Hello my Readers
It you girl CiStar and i'm back again.
this time with a new Chapter!
Hope ya are enjoying this story so far.

As promise to one of my readers.
Richard is in the story for now on!

Enjoy ^_^

- CiStarr.

Recap: Can you believe it? With abnormal cycles, Karen was ovulating when she took the test. Not pregnant! Her period should be on any day. Karen also told us that she remembers quickly getting the box at the drug store because she saw some of our classmates getting personal items.

All the way home we were happy. Everyone but Jas vowed to leave sex alone. Jas said she's try, but realistically, she'd just have to agree to be careful. We will not forget this lesson.

Chapter 10

Finally, the holidays! It was around forty degrees. So many things change in Gotham this time of year. The smell of barbecue and the sight of fireworks were no longer present in the air. Last minute Christmas shoppers bustled back and forth. And me, well, my mind was filled with thoughts of my family and friends.

Mid-terms were the toughest they'd ever been. Probably all those honor classes. I think I did pretty well, though. I sure studied enough my social like had gone out the window the past few weeks. So, I was really looking forward to this break.

Get to hang though with my girls well, that is, after my family gets back from West Orange, New Jersey. That's where my grandparents live. It's about two hours away. Yep tradition, dictates that I'm there Christmas Eve and Christmas Morn.

ZzZzZzZzZzZzZz

"Kori Honey," my seventy two year old grandma said, "Phone for you baby, get up now. Get out that bed and get it."

Who in the world would be tracking me in West Orange? I glanced at the time, while wiping the cornbread sleep from the corner of my eye. The clock read five thirty a.m. Now, I was mad.

"Okay, who's got the nerve to disturb my entire family on Christmas morning?" I asked after bumping into two doors trying to answer the phone.

"Merry Christmas to you, Marry Christmas to you, Merry Christmas!" The out of key comprised of my three best friends sang.

Kinda laughing I said, "Oh, you guys are crazy! Aren't ya 'll a tad bit too old to be staying up all night waiting for Santa?"

"Ha, ha, ha," Karen uttered sarcastically, "We all just woke up. Wanted to wish you a merry holiday and all. Shoot, a girl can't even appreciate when people try and do something nice."

"Karen," I chuckled, "don't even try it. What do ya'll really want? Waking my grandma up…"

"Kori, please, you know Grandma Laura Anders been up since the crack of dawn, fixing her kids some pancakes and bacon." Jas boldly stated

"It isn't the crack of dawn yet," I told them.

"Cool," Jas said, "then she won't need her alarm clack, consider us her wake up call."

We all laughed. They knew my family so well. I could smell the scrumptious buttermilk biscuits baking in the oven. Equally, I knew them just as well. Although it was kinda special hearing from them all, I felt there was much more behind the dime.

"Now I'm asking again. Tell me what's really up."

"Well," Rachael hesitated, "don't get us wrong; we want you to have a most merry holiday in West Orange. But, are you coming back in time enough to drive us to the area basketball tournament? Remember, the semi-finals start tonight. Gar's playing and you gotta cheer."

"Okay, I'll pick ya'll up."

ZzZzZzZzZzZzZz

The place was packed! Tonight and tomorrow people will be here from everywhere. Last week sixteen high schools entered. Twelve eliminated and four are still going strong. Gotham, my school, J.Y high. Gar's team, Jump High from Jump City, and Murakami High.

Our team played Jump high first. Karen and I were in the girl's locker room warming up. The rest of the squad was already on the court. Hanging with Karen always seemed to make me lag behind.

Just as the two of us were finally headed to cheer, Jasmine and Rachael burst in. they were giggling like two little kindergartens who just stole a cookie from the cookie jar. At last, they calmed down enough to explain what was going on.

"Boy, do we have a surprise for you," Jas said smilingly from ear to ear, as she stared at me.

"What do you mean, a surprise?" I hoped that they weren't about to play a practical joke.

"Come on," Rachael pulled me on one hand and Jas yanked the other arm.

As soon as we stepped out on the court they pointed my head in the direction of Jump High guard. He was wearing number forty. His back was to me. I admit, his build was pretty nice and all, but what was the big deal?

When he turned towards me to shoot a jumper, I was floored. Of all people, surprise, surprise. It was Richard Grayson. No way, I thought with pleasure. I knew he was from Jump, but I didn't know he went to Jump High. My thoughts were changing every second. Ironically, though, they were all thoughts of him.

Now, it was the second half of the game. My eyes had not detoured from him. We were losing, yet I was glad. Deep down, I found myself cheering for his school instead of Gotham.

He ran up and down the court like the lead race car in a derby; swift, powerful, and in charge. Such charisma and ease. Boy, I was impressed. Most of me wanted to run right on the court and hug him anyway. Maybe he's got a girl now. Wouldn't that be just my luck?

Richard was so good with the basketball; it almost slipped my mind that he was a great at football too. He was making some bad moves. He shots three pointers like he was standing right under the basket. The ball just went in. it seems effortless.

"Well, we're out of the tournament," Karen stated as the buzzer sounded and the scoreboard real Gotham 55, Jump 76.

ZzZzZzZzZzZzZz

Jasmine, Rachael, Karen and I were huddled up watching the next game. Rachael screamed for Gar so loud it became embarrassing. He could ball, though. I gotta give him his props. He had twenty five points and it was just the first half.

"Where you guys going?" I said to the three of them as they got up to leave me.

Jas said, "Its halftime. Nobody gonna sit here all night. We gonna make some rounds. We important people got people to see. You can sit here if you want to check ya on the rebound."

"Come go with us," Karen invited. "We'll be back before the second half."

"No thanks. I'm tired from cheering. Plus, with all these people crowded in here, it will be the fourth quarter before you get to the concession stand."

You know, sometimes we just act crazy. To the left of me were two girls cursing each other out. On the tip bleacher a couple was practically having sex. These dudes straight across were smoking weed. You think I was at a club instead of a basketball game. All of a sudden, some unknown pervert grabbed my neck and kissed it before I could stop him. This jerk I had never seen before was about five feet one inch. The shrimp's breath reeked of alcohol.

"Let me go!" I yelled

"Why you tryna to play me, girl? You know you like this," he barely gasped with his bloodshot, red eyes.

"Take your filthy paws off me," I scream. "Take them off!"

"Ah, don't try to act all proper on a nig..."

"Please," I pleaded, "LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Come one," he sobbed, just as he tried desperately to touch me.

I pushed him to stop his actions. In anger, he threw up his fist to punch me. I was terrified. It was a blessing when someone grabbed his arm.

"Get of the lady. Hit me if you want to hit somebody," the nice guy said

"Nah man, I don't want any trouble. I'm… I'm outta here," the dog replied like the coward I knew he was.

My gosh, was I shaken up. So much so that I couldn't even look up to thank my hero. My head was bowed down and my eyes were filling with tears.

"I've got to get out of here," I whispered to myself.

This guy uttered with deep concern, "Are you okay?"

When I finally looked into his kind eyes, I felt like Cinderella. There was Richard Grayson standing before me. My Prince Charming! It had to be an angel that brought us together this way.

"Come one, I'll get you out of here the back way," he said to me. "You need some air, and I don't think it's wise for you to be alone."

Before I could respond, he grabbed my hand and whisked me away. At that point, I had forgotten all about the rude dude. Richard had found me. Oh, how sweet. I still couldn't believe he stepped in the middle of my confrontation. That crazy boy might have had a gun, knife, gang, anything.

When we got outside, he pulled a Dr. Pepper from his bag. "Here drink this."

I took it graciously. "Richard, I can't thank you enough. That was so sweet of you to help me like that. I mean, how'd you see me? How did you know I needed help?"

"I was in the hall about to leave, when I ran into your girls. Of course, they wouldn't let me go until they pointed you out. But… I was kinda glad. I've been crazy busy with all going on that I haven't had a chance to give you a ring. I have wanted to call, though."

He wanted to call, oh yes! I was starting to feel something here.

Richard continues, "After your friends told me where you were sitting, I figured I should at least come and speak. As I found my way over to you, I saw the boy disrespecting you. He was getting louder and his hands were in the wrong place. I didn't do anything special. I did what any gentleman would do. It wasn't a big deal. I'm only glad u could help. Besides, you'd do the same thing for me, wouldn't you?"

We both laughed. I loved his sense of humility. His sense of humor was an added point plus.

"So, are you about to leave?" I hoped he'd say no

"I got a little time," he said in a cute, fun way.

The two of us walked around the school. The place was unfamiliar to us both, since neither of us attended there. We walked, not saying anything, but smiling from time to time.

Richard wasn't holding my hand anymore. Guess there's no reason he should. He only did that in the first place to lead me outside safely. Once he did that, he let it go. But boy, did I want to grab his. Stoke his hand. Caress his fingers. Memorize his fingerprint.

We finally stopped walking when we reached the front of the school. We sat on a bench. The temperature was steadily dropping around us. Yet, I felt my heart warming up. And why? Guess the mystic was boiling me over.

"So Miss Kori Anders, tell me a little about you," Richard asked with interest.

"You wanna know about me?" I tried to charm him. "Well other than my is actually Koriana and my favorite color is purple. There's really not much to tell. Honestly, I'm rather boring. I do stuff for the school. Have an annoying brother. Wonderful parent, most of the time. Cool friends, in the 'in crowd.' Nothing spectacular. What about you? You're the MAN! The man who just played an awesome game and saved me in there. Actually, I'm surprised you aren't riding with your team."

"Usually I do have to. Coach let us slide this time, since Christmas. Umm... about me. Well, I live in Gotham. You know that. I have a great mother and grandmother. Umm... birthday is the first day of spring, March 20. I'm an only child. I just do whatever I can do to help. I'm nothing special either. Just another boy. But more than anything, I am proud to say that I'm a Christian. I owe everything I do to him."

What a guy. I never met anybody as open about God as he was. I mean I'm not that open about X'hal. He's so different from most boys that I know. Here he was MVP of the game and he takes the focus off himself.

Richard kept talking. "Hey, I hope I'm not losing you or boring you. Just trying to keep it real and tell you what I'm about. A lot of people nowadays can't deal with that. So, I've been praying to god for a friend. Not a girlfriend. Not a home boy. But a true friend. With all my success in football, people have constantly been there. God has given me a spirit of discernment. He's been showing me that quite a few of the people I hang though with don't mean me any good. I don't mind being by myself, but it'd be cool... real cool… to be with someone who sincerely cared about me. I'm straight tired of fake people being down with the bandwagon. I mean, the wagon could stop any day."

We talked, and talked, and talked, and talked. Then we talked some more. What was neat is that I enjoyed every word he breathed, before we knew it, people were coming out of the gym.

"I gotta get to my car. My friends are probably looking for me, I drove," I said reluctantly, "you have my number. Feel free to use it."

"I'll just walk you around the corner, until we see your car. Don't want any more trouble. Tomorrow I have to play in the final game. I hope you come and cheer me on this time." He said, blushing.

Without answering, I smiled because, little did he know, I cheered for him tonight. We said quick goodbyes and I jetted to my jeep. The ride home was hilarious. A bunch of noisy busybodies. Rachael probed me to see if I liked Richard. Karen quizzed me about whether he was going to be my date at the cotillion. And Jas interrogated me to find out if I kissed him.

I brushed them all off. Had to play down the talk Richard and I shared. After all, I still hadn't figured this guy out. Didn't know what type of relationship he wanted with me. He mentioned praying for a friend. But what does that really mean? Until I know that, I can't answer any or their questions.

"So, who won the last game?" I asked

"You know my baby carried Y.J high to a victory. My boo… will play your boo… for the title."

"My boo?" I gasped. "It's not even like that. He's a nice guy… really nice guy. Who knows what will happen, if anything."

ZzZzZzZzZzZzZz

New Year's Eve was here. One year down, another one upon us. My parents didn't want me out in the streets. The debs were having a party, but this was one and only event my mother felt was too dangerous for me to attend. So, to feel like I wasn't imprisoned, they allowed me to have the girls over.

We had a crab feast. Four dozen steamed whole crabs, all piled on the kitchen table. We called it our way to claw into what's to come.

Later, we were all swarmed around the fireplace, trying to sing carols, even though Christmas was last week. Then they asked the question I was dreading.

"What's up? You talked to O'boy?" Jasmine said inquisitively.

"Ah, look at her," Rachael stated with a smile. "She's trying to keep it to herself. Don't pressure her."

Karen threw in her two cents, "Bump that! Tell us something."

I was about to break down. Just cry right then and there. Wanted to scream at the top of my lungs. But I got a hold of my emotions and said, "He hasn't called. It's been a whole week and he hasn't dialed my number once. So, can we please talk about something else?"

The live countdown from New York was on TV. We were half tuned in to it and partly into thumbing through magazines. My parents were upstairs, my dad stopped us.

"Kori dear," he uttered while showing me his trump tight hand, "is that your phone I hear ringing this time of night? Don't be on long."

I wondered which one of my friends' boo was calling. Was it Roy for Jas, Gar for Rachael, of Vic for Karen? Whoever, it was not for me. As I strolled to my room to pick it up, the answering machine came on.

I was trying to grab it when the guy said, "Hello, Kori, this is…"

"I know who this is," I grabbed the phone and blurted out in a surprised yet happy tone.

"Oh, so you're screening your calls?"

"No, Richard. The machine just picked up before I got to it."

"Well, I hope I'm not calling too late. Since it is midnight, I won't keep you too long. First of all, I want to apologize for not getting a chance to call you this week. I'm sure you don't want to hear excuses. But, I will say a lot has been going on. I have been thinking about you. Truly enjoyed our conversation the other night. I find you to be a pretty interesting lady. I didn't know what you had up tonight. But I'm glad I caught you. Second, I hoped to be the last person you spoke with this year and the first person you talked with next," Richard mumbled, sounding sincere.

I was stunned. It felt like a muzzle was placed on my mouth. Were my ears hearing her correctly?

I gained composure and knew I couldn't get too excited. Not trying to go to on another roller coaster ride. Just a week ago, I got all pumped to chat with him and he didn't even call. Won't let myself get up like that again. Too far of a drop if he lets me down.

"Richard, my friends are downstairs. I'd love to extend this conversation, but now is not a good time," I said coldly.

"Ah, I see you're mad at me, huh?" Richard asked with a smirk in his tone.

"Why… Why would you say that?"

"Look, let's cut through the ice. I apologize for not calling when I said I would. Either way you've gotta believe I meant to. I went back over to the University at Albany. February is when I'm supposed to declare what school I want to attend. Only trying to make good decisions. So, since schools out, I took advantage of the time off to again visit my first choice. You know, I could explain and explain, but I'm sure you don't want to hear the boring details. You said you need to go, so I'll let you. It was my mistake for calling. Bye Kori," Richard was about to hang up.

"No. No, wait! Maybe I was a little harsh." I quickly uttered, hoping to keep him on the line, "I've got a few seconds."

"Okay," Richard replied," tell em, Miss Anders, what was the greatest thing that happened to you this year?"

"For me, it was learning how important it is to have faith in X'hal. Even when things seem a little crazy and the boat starts rocking on the stormy water, I found that if you keep your faith in him, the boat will stop rocking and you'll, make it to the shore of peace."

"That's exciting! I've never heard you talk about your God like that. What do you expect from next year?"

"Whatever, X'hal gives, I will take," I said humility.

Talking to him was such a joy for me. I realized an even greater prize. That is how much I'd grown. Uttering those words to him in what I expect out of next year allowed me to realize my priorities were in the right order.

"You're quit! Did you hear me? Happy New Year Kori," Richard said.

"Wow!" I blabbed, "It's here already! Happy New Years to you Mr. Grayson."

"I know you got company, so I won't hold you. But I want to ask if you'd like to go to a movie later today?"

"Tonight's good," I said, unaware his invitation was coming.

"Then I'll call you back later with details," He said, "Enjoy your friends and tell them hello!"

When we ended the conversation, I was ecstatic. Richard called, YES!

Before I could exit my room, Jas, Rachael and Karen invaded. they were laughing, smiling, and cutting up. Basically, I knew than that they had eavesdropped. They pretty much heard the entire thing.

After they realized that I knew they knew it was Richard, we all scream in excitement. Then we hugged each other. Such a special moment.

"Come on ya'll enough of the sentimental stuff. We've got to get downstairs and bring in the New Year right. Our toast… Remember?" Rachael yelled trying to sway us to the basement.

I glanced at them all, dived backwards on my bed, and shouted, "Who can concentrate on bringing on the New Year when I'm all shaken up with the way Richard Grayson is ringing my heart!"

Awwwww isn't Richard just so sweet.
Yepp their gonna make a good couple.

Well you know what to do.
Click the review button and leave one =)
Until next Chapter. Bye

-Cistarr.