It's been a decade, hasn't it! I wouldn't be surprised if you readers and reviewers of my story stop excepting my apologies! Sorry, anyway. Better start with the story before you guys get out those pitchforks!

P.S. Realy short. Promise!

Thanx for the reviews! Didn't I tell you it was short?

Disclaimer: I don't have time for this but whatever. I don't own anything. There, happy?

TITANS LIVE! Chapter four: Scheming, sleuthing, and surprising

Kori squinted out of the tinted windows of her limo just in time to spot three familiar, female figures ahead of the vehicle. Still staring at the figures, Kori flipped the cushioned and leather arm of the compartment chair she was seated in, to reveal a small, black, speaker-box with varies buttons below it.

Pressing one of the buttons, she leaned forward and spoke into the box.

"Roy, could you just pull up here? I think I see some friends of mine that I met yesterday."

There was a brief, crackling pause before a voice answered from the other end of the speaker.

"If you're sure it's them, then what's the harm?"

Kori sighed in relief and reassured her bodyguard that she most definitely knew who they were and would be safe.

The limo pulled over to the sidewalk, stopped, and the door beside Kori popped open automatically. Kori stepped out of the compartment and shaded her eyes from the glaring rays of the morning sun before turning toward the front of the vehicle. The window there had been rolled down and a boy her age had his head sticking out from it. The boy, Roy Harper, had flattened orange hair and wore a pair of shades over his eyes that reminded Kori of the shades that Rich constantly wore.

"See ya after school, Anders," Roy called out with a salute.

Kori smiled and waved before turning and running in the direction where Bee, Aida, and Rae had proceeded.

Rich pulled his helmet off and marveled at the school parking lot that was crawling with students and teachers. Although they had a separate lot for the teachers from the students, the two groups constantly mingled.

Rich turned away from the scene and reached to open the leather pouch hanging at the side of his red motor bike.

Inside was a camera, notepad, tape-recorder and some other things that Rich thought useful for this particular mission. Slinging the bag over his shoulder, hanging his red helmet on one of the motor bike handles, and pulling up a cocky grin, Rich sauntered across the parking lot and made his way up the school steps.

Rea scooped her books into her arms and dodged against the pressing crowd of students making their way out the door of their first period class room. The person Rae least expected to see was waiting outside the door. Garfield Logan was leaning up against the doorframe whilst wearing one of his 'I'm-soo-cool' smiles he always had on when he was confident in winning over another girl.

Ignoring him and keeping her eyes downcast, Rae slouched within the filtering crew of teens as not to be seen.

But with no such luck.

"Hey, Rae! Wait up, you!"

Rae didn't waste a minute. She picked up her feet and zoomed through the hallways, avoiding arms, legs, and insults, in the process. Soon she was catching her breath near one of the water fountains beside her homeroom.

Great, she thought, while clenching her fist in order to get a hold of herself. Not only have I made a fool of myself, but I'm also nowhere near Spanish class.

Rae suddenly stopped her struggle for air and instead let a curious thought occur to her.

Why did I run away from that Gar guy, anyway?

Rae stared at the door of Mr. Blanc's class where muffled voices and shifting feet was heared before turning on her heel and making her way back down the hall toward the direction of Spanish.

I don't have time for this. If Gar knows what's good for him, him and his idiot friends, Greyson and Stone, will leave me alone.'Cause their not worth the time and are just asking for trouble.

Rich flattened his back against the wall while holding a tape recorder right at the mouth of the door frame of a classroom. A beautiful and melodiose voice trickled softly from the room, feeding into the speaker of the recorder and copying onto the wiring casette...
Gar stared at the math equations chalked on to the board in such obviouse blankness that it was almost comical. If it weren't for the serious contaplating that was happening in his head, he would of winked at the girls who were giggling at his cluelessness and laughed along with them while planning to take their phone numbers after class.

But Gar only had one girl on his mind.

Rae Roth

Gar had caught up with her earlier on, after her first period class, but was surprised when Rae practicaly ran away from him in the other direction.

No way, Gar thought to himself whilst frowning slightly. From what I've seen of her, Rae could be one of the hardest won girls I've ever tried for. Heck, She's probably the ONLY hardball on my list and will ever be!

This brought only slight comfort. As much as Gar liked girls, ones that played hard-to-get were the real prizes to be won. At least, that's how Gar saw it. Oh well, what did he know?

The end-of-period bell woke him up from his thoughts just in time, only to be followed out the door with a much bigger problem on his hands to daminish.

Girls

A ring of them sorounded Gar as he shuffled through the door, half listening to their chirps and coos. His mind was still swimming with ideas on how to keep Rae's attention to produce his suggestion to her, without her scoffing at it and marching off like she had before.

As if his thoughts had been acknowledged,an unmistakable flash of purple hair caught the corner of Gar's eye, making him round on the person.

Hurrying through the thicket of teenagers was the pettit, dark figure of Rae Roth, heading in a speed that seemed beyond her build. Gar didn't waste any time, and before he knew it-and Rae knew it-he had insisted that the girls of his fan club carry on without him and save a table for him in the cafateria, before planting himself beside Rae, matching her strides equaly.

"Hey there, stranger," Gar greeted, cooly. "Why do I have this distinct feeling your avoiding me?"

Rae stiffened for a second, glanced at Gar and tore her gaze from his once he had amediatly met it, before anwering.

"Maybe because I am."

Gar felt an unexplainable twinge that made him falter but he just as quickly got himself together to express a mock agastness. "Why I'm hurt. You'd thing that a memorable lunch, where your friends approved of me, would mean we have a connection!"

Clearly appaled by this thought, Rae turned on the smug Gar. "Think again, Buddy!" She retorted in exsasperation, before making her way back to her locker.

Still not fazed, Gar trotted along side Rae in an uncomfortable silence, thinking of a casual way to bring up the topic he was thinking of.

"So, I hear your hate runs deep toward the cheerleaders."

"That's old news. Where do you get your bulletons from? The other side of the world!"

Ignoring this comment, Gar continued.

"You know, I hate cheerleaders too. They realy get on my nerves."

Rae looked at him expressionlessly but Gar could just make out a trace of unbeliving.

"Are you kidding me! Your all over the cheerleaders! Being as their the so-called 'prettiest of the school'" She said the last part with the exageration of air-quotations and sarcasm.

Gar brushed that response away with a flattering chuckle.

"Are you seriouse! Kitten is like a trip to hell and back again!"

Rae was then the smug one. "Wasn't there some kind of rumore that you've been crazy to date Kitten since junior high?"

"As if. Where do you get your news from? From your other goth friends?"

Rae turned on Gar in a second after that final comment, her eyes flaring like never before.

Ah oh. Now you've done it, Logan. You were supposed to soften her, not transform her into more of a ferociouse beast than she already is!

Meanwhile, Rae was struggling to get a hold of herself as she watched Gar's annoying smile wipe clean of his face.

Just think about how much you scare him. Yeah, he's not worth my energy, anyway. Him and his danm tongue are going to one day make fools of themselves and get him in trouble. That day will come soon enough.

And with that in mind, Rae filled her lungs with a puff of air before striding forward again, whilst ignoring Gar's startled look and walked right past him. Gar caught himself amidiatly and hurried to catch up with her. The two walked in a stiff silence for a few minutes before Gar finaly broke it.

"I'll help you bring the cheerleaders down."

Rae glanced at him from the corner of her eye.

"Forget it."

"I'll pay for all the necessaties it'll take."

"As if I'll go for that."

"Well, you should."

"Who are you to tell me what to do, Logan?"

"Nobody, I guesse. Fine, how about this, then? I pay you to bring Kitten and her gang down."

Rae pauses for a moment to think about this. Gar wasone of the richest kids in Jump High as well as the whole city. That is, after Vic and Rich. Although, being third richest didn't matter since all of them were way more successful in that department than Rae, Bee and Aida, combined. Rae had a lotof things that pissed her off, but people who were wealthy topped the list, right underneath cheerleaders, of coarse. But for something like this, to be practicaly waved in her face and only a few feet away in this over-cocky, corney, idiot they called popular, was an oppertunity not worth giving up easily. Never the less, Rae was doubtful.

"Why are you so eager to bring down the cheerleaders, anyway? I, myself, would understand if it were anyone else, but youwould bean obviouseexception."

Gar tried to hide his slight wincing from Rae's suspiciouse glare, yet failed miserably.

Rae shook her head and looked straight ahead once again, as she spoke.

"Fine. It killsme to thinkthat I'd have to hang out with you longer than five minutes, but what can I do? I need the money. And since I need it bad,you better be ready to pay up after every prank, Logan."

Gar didn't think he'd everfelt so relived and anxiousein all his life. Which was more or less, true. But he'd be danmed if he showed these feelings to the cursed girl walking in an icy silence beside him!

"Glad you finaly came around, Rae,"Garsaid companionably, whilst holding out his hand to to her to shake. "Great doing business with you."

Rae just gave the hand a dismisive glance before picking up her pace and disappearing behinda corner like a shadow, making Gar wonder if the meeting even happened, afterward.

He dropped his hand to his side and gave a short little shudder to himself. This was definetly going to be harder than he thought.

Rich rapped on the tall, scathingly slick, oak door and waited patientlyuntill it opened.

When it did he offered the person, like he had to every other person who answered a door in the duration of the free period he hadhad that day, a friendly and innocent smile.

"Hello,Hannah. I expect your surprised to see me at this hour and I'm more than fully aware that Gar is'nt here, but let me explain myself. I came to aske a few questions, if that's ok?"

Then he added, with a slight gleam in his eye behind his sunglasses, "kind oflike an interview," before being invited in, hospitably.

That lunch, Gar and Vic were practicaly draged to the table Bee, Aida, Rae, and Kori were seating at. They, with the exception of Rae, wondered about where Rich had disappered to. Kori, in perticular, was worried that what she had said yesterday to him had hurt him in some way, but even though Bee didn't know about the situation, she still resured her thatRich would come around sometime and all of them should sit tight and enjoy themselves. Then Rae made the blunt comment that Rich was prbably out causing mischiove, which only caused Gar to sidle up beside her and and drop hints about something or another and earning him a wip at his head with a certain novel as well as a furiouse companion to settle down.

While the rest of them laughed at the unexpected exchange, Rich jogged thruogh the crowded cafetiria and halted at the head of their table, out of breath and excited.

Before the group could comment or even recover from his surprise arrival, Rich spokethe words they had not expected to ever hear.

"Ladies and gentlemen,Richard Greyson is starting arck band!"

Ohhhh, cliffhanger! A much needed one, too.

Here are some things you can expect in the next chapter:

1) Hopfuly it'll be earlier than this one was,

2) it'll also be all talk, at least morethan anything else. Although, the next chapter will be a major turning point in the direction I' want the story to go in.

3) We'll find out the reactionstoRich's scandaless idea!

and 4)we'll see the people in the band and the roles their going toplay in the main idea of this story.

Thanks again for your reviews!

S.E.D.D./ recently known as D.P.411