I will not be making my decision on a paring until Friday of next week. So far most people want a pairing. If you don't want a pairing you should tell me. If you do want one, than you should still tell me. Your preferred outcome might not happen if you don't vote. Well my voting spiel is over and now you can enjoy the story.

My day started out relatively normal. I woke up and went to school. It wasn't until I went to work that things started getting interesting.

I got up at 6 in the morning and started into my workout. I was feeling tired because Slide's mom was released from the hospital last night. Slide's dad was stuck at a meeting at his work so Slide asked me and Kelsey if we would help him get his mom and her stuff to his house safely.

We jumped at the chance. We had been going with Slide to visit his mom for about a week and we had got to know his mom well. She acted like Slide in a female body. Even though she was stuck in a hospital she was extremely upbeat and cheerful. The first visit she immediately took to me and Kelsey so we got to hear a lot of her stories, including embarrassing baby stories about Slide. My personal favourites are when Slide was being changed for the first time in the hospital his dad was having trouble with the diaper. Apparently Slide didn't like how long it was taking so he decided to "release the river" all over his father. The worst part was a nurse walked in right as Slide did that. My other favourite was when Slide was two he decided he would help wash the dishes. Instead of washing he started eating the bubbles in the sink. I now have great blackmail material.

It felt nice to see normal family interaction. Being hunted by your own parents is definitely doesn't happen in a normal family. Even so I still envy Slide and the relationship he has with parents.

Getting to school I met with Kelsey in the halls. "Danny could I talk to you for a second?" she asked somewhat nervously. This can't be good.

"Sure" I reply.

"Um, could you join my family for dinner tomorrow?" She asked.

"Why?" I asked before realizing what she just said. "Wait, do you mean … look I'm flattered that you think of me that way but I don't think of you like that."

Kelsey's face immediately reddened. "No" she practically shouted at me. Her outburst turned some heads in the hallway. Lowering her voice Kelsey said "I told my family that I made friends with you and when they learned that you were the boy that saved us they wanted to meet you." She paused for a moment, "What do you mean you don't like me. No one can resist me" Kelsey joked.

"Apparently someone can" I said before replying to her question "No I won't go."

"Come on, I already told my parents I could get you to come." She said. "My dad's barbecuing steak." I perked up when I heard the word steak. The number of home cooked meals I eat isn't very high. I am able to cook, having parents that brought dinner to life every night does that to a person. The only things I can make are eggs, pastas, and simple stir frys, which gets old quickly. Seeing that she peeked my interest, Kelsey went in for the kill. "And my mom is making her famous potato skins. They have three cheeses and bacon in them."

My mouth started watering after she finished. Admitting defeat I said, "Alright I'll go."

Kelsey let out a small squeal as she jumped for joy. "Thank you" she said as she handed me a piece of paper. "This is my address, be there tomorrow at 6." And with that we walked to class.

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Work is so boring sometimes. Add to that the fact I'm tired from helping Slide last night and I'm dreading meeting Kelsey's parents, my work shift today definitely ranks in the top 5 worst. As I stood behind the counter trying to figure out my worst shifts, Starfire walked into the Coffee Bean. Maybe she can make my work more exciting.

Starfire looked worried as she walked up to the counter. Without asking I started making her usual order of hot chocolate with mustard in it. A little after Raven started ordering tea here Starfire started ordering her hot chocolate that way. I don't know why she likes it but she orders it every time she comes. Joel even had to buy several big bottles of mustard just for Starfire. The Coffee Bean has to be the only shop that sells mustard as a drink. Fun fact trying to calculate a price for a drink of mustard is really hard.

Seeing Starfire's worried expression I asked "Are you ok? Is something the matter? Is it your sister again?"

She sighed before saying "I'm worried about Robin. He has locked himself in his room trying to find a villain named Slade. He won't let us help him or do anything fun anymore."

I've heard about this Slade. There were a few articles about him in the newspapers. Apparently a lot of supervillain attacks connect back to him but other than that no one knows much about him. Slade sounds similar to Vlad, they both are the scheming type. If Slade is manipulative, than the Titans should be cautious or they might end up like me. I got too comfortable and I had to run away because of it.

"It's ok Starfire. He always stops obsessing quickly." I say reassuringly. Starfire told me a few stories about Robins infamous OCD streaks. Once he decided to get the high score on one of the video games he played and spent 18 hours straight trying to beat it. No food or bathroom breaks. Apparently he finally snapped out of due to having to respond to a bank robbery.

"I think not. Robin is different this time. He shut us all out and will not talk to any of the Titans more than he has too." Explained Starfire dejectedly. I finish making her drink and hand it to her.

"I'm sure things will turn out alright." I say reassuringly. I hope they do. There's nothing worse than friends being torn apart. The worst thing that ever happened to me was leaving Sam and Tucker. "And if they don't and Robin continues to isolate himself than you should probably find a new leader for the Titans. Remember Abraham Lincoln said 'A house divided against itself cannot stand'"

Letting out out a gasp of surprise, Starfire said "Friend Danny, why would you say that. Robin is the reason I am a Titan. He should be the leader!" Pausing for a second Starfire's personality do a complete 180 as she innocently asked "Who is Abraham Lincoln?"

"Right you're an alien. Abraham Lincoln was the leader of the United States for a few years. But that's not what's important. I'm not saying you should remove him as leader just yet. I'm just saying that if he continues the way he's going you should consider it." I try to explain. "Think about it, the Titans are a team right. And to be a team you have to trust that your teammates not only trust you but believe in you. By secluding himself and rejecting help, Robin's basically saying he doesn't believe in you or trust you. I'm sure he doesn't even realize he's doing it, so if you talk to him about it, most of your problems could be solved without going to extremes."

Starfire mulled over what I said for a moment before she pulled me into a bone crushing hug. "Thank you friend Danny. You always know what to say to make me feel better." Said Starfire.

I narrowly avoid knocking over her drink as my arms flail around in an attempt to break free of her death grip. Once she finally releases me I manage to catch my breath. "It's no problem. I hope things work out for you." I say.

"Me too" and with Starfire picked up her drink and left. Leaving me alone and bored. It wasn't until 2 hours later that something interesting happened. Another Titan walked into the Coffee Bean only this time it was Raven. She looked worse for wear. Her clothes were disheveled and dirty. She had various scraps and bruises across her arms and legs, and a red mark that looked suspiciously like an x across her mouth. I wonder what happened to her. As she walked over I started making her tea.

"Rough night?" I asked.

"Yah, we fought a new villain called Red X that had a way counter every Titan. He managed to get away." Raven replied tiredly.

I winced in sympathy. "To make you feel better I'll upgrade your tea size for free." I said as I tried to cheer her up.

"That's nice but I can't accept" replied Raven.

"Think of it as my way of saying thanks for protecting the city." I said.

"Because we did such a good job of it tonight." She replied sarcastically.

"No one can expect you to be perfect. You lost once. So what. It's not like anyone was seriously hurt. Compared to all the times you stopped criminals, one loss is nothing. In my books you guys are still doing a great job." I say. I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt because when I started as Phantom everything I did was under scrutiny. People thought I was evil even after I repeatedly saved them. It almost took me a year before people stopped running away in fear at the first sight of me. The Titans don't deserve that kind of treatment. Sure they're not perfect but at least they try.

"We might have caught him if Robin was there. He might have figured out a way to stop Red X." Another complaint about Robin. I guess it is worse than I originally thought.

Raven's tea finished steeping so I poured it into a cup and handed it to her. "Or Red X could have had a counter for Robin and would have still gotten away. I guess we'll never know." I said.

"Yah, I guess your right." she said as she took her drink. With that Raven walked to her regular table and sat down. She took about 10 minutes to drink her tea. Raven left with a quick goodbye to me, leaving me to my boredom.

The rest of my shift passed by uneventfully. With 15 minutes left until the café closes most of the customers were gone. I was cleaning one of the tables when the bell above the rang. I turned to find Robin had entered the Coffee Bean. The same Robin I'd been told about twice already today. Someone upstairs must really hate me. Although 3 Titans in one day must be a new record.

Robin looked completely exhausted. His eyes were unfocused and bloodshot, and his movements were almost painfully slow. He managed to drag himself to the counter as I finished cleaning the table and made my way to the cash.

"Large coffee please" he managed to say.

"Are you sure you want the coffee. You look exhausted. Maybe you should just go home and sleep." I asked. It's true, he looked like he was ready to fall asleep standing up.

"I don't have time to sleep. Just make the coffee." An irritated Robin said to me. I could have left it right there and made the coffee but after talking to Starfire and Raven I had to try and help. Hero complex, why do you make me do these things?

"What's so important that you'd risk your health for it." I asked.

"It's just a criminal that's loose. I need to track him down." He replied.

Seeing an opportunity I jumped on it. "So why not let one of your teammates work for a few hours while you get some sleep."

"No, it has to be me." He said with conviction. "I have to do it by myself."

"Then why are you on a team." I said bluntly. Robin stared at me with a shock expression that said he couldn't believe I just said that to him. I don't blame him, I'm surprised I said it. Robin's mouth opens and closes as if to say something but nothing comes out. Trying to explain I say "What I'm trying to say is if you aren't going to let anyone help you why are you on a team. The advantage to being a team is that you have help and different perspectives so you can accomplish things quicker. If you aren't taking advantage of that it's the same as fighting crime by yourself."

"But a leader must be separate from the people he leads." retorted Robin. "A leader must appear invincible and untouchable so the people he leads trust him completely. If the people he leads bond with him than they will learn that he's human too and that he has problems. Then they will start questioning if they should follow him."

"But by not letting them help your basically saying you don't trust them. How do you expect them to trust you if you don't trust them." I asked.

"I can't, the investigation is too important." He said.

"That makes it the perfect opportunity to fix things. Because it's so important, if you ask for help your basically saying you trust them completely." I said.

"Can you make my coffee now." Robin says dismissively. I can tell that the conversation is over but I can see it in his eyes that he's contemplating what I said. I pour the coffee and hand it to Robin after he pays for it. As he leaves I glance over to the clock on the wall. Wow, our talk chewed up the last 15 minutes of my shift.

I quickly shoo the last of the customers out and lock up before walking home. I'm going to sleep well tonight.

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The next day

I'm currently late for dinner at Kelsey's house. It's not my fault though. Due to Kelsey inviting me on such short notice I had to rearrange my work schedule. No one could cover the first half of my shift so I still had to go to that. It ended at 5:00 so I thought I had enough time to run home and freshen up. I miscalculated the time to Kelsey's house because I'm still walking to her house at 6:15. I hope she won't be too mad.

One good thing did come out of my half shift. Starfire dropped by around 4:00 and told what happened after I talked to Robin. She didn't know I talked to him though. Apparently Robin was Red X all along and was trying to earn Slade's trust so he could capture him. When Robin got home to Titans Tower after our encounter, he woke everyone up for a team talk. He told them he was Red X and asked them too help him ambush Slade. Starfire said the other Titans were angry he didn't tell them about his plan to turn into Red X, but soon agreed to follow Robin's new plan after he apologized to them. I'm glad things worked out for them and I hope their ambush works tonight.

I turned onto Kelsey's street and checked the piece of paper with her address on it. Finding her house I walked up and rang the doorbell. I heard the sound of quick footsteps thump towards the door. Either they have the worlds biggest dog or someone is really excited to meet me. The door opened and I saw a small girl on the other side of the doorway. She had long blonde hair, brown mischievous eyes, and a huge smile plastered on her face. I'm confused. Kelsey never mentioned she had a sister.

"I'm sorry I must have the wrong house." I said as I turned to walk away.

"Are you Danny?" she asked.

Hesitantly I said "Yes."

If it was possible her smile got even larger. "Kelsey said you'd be coming tonight. I'm Sarah, Kelsey's sister. Come inside. Did you really save my family?" Sarah said quickly as she grabbed my arm and pulled me into the house into a living room. This kid is really hyper.

Before I can answer I hear a male voice say "Is he here." In walked Mr. Hanson. He is a tall, thin man with balding hair. "Oh you're here. Dinner will be ready in 5 minutes. You can sit down on the couch." He said bluntly before turning around and walking back into the kitchen.

Nervously I sat down. Sarah sat beside me on the couch and constantly chattered with me. "Can you tell me what happened. Please please please." She pestered as she drew closer with each please.

I was spared from answering by Kelsey walking into the room. "You actually made it. I thought you'd chicken out at the last minute." Kelsey said.

"You said there would be steak. That trumps chicken any day." I retorted. Seeing Sarah pouting beside me I said "Don't worry I haven't forgot about you. I was just in the right place at the right time."

"Awww, I wanted a good story" complained Sarah. A "dinners ready" was heard coming from the kitchen. Sarah immediately perked up and shot towards the kitchen.

Seeing her go I commented "She's certainly is something."

"Yes she's quite the handful" replied Kelsey.

"How come you never told me you had a sister?" I asked.

"You never asked" she said. Right, I was trying to avoid Kelsey for most of the past month.

"Then how come she wasn't with you when . . . ahem . . . the incident happened?"

"It was my birthday and my parents took me to a movie as a present. She was with a babysitter the entire night. Anyways dinner's going to flyer cold. Let's go." And with that she walked to the kitchen.

Following her I walked into a room full of wonderful smells. A lot of food was piled onto the already set table. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all. I mean this is the closest thing I've had to a family dinner I've had in 2 months. I'm definitely going to enjoy it.

I know I know that was a bad place to end but I couldn't think of a better place. The next chapter will be what your all waiting for. Every Titan meeting Danny at the same time. How does it happen, you'll just have to read and find out.