Cloudy Distance
It was funny how two months in Gotham could make me feel so foreign at home. I sat in the sitting room (even though we never really sit in it) watching the party around me. I sighed. I looked at my watch. 8:56 p.m. Right now I could have been curled up in Robin's arms at our clearing. But no. I was stuck here in Los Angeles, California. If I hated Gotham, then I loathe LA.
I felt someone sit next to me. I looked over and rolled my eyes. It was the only the most social ladder climbing, obnoxious, spoiled princess I've ever met. The green eyed, blonde herself, Mimi Van Allen.
"Raven!" she said. "Where have you been? I haven't seen you around lately."
"I haven't been around lately." I said. I didn't try to pretend that I was happy with her here. I wanted her gone. She, apparently, didn't get the memo.
"Yeah, I heard you got sent off to Gotham-"
"And I heard that I would break your arm if you didn't get out my face!" I snapped at her. Her eyes widened in shock. I stood up, but she, foolishly, tried to block my path. Mimi grabbed my arm and narrowed her eyes at me. If I wasn't me, I probably would've been scared. But I was and I wasn't scared.
"Who do you think you are?" she asked trying to sound dangerous. I narrowed my eyes back. I grabbed her hand in a crushing grip. She gasped a little at the pain.
"I think I'm the daughter of the person your daddy owes money to." It was true. Her dad's billionaire status was gone and now he was a multimillion. He would be broke if wasn't for my dad. I smiled evilly at her.
"You know, I could break your wrist if I wanted to." I said putting more pressure on her wrist. "But I won't." I let go and she stumbled to the ground. Wordlessly, I walked out the room. I went up to my room, ignoring the people around me. Once I was there, I slammed the door shut. Then, it was quiet.
I leaned my head on the door, sighing. I walked through the penthouse to the balcony. I sat down on the ground feeling the longing I felt all night grow more profound. The music pulsed from below. I closed my eyes, wondering where Romeo was. Didn't he come so he could give his famous moonlit speech? Where was he?
My shoulders sagged. I knew Robin wasn't coming. I told him not to. Robin needed to stay home because of his mom's death anniversary. I leaned against the ground with my eyes closed. I might as well let the grief of that thought alone swallow me up-
I heard a thud near me. I was careful to make it seem that I didn't notice. The person came closer to me. The presence seemed familiar. Maybe it was Robin!
My hope was deflated as soon as I heard a familiar beat knocked on the ground. I sighed. It was just Karen. She was coming to get me to save me from this stupid party.
"Come on, Rae." She whispered. "Roy's waiting at the spot." I opened my eyes and scowled. She just shrugged of my bad mood. I checked the lock on my door. Once my room was secured with the cameras tricked to think I was there, I ran across the roof of my house, into the night as silent as a thief.
Roy and Wally were playing cards when we arrived at the garage. They looked up and started to walk to there cars. I got out.
"What's going on?" I asked confused. Roy stopped, looking at Karen.
"Didn't you tell her?" I turned to Karen. She scowled at Roy before she turned to me.
"I was going to wait 'til she got here, so…" she grabbed my hands and started jumping up and down. "We're going to San Diego to Mossy Ford-"
"No." I didn't feel like doing another carjack tonight. Karen's good mood vanished.
"Why?" she whined, "They just got a shipment of Saleens! You always wanted one!"
"I can buy one." I said dryly. She scowled at me. I never bought cars.
"Please!" she begged, "I want to go! I wanted a Saleen for FOREVER! This is the perfect time to go and you've been so down lately, I thought this would cheer you up-" She babbled endlessly until I gave up.
"ALRIGHT, I'LL GO IF YOU JUST SHUT UP!" I screamed. Karen immediately shut up as my scream echoed off the walls. Wally breathed out a sigh of relief. I walked back to Karen's car. I sulked in the passenger's seat as Karen entered, beaming. She immediately reversed out the garage and rode at our average (100 mph). We would be there in an hour.
She looked at me before patting my hand. I looked at her with a glare. She just smiled sadly.
"It'll be fun, I promise!" she said trying to reassure me. It didn't work. That was the last she tried for the rest of the ride.
*****
We arrived at the dealership with the usual. Our tools, head-to-toe in black, and a clear mind. No cars were with us. Avoiding the camera's as much as possible; we choose whatever cars we wanted. We picked the locks to the car doors before entering them and driving them out the lot. Then Karen would enter the office, with me knocking out security, and get the keys. Once we were out we brought the cars to an empty lot, making sure they were clear of evidence. We deal with the legal items the next morning.
I sighed before nodding to the other. We moved. The get in, take the prize, and get out instinct came back automatically. I felt the rush of the possibility of getting caught, even though we never did. Then it came to choosing. I looked quickly at the Saleen S7 Twin-Turbo. Karen gave a thumbs up. I smiled before I looked and saw a black Corvette ZR 3ZR. I knew Leo would love it.
I shook my head. I had to keep it clear. But still…
I growled in frustration, turning back to Karen. She was just getting the keys. I ran running to get the keys to the Corvette. Karen gave me a look that said "What are you doing?" I knew I had to figure out a way to get the two out. I grabbed the Saleen keys. Running searching through the tools, I had to hurry before the security caught on. Which happened after the first half hour. I had on five minutes.
I grinded my teeth as I searched. Finally I saw a chain. It was long enough to attach the car. Without thinking it through, I started to attach the cars together. Roy tapped my shoulder. It was the signal for two minutes. I ran to my car (the Saleen) and revved it up. Needless to say, we drew some attention. The chain and car was weighted down by the weight of the Corvette.
I cursed. That was stupid! Why did I do that? Suddenly I felt the weight lift off the back of the car. Soon enough I saw Karen driving beside me. Security told us to slow down but we ignored them speeding down the highway back to the garage. After we escaped the lot, she motioned for me to roll down the window. I did.
"YOU OWE ME A CAR!" she screamed. I smiled at her.
"THANK YOU!" I yelled back.
When Roy was pissed, you knew it. So I knew what to be prepared for when we got back.
"What was that?!" he said. His face was as red as his hair. I sighed.
"Sorry, Roy. I had to get that car." Roy stepped away from me. He shook his head before leaving. I knew he had to cool off for a while. A few minutes later, I walked over to Karen. She was standing in front of the "parking lot". It was where we stowed all our cars.
"Hey Kare Bear." Karen turned to me. "Thanks for doing that." She smiled at me. I raised my eyebrow. It was way too innocent. Karen held up a set of keys.
"I meant what I said about that car." My eyes widened. She wanted to get one of my cars from the lot.
"No!" I said. I tried to snatch back the keys but she pulled them out of my reach.
"Oh no," she told me, "You owe me." I scowled at her. She smiled at that and opened the doors.
I heard the door open and Roy was back.
"On, Roy, you're just in time." Said Karen. Roy raised an eyebrow.
"Raven is giving Kay one of her cars for payback." Said Wally, whose been quietly working on his car design. He's always quiet when he's designing.
Roy got an incredulous look on his face before busting out laughing.
"Oh, I have to see this." He said. Karen walked into the lot. I looked around nervously. I loved all my cars. I glared at Karen. I hate when she gets revenge. I closed my eyes waiting for her to pick. She looked around in my area of cars going from my Ferraris, to the Lamborghinis, then the Aston Martins…until she finally found it.
"I want that one!" she exclaimed. I opened my eyes to where she was pointing. I yelped at the one she chose. She was pointing at my Koenigsegg CCX Ultimate Edition. I tried to hold in my next statement but it slipped out.
"No! Not that one!" I whined. Wally and Roy laughed at me. I shot a glare at them. Karen shook her head.
"I'm gonna need you to give me the key." She handed me the key ring in her hand. I slowly took the key off and handed it to her. She had to snatch the key away from. She then jumped up and down excitedly towards my-I mean her-car. "Oh my god! I'm getting Kane to legal this right now!" She drove out the lot before I could protest. I sunk to the ground on my knees, thinking of Darth Vader as I screamed.
"NNNNOOOOOOOO!" I yelled, the echo bouncing off the walls. Wally and Monty laughed as they exited. I stayed there until I couldn't take the silence anymore. My head was clear of thoughts about my car but instantly filled with new thoughts of someone else. I grabbed my new car keys. Wally looked at me.
"Where are you going?" he asked. I looked at him with a blank expression.
"Out." I stated. Roy looked up from what he was doing. He nodded. He knew where I would be. Without another thought, I was gone.
In a hour I was sitting on top of my Saleen S7 at the border of California, looking at the sign that said YOU ARE NOW LEAVING CALIFORNIA.
I let my mind wander aimlessly. But no matter how much I tried to think of something, my mind always went back to Robin. My stomach dropped every time I thought about him. A smile came to my face when I thought about our conversations. I remembered how he would think I was asleep and would tell me anything. He told me how crazy he thought he was, his fears, how jealous he feels when he can't be with me publicly. Everytime he confesses another secret, I feel more protective of him. Like he's fragile no matter how strong he acts. Maybe we're both like that. Maybe that's why I like him so much. Like isn't even the right word. Its way more than that…
I heard a car approach me. I turned my head. It was Karen in her yellow Camaro. She parked next to me, got out, and sat on the hood without saying anything. We stayed like that, neither one of us breaking the silence between us. It wasn't awkward. It was actually pretty comfortable. But unfortunately, silence and Karen don't mix for well.
"What's his name?" she asked. I raised an eyebrow at her.
"Oh don't give me that look!" she chastised. I chuckled at her.
"What guy?" I asked. She gave me her famous "you know what I'm talking about" looks. I sighed. "I'm not telling."
"So there is a guy!" She exclaimed. It just hit me that she didn't really know until I said that. God, I felt like an idiot. "Tell me." I shook my head.
"Come on, Raven! You never had a guy you've actually liked except…" she trailed off at my glare. It was an unspoken vow. No one, I mean no one, mentions Daitaro, or X as he was commonly called, ever. Especially not to me.
Karen looked away in shame. She was hurt the most because she pushed me to him the most. I know she blames herself for what happened. It wasn't. It was his.
"I know." I told her. A new silence took over us. This time is was awkward. It was filled with things we hated to feel. It was filled with reasons why I joined the garage in the first place. To escape it.
"Can you just give me a hint?" I jumped at Karen's voice, not expecting her to speak. I thought about it. What would be a good hint for Karen? It's something that needs to be obvious but kind of hidden. I smirked as I thought of the perfect one.
"'Tis but thy name that is my enemy…'" I looked up at Karen. "'Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much,
Which mannerly devotion shows in this;
For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch,
And palm to palm is a holy palmers' kiss…'"
Karen gave me a dumbfounded look. I knew she wouldn't figure it out, and if she did, it would take her a while to get. It's not everyday you're told a Shakespeare quote (First quote, Romeo & Juliet: Act 2 Scene 2. Second quote, Romeo & Juliet Act 1 Scene 5)
Call me a cheesy romantic but Act 1 Scene 5 was the best scene in the entire play. It was when they first kissed. It was my darkest secret that I memorized the scene. I don't see how the balcony scene was called the best…well maybe in the 1996 version.
"What does that mean?" Karen asked. I shrugged.
"I don't know. You'll have to figure it out." I told smugly. She huffed and crossed her arms. I laughed at her.
"Come on, let's go." She said, moving towards her car. "Roy's waiting to start designing. He doesn't like you being out here alone, you know." I shook my head. Roy…always looking out for me.
I slid off the hood, entering my car. I looked at the sign fir the last time before driving back to the garage. Each mile was harder than the last to leave behind.
I shut my eyes tightly. Two more days, I chanted in my head, just two more days…
