Chapter Eight 'Buy her books and she will come'
"It's not that bad…is it?" Gar asked wincing as Kori stared at him with wide eyes. He had been thankful that he didn't have to watch her eat today but now Gar was thinking maybe the latter would have been better. Gar wasn't sure that Kori liked what he had to say anyway.
"I think it is marvelous that you have found someone to care about so much, friend!" Kori chirped. "Although I do not think Dick or Vic would agree with me, so please do not tell them of what I said."
Gar smiled, "Don't worry I don't plan on telling Dick. He would just lecture me on what a stupid idea it would be to get involved any more and blah, blah, blah," Gar said doing his best Dick Grayson impression.
Kori giggled at him as she pulled on a loose pink sweater she was wearing. "Oh, I don't think he would be that upset. He already suspects that you have feelings for her," She answered shrugging.
"Great, so if I do tell him he'll probably just gloat about him being right and then tell me that I shouldn't get involved anymore," Gar moaned as he threw himself back on the fluffy pink couch.
"Do you believe that Rachel shares these feelings?" Kori asked. She leaned forward seeming generally interested in the conversation.
Gar paused before his eyes seemed to grow larger in surprise. "I hadn't even thought of that!" He exclaimed. "Oh my God, I'm so dumb. What if she doesn't even like me? And I'm all worked up trying to figure out if I should tell her. That might ruin everything I've worked for in the last five days!"
"Friend Gar you must not worry so much. You do have time do discover if she likes you, yes?" Kori asked.
"Well, I know that but I just think I should do something," said Gar.
"Oh I understand, like a type of gift to let her know how you feel," Kori answered looking delighted.
"I didn't mean that but…that's actually a really good idea!" Gar said happily. "But what could I possibly get for Rachel that wouldn't seem too forward. I don't want her to know that I like her but I want to do something for her."
Kori bit her lower lip thoughtfully. "You could buy her some more black clothes, I am sure she is not able to get out much to buy new things," Kori mused.
"I don't think so Kori, besides I wouldn't even know what size she is," Gar answered.
"Oh, that is true," Kori said trying to think of something else. "Perhaps you could get her a candle or something nice for her room? That does not seem to be more than a friendly gesture."
Gar winced thinking of him buying something for Rachel that she would just end up breaking for her own self use. That would make him just as bad as Malchior wouldn't it?
"I couldn't see Rachel using candles for anything," Gar replied sighing. "And I don't know if she'd be able to hang anything I get her on the walls. I kind of want her to be able to use whatever I get her."
Kori seemed to be getting frustrated. "I do not know then. What is it that Rachel does often?" She asked.
Gar had to hand it to Kori, she didn't give up easily.
"She reads a lot," Gar answered slowly as if he was contemplating this thought himself. "But I wouldn't know what types of books she doesn't have."
"Perhaps I could find out for you!" Kori exclaimed.
Gar cocked his head to the side looking at the sweet girl confused. "I thought you weren't allowed to leave your rooms today? Vic said you guys got in trouble yesterday."
"Yes, but if I ask a nurse to accompany me to Rachel's room to borrow a book then there will be no reason for them to say no," Kori chirped happily.
Gar had to give it to the girl, she was actually very brilliant when it came to being sneaky. He realized this made a lot of sense because she obviously got away with not eating so much but this time it was being used for his benefit so he couldn't complain.
"Kori you're a genius!" Gar yelled as he flung himself out of his seat on the couch to embrace her in a bone-crushing hug.
Kori giggled as she returned his hug with enthusiasm. "Thank you friend, but where will I find you when I receive the information you want?" Kori asked as she pulled away from him.
"Oh, I hadn't thought about that," Gar said. "Well, I still need to visit with Dick so if you could somehow get to his room and find me…"
Kori nodded quickly. "Yes, I can meet you at Dick's room that is no problem!"
"I didn't think it would be," Gar answered, mainly to himself but Kori seemed to have heard him because she gave him a confused stare before walking over to the small intercom and pressing the 'talk' button.
"Excuse me?" She asked sweetly into the voice box.
"Yes Miss Anders?" The voice on the other end answered.
Kori cleared her throat and gave Gar a thumbs up. "I would like to know if someone could assist me in visiting Rachel so I may ask her to borrow one of the many books in her room," She told the nurse on the other end.
There was a short pause before a voice came back on the line. "Of course Miss Anders we'll send up Nurse Jinx right away."
Kori clapped her hands together excitedly. "Oh, I do hope this works. I promise I will do my best to find information for you friend!"
"Thanks Kori," Gar began sending her a warm smile. "I'll be down in Dick's room when you finish."
Kori nodded as she watched the boy disappear out the door and down the hallway. Just as she was about to shut her door a hand grabbed the handle on the opposite end and jerked it open. Nurse Jinx was standing there with a knowing smile on her face.
"Hello!" Kori chirped happily.
"Hi," Jinx said looking slightly amused with her. Kori wasn't entirely sure what was going on. "Look, I know you're up to something and I don't even want to know what it is."
Kori blushed and wondered if maybe she should attempt to defend herself.
"So here's what I'm going to do," Jinx began. "I'm going to let you go to Rachel's room so you can do what you need to do. I don't have a problem with you walking around here as long as no more doors get knocked down."
Kori began to smile. "Oh, do not worry nothing like that will ever happen again I will assure you of that."
"Good," Said Jinx smirking in a way Kori found a bit frightening. "Then go on, but don't tell anyone about this."
"Thank you!" Kori exclaimed reaching out and hugging the nurse quickly before running down the hallway.
Jinx shrugged and allowed herself to enter Kori's room. "Doesn't bother me much, I get to take an hour break," She mused happily as she poised herself on Kori's couch and flicked on the small television in the corner of the room.
Kori poised herself outside of Rachel's room wondering how she had agreed to this in the first place. Rachel had acted like she hated her the last time Kori had tried to visit and she didn't know how many times it was going to take for the dark girl to finally be civil with her.
"You can do this," Kori whispered to herself raising her hand and quickly knocking on the door.
In less than a minute Rachel's door flung open and the violet haired girl was staring at Kori with a small grimace on her face. Kori couldn't help but wonder if she was hoping it would be Gar.
"Hello!" Kori squealed feeling a bit nervous.
Rachel raised her eyebrow at the auburn haired girl. "Can I…help you?"
Kori nodded her head rapidly. "Yes, actually I was wishing to borrow a book from your collection!" She exclaimed sounding a bit too excited to be borrowing a book from Rachel's morbid collection of novels.
Rachel's eyebrow's shot up. "You want to borrow one of my books?" She asked. "They might not suit your taste."
Kori shook her head quickly hoping Rachel would at least let her inside of her room so she could help Gar out. "No, I have been meaning to read something…deep but I did not know who to come to. Then I realized that perhaps you may be able to help me?" Kori put on her best convincing smile.
"Really?" Rachel asked stepping aside so there was just enough room for Kori to enter. "Okay, well then I guess I could help. What are you interested in reading?"
"Oh I do not know, maybe you could tell me what you suggest?" She asked sweetly as she stepped into the dark girl's room. Kori was slightly shocked by the lack of color in Rachel's room although that may have been because she was used to spending the majority of her time in her perfectly furnished pink room.
Rachel allowed a small smile to play at her lips as she crossed her room to her book shelf. "Yeah, sure. Well, I have a lot of Poe but that may be a little too dark for you. What about Stephen King?" Rachel asked picking up a few books from the large shelf and holding them out to Kori.
The auburn haired girl took them slowly as she stared at the eerie cover of Pet Cemetery. She wondered if she was actually going to have to read one of these books to get Rachel to befriend her because if that was the case Kori was sure that she was going to be having a lot of nightmares in the process. "Thank you," She said politely as she flipped to the back of the book to see what it was about. "How many books has he written?" She asked watching as Rachel continued to pile a few books on the floor for Kori to look through.
Rachel shrugged. "I don't own them all. I mean I wish I could get out of this place and buy his newest book but I doubt that's going to happen." She looked distraught for a moment before handing Kori another book. This one was labeled Dark Dance by Tanith Lee. Kori shivered slightly.
"This one looks…nice," Kori commented as she put on her best smile.
Rachel stood up from her position on the floor and slightly smiled at Kori. "You can just return them whenever," She answered shrugging. "I've read them all about ten times anyway."
"Oh thank you Rachel this means a lot. I do hope we can be friends now, perhaps?" Kori asked smiling sweetly.
Rachel rolled her eyes slightly but Kori sensed the tiniest bit of happiness from Rachel. "Sure Kori but I don't really see why you want to be my friend. No offense but we don't have that much in common."
"That is not true!" Kori exclaimed quickly. "Perhaps we enjoy the same books?" She questioned gesturing to the two books in her hands. "And surely that cannot be all. I am sure that you will have a lot to talk about if we become close."
Rachel sighed seeing how she obviously wasn't going to get anywhere. "I'll be sure to think about it Kori, I'll let you know when you're done with those," She said pointing to the books.
Kori nodded furiously. "Yes of course."
"Why are you so quiet today?" Dick asked as he tossed the magazine he was reading behind him scoring it directly on top of the large pile to the left side of his bed.
Gar tried his best to smile at his dark haired friend. "No reason really, just sort of tired. You know, school and all…" he hoped Dick would believe his lie.
"If you say so," Dick commented looking at Gar curiously. "So, I guess Kori told you that we're cooped up in our rooms all day huh?"
"Yea, she mentioned something about that," Gar said softly.
Dick looked at him confused and quickly leaned over waving his hand in front of his friend's face a few times before Gar blinked rapidly and jumped back, pressing his back to the chair and flipping the wooden object over so he was lying on his back on the floor.
"DUDE!" Gar yelled looking up at Dick shocked.
Dick looked like he was going to burst out laughing at any minute but he quickly coughed to cover it up. "Okay tell me what's going on. You've been out of it the whole time you've been here."
Gar laughed nervously and pulled himself up off of the floor. "What makes you think something's wrong?" He asked pulling the chair he had been sitting on back onto all four legs.
"Is this about Rachel?" Dick asked folding his arms across his chest.
"NO!" Gar answered all too quickly. "Okay, yes."
Dick smirked, "Care to talk about it?" He asked seeming all too interested for Gar's liking.
Gar shrugged hoping he looked bored with the conversation. "Not really, I mean there's nothing to tell Rachel's-."
Before Gar could finish his sentence a loud knocking sound erupted from the opposite side of Dick's door. Dick held up his pointer finger as if he was telling Gar to hold that thought as he quickly jumped up to answer the door.
"Oh! Hello Dick!" Came Kori's bubbly voice from the other side. Gar swerved his head around in order to see if Kori had any information for him. "Would you mind if I quickly came in? I do not want anyone to see me outside of my room."
"Of course Kori, come on in but what are you doing out of your room?" Dick asked moving aside to allow the auburn haired beauty to enter his room. Gar assumed Kori's innocent look wasn't purely an act, she probably never broke the rules.
"I have something I needed to our friend Gar and it absolutely could not wait!" She chirped excitedly.
Dick raised a brow at the girl. "And what's that?" He asked giving her an all to sweet smile. Gar knew she wasn't going to be able to contain herself.
Kori let out an excited giggle. "Rachel has agreed to be my friend!" She rejoiced scooping Dick up in a hug. "And now we can do the talking of the girl stuff and I will no longer have to paint your nails and share in the gossip magazines to feel like a real teenage girl!" Kori continued to yell.
Gar laughed loudly which caused Dick's attention to be pulled away from Kori. "Dude! You let her paint your nails?" He asked in between fits of giggles.
Dick groaned turning away from him and facing Kori once again. "Well, that's great Kori but do you really think Rachel's one to read gossip magazines?"
Kori shrugged as she padded across the room and over to the seat next to Gar. "It does not matter, she has agreed to let me paint her nails as long as they're not pink or yellow…or green." She giggled again obviously happy with her success in winning Rachel over.
This statement shocked both Gar and Dick. "She's actually going to let you do something girly with her?" Gar asked obviously confused.
Kori nodded happily. "Yes, but I have to read one of these books she allowed me to borrow," she said as she thrust her hand that was clenching the books out to Gar. "She was telling me of her need to purchase the newest Stephen King book but she has not been able to get it because of her time spent…here." Kori smiled sweetly at Gar hoping he took the hint.
Gar's ears perked up and he smiled quickly. "Oh, that sucks for her." Gar tried his best to look sad but he wasn't sure he was doing a good job because he finally figured out a good gift for Rachel.
Dick looked between the two and then cleared his throat loudly. "Okay, something's weird here. What were you going to tell me about Rachel before Kori showed up Gar?" Dick asked.
Gar let out a nervous laugh and quickly stood up. "Oh, would you look at that!" He exclaimed pretending to check his nonexistent watch on his arm. "I really need to get home. Lots of stuff to do. I'll be back tomorrow 'kay guys?" Gar asked before he quickly bolted out the door without an answer.
Dick looked at Kori confused. "Do you know something about this?" Dick asked knowing all to well that she did.
"Well…I…you see Gar was just…" Kori stumbled over her words.
"Please tell me Kori?" Dick asked. "I'll agree to read gossip magazines with you for another two months if you can't get Rachel to do it if you answer me about what's going on…"
Kori slapped her hands over her mouth, afraid she would break at any minute.
"Come on Kor…I just want to help Gar."
"Well you see, Gar has realized his true feelings for Rachel may be more than just friendly. Oh, wait that sounds sort of awful. I mean to say that he is feeling as if he may like her as more than just a friend. But he does not know if Rachel will return these feelings. Though right now he has decided he just wants to do something nice for her and that was where I came in because he wished to buy her a book. Rachel owns many books and Gar did not know of one she did not have but I managed to discover one and I told him about it so he could give it to Rachel as a present and she will fall madly in love with him!" Kori babbled quickly.
Dick blinked stupidly at her, taking it all in. "So wait, Gar actually does like Rachel?"
Kori bit her lip looking worried as she nodded slowly.
"Ah shit this could be bad," Dick mumbled to himself.
Tadaaaaa!
I bet you all thought I wasn't going to update again did you? Well you who thought I was going to leave you all in peril thought wrong. I'm actually proud of myself. Lol.
I'm almost positive I'm going to have a snow day tomorrow so I'm going to try to write more. Mmkay well you all know that reviews make the world go round. And I want to give a big thanks to all of you who actually stayed with this fanfic. You guys are so sweet.
Xoxo-Megz.