Hey, hey, you, you, TIME TO READ MY FANFIC!! Alright everyone, sit back, relax, this is gonna be a long chapter. –cracks knuckles-

--FORSCOREANDSEVENYEARSAGO—

I looked out the window and gave a deep sigh. Elly had been out of school for so long now. I tried calling her, like, a million times, but she never picked up. I was also tired of hearing all the ludicrous things her father would do if a boy was calling her.

"Chica?" I looked up at Pepito. "Are you bien?"

I sighed. "I'm fine Pepito. I'm just a little worried about Elly." I turned back to my window.

"She's fine," I heard a small voice from behind me It was Todd. "I-I found out she lives near me, and she kinda came over, and-"

"Did something happen?" Pepito flared, leaning in close to the young boy. "You're still clean, right? You better still be a virgin! You know how I feel about these things!"

"Whuh?" Todd seemed confuzzled. "How did you come to that conclu-"

"Hey." We looked up. Lly! "You better not be talking about me."

She looked just awful! Uncombed hair, dark bags that looked like guy-liner, a blue hoodie covering her face, raggy pants, and…tennis shoes? Old, beat up tennis shoes? No way.

"Lly, are you okay?" I asked. "Do you wanna talk about something?" I could hit myself with a pillow. WHY?!

"I'm fine," Elly said, looking uneasy. "Just leave me alone."

I took this hurtfully and buried my head in my arms. The curse of conernity.

--

"Elly? Are you okay?" I asked at the end of class, waking her up.

"I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"Well, for one," I gestured at her, "this. You never dress like…that…on a normal day."

"Says the girl whose only known me for a month now."

"Don't be difficult!" I was slightly shouting now. "You look like you haven't slept in months!" I sighed. Here came the mother in me. "Is there anything we need to talk about?"

"No!" Her defensiveness was getting less believable by the minute. "I gotta go. I'm late for my next class." She got up and left.

I caught up with her. "Damn right you are! You've been asleep…or…passed out…for four periods AND lunch! You're sick, Lly! You need to go to the nurse's office.

"I'm fi-ine," she said. She then took a thump. But before she hit the ground, Pepito caught her.

"Elly!" He said in an angry voice. "Go. Home."

"No."

"Then go to the office!" he shouted, giving her a shake. "You are sick, Elly! I can feel it in you aura! You! Are! Sick! Get it through your thick head!"

"Not s-sick…" she replied in a weak voice. "'m…fine…just…t-tired."

Thump

--

"Do you think she's okay?" I asked Pepito as I stared at Elly in the bed.
"She's just suffering from sleep and food depravation." He replied.
"Why the heck hasn't she been sleeping? Or eating? It's not like she's anorexic or anything..."
"Shh! She's waking up!"

Elly slowly opened her eyes and blinked at me. "What…the hell?"

"You haven't been taking care of yourself, amiga," Pepito said, arms crossed.

"…have too!"

"Have not!"

"Have to!"

"You haven't been sleeping at all, Lly." I said, cutting them off. "You haven't been eating, either. You were on the verge of starvation! Your body was just trying to tell you to eat or sleep!"

Then silence.

"…where am I?" she finally said.

"The nurse's office," Ms. Mechas, the school nurse, said, walking in. "You haven't been taking care of yourself."

"You're the fourth person whose told me that," Elly said, rubbing her head.

"Fourth?" I asked. "But only Pepito and I-"

"You two should go off to class now," Ms. Mecahs said, waving us away. "Go on! Out!"

Pepito and I walked out feeling rather offended.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" I staggered.

"Oh please," he replied. "If I know Elly, I know she can take whatever weird situation she's in. Whether it's being sick or battling a…a…a Jabberwocky!"

"Why the hell would she do that!?"

"I dunno. I'm just thinking of reasons why she would be fine!"

"You've been reading way too much fiction."

--

I walked in the classroom and sat down. My horoscope told me to sit in weird ways today, so I did. What has my life come to?

"I talked to Lly last night," I said to Todd and Pepito. "She said her mom picked her up and she'll probably be back in school tomorrow."

"That's good."

"Class! Take your seats!" Mr. Spines shouted walking into the classroom.

A boy stood in front of the room. I analyzed him. Black hair with a bowl cut, blue and white polo jeans…weirdo…I like him!

"We've gotten a strange number of new students lately," Mr. S continued. "Hopefully this one will be less freaky…or gay…. Introduce yourself, new student!"

The boy smiled. "My name is Dick Grayson. I moved here from Gothom City."

You must really hate your child to name him that…

--

The hair-straightener breezed across my chest-lengthed hair. I guess it's been straightened so many time that it doesn't even matter anymore. My red highlights were fading. I'd have to redo them this weekend.

I pick up my black and red backpack and moved across the bedroom floor to my bed where my books laid. I hoped that Elly was back today.

I grabbed an apple out of the fridge, kissed my mom goodbye, and ran off to school.

--

I looked up to see the smiling face of my best friend. "Oh my god! Elly! You're okay!" I gave her a hug.

"Uh, Des, remember what I said about the hugging thing?"

"Right, sorry…forgot."

"Elly," Todd said gesturing to the new face sitting near him. "This is-"

"Oh. My. God." Elly stepped back. "No way. No fucking way!"

"Hey Lly," Dick said.

"Holy…Dick?"

Then silence.

"So, uh…you two know each other?" I asked.

Elly pulled him away.

I stared.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Todd asked looking at the many motions and movements Lly was making.

Pepito then jumped. "Do you think she…likes him? …She doesn't, right?"

"Don't think so," Todd replied. "She looks angry at him."

First they were happy, then they seemed mad, then Elly stomped away to the bathroom, leaving him in total shock.

"That was…weird," I said. "So…what were you saying about Lly like Dick? Are you…jealous?"

Pepito seemed silent. He then went into this whole confession session about Elly and her...sparkly eyes…and her…beautiful hair. Yuck.

--

When Elly got out of the bathroom, she had mascara dripping down her cheeks. Had she been…crying? Elly doesn't…cry.

My phone beeped. It was a text from my dad. Brush your teeth, oral hygiene, breakfast is the most important meal of the day, yadda yadda yadda.

"K".

"Who're you texting?" Elly asked, sitting next to me.

"Dad."

"Why?"

"Long story," I lied.

I looked up. "…hey, where'd Dick go?"

"I have absolutely no idea," she replied in an angry voice, taking a bite from her hotdog.

--

"I'm going to the library, mom!" I shouted from the front room.

"Don't get eaten by a hobo!" she shouted back.

"I won't!" And with that I closed the door.

As I walked to the library, I waved at Todd who was looking hopefully out his window like he always does. Weird kid, he is. But whatever, he's just too cute.

I approached the library door when I heard shouting. That sounded like…Lly! I ducked behind the dumpster and watched. She was talking to Dick!

"Look, Elly, I'm sorry." Dick said. "Bats won't take no for an answer, and he's trying to get Two-Face back in Arkham, so he sent me. He said that you'd probably know what's best for your dad and let us put him where he belongs- in the mental institute."

Bats? Arkham? What? I thought.

"Just thinking about that puts a sour taste in my mouth, bird boy. I know what's best for my dad, and it's sure as hell not the MENTAL INSTITUTE 8 HOURSE AWAY IN FUCKING ARKHAM!" Elly shouted. She got up and started walking away, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back close to his face.

Elly's dad…in a mental hospital? What's going on? I thought.

"Lly," Dick said. "I don't mean to be offensive, but your dad's a loony, and he needs proper care."

"Proper care isn't stowed away in a padded cell!" Elly shouted.

What's happening?!

"Elly…what went wrong between us?"

WOAH! BACK THIS TRAIN UP! 'Us?' Nu-uh, nope, no way. Elly doesn't feel emotions! …does she?

The next thing I knew it was make out city. Elly and Dick were lip-locking and there was nothing I could do about it. I felt a bit woozy.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" I spun around. Yes! You go Elly!

"I-I'm sorry, Lly! I-"

She cussed, she shouted, she stomped away. I ducked down so she didn't see me. I had to do something about this.

--

I got home and played the scene over and over again in my mind. What were they talking about? I went to Google.

Keywords: Bats, Arkham, Elly C., Johnny C, Gothom City

An article came up. Gothom Times- April 30, 2006.

I read it over and over again thinking and thinking.

No…

NO!

--

I avoided Elly all day the next day. She tried tapping on my shoulder once or twice and smiling at me, but I didn't even turn to look at her.

At lunch I sat at my old table. Mary, the three Nelli's, Alley, and even Gabriella, it was time to make peace with her.

"Good for you, Dessy!" Mary told me. "You don't need that weird Elly chick!"

"Yeah," said Gabriella, filing her nails. "It's also nice that you finally changed your ratty old style and saw the light in Aeropostal for once."

We all laughed.

"Ugh, plus that weirdo Mexican guy with the horns," Alley added. "Alwayd threatening to blow people's heads up. How pathetic."

"Oh, if you know pathetic, you know that Casil kid," Nelli number two chimed in. I stopped laughing.

"Ugh, what a loser," Nelli 3 said.

"I know!" said Nelli 1. "He's afraid of like, everything!" They all giggled.

"…yeah…" I finally said. "…weird."

--

I heard footsteps behind me as I walked home from school. I turned around constantly, but found nothing. Then when I started walking again, they started up once more. I decided to pull a trick on them.

I Pulled out my phone, pretended to dial a number and began talking. "Hey what's up? Oh my gosh, me too! Guess what? Well, I was walking down the street, and-" I flipped around. "AHAHA!

The stalker screamed. It was Elly.

"What do you want?" I turned back around and started walking again.

"What's wrong, Des?" she asked.

I stopped and turned once more. "Don't call me that, Elly!" I snapped. "How could you not tell me?"

"Tell you what?"

"I heard you and Dick talking-yelling-last night. I was walking to the library to grab some books and heard you guys fighting. I hid behind a dumpster and watched, just in case I needed to break it up. I heard you yelling about Arkham and Batman and the Joker, and saw you guys kiss. I didn't know what you were fighting about, so I went home and looked it up on the computer, and found this." I pulled a crumpled piece of paper out of my Aero sweater pocket. "I was at the library all morning searching, just to make sure, but now I am."

She read the paper:

April 30, 2006- Gotham Times

The mass murdered known only as Johnny C. has escaped from prison-

killed the Joker-

Wounded Robin-

Killed half a dozen-

Wanted-

With family Elly C. and Devi D.-

77k reward-

(The rest was too blurry to read)

"Elly, I trusted you. You told me the only reason you moved was a change of scenery. Tell me why I shouldn't turn you in, Elly, tell me why the hell why!" I shouted.

No reply.

"Elly C., you and I are HISTORY!" And with that I slammed the door.

--

I woke up in the morning, but P-Ditty was the least I could feel like. I felt more like… Emilie Autumn when she's on a hangover.

I slipped on my stressed Applebottom short-shorts and pulled on a pair of Ugg boots. I crimped my black hair, which was now faded completely of highlights. I turned to my cat. "What do you think?"

He just stared at me in disapproval.

"Oh! Who asked you!" I shooed him away.

--

Thursday? History test? Math quiz? Who gives a flying fuck! I spent the whole History test sending notes to cute guys and Gabriella. And as for the math quiz? Psh! I skipped class to write on the bathroom walls. I denied an offered cigarette, though. I wasn't all that bad.

At the end of the day, the only weird thing that happened was Elly gawking at me as Gabriella and I walked to cheerleading practice.

--FORSCOREANDSEVENYEARSAGO—

Yay! It's done! One note before I end.

Dirge: I got the next chapter! So don't write it yet! Cuz I know just what's going to happen!

Peace out MA POOP SLICES!!

PLHE,

~Nikki-san

(PS: Forgot to tell you guys, I realized the other day that I uploaded the wrong file for chapter five, so please go back and read that. Thanks!)