(I don't own the series)

Another shot failed.

"Rex, how can you keep saving the world and not shoot a basket?" Noah asked the Hispanic teen standing about ten feet away. "It's kind of annoying at this point."

The two boys played basketball on an empty court on the edge of town, enjoying the lightly filtered sun on a cloudy day. Holiday had given them free leave, and EVO sightings had been far less frequent than usual lately- at least, the dangerous ones. Minor EVOs remained abundant, but Rex was only called for drastic missions, so it was best to let the soldiers handle things for now.

"Can it," the young EVO shot back, throwing the ball at Noah. "Let's see you try again, Mister Perfect. You can't do it three times in a row."

But the sight of the ball cleanly falling right through the net defied his expectations.

"Maybe this is my EVO power," the blonde joked, catching the ball and rolling it around on his arms.

Rex snorted. "Mine are way better, then."

"Whatever. Let's just go out to town and chill. We've been playing- sorry, I've been winning for two hours. Getting kind of boring."

The two friends made their way into town and eventually made their way to a local shopping strip, deciding to skip lunch for now. They entered a nearby mall and wandered around the brightly lit halls, wondering if they had enough money to spend on something worthwhile. True, spending time with each other was the real value of the trip, but as soon as they passed a game store, they couldn't help but walk inside and explore.

"Video games are getting weirder and weirder everyday," Noah murmured, picking up a case adorned with images of murderous unicorns. "GoreHorn 2. There's a GoreHorn 1?"

"I'm just gonna stick to the classics," Rex informed him, trailing his fingers across various car themed cases. "The ones where I win, in other words. Look, here's Crash And Burn!"

"Isn't that the supernatural driving game?"

"Yeah, no, it's the one where you race against real life crazy people from history. I've seen it in ads and stuff. It's supposed to be really violent and stuff."

Noah raised a brow. "Think Holiday will let you buy it?"

Rex shrugged, then patted his pockets. "Please, I live and breathe violence. But I don't have the money for it anyway, so Doc's opinion can't really do anything right now. Let's just go check out another store."

They left the shop empty handed, thanks to the lack of green in their pockets, and exposed themselves to the winding hallways once again. The mall was less crowded than usual that day, and for a good half hour, they enjoyed the extra leeway for movement. The two discussed their tastes and joked about their lack of skills for a while, but their humorous exchanges were soon interrupted when Rex bumped into a passerby.

"Oops, sorry," the boy apologized, but his eyes widened at the sight of the familiar figure before him.

Her slim figure was unaffected by the minor collision, and her composure remained normal. Not even her two toned hair was knocked out of place, though the normally scarlet strands at the bottom seemed to have faded away into a milder orange.

"Hey, Rex," Circe greeted him, her voice soft.

Noah pulled his friend back in and instant. "Dude! Enemy alert! Back it up!"

Rex glanced at his friend, then at the captivating sight in front of him. "What are you doing here? Is Van Kleiss around? I swear, if you're all putting this mall under attack-"

"He's not here," the girl denied, cutting him off. "I came here to relax. Just like you, I guess."

"So you've been spying on us?"

"No! I just assumed!"

The boys stared at her, not dropping their guard.

"Why are you here specifically?" Noah asked the female EVO, keeping a loose grip on his friend's arm. "We still don't trust you."

Circe sighed. "The boss gives some breaks, okay? I'm here to get my hair redone since the color's fading. Look."

She pointed her hand towards the sign of the store a few feet away from them, indicating a hair and nail salon.

"This red doesn't stay by itself, you know," she informed them. "Plus, I'm getting it relaxed and stuff. Geez."

Rex raised a brow. "Your hair isn't naturally straight?"

"No. It's wavy."

"Oh."

"How often do you get breaks?" Noah asked suspiciously. "Aren't you forced to be slaves all the time?"

"We are not," the girl retorted, offended by his attitude. "Van Kleiss recognizes that we have thoughts and feelings. He tells me that Providence calls Rex nothing but a weapon, though, so how's that working out for you?"

The male EVO scowled. "He doesn't care if you have feelings, he just acknowledges them. Big difference. And for the record, I've got a great family that doesn't treat me like a mindless drone."

"Mine's the one on the right side of the EVO war."

Rex scoffed. "Only if your brain is built in backwards."

"Sorry, I don't speak nitwit. And anyways, I've gotta go take care of stuff. Bye."

But as Circe walked away into the salon, Rex felt a sudden pang of guilt for berating her for simply being harmless- at least, it seemed that way. His blonde companion recognized the traces of regret on the teen's face, however, and shook his head.

"Rex, don't you dare go after her," he warned. "Remember when she bashed you over the head? She's a wolf in sheep's cloth..."

His sentence trailed off when Rex dashed away into the store, his friend unwilling to listen. A feeling the young EVO couldn't recognize drove the him to catch up with the girl and make things up. Rex felt bad for being too harsh, and besides, no one had been hurt in the mall, and it was true that pretty hair needed consistent upkeep.

He'd learned that tidbit from Holiday.

"Sorry, Noah, but I can't just let her go," he mumbled under his breath before finally reaching her. "Circe! Look, I'm... sorry about that. I was just really on edge."

Circe turned around and watched the teen approach her, then placed a hand on her hip. "You sure? I don't know if I can trust you."

"Aw, c'mon, don't be sarcastic. Look, you know why we were acting like that. I think we're more on edge because of Van Kleiss instead of you. You're... okay."

"No she's not!" Noah called out from the edge of the store, unwilling to step inside and accidentally tread on fallen hair. "Dude! Get back!"

"I'm okay?" the girl repeated, ignoring the anxious blonde. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Rex gave her a nervous smile. "I meant that in a good way! I swear. Noah's just being protective; don't mind him. Are you gonna be at the salon the entire time?"

Circe glanced at the long line of men and women standing in front of her, realizing that it would take forever to get to the other side. "Hm... maybe not. Why?"

"If you're not that busy, we could just... y'know... hang out?"

Noah, catching bits and pieces of their conversation from the outside, smacked his forehead. "I really wish you knew how to handle a crush."

Rex's face reddened. "It's not! Agh, don't listen to him. You wanna chill with us or nah?"

"I mean... I guess if you're not gonna be rude, and until the line dies down. I don't have all day."

"Great. Wanna go grab a pizza?"

"Not really."

"Rex, she doesn't even want to!" the blonde boy pointed out. "So let's just-"

"I'm in the mood for a drink, though," Circe responded. "Lemonade? Pizza isn't the only option, you know."

Rex grinned. "It's a deal."

Noah smacked his head against the wall.