Game Day P.1
The Hive Update: "Turns out I have so much information in my system that I just had to split this one, get ready for some drama, romance, and lies all wrapped in one, a gift from me. It's game day bitches, and I'm ready to throw down, are you?"
A few days had passed by and Kory avoided the group as much as possible. On the days they had homeroom, Bee would try to get Kory to come to sit with her and Jinx. Though, instead of giving in to the peer pressure, she would either ask for a pass to the bathroom and stay there for the remainder of the period or listen to her music loudly.
When she saw the guys in Mae-Eye's class, Wally and Vic would wave at her, she'd of course give one back out of common courtesy. With Dick, however, he'd give her a warning glance indicating what he warned her about from their last conversation. Sometimes when Kory wasn't paying attention to them, he'd look back at her with a solemn expression, and he'd turn back to the board once she felt someone was watching her
. Gar took her under his wing when it came to lunch or walking with her during passing periods. He even introduced her to some of his friends at the table, and let's just say they were definitely different from the popular group. For instance, Kole, who Gar mentioned in heavily involved with crystal healing and their powers; had hot pink hair, instead of a light pink like Jinx's, and had more of a childish demeanor. She had these wide-set blue eyes and decorated her hair in wacky styles.
Today, she decided to curl her two high pigtails into big spirals with her bangs out and added glittery tinsel. Kory considers her the curious one of the group, she's always interested in the different stories everyone has to tell. Next were two twin brothers, one named Mason and the other Manuel, they spoke little English.
Kory could understand most of their conversation after taking a couple of courses in Spanish, sometimes even talking back to them in their native language. This made them swoon hard for Kory, even though she was oblivious to their affections and thought of them as being courteous. Although she also considered them a bit clingy, they would give her winks when she glanced their way or fight with the other over which one should walk her to class.
Both would end up losing as Gar came to save the day and told them that Kory usually walks with him to class. A couple of minutes later, they'd happily run to their next location and boy were they fast. Mason mentioned being on the track team with Wally, but Manuel reminded him that they were JV and not varsity runners.
Which started another argument between them, earning an eye roll from everyone at the table, including Kory. The third one in the group, Rosabelle, was nearly as tall and strong as Vic. She was noted as one of the best wrestlers in the whole state, giving about 140 knockouts in many of her matches.
Rosabelle didn't really talk much unless it involved sports, WWE, or the gym, if it didn't interest her, she'd quietly eat her food then head outside to hang with her wrestler friends. When Rosabelle thought no one was looking, Kory noticed how she'd look at Kole's extravagant hairstyles and try to do them herself or apply some makeup.
That's why she rushes to eat her food all the time, because she was hurting on the inside. Then you had Isaiah, who had quite a temper from what Gar's told her. He stated that if you got him angry enough, you could literally see flames coming off of him. She rolled her eyes at that exaggeration, Isaiah was said to be more arrogant than hot-headed if anything, and a bit stubborn.
He'd go on and on about how he had created one of the coolest experiments in Chemistry, boring everyone else at the table. Kory made a note to herself that if she ever had trouble with Chemistry, Isaiah was the one to go to; when she'd get to meet him that is. The last one in the group was Rachel, she was much quieter than anyone else in the group, even Rosabelle.
She always had her nose stuffed in a book, wore the same cardigan every day, and moved her hair in front of her face. Kory knew she was a beautiful girl, they all were, they just didn't know it yet. Neither did she. When Gar introduced Kory to Rachel, she stopped her reading, looked her up and down, then went back to her reading. "I think she's warming up to ya," He cheekily said, to which Kory gave a small reassuring smile back.
Yep, they were an odd bunch all right, but she sorts of started to grow to like them. Kory popped in her locker combination before opening the door with a snap. She put her books on the top shelf and searched for the one she needed for the next class. "Here we are, English," she grabbed the book and stuffed it into her backpack, closing the locker in the process.
Bee stood behind the locker, in her cheerleading uniform, and sharpening her nails with a file. Kory jumped at the sight of her, "Hey Kor, where ya been?" There was something different in the middle of Bee's voice, almost as if she was trying to get something out of Kory. "I-I've been around," "Avoiding your friends?" "I-I'm not avoiding you, I've just been busy that's all—""—Hangin' with Gar, Rachel, and their friends? I see you all sitting together in your corner, like a secret club,"
"Are you m-mad?" Kory squeaked, Karen smirked to herself before letting out a small giggle "Course not, Kor! You can hang who you wanna hang with. I just don't want you to be mad about that stupid hive post," She sighed in relief, and clutched the book tightly to herself, beginning to walk in the direction of her class with Bee following.
"I was at first. I just hate being in the spotlight, especially in a national one. I'm not used to be on gossip blogs. Back in Tamaran, they considered those types of blogs distractions from what's going on in the world," Karen gave a hum in interest, "It's scary at first, all the people around you asking different questions, constantly being tagged in different photos that you are photoshopped into, different flocks of admirers. You get used to it though—"
"—I don't want to get used to it, I don't even wanna be a part of it—" "—Look Kor, I hate to break it to you. Once the hive knows you, it's very hard to get them to un-know you. Trust me, we've all tried. They somehow get a hold of all your secrets, and send them out into the world wide web before you could even take your next breath—"
"—They-They do that?" Kory's eyes started to get big as saucers, her heart started to pound hard, and her ears were ringing a bit. The Hive can't know her secrets, none of them. If any of her secrets were aired out, her father would send her to a mental institution so fast to avoid the mess being made. She started to scratch at her sleeve, Bee noticed. "You okay there, Kor?"
Before Kory could answer, she sees Vic in the corner of her eye come over wearing his football jersey proudly and pull Bee to the side. "Sorry for her bothering you, Kory." "Vic, it was just some girl talk," Karen whined, Vic grabbed her hand and dragged her away. Off to the opposite side of the hallway stood Dick watching the whole thing.
His eyes met Kory's, her heart pounded faster, the butterflies in her stomach fluttered and her mouth was slightly agape. Dick snapped his head away from their shared moment then walked along with Vic, who by this time, was carrying Karen over his shoulder; she of course was protested and began to beat his back with her small fists.
"Put me down Victor Stone, right now!" Kory heard her yell, she smiled to herself missing their childish antics. She put a loose strand of hair behind her ear, tugging her backpack strap under her, and started to turn away. Not before taking another look at the group again, only to see Dick Grayson staring right back at her with a black expression written all over his face.
Dick watched as Kory glanced his way, she gave a small welcoming smile only for him to return a stoic one. She nodded to herself and headed off to her next class. "Vic put me down now!" Bee yelled shaking him out of his trance, he looked over to see Bee being set down by Vic, as Jinx and Wally watched in a fit of giggles.
She dusted off her cheerleading uniform, fixed her hair "Had a nice ride there Bee," Wally joked, Vic began to laugh, but shut up immediately as soon as he saw Bee's angry face. "Aw come on Bee, can't we have little fun before the pep rally later on today," Wally asked, "Not with me, and I know all of you were trying to get me to stop talking to Kory—" "—Damn right we were. What the hell were you thinking Bee?" Dick snapped causing the entire group to silence themselves, "I was thinking of making a new addition for the group—"Before Dick could retort back, Vic cleared his throat and motioned how they were getting some stares.
He rolled his eyes, "We'll talk about this before the party tonight," They all nodded in agreement, except Bee who folded her arms in protest. The warning bell rang throughout the hallway, students began to grab their things and head to classes, "Come on Jinx, I'll walk you to class" Wally wiggled his eyebrows, "My class is all the way on the other side of the school, idiot." She shook her head then waved the group off before going in the opposite direction. "C'mon Wally. Coach wanted to see us before the big pep rally,"
"Oh right, I forgot. I kind of got distracted," his head turned in the direction of where Jinx was, Vic swatted at his head with a loud smack, making Wally hiss in pain and satisfaction on Vic's. He gave Bee a small kiss on the forehead, whispering something to her in which she blushed, "Later Dick. See you in History," He nodded at them trying to avoid Bee's lingering gaze, "Dick, can we talk for a sec?"
"I have to get to class, Bee—" "—It's about Kory." He stopped dead in his tracks at the mention of her name, "What about her?" He tried to play it off like he didn't care, though a slight change of pitch in his voice said otherwise. "Don't think I didn't see you looking at her earlier, what's up?" It may have been a genuine interest or concern for his actions, but he couldn't take any chances.
"None of your business," he stated coldly, in which she scoffed "Stop being a dick and talk to me-" "—As I said, it's none of your business." He fixed the shades on his face, combed through his hair with his fingers, and walked away; leaving a fuming Karen Beecher behind him.
He screeched into the nearly full English classroom, his breathing shallow and hair loosely falling over his head. The bell rang again to start class, "Made it," he sighed to himself as he made his way to the back of the classroom where Rachel resided, who was buried deep in yet another book. "Hey Rachel," She gave a mumbled hello, not paying him no mind.
Mr. Malchior began the lecture, shifting through the slideshow "Psst, Rachel" "Hmm" "Rachel—" "What?" She hissed, Dick gave her one of his irresistible smiles. Only for her to revert her eyes to her book, "What do you want Dick?" "Are you coming to the game tonight?" "What kind of stupid question is that when you already know the answer to it." "I know I thought you might change your mind considering yours truly will be starting,"
"I'm trying to find the part in which I'm supposed to care about all of this?" He quietly chuckled at her sarcastic remark, she hadn't changed one bit. "C'mon Rachel, it's one game. I'll even get you a plate of nachos to munch on—" "—Fake cheese with stale chips, I'll pass." "Hot dog?" "Do you even know what's in a hotdog?" Dick closed his mouth, "Didn't think so. I can't make it anyway…I have somewhere to be tonight,"
"Where—" "Shh!" She spat as she closed her book and began to write down notes for the lecture. Dick put up his hands in defeat and got out his journal to jot down the notes. He took a glance at Rachel as she continued to write, he caught the healing bruise forming on her fist. "Where the hell did she get that?" He thought to himself, "I'll ask later" he continued to write down his notes as the class went on.
Mr. Malchior asked a couple of students for input to which Rachel monotonously answered. Sometimes when she raised her hand, Dick would see her wince slightly in which she quickly covered up by wiggly her arm a bit. Mr. M seemed to keep a close eye on Rachel as well, glad that someone else was noticing it too. He asked Dick for his input, in which, Dick gave him a very bland answer from something he looked upon spark notes from the night before.
It seemed as though Mr. M accepted it, much to Dick's gratitude, the bell rang. Everyone in class grabbed their things and headed out the door, "Rachel, wait up!" Dick yelled after her, she stopped with a raised eyebrow. "I thought you only socialized with me inside of the classroom," Dick ignored her sarcastic remark and looked down to where the bruise was located.
She knew what he was looking at and folded her arms to try to hide his wandering eye. "What happened?" "Nothing, I-I hit my fist against the wall after getting frustrated with something. I just bruise easily, that's all" He knew she wasn't telling him what happened, she kept looking at the ground instead of at him.
"Rachel—" "—Look don't act as you care about me, I'm fine." "I do care—" "Please spare me the lies Dick, you stopped being a real friend a long time ago—" "—I didn't. You're still very much my friend—" "—Leave me alone Dick," "Not till you tell me what happened to your hand—" "—I said leave me alone," "Is Mr. Grayson giving you a problem Ms. Roth," Mr. Malchior quipped his eyebrow in interest, his eyes never leaving Rachel.
"We're fine Mr. M—" "I wasn't asking you, Mr. Grayson," he warned, Dick gulped. Rachel sighed, shaking her hair out her face "It's okay, Mr. Malchior. Dick was just leaving," He was about to open his mouth in protest, but something in the way Mr. M was looking at him told him to move along. "I never stopped being your friend, Rachel," He whispered, she turned her head away from him. Mr. Malchior walked closer to her and placed his hand on her shoulder, talking to her in hushed tones.
Kory held tightly to the hall pass, the worn-out laminated sheet of paper began to tear, due to the constant use of the pass, and needed a big upgrade. She looked around in confusion, trying to find out which class she came from; it stressed out the cause of how the school was built. Huge classrooms with state-of-the-art technology, computer labs filled with iMacs, comfy chairs, vending machines with about any snack you could imagine, a nice football field with a Jumbotron, and gourmet cafeteria food.
Much different from the school she went to, of course, she was homeschooled for a bit. She peeked her head around the corner to find an unfamiliar wall bulletin decorated with pictures of kids in lab coats and different science gizmos surrounding them. No, that's not it, she thought to herself and turned around to the next nearest hallway only to hear sniffling.
Kory's ears perked at the sound, she peeked her head over to see a familiar girl with her two puffballs on top of her head, one adorned with a sparkly gold scrunchie to match her black and yellow cheerleading ensemble. "Karen?" Kory softly spoke, Bee popped her head up in fright and quickly tried to wipe away her tears as they continued to spill, messing up her mascara a bit.
"Kory, hey! What's up?" Bee said, trying to cover her voice from cracking. Kory cautiously approached her, looking around and making sure no one noticed her "Are you okay?" "Fine, fine. It's just my allergies acting up again." She wiped her nose again as she continued to hug her knees. Kory took a seat by her, "Bee—" she began to reach her hand out to touch her shoulder, but Bee quickly got up and fixed her outfit.
"Um, actually Kor. I have to get back to class if I get one tardy from class. I'll have demerits—" She grabbed her backpack as Kory got up and grabbed the loose strap, Bee pulled with a small tug and accidentally let the contents of the backpack spill out. Both girls gasped as the items fell out, Bee quickly went to the floor and grabbed her things; Kory went down to help her, one item, in particular, catching her eye: an unopened pregnancy test box.
Bee's eyes redirected to it as well and caused her to snatch the box away; she grabbed the rest of her things then, zipped up her bag, and ran off. Kory sat there in shock from what she just saw, her ears red from shock.
Kory passed through the gigantic crowd of school spirit dressed people, looking for the new group of friends she came to enjoy hanging with. She spotted Vic, Wally, Bee, and Jinx sitting at the table in their usual seats, though they looked as though they were decked out in their school spirit as gear; most likely due to their being a game tonight and they were forced to dress that way.
Vic and Wally matched in black jerseys with yellow numbers on them, Vic's number 36 and Wally's being 2. While Bee and Jinx matched with their cheerleading uniforms, black tops with white sleeves, a T inside a circle plastered on both their chests, and black skirts with yellow ruffled at the bottom, although Karen looked a bit more into school spirit with the yellow scrunchie glittering and all.
She caught their eyes; they gave her a small nod except Karen who avoided her gaze entirely. "Hey, Kor!" She heard Gar's voice yell through the student body's chatter, she looked around and spotted him waving his hand. Kory sighed in relief and headed to the table of newfound friends. "Sup Kor, you excited for game day? Gar nudged her lightly as she sat down, "Is that why everyone is dressed up in the school's colors today?" He nodded, "Oh, I seem a bit underdressed for the occasion—"
"—Don't worry about it Kor, you aren't the only one. Rachel's not dressed for it either" Kory took a look at what Rachel wore, instead of fitting in with the school spirit, she decided to go for a violet cardigan, dark grey top, and dark blue jeans. "Why look like a bumblebee today?" She quirked an eyebrow, Gar rolled his eyes "Don't listen to her, if you want I might be able to help you get some cool gear before the game. If you want,"
"Oh, I don't think I'll be going—" "What!" Gar shrieked causing everyone at the table except Rachel to jump slightly, "But-but, It's your first football game—scratch that—you're first HIGH SCHOOL football game. Everyone's gonna be there!-" Rachel almost opened her mouth, "Except Rachel, but that's all the time. You, on the other hand, get to see American High School football in action and it'll be televised!" He explained, her face paled at the mention of television, now she definitely didn't want to be seen there. "If it makes you feel better, I'll wave at you from the stands and grab you a t-shirt! Yours truly is performing!"
"Oh, Garfield! How exciting," Gar had mentioned that he was the part-time mascot for the school due to him also having an after-school job that required his attention half the time so he couldn't attend some of the games; He hoped this year he could be a possible full time one but wouldn't get his hopes up cause of his family.
"Yep he's the beloved mascot Tito the Tiger," Rachel stated in her usual monotone, "Woop di doo," she spun her finger in a circular motion, Gar stuck his tongue out at her. "It's so much fun, Kory! There's always a pep rally before home games, tailgating, yummy food, small contests, and you get to hang out with the other students during the game," Kole interjected, the twins nodded in agreement.
"Meh, I just enjoy seeing puny men practically kill themselves over an even punier ball," Rosabelle shrugged, "So you in?" Gar asked with a hopeful smile "I—" Kory was about to answer when her phone buzzed in her pocket, she grabbed it and saw a message from Bee saying: "Meet me in the courtyard in 5 mins, it's the big field of grass near the entrance".
She turned her head to see Karen continuing to type on her phone, "Please?" Kory sucked in a breath, "You okay Kory?" Kole asked as she munch baby carrot. Everyone at the table looked at her in concern, even Rachel quipped an eyebrow in interest, she gave a small smile "Never better," then went back to eating her lunch. Not before texting Bee back with an answer that said "See you then,".
2 years ago…Eight Grade Year
The gang scattered around the open courtyard that was near the high school cafeteria, Jinx and Raven was sitting under a tree reading one of Rachel's poems. Victor, Dick, Gar, and Wally were playing a nice game of stank ball, Vic paired with Gar and Wally paired with Dick.
While Karen and Herald were strung out on the bench, as Herald played a song he created for Bee to listen and critique on. "Gar, go long!" Vic yelled as he winded up his arm to get ready to hurl the ball, he grew a couple of inches since the gang last hung out and that was just two days ago.
"You got it, Vic!" His voice squeaked, still going through the stage of puberty. "Alright, Wal. I need you to block Gar so I can tackle Vic—" "—Aw man, why do you get to tackle Vic?" "Cause I'm a bit bigger than you and we all know Vic could snap you in half if you tried to tackle him," Dick mused pushing his sunglasses closer to his face, Wally gave a goofy smile and shook his bangs out of his face, "Yeah, you're right. I'll handle String Bean," He punched his scrawny palm, then speedily ran to where Gar was.
"Rach, it's pretty good. I really think you nailed the haiku," Jinx handed her the paperback, then took out one of her skull decorated barrels and placed it by her pigtails "My mom inspired me, she's been teaching me all different types of poetry," Rachel said, moving her long black hair out her pale face and giving a small smile.
Herald played the last few notes of the song he made, the melodies sounding clear and beautiful, Bee stood there in admiration at him. He finished the last note, then turned to her waiting for her reaction, "What'd you think Honey Bee? Good enough for the talent show next week," He quirked up an eyebrow at her, she shook herself out of the daze and gave a quick clap, "It was awesome! Good enough to win the talent show," She nudged his elbow as the blush on her face began to grow, he gave a shy smile showing off the cute gap in his teeth.
Yep, they were a tight group of friends, always hanging out after sports or band practices at the same spot until the sunset. Anytime there was a function, they all went together. Many onlookers thought they were gonna be together forever, BFFS, a perfect bunch, etc. Though it all began to change. Dick slowed down in his tracks when his pocket began to buzz, "Woah, time out!" Dick called out, the rest of the boys slowed down and spread out to different sections of the courtyard.
He looked at his phone and saw Bruce's name pop up, "What's up Bruce?" He rolled his eyes, "You can't wait a couple of minutes?" "Meeting about what?" "Me and Babs?" "Look, whatever it is, can't we do this some other—" "—Fine. See you," Dick grunted before stabbing at the end button on the phone.
Vic walked towards the two giggly teens, though his eyes were only focused on her. Karen Beecher. She perked up her head as her hazel eyes twinkled, "Hey Vic," she waved, he waved back. "Victor Stone, this little Honey Bee says she's not ticklish," "I'm not! Honest," Herald smirked at her before lunging on top of her, and wiggling his fingers around her stomach, she fell into a fit of giggles. "Herald, stop!" She said between laughs, Vic's lovestruck demeanor turned into a jealous one as he watched Herald put his hands all over her, his girl.
"Hey, hey!" Vic yelled over them causing them to stop, he gave a small smile, "She's also ticklish under her arms!" He got down and began to tickle her, causing Bee to laugh harder. He didn't notice it, but Herald held the same look that Vic had just moments ago.
Wally sat next to Rachel and put his arm around her, "What you got there Rachel? A love poem to yours truly? Don't worry I'll act surprised when you stuff it in my locker," he winked at her, causing her to roll her eyes and move out of his grip, "In your dreams West, it's a haiku I made for the poetry slam," "The one where all those creeps go, yeesh, don't expect me to be sitting in the crowd.
They may make me a sacrifice or worse bite my neck and make me join the legion of the undead," Jinx was next to roll hers, "You and Gar watch way too many horror movies, they aren't even like that if you get to know them. Wallace," "Someone says my name? " Gar munched away on a granola bar, " before taking a seat next to Jinx, "Just that you and Wally are pretty much the dumbest human beings on Earth—" "Hey, it's not scientifically proven if Gar's a human yet," Wally joked.
Gar stopped munching on his granola bar and gave him a glare, "Oh yeah, pretty sure you fall under the category of 'Species Unknown'" he stuck out his tongue, Jinx let out a hard laugh. Wally mocked what he said and sat under the tree with his arms folded in defeat. Dick walked over to their group with a very well-known frown on his face, "What's got your panties in a bunch," Jinx asked as Vic, Bee, and Herald came over.
"A special meeting with Bruce and the Commissioner," He grunted, "Ooh! Can I come, his daughter is smoking hot! Not to mention, an older woman and a redhead!" Wally fanned himself, "She's only a year older than us, idiot," Rachel stated. "She's still a hottie, I would not mind taking some handcuffs and—" "Wally, tmi!" Bee grimaced, as the rest of the group nodded in agreement. He shrugged, "Anyway, he needs me home asap. Same time here tomorrow?" He asked the group, they nodded again.
"Cool," a car horn honked in the distance. Dick grabbed his things, waved his friends goodbye, and headed off. The rest of the group headed off, one by one. Anticipating the next day to come where they get to hang out at their favorite spot, however, they didn't know that this would be the last day where the group hung out.
For the next couple of days, practices were longer, home life had changed, and moments were forgotten. Every day, Gar would return to the courtyard that year, holding the stank ball in one hand, and his backpack in the other. The hours would tick by where he saw no one, a couple of texts with an apology, though those started to go away as the year began to dwindle. Soon enough, in the summer before ninth grade, he stopped coming too.
Bee tapped her foot against the grass, looking at her watch as she waited for Kory to show up. Her bleached white shoes were starting to get a hint of grass stains on them, "where is she?" She muttered to herself, looking at her watch again. She snapped her head back up as she heard the sound of someone walking near, her eyes cornered in on a flash of red hair: Kory. "Kory!" Bee yelled; the girl turned to her with wide green eyes of shock as if she was a dear caught in headlights.
The girl scratched slightly at her elbow as she walked over to her, looking at everything around her. "Thanks for meeting me here Kory," Bee took a seat on the bench and Kory followed. "Of course Bee—I mean Karen—" "—It's okay to call me Bee, Kory. I like it much more than my actual name anyway," they shared a small laugh that quickly died as it came, and the silence began to settle in.
They both stared at the ground, the minutes seeming to tick as though hours had passed, and the day continuing. "Kory," Bee finally broke the silence, Kory perked her head up to see tears beginning to form in Bee's eyes. "You can't tell anyone," a small gasp left her mouth, only making the tears rush out more.
"You-you're—" "—I don't know. I don't want to know, I hope it'll just pass over or something—" "—Bee—" "—Kory, you don't get it! I can't be—I don't want to be—I'm still in freakin' high school for crying out loud!" The tears spilled down her face as she got up, pacing back and forth. Kory watched in sympathy; based on the group that she was introduced to, Bee looked as though she was the most responsible.
The one with a set schedule, and one who looked as though she already had her life planned out. Now, that she may be or may not be pregnant with a baby, her whole image and life would change. "I'm supposed to be in the running for head cheerleader next year, looking at some of the top schools in the country, worrying about my outfits for next week—not worrying about a kid—not at this age," She hugged herself and continued to quietly sob, Kory cautiously walked over to her and wrapped her arms around her.
They stood there as Bee cried, she wrapped her arms around Kory and cried into her shoulder. "H-how am I supposed to win Ho-Homecoming Duchess if I'm pregnant?" "You have to take a test to know for sure," Kory sighed, "I-I can't. If my parents found a pregnancy test, t-they'd cut me off and kick me out," "What about Vic?" "What about him?" "Does he know that you may be—" "—Don't finish that sentence Kory," Bee pushed off of her and went back to her pacing.
"You have to tell him, Bee, at least inform him about the possibility," "He's a varsity football player, straight-A student, and has a strict dad. Adding a possible baby with his 15-year-old girlfriend will push him over the edge. He's already under enough stress as it is," "So are you, Karen," Kory interjected, "I won't say anything about the test if that's why you wanted to meet up with me—" "Oh Kory! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She pulled her in for a tight hug, Kory lightly patted her back.
"Bee, what if you are," she heard her take in a sharp breath, "I don't want to think about that Kory, I just want to still be a somewhat normal teen before I find out," she nuzzled her cheek on top of Kory's shoulder, as Kory continued to rub her back lightly. "Bee, I hate to be like this, but you have to take the test. Today. " Kory removed herself from Bee's arms as she said this, taking in Bee's disheveled appearance.
Her mascara running down her face, lipstick smudged a bit, and face stickers in a different place. Bee sighed, her bottom lip beginning to tremble, and after a couple of seconds of her sniffling, she nodded. "Okay, Okay…I'll take it before Dick's party tonight. He has a billion restrooms, I'll go in one of the guest restrooms as the guys are setting up for the party and take the test.
Then…once I get the results, I'll decide what to after." Kory nodded along to the plan, "You have to be there with me though," Her nodding stopped suddenly, "I-I don't think that's a good idea," she messed with the end of her shirt a bit, "Why? Kory, I really need someone there with me when I do this—" "—What about Jinx—" "—She's grounded, something about her being caught smoking weed in the restroom during her family dinner,"
"What!" "No big deal, this happens all the time. So after the game, she has to go back home or else," Bee continued, checking out her manicured nails during the process. "Or else what?" Kory squeaked, Bee looked back up at her in interest then began to giggle a bit; slowly bringing back that beautiful glow everyone seems to notice around her "Kory, don't worry about it. She'll be fine, her parents always pull that card and this always happens. No sweat,"
"Oh," Kory said, beginning to twist again at her shirt, "Well, I still can't go—" "—Why? Is it your uncle? Cause we can come up with a pretty good lie to get you out for a few hours? You hate parties—" "More like Dick Grayson hates me," Kory finally said, emitting a silence from Bee. She gave her a questioning look, "Dick Grayson hates you?" Kory nodded "Why do you say that?" She continued to look at the ground and mess with her shirttail.
"Well, a couple of days ago. He told me to stay away from y'all and he was being so mean about it," Bee rolled her eyes, "Okay Rule #1. Never Ever let a man dictate what you can and can't do. No matter how cute, rich, smart, athletic, or whatever he is. You decide what you can and can't do. If you let a man like Dick Grayson dictate your choices, then that means they have power over you. Which nowadays is so overrated, cliche, and misogynistic. Rule #2 You are your person if you wanna hang out with us. You can hang out with us, who gives a shit if Dick Grayson will be pissed off about it. He can suck it and you can tell him I told him to" Kory giggled at Bee's stern voice, if she was honest; Bee was definitely a queen in her own, special way.
"And Rule #3, Any guy who wears cheap hair gel, tacky clothes, or always acts as if he has a stick up his royal ass, is not a man worth listening to. And that's the tea!" She snapped her fingers and wrapped her arm around Kory's shoulder as they laughed back to the cafeteria.
Gar tapped his two pencils against his desk as he listened to one of the video game songs that he illegally downloaded onto his phone. Dr. Light, his science teacher, gave the class some time to finish up assignments and homework before they were put into the grade book. Gar, of course, slacked off and went into his own world as he quietly hummed along with the prequel music to Final Fantasy IV.
Something tapped lightly on his shoulder, he stopped his humming and drumming to turn around and see, none other than Terra Markov looking back at him in curiosity. He stammered a bit, Gar's always been a ladies' man, but one that captured his was the beautiful Terra. She was so funny, so breathtakingly pretty, so awesome.
Terra Markov was a sophomore girl on the JV Girl's Lacrosse team, as a midfielder, she usually hung out more with dudes than dudettes and never wore a speck of makeup on her face. Sometimes, at her lunch table, there would be an arm-wrestling or burp contest, in which she always won.
Her crystal blue eyes had a mischievous spark inside them, light freckles sprinkled across her pale face, and her short blond hair slightly wisped across her button nose. She had a lean athletic build to her figure, a little curve here and there to show some sort of womanly features, though what caught Gar's eye the most is how she was unapologetically herself.
She was okay to have mud fights, eat an entire buffet in one go, laugh the loudest, and still be the prettiest girl in the room. At least to Gar she was. When he tried to talk to her, she was always huddled up with her guy friends or lacrosse team and had this threatening stance that could scare any animal around her. He'd hoped she'd notice him just once, as Gar, Garfield, The Garmeister, someone that she could potentially see as something more than a friend. "Hey, is that the Final Fantasy IV soundtrack you're listening to?" She pointed her pencil at his earbuds, his jaw dropped in amazement. His heart swooned, "She knows the video game," he thought to himself, "I think I'm in love". Gar stammered as he looked at her with this lovestruck puppy look. "Um, hello?" She waved her hand in front of him, knocking him out of his trance.
"Huh?" He finally said, "I said, are you listening to the Final Fantasy IV soundtrack?" "I-um I-I, me, uh—" Terra chuckled, "Looks like the cat's got your tongue," The bell rang, everyone in class began to grab their things, including Terra. "Remember everyone, next week I'm assigning Lab Partners. you must attend next week because a ton of lab work and assignments will be given out. I will not be making extra copies," Some students groaned as he said this and others nodded in agreement, Terra finished grabbing her things, "Looks like bell saved your butt. Smell ya later, dude."
She threw up the Yolo sign to him and walked out the door. Gar smacked his forehead a couple of times, "Stupid, stupid!" He groaned to himself before banging his head on the lab table, he could hear Dr. Light's footsteps approaching him.
"Mr. Logan, if you don't get out of my classroom in the next 30 seconds, I will personally escort you to the attendance office and have you get a late slip," Gar perked his head up, speedily put his things in his bag and rushed out of the class without saying goodbye to Dr. Light. He shook his head in annoyance, "Strange kid," he went back to his desk and began to type on his computer without acknowledging the next class coming in.
Dick finished tying his cleats up as Wally sprayed himself with his "special" deodorant and Vic shook a bit, he assumed from nerves about the big game tonight. "Bro, I can't wait for the party tonight! It's gonna be off the chain!" Wally cheered, Vic rolled his eyes "No one says "off the chain" anymore, and don't jinx us, dude!" He smacked him upside the head, earning a scowl from Wally.
"Hey! I'm just trying to keep us in the mood, nothing says 'bro, your party's lame' like sad football players, bored chicks, and rank food—" "The food is never rank," Dick interrupted, Wally brushed off his comment "My point is, your boy's gonna be grinding on a couple of boobs and ass tonight," He stuck his tongue out and gave a couple flexes, that made both Vic and Dick gag.
"Put those away before I puke," "Agreed," Wally rolled his eyes and turned back to his personal mirror to check himself out some more. Vic took a seat on the bench with Dick, "Ready for the pep rally today?" "Meh, it's gonna be the same old thing. Cheerleaders prance around and of course, cheer. Gar runs around in the Tiger suit, holding a 'titans tigers rule' sign, dance team does the same, boring routine, and then Principal Wilson gives a robotic, creepy-ass speech that psyches everyone out,".
"Bee said that this year was gonna be different, I think they have a surprise for us or something," "You think the cheerleaders finally took my suggestion as them popping out a giant cake?" Dick and Victor shared the same disgusted look towards Wally, "You ain't about to have my girlfriend pop out a cardboard, icing-covered cake,".
"Okay, Bee's out. That leaves about 15 other girls, I could work with that—" "—You do realize half the girls on the team are dating other people, most on other sports teams and the rest are considering a restraining order," Dick explained as he brushed off his black jersey, and white trousers. Vic nodded in agreement as Wally contemplated the information.
"Speaking of girlfriend's is yours coming to the game tonight Dick?" Vic asked, Dic stopped in his tracks at the mention of his "girlfriend" and her attendance. Dick and Babs haven't talked for a couple of days ever since their last encounter involving Dick slamming the door in her face and never returning her calls. There were a couple of reasons as to why he didn't want Babs presence to be there.
One is that he had a big flock of admirers that he'd always like to entertain without the presence of Bruce and his "girlfriend" looking over his shoulder. No way was he gonna give that up just to be her plaything. Two, she never cared for the sport, and always found it kind of boring; the only time she'd get involved in football is when Bruce would have his annual Super Bowl Party and he'd invite the Gordons over to watch.
Three, they had to put on this facade of them being the "it couple" even though they were far from it, her acting as his personal cheerleader and him acting like this "lovestruck" puppet. He had to be the perfect kid to represent Bruce's home for orphaned children, Jason wasn't helping. He always did whatever the hell he wanted and no matter how many times Bruce would yell at him or around him, he'd do the same thing over again.
He knew that Bruce wouldn't say it, but it was always subliminally placed when he spoke. "Jason, you and Dick should hang out more," indicating that with Dick around, Jason was less likely to get into trouble. "Why don't we take a trip somewhere, I'm thinking the Swiss alps for Christmas. What do you think Dick? You think you and Jason would enjoy the trip?" Bruce's way of buying his kids' love and taking them away for a bit, to gain more responsibility. Jason was the complete opposite of him.
He'd get caught vandalizing abandoned property, hanging out by himself, getting into bar fights, and flipping off cops. No matter, what Bruce did: reform school, after-school counseling groups, or volunteer work on the weekends. Jason did the same thing that Bruce demanded that he stay away from. The kid was only in the ninth grade and he was already giving Bruce a couple of noticeable grey hairs.
Dick didn't want to stir the pot, so he forced himself to put on this great kid act, being the boy, every girl wanted, and every guy wanted to be. Though, no one ever understood him or saw him for the real guy that he is. They didn't care to. "Um, I'm not sure Wally. Babs might be busy with student council and robotics club," Such a liar, Dick Grayson, he thought to himself. What if the Hive found out his secrets before his friends did? What would they think of him then? What would everyone else think? "She's always busy during your football games, what's missing one meeting? Especially since her boyfriend is starting quarterback for the 1st game?" Dick shrugged to himself and went out of the locker room to the gym that the boys were supposed to meet in before the pep rally.
Vic and Wally shared the same look, "Why don't we give Dickey Boy, a nice after-the-game surprise?" "You mean at the party?" "Yep, we invite Babs. He'll be so happy to see her! And less cranky," Vic rubbed the back of his neck "I don't know Wal, you know Dick hates surprises. Remember that time in 8th grade you 'surprised' him with getting him that vase you found on the internet to replace the one you broke with a baseball bat at the Manor and turns out the vase was actually a pornographic sculpture held upside down," Wally chuckled.
"I swear the look on Alfred's face when he was dusting and fixing it was priceless. Gar and I laughed for weeks," "Dick didn't, he took the fall and got grounded for a month," He shrugged, then grabbed the rest of his equipment and began to put on his shoes. "He lived, didn't he? Look, it's a win-win for everyone. We haven't seen Babs in a while, it'd be nice to catch up with her. Dick'll be happy to see her, and she'll be happy to see him,"
"Okay, but don't say I didn't tell you so. If he gets mad and asks who did this, I'm not in it," He put his hands up in defeat, then turned to leave the locker room. Wally rolled his eyes as he left and stuck his tongue out, "Mad? I doubt it, Dick'll be so happy that he'll owe me for doing this," he took his phone out of his locker, scrolled through his contact list, and tapped on the name he was looking for. Babs name sat at the top of the screen as Wally began to text her.
Kory gently pushed through the crowd of seated students to get to where Kole, Rachel, the twins were sitting. Kole caught her eye and waved frantically, Rachel continued to stare at the book in front of her, annoyed at the rowdiness from the students around her while the twins cheered along with the teenagers as the band played some of the popular songs.
Kory grabbed a seat next to Kole, who was wearing a bedazzled Titans shirt with a cute picture of a tiger plastered on it "Kory! It's your first pep rally! You excited!" She yelled as loud as she could over the students cheering voices. "I think so, it's nothing like Tamaran. We never had such a sport to be so proud about unless it was futbol, which was usually in the spring. Though we never went to such lengths to celebrate it like this," She yelled back, her voice already straining from having to raise her voice a couple of pitches.
"You're in for a real treat! Gar gets this cool entrance and does some fun games with the cheerleaders," "Glorious!" they both turned their eyes to the middle of the basketball court as Principal Wilson tapped on the microphone, "May I have your attention students,"
Rachel stared at the book in front of her, unable to read the sentences in front of her due to Principal Wilson's drawling speech. It didn't help that Kory and Kole were engaged in a giddily whispered conversation or a couple of Dick's admirers were already anticipating his arrival.
She felt someone tap her shoulder lightly, she turned in an annoyed stance ready to scare whoever decided to interrupt her as she read. Only, when she looked to see it was Mr. Malchior's dashing appearance and cute smile looking back at her.
"Hello Rachel," he whispered, her face turned a slight red from her blushing and she gave a small wave back. He smirked at her again before continuing to walk down the bleachers to meet with the other teachers. Suddenly, her book wasn't so important to read anymore. A small smile grew upon Rachel's face as she took a glance every now and then to look at the handsome, Mr. Malchior.
Bee's stomach began to rumble, she hoped it was just nerves and not the other thing that she was so worried about. Jinx put on the finishing touches to her makeup and face tattoos that resembled the school's emblems. Bee grasped tightly at the bars placed in her shiny gold and black pom poms, Jinx noticing her friend's shaky demeanor walked over.
"Bee, you good?" Bee tried to hide her shakiness, "Yeah, never better. Just a bit nervous for the pep rally and the game, Vic'll most likely be playing tonight." Jinx gently squeezed her shoulder, "If he is, he'll do great. He always does, and so will you," She gave her an encouraging smile, Bee gave her grin back. That wasn't the only thing causing her anxiety, it was the possibility that a baby was growing inside her and the clock ticking on the Hive's deadline.
She had to find something newsworthy or her reputation as she knows it was toast. There wasn't anything newsworthy to report though, everyone either had gossip that people knew already or little things that weren't worth posting. She took a peek outside from behind the door and let her eyes wander around the black and yellow-covered crowd, a couple of people standing out without any school gear on.
One that stood out the most with the beautiful mane of red hair, was Kory. Now, Kory was the one that was willing to keep Bee's secret and pushed her to take the test before the party set up. At this point though, she had to find something on someone soon and she was desperate. Kory had to have something lying around on her phone, anything that she could tip off The Hive about and get her in the clear for a while.
She was being a good friend, wasn't she? I mean if Kory were put in the same situation as she, she'd probably consider her as a target. Bee didn't know Kory well, so it wasn't hard feelings; she had to be sneaky about though and cover her tracks. "Alright, team!" Brooke Vera stood on top of a crate wearing a gigantic bow with the captain as the font and a megaphone to the side of her knee. All the other cheerleaders gathered around; Jinx took her place next to Bee.
"Listen up! It's game day and we as cheerleaders are the heart and spirit of this school! We represent one of the best teams in the nation! Let's show them why we're proud to be Titans Tigers!" All the cheerleaders shook their pom-poms in excitement and began to get in formation. Jinx got in front of Bee, "You ready for this?" Bee's stomach rumbled again, "Yeah. I'm ready."
Gar placed the giant tiger's head over his and situated it to where it couldn't fall off. "Alright Gar, you can do this! Everyone's counting on you!" He pepped himself up, running in place with his gigantic mascot feet and warming his body up with the fake fursuit. He took his place behind the door that the cheerleaders went out of and waited for the announcer to announce him.
From the pocket of the mascot's mouth, Gar could catch a glimpse of the crowd, his eyes landing on a gorgeous blonde girl sitting with her lacrosse team, smacking against the bleachers and yelling with the rest of the students. She combed her fingers through her hair and made a couple of silly faces with the other girls.
"She's so pretty," he sighed to himself. A hard pat on the back snapped him out of his lovestruck trance, he almost yipped in pain. "You ready for this Gar?" Coach Dowd asked next to him, "Um, yeah Coach! I'm ready!" Gar squeaked out, trying not to cry from the aching pain plastered on his back. "Good" He gave him another hard smack on the back that nearly knocked the wind out of Gar, then he walked off.
"Ouch!" He cried out and waited for the announcer to call his name out. "Let's make some noise for Tito the Tiger!" Gar got into position and shook his fake tail, then ran out on all fours with the crowd cheering him on. He did a couple of flips which made the crowd scream even louder, then ended with a breakdance move on the ground.
Everyone whooped and hollered after him, he managed to catch Terra's eye who was cheering along with them. "Nailed it," he said to himself before going over to his spot with the cheerleaders and waited for the football team to come.
Dick, Wally, and Vic ran out with the rest of the football team, the cheerleaders shook their pom-poms around them. Karen blew Vic a quick kiss, which he caught. "So corny," Dick said under his breath, he caught the eyes of a couple of cheerleaders, and they gave him some winks in which he smirked back.
"Give it up for the Fighting Titans!" The announcer yelled, everyone in the bleachers stood up and cheered. Coach Dowd took his place on stage with the other administrative staff, the crowd died down a bit. "Thanks, everyone for coming out to the pep rally in support of the Titans!" Everyone cheered again, "We'd like to thank the cheerleaders, the dance team, Tito the Tiger, and of course our staff! You guys make one heck of a support system!" He took off his baseball cap and waved it in the air, the students responded with thunderous claps.
"I'd like to give the mic over to Dick Grayson, so he can say a few words to get this pep rally into gear," my heart dropped at the mention of my name. I forgot I had to make a speech, Xavier always gave one and everyone loved it. What if I messed up? What if my voice squeaked or the stage caved in, I could be the laughingstock of the whole school! He thought to himself, Vic nudged him "Hey dude, you got this! We got your back," Wally nodded in agreement, "Yeah, if you fall on your face or make an embarrassment out of the team, we'll be here" Vic rolled his eyes, and said under his breath "Idiot,".
This gave Dick a small smile, he took in a deep breath and got up to head for the stage. Many girls stood up with my face on their t-shirts, signs made with my number #12, and shades on their faces, screaming as loud as they could. Yep, not creepy at all. His teammates patted him on his shoulder as he made his way up the wooden stage, his coach handed him the mic and gave him a good luck pat as well. "Um, thanks Coach Dowd. I really appreciate the pep talk and introduction—" "—I love you Dick Grayson!" "Not as much as me!" "Marry me!" A couple of girls yelled in interruption, he blushed a bit.
"Knock it off," he could hear Principal Wilson yell, "Um.." He looked at the crowd of faces staring at him with a mix of admiration, lust, giddiness, and some with jealousy. His eyes continued to look through the crowd of people until they landed on Kory. She looked at him with a timid look as if she was afraid of him, she could tell he was staring. Kory gave a nervous wave to him, he took in another deep breath and continued. "As I was saying before, thanks for the speech and introduction Coach D.
I think I speak for all of the squad when I say you inspire us and push us to be better, so thanks. I'd also like to thank the students, old and new, for cheering us on. Even when we don't deserve it sometimes," He looked over at Kory again, she gave a shy smile and tucked her hair back. "It's awesome to have people who have your back and who—" His voice drowned out when he heard many beeps and vibrates from the cell phones around him.
His beeped as well, he took out his phone along with the rest of the students and saw an update from the Hive, he hoped it hadn't been one about him. A couple of gasps were let out, some shook their heads in disgust, and even in shock.
The Hive: "Hear ye, hear ye! I've got a proclamation that you're just itching to hear. Looks like our very own Queen Bee isn't so perfect after all, I have a photo as proof showing that Queen Bee may be carrying a little bundle of joy!" A picture of Bee buying a couple of pregnancy tests pop up on the screen, Dick took a look back at Vic whose face was unreadable. "And you'd think our Queen would have told her King the big news, perhaps she might be embarrassed to have bedded not one but two men and doesn't know who the father is, who's the baby daddy Bee? Not so perfect now, are we?"
All eyes were on Bee, one of the cheerleaders handed her the phone and she sucked in a breath before beginning to sob and run out the quiet gymnasium, letting the echo from the slam of the door fill the room.
Alright, thanks everyone for your patience and reading! I really enjoy writing this story even though I have so many things going on right now! Thank you guys so much, thank you Eris for your feedback and reviews! I appreciate it and look forward to hear from more of you as well! Thanks again! Remember to follow, fave, and review! See you soon!
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