Accidentally In Love
Chapter 1: Mercedes
By: Little Creature
Disclaimer: I don't own TT or anything known to be associated with them in the past or present, blah, blah, blah
It was all an accident. It wasn't meant to happen. The diamond, the murder, the hiding, the friendships and then… him. Everything was supposed to be temporary. She should have left at the end of her first year there. But her better judgment was crowded with thoughts of him.
She had come during the middle of the fall semester of her sophomore year in collage. She had heard the whispers and noticed the stares. She just hadn't cared. All she wanted was to fit in long enough before she needed to run again. After her fall, she realized she couldn't leave. She couldn't leave her friends. She couldn't leave him. Now she knew it was a mistake. She should have left when planned. They were after those she cared about and one had already paid the price.
She vowed to get even and defend the rest of them. No more running. No more hiding. She had to come clean and then fight for their lives. No one could better her. Not when she had the diamond.
---
She had never been the new kid at school before. Never. She had grown up in a small town where everyone knew everyone. Upon graduation from high school, they mostly chose to go to one of two collages and so she had always known almost everyone everywhere she went. She'd known the same students, the same teachers, the same neighbors for as far back as she could remember. So when she arrived in Jump City, for the first time in her life, she felt utterly alone. And when she stepped foot on the Private Collage for the first time, she was so overwhelmed with solitude, it was almost breath taking.
She would be living on campus, in the dorm called Preble Hall, with a room mate named Koma. It was a ritzy collage, students paying high dollar for attendance, and therefore slacking was out of the question. There were uniforms, ugly pleated skirts and ties for everyone. The pathways were lined with stoned statues and laid with soft sandstone. There were numerous courtyards with high fountains and many shadowy trees. The foyer held the staircase that went to the top of the top floor; eleven floors to be exact and you could see down the middle through the huge opening between the winding staircases. The classrooms were giant sized rooms but the classes were only twelve students allowed. Upon enrollment, a laptop came with tuition. All uniforms and food came in the price with spending money allowed on your own ID card.
It was more than overwhelming and breath-taking. It was absolutely foreign to her. Even in her uniform, she was watched. The whispers flew all around her, the eyes bore into her. It wasn't the attention that bothered her though, it was the fact that she felt completely out of place among these people. Not one familiar face; not one friendly gesture; not one kind voice.
She made her way to her dorm to drop off her belongings and walked in upon a room looking as if it was fit for a queen, or at least the daughter of the president. The bedding was soft and furniture beautifully stained hard wood. Her roommate was absent (she released a breath of relief) so she was able to settle her items before heading to her first class.
It was art and she was seated between two red headed males, both with equally cocky attitudes, who talked as if she wasn't there. She wasn't quite sure if they were just trying to get a rise out of her or if this was their way of provoking her into conversation. But she wouldn't buy in; she would hold her silence. She wasn't here to make friends, only to get by till the end of the year.
"I don't know, Roy, they say she came from up town. You know, really high class." Said the one to her right said.
"I bet her name is-- Mercedes, like the car." The one deemed Roy had answered.
"And she probably received one for her fifth birthday." They laughed.
She fought not to roll her eyes. Instead she focused on her art piece but her attention was annoyingly on the conversation.
"I bet she bought half of the first semester grades so she could get in for the second half. I'm not sure how else she'd have made it. Dean is a psycho strict ruler. No one starts late."
"Yea. But you know what?"
"What?"
"She's pretty cute."
"A little sassy."
"And I bet she'd look super sexy at the bikini bash."
"Mmm… If she goes."
She contained a sigh but it took a whole lot of self control to do so. These two were really trying to get under her skin. She would not let them succeed.
As the class continued, they continued to make their petty assumptions. But as the class was wrapping up, finally they would get what they were asking for.
She hadn't started to clean up yet; she continued to sit and glare at her art. Dark black and blue and purple swirls in a sort of psychedelic pattern that seemed to be very eye catching. The two approached, one on each side of her easel looking at her with identical smirks.
"So, Mercedes, is it true?"
She ignored him.
"Ahh… Wally, she's got nothing to say."
"Come on, beautiful, we don't bite."
"Well, we do but I promise you'll like it."
Still she kept quiet, her eyes never meeting either of theirs.
"What will we have to do to make you talk, Mercedes?"
"I'm sure I know a few techniques that could persuade something out of you."
"At least a few moans."
They both laughed. She scowled ready to scream. Before she could even open her mouth, the two boys were slapped upside the head at the same time by two different girls who came around on their sides with frowns in place.
"Ow, Tara. What was that for?" The one called Wally said rubbing his head but still smirking.
"You have some freak strength in those petit arms." Roy said to the dark haired girl on his right, teasingly feeling her bicep.
"Can't you leave her alone? Are you two so blind as to see that your charms don't work on anyone around here." Tara said.
"All your pig-headed comments are going to lead to is a severe ass kicking." The other girl said.
"Ooo…. Promises!!" Wally said wiggling his eyes.
"So, bobsys, does that mean we get you both?? Threesome style??" Roy jibed.
She watched among the exchange with mild curiosity. The two girls mirrored each other in stance and height. Hair length and clothing styles matched. But they looked nothing alike.
Tara pushed Wally with swift strong shoves back and toward the door, dragging Roy with her by his collar, scolding them in a language she really didn't recognize. She watched them go, slowly placing items in her bag.
"She's Tara, I'm Jen." Jen said calling her attention. "We're called the bobsy twins but we're not related. The two dicks you had the misfortune to encounter were Roy and Wally. They are pigs, but they're pretty harmless." Jen said.
"Raven. And thanks for saving them."
"Them?" She asked with a brow raised.
Raven nodded. "So I didn't have to kick their asses."
Jen laughed. Her layered brown hair was flipped out. She wore a light dusting of makeup, more to give color to her very pale skin than for the makeup effects. Her cloths, though uniform to everyone else's, were pressed neatly without a wrinkle in sight. She was pretty short, very small framed and her shoes were polished to the point where they reflected the lighting. Her eyes danced a brilliant green.
Moments later, Tara came strolling back in the room still carrying on in her language. Jen said something to her in the same language before they both turned to Raven with a smile.
"Sorry," Tara said. "Irritants make me go off in Dutch." She shrugged and held out her hand. "Tara." The differences between them were simply facial features and slightly different skin tones. Tara's hair was blonde and her eyes were blue. But her posture was the same, her frame almost identical and the neatness and placement of each piece of her school uniform was indistinguishable between the two. Her skin wasn't quite so pale but the makeup was the same as Jen's still.
Raven took it and offered a small smile. "Raven."
They accompanied her as she walked out. "So where you boarding?" Tara asked
"Preble Hall." Raven answered.
"Roommate?" Jen asked.
"Koma Andrews."
Both were silent. Raven looked between the two of them and it was as if she was looking at mirrored reflections. It was nerve racking to see them look so much a like. She almost wondered if they practiced each expression to get them so similar.
"I thought she was rooming with her sister." Jen said.
"No, I think they got in a fight." Tara replied.
"So she was able to change out?"
"I didn't think that was aloud, but I heard Kory's with Cassie now."
"Ohhh… that's right. I had heard that too."
Raven felt completely invisible for that whole conversation.
"Anyways, Koma's not all that bad I guess. I mean, she's a little…" Tara continued.
"Eccentric…"
"But she's alright. She'll be good entertainment, if nothing else."
"And she'll introduce you to tons of boys-"
"If that's your thing."
Raven found herself constantly looking between the two as they talked. The way they finished each others sentences-and thoughts it seemed-was very confusing to keep up with; very strange too. She made a mental note not to try and keep track of who was saying what; she'd get dizzy looking back and forth. But even their voices sounded alike so it was difficult, without looking, to keep up with who was speaking.
"My only thing is to pass my classes." Raven said.
Both girls smiled. "Can your thing right now be lunch??" Jen asked.
"You'll love the cafeteria." Tara added.
And she did. It was like a high class food court; sushi bars, Japanese food, seafood… you name it, it was there. Along the way, the bobsy twins pointed out various people, including her roommate Koma, who was hung on like she was a jungle gym by the males around her.
"She doesn't bring them back to the room, does she?" Raven asked.
"Not sure." Jen answered.
"I would think she must though."
"She needs them to breathe."
"They're like barnacles."
They laughed.
And then it happened. Their eyes met and it was like time slowed considerably. The girls were still laughing beside her but it went unnoticed as her attention was completely drawn to the guy who just entered the room. Every movement around her moved inconsistently with how fast her heart was beating. She heard nothing but the pumping of her blood in her ears.
When she dreamed, she was sure he was the tall, dark and handsome man that always swept her away to exotic lands; the mysterious deep voiced man who whispered sweet nothings in her ear and promised to give her the world. He was gorgeous as far as she was concerned: jet black hair and brilliant brown eyes. He wore dark colors that seemed to accentuate his height. Their eyes were fixed together; he blinked once, a reserved smile spreading.
Everything sped up again with the twins still giggling about Koma and her followers while Raven's eyes stayed locked with the guy's.
"They idolize her." Tara said.
"Thinks she's some sort of goddess."
"Her sister's identical-"
"They're real twins after all-"
"But Kory has red hair-"
"And green eyes-"
"I think she's more beautiful though, her attitude makes her that way."
"That's Ricky" Jen said seemingly noticing her attention was elsewhere. But the conversation flowed as if it was meant to be included.
"Richard Grayson."
"But we've always called him Ricky."
"Ricky G."
"He's like a cross between everything."
"Artistic,"
"Athletic,"
"Rich,"
"A little quite,"
"But very opinionated,"
"He's chased after a lot,"
"And he doesn't hang on Koma!"
"That's a huge plus-"
"And a huge attraction."
As they talked, he walked by, their eyes staying locked until he was about level with her. His smile flickered and she could have sworn he had winked at her. His attention was taken by the red heads though, who coincidentally were yelling to her "Hey, Mercedes!"
Raven sighed, hugged her books to her chest and continued walking in step between the bobsy twins.
Throughout lunch, Raven's eyes kept meeting with Ricky's. It seemed to be magnetic. No matter how much she tried to tell herself to stop, her mind would wonder and she'd next notice herself dazedly fixed on the gorgeous man across the room.
Their lunch table consisted of the bobsy twins -Tara and Jen-, a guy named Garf -or something strange like that,- Rose, Eddy and Megan. They were a strange bunch. Megan they called Martian; Garf -or maybe it was Gar although she had caught them occasionally calling him Animal- tries for attention all the time… it's possible he likes one of the bobsy twins and she could have sworn he was calling Jen Jinx, but Raven wasn't sure which one he might like; Jinx didn't seem like a very flattering nickname. Eddy always seemed so hot. He was sitting next to Raven and the heat just seemed to radiate off him. And Rose was a special one all in herself. She seemed on guard all the time like she was always pointed at and accused of something. She was a strange specimen, with long white hair and one eye that seemed not only to be a different color but perhaps it was blind.
They all talked to Raven and attempted to include her in conversation. It wasn't working all that well. There were only a few things on Raven's agenda: don't get attached and don't get involved. Both might be a bit harder than she thought.
---
He had just been telling Laura the night before that he was ready for a change. Private Collage was full of the same people from the year before and the new freshmen were the same as they had always been; on the wealthy side and stuck up. He knew that was the way it went around here, he had paid the tuition and he supposed he was most likely stuck up a little too.
The campus was fairly large but the student body was small in comparison. Each graduating class varied from 75 students to 115 students. Given the size of the campus, you'd assume the classes consisted of at least 300 students. The worst part was there were no additions to graduating classes; upon entering as a freshman, the same students would graduate with you in four years. There were drop outs but no add-ons. You knew virtually everyone in school by name or at least by face.
That's why the whole school was in an upheaval when the new girl came two months into the school year of her sophomore year. It was unheard of. Naturally in a scenario such as this, assumptions and gossip spread like wildfire. It wasn't the talk that got him; he was never one for listening to what went on in the private life of those other than his friends and his friends list was short. It wasn't even the disruption the school was going through or each class's break in rhythm that captured his attention nor was it the group she chose to associate herself with. Actually there wasn't really anything that he could name that was the cause of his instant infatuation with the new girl. But it happened like it was a movie: he walked in the crowded dining hall mixed in with the mass. She was framed by twin talkers with an utterly bored look. Then their eyes met. It was what a magical moment was made of, if he had to guess. She was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen: eyes an astonishing purple with long black hair that fell in sheets of silk. She was slightly taller than the twins (but that really wasn't difficult) with a body that shown through her uniform- that was amazing in itself. Around her neck was a tight chain holding a dark stone and her skin was so white it was as if looking at a black and white photo- except her mystic violet eyes.
He felt a smile creep upon his lips as he heard Jen say "That's Ricky" and he just managed to keep in minimal contrast to his normal blank expression. It seemed as if they were walking towards each other for hours before they came in to breathing distance. Then his attention was stolen by the two idiots with red hair. He flashed her a smile before turning as they called to her.
"Hey Mercedes!" They both rang in unison. You'd swear they were related but they had never met before last year. And as soon as they were done harassing the new girl and irritating the twins- one of their favorite past times –their conversation turned back to whatever else they had been talking about as they met up with Ricky.
As he turned away he saw the twins roll their eyes. The boys made their way to their normal table where Laura and Connor were having a discussion over a piece of paper. Upon closing the distance, he learned that the discussion was on the Bikini Bash to be held this coming weekend. Ricky swallowed a moan.
"It really is a ridiculous tradition." Laura was saying.
"Oh come on, Rouge, give it a chance." Connor said as the three joined them.
"Yea. I bet you have some tasty bikinis." Roy added.
Laura looked to the red head with a frown. "I do not recall inviting you into this conversation. The point is," she turned back to Connor as he chuckled. "That it's just another means to pressure the girls into wearing skimpy clothing so the guys can gawk at them. Who in their right mind would want to subject themselves to such demeaning activities?"
"What are you trying to hide?" Wally asked.
"You love the attention on you anyways. Why not just replace these fashion rejects (he said pinching his shirt) into something more… appetizing." Roy said.
"She's not a piece of food." Connor deadpanned.
"Why do you invite these goons along, Ricky?" Laura asked.
They all looked to him but he hadn't been listening. His focus was on the girl across the room. Mercedes had they called her? Her eyes would periodically glance to him before her attention was captured again by the misfits she was sitting with.
"Ahh…." Wally said elbowing him. "You found the new girl."
Ricky casually looked to him. "New girl?" He refused to let the curiosity show in his voice.
"Yes. The new girl you've been staring at since you walked in."
"How can she be new? It's almost November." He said knowing very well that she was indeed new.
"We tried to learn but couldn't get her to talk to us." Roy said.
"Can't imagine why that might be." Laura said. When they shot glares at her, she smirked.
"Instead we received smacks from the bobsys." Wally added as they all looked at her now.
"Cute little thing isn't she?" Wally said.
"And already too far out of your league." Connor said.
"Oh, please. No one's too far out of my league."
They all laughed.
Wally rolled his eyes. "Hey, whatever, man. If I wanted her, I'd show you all. Lucky I'm a good friend and can tell Ricky's got eyes for her."
"I'm sure that's the reason." Laura said, still laughing. She turned to contemplate Ricky as a wicked smile spread. Ricky's attention had remained on the new girl for almost the entire lunch period. "Ricky G!"
Ricky's eyes shifted to the dark haired girl sitting at his table.
She slid the Bikini Bash flyer across the table to him. "Go invite her."
"Who?" He asked. A stupid question he knew.
Connor shook his head. "It's ok to admit interest you know. We won't tell anyone."
Ricky blinked lazily, his eyes moved over the paper. It would be a new approach to one who wasn't shy at all. Everyone watched him, waiting for an explanation, comment, something that required voice. Instead he looked up at Laura. "How would this give me brownie points if it's so demeaning to females? That's not the kind of introduction I'd like to give for a first impression."
Laura huffed. "It's a party. Most girls love to party. Especially if the guy she's got her eyes on has expressed interest in her attending."
"In that case, Laura, It'd be great if you'd go to the Bikini Bash." Wally said.
Laura groaned. "Why don't you go find someone you have a chance with, Wally."
"We don't have to hide our relationship anymore, Rouge. Our friends will understand."
The look was the same all the way around the table: everyone shaking their heads.
Ricky looked over again to see the table 'Mercedes' had been sitting at empty. His eyes scanned the room to see she and the twins accompanied with the girl called Martian stopped talking to –most likely introducing- Kory, Cassie, Troia and Joey. As they started for the door, Ricky stood swiping the flyer off the table as he went. He left his group without a word and approached the new girl with focus never leaving her dark radiant beauty. Behind him he head Roy give a whoop as Wally continued to harass Laura to go to the Bikini Bash.
He cut straight through the group, ignoring Troia's protest for being moved to the side, stopping in front of the new girl. She was holding a binder and a single book in one arm, her eyes lifted to the young man in front of him.
The group remained silent in this strange exchange. Ricky rarely approached anyone; Ricky had never before expressed interest in anyone; Ricky avoided the student population as much as he could. Now Ricky was giving one of the most striking smiles to the girl who had been here only hours, standing amongst a group he hadn't spoken a whole paragraph to, combined, in the last year and a half.
His eyes never left hers as he placed the flyer, folded over once, on top of her books. He held it there for a moment longer before removing his hand and continuing through the group and out the door. In his wake he had heard the anxious whispers turn to pandemonium as all the voices mangled into one, discussing what the school had just seen.
-LC