The evening rolled around and Dick was so thankful for that. After asking Kori to go with him to Bruce's charity ball that morning, he felt so nervous and jittery; he could barely concentrate on his work all day.
Dick gulped as he looked at his own reflection in his mirror. He had a smart black suit on with the addition of a dark red dress shirt instead of a white one. His hair wasn't very different; he had simply styled it in a less messy way.
He cringed when he thought back to earlier days when Bruce made him go to his charity events. His usual hair style as a teenager was to have spiked hair but when there was a charity ball or party, he slicked it all back with a giant handful of hair gel. At the time, Dick thought he looked classy and suave but now that he was older, he realised that he just looked like a bit of a douche.
Dick shook his head and focused on his appearance now. He just wanted to look presentable... He knew Kori was going to look amazing so he couldn't look sloppy, now could he?
He noticed his cheeks turning pink at how nervous he had become at wanting to look good for Kori. He couldn't help it. He had developed deep feelings for Kori that he couldn't shake no matter what.
He sighed and shook his head to clear his mind. He turned away from the mirror and picked up his invitation and his keys. He turned everything in his apartment off and wandered out of his apartment, locking the door behind him.
He walked and rounded the small section of wall that separated his and Kori's apartments. He stood in front of Kori's door and felt his heart pounding hard in his chest. He tugged on his collar a little and knocked lightly on the door.
After a moment, Kori's door slowly opened to reveal the angel herself. Dick's jaw dropped at the sight of her. She wore a long black dress that was strapless and cut plainly across her chest, tastefully. There was a slit that went all the way up her right side and ended at her hip, revealing her bare leg; something Dick couldn't help but notice. She had on a pair of simple black heels which helped define the small silver anklet she wore. She wore a silver bangle on each wrist and a thin necklace with a diamond encrusted star around her slender neck. Her hair remained down but she had clipped some up, just for a small difference.
Kori clasped her hands in front of her and bowed her head, shyly. She blushed as Dick struggled to stop staring at her. He shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck, sheepishly,
"I was not sure what to do with my hair so I am afraid it remains boring for tonight..." Kori explained,
"Kori, are you kidding? You look... Stunning..." Dick breathed, looking her up and down to make sure that she was really standing in front of him.
Kori made an 'o' shape with her mouth as his words shocked her. The blush painted across her cheeks deepened and she brushed a piece of hair behind her ear, timidly.
"Oh... Well, Thank you, Richard..." Kori replied, eyeing his own attire, "You look quite handsome, also."
"Ah, thanks..." He mumbled, nervously,
They stood there for a minute simply smiling at each other before Dick broke the comfortable silence between them,
"Do you wanna get going?" He queried. Kori beamed at him and nodded.
Dick offered her his arm like a posh gentleman and she giggled before accepting it.
As the two of them cruised down the streets in Dick's black Lamborghini, they listened to the ambience that was the radio. Kori found herself humming along to the songs that played and Dick kind of wished that their destination was different.
He wished that they were on their way to a fancy restaurant where they were sharing their first date. He hoped for so much with Kori but deep down, he knew he would eventually be disappointed. Kori didn't seem like she was going to be breaking up with Xavier any time soon so hope was all he had to hold onto.
"Richard?" Kori asked, pulling Dick out of his deep thoughts,
"Uh, y-yeah?" He responded, stuttering due to being caught off guard,
"Is it alright if I open the window?"
"Yeah, of course,"
Kori nodded and pressed the button that rolled her window down. He watched her out of the corner of his eye. She closed her eyes and smiled with a peaceful expression as the wind blew through her long auburn locks.
Soon enough, their journey ended and Dick pulled up near the manor. Kori raised an eyebrow at him,
"You are not going to drive onto the premises?" She quizzed,
"Stupid paparazzi... I don't want them to see us together..." He stated,
"Oh..."
"No! I didn't mean it offensively, Kor... I meant, I don't want them to make loads of accusations and I'm sure Xavier would see it in the news and I can guarantee that he wouldn't be the happiest guy in the world..."
"Very true... Is there a way around the paparazzi?"
Dick thought for a moment. He bit his lip in concentration and got out of the car. Kori watched him as he walked around the car and opened her door. He offered her his hand which she happily accepted.
"I know a way around the manor. I used to sneak in like this when I was late home after being out..." Dick explained, grinning. Kori giggled and enjoyed the fact that he held her hand while he led her up the side of the wall surrounding the manor. They continued walking together until the wall seemingly stopped.
Dick presented a wooden gate that was within the brick wall. Kori clapped her hands,
"Oh! How helpful to our situation!" She expressed,
Dick smiled and opened the gate. They both walked through and hurried around the back of the manor where people were gathered in groups within the garden. Kori gasped as she saw the large piece of land that was the 'garden'.
There were classy strings of fairy lights that were draped back and forth across the garden. The swimming pool was lit up with small candles that stayed afloat upon lily pads.
"Yeah... Bruce likes to make an impression..." Dick whispered to Kori, gently touching her waist,
"You do not say..." Kori breathed, still amazed by the appearance of the garden.
"C'mon. Let's try and find the others..." Dick suggested, pulling her along as they began looking for people they knew.
Kori suddenly spotted a pale girl in a dark purple dress with black laced fingerless gloves as they wandered inside the manor.
"I see Rachel," Kori announced, nodding her head in the girl's direction. Dick smiled at her observational skills and they strode closer.
As they drew nearer, they noticed that Rachel was with Garfield, Vic, Wally, Jen and Karen. The group caught sight of Kori and Dick and practically cheered over their arrival,
"Hey guys," Dick greeted, releasing Kori's waist in order to not raise questions among their friends.
"Finally! Where have you been, man!?" Wally demanded, smacking a hand down against his shoulder.
"Paparazzi were at the front of the manor... We had to come through the back way," Dick informed him, earning a nod in response.
"Ah! Well, you are here now!" Karen chimed,
"Hey, Bee, do you hear the song that's playing?" Vic asked,
"Oh my gosh! That is my jam! We gotta go dance, Vic!" Karen insisted, pulling on his arm. Vic shrugged and put up little resistance against his girlfriend. They ran off into the crowds in order to express their 'dance skills'.
Garfield had his eyes locked on something and he yelped with glee suddenly, "Dudes! The food has been brought out! I need to get in on that!" He told them,
"Is food all you think about?" Rachel questioned,
"Most of the time, yes."
Rachel rolled her eyes,
"C'mon Rae! Come with me!"
"... Pass."
Garfield gave her a playful glare before running off towards the refreshments table. Rachel cringed as she saw her boyfriend stuffing his face with pizza squares and salad. She could have sworn she saw him eat something that wasn't even food. She shrugged and turned to Kori.
"Do you want to go and get a drink?" She asked,
"Mm... That sounds good." Kori answered. She took two steps before she stopped and turned to Dick,
"Would you like me to bring you a drink, Richard?" She offered,
"Uh... No thanks. I'm good for now. Thanks," He returned.
Kori nodded and continued walking towards the drinks table with Rachel by her side.
Dick smiled absentmindedly as he watched Kori stroll off. He sighed a bit louder than he anticipated. He turned his head slightly to see Jenny and Wally giving him a smirk.
"What?" He scoffed,
"You like Kori!" Jenny blurted out,
"Well duh, Jen!" Wally added,
"Wh-What are you guys talking about?" Dick stammered,
"Dick... The way you're looking at her is not friendship. You have feelings for her, don't you?" Jenny asked, softly. Dick nodded, almost ashamed,
"What's wrong with liking her?" Wally asked,
"I already told you, she has a boyfriend. And a psycho boyfriend at that," Dick informed him,
"I think you should tell her how you feel..." Jenny suggested,
"Are you crazy, Jen?" Dick retorted,
"Well... Do you like her that much?" Jenny wondered,
"I really do... She's so beautiful, sweet, intelligent... I could literally go on for hours."
"Aw!" Jenny cooed, clapping her hands.
Wally placed a hand on Dick's shoulder, "You should dude... Who knows what the outcome will be. She might even like you too."
Dick sighed and opened his mouth to speak again but he eyed Kori and Rachel returning with their glasses of champagne.
"The manor is very elegant, is it not?" Kori commented, smiling up at Dick as she returned. He felt the corners of his own mouth turn upwards. She was so endearing.
"It's okay, I guess." Dick shrugged, glancing around the manor.
"It was great when we were kids. We used to ride our bikes around the whole house until Bruce would come in and yell at us..." Wally admitted, chuckling. Dick smirked at the memory of himself and Wally at age 11, running around the huge building like they had had 20 cups of coffee each within the time frame of 5 minutes.
Garfield suddenly appeared beside Rachel with cake in one hand.
"I love this place!" He exclaimed, his mouth full. Rachel made a face of disgust and rolled her eyes at his behaviour.
Jenny giggled at Rachel and Garfield but her interest perked when she heard a slow song come on. She gasped and turned to Wally with hope in her eyes that he would be up for dancing. Wally sighed and smiled at her. He didn't need to ask.
"Come on, then." He chuckled, taking Jenny's hand within his own. Garfield grinned and swallowed the food in his mouth before turning to Rachel.
"Hey Rae, wanna dance?" He proposed, offering her his hand. Rachel shrugged and accepted his hand,
"Anything that will stop you from stuffing your face with food." She said in a monotone.
Kori smiled at them as they strolled over to where every other couple was slow dancing together. She was acutely aware that Dick's eyes were on her but she resisted the urge to blush. Instead, she clasped her hands in front of her and meekly glanced back at Dick with a small smile.
Dick gulped. He decided to take a chance and ask her to dance. It was a kind gesture and he really wanted to slow dance with her.
"Hey Kor, do you... feel like dancing too?" Dick posed,
Kori's eyes lit up and she nodded, "Okay," She answered in a hushed tone.
Dick grinned and gently took her hand in his. He led her over to the area in which people were dancing and stood in front of her. He was hesitant about placing his hands on her waist and Kori clearly sensed this. She giggled and took his hands in hers. She proceeded to place them on her waist. He looked at her with a cautious expression, like it was bad of him to touch her.
Kori placed her own hands on Dick's shoulders and fought not to blush as she stared up at him. She couldn't help but notice the incredible shade of blue that his eyes were. There were light and dark flecks within his eyes that reflected the light nicely.
They began to sway in time with each other and Kori made an impulsive move. She rested her head against his right shoulder and continued in closing her eyes.
She knew that her actions could be considered as wrong bearing in mind that she had a boyfriend but she couldn't help it. She did like Richard Grayson and there was no way around that fact. He was so different to Xavier. He was funny, attractive, sweet and considerate of her feelings. She could imagine herself being a lot happier in a relationship with him rather than Xavier. It dawned on her however, that breaking up with Xavier could very well be catastrophic. She knew he got paranoid a lot and her breaking up with him may contribute to him having some kind of psychological outburst. She shut her eyes tighter at the thought of the negative outcomes of breaking up with Xavier.
Dick could sense that Kori was having some kind of inner conflict so he stroked her hair gently, hoping that he was helping rather than causing her further turmoil. He noted that she seemed to visibly relax under his touch which gave him a sense of achievement. They continued to sway in that position; Kori's head on his shoulder and one of his hands stroking her long auburn hair.
The hours flew by at the charity event and finally, Dick and Kori found themselves walking up the stairs to the third floor where their apartments were.
"Your father's speech was-" Kori stopped and felt an amendment was needed, "Apologies... Mr Wayne's speech was very pleasant. He feels strongly for the charities he supports, yes?"
Dick gave her a small smile at her backtracking on using 'your father'. He nodded to her, "Yeah. He is really passionate about the charities. Especially ones for either underprivileged kids or orphanages. He's had a lot of experience in that area so..." Dick explained.
"I see..." Kori acknowledged, stopping outside of her door. She turned to Dick and shyly smiled.
"So..." She trailed off,
"So..." Dick repeated, shuffling his feet like a nervous teenager, "I... Guess I'll see you tomorrow or something?"
"Yes... I... Thank you... Tonight was truly very fun..."
"I'm glad you enjoyed it..."
Kori stepped forward and craned her neck up towards Dick. She briefly pecked his cheek and stepped back again. She kept her eyes downcast, "Goodnight, Richard..." She whispered.
She turned around and opened her door before slipping inside for the rest of the night.
Dick touched his cheek with his fingertips. Did Kori really just kiss his cheek? He knew he was having a teenage moment by getting all jittery with a simple kiss on the cheek but he couldn't help himself. Dick chewed on the inside of his cheek in an attempt to keep his wide grin from spreading any more. He turned and strode over to his own apartment door. The night had been very good to him indeed...
