Chapter 3: Bait

The sun in Gotham was troubling, barely visible behind the tons of grey. Kory waited for him outside where the back steps to Gotham Academy were.

She began to wonder if Dick had still remembered where their old meeting place was, since it had been quite some time since their last meet. She took a seat on the concrete steps and created backup plans in case Dick hadn't showed up. He was never an early person, anyway; preferring to cram and work out endlessly into the night.

Half an hour later, Dick spotted Kory scrolling through her smartphone from the steps, looking bright compared to the grey weather around her. He felt his mouth go dry as he tried to greet her, realizing he must have been terribly late.

She only put up her hand to silence him before he could start.

He ignored her and crossed his arms, "Really? Xavier?"

Dick leaned against the brick wall of the side of Gotham Academy. He was referring to the previous day when he had seen Kory and Xavier's little encounter.

"I'm surprised that you are actually here. So now are you finally ready to talk to me after all this time?"

"You never answered the question and, for the record, you stopped talking to me."

She smiled sweetly, in a way that was too sweet, it was nearly sickening. "Well Dick, as much as I would like to rehash and rekindle what horrid things you have done to me and your friends, that's not why I'm here."

Dick knew something was up and couldn't deny that her words stung.

But being in her presence was magnifying, she always brought out the best in him. He took a moment to soak her appearance in, as if it was the last time he would ever talk to her again.

She was stunning in a messy ponytail that let her flame like hair bounce behind her in springy curls. She was being cheeky, but Kory had never been the type to be serious; it wasn't surprising. Of course, there were times where joking would be sustained, but with Kory, she was so full of energy and life; the mix of impulse and naivety.

She had always been carefree, not really having a mean bone in her body. Their personalities obviously clashing. Her being a year younger than him only confirmed this notion.

Her demeanor was lighthearted, but her eyes gave away the truth; she was angry, "Victor told me what happened."

His stare said drop it, but she couldn't. She didn't. "What is the matter with you lately? Is this not what you wanted? To leave us?"

He breathed hard, "I've changed. Things are different now."

She managed to chuckle, "Oh, please."

"You think you've changed? How? What makes things so much different now than they were back then?"

Dick just looked on, not answering. Her lips curled in a weak smile

Then, she did the worst thing he could ever imagine. Her chuckle escalated into infectious laughter. The upwards curl of the corners of her mouth deepend and her dimples were revealed. She was gorgeous, but her fit of laughter made him feel inordinarily insecure..

"It's because she broke up with you, right? Got you thinking back to your scattered remains?"

"Kory," Dick said in a grave tone, "That's not what happened you never gave me the chance to explain."

She pouted her plump lips, "Well that's not fair. I personally don't think you need anymore chances. Better yet, you've made it abundantly clear you don't need anymore people too."

Taking a breath, he examined his words carefully, "Yeah, well we were friends first, alright. I know I fucked up but we're only making ourselves miserable. Can we not at least be friends again?"

Dick knew he sounded pathetic but couldn't seem to stop the sea of words that gushed out of his mouth. The look on her face said everything. He watched her eyebrows furrow in confusion.

Dick found himself reaching an arm towards her, a territorial yet comforting gesture that was unlike him and slightly took him by surprise. Kory knew that she would have to face him eventually, ending this immature charade once and for all. The direness of the situation now was beyond control.

It was funny how something seemingly so minor could have such a detrimental impact on the relationship of his friends.

Seeing that Richard wasn't going to answer the question, Kory took that as her cue to continue.

"I've been talking to Rachel."

Dick wanted to feel amused at the indirectness of their conversation. It seemed to jump from topic to topic so easily, he was sure he was losing track of time.

"And as cold as we both know she can be, Rachel never was one to sugarcoat things. And I for one trust her advice wholeheartedly, something you clearly must have stopped doing."

Rachel was like family to Dick, but when she was angry she would never let him see the light of day. They had a bond that was unmatched, Rachel never one to hesitate to tell him how she felt or how Dick was screwing things up. It was something that Richard had always admired about Rachel, something he missed.

Occasionally Richard would see Rachel out in public as she was considered socialite status. From now and then he would spot her at the occasional event or charity ball. Even from her status she was never one to conform to any group of people.

"Where are you going with this?"

She side-glanced through her lashes and shook her head with a sigh.

Dicks ears perked.

Before he knew it, he answered, "I really want this. This-you."

Wishing to end whatever moment they had had together quickly, Kory reached into her pockets to pull out a folded sheet of paper. One that she had planned to leave in their spot in case Dick hadn't shown up.

"Listen Dick," she stood and looked down to meet his gaze. "You say you've changed and I really want to believe you, not just for our sake but for our friends sake too. But you just…" She paused, getting a bit more emotional, "threw us all away as if we were nothing to you."

She fiddled with her hands some and after a few long moments of silence. "I know that you're graduating soon and before you disappear out of my life- out of our lives forever I just want to know the real you. Is that too much to ask?"

Dick found himself standing up, towering over her 5'7 stature. He opened his mouth, trying not to gawk at her and he had nimbly began to form some sort of reply. All games finally aside.

Choosing that moment to walk away, Kory left Dick before he had seen how worked up she had gotten. Dick felt his heart stop as he watched a single tear slide down her gorgeous cheek before she had turned away to walk off. Kory didn't dare look back once.

"Just read the paper, okay?" She called back out to him.

If he didn't expect anything from Kory, it sure wasn't the painful look in her eyes when she looked at him.

He was in agony.

Realizing that he had hurt her before didn't seem to phase him nearly as much back then. She was just the gullible underclassman then, someone he left for his associate's liking. It was no doubt that Kory was expressive but that didn't stop every single emotion she showed still eliciting a response from him.

Dick examined the folded sheet that sat in his hands. He was never one to shy away from a challenge, or whatever gimmick his old friends had in mind.

English was more boring than usual.

Dick found himself so unwilling to type as he relayed the conversation from this morning. He could almost hear every single word from this morning clear as a bell. Speaking privately with Kory was something Dick never thought would be so civil.

From the break up, they did share a certain hostility, but maybe she was slowly wearing down over time. Dick wandered his eyes over to where Kory sat, but she hadn't even acknowledged him.

She sat next to Rachel, who had been spending her time writing in her journal.

"What happened?" Rachel whispered to Kory, out of earshot from Dick. She didn't look interested but her tone seemed urgent.

"Honestly, I have no idea. He.. hasn't made a decision yet," The redhead finally spared a glance his direction.

Unenthusiastically, Rachel nodded. It wasn't the first time that Rachel was disappointed by Richard's stubbornness . "Do you think that he at least bought it?"

Kory perked up a bit, "As far as my performance goes, you should've seen it. He ate it up."

His pride was going to be hard to break, but that would ultimately be a choice he would have to make.

Dick, not realizing the severity of the situation, was having a difficult time managing through his assigned essay. He found that his eyes were distracted, trailing over the contents of the letter; the font, the signatures.

He was soaking in everything. It was drawing up memories of their first encounter, the brief contact of their fingertips when she handed it to him.

Dick only hoped she would understand his predicament.

Rachel awoke groggily, she was uncomfortably sprawled out on the unfamiliar yet soft sofa. Gar's mom had finally left the group alone that night to be free to talk. But instead of chatting, a chuckle or two from Gar and Vic, the lot of them had collapsed around the living room to the quaint house.

By now, it was routine. The gang had normally hung out Friday nights and sometimes settled at crashing at someone's house for the night. This week's choice being Gar.

Garfield lied facedown in the carpet, somehow feeling comfortable in his sprawled out position. Static from the floor and his blanket had caused his blonde hair to be slightly raised on one side. Rachel stifled a smile as she stretched.

Victor yawned as he whispered a quiet " Mornin' " Rachel's way. Groaning, he sat up, and after seeing Gar had taken the quilt the two had been sharing, Vic settled on yanking the one from Kory, who still lay on her back, a slight snore erupting from her rosy parted lips.

The air confessed a cool chill and she folded her body tighter. Kory shuddered from the sudden burst of air and blindly reached around for her missing cover. Victor snuggled back in comfort, letting sleep enveloped him once more. Kory rubbed her eyes and they almost immediately landed on her blanket now in use by Vic, and as revenge she tossed a pillow his way.

'Toss' being an understatement as her throw had shocking force behind it. Needless to say, the three of them were awake, with Garfield still faced down, sleeping peacefully. Mrs. Logan's footsteps were heard thudding down, and they scattered to straighten things up some.

Chip bags, pillows and sloppy covers strewn over the cushions. "Garfield, I'm heading out!"

At the sound of his mother's voice, and the use of his full name, he was suddenly conscious .

Upon seeing her son and his friends she frowned. She hadn't expected them to linger over for so long, but had gotten used to their closeness. "Oh, goodmorning everyone. Had I known you were all staying over I would have prepared breakfa-"

Mrs. Logan looked over to the kitchen which was in complete disarray. Bowls and plates were stacked up piled high in the sink and worst of all; the milk sat out all night. It felt like her heart broke then and there.

"Garfield, a word if you'd please," She stamped her foot impatiently.

Great, Gar thought. Just how am I supposed to get the van keys now?

The other teens winced at the mother's tone, saying their prayers to Gar silently.

Out of earshot from the rest of the crew, they settled on picking up the room to save Gar, the earful he was sure to receive if the mess remained. They could hear a bit of Gar's endless apologies synonymously decided against eavesdropping.

Instead, they decided to discuss the details of their plan, especially if their assumed mode of transportation was no longer an option.

This Friday hadn't been like any normal Friday. It was the Friday marking spring break.

Most students were eager to get out of Gotham, spend their vacation getting tanned at some resort.

Leading to this moment, the group had crafted a travel retreat, hitting all of their favorite spots in a drive to their vacation spot. It took some convincing and persuasion from the parentals, but they were set to make this break the best one yet.

Summer was, of course, the ideal away from school vacation, but with some of them involved in internships and the constant nagging from Mrs. Logan for Gar to get a job, it was highly unlikely the four would get an opportunity to spend so much time together before their adult lives started.

Well, make that four plus one.

There was one member of their group that was missing, but he didn't know that he was going on the trip yet. If Dick even knew that much.

The four had planned on inviting him along in a twisted way to give Dick one more taste of what he would be leaving after high school had officially ended. One more time of goofing off and one more time carefree. Seemingly already discarding them, they figured on giving him one long test of loyalty and one long ride together before they were to be disbanded.

Victor being accepted into a 4 year engineering institute in Steel City, Garfield going into Vet school in Jump, Rachel leaving the country to pursue her interest as a writer and photographer, and Kory being a year younger and having to spend her twelfth grade the following academic school year.

And with or without Dick, they were determined on making this Spring Break truly count.

But, without Richard, it wouldn't be as enlightening to say the least. Which is why they took the time to construct such an ambiguous letter for him. It was meant to entice yet elude, but as long as they could lure him in, then maybe there was room for him to change.

Dear Dick,

Graduation is right around the corner and we can't help but feel our relationship has been strained a filled with pettiness and immaturity. We've gotten on just fine, but after consideration, we're offering one last 'hoo-rah' to embark and leave the damage of stubborness and your snobbishness in the past.

This Spring Break, we're gonna hit up the beach. Like old times. You in or what?

-T

a/n: okie, this chapter was kinda loOoOong but at like five it should be more compact! please review andooooO will Dickie take the bait? 0.O