[center][h3] [/h3][/center][h3][hr][color=#38547C]Keaton Plasse[/color][/h3][hr]
Pulling her jacket against herself, Keaton hustled towards the loading bay, idling by the entrance to check her phone. While there’d been no word from Lynn, Eli had texted back, and Keaton was partial to waiting outside for a minute, watching people move about the loading bay. For so many, Homecoming had been exactly as advertised: A night of fun and drinks and letting loose. People loved talking about it, loved being asked how they spent the night, what sort of conquests or risks they took, but even though Keaton knew that,  she still struggled with working the question into her usual repertoire for casual conversation. The tricky thing was that asking usually meant being asked in turn, and for Keaton, that meant she needed to decide between telling the unfortunate truth, twisting it, or lying. After some trial and error, though, she found that focusing on the drinking and beer pong turned out to be a better bet, considering that any mention of the campground usually resulted in questions about people hearing gunshots in the woods. Answering anything like that honestly wasn’t an option, and in the game of choosing to lie first or being forced to lie later, Keaton figured a preemptive choice was better for everyone involved.

Eli entered then, and Keaton waved, watching her approach with chips. When offered, she took, popping and crunching happily despite having just eaten lunch. For some reason—the salt, probably, definitely—there never seemed to be a wrong time for chips.

“Totally. I love being cold,” she said, cracking a smile. “And, well, the cafeteria’s cheap and has yet to kill me, so odds are I’m going to keep going.”

At Eli’s mention of Lynn and Amelia, Keaton traced her gaze, somewhat surprised she’d missed the duo herself. Lynn’s hair was usually a dead giveaway, often being nowhere near normal in color, and Amelia wasn’t exactly hiding in her black leather jacket. But, sure enough, there they were, engrossed in conversation. Lynn looked over, and Amelia waved, cueing either a greeting or feigned ignorance that bordered on rude, and the latter wasn’t much Keaton’s style.

“No idea. Let’s ask,” Keaton said, walking towards the two. Their conversation didn’t look all that deep—wasn’t all that deep, considering where they were. Amelia volunteering her power and being the hero of the day had marked her a viable ally, in Keaton’s book, and she was glad that Lynn was getting along with the girl. Where Eli was an easy friend for Keaton, Amelia wasn’t, so Lynn being able to befriend her was good news. Of course, whether they’d even need Eli and Amelia’s help anytime soon was questionable, but keeping their options open was good.

“Hey, gossiping about us?” she asked, looking between the two with a grin. “What brings you two to the loading bay? And, uh, Lynn, check your phone any less and I’ll have to buy you a new one.”