'...Just tell me how I got this far,
Just tell me why you're here and who you are.
'Cause every time I look,
You're never there,
And every time I sleep,
You're always there...'
-Everywhere, Michele Branch
Disclaimer: You know what, I'm going to pretend that you already get the drift of that word, and just get on with it.
AN: Just a quick not darlings: YOU ALL ROCK! I don't know why you people like this thing, but I have my school's stuffed up system to thank for some of the story line.
This chapter is yet again dedicated to NavynBabyBlueSuedeShoes, for the idea of :: cough :: read it. Oh, and I'm throwing a special mention in there for flyingpiggies, because of the shrimp thing... you'll only get it if you read it!
They Were Us-Chapter 4: Loud Mouth Cheerleaders
"Bitch"
Raven ignored the hissed insults coming from the row of preppy girls behind her, and tried to concentrate on Superman's, er, Mr. Kent's explanation of the deconstructing of 'Peter Pan'.
"-So, what does the immortal quality of Peter tell us?" He looked at Raven near the back and smiled. "Miss Shant, what do you think?"
The Goth girl answered calmly, "It's basically saying that Peter's fear of rejection is all that holds him back. He didn't want to grow up because he was afraid that in doing so, he'd become like Hook"
Mr. Kent looked surprised, yet impressed, with her explanation. "And why would you say that?"
"Because the only adults in the story; Mr. Darling, Hook, Smee, so on and so forth, are either a threat to Peter, or have no sense at all. It's the obvious conclusion"
"Very good. Anyone else care to expand?"
"You think you're so smart, don't you?" Spat a deadly voice from the back row.
Not even looking behind her, Raven muttered back, "At least I don't burn all my brain cells cheerleading, Tara"
Tara Markov, or Terra as Raven really knew her, just huffed a few more insults, clearly disgruntled. "I'll get you, when you least expect it"
Raven rolled her eyes at the predictability of the blonde's remark, but kept her mouth shut. She had enough on her plate right now, without having to deal with the very angry captain of the Cheer Squad.
That morning, when she had come down the stairs in a fresh change of clothes, Diana had gotten curious. She'd only been saved by Bruce's dry comment that he and Raven had both gotten up early that morning, and he had offered to run her back to her home for a wardrobe raid.
Only when she had stepped outside the door, had it occurred to her that Bruce had lied to his wife.
That had given her something to think about all the way to school, making Robin complain about her lack of attention.
Just then the bell rang, bringing Raven from her thoughts.
"Ok, class, you know what to do! I'll see those papers next week, on my desk, or that's an automatic F. Don't even think about setting foot in this classroom unless you have it, and that goes double for you, Garfield. No green hair dye all over it, no 'My-Dad's-Horrible-Tiger-Ate-It' nonsense, I want to see it!"
Raven jumped, realizing she had been in the same room as Beast Boy and hadn't even heard him.
The younger boy grinned sheepishly, and said, "Yes sir"
Mr. Kent dismissed them, and Beast Boy turned to grin at Raven. "He always picks on me, just because I'm the greenest"
"Are you sure it's not because you're the stupidest instead?" She asked wryly, consulting her timetable. How on earth did she get stuck with Graphics?
Beast Boy looked offended for a moment, then shook his head. "Nope. Jon Byrnes gets worser grades than me, but Mr. Kent doesn't care!"
"That's nice" Raven muttered, trying to figure out which direction the Manual Arts block was. "Do you have any idea where MA. 02 is?"
Brightening, BB said, "Oh yeah!" Trying to sound off-handish, he added, "I'll show you if you want"
Raven glanced around her, seeing if there was anyone else she could follow. Deciding that there wasn't, she gave in. "Fine. Lead the way"
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Tim leaned against the wall of the Man Arts block, letting the sun soak in, as he listened to Roy's theory on why he was a nutcase to let Kory get away.
"-She's got a great body, she's one of the best dancers on the squad, she adored you-"
"She couldn't have adored me that much; she's the one who 'wanted a break'"
Roy blinked, surprised, then carried on as if Tim hadn't spoken so casually about it. "She's really pretty, she probably knows all sorts of tricks-if you get what I mean-and did I mention that she's got a great body?"
Zoning out, Tim let his eyes wonder, looking out at the school. Idly wondering whether Raven wanted to go to the Flower Formal with him, he noticed a black clad figure walk towards him, accompanied by a bouncing green-topped blur. "Funny," He muttered out loud. "That looks like Raven"
"Like who?" Roy asked, finally running out of ways to say Kory was hot.
"Raven" Tim answered simply.
The redhead beside him thought for a moment, then said, "You mean that chick Johnson wants to lay?"
Tim, knocked out of his daydreaming by the thought of someone he didn't like... doing that with Raven, rounded on his friend. "If he even looks at her the wrong way, I'm going to... I'm going to..."
"You're going to what, Wayne?" Tim turned and saw Johnson slinking from behind the taps. "Last time I checked, you were screwing that Tamaran dog. What happened? She stopped putting out?"
Taking a threatening step closer, Tim snarled, "Shut that trap of yours, Johnson, before I shut it for you"
Johnson stood his ground, looking over Tim's shoulder and at Raven and Garfield, both of who had stopped outside of the MA. 01, and were talking with some of the boys there. "I can see what you see in that witch," He smirked. "She's got a pretty fine ass. Not to mention that curve on her. Maybe when you're done spanking the bitch, you won't mind handing her over to me"
Tim gave a strangled cry and threw himself at the GQ cover teen, tackling him to the ground.
"Tim!" Roy yelled, trying to pull him off Johnson. "Tim, snap out of it!"
"The only thing that'll be snapping around here is Johnson's neck" Despite his happy tone, Cyborg still bent down and yanked Tim off, setting him on his feet.
Johnson picked himself off the ground, pulling out a small tube of hair gel and reapplying to his blonde hair. "You're lucky I carry this around," He sniffed, squeezing out a huge blob onto his hand.
Vic eyed him curiously, but eventually turned back to Tim, who was gingerly flexing a cut on his knuckles. "As much as I wanted to let you pound his plastic face into the ground, what was all the fuss about?"
"Raven," He muttered, his shades masking the violent glint in his eyes. "That jerk off was-it doesn't matter"
"Oh, no you don't. Why were you getting' so worked up? What's that chick really mean to ya?"
Looking away, Tim said in an undertone, "Nothing" But the way his eyes kept flicking over to the Goth girl, told a different story.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
"-and then you get the protractor, no, the other one, and you, no, not that way, yeah, that's the one!"
Victor kept his ears open as he worked on the assembly line drawing of the car he was meant to have in. That Raven chick, the one that he had concluded Tim was so in love with, was in his Graphics class.
The perfect opportunity to do some, er, "research".
"Buzz off, Taylor," Vic boomed as he got out of his seat and stood by Raven's table. "You're just gonna stuff her up; leave it to the pro"
Taylor sighed, winked at Raven, and then left for his friends on the other side of the room.
Pulling a seat out from under the next table, Victor sat down. "Ok, Dark Girl-"
Raven's pencil fell to the ground. "What did you just call me?"
Victor blinked, surprised himself. Why had he given some chick he didn't even know a nickname?
More importantly, why didn't it seem wrong?
"Dunno," He bluffed, "Suits ya, what with the outfit and all"
Not convinced, Raven bent down and picked up her pencil, Victor's eyes glazing over, as though remembering something.
'... "I don't care; it's all the same to me"
"Come on, Dark Girl, just this once... please?"
"Urgh, fine, have it your way. I'll go with you to your picnic; just don't expect me to come to the fun park"
"You're not gonna regret it"
"I better not"...'
"Whoa... that was way weird" Cyborg- no, Victor, he reminded himself- shook his head, confused. All of a sudden, he didn't feel so... normal. Looking down at his brown arms, he frowned. Why did everything feel so wrong?
"You were saying?" Raven asked in a careful monotone, not letting the spark that faintly felt like excitement, show.
"What? Oh, the drawing. Well... you gotta get the compass, line it up with the other nut... and draw a circle..."
He was remembering.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
"I hate that cow!" Tara seethed, slamming her tray down on the table so hard it made Linda jump. Kory watched her curiously, frowning. "Who is it that has made you so... aggressive, friend Tara?"
Blue eyes growing darker, the blonde spat, "Raven"
"Raven?" Kory repeated, vaguely remembering the name from somewhere.
Tara gave a violent twitch that sent a plate of unsuspecting shrimp salad flying. "Yes!" She exclaimed angrily, ignoring the squealed, "Eck! I'm allergic to shrimp!" from somewhere behind her. "She's the bitch Gar wouldn't stop talking about yesterday!"
Kory just smiled impassively, knowing better than to say anything at that point of time. It was apparent to everyone but the cheerleading captain (and possibly even Garfield himself) that she had a... strong liking for the green haired RPG geek. The fact that she was getting so worked up about this Raven girl, made Kory grin wickedly.
She knew exactly why the blonde's mean streak came out when it involved Gar and other girls.
She was jealous.
"I mean, she's a Goth! Gar hates Goths!" Fuming, Tara sent yet another plate (this time her chocolate pudding) for a test flight. "What does he see in her? She's ugly, she has no taste in fashion, they'd totally clash-I mean, do you think she'd laugh at his jokes? No! She probably has no sense of humor!"
Linda rolled her eyes as Tara continued her jealous ranting. "Tara, if you would just tell Gar how you felt-"
The blonde gave an angry cry, and thumped the table hard. "I DON'T LIKE HIM LIKE THAT! SHUT UP BEFORE I GET MY POM-POMS AND SHOVE THEM DOWN YOUR THROAT!"
"Miss Markov!" Came a shocked voice, as other students around them fell silent.
"Oh, no" Tara groaned softly, sliding back into her seat.
The teacher that had overheard the cheerleader's explosion rushed over to their table, frowning. "Miss Markov, I think you better come with me at once"
Looking haughtily up at the graying mass perched on top of the teacher's head, Tara said, "I think I'll stay here, if it's all the same Mamm"
"Do not agure, Tara" Interrupted a cold voice.
"Mr. Slade!" Cried the elder staff member, glad that someone else would be able to handle the troublesome teenager. "Miss Markov was refusing to listen to me, do you think you could take her to the principle for me? I'm not as young as I used to be, and-"
"Ah," Slade held up a hand, silencing her. "I would be only to happy to make sure that she is... dealt with propably. Tara," Tara flinched as he turned his attention to her. "Come with me immediately"
There was a silent threat in his tone that made the blonde only too willing to leave. Why did she feel like she should be scared of this man?
"Later girls" She muttered, following Mr. Slade out of the cafeteria.
Kory shivered. There was something... wrong about Mr. Slade, something she couldn't name.
Or didn't want to.
Slowly the room filled with chatting, and the exchange student's nerves settled. Just as she began to drink her milk (even though she felt she should be drinking something more... yellow), Linda suddenly gasped.
"What ails you, Host-Sister Linda?" Kory asked, concerned. The brunette spluttered for a bit (she had been eating an egg sandwich before hand, and was now having difficulty in breathing), then choked out, "Look!" Before another girl whacked her on the back, unloging the large piece of egg that had restricted her breathing at full speed.
Relived that her friend could now breathe with ease, Kory complied with her wish and turned towards the door... the sight before her making her jaw drop.
Tim was with another girl.
And not with any girl, either. No, he was with the "bitch" that Johnson was so mad at, and the Gothic that Tara wanted to pummel into the ground.
He was with Raven.
Kory gave her attention back to her lunch, disturbed by the jealous feeling growing in her stomach. It wasn't the same type she had felt when that horrible Kitten had pressed herself all over her boy, it was something more... frightening.
'.... "Why do you think I like him?"
"Because, dearest friend Raven. I have seen your looks of longing. They are the same ones that I had given him myself"
"Star, I don't like Robin"
"Oh, but you must! I am truly happy for you, and if he feels the same way, I shall only be more than glad to step away from his side!"
"You will not have to. I do not like Robin, and he does not like me. Now leave me alone; I have to meditate"
"But friend Raven-"
"Leave me alone Starfire. Now"...'
Kory frowned. It felt like she had already gone through this scenario, and that her relationship with Tim had been a false one.
Suddenly feeling very friendly to the girl by Tim's side, she smiled, "I do not mind who Tim is seated next to. He is free to love whomever he wishes!"
Linda just gaped as Kory happily went about finishing her lunch.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
"So, which one of you stole the HIVE's flag?"
Garfield and Victor looked at each other, then at Tim. "It was him!" They chorused together, both pointing at the other. Scowling, Garfield said, "Dude! You know I didn't do it! I was at the Changelings, so there!"
Victor pressed his face close, growling, "Well I had to drop by the Garage and make sure that my baby wasn't being taken for a test drive by those twits! Why would I waste my time going near that place?"
"You tell me!" Gar mused suspiciously.
Tim sighed and looked at Raven, who was poking the roast beef chicken sandwich that his grandfather had made for her. "You'd think I was going to arrest them the way they're carrying on"
Raven glanced at the quarreling boys, then back at him. "It was Flash," She said. Taking a careful bite of her sandwich, she chewed, then swallowed. "He put those two up to covering for him, and stole the flag" She kept eating more vigorously, ignoring Tim's amazed stare. "What?" She asked, finally finishing the sandwich.
"I... how did you know that?"
"Intuition" She suggested. Even in another dimension, Alfred still made good sandwiches. Idly wondering how the elderly butler in her world was coping with the brooding Batman, she found it vaguely amusing that he would be Bruce's father in this one.
Tim just shook his head, and laughed.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
"Tara, you understand that we cannot have students threatening their peers with cheering devices, do you not?" Mr. Slade looked at her hard, making the blonde's stomach tighten.
He was evil. And everything about him made her want to turn tail and run.
"Yes, Sir" Her voice was emotionless, a tone that could fool anyone into thinking that she didn't care what could happen to her.
"Then you will understand why I have taken the liberty of banning you from cheering for the rest of the season, and removing you from the Dance committee"
Tara sat there, stunned. "You can't do that!" She blurted. "You're just the sub! You can't do that!"
Mr. Slade grinned coldly. "Oh, but I can and I will. Until further notice, Miss Markov, you are banned from captaining the squad, and planning the dance"
"But the squad needs me! The committee needs me! Who's going to take my place?"
He looked down at a sheet of paper in front of him and said, "Kory Anders will take over the squad, and Deirdre Shant will fill your place in the planning of the dance"
Sulking, Tara asked, "Who's that?"
Mr. Slade grinned. "I think she goes by the name of... Raven"
Tara's fists clutched together. First Gar then the committee. What was the bitch going to take from her next, her friends? "I hate that cow" She hissed, not caring whether the teacher before her heard.
Something in the way his good eye glittered should've panicked her, but Tara was too deep in her anger to notice it. "Yes, Terra" He mummered quietly, watching as his one time apprentice ranted and fumed. "I hate her too"