Ok! SO, before you all kill me for disappearing off the face of the earth so long, let me explain why it took me forever to update:
…I was swept into another dimension by Mr. MXYPTLYK and couldn't get back to Earth until Superman came and found me and let me out. Then, because I was so traumatized by the experience, Superman insisted on taking me to his home in Smallville where his mom shoved wholesomey, heartland-baked chocolate chip cookies into my mouth and forced it all down with milk. I swear she did. It's not like I had a case of writer's block or anything, I just wasn't physically able to write, seeing as I was temporarily trapped in another dimension, and all.
No, but really, for about two weeks now when I tried to upload a document, I got a notice that says "The timer has served out", or something, and it wouldn't let me on. Im really sorry!
But whatever. Go on and read, tand then review, 'cause I won't update unless you review! I'm just evil like that.And if it makes you feel any better, Ithink Satan has already made arrangements for my special room in hell, as a direct result of my failing to update within three days. So sorry, and I promise it won't happen again!
Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans. Want me to prove it? Only Warner Brothers would be stupid enough to cancel a show that had great ratings and a cult-like following! Idiots…Oh simple thing where have you gone
I'm getting old and I need something to rely on
So tell me when you're gonna let me in
I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin
And if you have a minute why don't we go
Talk about it somewhere only we know?
This could be the end of everything
So why don't we go
Somewhere only we know?
-Somewhere Only We Know, Keane
Jinx
"Rise and shine, Wally," I say, setting a breakfast tray (that I assembled! GO ME!) down on the coffee table about three feet from where Wally is lying asleep on the couch.
Hegrunts but doesn't wake up.
Clearing my throat, I again attempt to wake him up. "I said, rise and shine!"
Wally just turns over and begins to snore. His blanket gets all tangled up as he moves, but he doesn't seem to care. He's now bent in some awkward position, and I can feel myself beginning to scowl. I worked hard to make him breakfast! As soon as I woke up and took a shower, I went to the kitchen and started pulling anything and everything I could salvage from his fridge and cabinets. I used the last glass of the past-the-expiration-date orange juice in his fridge, I made him two (burnt) PopTarts, a salad bowl of Lucky Charms, and a piece of cake that I found. I even pulled a twig with a leaf off of a tree outside and stuck it in a graduated cylinder (which I am borrowing from his lab) because he didn't have any vases (or flowers) !
…So I'm not exactly Martha Stuart. But how am I supposed to know? I never prepared any food when I was running with the HIVE. We either stole food or ate pizza (that, oftentimes, we had to make visits to the HIVE Academy cafeteria to get).
As I am pondering this, Wally lets out a huge snore.
…And ladies, the moral of the story is, don't ever try to do anything cute or romantic for your boyfriend, because if he really is a boy, chances are he won't even be awake to witness it.
"Wally!" I say, getting irritated. "Get up, speedy feet!" I give him a slight push on his arm, and all he does is grunt again. So, I move to Plan B. Namely, I yank the blanket from Wally's grasp and pull, hard, sending him crashing to the ground at my feet. He lets out a strangled "GAAH!" but then rolls over a little, and resumes his snoring. As I'm about to kick him, I notice that—
--he's not wearing a shirt.
I stare in awe for a few moments, taking in the sight of a sleeping Wally West in his lightning-bolt-emblazoned boxers.
And I remember all over again why I like him. At the risk of sounding girlish and shallow…my boyfriend's hot.
I stare for a few more minutes, gaping. And that's when a
BRILLIANT
AMAZING
SMART
WONDERFUL
EXCELLENT
(and slightly painful)
…plan forms in my mind. I can almost see myself grinning evilly as I bend over, lightly touching Wally's shoulder with my finger. I let loose, and—
"YEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW!"
Wally jerks like an electro-shock therapy patient, his eyes wide open and darting around frantically until they settle on me and he begins to relax a little.
"Good morning," I tell him cheerfully, hoping that I sound innocent and sweet.
"What was that for?" he asks me, rubbing his shoulder where I shocked him.
"I made you breakfast," I respond, not really answering his question.
Kid Flash
"You…uh…" I hope she doesn't hear my panicked gulp.
"Yes, I really did make you breakfast," Jinx says, her mischevious eyes betraying her otherwise innocent-looking face. Which, come to think about it, isn't so innocent-looking as she stares at me intently. Umm.
Oh, yeah, Jinx fell asleep before I could grab my own PJ's! So I slept in my boxers. I make a grab for the blanket that she stole from me, wrap it around myself, and stand up (wondering all the while how I got to the floor in the first place?).
I'm going to have to start sleeping with a knife, or something…
"I hope you like it."
I sincerely wish that she didn't just see me blanching as I take in the sight of a few burnt PopTarts, an enormous bowl of rather fuzzy-looking Lucky Charms, a piece of cake saved from Jesse's third birthday party last week, and a glass of half-solid orange juice, all obscured by an twig with a single leaf on it arranged in a graduated cylinder (which I assume is from my lab).
And I am suddenly reminded of how useful it is to have super-speed. If she goes to the bathroom or something, I'll have enough time to zip over to Aunt Iris's house and grab some real food.
"Yeah, umm, it looks…gulp….delicious?"
"Really? Do you mean it?" Jinx asks me, hope plastered all over her face. Oh, God, she really tried hard to do this for me, didn't she?
With all my inner strength, I manage to put on what I hope is a convincing smile and say, "Yeah, yeah, it does. Thanks."
Jinx smiles happily, and then she just sits there. Staring. At me.
So I stare back at her, wondering what the hell we're doing, all the while waiting for her to say that she really needs to go to the bathroom or something…
"Well? Aren't you going to eat it?" she asks me calmly, never blinking.
Sh!t. I'm trapped! UNCLE BARRY! RAVEN! S.O.S.!
"Oh, right! Yeah. …." A pause. "Are you seriously going to watch me eat?" I ask her a bit nervously, fearing for the logic of my plan.
"Yeah," says Jinx excitedly, "I want to see what you think."
Well, there's no getting out of this one, West, my oh-so-encouraging subconscious tells me. So I steel my stomach for the explosion that's sure to occur as soon as I swallow, and pick up a burnt PopTart. Jinx watches me intently with a look of excitement as I take the first bite.
...I nearly chip my tooth on the burnt, plastic-like pastry. It tastes like crap, but I don't tell her that. Instead I chew as fast as I can and let out a big swallow, then I wash it down with a swig of some really disgusting…well, I don't know if I can call it 'orange juice' anymore. It seems to have mutated into some new substance due to its 3-month-long stay in my fridge.
"Well?" Jinx asks me, "How is it?"
I gulp and fight the urge to stick my finger down my throat to cough it all up onto the rug.
"It was great," I lie. I feel bad doing it, but she looks so damn happy when I say it that I don't have the heart to tell her otherwise. Jinx is a great person, but she's rarely ever this happy. I won't let anything spoil that.
"Aren't you going to eat the rest?" she asks me, observing the half-eaten piece of cake and the now-soggy-and-moldy Lucky Charms (…funny how she chose Lucky Charms? The way she talks about her powers, you'd think she would have an allergic reaction if she was placed within 10 feet of a box of this stuff).
"Later," I tell her firmly, rubbing my stomach and hoping that it'll settle. It feels like there's a war going on between breakfast and my digestive system…and I'm losing. "We've got a long day ahead of us. I'm going to go take a shower, and then we can get going, ok?"
"Alright," she says curiously. "Where exactly are we going?"
"Places," I tell her vaguely. I don't want to set her off just yet. It's still the morning and I think Barry will go insane if he stops by for a visit and finds Jinx standing over my dead body, with shattered glass everywhere. He would get mad at Jinx for getting blood on the carpet and would make her pay for the dry cleaning and window repair bills.
"Gee, thanks, that really paints a picture for me," she says sarcastically, but the effects of her sarcasm are somewhat limited as she is still clearly happy that I 'enjoyed' her breakfast.
"See you in about…30 seconds," I tell Jinx as I kiss her swiftly on the cheek, and then take rush off to take the fastest shower ever…taken.
Jinx
"Well, that was fast," I say about 3.5 seconds after he left the room and comes back, hair completely dry and already dressed. "Did you seriously just take a shower?"
"Yup," he tells me, looking pleased at the look of surprise that I know is plastered all over my face. "Superspeed. It's a very handy thing to have," he tells me as I notice that he's in his civvies instead of his Kid Flash costume.
"What's what the outfit?" I ask him as he picks up his wallet, which is lying on the kitchen counter.
"What's with yours?" he counters, "I can't always be Kid Flash. And right now, you and I have some stuff we have to do, so maybe you should put on something that doesn't look so much like…you."
"And what's that supposed to mean?" I ask him, feeling my temper starting to act up.
"Nothing, but you just started your career as a hero. There are a lot of people who don't know that you've changed sides yet. Well, actually, no one besides the Brotherhood and the Titans knows that you've changed. So until we officially clear your name, which by the way, we will be going to the police station to do at around 3:30 today, we don't want anyone thinking that all the heroes are off-duty because there's a (former) criminal walking around."
"Oh," I say, understanding, as I make a move to Wally's room. But he beats me and comes back with a plain grey sweatshirt and a baseball cap before I even take a step. I take them as he hands them out to me, carefully covering my pink hair with the hat, and we're soon on our way. Which is to say, he takes me by surprise, picking me up, and we're out the door and down the street in about a half second.
Kid Flash
It only takes about 4 seconds to reach where I wanted to go, and as soon as I'm sure there's no one in the alley I ran with Jinx to, I stop and put her down. She wobbles a little before putting one hand on my shoulder for stability and saying, "You know, I'd really appreciate it if you'd give me a warning every once in a while…"
I chuckle a little as Jinx stands up to her full height and begins looking around, wondering where the hell we are.
"We're at the Star City mall," I tell her before she asks, and she lets out a silent 'oh,' clearly remembering the place. She was here just a few days ago, getting money from an ATM to run away with. "Well, technically, we're behind it. But there are a few things that I think you'll need."
"So, you're taking me shopping?" Jinx says as her eyes light up. Clearly she hasn't been shopping anytime recently.
"Well…yeah," I respond, worried about what that mischievous glint in her eyes means.
"I don't have any money," she says abruptly, her face falling and her look hardening.
"I've got you covered."
"I think I could get used to this," Jinx says happily (making me fear that she's bipolar, orsomething--happy one minute,hopeless the next)as we begin walking out of the alley and towards the mainstream shopping center, tugging at my hand as we push through the double-doors and enter Girlworld.
What happens next is too fast even for me to realize: in a sudden rush of pink and noise and clothes and shoes and cell phones buzzing and even more pink, I get lost in the phenomenon that is the shopping mall.
I don't even know how much time passes, because I'm totally lost. Everywhere I go, girls in super-short skirts and dangerously tall heels giggle and wink at me, shooting nasty glares at Jinx, probably out of jealousy that I'm her boyfriend instead of theirs (what can I say? It must be my animal magnetism) or that Jinx is about a thousand times prettier than they will ever be.
As an undisclosed amount of time passes, Jinx is doing what many girls consider to be a talent--shopping. And she's very, very good at it. In fact, if shopping were an Olympic sport, I'm sure that Jinx would take home the silver (the gold medal going to some very snobby-looking lady holding a huge purse and about 8 or 9Coach shopping bags).
But the surprising thing is, nothing she is buying is really expensive. It's all basic stuff: toothbrushes and some t-shirts and jeans, a couple pairs of shoes and a backpack to replace the one she had left at the airport right before we went off to fight the Brotherhood.
And as soon as I blink, we somehow end up in a Barnes and Noble. BOOKS! FAMILIARITY! THANK GOD! I nearly hit the floor with relief as Jinx just chuckles, leading me to the art section. I watch in amazement (and exhaustion, really, hence the just watching) as she begins picking books off the shelf, reverently leafing through pages as she oohs and ahhs at the pictures and paintings by who I assume are her favorite artists.
"Can I see?" I ask her, and Jinx holds the book out to me. It's an anatomy instruction book, with this particular page focusing on drawing hands. I leaf through it as Jinx watches me silently, clearly enjoying my fascination at the detail with which the artist drew a single hand.
"It's pretty amazing, isn't it?" she asks me happily as I turn the page, which goes into even more detail (if that's even possible) of the hand. I can only nod. "I want to be able to do that one day. I'm not that good yet, but I'm getting there, and I practice a lot. I always wanted to be an artist," Jinx says reflectively as I snap the book shut and take her hand, leading her to the register.
"I have no doubt in my mind that you will be," I tell her, handing the cashier a $20 bill to pay for the book.
"Thanks," she says, smiling a genuinely pretty smile. There's a pause as we just smile at each other, the cashier handing me back the change and the book in a plastic bag. And then, straight out of nowhere, Jinx turns to me and asks, "What's today?"
I just go along with it, despite the randomness of the question. How naive I am… "Umm, it's March 25th. Why?"
"Damn," Jinx curses to herself, clearly annoyed. She even stomps her foot a little, which surprises me. Then, even more random than the question itself, Jinx smiles a sickeningly mischievous smile. OH SH!T…
"Wally? I need you to get me something," she says sweetly as we exit the store.
AHH CRAP…
I gulp. "And what might that be?" I ask her nervously, praying to the Powers-That-Be that she isn't about to ask me what I think she's about to ask me.
A malicious glint in her eye tells me everything. She's still smiling. She doesn't even need to say it.
"No," I tell her flatly, putting down her shopping bags on the ground and folding my arms over my chest. "I went shopping with you, I carried your bags, I let you sleep in my bed. And quite frankly, I have no problem with that. You're totally welcome to abuse my innate, kind nature. But this is where I draw the line."
Jinx whimpers and she flashes me the puppy dog eyes.
"But Wally…" she moans, her head hanging. "I neeeeeeeeed them!"
"No," I tell her, standing my ground. Uncle Barry told me about this. He said that no matter how hard he tries, Aunt Iris has him whipped. Which means, despite his being the one to have super-powers, he can't hide from his duties as a husband to buy Aunt Iris her chocolate fudge brownie ice-cream and….and….EEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWW!
And with that, Jinx just randomly attaches herself to me and kisses me. Which is nice, until--
"If you ever want any good luck again, you will go to the store and buy them for me," Jinx whispers threateningly into my ear. I shudder, arguing, "But, it's too early in our relationship for me to be buying your—"
"Wally," Jinx says dangerously, cutting me off, dragging her finger across her neck to indicate a bloody, gruesome death.
I feel like I'm shrinking. I'm trapped. She's….oh, God…I….AAAAAAHHH! Note to self: …Get some dignity, KF. This is pathetic.
"What kind?" I ask Jinx weakly, feeling myself crumple under her death glare, even though I'm about a head taller than her.
"Regular Tampax. Oh—and Advil and Ho-Ho's. Don't forget the Ho-Ho's."
My so-called girlfriend calls out a sweet "thanks!" as I trudge through the crowds of wild shoppers towards the Walgreens that is located at the end of the mall, wondering why the hell she couldn't do it herself. It only takes me a minute to get to the store at normal speed, and I immediately head for the…the…the pink aisle, hoping to end my humiliation as quickly as possibly.
...Once I'm sure the aisle is empty of other people, I take a few cautious steps towards the display.
It all hits me in another wave of pink, as I stare at the assortments of what seems like hundreds upon thousands of….of…tampons (EEEW), each packaged differently. Damn! How the hell do you know which one's which?
"Girlfriend?" comes a voice behind me. I turn around to see a tall, athletic-looking (basketball player maybe?) guy in a red apron, mopping the floor and nodding at me understandingly. I nod backin embarrassment. "I know the feeling," he tells me empathically, clearly having felt my pain. "There's nothing to be ashamed about. It happens to the best of us."
"Thanks, man," I tell him, turning back to the wall and finally spotting the--you guessed it--pink-packaged tampons (EEEEEEEEEEW!) and stuffing them into my basket, then turning on my heel and running for the cash register as fast as I can possibly can without revealing my superspeed as the guy chuckles knowingly to himself, resuming his mopping.
Jinx
Poor Wally. It's not his fault he's a guy, which automatically puts him in charge of most of the shopping for PMS-relief items. But I'm doing him a favor. The sooner he gets used to it, the better. And besides…I wouldn't want to hurt him with any PMS-enhanced superpowers for failing to fulfill his predetermined duties as a boyfriend.
I've got a more important mission anyway, which is why I didn't buy them myself. I need a job. Badly. Wally bought me all this stuff, which, while it was very sweet of him to do so, I can't just accept it all. I saw a "HELP WANTED" sign in the window of a music store that we passed earlier, on our way into the mall. I don't know a whole lot about music, but I'm pretty responsible, and I need the money.
I know that it'll probably take Wally a while to find all of my stuff, and then to regain his composure. So I head towards the entrance of the mall, spotting the music store. There aren't a lot of people at the entrance, which is kind of weird, considering how crowded it was a few hours ago when we first arrived. It's almost entirely empty, but I just ignore it and head towards the store. I'm just about to open the door of the badly-lit shop, with faint music playing from the inside,when I hear a scream echoing from the same alley where Kid Flash and I came from.
Oooh, cliffie! That's gonna leave you hanging for another 3 days…lol. DUN DUN DUN! Hope you liked that chappie. To be honest, I don't think it was very good, but you're just going to have to deal because it moved the story along considerably, now didn't it? Lol. Anyways, hope you liked it!
…Yaay! And now it's the best part of the story, the review responses!
TTFanGirl11-aww, thanks! Im glad that you liked the first chappie! Can't wait to hear your thoughts on this one (hint, hint :-D) Thanks!
xunrequitedlovex-haha! Don't worry, I check b4 I go to school sometimes. :-D we're all just one big cult, what can we say? Thanks!
Shadow929-hey, im glad you liked it! Sorry it took forever to update! I swear, it wont happen again!
Kelly Riley-thanks! I do my best to keep them as in-character as possible. Sorry it took 4evr!
Clairebear-ehh…sorry the 3-day rule thing kind of short-circuited almost….well, immediately. Thanks though! Ill be much better about it from now on, I promise!
Meiriona-haha! Me 2. which is why there are even more awkward moments to be coming!
Lt. Commander Richie-ahhhhh! That's kind of a scary thought. Lol. Thanks! Im glad u liked it!
Marz the Green Planet-well of course not! I wouldn't just leave you hanging. :-D or actually, come to think of it, I would-considering that It took me 10 days to update and I just left a big cliffie on ya. ;-D
Aiforce501st-thanks! Sorry it took so long to update!
Kltpzyxm-thanks! I do try. :-D but I don't think im the only one. Check out "Reach the Horizon" by KF Fan. Lots of KF acknowledgements in there! thanks again!
Sakuradancer3-aww, thanks! Im glad you liked it! Stay tuned!
Gray Wolf Goddess-thanks! For this review and for the other ones. :-D im glad you liked it so much! Keep checking back, im going to be much better about my updates than I have been…
DemonDaughter-meh. Lol. It will get better, I promise. :-D thanks!
Temchan-yes, yes, I did. :-D hope you'll stay tuned, 'cause there'll be more coming! Yes, yes, this story might be around the same length as TDD (which is what I now affectionately call Those Darn DoGooders), but I'm not sure yet…lol. Thanks!
Obiter-well, I will do my very best to keep you obsessed. Scout's honor. Lol. Thanks!
EE's Skysong-yaaaaaaay! You're back! As always, was the highlight of my day to read your review. :-D thanks mucho and talk to you soon!
Rose Red2.0-EEEEEEEEEWWWW I CANT BELIEVE YOU READ INSOMNIA! GAAAAAAAHH! I was actyually about THIS close (holds thumb a centimeter away from index thumber) to deleting that story all together! GAAAHH! And what's more...I can't believe you liked it (shudder). But, since so many ppl seemed to like it, maybe ill just self-edit and rewrite it and repost, just to end my humiliation. No more OOCNESS! YAY! ...and, yes, don't worry. I know very well how bad sequels can get, but I will try my very hardest to keep this from being a cliché. Lots more action and character development and drama (and some fluff, hehe :-D) to come before this story ends. But I promise that it'll be good. And if not, you can just sick your band of whatever evil midgets or mutants or flying monkeys on me (Lord knows I get enough of these kinds of death threats every day saying that if I don't update, I'll die). :-D deal?
Lostelf76-ahh! Im sorry that it took so long to update! Thanks though, and Im glad you like it so far! Stay tuned!
DancingPickle101-hehe thanks. :-D im glad youre enjoying it! I promise I'll keep this story nice and interesting for ya ;-).
Shay Bo Bay-thanks, Im glad youre psyched. I am, too. I have quite a few surprises planned…(evil grin)
Frosty Pickle Juice-lol, I do try. :-D thanks!
Shilohood-yuppies! Its here, alright! Lol, im glad that you got a laugh out of it. Me, too. :-D am so funny…lol, jk. Im only funny when I write. Otherwise im somewhat of a failure. In fact, the way in which I inspire the most laughs is when I trip over my feet every 5 seconds. I think im just going to have to cut my feet off and trade them in for new ones. :-D thanks, and hope youll enjoy the rest of it!
Sarie-hey, thanks! And sorry it took forever!
SarahC4321-oh, you can TOTALLY write as well as me. That's a huge compliment to me, so thanks! I never thought that I was very good at writing, but it's people like you who give me confidence. If you post some of your work, I'd love to read it! And keeping a story going on long, all has to do with however long it takes to tell your story, and how many chapters and stuff you'll need to incorporate all your ideas. You can totally do it! Thanks!
Tree 0f Thorns-im glad youre liking it so much! I like to make people laugh. Making other people laugh makes me laugh out of sheer randomness, at which point we all go crazy and suddenly everybody's laughing like a maniac, which makes me laugh even more. :-D it's a ruthless cycle, but im used to it. Thanks!
Spider Queen-hola, Itsy! Like the new penname ;-) although youll always be, in my memory, the Itsy Evil Spiders! Lol, sorry about excess fluffiness, ill try to keep it to the least possibly fluffiness I can get away with. I promise, it wont always be so fluffy, just fun. :-D oh yes, yes, KF will definitely make that connection…not that I just gave away anything…;-) keep reading, and thanks!
Clock-C- thanks! Im glad you like it! Keep reading!
Forlorn Melody-oh, don't worry, I know the rules of interesting writing :-D was this enough suspense for ya? well, I am notorious for my oh-so-evil cliffies, but I guess you'll all just have to deal with that, now won't ya? hehe! Lol. Thanks!
Pureangel86-lol, yes, he is. The ADD is just fun to use as a plot device, and funny to read. Makes the story a little more interesting, you know? Lol. Thanks!
XRain-StormX-ahhhh yes, I do have quite some surprises planned for our beloved KF and Jinx….MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! lol. Keep reading to find out what they are! And thanks for the review!
Limited Heart-I did, I did! In fact, I wrote this chapter about two weeks ago! But this stupid glitch w/ my account wouldnt let me upload documents until today. sorry for the wait!
Well, this is the part of the story where you hit the "Review" button and tell me what you think. Because reviews inspire the SuperDuperHulaHooper to write, and you only get to read if I write. Haha! Lol. :-D
XOXO,
Cara the SuperDuperHulaHooper