Okay, so you've probably noticed that the status of A Strange Relationship has changed and that's because while I'm getting my fanfic ideas together I'll be writing and posting one-shots for constructive feed back and tips to improve. This will now be a mixture of Hotstreak/FrancisxOC and RichiexOC one-shots. Some will take place before the couples get together, and some will take place after. This particular one is for Richie. Now, I've read that in the comic book Richie was gay, but I know that many people, myself included, wish that he wasn't. So I tried to compromise and tried to add the drama of a teenager questioning their sexuality to try to make everyone happy. Please tell me what you think because it seems harder for me to keep Richie in character than Francis. This may be put into my fanfiction as a chapter. I'm not entirely happy with this one.
Disclaimer: I don't own Static Shock or it's characters.
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Richard Foley was a genius. There was no denying that. He was the top student in almost all of his classes, all except one.
"Come on Richie, conjugating the 3rd "io" in the perfect tense in Latin isn't that hard."
"Easy for you to say." he thought bitterly.
Richie had decided to take Latin that year so he could have a challenge. Unfortunately, he may have bitten off more than he could chew as the language was proving to be more difficult than he had originally thought.
As he sat in the school's library Richie sighed and glanced at the girl sitting next to him, his tutor and friend.
Kathrine Blake held his work in her hands, going over his mistakes. Her waist length brown hair was tied back in a pony tail so it wouldn't fall in her face as she worked, her emerald green eyes narrowed in thought. She wore her usual black T-shirt with the silver skull and cross bones print on the front as well as her black skinny jeans and black sneakers. Her silver locket with the dragon design sat around her neck.
Kathrine was actually the top Latin student, as she seemed to have a natural talent for learning languages, which was why she offered to tutor her friend. At first it had been difficult for her to spend so much time around Richie due to events that happened shortly before his Latin troubles began.
Kathrine, having developed feelings for him over the several months they had known each other, confessed to the genius. Unfortunately for her, Richie had told her the words all girls dread to hear when confessing to a crush. He told her he was gay. Though utterly heartbroken, Kathrine did not let anyone, except her sister who always knew when something was wrong, know that. Time passed, but she didn't stop loving Richie, she just stopped letting it show so at the very least she could keep his friendship. Despite this, even though she thinks it's impossible, she still wishes she could have a relationship with him because she knows she loves him and she has never been more sure of anything in her entire life.
However, little did she know that Richie was struggling with feelings of his own. Shortly after he told Kathrine he was gay, he began having certain...dreams...about her. These dreams were frequent, happening almost every night, and they were causing him to question his sexuality. He liked guys, he knew that for a fact, but he was also attracted to Kathrine. Not only was he questioning his attraction towards her, but his feelings towards her as well. Was she just a friend to him or was she more? He was so confused. He didn't talk to his parents, as he had already told them awhile back that he was gay. He didn't want his father to tell he didn't know what he wanted and basically give him a hard time. Naturally, Richie had turned to Virgil and Mr. Hawkins for help, since they already knew of his preferences. He had even gone to Kathrine's younger sister Katrina in search of help. They had all told him the same thing though, which was basically the cliché of "follow your heart".
"Yeah, right." Richie thought with a snort, "That's a lot easier said than done."
It was obvious to everyone but them that they were tip-toeing around each other and it would be easier for everyone if they would, "just kiss and make out", as Virgil told Katrina, who had readily agreed with him. They tried not to let their feelings get in the way of their friendship, but they would cause awkward moments or inadvertently hurt the other person. Oblivious to the others feelings, they acted as though nothing had ever happened between them. Katrina had told Virgil that, at the moment, perhaps that was what's best.
"Richie," Kathrine began, leaning over to show him his paper, "What does 'conficio' mean?"
The blond's eyebrows knitted together as he thought about the answer. "It means...to take." he guessed, his answer sounding more like a question.
She sighed, shaking her head. "No, you're thinking of 'capio'. 'Conficio' means 'to finish'." she explained before pointing to another problem on the paper, "Also, 'conficio' in the first person singular in the imperfect tense for the active voice is 'conficiebam'. When going to the passive voice it becomes 'conficiebar'."
Richie groaned in frustration, his head falling to the table with a loud thud. "I'm a genius and I can't even handle a simple language!"
Kathrine smiled sympathetically, a rarity considering her normally sarcastic and attitude. She rubbed his back in a comforting manner, something she did for her sister whenever she was upset, no noticing how Richie's muscles tensed under his baggy hoodie. "Don't be so hard on yourself, Latin is a tricky language." she reassured him, secretly thinking that he looked cute when he was frustrated, "Hey, no ones perfect."
He turned his head to the side, blue eyes gazing up at her as he relaxed under her touch. "I'm not trying to be perfect."
"Really?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him, "You could have fooled me with the way you carried on in math about how you got a 'B' on your test. Honestly, you reminded me of how the girls in gym class act when they break a nail."
"I didn't get a 'B', I got an 'A'. The teacher made a grading mistake and he corrected it." he then frowned and sat up, causing Kathrine to remove her hand from his back, "And I do not act like a girl."
"Mm-hm." she hummed, clearly not buying it, "So, you're telling me that you didn't totally scream like a girl on our way to math the other day? I guess it was just you practicing your singing then."
"I nearly fell down the stairs!" he insisted, "And I didn't scream."
"Ohhh, so I must have imagined that you wrapped your arms around me to stop your fall and, in the process, shrieked in my ear. Hmm, then I wonder why my ears were ringing?"
"You do realize that you yourself are a girl, right?" he asked, trying to change the subject, "Don't you find it offensive when people compare others to girls as an insult?"
She only shrugged, "Not really. Besides, I'm not really like those girls. In a way, I guess you could say that I'm the best of both worlds. But we're getting off topic. Like I was saying, no ones perfect and no one expects you to be perfect. You shouldn't expect yourself to be perfect either. Everyone has weak points. I suck at algebra, Katrina has trouble with geometry, Virgil needs help with history every now and again, and Francis..."
"Stinks at everything except gym?" Richie supplied with a smile.
Kathrine grinned, "Exactly. My point is that no one is good at everything, not even meta-human geniuses."
Richie's smile dropped as he looked back at his work. "I get what you're saying, Kat, but I just can't seem to get it." he said, burying his head in his hands, "I'm going to fail this class."
Kathrine gave him a hard stare, not liking his attitude. "Fine then." she said, voice cold, "I guess we're done here. Thanks for wasting my time."
Richie's head snapped up to look at her, hurt that she would say something so callous. "Hey, wait a minute! You're my tutor, you're supposed to help me!"
"And I'm trying, Richie." she responded, a bit testy, "But if you're so hell bent on failing before trying than there's little point in me teaching you anything. If you keep doing things half-assed and keep telling yourself that you're going to fail, then you really will fail. You shouldn't give up on something half way because you're afraid of failing because, guess what Richie? Everyone does, more than once in their life. The point is not to dwell on that, pick yourself up, learn from your mistakes, and move on. If you don't finish what you start and just give up half way, I can promise that one day you'll regret not following it through to the end."
Richie stared at Kathrine in disbelief. He had forgotten that while half of everything that came out of her mouth was sarcasm, every once in awhile she'd say something that made a person stop and really think. Kathrine always seemed to know what to say or how to act to get him to see what he should or needed to do. Sometimes she'd be reassuring, sometimes she would use what she referred to as "tough love", and sometimes she'd just sit and listen quietly to him until he realized what he needed to do. Somehow, she always knew what he needed to hear.
"You're right. I'm sorry." he said quietly when her words sunk in.
Kathrine smiled at him, glad that he understood. "Good. Now then," she began, handing him his paper, "Are you ready to try again?"
His lips twitched into a smile as he took his paper from her, "I think so."
As he worked, a look of intense concentration made its way on to his face. Kathrine placed her elbow on the table, resting her chin in her hand as she gazed at Richie. Admiration and love shimmered in her emerald eyes.
She was glad it only took a little push to get Richie back on track. One of the things she loved was that he didn't give up on anything, even if now and then he needed a little shove in the right direction. But then again, didn't everyone?
A sigh of longing escaped her lips, feeling a pang of sadness in her heart. "Te amo care." she said, knowing full well that he wouldn't know what it meant.
Richie stared at her blankly, proving to her that she was right. "What?"
Kathrine smiled, finding his confused expression cute. She waved her hand at him, dismissing the question. "Oh, it's nothing. Nothing important, anyway."
He frowned, narrowing his eyes at her accusingly. "Are you making fun of me in a different language again?"
She couldn't help but chuckle, "Who? Me? I'd never dream of doing such a horrible thing, especially to my linguistically challenged friend."
"You were, weren't you? I'm having enough trouble with languages as it is! If you insist on teasing me at least do it in English so I can defend myself!"
"Aw, but why?" she asked playfully, "You're so cute when you're flustered."
Richie blushed and began sputtering, attempting to find a response. Much to his dismay, Kathrine only laughed at him.
"I know that you'll never love me, Richie," she thought sadly, "But I think I can live with that as long as I can still be near you like this. As long as I can stand by your side, if only as your friend, I'll be okay."
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Te amo care, I believe translates to I love you dearly in Latin, or at least it should.
Now, I know Richie's a genius, but I don't think that he'd never have trouble with anything. Latin is a hard language to learn, never let anyone tell you otherwise. I'd like to know what people think of this. Please take the time to review.
