A/N Hiya! I'm uploading a lot. More than planned, that is mostly since the two latest chapters that I have written were centered around different characters (Superboy/M'gann and Artemis) which meant that there wasn't that much to write. This chapter is similar, this is just a lot of being with friends. I was actually going to post this yesterday, but my friend called and we spent two hours bitching about everything. Like friends do. She told me that one of my sort-of-friends threatened that she would jump of a roof and take her life (she didn't, she just caused a lot of panic and drama), one of her friends is pregnant and is maybe being abused and/or manipulated by her 21 year-old boyfriend into keeping the baby (she is 16). So my life went from completely normal to some sort of drama series over the course of two hours. Send help.
Shout out to NightressForever for following and favoriting this story. Love ya!
Targets
Mount Justice
September 7th, 07:20 EDT
I walked out of the kitchen to see Kaldur using the hologram computer.
"Checking…"
"Checking what?" I asked wrapping my arms around his waist.
"Roy asked me for help. Cheshire is 1.67 metres," Kaldur said. I'm just going to assume the last part was for Roy.
"Uhm?" Roy asked, having trouble with the metric system.
"She is 5'6"," I told him, having learnt the metric system when I moved to earth. It made more sense than the imperial system.
"And exceptionally dangerous. Do you require back-up?" Kaldur asked. I hoped not, if he did need it, the only team-member available was Kaldur.
"Please, the last thing I need is the Junior Justice League," Roy said.
"I take personal offence in that," I told him.
"You just need our computer," Kaldur muttered.
"Good luck, my friend. Aqualad out," Kaldur told him, finishing the conversation. He turned around, kissing me.
"When do you have to leave for school?" he asked me as we walked into the kitchen.
"10:30. But I'll have to start getting ready at ten," I replied. He gave me a smirk, which was the most attractive thing I had ever seen.
"That's a lot of time, and soon we'll be all alone," he suggested, lightly kissing my cheek.
Mount Justice
September 7th, 07:38 EDT
"I'm so nervous. What if I embarrass myself on my first day of earth school?" M'gann told me as we made the lunches.
"I was nervous too. It's natural. But you have nothing to worry about. Everything will be alright," I told her, writing her earth name on her lunch bag. When I turned towards Superboy's lunch bag, I frowned.
"Has Superboy decided on an earth name yet?" I asked her. She stopped what she was doing and looked at me.
"No, at least he hasn't told me," M'gann replied. I sighed.
"It should've been one of the first things that we did with him. Hopefully he has a couple ideas on what his name should be," I said, opting to write a smiley on his lunch bag.
"Aaaand done! Let's go get Superboy," I told her. M'gann nodded and took their lunches. We passed Kaldur, Manhunter and Tornado on the way.
"C'mon, we're going to get Superboy," I told them, beckoning them with my hand.
"Ready for school?" M'gann asked as she flew towards Superboy. "Kayla and I made our lunches."
"The first day of a scholastic season carries great cultural residence, we want to wish you both well," Manhunter told M'gann and Superboy.
"Guess it's not a Kryptonian thing," Superboy said.
"You may wish to change before you depart," Kaldur said. He was right, they were still in their uniforms, but I knew M'gann already had an outfit planned.
"Ah, I spent hours choosing this outfit, what do you think? Can M'gann M'orzz pass as an earthgirl now?" M'gann asked us.
"Not counting your green skin?" I teased her.
"Just kidding. Meet, Megan Morse!" Megan told us, turning into a caucasian girl.
"What about you Superboy, have you decided on an earth name?" I asked Superboy.
"My what?" Superboy asked, looking like a deer caught in headlights.
"I chose the name Jon Jones for myself and suggested John Smith for Red Tornado. You could be a John too," Jon suggested, turning into a bald, african-american male.
"Pass," Superboy shot down the idea.
"Conner's always been my favorite name," Megan told him, putting her hands on his shoulders. Superboy shrugged, seemingly agreeing.
"How about Kent for your last name?" I suggested. I hope Superman won't mind too much.
"Oh, in memory of Dr. Fate, the late Kent Nelson!" Megan exclaimed.
"Oh, of course," I said, sharing a look with Kaldur.
"Okay, sure. I guess it would be an honor or something," Supe- no, Conner said.
"Well, Conner Kent, time to change your shirt. You don't wanna reveal you identity," Megan told him. Superboy took of his shirt, causing Megan and I to blush. I'm dating, not blind, as Delilah would say.
"Will this work?" Conner said, holding his now completely black shirt.
"Works for me," Megan said dreamily, and I think she was hoping for him to keep his shirt off.
"Wait, shouldn't I be Conner Nelson?" Superboy asked as they walked out
"They grow up so fast," Manhunter said, sounding a little sad. I giggled a little.
"Well, I better be on my way, have a good day," Manhunter said, turning into Jon Jones.
"We will and the same goes for you," I said.
"I will also return to my room, unless you need me." If Red Tornado had eyebrows, he would have raised them.
"Not at all," Kaldur told him. Red Tornado nodded and went towards his room.
"My room or your room?" Kaldur asked when Tornado was out of hearing range.
"Mine." And that is how, Kaldur and I ended up making out in my room on the mountain. At least until Roy called for help an hour later. I groaned, sitting up in my bed as Kaldur answered the call.
"I'll be in my way, Aqualad out," Aqualad finished the conversation, while I inspected my neck in the mirror, nope, no hickeys.
"Kayla I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date after you finish school?" Kaldur asked me.
"That sounds nice," I said draping my arms around his neck. I felt him wrap his arms around my waist, pulling me closer.
"When do you finish school? I'll meet you there," Kaldur asked.
"At three pacific daylight time, that should be around six here," I told him, giving him a light peck.
"Then I'll pick you up, maybe we could go for a coffee?"
"Have you actually tried coffee?" I asked him, my tone suspicious.
"Yes," he said, his tone dry. I chuckled.
"Good luck on your mission. Don't get too beat up."
"I won't."
Coast City High School
September 7th, 07:52 PDT
"Kayla! Over here!" I turned to my right, spotting Delilah. I started jogging towards her
"Hi Delilah, how was Paris?" I asked, smoothing out my dress.
"It was amazing! You should have seen the boys over there. Wait, not boys, men!" Delilah said grabbing my sides.
"Hey, what about me?!" Dan exclaimed. Delilah smirked.
"I'm dating, not blind. Besides, I was checking out guys for Kayla over here. God knows we need to get her laid," Delilah said, causing me to blush.
"Delilah!" Eileen exclaimed, also blushing.
"Oh, don't be such a prude! Stop acting like a virgin Eileen," Delilah told her.
"Anyways... " Kyla started changing subjects. "What did you do this summer Ethan?" We all started to walk towards my locker, since I was the last one to arrive, and hadn't gotten a chance to get my things.
"I visited my family in Japan. It was weird. My grandma tried to hook me up with this Japanese girl," Ethan said, wrinkling his nose.
"Why didn't you just tell her about Eileen?" I asked, raising my eyebrow.
"The thing is, I did. I even showed her a picture. But she just muttered some, uh… offensive and slightly racist thing about Indian people, that I do not want to repeat nor translate," Ethan told us, rubbing the back of his head.
"Yay for racist relatives," Eileen said sarcastically. We all laughed.
"And why are you so dressed up today?" Dan asked me as I opened my locker. I looked down on my outfit, I guess I was dressed up. I was wearing a bright blue, 50's dress with a sweetheart styled neck. I was also wearing a pair of black ballerina shoes.
"Dan's right, for once, you are more dressed up than usual," Delilah said.
"That's because I have a date after school," I told her, giving her a light smirk, walking towards our homeroom
"Oh, oh, oh, with who?!" Delilah asked.
"Wouldn't you just love to know. By the way, I would hurry if I were you guys, homeroom starts in three minutes," I said, walking into my homeroom.
"Oh, c'mon, you've got to tell me!" I just ignored the tall blonde begging me for answers.
Strangely, Delilah managed to stop asking question about it until lunch, when I decided to just tell them.
"His name's Jackson Hyde," I simply said when the conversation was dying down. Everyone looked at me with questioning looks, but a moment later you could practically see the light bulbs over their heads.
"Isn't that the guy that you cried about?" Eileen asked.
"What?! What happened, what did I miss in Paris?!" Delilah asked confused.
"There was a misunderstanding, but we're good now," I told her.
"Is he hot?" Delilah asked.
"Of course he's hot, but I might be biased. He is my boyfriend after all," I said with a sly smirk.
"Finally! I've waited for this day!" Delilah exclaimed, causing a few heads to turn to our direction. She gave them a sheepish expression.
"Great, now I'm the only single one. And I lost my beard!" Kyle exclaimed. I chuckled lightly.
"Don't worry Ky, I'll still be your beard," I told him. "I'm sure Jackson won't mind."
"You better. That reminds me, my sister is getting married and I need a date," Kyle said.
"Theme?" I asked.
"Winter," Kyle responded.
"I think I have a dress for that. Date?"
"January 14th"
"Hmm, two days after my birthday? I can go" I told him.
"Thanks, you are the best beard ever," Kyle told us.
"I know," I said, flipping my braids over my shoulder, getting laughter from my friends. I kinda missed school.
Coast City High School
September 7th, 15:02
I giggled lightly at a joke that Dan had made as I gathered my stuff.
"So, do we get to meet tall, dark and handsome?" Kyle asked.
"Maybe, he'll be meeting me at the school parking lot. And you better not check out my boyfriend!" I told him, giving him a light glare.
"No promises!" Ky said, putting up his hands in a surrendering gesture as we split up to walk towards our lockers.
I opened my locker, putting in books and taking out my bags. I felt tired, yet… slightly skittish. I hadn't had a mission at all today, which felt weird. During summer, I had more time for crime fighting and when it was over, I always felt skittish. My whole body waiting for an attack. That is why, when the whole gang greeted me, I jumped a foot into the air.
"Geez, someone's skittish today," Ethan teased.
"Sorry, I'm just a little nervous." Half-true.
"About your date? Isn't he already your boyfriend?" Eileen asked.
"Yeah, you're right," I said, offering no explanation, as I closed my locker and locked it.
"Hurry up, I want to meet him!" Delilah exclaimed, grabbing my arm, dragging me towards the parking lot.
"I think I see him," Dan said.
"How do you even know it's him?" Ethan asked.
"Because, he's too old to be a freshman, and I haven't seen him before," Dan explained, pointing straight at Kaldur. I felt my cheeks grow hot. Kaldur was wearing a skin tight turtleneck with a pair of skinny jeans. I didn't even know he owned skinny jeans! Kaldur noticed me and gave me a small wave. I waved back, biting my lip.
"Oh my god. He isn't just hot, he's a male god, how is someone so hot," Delilah whispered.
"Well, his mom does look like Beyoncé, I'm sure that helps," I told them jokingly as kaldur walked towards us.
"You've already- never mind. Oh, hi! I'm Delilah, Kayla's best friend!" Delilah introduced herself. Kaldur shook her hand.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Jackson, Kayla's boyfriend."
"Don't listen to Lilah's lies. It's common knowledge that I'm Kayla's best friend. I'm Kyle and if things don't work out between you and Kayla, here's my number," Kyle said, giving Kaldur a slip of paper. Kaldur just looked confused.
"You're her Gay Best Friend, I'm her Best Friend," Delilah told Kyle. Kyle started to retort but we ignored them.
"Sorry about them," I muttered. Kaldur gave me a bright smile.
"Hi, I'm Eileen and this is my boyfriend Ethan. And that's Delilah's boyfriend Dan," Eileen said, gesturing towards Ethan and Dan.
"And you two better escape before Kyle and Delilah finishes their argument," Ethan told us.
"Good idea," I said grabbing Kaldur's hand. "C'mon let's go."
"I'll have a medium icy raspberry juice," I told the barista with a smile. We had decided to go the small family owned café close to my apartment complex.
"And I'll have a large iced coffee with milk," Kaldur said.
"There you go and that'll be 10.50," the barista said smiling a very sweet smile. Both Kaldur and I reached for our wallets. Kaldur was the fastest to pay, I blew a raspberry at him, causing him to chuckle. I took out the amount of money that my drink had cost and tried to give it to him.
"It's a custom here on earth, both surface and Atlantis, for the male to pay on the first date," he said denying the money. I gave him a smile.
"You are such a gentleman," I said, putting the money back as we sat down at a small both in the corner of the café, taking our drinks with us.
"I hate to bring up work on our spare time, but this is very important," Kaldur told me, I raised my eyebrow.
"I get it Kaldur, now what's so important then?" I asked, taking a small sip of my beverage. Kaldur let out a low sigh.
"I have gotten intell that there is a mole on the team," Kaldur said in a low whisper. Luckily I had swallowed before he told me, otherwise I would have spit it all out on the table.
"What!" I whisper-shouted. "Who made accusation?"
"Sportsmaster," Kaldur told me.
"What? You can't trust him!"
"I know, but I feel like we cannot ignore this piece of information," Kaldur said, frowning.
"True," I said letting out a small sigh. "But what do you suggest we do?"
"I think we should keep this hidden-"
"Why? They're our teammates, they deserve to know," I told him harshly. "Or should we keep this secret from them, like the League kept things secret from us. The Team was started because we were tired of being kept in the dark." I shot Kaldur a glare.
"I know, and you know I'm not the type of person to play these kinds of games. But if there is truly a mole on the team, it would be unwise to alert it that we know of its existence," Kaldur reasoned. I sighed.
"I understand where you are coming from. But when they find out that we kept this from them, it will blow up in our faces."
"I know, hopefully we can locate the mole before it manages to hurt any of our teammates. That leads to the question of which of our teammates is the mole?"
"Kid and Rob are out. They both have family connections to the League. They also have no reason to betray us, nor the League," I reasoned.
"What about Artemis and Megan, they family connections too? And we are not sure that Robin has a family connection to the League"
"We can assume, Batman wouldn't just take on any partner. They must be related in some way, and yes, Megan has a family connection. But I'm not so sure of Artemis. Think about it. Why doesn't Roy like Artemis? Why didn't he know of her existence?," I asked Kaldur. Everything seemed to dawn to him.
"If Artemis was truly Oliver's niece, she would be Roy's cousin. Roy should have known about her, but when they first met, they acted as if they had never heard of each other before," Kaldur said. I nodded. "But they must have had a good reason to lie about her origins. If the League trusts her, then maybe we should too." I nodded at his reasoning.
"Yes, I never thought about that. But still, the fact that she lied about her origins makes her a suspect," I said.
"Yes, but Rob never even told us about his secret identity," Kaldur countered.
"But that is different. We know Oliver's identity, we don't know B's. Therefore it makes sense for us to know Artemis' I.D, but not Rob's," I replied. Kaldur nodded.
"That leaves Conner and Megan," Kaldur said.
"Yeah, Conner has openly said of his dreams to, you know."
"Yes. That makes him a suspect. And the fact that he is a clone. They could have programmed him to do this without him even knowing," Kaldur stated.
"Let's hope so. I couldn't bear the fact that a teammate willingly betrayed us," I said. "But we also need to consider Megan. Jon never once mentioned anything about his niece before she came. And it wouldn't be like him to not mention his apparently favorite niece when he was talking to me about his home planet. He never even mentioned the contest!" I exclaimed.
"Yes, but I do believe that Jon could have his reasons for not telling you. I don't think Megan is a suspect, and if she is, then she is very low on the list," Kaldur told me. I sighed. We were silent for a minute or two.
"Maybe we should continue with our date," I said, giving him a small smile.
"I'm sorry for taking this up on our date," Kaldur told me, returning my smile.
"It's alright, better than you bringing this up in the cave, where people would have overheard," I said, feeling him put his hand over mine.
"You're right. But let's change subject. How was school?" Kaldur asked me. I laughed a little at that. "What's so funny?" Kaldur frowned.
"Oh, nothing. You just sounded like Hal for a moment. Whenever he wants to change subject he asks me about school, or talks about the weather. School was fine by the way," I told him. "How was your mission with Roy?"
"It went well. The Shadows didn't succeed with their mission and South- and North Rhelasia signed the peace treaty."
"Let me guess, Lex got all the credit?" I questioned knowingly. Kaldur let out a sigh.
"Yes, but we saved lives and began the union of two countries."
"Looking at the positive side of things, huh?"
"You have to when Luthor is involved." I laughed a little, before letting out a huge yawn.
"Tired?" Kaldur asked me.
"Yeah, I didn't get that much sleep tonight," I told him, yawning again. "I guess it all caught up to me."
"Do you wish to return home?"
"Maybe, Hal won't be home until at least eight. Maybe you could stay?" I suggested, waggling my eyebrows.
"That sounds like a great idea," Kaldur said, giving me an, oh so attractive, smirk.
Discarding our empty plastic cups, we left the small café and started walking towards my apartment.
"What do you think about Megan and Conner?" I asked as we walked. Kaldur raised his eyebrow.
"What about them?"
"Are you serious? Haven't you noticed?" Kaldur laughed.
"You mean that they are interested in each other? That I have noticed. I believe we knew before they ever knew themselves."
"Yeah, do you think they have gotten together yet?"
"I do not think so. But then again, maybe they didn't wish to tell us yet."
"Would you have? I mean, if the team hadn't caught us kissing."
"I don't think so. I could go without Wally's… innuendos." I hid my giggle behind my hand.
"I was wondering when he'd start with that. I never heard him say anything."
"He never stops talking when we reach the showers," Kaldur said rolling his eyes.
"What does he even say?" I asked. I noticed that Kaldur's cheeks got tinted with red.
"Erhm, maybe I shouldn't repeat them," he told me as he hid his lower face with his hand.
"They can't be that bad." When he didn't respond, I gasped.
"No! He can't be that bad," I said as the elevator dinged, opening it's metal doors.
"He is," Kaldur said as I pressed the button for the 8th floor.
"Ugh, I hope he hasn't been too bad," I told him, putting my head in my hand.
"Nothing I can't handle. Besides, I'm just happy he doesn't go after you," Kaldur said, kissing my cheek.
"Yeah, and who knows. Maybe he'll stop when he finally gets a girlfriend," I said. "If he gets a girlfriend," I corrected myself.
"I think he and Artemis seems to be pretty interested in one another," Kaldur said.
"Mm, but Artemis isn't that stupid," I told him.
"Emotions have nothing to do with intelligence," Kaldur commented.
"True, the heart wants what it wants," I said. Kaldur gave me a soft smile.
"That is very true," Kaldur said as he kissed me. I wrapped my arms around his neck, feeling him put his around my waist, pressing me closer against him. The kiss was soft and loving. We broke apart as the elevator dinged. I smoothed out the creases on my dress. As we walked out we ran into one of my neighbors, the Williams. They were a young married couple with four year old twin girls, that I babysat sometimes.
"Good afternoon Mr. and Mrs. Williams," I greeted them politely.
"Good afternoon Kayla," Mrs. Williams said.
"Hi Kay!" Elizabeth and Victoria said in union.
"Hi Vicki and Ellie," I told them.
"Who is dat?" Vickie asked me.
"That's Jackson," I told them bending down, so I was at their eye level.
"Hi Jack," they said.
"Greetings," Kaldur told them.
"Hi Kayla, I'm glad we ran into you, we were wondering if you could babysit the girls on saturday, Heather and I are both needed at work," Mr. Williams told me.
"Sure, I have no plans on saturday," I replied.
"Great, I'll be leaving at twelve, so why don't you come over at 11:50? And Heather will be home by five," Mr. Williams informed me. "I'll call you later and tell you more, okay?"
"Sure, see you later then," I told them as they went into the elevator. I took out my keys and opened my door.
"Welcome to my apartment," I told him as we walked in, locking the door behind us.
"It's very nice," Kaldur said, looking around curiously.
"Thanks, I'll just go and charge my ring. I didn't charge it last night and it's almost out of power," I told him. "But then, we can get back to what we were doing before Roy interrupted us."
Kayla and Hal's Apartment
September 7th, 20:03 PDT
I let out a small yawn, my eyelids feeling very heavy. And the way that Kaldur drew patterns in my palm with his finger didn't help. I tried to focus on the disney film that we were watching.
I cuddled into Kaldur's side. Letting out a soft sigh, I felt him squeeze my side. I just laid there, enjoying the disney song that was playing and Kaldur's warm body against mine. I think I must have fallen asleep, but I woke up again when someone lifted me up. My mind was groggy and filled with cotton. I heard a door open, and then I was in the comfort of my bed. I grabbed Kaldur's arm.
"Don go. Stay," I mumbled, trying to pull him closer. I heard a small chuckle and felt his warm body again.
"As you wish," he muttered into my hair
The next time I woke up was when someone opened the door to my room and light flooded into my room from the hallway. I felt Kaldur shift beside me.
"Awwww, Hal, get a camera," I heard Carol's voice, followed a couple moments later by the sound of camera taking a picture.
"I don't get what's so cute about this," I heard Hal say.
"Oh shut up. They are both dressed, nothing happened. C'mon let them sleep."
When I woke up in the morning I felt Kaldur's strong arms wrapped around me, but the serenity was ruined by my beeping alarm clock. I groaned, getting up and turning it off. Kaldur sat up in the bed, yawning.
"Good morning," he said, stretching.
"Good morning," I repeated, running a hand through my hair. I walked towards my closet, trying to decide what to wear. I pulled out a pink dress and a change of underwear.
"I'll just go to the bathroom, you can stay here or go to the kitchen," I told him as I left the room.
"I'll wait in the kitchen," Kaldur informed me as he followed me out of the room.
I quickly washed of yesterday's makeup, cleaning my face. I decided to go light today and just fill in my eyebrows and put on mascara. I quickly brushed my teeth and changed, putting my dirty clothes in the hamper.
When I finished I joined Kaldur in the kitchen, he was sitting by the kitchen counter, looking a little tense.
"You want some breakfast?" I asked, opening the fridge.
"That would be nice," Kaldur responded, giving me a smile. I smiled back and took out the butter.
"Sorry that my alarm woke you up," I apologized.
"It's alright, M'gann and Superboy might worry if I'm not back at the mountain during morning."
"Yeah, but I think they are already at school."
"Yes, I hope they're enjoying it. M'gann joined the cheerleading team."
"She did? Huh, I hope it won't be too much of a hassle for her. I should know, balancing school, basket, friends and Green Lantern is very hard. Makes you enjoy summer more."
"I hope the team isn't too much of a burden for you."
"No, no, no. I love being on the team. Besides, it's not like we have missions everyday," I said putting down a plate with toast in front of Kaldur and sat down with my own. "But I just wish I didn't have to attend school, I have already finished my education on Lah."
"I guess I'm lucky that I don't have a civilian life on the surface-world," Kaldur mused.
"You don't even know the beginning of it. You don't have to miss out on a mission just because you're in class. Or have make stupid excuses to your friends when you have to run away and fight crime," I said sighing. Kaldur raised his eyebrow.
"Do they not question you about it?"
"Well, yeah. If it weren't for the fact that I look different as a Ki'Lah they probably would have connected the fact that when Green Lantern appears, Kayla King disappears," I told him. Honestly, I was surprised that Eileen or Dan hadn't already figured out. Maybe it was because they didn't really believe in magic and couldn't find a scientific solution on how I change forms.
"They don't consider that you may change forms?" Kaldur asked.
"No. If they did, then they would have figured out by now," I told him. We settled down in a comfortable silence as we ate. Our hands intervened over the table.
Kaldur ended up walking with me to school. He told me that he 'was in no rush to get to the mountain'.
"We should try to talk to the team about it, ask them subtle questions," I said when we were discussing the possibility of a mole.
"Yes, and we should also talk with Red Tornado," Kaldur told me.
"Mm, Maybe Batman too? Batman would know if there was a possibility if a mole and he might have some clues on who it could be. Hopefully there is no mole," I reasoned.
"Yes, but we must consider the possibility that there is one," Kaldur said, sighing like the world rested on his shoulders.
"Can you honestly imagine anyone on the team actually being the mole, I know we have talked about suspects. But I don't feel like anyone could have done it," I said in a low tone as we entered the school grounds.
"No. If it wasn't for the fact that someone said at it, then I would have never even considered it," Kaldur told me as we stopped in front of the school building.
"Will you come to the mountain today?" Kaldur asked kissing my cheek.
"No, I'm visiting my cousins," I said, which actually meant 'I have a mission as Green Lantern from Oa'.
"I see, good luck," Kaldur said.
"Thank you. I'll come back as soon as possible. Bye," I said, kissing him.
"Good bye," Kaldur said as we broke apart and I started walking towards class, turning away one last time to wave at him.
A/N That's it. Hal does not approve of Kaldur. At all. I planned on having a scene with him threating Kaldur, but because of reasons I couldn't have it in this chapter. It will happen later though.
And yes, Kyle is as straight as a circle and his family has no idea. Beard means using a person of the different gender to act like your partner so people won't know you're gay. And Kayla is Kyle's beard.