Hey guys! So I forgot to mention someone's help in the last chapter. MegaPea helped me out with the ID mask idea. I've also gone and changed my penname, so watch out. It was MyLoyalGuardian. Now it's Livewire Lilah.

THANKS MEGAPEA!

ooo

"Ben…"

"Huh."

"Ben?"

"Whaa…"

"BEN!"

"What?!"

"You're too quiet for comfort."

"I'm trying not to kill anyone," I growled.

Rika raised a brow. "Why?"

"They're all staring at you."

"Are not!"

"Remember that guy who said you dropped that shirt?"

"…Yeah…"

"He lied."

Rika grumbled. "I looked everywhere for that shirt! You should've told me he just wanted to look at my ass."

"Why, so you could bend over just a little further?"

"Are you jealous, Mr. Tennyson?" she laughed.

"N-no," I stuttered, staring down another impolite man. Damn it, can't they just leave her alone? We're here to buy her new clothes anyway.

"Hey, look!" Rika stopped us, pulling me into another store. "This shirt would look really good on you," she pulled a pastel green, button-up, collared shirt off a rack, holding it up to me. "Really good…"

I laughed. "I don't need any clothes. This trip is because you can't walk around wearing that. All the guys in this mall have proved that ten times over."

Rika looked at me. "Seems like the only one not looking is you," she grumbled.

"I don't get your obsession with me. At first you thought I was a stuck-up jerk. Then I was addicting. Then I was just someone to argue with."

She smiled. "You're not the only one whose personality changes from time to time."

"More like every ten seconds."

"Yours doesn't change that much," she laughed.

"I meant yours."

Rika clutched the green shirt in her arms, pulling a pair of black jeans off the rack next to it. She held up those to my waistline as well. She pulled those into her arms and continued to rummage the store.

"Ooh, look! Isn't this cute?" she asked me, holding up a black shirt with neon green stripes on the short sleeves and two just below the chest.

The whole green and black irony was starting to annoy me.

"It sure suits you," I smiled. "And the whole plumber's colors outlook."

"What? Kevin's car is green and black too. It's not like it's new to you guys. I thought it was kind of like hiding in plain sight. A message that says 'Look I'm a plumber but no one but us knows,' kind of thing!"

I rolled my eyes. "Actually it was all just coincidence. Just happened that way."

Rika put the shirt in the pile as well. "Hmm…" She searched through at least one hundred racks in the large store, undecided between denim shorts and denim pants. "Which one. This or this?" she asked me.

I faked a cough. "Err… Don't ask me. Just try them both on."

Rika dragged me off to the dressing rooms with her free hand, handing me the green shirt and black jeans before opening the door. "You should try them on too." By the look in her eye, I could see she was up to no good.

I sighed. "Fine."

She stepped into the room, shutting the door behind her.

I looked at the clothes in my hands, then toward the free dressing room next to Rika's. "Might as well," I sighed, stepping into it. I set the shirt and pants on the seat in the room, pulling my black shirt off over my head.

Looking into the mirror, I saw a strange marking that crawled across my shoulder, one I hadn't remembered receiving. It seemed almost like a tattoo, a permanent marking. The question was, how and when did I receive it? The jail? Before being transferred to my cell, I was tranquilized for transport. They must've done it then…

I rubbed my inked shoulder, sighing a bit. I grabbed the light green shirt and threaded my arms through the holes. Just as I was about to button it up, Rika knocked on the door.

"Ben? Come out here."

I unlocked the door and pulled it open, finding Rika wearing the new clothes she'd picked out on the other side.

"Hi, Be—Ben…" She stopped speaking, a lazy smile on her face. "Well you could've buttoned the shirt first, but oh well," she giggled, placing a hand on my chest. She trailed her finger down to my abs before I stopped her.

"Rika, stop. Please."

She giggled again. "I'm sorry, I just can't help myself."

"I don't know exactly what you're thinking, but I don't like you like that," I half lied.

Her smile grew. "Who cares, as long as I get to look at you," she giggled once more.

I laughed.

"Well, what do you think?" she forced herself to take a step back, spinning around once in her new outfit. She'd chosen the denim shorts.

"I'm not good at commenting people."

"Think of it this way. If I was your girlfriend, you'd have to compliment me or I'd get mad."

I scratched at my scalp, looking away from her. "Well, uh… It looks… nice?"

Her smile disappeared. "Yeah, thanks," she said sarcastically.

I reached down to button up the shirt but Rika stopped me.

"Not yet, damn it," she demanded.

I turned around, grabbing the doorknob. "Bye, Rika…" I closed the door and locked it. I continued to button up the shirt, looking at the finished product in the mirror. It fit me nicely, though I wasn't so fond of the persistent 'black and green' concept. Green had always been my favorite color but now it'd just become too much.

I ignored my opinion on the whole thing and grabbed the pants, trying those on as well. The outfit seemed to work, as much as it didn't matter. For all I care I could grab a random set of shirt and pants and be done with it.

I changed back into my old black shirt and blue jeans and stepped out of the dressing room to find Rika waiting for me, new clothes in-hand. She smiled, though it seemed a little absent. "Damn… I was hoping for that other shirt…" She stood up slowly, handing me the shirt and shorts. "Now what?"

"We pay for them and leave. We've got a bit of shopping left to do." I headed off toward the cash register, Rika quickly rushing off in front of me. She turned around, walking backwards to face me, now.

Rika smiled. "Good. I'm getting tired of this place. The one person I want watching me doesn't even care," she laughed.

"If you keep up that walk of yours, I just might," I grumbled to myself.

"Hmm?"

"Nothing…"

"Sure, sure." She turned back around racing forward now.