The following night, Dick felt like he was experiencing a sense of déjà vu. He tapped the keys of his laptop and tilted his head to the side to keep his phone steady. He was talking to Wally while writing up some reports and file updates for work.
"So, are you excited about tomorrow night?" Wally asked,
"Oh yeah. I'm ecstatic." Dick replied, sarcastically,
"Have you asked any special girls to be your date?"
"Well... I was thinking of asking Kori... But... She has a boyfriend so-"
"Go for it!"
"Were you listening when I said she had a boyfriend?"
"Yeah but so what? It doesn't have to be considered as a romantic gesture. For all anyone else knows, you're just being a nice friend and stuff."
"I guess... Maybe I'll go-" Dick paused as he suddenly heard raised voices. He raised an eyebrow towards his door. He heard Wally asking questions through the phone so he placed the phone to his ear once more.
"Duuuuuude? Are you there?" Wally sang,
"I'll call you back." Dick stated, before ending the call. He slowly got up off of his bed and wandered into the main room of his apartment. He did his best to stay as quiet as possible.
Through the wall, he could hear a man and woman screaming at each other. Dick gritted his teeth as he realised it was Kori and Xavier arguing once again. He balled his hands into fists in an attempt to contain his anger. He was angry because he felt like Xavier was the one who caused so many problems for Kori and he felt that Xavier really didn't deserve such an amazing girlfriend like Kori.
He could hear it in Kori's strained voice when she yelled that she had either been crying or she was crying. Dick happily prepared himself for when their argument ended and Kori needed cheering up. He had already taken a liking to making Kori feel better after her arguments with Xavier. He simply liked to see her smile and he enjoyed spending time with her in order to get to know her.
Suddenly, Dick was brought out of his reverie as he heard a door slam shut. The voices evaporated and all he could hear now was quiet sobs coming from Kori who had apparently been left to deal with her broken relationship alone. Dick waited for a couple of minutes to make sure he wasn't going to be hassled by Kori's bastard of a boyfriend.
He meekly left his apartment whilst placing his key in his pocket. He had a feeling he wasn't gonna be back for a little while. He ambled closer to Kori's door and rapped his knuckles against it.
After a couple of moments, the door opened to reveal a distraught Kori who had red puffy eyes and tears still sliding down her cheeks. She tilted her head to the side slightly as if mentally apologizing to him.
Dick softly smiled at her, "C'mere." He said, calmly,
Kori nodded and walked towards him, her face scrunching up slightly as she began crying again. Her cries became muffled as she received instant solace from Dick. He hushed her quietly and held her comfortingly. He even went as far as to stroke her hair slightly in an attempt to soothe her ruffled feelings and thoughts.
Dick pulled away from her after a short time and patted her shoulder. He stepped inside and closed the door behind him as he followed Kori into the main area of her apartment.
He smiled fondly. Her apartment was a mix of pink and purple colours. It was cosy yet extremely girly. Seemed about right.
They sat down on Kori's light coloured sofa and began to watch TV together, in silence. Kori exhaled a lot in apparent relief. It was nice for Dick to know that something as simple as his presence was making her feel a little less upset.
"I am sorry... That you were forced to hear it..." Kori whispered, her voice barely audible.
"Don't apologise. I'm glad that I heard it so I could check to see if you were alright." Dick responded, giving her a reassuring smile.
Kori gave him a ghost of a small smile and took a chance by leaning against his shoulder. She didn't know if the movement was going to make him feel uncomfortable but apparently, he was fine with it.
"Thank you..." She murmured. She felt Dick nod in response but she knew the question was on the tip of his tongue and she couldn't blame him for wanting to know either.
"So... What was it about tonight?" Dick urged,
"He was inebriated and... He becomes aggressive when he consumes alcoholic beverages... He said hurtful things which made me angry but I know that he will simply forget what he said by the morning." Kori answered, lowering her eyes a little.
Dick shook his head. It made him furious to know that Xavier could act any way that he wanted to without getting chased up on it. He didn't like that Xavier yelled at Kori whenever he felt like it just because he knew that she wouldn't dare fight him on it. Kori was practically his emotional punching bag.
He exhaled a big breath to calm himself of his own irritation. In the process, he noticed Kori's eyes were fluttering as she drifted in and out of sleep. Dick decided to let Kori fall asleep. He knew she would be exhausted after arguing with Xavier two nights in a row.
After a couple of minutes, Dick heard steady heavy breathing and chanced a glance down at Kori who was fast asleep. He smiled and calmly reached over to grip the TV remote. He switched off the TV and set the remote aside again.
He moved slowly so that he didn't wake Kori up. He gently lifted her into his arms in a bridal style. Kori groaned and Dick felt his heart stop for a minute in fear that he had woke her up however; she didn't stir at all.
Dick stepped carefully through the main room until he reached Kori's room. He carried her over to her bed and set her down tenderly. He pulled the covers over her and tucked her in a little, making sure that she would be comfortable throughout the night.
Dick watched her for a moment with a sad smile. He sighed at the realisation that he would never be able to call her his as long as she remained emotionally tied to Xavier. Dick turned away from the sleeping beauty and left her apartment to go back to his own.
Light trickled through the small gap of Kori's violet curtains and lingered over her face. She yawned and stretched her arms out in front of her as she shook off the sandman's spell. Her eyes darted around the room with curiosity. She suddenly sat up, confused.
She replayed the night before in her head and remembered that she had fallen asleep on Dick. 'He must have placed me in my bed'. Kori thought.
She smiled at the thought of the dark haired boy but considered that she had work this morning. She grabbed her phone from her bedside table and checked the time.
She grinned as she realised she had plenty of time to get ready. Kori threw back the covers and completed a healthy morning routine.
Kori got into the shower and washed her body and face. She was happy that she decided to wash her face due to the washed out black makeup that covered a good portion of her cheeks. When Kori got out, she dried her hair and dried her body.
She found her uniform on the back of a chair and shrugged herself into it. She sighed. She was happy that she had lots of time but she still didn't like going to work. But really, who did like going to work?
Kori made herself some toast and chewed on it while she applied fresh mascara to her eyelashes.
With about 20 minutes still to spare, Kori grabbed her bag and coat and decided to leave. There was no point waiting around if she was ready.
Kori left her apartment and locked the door behind her. She began walking towards the exit of the foyer but she heard a familiar voice say her name.
"Hey, Kor?" Dick said, catching her attention. Kori turned to see him exiting his own apartment, apparently on his way to work too.
She noticed that Dick was wearing a smart suit. She realised that she had never actually seen him in work attire. She felt her cheeks heat up a little. He looked very attractive in a suit.
Kori smiled, "Oh, hello Richard," She returned, cheerfully.
"Uh... How are you feeling this morning?"
"Better... Thank you for staying with me and thank you for putting me in my room. That was very sweet of you,"
"No problem..."
They stared at each other with the sound of silence surrounding them for a couple of seconds. Kori inhaled a breath and shifted her eyes from side to side, briefly,
"I... I should get going for work..." Kori stammered, slowly starting to turn away.
"Wait!" Dick exclaimed, causing Kori to look at him with a curious expression plastered upon her face,
"Yes? Is something wrong?"
"Well... It's just... Are you doing anything tonight?"
"Nothing. Why?"
"Well, I wanted to ask you a couple of nights ago so you had enough time to prepare..."
"For what?"
"Wait... What time are you working til?"
"5:00pm. It is an earlier shift tonight."
"Alright... Kori... Would you maybe wanna be my date... As friends of course... to this charity ball that Bruce is throwing tonight?"
Kori visibly brightened at the idea of dressing up and going out but then she became dull immediately after.
"I do not know, Richard... If Xavier knew..." She trailed off,
"C'mon. Just don't tell him. Besides, you deserve a night to dress all fancy and drink champagne and stuff! And Rachel and Garfield and the others will all be there too."
"They will?"
"Yeah. Like I said, I wanted to ask you the same time that I asked all of them but... You've been a little preoccupied and I didn't know if I should ask..."
"Alright, Richard. I shall be your date," Kori agreed, smiling. She stopped short and rethought her statement, "As a friend..."
Dick smirked, "Yeah, of course..."
They both bowed their heads and smiled involuntarily. Dick reached into his pocket and retrieved the invitation before handing it over to Kori.
"Do you have any fancy dresses? It's kinda like the dress code. It sucks but what can you do?"
Kori giggled, "I do. I shall see you tonight then?"
"Yes, you will, Kori."
Kori smiled as she slowly backed away. She bumped her arm on the door slightly but cleared her throat, "Now... I really should be going." She admitted,
"Oh! Right! Sorry!" Dick apologised. Kori shook her head, telling him that it was okay. She raised her hand and waved to him.
Dick smiled and returned the wave goodbye. With that, Kori left and hurried down the stairs.
Dick could barely contain his joy at the fact that Kori had agreed to go with him to the charity ball. He felt a weird twisted feeling in his stomach. The type of feeling you got when you were really nervous or excited about something. He smirked as he thought about her. Sure, she had a boyfriend but that didn't forbid her from going out with a friend. He sighed in content. He simply hoped his work day would pass quickly so that the evening would come quicker...
