Kiki's back!
I sorta borrowed the plotline from Friends, the episode where Brad Pittwas the guest star...
Dedicated to alena-chan.
I don't own Teen Titans.
I don't own Friends. (including the plotline)
Chapter 5: 772
"Silence is safe. That much he knew."
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772 paces.
He counted the steps he had to walk from his bed-sitter to his destination.
772 minutes.
It's been more than 12 hours since he ran into a familiar face at the supermarket, who happened to invite him over for dinner tonight.
772.
The golden numerals engraved on the outside of an old friend's apartment seemed to stare at him, and he gazed at them long enough to ignore the fact that knocking on the door might be the biggest mistake of his life.
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Seven years simply made the difference.
Roy Harper stared at the couple sitting across him from the table.
Tara Markov, the chick whose aviator glasses and leather boots alone were the definition of cool, just got engaged to the manifestation of pain and annoyance in the form of the biggest prankster in the history of Jump City High a.k.a Garfield Logan?
"After all this time, you guys haven't changed that much, except pretty much the fact that you two are together," the redhead quipped, eyes glinted emerald, matching the color of his long sleeved polo. This earned sheepish grins from the two blondes.
"Funny, isn't it? Tara's a fashion designer and Gar's a vet. They certainly lived up to their reputation from the good old days," The flat's owner sat in an empty chair next to Roy and gave him a high five, "What do you do Speedy?"
He flinched a little at the mention of his nickname back in high school, nevertheless replied with a grin, "Freelance disc jockey. And by the way Robin, nice crib."
"Thanks, woops, there's the soufflé," The man watched as Richard Grayson, Jump City High's perfect student, rushed to the oven behind them as the kring! interrupted the foursome's conversation.
And he took this opportunity to survey the apartment. One year of his salary certainly couldn't afford a place like this.
This was more luxurious than an apartment, per se, this had to be some sort of a condominium for the CEO of Wayne Industries – the biggest entertainment system in a living room; the kitchen looked like Wolfgang Puck himself could have the time of his life whipping up a meal for kings; beside it was the dining room graced with the view of the city's bay from a glass wall; and the furniture looked like art pieces from a gallery, abstract beauty was almost tangible in the air, along with the life the indigo walls. He even tilted his head a bit to get a better view of the loft, which he assumed was Richard's bedroom.
"Sweet!" Garfield's scratchy voice brought him back to reality, as he saw his best friend serve Peking Duck, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, and some pastries. Seeing the food almost made him feel like he was in a five-star restaurant.
A certain blonde with green streaks in his hair seemed to think so too, as he was about to grab the ice cream cake and pies at the same time.
Roy beamed in satisfaction when Tara slapped her fiancée's away while straightening the chopsticks holding her hair in two buns, whose highlights accented her spaghetti strap top.
"Gar, wait 'til Raven gets here!"
"R-raven?" His smile faded away at the mention of the name that haunted him since middle school.
"Uh-oh," he heard the couple mutter under their breath as Richard immediately sat down beside him, removing an apron before straightening his dress shirt and slacks.
"I'm so sorry Roy, I forgot about the whole you-know-who incident," the dark haired man said softly, "It's just that she lives next door to me, and we happen to be very good friends now."
'I think you mean more than – " Gar started, but Tara's hand clamped his mouth shut, and a knock on the door made Roy ignore what the other man was about to say.
A woman let herself in, taking off a black overcoat to reveal jeans paired with a tank top seen through her plum colored peasant blouse, which seemed to match the streaks in layers of shoulder length jet black hair.
She was about to make her way towards the table the group was sitting in, yet she stopped in her tracks when she saw the last person she was expecting to see – and by the look on her face, her least favorite person in the world too.
"So ehem, Roy Harper is the 'old friend' you were referring to, huh Rich?" She held her posture and looked like she was straightening her back when she made her statement. Her face held no expression yet the cool and collected tone her voice managed to give him the impression that she was still the kick-ass man eater not only the class of 1999 but the entire Jump City High, perhaps even the next generation, came to know.
"Raven Roth. Nice look for someone, I mean, something, who escaped from a bounty hunter that held you – it – after all these years," Roy managed to return the same disgusted emphasis, the same way she did when she gritted his name.
"Well, we're just one big happy circle of friends, now are we?" Richard got up and led the petite female to a seat that was farthest to the redhead.
"Now that this creature is here, the circle transformed itself into a semicircle, ya' know, 'coz all the evil practically sent the other half to oblivion," Roy looked down on his plate, and fidgeted with his napkin when Tara and Gar started send him glares that screamed "This is your best friend's home for Pete's sake, get over your grudge and mind your manners…"
"Sorry I'm late, I had to run a few errands on the way home – " Raven spoke from the end of the oblong shaped table, and seemed to admire the way the red candles and rose petals accented the mahogany finish on the top; but was cut off when a certain male suddenly stood up and stared at her square in the eye.
"Errands huh? Always having all the time in the world to spare for yourself, huh?" He delivered hotly, earning all eyes on him as he finished off with a mockery of what appeared to be a hair flip, "So typical of Raven Roth."
His object of dislike said nothing, but looked up, amethyst eyes unreadable as she took a sip from her wine glass. The man beside him was the one who reacted by facing him, "Roy, what the hell is your problem? High school was so long ago, can't you forget about all of it and bury the hatchet?"
'Dick, knowing her, she'd hit me with the hatchet before she'll agree to bury it!" When he scowled at her, she suddenly stood up and banged her fists on the table. The motion could have measured more than a 3 on the Richter Scale, because the blonde couple happened to retreat to the couch, all the way to the other side of the room.
"I'll bury the hatchet right after I bury you alive!" Raven raised her voice, and he could have sworn there was a vein rearing its ugly head on one side of her temple.
"Shut up!" Richard yelled, then turned to him, "Please Roy, calm down."
"And you're defending her?"
"The jury will think so too," she wrinkled her nose in ridicule. The sneer that formed on her features wasn't about to make him give up easily.
"Humph. Just so you know, while you had dozens of groupies all over the campus back then, there was a group of students who didn't think you were all that – smart, cunning, and able-bodied people whose lives you ruined, Raven Roth!" The twenty-nine-year-old pointed an accusing finger at the pale-skinned woman, who nonchalantly countered with, "And what? Those idiots formed a I Hate Raven Roth Club? Humor me, will you?"
"Exactly, for the record, why else would the I Hate Raven Roth Club be so idiotic," He smirked in victory as he placed an arm around Richard's shoulder, "When Mr. Grayson, class valedictorian, was co-founder?"
The shock on her face was so priceless, especially when she darted towards Richard, grabbed him by the collar, and seethed, "You had a club, then after all these years you didn't even tell me?"
"Rae, high school was a million years ago, okay? There's nothing to worry about," Richard gently yanked his shirt , then took hold of her hands. When he started looking at her the way the an actor would with his leading lady in romantic movies, Roy quickly coughed, "Then why did our pact had the word 'eternity' in it?"
Raven pulled away, then folded her arms across her chest and looked down on the beige carpet, while the blue-eyed man scratched his gelled hair in disarray.
Roy plopped down on his seat and leaned back in surrender, though he wasn't really sure he should apologize, especially with someone like Raven Roth around. "Look, Dick, sorry, okay? But really, whose side are you on?"
"Roy, you can't make me choose between my best friend and my – "
"Yeah, sure, like you did when you entered that Vanilla Ice look-alike contest and won?"
"It was for charity! Besides, you came in fourth and cried!"
"We were freshmen back then, all right?" He gestured anxiously in an attempt to defend himself, then diverted the slur to a snickering Raven, "And what about you? You may not be aware of it long ago, but you were the butt of every joke in our club so quit it!"
"How can you expect somebody else to be the laughing stock of the I Hate Raven Roth Club? Don't tell me Jinx, Gizmo, Mammoth, Kitten, and other losers like them were actually stupid enough to join your little club."
"Hey! Jennifer may be clumsy sometimes, but she's not a jinx! Gideon happens to very articulate when it comes to computers and just because Marcus happens to be older than the grade level he's supposed to be in doesn't make him good enough to be compared to large hairy extinct elephant !"
"And Kitten?" She leered, as he saw Richard shudder slightly behind her.
"What? The only A's she have are the ones her dad can afford…At least she was a good circulation manager."
"Excuse me?"
Roy laughed out loud, pools of jade green resembled the eyes of a predator that just caught its prey. "Remember that rumor, Dick? That one was the best!"
"Rich?" She grimaced, bringing her face closer to Richard's.
"Well?" She was virtually torturing him with dagger looks, when Roy declared as-a-matter-of-factly, "We spread a little story that you had plastic surgery…"
"And?" She narrowed her eyes when she faced him, yet stood her ground, anticipation being reflected in her features. He pushed back air above his head, feeling the coarseness of his buzz cut, and finally pointed to his chest area.
"Oh my god!" She rubbed her temples, falling back on her chair. He had to admit, he wasn't sure that he was happy to see her like this – unkempt hair, flushed cheeks, and breathing heavily like she was just mugged.
"It's not so bad, Rae. It earned you ten times more than the number of admirers before that. It's just a rumor…" Richard was by her side in a heartbeat, patting her on the back.
"I guess having big fake breasts isn't as bad as making out with Mrs. Cooper, huh Rich?" The Raven Roth sneer was back on her face, and this caused Richard to step back, saying, "How did you now that?"
"Jeez Louis! Mrs. Cooper the librarian the Pushover Cooper? Whoa," Tara put her hands on her waist, while Gar closed his eyes and mouthed, "Ewe!"
"It's true?" He heard himself say, addressing Richard cockily, and when the spiky haired male was about to retort, Raven exclaimed, "Puh-leeze. I saw the two of you going at it behind the card catalogs."
"Hey! For a 56-year-old widow she wasn't that wrinkly! In fact, Mrs. Cooper was very gentle – ehem, may she rest in peace," Richard was trying his best to not let his guard his down, however she raised a perfectly arched eyebrow, then crossed and uncrossed her legs.
A click of her tongue, after that, "You could have come up with a better excuse like 'I was drunk!' but, congratulations, you did a great job of embarrassing yourself."
With this, Roy rested an elbow on the table and poured himself some wine. "This ought to be interesting," he whispered, barely audible for the others to hear.
"What did I ever do to you, huh Rae?" It was obvious that Richard was so desperate, he even kneeled in front of her pleading.
Raven sighed, "Well, when I found out your grades were a bit higher than mine, I guess I got kind of carried away when I swore that I'd get back at you…"
"Oh, well I'm sure that…Wait a minute, as a consequence of that rumor Kori Anders broke up with me!"
"Don't blame me if your ex was dumb enough to believe everything she hears!"
"It was your fault, woman! I couldn't even find a prom date the last minute because of you!"
"Pfft. Well at the end of then night you were crowned Prom King."
"And I had to dance with Kitten Moth!"
"Stop acting like I'm the only perpetrator here! Because of your rumor I almost got sexually harassed, more than once!"
"Almost Rae, almost. You even got detention for beating the crap out of the likes of Adonis and Johnny Rancid!"
"It. Was. Self-defense!"
"That's it! I'm back in the club!"
No sooner had Richard said this Roy rose from his seat and screamed in triumph, "Booyah!"
As he gave the shorter man a high five, Raven was gritting her teeth. And in the fraction of a second she was on her feet, straightening her blouse, "I don't know what the hell you two are trying to prove, immature jerks like you ought to know that – "
What she was about to say was cut off when a pie was thrown at her. The cream was covering her glower, and everyone in the room sensed that she was about to turn herself into a one-woman reign of misery and mayhem.
And she did, obviously, when she took hold of the ice cream cake and flung it towards Roy, who was fast enough to duck. Turns out, the chiffons layers with vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate ice cream hit Richard's face instead.
She immediately became the target of the newly formed I Hate Raven Roth Club, but when the Peking Duck hit a certain blonde square in the chest, a shrill voice stopped the food fight.
"What is the matter with you?"
All of them, Gar included, looked up to see Tara fuming, "Roy, quit bitching. Another wrong move and I swear I'll kick your ass all the way to kingdom come!" Her sapphire orbs compelled him to sit down, the other to following the gesture, just in time for the woman to make her way in front of the trio.
"Come on, high school was so long ago. Could you stop harboring old grudges?
"Dick, even with that rumor you were still the most popular guy, girls wanted to be with you, and boys wanted to be you!
"Rae, some fake plastic surgery story didn't stop the entire student body from being afraid of you, you're the one and only kick-ass babe the school has ever known!
"Besides, Pushover Coop – I mean, Mrs. Cooper did look like she might have been Playboy material when she was younger, and those losers could have seen it coming that you'd rid them of their reproductive capabilities when they tried to hit on you…"
"Seriously dudes, are you just gonna throw away everything that's happened between the two of you over something that happened seven years?" Gar emerged from behind the couch and was now beside his fiancée.
Roy forced himself not to flinch when Raven's features suddenly softened as she took Richard's hands in hers. "They're right, Rich."
"Rae, you know the only reason I joined – "
"Co-founded," the green-eyed man supplied, but his best friend ignored whatever it was.
" – That club was because I was in love with you."
Hearing those words made Roy chew the inside of his cheek, hard enough to draw blood, because he knew that, apart from refusing to reveal the reason of his 'hatred' towards Raven, Richard spoke the line that was reserved for him.
Still, he continued to focus on the 'couple' in front of him.
"Well, we are getting married," Raven said softly and this was the first time he even saw her smile. And if it wasn't for that he wouldn't have paused.
Did he even hear her right?
"M-married?"
"Two months from now."
He felt her eyes on him, but he looked away when Richard drew her closer, "Sorry I forgot to tell you, I guess we all just caught up in the commotion. Hope it's cool."
Roy forced himself to smile. Silence is safe. That much he knew.
He wasn't even sure which was harder, going through the rest of dinner with ice cream down his pants, or accepting the fact that Raven Roth was going to be Mrs. Richard Grayson in a matter of time.
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772 steps.
He had to drag himself all the way down, back to his bed-sitter.
772 seconds.
Only 13 minutes to go before he'll have to burn all of the photographs of her, that he kept after all these years.
772 .
He had plenty of chances back then, but he chose to keep this secret from his best friend . He couldn't even remember how many times he failed to tell her he loved her.
Roy Harper closed the door behind him and leaned against it, hanging his head in defeat.
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Phew...not exactly my best one, but I think it's all right...What does y'all think?
Anyway, a few keypoints:
772 - consistency's a style. Reading the story for a second time made me realize that using this technique was a bit corny, but imma let you guys decide.
plotline - 'Friends' fanatics may recognize the plot as the one where Brad Pitt guest stars as Will, a high school friend of the gang, co-founder of the I Hate Rachel Green Club, alongside Ross. I decided to tweak it a bit by putting the one-sided RaeSpeedy twist. Besides, the "love triangle" works well for my dedication to alena-chan.
TerraBB - my favorite couple next to RaeRob. Don't ask, I think they look cute together.
Tara Markov - reliable sources say did was her original name from the comics...this is an AU story, after all...Plus I love the idea of her being the cool high school girl who later turns out to be a fashion designer.
Garfield Logan - I just decided to let him have green highlights in his blonde hair, he's a vet, so it's self-explanatory enoughbecause BeastBoy turns into animals...
Jump City High - cliche, I know.
Roy Harper - freelance DJ? I'm weird, so just let it be...
Speedy, Robin nicknames - I apologize if I used this without actually telling why they were called that back in high school
Wayne Industries CEO - another cliche. Richard Grayson after all, is the foster son of millionaire Bruce Wayne, and of course, being the perfect student of Jump City High makes him that cocky.
RaeRob - You might have noticed the others call Richard "Dick," but when it comes to Rae, she calls him "Rich"
I Hate Raven Roth Club - Rae's kick-ass, no doubt. I just thought that it was funny when Will and Ross had their I Hate Rachel Green Club.
Kori Anders - yes, ex-girlfriend of Richard. I mentioned her to add to the tension.
Prom King/Queen - that Date with Destiny episode with a twist, just thought I'd add humor
Pushover Cooper - another one from that Friends ep.
So what you guys think?
Again, I apologize if the updates are a bit slow, I don't have internet access back at home...
Anyway, watch out for the following:
Make the Fireflies Dance - chapters 2 and 3 to be dedicated to ChaiChi and Tecna
Catch a Falling Star - chapter to dedicated to Cherished18
More to come for my other favorite authors, reviewers, and readers...
Thanks for reading.
God bless,
Kiki
