Damnit…my computer deleted this chapter…but, thankfully, luck was on my side, for I had already sent the entire chapter to my beta reader, so I was able to copy and paste this from the email. I'm so sorry about the funky paragraphs, but I had to spend all my time fixing stupid mistakes, like italics and crap like that. There will probably be mistakes again because I had to go back and fix things, so I'm really sorry. But hey, this is fifty-three pages long, so maybe that will make up for the funkiness…I could have gone back and fixed everything, but I'm way too lazy, and I figured you'd forgive me for taking so long and having this chapter all funkyfied if I posted this as soon as I could, so…hopefully you'll like the chapter…


Starfire rested her elbows against her knees as Darcy ran a brush through her hair, cupping her jaw in her hands as she tried to concentrate on what the girls
were talking about. Gathered in her room were Mallory, Hannah, Raven, Harley, and Bumblebee, and each one was talking about something different. Well, Raven just
scowled at everyone while she leaned her back against the bed.

It was still hours until the dance, but Twain had decided that it would be best if they started things early and did it all in one place, so Darcy and Marty
would not have to travel back and forth. Starfire was the first to be fixed, so the other girls were lounging about, talking casually about anything and nothing.

The reason Bumblebee was here was, one, she didn't want to be left out, and two, she would be watching Christian while they went to the dance. She had been
the one to volunteer when Starfire and Mallory brought up the fact that there was no one to watch Christian, and had said that it would be a good time to practice watching a kid since she wanted a family. Cyborg had visibly paled then flushed when she made the comment that she didn't know if he was even capable of producing kids, but she was fine with adopting.

Behind her, Darcy fluttered about, trying to decide what hairdo would look best with the dress. She had finally decided to just pile the mane atop the girl's head in a fashionable manner, and thought that a small, thin diamond crown that would encircle the
curls would be perfect. She would even be nice and leave a few wisps of curls down to caress her bare shoulders. The undercover girl's dress (with the rest of the others) were laid out across the floor, all covered in protective plastic that would keep them from harm (or the sticky fingers of a toddler). Darcy blanched when she saw each dress, for they probably cost more than her entire years' pay.

Christian was now sitting in Raven's lap while his
mother showered, for she was the next in line, and he
was tugging on Raven's simple braid that fell over her
shoulder. Raven sighed as he gave it a sharp tug, but
every time she would throw her hair behind her
shoulder, he would glare and snatch it back. She had
given up long ago.

"I really wish I didn't have to go to this stupid
dance," Hannah muttered as she leaned back against
Starfire's headboard. "I mean I have to be in a
wheelchair. That's so embarrassing. And I hate
dances." She unconsciously ran her finger along the
cast on her arm with a scowl. "I can't wait until this
thing comes off."

"Don't you have another surgery coming up?" Harley
asked as she kicked her feet back and forth like a
child would do. She was laying on her stomach across
the bed, feet in the air and hand cradling her cheek
as she stared at the wall.

"I think. At least that's what they say."

"What exactly do they have to do?"

Hannah shrugged her good shoulder. "Beats me. But I
don't think I want to know."

Bumblebee stretched her arms above her head and stood
up. "I heard that you were attacked again."

Hannah groaned. "Yeah, and Ethan was hurt because he
went chasing after him like a lunatic."

"Ethan is the one with the cast, right?" Bumblebee
asked, still confused on who everyone was.

"Yeah. He tackled the guy down the stairs, I think. At
least that's what he muttered when Twain interviewed
him."

"I can't believe he's the mayor's nephew. He's way too
pretty to seem like he's related to that fat old man,"
Harley muttered as she flipped onto her back to sit
up. "I hate that man, I really do. Jump City's gone to
hell ever since he was elected Mayor. It is like the
crime rate doubled or something."

"It has." Raven spoke up for the first time since they had come
in here. "Since he was elected, villains have been
popping up everywhere. And it so happens that when we
catch a villain, they are somehow released and start
their rampage again."

"You know, once I think about it, the mayor has been
growing richer every time a villain is let loose. Do
you think he's the one who lets them out and pays them
to steal for him?" Hannah asked.

"Who knows? I mean I wouldn't put it past the guy. He
promises to donate money to the orphanage, but that
poor place has not seen a penny yet. He's a creep if
you ask me," Harley said, tightening the red ribbon in
her hair.

"He's not too happy with paying the Titans for protecting Jump City, either,"
Raven said as Christian tried to get on the bed. He
was jumping up and down, but his little body was too
short to allow him up there. Rolling her eyes, she
grabbed the boy by the waist and hauled him over her
head. He squealed in delight as Harley grabbed him
from Raven's hands and dropped him down gently so he
bounced.

"Damn," Mallory muttered from the bathroom as she
plopped down on the toilet to wrestle on her shorts. "I
swear to God I'm gonna kill that bastard when I get
the chance."

"Having problems?" Bumblebee called out, dark eyebrow
raised.

Mallory mumbled something else as she gathered her
crutches under her arms and pushed forward. "Do you
know how hard it is taking a bloody shower and not get
this damn cast wet?"

"Yeah, I know," Harley and Hannah said in unison.

"When I get my hand on that White Rose Killer, I swear
I'll kill him."

"You'll have to wait in line, kid," Darcy muttered as
she pinned Starfire's hair up. "Everyone wants that
bastard dead."

Christian launched himself at his mother's arms the minute
she sat down, burring his head in her shoulder and
taking in her scent. He had missed her so much and now
that she was here, he wasn't going to let her out of
his sight.

"No kidding," Bumblebee muttered. "I don't even know
the guy and I want him dead. Sparky's told me about a
lot of the crap he's done. He's a sick bastard, that's
for sure. He's hurt way too many people. Hell, he's
worse than Brother Blood."

Mallory unconsciously stroked the bandage across her
son's eyebrow. "It's hard to believe all this is
happening." She said softly, laying her cheek against
her son's soft hair. "Before this, all I had to worry
about was how I was going to raise Christian by
myself, and now, not only am I being targeted by a
murderer, but Wyatt wants to help raise Christian with
me."

"So Wyatt is now participating in Christian's life?"
Starfire asked.

"Yeah. He said he'd rather die before he spent another
day without us. He promised that he would find a house
that would be prefect for us, seeing as it would be a
hassle for him to live with my parent or me live with
his mother. Wyatt's already got everything planned
out." With a grin, she lifted her left hand to stare
at the engagement ring that caught the light of the
sun.

Harley gasped in wonder as she snatched Mallory's hand
and tilted it to study the diamond ring. "Damn," she
muttered, "that's one helluva ring."

"It was his grandmother's ring on his mother's side.
She was a wealthy woman. Still is, actually. She's
traveling in France now with her seventh husband."

"What does the ring mean?" Starfire asked innocently. "I do not remember what the significance is. I think I read about it before, but I do not remember exactly
what it means."

Everyone except Raven was surprised that she didn't
know what the ring was. Blinking rapidly, Mallory
explained, "It's an engagement ring. It means that
Wyatt asked me to marry him and I said yes. I guess
signifies that we're engaged to be married. When the
day comes, he'll give me a simple gold ring that means
that we're finally married. It's ¦just a way of saying
that he and I are going to marry." Her eyebrows drew
together. "I explained that right, right?"

Harley shrugged. "Sounded fine to me."

"So you are now engaged to be married, correct?" Starfire asked, cringing slightly when Darcy tugged on a lock of hair.

"Er, yeah. We planned it next year so we can finish school."

"Wow. Guess your life is starting anew, huh?" Harley
said as she dropped Mallory's hand.

"I guess."

Harley sighed deeply. "Good luck." She flopped back down, arms folded under her head as she gazed at the ceiling.

Raven turned her head slightly to the side, her lips forming a small smirk. "I forgot to ask, but how did you and Colt fare when you went into your room?"

Her sea-green eyes widened before she masked her shock. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't lie, Harley. You know good and well what I'm talking about. But if not, let me refresh your memory. The night I got that call and we were all in the
living room with Twain. After we made that stupid list, you went off with Colt and said that you wouldn't forget the music--"

She shifted uncomfortably as she interjected, "Okay, so I remember."

"Well?"

"I thought people said that the great almighty Raven of the teen titans didn't care about other people and their problems."

Raven ignored her remark and raised an eyebrow. "Don't
avoid the subject. What exactly happened between you
two?"

Instead of the blush that Raven had expected, Harley
scowled. "Nothing," she snarled as her eyes narrowed.
"The minute the door closed, that idiot scrambled away
from me like I was a disease or something. At first, I
didn't think he was trying to get away from me, but I
guess he was, because the minute I moved, he started
rambling about how it was a bad idea and how this was
not what he wanted."

She sighed. "I was only moving towards my bed to sit
down because the crutches were getting a bit
uncomfortable and he thinks I'm going to rape him or
something. I guess he doesn't want me. He's giving
way too many mixed signals. I mean he said he wanted
to be more than friends, but the minute were alone,
he's like a virgin on her wedding night."

"Colt Davis? Is that who you're talking about?"
Mallory asked, eyebrow raised.

Harley growled her answer.

"But I thought that he was the King of One Night
Stands?"

"He was…is. Maybe it was a spur of the moment kinda
thing when he said he wanted me more than just a
friend. I dunno. But I've been avoiding him for the
past six days. There's no way I'm going to embarrass
myself like that again."

"How did you embarrass yourself?" Mallory asked,
thinking she had missed something vitally important.

"Because he proved that he didn't want me when I was
more than willing."

"Oh," Mallory said as her eyes lit with understanding.

"Yeah. But he hasn't exactly been knocking down my
door to talk to me, so I guess it's a lost cause."

"Are you going to give up that easily?" Starfire asked
as Darcy weaved the crown atop her head.

"No. There's no way in hell he's getting away from me
that easily. I just wanted sympathy." She laughed when
Hannah chunked a pillow at her.

Hannah rolled her eyes. "Just talk to him. Maybe he's
just scared about starting something so serious with
you."

"Maybe," Harley sighed, stretching her arms above her
head. "But it gets discouraging. He's only kissed me
once. That's it. Once. A girl needs to lip-lock with a
guy once in a while, and it's been…I dunno, too long."

"Ethan and I have only kissed twice and that's all it
was. A kiss."

Mallory raised an eyebrow. "You mean no tongue or
groping or anything like that?"

She shook her head slowly, her face heating with a
blush.

"How do you survive?" Harley asked jokingly.

"I don't need a man to kiss me all the time," she
snapped defensively, blue eyes narrowed.

Mallory laughed and ran a hand through her wet hair.
"Come on, kid, we're just joking."

Hannah snorted, tucking her leg under the cast. "Sure.
Whatever."

"Well, Mrs. Hallowell, how's the married life?" Harley
joked, turning the heat off of Hannah.

"I'm not married yet."

Harley grinned. "But I'm sure you're living like it."

Mallory glared, though her cheeks were flushed. "Don't
even think about going there, kid."

Harley blinked innocently. "Going where?"

Mallory watched her warily, one eye narrowed. "Don't
play innocent."

"But I am innocent," she said with a grin, her
eyebrows dancing.

Hannah snorted. "Yeah, sure."

Bumblebee chuckled, watching as Darcy finished
spraying Starfire's hair with hairspray. "Lookin'
good, Star."

She smiled, lifting her hand to touch the curls piled
on her head, only to have her hand slapped by Darcy.

"Hold it. I'm not through yet."

"What else it there to be done?" Starfire asked as
Darcy reached for a tube of glitter. Her nose wrinkled
as the sent of hairspray clogged the air.

"I'm gonna put glitter in it. Just for show, of
course." After sprinkling white glitter in the girl's
red hair, Darcy shooed the titan from the chair.

"Don't mess with it. I'll have to spray it again
before you change into your dress."

Starfire nodded, arching her back to get out the
kinks. She hated sitting in one place for so long.

"All right, Mallory, is it? Your turn." As Mallory
handed Christian to Starfire, Hannah sat up and
scooted to the edge. "Guess I need to get this over
with," she muttered as she worked her way into the
wheel chair.

"At least the bathroom's big," Mallory offered as
Darcy brushed her dark hair.

Hannah grunted and wheeled herself into the bathroom
until she disappeared from sight. Harley watched her
with a grin. "I can go get Ethan if you need help."
Harley said with a smirk.

Hannah rolled the chair backwards to glare at her
sideways. "No thank you."

"But I'm sure he would enjoy it immensely."

"You are deranged."

"Why thank you," she boasted, chuckling when Hannah
slammed the door.

"You're not as innocent as you look," Bumblebee mused,
blinking rapidly.

Harley grinned mischievously. "Looks can be
deceiving."

Raven raised an eyebrow as she dragged her book from
her trench coat pocket. She had come prepared, knowing
that all this would take hours to do. So, she had
grabbed one of Anne Rice's books before she left her
apartment.

As she flipped open the book, Harley leaned over to
peek at the words. "Anne Rice, huh?"

"Yep," Raven said dully as she scanned the text. She
was used to reading and conversing at the same time so
while her mind soaked in the words, her mouth was
talking to others. It's what she liked to call
multitasking.

"I'm more of a Nora Roberts fan," Harley said
suddenly, chunking her strawberry-blonde hair behind
her shoulder when it fell onto the pages.

"Hmm," Raven said as she continued to read.

When she realized she was not going to talk, Harley
turned her attention to Bumblebee.

"So you're part of the Titans East, right?"

Bumblebee nodded. "Yeah. Why?"

Harley shrugged. "It's just kinda strange that I'm
here with three of the most famous women in the
state."

Raven glanced up from her book with a raised eyebrow. "Most famous?"

Harley smiled, kicking her legs over the side of the bed. "Yeah. You don't read many magazines, do you?"

"Nope." Raven admitted, amethyst eyes returning to the printed words.

"Well, you're usually the main topic in most of them.
Didn't you know that they had a vote on who kicked the
most butt, or who was most beautiful, or who outshone
who?"

"Nope," Raven muttered again.

"Hmm. They had cool tidbits about you and these cool
pictures. My older brother, who's in college now, has
an entire collage of you three. I have to admit that
there are some pretty cool pictures there. Like when
they would catch you in a fighting stance or
something."

"What do they do, follow us around and snap pictures?"
Bumblebee mused out loud, stretching out her long legs
before folding them under her.

"Obviously," Raven muttered, flipping the page.

"But I don't even live here."

"They do have magazines and cameras where you are, Bumblebee,"
Raven said casually.

Bumblebee's eyes narrowed. "No duh."

Starfire sighed, plopping down stomach-first on the
bed. "How does the Titans East fare?"

Bumblebee rolled her shoulders. "About as good as can
be expected. Aqualad and Speedy are constantly
bickering about everything and no one can understand
what the hell Mas Y Menos are saying. I swear those
twins are getting on my nerves. Thankfully, all the
bickering and screaming doesn't effect how we fight.
We've whooped a lot of butt thanks to Sparky and the
way he helped us become a team."

"Amazing. How are the twins, by the way?" Starfire
asked with a slight smile.

"Still drooling over you," Bumblebee joked. "They
themselves have started a shrine dedicated to you."

Starfire chuckled, pushing a stray curl off her
shoulder. Darcy cut her a glance and growled.

"I told you not to touch your hair."

Starfire flushed a brilliant pink as her hands settled
against the comforter. "I am sorry."

Darcy sighed as she messed with Mallory's thick hair. "Just don't touch it again."

Starfire cleared her throat. "I am most hungry." She
admitted after a long pause.

"Me too," Harley interjected. "Want me to go get some
snacks?"

"What about your leg?" Bumblebee asked, her eyes darting to the door when Hannah rolled out, hair wet and steam drifting into the warm room.

"I'm starving," Hannah said as she used her good hand
to towel-dry her hair.

Harley sighed and glared down at her cast. "I hate this
bloody thing."

Bumblebee shook her head and stood up. "I'll go get us
something. Anyway, it'll give me a chance to peek on
the boys."

Harley's eyes lit up. "You better bring back info."

She sighed, straightening her bright yellow sweater
and dusting off her black slacks. "I'll do what I
can."

Bumblebee suddenly morphed into her tiny self,
grinning at the look of mischief on Harley's adorable
face as she realized what she was going to do.

"Smart," the girl muttered. "Very smart."

Bumblebee flew beneath the crack under the door and
made her to the living room, where the guys were
sitting.

"Dude, I can't believe you did that," she heard Cyborg
say, his voice laced with concern.

"Me either. It was a moment of weakness and it won't
happen again." Robin ran his hand through his
jet-black hair, his eyes troubled.

"That's more than a moment of weakness," Ethan said,
stretching out his long legs. "That's suicide."

That got Bumblebee's attention. Suicide? What the hell
were they talking about?

"I wasn't thinking straight," Robin admitted. "I mean I
thought I had lost her forever."

"Well it was your fault," Beast Boy said softly. It
still amazed her that his skin was tan and his hair
dark, but as she got closer to the teen, she noticed a
tinge of green to his skin. So, it was dye. She should
have figured.

Cyborg sighed, his eyes on Beast Boy before they
dropping to the floor. But he did a double take when
his eyes landed on her.

She cursed and flew to the kitchen. She could hear
Cyborg get up and panicked. He hadn't seen her, had
he? But her spine straightened. What did she care? It
wasn't like she was doing anything wrong.

With a shrug, her body slid back into the five foot
seven frame and she started to open cupboards in
search of food.

The talk in the living room stilled as all eyes landed
on her. She turned slightly with a grin. "Hope I'm not
interrupting anything."

She turned her attention back to the food, a pile
growing on the counter. She gathered drinks from the
fridge before shutting the door with her foot.

"Sparky, the least you can do is help me carry this to
Starfire's room," she said, peeking over the large
bundle in her hands.

She saw his metal feet and smiled, shoving the food
and drinks into his hand. "Follow me."

She walked out of the kitchen and into the living
room, eyeing each male she saw. She recognized Beast
Boy and Robin, but the other four where unfamiliar.
She guessed one was Ethan, the other Wyatt, and Colt,
but the older man was a mystery to her. Was he the
fashion designer?

"Come on, Bee, I can't see where I'm going," Cyborg
muttered as he peeked over the food. "Jeez, what's
with all the food? They won't be able to fit in their
dresses if the eat this much."

She narrowed her eyes. "Of course they will. Now
follow me." She heard him sigh as he trudged behind
her. Gently pushing open the door, Bumblebee walked
in, informing her fiancé where to go.

"Need help?" Raven asked as her eyes lifted from her
book. Her eyebrows rose slightly at the amount of food
before they dropped and she returned to her book.

"Oh, no," he muttered sarcastically, "I'm fine."

"That's a good boy," Bumblebee purred, snatching a
coke from his arms. "Now dump it on the bed and leave
us."

He muttered something incoherently and made his way to
the bed, dumping the contents on the bed. And like a
pack of starving wolves, the girls pounced on the
food.

Eyes comically wide, Cyborg scrambled out of the room
and slammed the door. He let out a huff of breath as
he walked back into the living room.

"And I thought I was a pig," he muttered under his
breath, plopping down beside Robin on the couch.

Robin's eyebrow quirked upwards. "Problem?"

"Did you see all that food? It was more than I could
eat in three days! And they were like starving
demons!"

Beast Boy shook his head. "Aren't you going a bit
overboard?"

"Uh, dude, you didn't see the evil looks and the fangs
and drooling and the pouncing like rabid dogs." He
shuddered. "I will be haunted for the rest of my days."

The men in the room rolled their eyes. "So I guess Hannah leaped out of her wheel chair
and the unenthusiastic Raven did so as well?" Beast
Boy asked sarcastically as he chuckled.

"Shove it, Grass Stain."

Beast Boy blinked. "Huh?"

Cyborg grinned and pointed to the very slight green
tint to Beast Boy's dyed skin. "Take a good look, bud.
You're gonna be green before you know it."

Beast Boy lifted his arm and held it at eyesight,
green eyes scanning the skin. Cy was right. He could
see a tinge of green. Excitement rose. Perfect! He was
going to be him again! He would kick Cyborg's butt for
calling him grass stain, of course, but this was
perfect. He had never liked the tan dye or even the
hair color. But that was a problem. He would look like
a freak once his skin returned to normal and his hair was
still dark. Maybe Darcy could find a solution and dye
his hair back to the normal shade.

"Are you actually happy about being green again?" Ethan asked in curiosity.

"Duh," Beast Boy said as if the boy were stupid. "I
don't feel right not being green. I've been green for
over half of my life, and when she dyed my skin, I
didn't feel right."

Wyatt blinked slowly. "Is all of you dyed?"

Beast Boy flushed. "How about we not go there, kay?"

Wyatt shrugged, though his gray eyes were curious.

"Anyway," Beast Boy muttered hoping to turn the
conversation away from that topic, "How's the arm?"

Ethan glanced down at the cast, figuring that Beast
Boy was referring to him, and said, "Fine, I guess."

"I can't believe you almost caught him," Robin mused,
his arm resting against the back of the couch.

"I would have gotten him too if it weren't for the
fact that one, I had a broken wrist, and two, that bastard shot me. Thank God he didn't turn and look around, else I'd probably be dead and Hannah…" he
trailed off as unpleasant images twisted through his
mind. "I don't even want to go there."

"It's understandable," Wyatt said, stretching out his
long legs. "I wouldn't want to think along those lines
if circumstances where switched and it was Mallory he
was after."

"I'm just glad Bee's not a target." Cyborg mused, but
instantly added, "But it's not a good thing that the
others are targets," when he earned five deadly sneers
from the other men. He let out a huff of breath when
they cooled somewhat. Cyborg watched as Marty arranged
each tuxedo to his pleasure, occasionally dusting off
a pant leg or jacket or smoothing out the ties. He
seemed strangely content as he ran his fingers over
the cloth.

"I just can't get over the fact that that bastard
knows who they are," Beast Boy grunted as he sprawled
out on the floor. "And this stupid dancy-thingy isn't
gonna help anything anyways."

"Dancy-thingy?" Wyatt asked while Ethan smirked. "Wow.
Never heard that one before."

Beast Boy glared. "Shut up."

Cyborg sighed. "I wish Starfire had a Gamestation or
Xbox or something."

"I got one in my apartment," Robin said, standing up
and stretching his long frame. "Want me to go get it?"

"Hell yeah," Beast Boy said, hopping up. "At least we
can pass the time, seeing as we still have five hours
until the dance."

Marty turned to them, hands shoved into his jean
pockets. "Is your water still on?"

Robin paused on his way to the door. "Huh?"

Marty shook his head with a slight smile. "Your water.
So you can take a shower and get it over with."

Realization dawned. "Oh. Oh yeah. Er, I think."

"Okay, well I think it would be best if you went ahead
and took showers. I don't think you can use the one in
that room, and those girls won't be coming out until
it's time to leave."

"He's right," Beast Boy muttered, plopping down on the
floor again.

"Yeah, but I don't have soap or anything like that over there.
Everything along those lines is in Starfire's
bathroom."

"And, uh, I have a phobia about using someone else's
soap. Hell, the only reason I let Mallory use mine is
because…" Wyatt trailed off as his face flushed.

Marty grinned and rolled his eyes. "Tell you what.
Since I have nothing to do and the girls are safe in
that room, why don't we go to each of your places and
get what ya'll need? It won't take but an hour or so,
and I don't think the White Rose Killer will attempt
kidnapping when there are so many of them. He would
get his ass kicked, I'm sure."

But they were still hesitant. "I don't know," Robin
said slowly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Tell you what," Cyborg said, "I'll stay here and play
the Gamestation while ya'll go. I'll just whoop your
butts when you get back."

"Are you sure, Cy?" Beast Boy asked as he grabbed his
car keys. "I mean you'd-"

"Don't worry 'bout it. I'd rather be safe than sorry."
Cyborg caught the keys Robin's tossed at him.

"Go ahead and plug in the game. We won't be long.
We'll split up three for three. Wyatt and Ethan, your
with me. Beast Boy will take Marty and Colt. Sound
fair?" Robin asked as he snatched up his car keys.

"Fine with me," they agreed, and before long, Cyborg
was left alone in the plush living room. He sighed,
but perked up as the thought of the Gamestation
swirled in his head. He scampered to Robin's
apartment, quickly grabbed the games and Gamestation
before he skipped back to the apartment, his treasures
cradled in his hands.


Beast Boy yanked on his tie, only to end up choking
himself. Marty hurried over to loosen the damn thing
while Beast Boy fought for breath. If there was one
thing he hated above all things, it was ties and
tuxedos. God how he detested them.

Next to him, Robin leaned against the window; hands
tucked in pockets as he watched the snow drearily coat
the ground. He had been like this since Jonathan,
Starfire's date, had shown up.

As Marty yanked on the simple green silk tie (that, of
course, was not a clip-on), Beast Boy studied the
redhead, green eyes taking in every flaw.

How the hell could Starfire go for this dweeb? He was
fluttering around the apartment like he had ants in
his maroon trousers. And another thing. Who the hell
wore a maroon tuxedo? Obviously, this guy did, and he
didn't even pull it off. His hair clashed with the
fabric, and the jacket hung loosely against his frame.
And if the damn man didn't stop grinning, Beast Boy
swore he was going to sucker-punch the annoying
jackass.

Wyatt sneered at the man when he tripped over his
shoes and almost sprawled out across the dark teens
lap.

"Watch it, buddy," Wyatt snapped.

Jonathan's blue eyes widened as he shoved his glasses
up his nose. "S-sorry. I d-didn't mean t-to."

Wyatt rolled his eyes as the lanky man started to pace.

"You're not going to have any energy left if you keep
that up," Ethan muttered dryly.

"Huh?"

Ethan blinked as he slowly shook his head. "Forget
it." He shoved his good hand into his black pant
pockets, watching the overly zealous man stare at the
door that the girls were in. Normally, he was not a
violent man, but this idiot was starting to rub him
raw with all the damn pacing and sighing and longing
looks he shot at the door.

"O-oh. Okay." Jonathan lifted his hand to slowly bite
his nails, earning a disgusted look from Colt when he
spit out a portion of the nail.

"If you're going to spit like that, do it outside.
This is a ladies apartment, you know, and I don't
think she'd appreciate nail clippings on her floor."
Yeah, he knew they were being cruel to the poor guy,
but there was something about him that didn't settle
well. That, and the fact that the guy had shown up two
hours before he needed to be.

Suddenly, the door opened and Bumblebee walked out,
laughing as Harley's hollow curses filled the air.

"Damn, kid, you have the mouth of a sailor."

"Then why don't you try and walked on crutches without
tripping over the damn hem of your bloody skirt?" She called out, and her complaint was followed by crash and another curse.

Bumblebee shook her head as she walked into the living
room. Though the door was still opened, no one walked
out.

"Well? Where are they?" Beast Boy asked, eyeing Robin
as he still gazed outside. Though his facial features
remained impassive, Beast Boy knew what the guy was
going though.

"Hold your horses, Be-babe," Bumblebee flinched at her
horrible save and heard a growl from the closet, where
they had shoved Cyborg into when Jonathan arrived.

Beast Boy raised an eyebrow, a handsome smirk
appearing on his face. "Well, now-"

Raven walked out of the room, skirt billowing behind
her. "Let's get this over with, shall we?"

Raven had the urge to smirk when Beast Boy's eyes
widened, then clouded as he took in her appearance.
His gaze raked her from boot-clad feet, to the curls
arranged on top of her head. The look was similar to
Starfire's, but instead of a simple crown, Raven's
hair was weaved with fake red roses. She didn't like
the whole rose factor at first, but they added to the
dark apparel she had been hoping for.

"Dark much?" Robin muttered, a small smile gracing his
face as he took in her appearance.

"I'd like to think so," she muttered, long blood-red
fingernails tipped with black fingering the thin black
choker around her neck.

"I'd say you pulled it off." Ethan murmured. The
gothic titian's apparel reminded him of something he
would see in one of those vampire movies set back in
the seventeenth century, where the woman wore corsets
and had daggers strapped to their thighs. But the
makeup she wore was far from dark. Her lips were
coated with a rose-tinted gloss and her eyes were
uniquely outlined in black eyeliner. Her eye shadow
was dark, yes, but it only brought out her amethyst
eyes.

Raven sighed and folded her arms over her chest. She
hated being stared at, even if it was Beast Boy doing
most of it. But then he snapped out of his thoughts
and smiled slightly at her, his fangs noticeable. What
was it about those fangs that made her stomach
flutter?

Beast Boy walked to her and she couldn't help the
blush when he leaned down to lightly brush his lips
against hers in front of an entire roomful of men. She
might be emotionally detached, but she was still
human.

"You look gorgeous, Raven." She swallowed, pulling
away from him and taking notice of Jonathan. His gaze
lingered on her partially exposed cleavage before he
blushed and turned away. Robin caught the look and his
eyes narrowed.

"It's not nice to stare at a woman's chest, you know,"
Robin said softly, eyebrow cocked and a smirk gracing
his lips.

Jonathan flushed scarlet. "I-I, er, um, Rose! Thank
God!" The horribly dressed man scampered over to
Starfire when she walked out. She blinked at him
before smiling.

"Hello, Jonathan. I hope you've not been waiting too
long." The boy gulped when he got good look at her.

Her gown was simple, a white strapless dress with
faint beadwork along the bodice, waist, and hem, and
it hugged her torso magnificently. The skirt was full,
flowing around her lithe body in a way that had his
heart thudding in his chest. Red curls brushed against
her bare shoulders and caressed the soft fabric
enticingly. Her flaming hair was pilled atop her head,
a crown enweaved with the soft curls. She wore light
jewelry, only a pair of small diamond earrings. Her
throat was bare and Jonathan bit down the urge to lean
forward and find out what her skin would taste like.

Starfire bit her bottom lip when she realized that Robin was
still gazing out the window. He had never once looked
her way. But what did she expect? For him to turn and
proclaim his love for her? As Beast Boy would say 'and
pigs with fly over my head'.

She swallowed the lump in her throat and turned a
dazzling smile to Jonathan. "I appreciate you coming
with me."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Robin's
shoulders stiffen, but they gradually relaxed. Her
eyebrows drew together as she studied him. Why did the
man have to be so damn difficult?

She let out a huff of breath and decided that no
matter what, Robin would not ignore her. She was going
to make sure he good a damn good look at her and
regretted that he ever pushed her away.

In a fit of anger, Starfire walked over to the Boy
Wonder, mouth set in a determined smirk. He was going
to rue the say he rejected her.

"Robin, is everything okay?" She asked softly as she
stepped into his line of view, the hem of her skirt
brushing against his trousers though she stood a good
foot away from him.

Slowly, his eyes traveled to her. She was slightly
disappointed when his eyes stayed on her face, but
perked up when he smiled at her.

"You look good, Starfire."

Though she was still simmering with rage, she smiled
at him. "You do not look so bad yourself."

In truth, Starfire had never found him so handsome.
His hair was tied back from his face, yet a few
strands refused to stay put and the black tux outlined
his lean, muscled frame.

But he turned his eyes back to the window, mouth set
in a frown. Deflated, she sighed and started to walk
away from him when his warm hand wrapped gently around
her arm. She glanced down, finding his slightly paler
skin against her tan skin interesting.

"I know I've been a jerk to you."

She lifted her narrowed green eyes to him, one eyebrow
raised in skepticism. "Yes, you have."

"And I don't expect you to forgive me."

"Good," she said slowly, wariness creeping into her
voice.

"But, well, there's no way I can make it up to you,
but I thought that this might take the sting out of my
behavior."

She tilted her head slightly as he reached into his
jacket and fished something out.

"Might this be some lame attempt for me to forgive
you?"

His fingers paused as he grinned. "No."

She still regarded him skeptically. Robin glanced up
as he pulled his gift from his pocket, noticing the
way Jonathan was seething with rage. Good. Let the
bastard be jealous.

With the tips of his middle and index finger, Robin
held out the simple sliver necklace that had been his
mothers.

He watched her eyes widen in astonishment as the
simple locket dangled before her.

He smiled slightly. "It was my mothers," he started
softly as he laid his hand on her bare shoulder to
turn her around so he could fasten the necklace around
her neck. "She was wearing it when-" he took a deep
breath, but continued, "But Bruce somehow got it and
gave it to me. He said it fell when...damn this is
hard…but I've kept it all these years. Truthfully, I
just found it. But I want you to have it. Don't think
of it as a pity gift. I just…want you to have it. It
needs to be worn by someone and I can't do it knowing
that my mother died with this on. But it's fine if you
don't want it-"

She turned her head slightly, laying her palm against
her throat where the pendant lay. "Thank you, Robin."

He nodded slightly, blinking when her eyes brightened
with unshed tears. But she quickly blinked them back
and her lips curled. "But I am still angry at you."

He rolled his eyes, feeling slightly better now that
his mother's necklace was around her neck. Out of the
corner of his eye, he watched her scamper back to
Jonathan. But her hand was still pressed against the
locket.

"Damn it, I swear, she takes forever," Colt muttered
as he stood next to Robin, his eyes trained on the
door to Starfire's room.

"Guessing you're talking about Harley?" Robin mused,
watching below as the people bustled to get out of the
snow. The sky was starting to darken as nightfall
approached, but the world around him was nothing but
pure white. It was a striking combination, the dark
against bright.

"Whom else would I be talking about?" Colt muttered,
his eyes still on the door.

"All these damn couples are starting to confuse me."

Colt chuckled, but it died when he heard Harley's
voice. "Damn dress." She swung out of the room on her crutches,
blue-green eyes blazing as they landed on poor Marty.

"Why the hell did you pick a dress that was so damn
long and so damn tight around my legs?" She snarled as
she tried to make her way to the wide-eyes man.

"I can barley walk thanks to it. And you gave me
bloody heels, no less!" She kept grumbling as she
worked her way to the couch and plopped down on it,
dragging her loose hair over her shoulder and tugging
at the ends. Raking her from head to toe, Colt took in
the long, cocktail-style dress that hugged her slim
curves perfectly, but his eyes were on her hair. The
only time he had even seen it down was when he jerked
the band from her hair when she wasn't expecting it
and even then it had been a glimpse. But that was due
to the fact that she slammed her fist into his
midsection, and while he was getting over the pain,
she had hastily put it back up. Now, her hair was pin
straight and falling slightly past her elbows.

She glanced up at him, but her eyes narrowed and she
quickly looked away, sliding the spaghetti-strap back
into place when it slipped off her shoulder. He sighed
and walked to her, plopping down beside her. She
scowled, tilting her face away from him and he sigh
dejectedly.

Harley studied him out of the corner of her eye.
"What's your problem?" She muttered.

"Nothing."

"Liar," she mumbled, crossing her good leg across the
other. Well, at least she tried, but the binding dress
barley allowed her any movement. She cursed again,
wishing she could just rip the stupid thing from hem
to knee or something.

Without her consent, he tugged a lock of hair from
her hands and fingered the silky strand. She glared,
but didn't push his hand away. He took that as a good
sign.

"But inna go wit you!" Christian wailed, clutching
onto his mother's leg, preventing her from moving.
Mallory chuckled softly.

"You can't come with me, Chris. You're going to stay
here with Bee." She knew not to call the titan by her
real name, so she settled with the nickname.

"But-but," he whimpered, but he was pried lose by
Wyatt, who carefully tossed him onto his shoulder.

"You'll have fun here. Anyway, it's going to be
utterly boring. Not a place for grown men like you."

Christian opened his mouth, but shut it quickly when
he got the complement. "A'right. Fine." Wyatt rolled
his eyes and bent at the waist to let the child down.
When Christian went off to pout to Starfire, Wyatt let
his eyes wonder over his fiancé, from the simple pastel
pink ballet shoes, to the layered dark and pale pink
skirt, up to the glittered bodice, where for a slight
moment he let his eyes rest. She cleared her throat
and he grinned, his eyes taking in the silk ribbon
tied behind her neck, which held the dress up, the
diamond necklace, then to her frowning mouth, which his
had to kiss lightly, and finally to her hair, which
was twist elegantly behind her head.

"Like what you see?" She asked quietly, brown eyes
scanning the room.

"Would I have asked you to marry me if I didn't?"

Her eyes narrowed playfully before she swung past him
to sit next to Harley. He grinned as he sauntered off
to stand behind the couch; his hands slowly massage
her shoulders.

Christian tugged at one of Starfire's loose curls so
he could be let down, and when his tiny batman
house-shoes touched the carpet, he bounded to his
mother and crawled into her lap. Knowing she was about
to leave him, he buried his head against her chest and
listened to the calming sound of her heartbeat and
breathed in her scent. He might be a man, but being
away from his mother could only last so long.

"Well, that only leaves one," Ethan muttered to
himself.

Darcy popped out of the room, eyes downcast as she
walked towards to door. Once there, she carefully
leaned against the wall, watching everything from
afar.

Bumblebee wheeled Hannah out of the room and placed
her by Ethan. Her baby blue dress was arranged around
her so it helped take some of the attention from the
blue sling the held her arm and the thick, full skirt
covered the cast on her leg. A diamond-encrusted clip,
leaving two curls to frame her face, pulled half of
her hair back. Simple blue teardrop earring adorned
her ears yet her throat was bare.

She blushed, worrying her lower lip. "I hate having to
go in this thing. It's bad enough that I have to go at
all, but a wheelchair will drag unwanted attention."

She jumped when Ethan brushed the back of his hand
across her cheek. When her eyes snapped to his, he
winked. "Don't worry about it. All the attention will
be one me because I'm so lucky to be standing next to
you."

Her nose wrinkled at his corny line. "That was
horrible."

He chuckled and stood behind her chair. "So, we ready
to get this over with?"

"Oh, wait!" Marty suddenly called when they all
started to gather purses, keys, and hidden weapons.

"What?" Wyatt asked, his large hand resting on
Mallory's waist.

"The mayor ordered a limo, I think. Or Twain did, I
dunno, but I think it's waiting in the garage. So, uh,
yeah, that limousine is out there for ya'll when you
get down there. I think…" He shrugged as he helped
gather Darcy's things.

"Have fun," she said solemnly as she let Marty led her
out of the apartment. With a shrug, each teen grabbed
what they needed and headed out the door, leaving
Christian, Bumblebee, and...Cyborg! Damn, she had
forgotten about the poor boy.

Quickly locking the door, Bumblebee ran to the closet
door and opened it, chuckling when she found a large
metal man sitting in a corner, framed by clothes that
hung above him.

"Oh baby, I'm sorry." She crouched down so she was eye
level with him and tried to hold back a grin when he
glared at her.

She fought to get him out of there and when she
finally did, he stretched, gray eye narrowed.

"That is the last damn time I let some panicky
teenaged boys shove me into a closet. I was in there
for three hours!" He whined, rubbing his hands
delicately along his face. "I thought I was going to
die in there!"

Bumblebee shook her head. "Sure, Sparky. Now, why
don't you suck it up and lets see what the kid wants
to play-"

"Horsy! Horsy! Horsy! Horsy! Inna play horsy." As
Cyborg groaned, Bumblebee chuckled.

"You heard the kid. Time to get on all fours and play
horsy."


This was pure and utter hell. Starfire felt her anger
boiling every time that damn woman talked. Sitting
across from her was none other than the blonde bimbo,
clad in a green see-through cocktail dress that rose
high on her thighs. Every time she crossed her legs
(which was often) she was flashing the entire limo.
Starfire thought she was going to reach over and snap
the girl's legs closed if she didn't stop it.

"Oh, Grayson," she purred, leaning across him
seductively, "I'm so glad you asked me to the dance."

Robin continued to stare out the window, ignoring
Rebecca completely. Her eyes narrowed beneath heavy
green eye shadow as she tried to entice the boy with a
good view of cleavage. His eyes didn't even flicker
down.

Starfire watched in morbid amusement as the girl
gritted her teeth at the lack of attention she was
receiving. Rebecca leaned back against the plush seat,
catching sight of the smug look she was receiving from
the beautiful redhead.

"Find something interesting?" She snapped, eyes
narrowed.

"No," Starfire said innocently, soft pink lips curved.
"Nothing at all."

Rebecca bristled at the hidden insult, but decided
that she would find another way to piss the princess
off. And Grayson seemed to be the redhead's main
interest.

Slowly, Rebecca maneuvered her hand so it rested
against his knee, her lime green nails slowly tapping
against the bone. Still, no response from the handsome
teenager.

Keeping her eyes locked with Star's, she slid her hand
up so it rested on his thigh. Starfire's eyes
narrowed, but Rebecca just smirked, her hand moving
dangerously high on his thigh. Beneath her hand, his
skin was hot and hard with muscle.

Starfire's eye became nothing more than slits. Yeah,
okay, so she was still angry with Robin, but no one,
and she meant no one, messed with Robin like this. But
damnit all, she couldn't do anything.

But as Rebecca's hand came close to her destination, a
large, tan hand was laid on top of hers. She smirked,
thinking she had won, but her eyes widened when
Grayson slid her hand back in her lap, throwing her a
look that screamed 'don't ever do that again'.

Beast Boy coughed as he tried to smother his laugh,
but he wasn't having much luck. Neither were the rest
of the male teens in the limo. The girls just stared
at Robin's date with scorn.

Though humiliation, Rebecca was not going to give up.
Shoving a hand through her short curls, she tried to
think of a way to get his attention. But she was at a
loss. Usually the hand on crotch thing always worked,
but this time all it had done was humiliate her in front of a limo filled with kids around her age.

The redhead cleared her throat as she said softly, "Grayson?"

Immediately, those gorgeous eyes of his turned to Miss
High and Mighty. She smiled slightly, fingering the
silver locket around her slim throat. Rebecca would
have given anything to wrap her hand around it and
squeeze the life from her.

"Is something troubling you?"

"No." Though his answer was curt, his lips curved in
her direction before his gaze turned back to the
window.

Rebecca had the strangest urge to rip out her hair.
Lord have mercy, what was wrong with the man? Here she
was, willing to succumb to his every desire, and yet
he was ignoring her and drooling over some Miss High
and Mighty who was probably still as innocent as the
day she was born! Calm yourself, girl, she told
herself as she clenched and unclenched her fist. He
probably is just embarrassed to have a woman grope him
in public. Just keep in mind that he was the one who
asked you to this godforsaken dance. He's the one who
called and wanted to have sex with me and he was the
one--wait--he never did come back, did he? He had slept
with me once but hadn't touched me after that. What
the hell am I thinking? Of course he wants me! How
could he not? I mean I know how to please a man and
that's all that matters. Guess I'll just have to show
him once we are finally alone…

Starfire glared at the girl as a devilish smirk worked
its way onto her painted mouth. Beside her, Jonathan patted
her hand, slyly linking his fingers with hers. She
squeezed his fingers in anger, but the poor guy though
it meant something else, for her lifted her hand and
brushed his lips against her knuckles.

She jumped, not expecting something like that, and was
vaguely aware of Robin's eyes on hers. Gently, she
pulled her hand from his grasp and laid them in her
lap, tilting her head so Jonathan couldn't see the
pleading look she sent towards Raven and Hannah, who
were closest to her. Hannah bit back a grin, but Raven
shook her head in suppressed amusement.

"So," Rebecca purred, leaning towards Starfire. "How
long have you been dating?"

Starfire blinked, her head straitening. "Who?"

"You and the dude you're sitting beside."

"We're not dating," she answered without thinking,
then blinked and risked a look at Jonathan's face. His
jaw was clenched and his eyes were studding her face.
She blushed, desperately wishing that she could murder
the woman across from her.

"We are friends," she said, worrying her lower lip and
staring at her lap. Slowly, her eyes lifted to Robin.
She had no idea why she looked at him, but she did,
and was surprised to see his eyes soften somewhat.

"Hmm. Interesting." Rebecca mused as she leaned back
against the seat, her dark eyes studding Jonathan.

"Obviously he didn't know that." Jonathan's eyes
snapped to Rebecca as a blush crept along his cheeks.

"I-"

"You poor thing. How long has she been leading you
on?"

"She-"

"Leave him alone," Starfire snapped, gently laying her
hand on Jonathan's. His blue eyes lifted to hers and
she smiled softly before her scowl returned and was
aimed at Rebecca.

"Our relationship is none of your concern."
She was aware that Robin's shoulders stiffen when she
said 'our relationship'.

"I'd spend more of my time trying to keep your man
from losing interest," Harley said quietly, but
Rebecca heard her.

"Mind your own business, Brace Face."

"Oh how original," Harley drawled out, sea-green eyes
narrowed dangerously.

"Even I could have done better than that," Beast Boy
muttered, rubbing the side of his jaw with his
fingers.

Rebecca's eyes narrowed as the settled on him, but her
eyes wondered. Beast Boy did a double take when her
eyes slid down his stomach, inching lower and lower
and… He blushed, quickly crossing his legs. "Hey!
Look at your own date!"

Raven quickly followed the direction of Rebecca's gaze
and though her cheek heated with a blush when she
figured out when had Rebecca's attention, her eyes
narrowed dangerously.

"I suggest you keep your eyes to yourself," she said,
her voice threatening. Rebecca sneered, then snuggled
against Robin's side, weaving her arm through his as
she laid her head on his shoulder.

Beast Boy eyed the blonde bimbo warily, who was
staring back at him intently. But his attention turned
to Raven as a grin worked its way across his face.

"I'd say you've become a bit protective. You must
really love me to want to keep me all to yourself."

Raven gave him a death glare, but after a while, it
finally sunk in and his heart skipped a beat: she
hadn't denied it.


The minute Starfire walked into the crowded gymnasium,
she was assaulted with blue, green, and purple lights
and blaring music. The theme was winter, so scattered
on the floor was fake snow, and above her head hung
paper snowflakes. The round table strewn around the
room were covered with light blue tablecloths and
round blue candles flicked against the probe lights.

She felt a large hand settle on her lower back,
steering her forward, and she glanced beside her to
see Jonathan. His eyes were scanning the crowd as they
moved toward a table in the back and when she pressed
her heels into the floor to stop moving, he jerked
forward.

"I shall be right back." She said quietly as she
turned on her heel and walked towards Raven. If she
could manage it, she was going to avoid Jonathan at
all costs.

"Wait," he said, his hand wrapping around her arm. She
glanced down, then stared back at him, eyebrow raised.

He blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "Do you
wanna dance?"

Starfire bit her lip, glancing around her. No, she
didn't, but the problem was, she had to find a good
lie.

"I do not know how to dance."

"Well I can teach you."

Starfire blinked as her eyes scanned his face. Was he
not going to relent?

"Alright, but first I need to speak with a friend."
She spun on her heel and at a hurried pace, walked to
Raven and Beast Boy. She could hear their conversation
already.

"Come on, Raven."

"No. I don't dance."

Beast Boy groaned. "So we're just gonna sit here and
watch everyone else?"

"You can do what you please, but I refuse to dance."

Starfire watched as Beast Boy plopped down in an empty
seat, shaking his head. "This is going to be a long
night."

Raven glared, taking the seat opposite of him. "You
know good and well you can go out and dance with
someone else."

He scowled at her. "You're horrible in a relationship,
you know that?"

She raised an eyebrow. "How am I horrible at a
relationship?"

He shook his head, leaning back against the chair as
he watched couples dance with longing. "Don't worry about it," he
answered softly.

Her eyes narrowed but before she could say anything,
Starfire chose the time to interrupt.

"Raven, might I join you?"

Her eyes snapped up to Starfire's. "Uh, sure, I
guess."

Starfire smiled softly as she sat beside Beast Boy. He
glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey, Star."

She smiled at him as she arranged her skirt around her
legs. "Hello."

Beast Boy's eyes scanned the room as he asked, "Will
you dance with me since Miss-I'm-Gonna-Be-A-Spoiled-Sport-And-Ruin-Beast-Boy's-Night won't?"

Starfire laughed at the glare Raven leveled on Beast
Boy. "If it is fine with Raven."

"She could care less what I do," he muttered sourly as
he stood up and took Starfire's hand. "I could
probably make-out with another girl and she'd be fine
with it."

Beast Boy gently pulled on her hand, leading her to
the throng of dancers. Beast Boy weaved his way close
to the middle of the room. To Starfire's pleasure, a
slow song drifted from the speakers.

Beast Boy turned around and pulled Starfire closer to
him, giving them both a friendly amount of space. She
pressed her palms to his shoulders as his hands rested
comfortably on her waist. She lifted her eyes to his
with a grin.

"I am sure Raven is just unsure of how to act now that
you are a couple."

Beast Boy rolled his eyes. "That's not it. Raven will
never change no matter what I try. She might have
agreed to try a relationship with me, but knowing her,
she'll try everything in her power to ruin it."

"Why do you say that?" Starfire asked incredulously,
her eyes travailing to Raven's table. The poor thing
looked like she was ready to murder anyone who came
within twenty feet of her.

"Because that's just Raven's style. But she's going to
have to work damn hard, because I've waited for this
for far too long and I'll be damned if she pushes me
away so easily."

Starfire smiled. "You love her, don't you?" For the
first time since they started to dance, Beast Boy
glanced down at her. He blushed.

"Why do you ask that?"

"It is just obvious."

His eyes narrowed. "It is not."

Starfire laughed gleefully. "Yes, it is. Even I can
tell that you are in love with her."

"You're just trying to get a rise out of me." He said skeptically.

She chuckled. "No, I am not."

He blinked, his eyes wondering to Raven's table. "Is
it really that obvious?"

Starfire shook her head and smiled. "Depends on who you ask."

He snorted at that. "Then it's not obvious, because
Raven doesn't know."

"Doesn't know what?" Came her calm voice.

Beast Boy jumped guiltily as if he had been caught
trying to steal a cookie from the cookie jar. He
turned to his left where Raven stood patiently, arms
folded across her chest.

"I, uh, it's, uh, nothing. Nothing at all."

She raised an eyebrow, but seemed to let it go.
Suddenly, almost hesitantly, she asked, "May I cut
in?"

Beast Boy grinned as Starfire backed away. "Of
course," Starfire said, watching for a second as Beast
Boy pulled Raven into his arms, much, much closer than
she had been when he danced with her.

But as she turned away, she bumped into a hard chest. Large hands settled around her upper arms, and as she glanced up, she groaned. Jonathan glanced down at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey, Rose."

She blinked. "Hello."

"So, you willing to dance with me now?" he asked softly, his hands tightening ever-so slightly.

"I…of course." As he led her away from Beast Boy and Raven, she sent them a small shrug at their concerned looks. They came to a halt suddenly, and the movement sent Starfire running into Jonathan's back. He turned quickly and gently pulled her against him, leaving no space between them. Uncomfortable at the close proximity, Starfire glanced down at studied her bodice.

After a short time of swaying back and forth, Jonathan said quietly, "Rose?"

"Yes?" Maybe she could send a mental plea to Beast Boy or Robin and they could come and—

"May I kiss you?"--rescue her…Now how the hell was she supposed to say no without hurting or embarrassing him?

But before she could make any sort of answer, his mouth slanted over hers. Eyes wide, Starfire tried to pull away, but he slid his hand to the back of her neck and held her head in place.

She made a sound of distress in the back of her throat, but Jonathan mistook it for a sound of pleasure, for he deepened this kiss, and forced her mouth open with his tongue. This time, Starfire did pull away.

"Jonathan," she pleaded, but his mouth had already wondered down to her throat, were he nipped at he skin. Starfire jerked away from him, mumbled an apology, and scurried to Beast Boy and Raven's unoccupied table.

Plopping down in a chair, Starfire stared straight ahead, rubbing the back of her mouth with her hand. God, that had been so unpleasant. It was nothing like the kisses Robin had given her. When Robin kissed her, her palms started to sweat and her heart increased its speed, and fire burned through her veins. But with Jonathan…it had been…horrible. There had been so spark, no sweating palms, and the only reason her heart beat increased was because she was trying not to gag. Starfire shuddered.

This dating this was not going to work out. She didn't know why she had led herself to believe that being with a member of the opposite sex would help her get over Robin. All it had accomplished was burying her deep in her pain and forcing her to endure Jonathan's annoying presences. She had been more depressed when she dated then before.

She didn't need a man to get over Robin. Hell, she didn't even need to get over Robin. She had been so much happier when all her romantic moments with Robin where in her dreams. She had been so content with the way things were before Twain had even shown up, before she became closer to Robin and ended up with her heart in tatters. And even then, all she had done was fantasize. It hadn't taken away from her fighting, or everyday life. It had just been a dream world within her own room.

But now…now things were horrible. Not only had she found that Robin did not care for her, but she was dealing with a guy she had no feelings for. It was a lose-lose situation. Maybe she could return to how things had been before Twain ever made an appearance. Maybe she could be happy again with just hopeful dreams to guide her. Maybe--

"Need this?" She glanced up at Robin's deep voice, snapping out of her thoughts, and
took the cup of red punch he offered her.

As she sipped, he sat down across from her, eyes
running over her face. She blushed at his intense
stare and swallowed. Thankfully, her mouth was rid of
that man's taste.

"He seems a bit too friendly to me," Robin said
softly.

"Yes. He is." She agreed, watching Raven and Beast Boy
dance. She seemed to be loosing up a bit, for Beast
Boy laughed at something she said and she smirked.

"They look happy," she observed, telling herself more
than Robin.

"I guess."

Starfire cleared her throat and sat the cup down, her
free hand absently rubbing the spot on her throat that
Jonathan's lips had touched. It was as if she were
trying to rub it away.

"That bad, huh?" He asked.

"Yes," she mumbled without thinking and sighed. "I
guess I led him on. I did not mean to."

"I don't think you did. He just seems like the type
who doesn't give a flip about what people think or
want and does his own thing."

"Grayson! There you are. You left me back there!"
Starfire watched as Rebecca settled down on Robin's
lap and leaned down to kiss him lightly. Robin turned
away, his eyes trained on the tablecloth.

"Do you mean like that?" Starfire asked quietly.

He glanced up at her, then laughed. "Yeah, like that."

Rebecca raised a perfect eyebrow as a smile settled on
her painted lips. "Grayson?"

"Hmm?"

"Would you like to dance with me?"

"I don't dance," he muttered, and Starfire smiled. Oh,
how this seemed so familiar! This Rebecca was almost
like Kitten, except worse.

"Oh, come on. It's a dance. You know, where people
dance?"

"I know what a dance is. But I don't want to."

Rebecca sighed and shifted in his lap. "But there are
other things we could do."

Robin's eyes lifted to Rebecca's but he said nothing.

She smiled seductively. "I know a very private place
where we won't be disturbed. Only I know about it."

He raised an eyebrow. He knew exactly what she wanted,
but he was still trying to decide if he wanted it. It
wasn't as if he still had a chance with Starfire and
he couldn't wallow in his self-pity forever. But then
again, he didn't want to betray what tiny trust he had
with Starfire.

"No thank you."

He watched the girl's cheeks brighten with anger. "You
are such a jerk, Grayson!" Her palm connected with his
cheek and he could only blink slowly as she leaped
from his lap and stormed off.

Starfire was coughing loudly and Robin turned his head
to glare. Beneath her hand, she grinned.

"Starfire," he said softly, quietly, eyes narrowed.
"Shut. Up."

Her 'coughing' only worsened. "I am sorry!" Suddenly,
she snorted. And then the giggles irrupted.

Robin slouched down in his chair and pouted as she laughed. "Damn."

Starfire took a deep breath, trying to calm her
laughter. Oh, that was glorious! Seeing the look upon
Robin's face when Rebecca slapped him would amuse her
for years to come.

She laughed again, but it stilled when Jonathan
approached. "Uh, Rose?"

"Yes?" She studied her hands, wishing that he would go
away. But luck was not on her side, for he took the
seat next to her.

"Look, I just wanted to apologize for what I did
earlier."

Beneath her skirt, her foot tapped impatiently. "It is
fine. No harm done."

"Yes, but you told me that we were only friends and I
guess I tried to push it farther. I'm sorry."

"It's fine," she repeated.

"No, it's not. I should have never-"

"Do not worry about it." She said slowly, but he still
continued to apologize.

"I should have never-"

"Jonathan. You are forgiven."

He blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "Can we, I
don't know, start over?"

She raised an eyebrow, lifting her eyes to his. "Start
over?"

He nodded slowly. "Yeah. I mean, act like this never
happened."

She cocked her head, a smile tugging at her mouth.
"And how do you wish to go about that?"

He grinned. "How about we start from scratch?"

"As in pretend as if we have never met?"

"Exactly! So, what do you say?"

Starfire smiled and shook her head at the absurdity of the situation. "Alright. Starting
from the beginning sounds nice."

Robin scowled as they laughed and pretended to just
meet. It was so stupid. Jonathan was stupid. Starfire
was stupid for laughing at the guy. And he was stupid
for being jealous when Starfire seemed so happy. But
that still didn't stop him from mentally whooping
Jonathan's ass and taking Starfire away on his white
stallion.

"Would you care to dance?" Jonathan asked suddenly and
Robin's eyes narrowed into nothing more than slits.

Jonathan glanced at him, and Robin swore the jackass
smirked at him. It took everything in his power to
keep from leaping out of his chair and strangling the
jerk off.

"Of course." Robin's hand twitched as Jonathan gently
took Star's hand and led her to the dance floor. Oh,
that jackass!

"Dude, you look like you're about to pop a blood
vessel," Beast Boy said, plopping down across from the
pissed Boy Wonder.

"I'd say he already has," Raven mused.

"Bite. Me." Robin didn't take his eyes off Jonathan as
he danced with his Star.

"Touché." Beast Boy laughed, amused. "But you do know
it's your fault."

"Shut up, Beast Boy."

"Uh, no thank you. This is the first time that I
actually get to be the bully instead of being the one
bullied. I'm gonna milk this for all it's worth."
Beast Boy smirked. "It's nice having the upper hand
for a change."

"You never have the upper hand when you date Raven,"
Robin muttered, his scowl deepening as Starfire
laughed at something Jonathan said.

Raven glowered at him. "What does that mean?"

"It means Beast Boy is just more prone to your
insults."

"Oh no, you are not going to change the subject. We're
pointing out your mistakes, not mine."

"Oh, so dating me is a mistake?" Raven asked. Though
her voice was calm, her eyes were burning with fury.

Beast Boy flinched and tried to cover his mistake.
"Oh, no, no, no, no, no! Dating you is the best thing
I've ever done! What I said just came out wrong. I
didn't mean for it to sound like that. I…uh…oh, look,
Colt wants to talk to me. Gotta go." Beast Boy jumped
from his chair and practically ran to Colt, leaving a
very ticked half-demon scowling at his retreating
back.

"Idiot," she muttered.

"I hate him." Robin murmured, his eyes flashing with
hatred.

"Beast Boy? Oh, come on, Robin. He's just-"

"No. Him."

Raven followed his line of vision. "Oh. Jonathan."

"What right does he have to speak to her like that? I
mean did you see him kiss her earlier? He had no damn
right to do that. Starfire deserves better."

Raven sighed. "I hate to be the one to say it, but
it's your fault. You lost your chance. And now,
Starfire is testing new waters. She's been in love
with you since she joined the team-"

"I don't want to hear this."

"-And you are just going to have to deal with the
prospect that she's finding someone else to love now
that she knows there will be nothing between you two."

"I told you-"

"I could care less about what you told me. Deal with it,
Robin. You can sulk all you want, but Starfire is
through with you. Hell, I can't blame her."

"Raven, shut the hell up."

Her eyes narrowed. "No."

"I don't need to know this. I already know."

"Then why don't you grow up and start acting like an
adult? I'm getting tired of you drowning in your
self-pity because you were stupid and pushed her away.
Why don't you toughen up and act like a man?"

"Raven-"

"Don't Raven me. Grow up. There is no chance with you
and her now, and you can't sulk every time she dates
someone else."

"Why are you lecturing me about my problems when you
have your own to deal with?"

"And what does that mean?"

"Just mind your own business, Raven."

"Robin, you're like my big brother, so that gives me
the right to point out your mistakes."

"Then I should be able to point out yours."

"I know my mistakes and I either fix them or try to
make things better. Now you, on the other hand, are
still acting like a two year old."

"Raven," he bit out, but she just sighed.

"I'm through now, don't worry. But if you don't
toughen up or grow up, I swear I'll knock some sense
into you. I might not have the physical strength that
Star does, but I can inflict more pain than any broken
bone can."

Robin cringed, but never took his eyes from the
couple. "I'm already in enough pain without your
help."

"Good. You need to be in pain. But compared to what
Starfire's going through, you're-"

"Yeah, I know."

"Then stop feeling sorry for yourself."

Robin drug his eyes away from Starfire long enough to
glare at Raven. "Why don't you go bug someone else?"

She glared. "Because you deserve to be pestered."

"But Beast Boy is the one who said dating you was a
mistake."

"True. But I'm still not leaving this table."

Robin scowled and stood up slowly. "If you'll excuse
me."

"Robin?"

He glanced down at her. "What?"

"Don't do anything stupid."

He sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets and
walking off. "I won't."

Raven sighed softly. "Why doesn't that sound
comforting?"


"Where the hell is that stupid woman?" Robin muttered
as he shouldered past couples, groups of teenagers, and scowling chaperones.
"I know she hasn't left yet."

Robin groaned in frustration. "Damn women to hell."

"I should say the same about men."Robin turned around and found himself face to face
with Rebecca. Robin blinked. "Oh. Hi."

She folded her arms under her chest and raised an
eyebrow. "Where's your girlfriend?"

"What?"

"Miss-I-think-I'm-Better-Than-Everyone-Because-I'm-A-Virgin."

"Oh. Rose." Robin laughed nervously. "She's not my
girlfriend."

"Really? You seem disappointed."

Reluctantly, he shook his head. "I'm not. She's way
outta my league."

"Oh really? And I guess that means that I'm not, huh?"

"Nope, you're just about my type. Rose is the kind
who'll go after money and that's something I don't
have." Er, why the hell am I telling this bimbo that
Star's money-hungry? Lord, Robin, you have some
serious jealousy problems if you're going behind her
back and lying for no good reason.

"I figured her to be the type." Rebecca shifted her
feet. "Were you looking for someone?"

"Uh, yeah, actually, I was."

"Umm. Need help finding her?"

Robin lifted an eyebrow. "How do you know it's a
girl?"

"Instincts."

He shook his head slowly. "Actually, it seems I've
already found her."

Rebecca glanced around before it dawned on her. Her
lips curled slowly. "I see. So you still want to take
up my offer?"

"Yeah, I do."

She grinned and took the hand he offered. Pushing
herself closer to him, she raised on her toes and
kissed him softly. "Follow me."

Robin let the girl lead him away from the crowd and
glanced backwards. And found Starfire watching him
with wide, hurt eyes.


"That chlorbag!" Starfire slammed her palm against the
side of the school, ignoring the pain that flew up her
arm. "How dare he talk about me that way! And after
all I did for him!"

Starfire sighed in defeat and slid down the wall. She
plopped down on the snow-covered ground, wrapping her
arms around her torso to somehow warm herself. In her
drunken rage, she had forgotten to grab her jacket and
now, as she shivered in the cold, she wished
desperately for the warmth of the large gym. But she
couldn't go back in there, at least not now. She was
too hurt, too angry, and was afraid that she might
take it out on some unsuspecting human.

I guess this is what you get for giving someone like
Robin a second chance
, she mused, her shoulders
slumping as hot tears trailed down her cheeks. And all
I had wanted was to ask him if he wished to dance with
me. But instead, he's off with his bimbo, telling her
that I am selfish and money-hungry. What did I ever do
to him to deserve this kind of treatment? Or maybe
this is just how Robin really is, maybe I was wrong in
thinking that he was kind and selfless. That he could
care for someone other than himself or Slade.

Pulling her knees to her chest, Starfire sighed. Maybe
now was the time to give up on him. God knows she had
done everything in her power to make sure he was
happy, that he had someone there when things got too
hard for him to handle. But in the end, he just pushed
her away. It had always been like this. Her, wishing
to take some of the burden from his shoulders and him,
shoving her away with his cruel, malicious words. She
didn't know why she had let him hurt her time after
time, but no matter how she told herself that he
wasn't worth her time, she would make an excuse for
him, telling herself lies about how he didn't mean it,
or how he was just angry.

Perhaps people were right. Maybe she was too naive, too
trusting. Come to think of it, she had been tricked
countless times by villains because she had always
believed that people could change. Now, the prospect
seemed useless. People couldn't change. Evil cannot
become good.

Starfire groaned and stood up slowly, dusting the snow
from her gown. "Brooding is pointless." She said to
herself as she dashed away her tears. She needed to
grow up. She would have to deal with pain throughout
her life and she needed to be immune to it as soon as
she could.

Worrying her lower lip, Starfire slowly walked around
the school, eyes trained on the white ground. Her
hands cupped her upper arms and tried to warm them as
she ventured to the football stadium. She stood before
the gate and let out a breath at the beauty before
her. Snow always seemed to amaze her, no matter how
cold it was. It was beautiful, covering the earth in a
pure white blanket and not even the dreary skies could
take away from the magnificence.

Starfire walked through the gate, not noticing the
abundant shoes prints beneath her feet or the shadows
that darted beneath the bleachers. Starfire shivered
as snow seeped into her shoes, but it all went ignored
as she walked through the snow.

The icy sting helped rid of her depressing thoughts,
so now all she worried about was the cold. She didn't
wish to think of Robin or his deceitful words. All she
wanted was to curl up under her covers and read one of
Raven's romance novels she had 'borrowed'.

Starfire paused in the middle of the field and sighed,
her breath puffing out before her mouth. As her bright
eyes scanned the field, the hairs on the back of her
neck prickled. She was not alone.

Then she heard it. The crunch of footsteps on the
snow. Her shoulders stiffened. Damn it. Her eyes
narrowed as men clad in black appeared from all around
her. And all wore black mask concealing their faces'.

Starfire cursed under her breath and readied herself
for a battle. Since there was no way she could fly,
she would have to deal with all this on foot. She
cursed the fact that her powers were fueled by her
emotions. Now that she was heartbroken, her flying
powers were failing her. But at least her star-bolts
were powered by nothing but fury. And she was feeling
a heap-load of that.

She lifted her chin. She could take them on, even if
there were about two-dozen of them. Speaking of, who
were they and why did it seem as if she was their
target?

"Who are you?" She called out, eyes and hands glowing.
Someone chuckled, but she didn't know where it came
from.

"All you need to know, Sugar, is that we're gonna take
you down."

Keeping her body straight, Starfire glanced over her
shoulder, though she kept her eyes on the ground. It
was easy to stay focused that way, instead of paying
attention to just one area. It was how she stayed
alive when fighting with the Titans.

"Were you paid to defeat me?"

"Defeat you?" Chuckles spread throughout the crowd.
"Honey, we're here to deliver you."

"Deliver? Oh. I see. You are in league with the White
Rose Killer."

"He was right, boss. She is smart." The men scoffed at their own hidden joke.

Starfire growled in aggravation. "Are you going to
fight me or converse amongst yourself?"

Silence settled over them before they laughed. "Nice
language, Beautiful. But you're right. Enough chatter.
Alright men, let's get started. We get a nice little
sum of money if we bring this one in alive."

Starfire's spine snapped straight as she prepared for
battle. But she wasn't expecting them to all dive at
her at the same time. Several grabbed her from behind,
jerking on her skirt, hair, and arms, while some
reached for the front of her. Her hair tumbled down
from the top of her head and flowed down her shoulders
and back in a waterfall of flaming curls. Her eyes
sparked with fury as one of their hands' brushed
against her breast.

Shoulders shaking in rage, Starfire's let her whole
body be enflamed by green electricity, and the
henchmen stumbled backwards, eye wide as their target
glowed, literally.

Starfire's full skirt billowed around her legs, her
hair blowing around her body like a cape. For a
moment, the men were mesmerized by the ethereal
beauty the girl portrayed, but it was short lived when
the green aurora around her snapped and was spread
around her. Their eyes widened as the force of
electricity threw them back.

Starfire calmed down, cursing her temper. She had used
too much power. Groaning, she almost hit her knees as
a wave of weakness slammed into her. But she couldn't
succumb to the weakness. She had to fight.

But in her vulnerable state, she never heard the
man behind her until it was too late. Her eyes widened
as she turned. And hurdling toward her head was a
metal pipe. The blunt object hit the side of her head
so hard that stars danced in front of her eyes. She
hit her knees, her breathing ragged, and drops of
blood stained the pure snow.

"Ha! She wasn't so hard, boss." She heard one of them
mutter, but she was too busy trying to keep her gaze
steady. She hit all fours as her stomach rolled with
nausea and blood slid down her temple.

"Damnit," she cursed weakly, her fingers digging into
the cold snow. She was not going to let them get the
best of her. She was going to-

"Starfire! Good Lord, where the hell are you! You've
got everyone's pants twisted-oh Jesus." Mallory froze
at the gates to the stadium, her dark eyes wide at the
sight before her. Her fingers were white against her crutches.

"Leave!" Starfire called out weakly, turning her head
to the defenseless girl. "Get help."

The men around her started to whisper. "Isn't she one
of the ones we're supposed to take?"

"Yeah, that's the one with the kid."

"Well, lets say we kill too birds with one stone, eh?"

"Mallory, run!" Starfire yelled, her voice raising in
panic. She pushed herself to her feet, and struck out,
her fist connecting with a body. She ignored the
sickening crack of breaking bones as she took out each
man that came her way. She managed to get four of them
down before she was grabbed from behind, her arm
twisted painfully behind her back until the bone
snapped from its socket. She ground her teeth against
the pain and jerked her head back. Her crown connected
with the man's jaw, and his grip loosened. As she fell
forward, his hand snapped out, but instead of getting
her hair like he had planned, he grabbed the necklace. The chain broke in
his hand and he threw it down with a roar of rage.

Starfire hit the ground hard. Her breathing ragged,
she scrambled up and managed to get to her feet. Blood
dripped into her right eye, blinding her. She ignored
it. Right now, all she had to do was keep their
attention from Mallory.

Setting her teeth, Starfire popped the bone back into
its socket, a low growl the only sign of pain.

"Boss, we got her!" Starfire turned her head and
watched as Mallory fought against the two men that
held her.

"Get your greasy hands off me!" She yelled, her elbow
connecting with her one of her attackers ribs. The man on the
left guffawed as his partner yelped in pain.

Mallory cried out in pain as her arms were twisted
behind her back and she was forced to her knees. She managed to get her cast straight, even though her thighs burned in agony.

"Nice work. Now, we just gotta get this-" Starfire
didn't let him finish. The man's eye widened behind
his mask as a tan fist slammed into his nose. He flew
backwards and crashed into a group of his men.

"Fuck! That bitch broke my nose!" The leader of the
men growled, covering his bleeding nose with his
gloved hand.

"Get her! And make sure you knock her out!"

Starfire readied herself as they launched themselves
at her. But she took each on out with either a
star-bolt or her bare hands. Livid, Starfire slammed
her fist into one man's stomach.

The leader watched with a scowl as each man was taken
down by a teenaged girl. Damnit, since when did he
have such a pitiful army of thugs? But he couldn't let
this girl get away. The man who gave him this job was
offering ten grand for each woman he brought in. All in all, he would receive fifty thousand . He didn't know why the boss-man wanted the five girls specifically, but he didn't care. All he wanted was the money, and there was no way he
was letting this little woman get away from him.

The one man who stood beside his leader reached into
his jacket. "Is it time?"

The leader nodded at the large, dark-skinned man with
a scar slashing across his eye. "Yeah. It's time."

The huge man walked slowly toward the girl. Her eyes
were alight with green electricity as he approached.

Star was already finding it hard to stand. She watched
warily as the man approached, one hand resting inside
his jacket. His face was bare, and she took in
everything; the ragged scar, the dark eyes, the wide
mouth set in a straight line, and the huge, muscled
body that challenged even Cinderblock.

Her right eyes stung and her shoulder throbbed, and
the pain in her head was almost too much to bear, but
she stood her ground.

"Come, now, little lady, don't make this more
difficult," he said in a booming voice. "It'll be
easier on you if you go down without fighting me."

"I never go down without a fight," she snarled,
ignoring Mallory's pleas of surrender.

"Come on, Starfire! Don't do this! You're already
hurt!"

"Listen to her, girl. You're about to drop where you
stand."

Starfire's eyes narrowed as he stood in front of her.
She brought back her glowing fist, but he was faster.
He caught it and crushed it in his large hand, loving
the feel of shattering bones beneath his hand.

Starfire cried out, couldn't help it, and hit her
knees. The large man never let go of hand, but eased
down with her, his eyes alight with pleasure.

He brought out his other hand and slid the long, thick
needled into her blood-covered throat. "There, there,
that wasn't so hard, was it?"

With the pain and drugs running through her veins,
Starfire fell forward, her eyes closing as darkness
colored the edge of her vision. Soon, her world went completely black.

The leader of the mob watched as the large man lifted
the girl in his arms. "She was a tough one, wasn't
she?"

The big man nodded, his eyes caressing the girl's
face. "Yes. What about the other one?"

"Still got enough left?"

"No. I used it all on her. His orders."

The leader sighed, watching as some of his men
struggled to their feet. He spat in the ground.
"Weaklings."

"So, whadda we do with this one?"

The leader's eyes turned to the dark-haired girl, who
was fighting against his men even though her movements
helped nothing. "Just knock her out."

"But how-"

"Think of something."

The men exchanged looks and Mallory groaned. "Damn."

They laughed. "How about a little knock over the
head?"

The leader nodded. "Just make sure she's still alive
after your done."

The grinned evilly. "I'm sure we can do that, boss."

Rolling his eyes, the leader turned his back and
kicked one of his unconscious minions. "Those of you
who are still moving, get these lazy idiots up and
lets go."

They nodded and gathered up their defeated men. The
man holding Starfire grinned. "I can't wait till we
get the money."

The leader returned the smile. "Me either. Me either."


From now on, the seriousness starts…darn. I'm never good at serious stuff. But oh well. Oh, and, er, if your interested in the other ideas I have, I added them to my profile, so if you wanna check it out and tell me which ones you think I should do, just…head over there. I'd love it if you'd email me and tell me which ones sound interesting…oh, and sorry if Bumblebee was OOC. I haven't really paid any attention to how her personality was portrayed in the show. Oops. I wanted to thank my beta reader, but I was stupid and didn't write down the name, so I can't right now. But you know who you are, and I loved the way you changed some sentence around and made them sound so much better.

And I was going to dedicate this chapter to someone, but damnit all, I, again, didn't write down the name…crap. But they told me about the Full Metal Alchemist manga, and since I now worship the ground they walked on, I was going to dedicate the chapter to them. But me and my blondness didn't write down the names…I give all blondes a bad name…Anyway, enough of my rambling. So, until the next chapter! (And maybe this time my computer won't delete my hard work!) --