Frankie didn’t realize until she got up to go get some groceries that Trader Joe’s at AIASF wouldn’t really be an option for her anymore.

As long as Shuya worked there, she couldn’t be completely sure of when the coast would be clear to go there. She didn’t want to see him, that was very clear to her; she would have to go to another location somewhere outside of AIASF’s limits, and she would – she was old enough to do what she wanted, and had the resources to do so. Luckily, there was another location just a five-minute bus ride away from the First House, and Frankie designated this as her new location from that moment onward, glad to have such an easy alternative. In the meantime, though, the majority of the things she needed to be gotten at Safeway, and Shuya didn’t work there; Frankie only felt the slightest bit of apprehension as she entered the Student Center, moving quickly past Trader Joe’s and breathing a sigh of relief as she entered Safeway. Once inside the store she was able to focus on the things she needed to get, and she made a thorough trip around the store, keeping an eye out for Noa, who worked at Safeway, in case she’d had a shift that day. It was an easy trip all around; the hardest thing that she would have to do was carry her bags on the Cobra back to the First House, but it wasn’t like she’d never had to do it before – she, Theo and their mother were professionals at using the bus for inconvenient things. She finished with her shopping trip and carried her bags out of Safeway, her thoughts and sights set on getting to the bus stop across the street as she headed for the student center exit.

“Frankie?” The sound of his voice reached her before the sight of him did; Frankie wasn’t sure of what she had been looking at instead, but it didn’t matter now. He was just a few steps into the student center, dressed for work in the T-shirt and jeans that he typically wore; she hadn’t seen or spoken to him, on purpose, for several days, and the sight of him made her eyes prick with the threat of tears. After a moment she steeled herself and continued forward, her brow furrowed with determination as she moved. “Frankie-chan.” He grabbed her arm as she neared him and she turned a