Different

Chapter Twelve: Lunatics

I do not own: The Teen Titans, Poptarts, The Crucible (Arthur Miller),

This chapter will definitely be lighter than the last one, but I've got to return to angst sooner or later, don't I? -kicks homework under rug-

Was Rich right?

Do I like Gar?

We got into the car, and drove to Rich's house, ready to tell Rich how to get his girl.

With Vic's help- because he'd kill us if he didn't let us help.

"Are we going to pick up Kori?" Rich asked as soon as Gar and I were seated.

"No, we're not." I responded quickly.

"Why not?" Rich demanded, "I thought we did everything together. It's not fair to her that she's not coming to brunch with us."

"Would you like her to be there when we tell you how to ask her out?" I deadpanned, and Rich's expression told me all I needed to know.

"Point well taken," Rich mumbled.

Gar looked at me in amazement. "You are interesting, do you know that?"

I felt the flush on my neck, threatening to creep unto my cheeks. "What do you mean, interesting?"

"You're so different from anyone else I know. You're… appealing…"

The blush did bloom on my cheeks.

Gar called me appealing.

This time, it was Rich who sent me a knowing smirk.

We drove away, leaving my house behind. We arrived at Vic's a few moments later, and he bounded outside.

"Good morning, everybody." Vic announced, squeezing into the backseat with us. "What are we doing today?"

"We're telling Rich how to get his girl." Gar said nonchalantly.

"BOOYAH!" Vic cried, pumping a fist into the air.

"Right back atcha." Gar highfived him, and both of them made whooping noises.

They glanced at me, looking for my reaction.

"I'm surrounded by lunatics." I answered.

"I've never been called a lunatic before." Gar smiled, "I like it."

"You're such a dork, do you know that?"

"You're such a typical football jock, do you know that?"

"You eat fake foods."

"You eat animals!"

"I eat real food!"

"I eat healthy food!"

"You call that processed fake meat healthy? Are you a lunatic?"

Both of them proceeded to laugh too hard to continue. Rich shook his head; I rolled my eyes.

The whole lot of them were loonies.

Gar's shoulder barely touched mine, and it sent my pulse singing.

And worst of all, I am one of them.

Once at the Wayne Estate, Vic didn't waste a minute.

"Kori's one sweet girl. You got to do something special, something original."

"Exactly," Gar agreed, "Do something that only Rich would do."

"Other than stutter and need Vic to nudge you in the ribs before you can create a coherent sentence." I added.

Rich glared at me.

"What?" I asked him. "It's not my fault that you're completely smitten with her!"

"I can't help it." Rich confessed.

"How about a poem?" Gar suggested, "One of those acrostic-type-things."

"Yeah!" Vic grabbed some paper and wrote KORI down a line.

"Do we want to use Kori or Koriand'r?"

"What does Koriand'r mean, anyway?"

"It translates to Kori Anders." I answered, and they all looked at me.

"What? She taught me a little Tamaranian." I said defensively.

"Really?" Gar's curiosity was piqued. "What can you say?"

"Enough to burn your ears." I responded sarcastically. "No, she taught me some basic stuff."

We stared at the piece of paper for a minute.

"Does anyone know an adjective that starts with 'k'?"

"Oh!" I rolled my eyes, "Screw the poetry; let's try something else."

"Can we eat first?" Gar whined.

I turned to stare at him. "You want to eat first?"

"Yeah!" He answered.

"Hey, you know, eating sounds good." Rich said quickly, desperate for a way out of this.

"I know what you're trying to do," Vic answered. "You're trying to skip out on the tough part, aren't you?"

Rich thought for a moment.

"Yeah, I am."

"Well, you're doing a lousy job of it."

Rich responded with an indignant noise.

"Yeah, what the hell, let's eat." I led the way down the stairs.

After orange juice and sandwiches, we went back to work.

"Kori. Yes, hi. You're… um… looking nice today. We've had nice weather right? So, anyway…"

"Oh, stop skirting around it!" I admonished, "And say something constructive, like, 'hi Kori, will you go out with me?'"

Rich turned on me. "We'll it's not as easy as it looks!"

"Well, why isn't it?" I got up from the chair I was relaxing in, and strode across the room to get in Rich's face. "It's just a couple of normal words strung together in a sentence. Now what's so difficult about that?"

"I don't know!" Rich spat back, "It just is hard! I can't be all, 'Kori, you are the hottest thing I have ever laid eyes on and you've had my heart from the moment we met'. I can't do that!"

"Well, that would work." Vic offered.

"And the script says, cue kiss." Gar added, and both of them snickered.

I turned around. "Oh, grow up."

Gar saluted me. "Yes, Ms. Roth."

I turned around before he could see the light flush that spread across my cheeks.

"And you're yelling at me?" Rich asked scathingly, but quiet enough so only I could hear.

"Oh, shut up. I'm not through with you yet."

A few painstaking moments later we had his line down.

"Now," Vic said, "What to wear, what to wear, what to wear…"

"I have to plan my outfit?"

"If you want to look like a slob, go ahead and do so."

"Raven, I do not look like a slob!"

I shot him a look. "Of course you don't, but do you really have any say in this matter?"

Rich grudgingly admitted that he didn't.

I pulled open the door to his closet. Gar and Vic gathered around my shoulders.

"How should he look?" I murmured.

"Jeans. Let's go with dark blue jeans."

"Right." I rifled through his jeans, and pulled out two pairs. Gar tried threw them on the bed, but they were a few feet short and it flopped to the ground.

"How about a t-shirt?" Vic suggested.

"Should it have graphics or it or not?"

"I'd say go with the graphics. What color?"

Vic looked at Rich for a second, and then said, "Either green or yellow."

I pulled out a green shirt, and a yellow one. I looked some more and found another green one.

Some yellow fabric near the back of the closet caught my eye.

I reached for it, surprised to find that it felt silky.

I held up a bright yellow cape.

"Do you seriously own this thing?" I asked incredulously, holding it up for all to see.

Rich leaped up. "Wait, give that to me!"

Vic took a picture of it with his cell phone before Rich could get to it.

Gar couldn't stop laughing, and I didn't blame him.

Hours later, we had his outfit and his lines down.

Now I held a basketball in front of my face.

"Oh, friend Rich!" I said in a high, breathy voice, "Are you unharmed?"

Rich looked at me like I was insane.

I moved the basketball away from my face. "Oh, just go along with it."

Rich shrugged, and managed to say, "I'm alright, Kori."

We stood there for a second, him glaring at me and me with the basketball in front of my face.

"The clock is running out." Gar called from the bed.

Some things on Rich's desk started to rattle.

I was getting annoyed.

Vic stood up, and wiggled his eyebrows at me. He stood right beside Rich, and then nudged him.

"KORI WILL YOU GO OUT WITH ME!" Rich suddenly shouted.

Gar cracked up, holding his sides. I chuckled, but Vic was hysterical, tears streaming from his face.

I chanced a grin. "See, that's how you do it!"

Vic patted Rich on the back, congratulating him.

88888888

Bonnie dropped us off again. I waved to everyone and said goodbye until tomorrow.

When I walked through the door, I saw my father's back, a phone pressed to his ear. I crept around him, catching enough of the conversation to know that he was talking to painters.

I thought I had made it to the stairs before Slade loomed out of nowhere.

"Good evening, Raven." He said in that eternally creepy voice of his.

"Good evening."

"I heard you took care of the house with Masters Grayson and Logan."

I paused, sensing a trap.

How did he know my friend's names, and how did he even know who they were?

"Yes." I answered, more like a question.

"You did a good job cleaning up a mess. You're such a Daddy's Girl." He smiled, and a wave of panic rushed down my spine.

Disgust flooded through me, too, and I bolted away upstairs. As soon as I got to my room, I barricaded the door.

I slumped to the floor by my bed.

I had a week until my birthday. I looked at my wrists, fascinated by the veins.

But then I stopped myself.

Suicide? Who am I kidding? I'm not that desparate.

Besides, Gar would never approve...

The next morning I was busy steeling myself to race through the house, but I heard gravel hit my window.

"Raven!"

I scrambled out unto the roof, waving down at Gar. "I'll be there in a second."

He nodded. "Hurry up or we won't drive you."

I hurried around my room, picking up my essay and other things. I paused in the mirror, checking my hair. I was going to have to redo my highlights sometime soon.

I lifted my backpack onto my shoulders, rushing down the stairs. I completely forgot about breakfast.

I rushed to the front lawn, skidding on the wet grass and I fell to the ground. I looked up to see Gar laughing.

"Stop laughing at me!" I complained.

He grinned, holding open the door of Angelo's car. I got inside, suddenly remembering that I had nothing to eat.

Gar shoved Poptarts at me. "Here. I thought you'd forget about breakfast."

"Do you really know me that well?"

"Raven, you'd be surprised what I know." Gar said, looking out the window.

I sensed something cryptic in his voice, and it bugged me all day long.

During lunch we had shown Kori the photos, and she had taken it surprisingly well. She grew quiet, and angrier than we had ever seen her before.

"She's gonna pay." Kori had said, throwing us all off guard with her causal slang.

Now I was at the library with her. She was shelving books again, and I was doing homework for Algebra.

However, three familiar heads walked in.

"They're here." I remarked to Kori. She nodded.

"Sister dear!"

Kori rolled her eyes. "Here we go again."

Kitten and Terra followed, both of them grinning.

"Hey, Ravie." Amanda said. "Did you have a good weekend?"

"Yes." I answered shortly.

"Do you like your new decorations?"

I glared daggers at her. "They're beautiful." I mentioned sarcastically.

"Good." Kitten grinned, "We're thinking of doing more!"

"Go right ahead. My father loved them."

For once, Kitten faltered. "Is your father Trigon Roth?"

"Yes he is. What of it?"

"Duh, he's her father! They've got the same last name." Terra interjected with.

"Oh," Kitten said, looking slightly afraid for once.

Her father, Mr. Moth, was a scientist. However, my father's name carried weight in the business world.

But I knew my father really wouldn't care about what happens to me at school or on the streets, so I wasn't worried.

But I wasn't going to let Kitten know that.

Amanda made her way over to Kori, and took a book from her hands.

Kori made a noise of surprise, but Amanda turned it over in her hands. "I like this book, sister, what is it about?"

Kori set her jaw. "It is about the Salem Witch Trials. Abigail Williams wants to be with John Proctor so she calls his wife a witch. It sets the town into a tailspin. People die."

"Oh, really?" Amanda's voice held a note that sent us into anticipation.

Amanda swiftly ripped the book in half, the tearing sound making noises that drew the attention of people in the library.

Kori gaped at the book, holding it as if it could repair itself. Amanda laughed, and then sobered.

"You're a witch; you made me do it!" She cackled, and then shoved her history textbook at her. "I need a five paragraph essay written about the reforms after the Civil War. Write it, or worse things will happen to your friends."

Kori's eyes narrowed, but she gave in. "Yes, sister." She mumbled.

"Good." She motioned to her friends. "Let's go."

"Are you getting in a car?" Kori called after her?

Amanda flashed a fake I.D. that said she was eighteen. "Sister, I'm driving the car."

Kori looked after her and moaned.

I knelt down next to her, taking the tattered remains of The Crucible from her hands. "Has it been rechecked in yet?"

"Yes." Kori mumbled miserably.

"Fine." I stuffed it into my backpack. "It will just be called stolen then."

Kori's eyes widened.

I looked up at her. "What? You wouldn't want to have a black mark, would you? Besides, it's beyond repair."

Kori nodded grimly. "Revenge is sweet." She remarked.

I wondered what she meant by that.

The next morning I found out too soon.

Amanda looked humiliated and infuriated. She hid her head under a cap.

I looked at Vic. "What do you think happened to her?"

He shrugged. "If Kori got the last word, good for her."

The five of us were trekking to the library, when Amanda and her posse walked past us.

I looked at the hat, concentrating on it.

The hat slid off her head and fell to the ground.

Amanda's head was shaved, but not completely. Instead, a single bald strip ran from the center of her head to the back of her head.

We hooted with laughter.

Yet, the next morning, Kori proudly walked into glass with purple hair. Many people complimented her at it. Kori glowed.

Rich liked it too, but he asked if it were wash-out. Kori said it was, because Amanda apparently forgot to throw the bottle out.

The people that volunteered at the library liked it, too.

Amanda fumed.

Gar and I met Thursday after school.

"So, I'm going to pick you up at your house on Saturday around five." He said.

I nodded, even though the thought of him coming near my house terrified me. "Sounds good."

"And while we're on the way, we'll call Rich and tell him whether we want pizza or not yet."

"Can't we just tell him then?" I inquired curiously.

"Wouldn't you like to get there to hot pizza?" Gar asked incredulously, as if my statement was an atrocity,

"Yeah, I guess I would." I agreed, shrugging my shoulders.

"Good." Gar laughed.

He flung a casual arm around my shoulders. "You're going to have the best sweet sixteen yet."

I grinned up at him. "Are you so sure?"

He looked down at me, squeezing my shoulder. "I'm positive. Besides, it'll be June 4th, and it should be warm by then."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I might actually get to see your arms." He mumbled, heating.

"What?"

"I mean," Gar said, still a brilliant red, "You live in that black sweatshirt. I haven't seen your arms."

I nodded slowly, poking fun at him.

A slow smile spread across his face.

I loved making him smile.

On Friday I woke up late.

I rushed to get everything together, checking the thermometer outside. It was about 60 degrees already, and the temperature was bound to rise.

I fished around in my closet and found a pair of jean capris. After more fishing I found a shawl that I planned to wear.

I self-consciously checked the fading bruise on my arm, and grabbed some makeup when I decided that it wasn't light enough.

I glanced in the mirror, seeing myself dressed. I reached up and stroked my hair, pulling it absently into braids.

I grabbed a quick piece of toast, and some money for lunch.

However, Malchior was waiting for me at my locker. I rolled my eyes.

"Are you going out with Garfield Logan?" He asked, leaning against my locker.

I shoved him off it, and the words that came to mind were: "Not yet, but he will be."

While I was mentally kicking myself, Malchior was laughing and asked me how I was going to accomplish that, since I am such a huge freak. I merely smiled in reply and said that I had my ways.

I took my books calmly out of my locker and walked to homeroom.

Friday went by fast.

Lunch was over and done with before we knew it. Kori had convinced me to come to her house for a while after school to redo my purple highlights. I agreed, since I wanted to look good for the party…

…Even though it would just be the people I saw every day. But I saw Gar everyday, and I wanted to impress him.

Now I bit my lip, worried slightly.

Not because Malchior was waiting at my locker again, but because I already knew that I could one day fall for Gar. Or, that I might already be falling for him now.

Malchior had Terra behind him. My luck was getting better by the day.

"Good afternoon, Roth. I hope you will enjoy your weekend." Terra smiled.

I continued spinning my combination, wondering if it was a trap.

"I think I will."

"Good. We wouldn't want your party to be ruined, now would we?" Malchior said.

What just happened?

"How do you know about my party?" I asked.

"We have ways of knowing things, since Amanda is Kori's sister."

A short laugh escaped me. "What, do you spy on Kori or something?"

Terra didn't respond, and I took that as a yes.

"Kori isn't the only one we watch, Raven." She hissed, stalking away.

"I am so scared I will not sleep tonight." I called after her, laughing to myself.

Everyone else showed up, and we all walked to Vic's together since Kori lived nearby.

Gar was moaning about how he almost had gotten detention because he and Vic had gotten caught playing paper football after the test.

"Well, friends, what did you expect?" Kori asked, exasperated and amused.

"We expected not to get caught!" Vic proclaimed, "But things do not always go as planned."

We were nearing Vic's house, when he suddenly burst out with a statement that shocked us.

"Do you want to see my baby?"

We gaped.

"Vic, is there something that we're supposed to know about?" I coughed.

He reddened. "Not like that!"

"Well, it sure sounded like that." Rich muttered.

We were walking on Vic's driveway, when he replied, "Yeah, well, be prepared to be amazed."

He opened the garage door to reveal a station wagon.

He practically galloped to the car, eagerly informing us about it.

"It's a 1987 model."

"Vic, that car is eighteen years old." Gar said bluntly.

"So?" Vic asked, his bald head disappearing into the hood.

"Does it break down often?" I asked sarcastically.

"Actually, no." Vic answered, wiping his hands on a rag.

He turned the key in the ignition and the car roared to life. "I passed my test, and I should be getting my permit soon."

"Why the delay?"

"We had trouble finding an insurance agency…" Vic trailed off.

"So how do you keep it running?"

"This car is my life!" Vic exclaimed, taking a rag and polishing the wheel. "I work after school and on weekends some days, so my paycheck goes to getting this baby running!"

He told us that he took very good care of the engine and the battery, while he was avidly polishing the car.

After a half hour, Kori and I left for her house. Her hair was turning an interseting two tone of red and purple, but as I left it was looking more red.

Tomorrow was my birthday; I was turning sixteen.

I remembered that note that I had found one day back in April, and started to worry about tomorrow…

This chapter took me about eight days to write. That's incredible!

Reviewer Responses

shadow292: Is this soon enough? XD

Jimmy the Gothic Egg: I haven't read Son of a Witch yet, but I plan to someday. I'll have to read Capt. Hook, too. Maybe I'll read Normal Like You someday, too… -nudge nudge-

MistressMoonDemon: Thanks!

RM and RJ co.: I'm happy that Jess is happy, and please don't faint anymore. It's… slightly scary in a cute way…

Lea Cat: I wish I had an Evanescence shirt, too… Evanescence fans unite! Wo0t!

Pozest-Illusion: Hope you did okay on your final.

-EHWIES: 0o… sure. I know where you're coming from, feeling empathy for characters whose souls are owned by Cartoon Network

ravenmasterofthetele: Thanks, and I'll try to update sooner now.

WickedWitchoftheSE: Precious! Thanks for calling it that.

reeltreble1031: -mumbles and blushes-

The Last: I've proclaimed my hate for Valentine's Day to my English class (vehemently: "I hate Valentine's day!"). Perhaps something will come up. Ah, stuck by a muse. Perhaps I will get All They See up then.

IGAF-kun: Wow, that's one of the best reviews I've ever had.

Snea: You should try an AU. I wasn't too sure about this one, but 300-something reviews later… Thanks. I like fluff and then angst. It's fun.

DreamerGirl02: Crazy nincompoop. I'll have to use that line on someone one day.

RoseMage: -empathically- I know! I was dying with all the angst that poor BB felt. WAH! –backs away from claws- How was this chapter?

Verya: I know that feeling of needing more… thank you.

Eyelinerman: A while? My longest gap so far has been eight months and counting. Poor Jimmy the Gothic Egg is going insane. But never fear, I always update…

d: Thank you!

Crazy Sugar Girl: Hope you liked this update.

Hide-because-it's-me: -grins- Your review made me laugh- I like your reviews.

Insane but Happy: Thanks for finally reviewing. And I'm glad that you can read other pairings… especially in a story that is not Terra-friendly. I applaud you.

dl316bh: Rae's revenge? I thought that Kori should finally get back! It is a rather stupid rule. I hate it.

Ryuu no Taiyo: -hugs- Hope your life gets better. Hope your updating-ness gets better too, since I am in love with Life as a Halfa.

cheesepuff311: Aww, I made you cry! To date, I have not cried yet. But Real Heroes came really close.

cd lover: -backs away- Oookay then. But I did enjoy your review.

Half-Gothic Chick: Uh… okay…

Egglette: Well, you know how Starfire is Koriand'r? I read somewhere that Blackfire is Kormand'r- Amanda. More of Gar and Vic? You got it.

romance junkie: I will write more! I have plenty of teh fluffiness in store.

ItalianGal6547: Okay, that's fine. This fic is designed for characters to be OCC. But did you ever see the "Raven Season of the Titans?" Robin played a big role. I just narrowed it down to one chapter.

Gizmo Bunny: I'm gonna keep writing! Of course! I have –counts on fingers- at least five new TT stories to write!

Zarola: Thank you- I really appreciated your review. –sheepish smile- When I first started writing this story, I had no idea that Beastboy's parents were dead in the comics. So I gave him a family…

xox.Annie Potter.xox: -squeals- It's been a while, girlfriend!Gar will always make it all better, and I'm anxiously awaiting that MSS CHAPTER!

NOTE TO DCC: send ME an email, telling me whether you want to be in the chapter or not. Send me any changes in your outfit, and give me a few good Rob/Star and BB/Rae songs, or just "Titan" songs.

Thanks for reading, and I'm still looking for DCC additions. I'll accept applications until 2/15.

Review now please!