Alright, here's Chapter 4. I think it may be a little longer than the others, but it's good. On this one, I tried to do a story from Starfire / Kori's point of view. Don't know whether it works, but I hope it gives a more balanced sense of the relationship. Enjoy

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Chapter 4: Pizza and Kitten

Kori was thrilled. Her first day had gone remarkably well; in a matter of hours, she had already made three good friends and one great friend.

"Richard Grayson," she murmured to herself. Usually, she didn't think anything of fate and good luck, but now, after being able to meet him on the first day, she was reconsidering it. At first glance, he had been slightly intimidating. He was so cool, with his spiked hair and leather jacket, and mysterious too, the way his eyes were hidden by his sleek reflective shades; she hadn't known what to think. And the fact that he was so good looking that her breath caught in her chest when she saw him didn't help either.

But then he had introduced himself, smiled, and all her apprehensions had vanished.

"X'hal, his smile was marvelous," she thought. It was friendly and kind, like one where somebody says, "Don't worry, I'll take care of you," but in a good way. Then he had shown her around school, introduced her to his friends, and even invited her to eat with them. All in half a school day.

"This has been a most glorious day," and Kori smiled to herself as she put away her books in her locker. When she closed it, she saw Victor waving to her from down the hall.

"Hey, let's go! Everyone's already outside." Kori was so excited, she practically ran down the hall to meet them.

In the parking lot, Richard was leaning on his motorcycle, watching as BB tried to convince Raven to ride on his moped.

"Come on, Raven! Just give it a try! I promise you that if you try it, you'll love it."

"Not a chance, Gar." Raven stood with her arms crossed, a stubborn look on her face.

"Please?" and Garfield gave her his famous puppy dog eyes. Even as a senior, he could pull it off well, with the wide, almost teary eyes and quivering lower lip. Raven, for just one second, looked like she might give in. Then she snapped out of it.

"No. Me and Kori'll ride with Victor. You and Richard can meet us over at Mike's." Without another word, she climbed into Victor's back seat and buckled up.

Garfield sighed, climbed onto his moped, and revved it up. Actually, revving didn't really describe it, because the putt putt sound didn't nearly match the motorcycle's loud roaring as Richard started it off.

"Alright, we'll meet over there. See you guys in a bit." As he sped off, Kori watched him go, until Victor cleared his throat.

"Ahem. You coming?" Kori turned around to get into Victor's car and gasped.

"Victor. This is your car?" Kori had just noticed the amazing machine: sleek, graphically designed to perfection in light blue and silver, and throbbing with power from what sounded like enough horses to pull a train.

"Yup!" Victor smiled proudly. "Designed her myself. V12 engine, fuel injecting boosters, top of the line computer navigation system, and…" he pulled out his keys and pushed a button, where the entire car began vibrating from an almost painfully loud stereo system, even from the outside. "A sound system loud enough to knock your socks off."

"Glorious!"

"Yup. She's my baby."

Kori jumped into the car where a slightly dazed and incredibly annoyed Raven glared at Victor.

"Was that really necessary? I think I've gone deaf in my left ear."

"Heh, sorry Raven." Victor climbed in and they sped off.

In a matter of minutes, the three reached the pizza parlor. They walked in to see Richard and BB with two fresh boxes of pizza at a booth.

"Yo! Those better not both be veggies."

"Relax Vic, this one's got pepperoni, sausage, and bacon on it."

"Alright!" Victor sat down next to Richard, who was next to Garfield, and immediately began eating. Kori sat down next to Raven and picked up a slice of pizza, eyeing it curiously.

"So this is the pizza?"

Yeah. Why don't you take a bite?" Kori took a small nibble of the tip of pizza. Instantly her eyes widened and shone with a light of rapturous joy.

"Glorious!" Kori practically inhaled her pizza and was starting on her second piece before even Victor did.

Soon, all five teens were talking, eating, laughing, and occasionally fighting over an especially good slice of pizza. Kori was incredibly happy: these people accepted her and she instantly felt like one of the group.

Yes, everyone was happy and enjoying life; that is, until someone else decided to join them.

"OH RICHIE-POO!" Kori winced.

"To whom does that loud and rather obnoxious voice belong?" Richard groaned.

"Great. Just what I need; Kitten Moth." Kori turned in her seat and saw a very blonde and very pink girl, from her obscenely pink T-shirt with sparkly pink sequins, to her pink extra-short mini-skirt, pink flip flops, and pink handbag, walk over.

"Hello Richie-poo!" She flashed him a smile showing her mouth of very white, almost plastic looking teeth (with all the whitening she'd done to them, the plastic thing might not be an exaggeration). She didn't bother saying hi to everyone else.

"Ooh, pizza! Mind if I join you?" She tried to squeeze past Victor, but he held firm. Everyone except Kitten knew how one-sided this relationship was.

"Actually, we're kind of full on this side," Victor said.

"Yeah, but I think there's some open space," Richard pointed over his shoulder, "wwwaaayyyy over there.

"Ah ha ha ha ha ha!" Everyone at the table winced. Kitten somehow made her laugh more annoying than her loud voice, and that was saying something. "Oh Richie, you're so funny!"

"Don't call me that." Richard was not smiling.

"So anyway," Kitten continued, completely ignoring the previous statement, "I was wondering when you were going to ask me out. We have such great chemistry." She twirled some of her bleached blonde hair around her finger, obviously thinking it was cute; Kori found it revolting.

"Kitten, for the last time, I'm not going out with you."

"Awww, come on Richie." She tried to give the sad-puppy-dog eyes, but she looked more like a dead fish.

"No."

"But Richie!" she whined.

"No!"

"RICHIE!!" Her voice turned shrill and very, very loud.

"Excuse me." Kitten spun around and looked at Kori for the first time. She was not pleased.

"Who are you?" she snapped.

"I am Kori Anders, and I believe that Richard has made clear that he does not wish to do the 'going out', so if you would please…"

"Shut up!" Kitten was turning beet red. "Who do you think you are? Me and Richard are made for each other, and no two-bit slut like you is going to get in my way!"

"Slut? She dares to call me a slut? Me? I have been nothing but polite to this, this creature! And she dares to insult me like this?" Kori's eyes, which usually sparkled with joy and delight, now took on a dangerous and slightly frightening glint. Kori was just about to stand up and challenge Kitten to Tamaranian Death Combat, when Raven spoke up.

"Oh, would you look at the time? Richard, didn't you say you were going to go to the gym today?" She turned to Garfield. "And you said you were going to give me a ride on your moped. I guess Victor should just take Kori home… right?"

There was about half-a second of dead silence, then everybody rushed to get up in a torrent of excuses.

"Oh yeah, gym, right. Do need to stay in shape you know."

"C'mon Kori, your cab awaits."

"Sweet! Let's go Raven! You're gonna love Betsy!"

Five seconds after Raven had spoken, everybody was gone, leaving a confused, dazed, and very red Kitten to scream at an empty booth.

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Outside, everyone, especially Richard, breathed a huge sigh of relief. He grinned and said,

"Raven, what would we do without you?"

"You'd probably end up agreeing to go out with Kitten just to get her to shut up." Richard shuddered.

"Not in a million years." Richard then noticed how Kori: her eyes were flashing and her hands were knotted into fists.

"Hey Kori, you alright?"

"No, I am most certainly not 'all right'! That Kitten dares to insult me like that! Why, if I were home in Tamaran, I would…" Richard put a hand on Kori's shoulder.

"Relax. That's just Kitten. Basically, ignoring absolutely everything she says and does is the best way to go." He smiled. "Oh, and thanks for trying to get her off me back there." Kori smiled. Being thanked by Richard gave her an immense feeling of satisfaction.

BB then walked over to Raven, looking at her mischievously.

"So… you ready to take Betsy for a little spin." Raven rolled her eyes.

"No. Vic's giving me a ride home like he usually does. Right after he drops off Kori."

"You gonna be all right?" Richard was basically the leader of the group, and as a result, he sort felt responsible for his friends' wellbeing. Kori liked this about him.

"He truly cares for his friends. It is most pleasing to have a friend like him."

"Yes, the place I will be staying is not far. Victor shall hopefully not be inconvenienced by my person."

"Not a problem Kori. Glad to help."

"Alright. Well, if nobody needs me, I'll be going at the gym. See y'all later." Richard hopped on his bike, popped a wheelie to show off, and drove off. Gar, looking slightly disappointed, followed much more slowly on his moped.

"Alright Kori, where can I take you?" Kori grabbed her back pack and rummaged around.

"Here," she handed Victor a slip of paper. "I believe this is the location where I will be staying for the moment."

"Well let's see here…" Victor looked down, then went completely bug eyed. He waved Raven over and showed her the sheet of paper.

"Hey Raven. Is this address what I think it is?" Raven looked at her paper, and her eyes widened too.

"Yeah, I think it is." They looked at each other, then Victor grinned wickedly at Kori.

"Well, let's get going!" He practically ran to the car.

"Wait!" Kori ran after him, slightly worried. "Will there be a problem with my place of living?"

"Nope, no trouble at all." Victor's grin grew even wider. "In fact, I think life around here just got a lot more interesting.

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Huzzah! Chapter 4 is complete! Did you enjoy it? Chapter 5's written, and I'll post it as soon as possible. It's a bit shorter, but it's sweet. You'll see what I mean ; D. R & R, and tell all your friends about the amazing story you just read. Yaha!