Oh, today my school did the most disgusting thing. Homecoming is coming up, and so my school has these "court games" for some reason. Today, the game was that these teams of two would have to crawl through maple syrup, dirt and cow manure. COW MANURE! While other schools have potato sack races, my school has its students rolling around in animal poop! If that isn't school spirit, I don't know what is! Thankfully, I didn't participate. And tomorrow is "put it in a blender" day. I don't even want to think about what that means. Go Highlanders. Anyway, here's my next chapie! PS I couldn't think of a better title.

Chapter Thirteen: The Good, the Bad and the Groupie

Dick drove down the road, depressed. How could they compete now? They couldn't go on to Gotham without Kori. They just couldn't!

At first glance, some people may think that Kori was just the percussion or a pretty face with a voice. No, she was much more than that. She wrote the songs, she helped design the costumes, she even picked out the names. And though Dick never said it, she was the reason he wanted to start the band. No, they couldn't go with out her!

Dick drove up the drive way. His thoughts were still on the subject as he walked through the front door and into the living room, where Bruce and Alfred were talking.

"Ah, Master Dick!" said Alfred in his usual greeting. "How was the night's contest?"

"We won," Dick said, glumly.

Bruce and Alfred looked at each other.

"So," said Bruce, "shouldn't you be packing?"

"No"

They gave each other another look.

"But, aren't you going to Gotham City?"

"No". He walked like a zombie up the stairs in the direction of his room.

"But, I thought you said you won."

"We did."

He went into his room and locked the door. Bruce looked quizzically at were his adopted son had just been.

"I believe young Master Dick is having lady trouble, sir."

Bruce looked at his old companion.

"How do you know that, Alfred?"

Alfred gave a small, half smile.

"You don't get to be my age without knowing a thing or two about women, sir."

------

Kori sighed and walked into Galfor's room.

"Here you are," she said kindly, handing him the morning newspaper.

"Thank you, Kori," he grumbled.

He opened the paper to the ARTS section and began to read as Kori picked up around his bed. As he read, his mouth opened slightly and his brow became darker.

"Why didn't you tell me you won the contest, Kori," he said, sternly. "It says here that you and your band are going to Gotham City. Were you just planning on leaving me like your sister?"

During his speech, Kori stood with her back to him, eyes closed.

"Well?"

"I'm not going, Galfor," she said, sadly. "You don't need to worry."

There was a pause.

"Come here, Kori."

She did as she was told and sat at his bed-side.

"Why?"

She sighed and looked down.

"Because I need to take care of you." She looked up. "You're sick and can barely get out of bed now. If I left you, you might need something that you can't get. And God knows you're too stubborn to accept anyone's help, and it's not like Koma's much help. Besides, we need money. I'm probably not going to be able to hold on to my job at Pizza Place, so I need to start looking for another one. I can't go, Galfor, I have too much to do."

There was another pause and Galfor looked at his niece intently. Finally he said:

"I'm proud of you, Kori." She smiled and he held up a hand. "I'm proud, but that doesn't mean I'm happy." Kori gave a confused look. "Do you remember your mother?"

"Oh, just a little bit"

"Tell me"

Kori's brow furrowed. "Well, she was – kind, and – very beautiful. But – sad." Galfor nodded solemnly. "Why?" (A/N Star Wars: Return of the Jedi)

"Well," he said, "your mother, God rest her, was destined for greatness. What a dancer… and the voice of an angel. (A/N Cats Don't Dance) I knew, from the moment I met her, that she was someone special. But, unfortunately, when her window of opportunity came, she had a dead father, a sick mother to take care of, and four younger siblings to boot. Then, she married your father and had your sister and you. But she still had hope. She would become a singer after you were old enough to take care of yourself. And then – well… She was a dreamer… till the very end."

Kori bowed her head.

When Kori was three, her parents died in a fire. She couldn't remember much, except that it was a solar eclipse when it happened. This, among other reasons, was why she had chosen the name "Starfire".

Kori felt her chin being lifted up.

"I don't want that to happen to you," said Galfor, looking her in the eye. "I don't want you to dream your life away; I want you to live your dreams."

"But," Kori started, "who will take care of –"

"Don't worry about me. You're right, I am too stubborn for my own good, and it would do us both some good to have an extra hand around the house. I just met our new neighbor across the street. Her name's Anita and she wanted to introduce herself. Anita's a nurse and would be more than happy to take care of me. And don't worry about the money. It was selfish of me to make you except such a big burden in the first place."

There was a pause and Kori looked at her guardian with watering eyes, stunned.

"But there is one thing I would like you to do for me, Kori."

"Anything," she said, recovering from shock.

Galfor gave her a hug and said: "Make me proud"

A tear ran down her face as she gave her guardian a wide smile.

"I have to tell Dick!" And she ran from the room towards the phone.

She dialed his number as fast as her fingers would allow and waited impatiently as it rang.

"Hello?" said Bruce Wayne's voice from the other line.

"Hello, Bruce? It's Kori. I need to talk to Dick, please. It's urgent."

"Well, ok, if I can get him out of his room. He hasn't come out all morning."

"Just tell him it's Kori."

"All right" Then she heard him taking the phone up the stairs and knocking at a door. "Richard, phone." Kori herd mumbling that sounded a lot like "Go away". "It's Kori". There was a small pause and Kori herd the phone being past from one hand to the next, and then a door shut.

"Hello?" said Dick's voice from the other line. He sounded a bit depressed.

"Dick! I have great news! I'm going!"

"What?" Dick couldn't believe his ears.

"I'm going to Gotham City with the rest of the band!"

"You – you are? That's great! What made you change your mind?"

"Long story. So, when are we leaving?"

"Well, it was going to be Monday, so, yeah, Monday!"

"Wonderful! I'll see you then!"

"Great! I'll call the others and tell them that we're going."

"What?"

"Well, you didn't really think we were going to leave you, did you, Kor?"

A small blush crept upon her cheeks.

"Oh! I guess not. Well, I'll see you then?"

"Right"

"Ok. I love you."

There was a pause.

"Uh – what?"

"Oh," said Kori, embarrassed. "Well, I just thought, um, you know, I –" Great she thought, bitterly. You blew it now! Thanks a lot. "Well, if you didn't feel comfortable…"

"No!" he said, quickly. "Uh, I mean, no, I didn't feel uncomfortable."

"Oh. Well, then I'll see you Monday?"

"Right, Monday. Uh – I love you, too." Then he quickly hung up the phone.

------

"Do you think he'll be alright?" Bruce asked Alfred.

Suddenly, the two men herd an exploding "WOO-HOO!" from Dick's room. Then, they saw the spiky-haired teenager jump off the stairs, landing in a crouching position, a grin from ear-to-ear.

"Oh," said Alfred, slyly, "I think he'll be fine."

"Bruce! Bruce! Bruce!" he yelled, happily.

"What? What? What?" Bruce said, mimicking his adopted son.

"Today is the best day of my LIFE!"

"I couldn't tell," Alfred mumbled.

"How is it the best day of your life?"

"OK," he said, talking at a fast pace. "Remember how I said we won yesterday but I was all weepy and I said we weren't going to Gotham that's because Kori said she couldn't go so we weren't gonna go and now she says she can go so now we are going and SHE SAID SHE LOVES ME!" Then, he did a series of cart-wheels and back-flips into the kitchen, hollering every step of the way.

"Did you catch any of that?" Bruce said, leaning over to Alfred.

"Only the part I needed to, sir," he said with a grin.

------

Gar looked inattentively at the paper that everyone was crowded around. Many came out of the mob of people happy, and others – not so much. Gar and the others who took the AVAT were standing outside the school library, seeing who passed, and who didn't.

Gar poked his head over a tall, blonde guy and read the names.

Alice Preston

Dian Foster

Michel Rose

Garfield Logan

Jeffery Chas –

WAIT! Yelled a voice in his head. Read that last name again.

Garfield Logan

Woo-hoo! You made it, dude!

Gar grinned and made his way back to Victor, giving him the thumbs-up.

"All right, man!" he congratulated. "Way to go! Now, come on. We've got to go."

He nodded and the two friends got in the car. Dick had called a little while before, so they needed to get ready for their road trip to Gotham.

After Vic dropped him off at his house, they said goodbye and Gar hurried through the front door.

"Terra!" he shouted, happily. "Terra! I made it Ter-ra?" He stopped as he saw what she was doing. Her suit case was open and cloths were all around the bed. "Um, what are you doing?"

She didn't even look up. "I'm not going to be here when you get back" she said.

Gar sighed inwardly. Thank you! he thought. She's breaking up with me!

"Look, Terra, I've been thinking the same thing."

"You said we would have the entire weekend, and now you're too busy to even notice me."

"I agree fully, Terra. I've been a jerk and I think what you're doing is absolutely right."

"So I'm coming to Gotham with you."

"Yes, I – WHAT?"

"I'm coming to Gotham with you." She stood up with a huge grin on her face. "Oh, this is going to be sooo great! The entire Spring Break, and we'll spend all of it together! Won't that be great?"

Gar looked at her in stunned silence, which she took for a yes. She gave him a giggly hug and continued packing, while Gar had to try to figure out what just happened.

Ok! That was a long chapter. And you know what the next one's gonna be? ROAD TRIP! People, I'm serious, I NEED REVEIWS! I don't care if you send me FLAMES! Just some recognition that you READ MY STORY! Please?

Luv ya

Tprinces