Pretty short chapter...

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans

Nightwing didn't come. She had waited for hours, far past midnight, until it was obvious he wouldn't be showing up. Had she done something wrong? She searched her thoughts, trying to pinpoint something, anything. There had been that little episode with Dick, but Nightwing meant more to her than that, it didn't matter...did it? Starfire hugged herself, the cold suddenly seeping into her clothes. Everything was so confusing...

And who knew jobs were so stressing and tiring? If she had, she wouldn't have taken one. But it was the only option left to her.

She needed to know if she would live or die. She needed to know what was wrong with her. She needed to know why she had something wrong with her. There was only one place where those answers might be.

Roth Industries had far too complex of a security system for her to get through.

So, she took a job there.

Dick felt terrible for skipping out on her. But what could he do? He was scared out of his mind that he'd let something slip, and she'd get mad. It was now the second day of school he had knowing this, and so far he'd done a pretty good job of avoiding her. He shifted his books and binders under his arm to open his locker.

"Dick?"

"AHHHH!" Papers flew everywhere. Dick backed up against his locker, staring fearfully at Kory. "I swear, I don't know anything, I didn't mean to, it was an accident!" Kory cocked her head to the side inquisitively, the equivalent of 'why the heck are you acting so pathetic?'

"What was an accident?"

Regaining his composure (somewhat) Dick stood up and ran his hand through his hair, trying to think up a suitable lie. "Um...I, uh, didn't sleep all that well last night, and I'm a little jumpy 'cause I had a lot of coffee this morning to keep me up," he fibbed. Kory sighed.

"It seems that we have the same problems..." She hadn't smiled this entire time, Dick noticed, which was strange. Normally, Kory was a very bubbly person. I bet I know why you're so tired all the time. You don't sleep half the night. He gulped and grinned at her.

"Yeah...uh, you okay? You seem kind of down."

She shook her head. "I have begun to work as an intern. It is very difficult, and I do not think my mentor likes me very much. And a friend of mine was being the 'MIA' yesterday..." Se looked even more downtrodden than before, and with a pang of guilt, Dick guessed who that 'friend' was on the first try.

"I'm sorry, Kor. He'll probably meet you today, he probably messed up the time or something," Dick offered lamely.

"How did you know he was a 'he'?" Kory questioned, suddenly looking suspicious. Dick swore to himself. He was sure he'd handled that so smoothly...

"Lucky guess? Ah, so, where do you work?"

"Roth Industries," Kory answered absently.

"What?!" Dick asked, horrified. "You can't work there!"

"I cannot?"

The bell rang for class, and Kory shuffled off, still glancing back and staring at him as if he was the strangest thing on Earth. He groaned and shut his locker. She is SO much better at this than I am...

"Dad?" Rachel asked upon arriving home. Tristan was in his office. He frowned upon being interupted. "Dad? Are you home? I have something to ask you."

"Aren't you old enough to figure your homework out by yourself?" Tristan growled back at her.

Rachel sighed. She didn't know what to do. Asking her father about Koma Anderson would obviously spark suspicion. That would probably put the girl Dick had been talking about in a greater danger than she was in already. And it might harm Dick, too... "Nevermind."

"Make yourself useful and tell someone to bring me a snack. And while you're at it, call up Maynard and tell him to move that Kory girl up. She's not doing anyone a favor as his intern."

"What Kory girl?"

"None of your business! I told you to call!"

"Dick! I have been 'promoted'! I am being paid for my job now. Is it not wonderful?" Kory asked Dick gleefully, squeezing all the air out of his lungs when she hugged him. "They told me I was exceptionally intelligent, that I would do much better in a higher position!"

Dick gulped. He knew exactly why Kory/Star was so happy about this. Sure, it was a step closer to being able to live without stealing, but it was also a step closer to the top, Mr. Roth, and the information about the experiment she'd been involved in. "That's great, Kor. Awesome," he choked out, awkwardly hugging her back.

She separated, feeling his forehead. "Are you ill? You do not sound very well..."

"I'm fine. Uh, how about we go tell Rachel and the others the good news?" They walked around campus until they met up with Vic, Gar, and Karen. Kory continued to list symptoms that he might have.

"Perhaps the large amount of coffee you drank this morning's effect as worn off?" she suggested.

"What coffee?" Gar asked. "My mom doesn't even buy--OW!" Dick stepped on his foot, feigning concern when Gar started cursing in pain.

"Are you okay?"

"What do you mean, am I okay, you just stepped on my--OW!" There went his other foot. Gar fell backwards as he tried grabbing both sets of toes at the same time. "Ugh..."

"Perhaps Gar is ill as well," Kory observed.

"Nah. Just intelligently challenged. Hey, have y'all seen Rachel lately?" Vic asked.

"Didn't she go home early? She doesn't stay to help with dance committee..." Karen said.

"Or football practice..."

"Or the Animal Savers Society!" Gar added. Vic cracked up.

"Nice acronym, man."

"What's an acronym?"

"Star?" Nightwing asked quietly. She jumped and whirled around to face him, startled.

"Nightwing!" She hugged him, taking him by surprise. "Where...?"

"I had to go somewhere," he lied. Starfire knew he was hiding something from her, but she didn't say anything. "How are you?"

"Good," she answered stiffly, turning back to stare at the street below.

Great. Way to go, Grayson, you messed it up again, Nightwing thought to himself furiously. "Star, you wanna tell me about your job? Where is it again?"

"Roth Industries," Starfire replied hesitantly.

"Why?"

She frowned at him. "Why what?"

"Why would you take a job that'll probably endanger your life? Have you forgotten what Mr. Roth did to you? To that little girl?" he asked, waving his arms agitatedly in the air.

"How could I? That's why I want to go there, to find anything I can. He can't do anything worse than kill me, and I need to know...that might happen to me anyway, so there's nothing for me to lose."

Nightwing was beyond furious now. "Nothing for you to lose? He will HURT you, K...Star!" Nightwing winced a little at his slip-up. "He might even TORTURE you. And besides that, what if there's something for ME to lose? What if I lose my girlfriend over this, because she decided heading over to some psychotic scientist was a good idea?"

The air turned even frostier than it usually was this time of year. "You don't care that much, or you wouldn't have disappeared for no reason last night!"

"I had a reason! I just can't..." He stopped. They weren't doing this. They couldn't be fighting.

"Can't tell me? Can't trust me? Of course," Starfire mumbled sadly.

"K...Star, it's not like that. If I told you...I don't think you'd ever talk to me again." Well, maybe he'd over dramatized it, but it could not have good consequences. Starfire just sighed.

"Good night." She climbed down the ladder and ran off into the night.

Perfect, Nightwing growled at himself, punching a nearby wall. Just perfect! Now I bet she'll never talk to you again! It doesn't matter if you know, now, Star and Kory were the same before, and they always will be. Deal with it! She's still your girlfriend! She hasn't changed at all!

Nightwing stopped, letting his anger seep away into exhaustion. I have to make it up to her. As soon as possible.

Sorry it was such a short chapter, but it took me quite a while to write. Anyway, things REALLY start to heat up next chapter, this was just a filler. And there are three or four more chapters until this story's over, just a heads up.