AN: I do not own Teen Titans.

Chapter 2

The initial response from the five as they entered the large house was of awe. It was grand in scale, fully furnished, and was perfectly decorated to accent the beach that it rested on. The group separated and went looking around to get a feel for it. There were three bedrooms, two and half bathrooms, an attic, a very large open living room that held a baby grand piano, a state of the art kitchen, a basement, a deck that went right over the sand of the beach, an outdoor shower, and a small shed.

"This place is so cool," said Gar, nearly ready to cry. "I wanna live here."

"Well, we will next year," said Vic. "At least we have something to look forward to."

"Yeah, that's the silver lining here," said Dick, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, you don't have any sarcasm rights since this was all your fault," said Gar, pointing at Dick accusingly.

"Let it go already," said Dick. "I said I was sorry."

"Sorry doesn't give me my money back and a place to live for the next three months!" said Gar.

While the three men began to bicker again the girls watched from the kitchen.

"I can't wait for them to leave," said Raven, looking at them as if they were unleashed animals.

"Raven, may I talk to you?" Kori asked.

"Has anything stopped you before now?" said Raven.

"Well, I feel very bad for those gentlemen," said Kori.

"What gentlemen?" said Raven. "I hope you're not referring to those three."

"Do you not think we should help them?" asked Kori. "They are homeless now."

"That's their own fault," said Raven.

"But what if we were the ones who were not correct?" asked Kori. "What if we were the ones who had rented the house for next summer? Would you not want them to help us?"

"Just what do you want me to do, Kori?" asked Raven.

"Well, perhaps we could let them share our home with us," Kori suggested.

Raven stared at the redhead for a silent and solid three seconds. "You're kidding, right?"

"No, I am being serious," said Kori. "There is enough room for all of us."

"These are strangers we're talking about," said Raven. "We know nothing about them and you want them to live with us? Absolutely not."

"But they seem to be nice," said Kori.

"Seeming to be nice and actually being nice are two different things," said Raven.

"Perhaps we should get to know them, then," said Kori.

"No, we're not getting to know them because we're not going to let them stay with us," said Raven. "End of discussion so don't push it any further."

"But I must push!" said Kori. "We must do what is right, Raven. We cannot leave them helpless as they are."

"I can," said Raven who then turned to walk away.

Kori pouted and began to think as quickly as she could. She might've been cute and sweet, but she also liked to get her way. She decided she'd have to play dirty and go above Raven's head. Besides, they'd each paid for half of the cost, so Kori figured she could do as she pleased. She put a large smile on her face and went over to the three men.

"Excuse me, sirs," she said, only to realize they were on the floor and somehow each had another in a headlock. "Oh, um, shall I wait?"

"No, what's up?" asked Vic, releasing Gar's head and easily shaking Dick off of his own.

"Well I was talking with my very good friend Raven and we have decided that we would like to share the house with you," she said with a big smile.

"Are you serious?" said Gar.

"Yes," Kori nodded. "I am most certain that there is enough room for all of us and it would be bad of us not to help you in your time of need."

"Wow, thanks," said Dick. He and the redhead made eye contact again, which was hard to tell since he wore such dark sunglasses, and both felt themselves blush. "But, I think we should talk about it first."

"What're you, high?" said Gar. "We'll definitely take you up on your offer! Thanks!"

"I am very happy to hear that," said Kori, clapping. "Now let us all gather our luggage and do the unpacking."

Raven dragged the last of her things out of the car and took a rest. The sun was still pretty strong and the air was nearly unbearably hot. She wiped some sweat away from her forehead and heard the front door opening. She looked up and saw all three men, and Kori, exiting. She was quite glad to see that the men were leaving at last and she could settle in. It wasn't until none of them actually got into their car and, instead, began unpacking it did she realize something was very wrong. Kori came over and began to get her own things out of the car.

"Um, Kori?" said Raven.

"Yes?" she said.

"What's going on?" Raven asked.

"Oh, I have invited our new friends to stay with us," she said with a smile.

"You did what?" Raven hissed. "I thought I said no!"

"Well you are not the boss of me," said Kori, putting her nose into the air. "I own half of this house for the summer and so I can say whom I want to stay with us."

"And I suppose I don't?" said Raven, crossing her arms.

"Hey, thanks again for letting us stay," said Dick with a smile as he and the other two headed into the house with some of their things.

Kori watched the dark haired man walk away and got a slight dreamy look in her eyes. That's when Raven saw what was going on and was filled with rage. Her jaw tightened, her eyes narrowed, and she let out a harsh breath through her nose that sounded like a growl. This caught Kori's attention and she finally pulled her eyes off Dick and looked back to her friend. The look Raven was giving her was quite startling and she truly grew frightened for a moment.

"Is that what this is about?" Raven said through her teeth, though her voice was even. "You're trying to spark some sort of summer romance?"

"What? No, of course not," said Kori quickly, and guiltily. "I just believe letting them stay here is the right thing to do."

"Well we're starting the summer off brilliantly, aren't we?" said Raven with a fake smile, anger radiating off of her, as she slammed the car door.

"Hey, I think we should talk about who's gonna sleep where," Gar called from the doorway.

Raven gave Kori one last evil look and then headed into the house. Kori was quick to follow after her, nervous for what her friend may do to the men folk. Said men were standing at the base of the stairs that led to the second floor with all of their things. Raven approached them with a neutral look but anyone with any sense would be aware of the fact that she wasn't happy.

"Okay so there're three bedrooms, right?" said Gar. "Who's going where?"

"I'm getting my own room," Raven said firmly. "Contrary to what Kori's told you, I don't want you three here. But, seeing as no matter what I've been fated to be stuck with people who don't care about my opinion, you're here. Now does anyone want to deny me having my own room?"

"No," all three men said quickly.

"Good," said Raven. "I'm in the room upstairs on the left."

"But that's the one with the window seat!" Gar whined. She shot him a glance that made his hair stand on end and he quickly cowered behind his muscular friend for protection.

"Okay so that leaves the room down here and the other one upstairs," said Vic. "And I'm going to assume you're not going to want to share with any of us, Kori."

"I suppose it would not be proper," said Kori with a giggle. "Which bedroom do you suppose is bigger?"

"I think the one down here is bigger," said Dick.

"Then I shall take the room upstairs so you all will have the bigger room," said Kori.

"Not that it matters since there's only one bed," said Gar. "I call the attic."

"It's gonna be hot as hell up there, man," said Vic.

"Come on, you know I love the heat," said Gar with a smile. "I grew up in way hotter weather than this."

"Well if you want the attic then I've got the basement," said Vic. "I've checked it out and it's pretty sweet. Just needs some furniture."

"So I guess I get the room down here," said Dick.

"Great, we've all got rooms," said Raven unenthusiastically and then left to get all of her luggage.

"Uh, Kori, was it?" said Vic.

"Yes?" Kori answered.

"I thought you said that you both wanted us here," said Vic.

"I am afraid I have told a lie of white," said Kori with a slight blush from being caught. "But it was the only way to ensure you could stay with us."

"You know if your friend isn't comfortable with us staying here maybe we shouldn't," said Vic.

"She'll get over it," said Gar. "Besides, she can't be as mean as she seems, right Kori?"

"Um…well…" said Kori, unsure of how to answer the question. "She is very good at heart but very untrusting and stubborn. I suggest none of us bother her right now, since I am quite certain she is in a foul disposition."

To say that Raven was upset about the situation was a clear understatement. She hadn't counted on anything like this and was certain her summer was ruined. She'd only agreed to rent this house with Kori because she wanted to work on her novel in peace and quiet. With three men in the house, plus Kori, it was a safe bet that there would be no peace or quiet from now until they moved out at summer's end.

But she was also upset because of what Kori had done behind her back. There were a couple reasons as to why she didn't want these men living with them. One, they were strangers! Two, they were men. Three, they outnumbered herself and Kori. Four, she didn't like people in general and she felt she could only live with one other person at the most. For Kori to tell them that they could stay and disregard her feelings really felt like a stab in the back.

She dragged her two suitcases into the house and then up the stairs. As she did everyone seemed to jump out of her way as if she was Moses and they were the Red Sea. This she was glad for, since she didn't want to deal with anyone right now, especially strange men who'd invaded what was supposed to be her tranquil summer sanctuary.

Once they were unpacked all but Raven headed into the town to get some groceries and look around for some furniture for Vic and Gar. Oddly, Dick had shoved Gar into the passenger's seat so that he could sit in the back with Kori. Gar was certainly surprised at first, since he never got shotgun, but when he saw the looks that were being passed between his friend and the hot redhead he figured out what was going on.

They reached the small town and found it to be quite nice. It had just about everything a town needed and felt like a very cozy place. Everyone seemed to know each other and when the carload of new young people entered everyone wanted to know who they were.

"I didn't know so many people could be smiling at the same time," said Gar as they passed another group of grinning people who waved at them.

"This town is kinda weird," said Vic. They passed an auto shop and he added, "But I think I like it."

"Oh, look at all of these quaint little shops!" exclaimed Kori. "I cannot wait to visit them all."

"Not tonight, though, we're just getting what we need," said Vic.

They passed a store that had a beautiful sundress in the window. "But I need that!" Kori cried.