I'm not putting Kori's parents' names in here because they're not very important characters in this story and I don't know their real names...is it like Myan and Luanne or something?

Note! I replaced the last chapter. Please read it, then the story would make a whole lot more sense. Just scroll down to the italicized part, it's a bunch of flashbacks, but without it some parts of this chapter won't make sense. So go back and read it. WHY ARE YOU STILL READING THIS MESSAGE? LOL.

disclaimer; don't own TT

Kori glanced one last time in the mirror and took a deep breath. Richard's words still hadn't left her mind, and a sense of foreboding had grown in her mind. What if he was right?

Kori walked downstairs to meet her parents and sister, who had all been waiting for her for the past fifteen minutes. "Finally," grumbled Koma. Kori's father glared at her and then turned to smile at Kori.

"You look wonderful, Korina." Kori had to agree with him. She hadn't bothered to go shopping, so she wore the same dress she had worn to the cruise with Kitten and Richard, but this time had actually tried to look better. Her hair was up in a loose bun, and two curls framed her face. She only wore a little eyeshadow and blush, but it was enough to accent everything.

Koma groaned. "Can we just go? Or are we just going to stare at Kori's beauty all night?"

"Koma! If you make one more joke about anything, you will not be going!" her father thundered. Koma sulked, but said nothing as the Anders family filed into their SUV. Kori had the misfortune of having to sit next to Koma, who was throwing her death glares every fifteen minutes. She turned away, knowing Koma would only get angrier if she said anything. The entire ride, no one except Kori's father made a sound.

"...I expect proper etiquette from all of you. That includes you, Koma. No slouching, complaining, elbows on the table, rudeness, or personal grooming in public. I want this evening to go smoothly. Understood?" he instructed. Apparently, he did not have Kori's intuition, and Koma was madder than ever.

They could see Wayne Mansion from three minutes of driving off. It was the biggest house Kori had ever laid her eyes on. As they approached, they noticed a large number of cars parked along the street. Mr. Wayne probably owned the street.

Mr. Wayne himself was at the door to greet the guests. He was a formidible man, in Kori's opinion. His graying hair was neatly combed back, and he was wearing a tux. Kori saw her father shift uncomfortably; he had only thought to wear one of the suits he wore to meetings with important clients.

"Welcome. Ah, these must be your beautiful daughters," Bruce said warmly, bending down to kiss each of their hands. Kori smiled politely, but Koma's face was completely blank as she looked about the huge foyer. Kori noticed Bruce's eyes lingering on her, as if studying her, but ignored it. Alfred, Bruce's butler, led them to a hall ten times larger. Kori could still feel Bruce's eyes on the back of her head, but then she spotted her date.

"Xavier!" she cried happily, but then clapped a hand over her mouth and glanced nervously at her father. He hadn't noticed her outburst. She cleared her throat. "I mean, how wonderful it is to see you here."

Xavier chuckled. "You too. You look beautiful." Kori blushed and whispered in his ear.

"Can we go somewhere else? My dad is a manners-fanatic, and I'm not supposed to speak unless I'm spoken to. As if I'm five years old and in colonial times." Xavier smiled and offered his arm. She took it and he led her away.

She sighed after they were out of earshot, tucking a curl behind her ear. "Thanks. You have absolutely no idea how much this party thing matters to him. He wants us to act like we're in the seventeen hundreds!" she laughed, but then noticed Xavier wasn't listening. He was staring at her, and she was starting to become uneasy. "Xavier? Is something wrong?"

He shook his head, apparently snapping out of a trance of some sort. "No...you want to dance?" Kori readily accepted.

Classical music. Kori groaned. Xavier laughed. "It's a waltz, Kori. Have you ever waltzed before?" Kori shook her head, thinking she would never want to. He took her hand and guided her on to the large, open space filled with middle-aged couples trying not to step on each others toes. "It's easy...ish. It's just three beats." Try as she might, Kori could not get it. Xavier was getting visibly frustrated. He gave up, finally, and Bruce came over.

"Miss Anders, I have been looking for you all evening, I see you've met our promising young Mr. Redd. He's very intelligent, I assure you. Dick! Come here! This is my adopted son. I daresay you will get along with him well." Bruce pulled none other than Richard Grayson from the crowd. Kori gasped.

"Richard?" Bruce seemed mildly interested.

"You've met?" he asked. Kori nodded, dumbfounded. Richard scowled and looked away.

"Hey, Dick, how's it going?" asked Xavier easily. Richard glared at him.

"I'm sorry, he's not in the best of moods. He's not really a people person, and I'm pretty sure I told him to not wear those sunglasses, but anyway...Dick, why don't you ask this lovely young lady to dance? I'm sure Mr. Redd won't mind." Bruce took Kori's hand and placed it in Richard's. "This is a wonderful song. You'll both enjoy it. Mr. Redd, allow me to acquaint you with a good friend of mine." Bruce waved over some girl they had never met, about their age, who smiled shyly at Xavier. Bruce disappeared. Xavier's eyes flashed.

"Sorry, didn't catch your name," Xavier said.

"Nicole."

"Nicole. Have you met Dick?" Nicole nodded. "You two wanna dance?" Nicole said nothing, aware that she was in the way. Richard smirked.

"Well, you heard Bruce." Richard led Kori away.

Kori glared at him. "What the hell was that? You took me away from my date! And how are you Bruce's adopted son? Was he temporarily insane when he adopted you?" she hissed.

"Just shut up and watch!" he hissed back, keeping an eye on Xavier. He tried to steer Kori while he watched, but she would not budge. He glared down at her. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"Dance already!"

"I don't know how!"

"What have you been doing this entire night?" Kori looked away.

"Xavier tried to teach me..."

"And?"

"It didn't really work." She chose not to mention that Xavier was one of the worst teachers she had ever met. Richard sighed.

"It's not hard. Look. One. You do this. Two. Like this. See?" Richard instructed her slowly, and never seemed to mind when she messed up. It all began falling into place. She couldn't help thinking Richard was a lot more patient than Xavier. "You're doing it. I told you it's not that hard."

"I did it? I did it!" she squealed, forgetting for a minute where she was and who she was dancing with, but enjoying the thrill of learning something new. She had always enjoyed it, even as a little girl, and it used to amuse her parents to no end.

Richard smiled at her, but suddenly, she smelled a rat. Kori drew away from him, staring at him accusingly. "You're being...nice. What's going on?" Richard had a confused look on his face. Then he frowned.

"What, I'm not allowed to?" he asked.

"You're allowed to, but you don't. Are you feverish? Tired? Bored? Psycho? What is it?" Richard narrowed his eyes, taking her hand and beginning to dance again.

"First of all, I have to be. Bruce would kill me if I messed up anything at his precious party. Second of all, it's not like I have anything better to do right now. What's the point of getting mad if you don't have a prank to go with it?" He grinned mischievously, but then it disappeared. "And third, I'm only trying to protect you, Kori." Kori stared at him for a moment, and then burst out laughing.

"You? Protecting me? From what?"

"Xavier." Kori started laughing again. Did he really expect her to take him seriously?

"Richard, let me give you the facts. Xavier is my date. You are the most horrible person I've ever met. Xavier would never do anything to hurt me. You, on the other hand...does the word 'fountain' ring any bells in that gigantic head of yours?" Richard glared.

"Yes it does. But you have to listen to me, just this once. I promise you I'm not lying. Stay away from Xavier. He's bad news." Kori snorted.

"Prove it."

"You know I can't! Tell me, how much do you know about Xavier?"

Kori stopped. He had her there. All she knew was that he was good at keeping a conversation going. She had only liked him because of his looks. "He's...nice. And funny...and smart...and..." She was lost. She wasn't even sure about anything she had said. Richard waited, but seeing as he wasn't going to get anything else, he started to talk. Was it just her, or was the space between her and Richard much smaller than when they had started dancing?

"Xavier and I used to be best friends, Kori. And I know he was worse than me. If you think I'm bad...Just listen to me, Kori. Xavier'll make you regret it if you don't." Kori shook her head just as the song ended.

"I don't believe you." She pulled away, and went to find Xavier.

Xavier did not look happy. He was limping and had to grab a chair to sit down in. "I almost prefer trying to teach you how to dance. You should have seen that girl. You'd think she was trying to miss the floor and hit my feet instead."

"Richar taught me how to waltz," said Kori quietly. Xavier stopped.

"Yeah, well, he has no life, so it's no wonder he knows every dance step ever invented," he grumbled. Kori said nothing.

After a few minutes, Xavier stood up and gingerly tested how well he could walk. "It'll work. You want something to drink?" Kori nodded, sat down at a table, and waited.

She noticed, out of the corner of her eye, familiar spiked, black hair. She turned to look at Richard, but he was busy talking to Koma, of all people. Kori, for some reason, felt her insides burn with jealousy. She knew her sister only ever bothered to talk to a guy to flirt...Koma laughed and flipped back her long black hair, and then getting as close as she possibly could to Richard to adjust his collar. Kori glared. Why was Richard still smiling?

Xavier came back with two drinks in his hand, looking as cool as ever. "Hey, Kori, you okay?" he asked, noticing her less-than-happy expression. Kori lied and nodded. Did Richard ever know when she wasn't okay? Did he care? Xavier cared about her, right? He wouldn't hurt her...

Kori took a sip and then spit it out. "Xavier, what is this?" she gasped. He shrugged.

"Found it in some cupboard. You want yours?" he asked. Kori gazed at him fearfully.

"N-no..." Xavier down his in one gulp, and then took hers as well. What's going on? Xavier drinks? He can't, he's almost four years underage! Kori scooted out her chair.

"I'm going to find my parents..." she said shakily. Xavier wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and then reached for her.

"No, stay..." he said, his voice slurring slightly. Whatever it was must have been extremely strong. He stood up, grabbing her hand roughly. Kori had no idea what he was doing, so she followed as he led the way. The reached a hallway, and Xavier turned to her. "Let me give you the grand tour." His breath smelled horrible from the drinks, and Kori almost gagged.

"No...I want to go back..." she whimpered, nearly paralyzed with fear. What was going on? Was this some kind of sick joke?

Xavier opened a door, pushed her in, and then closed it behind him. Kori looked around, and gulped.

It was a bedroom.

She approached the door cautiously. "Xavier...let's get out...we can discuss this later, right? We don't have to do it in here," she said softly. He grinned.

"We're not doing any 'discussing,' Kori," he drawled. Kori lost every ounce of calm that she had.

"Let me out! Xavier, don't do this, please! Let me out!" she screamed. Xavier clapped a hand over her mouth and grabbed her around the waist tightly.

"Can't have someone hearing you, can we now? Go sit on the bed like a good girl," Xavier said. Kori kicked him as hard as she could right where it hurts. He doubled over, roaring in pain, but did not relinquish his grip on her waist. Her mouth free, she yelled the first name that came to mind.

"RICHARD!"

The knob started to turn, and someone muttered something; Xavier had locked it, and he was slowly recovering. "You're going to pay for that, Kori," Xavier said menacingly. If only I could get to the door...

The person outside, however, barreled into the door, actually breaking it. It was Richard. He pucnhed Xavier in the gut, and Xavier released Kori. Richard spared her one glance before ordering her, "Get out of here. Now." She did as he asked without hesitation.

Running back to where the party was, Kori bumped into her mother first. "Kori, dear, what's wrong?" her mother asked, concerned. Without warning, Kori burst into tears.

"I want to go home, mom," she sobbed. Her mother nodded worriedly. She found Kori's father and Koma and ushered them into the SUV, ignoring Kori's father's protests on leaving without saying goodbye to Bruce. Kori's mother drove home, with Kori sobbing in the back.

When they got home, Kori's mother arranged everyone in the living room. "Now tell us what's wrong, Kori," she said gently. Kori almst never cried, so she knew it was probably a big deal. Kori narrarated what she could between sobs. Her parents were shocked, but Koma merely seemed bored.

"Never again!" her father thundered. "You will never date again!"

"That's a little harsh! It wasn't her fault!" her mother exclaimed. Her father frowned.

"You may not ever date again, unless I approve. I am going to make sure this never happens again, understood?" Kori nodded, tears coming fresh. Kori's mother took her hand. "Come." Kori knew where they were going.

When she was little, she would be afraid of everything, especially at night. She would walk to her parents' room and wake her mother up. The two of them would then curl up on a special spot on the floor. It was a giant loose floorboard, and it would always rock Kori to sleep. Her mother put pillows and stuffed animals all around it, so it was like Kori's little sanctuary. Kori hadn't been there for a while, but her mother had kept it anyway, for whenever she got scared. She had never been more scared in her life.

"Go to sleep, Kori. We have to leave, tomorrow morning, but you'll be fine. I'll check on you." Her mother kissed her on the forehead. "Your father only wants what's best for you, Kori. I'm sure he'll let you choose whomever you want, but just give him time. For now, I think it's best. I love you." She left.

And the floorboard rocked Kori to sleep.

"I don't see why this has to be so formal. Why can't we just..."

"Dick, you heard me. Tux, or no friends for a week. And take off those stupid sunglasses!" Bruce ordered. Richard scowled at him, but didn't do anything. Bruce gave up. "Just wear the tux."

This time, Richard grudgingly did as he asked. "Stupid party. Stupid Bruce, stupid Xavier, stupid Kori." He hated everything.

Bruce was at the door greeting guests when Richard was ready. Richard poured himself some punch and sipped it, reluctantly admitting to himself that it was pretty good. The guests started to pour in, and some greeted him, but he scowled at the lot of them.

"Hi, Dick," said a soft voice. Richard turned around to face whoever was dumb enough to bother him when he was in a bad mood, and relaxed.

"Hey, Nicole, what's up?" he asked, trying to be civil. Nicole smiled slightly.

"What's bothering you?" she asked. Richard shrugged.

He had known Nicole since kindergarden, because her parents were friends with Bruce. She herself had gotten very close to Bruce, and could be friends with anyone. She never had a bad word to say, and had a smile for everyone. "Gentle" was pretty much the only word needed to describe her. Bruce loved her like the daughter he never had, and Richard had come to think of her as a sister.

Nicole took some punch for herself. "Xavier's here."

Richard scowled. "Yeah, I know."

"There's a very pretty redhead with him," she said. Richard gritted his teeth.

"She's not pretty."

Nicole smiled a little. "You like her a lot, don't you?" Richard glared at her, and she chuckled. "Once you admit it, everything gets a lot easier." Richard shook his head in disgust.

"I don't. She's exactly like that-" He called Babs something that made Nicole gasp. "-I dated last year. Her and Xavier make the perfect couple...sound familiar?" Nicole regarded him sypathetically.

"I agree what Xavier did may not have been right, but don't you think it's time to forgive him and move on?"

Richard smirked. "No. That's the meanest, rudest, most downright horrible thing I have ever heard you say." Nicole sighed. Richard heard Bruce calling him, so Nicole followed as he made his way towards the voice. Bruce grabbed his arm and pulled him right into the view of Xavier and Kori. Kori gasped.

"Richard?" Bruce seemed mildly interested.

"You've met?" he asked. Kori nodded. Richard scowled and looked away.

"Hey, Dick, how's it going?" asked Xavier easily. Richard glared at him.

"I'm sorry, he's not in the best of moods. He's not really a people person, and I'm pretty sure I told him to not wear those sunglasses, but anyway...Dick, why don't you ask this lovely young lady to dance? I'm sure Mr. Redd won't mind." Bruce took Kori's hand and placed it in Richard's. "This is a wonderful song. You'll both enjoy it. Mr. Redd, allow me to acquaint you with a good friend of mine." Bruce waved over Nicole, who smiled shyly at Xavier. Before Richard could choke out "I don't think that's a good idea," Bruce had disappeared. Xavier's eyes flashed.

"Sorry, didn't catch your name," Xavier said.

"Nicole."

"Nicole. Have you met Dick?" Nicole nodded. "You two wanna dance?" Nicole said nothing, aware that she was in the way. Richard smirked.

"Well, you heard Bruce." If looks could kill, Richard would be dead three times over. One from Kori, one from Xavier, and one when Xavier noticed Richard and Kori's hands had never seperated. Richard didn't care. He happened to know Nicole was just about the worst ballroom dancer in the world, and she was wearing stilettos. This was going to be fun.

Richard led Kori away just far enough so that Xavier couldn't "accidentally" bump into him and send him flying, which he looked like he very much wanted to do, but just close enough so that he could enjoy the show.

Kori glared at him. "What the hell was that? You took me away from my date! And how are you Bruce's adopted son? Was he temporarily insane when he adopted you?" she hissed. Richard ignored most of her outburst.

"Just shut up and watch!" he hissed back, keeping an eye on Xavier. He tried to steer Kori while he watched, but she would not budge. He glared down at her. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"Dance already!"

"I don't know how!"

Richard couldn't believe her."What have you been doing this entire night?" Kori looked away.

"Xavier tried to teach me..."

"And?"

"It didn't really work." Richard sighed.

"It's not hard. Look. One. You do this. Two. Like this. See?" Richard instructed her slowly. It all began falling into place. "You're doing it. I told you it's not that hard."

"I did it? I did it!" she squealed. Richard smiled at her, enjoying her excitement. It was cute, really. No it's not!

Suddenly, Kori drew away from him, staring at him accusingly. "You're being...nice. What's going on?" Richard was confused. What were we talking about? Then he frowned.

"What, I'm not allowed to?" he asked.

"You're allowed to, but you don't. Are you feverish? Tired? Bored? Psycho? What is it?" Richard narrowed his eyes, taking her hand and beginning to dance again.

"First of all, I have to be. Bruce would kill me if I messed up anything at his precious party. Second of all, it's not like I have anything better to do right now. What's the point of getting mad if you don't have a prank to go with it?" He grinned mischievously, but then stopped. "And third, I'm only trying to protect you, Kori." Kori stared at him for a moment, and then burst out laughing.

"You? Protecting me? From what?"

"Xavier." Kori started laughing again. Why couldn't she just listen to him?

"Richard, let me give you the facts. Xavier is my date. You are the most horrible person I've ever met. Xavier would never do anything to hurt me. You, on the other hand...does the word 'fountain' ring any bells in that gigantic head of yours?" Richard glared.

"Yes it does. But you have to listen to me, just this once. I promise you I'm not lying. Stay away from Xavier. He's bad news." Kori snorted.

"Prove it."

"You know I can't! Tell me, how much do you know about Xavier?"

Kori stopped. He had her there. "He's...nice. And funny...and smart...and..." She was lost, he could see it. Half the things she said weren't true. Xavier, smart? Ha. Richard waited, but seeing as he wasn't going to get anything else, he started to talk.

"Xavier and I used to be best friends, Kori. And I know he was worse than me. If you think I'm bad...Just listen to me, Kori. Xavier'll make you regret it if you don't." Kori shook her head just as the song ended.

"I don't believe you." She pulled away, leaving Richard grumbling.

Richard went to find Nicole, who was blushing. "I hurt him, I think," she said quietly, ashamed of herself. Richard realized he had missed the whole thing.

"Yeah, well, Kori still thinks Xavier is Mr. Nice Guy. I can't believe she won't listen to me!" he said, agitated. Nicole patted his shoulder.

"You did what you could," she said. She walked away to get another drink, and someone Richard didn't know approached him.

"Hey," she greeted, smiling flirtatiously. "I'm Koma Anders. You're Richard Grayson, right?" Kori's sister.

"Yeah. What's up?"

"Nothing really. I just wanted to say hi. This is a great party," she said, looking around. Richard shrugged.

"It's alright."

"Come on, Mr. Grayson, surely a hotshot like yourself likes to party every now and then?" she laughed, flipping back her long, black hair. Richard smiled a little. Kori's sister was definately a whole lot friendlier than Kori herself.

"Yeah, but come on, even you have to admit, there's not a lot of partying you can do to a waltz." Koma laughed again and then stared just below his neck.

"Let me fix that," she said, getting as close to him as she could and fixing his bowtie. He forced a smile, suddenly realizing Koma's game, and excused himself politely. She's just like Babs. Stupid, gold-digging...

Richard saw Xavier lead Kori to a hallway, and the expression on Kori's face was not happy. He followed, trying not to be seen. When he got into the hallway, he saw Xavier's foot disappearing into a doorway. He hurried over and then heard his name screamed.

"RICHARD!" Kori!

He tugged at the doorknob, but it was locked. He muttered a few curses and then backed up, ramming the door with all of his strength. It broke, and the two inside were staring at the door in fear. Xavier was holding a struggling Kori, and his eyes would not focus. He was swaying slightly as well. He's drunk. Where did he get the drinks?Richard punched Xavier, not caring where it hit as long as it caused pain. Xavier released Kori, and Richard glanced at her terrified form just once.

"Get out of here. Now," he ordered. Kori obeyed at once. It was just him and Xavier.

"Are you jealous, Richie?" hiccupped Xavier, grinning. "I get all the girls, and you get leftovers and cheaters."

"SHUT UP!" Richard yelled. He punched Xavier in the face, his fist connecting with Xavier's nose. "Don't you ever talk about Kori like that! If you ever even think about hurting her again, you're dead!"

Xavier kicked him in the stomach, and Richard doubled over. "Aw, getting overprotective, now, are we?"

"I thought I told you to shut up!" Richard yelled, getting back up. He tackled Xavier, pinning him to the floor. "Don't ever go near Kori again. Do you understand?" he said in a deathly calm voice.

Xavier smirked. "Are you afraid your little girlfriend is--' Richard punched him in the nose again as hard as he could, and kicked him in between his legs. Xavier howled in pain as a snap was heard. His nose was broken, and bleeding freely.

"DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" Xavier nodded, and Richard got off. "I'm getting Bruce. You can stay, or you can leave. It doesn't matter to me. You heard me, and next time, there won't be a warning." He left.

The guests that saw him were shocked, and one even fainted. He wasn't that bruised, considering the fact that Xavier hadn't been able to hit him much, but Xavier's blood was all over the front of his tux. Bruce found him, and he was redder than lava.

"Explain. Now." Richard told him everything while leading him back to the room. He opened the door, an was surprised to find Xavier still there. He would've thought Xavier wouldn't want to face anyone like this. Xavier glared at them.

"You're in a lot of trouble, son," said Bruce solemnly. Xavier just glared. Richard left Bruce to call an ambulance and Xavier's father. He changed and then went out to find Nicole.

"Nicole?" he said. She was sitting down, watching the couples dance. She glanced up at him.

"Hi, Dick."

"Nicole, where's Kori?" he asked. Nicole visibly shuddered, and patted the seat next to her.

"It was horrible. She ran out of that hallway and she started to talk to some woman, her mother, probably, and she started crying. There's probably a little puddle where she was standing. Her family left five minutes later, and she was still crying. What happened?"

Richard was getting tired of telling the story again and again, but he did anyway. Nicole shook her head.

"I can't believe it...poor girl..." She got up. "I have to leave. Make sure she's okay for me, will you?" Richard nodded, and she kissed him on the forehead. "Good night."

Well, Kori's okay...mostly...and Xavier's getting what he deserves...hopefully...and I'm not sure what happens next. What am I gonna say to Kori tomorrow? I don't think I could do friends. She's...Kori. Do I ignore her? Nah. She'll probably ignore me, right? He didn't want their whole aspect on each other to change. He was comfortable with it right now. Kori was not someone he could be friends with. I'll figure it out tomorrow.

And he went to sleep in the midle of the party.

Couple things:

Bruce is OOC. I think. But I want him to be like that. For later. LOL he was trying to play matchmaker.

That. Was. The. Longest. Thing. I have. EVER. Written. (Gasps for breath)

Review please!