So… it's been a while, hasn't it? How long has it been, since February? Ah well, it's not that much longer than it could be, I guess. I finally get the chance to update! And you know what? This is the last chapter before we go into stuff that no one has ever read before! Exciting, yes? Well, in order for the new stuff to make sense, we'll have to read this chapter now. So enjoy!
Oh, and to those who are saying that I'm not involving enough CyRae or Jack or anything, all I have to say is this: the story has a LOOONG way to go. Don't worry, there will be PLENTY of time to develop everyone. It's just that it's too much work to try and develop everyone at once. Just a group of people at a time... I guess once things start getting boring with Brittany/Gloria, etc, I can work on some of the other characters as well. I already have something in mind with Jack... but I won't say anything. In fact, it was my goal to involve the other characters more. It's just that when you're trying to edit your old story, you can't change all that much without changing the story. Once I get into new chapters (hey, that's right after this chapter! YAY!) it'll be easier to work with other characters. That's all for now. Enjoy the chapter!
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Chapter 11: A Few Weeks Later
A few weeks had passed through the school year. Brittany was still bugging Robin and Starfire, and Clive was still bugging Robin about Myra. Everyone else seemed to be coping well with his or her new friends and family, as well as showing their talents in various sports. Cyborg was now the new quarterback for the varsity football team, and he gave his team a current record of 4-1. Terra was fourth singles on the varsity tennis team, winning 2 of her 6 matches. Beast Boy had joined the foreign language and drama clubs, but only for show. Starfire joined the junior varsity basketball team as a substitute forward. Robin is the center on the junior varsity soccer team. He had lost his martial arts abilities but he still had his agility in him.
However, recently, Beast Boy had been spending a lot of time with Starfire's sister, Gloria. Terra was becoming a little jealous, but she didn't want to show it that much because her assumption of him getting together with Gloria could be incorrect. She just spent as much time as she could with Beast Boy so he would not become too preoccupied with Gloria. She would let them be just friends, but she would hate to see them get together.
Homecoming was coming up in about a week and a half. The Titans and their new friends were making arrangements for it. Cyborg had asked Raven out, and of course, she said that she would go. Robin asked Starfire out, and she said yes, but Brittany was not too happy about that, obviously. Clive did not want to ask Myra out for a reason that even he did not know about. They decided to just go with the rest of the group. As for the other new friends, they didn't bother with dates and decided to just go as a big group of friends.
However, Beast Boy did not mention anything to Terra about them going to homecoming together. She became a little upset about this, especially since it was almost time for the dance, and neither of them had made arrangements. She decided to ask him out instead, despite how untraditional it was for a girl to ask a boy to a dance.
Right after school as the last bell rang, Terra spotted Beast Boy next to his locker near the end of the hallway and approached him. "Hey Gar…" she asked him.
He shut his locker shut. "Hey Tara! What's up?" he said with a smile.
She shuffled her feet and looked at them. "You… haven't mentioned anything about homecoming yet…"
He was perplexed. "Was I supposed to?"
She almost felt like glaring at him, but instead she responded to his comment by saying, "I was kind of hoping you would… well…"
"What would I do?"
"Well, were you planning on even going? Because all our other friends are, but you didn't really seem to know that…"
"Dude, of course I knew that! I know everything!"
Shesmirked at his joke, but then went back to her original mood. "Then… why haven't you asked me to it yet?"
"I didn't really think I needed to. I mean, can't we just go?"
She sighed in relief. "Well, I do have to know whether or not you were planning on going in the first place. Besides, it's informal to assume that your boyfriend or girlfriend is just going to go with you and not make any arrangements."
He leaned against his locker and said, "Really… well then, will you go to homecoming with me?"
She smiled. "Sure I'll go. Let's have dinner with Dick and Kori and the others."
He stood up straight. "Sounds like a plan, my main… uh, wo-man!"
Shesmirked again. "Ok then. I'll see you tomorrow, Gar!" She ran down the hallway and waved back at him.
"Bye Tara!" he shouted as he waved back.
During the conversation, Gloria had been watching them talk from her locker across the hallway. As Terra dashed down the hallway, Gloria's eyes glared as Terra exited the room.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Not too long afterward, Terra was outside, looking for someone else to talk to. At that moment, she spotted Megan standing on the steps at the front. Terra approached her. "Hi, can I talk to you for a second?"
"Sure," she responded. They sat down on a nearby bench just outside the school grounds. "What's up?"
Terra was not making eye contact, but instead was looking down in her lap. "Well… Gar's been… well…"
Megan sighed, knowing this news was trouble. "What's he been doing?"
Terra looked back at Megan. "You know who Gloria Anders is, right?"
"Yeah, I do. She's a friendly girl. I like her."
Terra glared at her. "Friendly, huh?"
"Oh…" Megan responded hesitantly.
Terra hung her head. "It's fine. She is a friendly girl." She sighed. "Maybe a little too friendly…"
Megan stroked her boyish hair and responded in more hesitation, "I see…"
"Yeah… but Gar keeps insisting that they're just friends, but sometimes I get the feeling that Gloria doesn't think that they're just friends, if you know what I mean."
"I know what you mean. Does he really like her in that way?"
"It doesn't matter. He's going to give into her flirtations, and then he'll break up with me because…" She began to hold back tears. "Megan, he hardly ever talks to me anymore! I try and start a conversation during Algebra everyday, and you see him! He just nods and works on his homework." She grabbed Megan's shoulders. "He does his homework! He never used to do his homework! At least, he didn't before Gloria came in. He's not like that!"
She grabbed Terra's hands and took them off her shoulders. "Hey, has there really been any real problems between Gar and Gloria?"
"Yes, there has. Well, I think they're real. Yesterday during physical science, she randomly grabbed his hand and pulled him out of his chair and said in a wimpy voice, 'Garry-dude, I'm feeling lonely! Give me a hug!' and they hugged. Normally, I wouldn't have minded if he had given another girl a hug, it's just the reason why they hugged just wanted me to scream!"
"Ooh… that sounds pretty bad. That was definitely flirting, let me tell you! Does he even realize what she's actually doing with him? As in, does he know when a girl flirts with him?"
Terra shrugged. "Probably not. But he does want to go to homecoming with me still. I'm just worried that if she starts flirting with him too much, then he'll want to… well, you know…"
Megan smiled. "Tara, stop worrying! Everything's gonna be fine! If he still invited you to homecoming and didn't invite Gloria, that's a good sign that he'll probably never really become interested in her. So stop getting all been-out-of-shape about it, all right?"
She sighed and smiled at her friend. "You know what, you're probably right. But I'm still wondering why he never asked me earlier if we could go to homecoming…"
"What do you mean?" Megan asked, confused.
"He just asked me today. I practically had to remind him to ask me. Something tells me that he's keeping something from me that he shouldn't be keeping…" she frowned and crossed her arms.
"Relax, Tara. Everything will be just fine. Maybe you should talk to Gloria or something. Gar probably doesn't know anything anyways. Maybe this is just some sort of misunderstanding…"
Terra stood up. "No, I will not talk to Gloria, because she will tell me the same thing Gar did... almost." She thought for a moment. "I know, I'll talk to Kori. She's Gloria's temporary older sister. Maybe she might be able to tell me some truth, depending on how much Gloria talks about Gar at the dinner table or something…" She looked at her watch and started to walk away. "I'll see you tomorrow, Megan. I have to go to tennis practice. I'm going to be late if I don't hurry."
She waved goodbye to her friend. "See ya, Tara!"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The next morning at around 7:15, Terra approached Starfire just outside the school building. She decided that this would be a good time to talk about Gloria. "Kori, can I talk to you?"
She smiled. "Of course I will, friend Tara! It is a pleasure to talk to my friends! What is it that you would like to discuss?"
She sighed. "Well, it's about your sister…"
Starfire crossed her arms. "Sister Gloria? What has she done that requires my discussion?"
Terra broke their eye contact. "She… flirts with Gar, and I don't think he knows it."
Starfire giggled. "Oh, that is ridiculous! They are just friends! I talk to Gar all of the time, and I am just friends with him!"
"But this is different!" she exclaimed, sounding a little desperate.
"By what means is it different?"
Terra shifted her weight to her left hip. "Well, he's spending way to much with her, and he hardly ever talks to me now!"
Starfire was confused. "But why would he not talk to you? You are his girlfriend!"
"But your sister might change all that!" she tried to explain.
"My sister is much too nice to want to take Gar away from you! She would never do that!"
Terra became impatient. "You don't have a clue, do you?" She paced around Starfire. "Have you ever seen them together? She really does act like they're dating, just so you know. She might even be worse than Brittany for all I know!"
Starfire could not think of anything to say other than, "Worse than Brittany? Worse than Brittany! I could never imagine that being possible! And how in the name of the Titans could you ever even think about comparing that… replobite, with my sister! You know an insult to my family is an insult to me!"
Terra crossed her arms. "But she's not even part of your real family!"
"All that is left of my real family is my sister Blackfire, but she is evil! I now have a real family here on Earth, and I love them all as if they really were my birth family! Do you not love your new family, especially since your old family is gone?"
Terra completely understood what she was talking about, so she calmed down. "Look, I know what you're saying to me, and I'm sorry if I have to be mean to Gloria when I say these things, but I'm just telling you what I know about the relationship between Gar and Gloria, and how this can affect my relationship between Gar and myself."
Starfire frowned. "I am glad you know what I am talking about, but there is still no excuse for bearing false witness about my sister. Now…"
"But it isn't false! What I'm saying is true! I wouldn't lie about something like this, would I?"
Starfire shook her head. "No, you would not lie about something like this. That would be immature and out of your character. So maybe the whole situation is just a misunderstanding. Would you not rather have it be a misunderstanding as opposed to the truth?"
Terra sighed. "I guess so, but I'm so sure that what I'm saying is true. If you could do me a favor and talk to her for me, that would…"
"No, I cannot talk to her for you. You must talk to her yourself. Gloria is a nice girl, and I love her so much. I am quite sure that once this issue with Gar has settled down, you two would make great friends." She smiled at her and began to walk to the school. "I will see you at some point during the day, correct?"
"Yeah, sure, whatever…" She sighed and sat on a bench.
At that moment, Beast Boy and Gloria approached the front of the building. They hardly noticed Terra sitting on the bench, so they continued walking, talking, and laughing.
Terra could not take it anymore. She rose in anger and yelled, "You won't even say hi to me!"
Beast Boy slapped his head and ran back towards her. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't see you there. Hi, Tara."
Gloria grabbed his hand and dragged him inside the building. "Come on, Gar! We need to get to class on time!"
"Can't I just talk to Tara for a few minutes?" he insisted.
"We're gonna be late!" Gloria insisted.
"Uh… ok…" They entered, Terra following relatively close behind them, steam puffing above her head.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
At lunch, since Gloria had second lunch, Beast Boy and Terra made their way to the table Raven and Myra had reserved for the group. Accompanying them were Cyborg, Megan, Alan, and Jack.
Myra was eating a thin turkey sandwich when she glanced at Beast Boy and Terra, who were not making a sound, other than the sound of them chewing on food. "You two are unusually quiet today."
"In fact, you guys have been quiet for the past week, now that I think about it…" added Raven.
"Yeah, what's happened to you guys?" asked Cyborg.
"Ooo… I sense tension…" joked Alan.
Megan nudged his elbow. "Oh, hush you!" She looked back at Beast Boy and Terra. "But seriously guys, what's wrong?" she asked, pretending she did not know what the problem was. Terra could sense her intentions, so she remained silent so Beast Boy could answer the question.
He, however, only shrugged and continued eating.
"Actually, I really don't know either…" lied Terra. Megan only continued eating.
Beast Boy turned to Terra and smiled. "Hey! I know a way to start a conversation! What'd the turkey sandwich say to the ham sandwich?" he joked.
"No Gar. Please don't tell your stupid jokes while I'm trying to eat. You'll make me puke," Raven said, almost begging.
"Yeah, Gar. Don't tell jokes, all right? It's just that… they don't really suit lunch time, especially for Rae here," Cyborg agreed.
Terra decided that she should talk to Beast Boy again. "Gar, how about we have a discussion in the corner? I think we do need to talk."
"But I haven't finished my tofu burger yet!" he whined.
Jack interrupted and asked, "Why are you eating tofu? That stuff's nasty!"
"Not if you're a vegetarian! Then it's food galore!" he exclaimed, proudly announcing his love for fake meat.
"Vegetarian…" grumbled Jack. "I'll eat normal vegetables, but tofu?"
Cyborg happily stated, "I knew people like you existed somewhere! I just had to get out of that tofu-scented tower, if you can even call it 'scented'…"
"The tower didn't smell like tofu! It smelled like your burnt bacon! Those poor pigs…"
"They're already dead," Jack stated. "What's the point in not cooking the bacon if they're already packaged in those strips?"
"I hear ya." Cyborg and Jack high-fived. "That's the kind of logic I'd like to hear more often."
"You guys are friggin' cannibals," Beast Boy moaned as he rested his head on his hand in frustration.
Terra sighed and crashed her head on the table. "I'm never gonna talk to him…"
Megan also sighed, shook her head, but did not say anything.
Terra truly felt that she really needed to talk it out sooner rather than later. She grabbed Beast Boy's wrist and said, "We're going to talk, all right? I don't care if you're finished with your burger or not, but we still have to talk." They made their way to a corner of the cafeteria.
Terra threw his wrist and demanded, "We're going to talk, and we're going to talk now!"
Beast Boy shrugged. "… What's there to talk about?"
"You've been spending too much time with Gloria. I talked to Kori about it, but she didn't believe me about it. I think she's… well, flirting with you."
Beast Boy was confused. "But we're just friends!"
"It doesn't look like it!"
He sighed. "Does it really look like we're dating?"
"Well, I think it does! And I'm your girlfriend!"
"How does it look like we're dating?"
"Well, didn't you notice this morning that she was taking you away from me?"
"Yeah, but I was going to be late…"
"You had fifteen more minutes to get ready for Algebra! And since when did you care about being late anyways? You used to always sleep in! Now you're scared of being late after getting to school 15 minutes early!"
That was whenthe lunch bell rang. Beast Boy put his hands on her shoulders. "Tara, we're just friends, alright? Believe me, if I wanted to date someone other than you, which will probably be never, I'd tell you, all right? Don't worry about something that will never happen." He smiled. "Just 'cause all the ladies love me, doesn't mean I love all the ladies like I love you!"
As he walked away, Terra smiled. That was probably one of the sweetest things he had ever told her. There was nothing to worry about him. But she was still concerned about Gloria and their friendship. He could change his mind. But she was not nearly as worried as she was earlier in the day, but what he told her did not eliminate her worries. She returned to her table, grabbed her school supplies, and headed to her next class.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
At the end of the day, Cyborg and Raven met up in the hallway, somewhat surrounded by many other students. Jack was with Cyborg.
"Hey, we're kinda bored around here. Boy, I remember last year when things started to get boring, some of the guys that were brave enough would carry their girlfriends all the way across the hallway. Why don't we do that now?" Jack insisted.
Raven crossed her arms at Cyborg. "No."
He smiled. "Aw, come on, Rae! It'll be fun! Besides,it's not like youhave to do the carrying!"
Raven sighed, but before her last bit of breath escaped her body, she was already being swept off her feet. Her eyes became very wide. Cyborg had lifted her in the air and had tossed her over his shoulders. The crowd of students cheered as he dashed across the hallway with his loved one over his shoulder.
Robin, Starfire, Beast Boy, Terra, Myra and Clive heard the cheering from different sections of the building, so they entered the main hallway to see Cyborg running up and down the hallway.
When Cyborg was done, he gently put Raven back on her feet. "Now, wasn't that fun?"
"It was humiliating." She crossed her arms again.
"So? They loved it! Don't tell me you didn't enjoy me sweeping you off your feet!"
She sighed. "Whatever you say … but don't do it again."
He smiled. "All right."
Robin grinned slyly at Starfire. "Oh Kori…"
"Yes, Dick?"
He swooped under her and picked her up.
She screamed, "Dick! Dick! Put me down!" A smile was still placed on her face, despite how many times she tried to turn it upside-down.
"Don't worry, I won't hurt you! At least Brittany isn't carrying you! I wouldn't ever hurt you or do anything that might hurt you!"
She looked over towards the other students as they cheered away. She realized that she really was having fun, so she cheered with the crowd.
At that moment, Robin began to pant. He was losing his grip on her. She fell out of his arms as he fell to the ground. Starfire let out a little "eep" as the crowd booed.
"Oh shut-up! She's bigger than me!" he yelled to them.
"And what is that supposed to mean?" Starfire asked, surprised.
Brittany shoved her way through the crowd of students and helped Robin to his feet. "Oh Dick! Why didn't you carry me? I'm probably lighter than this… fatty that you carried instead!"
Robin and Starfire both growled at her. Starfire responded, "Because you are probably fatter! You are not his girlfriend, anyways!"
Robin was a little surprised that she actually called her fat. He knew he did not like her, but he had never heard her call anyone she did not like an American insult. He looked at her, slightly surprised.
"Yes, I called her fat. But she is a replobite that must stop trying to steal you away from me!"
Brittany looked at her strangely. "What's a replobite? A computer chip?"
Starfire put her hands on her hips. "Would you not like to know…"
"Yeah. You speak another language or something?"
Starfire pouted. "I refuse to talk to you. You would not be able to understand, anyways."
At that moment, Beast Boy had fallen on top of Brittany, Terra with him.
"Woo hoo! That was FUN!" Terra cheered as she and BB sat on top of Brittany.
"Uh… yeah, I guess so… I just wanted to carry someone, and why not you? I'm sorry I dropped you though. I guess you're a little heavy for me…"
"Hey! You'd better not be calling me fat!"
He smiled nervously. "No, of course not! Why would I do that?"
"GET OFF OF ME YOU LOSERS!" yelled something from below them.
Terra and Beast Boy looked at what was below them. They giggled. "Let's just stay on top of her for a little while longer…" joked Beast Boy.
"NOOOOOOO!"
They laughed. "He was joking! Why would we stay on you for a while anyways? You're extremely uncomfortable!" Terra laughed some more.
"That wasn't funny, losers!"
On the other end of the hallway, Myra and Clive were laughing to themselves. "You know, it'd be fun to be carried to the other side." She smiled.
Clive took her comment as a hint, and swept Myra off of her feet.
"Clive! You can carry me!"
"Hey, you know I'm stronger than I look!" he yelled as he ran across the hallway. The crowd cheered once more. "Besides, you wanted to be carried down the hallway, right?"
"Yeah, but I was just kinda imagining it in my head. I didn't think that it could actually happen."
"Well, you thought wrong."
As Terra and Beast Boy got off Brittany and as she was about to get up off the floor, Clive stepped on her back with all of the weight of Myra and himself all upon her. The step made one sound: Craaaaaack.
"OUCH! THAT HURT! YOU'D BETTER SAY SORRY!"
Myra stuck her tongue out. "Hahahahahaha! Why would I apologize? We're not even yet!"
"Even? You bitch! What did I ever do to you?"
Clive was beginning to lose balance, so he toppled over on top of Myra. They crashed to the floor, laughing.
"That was fun!" giggled Myra.
"But let us not do it again. I'm tired…"
She sighed. "Fine…"
At that moment, the principal entered the hallway. "What's going on in here!"
One of the jocks from the crowd yelled, "RUN!" Everyone ran out of the building as quickly as they could before the principal could catch them. He sighed and figured that it wasn't really any real danger; they just did not want to get caught.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Just outside the building, the Titans, Jack, Sara, Myra, Clive, Megan, and Alan were discussing homecoming plans.
"We're going to go to Applebee's for dinner before the dance. Does that sound good?" suggested Robin.
"Where is that?" asked Starfire.
"It's somewhere downtown. I think it's close to Dick's neighborhood," explained Myra.
"Oh. Then let us go!"
"I agree. We can go there, then I can drive everyone to the dance. The restaurant isn't too far from the school, so I can take two trips if necessary," Cyborg suggested.
"That sounds very good Victor," agreed Clive.
"Hey, I can drive too," Jack stated. "I even have a mini-van. That way we don't have to take two trips."
Alan nudged Megan's elbow. "Don't you just love having senior friends?"
"I didn't think it'd be possible. I thought all seniors hated freshman. I guess not," Megan smiled.
"Then it's settled. Everyone tell your parents, go dress shopping if you're a girl, and when it's time to go to the dance, we eat, then go to it. It'll be a fun night!" exclaimed Terra.
"Dress shopping?" asked Raven and Myra.
Starfire's face lit up. "Oh! We get to go to the mall of shopping! Let us go on Saturday! It will be so much fun! I cannot wait!"
Raven moaned. "Do we have to?"
"Do you have a dress appropriate for the dance?" asked Terra.
"No, but…"
"Raven, buy a dress. You'll look gorgeous!" Cyborg insisted.
She sighed. "Fine… Myra, you'll have to come too."
"I guess so." She thought for a moment. "I guess it won't be so bad… after all, not all of the dresses are pink and girly. There can be some extremely gorgeous black dresses! Actually, most dresses are black…"
"Then I guess it won't be so bad after all, if most of the dresses are black and relatively modest. One thing I can't stand is when girls with D breasts wear short dresses with too much cleavage showing. Oh yeah, straight girls really want to see that."
Robin looked at his watch. "I'm going to be late for soccer practice if I don't leave soon."
"I'll be late for tennis. We'll see each other tomorrow. And dress shopping is Saturday. Ok, I think that'll work. Bye everyone!"
Everyone exchanged goodbyes as Beast Boy approached Starfire and asked her, "Do you really think that Gloria's flirting with me? How often does she talk about me at home?"
Starfire was a little perplexed. "Why do you want to know?"
"Cuz Tara seems upset about it, even after we've discussed it, and I don't know if she's right or not."
"I do believe she is wrong. She says that you two are just friends at home, and you say that you are just friends."
"I guess so… but I just don't want Tara mad at me later on. I try and convince her she's wrong, and I definitely know she's not as worried as she was earlier, but still..."
Starfire suggested, "Well, how about Gloria comes with us to homecoming! And then we can see how she really feels for you."
"I don't know… Tara won't be happy…"
"She will grow accustomed to it. I will take Gloria shopping for dresses with the rest of us, and we will see how Gloria talks with Tara. I am sure they would make good friends if Tara would just try."
He thought for a moment. "You're probably right Kori. They'd get along great if I weren't there, I'm sure. Boy, not too long ago, it'd be a dream come true to have two girls fighting over me, if Tara and Gloria are really fighting over me, but now it's giving me a headache. And a joker's block."
She giggled. "I am sure you will be able to tell jokes again as soon as this is over your head. I will see you tomorrow, Gar."
"Bye Kori." They each returned home.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Well... I'm sorry for the late, late, LATE update. I'll do better next time, I promise. School's out, so I'll have a little more time to write. My inspiration also jumped up a notch or two, so maybe you'll see another update in August or something. If I had time earlier I would, but I'm busy during the summer too. The only issue that's during school is homework, but I'm just out of the house a lot. Again, so, so sorry about the late update. I hope you guys understand. Just remember that being a junior in high school takes up waaaaay too much time! Thank goodness I'll be a senior, with NO AP classes, so… yeah.
Review!
Vandagirl :D