This was originally the second half of the first chapter, but after some thought and observance of successful story traits I decided to break the chapters into smaller pieces. They will never be under 2500 words I assure you, but I will try to keep them under 4000.

Happy reading!

The Life I'm Forced to Lead
Chapter II: A Friend to Keep

"Where am I and how bad is my wound?" Robin had been anticipating tears, resistance, crying, and maybe some yelling but he wasn't prepared for her rational and somewhat quiet questions. She waited patiently while he finished covering his handiwork, and kept her eyes closed until she heard the scrape of a chair beside where her head rested. As her eyes opened Robin was taken with the vibrant green of her eyes. When paired with her unusually deep red hair and naturally tanned skin he knew she had to have come from somewhere exotic.

"You're at the Wayne Estate and the wound was long but not deep. Your hoodie and tank top saved the knife from entering too deep. I stitched it up and dressed it, and also splinted your arm." She nodded in tired approval but didn't attempt to move.

"What is your name?"

"Richard Grayson, but you can call me Robin. If you don't mind what's your name?"

"My name is Kori Anders, and I do not mind." Robin noticed her strange way of speaking but didn't catch any accent which seemed unusual, but he pushed it out of his mind for the time being.

"So Kori what happened tonight? I mean you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." Kori stretched her shoulders and grimaced when she felt the stitches near her neck tug.

"I was proceeding toward my house when a man attacked me. I began to disable him only for four additional men to surround me. At some point during my struggle a blade was brandished and I was struck while preoccupied. I was trying to stand my ground when you entered the area and helped me dispose of the men. For that I thank you." Robin nodded at her story, the pieces falling perfectly into place except for one question swirling in his mind.

"I was impressed to see you taking on five men like that, and you were actually getting somewhere until one of those bastards decided to play by street rules. Where were you coming from so late anyway?" Kori internally flinched at his question and tried to skirt around it by acting offended.

"Are you doing the implying that I cannot 'get somewhere' on an often basis?" Robin flushed and began to shake his head frantically, trying to fix the mess he had unintentionally made. Kori watched slightly amused until a small shivering movement pulled on the stitches between her shoulders. She hissed under her breath and tried to hide the look of discomfort from Robin, but failed. He got up from the chair and walked into what looked like his bedroom to Kori before coming back with a black and deep red comforter in his arms.

"I'm sorry I don't have any clothes for you to slip on to keep warm just yet, but this should help." Usually Kori would have protested on the grounds that she did not wish to ruin his blanket, but when the warmth enveloped her she couldn't have protested had she wanted to. An involuntary sigh escaped her lips before her eyes shut on their own accord. She didn't feel sleepy, but her body wanted to relax completely while her mind continued to race. She heard Robin settle back into the chair but didn't open her eyes. If he had wanted to harm her he would have by now.

"So you never answered my question earlier. What were you doing out so late?" Kori knew she would have to answer but decided that telling him couldn't harm anything. After all he had saved her life and mended her wounds without even knowing who she was.

"I was leaving my place of employment. I usually work rather late."

"Are you eighteen?" Kori's eyes would have widened had they been open. She knew the laws in place forbidding any child under the age of eighteen from working past ten o'clock, and didn't want this boy to turn her in. Miss Bee had risked a lot to let her work at the club in the first place and Kori didn't want to get her in trouble.

"No, I am not however there are special arrangements between myself and the owner."

"So you have a work permit, which explains a lot." Kori nodded the best she could in agreement, and was silently relieved that the boy beside her had inadvertently solved her problem.

"Yes, a permit to work." Kori sighed and opened her eyes, looking at Robin. He had the most beautiful blue eyes Kori had ever seen with black hair and lightly tanned skin. She had to admit he was quite handsome, but he was the adoptive son of Bruce Wayne. Everyone knew the story of the duo, even Kori who usually filtered out anything not concerned with surviving to the next day or avoiding her aunt's punishments.

"Since Alfred might be awhile, do you think maybe we could just talk and get to know each other?" Kori eyed Robin warily, but nodded slowly. Perhaps some insight to the rich and famous Richard Grayson would help her understand why he had helped her, risking his own life to save hers.

"Where are you from?" Kori bit her lip. She knew she wasn't from the United States but for some reason her mind had locked away the name of her birthplace. Before her parents had died when she was four, they had told her many stories about her home and always said they would go back someday when she was older. When they died Kori was not only saddened she had lost her family, but she knew she would probably never get to see the wonderful place her parents had described. She had tried using the internet to research and find the country but she hadn't found anything her parents had described.

"Would you laugh if I said I do not know?" Robin leaned on his elbows at the edge of the metal table and tilted his head to the side slightly.

"No, but I wouldn't mind an explanation."

"My parents told me a long time ago, but they died when I was very young. I cannot remember and my remaining family also does not know or refuses to tell me."

"Who's your family?"

"Karla Carson. I believe she is my distant aunt." Robin's eyebrows rose as he eyed Kori suspiciously. It was a well known fact that Karla Carson was a wealthy woman. She wasn't the friendliest and didn't even come close to the masses of the Wayne fortune, but she definitely had some money. So why was her niece working?

"She's something else. So uh, what's your favorite color?" Kori appreciated the attempt at the change in conversation. She knew not many people liked her aunt, but at least Robin seemed to not judge her by the actions of her aunt.

"My favorite color is purple. What is yours?"

"Red. What's your favorite food?"

"The deluxe meat lover's pizza that also is topped with the chicken and bacon." Robin laughed—he had finally met a girl who enjoyed a good helping of meat as much as he did.

"I was gonna say pepperoni pizza but that sounds a heck of a lot better." Kori giggled and managed to stay still enough that her back didn't tug the stitches again. She could feel where they were and had to give Robin credit—he knew how to stitch wounds and clean them up pretty good.

"How were you able to mend my wounds so efficiently?" Robin ran a hand through his spiked hair and smiled sheepishly.

"I used to get hurt a lot when I was younger, and Bruce would get mad so I learned to patch myself up rather than having to crawl to him and go to the hospital. Eventually I just got really good at it and started to keep supplies on hand. I haven't had to use any of it for awhile, but I'm glad I had some on hand."

"Were these injuries from the adjacent exercise facilities or from other means?"

"I used to fight a lot when Bruce first took me in. I was really angry all the time and tended to let my attitude overrule rational thoughts."

"Why were you angry?"

"My parents." Kori could sympathize. When her parents died she would have been very angry had she not been constantly bounce around from foster home to foster home until her aunt had mysteriously appeared one day and whisked her away to the house she currently stayed in.

Robin could sense the unease and decided to go and check on the snacks Alfred had prepared before leaving. Robin couldn't estimate how much blood Kori had lost, but he knew a snack nonetheless would make her feel better. A small plate of assorted cookies sat on the center of the island with two large glasses of orange juice. A note was left beside the plate with a number hastily scrawled on it in Alfred's neat handwriting.

Master Dick,

The cookies and orange juice will stave off hunger, but might I suggest calling the pizzeria's number below. They deliver until six o'clock in the morning. Please make the young Miss comfortable in any way possible. I will hurry back.

Alfred

Robin smiled at Alfred's thoughtfulness and balanced the plate on the inside of his arm while carrying the two glasses in his hand, and dialing the pizzeria with the other. Kori listened when she heard footsteps as Robin ordered pizza over the phone while walking towards the room she was in. She smiled when she heard him order two large pizzas with every kind of meat they had, including chicken and bacon.

Her mouth watered at the thought of solid food, and ignored the fact he was ordering two larges when there were only two of them. Usually she would have been home and would have eaten a quick snack by this time before going to bed, throwing her backpack in the corner until her shift Sunday night.

"My backpack!" Kori struggled to get up before Robin rushed over and placed the drinks and snack down before restraining her arms like Alfred had earlier.

"Hey easy Kori, I grabbed your backpack; it's just in my room right next door." Kori breathed a sigh of relief and slumped back on the table, her wound stinging again.

"Thank you Richard Grayson, I am in debt to your kindness." Robin grabbed the plate and handed Kori a glass of orange juice, a purple straw poking out of the top. She smiled and took a deep drink, draining half the glass. She felt the coldness travel down her esophagus, reminding her of her empty stomach. All she wanted to do was grab the plate of cookies and devour the entire batch.

"You don't have to be shy around me Kori, if you're hungry eat as much as you want. Also, please call me Robin. Richard just sounds too formal." She smiled shyly and accepted the offered cookie, popping the whole thing in her mouth and groaning at the wonderful sugar and chocolate mix.

"It has been so long since I have enjoyed the sweetness of the cookies." Robin handed her another one and tilted his head to side in a question. Kori spoke before thinking.

"My aunt often does not allow me the enjoyment of anything sweet or of the junk food variety, as she says these foods will make me 'a fatter tramp than I already am'." Robin was taken back the bluntness of Kori's admission and was appalled her aunt would say something like that. Kori was gorgeous banged up and hurt, but already thin beyond what had to be healthy.

"That woman's more sadistic than I thought. You're stick thin already, how could you possibly even lose any weight? You don't think your overweight, do you Kori?" She shook her head no, and slowly shifted onto her side before pushing herself up to sit against the wall with her side while keeping a grip on the comforter. Robin went to keep her down, but let her sit up when he didn't see any signs of pain on her face.

"No, I do not think I am over a healthy weight but it does not matter what I think when the situation involves my aunt. What she says is the law of that house, and I have no opinion."

"Well at the Wayne Estate what I saw is law and I say you eat at as much as you want, three pieces of pizza minimum when it gets here. I made sure I ordered the deluxe meat lover's with chicken and bacon." Kori giggled and Robin let a small smile grace his face. He hadn't seen Kori smile all that much since she woke up, understandably, but when she did it was definitely something to behold.

"I believe that I can do the eating of three pieces of the pizza. Does this three piece rule apply to you too, Robin?" He laughed out loud and nodded.

"Yeah, that applies to me too, except I could probably eat a whole pizza by myself." Kori knew she could also eat a whole pizza on her own as well, but from years of her aunt drilling the importance of weight control in her mind it was hard to just let ago and eat as much as she wanted to. However since Robin had told her she had to eat three pieces then perhaps it would be okay for her to indulge just this once—after all how would her aunt know where she had been let alone how much she had ate?

"I too can consume a large quantity of food. When I was younger my parents told me our family had been blessed with the high metabolism enabling us to eat great quantities of food and stay energized." Robin was shocked when Kori admitted she could eat a lot. Most girls who talked to him always bragged about how they could survive for three weeks off of a single low-fat low-sodium salad with minimum dressing. Needless to say, Kori was in another league compared to any other girl in the city.

Robin found that holding a conversation with her was actually pleasant and he didn't want to bang his head off of a brick wall. Most of the girls his own age he was forced to be around usually only cared about their hair, manicure, weight, shoes, and whether or not they were dating someone with money.

"You know Kori, you're something else. I mean in a good way!" Robin had to quickly elaborate when he saw hurt flash across her eyes, but it was quickly replaced with a look of relief and another smile. He scooted forward to hand her another cookie, and was pleased when she popped it in her mouth whole again.

"Master Dick I have found clothes I believe will fit Miss…?"

"Please call me Kori." Alfred nodded, and set the pile of clothing on the edge of the metal bed.

"Miss Kori, I have just purchased these and hope they will fit. Also Master Dick the pizza has arrived, and is waiting in your dining area. I've brought up Pepsi to go along with it, but I can retrieve something else if you do not like Pepsi Miss Kori." Kori shook her head and insisted Pepsi was fine and thanked Alfred profusely for the clothes.

"Thanks Alfred and do you know where...?"

"I'm afraid he has left on mysterious business again Master Dick. He will not arrive home until Monday evening." Robin grunted with a nod and dismissed Alfred to do what he pleased for the rest of the night.

When Robin turned to look at Kori, he found her struggling to grasp the clothes Alfred brought and caught her right as she slid off the table. The tattered remains of her hoodie began to slip from her when Robin pulled her into his lap and pressed his palms against the fabric on her shoulders to hold it in place.

Both teen's faces turned a deep shade of red and apologies spewed from the two of them until Robin decided to help Kori up and into his room so she could get dressed. Robin bent down awkwardly to wrap his arm around her hips so as to not disturb her stitches, and helped walk her into his room. He gently sat her down on the bed, asking her if her back or arm hurt at all.

"No I am fine, but Robin? How am I to change clothes if I cannot move my arms or my sutures will be disturbed?" Kori couldn't help but laugh when Robin's face turned an interesting shade of red.

Awesome, second chapter down. I promise to post chapters three and four tomorrow.

Please leave a review or PM with any questions and/or suggestions. Thanks for reading!