WoM- 'grins' You know, I'm really starting to feel spoiled, you guys! Not that I mind, who doesn't want to be spoiled rotten after all… 'laugh' anywho, keep 'em coming, and I'll keep updating!
"He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches."
-George Bernard Shaw
"Has Skulker returned from his mission yet?" Vlad Masters demanded of the three birds before him, swirling the red wine he wasn't in the mood to drink.
"Nope," One of them said, "Notta trace, boss. Maybe they got him too…" Vlad sighed angrily.
"Maybe…" He repeated in a calm, even tone. "…As in you aren't sure?"
"Well…"
"Do you even know if they exist?" Vlad hissed, narrowing his eyes.
"Ehehehe… Funny story there, boss…" The birds scattered, yelping, when the wine glass flew at them. It hit the wall, shattering on impact.
"Fools!" Vlad roared, Glaring at the birds as they flew around in confusion, "Get out! OUT! And don't come back until you bring me something useful!"
The birds all phased out of the room, leaving nothing to show they were there except the mess of scattered feathers they'd lost in their panic. Vlad sighed as he sunk into his chair, massaging his forehead to fight off his growing migraine. After deeming the battle a lost cause, he flipped on the switch to contact his secretary, a pretty young woman who died in '63.
"Gloria, bring me a glass of cold water and an Aspirin," He ordered into the small box on the corner of his desk. As an afterthought, he added, "And send someone from cleaning up with an ecto-vacuum, some stain remover and everything needed to clean up broken glass."
"Yes sir," the girl responded at once. Vlad sighed again after hitting the off switch, his eyes fixed on the growing red stain on his otherwise flawless white carpet…
Raven sighed as she glanced over her disguise once again. It was as flawless as when she'd first put it on, maybe more so since she was rested today. (Other then the fact that she'd awaken an hour earlier then she was accustomed.) And yet she still felt like she felt like she was forgetting something important…
Dismissing the feeling, Raven swung a messenger bag over her shoulder (She refused to use a backpack, which was far too uncomfortable for her.) and headed out to the bus stop.
She wasn't the first one there. A dark girl with short, stringy brown hair and glasses was there too, clutching three books to her chest since her backpack was overstuffed already.
"This is the stop for Casper, right?" Raven asked her shortly. The girl nodded shyly, not meeting Raven's eyes. This was just fine with the sorceress, though, since she preferred silence to talking, even if it was an uncomfortable silence.
"Hey, who're you?" Raven frowned and turned, meeting the blue eyes of a pretty blonde girl she already didn't like. Apparently, the feeling was mutual, as the girl made a face upon getting a good look at Raven. "Oh, great. And here I thought our class would finally be goth-free with Manson in France," She said in disgust.
Raven was suddenly badly tempted to hex the girl who was now throwing her long blonde hair over her shoulder.
"Just don't try to talk to me, okay? You're nowhere near cool enough," Raven gritted her teeth, taking a deep breath when a nearby manhole cover began to rattle dangerously.
'Calm down, Raven,' She told herself, 'You've dealt with bigger things then airheads who think they're better then others. Now then, breathe in and out. In and out…'
"Uh, hello, you still haven't told me your name!" The girl pointed out snottily.
"I'm not cool enough to talk to you, remember?" Raven reminded the girl dryly. She felt satisfaction course through her as the girl blushed and glared.
"Loser," She muttered, looking away. Hiding a smirk, Raven turned to the other girl to find her wide eyes darting from her to the manhole and back again. Raven frowned.
'She didn't see anything, did she?' Raven asked herself uncertainly. She was tempted to probe the girl's mind, but was also pretty sure that would constitute as invasion of privacy. She only used it in extreme cases, even on villains, and the girl hadn't done anything wrong yet…
Raven brushed her thoughts away as the bus pulled up to the stop, coming to a screeching halt before opening up the door. Despite the fact that she'd arrived last, the snotty blonde got on the bus first. Then went the quiet girl after one last shy glance at Raven and finally the Titan herself.
Raven faltered as soon as she was on the bus, though, when she saw there was absolutely no where to sit. Everywhere was three to a seat, and even four in some spots. Grimacing, Raven made her way to a seat that had an inch of space left where she might be able to sit, knocking into people as she went and even getting felt up once (Raven didn't catch who did it, or else they'd probably be in a coma considering her current mood.)
Finally, Raven sat down, already impatient for the day to be over.
'If this day gets any worse, someone will be dead before lunch,' she thought grimly as the bus lurched forward, forcing her to grab onto the seat in front of her to avoid being thrown to the ground.
BLACKBIRD
Chapter 2; Rachel Venn
"Great, now I'm tired, cranky and my back is thrown," Raven said sarcastically, massaging her aching back, "Who gave that bus driver her license, anyways?" Sighing, she made her way up the steps into the high school, ignoring the way people pointed, stared and whispered behind their hands. She was way irritated to give a damn what they thought of her.
She entered the principal's office unceremoniously, ignoring the way the secretary tried to stop her. Ishiyama looked up from some papers when she came in and sighed at the look on her face.
"It's alright, Harriet," She called to her secretary, "she has an appointment to meet with me. Come in, Rachel, and please close the door behind you," Still scowling, Raven shut the door sharply.
"Your bus driver needs to be fired," She said firmly. "And ever consider a few more buses? Some of us kinda like to breath every once in a while."
"I'm afraid the school's budget won't allow it," Ishiyama said, "Sit down, Raven. And what on earth are those on your bracelet?"
"Spikes," Raven answered.
"You do realize Mrs. Testlaff won't allow you to wear those in gym," Ishiyama said with a slight frown, "And please don't argue with the teachers, Raven, I get enough students in here as it is. God knows Danny Fenton has a reserved seat in this office now…"
"Uh, Mrs. Ishiyama?" Raven said uncertainly. She resisted the urge to ask her to elaborate on that name, which sounded vaguely familiar.
"Oh, yes of course!" Ishiyama cleared her throat, "At any rate, Here's your schedule, locker and combination. I'm afraid I'm too busy trying to find funding to pay for the damage some ghosts did to the boys bathroom last Thursday, but I'm sure you'll find your fellow students more then willing to point you in the right direction,"
"Kinda doubt that…" Raven muttered dryly under her breath, thinking of the looks she'd received coming in.
"If that's all, I think you better get to class, Miss Venn," Ishiyama said, opening her door, "And please don't be afraid to drop in, my door's always open."
"I'll keep that in mind," Raven sighed, leaving. She scanned her scheduled for her homeroom class. "Which way to room 202?"
"Up the stairs at the end of this hall and to the right," Ishiyama answered, "Good luck!"
"Thanks," Raven said as she left the office, taking in all the stares she was getting. "I'll need it…"
She made her way up the stairs like Ishiyama had instructed her, looking at the room numbers to try and get some bearings for where she was. She was a little annoyed that not only would none of the other students offer to help her, but they all avoided her as much as possible in the crowded halls.
'What, do they think I have some kind of disease or something?' Raven thought dryly. It wasn't until a few minutes after the bell had rang and the hallways cleared that she finally found the room she was looking for and entered.
"Is this Mr. Folupa's class?" She asked the short, dumpy looking teacher.
"Yes," He said in a nasally voice, "Come in, you must be Miss Venn." He turned to the rest of the students, who were all staring at Raven and whispering to their neighbors. "Class, this is Rachel Venn from New York. She'll be joining us for the rest of the school year," 'don't count on it, pal.' "Rachel, do you want to tell us a little about yourself?"
"I'd like it better if you called me Rae," Raven responded. The reason she'd chosen this name for her cover was because it was similar to her own name, yet not enough that people wouldn't get suspicious. "Other then that, no,"
"What do your parents do?" Someone called out.
'My dad's a giant bloodthirsty demon bend on destroying mankind and my mom was a sacrificial bride from a Satanist Cult.' She thought dryly.
"Dad's a lawyer and I have a stay at home mom," She said instead.
"Are you a witch?" A Latino girl of model proportions in front asked snottily. Raven noticed that her blonde 'friend' from the bus stop was on the girl's right.
"No," Raven answered 'Sorceress. Or half-demon, your pick.'
"Why did your family move here?" One kid asked, "I mean wit the whole ghost infestation thing…"
"Because my dad's a money-hungry shark who thinks he can make a killing off of people suing each other over property damage," Raven snapped, starting to grow irritated. Turning to the teacher, she asked, "Can I sit down now?"
"Oh!" The teacher seemed startled, "Y-yes, of course," Rolling her eyes, Raven took a free seat in the far back next to a window, ignoring the teacher as he took attendance.
Now that she had a free moment, she thought of her teammates and how they'd respond to this situation. Beastboy would probably become the way uncool guy who never turned his homework in, fell asleep in class and was always cracking jokes and hitting on the pretty girls. Starfire would make it instantly as a popular girl with her good looks and cheery (If somewhat naïve) disposition.
Likewise Cyborg would probably be popular, with his giant build and love of sport combined with the fact that he knew what was expected of kids in high school. Robin would probably be far too uncomfortable to fit in, not to mention that some people may find his leader's attitude annoying after a while.
Thinking about her friends back in Jump City, Raven felt a twinge of homesickness. It was true that she didn't care what other people in this school thought of her, since they all seemed too superficial to waste a second thought on, but she was a little lonely.
After all, this meant she wouldn't hear anymore of Beastboy's bad jokes, or listen to him and Cyborg argue over breakfast rights in the morning. No more bubbly Starfire dragging them all to the mall so she could use the boys as impromptu pack mules (Literally in Beastboy's case.) no more sparring with Robin, no more Mega Movie Nights whenever villains were sparse…
"Has anyone seen Mr. Fenton?" Mr. Folupa called out in a loud, irritated tone, breaking Raven from her thoughts.
"His sister said he might be a little late this morning," One girl in the front said at once, in an almost defensive manner, "Apparently his dad had a new invention to show off and Danny didn't get away in time." Mr. Folupa shook his head and sighed.
"Thank you, Miss Grey," he said in a tired tone, "I'll just go ahead and mark him absent," a lot of kids giggled at that, including the blonde and her Latino friend.
Deciding that the conversation wasn't worth her attention, Raven turned back to the window, drowning the teacher out for the remainder of the class to plan for her first stake out tonight.
"When I-!" 'Crash!' "find out-!" 'Blam! Blam!' "-who's responsible-!" 'BOOM!' "-for all these loose ghosts-!" 'Bang!' "I'm gonna- THAT'S A PLANE YOU MORON!" Danny shot upwards, punching the Cyclops ghost as hard as he could. The monster was caught off guard, and that combined with Danny's super strength was enough to send him crashing through the cement.
Danny grimaced as he watched the jet begin a downward trip straight to an office building. Screaming was heard from inside the plane, as Danny flew to catch up with it. Once he had a hold of a wing, he turned himself, the airplane and everything inside it intangible (Though it strained him to do so, with how large the jumbo jet was.) after they went through the office, Danny used his strength to steer the plane so it landed gently on the ground.
After it'd stopped, Danny sink to his knees, panting. There was a bit of a commotion of both sides of the jet and after he saw some people reaching for their ghost alarms (Maddie's idea) Danny decided it was time to get the hell out of there, exhausted or not. He wasn't in the mood to be that the opposite end of his parent's ecto-guns, not today, not ever.
Going invisible, Danny flew over to a nearby alley and hid behind some trashcans, turning human again. It was only then he realized that the Cyclops had escaped. After cursing vividly and trying to scout the area on foot with no result, Danny took off for school rather begrudgingly.
"How's it going, Danny?" A familiar voice asked in his right ear.
"No good," Danny muttered back glumly, barely moving his lips so people wouldn't think he was crazy, "He got away."
Jazz had gotten tired of not being able to get a hold of her brother ¾ of the time she needed to, since it was difficult to fight off the undead forces of evil and chat on a cell phone at the same time. So as a result, Jazz made the Fenton Mini-Comms, two micro communicators disguised as earrings.
While Maddie and Jack hadn't been particularly pleased when Danny got his ear pierced without consulting them (Well, Maddie more then Jack.) no one else seemed to find his black earring suspicious. Nor did anyone notice that Phantom suddenly had the exact same piercing in the exact same spot. Jazz wore hers (blue) with a 'mate' that was just a normal earring.
Danny had to admit, the communicators made things a lot easier for him, since now Jazz could warn him about things and direct him to places he needed to be. Still, the fact that it also meant his sister now had a way to nag him 24/7 wasn't as welcoming.
"Did he tell you anything?"
"No. Didn't talk at all. I don't think he knew how…"
"It didn't turn into a big scene again, did it?" Jazz asked worriedly. Danny figured she was probably in the girl'sbathroom, since she wasn't bothering to lower her voice.
"Define 'big scene,'" Danny said, watching six news vans speed past him. Jazz groaned.
"Dan-ny…"
"It wasn't my fault the idiot attacked a plane in midair, okay!" Danny said defensively.
"I never said it was," Jazz said in a more gentle voice, "Any ghost hunters?"
"Nah," Danny sighed, "I got out of there before they could pull the alarms. And before you ask no one got hurt."
"What about you? Are you okay?"
"Fine," Danny responded, more on instinct then anything else.
"Danny!" Warning was clear in Jazz's tone.
"I swear, Jazz, this time I'm really fine," He promised her, "I may have over exerted myself a bit, but that ought to be gone by lunch." Jazz sighed.
"Well, if you're sure you're okay…" She said in a hesitant sort of voice. Danny frowned as he heard a bell ring in the background.
"Was that the late bell for Homeroom?"
"Uh, not exactly…" Jazz said. "That was the release bell for Homeroom." Danny's eyes widened and he groaned.
"Great. I missed homeroom again…" He grumbled. Then he paled, "Wait, that means I've got six minutes to get to Lancer's class!"
"Where are you?" Jazz asked.
"By the Movie Theatre," Danny answered, going ghost again and taking off for the school at top speed. It wasn't as fast as he normally was, considering he'd been weakened from using his powers too much, but it was more then enough that he was speeding past even the fastest cars on the ground.
"That means you're closest to the west side of the school," Jazz said after a moment's calculation. (Danny still thought it was creepy that she actually took the time to know this, even if it was useful to him,) "Change back in the boy's bathroom you and Skulker destroyed then head to Lancer's, that should be the fastest route."
"That was Skulker's fault," Danny reminded her, "It wasn't my fault his new toy went berserk and blew a wall off." Then, he added an earnest, "Thanks Jazz,"
"No problem, Little bro," He could practically hear Jazz's grin, "Gotta go! someone's coming, and I have to get to Advance Chemistry." Danny smiled to himself as Jazz turned her Fenton Mini-Comm off.
It hardened into a determined look, however, when the school came into view. He knew he was looking at another detention if he was late for Lancer, and was hell bound on going a week without getting into trouble, ghosts or no ghosts.
Besides, he really, really didn't want to have another chat with Mrs. Ishiyama.
With that thought powering him, Danny turned human again and shot out of the bathroom and down the hall, only to run straight into a brick wall.
"FENTON!"
…Okay, not a brick wall, but Dash Baxter was certainly built like one, and had just as many rocks in his head.
"You loser! I just had this letterman jacket cleaned!" Danny looked up to see what he was talking about and flinched when he saw Dash was now wearing his bottle of coke, and it was rabidly staining brown in his red and white football jacket.
"Sorry, Dash," He said, "I was in a hurry, and-!" Danny didn't get to finish as Dash grabbed him by the front of the shirt and slammed him into the lockers, preparing to hit the smaller boy.
"Oh, you'll be sorry alright!" He growled.
"You do realize Halloween isn't for another two months, don't you?" Raven scowled up at the same Latino who had asked her if she was a witch as she and the blonde stood over Raven's desk, smirking.
"Really?" Raven asked coolly, "Then what's with the Evil Queen act? Or do you prefer Empty Beauty?" The girl's eyes widened, and everyone around her stopped in their tracks.
"You- How dare you!" The Latino yelled, her cheeks going red in anger, "Who do you think you are?"
"I'm a new student who doesn't have time for your act," Raven responded.
"Hey, do you have any idea who you're talking to?" The blonde demanded.
"No, and I can't say I care," Raven said honestly.
"Why you-!"
"Hey," The Latino told the other girl suddenly, "Lay off, Star. Look, Rae, right?"
"Yeah?" Raven said, suspicious of the girl's kind tone.
"I'm sorry if I came off as rude. I really didn't mean it." She said with a smile that could give cavities. "I'm Paulina, Paulina Sanchez."
"Look, I-!"
"I mean it, amiga, I really am sorry," Paulina pouted. "As a way of making it up to you, let me point you in the direction of your next class,"
"It's fine, I can find it on my own," Raven said, still not trusting the girl.
"Oh, but everyone else is busy," As if on cue, all the other students (Save Star) hastily gathered their things and darted out the door. "Come on, por favor? I'd feel horrible if you didn't let me help you after such a terrible first impression…"
"Fine," Raven sighed, handing her the schedule. Benefit of the doubt, right? Besides, she was in a hurry.
"Mr. Lancer's English Class?" Paulina said, "That's on the west side of the second floor, between the girl's room and the Sewing Classroom,"
"Really?" Raven said, now both wary and confused, "Uh, thanks?"
"De nada," Paulina said with another model-like smile, "Bye, Rae! Come on, Star, let's go," Raven frowned at the blonde who was giving her friend a bewildered look. Something was still bothering her, but she couldn't put a finger on it. Dejectedly going against her better judgment, Raven followed Paulina's directions.
She was almost to the room Paulina had told her to enter when a loud crash was heard a little ways down the hall. Her attention diverted, Raven frowned upon seeing two boy's her age, one with messy black hair and blue eyes sprawled on the ground post-fall, and the other, blonde one clearly a jock, dripping in some overpriced carbonated soda Raven couldn't stand.
"FENTON!" the jock yelled, glaring at the boy on the ground. "You loser! I just had this letterman jacket cleaned!" Raven frowned at his rudeness over the accident, while at the same time puzzled. Fenton? As in Danny Fenton, the boy the Teachers kept mentioning was a troublemaker? He certainly didn't look the part.
He was slim, for one, and clean kept save his jet black hair with seemed to be stubbornly messy. True, his vivid blue eyes warranted some attention, but honestly that was the only thing that struck her as off about the boy, who otherwise looked more like an average high school kid then she did.
Still, Raven couldn't help but feel there was something else about this boy. Something she was missing…
"Sorry, Dash," Danny said, "I was in a hurry, and-!" the jock, now known as Dash, pinned the boy against the lockers. Raven felt her eyes narrow instinctively as she bristled upon seeing the boys raised fist.
"Oh, you'll be sorry alright!" Dash growled.
And just like that it was very clear to Raven who the true troublemaker was.
"Put him down!" Raven called out loudly, "Now!" Dash scowled at Raven as she approached the two of them, everyone else in the hall was giving her the same look she'd received after insulting Paulina.
"Who do you think you are to tell me what to do?" Dash snapped. Then, he got a good look at Raven's outfit and groaned. "Great. Another Goth freak. Damn, Fenton, you attract them like flies."
"I'm only going to tell you to put him down one more time before I lose my temper." Raven said coldly. If any one of her teammates had been there at the time, they probably would've told the boy to heed her last warning and find a nice, quiet place in the artic circle to safely spend the rest of his days.
"Then what're you gonna do, huh freak?" Dash asked. Raven gave him a glare she'd perfected on Beastboy, the same look that could stop a war before it ever started. She didn't have to use her powers, that glare alone was fine. In fact, it had Dash shivering involuntarily and then blushing after he caught himself.
"Here!" The jock snapped, throwing Danny at Raven. The boy stumbled a bit, but managed to catch himself in time to keep either of them from ending up on the floor, which made Raven wonder if he had any sort of training in fighting. "Have fun hiding behind your new girlfriend, Fen-toni!" And, with one last sneer, the jock and his entourage were off. Raven scowled after them a bit before turning to Danny.
"You alright,"
"Yeah," Danny responded with a reassuring smile. At Raven's slightly skeptical look, he added, "I'm Dash's favorite human punching bag, so I've gotten used to being shoved around a bit." Raven's frown turned disapproving.
"Why don't you just tell a teacher?" She demanded, a little sharper then she should've. She didn't like it when people just rolled over and accepted things like that.
"They wouldn't do anything," Danny said, shrugging, "Dash is the Star Quarterback of the Football team, he could get away with murder here as far as they're concerned. It's only if I fight back that they take action, and then it's only to give me a detention." Raven scowled, angered at the unfair nature of the school she was supposed to be helping. "I try to keep out of trouble the best I can around here, so I don't usually fight back unless I think Dash is gonna do some serious damage, or if he's threatening one of my friends."
"That's noble of you," Raven said, raising an eyebrow. After hearing the teacher's say what a troublemaker this boy was, she was a little surprised to find a loyal, shy kids who just seemed to always be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Danny laughed slightly, blushing.
"Yeah, well I don't have many friends, so I might as well stick up for the ones that do put up with me," He admitted. Raven smiled.
"Well put," She said, liking the boy a little more already. She knew what he was talking about. After all, the greatest gift she'd been given on earth were her fellow Titans.
"Anyways, I haven't seen your face around here before, are you new?" Danny asked.
"Just moved here yesterday," Raven responded, "Rachel Venn, call me Rae,"
"Danny Fenton," Danny said, grinning and nodding to Raven's bracelet, "Nice hidden weaponry, by the way. Gotta lot of enemies?" Raven smiled wryly even though the question had been a joke.
"More then you'll ever know," She said honestly. Danny laughed.
"I hear that," He grinned. "So where you headed?"
"English," Raven said, glancing at the clock, "And I have about ten seconds to get there," Danny's eyes widened and he wheeled to face the clock as well, muttering profanities under his breath, Danny grabbed Raven's spike-free wrist and dragged her down the hall at top speed.
"Oh, man, we're gonna be late!"
"Hey!" Raven protested, stumbling as she tried to keep up with Danny, "Isn't Lancer's English class that way?" she pointed to the room she'd been heading to. Danny gave her a confused look.
"Of course not. That's the Boy's Bathroom. It's under construction now, too. Dunno who took the sign down…" Raven barely heard Danny, took busy trying to reign her temper so the drinking fountains (which were groaning in protest right now) wouldn't explode on her.
It turned out that Raven and Danny made it to class literally without a moment to spare, both completely out of breath from their ten second sprint to the other side of the school.
"Impressive, Mr. Fenton," The balding teacher said in amusement, "And I was looking forward to another of your riveting tales…" A few classmates chuckled as a blushing Danny made his way to his seat. Raven, on the other hand, was left standing, waiting for her seat to be assigned. "Ah, you must be Miss Venn,"
"Yeah," Raven answered, glancing around the rest of the class. Her eyes fell on an all too familiar Latino girl and blonde, both of with were smirking at her.
"Well, Miss Venn, I hope you're up for an interesting and fun-filled journey into the world of modern fiction." He said with a smile, "That goes for the rest of you as well. Everyone in this class must do a report on a book published in the last five years. And it cannot be one of the Harry Potter books." This was met with groans and grumbles from the students. "Well then, We'll be heading down to the library to find suitable books for everyone today. Then on Wednesday and Thursday we'll be typing out reports in the computer lab, (Four page minimum, 12 pt font, single-spaced.) and the whole kit and caboodle is due Friday at the beginning of the hour."
"Four pages?" Star wailed, "How do we finish that in two days?"
"Find time, Miss Kathley," Lancer said dryly, "This project is worth a hundred points, and I don't give extensions. Any questions?" Raven had to give credit where credit was due; Mr. Lancer wasted no time. "Good, let's go then, shall we?"
And, with that, the class lined up begrudgingly to head to the library for their reports.
It was two hours later that Raven had realized exactly what she'd forgotten that morning.
Her lunch.
As such, the sorceress was now stuck eating the cafeteria food, charging it to her account with the solemn promise of bringing money tomorrow. Which such out of the way, Raven had thought she was in the clear until she sat down and actually tried the food served at Casper High.
One bite gave her a new appreciation for Tameranian food.
No joke, either. It was seriously that bad. No wonder all the popular kids had their senior or junior friends (the only classes allowed off campus for lunch) bring them food from the outside world. Not that a restaurant called 'Nasty Burger' sounded any more appealing, but considering that the jocks and cheerleaders seemed to be eating it without a problem, Raven doubted it was as bad as the name suggested.
"Mind if we sit here?" Raven jerked up, surprised. Standing in front of her, bag lunches in hand, were Danny Fenton and the girl who had covered for him in Homeroom. Danny was smiling warmly, but the girl had a look of wary distrust. "Everywhere else is full, and Valerie and I usually eat here, anyways,"
"Knock yourselves out," Raven responded, shrugging. Actually, she was surprised. Danny had been the only student to speak directly to her after the Paulina/Dash thing.
"Heard you dissed Paulina before you got on Dash's case this morning," Danny said as he sat, "That's gotta make you one of the bravest people to ever enter Casper High,"
What's the big deal?" Raven asked, scoffing. "They're just teenagers, just like everyone else here." Valerie's sandwich stopped midway to her mouth.
"You've never been in high school before, have you?" She said, looking at Raven suspiciously. Raven's eyes narrowed.
"I was home schooled before, so what?" She challenged. It wasn't technically a lie. Everything she knew she'd learned either from the Monks of Azarath or by studying it herself in her home at Titan's Tower.
"Poor, Poor Rae…" Danny sighed teasingly, shaking his head.
"What?" Raven asked, a little concerned now.
"You just committed the ultimate social suicide." Valerie explained, "Publicly dissing the two most popular kids in our class in one day is something not tolerated at any high school in the world. You're not just unpopular now, you've hit the lowest of the low. You're gonna be the butt of almost every prank from now till Graduation,"
"I think I can handle myself against airheads and bullies," Raven said disdainfully.
"Paulina's not that bad," Danny defended the cheerleader. Valerie rolled her eyes and leaned across the table to have a private word with Raven.
"You'll have to excuse Danny," She whispered loudly, "It's the hormones. They kill off brain cells in boys, you know," Raven couldn't hide a grin at that.
"Wouldn't surprise me," She responded, thinking of all the stupid things Beastboy would do to get a girl's attention.
"Hey!" Danny said, offended, "I can hear you, you know!"
"Yeah, we know, lover-boy," Valerie said teasingly, "Now eat your stupid sandwich. I don't want you complaining of hunger pains in Gym."
"When do I ever complain?" Danny said defensively. Valerie gave him a look, "Don't answer that, Rae's probably already traumatized enough for the day if this is really her first day of public schooling," Then Danny frowned at Raven, noticing her empty tray, "Uh, hey, where's your lunch?"
"Funny thing you just mention traumatizing experiences…" Raven said dryly, glancing at the chief. Danny bust out laughing.
"Take half of my lunch," He offered chivalrously, "My mom always over packs it, anyways. I think she hopes it'll keep me from looking so skinny."
"Good luck there," Valerie snorted, "You could eat enough to save a small country and still not gain an ounce."
"What can I say, I lucked out with metabolism," Danny grinned, "Jazz too. We both take after Mom there…"
"Thanks," Raven said with a smile as she accepted the food Danny offered her.
"Hey, I owe you for the save from Dash, remember?" Danny said gently, smiling again. Raven couldn't help for notice the look that passed over Valerie's face at that smile. Pure, undisguised jealousy, with was quickly replaced with an indifferent mask.
'Interesting…' Raven thought, watching the two as she chewed her half of Danny's sandwich thoughtfully. 'Very interesting.'
WoM- Wow, this is a long chapter! Five Pages longer then the first chapter. Anyways, I hoped you all liked it! Don't be afraid to review! I only bite in self defense!
Thanks to-
DannysGirlForever
Tetsukon
shadowspinner1
Fuzzytoesocks
Jamie
Invader Johnny
Sqweakie the Wonder Mouse
Millie M. Banshee
DSK
Aida Vargas
epobbp
CelloSolo2007
Jaaku-san
phantomgirl07
k
enigmatic penguin
weras
Questions-
Jamie (Sorry, but Probably not. Maybe a little crushing, but nothing more serious then that. I'm going a different way romance wise for this fic...)
Aida Vargas ('laugh' Yikes! Thank God my parents are more understanding then that, even if my aunts and uncles aren't. Though they might ship me off to Catholic school if they could hear half the conversations I've had with my friends on the bus, and I know dad was considering it when he found out I had my naval pierced.)
enigmatic penguin (Not really a question, but I had to respond. You mentioned my horrible grammar, and I wish to ackknowlage and apologize for it. I'm trying to get these chapters out as fast as I can, and sometimes I miss things at first. From the way you write, though, you seem t have a sharp eye. If it's not too much to ask, can you beta for me? Leave me your e-mail and I'll contact you if you're interested!)
Next update- December 3rd.
See you then!