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Disclaimer: Does anyone even do disclaimers anymore?

How Happy is the blameless vestal's lot!
The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind!
Each pray'r accepted and each wish resign'd.

Raven was beyond any emotion she had ever felt in her entire life. Once she had gone through every emotion on the spectrum, she had settled on humiliation. She had gone into that office four days a week for three years, like an idiot. Everyone there knew about her. It was humiliating. Roy and Gar probably got together and laughed at her behind her back. It was more than she could bare.

She had to resign. She couldn't even stand being there anymore. Everything had turned out so disastrously. When they let her erase her mind it was intended to make her feel better. It completely blew up in her face. She held the last box of her stuff in her arms and made her way towards her car. Roy was leaning against it. She ignored him and popped the trunk, dumping the last box into the back of her car.

"Hey." Roy said evenly puffing on a cigarette.

"Hey." She replied.

"You got all your stuff I see-"

"Yeah that's right." Her voice was laced with obvious anger. She barely let him get the words out.

He stood up straighter. Raven slammed her trunk shut. The was a moment of obvious awkwardness. "Look Raven, I know we weren't really friends, but I am sorry."

She looked up at her seeing the sincerity in his voice. She wondered if she dared asked. "Do you swear you didn't know?" she asked seeking an honest answer.

"I swear."

"So you didn't do the erasing?" she pressed, not sure if she should trust him.

His shook his head. He threw his stubby cigarette nub onto the pavement and stomped out the ashes. "Of course not."

She shook her head in understanding. God help her she believed him. "Thanks. Listen don't worry about me, I have to go make things right."

He watched Raven drove away until she was out of sight. Roy used to pity Raven. She had always seemed so secretly sad. He sensed the romantic tension between her and Garfield, and watched on in silent disdain for how selfishly Gar had played with her heart. Watching Raven leave with dignity envoked an unfamiliar feeling of envy. She was finally free from the past. She was free to finally and truthfully move on from Garfield.

It was more than he could say for anyone else.

Kory was happy.

Which was unusual, considering the bizarre and incomplete way she had been feeling for the past two weeks. The feeling was inexplicable. When she had been with Roy things seemed so out of place. She had, had so much fun with Dick which was weird considering she had just met him yesterday. They spend a blissful evening just enjoying each other's company and now they were driving back to his place. She loved how unplanned this started.

Kory changed her clothes, packed another set in an old leather back pack, and brushed her teeth. She briefly considered taking a quick shower but squashed the idea like a mosquito in a Louisiana bayou. She didn't want to keep Dick waiting in the car too long. Maybe Dick would let her take a shower at his house. She moved about the small space of her apartment grabbing various cds and dvds for them to enjoy together. She noticed the red light on her answering maching was blinking.

"Hey Kory, it's me. I don't know what's going on with you. You just totally abandoned me at the art gallery the other day and I haven't see you since. Did I do something wrong? Are you mad at me? Whatever it is I can fix it. I-just call me back." End of message.

She slid into the passengers side of the car. Dick had adorable five o'clock shadow, she noted as he began to drive away.

"I had a really fun time last night." He mumbled.

She froze and slowly turned toward him. "Nice?"

He glanced at her. The corners of his mouth curved into a smile. "I had the best fucking time of my whole fucking life." he relented.

She smiled satisfied. "That's better."

They rode in comfortable silence. Dick kept his weary eyes on the road. He wanted nothing more than to go back home and lay down with Kory next to him. Dick had woken up yesterday morning feeling like a part of him was missing. He often wondered if he were doomed to the repetative and mundane existance that he had lived up until yesterday. He met Kory that fateful day on the train and changed his life and all his goals.

He thought he might fall in love with Kory. Love was blind and that he knew, his heart was blinded by her. Kory shuffled through her mail stuffing some bills in her bag and ignoring grocery store ads. "What's this?" she said curiously holding up a large yellow package.

She broke the tape using her nail. Inside was a folder. Anders, Kory was scribbled on the tab. "There's a letter." Kory announced. "To all patience of Dr. Slade. My name is Raven Roth. We have met but you will not remember me. I worked for a company hired to erase part of your memory. I have since decided that this is horrible...some kind of teaser ad or something. In order to correct this I am sending everyone's file back."

Kory yanked out the tape that was attached to the file and jammed it into the old cassette player of Dick's car. There was static before Kory's voice could be heard. "My name is Kory Anders and I'm here to erase Dick Grayson."

Kory froze horrified and looked at Dick. He glanced between her and the road, equally confused. He began to slow the car down. "What is this?" he demanded perplexed.

"I don't know." Kory answered honestly.

"He's boring. Is that reason enough to erase him." Her voice sounded angry, tense, and bitter. "I've been thinking lately how I was before and how I am now and it's like he changed me."

Dick looked at her, his face a hybrid of horror and disgusted. Kory looked almost afraid and also confused. "I feel like I'm always pissy now. I don't like myself when I'm with him. I don't like myself anymore. I can't even stand to look at him. That pathetic, wimpy, apologetic smile. That sort of lost puppy shit, you know?"

"What are you doing?" Dick asked slowly.

She shook her head. "I'm not doing anything."

"It's weird I saw the end before we begun. It's like that song...oh what's it called? By culture club? Tainted love! Yeah, that's the freaking theme song to us now. The bloom is certainly off the fucking rose at this point."

It hit Dick like a drunk Yankee fan in a sportsbar full of Red Sox fans. This girl was screwing with him. "Are you fucking with me?"

"No!" she defended quickly.

He shook his head before turning back to the road. "You are fucking with me."

"Dick, I'm not." She insisted.

It was all falling apart so quickly. Paradise was gone. He shouldn't have known it was too good to be true. Things like this didn't happen to him. Beautiful girls didn't fall in love with him. Happiness was a luxury that constantly eluded him. His fingers tingled with irratation. At this moment he was so pissed he didn't know what to do with himself. "You clearly are!" he barked.

Kory ran her fingers through her hair. She could feel the head ache forming at the base of her skull the way it did when she was confused. She wanted to explain herself, but how could she. She was just as confused as he was. Dick pulled the car over to the side of the road. He pressed the eject button on the cassette player and shoved the tape into Kory's hands. He reached over and pulled the passenger side door open. Dick ignored the look Kory was giving him.

Without another word, Kory gathered up her belongings. She slammed the door shut and waited until Dick drove away. She watched his car drive out of sight, before heading home. When she arrived she wasn't suprised to see Roy waiting on her front lawn, just annoyed. She walked past.

"Roy, get the fuck away from me." she said exhausted and breathlessly. She was too frustrated and confused to deal with him right now. He put his hand on her shoulder. She swatted his arm away violently. Hot tears burned in her eyes. "Get the fuck away from me!" she screamed.

Roy's eyes were pleading. Sad and pathetic. She didn't need this right now. "Can we talk about?" his voice was desperate.

"No, get the fuck away!" she yelled even louder, strainer her voice slightly.

She disappeared behind her front door and slammed it in his face. She left the little that was left of her and Roy to contemplate alone, outside in the late February air. She dropped everything she had been holding right on the floor, and went straight up to her room. She fell onto her bed, the tears she could no longer contain slipped over her eyes and onto her comforter. The pillows absorbed the gasping cries as she wailed hysterically.

Twenty minuets ago, she had everything that she had been missing. Dick made her forget the emptiness that starved her mind, and threatened to unravel her mind. She just wanted that back. To be back at the cabin on the beach with Dick, where the rest of the world didn't exist beyond themselves.

After awhile the tears subsided, she stalked around her apartment, unable to get comfortable. Uneasiness plagued her mind and sudden cabin fever began to take over once more. She felt so unbearable restless. She couldn't sit, she couldn't stand, she didn't want to eat anything, and yet she was starving, t.v. was distracting and giving her a headache. All she could do was pace aimlessly.

Finally she could take it no longer. She grabbed the keys to her own car and made her way towards Dick's place, which wasn't too far from her own. He had given her his business card and she was eternally grateful. She parked dangerously just anxious to see him again.

"Hey Kory nice to see you again." A stranger coming out of the next door apartment said.

She nodded indifferently, before knocking lightly on the door to Dick's apartment. After a minute of no response she slowly opened the door and edged herself in. Dick's voice echoed loudly throughout the condo. Kory stepped in fully and shut the door behind her..

"I've seen her around dating other guys and it's making everything so much harder on me. I just want to move on. She was never a book reading girl, she was more of a magazine type so I could never really talk to her about literature. None of that really mattered to me."

Kory found Dick in his Living staring at the dusty, old cassetter player sitting on top of his cluttered desk. He didn't turn when she came in. In a way he already knew who it was.

"Hey." she said finally.

"Hey." he replied.

His finger slowly reached for the stop button. He finally turned to face her. "Look what I found on the bookshelf."

He handed her crumpled looking paper. She slowly took it from his grasp. Her other reached up to mouth. It was a polaroid of Dick and Kory looking blissfully happy at a cocktail party. Kory's bright eyes flashed unexpectedly at the camera, and Dick's eyes were lovingly glue to Kory. She turned the picture over. It was dated to last Christmas. Kory chocked on a sob and the tears fell again. Dick stood up and wrapped his arms around her. She tears soaked through his shirt.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you." he said into her hair after a moment.

"It's okay." she said finding the strength in her voice again.

Kory pulled away from Dick and wiped the remaining moistrure from her eyes. "Dick, I really like you. I hate that I said mean things about you."

"So where do we go from here?"

Moment of silence. Kory ran her finger along her face. "I don't know." she answered.

Dick's heart thumped in his heart. His mind was simply reeling but he found Kory to be thrilling and intoxicating. He didn't want her to leave, he didn't care about the past which ceased to exist to both of them. It was like he needed her to feel alive. Fight or Flight.

"Maybe we can...start again." He suggested.

The smile returned to Kory's brilliant eyes, but her face was ruined by worry and perplexion. She sighed deeply and paced for a few long, agonizing moments. "Alright, but listen. I'm not a concept, Dick. I'm just a fucked up little girl whose looking for her own piece of mind. I'm not perfect."

Dick smiled helplessly. "I can't see anything that I don't like about you-"

"But you will. But you will. You will think of things and I'll get bored with you and I'll feel trapped because that's what happens with me." She finished in a huff.

More silence. Dick shrugged his shoulders. "Okay."

A broad genuine smile crossed Kory's beautiful face and for the first time she just glowed. "Okay." she repeated happily.

"Okay." they both said, their voices breaking with ridiculous and insane laughter at the absurdity of it all.

At that moment it all became so clear for the both of them. The world forgetting by the world forgot. Nothing mattered anymore. The past didn't exist and they freed themselves of the fear of the future. They were free to love each other and were secure in that sole fact. The past didn't matter. The future didn't matter. All that mattered was how safe and complete they were in each other's arms.

And that was a beautiful, beautiful thing.

Fin

Yes, the entire story was out of order. If you want to cuss me out for it feel free. I know it was confusing and if you still don't understand let me know and I'll PM you. I must say I had fun writing this and this is my favorite work on fanfiction (even if the plot was borrowed.)

Until next time,
ChittyChittyBangBang16