Chapter 4

Smile

Cyborg insisted on being incognito and created holographic rings for every one of them, including Robin.

"Call me Logan. Garfield Logan. Or better yet, call me Gar for short."

"Name's Victor Stone. But I prefer if ya'll call me Vic."

"My name is Rachel Roth…"

"You may call me Korianna Anders."

"…my name's Richard John Grayson. People call me 'Dick' but you have the choice to call me whatever you want."

"Very well… You are positive you do not wish to come with us Richard?"

"You know I'd love to but I have to stay here and work. Next time we'll go together. I promise." Robin sent Starfire a small smile that showed his sincere apology. But that was all Starfire saw, an apology. She didn't pay attention to his promise but gave a curt nod and turned around, walking towards the door.

Before she left, Starfire turned her head halfway and said, "We shall see you later. Have a glorious time Richard." And Starfire left without another word. The doors opened up to her and as they started to close, Robin saw her run away in the direction of the garage.

Dick (Richard) Grayson: Robin

Victor (Vic) Stone: Cyborg

Garfield (Gar) Logan: Beastboy

Rachel Roth: Raven

Korianna (Kori) Anders: Starfire

After the Titans-besides Robin-left in the T-car-which now looked like a cool but normal looking car- they debated where they would go but ended up agreeing on the mall. They would usually go to the pizza place but they decided to mix it up for a change.

About ten minutes passed before the four Titans arrived in the parking lot. Starfire was the first one to get out from the back of the car and couldn't help but let the smile show upon her face. Beastboy followed Starfire's lead along with Raven. Cyborg made sure everything was in order so his "baby" wouldn't get stolen again and once he was satisfied, he got out and locked the car.

Cyborg slapped and rubbed his hands together with a large grin spread across his face. "Alright ya'll! Vic's ready to go and have some fun! Who's with me?!"

"Dude, you know I am! Come on ladies, it's time to be normal for once!"

"And what's wrong with the original me?" Raven quirked an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest.

"N-Nothing! I was just saying that to all of us you know? I didn't mean it like that!"

"Please friends, let us not argue on a day off. As Vic said, we must 'have some fun'!" Starfire tried her best to talk in the common English language and was beginning to improve. Raven was the only one to notice.

"Whatever." With that, she walked off and into the mall with Beastboy on hot on her heels, attempting to defend himself.

"Let's just hope those two lovebirds don't kill each other before the day's over." Cyborg muttered in order for Raven to not be able to hear him. He gave one last kind look towards Starfire and followed his friends.

Starfire gave the lightest smile and walked towards the entrance of the mall. It had been a while since the Titans last had some fun so she had almost forgotten what the place looked like. Keyword here: almost.

Starfire couldn't help but give a true smile as she looked at her surroundings. There were two levels and escalators were found in front of some stores while natural plants were circling around the beautiful fountain in the middle. It seemed as though all of the places around it were placed there to bring one's eyes to the center, exactly where the fountain was. Every time she came here, she would always stand in awe.

"Hey Kori, you coming or what?" Beastboy yelled to Starfire but somehow managed to not call her Starfire.

"Y-Yes friend! I shall be there soon!" Let us see if I will permit myself to have fun. Act normal.

After an hour of the four members constantly being together, Rachel had managed to separate herself and Starfire from the two boys. She said that she had to get something and needed Starfire's advice. Cyborg and Beastboy were too distracted by deciding on where to go that they didn't pay that much attention to Raven. After a few slaps to the side of their heads, they finally paid attention and she advised them to meet them at the fountain in an hour. Cyborg knew that they would most likely buy something so he gave them fifty dollars each. How he got the money, they didn't know but after a few 'thank you', they separated.

Finally thought Raven. She had had suspicions about Starfire. True, she didn't have anything much to go off of but it was almost like a gut feeling. Thinking of how to approach the conversation, Raven improvised and said something that she wished she would never say in her life.

"Wanna give me your opinion on some clothes that I can try on?" The look on Starfire's face was of pure joy.

"Oh thank you so much dear friend Rav- erm, Rachel. Pardon me, it may take me a while to adjust to our new names."

"Don't worry about it Kori." Raven gave Starfire a smile which didn't surprise Starfire at all. After they defeated Trigon, Raven decided on showing her emotions more. After all, no one and no prophecy would be able to stop her. Sure, she wouldn't be as open as Starfire but she vowed to herself that she would let a smile and a laugh come up every once in a while. Doing this also helped her with her powers and on controlling them. It was a win-win situation for Raven.

Starfire let out a giggle, grabbed Raven's hand, and walked her over to the nearest clothing store. As it turns out, the store had just about everything for your wardrobe. There was a boys section, girls section, a small section for shoes, and another part of the store sold accessories. Once they were inside, Starfire dragged Raven over to the teenage girls section and started to browse. Nothing out of the ordinary so far. Maybe I'm just being paranoid.

"Oh friend! Are you interested in this?" Starfire held up a long-sleeved dark blue shirt that had slits down the sleeves. Normally Starfire would try on just about anything, just to give it a chance, and although this shirt was cute, it practically screamed 'Raven'.

"I don't know. Maybe you should try it on."

"No no, believe me Rachel, this would look amazing on you. Please friend, try it on. If you do not like it then we shall not buy it and move on. If you do like it, then of course we will buy it." Raven decided to go along with Starfire, just to make her happy.

"Fine. Give me the shirt." Starfire happily gave her the shirt and Raven stalked off towards the dressing rooms, muttering a few curses. Starfire found a place to sit that was near the dressing rooms and sat down, patiently waiting for her friend to come out.

"Do you know who she reminds me of?" Starfire stood up straight. That voice, it sounded so familiar.

"That Starfire chick?" It was them.

"OMG! How did you know?"

"Honey please, I know everything."

"Do you know why she reminds me of that alien?"

"Simple, because she's ugly, weird, fat, can't talk right, and has almost the same terrible hair color."

"You don't think…"

"Of course not, that alien is too stupid to figure something out like that. Oh look, shoes!" Tears threatened to escape Starfire's eyes but she refused to do so. She already knew what she was and she didn't need anyone to remind her.

Please Kori, do not do this. They are lying. You are beautiful in every way and they are only the jealous.

No, they are not. They are from this planet so they must know what normal is. I am clearly not it.

Do not say such foolish things. Do you not see, there is no such thing as "normal" it is only an illusion.

Do you not hear yourself? You are not speaking "normally" and are saying lies to me! I do not understand most earthly ways and do something when I am not supposed to. Whenever I go out with anyone or by myself, there is always someone who looks at me differently. I am different and that is not good. I only wish to blend in and be like everyone else.

"Kori? Well?" Starfire looked around to find who spoke and only found Raven, dressed in the shirt.

"Oh friend! It looks perfect on you! Please, you must buy it and take it home to use it once again in the future!" Raven was slightly shocked by the fact that Starfire hadn't floated up to the ceiling. Whenever they went shopping together, which was rare, Raven would usually try something on and would have to check Starfire's feet when she got excited. But instead of pulling her shoulders down, Starfire's feet remained on the floor. The only thing that bothered Raven was that there was a slight moisture to her eyes. Was she crying?

"Uh, sure. Do you want to try anything on?"

Simple, because she's ugly, weird, fat, can't talk right, and has almost the same terrible hair color.

"No thank you friend. I think I will save my money for food." Raven somehow didn't notice Starfire's strange behavior. Normally, she would spend hours on finding the right clothes but she seemed to have given up easily.

"Are you sure?"

Starfire thought that Raven would be suspicious so she looked around and saw something that was inconspicuous. A sweatshirt. It was purple with, believe it or not, green letters that said "I 3 JUMP CITY." It looked ordinary but seemed like something Starfire would wear. She sped over to it and picked it up. She got one size above her original and walked over to Raven.

"I shall purchase this. There are times when the Tower or the weather is cold."

"I didn't need an explanation Kori. You sure that's it? Don't you want to try it on?" Starfire looked at Raven with wide eyes and quickly pulled the sweatshirt above her. After adjusting it to make it look like her size, Starfire looked back to Raven who nodded along.

"Okay then. Well I'm done shopping, and you?"

"I am done as well. Please, let us purchase our new clothes." Raven stared at Starfire and then simply shrugged. Yep, something was definitely off about Starfire.

"Alright then." After the two girls bought their new clothes, they walked over to the smoothie stand with their bags in hand. They patiently waited and decided to have small talk until it was their turn.

"So why didn't you buy anything else? I usually have to stop you from buying everything in the store."

"Oh well I did not find it necessary to purchase more articles of clothing. Plus, the sweatshirt was quite warm and comfortable when I tried it on." It also covered my skin.

"Ah. So where do you want to go after this?" Raven gestured towards the stand and Starfire looked deep in thought.

"I do not know. Perhaps we could find friend Vic and Gar and go back to our home? Did you have a place in mind?"

"Not really."

Once it was their turn, the two girls ordered their smoothies, paid for themselves, and found a place to sit-on the fountain. Starfire started to sip her strawberry smoothie meanwhile Raven was drinking out of her blueberry drink. At first, there was silence but that was only because Starfire was enticed with her beverage and Raven continued to think of ways to approach a conversation with Starfire. She knew something was off and she wanted to know.

"So, Kori. Do you mind me asking what happened between you and Dick this morning?" Just rip it off like a bandage.

You idiot! Because of your stupid mistake Slade got away! Why didn't you just handle your own battle? I was fine until you came along… Look at you. Pathetic. Never would she forget. She knew that she should get mad at Robin for saying those things, but she just couldn't. She should have defended herself but she didn't. She shouldn't have hurt herself because of what he said.

But it hurt. And I found the glass very pleasant.

You mustn't give in Koriand'r. You are a warrior and warriors do not give in to the enemy. You must stand and fight.

I cannot. There are moments when you know you cannot fight anymore. This is one of those moments.

"Nothing happened. He merely apologized for his behavior last night and I forgave him. I know that what he said was rude but I believe everyone deserves a second chance. Plus, he was not himself. You know how he is whenever that villain is around Rachel. He is not the Dick we know but a more serious side comes out. He only does so to protect us and to stop any harm from coming our way. That is why I forgave him."

"So what you're telling me is that you're okay with him hurting you like that? I saw your face Sta- Kori. You looked sad and I know a part of you wanted to yell at him. So why didn't you? And don't tell me about is 'excuse.'" With one hand still holding the smoothie, Raven made an air-quotes motion when she said excuse.

"I do not know. Maybe because… because I love him."

"Oh Kori," Raven put her head in her hands and shook her head. After a minute, Rachel continued. "It doesn't matter how you feel about them! No matter who the person is, they have to treat you with respect. Whether you've known them for a minute or for your entire life, you need to be respected. What Dick did was unacceptable. I know we usually hide in the shadows and wait until he's calmed down but that just shows how scared we are of him. And that's not good Kori. I'm not scared but I don't want to start anything that I know could get ugly."

"Yes, you are correct. But you must realize that what he said to me did not affect me at all." That was a lie. "I may have seemed saddened at first but I recovered. I know he did not mean it and when he apologized, that meant that he truly felt sorry. You may not know him like I do but I know he meant it. Believe me friend, I am alright." Starfire grabbed Raven's hand and gave her a comforting smile. Unfortunately, Raven only saw the smile and not the look in her eyes that explained everything.

"If you say so, but if he hurts you in any way and I see you crying, I'm kicking his ass." Raven offered a smile and Starfire gladly accepted it.

"I would not expect anything less." Raven and Starfire continued to talk but it was about things that were somewhat unimportant. Once they finished their smoothies, they grabbed their shopping bags and decided to find the boys and leave.

Some time passed when they finally found them, of course, buying video games. They combined their money to buy games that would only cause more accusations of cheating from Beastboy. Raven had to literally drag Cyborg and Beastboy out of the store and to the car leaving a smiling Starfire behind.

As soon as they reached the car, Raven started to force Beastboy in his seat when he was trying to persuade her into letting him return to the store to get one last game. That left Cyborg in the driver's seat laughing at the pain Raven was putting him in. Starfire was the last one to arrive but when she looked away, she saw the two girls entering their car. That brought an immediate frown to her face as she saw them driving away. They were the cause of her unhappiness but she couldn't help but blame herself. If I wasn't like what they described me, then there would be nothing to make fun of.

"Kori, come on. Get in before Gar finds a way out." Raven said before entering the car next to Beastboy. Starfire sneaked one last glance, forced a smile on her face, walked over to the passenger's seat and got in. A few whines from Beastboy and belt buckles later, the four Titans left.

Wow, Starfire's really OOC in this story. Okay, I'm changing this story to an AU for the future. Before I say anything else, I just want to say that I'm not promoting anyone to do anything like this. I'm not saying that you should hurt yourself but I would be a hypocrite. This story is technically from my point of view and I'm telling you guys what happened or is happening. Realize how there's a positive side of Starfire that's telling her to stop. She's telling her to fight and that's exactly what I'm trying to do. I'm not sure if I said this correctly but I don't want anyone else to get hurt because of what I say. Secondly, I know Raven and Starfire's conversation was rather, awkward but they had to do something besides stand there. Sorry for the wait but I had a major malfunction when the shopping part came along. I swear, I always change one thing and it sometimes affects the story a lot or just some things. I've also been working on other stories I have and have started new ones. I need to control myself. I feel like I missed something or didn't explain something enough so please tell me if I confused you. Turns out that I'm going to do Robin's POV next chapter so just wait. Please review, fav, follow, and all that other good stuff! I don't own anything but Warner Bros. and DC Comics do!

Always yours,

light is in the dark

P.S. Here is a poem that I've kind of been promising. I hope you like it and if not then sorry! I think it goes with this chapter but who knows really?

Words

Fat.

Ugly.

Stupid.

Pathetic.

Worthless.

Freak.

Suicidal.

You don't have to remind me.