HI guys! Okay so last chapter I introduced a couple new characters, Slade and Killer Moth. I know that you probably are wondering what possessed me to pick two evil characters and put them in a depressing scene together. But trust me; I have a plan (:

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.

Richard hadn't been too extremely far from school when he had grudgingly turned around to get his girl friend's purse, but the walk back to school somehow seemed like a lifetime. His mind was on Kory the entire time, (not that this came as any surprise)…

His footsteps made dull echoes as he made his way down the deserted hallway. Papers and pencils and the occasional food wrapper or beverage bottle littered the floor as they always did when the hallway was finally cleared out and the students were enjoying their freedom from educational activities.

Between his echoing footsteps and the trash all over, Richard felt quite alone in the silent school, and reasoned to stand up to Babs next time. She was going to have to stop treating him like her servant, or he'd…he'd…

Richard sighed. He knew he wouldn't do anything. Babs was his cover-up, his mask. She provided him with the well-managed façade that nothing Kory had done, was doing, or will do would ever come across as important to him. Girls adored Richard, but he could safely ignore them and not get tangled up in any kind of emotional bond with them as long as he had Babs to hide behind. And with Babs acting as a shield, Richard could secretly observe Kory from a safe distance. NOT in any creepy stalker way. Geez; couldn't a guy admire a beautiful yet unreachable goddess without people thinking he's some sort of creep?

He let out yet another inaudible sigh.

He knew he was being cowardly, but he had spent years building up his reputation as a playboy with an "I could care less" attitude towards basically everything and everyone; why ruin it by subjecting himself to heartbreak thanks to Kory for the second time in his life? He wouldn't be able to handle it, not again. Kory had that incomprehensible power to take everything Richard was, everything that made him Richard, and mold him into anything she wanted. If Kory had asked Richard to go to outer space and bring her back a meteor, he would have immediately applied for a job with NASA. For Kory, Richard would change himself to resemble her dream guy. Well, he would have done all these things for her; now, he wasn't so sure. He was over her, anyway. Completely, totally, one hundred percent over her. Mostly…Kind of…All right; not so much…

Richard stopped dead in his tracks. He had been so wrapped up in his thoughts; he had walked clear past Babs's locker and up a whole extra floor. He had wandered into senior territory; it was the hallways where all the senior lockers were. As Richard finally stopped to take in his surroundings, pondering whether or not the situation was annoying or funny, he realized he wasn't alone. Taking a few more steps down the hall, he saw a couple displaying various sorts of PDA. Half disgusted and half amused, Richard decided he was curious enough to continue down the hall and get a better look at the make-out session that was taking place up against a row of lockers. Acting as if he neither realized nor cared that he was not alone, Richard ventured down the otherwise abandoned hallway. Once he got close enough to determine who the people were he instantly felt bad for the lockers.

Pressed all the way up against locker 873 was none other than Katelyn Moth, otherwise known as "Kitten". The person applying the pressure was Xavier Redd. Richard decided that the couple made a perfect match. He was just as perverted and deceitful as Kitten was demented and snobbish. But something at the back of Richard's mind whispered that something wasn't right; he just couldn't figure out what it was. Not giving it too much thought, Richard managed to continue past them rather unnoticed, (which was fine with him as he didn't like either of them), and down the stairs at the end of the hall.

The rest of the trip to Barbara's locker was uneventful, and Richard's mind was now plagued with two disturbing occurrences; Kory's walk down the street with an upset look on her face, and Xavier's make out session with Kitten. He wasn't jealous by ANY means; the less Richard saw of Kitten the better, as far as he was concerned. But Richard just couldn't for the life of him figure out what bothered him so much about Xavier being with Kitten…

When Richard finally got to Barbara's locker and put in the combination, he opened it to find that it was empty except for a couple textbooks and a composition book. Picking up English II, (Barbara was never the smartest of students), and looking behind it hopefully, Richard blinked at the locker that was definitely void of a brand new Gucci purse. Cursing, Richard slammed the locker shut. This was her form of payback!

Closing his eyes, he leaned against the locker and rubbed his temples, much like a certain redheaded princess had done earlier that morning. Without opening his eyes, he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and pressed the number 4 on his speed dial until it began to call Barbara's cell.

"Yes, dear?" asked Barbara in honeyed tones.

"Well, I'm at the school. You must have taken your purse, Babs, 'cause it's definitely not here." Richard tried to make it very clear through the tone of his voice that he was by no means pleased with Barbara at the moment.

"Oh, yes. Silly me, its right here. I had it all along! Sorry dear." A click on the other end let Richard know that he had been dismissed from the phone call. Sighing, Richard slid the phone back into his pocket and was about to proceed to the exit when he heard footsteps approaching noisily. Without thinking about what he was doing, Richard darted to the nearest doorway and wrenched open the door, thrusting himself inside and pulling it silently shut behind him. The last thing he needed right now was a confrontation with Xavier or Kitten.

Pressing the side of his face against the door, he could hear the loud sounds of someone drawing near to the place where Richard had been just a few moments previously. It was Xavier. It sounded like he and Kitten had finally decided to part ways, but not for long, because just as soon as Richard reached this conclusion, he heard Xavier call, "I'll be at your house at 11 o'clock sharp – make sure you can come outside right away. I don't like waiting." Richard chuckled to himself. Redd was SUCH a jerk! He didn't see why so many girls liked him…he always had a girlfriend, after one break up he'd have another girl attached to his hip in two days. And then there were the girls that just never let go, those girls that broke up with him and then continuously begged for him back….

Richard smacked his hand against his forehead. Now he remembered: Xavier was dating Kory! He had just witnessed Xavier cheating on his arch enemy, so why on earth did he feel like beating the crap out of Xavier for it? And sure enough, Richard could hear Xavier on the phone with someone, trying to explain something. It sounded as if he was leaning up against the wall opposite the door that Richard was currently crouched behind.

"Well, you know what? I forgot! Leave me alone, the world hasn't ended. You're such a cry baby, Kory!"

Silence.

"Fine then, be a bitch! You're just a spoiled princess brat who needs attention. Well sorry, but I have better things to do than to cater to you, your highness!" Xavier hung up the phone, and Richard could hear his haughty footsteps eventually fade into nothingness as Xavier stomped down the hall and exited the school.

Richard slowly opened the door and stepped out of the janitor's closet that he had been seeking refuge in. Silently closing it behind him, he leaned up against it and closed his eyes. Pressing his hands to his forehead, he wondered why there were so many feelings rushing around inside of him, and why the greatest of those feelings was screaming at him to run after Xavier and beat him to within an inch of his life.

He could not still care for Kory Anders. After all these years remaining cold and unfeeling towards her, he had always been able to mask the secret love he had still been harboring for her. But now, it seemed, those feelings could no longer be kept at bay, and were growing more and more with every passing moment. Richard was to always and forever be in love with Kory.

So all he had to do was to find a way to hide this for the rest of his life.

Great.

Richard stood outside of his deserted school, feeling indescribably miserable. He didn't understand it. He just couldn't hate Kory, although it wasn't for lack of trying.

Richard kicked a pebble that had been lying peacefully by his shoe and dug his hands deep into his pockets, staring at nothing in particular. He knew Babs had grown tired of his endless discussions on Kory. He was always bashing her for something or other. Her ridiculously long hair, (that somehow always seemed to be able to catch a wind and ripple beautifully behind her), her ugly tan, (which was perfectly even and gave her a radiant glow), the way she bounced around and smiled like 24/7, (that smile that could take his breath away, even when it wasn't directed at him…the way everything seemed so dull compared to her iridescent glow). Well, he didn't voice ALL of those opinions, mainly the negative ones.

But he had to admit, if the tables were turned and he had to listen to someone snickering humorlessly about an ex-lover of their's for days on end, he'd be pretty annoyed with that certain someone. So why couldn't he ever stop talking about her? She was like a disease; he had been diagnosed with this illness when he was a small boy and he would never be able to live a normal life.

If only they could be friends, could exchange a few words a day with as little sarcasm or ill wishes possible. Admittedly, when he had finally had a conversation with her today, for the first time since she had returned to the states, his heart did back flips with every syllable he managed to utter. The bitterness in his voice had surprised him more than it had her, and yet he couldn't for the life of him figure out how to stem the flow of malicious words that had flowed out of his mouth. Her tears cut into him like hot knives, and her unhappiness after their brief but powerful conversation had been almost unbearable, eating away at his already wearying day, not to mention the argument that had erupted between Richard and Ryan because of it.

Someday, Richard promised himself, things wouldn't be like this. He'd find a way to patch things up with Kory, maybe sit down and have a nice discussion about all the things that had happened that horrible night, the words that had been exchanged and the feelings behind them. Someday, she'd look to him as a friend, and maybe with time a best friend. He'd be able to bail her out of tough situations and beat up stupid boyfriends that played with her emotions like Xavier.

As much as he wanted to see Xavier begging for mercy at the moment, now was not the time. Kory and Richard had just barely had a horrible conversation, let alone a productive one! Xavier would have to wait for his beating, Kory would have to wait for Richard to be her best friend, and Richard would have to wait for the love of his life to finally be comfortable in his presence.

Richard subconsciously pulled the locket once again out of his pocket, sliding the metal over his fingers and holding it closely to his chest. He was so deep in thought; he didn't even notice that his Alfred had been waiting for him with his limo for going on five minutes just a little ways away.

Kitten flung herself down on the bed, sobbing into her satin pillow and pounded the mattress with both fists. Keith Moth followed her into her room, uttering apology after apology to his daughter. It wasn't his fault. He did everything he could. It wouldn't be permanent. All the usual bull.

Kitten Moth was more than spoiled. She was all but rotten to the core. She had lived a life of luxury since she stepped out of the womb and didn't appreciate the sudden change of scenery. They were moving to an apartment? They were firing all of the maids? She would have to get a job? They were BROKE?

She didn't understand. (This was most always the case, as Kitten wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed.) Where had all the money gone?? It had been there when she woke up in the morning. Why wasn't it waiting for her after school like it had been since she had started going to Kindergarten? It wasn't allowed to leave now!

She flung her pillow at her father, oblivious to his pleas for forgiveness, and he got the point. Backing out of the room, he shut the door behind him and walked down the hall and into his own room. Sitting on the bed, he buried his face in his hands.

She had taken it better than he thought. At least she hadn't broken the china dishes or thrown the cashmere rugs out the window like she had when she was seven and had been told she was not allowed to have dessert. (He had, of course, given in and sent her to bed with a lollipop).

Regardless of the magnitude of the violence of Kitten's reaction, she was terribly upset, and something had to be done. Keith was not one to keep his daughter unhappy, and the newly induced financial strain would not stand in the way of his daughter's pleasure.

No matter how drastic, irresponsible, or even impossible it was: something had to be done.

But what? How could Keith somehow attain the money that Kitten would need to assuage her unhappiness? Whatever it was, Keith was definitely willing–

A crash from somewhere downstairs brought him quickly out of his thoughts.

So she had broken the china dishes.

Richard's limo sped through the streets. He had finally noticed Alfred waiting diligently for 'Master Richard' to be ready to go home. Alfred was like family. Richard saw the elderly man as more of a grandfather than a butler, but Alfred would hear none of it. Richard would never win the argument, and Alfred would never begin calling him Richard or anything informal like that.

Richard stared out the window quietly for most of the ride home, and Alfred grew worried. What was more worrisome, however, was Richard's sudden outburst.

"Stop the car!" The tires screeched in protest as Alfred slammed his foot on the brakes. Richard quickly got out of the limo and stood with the door open, leaning on the frame of the car. A look of mingled fury, misery, and shock consumed his handsome features. The hand gripping the top of the car door held so tightly to the metal that the knuckles were a fierce shade of white. His other hand shook so violently that he shoved it into his pocket to stifle it. After another tense minute, Richard got back into the car and beckoned Alfred to continue driving home. Alfred as always obliged, but first inquired as to what had been so terribly wrong that Richard had to give Alfred such a fright.

Richard said quietly, "She's hurting" before looking out the window once more. Alfred was puzzled at first, but as he started up the car again he thought he understood. In his rearview mirror Alfred could see a startlingly beautiful mansion shrinking in the distance. Just discernible against the darkening sky was a small figure on the roof, shaking with what Alfred and Richard both thought to be violent sobs.

Merry Christmas :) It's been forever, I know. I'm sorry. Kinda really hectic life at the moment. But as my Christmas present to you, I've updated! Hopefully you enjoy it.

Would you like to keep in the gift giving spirit and leave me a review? That'd be great, thanks. Ha ha.