It was a cold February afternoon in Jump City. On the streets, people big and small, old and young, scuttled back and forth chattering as they made their last minute preparations for tomorrow. Yes, it was February 13. Young men were smiling over sweets inside display cases in the candy shops with puzzlement, unsure of which confections in endless shapes and fillings to purchase. The farmer's market by the park clamored with the remainder of its customers. Various people were no doubt purchasing ingredients to prepare for a special day with their special someone.

I look around myself and sigh airily as I put my gloved hands into the pockets of my jacket.

Tomorrow is going to be another pointless commercial holiday. All the corporations must have gotten together and plotted this out to mind warp the masses of lovesick fools into purchasing unnecessary goods such as the 'standard' heart shaped boxes full of disgustingly sweet chocolates and roses, freshly sentenced to death, in the name of 'love' before this painfully ordinary day. Others went more extreme to proclaim their pathetically temporary 'undying' love by gifting the other with things such as jewelry, and slaving away in the kitchen for a whole day to prepare a barely edible meal for that person.

All these superficial idiots are willing to throw away a month's (or more) worth of savings just to please some girl or guy that they most likely don't know that much about. If they did, they wouldn't have felt the need to do all of this nonsense. Either that or they wouldn't like the person as much. With all these millions of sheep flocking to the registers, I could probably buy a few beach houses, Ferraris and even robot servants with such income. I could get away from those annoying, loud imbeciles I live with. Ugh. Sometimes I think I'm in the wrong line of work, I thought to myself as I approached a stand at the outdoor market and pulled my wallet out of my jean pocket.


After I got back to the HIVE base, which is basically a high tech refurbished abandoned warehouse with installed sublevels, I nodded to greet the other four guys. We all were supposedly sent through reform and scared straight, some of us more than others. Mammoth and See-more had to serve their time at the medical examiner's headquarters. They no longer joke about killing people, even Billy or that arrogant bird boy, Robin. Some of our old habits are still hard to vanquish, such as having a secret 'lair' for a home.

"Hey mute boy, what took you so long? New GIRL-friend?" Gizmo taunted at me while sticking his tongue out and swirly on his stool. The kid had gotten a little taller in the last year, but still retained that same childish look and air.

I walked over to the kitchen counter where he and Mammoth were, the latter of the two moaning about lack of food. I set two paper bags full of fruits and vegetables that I had purchased before the farmers market shut down. 'I was buying these and the old lady kept giving me extra food before shutting down operations,' I said to him telepathically.

"What? Even old ladies hit on you!" Gizmo cried. "You're such a smooth player."

I just shook my head at him and left for my room. I left them to figure their dinner out since I had already grabbed a sandwich to go at a local diner, and Billy had to work at a soup kitchen for his punishment, so his cooking skills should be bearable. Over the years, all five of us had grown taller. I kept myself in good shape, as I became a regular at the gym. I'm still as pale as ever and quite geeky.

My room is on the floor just below the showers, directly below the main floor. I chose the room above all the others probably because I am the quietest person out of all of us. Imagine having someone like Billy or Mammoth on the floor above yours! I smiled to myself as I unwrapped my BLT and started eating.

Beep. Beep. Beeep.

Mmmm. Sandwich…

BEEEEEEEEP! BEEEEEEEEEEP!

I swear, these cell phones are so persistent. Quite often, one of the guys, too lazy to make the journey to my room physically, will call me about something stupid. This happens most often when I'm either trying to get some rest or in the bathroom, on the toilet. How convenient.

BEEEEEEEP!

I touch the screen and answer the video call from the unknown phone number. As I recall, See-more got a new phone recently after he accidentally washed his old one. I held back a snicker at the memory. However, the person to greet me was someone I hadn't seen since that time we fought the Titans with the Brotherhood.

"Hi love," Angel purred while batting her lashes, "I have been thinking about you lately, handsome." She took a step back to show me more of her and that tight-fitting top. Certainly her curves were fuller and she had no headpiece on this time, so I could see her wavy, brown, shoulder-length hair. "I'm in town. Do you want to do something tomorrow?" she said as she raised her brow suggestively.

I only blinked, trying hard not to show too much emotion. A smirk or smile would encourage her, but a frown would likely insult her, which was not much better. "I thought you were with that Punk Rocket Guy? What happened with that?" I finally spoke, my voice now a little deeper than it was when I was 16. I stuck my tongue out and made a face that one might make when driving by a cow farm.

Angel laughed girlishly at my face before straightening hers. "Elliot, he and I broke up two months ago." She winked at me before going on, "How about some us time and then some… dancing?" Her yellow eyes were looking at me expectantly.

"Sorry. I made plans for tomorrow that I can't go back on," I lied.

She pouted, and then opened her mouth to say something, but I cut her off.

"Look, I kind of have to get something done," I said, trying my best to preserve her dignity. "I- It was good talking to you. You should spend your day with a more worthy guy."

"Ok," she finally agreed, "I will see you around. Call me." She blew me a kiss and ended the call.

I stared at the screen and turned to look back at my sandwich, which was just screaming at me, "EAT ME!"

That was a quirk of Angel's. She always liked to be the one to end conversations. Liked being the one that got to choose whether to talk to you or not. Certainly she was easy on the eyes, but she wasn't the one on my mind. Out of the overly abundant 4 girls that I had bothered to ask out in my five years since girls stopped having cooties, only one ever really impressed me. I always keep coming back to her in my mind.

The other two, you ask? The first girl I ever asked out looked at me with an expression that can be described as a mixture of wonder and disgust before laughing, running to her group of friends, and pointing at me. The fourth girl was someone I met while volunteering at the animal shelter. She was a sweet and bookish girl, but one day, stopped calling me and wouldn't pick up my calls or texts. The next I saw her, she was linking arms with another student, who was wearing a lab coat, at Jump City University. I never felt too broken over it emotionally, only a little devalued for my lack of academic prowess.

After finishing my sandwich, I tossed the wrapper into my nearly full trashcan and sat down at my old table. I lifted up the chain with the various trinkets on it and added a few more that I had purchased today before clasping the bracelet. After I carefully placed the item in the jewelry box that came with the bracelet at the store, I realized that giftwrapping was not something I do well. I glanced at the clock, which now read 8:30pm. Luckily I have a good amount of time to practice. I really wasn't lying when I told Angel that I needed to work on something.

"Just because I ridicule Valentine's day, it does not mean I have to abstain from it," I said to no one in particular.


Outside the HIVE base, in the frigid night's wind, there stood a slender female form with the longest, wavy strawberry blonde locks and wise, yet youthful and sweet green eyes. She wore a layered lavender and pink chiffon dress. The young woman giggled to herself before whispering, "Elliot Knight, I hope you find what you're seeking," and then disappearing.


Author's Note: I have no idea what his name really is.

A cookie to anyone who can guess who this mysterious lady at the end is before looking at the next chapter. It is not an original character and she is not part of the series. Remember, it's Valentine's. ^_~

I promise the next chapter will be much more fun.