A/N wow, it's almost been a month since I last updated! I'm sorry everyone! Spring Break is almost over and I made the most of it! Well, enjoy!

Collide
Chapter: 2

Vindicated
By: xStarfirex

Richard sat on a fuzzy purple chair. Lights and sounds surrounded him. There was screaming, yelling, running, jumping, racing, and all sorts of chaos happening. Richard looked over at his two friends, who were giving each other death glares, and took a picture of them with his mini digital camera. He, Garfield, and Victor were at the arcade. It was so dark inside but at the same time it was full of flashing lights.

Garfield and Victor were in the center of the arcade playing Dance Dance Revolution. They both had the exact same score at standard. A crowd of onlookers had formed around them and Gar and Vic had nothing better to do than to entertain them. Apparently, donations were vital. Gar and Vic's baseball hats were placed by the DDR stage. Looks like they had a bet, whoever makes the most money tonight, wins the Playstation3. Boy, were those guys into video games.

Richard sat and stared. There was nothing else to do. He wasn't much of a video game person. In fact, he wasn't much of a game person at all. About an hour into the competition, he got up and went for some soda at a nearby store. He was listening to his ipod on the way there.

Hope dangles on a string
Like slow spinning redemption
Winding in and winding out
The shine of it has caught my eye

And roped me in
So mesmerizing, so hypnotizing
I am captivated

I am Vindicated
I am selfish
I am wrong
I am right
I swear I'm right
I swear I knew it all along
And I am flawed
But I am cleaning up so well
I am seeing in me now the things you swore you saw yourself

So clear
Like the diamond in your ring
Cut to mirror your intentions
Oversized and overwhelmed
The shine of which has caught my eye
And rendered me so isolated, so motivated
I am certain now that

I am Vindicated
I am selfish
I am wrong
I am right
I swear I'm right
I swear I knew it all along
And I am flawed
But I am cleaning up so well
I am seeing in me now the things you swore you saw yourself

So turn
Up the corners of your lips
Part them and feel my finger tips
Trace the moment, fall forever
Defense is paper thin
Just one touch and I'd be in
Too deep now to ever swim against the current
So let me slip away

So let me slip away

So let me slip away
So let me slip against the current
So let me slip away

So let me slip away

So let me slip away

So let me slip away

I am Vindicated
I am selfish
I am wrong
I am right
I swear I'm right
I swear I knew it all along
And I am flawed
But I am cleaning up so well
I am seeing in me now the things you swore you saw yourself

Slight hope
It dangles on a string
Like slow spinning redemption...

The song ended and Richard was holding a coke bottle and standing in line for the cashier. Next to the cashier were some chocolates and chips. He took a snickers. As he looked through his ipod, something caught his eye. Well actually, someone caught his eye. The girl in front of him had crimson red hair. She was wearing a white skirt that reached her knees and a blue tank top. She wore sunglasses over her eyes so Richard couldn't see the color of her eyes.

She turned around and flashed Richard a quick smile before taking her groceries and walking out of the store. That was odd Richard thought to himself as he watched her walk away. He paid for his coke and exited the supermarket. He looked around quickly and realized the girl wasn't there anymore. How far could she have gotten? Just then, he felt something vibrate in his pocket. It was his cell phone. He took it out and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Richard, it's Victor, where are you?"

"Sorry, I'll be there in a second," and he hung up.

He walked back to the arcade while drinking his self-satisfying coke.

When he got there, he realized something was different. There wasn't anymore yelling and screaming and the crowd of people at the DDR stage, were gone.

"Where have you been man?" Vic asked.

"Sorry, I got thirsty," Richard explained.

"And you didn't bother to buy us drinks, too?" Gar asked.

"Nope, sorry."

Vic smirked at us.

"Let's get to Richard's place and count the money," Vic suggested and the two boys nodded.

As soon as they got to Richard's manor, they headed for the lounge upstairs. Gar opened the door and ran to the sofa while Vic ran to the mini fridge. Richard sat on the Papasan Chair Frame and took out his laptop. As Victor brought over bags and bags of chips from the lounge's kitchen, Gar turned on the Plasma Screen TV and began watching G4 for the latest game cheats.

"Ok, money counting time!" Vic announced as he took out the money from his hat.

As the two counted their money, Richard logged into a website called 'Friends Garden'. It was sort of like myspace but different. He realized he had gotten a new friend request and found out a girl, whose name and picture weren't posted, wanted to be his friend. She went by the username 'Starfire21'. Richard accepted the friend request. He saw on her page that she was online now. He clicked on the 'chat' button and an instant messenger window popped out. He began typing, curious about the girl. His username was 'DarkKnight22'

DarkKnight22: Hello?

He typed in. He waited for a second but no response came. Just then…

Starfire21: Hello, who is this?

Richard decided not to reveal his real name number one, she might freak out that he was the famous Richard Grayson and number two…well, he just didn't want to. He'd tell her his real name when the right time comes.

DarkKnight22: This is DarkKnight22, you sent me a friend request, remember?

Starfire21: O yea, I remember now

DarkKnight22: Why did u send me a friend request anyway?

Starfire21: Your homepage looked unique with all the black and blue designs, it caught my attention

DarkKnight22: O, well glad u like it

Starfire21: What's ur name?

DarkKnight22: I can't tell u

Starfire21: Y not?

DarkKnight22: Cuz I don't know u very well yet

Starfire21: Ok, fine, I respect that.

"Hey, Richard, get off your laptop," Vic said.

"Ok, fine."

Richard turned back to his laptop. Not wanting to be rude, he said goodbye to the girl he was chatting with.

DarkKnight22: I gtg, talk to u later

Starfire21: I gtg too, nice meeting u, bye

Starfire21 has signed out

Before Richard could respond, she signed out. He sighed and closed his laptop. He joined Gar and Vic on the floor.

"So, who won?" Richard asked.

"Me!" Victor said with a huge grim plastered on his face.

"I won! $97 beats $76!" Vic said and cheered.

"Now, gimme my ps3!" He demanded.

"Ok, ok, you'll get your stinken ps3!" Gar said with an angered and disappointed look on his face.

"Wait til next time, I'll beat you!" Gar threatened.

"We'll just see about that," said Vic. He took the remote and put the volume higher so he can hear what the show was about. The show was 'Cheat!' and it was basically about new video games and tips and cheats for winning it. He was getting game cheats on 'Resident Evil 4'.

"Hey, Raven doesn't know about the deal does she?" Vic suddenly asked.

"Come to think about it, no, she doesn't," responded Richard.

"You might wanna tell her before she gets all mad and upset that you kept something like this from her, you know how she is."

"I'll tell her on her birthday party."

"But that's not until next week."

"I'm sure the news can wait until then."

"Alright, but you better hope she doesn't explode. Remember last time?"

:Flashback:

Richard, Raven, Garfield, and Victor were at the mall.

Richard wore a designer outfit. He wore a Calvin Klein blue striped shirt and Hugo Boss jeans.

"Let's go to Richard's house, I've never been there before," suggested Raven.

"No, let's go to Victor's house," Richard said.

"I've been there too many times, I wanna see you place."

"You gotta tell her, Richard," Vic said.

"Tell me what?" Questioned Raven.

Richard had never told Raven that he was filthy rich. He didn't want any rumors spread on the tabloids. If Raven found out Richard was filthy rich, what would she think of him now? They've been friends for a really long time and he didn't want to ruin it. Especially with Raven's financial trouble.

"Let's go," said Richard.

They stood outside a huge mansion that had to have about fifty rooms.

"What is this place?" Raven asked.

"My home," responded Richard.

"What? You live here!"

"Yeah."

"That explains the designer clothes and sports cars! You mean, while I've been working my ass off to buy you a decent yet mildly expensive gift, you've been living in the lap of luxury with a fortune at hand!" Raven screamed.

"Sorry, Raven."

"You lied to me."

Raven stormed off and she didn't talk to Richard for about a month.

:End Flashback:

Richard remembered that day very well. It happened a few years ago. Raven was really mad, but she still gave Richard what he wanted for his birthdays. She was a good friend. It wasn't a good idea to lie to her. But, he still wouldn't tell her until her birthday. She really has to learn to be patient.

A/N Please review! I might not update for a while due to school. I can't wait until Summer Vacation. But, anyway, thank you guys for your support on this fanfic! I love you guys!