[ Her eyebrow goes up at his grave assertion, but she doesn't say anything. Something in his tone keeps her quiet. That, and she'd probably make it into another argument. She hasn't got the brain power to handle two at once right now.

And while there definitely is some vague temptation to chuck one of her books at him--a pretty thick hardcover one in particular--she doesn't focus on it long. It's generally difficult to focus on anything when he's looking at her like that.

What he says doesn't help, either. She squirms a little with a frown. Maybe he's got a point. She was pretty happy, wasn't she? ]

They're not dumb. [ It's her one petulant protest before she gets serious again. ] It's my favorite way to escape. One that was probably programmed into me or whatever...

[ She trails off. Should she really be picky about the type of happiness she's experiencing? Especially when she needed as much as she could get now?

That look of consternation returns. ]

It's still not as good as being with someone, though.

[ And while that's said with stubborn insistence, there's a hesitance that hasn't been there before. Troubling, but she'll do her best to push it aside. The last thing she wants to do is fully admit he's right. ]