February. Spooky scary moral dilemmas p.2

"I'm just saying," said Dick, closing his locker, "we might be more motivated to train if we were moving towards mastering something."

"Okay, but weapons?" replied Raven.

"When I started learning with throwing stars, it was a load of fun," Dick said.

"Shouldn't we master the basics first?" Raven insisted.

"Yeah, basics," said Gar. "Like laying down. Maybe someday, sitting." His words were due to the fact that every muscle in his body ached.

"I support the weapons," said Kori. "Our enemies will grab anything to stop us. We must be prepared."

Raven looked from her to Dick, who was nodding vigorously. "I think you two are getting ahead of yourselves."

"Oh, here comes Vic," said Dick, seeing him walking down the hallway. His opinion would be the one to break the tie. But Vic walked right past Dick's locker and beyond. Dick snorted. "There goes Vic."

Vic only stopped further away, at Jenny's locker, where she received him with a smile.

The four shared a smile. That was something else that had happened unexpectedly over the last few days. Those two had been meeting between classes and talking a lot. They had even seen Vic carrying Jenny's books into class at one point.

Dick finally got Vic's opinions on training with weapons in lunch period. "Hmm," Vic said. "If we're training for the real world, it makes sense to introduce weapons. But let's do it at the start of training and then keep mostly working basics."

"Okay, I can live with that," said Dick, and it was decided. Then he smiled. "So. You and Jen, huh?"

Vic scratched his head, smiling and coloring brightly. "I know it's weird. It just happened."

It was weird—but Vic looked happy, happier than they had ever known him. He laughed more easily, and he'd stopping pulling up the hood of his jacket whenever he possibly could—like his life was aligning to his idea of how it should be, or maybe like his idea of life was aligning to what he had. Like he was coming out of his shell, anyhow.

"Are you… dating?" Kori asked, and it being a colloquial term, she was proud of herself for feeling confident enough to use it.

Vic said, "We're talking," which floored Kori and set her back all over again.

"Why'd you like her?" Gar asked, genuinely curious.

Vic shrugged, smiling. "I just do." He reached over and ruffled Gar's hair. "You'll understand when you're older, green bean."

Gar shook his hand away. "Hey! I understand now!"

"…And then, Jen made up a long-winded story to prove she was the bar owner's niece, and she actually got us in!" Victor related to Dick, Raven and Kori.

"Was this before or after you had to jump a fence to get out of that party the cops busted?" Raven asked.

"I don't remember!" Vic exclaimed. "Man, what a night."

Then Gar walked into the clubroom, and closed the door behind himself with a bang.

"You guys really thought I wouldn't find out?" he asked dramatically, looking alternately at Dick, Raven and Victor. "You really thought I wouldn't know what you were keeping from me?"

"Gar, what do you mean?" asked Kori, getting concerned.

Gar produced a paper and slapped it on the table. It turned out to be a black and white print of the online city newspaper.

"Jump City has its own haunted house urban legend!" Gar exclaimed. "And you never thought to tell me?"

"I forgot you loved spooky stuff," said Vic. "And now I see how you're reacting, I'm glad I didn't tell you."

"Did you print this out just to make a scene?" asked Raven.

Gar ignored them both. "Dudes! This is our next big mission thing! We have to go check it out!"

"How is this a mission?" asked Dick. "It's not even a mystery. It's a money trap for middle-schoolers."

"Yeah, how does this translate to helping the student body or whatever it is we're doing?" asked Vic.

"We're cleaning the city!" said Gar. "Defending our fellow citizens!"

"You just wanna go to a haunted house," said Raven.

Gar grinned in response, as if admitting the accusation, but then he kept arguing his point. "Look, I looked into it. This thing is not a business. No one knows who the owner is."

"Okay, you may have a point there," admitted Dick. "No one ever understood how the haunted house operated."

"What if… it's not even fake?" said Gar, and let the question linger dramatically in the air as he leaned back slowly.

"Oh, it's fake," said Vic. "Trust me. I went in sixth grade."

"Well, say what you will, but I'm turning Dick around," said Gar, crossing his arms.

"I'm not turned around," argued Dick. "I just hadn't noticed before. That house is unregulated."

Despite his protest, the others could see he was being turned. Dick had incredibly expressive eyebrows. Either that or they were all so used to not seeing his actual eyes that they had learnt to tell his expressions by the merest morsels of a gesture—he always wore sunglasses so they had to. Right now, they could see plain as day that his curiosity was spiked.

Vic shook his head and got up from the table. "Anyway, you guys don't forget tonight is the party."

"It was black tie, right?" asked Dick.

"Yes, but really wear whatever you want," said Vic.

"Good, 'cause I'm not wearing a dress," said Raven.

"I don't even know what black tie means," said Gar.

"It means you wear a tuxedo or an evening gown," said Dick.

"Yeah, I don't have either," replied Gar.

"We will be there at the appointed time, sharply," promised Kori.

"Yeah, or, you know, come whenever," said Vic, making Kori and Dick exchange a puzzled look as he went out the door.

The four rang Vic's door at nine pm anyway.

Kori stood in full-length gold dress. She touched a hand to her updo, and looked nervously at Raven, in black jeans and a black shirt with long flared sleeves under a blue jacket. Raven's style was too dark for Kori's taste, but it was constant, just like Raven herself was unflappable; she was elegant in everyday life and she didn't go all out for special occasions. Her feathery black hair was down and her makeup was the same she wore to school. She wore the same black and gold rings, black stone earrings, and the big gold necklace with the red stone she always wore, not to mention the jewel on her forehead.

Kori pulled at her white evening gloves. Clearly one of them had gotten it wrong.

"I do fear I committed overdressing," she said.

"No, Kori, you're fine," said Dick, reassuringly. Dick was the only one that seemed comfortable with his life choices; in a tuxedo, he knew he was dressed correctly. "I mean it's not like you wore a band shirt, a multicolor hat, and stuck on a bowtie like it was a necklace," he said, looking directly at Gar.

Gar, who was indeed wearing exactly that, said, "Hey, don't hate." He stood on his tiptoes in order to drape an arm around Raven. "Raven and me are chill. We don't need fancy black tie stuff."

Raven shook him off. "Don't group me in with you."

But Kori thought the disparity between her and Raven in particular must reflect badly on them as friends. She knew –she'd seen it in movies- that normal female friends got ready together, and agreed to ending up looking similar, but she already hadn't dared ask Raven to get ready together for tonight, and now she suffered the consequences. Raven herself didn't seem nervous, but she always seemed comfortable in her skin. Kori wished she knew what that felt like.

They were admitted. The house was unexpectedly big when it was uncluttered, cleaned and well-lit. There were tables along the walls with finger food, and soberly dressed scientists filled the room.

They spotted Victor and Jen immediately, because Jen was in a purple corset, with a wide black tulle skirt, complete with fingerless gloves and even a tiny frilly hat resting sideways on her head.

"Well, you don't have to worry about standing out now," Raven told Kori. "She outdid you."

Vic, in a grey tuxedo with no tie, saw them and made his way over, boisterously saying, "Guys! You made it!"

The six of them were the only kids in sight.

Gar leaned in close to Vic. "Dude, there's alcohol here, right? Can I get some?"

Vic shrugged. "Go right ahead."

Gar sprinted into the party. He was on a mission to get drunk for the first time.

A second later, Silas approached them. "You must be Vic's new friends. It's great to finally meet you."

They murmured likewise. Vic's dad was two heads shorter than his son, slender but for a considerable belly that seemed more obvious by his wearing a slightly poor-fitting tuxedo. He seemed particularly personable and good-natured.

"Now, listen, kids," he said. "There's alcohol at this party, but the waiters won't serve you. I will let you have champagne with the toast at midnight, but that's all. I hope you can forgive me." He smiled as Victor rolled his eyes. "But I don't want your parents at my throat."

From a vantage point, Dick could see Gar was on the prowl as Silas talked to them. He observed Gar observing a couple talking animatedly, waiting until they left their glasses on the table, skulking behind them, taking the drinks and walking away.

Silas showed them into the party. Kori was at ease quickly; she was used to this kind of formal parties. She began hoping there would be dancing. Getting a dance with Dick would be nice.

Dick was also used to these parties. Too used to them—he was quickly bored.

Raven walked around the party, picking at the food, looking at people. She wandered upstairs, to an area previously too cluttered to pass, away from the noise. She bumped into what looked like a private library, and stayed to check out what books Vic's father had.

Gar approached Dick and Kori, carrying two glasses. "You guys want these? I keep getting water."

"Why'd you go for the clear liquid?" Dick asked, grabbing a glass, if only because it made them look less suspicious.

"I keep thinking it's gonna be vodka," explained Gar.

"There's no vodka," supplied Vic. "There's wine, champagne, whisky and brandy."

"Don't help him," said Dick through gritted teeth, though Gar had already bolted back into action.

On watching for abandoned glasses, he ran straight into Jen, who looked at him with disgust. "You're an amateur," she told him, and she moved the window curtain to reveal several open bottles of red and white wine, which she had presumably lifted from the kitchen.

Gar hung out with her for the next while.

Raven was skimming a tome on Philosophy when the door bust open. In came a man and a woman locked in a passionate kiss, who closed the door after them. Then the woman discovered Raven, slapped her partner's chest, and they both stood frozen. Raven raised an eyebrow at them.

When she walked back out into the party, the dancing had started.

Victor took Jen out on the floor almost immediately.

He knew his friends were wondering at him for pursuing Jen. He himself saw it was odd. But he was reveling in liking a girl he wouldn't have been able to go for before.

He liked Jen because she liked him as he was, with his new body, while the girls he knew from before didn't know how to talk to him anymore—Marcy couldn't even look at him.

But he'd never even talked to Jen before the accident. And here she was, agreeing to be with him. Not because of a shared past history, but because she liked him as he was now.

Plus, he was thriving off doing what felt right and not necessarily knowing what he was doing. All his life he had toed an imaginary line because he'd thought he'd get to reap the benefits; he'd thought it meant things would go his way. Now he'd lost his body, his status at school, his prospects for the future, his whole life as he knew it—he decided he wanted to see another way of living. Something closer to Jen's wildness. He wanted to stop thinking and just have fun.

Dancing now, Jenny told him, "You never would have looked at a girl like me twice before."

She was wearing a sly smile, but Vic hated to think she felt insecure about that, deep down. He kept smiling down at her. "And that would have been my mistake."

She smiled wide. "Are you ever not perfect?"

Her face sobered when he got closer. She closed her eyes as he dipped down and kissed her.

After the chaste kiss, still inches away from his face, Jen smirked. "You wanna blow this joint?"

Kori observed the two sneaking out of the house, giddy in their own world, and felt a pang of yearning. She turned back to Dick and returned to her previous occupation, which was trying to think of how to hint that she would like to dance. She started off with a simple one. "Do you enjoy dancing?"

Dick almost said No, not at all, because that was the truth. But he got it was an invitation right before he said it, and smiled at Kori. "I never liked it," he told her. "But then I haven't done it in a while."

He offered his hand, and when Kori took it, a couple strode to them—the man held up an unconscious Gar in front of them. Kori gasped.

"I believe this belongs to you?" said the man.

Silas held the door open as his guests filed out one by one, about two hours before they were supposed to, cheerfully offering his apologies. He closed the door after the last person and then went to the kitchen, where his son's friends were. He pointed at Gar, sprawled out on the couch. "How's the patient?"

"He's breathing," replied Raven.

"We're keeping an eye on him," said Dick. "He'll be fine if he can sleep it off."

"You know you're not supposed to try and sober him up with coffee or a cold shower?" asked Silas.

"Yes, and we must keep him on his side," said Kori. "We have just googled it."

"Well, when he wakes up, tell him he made this party an incredibly entertaining one for a change," Silas grinned. "Now, I'm gonna make you three some hot chocolate, and- no, no, I'll hear no objections against it," he remarked over the three kids' protests.

As he made the chocolate, he asked them if they knew whether his son was coming back tonight.

The three exchanged a look. Dick said, "Uh, he didn't say anything to us, Mr. Stone."

"Please, call me Silas," he said, and smiled at them over his shoulder. "I'm glad to see my Victor surrounded by nice kids," he said, and they had to wonder what his standard of 'nice kids' was, given the current situation they were in. "He's going through a rough time, getting used to a whole new life."

He placed four mugs of chocolate on the table and sat with them to drink his own.

There was a palpable awkwardness in the room. Tonight was the first time they talked to Vic's dad, and he was much friendlier and more pleasant than Vic's comments and anger against him had led them to believe.

"My Victor was always such a driven boy," Silas said. "So goal-oriented. Things had to be this way, they had to fit a plan, or it was no good. It was always a football scholarship for a great school or nothing else. I keep telling him, believe in fate, don't try to control everything, things happen for a reason, but he hated me saying that even before the accident, let alone after." He finished his drink and smiled at them. "But take me for example. My father trained me to be a film developer like him. He was determined I take over the shop someday. But film developing died—you kids don't even know what I'm talking about! And I had to go back to school, in my thirties. I picked something that looked fun, and here I am, years later, a successful scientist. I loved film developing and I also love what I do now. Life works out no matter what." He set his empty mug down and looked at the time. "Well, I'm going to bed. You kids will be alright?"

Dick stirred. "Yeah, uh, we'll just call and Uber and get Gar-"

"Oh, no! It's late. Please stay here." Silas moved up. "If you get up before I do, help yourself to anything in the fridge, though I'm pretty sure I'll beat you to it." He stopped and pointed at Gar. "And for him, there's Advil in the bathroom upstairs. He's gonna have a rough time tomorrow." He left his mug on the sink and then disappeared up the stairs.

"Okay, he's insanely nice," said Raven once he was out of earshot.

"Yeah, who else wouldn't give us crap about this shit show?" Dick echoed, motioning at Gar, who was shivering on the coach under two blankets. He looked at Kori and nodded at her phone. "By the way. Nothing?"

"Victor does not respond," she said.

"Let's just go to sleep," decided Dick. He collected all their mugs and began to wash them on the sink; it felt like the least he could do.

Raven noticed Gar was still wearing the stupid bowtie. If he needed to throw up on the night something on his throat would get on the way. She went to sit on the couch and untie it. Gar's eyes fluttered open at the touch and focused on her, reassuring her that he really was just sleeping and not unconscious, before they closed again. She left the bowtie on the armrest. "Are we gonna leave him here?" she asked the others.

"Yeah," said Dick. "I'll sleep on the floor and keep an eye on him. You guys take Vic's bedroom."

Dick woke up the next morning to Gar shaking him awake. "Dick, we're going to the haunted house today, right?"

"Yeah, we're still going, Gar," he answered groggily. He couldn't open his eyes completely. There was Gar's face and the entire sun behind it. No one had drawn any curtains the night before.

Gar skipped over Dick's body and went to the fridge.

"Silas says to help ourselves to any food," Dick told him.

"I know, I heard him," Gar replied. "There's no fruit here."

Dick sat up on the floor and looked at him. "How are you feeling, Gar?"

"Fine, why?"

Dick watched him skip around the kitchen. "Because you got blackout drunk last night," he said, watching his friend change his mind about being in the kitchen and go knock on Vic's door instead.

"Girls, wake up!" he called. "Today's the day we go to the haunted house!"

Dick watched in puzzlement as Gar went back to the kitchen and went through the pantry. "Ooh, cool, oatmeal." He got a bowl and a spoon and sat to the counter.

"Why aren't you hungover?" asked Dick.

Gar paused, shrugged at him, and began to eat.

"Huh," went Dick, getting up and folding the blanket he'd been sleeping on. "Maybe everything they tell you about hangovers isn't true."

The girls got out and they all had breakfast. Silas' prediction had been wrong: they had beat him in getting up.

"Vic had replied," Kori let them know.

Gar said, "Make sure he's coming tonight."

"No, wait," Dick stopped her, and grabbed his own phone. "It's time we made a group chat."

Guys, I love Jinx so much, you don't even know. She's gonna crop up several times in this series.

Miss geek: Thank you for validating me lol. You're too sweet! 3 And yep, I strive to never let you forget Kori is an army in her own right!