Omigod, I love that!!! At first, she probably thought he was just hitting on her and was like, "Mind your boundaries, ya lil twerp." But then once she realized he was like ... interested in the things she had to say... and wanted to platonically hang out?? UM, YES PLZ.
Riley's Return (that sounds like a sequel in the Gooseberry DVD collection) probably super bummed Cricket out. Like, "Gimme back my burgeoning feminist, you beautiful tiny trash fire."