"Like I said," says Libby. "Inconvenient."

"I'm sure my other scintillating qualities make up for it, though," Bella says earnestly.

"Oh, don't get me wrong, I think you're perfectly charming on a personal level."

"And on a personal level, apart from all the irritating secrecy and so on, I think you're lovely company as well," Bella returns.

"Irritating but lovely. You know, I can't say I get that a lot."

"No? I get called charming and impatient all the time."

"I am not surprised."

"So you have a doctorate in math, right?" Bella asks, out of productive magic talk for the time being.

"Yes I do."

"Do you recommend grad school generally? I hear mixed reviews of the pastime."

"Try it and see. It's the only way to know."

"It occurs to me to ask, why do you want the answer to that question to be 'nothing'?"

"So you think you know the answer is that they're my friend, rather than that they're my stalker and have been just as good at hiding themselves from me," observes Bella. "I'd want to know what you knew either way, you realize. If they're my friend I want to patch security holes and if they're my stalker I want to know who the hell is stalking me."

"On the other hand, if they're your stalker, you have no motivation to phrase that as an if."

Bella shakes her head. "If they're my stalker, maybe I want to give off the impression that I have a powerful friend because I don't quite trust you - or I want to learn more about how you think - or I don't want to admit outright I can't handle them on my own - or we used to be friends and I'm not comfortable turning on them yet - or I want to be their friend and I want to snap 'em up before you do - or any number of reasons."

"They're your friend," says Libby. "Good odds they live in Forks. In your opinion, how likely are they to destroy the world?"

"Do I strike you as likely to be friends with someone who is liable to destroy the world?" Bella asks.

"Are you evading because you really don't want to admit to the friend part, or because they are more likely to destroy the world than you are and you don't want me finding that out?"

Bella rolls her eyes. "Oh, fine. We're friends. More likely? Yes. Likely? No." She pauses. "Because it would make me upset, more than for other reasons, if you're ever tempted to remove me."

"Noted," says Libby. "Thank you."

"I would be very displeased if my friend were removed," Bella adds gravely. "Likewise."

"I'd figured that much out for myself," she says dryly. "I don't plan to remove your friend. But I would be very happy if you continued to keep their destructive tendencies to a minimum."

"Yes, that is one of my primary aims in how I conduct our friendship," Bella says peaceably. "I also have a plan for - Oh, hm." She frowns. "Come to think of it, there is a flaw in my plan for how to deal with a rogue friend, but I will replace it."

"I'm definitely not going to ask about that one," she says. "Because unlike you, I am not indiscriminately curious."