"So, you guys have had bad experiences with people staying at your place?" Nero asked. Starfire was glad to be in the new ship, where all the Titans could sit together instead of in pods; it was meant for longer rides versus battles. It was more comfortable, but a little less practical.

"Yes," said Starfire, "very."

"So, you've had two broken hearts so far—Beast Boy with Tara and Raven with Jericho? Oh, wow, Jericho was just recently, huh? Too bad, too bad. No wonder you said I shouldn't come with you. Yeah, you're right. Your ex would totally hate my company. Jealous type. You know, he shouldn't be threatened, I'm not all that attractive. Oh, really? I am? Well, thanks, Starfire." Starfire blushed pure red as Nero smirked.

"You make me…Most uncomfortable…When you do not let me answer your questions for myself. And you make me even more uncomfortable when you read my mind. Please do not do that anymore."

"Sorry." Strangely, strong, confident Nero blushed a little. "I don't try to, you know. It just happens. I'm not usually around people, so I'm not used to…Letting people talk. I'm not very good at controlling my mind."

"It is…Okay."

"Yeah, I know, you dealt with that but way worse with Tara."

"You are doing it again."

"Sorry."

"It is okay."

"So…What happened to you and Robin?"

"I am sure you already know."

"I don't. I didn't pry that much, and I'm still trying very hard to control my mind, so if you could…Hurry?"

"You are very rude." Starfire said it stiffly. She wish she would've known what his company would be like before she agreed to flying around with him for what could be a full week, depending on how much fuel and supplies they had.

"I'm sorry, but it's really, really hard to—''

"He did…The cheating."

"He what? Oh, he cheated on you, got it. How long have you been on earth? Oh, that long? Wow, I'm more fluent than you are—''

"You are very, very rude!" said Starfire, blushing again. She hated always feeling stupid.

"You're not stupid. I can tell you're extremely intelligent. So what if you haven't completely changed to conform to what earth says you should be? I don't think you should. I like that you've still got a bit of Tamaran in you. Not to mention, it's…Cute when you mess up phrases a little." This made Starfire blush even more.

"I do not think it is… 'Cute'…To be laughed at."

"Star—can I call you Star? Starfire is so long—Okay, Star—I promise that nobody is laughing at you. And if they are, just…Punch 'em or something."

"You speak much like my friend Beast Boy for having such a power."

"It's slang—it just sort of comes with the package when I learn a new language. Like, for instance, when I learned Tamaranian, I didn't learn any slang or contractions at all."

"But you do not use…Your vocabulary to your advantage."

"What, do you want me to sound like some know-it-all? Oh, right, I already do. I forgot. Well, it's just…When I'm around people, I try my hardest to not sound like I have this…Thing. God, a potentially infinite knowledge and the best I can think up is 'thing'? I try my hardest not to sound like I have this ability, skill, power, adeptness, capability, strength, endowment, aptitude, talent, craft, knack, savvy, proficiency, flair, gift, deftness, forte, adroitness, or technique." Starfire's eyes were wide. "That's the reason I try to sound normal. And trust me, that was just scratching the surface. I hadn't even wondered about other words for what I have—those were the simplest words to think up."

Starfire knew they were simple words—she'd even heard Beast Boy use some of them before (obviously not "adroitness" or "deftness", but definitely "knack" and "talent")—what astounded her was that she was still struggling with sentence fluency when this boy didn't even live on earth.

"Star, don't feel bad. That's stupid and you know it. Anyway, so, you never finished your story about you and Robin and it's really, really hard not to just read your mind right now, so if you could just—''

"I do not know what else there is to say."

"With your sister?!"

"Very, very, very rude—!''

"With your sister?! Why are you going out with this guy?"

"Robin and I have had the feelings for each other—''

"But he cheated on you with your sister!"

"Me sister is…Not nice."

"Apparently! She had—''

"Please do not finish your sentence, for I did not finish mine! My sister is…The…Manipulative. She makes others do things they do not want to do."

"How old is Robin? Yeah, I can promise you, if your sister looks anything like you—oh, that's what she looks like? Sorry, but you were picturing her—anyway, you're prettier, but, c'mon…He's a teenage guy. What do you expect?"

"I expect our feelings to be respected and treasured as they should be by any proper friendboy!" yelled Starfire, whose eyes were glowing in rage.

"You have every right to want your feelings to be respected and treasured, Star. It's a good thing you ditched this guy. He sounds like a real jerk."

"Yes. He is. A real…Jerk."