stare, equally, if not more intense. "I am, Claire. You might think this is some kind of joke, but it's not. I have to find her or else-"

Hazel eyes widened at the same time Claire felt her own one widening.

The room was silent, so much so that Claire could hear the beginning of the rain, the soft 'tap tap tap' of the cloud's tears hitting the roof.

There was a certain atmosphere in the room that had never been there before, not even in their many arguments before.

It was new. Claire didn't like new.

But, as much as she wanted to pretend she didn't hear that, Claire knew the tension would stay unless she approach it and needed answers herself.

"Her?"

Sitting down, Claire felt small. A few steps away, Roxanne looked so far away.

"I think our hero is... a female."

Claire's breath cut short. A shiver ran through her body despite them not forgetting to close the window today. Her hands, linked together, were clammy, as though she'd drowned them in butter.

"How? How can you possibly know that?!"

She hadn't meant to yell that loud, but it was too late now.

Roxanne flinched but didn't look surprised, as though she'd been expecting this anger. It made her even more mad.

"I don't know, I just do, okay?"

Claire's anger was put aside, as a more pressing matter made itself apparent; Roxanne was telling the truth. Claire knew because after all the time they'd been together, it would be a crime not to know when Roxanne lied.

Roxanne was upset and... scared. She hugged herself, standing in the corner of the room as if that would make her disappear. Her glasses wasn't put on, meaning Claire could see the full extent of her conflicting emotions.

Claire looked down on her two hands, noticed she was fidgeting, and made them into fists. She dragged down her head, resting her fists on it.

Her eyes were closed when she asked, "This isn't just about uncovering the truth, is it?"

The footsteps she heard indicated Roxanne was pacing in a frantic manner.

"I guess..." A clipped inhale. "I really don't know. I want to uncover the truth. I mean, you know me. I like telling stories that actually happened to people, showing a different side, a fresh perspective." There was a pause, and when Roxanne spoke again, the words were spoken slower. "It's... it's why I love being a reporter. But..."

Claire couldn't take any more of this hiding.

It was hard to guess what Roxanne was thinking. She always had such a big brain, so full of wonder and color. It became a chore just to keep up with her train of thoughts, sometimes.

And at times like these, when Roxanne was gazing out in a distance, into another world which only she could see, it became impossible for Claire to know what was going through her head.

"Tell me."

"... Don't laugh at me."

Claire laughed a soundless laugh. "It depends on what you want to say."

"Claire." It was a plea. It filled Claire with guilt.

"... I won't make fun of you."

The rain outside became angrier. It seemed to be synching with Claire's emotions.

Roxanne's voice, drowned by the rain, echoing in the room, was hopeful, wistful. It was a tone Claire had never heard before. And hearing it now, Claire felt a sense of rage and lost stirring in her gut. It made her feel sick. She wished she could rewind back in time and stop herself from ever mentioning 'Rick', letting the day end in a seemingly happy note even if Roxanne was far from happy.

"I feel like... I feel like there's a connection between us. This weird connection I have with her that's... important." Claire didn't want to hear this anymore. She regretted pressing this matter. "Like, super ultra important. I've always have this feeling since... I don't know. I just, one day I woke up and I have this feeling." Stop. Please, stop. "And ever since these incidents began to show up, I just know it's her. I know I sound insane," she didn't, not to Claire, "but... this feeling's what led me here, knowing about her existence, coming up with this theory. I mean, sure, all the info-gathering help, but..."

"There's no way you came up with this on logic alone." The adrenaline from the arcade and the walk after was still rushing, faint, but there. It clashed dangerously with the growing numbness that enveloped her.

Claire wanted to say something and drown herself in her headphones, a sea of music allowing her to drift from reality.

Instead, she was forced to listen as her friend said things that... that...

Claire didn't know what to think.

"I can't keep it bottled up." A small part of Claire realized how shaky and full of emotions Roxanne's voice was. "I thought... I thought I'd finally learn more about her today. I know nothing about her, Claire, and she's this city's hero. I can feel it. I can feel her. She's out there, and..."

"And...?"

"I'm terrified for her."

And at that moment, Claire realized she had to take action, lest Roxanne fell into a pit of no return.

...

Beta Reader and Editor: FeugoFox42 (From FF.Net)

...

Welp. Another layer opened. Another weird thing. Claire will never admit it, but she loves the arcade as much as Rox does.

I wanted to show you readers a little more of Claire and Rox being gal pals, hanging out and doing normal stuff. A bit of 'normal' inside all of this craziness. So... yeah.