Katchoo had listened to Francine go on about boys and crushes for years, never thinking that the girl who came by her bedroom window late at night almost every night was paying the kind of attention to her that she'd wanted from them. And she knew Francine, well enough to know that she couldn't be malicious if her life depended on it, and that was one of the things she loved best about her.

"You never do, Francine." Her voice might've been a touch more gruff than normal. "I know you don't mean to."