The whole walk to Kory's dorm had been an odd one for Rachel because, for once, she was nervous about talking to her sister-like friend. Never before had Rachel even blinked twice when it came to talking to Kory about something personal, but now, she could feel the nervous twitches in her stomach as she neared dorm 342. The nervousness was probably because, for once, the rolls had been switched around. Usually it was Kory who came to Rachel asking for advice or in need to talk about something important, but now it was Rachel who was seeking out Kory for help she thought she'd never need… boy help.
"Stupid Allen. Stupid hormones." Rachel then began to curse the rest of the world while calling it stupid. Today must have really not been her day since she had to not only write an essay, but also stare into the pretty eyes of Allen who could never do any wrong. It wasn't like she had a crush on him, no, Rachel was much above crushes, but Allen had caught her interest when boys should have been the last thing on her mind after everything that happened with Garfield. After the miscarriage, Rachel went pretty much numb to everything around her except for Kory and now this guy who had saved Kory's butt once and was at the baby shower, was catching her attention when nothing else could. This guy was the reason she was even knocking on Kory's dorm room now while she scowled at the metal numbers 3, 4, and 2 in the high middle of the door.
"Rachel? What's up?" Kory's voice caught Rachel's attention as she pushed past her bubbly friend and into the room. Luckily Barbara wasn't there which was good because Rachel would have just kicked the poor girl out of the room.
"Do you remember Allen?" Rachel asked rather suddenly after sitting down on the end of Kory's bed. Said girl took a seat on the bed as well while looking at her friend curiously.
"Yes, I remember Allen, but what does he have to do with anything?" Kory asked, her eye brow rose because of her friend's unusual actions today.
"Well he's in my biology class and we're project partners." Rachel was interrupted then, though it was a good thing because she really wasn't quiet sure where she was even going with this conversation. Before she had knocked, Rachel had had at least a sketched out plan of the talk, but now she was pretty confused which wasn't something she was often.
"Oh well that's good. From the couple of times that we've talked, Allen has told me that he's very passionate about that class and you should be getting a good grade with him as your partner," Kory explained with a smile, oblivious that her friend was struggling with this conversation.
"Well that's great because I can't concentrate with him next to me," Rachel blurted out before slamming her hand over her mouth in shock. Never before had Rachel suddenly said something without thinking first and now she had to pay for it.
Kory smirked slyly. "You like him… don't you Rachel." It was less of a question and more of a statement.
"I never said that! I just simply can't concentrate as well with him always smiling next to me and it's confusing," Rachel said matter-of-factly. Oh how things had turned around for her.
"Face it Rachel. The only reason you're distracted by him is because you like him." The smirk still hadn't left Kory's face as she talked. It was usually Rachel smirking while pointing out Kory's obvious feelings, but now the tables had turned and Kory planned to take control of this situation. She wanted to be able to help her friend the way Rachel had helped her so many times before.
"Is it right to be thinking about another guy after everything that happened with Gar? Am I moving too fast? Should I still be in pain after everything that happened?" Rachel asked, a sudden sorrow overflowing in her words. Kory's smirk fell as her eyebrows knitted together in slight confusion and concern for her friend.
"Is that really the way you've been feeling all this time Rachel? That you owe it to Gar after what happened over the summer to stay away from other guys?" Kory heard her voice rise slightly, but she couldn't hold back her anger very well. "You may not want to hear this Rachel, but he left you to do who knows what! You don't owe that asshole anything after everything he did!" Rachel looked up at Kory in slight shock while wetness framed her eyes.
"What do you think I should do Kory? You've always known what's best for me because you know me almost better than I know myself." The words spoken by the dark girl were soft and almost pleading.
"I think you should give Allen a try and maybe start up a relationship. Gar is only part of your past now and you can't let the past weigh you down," Kory said with a smile before Rachel nodded and stood from the bed.
"I have to go now because I'm meeting him at my dorm to work on the project." Her voice was much calmer than before as she wiped away what small amount of tears had formed. "Thank you Kory," Rachel then said before hugging said friend and leaving.
"You're welcome Rachel," Kory whispered with a smile before continuing her school work.
oo-oo-oo-oo-oo
Barbara hummed to herself as she made her way up the stairs towards the roof. Luckily nobody else was really around at the moment so there were fewer problems though nobody could really ask why someone was heading towards the roof since anyone could go there. Just as she had originally planned, it was four o'clock and an hour before Barbara was supposed to meet Xavier.
"This hour should be just enough time for me to get some dirt on him," she decided with a smirk while pulling out her camera. Taking a deep breath, Barbara slowly opened the door before looking around. Luck seemed to be on her side since there was nobody to see her open the door. Slipping out of the hallway and onto the roof, Barbara slowly made her way around the small building in the middle of the clearing to find Xavier talking with three guys.
The smirk that was already on Barbara's face only grew as she pulled out the camera. "Perfect." Focusing the camera, she took a picture as Xavier reached into his jacket pocket. Another picture was taken when a bag filled with something white was handed to one of the three guys.
"You are so busted," Barbara thought while taking another picture as another one of the guys handed Xavier a roll of bills. The three men then turned away as Xavier counted the money which Barbara took a picture of before leaving the roof without anyone noticing.
oo-oo-oo-oo-oo
Richard was pacing the floor of his dorm while in deep thought.
"How long is it going to take Barbara to get dirt on Xavier?" he wondered, knowing that he would go insane if it was too long of a wait. All Richard wanted was for Kory to realize that Xavier wasn't the right guy for her and that she deserved better. Sure Richard knew that he had screwed up big time in the past with Kory, but his standards of Xavier were much lower.
The way Richard saw it, Xavier was just some bum. He didn't do any good for anyone aside from the people Richard guessed he sold drugs to. Xavier, in Richard's eyes, wasn't deserving of Kory and her love and, as a good friend, Richard had to make sure that Kory saw that.
"I could treat her so much better than that bastard ever could," Richard thought while running his hand through his messy hair. Yup, he was certain now, that if Barbara didn't give him some news soon, he would go insane. Feeling a small and short vibration in his pocket, Richard pulled out his cell phone to find a text message from Barbara.
The message read. 'Where should we meet? I have something you might like to see'. Richard smirked before quickly replying giving a place and saying that he would be right there.
Seemed his plan was going to be put into play a lot sooner than he thought.
oo-oo-oo-oo-oo
So I know it wasn't a super long chapter (not even really that close to long), but hey! I updated! That should be like huge news! I've already started working on the next chapter for Walking With The Damned, When The Dead Live, and Curse of the Ninjatube. The update that will most likely come out next is Walking With the Damned because I'm furthest along in that. Painted Woman will probably be one of the last stories to get an update simply because I haven't really started working on the next chapter yet.
I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter no matter how short it is and in the next chapter there should be some more on Kory and Xavier.
Also! In the next few chapters or so, I may do a little portion with Garfield. If I don't do it in the next couple of chapters, then you may not find out what's been going on with him until the next story.
Yes, Garfield will be back in the next story. That's my little spoiler for anyone who wanted him to come back really badly. Garfield will be back along with another familiar (but unwanted) face and they both only bring problems (though Garfield not so much, just some oh so loveable drama).
Please review!
Kattie