Okay, Titangirl here. Sorry it took so long to get the third chapter up, my family was having a crisis of sorts. Let's continue on our merry little journey, shall we?
Disclaimer: Hah, I wish I owned Teen Titans or DC Comics. I don't though.
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"What the hell, Rachel!" Jennifer cried as she looked at her friends serious expression. "'We don't need them'? That's a bunch of crap; they're our friends! You're just gonna let this all go how Cassandra and Kitten want it to? Since when do you let people walk all over you?" Rachel let her friend vent, while waiting for her to finish. They were walking home, after spending an entire day trying to get the others to talk to them again, but failing miserably. All they had gotten out of it was a black eye (for Jen, when Toni got fed up with the begging) and a hurried "I can't talk to you anymore," out of Lilith.
"I was simply saying that maybe we're better off without them. Now we don't have to go to that silly dance." Rachel replied calmly, watching Jen's expression change from confused anger to full blown fury.
"We don't have to go to the dance? Oh, god, Rach! You're basically quoting the fake message! Well, if you wanna think that way, go ahead. I want to be their friend again, even if you don't. Why don't you just go hide in your books, you creepy bitch!" Jen stormed off, leaving Rachel with a look of shock and sadness on her face. Jen and her had never gotten in any major fights before, just small spats over people and going places. Rachel's eyebrows met at the center; you could tell she was upset. And Rachel Roth does not let people see that she is upset. She thought for a moment, and then started walking the opposite way that Jen went, towards her home. She reached home, unlocked the door, and saw her drunken father passed out on the couch. It was barely 2:30. It must have been his day off. She walked along the long, dark hallway to the last door on the right. She entered her bedroom, still thinking. She walked over to the closet, grabbed the book from inside, and went to sit on the bed. Only then did she realize something had popped up on her computer. It was a message alert from AOL, saying that five people had dropped her from their buddy list. She only had seven people on her buddy list, including an aunt that she rarely spoke to, and an old friend of hers from when she was staying at said aunt's house. She looked at the message for a long time. Then she simply shut off her computer, sat on the bed, and opened up the Book of Obfirmo Sursum Affectus.
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Three days later, a Thursday. Rachel Roth now sat alone at lunch, inside, away from Jennifer, Mia, Lilith, Toni, and Jade. The last four passed her every day on their way outside for lunch, and she had them in her classes. Jen was in a bunch of her classes, but ignored her. Rachel provided the same treatment. Jen sat away from most people, but had one friend, Coliana Lamb, the girl Rachel couldn't abide. But on this day, instead of heading to the final table on the left, Jen went to the third table on the right. She stood across from Rachel, who was reading a book with no cover, though Jen had a clue what it might be. Rachel didn't look up as her old friend stood there, watching.
"Rachel." It was the first thing said between the two girls for three days, the three days that had felt like a lifetime.
"Jennifer." Rachel said blandly, acknowledging the other's presence with a quirk of her eyebrows.
"Look, I'm really sorry about the other day, Rach. I didn't mean half of the stuff I said, and I miss you like mad." Jen said hurriedly, crossing her fingers behind her back.
"I don't care, Jennifer." Jen was shocked. How could Rachel say something like that? To her, of all people. Jen had expected that she'd be pissed but not that badly.
"Rae, I miss you! We're best friends! We have been for years! I didn't mean what I said! I just blurted out mean thing because I'd been having such a crappy day!" Jen tried to justify herself to Rachel, though she felt like she shouldn't have to.
Rachel finally looked up from her book, her eyes blank, except for a slight understanding that was soon replaced by sneering indifference. "I don't need your friendship, Jennifer. You showed me three days ago just how great your friendship is. Next time you're in a fight, try not saying things you don't mean. You might keep a friend." Then Rachel looked back down at her cover-less book, flipping a page and saying no more. Jen gaped at her. How is our friendship over like that? Why can't she just accept my apology? Maybe it was because of what I called her…but…that shouldn't matter! She should be able to get over stupid names. So, without saying a word, Jen walked away to join Coliana at their table.
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Over the next three weeks, Rachel gained more of a reputation than she already had. She was everything from a bitch to the spawn of the devil. It was a Friday, and Rachel was looking forward to the weekend. No idiots from school, no homecoming, no messaging. All that was needed, she had. Tea, books, silence. It was lovely not having people talking to her at all moments anymore. As the bell that ended second period rang, she collected her books and walked out into the busy hallway. She was given her wide berth of room that people had been giving her lately, ever since the IM conversation and the loss of friendship with Jennifer Hex. Rachel walked to her Calculus Honors class, realizing that none of her ex-friends were in this class. She sighed mentally. She didn't want a confrontation with Jade or any of the others this close to Homecoming. She sat in the back of the class, close to Rose Wilson and as far as possible from Roy Harper. Roy was a definite idiot, and Rachel was in a mood after the nightmare that had woken her up at 3:00 a.m. She couldn't get back to sleep after that and spent the rest of the early morning reading. The dream had been so vivid. But…she didn't want to think of the dream now, not when her most difficult and boring class was starting. As the teacher entered and set up the overhead, Rachel put her head on her arms and waited for her class to be over.
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She was walking down a long alleyway in the east of Jump City, the same one she had saved Lilith in. It was dark and cold and Rachel didn't know what she was doing there. The bricks on either side of her were dark and shadowed, and not much could be seen ahead. She walked slowly forward, not knowing where this alley would lead. She walked until she came close to the end of the alley. All that was there were some trash bins. She was close to turning around when she heard a little gasp coming from the bins. She was suddenly on the alert, watching and waiting. When nothing jumped out at her, she walked slowly over to the bins. As she neared, she could see the outline of a small child huddled behind the trash bins. She drew nearer and a kick caught her in the shin. She immediately grabbed the injured area while the child in hiding got their chance. They ran, slightly unsteady, as if they were drunk. But a child doesn't get drunk, thought Rachel as she ran after the kid. She easily caught up with the escapee, but didn't want to scare them so she slowed down a bit. "What's your name?" Rachel asked as she ran. The child didn't answer, but only ran faster. "I only want to help!" Rachel cried, but the child only ignored her.
Rachel was beginning to tire and she had no clue how far she had run. She could see nothing but the child ahead, weaving about. Where is this kid going? Why are they running like that? She was so lost in her thoughts that she ran straight into the child, who had stopped at a dead end. Rachel was kicked and scratched several times before she detangled herself from the limbs of the little one. As she looked down upon the shadowed face, she realized that the child was a female and was also covered blood. It looked as though the right side of her face had been hacked off. Rachel backed away from the girl, who turned toward her. They were both standing now, and Rachel was frightened. She had no clue where she was and she was standing in a dark alley with a mutilated child. Rachel watched the girl for any signs of life. The kid had her blonde head down, so Rachel couldn't see her eyes. She took a step closer and it was then that the child lifted her head. All Rachel saw was the eyes, glowing red in the darkness. Then a variety of other images came into her head. Blood. A gun being loaded. A girl in black. A flash of silver. A room filled with pounding music. Darkness.
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"Miss Roth, do you mind not falling asleep in my class?" A voice interrupted the darkness that Rachel had succumbed to. She opened her eyes. The teacher, Mrs. Ziglo, was standing beside the desk, looking down upon the awakening form of Rachel Roth. Rose Wilson was staring at her with a mix of curiosity and understanding. The rest of the class was watching as well.
"Awake, are we, Miss Roth?"
"Yes." Rachel replied, a headache beating a tattoo inside of her skull.
"I'll try to make my class more interesting for you, Miss Roth." The teacher still looked upset. Rachel stared back at her with intensity. Finally Mrs. Ziglo switched her gaze to the rest of her students. "What are you doing? I thought that I assigned enough work, but I guess that I should add some more problems." And with that, Mrs. Ziglo walked up to the board and added some numbers to an already long list. The class groaned as one.
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It was lunch on that same Friday. Rachel had managed to get through her AP Psychology class without falling asleep. She didn't need another dream like that one. There was no way she was falling asleep in her Inter Aerobics class, not with Jen in there too. She reached the cafeteria doors at the same moment as Jade and Lilith. Jade gave her a look that could melt diamond and Rachel moved her gaze to the red-head walking beside her. Lilith gave her an apologetic half-smile and walked away with Jade. Rachel scanned the room as she walked to the salad bar. People were giving her even weirder looks than they usually did, probably because the falling asleep in Calc class story was spread around. She was halfway to the salad bar when she felt someone's eyes on her. She turned her head and saw the elusive girl she had been searching for. She picked up her pace and headed toward the blonde-and-pink haired girl. Jen saw her coming and looked over at her other old friends, who were walking out the door. None of them saw her, just Rachel. Rachel reached Jen and saw that Jen was practically angsting. Probably because it had been a very long time since they had talked.
"Jennifer," Rachel greeted.
"Rachel, I don't want to talk to you." Jen said, getting it out before Rachel could say anything else. She began to walk away. Rachel grabbed her wrist and Jen moved back into the corner she had been in before.
"Do you still do those Tarot readings that you were famed for in the ninth grade?" Rachel asked, quietly but quickly. Jen gazed at her intently, as if trying to figure out what she was really asking, and nodded slowly. "So that means that you still interpret dreams, right?" Rachel said, releasing her grip on Jen.
"I…I do. Why, Rachel? Just in the mood for another friendly reading?" Jen looked at her without blinking and Rachel couldn't stand eying the girl anymore.
"May I speak with you after school?" Rachel queried. Jen crossed her arms.
"No, Rachel, because we aren't friends anymore, remember? You don't need them." Jen retorted. She gave Rachel a challenging look and smirked.
"I was wrong, Jen. I've missed you. And right now I'm being a huge hypocrite for saying this because it is what you said to me, and I didn't accept it."
"Yeah, Rach, you've been a huge jerk and hypocrite for a few weeks now. And you know what I think? I think I don't have any reason to take you back up as my friend." Jen was about to walk away when Rachel mumbled something. "What was that?" Jen asked, genuinely curious. Rachel looked up at her.
"I'm going to talk to the others." Rachel repeated. She saw the look of surprise and confusion on the other girl's face and decided to explain. "I was wrong, thinking that I needed no friends. I need you. I need Jade, Toni, Lilith, and Mia. I need all of you. I have been having trouble coping with myself lately and I realized what was wrong. I was lonely." That was a lot of her heart she was pouring out, but if Jen really was her best friend, she'd understand and know that Rachel was being truthful.
It was along these lines that Jen was thinking as she took in Rachel's words. She knew that Rachel and she were friends, and there was only one thing left to do. Jen grabbed Rachel's wrist this time, and walked. Rachel followed. They two reunited girls walked out the cafeteria's doors and onto the sloping courtyard of Jump City High School. They spotted the familiar black of Jade's hair and the pale skin of Toni. Jen let go of Rachel and they walked over to the laughing girls. They had been laughing over something hilarious, obviously, because they failed to notice the other girls for at least a minute, though it became very forced after a while. Finally, Jade looked up.
"Jade. What's up?" Jen said as she plopped down beside the startled girl. Rachel sat down as well. Toni glared.
"You can't just sit here, you know." It was Toni who spoke, with Mia nodding in the background.
"Oh?" Rachel replied, glancing over at the dark girl.
"You think that you two can just say whatever you want about us and we'll just let you walk all over us? Well, the answer to that is no, so just go away," Toni replied.
"You know that wasn't our IM, right?" Jen said slowly.
"Uh huh, because someone else's screennames are DarkDemonGirl713 and JinxQueen666. Nice try." Jade said, rather quickly.
"We were I'ming about how gorgeous you guys were gonna look, thinking about colors, and I wanted to know about Rachel and prom. We never said any of that. Remember at the mall, when Cassandra said that she'd get me? Well, isn't she into computers and technology? I thought she won a prize or something! Do you really think we'd say something like that?" Jen said, her face getting pinker every moment.
"I believe you."
Everyone turned to look at Lilith. She looked a little nervous but then she nodded. "Those things that were said by 'Rachel' didn't sound like her at all. They weren't subtle. And the stuff by 'Jen' seemed fake too. It sounded like stuff Kitten would say. I mean, the fire hydrant red and the wee thing was a stretch. I'm sure Jen could think of a million things to say about Mia without sounding like she was stretching it," Lilith said slowly, looking at all of the other girls.
"Listen to Lilith, girls!" Jen said quickly. "That's not our style, she says. Well, she's right. It damn well isn't!"
Toni and Jade peeked at each other before nodding. "Sorry, guys. I guess we just assumed it must be true," Toni said, with Jade nodding next to her. They glanced over at Mia. She looked shyly at the other girls before nodding as well. All was well.
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"So, what did you need that was so important?" Jen asked Rachel as they walked home. It was about 2:00 and the sun was beating down on them.
"Did you hear the story of me falling asleep in Calculus class today?" Rachel asked. Jen nodded, wondering what this was about. "Well, when I fell asleep, I had a dream. The same one I had last night. In fact, I've been having the same dream for at least two weeks, every night."
Jen watched Rachel get this entire story out. Jen understood then. "You want me to see if I can decipher this nightmare that you have been having, right?"
"Yes." Rachel said, sighing. She looked over at Jen and saw her staring at her.
"Repeat the dream to me. Slowly." So Rachel did. When she got to the part about the face, she couldn't go on. "Come on Rae, I need to hear all of it if I'm gonna figure it out."
Rachel sighed and picked up where she had left off. When she finished, Jen was looking at her strangely.
"Did you, uh, understand any of it?" Rachel asked nervously. Jen was still giving her that look.
"Mostly, yes. I think I'm gonna need to look something up though. Let's go into my house. C'mon!" Rachel followed Jen up the winding driveway into the Hex's mansion home. The colonial style building was big and beautiful. Jen hated it. 'I've always wanted to live in a small, suburban house.' That's what she always said. Rachel always wondered if it was true. Jen got to the door first, opened it, threw her bag in the corner, and called 'Honey, I'm home!' Jen's mother came out from around the corner, wearing an apron over jeans and a t-shirt.
"Oh, hi, Rachel dear. I wasn't expecting you. Jen, you have to clean your room this weekend, it's getting atrocious." With that, Gabrielle Hex went back into the kitchen. Jen rolled her eyes and began walking up the French paneled spiral staircase. Rachel followed her. Once they reached the landing they walked to the second door on the right. Jen stopped before she opened it.
"Now, remember, Rach, my room is atrocious. I'm embarrassed by it. I can't believe I'm letting you see this."
Then she opened the door. The walls were as pink as ever and the comforter and silk sheets were still the darkest black, with pink throw pillows over top of them. The same pictures were on the walls and the black standing lamp still had a purple boa over it. But the white carpeted floor…had exactly one shoe laying on it. Rachel raised her eyebrows.
"This is the big mess?"
"Oh the horror?"
"Uhm…no."
Jen went and sat down at the polished mahogany desk. She flipped the hot pink lamp on and grabbed a piece of paper and a fluffy purple pen.
"Okay, Rach, go from the beginning one more time, just to be sure."
Rachel repeated the story, not being able to continue after the mutilated face appeared. She tried several times but words just wouldn't come.
"It's okay Rachel, I remember the rest," Jen said when she realized her dark-haired friend could continue no more.
"Do you know what it means?" Rachel asked cautiously.
"Yeah, hang on."
Jen reached over to the bookshelf that was next to the desk. She grabbed a sky blue book with gold writing on the from proclaiming it 'The Dream Diary'. Jen took a few moments flipping through it, stopping every once in a while, scribbling something down, and repeating the process. Finally she shut the book.
"I know what it means," Jen said as she turned to look at Rachel. "I'm gonna explain it piece-by-piece, okay?"
"Yeah, go ahead," Rachel replied, anxiously.
"Okay, so the alley in your dream could mean that you have limited options for whatever you need to do. Walking down the alleyway could symbolize that your reputation is in jeopardy."
"Too late for that," mumbled Rachel. Jen laughed.
"Uh, the darkness in the alley may mean that you will fail in whatever exploit you will be coming into soon. It may also mean that you have a fear of the unknown, or maybe it means that you do not have enough information to make a clear decision in a very important matter." Jen looked over at Rachel. Rachel was staring into her lap. Jen decided to keep going.
"The clod means that you are feeling isolated. Confusion in your dream means confusion in real life. Specifically noticing the bricks seemed important, so I looked that up and it symbolizes your original ideas and thoughts. It also could mean that experiences have hardened you. Trying to help the child behind the bins means that you are trying to save a part of yourself from being destroyed. Dreaming that you are being kicked usually means you're feeling taken advantage of, though it is known to mean that you should continue toward your goals," Jen looked up from her paper again and saw Rachel looking at her, shock on her face. Something in my last few interpretations surprised her. Wonder what…
"To chase someone or something means that you are attempting to triumph over a difficult task, though it may also mean you are being denied of your power and influence. You need to re-evaluate your strengths and concentrate your efforts in something more worthwhile. The not answering you thing may refer to some aspect of yourself that you are not paying attention to. When you tired from running after the girl…that may have meant that you are feeling emotionally drained or stressed," Jen looked up again and saw Rachel looking very pale.
"Rach? You okay?" Jen said in concern. Rachel nodded and a little color came back to her face.
"Keep going." Rachel said quietly.
"This is where it got really difficult. See, a lot of these don't really fit or make much sense. Like this…the falling into the girl may have meant that there is going to be a loss of control soon. It may also have meant that something very overwhelming is happening in your life or will be in the near future. Uh…the fact that it was a girl represented your playful and innocent side. See? A lot is starting to mess up. Listen, it says, blood means life, love, and passion as well as disappointments. That you noticed she was blonde was odd so I checked up on that and it means to enjoy life. The red eyes was to show evil and energy combining into one deadly force." Jen stopped there. She didn't want to continue.
"Finish!" Rachel said quietly, with all the intensity of a cyclone. "I need to know…"
"The gun symbolizes aggression, anger, and possible danger. It was being loaded, so that means to not let your temper get out of control or there will be catastrophic results. The girl in black…well, that means the unknown, unconscious, danger, mystery, darkness, death, mourning, hate or malice. This would generally refer to the girl that was dressed in black. The silver shows justice and purity, a protective energy. Whoever created the silver will become very protective of the important matter at hand. The dark room means that you will feel trapped very soon, and because the music you heard was very loud and not very pleasant…unhappiness and troubles will be with you," Jen finished, staring at the paper she held. Then she stood up, walked over to Rachel, and handed it to her. Rachel took it, stared at it, and put it in her backpack.
"For later," Rachel said to the confused look. "Is this a prophetic dream that I'm having?"
"I think it may be. It may also be an epic dream. I wrote about both of those on the paper. You'll see later."
Rachel stood up. "I'm gonna go. I'll talk to you on IM tonight?" Jen nodded.
"I'll have to add you again."
Rachel just looked upset and said, "Okay. Bye." She then left abruptly.
"Bye bye, Rach," Jen said softly.
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Okay, so that was over 4,000 words. 4,139 to be exact. And that's without author's notes. I'm very proud. Maybe more next time. So…here's the review replies! Oh…wait…there's only one. How sad. Well…here it is, presented by the lovely Jinx!
Jinx: I hate you right now.
Titangirl: Suck it up, sweetheart! Answer the review already!!
Hidden Iris
Jinx: Yes, Cassandra can be an evil, lying bi-
Titangirl: Jinx…I have the flame blower and your unicorn sketchbook…
Jinx: Uh, I mean, yes, Cassandra is an evil character, a great villain, don't 'cha think? (sweatdrops) Titangirl797 didn't spend much time on the fight scene, mostly because she's an idiot that doesn't realize that fight scenes are the most important part, but she's glad you like it anyway. Please keep reviewing!
(Runs away)
Well, there ya have it. I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I listened to the RENT Soundtrack the whole time I was writing it. Four times. Actually, after a while I got bored of the music and decided I might get more done with silence. Therefore, you better have liked it. The title is based on a quote by Anais Nin. The quote is very short and to the point. "Dreams are necessary to life." Love it. Toodles!
Titangirl797