"Is it just me," Toni began. "Or does our school vacations keep getting shorter and shorter?"
It was the month of January, and a new year, as well as a new school day. The holiday vacation was over and it was the students first day back, something many of the students of Jump City High School were not happy about.
"I have this theory that schools are trying to get rid of vacations all together. They want us to suffer by staying in school all year long."
Alain rose a brow. "And why would they want us to suffer?"
"Because they hate us. Duh."
Vic chuckled and turned his head towards Dick. "Yo, Dick. Are you hearing this man?... Dick?"
Dick hadn't heard a word of the conversation. His attention was fixed on Kori who, at the moment, was conversing with Xavier in the back of the room. It appeared as if Xavier had just told a joke because Kori was currently giggling. The two of them were smiling at each other and Xavier was holding Kori's hand. Dick knew that the two of them were friends, but Dick hated Xavier with a passion. He didn't trust Xavier as far as he could throw him.
"You don't have to be so jealous," Karen told him softly, leaning against Dick's desk. "Kori loves you with her heart and soul, there's nothing to worry about."
"I would like to believe that, but shit happens. You should know that more than any of us," Dick mentally kicked himself, realization dawning on him. He tore his eyes away from Kori and Xavier to look at Karen. "Crap, Karen, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that."
"Eh, don't worry about it." Karen responded indifferently. When Dick turned his head to the side she punched him in the arm.
"Ow! What was that for?" Dick asked, glaring at Karen.
"You deserved it... midget," Karen crossed her arms. "Besides, you should have a little more faith in Kori. She's not the cheating type."
"I know that, and I do trust Kori. It's Xavier I don't trust."
"Alright students," Mr. Mod announced, stepping into class. "Take your seats."
There was a brief moment of shuffling around the room before everyone took their seats. Dick flashed a wide smile once Kori took her rightful place by him.
"Now I know all of you are just bursting with joy to be back in school--"
"Like hell we are!"
Alain glanced at Toni who slumped in her seat.
Mr. Mod cleared his throat. "As I was saying... We are all back in school, and there are going to be some changes--"
"You're gonna quiz us less?" Wally asked hopefully.
Mr. Mod narrowed his eyes. "No. Now would you all stop interrupting me? I have something important to say."
"If it's so important just say it already." Raven said dryly, her eyes on her wrist as she absentmindly fiddled with her new charm bracelet, a gift from Leon.
"Okay fine. I thought some suspense would be... cool," the students flinched when Mr. Mod said cool. The word cool and a teacher just didn't mix good. "But I'll just get on with it. Class, I would like to introduce our new student, Terra Markov."
The class looked to the side and saw nothing. Mr. Mod saw their puzzled faces and looked to the side as well. He was surprised when he didn't see the new student standing next to him. He had gone to the main office to pick her up, and she was right by his side when he was walking to class. So where did she go?
"Pardon me." Mr. Mod said as he stepped out the room. If he lost the new student he would get in serious trouble with Mr. Wilson.
The students glanced at each other curiously.
The door opened and Mr. Mod stepped inside, this time with a student by his side.
The student was a female, tall and slim. She had blonde hair that ended mid-back and dazzling, sky blue eyes. Her outfit included brown boots and brown gloves, as well as a pair of blue denim shorts. She had on a layered shirt, the first shirt being a long-sleeved gray shirt and the second being a short-sleeved black shirt. Around her neck was a pair of goggles and a butterfly clip was in her hair.
Hearts immediately sprang to Gar's eyes at the sight of the new girl.
"Terra, why don't you sit behind Gar," said Mr. Mod. "He's the midget with green hair."
Gar was so giddy that Terra would be sitting behind him that he didn't even hear Mr. Mod's comment. Gar's eyes followed Terra as she made her way across the room and to her seat. Gar turned around slightly and smiled at her. His throat suddenly felt dry and he couldn't speak, so he merely waved at her instead.
Terra cocked her head to the side and smiled at him. Gar immediately blushed.
"Someone call the fashion police," Kitten muttered from behind Terra. "We have another loser present."
Terra turned around in her seat and glared at Kitten. "Someone call Toys R'us, they want their Barbie back."
"Okay new girl, clearly you don't know who you're dealing with. I'm Kitten Moth."
"First of all, my name is Terra. And second of all, clearly you don't know who you're dealing with. And third, I could give a rats ass who you are."
"Alright, enough ladies," Mr. Mod intervened. "Terra, I'll excuse you since you're new. But, Kitten, you should know better. If I hear another outburst from you I'll give you detention."
Kitten huffed and crossed her arms. Terra turned back around in her seat and rested her head in her arms.
Jenn leaned over and whispered something to Karen. "The new girl is cool."
TT
It was third period, and gym for a fraction of Jump City's High School's students. Among these students were Dick, Kori, Vic, Karen, Gar, Raven, Toni, Alain, Wally and Jenn. There group was two members short due to Roy and Jade being absent. Currently, the ten of them were sitting on the bleachers having a conversation. Mr. Blood was absent as well, so the teacher filling in let the class have free time.
"For the last time, Kori, no!" Dick exasperated.
"But she looks so alone," Kori said, glancing sadly at Terra who was on the other side of the gym by herself. "She's new and she needs some friends. Why can't that be us?"
"Yeah, why can't that be us?" Gar asked, joining Kori's side. Kori had wanted to go talk with Terra and make friends, but Dick had stopped her. If Kori could bring Terra into the group that would be great in Gar's opinion. He didn't know why Dick was so opposed to it.
"Because we don't need any more friends," Dick said, standing up to Kori, something he didn't do too often. "Kori, seriously, what is with you? Why do you always have to pick up strays?"
"I do not pick up strays." Kori replied, crossing her arms.
"That's bull and you know it. When we were little you picked up Gar, Vic, Raven and Karen. And now you got that damn Babs girl butting in on our dates."
"She did that one time!"
"So! Interrupting one of Dick Grayson's dates in unacceptable. Besides... I'm not to sure about that girl."
"You're being paranoid. I'm gonna go talk to her." Kori said as she walked away.
Gar pumped his fist. "Yes!"
Dick sighed and sat back down. "Dammit."
"So...," Vic sat besides Dick, glaring at him. "We're strays? You know, you can be a real asshole sometimes, Dick."
"Hey, Dick," Raven smirked wickedly. "I'm pretty sure that if you marry Kori she'll want a ton of kids. Tons, and tons, of kids."
Dick's mouth was agape. "Not cool."
"Yeah, well that's what you get for calling me a stray. Gar I can understand, but the rest of us. Tsk."
Karen slapped Dick behind his head. "Jackass."
It didn't take long for Kori to convince Terra to come meet her friends. Kori returned with Terra in hand and introduced her to the others.
"And last bit not least," Kori pulled Terra towards her green-haired friend. "Gar."
"Yeah, you're the kid who sits in front of me in history," Terra extended her hand and shook Gar's hand. "Nice to meet you dude."
Gar chuckled sheepishly and pulled at the collar of his shirt with his free hand, his face turning red. "Uh... heh... you called me dude."
Terra rose a brow. "You can let go of my hand now."
Gar quickly snatched his hand away, blushing a crimson red. "S-sorry."
"So, Terra," Alain began. "How long have you been in Jump City?"
"Oh, not that long. I got here New Year's day."
"So I guess that means you haven't really gotten the chance to see the city, correct?" Kori asked.
Terra nodded.
Kori clapped her hands, a wide smile on her face. "That is excellent!"
Terra rose a brow. "It is?"
"Yes! Since you don't know your way around the city you can hang out with us. We'll show you around."
"Really? That would be awesome! Can we do something today?"
"Sure, I'm free," Kori glanced at the others. "What about you guys?"
"I'm in!" Gar shouted quickly. The others glanced at him with curious looks. Gar, who was now embarrassed, pursed his lips and sat down quietly.
"I guess I have no choice but to go." Dick muttered, crossing his arms.
Kori glared at him. "What was that?"
Dick gulped. "I said I would love to come too."
"Well count me out," said Vic. "I have a date with Sara today."
"Yeah, I just don't feel like it." Raven muttered, her fingers brushing against her charm bracelet. She was still mourning over Leon and wasn't up to any fun activities.
"I've got nothing better to do," began Karen. "So I'll come."
"Anything to get out of the house." Toni said with a shrug.
"If Toni's going than I'll come too," said Alain. He glanced at Jenn and Wally. "What about you guys? You in?"
"Oh... we can't," Jenn said, glancing at Wally. "We have plans."
"Really," Terra leaned forward in curiosity. "What?"
"Oh you know... just hanging out," Wally answered. "It's not like we'll be doing anything."
Jenn elbowed Wally in the ribs, wanting him to close his lips. She didn't want her friends, or the new girl, to know that they would be fooling around after school. That was their private business, only to be discussed between them. And sometimes during girl talk, or when Wally was just hanging out with the guys.
"Well... anyway, it's really nice of you guys to show me around. Thanks so much." Terra said, breaking the awkward silence that had settled in the group. She looked at Gar and smiled at him, causing him to smile back.
TT
Terra was extremely thankful that Kori and her friends had volunteered to show her around Jump City. Never before had someone been so kind to her at first meeting. Terra was really looking forward to getting to know Kori and all of her friends, and spending the day with them seemed like an exciting adventure, or so she thought. Toni had decided to play follow the leader and chose where they would be going, and Toni chose to lead them to the mall.
Terra had never been one for malls. She was more of an outdoors person. She liked getting her hands dirty and running wild. You couldn't really do either of those things at the mall.
Terra rose brow. "Don't take this the wrong way, but... why are we at the mall? I thought we were going to tour around Jump City."
"We are," Toni replied. "Most of Jump City consist in the mall. You have food, clothing stores, arcades, clothing stores, a movie theater, clothing stores and did I mention clothing stores?"
"Toni, admit it," began Alain, crossing his arms. "You just wanted a reason to shop."
"You know me all too well," Toni responded with a smirk, grabbing both Karen and Alain's hands and dragging them into the mall. "Come on guys, the mall awaits!"
"I'm sorry about this," Kori apologized to Terra as they trailed behind the group. "If you want I can give you a read tour of Jump City tomorrow. We can go to the park or the pier."
"I would like that. But don't even apologize," Terra said. "True, this isn't what I expected, but it's cool. I may not like shopping but if this mall has an arcade I'm game."
"You're into arcades?" Gar asked, stepping up to walk besides Terra. He had been shy and was walking behind her and Kori, but at the mention of arcades he was consumed with curiosity.
"I love arcades. I mean, they have so much cool stuff. Laser tag, Mega Monkeys–"
"You like Mega Monkeys?" Gar was shocked. He had never met a girl who liked Mega Monkeys before.
"Are you kidding me? Mega Monkeys is only the best video game ever made! How could I not like it?"
Gar's mouth was agape. He had just met the girl and he was already smitten with her.
TT
After school had ended Raven went straight home and to her room, her sanctuary. It was the only place where she could have complete peace of mind and silence.
Plopping down on her bed, Raven brought her wrist up to eye level. Her silver charm bracelet dangled before her. Raven brushed her fingers against the five charms that were attached to the bracelet. Attached to the bracelet was one charm shaped as a raven, Leon said he couldn't resist when picking out the charms. Another charm was shaped as a cup, a joke on Leon's part since he knew Raven loved tea. The charm next to it was a book, Leon said it represented her love of reading. The next one was in the shape of a flower. Raven recalled Leon's words when he explained the meaning behind that one.
Raven rose a brow as she brushed her fingers against the charm shaped like a flower. She looked at Leon with curious eyes. "I think I understand why you picked the other four charms, but why a flower?"
Leon smiled as he took the bracelet from her hands and clasped it on to her wrist. "Because, you're blooming everyday with beauty."
Raven blushed a crimson red after he said that.
Raven smiled at the memory. Leon had such a way with words. He was a true romantic. Raven glanced at the last charm, a heart. Leon told her never to forget the memories, and to love and to keep loving.
Raven sighed deeply, her wrist falling to her side. How was she supposed to love and keep loving when he was gone? Raven turned to her side and glared at the wall.
"Life can be such a bitch."
First her mother left her, then her father left (though she didn't particularly miss his absence), and now Leon was gone. How was she supposed to love at all when the people in her life kept disappearing?
Well, not everyone left. She still had her friends.
"Huh," Raven murmured. "I wonder what the others are doing."
TT
Gar, Kori, Dick, Karen, Toni and Alain all looked at Terra in awe. They were still at the mall, but at the food court. The six teens couldn't help but stare at the blonde girl as she gobbled down her food. So far Terra had helped herself to eight burgers (two of which were made of tofu), three packs of large fries, two cupcakes from the bakery, three tacos, and two hotdogs. If that wasn't enough she still wanted to check out the pretzel wagon, the pizzeria, and the candy store.
"You were right, Toni," Terra said in between licks of her ice cream. Once she spotted the sign that said thirty-two flavors she refused to leave until trying them all. Currently she was on flavor eighteen. "The mall does have everything!"
"How can she still be hungry?" Dick whispered to Alain.
"I don't know. Maybe she has some sort of black hole in her stomach."
Terra sighed in content as she finished off flavor eighteen. She waved her spoon in the air, trying to get the man who was behind the counter attention. "Ice cream dude, I'm done here! Bring me flavor nineteen!"
"Yes ma'am," the man said quickly, rushing to get her order. He didn't want to upset Terra, she was good business. He rushed to her table and set a bowl of ice cream in front of her, smiling. "Enjoy."
Terra smiled and shoved her spoon in the ice cream, taking a huge bite. She smiled as her taste buds reacted. "Hmm... so good."
"Uh, Terra, don't you think you've had enough?" Kori asked in concern. Surely all the food she was eating would upset her stomach. Kori didn't want Terra to get sick or anything.
"I know what you're thinking, Kori," Terra paused from her ice cream to glance at her new friend. "But don't worry. My stomach can handle it."
"Girl, how is it that you can eat so much and still be so thin?" Karen asked, looking Terra over. The blonde girl was thin.
"I don't know, fast metabolism maybe?" Terra shrugged and went back to her ice cream, only to realize that her bowl was already empty. She glanced at the man, who she dubbed 'ice cream dude', and asked for the next flavor.
"Wow, Terra," Gar was impressed at her eating habits. "You eat more than Vic and Wally. That's really cool."
"You think so?" Terra paused from her eating and looked at Gar shyly. He nodded with a smile and she said thanks.
Toni grinned and leaned over to whisper something to Karen. "I think someone has a crush."
TT
"Come on," Sara begged, smiling sweetly at Vic. "Tell me where we are going?"
"Sorry little lady, no can do. It's a surprise." Vic replied with a smile.
The two were currently in Vic's car, driving through the streets of Jump City. Vic was driving them to the location of their date. Up until now most of their dates revolved around places Sara liked or normally went to, but today would be different. Vic was taking charge and picked where they were going.
The car slowed down to a halt and Vic grinned. "We're here!"
The smile that was on Sara's face turned to a frown. "Uh... the carnival."
"Awesome ain't it?" Vic asked as they stepped out of the car.
"Yeah, it sure is." Sara lied with a smile on her face. Had she known this was where he was taking her, she would have stayed home. Sara didn't care for carnivals much. Everything was so childish. She would have preferred going to a museum.
"Well let's go!" Vic said in excitement as he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards a roller coaster. Vic wanted to show Sara a good time and he wanted to have some fun, what better way to do that than to go to a carnival?
TT
As soon as Terra had satisfied her food craving, Toni had decided to show Terra where the real fun was at. The stores. Toni had grabbed Terra's hand and dragged her inside one of her favorite stores. Currently Toni was trying to get Terra to try on an outfit she picked out for her.
"C'mon, Terra, live a little," Toni persuaded, shoving the outfit in Terra's hands and pushing her towards a changing room. "Just try it on."
"But I hate skirts," Terra whined. "Can't I try on something that won't show off my panties if a gust of wind comes by?"
"Sure you can. But you have to try on the skirt."
Not that far from where Terra and Toni were standing stood Gar. The green-haired boy was leaning against a rack of clothing and looking at Terra with much affection in his eyes. He sighed, wishing he could have just a moment to talk to her alone. He wanted to get to know her. Gar found Terra to be a captivating mystery.
"Puppy love eyes, affectionate sigh, goofy smile," Karen noted, stepping up from behind Gar and surprising him. "All symptoms of a crush. And seeing as how you've had your eyes on Terra almost all day, my guess in that you're crushing on her."
Gar glared at Karen. "Say it louder why don't ya."
"Sorry," Karen apologized. She smiled. "So..."
Gar rose a brow. "So... what?"
"You like her."
Gar scoffed, trying to cover up his feelings however useless it might be now. "No I don't."
"You do too. Why not talk to her?"
"I can't do that."
"And why not?" Karen inquired, crossing her arms. This all seemed like de ja vu to her. But only this time the shoe was on the other foot.
"Because...," Gar pondered his mind for a good enough excuse. "Because you guys are all here. I can't flirt with you guys around. It cramps my style."
Karen smirked. "So if I could get you both alone you'll talk to her?"
"Well... I guess I would," Gar said softly, heat rising to his cheeks. "Would you really do that for me?"
"Of course I would, Gar. You're my friend. Now step aside while I become the boss of romance."
TT
Wally turned his head to the side, a smile forming on his lips as he gazed at Jenn with love and affection. "That was amazing."
"Tell me about it," Jenn replied with a smile of her own. "You've gotten so much better. You're a fast learner."
"To bad it doesn't work the same way in school. If I could only apply myself there like I do in the bed room I would be set," he put his hands behind his head and a mischievous smile came to his lips. "So... what time does your mom get home?"
"Around nine," Jenn answered while rubbing her hands across Wally's chest. She had always thought Wally to be quite scrawny but he actually had some muscles. She rose a brow, her mind wrapping around his previous question. Why did he care what time her mother got home? Especially at time like this... "Why?"
Wally flashed a cheeky smile and that's all Jenn needed to have her answer.
Jenn showed off her own cheeky smile. "Why, Wally, you naughty boy."
"Don't you know it." Wally said before jumping her and ravishing her with kisses.
TT
True to her word, Karen had gotten Gar and Terra alone. It was easy actually, all she had to do was fill Kori and Toni in on her plan. Kori of course was assigned to distract Dick while Toni distracted Alain. Dick was picked off easily, all Kori had to do was ask him his opinion on a couple of mini skirts which she offered to model for him. Dick was so consumed in watching Kori that Karen had convinced the others to come with her, seeing as it would take Dick and Kori awhile to leave the store (Dick had insisted that Kori try on more mini skirts).
After that Toni said she needed help picking out a gift for Carl. His birthday would be coming soon and she wanted to het him something nice. But in order to do that she needed advice from a fashionable male. So, she dragged Alain off, despite him questioning her as to why she all of a sudden wanted to do something nice for Carl.
As for Karen, she merely said that she needed to check something out and would be gone for awhile, leaving Gar and Terra alone on a bench by the mall's water fountain. Karen had left them there purposely, because she believed that fountains added a touch of romance to a scene.
Despite Gar finally having Terra alone to himself he still had yet to speak to her. Gar couldn't think of anything decent to say. Gar tapped his thumbs together in frustration, He was just going to take the plunge and throw something out there. Anything was better than the awkward silence that had formed between them.
"Nice weather we're having," Gar mentally slapped himself. Surely he could come up with something better than to talk about the weather. He quickly tried to save himself. "You know, it's pretty good since it's not raining. Not much to do when it's raining, total bummer."
"Tell me about it. I like the outdoors a lot but I can't go out as much when it rains. I wouldn't want to catch a cold or something."
Something Terra said caught Gar's interest. "So you like the outdoors?"
"I love it so much I used to be a girl scout. It just fascinates me. Nature is such a beautiful place."
"I get what you mean. But with me my interest lays with animals."
After that the conversation seemed less forced and more comfortable. Gar had found himself eventually playing twenty questions with Terra, making the conversation run even more smoothly. The two had revealed much to each other, such as their favorite color and favorite game, as well as what they wanted to be in the future.
"Okay, last question," Terra pointed out. "And this one is for all the marbles. I want to know why your hair is green."
Gar ran a hand through his hair and smiled sheepishly. "You can thank Vic for this. The summer before sophomore year I dared him to eat tofu, so he got back at me and dared me to dye my hair green. I actually liked the look so I decided to keep it."
"Well I'm glad you did," Terra said while ruffling Gar's hair. "I think you look very cute."
Gar turned red in the face after that comment.
TT
SPECIAL THANKS TOO mysteree101, BeastgirlRaven, BerryDrops, xxScriblezxx, jcyz, lildreamer lil2cool, xo, Trimacle, clarkLover1, RavenSis, Lil-Mz.Sunshine, featherpen13, lupineeyes, Hidden Iris, Koriand'r Grayson, TerraBB4Eva, The-Sesshy-Star, Ace.04, cookiegurl15, cookiesruletheworld, Daniella, tennisgal456, ravencherithgirl, Agent of the Divine One AND superanimated FOR THE AWESOME REVIEWS! YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST! I HOPED YOU ALL LIKED THIS CHAPTER.
TO xo, I DID GET THE THING WITH WALLY AND JENN FROM THAT 70'S SHOW. I WAS TRYING TO THINK OF A WAY AS TO HOW WALLY COULD HAVE BEEN BAD IN BED, AND I IMMEDIATELY THOUGHT OF FEZ. THANKS FOR REVIEWING.
TO lupineeyes, I CAN'T TELL YOU IF TERRA IS GOING TO BE LIKE A SPY, SORRY. THAT'S CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION. THEY WILL GET A NEW ENGLISH TEACHER, BUT YOU PROBABLY WON'T SEE A SCENE THAT INCLUDES THE NEW ENGLISH TEACHER ANY TIME SOON. I'M GLAD YOU LIKED THE LAST CHAPTER.
TO Daniella, LOL YEAH. RAVEN'S RELATIONSHIP WITH LEON WAS A BIT CREEPY. IT WAS ACTUALLY HARD TO WRITE THEM TOGETHER CAUSE HE WAS OLDER. BUT I WANTED TO DO A TEACHER/STUDENT RELATIONSHIP SOMEWHERE IN THE STORY BECAUSE YOU HEAR ABOUT THAT STUFF ON THE NEWS AND JUNK. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE POSITIVE REVIEW.
TO ravencherithgirl, I'M GLAD YOU LIKED THE WALLY AND JENN STUFF. I LOVE WRITING THOSE TWO. THEY ARE SO CUTE AND FUNNY TOGETHER. THANKS FOR REVIEWING.
TO superanimated, AS YOU ALREADY KNOW THE GIRL WAS INDEEED TERRA LOL. THANKS SO MUCH FOR REVIEWING LAST CHAPTER.
NEXT CHAPTER: A SIMPLE QUESTION FOR KAREN HAS HER HEART BEATING RAPIDLY.
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