A/N: Awww I'm already getting some views on this story. I'm glad. Happy Thanksgiving! I wish everybody lots of fun and I would like to give thanks to you viewers by posting this chapter right now.
Mewgirl223: Me too. And Thank you so much. I wouldn't give up on any story I've set my mind to. Plus leaving it there for ME is torture. I can only imagine how it feels for readers who don't even know what I'm writing. Lolz. Thx and I hope you enjoy.
Latezz123: Awesome. And trust me. It gets even better. Don't worry, I'll get to my other stories as soon as I can. I hope you like this chapter as well.
i'm so hollow: Awwwww. Thanks so much. And here it is! Hope you like it.
The next morning, Rachel had her dark locks in her face. Her smile was plastered on. Her bangs were loose again. Her head was swimming and tingling even though she didn't drink that much the night before. It took her a while to notice a high voice shrieking from her answering machine.
"Rachel!" Kori called on the answering machine. "Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up! Wake up!" she spoke rapidly. "Why aren't you answering me?" she asked.
Rachel finally turned a little bit before opening her eyes slightly and blinking a little. Then a few thoughts occurred to her.
'I'm naked. I'm in bed.' she looked to her left. 'Richard is naked. He is also in my bed.' her eyes went wide.
"Oh no." she said out loud. "What the hell did I do?" Richard woke up smiling as well until he realized the woman next to him wasn't Kori.
"Oh no." he said realizing a little later. They both climbed out of bed and turned the other way to avoid seeing each others bits and pieces. Richard recognized the voice on the machine as Kori's and cursed out. He reached for his phone on the nightstand and checked. "Fourteen missed calls?" he asked out loud.
"Dick didn't come home last night. I think he might have cheated." Kori said still talking. Rachel put on a dark blue robe and turned to Richard who was still in disbelief. "Don't be naked!" she yelled and threw his clothes at him. He got dressed as she paced and Kori called again.
"Should I answer it?" she asked.
"What? No! No! Don't!" he told her pulling on his boxers.
"I should. Then say that- that- that…" she was lost in thought.
"Say what?" he asked.
"I don't know!" she freaked out.
"I know its crazy. But I mean, hot people get cheated on too right? He could've-" Richard turned off the machine and looked for his shirt."
"What are we going to do?" she asked him.
"Its going to be okay. I'll tell her I was with Jason. And then we-" he tried to think of a solution. "We- we can just- we'll figure it out."
"I'm such an awful person." She buried her face in her hands in shame. She felt like kicking herself. " I mean not just Kori. I hurt you too and I just-"
"Rachel. Stop. It wasn't just you." he reminded her. The phone rang again. "I'd better go." he left and Rachel answered the phone. And with every response to her lies, came the sarcastic bitch version of her left shoulder angel. The devil was nowhere to be found. Probably still in bed with Dick.
"Hello?"
"Rachel? Where the hell have you been? Dick didn't come home last night." Kori was frantic.
"Really?" Like you didn't know. said the angel.
"Yeah. He'd better have been in jail or hit by a bus or something."
"Don't say that Kori!" We both would have been better off if he was though. There she was again.
"Do you think he cheated on me? she asked really considering it.
"What? No, of course not. He loves you." You heard her. Liar. And does he really?
"Well obviously. But did you see him? When he left the bar?"
"Well. Yeah. He was with Jason. They were watching a game." Suuuurrre they were.
"At 2:00 A.M.?" she asked.
"Yeah." Rachel slapped her head. "Um. It was European or something. Cricket. I think." Nice save dummy.
"Cricket?" she asked considering it. "Wait. He's calling me now. We'll see about this cricket crap." she hung up.
Rachel flopped on the bed and turned her head to the side. She noticed her old law books and one that stood out to her was the same one that always reminded her of the first day she met Dick.
A Few Years Before
She was in class laying out five pens and her text books. A voice from above asked her teasingly, "You wouldn't happen to have four extra pens would you?"
"Yeah I do actually. I brought a bunch because-" she looked up and saw him. Standing there and smiling at her. She laughed a little bit. "You're making fun of me."
"A little bit." he sat. "You're making me feel inadequate right now." he held up his one pen.
As the professor walked in, she reached for her notebook and accidentally dropped all of her pens on the floor. Without anything to write with, she listened to the professor lost. Richard carefully slid his pen over to her. "What will you use?" she asked.
"I'll just listen." he whispered back to her with a smile.
"Thank you."
Later that night Rachel decided to watch T.V. to drown out her mind. She flipped it on and saw 'Fatal Attraction' was showing. She threw the remote in frustration with the irony. All of a sudden, her phone rang and she saw Kori's number and picture.
"Hey Kori."
"Actually, it's Richard." he said on the other line. "I'm outside using Kori's phone."
"Oh." she said awkwardly.
"Yeah. I was just calling to make sure you're okay." he said slowly. He was choosing his words carefully.
"Sure. Yeah. Are you okay?"
"I'm- I'm kind of-" he started before Kori came outside.
"Who are you talking to?" she asked him.
"Rachel." he answered.
"Good. I forgot to call her back earlier." she took the phone and walked a few feet away. "Hey."
"So what happened earlier?" she asked wondering exactly what Richard told her.
"He just got drunk and passed out at Jason's." she shrugged it off and Rachel breathed a sigh of relief.
"So everything's fine with him right?" she wanted to be sure.
"Yeah. But earlier, he was acting all guilty and saying he wanted to talk to me about something serious." she whispered.
"Really? About what?" she got nervous again.
"I don't know. But he's calling me back over right now. I've gotta go. Bye."
"Wait could I just talk to him for one second?" she asked but was greeted by the dial tone. Kori had already hung up. She sat down and turned her head to the movie. It was at the very end where Anne Archer shoots Glenn Close after she pops out of the water with a knife. She shuddered and went back to reviewing her next client's files.
The Next Day
"I love this dress." she walked out and sighed. It was skin tight and it fluffed out at the very bottom. It was like a mermaid dress but instead of the ruffles, there were feathers.
"Kor you look amazing." Rachel complimented.
"Thank you." she said before holding her nose with her hands and looking down.
"She's having her bridal moment." a sales associate nudged Rachel and urged her to comfort her friend. It was after all her maid of honoral duty. Rachel stepped up cautiously.
"Are you okay Kori?"
"Huh? Yeah I'm fine." she looked up with dry eyes. "I just want to cry on the day." Rachel nodded. "And I want to check my mascara to see if it will run." she squeezed her eyes trying to conjure up tears. Rachel shook her head and walked away. She sat down and while Kori tried to cry, she was in deep thought. She remembered when she and Dick were studying late one night.
They were both laughing so hard they turned red. Somebody shushed them and they calmed down.
"Back to work." he said winding down a little bit.
"Duty, breech, causation." she began and forgot the last part.
"Oh come on." he threw a crumpled piece of paper at her.
"What? What am I missing?" she threw it back.
"Damages." he reminded her.
"Shit. How am I supposed to remember this?" she asked starting to stress a little bit.
"Use a pneumonic device." he wrote down the first letter of each word. "DBCD" he said aloud
"Deliver By Christmas Day?" she joked with a straight face.
"Don't Blame Cameron Diaz?" he tried.
"God you suck at this!" she laughed hard and a tear escaped her eyes. He reached over smiling and wiped it from her shiny amethyst orb.
"How about Dick Buys Celebratory Dinner?"
"Sure." she accepted.
An hour or so later she met him at a bar and restaurant. She was wearing a green dress and her hair was curled and shining. He was wearing a casual black suit waiting for her. They ordered drinks before deciding on an appetizer and talking about their first kisses.
"So I spun the bottle. And It landed on her. We went in the closet." he explained.
"Uh-huh."
"And it turned out to be one of the best kisses of my life."
"Wow."
"And you?"
"My first kiss was on a golf course. In the pouring rain and I was about fifteen years old." he looked at her in disbelief. He was about to say something else before Kori walked in and sat next to him.
"Eh. I don't know. He's like a six or seven." she joked looking him up and down. She wore her hair down and straight. Her dress was blue and short with a long overcoat.
"Dick this is Kori, Kori this is Dick." Rachel introduced them. "Kor, what are you doing here?"
"Well yeah. I guessed. You've only been talking about him for months." she ignored her later question.
"He's been a great study partner." she kicked her underneath the table trying to make her stop talking. Richard blushed a little bit.
"Jeez. Lighten up you guys." she took off her jacket. "Tarts are over."
"Torts." he corrected.
"Whatever." she shrugged it off and he raised an eyebrow to Rachel. She shrugged and offered an apologetic smile. "Excuse me. Waiter, can we have three tequila shots?" he nodded and she turned back to the table. "So lets get this party started guys. Truth or Dare!" she suggested.
"Kori." she pleaded.
"What? It'll be fun." she urged. No one said anything so she started. "Fine. Dick truth or dare?" before he responded she said simply, "Dare? Good. I dare you to ask Rachel out on a real date. Instead of whatever this is."
"Kori. We're just friends." she said convincingly. He almost looked hurt but nobody saw it.
"Fine. Then ask me out." she turned to him. Rachel's small smile faded slowly but surely. Richard looked towards Rachel as if asking for permission. She put her hands up as if she didn't care either way.
"Who are you anyway?" he asked Kori.
"Who am I?" she smiled and flirted. " I am the counselor of fun. Which you could use a lot of."
"Oh really? Are you always this obnoxious?" he asked playfully.
"Depends on your definition." she laughed.
"You seem like a lot of trouble." he looked her in the eyes.
"Good. I aim to please." she smiled seductively.
Rachel was snapped out of her memory by Kori's voice. "Rachel? Did you hear me?"
"What?" she asked a little bit dazed.
"Veil or no veil?"
"Veil."
Twenty Minutes Later
They were walking down the street and Kori stopped suddenly.
"Oh I forgot to tell you. Guess who thinks you're hot?"
"Who?" she asked.
"Jason."
"Oh." she said quickly. "Hell no." she said simply and shook her head.
"Why not?" she asked whining a little bit. "You know what never mind. Because you will fall in love anyways."
"What the hell are you talking about?" she asked.
"I convinced him to take the last bedroom in the vacation house in Jump."
"Kori!"
"Oh come on. He could be your brand new boy toy!"
"No. Absolutely not." she refused. "Besides, I'm going to have to work most weekends."
"Please?" she begged.
"Fine." she answered. "Haven't said no to you yet have I?"
That Weekend
"I still don't believe your making me do this." Roy complained. She made Roy agree to tag along in order to keep Jason in check.
"Hey look on the bright side. Jump is beautiful, you could do some writing."
"It doesn't look like I'll be doing much writing since I'm acting as your official cock blocker from Jasey"
"Jason." she corrected.
"Jackson." he messed up on purpose.
"Jason." she said again.
"Who cares?" he deadpanned.
Kori drove up whooping and laughing excitedly. "Please don't tell me its coming." she was referring to Roy.
"Good-Bye." he turned to leave. But Rachel grabbed his arm.
"Harper you stay. Kori be nice." she scolded.
"Fine." she climbed in the back while Richard put away their stuff.
They pulled up to the house where Kitten was waiting on the front porch. The only reason she was there was because she paid for most of the house. She, Richard, Rachel, Kori and Roy bought it the year after graduation and used it every summer and sometimes in the winter when they wanted to escape the snow.
She saw Roy and ran up to him immediately. He grabbed Rachel and gently pushed her in front of him, before hurrying off. They spent the next few hours on the beach drinking talking and dancing around. Kori stood up and began to make a speech.
"A toast to all of us. And before I become Mrs. Richard Grayson. I would like to come up here with you all as much as possible. Cheers to us!" and everybody cheered.
The next night they went to a nearby club. There was a dress code. You had to wear black. So, Rachel opted for a comfortable look. Jeans and a simple black spaghetti strap with a necklace. Kitten had gotten by with a black leather skirt and a soft pink tank top. Roy wore dark blue jeans and a white shirt with a black jacket over it. Jason missed the memo and three moments before we left, threw on some black sneakers, and got through on charm. Rachel was standing next to the bar and watching Richard and Kori carefully. She wore a black based sundress with a floral design. Her hair was in a tight pony tail and her black heels were shifting back and forth to the music. But she was staring more at Richard. He stood tall and his shoulders looked broad in his black t-shirt. Rachel took some satisfaction when he looked almost tense when Kori slid her hand in the back of his jeans. She didn't even notice when Roy stood next to her and said, "You've gotta stop staring."
"What?" she asked panicky. "I'm not staring."
"What are you talking about?" he asked. "I'm talking about blondie over there." he motioned to Kitten staring him up and down. "She's like a pink gremlin. Like some weird animal."
"Stop it Roy. She's just some poor woman who made the mistake of sleeping with a man who had no intentions of using her for more than sex." she looked down hoping she wasn't subconsciously referring to herself.
"Thank-you Oprah!" he said sarcastically. "I don't need advice, I need-"
"You need to go talk to her. Go." she said sternly.
"You know what?" he asked. "Yeah. You're right. I'll talk to her." she started walking over. "But not now." he walked away before she could get to him. Rachel sipped her drink and turned somewhere else. She saw Jason dancing with other girls and making his way towards her.
"You are like a shark."
"That hurts a little bit Rachel."
"Hmm."
"You know. I saved the life of a chipmunk when I was about nine years old." he put on a sympathetic face. "It fell out of a tree and broke its leg. And I made a little splint and carried it around with me everywhere. And all the kids laughed at me, but I didn't care."
"That's…." she trailed off 'bullshit.' she wanted to say but she didn't. ".. sweet."
"Yeah so next time you want to call someone a shark remember the chipmunk." she nodded. "Hey, how about we go outside and get some fresh air?" he held up a joint of marijuana discreetly.
"That's not really my thing. But thanks anyway." she looked towards Kori who was all over Richard again. "You know what? Why not?" she went outside and waited for him.
Later That Night
"And I couldn't believe they split up." Jason finished and everybody laughed. Kitten and Roy were already asleep and Kori was on Richards lap, with Rachel and Jason sitting next to each other. Jason looked towards Kori and pleaded with his eyes for them to leave him and Rachel alone.
"Dick, hon, time for bed." she stood up and Rachel caught on to what she was doing.
"Yeah you guys should go." Jason urged.
"Uhm." Rachel said quietly.
"Actually Kori, I'm not really that tired." Dick tried not to leave Jason alone with Rachel.
"Good." she said seductively. She headed upstairs where she waited for him.
"Well. Good night guys." he stood up and hurried them off. Richard glanced back looking worried. About twenty minutes later, they sat in complete silence. That is until sounds of Kori's moans and screams broke it.
"Was that?" he asked.
"It was a cat." Rachel shrugged it off.
"That was no cat." he laughed.
Upstairs
A knock on the door interrupted Roy's sleep. Kitten came in and stood in the door frame. She wore a pink headband with a matching silk nightgown. "It's so crazy out there." she started. "Do you think I could sleep in here?" she asked
"Um. No." he said simply. "Look I should have talked to you about this before. I think that," she stared him down. "I think I'm gay." he lied. Her eyes saddened. "Wait no. That came out wrong." they lit up again.
"I am definitely gay." he nodded his head and her eyes drooped again. "I'm gay and I'm figuring it out just now. At this moment. So there is like no room for all of that emotion and you in this bed tonight. I'm sorry." he lied. "Thanks for understanding."
"I accept." she said. "I accept the challenge of being your partner while you walk through this journey."
"What?" he asked. "No. I need no partner."
"We're going to work through this."
"There's nothing to work through."
"We start tomorrow." she closed the door when she left.
"Start what?" he half yelled- half whispered. He slammed his head in the pillow and grunted in frustration.
A/N: Well that was a lot to handle huh? I was going to cut it off earlier. But I decided not to at the last minute. Well Thanks for viewing and I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving! Read and Respond
Much Love and Respect,
~Poppie~