Hey! Happy B-Day I laugh at Ur Pain! This is my birthday present to you! Love my chapter story! Anyways, sorry I couldn't post this on your real birthday. I hope you find this story intriguing and hope you have a great b-day.

As to all of the readers of this story, please enjoy and review my new chapter story. At the same time, say happy b-day to I Laugh at ur Pain on June 5.

This story is about Richard Grayson, known as Deathwing, as an assassin sent to kill Xavier Redd, a spy that always gets into Richard's boss' way. However, when he tries to find Xavier Redd, he meets Kori Anders, a young beautiful redhead with a dangerous secret of her own. As he gets closer to Kori, he finds out that she has a tighter relationship to Xavier that he thought. When he finds out her secret, he starts getting second thoughts of killing Xavier Redd and anyone close to him, just as his boss, Deathstroke, commanded.

Like it? If so, please continue on reading the first chapter of Where Loyalties Lie. When done, please review!

Chapter One

Her emerald green eyes glistened in the moonlight as she listened carefully to the individuals sitting beside her. It was a clear night where the moon was giving off its eerie glow and the stars each sparkled in their unique way. Inside this apartment there were four young females; three of them trying to console their friend. She sighed deeply as she continued to listen to her friends persuade her to do something she refused to do so many years ago. The woman with emerald eyes glared at her friends as they continued to provide reasoning behind their suggestion. Suddenly, not being able to take it any longer, she jumped up from her seat and exclaimed, "Why can't you three just drop it?"

The three women were taken aback from their friend's sudden outburst. Just as she was about to speak again, her friend with black hair and the darkest brown ever eyes, who was an African American, spoke, "Girl, we aren't gonna drop it until we get an answer and the right answer." The remaining two simply nodded their head in agreement.

"Why can't I just say I don't want to and I don't need to?" asked the emerald-eyed woman as she subconsciously tucked a strand of her cherry red hair behind her ear.

Another one of the females with unique purple hair and amethyst eyes answered her question in monotone, "You either say yes or no with sufficient reasoning. It's as easy as that."

"RAVEN!" the black-haired and brown-eyed African American and the remaining female with black hair and red streaks and red eyes both exclaimed, "ARE YOU NUTS?"

"We want her to say yes, not 'yes or no with sufficient reasoning," mumbled the African American.

Raven Roth just shrugged and sipped her herbal tea to prevent her from talking. The redhead growled angrily and through her gritted teeth, she said, "Raven, Karen, Toni, can't you three just leave me alone? I'm fine on my own!"

Karen Beecher, the African American, and Toni Monetti, the one with black hair and red streaks, sighed in exasperation as they couldn't find any way to persuade their best friend. At the beginning of when it had happened, the three were determined to help her, but instead, she refused any help they offered or anything they offered. She was determined and confident that she would do fine and that she would cope with the incident, but the three knew she wouldn't last long. They all spent turns staying with her during the first couple of months. They would all spend their time comforting her when their friend cried through the whole night. Ever since then, they were even more determined to get their friend a new start in life. However, their friend had other thoughts in mind.

"Kori, please listen to us. The only thing we are trying to do is help you." Toni declared in her most sympathetic tone.

Kori sighed and placed her head into her hands, "Why can't you just stay with me?" Knowing that this was not an option, she was ready to hear her friends' restrictions from staying with her.

"Kori, you know none of us can stay with you. Toni lives with Roy, Rae lives with her fiancé Gar, and I live with my husband, Vic. If we could live with you, we would've done it a long time ago, I assure you. Right girls?" Karen looked right at the other two. Hesitatingly, they nodded their heads and waited for Kori to speak once again.

When the silence amongst had occupied a long time, Raven pronounced, "Kori, you have accept the fact that he's gone. We are worried about you, and we are worried that you might do something you might regret."

Never in her life had she heard her friends accuse her of such things. Kori found herself fuming when she exclaimed, "I will not do anything to I will regret! If I will, I would've done it a long time ago!"

Toni, Karen, and Raven all found themselves embarrassed when they heard their friend shout the way she did. She was right; if she did have the idea of doing something, she would've done it six months ago, when the nightmare begun.

Slowly closing her eyes, Kori found herself calmer and a lot more tranquil when she took large inhales of air. The more she thought about it, she knew the only thing her friends were trying to do was help her get through this tragedy. However, what she could not believe was that they wanted her to forget him so fast. It had not been six months, and they expected her to move on. Regardless of how little they were together, the treasures, the moments she spent with him would never die.

Kori stood up, and journeyed her way to her window. She saw out the window and saw the moon and the stars, each dancing and prancing their way in the dark, night sky. As she looked into the sky, she felt as if she wanted to make a wish to stop her nightmare from occurring. She wanted to wish for none of it to happen. She wanted to wish that he had never gone away from her. The more she thought about it, she wished she could start life all over again. Nevertheless, she knew that life had its unexpected twists and turns, and there was nothing she could do about it. She knew from the incident that life does not indeed end in a happy ending.

Behind her, she felt a soothing touch on her shoulder. She swirled around and found herself looking at Karen. Smiling sadly, Karen gave her an assuring nod, saying that everything would be okay. Unable to take it any longer, Kori rushed into an embrace with Karen and sobbed into her friend's shoulder. Toni and Raven both sat on the couch knowing that their friend was in need of them and went to join the embrace. The four of them stood there with an embrace, knowing that what ever stood in their path, they would all be in there for each other.

After a while, the four pulled apart and stood there waiting for Kori to respond. Kori's eyes had a new and mysterious feeling that none of the three could apprehend. Before they knew it, Kori wiped the tears from her face and exited into the kitchen. The remaining three sighed deeply knowing that it was hopeless and the best they all do was to be there for her always.

Inside the kitchen, Kori took out frozen pizza from her refrigerator and tore open the plastic. Tears continued to fall steadily from her eyes as she thought of her fate. No matter how many times she thinks that maybe he would be out there, she knew in the end that it wouldn't work. She knew that he was gone and it would stay like that for a long time. She put the pizza in the oven and set it for eight minutes. After, not wanting to go into the living room again, she sat at her counter, and watched attentively at the oven as she watched the pizza rise. As funny as it sounds, she slowly related her life to the pizza. One minute she finds herself calm like when the pizza is frozen. Then she finds herself bubbly with enthusiasm and fun, just as the pizza rises. Finally, when it all finishes she finds herself calm once more, but more sorrowful, just like the pizza when it's done. She took the pizza out of the oven and cut the pizza into four huge slices, and then cut them again into four slices to make eight. Slowly after, she set her dining table with four tables and the proper seating and silverware. After finishing, she called out, her voice hoarse, "Guys, come and eat dinner!"

The three in the living room looked bewildered at each other before making their way into the dining room where their dinner was served. The three of them sat down and waited patiently for Kori with the food. Once she had come and sit down, she told the three to take how much they wanted, and added that there was more in the oven.

"Kori, honey, are you sure you're ok?" Toni asked with her cute New Zealand accent. Kori nodded slowly before stuffing a piece of pizza into her mouth. She spit it out after when she realized there was something missing from her pizza. Toni, Karen, and Raven all looked at Kori and each asked compassionately if she was ok. She looked at them and briefly laughed as she walked towards her fridge. There she took a yellow container, and the remaining three couldn't believe their eyes.

"Sorry, I can't eat anything without mustard." Kori smiled as she crazily squirted mustard onto her pizza and took a huge bite. The remaining three looked at her in surprise, and then slowly smiled knowing that their Kori was slowly coming back to them.

After dinner and joyful talking, the four went to the living room to watch the newest movie they rented, Music and Lyrics with Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore, and guest star Cora Lee. Surprisingly, Kori hadn't cried throughout the movie, even through the break up, until the end when Sophie and Alex got back together. Toni and Karen both cried throughout the entire movie, while Raven rolled her eyes continually and read her book. Once their movie was finished, the four sat there quietly and awkward silence had befallen them for twenty-five minutes until Kori spoke up.

"Do you guys want to stay over and have a sleep over, like the old times?" Kori asked with high hopes as she knew that she couldn't last the night alone after being asked the same question countless times.

The rest looked at her each other unsurely and finally Toni answered, "Kor, I-I can't. I promised that Roy I would be home today. It's our one year anniversary and he was hoping that we could go out for dinner. However, I said that I had to come to you first because I knew you needed the help. Please understand…"

Kori understood perfectly. Ever since the time Toni had lived with Kori in university, Kori knew how much Toni suffered from the union of Jade and Roy. Kori, being Roy's best friend, tried her best to convince him to stop dating Jade. It didn't work by her convincing. However, when Roy found out that Jade was an assassin and was sent to kill Roy, he turned her in to the police and was single. Toni finally found this as a chance and asked him out. Luckily, he had always had feelings for her and accepted. Ever since then, they were the perfect couple, and Kori understood perfectly Toni's decision. Kori couldn't help but feel jealous that Roy was always there for Toni, while her man wasn't there for her.

Kori turned to the other two who instantly put their heads down. Karen said, "I have to take care of Vic and I can't strain myself like I used to, girl. You know, with the baby and everything, I can't stay up as late as I used to."

Kori smiled instantly knowing that Vic wouldn't let Karen stay a second late than ten o'clock knowing that his wife needed the rest. She understood perfectly as well. She turned to Raven and instantaneously knew that from her face that Raven couldn't stay. Raven couldn't stay because Gar was in the hospital and she wanted to stay by his side until he recovered from the car accident he was in. Kori sighed and for the next few minutes she thought of a solution. Thinking intensely, she came to a decision. "Guys, I-I'll go with your plan. I'll try to get a roommate just because of you guys."

The three thought they were hearing wrong, but when they looked at the seriousness of Kori's face, they knew they weren't hearing wrong. All of them jumped up and down with excitement and kept on kissing Kori without stops. Kori smiled falsely as she jumped up and down as well, but knew that it would never help her cope. However, little did she know that her future roommate would do more than help her cope with the incident…

I guess you guys know who's gonna be the roommate, right? If you do, please say so in your review and the first one to guess will get a one-shot in their honour. Music and Lyrics is actually a cute movie; watch it people! It came out this year. I watched it on the airplane from Montreal to home. Anyways, I hope all you guys like this idea and I hope this story will be a huge success. Please review and please say happy birthday to I Laugh at ur Pain!

Until next time…

Forgiveness is the scent that the rose leaves on the heel that crushes it.

-Rosefire