Hello again! Thank again for reading my stories! This time had a bit of a quick turn-around but I really had some inspiration. I really enjoyed last chapter since it focused on Raven and Beastboy but I also LOVE to write from Starfire's point of view. (Probably because I see so much of myself in her.) I hope you enjoy this chapter-can you believe we are halfway through?! I don't own Teen Titans.

Chapter 13: Maybe-nah (13)

The channels rapidly switched on the screen in front of Kori'andr, former princess of Tamaran. She sighed, flipping off the television and slumping back onto the couch. The Common Room was too quiet. Slowly scrapping her boot back and forth on the carpet, she glanced around the room. Everything was spotless-something she had been working on all day honestly. She sighed again and laid her head back onto the back of the couch. If she were being truly honest with herself-she was bored.

And lonely.

All of her friends seemed to be too busy for her these days. First Victor and Karen had married and though they were not exclusive, they still required time to themselves. Raven and Garfield were also in a serious relationship-which surprised even Kori. Though she loved them both and thought they were well suited now that they were adults, she still could not help but marvel at what seemed to be a perfect relationship.

And then there was Dick.

Kori groaned and quickly stood up. Though she didn't feel romantic feelings toward him anymore-she still felt awkward spending time with him one on one. Nodding to herself, she decided then and there-she was not going to do the moping around. Quickly she zipped to the roof and flew toward downtown Jump City. A little time outside of the Tower might do her some good.

The fresh air cleared her head instantly. Filling her lungs, Kori exhaled all her stress. What did she have to be sad about? Life was glorious! Smiling to herself, she shook off her feelings and swooped down to land in front of her new favorite craze-Boba Tea. Landing lightly on her feet, Kori practically skipped into the shop. The aroma of fresh milk and fruits wafted around her, causing her to smile. One man gasped as she walked by and dropped his tea, spilling it all over the floor. Kori giggled to herself, flashing a grin at the man as she walked up to the counter. One man muttered something to her about being a superhero under the sheets too but she ignored him, feeling her face grow warm. She was NOT some trophy to be objectified and he is not worth her attention. Kori smiled to herself, feeling Raven would have been proud of her. Many people were gawking at her, one child even coming up for an autograph which she gladly gave. Finally making it to the counter, Kori dipped her head to see what she would order.

"Hi! It's Starfire, right?" Kori lowered her eyes from the menu and blinked rapidly in surprise. A handsome man was taking her order. Flicking her eyes down, she noticed his nametag read Trey. She glanced back up and cocked her head to the side.

"Yes, it is what I go by in public."

"Wow, cool." Trey winked at her, his smile growing on his face. "I've seen you in the news. You must be really brave."

Kori bit her lip-she was used to men treating her like an object, not a person. This was…nice. "Oh, I have my friends beside me. I thank you."

Nodding his head, he pointed to the menu. "Whatever you'd like, it's on the house. My treat for a superhero like you!" Kori beamed at him, noticing his face grow warm.

"Oh, thank you very much! Could I have a green tea with the mango and those bobas?"

"Sure thing, Starfire."

Wow. This was new. Kori smiled to herself-a normal interaction with a normal human man. He looked to be a little younger than herself but she still had a hard time gauging human age. Trey winked at her again and went straight to work, making her tea. As he was shaking the tea to mix the mango, he flashed her a strange smile. "So, Starfire, how about you and me meet up after my shift? I've got a sweet little studio and take pictures in my spare time."

All of Kori's positive emotions crashed instantly. Though there was the small chance he could have been innocent in his intentions, Kori had a sickening feeling it wasn't. Snatching the tea from his hand, she threw down some money. "I shall not take favors or advances from jerks. Keep the extra exchange of money." Whirling around on her heel, she slurped her tea while slamming the door shut behind herself.

She didn't want to see anyone else besides people she knew didn't treat her like some sexual prize. All she wanted to do was see her family. She was so angry she couldn't even fly when she got home. Stomping into the Common Room, she was glad to see Garfield sitting on the couch. Blinking, she realized he was actually reading.

Quieting her steps, she flounced down and flipped over the back of the couch to sit next to him. She sipped her tea (she may have been angry but it still tasted delicious) as he grinned up at her, shutting the book. "Hey Kori! What ya drinking?"

Shrugging her shoulders, she sucked up some boba bubbles and smacked her lips. "Tea. Are you reading, Friend Garfield?"

He scrunched up his face and eyed the book wearily. "Yeah. It's not exciting but Raven played some video games with me and she seems to like it so I thought-why not?" He showed her the cover of some sci-fi action book cover. "It's really not that bad and-hey, what's wrong?"

Kori caught his eyes, scrunching her own nose. She usually didn't like to complain but she was still pretty upset so she cocked her head side to side. "It is just…Oh, there was a klorbag at the Boba Tea store who told me I would be pleasurable during intercourse and then the cashier was very friendly but insisted on giving me a free drink if I let him take pictures of me and so I paid him and left, telling him he was a klorbag. I also am feeling a bit of the left out since everyone is so busy dating and going out and I do not want to intrude on your relationship and the only person who is not in a relationship is Richard and I cannot spend time with just him due to it possibly causing confusing feelings that aren't present anymore but I do not believe it would be healthy for either of us if they did return and I miss his friendship and spending time with everyone."

She gasped for air, having spoken all in one breath. She looked into Garfield's green eyes, which looked sad, guilty, and angry-most likely that someone treated his older sister with such contempt. He swallowed, taking a moment to think as he leaned forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Star-sorry, Kori, I'm so sorry. I also want to know the name of that guy-because he needs to have a chat with a T-Rex." Kori smiled wearily at him and merely shook her head-her friends could not fight her battles for her.

"Look Kori-I have been wanting to hang out more with you and was wondering why we didn't hang out as much. I'm sorry if we left you out-we didn't mean to."

"You are okay-I am very happy for you both." She sighed, shrugging his hand off her shoulder. "Truly-though it is hard to see how perfect your relationship is."

Bursting out laughing, Gar's ears twitched as he held his sides. "What-our relationship is anything but perfect!" Noting Kori's serious face, he unsuccessfully sobered his expression. "Look, Raven and I work really hard at our relationship. We are pretty different so we have to talk a lot. I mean, come on-I'm reading!" He held up his book with a dubious expression, causing Kori to laugh. A fang poking out of his lower lip, he smiled at her. "Look, I'm sorry Kori. We'll try to spend more time together…"

Garfield suddenly cocked his head to the side and thought as he put the book down, losing his place. "I wonder if maybe you're in a rut."

"What is 'a rut'?"

Snapping his fingers, Garfield whipped out his communicator from his back pocket and began tapping away. "Okay, so there are a ton of dating apps and Aqualad was talking about some dating app…let me see, oh here it is! Check it out! Super Love!" He pressed a button and turned his phone around for Kori to see. "It's a dating app for superheroes!"

Kori raised an eyebrow. Dating app? As dating on the internet? She shook her head. "Are you sure Raven would approve-"

"Not for me-for you!"

"What's for her?" Kori yelped, swiveling to see Raven standing behind the couch, looking over their shoulders. Kori's face heat up-she forgot how quiet Raven could be sometimes. Squinting down, Raven narrowed her eyes to look at Garfield's screen. "Whatever it is, it is probably not a good idea."

Waving his girlfriend off, Gar shoved the communicator into Kori's hands. "It's fine, Rae!" Raven rolled her eyes as she looked at the screen too with Kori. The three Titans saw Kori's new profile page pop up. "Okay-interests…Likes to shop, dancing, playing with my mutated pet worm, and kicking bad-guy butt!"

Kori nodded her head-all of that was true. She noticed Raven shaking her head, her left eye slightly narrowed in uncertainty. "Kori, if it is okay with you, why not state you like the finer things in life, spending time with loved ones, and don't mind getting your hands dirty."

"OH-good idea, Rae!" Gar snapped his fingers and began to type that in. "Sound good, Kori?" Uncertain how to answer him, Kori shrugged her shoulders. This may not be the best idea but it couldn't hurt to try. "Okay, 'about me'…" Garfield regarded Kori, looking her up and down contemplatively-the first time Kori didn't feel objectified by a man in a long time-then turned back to the app. "Kind, thoughtful, funny, likes to have a good time, and caring."

"Is that how you think of me, Friend Garfield?" Her heart lurched with pleasant butterflies. She wasn't just a pretty face to him?!

Giving her a dubious looks, Raven and Gar caught each other's eye before looking at her with strange looks. "Kori, you're literally the best person I know!" Garfield stated, throwing his arm around her shoulder. "Right Raven?" Swiveling to look at her best friend, Kori saw her flush and tug at the hood of her cloak.

"I'm not sure who could deserve you, honestly." Raven murmured, obviously feeling awkward expressing her emotions. Trying to take the spotlight off herself, (Kori knew her tricks), Raven dipped her head. "Perhaps you could say compassionate and puts others first."

Garfield nodded in agreement and typed it in before stopping and turning to look at Raven suspiciously. "Why are you so good at this?"

Rolling her eyes, Raven allowed herself a little wink at Kori who giggled. He didn't know about the fake profiles they made for all the guys back when they were teenagers for fun-Garfield still didn't know his fake profile was one of the most liked profiles of all time. Shrugging her shoulders, Raven gently squeezed his shoulder before pressing the create button on the profile. "Here, you can fine-tune it later, Kori."

Leaning forward to see the guys, she saw Gar's eyebrow quirk as he began swiping left. "Nah. Nah. Nope. Whoa-he's on here? Not for our girl! Wait, what about this guy…Maybe-nah. No. Nope." He continued to swipe left and Raven slapped his hand away.

"This is her profile-let her choose!"

"But none of these guys are good enough for her! Kori-look at these bozos."

Kori bit her lower lip as her friends continued to discuss the merits of each guy and what constituted a good guy versus a bad guy. "Ummm, I thank you friends but I shall be going to bed." She waved at them as Garfield told her to keep them updated before zipping off to her room. Flopping on her bed, she looked up at the pictures on her ceiling of all her friends. She saw one from years ago with Dick's arm around her waist. Nodding her head, she was determined. Opening her communicator, she went to the app Garfield created for her and downloaded it before tweaking her profile. The screen lit up, the first profile was a handsome Atlantean superhero who said he was related to Aqualad. Aqualad was her friend…Suddenly, the little heart at the bottom of her screen began to ding, the number quickly rising. A few comments flitted across the profile, asking her on dates and seeing if she wanted to chat. Taking a deep breath, Kori sighed. Well, responding to one wouldn't hurt…

Before she knew it, it was 3am. Bleary-eyed, Kori rubbed her face. She had spent hours talking to over 20 different heroes-it was strange how many wanted to talk with her even though they had never met! She even had a date lined up for each night of the week. Well, maybe Garfield was right. Maybe she just needed to try something new…

The first date was the following evening. Kori had put on a floral dress that Karen let her borrow (it was a tad short but Kori felt comfortable). She entered the restaurant, looking left and right before she noticed a guy waving at her. Was this…no…This hero looked nothing like his picture-he didn't even the same gills! "Starfire? Wow-talk about being on fire! It just got hotter in here!" Kori cringed at the statement but sat down. Perhaps it was just first date jitters that Karen had talked about…After an hour, Kori realized this man was not for her. He only talked about himself and tried to kiss her at the end of the date. He even got angry when Kori declined. Well-that was just one guy…that wouldn't all be jerks, right?

The next date was extremely boring. He only talked about potatoes. Kori didn't even realize that there were that many ways to cook potatoes-and she had seven stomachs! At the end of the date, Kori was relieved when it was over. When she told her friends afterward, Victor had joked maybe his power was being super boring to which Gar couldn't stop laughing.

The third date was a hero who was both boring and a jerk. He could talk solely of himself and tell her she was crazy and put her down when she pointed it out (Kori remembered Raven calling his gaslighting though she didn't quite understand what the term mean) and he got extremely upset when she refused to spend the night with him. Was that all she was to these men?!

After each date, Kori began to get more and more disheartened. One took her to a fast food restaurant, told her she couldn't get anything because he didn't believe in fast food, and when she asked why they went to this establishment, he stated that it was the only place that didn't kick people out for not eating there. And that was the best one date she went on…

At the end of the string of dates, Kori was beginning to lose all hope. The seventh date met her at a nice restaurant and even seemed considerate-until she found out he wasn't a superhero. "Ahh, come on, Star! I can call you Star, right? Just because I'm not a hero doesn't mean I can't be super!" Kori left furious and embarrassed-she wasn't upset about him being a superhero-she was upset he had lied! Why did she ever let Garfield talk her into this?

She asked Karen what she believed she should do and the heroine shrugged. "Look, all I know about online dating is you have to take your time and maybe use a better app. You're a catch, girl-these guys know it and are falling all over you!" Her husband didn't give much better advice when she asked about how guys think. "Star-guys are simple. You act nice, tease them a little, and give them a little attention and they are all over you. Don't sweat it!" Victor was not helpful either-and she knew better than to tell him about what lude comments they made to her-because he would be the one behind bars instead of putting criminals there.

The only person who truly understood how she was in the dating realm was the LAST person she could ask for advice. Dick had been avoiding her since she started going on her dates. "He's just jealous, Kori!" Gar said off-handedly, shaking his head after the vigilante walked in the Common Room when Kori was eating ice cream, looked at his communicator as if he forgot something and promptly walked out. She sighed and licked her mint-chocolate chip sundae covered in mustard. But she knew that wasn't the case. Dick wasn't jealous-he just didn't know how to interact with her in this season of life. She didn't know how to act with him!

After another failed date (who didn't even show up), Kori wobbled into the Common Room before wearily landing on her feet. Emotions she couldn't even put into words caused her stomach to twist. This had been one of the longest weeks of her life. She wasn't sure where to go forward from here! Blinking back tears, a sudden shuffle of papers caused Kori to blink rapidly. "Oh, Richard!" Dick was sitting at the kitchen table, sorting old filing records of cases from their teenage years. "I'm sorry to disturb you-I just returned."

Dick looked uncomfortable but nodded his head at her. "Hi Kori…how'd the date go?"

"Oh, it was the romantic and extremely entertaining and we shall go meet again soon!" She plastered a cheesy smile onto her face. She couldn't let him know the turmoil and hurt inside-

"Kori." Dick pulled out a chair next to him for her to sit. "I know you too well to know that is a lie." His brows furrowed with concern. Her heart raced in her chest-of course he knew. Sighing, she slowly walked forward and primly sat in the plastic yellow chair.

Lacing her fingers together, Kori stared at the manila envelopes spread across the table, not truly seeing them. "I do not feel like you are the person I should be speaking to about this matter. But I shall." She raised her eyes to meet his as he cocked his head to the side, face full of empathy and concern. "I…I have been lonely due to everyone being in relationships and not being able to spend as much time together. Also, I cannot spend time with just you-please do not be offended. I just know we are not as suited for one another as we were as children. The date today did not even arrive to the establishment-I feel as if I cannot be a true person here on Earth because I am either an object to be admired or not thought of as a complete person. People only see me for my looks and not for who I am." Tears began to well up in her eyes. "I am beginning to realize that I may not truly belong here on Earth anymore."

As she blinked back tears, she finally looked back up at Dick. His brow furrowed even deeper, thinking deeply about what she had just said. Her heart began to race as he swallowed before coughing into his hand. "Kori, I'm sorry you have been feeling this way. You are an amazing person who people sometimes don't see because of your beauty. I don't want you to go and I'm sorry that we haven't been able to spend as much time together. But…do I have anything to do with you feeling like you have to stay on Earth?"

Did he? Kori frowned to herself-when she came back to Earth after the Tamaranean Civil War, she considered staying on her home world. "No." She decided. "You are not the only reason…just partially." Taking a deep breath, she soothed her breathing just like Raven taught her. "I love all our friends-they are our family! I stay for everyone but I still feel left out. We are not as close as we used to be anymore and we do not do the hanging out."

"Do you mean everyone or do you mean you and me?"

She had forgotten how well he knew her! Despite feeling blue, she smiled at him. "I meant everyone but yes-you and I. However, all our friends are in relationships and moving on and I just feel left behind on a place that is not truly my home."

The unexpected touch of Dick's hand over hers caused Kori to start. They hadn't so much as touched since breaking up years before besides a hand shake or helping each other up from battle. "They aren't moving on, Kori. Like you said-they are our family." He paused before continuing on as if he was uncertain of his next words. "I hope you know that we are still friends. I'm here if you need me and I'm not expecting anything more."

A knot she didn't realize was even in her heart suddenly untangled. She felt five times lighter, as if on a planet with lower gravity. "Oh! This gladdens my heart-I do still love you-though not the romantic love of course. How I have missed our friendship. And you are my friend-my best friend!"

"Haha, I feel the same way. You're my best friend, Kori. And I miss being your best friend."

Kori laughed-she had forgotten how nice it was to just 'be' with Dick. "Oh joy! I have missed being able to talk with you over the most trivial of things. I am so happy to be able to speak freely with you again and we can do the hanging out. We shall hang out soon-though with the appropriate boundaries of course."

Dick nodded pensively, tapping his hand on his chin. "True. I don't want to start a romantic relationship again-that wouldn't be the best idea."

"Oh yes. We make great friends but perhaps not the great boyfriend and girlfriend."

"Ahh, hell nah!"

Whirling around, the pair saw the other four members of their team standing at the entryway with levels of amusement and annoyance. Victor had slapped a hand on his forehead, shaking his head in disbelief. Kori laughed, realizing what this looked like with Dick holding her hand and them sitting so close. Everyone had come to agreement (after many hours of debate and discussion) that Kori and Dick were just meant to be friends-not in a relationship.

Flying into the air, Kori giggled. "Fear not, Victor! It is not what you think. It is just that we are friends again!" The looks of relief and Karen's audible exhale caused Dick to snort.

Garfield balked, looking between all the friends. "Wait-when were they not friends?"

Laughing, Karen patted the green man on the back. "You don't get women, Gar."

"You said it." Raven quipped, causing Kori to laugh some more. It felt like old times! It wasn't like they didn't hang out anymore, but a heaviness that she had unknowingly been dealing with for over two years seemed light as a feather.

Dick stood up as well, some of his old sarcastic personality shining through. "And now that we are best friends again, Kori, I have to say-as your friend-you need to get off that app. You are way too good for those guys."

"You said it."

"That's what I said."

"Agreed."

"It's not that bad!" Gar stated as everyone chimed in agreed. When everyone turned to look at him, he waved his hands in defense. "I mean-yeah, way too good." Clasping his hands together, some of his awkwardness from his old teenage years shining through, he gave Kori the human version of 'The Face'. "Kori, I'm so sorry! I thought that dating would help you get out of your funk! Raven was right…"

"I usually am." The empath smiled, amused, causing the changeling's nose to twitch in annoyance.

Laughing, Kori putt a hand on his shoulder. "You only wanted what is best for me! I accept the apologizes-now if only those klorbags would apologize for all these dates!" She smiled over at Dick, noticing his relaxed stance. Finally, things were looking up. "And it did help-just maybe not in the way you thought."

Raven took a step forward, looking at Kori imploringly. "But seriously, delete the app, Kori."

"Oh, after that last date, it has been deleted."

Laughter filled the room, feeling just like old times.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. This chapter is paying homage to Starfire of the comics where her and Nightwing were in a relationship but realized they were better apart. (They dated a long time in the comics but broke up multiple times and said many times they were better as friends. Though I really don't like the concept of friends with benefits like in the comics-that can make relationships sticky.) Anyway, I love Kori and feel she is such an underrated character. People (in real life and in the comics) only see some women for their beauty and do not realize that they are real people with real thoughts and emotions. Thank you for reading, favoriting, and following my story! Please let me know what you thought of this chapter. Thank you and see you next time!