Jade West is not friends with Robbie Shapiro. Ask anyone. After they're done laughing, they'll tell you about all of the times that Jade has humiliated the boy and/or maimed his puppet. They will tell you that the two of them being friends was just as likely as Trina Vega getting cast as the starring role in anything.

Of course what they don't know if that every summer Jade and Robbie would drive down to San Diego for most of a week.

The first time had been an accident. Jade had been saving money all year for her ticket and train ride. She'd taped a note to the refrigerator door while her mother was at work and left. Robbie, on the other hand, his parents were grateful to have him out of the house for a while, and practically paid him to go. The two of them ran into each other during the Dexter panel discussion. Jade had raised a brow upon seeing the skinny boy amble into the room, careful not to be trampled in the masses. She had always figured that he would be too squeamish to handle that sort of show. Curiosity motivated her to maneuver her way to the seat next to his, satisfied when he jumped in surprise. Keeping her face perfectly blank, she watched as he sputtered and glanced around as if looking for an exit. Just then the moderator walked on stage so Jade turned to face forward. Beside her, Robbie fidgeted in his seat for ten minutes before focusing on the panel.

Afterwards, Jade grabbed the boy's program and after nodding at what he'd highlighted and circled announced that she was hungry. Without another word, she grabbed Robbie's wrist and lead him to the nearest food stand with the shortest line. While waiting in line for the grossly overpriced sandwich, the two started what was initially a stilted conversation discussing their oddly similar taste in comics and games and their shared love/hate relationship with Joss Whedon. Jade was also impressed by the boy's interest in foreign psychological horror films. After Robbie paid for their lunch the two of them laid out a plan for the rest of the weekend.

That fall, when school started up again, a part of Robbie realized that the weekend had been a one-off sort of event and was not surprised when Jade went back to either ignoring him completely or defacing Rex in some way. He was surprised, however, to find flyers for an international film festival stuffed in his locker advertising a screening for Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari.