Her internal voice had kicked out again, for the second time that day, and when it switched back on it was literally screaming. Well, "literally" in the "misusing the word literally" sort of way.

The interruption of internal voice service was the only way to explain why, by the time she heard "STOP" so loud in her head that she was surprised nobody else had heard it, she was a fraction of an inch from Shawn Spencer. Literally.

Literally literally.

The voice was obviously still struggling to assert itself, because she didn't step back or shut him down cold. Instead, she was breathing the same air he was (practically his recycled air, actually, judging from the warmth of his breath on her face) and accidentally memorizing the smell of his cologne.

"This is Shawn Spencer," said the internal voice. Rational Juliet weighing in.

"Shawn Spencer, bounty hunter," came the other, lonelier voice. The voice from this morning. Jules.

"Why did you name your other voice Jules?" nagged Rational Juliet, but Jules was too busy drinking in the moment.

"You'll hate yourself for this," said Rational Juliet.

"Later."

"Don't you already hate yourself for this? Just a little bit?"

So she made sure he knew it would be a mistake to progress beyond close talking. One of those little mistakes that would change the course of your whole life sort of mistakes. Maybe he wouldn't think so, but...

Rational Juliet had seen Shawn around lots of other women, and had no desire to be a notch on his bedpost. The sort of behavior he was exhibiting now probably got loads of lesser women to fall into bed with him. She was proud of herself for resisting.

Jules was pretty sure he wasn't all that bad. She believed people could change. People could, for instance, grow up, give up one-night stands, and become fully actualized, mature—albeit quirkishly childlike—human beings.

Even if people could change, and even if by "people" Jules meant "Shawn," it wasn't as though Rational Juliet was considering a serious relationship. Marriage. Ugh. So...conventional. Stifling. Boring. So not what she had ever, ever wanted.

"This isn't marriage. This isn't a serious relationship. This isn't even kissing," said Jules.

"You are not buying that close talking bit."

She wasn't. And when she asked what else Shawn had to say to her, she was kind of hoping it involved a lot of careful and elaborate enunciation, and a lot of words with W's in them.

But then, a half-kiss and a "Good night, detective" were enough to satisfy Jules and Rational Juliet both. Mostly. The gun and stopwatch could handle the rest.

Or at least distract Jules long enough for Rational Juliet to regain full control.

All things considered, it had been a weird day.