Let's hope she lives to "gently stalk" another day.

[notarrowette]

RP with itseggplant

Part of being Elias' resident celebrity was that whenever prospective students arrived for tours, Cissie was one of the first students asked to conduct said tour. There were usually groups who came through every month or so, and Cissie didn't think much of it this time--until she got a good look at one of the girls, who was hanging toward the back of the group. She kept avoiding making eye contact with her, but every time Cissie looked her way, the girl looked away quickly, as if she'd been watching her. Cissie wasn't a stranger to gawking, or people staring at her, or even looking at her with that "how do I know you?" look, but there was something different about this girl.

Her fellow tour guide was giving the group the standard "life in the dorms" speech before they started leading them through one of the buildings when Cissie realized why she thought she recognized her--because she did.

She managed to paste a smile on her face and lead the tour of the athletic grounds, but as soon as Tori took over and began leading the new girls back to the school, she dropped to the back of the group. She grabbed Steph's elbow and hauled her behind a set of bleachers, only letting her go when they were out of sight.

"Why are you here?"

Comments

[itseggplant.livejournal.com]

Steph hadn't thought she'd be caught. Cissie wasn't an active hero - she had quit - and Steph was undercover, so she didn't think she would be recognized when she came to check up on Cissie.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said, giving her best innocent expression.

[cisskabob.livejournal.com]

"Oh, come on," Cissie snapped, rolling her eyes. "I've been friends with Tim for years, do you honestly think I don't have a clue what you look like, Stephanie? What are you doing here?"

[itseggplant.livejournal.com]

Steph had to admit, Cissie was good if she could see through the disguise. She had been trained by Tim, so...

"Just doing my job," she said, dropping the act. "Looking into things."

She needed to see that Cissie could protect herself. And that she wasn't a threat to Tim at all. Not that she would tell her that.

[cisskabob.livejournal.com]

Cissie let go of Steph's arm, crossing her arms and giving her a flat look. Doing her job? Looking into things?

"Uh huh," she said flatly. "In other words, I have my very own stalker. Brilliant."

[itseggplant.livejournal.com]

"Please," Steph said. "I'm not out to get you or anything. I'm just checking up on you. Stalker would imply I liked you or something."

[cisskabob.livejournal.com]

Cissie laughed. "Well, at least we have that cleared up," she said dryly. "What do you mean, you're 'checking up on' me?"

[itseggplant.livejournal.com]

"Exactly what it sounds like," Steph said. "Checking on you. Investigating potential threats. Being a good Gotham vigilante."

[cisskabob.livejournal.com]

Cissie scoffed and shook her head. "Oh, so I'm a potential threat? You are completely unbelievable, you know that?"

[itseggplant.livejournal.com]

"Did I say you were a threat?" Steph had it all planned out. If Tim asked her about it, she'd just say she was investigating the security of Cissie's school. "The security here sucks, you know. I don't want Tim to be distracted."

She was lying, of course. Well, mostly.

[cisskabob.livejournal.com]

Cissie narrowed her eyes--if she hadn't been angry before, she was definitely angry now. "You implied it. I'm not an idiot, Stephanie. And I am more than aware of the security issues around here--where I've been living since I was fourteen, thank you. Why don't you stop lying and tell me what you're really doing here, because I wouldn't want to get the wrong impression."

[itseggplant.livejournal.com]

"Well, I was taking a tour," she said. "And it looks like the tour group is getting away from us. Shouldn't we catch up? Or are you going to make a scene or something."

[cisskabob.livejournal.com]

Cissie rolled her eyes again, growing frustrated. "Right, because you really want to come to a boarding school in Pennsylvania now that you're finally back in Gotham. And I don't give a damn about the tour group--if I'd wanted to make a scene, I would have called you out in front of everyone. What is your deal?"

[itseggplant.livejournal.com]

"Well, I've got to finish high school at some point," Steph said. "Mom wants me out of Gotham anyway. Thinks it'll make me stop being Spoiler." She snorted. "As if."

[cisskabob.livejournal.com]

Cissie shook her head, disgusted. "Look, you can drop the act. I'm not stupid and I am really sick of you harrassing me, so just go ahead and interrogate me if you have to and then back off."

[itseggplant.livejournal.com]

"I'm just trying to understand," Steph snapped at her. "And seriously, if I was harassing you, it would be way more than showing up at your school once. I wasn't intending to even talk to you. You're the one who wanted to make a big deal of this."

[cisskabob.livejournal.com]

Cissie's temper flared and she glared. "Trying to understand," she repeated flatly. "What, exactly, are you trying to understand? And why is it any of your business? And besides that," she added sharply, "you came here to spy on me. You don't get to tell me I'm making a big deal about this."

[itseggplant.livejournal.com]

"You!" Steph snapped. "And what Tim sees in you. Because so far, I haven't seen anything. And I'm trying to be nice, and I knew you would flip if I tried to talk to you, and I'm from Gotham and this is how we do things."

She sighed. "Besides, Oracle wouldn't help me."

[cisskabob.livejournal.com]

"Oracle's smart. And I know people from Gotham," Cissie snapped, focusing on the part she could rebut. "Batman approves of me dating Tim and he thinks who Tim dates is Tim's decision. And I would have flipped a lot less if you hadn't been sneaking around in my home."