Collateral

The Hive: Welcome Back, long time no see. I know you missed me, as I missed you…not really. I've got a couple of surprises up my sleeve and a couple more to come, so get ready cause a whole lot of drama is about to blow your mind.

Bee rushed out of the office like a bat out of hell, her backpack slinging behind her. "Bee, bee wait!" She could hear Herald's voice yell after her, but she refuse to stop. "Damn girl slow down," he was able to catch up to her and grab the tip of her tense shoulders. "Don't you dare touch me!" Bee growled, Herald flinched back a bit. "What the hell is wrong with you—"

"—Wrong with me? What the hell is wrong with you, not telling me you're transferring here—" "—Woah, it was a last-minute change in my Dad's music label. He dropped me off at my moms' so I could finish school here," "But not telling me—" "Like I said, last minute," he shrugged on his backpack and walked beside Bee, who scooted a fair amount of distance from him. "You actin' like I got cooties or something. I thought we were friends—-" "We're not friends," he held his heart as if he was in pain. "I thought we were cool Bee, especially after we—"

"Don't." He rolled his eyes and continued to follow after her. "What you so scared of? Your big ass bf beating me up when he sees that I'm here?" "That's exactly what I'm afraid of," "He ain't gonna do shit to me, I'm fast like a puma," he made his hands in the shape of claws and lightly hissed, Bee let out a giggle. "See I knew I'd made you laugh, just needed a little elbow grease." He nudged her, Bee playfully rolled her eyes. A silence ensued, as they walked side by side, slowly dwindling closer to each other without noticing.

Her stray hand lightly touched his, causing them both to retract in embarrassment. "He can't find out about what happened," "I know. It was just one night, and it's not like it meant anything—" "—It didn't?" Bee stopped in her tracks, a twinge of hurt showing in her features. Herald scratched the back of his head as his cheeks heated up with redness. "Well did you want it to mean something?" She opened her mouth to answer, only for the bell to ring as a response. "I-I have to go, I'll see you around okay?" They sent each other a soft smile and walked in opposite directions. Hearts confused and heads reeling from what happened moments before.


Next day…

Gar stared blankly at the open science book on his desk, he always did that when he was bored in the class and pretended it was some sort of video game he played the night before. Though that wasn't what he was thinking about instead it was something red, purple, and looking at him with fearful eyes. He pictured the tears falling down her face, her violet eyes tinged with fear and crying for help. Who would hurt Rachel? He rarely saw her after school as she always had to go somewhere and she never attended games (that was a typical Rachel thing).

No one ever visited her house, she refused for anyone to come over; it was always too dirty or she was grounded. Was she involved in an accident? Did she hit something and bruise easily? There was one question scratching at his head that he didn't want to answer himself and he begged that it wasn't true. Was Rachel hurting herself?

"Mr. Logan?" His science teacher, Dr. Brain, stood impatiently. Gar swallowed a loud gulp and shyly rubbed the back of his head. "Umm, yes?" "Maybe if you weren't so invested In your daydreams then maybe you'd be able to score higher than a D on your tests," a couple of people giggled in the class as Dr. Brain turned away with a loud hmph, before continuing to write on the board.

He rolled his eyes and watched the clock tick by instead. "Psst, Gar?" He heard someone say, a voice so familiar but he couldn't place it and he was afraid to turn around cause Dr. Brain may give him a week's detention. "Gar…psst!" Okay, now they were annoying. He snapped his neck to tell them to shut the hell up when his eyes landed on Terra and instantly blush crept on his face.

"You okay?" She held up a piece of paper. He goofily nodded, Terra put her head down and continued to write something down. "Wanna talk?" Talk to Terra? As in Terra Markov and him having a full-fledged conversation where they were basically sharing the breathing room and where he didn't pee his pants or blind her with his stupid braces; that kind of talking? Maybe he'll get the chance to ask her out? What if she asks him out, no way that'd only make him seem like a wimp. He thought to himself, "Okay, just smile and nod, smile and nod" He flashed her his mega-watt smile and nodded.

Through the slits of his eyes, he could see Terra holding in a giggle. "Ew, you have spinach in your tooth," a girl next to him said. Of course, that's what happened to him and it had to happen to him in front of Terra.


Kory unlocked and opened the bathroom stall, de-wrinkling her skirt in the process. She lightly hummed to herself while washing her hands and taking a look at herself in the mirror. "Well, well, well" she heard a voice say, her heart skipped a beat. Kitten stood in a pink ensemble consisting of a mini skirt above her thighs, cashmere sweater, and signature bedazzled headband, her caked-up face twisted in a sinister smirk.

"Can I help you with something?" Kory asked turning off the faucet. "Yeah, I heard you're dating Dick Grayson—" "We are not dating—" "Hah! The whole school's already talking about the little lunch date you guys had earlier in fact," Kitten pulled out a pink iPhone displaying a picture of Dick and Kory sitting at the Japanese restaurant from yesterday. Her eyes landed on the caption: New Girl and Boy Wonder enjoy a lovely lunch post-Babs break-up. "No, no no—" "Yes, omg the lines afterward is my favorite—"

The Hive: Spotted Dick Grayson enjoying what looks to be a romantic lunch with an attractive red-head, and that's not his former flame/publicity stunted gf he's with. It's new girl, Kory Anders. This isn't the first time the two are seen together and I'm sure it won't be the last, looks like our New Girl may need another name…how about man-stealer? My guess is that she's clawing her way to the top and she'll do anything to get there, watch out ladies, the new girl's making her rounds and she may come for you next…

A couple of tears fell from her eyes as she finished reading the description, she caught a glimpse of Kitten's smile growing. "Don't you just love The Hive…even though that skank bitch nearly ruined my reputation, sometimes they also do me a favor? Already stealing from another girl, I knew you were a slut and a freak when I first met you. Glad everyone else is starting to see as well—" Kory ran out before she could finish, tears streaming down her face, a couple of students looked at her in disgust. "Skank, slut" they'd whisper, she pulled out her phone and dialed her uncle's number. "Uncle Galfore, can you come and pick me up? Please?"


"Where's Kory?" Dick looked around Mother Mae-Eye's classroom, with no bubbly redhead insight. "You didn't see The Hive blast?" Wally asked, "What Hive blast?" He pulled out his phone frantically, seeing the blast update and also a bunch of messages from Bruce, his friends, and Babs. He clicked on the link to see a photo of him and Kory sitting at a restaurant.

His heart instantly dropped after reading the caption, "Shit!" He yelled out. "Why didn't you take me to the Japanese restaurant Dick? You know how much I love sushi, I'm hurt." "Wally for once in your life…shut the hell up," Dick seethed, Wally cowered back in his chair. "Bee heard that Kory went home, ran off in a panic," Vic interjected. "She went home?" Dick's eyebrows knitted together in a hurt puppy look. "Yeah, she tried calling her but Kory hasn't been answering," "I gotta talk to her," "How are you gonna talk to her, she won't take our calls, we don't even know where the girl lives,"

"I'll find out where she lives—" "Didn't you just get in trouble with Bruce for truancy?" "So?" "So…another absence equals no games and no Grayson ragers," "I don't care about some stupid party or some game—" "—Yeah, but the whole school is counting on you, counting on us. If you leave and people find out it was to see Kory, it'll only make things worse." Dick let out a frustrated grunt before slamming his book shut and banging his fist on the table, scarring both Wally and Vic. They both shared a look of concern before turning back to their books.


Rachel laid under the tree, quietly listening to the whispers in the trees and people passing her by in conversation. She flipped the page of her book, not noticing the shadow looming over her. "Hello Ms. Roth," a familiar sultry voice spoke, Rachel looked up and saw none other than Mr. Malchior standing before her with a sweet smile that always made her stomach flutter. "Mr. Malchior, it's nice to see you," "I missed you in class this morning, everything okay?" He took a seat in front of her, his hand touching the base of her knuckles, she felt herself tense; his eyes lingered on the spot for a bit before removing them.

Her eyes slowly rose to look at his, the grey boring into her violets, he cleared his throat. "Yes, I enjoy your takes on Grapes of Wrath," "I love it when people think it's about actual grapes," they laugh. "Are you planning on going to the coffee shop this afternoon," "Unfortunately, I can't? I have this thing that I have to do and I can't miss it," "Can I help you with this thing?" "Mr. Malchior, I'm fine. Besides I'm sure you'll be working on a bunch of homework," "I think I can multitask," a blush crept on her face, he leaned in closer, his mouth only a c couple of inches away from her. She wanted to follow suit, someone could see and that would only draw attention to her. "Rachel, I think that—" "Rachel, Mr. Malchior?" Mr. Malchior immediately jumped back, they both snapped their heads in the direction of the voice. Gar stood with a look of concern and confusion.

"Ah, Mr. Logan, I was just discussing with Rachel next week's assignment," "Oh okay," he got up quickly dusting himself off and clearing his throat again. "I'll see you around?" His eyes were directed at Rachel, her face only getting redder with embarrassment. "You both around," He cleared his throat again and patted Garfield on the back. "Right, see ya" Gar walked over to Rachel still with the suspicious look on his face. Rachel replaced her smile with her usual frown and went back to "reading" her book. "May I help you, Garfield?" "Is there something going on with you and Mr. Malchior—" "—No! I mean no, we were discussing work," "It looked as if he was about to…" "about to what?"

"Um, nothing. I wanted to see how you were doing," "Fine, why do you care?" "Cause we've been friends since third grade, we've been there for each other ever since." "You've never cared before," he placed his backpack on the ground and sat next to her. "I've always cared Rachel, you just never let me," she turned away trying to not cry. She thought back to the last night, the man, her father, and the club, how Gar had touched her wrist, how he touched it, her eyes shone a bit from the gloss of the tears begging to leave.

"Rachel," Gar whispered softly, he laid his hand where Mason was moments before. She quickly moved it away and hugged herself. "Who did this to you?" "No one Gar, I-I fell okay," "No you didn't—" "—Yes I did, I had a biking accident," "Since when are you on bikes?" "Leave me alone Gar, I mean it" "Just tell me, did someone do this to you?" "No," she got up and pushed past him, grabbing her things in a frenzy. "I did this on accident, now leave this alone Gar," Rachel walked off, pulling at her sweater sleeve and letting one tear fall down her face. Gar watched with a lingering gaze, his eyes following her sprained wrist. "I'm gonna find out what happened to you Rachel, one way or another," He whispered.


"98..99..100!" Dick grunted out as he finished his last push-up, Vic patted his back in pride. "Alright dude, you got that last set done. Coach says we gotta do 20 wind sprints next," "Damn, I'm gonna have the wind knocked out of me before practice is over with," "True that dawg," Wally sprayed the last of his water bottle in his mouth, "Dawg?" "Yeah, I'm trying out some new slang—"

"Man, dawg is not new. They used it in the '90s, and it stayed in the '90s," Vic explained as he stretched himself, whirling his arms around and twisting his body. "I know I know, but I'm trying some things out seeing what's cool and what's not," "well that's a definite no," both boys shared a laugh as Wally rolled his eyes, "Trust the process boys,". The men continued to stretch and work out, Dick caught a glimpse of Bee and Jinx working out with the cheerleaders. "I'll be back," he got up from his spot as the two boys shared another look. "Bee!" Dick called, the cheerleaders swooned over the sweaty hunk before them, except Jinx and Bee of course, who only rolled their eyes at their boy crazy team. "Hi Dick," all of them said in unison, Jinx smack her lips in annoyance.

"Hi ladies," "Get a life, he's clearly there to see us. Now scram!" The girls put their hands on their hips and grumbled in protest. "Bee, Jinx five minutes!" Brooke yelled over her shoulder as she walked with the team for a break. "What's up to Dick?" "Have you guys spoken to Kory today?" "No, I've tried calling her and texting but no response. You think she's okay?" "Doubt it. Pretty sure after that stupid hive blast, she may have her phone on mute, which I think is a good thing to do," Jinx explained earning a look of concern from Dick and a scowl from Bee.

"I'm sorry but…Dick shouldn't have done a romantic rendezvous with Kory, she's still new," "Dick, I agree with Jinx. What were you thinking? You just got out a "relationship" and added Kory to your mix isn't the way to go," "That's not what happened," "Then what was it?" He rubbed the back of his neck, "I-I was trying to cheer her up and get her to open up to me—" "—by taking her to lunch?" "Someone's got a crush" Jinx sang. Dick's cheeks burned a bright red, "I do not, I'd do that for you guys if you ever had a bad day," "If that's the case, I like creme brûlée from Chez France," "and I love the tiramisu from the little Italian restaurant from a couple blocks down," "Noted." He sighed to himself, "I-I just really need to talk to her, I want to make sure she's okay?" Jinx and Bee smirked to each other. "Maybe she can meet up with us at Bee's place or something," "Or we could…"


"Listen here you little snot rocket, I'm not finding no weirdo's number unless I have cold hard cash, paid upfront," Jinx, Dick, Bee, Wally, and Vic surrounded a fairly short kid with a shiny bald head and green goggles on top of it. "Look Gizmo, we said we'll pay you. Can you find Kory's address or not?" "I may be able to, but you know my deposit," "Fine," they turned around and put together $100 of cash, "Thanks guys," Dick smiled at the group, "Hey Kory's our friend too, we're worried about her," "Some of us more than others," Wally nudged Dick in his arm, he slightly blushed. "Here Gizmo," Vic handed him the money, Gizmo counted it and nodded to himself. "Alright scud monkey's. I may be able to find your friend, however, it's gonna take a minute for me to crack into the school's database," "Why couldn't Vic do it? I'd have my $20 bucks back,"

"I hate to admit it but because of someone's impatience Gizmo's faster than me and he has short cuts," Also, I skipped a couple of grades, do the math" he typed along with the computer as they watched. "All this trouble over some chick, what does she have magical v—" "Don't you dare finish that sentence unless you don't want to have your underwear tied to a flagpole," Dick growled, Gizmo squinted his eyes and stuck out his before returning to the screen. Everyone sat in silence as Gizmo typed away, Bee was filling away her nails, Jinx texted away on her phone, Vic tried his best not to fall asleep, and Wally was asleep. Dick was the only one continuing to pay attention, his heart skipped a beat as Gizmo clicked away on some paperwork, a minute had passed. "Well, did you find her?" "I'll find her when you stop talking," Gizmo grumbled.

"Dick leaves the kid alone, I'm not trying to get uncharged for you squeaking away at him cause he couldn't find Kory fast enough," "I'm worried about her," "We know, she's fine Dick. Don't worry," Bee laid a hand on his shoulder, they shared a smile. A loud ping rang through the room, his heart skipped a beat. "Is this her?" Gizmo asked, they all loomed over and saw Kory's smiling face on the screen. "Yes, yes! That's her!" He smiled. Gizmo typed something again and printed out a page displaying Kory's address, name, and birthday. "Huh, would you look at that? Girl's a Pisces—" "besides the point, thanks to Gizmo," "Whatever, I expect full payment by tomorrow lame asses," they all nodded before exiting out the door. Gizmo turned around, grumbling to himself, he scanned through the file and suddenly his eyes got big as saucers. "Hello, what do we have here?" Gizmo pressed a button and out flew some papers from the printer. "Well, well, well. They'll be back soon enough," he folded the sheets up and placed them in his coat pocket before continuing to type away.


Kory sniffled on the couch, gobbling down her 2nd bowl of Lucky Charms and watching a few Looney Tunes episodes. Galfore rubbed away the excess water off the dishes. "Kory, do you want to talk about it?" "Galfore, you've been asking me that since I got here. I'm fine…just needed some time to myself" "You've only had a couple of weeks—" "Galfore." "Fine. Let me know when you need to talk princess," she nodded lightly, as he made his way up the stairs, her eyes never leaving the tv screen. She stuffed another spoonful of marshmallows in her mouth, there was a knock at the door. "I'll get it, " Kory yelled with a muffled mouth. She crunched down on the marshmallows in her mouth before taking a large swallow and opening the door. Her eyes widened at the sight of Dick, Bee, Vic, Jinx, and Wally on the other side of the door.


"What the hell—what are you doing here?" Kory folded her arms to cover up her bunny t-shirt. "We wanted to ask you the same thing, can we come in?" Dick asked. Kory pushed the door further a bit. "I don't think that's a good idea, I'll see you guys later " she was about to close the door, but Dick put his foot in between. "Kory please, can we talk?" "We've talked Dick," he pushed the door a bit to where his face showed "No we haven't," "Who's at the door, Kory?" Galfore dredged down the stairs and saw the interesting scene before him.

"What's going on?" Kory tried to slap away Dick's hands from opening the door, "Nothing. Just a bunch of-of those salespeople that come up to the door. Galfore walked over much to Kory's protest and opened the door seeing Kory's friends behind. "Kory, that's no way to treat your friends. Please come in," He gave Kory a stern look as he opened the door up for everyone to come in. "Where's the bathroom?" Wally teetered with his hands in his between legs. "Upstairs to the right," Galfore smiled, Wally nodded before zooming up the stairs as everyone took a look around. "Aw, this place is so cute!" Bee cooed. "Yeah, it kind of looks like my grandma's summer flat in Tarzana," Jinx interjected.

"Can I get you all something to drink?" "I think we're fine for now Galfore, thanks" Dick rubbed the back of his neck. "I'll be upstairs if you need me, Kory," he trudged back up the stairs as Wally was coming back down. "Nice digs," "What do you guys want?" "We wanted to check on you," "How did you find me—" "—Nothing like a little help," Wally tried to joke, everyone else in the room stared at him with "not now" faces. "That's beside the point, we saw the blast," "Oh," Kory grabbed her cereal bowl and sat back on the couch, the rest of them following suit.

"You're nothing like that Kory," Bee rubbed her shoulder a bit, "Yeah, sometimes The Hive's just a real bitch—" "—Wally, zip it." He pantomimed zipping his mouth. "Anyways, why are you letting what the hive said to have such an effect on you? You know you're not like that, and we do too—" She bit her lip, looking away. "I-I'm not used to being in the spotlight like you guys are—" "It's more than that, what aren't you telling me?" Dick reached out to grab her hand, only for her to pull it away. Bee shared a look with the others, "Kory, this is how The Hive wants you to be, all cooped up in your house, crying, and watching cartoons. They want you to fear them—" "Yeah, when The Hive first reported about me, I wanted to track the bitch down and wring their neck. One day I will," Jink interjected. "You're lucky, I felt like The Hive's been reporting on my life since I was born, all of my secrets out there,"

Dick explained "I wouldn't say all—" Wally was instantly smacked in the arm by Vic, earning a glare. Kory raised an eyebrow at this but didn't touch on the behavior. "Point is…The Hive has been such a bitch to us all, we make the best out of it," "Yeah, screw them!" Jinx pointed up a middle finger, Kory slightly giggled. "See, there's that Kory smile! Come on, I think if we make the last class, we won't be wanted for truancy," "You all go ahead, these past two days have been a rollercoaster. I need to rest," they all shared another look before nodding.

"Okay…but your butt better be up bright and early tomorrow, cause I'll be driving you to school from now on," Dick smiled. She blushed, as the others looked at him with cheeky smiles spread across their faces causing Dick to blush a bit as well. "I-I mean if no one else wants to offer, heh heh." "I-I'd enjoy that," she smiled, he blushed harder. "Come on guys, let's leave these two alone," Bee ruffled perfectly pressed hair, "Hey!" The group laughed as they went down the stairs leaving the two alone. "I'm serious Kory, I'm here whenever you need me. I'll be up at 2:00 in the morning to talk if you ever need me, I could walk you to class, or I can—" Kory planted a kiss on his cheek, he placed his hand where her lips used to be.

"I appreciate all that you do for me, truly. I need a day to "recharge" as Vic would say," "Yeah, recharge" he goofily chuckled. " "Bye, Dick. See you in the morning," he nodded slowly, watching the door come to a close. He placed his back against it, as Kory did the same as if their backs were touching, both with goofy smiles on their faces. Galfore came down the stairs and noticed his blushing niece. "I take it, that the conversation with your friends went well?" "Yeah, you could say that…" She hummed to herself, picking up the bowl, and heading to the sink.

"You told them as to why you're scared about these things getting out?" "Not exactly," "Kory—" "I barely know them, if they find out who I really was then…" "Then what?" She turned on the water and began to wash the bowl. "They can't find me, if The Hive continues to put these things out there about me, they're closer to finding me and who knows what'll happen" "Kory, they won't do anything to you," "How do you know that?" Galfore looked back at the door, "Cause with friends and a boy like that, I know they'll protect you," she didn't answer, instead of letting the sound of running water fill the room.


Gar shook out the last crumbs of dog kibble into the bowl, "Alright, that's the last of them. Don't eat it all at once—" He turned back around to see the dog bowl empty, he gears his eyes towards the pooch tilting his head and licking his lips. "You crap in your cage, I'm not picking it up" "Of course you have to pick it up Gar, it's your job" he grumbled to himself as he threw away the box. The sound of the doorbell jingling erupted throughout the store, Gar grabbed a broom and began to sweep. "Store's closing in about five minutes, how may I—" He glanced up to see Terra. She was wearing her lacrosse uniform and her hair tousled in a beautiful mop of golden greatness.

"T-Terra," he nearly fell over before grabbing a shelf to balance himself. "I mean…hey Terra what's up?" His braces shined under the flickering shop light. "Hey dude, I wanted to stop by and give you back your notebook. You ran out of class so fast, I think you missed one of your items," "Oh uh, thanks" He reached out to grab it only for the shelf to wobble a bit and cause a cascade of different treats falling on him, he falls to the ground as a couple of dogs barking at him in the process. "Are you okay?" She cradles his head, Gar's head spins with tiny stars around it. "I don't wanna go to the moon Mom, I wanna see the stars," "Gar snap out of it," Terra waved her hand in front of him, he came to.

"Oh gosh, Terra, I-I'm sorry," he scrambled to his feet. "What are you talking about? I wanted to check and see if you were okay," "I'm fine, I just—" he drew in a breath, "I—never mind," he grabbed the broom again and swept up the mess. "Need any help?" "Chief kind of has strict rules about customers helping out with chores and we don't pay them," "I'm doing this as an act of kindness, good karma, or whatnot" She chuckled, Gar smiled slightly. "I don't want either of us to get in trouble, Chief'll really chew me out," "He doesn't have to know that I helped Gar, I'm stacking stuff back on the shelf that's it" "I—" "—I'm not backing down," "Okay," he swept more as Terra grabbed all the slightly damaged boxes and put them back on the shelf. They swept and stacked for what seemed like hours, Terra brushed her hands off.

"Okay, I think that's all of it," she took a look around the shop and saw all the different pets on display. Guinea Pigs, Dogs, Cats, Lizards, and a Turtle. "Who's this little guy?" Terra tapped the turtle tank, he shrunk back into his shell. "They don't like it when you do that," Gar interjected as he walked over. "Oh really? I'm sorry, little guy—" "Raphael," "Huh?" "I call him Raphael, from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" "No way! I love it, does he have a red mask that he puts on?" "Totally, he wears it every Halloween," they chuckle, their eyes meeting for the first time. Gar clears his throat "Do all these pets have names?" "The ones that have been here the longest yeah," "Okay, what about this one?" She points to the small puppy with a patch on its ear. "Spot," "And this one," she gestures to the gray kitten. "Toulouse," "The lizard?" "Geico," Terra let out one of the heartiest laughs he's ever heard and his heart swooned. "I love it! You are quite the person Gar," "Is that a good thing?" He cheekily asked.

"It's a really good thing, you know our school, it's all about galas, money, popularity, The Hive, no one's as genuine as you," for some unknown reason his mind flashed to Rachel. He shook the thought, "I know I can't fit in with anyone there, so I have to be myself," "I'm glad you are," they laughed again, their eyes meeting once more. "I-I should go," Terra bit her lip, gathering her things, Gar watching her. "Terra?" He asked as she was near the door. "Yeah?" His heart raced, drumming in his ears, his palms sweating and his throat getting dry. It's now or never. "Will you go out with me?" He blurted. Gar swore he heard her gasp. The only thing that could be heard was the jingling of the dog's collars and the sound of the air conditioning. "I-I have to go Gar, I'll see you later bye" she rushed out the last of her words as she ran out the door, leaving Gar alone with a shocked face and a shattered heart.


"Bye baby, love you!" Bee waved to Vic as he left with a beep and drove off. She grabbed the keys out of her purse while walking up the driveway. Bee glanced up at the door and saw a shadowed figure leaning against it. "Ahh!" She let out a scream, Herald appeared from outside of the shadows. "Oh my god, you scared me asshole!" Bee smacked him with her purse.

"Hey, hey! Watch it," he grabbed the purse from her hand. "What the hell are you doing here, Herald?" "You can use my nickname Bumblebee, you know that," "I'd prefer not to, now what do you want? Make it quick, my boyfriend just left," "So he's your boyfriend now, a couple of weeks ago you said otherwise," She pushed him hard to where he wobbled a bit. "Don't ever mention that night again, I was a bit drunk and so were you that's all there is to it," "Bee you and I barely had anything to drink. We both wanted to… at that moment," He touched her hand, she pulled away. "I have a boyfriend," He rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah. I miss you, Bee," she didn't answer back.

"That night, I loved that night and the morning of smelling of your coconut oil shampoo" "Stop—" "—I loved how your lips felt so in sync with mine—" "Herald, please—" "—When are gonna realize that I'm the guy for you? I've always been that guy! I—" before he could finish his sentence, Bee lunged herself at him and pulled him close, their lips only inches away. "You can't deny me, Bee" He whispered, pulling a curly strand behind her ear. They locked eyes again, hazel and brown, dilated pupils, half-lidded eyes. "I-I—" he closed the space in between them, their lips locking in fiery passion.

He pulled at her bottom lip with his teeth, as she sucked on his top. Bee pulled him closer, wrapping her arms around his shoulders as he pulled her up and wrapped her legs around his waist. Her hands traveled to his cheeks, letting his lips overpower hers with dominance, and their hearts beating in sync. A realization came to Bee, she pushed him off, both of them falling to the ground "Bee, what the—" "—Get out," "What?" "I said get out, don't contact me, don't look at me, don't ever think about me again, just go," She pushed him back until he backed into bushes. "I'm tired of being a 2nd choice Bee, I know how you feel, and so do you. Til' then I'll wait on you," he collected himself before walking off, Bee let out a small cry as she touched her heated and swollen lips. She looked around, no one was there. Or so she thought.

The Hive: "Well, well, well looks like Queen Bee is in some serious trouble. Two boys, one lonely girl, what's a girl to do? Let's hope her knight and shining Vic doesn't find out about this. Hate to be on the receiving hand of that lashing yikes,"


A figure counted out 100 dollar bills in front of them, Gizmo sitting across with a smirk on his face. "Thought you'd like this information of Kory Anders if that's even her real name," he smirked. The figure nodded, glancing at the photos of Kory before them in different locations. "So, how much money we talkin' here? I charge for each photo you know—" the figure threw a wad of cash his way. Gizmo snatched it and counted, his eyes getting wider after each ruffle. "WOW! For some stinking' pics? I could find out a whole bunch of information on her if you want, as long as I keep getting rewarded," the figure stood still. "Heh-heh, or not," he waved his hand. "Okay, okay. Whatever, I got my money," He pocketed the wad and grabbed his briefcase. "I'll be on my way, thanks " the figure continued to stand still as he walked off letting the door shut behind him. The light inside lingered on for one moment before cutting out.

The Hive: I guess that's all for now my little honey bees, looks like things are heating up between a certain new girl a boy wonder. As well as a little raven and our favorite Englishmen. However, is there a break up on the horizon for our Queen B? Who will she choose? And let's not forget about poor Gar, whose longtime crush, had crushed his heart. A lot of drama, and so much time, and I'm just getting started. Ciao for now, yours truly…The Hive.


COMICGEEK16: Hey everyone! I'm really sorry about being MIA for a min! I really like writing this story and love all the reviews on this story, I had finals, and work and all different kinds of things going on! Never fear, comicgeek is here! Hope u all enjoy this chapter, r&r! Thanks again, see you all soon!