The Proxy

by Merry Monarch

Nice guy Dick Grayson has been dumped by his girlfriend, Babs. After a minor car accident with the beautiful redhead Kory, he offers her a compromise for his silence. She has to pretend to be his girlfriend in order to win back his ex.

13. Out of the Depths

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Teen Titans.

w/ Gar

The blonde teen opened the medicine cabinet to the bathroom as he rubbed at his waking eyes carefully. The mornings never really were good to him. He reached for the bottle of pills that rested on the high tier shelf, not bothering to give it a second glance.

With a soft moan, "Another day, another pill." He yawned groggily and expertly swallowed it without any need for water.

A solitary thought, from years ago, materialized in his shrieking mind. No, it wasn't the flu-like symptoms that sent him to the hospital years ago nor was it was the hurting backache that arose with it. It was the unknown bruises that he'd woken with that morning that sent his parents into a frantic drive to seek treatment. But he sharply shook the image away, preferring to keep it in the past, where it belonged.

He outstretched his arms, longing to feel the sensation of his arthritic bones popping. With little effort, he managed to rid himself of his sluggish mode. Except before he had a chance to recollect himself, he instantly felt the delicateness of fingers tickle around his sides. His over-exaggerated jump at the surprising touch was enough for his redheaded friend to go into hysterics. He heard the familiar laugh and turned around to see Kory giggling away at his reaction.

"Duudde! It's too early in the morning for you to scare me to death," he argued against her playful stunt.

Propping herself atop the bathroom counter, she sat in a restful position and watched on as her laughter slowly subsided.

"Someone steal your garbage pail this morning, Oscar?" she chuckled cutely once more. "Your mom wanted me to come up here to tell you to put a step on it. They need to leave to their veterinary seminar soon but they want to see you before they go."

"They wouldn't be the Logans without giving their son their customary morning sermon."

"Cry on, cry on," she teased. "Just hurry up. We're going to be late."

"Late? Late for what?" An assortment of uncertainty and weariness drowned in his pools of green as he gazed absent-mindedly at her.

"Gar, don't tell me you forgot." Still, he looked confusingly back at her.

"Today…breakfast…at Black Jacks," she reminded.

"Uggh…fantabulous," he groaned sardonically. "Do we really have to do this breakfast thing every month?"

"How can you ask that? We've been doing our get together breakfasts since junior year. It's tradition."

With a reconciled shrug of his shoulders, "Fine. You win, like always."

Ignoring his moody behavior,she talked continuously as he washed his face with some mild soap, until she gazed upon the small bottle of pills that he left on the counter. She never liked being overly maternal with him, nevertheless that didn't stop her from always looking after his well being.

Biting her lip, she proceeded to ask him. "Did you take them already?"

"Yes," he answered unenthusiastically, washing the lathering soap off his face.

"Are you sure?" she pried a little more.

"Kory, I think I would know if I just took them," he growled before deciding to jerk out his tongue, an indication to show her he had just swallowed it whole.

"What's wrong with you? Why are you so ticked this morning?"

"I'm just tired alright." Though his words were muffled from him drying his face with a towel, she clearly understood him.

"Of?" she asked, her concerned eyes followed him as he moved about.

"Oh, I don't know…maybe I'm just a little fed up of feeling like crap. Bad. Worn-out. Helpless."

He made a reach for his bottle of pills once again, "Of having to do this every morning. Having people think I can't take care of myself." Had it not been for her interruption, he would have gladly continued with his much needed rant.

"Ok, Gar. I'm sorry. I get it," she said with a guilty frown. And she did understand, he was having another one of his flare-ups.

"Do you…do you, Kory?" he asked raising his voice slightly. "Because the last time I checked, I don't recall you having leukemia! I don't see you waking up with your bones killing you! I don't see you having to take these stupid pills everyday! I don't see you so tired you can barely move at times! So excuse me if I don't see how you can get it!"

She flinched at the tone of his reproaching voice, not that she could blame him. Even if it wasn't the first time that she'd been the butt of one of his bickering outbursts, it was rare that he would castigate quite like this.

"You're right, Gar. I don't get it. But that doesn't mean I don't see what you're going through. I've been there with you since the beginning, remember? You're my best friend. It kills me that I can't do anything more for you. And having to see you this way…" her forlorn expression were all the words she needed.

"…I'm sorry but don't say I haven't suffered right alongside with you!" she finished with a determined right. However her desolate face, as she directed it down to the floor, made him feel even worse. Great. Now I've done it

"Kory, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lash out at you like I did. It's just that I'm sick of all of this."

"Honey, I know you are. Believe me, I can understand if you're tired and irritated, you have every right to be. But Gar…you're one of the lucky ones. You've been in remission for four years now. So like it or not, everything…those treatments you underwent, the doctors," she seized the bottle from him, "the pills…you're still here with us. Not many are lucky enough to say that."

"I know. Sometimes I can be an idiot," he sighed. "Everything is good right now. I'm living every day to the fullest and I can't worry about every mundane detail in my life. But sometimes I feel there's always this small room of doubt in the corner of my mind that keeps thinking."

"Of?"

"That I'll be receiving a knock at that door. It'll be the leukemia telling me, 'Hey remember me, I'm back. Thought you get rid of me so easily, didn't you'?" he breathed quietly.

"Well, that's not going to happen."

"But how do you--"

"Gar, that's not going to happen," she announced a tad louder, gaining his full attention.

He smiled briefly knowing she refused to accept any other answer. "Yeah…I've kicked this cancer's ass," he rumbled, as he mimicked a professional boxer's punches.

"Good," she announced, satisfied with the small change in his attitude. Still, she rolled her eyes as he didn't stop from throwing his jabs like a trained lightweight.

With hopes of getting him to quit acting so foolish, she forcibly gathered her hands into his. "Honey, let's leave it to the pros," she whispered jokingly.

"The pros? The pros got nothing on Beast Boy," he roared.

"Beast Boy?" she questioned, trying her best not to laugh at his self-given moniker.

"Yeah, It's my stage name. What do you think?"

Only the high brow Kory raised let him know exactly what she thought of it, causing him to come back to reality. Blushing from the small embarrassment of his display, "Sorry."

He took a second sight into the mirror aiming to fix his disheveled blonde mess.

"Hey, I tried calling you last night. Where were you?" she asked. He fiddled more with his hair, anything to keep him from answering her. But it was pointless since he knew Kory wouldn't let her question go so easily.

"Oh…yeah, uh…I was kinda busy," he stated quickly, hoping that the faster he spoke, the faster the conversation would end.

"Busy with what?" she pushed. "And don't lie to me. I can always tell when you're lying."

"With a…gg..girl." Seeing his friend's fervent eyes only made his coil with discomfort. "I met a girl yesterday, alright. There. Alert the media, inform the presses," he confessed.

"Really?" she asked thoroughly interested. "Dish, who's the lucky girl?"

Taking a good look at the wall clock in his bathroom, "Don't you have to leave to meet our friends at Black Jacks?"

"Oh no. You're not getting off that easy. Who?"

Groaning from the annoyance he felt or maybe it was just the hunger, he answered reluctantly. "Her name's Rachel."

"Ra--chel, got it. More, give me more," she begged for additional information.

"She's always coming into the bookstore where I work. She's…" he searched critically within his vocabulary to sum up the paramount words to describe her. Kory, however, took the initiative and answered for him.

"What? Pretty?"

"Beautiful," he said with a nice click of the tongue. "And she's…hmm--"

"Nice?"

"Brutally honest." Personal experience rang in his pitch, as he gave off a mumbled chuckle. "And she's…"

"Frisky?" Kory gestured, jutting her tongue at him, in an teasing manner.

"Awfully shy," he answered promptly, disregarding her quixotic implications.

"Mmm, so let me get this straight. She's sexy but shy."

"Yep."

"And she has this…zero bullshit mentality?"

"Dude, let's just call her…an acquired taste."

"An acquired taste?" she repeated baffled. "Well, I guess lucky for you, you eat the strangest things, Gar. And she certainly sounds, well…strange."

"She's not strange…misunderstood maybe. But definitely not strange."

"So what happened?" she jolted him when he refused to say any more.

"We had an alright time."

"Just alright?" she wrinkled her forehead, expecting to hear something a little more motivating than alright. "Ok, and?"

"And we had an alright time." His defying countenance and crossed arms were proof enough that last night's events were going to remain a secret to her.

"That's it? That's all I'm going to get?"

"Correctemundo."

"How nice of you not to trust me. But I don't think Miggy and Manny would like you butchering their language like that," she joked. "It doesn't have that romantic essence as when they say it, so there." She stuck out her tongue childishly, getting even for his tight-lipped mouth.

"Whatever," he said, tossing her vocal punch aside and looked again into the mirror.

If Kory knew her best friend at all, something about him was off. Also, the plaguing look he gave his own reflection was also harrowing.

"Now what are you thinking about?" she asked worriedly.

"I like her." Though he grinned briefly as Rachel's image resurfaced into his mind, it was soon bent into a worried horizon.

"So that's good. What's wrong with that?"

"I'm scared." He emphasized his worries by pointing to his bottle of medicine that lay on the counter, as if it challenged him. "I had taken her to that circus yesterday night, the one I had told you about that was coming into town."

"Yes, I know which one," she smiled on her reminiscent thoughts of yesterday.

"Yeah, well I had another one of those coughing fits yesterday. And in front of her, no less."

"Another one." Kory had become quite familiar with Gar's almost asthmatic spells. Sometimes, they kept him from doing things he had long taken for granted.

"Why don't you just tell her the truth? I sure she'll understand."

"Duudde, what are you smokin'? I just met her. I'm not about to reveal the most private issues of my life to her. She doesn't need to know anything."

"Don't you think she at least needs to know something?"

"No, especially after last night. What's worse is that during my 'coughing fit'," he quoted the words nastily, "she kept asking me a gazillion times if I was alright. I finally managed to tell her I was ok. If you could've seen the look of pity on her face, I was totally embarrassed. Needless to say, I killed our whole night."

"Alright, so maybe your date didn't consist of you two frolicking joyfully in a green meadow as fields of gold danced around you under a dream-like sky," she sang mockingly as one would in a cheesy daydream.

"No, far from it."

"I think you're reading too much into this. Maybe she didn't see it that way. Maybe she actually enjoyed herself."

"Don't be so sure about that. Even a fun guy like me has his bad dates. She kept looking at me like I was some kind of freak who was about to cough up a hairball at any moment."

A disenchanted sight escaped his mouth. "It probably doesn't matter since I'll most likely never see her again anyway."

"Why not? You can't just give up because this one date didn't go as planned."

"And give her a chance to…" he stopped suddenly after a deep thought. "No, it's safer this way because--"

"Gar!" she intervened, predicting exactly what he was going to say. "Not every girl you like is going to leave you."

A moment's silence filled the air when she uttered those words. They were like torture to him, and the same pain he felt long ago flooded his heart.

"Terra did."

Just as quickly, Kory slid off the counter and dashed over to him, gently grabbing his shoulders. She knew he'd been hurt tragically the day Terra left him. After the coming months of battling his illness and the spiritual toll it had taken on him, his girlfriend just couldn't bare to see him deconstruct any longer. It simply pained her too much and she couldn't handle it.

"She left only because she was scared of losing you."

"Yeah…well…I'm scared too."

"Of course you are. You wouldn't be human if you weren't scared, sweetheart."

How the room had become over-emotional in a matter of minutes, he couldn't picture. But he speedily rejuvenated his mind concluding that he wasn't going to start off the morning feeling sorry for himself. That was not how he was going to live.

"Ah," he waved off, "what am I so worried about. She won't call me. Not after that stunt," he chuckled to himself. "But it's ok. I'm fine with it. I don't think I was really her type anyways."

Kory gathered her hand into his and tugged at it to follow her.

"Lets go downstairs. I think we've kept your parents waiting long enough."

"You go on ahead. I still need to freshen up some more. It takes a lot of work to look this good."

"Then hurry up. I really don't want to hear Duncan's mouth on how we had to order dinner instead." Before heading out of the bathroom, she heard the blonde teen call to her.

"Kory?"

"Yeah, sweety?" she asked looking back at him, using the doorway to rest her arm.

"Thanks. You know…for everything," he uttered, grabbing his toothbrush.

She moved over to him, delivering a quick peck to his cheek. "I'm here for you, babe. But really, hurry up. This girl is hungry." Under the frame of the of bathroom door, she heard as Gar called her name once again, but deeply this time.

"Kory?"

"No Gar. I'm not going to give you another kiss," she joked.

His brief smile took on a more serious approach. "Don't tell Terra about Rachel, ok." Not a single ray of light was needed to shimmer down through the room as her smile shined brilliantly than any bulb could garner. She mockingly closed her mouth and pretended to zip it shut, throwing away the fictitious key.

"Finish up so we can jet before Terra calls me wondering…" the sudden ring from her phone played exactly at that moment.

"Told you," she rolled her eyes before answering her phone. "Yes Terra, we're going," she greeted before disappearing downstairs.

He faced towards his mirror once more, genuinely thankful that Kory would always be there for him through the thickest and thinnest of times. "Ok myself, how we doing our hair this morning?" he kidded with his reflection.

---

w/ Dick

Flashes of strict lightning shot out in the windy sky, its forceful roar of thunder soon sent the neighborhood children running back to their sheltering homes. Even then, the goaded weather could do nothing to stop Dick's tireless concentration as he continued to dribble his basketball past the ever focused Vic.

Competitiveness, it ran deep in both their bloods. All that mattered now was the twelve looped net of nylon that hung ten feet above the ground.

"Guys, I think we should end this soon," Wally suggested as drips of rain trickled on the threesome of men.

"What do you say, Dickey boy. Ready to call it quits?" taunted Vic, wiping off what little perspiration clung to his face. He moved ever so closer to his opponent, trying his best to maneuver the ball out of his hands.

"Not even close," Dick smirked back. Still dribbling with ease, he would sidestep, little by little, closer to the net using whatever tactic he could muster.

Wally looked up to the sky noticing its darkening color. "Ah, come on guys."

"Wally, will you shut…" Vic ordered turning to glare at the redhead for disrupting their game. But the sound of the dribbling grew louder which could only mean Dick had made a move for the net. Vic, with his proficient gaming skills, moved in a flash to block but only received a slight push from Dick. At least it felt slight until he landed flat on his back onto the hard concrete.

Wally wrinkled his face at the thought of the amount of pain Vic must've felt with the hard impact.

"Ooh! Now that had to have hurt."

"You think?" Vic groaned from the ground at his insensitive friend.

Dick celebrated his win with a little dance until he viewed a moaning Vic on the floor. "Whoa!" he exclaimed, lending a helpful hand to raise him up. "Sorry about that, Vic. You alright?"

"Nah, I'm good," he rubbed at his throbbing back. "I'll probably be needing a new spine but hey at least you won…even if you had to cheat."

"That was cheating? I'd call that letting your guard down."

"Can we get out of here now?" complained Wally before Vic jolted him with a light push.

"Wally, you have more whine in you than a busload of alcoholics put together." The griping continued as they gathered their sports bags which were left on the bench for safe-keeping.

"Hey, don't piss on me just because Dick wiped the floor with you."

"He didn't wipe the floor with me, he cheated." They leisurely made their way back to the car, welcoming the refreshing feeling of the cool rain making contact with their hot skin.

"I did not cheat." The bickering lapsed into silence at the basketball court as the boys entered into Vic's car. And moments later they were back on the road en route to Wally's home.

Now in the safety of Vic's car, the cautious driver scorned at the wet storm that now enveloped a portion of the city. He glided his eyes over to his rear view mirror, ensuring it was safe enough to switch lanes. The downpour from the shower made it difficult enough to see, let alone drive. Turning on his right signal light, he checked his blind spot and slowly maneuvered into the lane.

"Careful man," Wally warned. "You want to get us into an accident?"

"Why not. It seems to have worked out for Dick," The pair, minus Dick, in jest, agreed.

But even with his main attention on the road, he didn't fail to see as Dick, who sat in the passenger seat, began flicking away at his preset radio stations. Perhaps a habit he obtained from a certain someone that stuck with him.

In the same way as finding a song he was satisfied with, Dick couldn't make up his mind regarding other things. He found himself thinking about her…constantly. For instance, what was she doing at this very moment? Would he be seeing her today? Sometimes he found himself wondering if she ever thought about him throughout her day. Then with a slice of guilt looming over him, he'd remember about Babs.

"Did you hear us?" came a voice from behind. Wally grabbed at both headrests and edged himself up toward the center, trying his best to continue his conversation with his half-dazed friend.

"Actually, I always do my best to drown you guys out," he indicated by immediately touching the radio's volume button etching to raise the noise factor a bit. "See."

"We're serious. We met some of Kory's friends yesterday. Aren't you surprised?"

"Wally, I'm hardly surprised that you met some of Kory's friends. Everywhere we go, she just happens to run into someone she knows. Actually, she's told me about half of them already but I just can't keep track of them anymore."

"Must be her personality that they like," Vic offered. He swiftly slapped Dick's hand away from the radio dial when he heard the beginning chorus of one of his favorite songs.

"…Or could be her legs," Wally stated very quietly to himself, making sure he wasn't heard. He'd seen how Dick was capable of becoming a wee bit defensive when remarks were made regarding Kory.

"But you still have to admit though, of all the people in Gotham…we messed around with some of your girlfriend's best friends. Now tell me that shit ain't weird."

"Right, Vic. The fact that you messed around with Bee is highly believable." The redhead coiled his eyes skeptically before receding to his previous spot in the capacious back seat.

"Hey, just because you didn't get any action from the blonde, don't go raining on our parade," he teased before taking a swift look at him in his rearview mirror.

"That's because, unlike you, I'm a gentleman. And I think you've forgotten, Kory's not really Dick's girlfriend. She's just pretending to be because of their agreement, remember?"

The two occupiers of the front seat looked concurrently at each other with their own abhorrent stares meant for the mouthy backseat patron. It was quickly noted by Wally as he seesawed his nervous face from Vic to Dick, who each weren't to thrilled with his statement, however honest it may have been. Feeling a little uneasy with their glowering gazes, he gulped.

"Well, you're not a gentleman and she isn't your girlfriend," he raised his hands surrendering to his friends' reducing expressions. "Unless something happened that you're not telling us, Dick. Is she?"

"Thanks for pointing that out to the rest of us, Captain Obvious. No, she isn't my girlfriend."

"Exactly, she just plays one on TV." Wally skewed to the right side of the backseat only to slap a playful hand at the back of Dick's head.

"But?" Vic pressed on.

"But what?" Dick inquired.

"Please," his ebony friend exasperatedly whispered away from their ears, or so he thought.

"What was that mumble?" Dick requested with a deadpanning face. Before he could answer…

"I think he said he has only one testicle," Wally answered for him as payment for Vic's earlier comment.

"Shut the hell up, you." He could see Vic's furrowed brows glaring straight back at him through the car's top mirror, and he couldn't help but laugh to himself. In spite of his reproaching expression, Vic rewound his focus to Dick's question.

"Listen man, this act or whatever you want to call it…it's getting a little old, don't you think?"

"What act?" Dick asked oblivious to his reasoning.

"Come on!" he boomed. "I see the way you look at her. Stop playing yourself. It's like you ignore the rest of the world when she's with you. I know you like her…a lot," he pestered his best friend. "Even Wally here can see it and he's a lifetime member of D.E.N.S.A."

Wally, who was in the midst of laying down comfortably in the back seat, shot him a hard grimace.

"Hey Vic, why don't you run off and play a game of hide-and-go screw yourself," the redhead argued defensively. But his snipe only set forth a slewing crossfire of insults between the two, who seemed to mindfully forget about Dick's immediate presence.

Overcome with a resigned sigh, Dick shook his head fatherly at them. He concentrated on the rain that pounded against his window. Were his feelings for Kory that evident? He disbelieved that these two overgrown children, who were solely responsible for the mastermind of their not-so-brilliant plan, could ascertain what was now becoming a bit of a problem.

At the present moment, his weak mind found it hard to think with the shouting match plus the thunderous rain that collided in the background.

"No, you shut up!" barked Wally from behind.

"Guys! Knock it off!" Dick shouted mildly, his mediator skills being put to the test. His tone would brook no dispute and the two butting buddies quickly ceased their sociable backbiting.

"It's hard to believe I have any friends at all. But then again, who am I to judge on character. I still can't believe I let you two dimwits talk me into this stupid idea. And look where it's gotten me." His out-of-the-blue outburst released just some of the frustrations his mind had been plagued with these past couple of days.

"Where, Dick?" Vic loomed his eyes to the man. "Into the arms of a yummy hottie? If anything, a little thanks would be in order."

"Hey, yeah," Wally agreed amicably.

Dick widened his eyes in disbelief. "Thanks? Do you know how completely screwed I am right now?"

"How?" The quietness airing in the car stretched into long seconds when Dick refused to answer. "Well how, damn it?" the driver reiterated.

"Never mind, you wouldn't understand." Dick took an ever deeper watch at the presence of the spell of rain outside his window.

"Then enlighten us, man."

"Yeah. We might surprise you," the redhead jokester suggested.

"Guys, just forget I said anything," Dick ordered, already knowing where this discussion was heading.

"Oh, no. You started this, now finish it." Wally was never one to argue, but he knew when he needed to remain firm.

Vic, on the other hand, flew straight to the point. "Just admit it. You wished that she liked you more than just a friend. Oh wait, I'm sorry…a business associate."

Despite their momentous intimacy yesterday, was what happened between them something Kory wanted to forget? Her nightly calls were just some of the things he found himself becoming accustomed to. And when she hadn't called him at all that night, he couldn't help but embark on certain doubts.

"Vic, why would I feel that way about her? I mean, it's not like she feels that way about me?"

"Maybe but--"

"Besides, even if she did feel the same--"

"The same?" his friend unknowingly interrupted. "So you're saying you do feel something for her then," Wally suggested.

"I'm not saying that."

"Then what are you saying?" Vic pried even more directly.

His friend's urging caused him to perk an ear, nevertheless he still chose to remain silent. What is the point of this argument anymore. Dick held his breath stubbornly followed by a deep breathe out. His friends had mentally defeated the fortress-like barriers which protected his feelings for the proxy-girlfriend. So really, what was the point of denying it any longer?

"Yeah, alright. I do. I do feel…something," he whispered. He turned away from them, more from shame than disturbance. "I know I do. I've never known anyone who could raise the bar for me. And somehow, someway…she does it every time I'm with her."

This was the opportune time he needed his buddies to speak up, to give him comforting words of consolation. Anything to assure him that he wasn't alone or even juvenile in his beliefs. But nothing, he received nothing. As much as he wanted them to quiet down earlier, the stillness was something he couldn't bear right now. He could feel it fester around like a rabid illness.

"Now what? You two big mouths are speechless. No jokes, no comebacks."

Unbeknownst to the problematic teen, Vic was stunned, really stunned. He had nothing articulate to say in response to Dick's emotional outpour. Without any sensible relationship experience to reflect on, he was devoid of anything logical. Somehow Dick had miraculously found Kory, and the way she had managed to breach his walls of guarded ardor still remained a surprise to him. Nevertheless, this caused him to question his own relationships, or lack thereof. The ebony giant found himself liking the idea of having someone like her for his own. Someone not afraid to bring him down from his egotistical highs or help him when he felt at his absolute lowest.

He continued his onward gaze towards Wally, who calmly spoke up.

"You know, I do understand what you're going through. Or at least somewhat understand. If Kory is that person for you," the redhead added sincerely with a genuine smile. "…I say, don't let her go."

Dick turned around aiming to get a better look at Wally. "But I still feel something for Babs. What about that?"

"It's called history, Dick," Vic intervened. "You both share a long history together. You won't get over her just like that. No one's expecting you to. In my opinion though, I think you feel obligated to keep feeling for Babs, even when you don't."

But Wally offered a separate reason. "No, it's called guilt. You feel bad that you were with Babs for so long, and the feeling may never have been completely there. But with Kory, your feelings for her are inescapable."

"Inescapable?" Dick questioned. He was uncertain of his friends' theology but they did have some valid points.

"For lack of a better word, yes."

What really irked Dick about Kory was people's perception of her, what they viewed at the sight of her. Her beauty, so it made men weak in the knees and some women volatile towards her. Maybe that might be enough for some but for Dick, he wouldn't have any of it, for he wanted something more that he knew she could offer.

"So have you decided what you're going to do?" Wally asked, within a lengthy amount of time. Vic saw the brief smile that crossed Dick's lips.

"Yeah, I think I do."

"Good. Wally give the man a Kleenex because all his sappiness is fogging up my windows." Vic moaned, reverting back to his normal persona.

"Don't get used to it Vic, something tells me that's the only time these windows will ever get fogged up."

---

w/ Kory

"Um…excuse me, miss. Hello…" Terra called out to the busy waitress for the umpteenth time as she flashed past their table. "I could use some butter here!" she shouted to her retreating back.

"Give it up, blondie," Bee smirked. "She ain't getting you any butter."

"Well, it's her job."

"Goldilocks, you returned your eggs because they were too runny. You said your pancakes were too bland. Face it, you're the customer from hell," Kory added before taking a sip from her orange juice. "And I don't see her coming back for more of your torture any time soon."

"Then I really think we should consider finding another place fo--"

"No!" was broadcasted throughout the diner.

For a split second the rest of their group, who were made to sit in the booth behind them due to the lack of room, wiggled around their seats for a better look at the commotion.

"Well, one way or another…I'm going to get my butter."

"Look, don't worry about it, Terra. I got you covered." Gar turned in his seat and tapped Duncan's back, who sat directly behind him. "Could I snatch some butter from you?" He gave a mild thanks when Duncan handed over a plate topped with the petite stick of margarine.

"Gar…always the savior." Kory glinted over to him after the seeing the tiny but hungry grin Terra couldn't help but illustrate.

He turned towards Kory's sweet smelling apple pie, salivating for even a smidgen that remained untouched by her except for the small pokes she would give it with her fork. "Hey, there are plenty of people who are starving that would love to eat that and you're just playing with it."

Her eyes shot up directly to his. "Like you," she teased as she handed her plate to him, fulfilling his wish.

"Exactly," he grinned before slicing a piece off.

Echoes of faint thunder could be heard a small distance away outside in the bustling metropolis. They were left with little time to finish their pastry desserts before the noontime would bring a new multitude of hungry customers. Somehow the conversation grew from weary gossip about the not-so-kind members of their high school class to news of Goldie's sudden resurrection.

"Wait a minute…wait a minute. So then, you already have your Dad's Jag back?" Terra wrinkled her forehead in disbelief as she ate what last piece of cherry pie remained on her plate.

"I got her back yesterday. And let me just say, so much better than she originally was. My father isn't going to suspect a thing."

Gar puffed out to a great extent, terrified from the thought of having to explain any kind of bad news to Myan Anders. "Let's hope not because then I'd hate to be in your," he took a mild glimpse at Kory's footwear, "uh…girlie, frilly heel shoe thingies."

Gar had long been witness to some of Kory's chastisements since grade school. Her father wasn't violent by any means, but that did little to stop him from being perceived as a very daunting man.

"Good," Terra stressed. "Now you can trade in your ticket to Oz and come back to Kansas, where it's normal."

"Not exactly. You see, Babs still isn't in the picture yet. She hasn't completely taken the bait."

"Well what's the holdup? It's obvious she still wants him, especially with all that crap she gave you at the dance," Gar probed as he finished the last bites of his pie.

"Well from what I can tell, this guy might as well be screwing around with a block of ice because this girl is about as boring and cold as one anyhow."

"No Bee, at least blocks of ice are capable of being thawed," Terra added at the innocuous joke.

"Guys, stop." Summoning her best strength, Kory tried her best to hold in her laughter. "Don't be such mean bucks. Remember karma, she's not always so pretty," reminded the concerned redhead as she gave each a lively point of her finger.

"So now she's defending her?" whispered Gar into Bee's ear, who gave her own jaded shrug.

Bee's bewailing was only much more avid as she crinkled her mouth into an impatient frown. "Just speed it up and do what you have to do to finish this whole mess. We've been missing you."

"What are you talking about? I've been hanging with you all."

"Riigght," Terra sang. "In case you haven't noticed, it seems as if you've been spending all your time with Dick lately. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were in some kind of a cult."

"That's crazy. I have not been spending all my time with him."

"Actually Kory, they do have a point. You've been seeing an awful lot of him and a lot less of us." Gar reaffirmed.

"So what's the story with you two anyways?" the blonde questioner continued.

"There isn't a story," she proclaimed, unsure of what to say next. "And I apologize, ok. I guess I haven't noticed. I've been too busy." She fluttered her sparkling greens cutely to her prying friends, but they more than knew this was also a playful clue that she was mischievously guilty of something.

"Busy…yeah, I'll bet. It's no wonder Babs isn't in the picture yet. You're trying to keep him all for yourself," they laughed, to which they all nodded in unison.

But at the latter statement, Kory blinked back in wonderment. Why did Terra's last sentence have such an effect on her? It was feasible for her to understand the meaning behind their jesting yet incriminating wisecrack. So what if she and Dick did get a little side-tracked from the initial mission. So what if she immersed every moment they shared as if it were their last, with every indication, it might very well be.

Honestly, she never expected Babs's feelings for Dick to resurface so soon. Then again, she didn't expect her emotions, which she cherished, to begin eating away at her either. Dick, someone who would usually try to escape having to examine his emotions up close and personally, stood unaware of just how near he was to achieving his primary goal.

Except Kory did know. She knew Babs was awaiting her in the opposing end of the courtyard. This was all part of the game after all, right? Kory vs. Babs. This was what she was hoping for…this was exactly what Dick was hoping for. Everyone knew prior to the rigged game who was supposed to win but slowly, Kory was taking this more seriously than she knew she should have.

Yet she couldn't help but wonder if she was, by some means, trying to keep him away from Babs, causing a streak of guilt to worm its way into her conscious. Was she, as her friends claimed, keeping him for herself? Since the charity ball, she hadn't done anything that could remotely aid Dick with his ex-girlfriend.

Their most intimate moments would appear sporadically in between her thoughts of him. The images provided her with peace while the ardent sentiments of their love-making touched her deeply, it was one of the most precious moments she would come to revere. It was like nothing she had ever experienced.

So why hadn't she spoken to him since? Cowardice was her definitive conclusion. She was scared, dealing with emotions she hadn't felt before…it was all new to her. Even with Xavier, it was nothing like this. But what would happen when she did see him again? Would he want to take it all back? She wouldn't be able to deal with another rejection…not after Xavier. This was another reason she usually chose to play the ever-growing field.

Within an elongated length of time, she kept still only looking ahead, not flickering a smile. In turn, this began to worry her friends. Certainly a harmless shot taken at her expense but clearly they weren't serious.

"Kory, it's a joke. We know you're not really doing it on purpose," offered Gar. "Things will get better once Rick…Dick or whatever, gets this girl back. Then you won't have to worry about ever seeing them again."

By her present silent reverie, the group, sans Kory, stared oddly at each other with utmost perplexity. This quietness, such disparate behavior for their friend.

Dick, gets his girl back, won't have to worry about seeing them again…

"Hey!" Terra jolted her shoulder, wiping Kory out of her wandering mind. "What's gotten into you? You've been acting weird all day."

"Nothing. You just gave me something to think about. You all were saying…what again?"

"That the sky is falling," ridiculed Terra. "What do you think we were talking about?"

Page by page, script by script, Bee read her distressed friend like a dramatic novel. She scrutinized all the hardy warning signs, becoming reacquainted with them yet again. The tough as nails teen remembered Kory going through the same signs with Xavier and now reliving them with Dick.

"I know what's gotten into you," Bee suggested with a stark interrogation, easily drowning out the others. She kept her eyes focused on the girl, who was clearly now trying to avoid all their questioning.

"I'm warning you, Kory…as your best friend, do not fall for this guy."

"Pfft," she snickered when she noticed all of their inquiring eyes focused solely on her.

"Bee, come on, you think I'm actually falling for Dick?" she lied, laughing away the idea as if it was the most asinine assumption to ever come out of her friend's mouth.

Unfortunately, they could see right through her overcompensating façade, and she knew it. All of their fixated stares proved it.

"Well, I'm not," she tried a little more seriously. Yet their stares remained unchanged.

"Alright, I'll admit…he's a great guy," she said. "He's sweet and he cares…about her," she finished in a pathetic murmur.

A wave of frowns were sent to the emotive girl in her time of dejection.

"My advice, get out while you can." Bee was never one to sugar coat anything, she was always her directive self, sometimes to her own detriment.

Kory, who was just about to contest, was quickly hushed by Bee's hand. Apparently the ebony beauty was unfinished with her statement, "…before you start feeling more and more for this guy. Just get out."

"I can't just get out. He doesn't have her yet."

"So what? You already have your car back. I mean, that's what matters, right? Besides, these rich kids are all alike. Believe me, he'll find some other way to get her back on his own."

"I gave him my word, Terra. And I'm not going to let him down…not now." A look of total opposition cast upon her face as she huffed out…

"Even if I do think she's a complete waste of his time."

"Wow. Such bitter feelings for a girl who hardly know, Kory. That's not like you," Gar's suspicious voice trailed on. The redhead could only coil her eyes negatively.

"Are you sure you aren't interested in him?" Gar asked.

"So she says," Bee accused subtlety.

Overly tired with their criticism, "Ok, guys. So yeah, I like him. There…so what?"

"So how does he feel about you?" Terra inquired.

She moved her lips softly to answer but only shut it, dismally. "He's never really told me how he feels about me."

"Ouch."

"Why ouch…what does that mean, ouch?"

"It means you're into a guy who's clearly not into you." Terra made a careful note to suggest her words a little more delicately after seeing Kory's hurtful glance.

"How can you say that?" It was hard to hear the truth, if this was, in fact, the truth. She felt a small tingle of impression in her eyes and it caused her to look away from them.

"Look, we're not trying to be mean here. We're just trying to keep you from making an even bigger mistake."

"Since when is liking someone who treats you like something out of a fairytale a mistake."

"Fairytales don't exist, girl. And it's a mistake when he's in love with someone else." That knowledge kept her quiet for some time, giving her more of a chance to think. She reflected back to his warm embraces, his stimulating kisses, anything that could restore her faith that what they shared was heartfelt.

"In love with someone else, you say?" Kory nodded skeptically.

"Yes," drilled Bee.

"Well, I have a question."

The group sat quietly as they listened to what she could possibly have left to debate about.

" If he loves her so much…then why would he make love to me?"

She quickly noted Bee stroke her forehead, frustratingly. As for Gar, he leaned his back onto the booth impatiently, and Terra cock a brow in disbelief. Impatience, frustration and disbelief rushed them all, it was now that they realized the problem was even greater than they thought.

"Kory?" Bee called as she moved closer to her from across the table, trying her best to hold what anger she wanted to release. "Please tell us you didn't sleep with him."

Already feeling victimized, she stared back and forth at the three and instead of admitting what everyone already knew to be true, her eyes swept the room in avoidance.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Bee scolded.

"Kory…you barely know the guy," Gar faltered.

"It just happened," she pleaded with a shrink of embarrassment. "We didn't plan on it, it just did."

"Nothing ever just happens."

"You all want to sit here and police me but…" but paused momentarily, taking in their disapproving faces. They would never understand the underlying truth of her situation.

"No…no," she belligerently shook her head. "If you could only see, he doesn't belong with her."

"That isn't your decision to make. Why do you think you're in this mess? He still loves her and he still wants her back," Bee explained in her ever cynical tone. "And as for Dick…well obviously the guy's a dog. He's sleeping with you when he claims to still love her!"

The ebony beauty's vocal boom sent a wave of stares to their table. Even with a careful marginal glance at her neighboring friends and other strangers, she was not put off by her own behavior.

"What?" she shouted to them, raising slightly off her seat. "This ain't no damn Broadway show, get back to your business!"

Turning back around, she was met with Gar and Terra's surprised eyes. She was a firecracker, sometimes explosive but always fun to watch. "What?" She sat crimping her forehead to match their, apparently not thrilled, gawks.

"This is news to everyone? Any girl who has dated knows that any man out there equals a mangy dog." Her renowned philosophy earned her a quick discrepant clearing of Gar's throat.

"Except for you Gar…you're the only exception," she suggested readily before even Terra could begin roaring down her throat for affiliating Gar with "those other dogs".

"That's all I ask."

However, Bee wasn't finished with her assessment in dealing with Kory's problem since she continued on. Only now she decided to take a much smoother approach to spare herself any more attention.

"Answer me this, babe. You're having your fun now, but what are you planning on doing when he goes back to her? Because he will. They always do."

"That's enough, Bee," the two blondes interrupted after seeing Kory's emotional orbs beginning to welt sadly.

"Guys, she needs to know this."

Whether she was justified in her opinion was irrelevant, but the moment she viewed Kory raise her wounded spirit and depart away from them, she knew she was definitely out of line.

"Kory…wait!" Terra called out. However, she ignored her words, still continuing to head straight past the door to the ladies restroom. In a hurry, Terra's maddened cobalt eyes dashed over to the accuser.

"Great going. You just had to open your big mouth and now look what you've done."

"I'm sorry but I was only trying to help." Bee's tone didn't diminish as she waved her hands about, trying to highlight her belief.

"How? By acting like a bitch to her. Oh yeah, big help," the blonde girl argued.

"Bee. That was unnecessary, not to mention really stupid. You know how sensitive she can be." Gar never allowed anyone to talk to Kory in such a way, not even another close friend.

"I didn't mean it that way, honest. I was trying to stop her from making a big mistake with this guy. We all know that he's going to leave her for this bimbo in the end."

"We don't know that," Terra stated.

"Deal or no deal, she likes this…what the hell is his name again?"

"Dick," Gar answered.

"…this Dick guy too much. I'm just trying to prevent her another--"

"Bee, we know you're trying to spare her a heartache but…it's her decision."

Sending a quick glimpse to Terra but immediately back to Bee, "It's her heartache and she'll have to learn the hard way." Terra couldn't turn away from the guiltiness she felt at his discontented mien. She left Gar just the same as her father had left her mother, citing the circumstances were different. Save for, she couldn't help but wonder if this was a silent shot at her as well.

No one spoke for several seconds because nothing was left to say.

"You know what, just forget it. I'll go see if she's fine," he offered trying to slide through Bee.

"No." Bee bridged her hand straight along Gar's chest. "I was the douche here. I'll go." Gar reluctantly nodded before she speedily went after her friend.

Now alone with his ex-girlfriend, he positioned himself back onto his earlier seat, still a safe distance across from her. All Terra could do was look back at him in admiration but foremost…regret. She noticed how he tapped his hand to the beat of the song that played in the jukebox. A gesture he did when he would become nervous. She still had a lingering of love for him, he had to know this. If only she could hold on to his hand, reel in the nostalgic feeling it used to send her. It had been years since their last kiss, it was then that she realized no other man would measure up to him. Leaving him was an dreadful mistake, she always knew that but a mistake she was planning on mending soon.

The women's restroom door swung open and shut closed as sounds of Bee's soft steps echoed behind. Bee searched under every stall until she viewed Kory's familiar shoes.

"Kory," she called out. She waited for her friend to respond but when she said nothing, she felt it was safe enough to continue. "I'm sorry for busting on you back there." Bee stepped closer to the stall door, using her finger to trace abstract patterns as she apologized.

"I know I can be a bitch at times. A lot of the times, in fact. And I have this problem about opening my mouth when I shouldn't."

"You are a motor mouth," she heard from the other side of the door. Bee stifled a laugh but didn't lose momentum in finishing her apology.

"I only do it because I don't want you to do something you'll end up regretting for a long, long time."

The sound of the door opening caused Bee to back up away from the stall. Kory exited but instead of speaking only gave her a short shrug of her shoulders.

"So you angry with me?"

"No. How can I be. You were right, after all. I should've known better. And now, I don't know what I'm going to do." She questioned herself uncontrollably , bringing her hands to shield her eyes from the small ache in her mind. "Ugh…why did I have to be on the road that day! Why did I have to be riding behind him! Why did I have to take that stupid car out!"

"Look. I'm not going to stand here and lecture you like I'm your Momma. But I will tell you that whatever happened between the two of you, it meant something. When you fell for X--"

"This isn't the same, Bee. Xavier and I, maybe it was love," she exhaled tiredly. "I don't know now…because what I feel for Dick, it's stronger than what I felt for Xavier." For once, a still silence came over Bee as she found herself speechless. She had no words of wisdom for the poor girl.

"And if I have fallen for him…then what? Where do I go from here? Or even worse, what if he still loves her?"

"You're asking me? That's something you're going to have to confront him about. He needs to tell you how it's going to be," she said.

"I don't think I can do that."

"You, who wears her heart on her long sleeve, who wants the whole damn world to be peachy keen, who's always setting up people on dates they don't want to go on, who thrives on being open and honest, can't tell a guy that she's into him."

"It's not that simple with Dick. He's…not that simple."

"If Dick can't see what he's missing, to hell with him. I say, let him chip his tooth on that cold block of ice."

A giggle flew out of the girl, "You have, by far, the biggest mouth this side of Gotham," she joked.

"Damn straight."

"…but when you're right…you're right." Kory rested her arm playfully around Bee's shoulder as they exited the restroom door. "Hey wait, speaking of mouth, what's this I keep hearing?"

"Huh?"

"You and a random make-out session with some guy."

"I'm going to kill blondie!"

---

w/ Rachel

It was unfitting for Rachel to have been remotely attracted to someone of a divergent universe, or at least he might as well have been. They were so compellingly different in every aspect of life. Should that have stopped her from receiving his open invitation to a entertaining night out?

Was she right, was she wrong…that was a thought that wore her mind down until she could no longer endure the constant mental voiceover. Of course it didn't help that beside her walked her best friend, who went on and on about how Wally's recent behavior had been troubling her.

"Jinn, if you really have a problem with Wally…why am I the one having to hear about it? Tell him."

"So he can think I'm jealous. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction."

"Well, aren't you?"

"For your safety, I'm just going to forget that you even asked that."

"Whatever. Do what you want, it's none of my business anyways."

They continued down the sidewalk before crossing the road over to reach the nearby pet store. They entered through the clear door, setting off the annoying entrance chime.

After looking around for a nearby attendant, Jinn shrugged before handing over the small fishbowl to Rachel, and swimming inside was the main reason for their visit.

"I still can't believe you're keeping it."

"I'd feel bad if I got rid of it."

"Only because he won it for you and you like him."

"Don't start with your implications. I don't like him like that."

Jinn quickly crossed her arms, skepticism in her voice as she challenged Rachel's words. "Really?"

"Really."

"Then why did you offer to give him a ride in the first place?"

Rachel turned to every corner avoiding her friend's dissection of questions. "Where the hell is that clerk?" Surveying the area, no help was in sight.

"Forget about the clerk. You haven't answered my question yet."

"After how he stood up for me to Malachi, I felt obligated to." Jinn dared to raise her brow suspiciously at her friend. It was painfully obvious to her what Jinn's facial expression was saying.

"It was freezing outside Jinn, what was I supposed to do? Let him walk in the blistering cold?"

"If it was anyone else, you sure would have. A little part of you liked him, admit it." Instead of an admission, all Rachel constructed to do was shake her head pessimistically.

"No, I don't. I felt sorry for him. That was it."

"Kiss my ass. Admit it, Rachel," Jinn egged on.

"He isn't my type, nor will he ever be my type."

"Oh I see. He's isn't your type because one, he respects women. Two, he likes to tell these lame jokes hoping that maybe one day, in this century, he might actually get a laugh out of you. But then again, I suppose someone like Malachi has so much more to offer you," she added to her sarcasm.

"Oh and of course," Jinn snapped her fingers feverishly, "how could I forget…" she tapped at the clear bowl, trying to summon the fish's attention. "He tried his best to win you this…thing."

"Helio."

"A...whata?"

"That's its name. Helio."

"You named him?"

Following a trip to the very arcade that she'd had seen him in days before, he'd taken her to the circus that had traveled into the nearby town. Much to her despair, she surprisingly liked spending what minimal time they shared. Even if he was loud and annoying at times, it was a content change to the ever cosmic quietness that had enveloped her life. However, she still favored a silent night but it was a nice transitory substitute. Her thoughts ran back to that day and a mental grin crept its way at the pleasant memory. It took him five tries to win the darned tropical fish for her, now named Helio.

"What's next? His and hers t-shirts with yours saying 'I'm with stupid'." Rachel thought, for an instant, this trip to the pet store would have been better taken alone.

"Cute," she coiled her eyes at her friend's teasing. With another look around the store, "Excuse me, hello?" Rachel called out a little louder inside the store seeking any kind of customer service.

"Hey, look. I'm just messing with you. This Gar person seems like an alright guy. So are you seeing him again?"

"I don't think so."

"Why not? He couldn't be any worse than Malachi."

"Why must you always talk so negative about him."

"Because he's an A class asshole who treated you like shit." She was blunt, but she was also dead-on-accurate. Rachel contorted her unpainted lips into a minimal frown when past visions of their relationship came fluttering back to her.

Jinn didn't truly realize the affects of their breakup until she viewed her disheartened countenance. "You're not having second thoughts about dumping him, are you?"

"Did I say that?"

"But you're thinking it."

"I'm not having second thoughts, ok."

"Then what's bothering you?"

"Last night at the circus, well Gar had some kind of…I'm not sure what to call it. A coughing spell, I guess."

"What do you mean, a coughing spell?"

"He just couldn't stop coughing. For about four minutes he almost hacked himself to death."

"Big deal, Rachel. Maybe he was getting a cough. It's not an uncommon thing to get sick."

"No. This was something different. I think something was wrong with him," Rachel froze in her words, only to re-evaluate yesterday's occurrences. She didn't think much of it then but now, she felt herself genuinely caring for his well being.

"Let's just hope it's not herpes. Talk about a mood killer."

Rachel churned silently. "Are you finished?"

"Not really, no."

"Well I'm done listening."

"To reason."

"Yes, can I help you?" inquired a middle-aged man, appearing from the storage room with a couple of boxes and placed them on the floor beside him. He rearranged his employee vest, trying to dust off any small lent.

"Yes. Perhaps you can help me. I was given this fish." She raised the fishbowl and placed it atop the counter. "I was told it needed a specific type of fish food."

"Oh yes. That's a Mandarin Dragon fish. It's considered to be good luck. I'll be glad to get the food for you."

"Thank you," she said as she watched him disappear from behind the counter. Now with some privacy, Jinn took the opportunity to make her misunderstood friend grasp her words.

"You know what I think. I think you're just using his "coughing spell" excuse."

"An excuse for what?"

"You're trying so hard not to like him. Get over it, ok."

"That's rid--"

" Not every guy is going to turn out like Malachi. It wouldn't hurt to try something different for a change. You know someone who isn't so…you."

"Well that's comforting to know."

"That's not what I meant. You just…" Jinn exhaled her frustration, "he might surprise you is all," she finished.

"Me and him? I seriously doubt that's going to happen."

Jinn couldn't help but coil her eyes, annoyed with the new degree of her stubbornness Rachel held.

"Hey, I'm your best friend, right?"

"Which I'm slowly starting to regret."

" So then I'm allowed to tell you when your acting a little high strung and phobic…or bitchy," she suggested, softening the latter word which wasn't meant for Rachel's ears. But failed miserably.

"I'm bitchy?"

"Oh, it has been pointed out, a few times in fact," she nodded zealously, making her point quite clear. "All I'm saying is give this a chance. If it doesn't work out…then it doesn't work out."

"I'll think about it."

"Don't think, do."

The rustling sound of a plastic bag came closer just as the store attendant appeared with the fish food. "That'll be thirteen dollars."

---

w/ Terra

In the midst of the day, Terra had stopped by her job to obtain a copy of her weekly work schedule, today favorably being her day off. After the traditional brunch this morning, she had received a voice message from her mother opting her not to make any dinner plans. She was to be spend it with not only her mother but the new "man friend", as her mother would so famously put it, she had been dating.

This was much of a burden for her but it made Mrs. Markov happy enough, and since the abandonment of Terra's father, she felt her mother deserved a little happiness. Even if it did interject into her own personal life, this gathering was a mere way for everyone to get to know each other better.

Time for dinner was hastily approaching. As Terra came down the stairs, she found her mother hurriedly running about, everything had to be in order before J.S. arrived.

"I hope you don't plan on wearing that," Terra's mother huffed out before entering back into the kitchen with just a quick glimpse given to the girl. It had been a few moments after Terra had set her first steps into the dining room and already her mother had found a problem with her attire.

"Give me a break, Mom. What's wrong with what I've got on?" she hollered, nimbly pulling on her mustard yellow tank top.

The older woman retreated back into the dining room with her best china in hand, then quickly began plating the table orderly. "It's all wrong for tonight. Tonight everything has to be…perfect."

She gave a fast look to her watch and furrowed her brows in panic. "He's almost going to arrive. Here, help me with the silverware."

She could almost feel her mother's nervousness and in a last feeble effort she tried to avoid this dinner. "Do I really need to be here tonight?"

"For the last time, yes! Will you stop trying to get out of it because it's not going to work," she warned, quite tired with her daughter's bored tone.

"I just don't see why I should have to get to know him. You've never cared about my opinion on any of the men you've dated before. Then again, you've never lasted with them long enough--"

"Look here young lady," she interrupted her. "J.S. and I are beginning to get a lot more serious in our relationship. He's not like those other jerks I've dated. He makes me feel good about myself and since your father left…well I just haven't felt this way in a long time. So I really want to make it work with him. Now in order to do that, some things are going to have to change around here."

"Like what?"

"Your attitude, for starters."

"I'll have you know there is nothing wrong with my attitude. Besides, the man creeps me out."

"What?" her mother laughed from the ridiculousness of it. "How does he creep you out?"

"Well let's see, the eye patch…his eye patch bugs me."

"Now you're just being silly," Mrs. Markov waved off the impractical comment.

"Oh, am I? You can't tell me it doesn't bother you. Especially when you…yeek! I can't even think it."

"Sweetheart, believe me, it doesn't bother me. With or without that eye patch, he is still a very handsome man. I think it adds some mystery to him," she cooed. "And just so you know, that's nothing compared to his--"

"Ugh…" Terra nauseated, covering her ears revoltingly. "Mom, save it for the ladies at bingo night."

"It's nice to see I can talk to you about these things. Just finish setting the table," she ordered tiredly. At the risk of hearing another one of her mother's more dirty tales, she uncovered her ears slowly once the woman retreated back into the kitchen.

"And Terra," she shouted past the walls, making the girl look in her general direction. "I don't want you making him feel uncomfortable about it either."

"What if he--"

"Not a single word about it," she said automatically. She nodded, setting down the last utensil.

"So Mom…" she called out.

"What?"

"…how did it happen?" she hollered to her, hoping she was loud enough to be heard.

"Would you really like to know, my dear?" came a guttural voice directly from behind the girl. Low and yet so striking, she'd never heard a tone quite like it. She shrieked from the sound, jumping and turning quickly to see the object of their discourse right behind her.

"I didn't mean to frighten you."

"J.S. ? Darling, is that you?" called out Mrs. Markov from inside the kitchen as soon as she heard the recognizable voice. Entering into the dining room, "I had no idea you were here. Terra, why didn't you tell me?" She moved past the young woman and greeted him with a soft kiss.

"I didn't know he was here," she panted lightly, still from her sudden scare.

"I knocked at the front door. When no one answered, I thought letting myself in would be just as well. I hope that was fine."

"No, don't be silly. Of course that's fine."

"I took the pleasure in getting you these." The gentleman carefully brought out a fresh bouquet of long stemmed red roses from behind his back.

"Thank you. They're beautiful." After taking in the aroma of the fresh flowers, she embraced him dearly. "Why don't you sit down, dinner is just about ready."

Within minutes, their lasagna feast was promptly steaming on the table waiting eagerly for any takers. Mrs. Markov began reciting a customary blessing earning a soft groan from her daughter. As their heads were bowed during the religious ritual, no one was attentive enough to see that J.S. wasn't the least bit interested in the prayer nor dinner for that matter. Even with his head down, his icy cold eye perked up precisely to see the young blonde beauty that sat before him. Not once did they desert her naïve figure.

There was simply no other way to have done this and he knew this one was going to take some time.

Prior to meeting Mrs. Markov, he studied Terra like a book and she never even knew it. At first sight, he knew he wanted her next. With his own incisive research, he delved into her existence, found where she worked and learned of her troubled family life. Initially her mother posed as a problem but who would've thought that in the end, she turned out to be more help than he could have hoped for.

He took another hard look at her from across the table, he was going to enjoy this one, indeed.

"Amen," he heard them say and shifted his glance back to his plate.

The rest of the night went on particularly well. He tried every conceivable way to get a decent laugh out of the unsuspecting girl. But more than anything, he needed her trust. That would be the foundation of their relationship, her entrust in him.

Just in the middle of one of Mrs. Markov's anecdotes, Terra's phone jingled when she received a text message from a fellow friend.

"No calls at the dinner table," her mother instructed.

"It's only a text message," she wrinkled her forehead, "…from Kole." Her mother shook her head maternally but continued on with her story as her uninterested lover listened on.

"Yes!" Terra shouted through her mother's comical tale.

"Hey Mom. Kole just got her tickets to the Geomancer concert."

"Oh, that's nice dear," she smiled as her eyes fell back on J.S., wishing she could finally finish with the end of her story.

"Have you gotten my tickets yet?" she asked in between bites of her food.

"Is that the one you all are planning to drive five hours away to."

"It's only four hours away. I'm going with Bee and Ko--"

"I've been thinking about that honey, and well…I don't think it's such a good idea after all. It's too long of a drive for you girls and it's also too much money."

"What? But you promised."

"I know I did but--"

"You can't back out now. I've already told everyone that you OK'd it. If I don't go now, I'm going to look like such a spastic loser."

"Terra!" her mother clenched her teeth tightly. The last thing she needed was to be embarrassed in front of her boyfriend. "We'll talk about this later." Her maddening eyes sent the red-light warning…drop it or else.

"This isn't fair."

"No, what's not fair is how these musical artists think they can charge an arm and a leg for their performances. It's not even music. That's what's unfair."

"I'll pay for it myself. You don't have to worry about it. I have a job now."

"I said no and that's final!"

Terra remained immobile, her mouth strung open, unknown of what best efforts could be said to change her mother's mind. She shot a desperate and pleading look to J.S., why she didn't know. After all, how could he help her.

"Why not let her go. She does seem very…mature for her age. Nevertheless, I think we all deserve a little fun now and again. We were all her age once, weren't we?"

"It's still a lot of money. I don't think she should go and spend it all on a silly little concert."

"It's not a silly little concert. It's Geomancer," Terra intervened.

"If it's any consolation, I'd be happy to buy the ticket for her."

Simultaneous heads turned to the charming man after his noble offering. "We can't let you do that, J.S."

"It's not a problem, really. Consider it a late birthday present. You did said her birthday was three weeks ago, correct?" Terra nodded almost immediately.

"Well, yes it was but--"

"Are you serious? That's great! Can he, Mom?" A look of excitement plus her intertwining fingers, as she prayed for a positive answer, were read by her mother.

"I'm not sure, it's still a good drive away."

"It's not like I'd be all alone. I'm going with a lot of friends." Mrs. Markov's simple smile was all the permission she needed.

"Then it's settled," J.S. finalized and blinked back when he heard the young woman squeal in delight.

"Thank you…thank you…thank you!" she exclaimed, placing multiple innocent kisses on her mother's cheek.

Mrs. Markov grinned over to J.S. "You're going to spoil her rotten."

"Can I be excused, I need to call Kole."

"But what about dinner?"

"Well," she viewed the small portion of dinner that remained on her plate, "dinner is practically over now anyways."

During the chatter, the phone rang making the hostess tilt her head to the kitchen. "Fine. You're excused," she said, relieving her daughter of their dinner date. She scurried to answer the phone before the caller could hang up.

Terra took this moment to thank J.S. for his kind offering and his quick thinking. Maybe her mother was right and he wasn't so bad after all. She traveled over to his chair and stood beside him, not sure of what to say.

"About earlier. I know I wasn't ready to give you a chance but…I just want to say thanks for sticking up for me."

Raising from his seat, she was met with the realization of how tall and burly he really was.

"So say it," he said, with a mild hint of gloating on his part.

With a soft blush of her cheeks and a rare timid smile, "Thanks."

"Your welcome."

"And about those tickets--"

"I'll have them for you by next week. I will be seeing you, won't I?"

"If you're lucky." At the risk of sounding a little flirtatious, "Wait maybe that didn't come out right," she laughed.

"Sounded perfect to me."

He projected an odd sensation in his words but to Terra, she didn't know how to feel about it. Somehow, his strict demeanor nor his black eye patch weren't so bothersome to her anymore. In fact, up close she realized that he was, undeniably, a very handsome man. He stared back at her and quickly constructed his lips in such a manner, though not to be confused with a smile, it clearly wasn't. But it certainly meant something.

Before she could bid him farewell, J.S. took a single rose from the bouquet he brought chiefly for her mother and handed it over to Terra. Her hand crept slowly to grab it from his waiting fingers.

And when she did, only then did he use his free hand to immediately wrap it over hers along with the pretty rose. Both his hands huddled hers softly until he squeezed their hands together forcefully, causing a painful prick to occur from contact with the spiny thorns. A minimal cry escaped her mouth and she gazed up to him wondering why he would have done something so uncaring.

Except all she found was a seductive grin staring back at her. She couldn't help it and followed suite, smiling minutely back at him, her face growing hot as a tide of stimulation came over her.

"Grandma sends her best," interrupted Mrs. Markov, startling her daughter greatly as she pulled away from the mysterious gentleman. Somehow the awkward tension now brewing in the room remained oblivious to her mother.

"Maybe you should give her a call tomorrow. She hasn't spoken to you in so long," her mother said, casting an eye to her daughter, who was too busy looking at the light drops of blood emitting from her palms. She covered her hands far too quickly before her mother could ask what happened.

"Oh…good…Grandma," she laughed nervously. "I'm kinda tired. If you don't mind…I'm gonna…just go up. To my room now, I mean," she stuttered. "It was nice meeting you J.S.," she finished in a garbled whisper. With the rose tucked safely behind her back, she left before he could answer.

"Wow!" Mrs. Markov announced excitedly. "She must've really liked you. I've never seen her this accepting of any man other than her father." She moved over to him and wrapped her frail arms around his torso, teasing him with a playful kiss on his chin.

" Who knows…maybe with time, you two will become closer," she added.

"Oh, I'm counting on it," he smiled greatly.

---

w/ Dick + Kory

The omnipresent sun slowly began drawing away its glowing curtains of light, soon to be replaced by the nightfall's luminous moon.

In a short time, Kory knew her summer would be superficially gone what with her parent's unexpected return tomorrow. Unforeseen circumstances made her unable to enjoy what momentous week she had planned during one of their rare getaways. Time was crucial for the moment, nevertheless, how odd to find her last night of juvenile freedom would be spent at Wayne Manor.

Upon returning home from her brunch, she received a call from Dick urging her to come over tonight for a quiet evening together. She, with good grace, agreed. Now she stood outside the mansion, delicately pulling her hand away from the aged knocker. With her, she brought along a dear old friend, someone with whom she wanted Dick to become better acquainted.

Dick didn't spare much time answering the thump at the door. Prior to this, he spent much of his time readying himself once Kory accepted his invitation for a twilight get together. He knew he would have the manor all to himself that night as Alfred, always the ever tending butler, chauffeured a dubious Bruce to the airport for an immediate rendezvous in Germany.

The billionaire magnate was assisting in the co-development of a new series of innovative steel from a newly formed plant in Berlin. He remained an outstanding monetary asset in the project but being of a skeptical nature, he was still somewhat apprehensive with its advancements, thus needing to witness the progress for himself.

Hesitation crawled around in Dick's mind as he didn't know what to expect once he opened that door. He knew she requested permission to bring along a close friend, he didn't mind that. Well maybe just a tad as he remembered feeling the buckets of jealousy when she uttered the frightening words…

"You'll love him, Dick," over the phone in their earlier conversation.

"Him?" he reiterated nervously, more to himself as his grip tightened the handset of the phone.

His mind was suffused with ideas of what her friend might look like. Probably tall, dark and handsome, like all women go crazy for. But now was not the time for such illthoughts after hearing her knock for the second time.

Giving the mahogany door a hard pull, he widened his eyes when he viewed a pair of beady midnight eyes looking intently back at him. Not much time after that, her "friend" leaped out and attached himself to Dick, using his pink nose to meet him.

"Silkie, no. Bad boy," Kory scolded.

"Oh," he said as he pulled him off his chest and into a secure cradle. "So this is the famous Silkie."

"This," she huffed as she moved closer to pet her adoring ferret, "is Silkie."

As if his prayers were answered, he blew a mental sigh of relief at the aspect of her "dear friend" being a 4 lb. glorified mouse and not the Don Juan he initially deemed.

Thanks to her charming host, she received a guided tour of the exquisite mansion and its many amenities before settling into the recreational hall. It was one of the few places which Bruce allowed a television to be kept. In the background, the crinkling wood burning away in the grand fireplace sent the pair into an idyllic harmony.

Now in the dead of silence, she initiated a gentle massage onto Dick's lower neck just after he babyishly complained of a crimp near his neckline.

"Now this is the life." She lovingly emitted a healthy sigh as she worked her finger's agility on his dulling pain as she sat on the recliner.

Dick, who sat on the floor just below her, would casually wake every time he found himself drifting his eyes shut. It was impossible not to revel in the ecstatic tenderness that she produced with her simple rub. Her fingers worked their heavenly magic as the crimp had gone from a strong twitch to virtually nonexistent.

"I hope Bruce doesn't mind Silkie tagging along."

"Nah," he murmured, opening his caribbean blue orbs slowly. "Besides, he won't be back until tomorrow." It was then that a delicate jump from Silkie, probably due to hearing his name called, stunned him wide awake as he leaped straight into his laps.

A giggle escaped her mouth at the sight of it. "I think that means he likes you."

"Yeah?" Dick held up the silver white animal almost as a father would hold his cooing baby, giving Kory's fingers time to rest as she snuggled back into the posh recliner. "Well, I like the little guy too."

This must be the one who saved her from that sick pervert. "So I take it he's the one who--"

"Yes," she said, with a slight nod, more serious than she intended. Visions of that atrocious man still haunted her to this day, and she never enjoyed thinking about it, let alone speak of it.

Whether it was the clandestine chat he and Silkie shared, as the boys had most likely bonded, or the smile that would grace his face as he played flippantly with him…whatever it was, she had this crushing need to be closer to him.

She repositioned herself on the leather chair and edged her way near the pair, using Dick's shoulder as a soft cushion for her chin. "It's sad how not many people are appreciative of them."

"What ferrets?"

"They're such beautiful animals."

"I hear they make good companions too, like dogs. In fact," he swayed his head to the right looking for a particular picture frame containing a certain canine, "I think even Bruce used to have a dog named Ace."

"Really?" she asked, a little shocked. "I would've never taken Bruce for a dog person."

"I wouldn't stop there. Not many consider Bruce much of a people person either."

Clearly understandable for Kory as she remembered her opening impression of him during their first encounter. "I can see how some might consider him uh…a smidge broody."

"He means well, really. He's a complicated person and not many people understand him, nor do they take the time to try."

"In all fairness, he doesn't give people much of chance to understand him though," she stated with her chin still resting along his broad shoulder blade.

"Well that's true too. But he just appreciates his privacy." Without warning, Silkie scurried out of Dick's hands and made a run for the couch adjacent to the recliner, leaving his fellow chums to talk on their own.

"I care for Bruce like a father but…I hope I don't become that way."

"Gorgeous," Kory leaned into his cheek playfully, taking in the masculine aroma of his aftershave, "…what reasons could you possibly have to become that way?"

"Well, lets see. I became an orphan at age ten, people have misconceptions of my character and always try to refer to me as this playboy…which I hate. People seem to think I can't decide my own future, I got used twice by girls who were only really after my "money", got betrayed by the one woman I thought loved me. See the pattern here?"

"Ok, so maybe you're just a shot glass away from a rehab center…but you forgot one minor but enjoyable detail."

"What detail would that be?"

"You didn't mention me," she said softly.

With a midway turn of his face, he was surprisingly met with a small space between their lips. He hadn't realized precisely how close she was to him. "You?"

She leaned in a bit closer as he could feel her sweet breath inches away. "Me," she whispered.

How could someone so beautiful as she, not know the extent of her sexual her prowess.

"I didn't know if…what--"

But Kory silenced him as she grabbed his chin, moving it directly to face her.

"Dick, you don't have to ever worry about being anyone other than yourself with me."

Without wasting much time, she closed what bridge of air remained between them and barely touched the rim of his lips, however not long enough to enjoy it as he surprisingly pulled away.

Kory blinked back in confusion, not quite understanding his gesture. He doesn't want to kiss me?

A mental recite of her friends' earlier arguments played repetitively in her mind. Was every single word they critiqued her with correct? It means you're into a guy who's clearly not into you.Was her strong intuition mistaken all along? No she would tell herself, what they shared was both, real and mutual. She had mass amounts of faith in what she felt.

"I'm sorry. I just…"

Her eyes danced with his, a lonesome song. "What?"

He raised himself off the floor and scratched the back of his head despairingly. He gazed at her, his eyes full of upheaval. "Look, maybe we shouldn't do this."

She repeated his words, first mentally then back to him, uncertain if she heard correctly. "We shouldn't do this?"

"It's not…I'm not--"

With mild upset, "You make love to me and we shouldn't do this?"

He looked on, hating himself every second for hurting this way. This wasn't his intention.

But this didn't stop Kory from brazenly raising out of her seat. "I'm falling for you…and we shouldn't do this!" she exclaimed with a strong trace of disbelief.

Surely he couldn't have heard correctly. Someone with such spirit, such grace, such love…everything he's not, couldn't possibly want him. It wasn't right for her to want to be with him. He was at a distant loss of words and all he could do was stand there gazing at her endlessly, frozen beyond belief.

"Did you even hear--"

"I heard you," he said deadly serious, refusing to say anything else.

"Aren't you going to say anything?"

"…Dick?" she urged. "Say something."

"You don't know what you're talking about, Kory. You're confused is all."

"I'm not confused. I know exactly how I feel."

"You shouldn't fall for someone like me."

Not again! She ran a hand through her ruby mane with this sudden relapse of déjà vu, confliction swimming through her veins. No…not this time. "Would it kill you to be honest with me?"

"Fine. You want a better reason. Because someone like me couldn't give you what you needed."

"Is that so?" she replied with a thwarted temper. "But I suppose someone like you could give Babs exactly what she needed, right?" she huffed once more. "I mean, why should anything I say matter. After all, I'm just someone who was fun for awhile, right?"

Seconds ticked for what seemed like an eon as Dick's muteness was becoming too much for her to bear.

"Great…thanks," her voice broke. She meant it to be sarcastic remark, but he heard the hurt in her pitch. Did he lose the use of his tongue, or was he simply too much of a recreant to speak.

Luckily, things became exceptionally clear for him once he saw her trying to get a hold of Silkie, possibly so she could leave. Ridden with panic, he immediately snapped out of his gutless state and instantly blocked her way from retrieving the ferret and stopped her.

She backed away from him, defiantly crossing her arms. Was she even interested in what he had to say?

"Wait. That's not what I meant." He approached her cautiously but loosened a bit when Kory attentively carried on his every word. "What I wanted to say was…Babs is…Babs," he said plainly. "But you…you deserve someone so much better. I'm just not sure I could be that person for you."

Mature feelings of the exact consequence shrouded her when she remembered the same tired line come from Xavier, long ago when she admitted her feelings to him. Now, she simply didn't want to hear any of it.

"That's complete bull and you know it."

"Excuse me?"

"Why are you doing this, Dick?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"Yes you do. This charade…this game, it's not working anymore. I'm tired…ok. Tired. I've been trying so hard to help you get back with this woman, God knows why."

Dick opted to remain quiet, rather stupefied from the sudden turn of events.

"You know as well as I do, this isn't about Babs anymore," she continued.

"I know what you're suggesting and you're wrong."

"I'm wrong?

"Yes."

"Lately, you've barely even mentioned her name to me. Why?"

He knew plenty well why he hadn't mentioned Babs's name for a time. She wasn't the one who consumed his thoughts. She wasn't the one who he longed to see. Babs wasn't the one he needed.

"You can't even tell me, you're so scared." To him, this conversation had now been taken too far.

"I'm not scared of anything, alright." He decided it was best if he left the room as he didn't feel the need to discuss the issue any longer. Or simply, he hated being faced with having to deal with any of his emotional trials at the moment.

"No Dick!" She ran after him before he had a chance to leave. She moved in front of him, she could feel the warmth and pounce of his chest reminding her that he was perhaps getting impatient.

"Please don't avoid this."

"I'm not trying to avoid anything."

"Fine, then tell me why."

"Why what?"

"Why are you afraid?"

"Afraid of what, Kory! What do you want me to say! What am I afraid of!"

"Of me…of us…of the truth! You're scared to show me how you feel. At least I can be honest with you."

She looked away shamefully for a split moment though decided she hadn't any reason to be ashamed of how she felt and continued with her heartfelt confession.

"I've never met anyone like you before."

"Kor--" however, she stopped him from intervening, wishing to get this out in the open.

"…and maybe I'm the one that doesn't deserve you--" she continued earnestly.

"Don't say that. Don't ever say that."

"Do you still love her, Dick?" He remained eerily quiet but faced toward the ground solemnly. Kory could only assume he refused to answer for fear of hurting her.

"I don't know," he shrugged. "Maybe in a way, I think I do. We were together for so long…I'm lost about what I feel anymore."

"That day at the circus, after the picnic--"

"I can't forget about that," he added. "My mind keeps replaying everything. You…me…us."

"Understand, I don't normally do that…unless it's with someone I have feelings for. Strong feelings."

"I know. It's just…" he sighed quietly.

"Just say it, please."

"With Babs, I begin to think that I know what I want," he spoke with mild frustration.

"But with you. You're everything I see, everything I feel," he said, taking in her galvanizing presence. "And I become spellbound all over again."

"I feel something for you, Dick. At first, I thought it was purely physical because you're beautiful…that I just pushed it to the back of my mind like every other stupid thought. But I've realized it's not something physical. It goes so much more deeper than that. And every day that I'm with you, it grows stronger. I was stubborn and too blind to see it before. But I do now. My feelings for you were something that I couldn't stop from happening and honestly…I didn't want to."

She could feel the sudden wetness in her eyes. She'd never felt as emotional as she did now. But facing him now, everything was just so crystal clear to her. She dispensed her outpour of emotional ramblings and all so surprisingly easily to him.

"Kory, I've been hurt before. Many times than I care to count…because of love. My parents, Babs…I can't afford to get hurt again."

"I see," she breathed out disappointedly. "And you think that I would be the one to hurt you?"

"I don't think that. I--"

"No…I get it. You don't have to--" she sighed heavily, too tired for any more explanations.

She viewed Silkie sleeping peacefully on the edge of the couch. "You know, I should leave before things get even more…awkward." She moved past him and removed her pet off the couch, tenderly waking him.

He watched as she began making her way out of the room, but just before completely exiting, she turned to him. "Just so you know, Dick. I would have died before I ever allowed you to get hurt."

Not waiting for a response, not that he had many of those tonight, she left the room. She traveled awhile before finally reaching the same mahogany door. Through a faint struggle, she opened it but viewed as something forced it closed abruptly.

Unknown to her, all this time Dick had trailed behind her, ensuring that she wouldn't get away. Once they both reached the door, he shut it compellingly, using his hand to block her from leaving.

Quickly, she tilted her head behind her and found Dick only inches away from her face. It was then that he boldly spoke up…

"I am certain of my feelings for you. We both know that. But I need for you to be sure of your feelings for me. Because if you are, then all I need to know is one thing," he said as he moved closer to her.

She nodded for him to continue.

"When you said the day you found the right guy, he'd be loved--"

"I meant every word of it."

That was all the answer he needed as he mindlessly pushed her against the door, commanding a passionate kiss. Automatically, she wrapped her arms around his neck. The deepened contact of their lip's embrace grew furiously until a bang at the door interrupted them.

"Of course…of course this would happen now," he ridiculed with his lips still pinned against Kory's mouth, causing her to giggle humorously at his whine. Still, the knock didn't cease.

"Go away," he hollered, with a mild grin despite the growing loudness and urgency of the bang.

"Let me…just," he offered apologetically before giving her a last kiss. Opening the door, he shouted.

"What!"

Quickly his irritated countenance morphed into a horrified expression while Kory's eyes widened in fright. There standing outside the door was Babs, a battered and emotional mess of a girl. Nothing like the vibrant and pretty woman who only a mere days ago tested Kory's determination for the same man.

"Oh my--," Kory gasped, raising a concerned hand to her mouth.

"Babs?" he called to her, letting go of Kory almost immediately to tend to the poor woman. "What happened to you?"

"Dick, please help me," she cried as she lunged towards him, sparing no time to latch onto his waist.

---

No need to tell me how long it took me for this chapter, I already know I'm a mean bucket. I had some personal problems come my way and well…

Thanks to everyone for the thoughtful reviews. I really, really appreciated them, especially now when I needed them the most. I'm not sure if I'm able to reply to your reviews on here since I'm too lazy to check the rules. But anyways, I thought I'd give a little props to all of you personally. I think all my loyal readers deserve a little of my recognition for their inspiring words.

Aahhh…summers here so perhaps I'll have more time for updates. Thanks again for reading!

longhairedhorse: I have to say you are by far one of my favorite reviewers. You always push me to do better and I truly want to thank you for that. Even more, I have read your stories and they are remarkable, as is your flair for writing.

samuraigurl1213: You're enthralled and I'm happy. I'm hoping the alerts are working this time but I won't hold my breath. Thanks for reviewing.

cartoonstar: Yeah, I always felt deep down RedX has some sense of goodness in him, even if he didn't show it much. I'm glad you like the whole Dick+Kory saga. And yes, you should have a bad feeling about "that weirdo guy". On a plus, everyone is starting to realize "hey, maybe there is someone out there for me too." And thanks for the positive reply.

lalala5812: Nice to see you're adoring this story. After proofreading the last chapter, I literally slapped my forehead from sheer stupidity. But oh well, it was funny so I decided to leave it in. Thanks for reviewing.

ComixFan1224: You want to talk about character development, your stories are all about character development. I wish I had an articulate mind such as yours. As for Gar+Rachel, if you read this then you'd know that they didn't have such a great time and why they didn't. But not all great romances have a great beginning.

Jadare: You loved the chapter and I loved your review. I guess we're even. Just kidding, but really thanks for reviewing. I welcome input whenever I can get it.

milkshakelvr: The person in the closet would be Dinah. She's the one who came by to see Babs in the first place but overheard she and Helena going over their plan. She hid in the closet downstairs not wanting to be seen when she heard them coming closer. She might not seem important now but she will be later on. And the blonde guy with one eye…(coughsSladecoughs)

RoseXxxXThorn: Of course, you're in my "thanks thing". I value your feedback because it's

reviewers such as yourself who show the writer if they're doing a good job or not. So I do 'preciate it.

sb1: I really would like to thank you for all the help you've given me. And thanks for the much needed pre-post feedback. I've enjoyed chatting with you throughout all this. For all those readers out there who are in need of a good story, please check out hers. She an amazing authoress with a natural ability to drown the reader with interest. Btw, it's funny that you should mention how "when I read this story I feel like I'm watching it."Mainly because that's exactly what I do when I'm writing it. I picture them acting out what I want them to do. It helps the words flow faster…it's an odd approach but it's a great tactic for me. And no, I'm not part of any S.S.W. Club. But I say, hey let's start one.

Spread-My-Wingz-And-Soar: Just wanted to say a little "thanks" for every review you've ever left me, even with my old story. 'Preciate it a lot. I love reading your stories as well. You are talented.

BonitaChickia: Yeah Babs does seem pretty desperate, huh? Maybe it's true love…(I'm rolling my sarcastic eyes here) Btw…I like your stories too.

FL: I'm really glad you liked it. I only hope you continue to like the rest of the plot. And I'll try to update sooner. A lot sooner.

silentxangel: Well Babs is going through some tough times right now…I guess. Dick is somewhat sure of his feelings for Kory but he doesn't want his heart broken again. As for Mr. Eyepatch…well I'm sure after this chapter you know who he is (wink, wink).

Crimson Black: Wow, is it really you? I've missed reading your reviews or heck even your story. No update for months. But I totally understand how hectic life's schedules can be. I'm glad this story is intensifying. And don't worry, our favorite stud, Xavier, isn't done yet…not by a long shot. However, I can tell you that life is going to get awfully complicated for him. I know…I know, I'm a mean bucket.

Animalgurl55: Thanks for the review. I should have opted for "Richard" instead. Even with that, I'm crossing my fingers that you enjoyed this chapter as well.

Dark's Soul Mate: Hey, it's one of my loyal reviewers since It's This Simple. Thanks for reviewing from the beginning. Your words always mean a lot to me. Oh and I love your stories, please keep them coming.

starfangurl89: Hey, I'm a star fan girl myself. Where have I been? I fell of the face of the Earth for awhile. Sorry. Truthfully, school and work…and friends don't seem to want to leave me alone. Yes, the new guy is Slade and he never usually means good news. I'm glad you like my rendition of Kory+Dick. Thanks.

skye668: Thanks for the review, short and straight to the point. I'm glad your enjoying it.

Starfire Grayson Anders: Thanks for the reply. Slade has invaded my story, yes. Well our dear Richard has finally admitted to himself…and everyone else how he feels about her. But what's going to happen next…hmmm. Give me a cookie and I might squeal like a stoolie.

Nightwing's Gurl 2023: I'm sorry to have kept you up so late. I'll make it up to you, I promise. Don't fret about the "book-like review". Honestly, I love long reviews. I think it encourages me to write faster or put some hard thought into my words. Thanks again.

BeastBoy4pres052: Well BB definitely has my vote for president (I think that's what your name means, right?). Just as long as he doesn't put a ban on all meat products. I'd really like to thank you for reviewing practically every chapter. I tried focusing a little more on him in this chapter, can you tell? So now you have an idea of what happened long ago in his life.

XxStarRobinxX: No need to beg, sweets. I'm glad you love this story. Thanks for reviewing.

Obsessed714: Sorry to make you wait. But hey, I updated…right? (scratches head nervously) I hope it was worth the wait. Tell me what you think…

Starsoffire: Hey! Sorry you got in trouble, let's not let that happen again, shall we? Glad to know that you think that this story is 'effin amazing. I figure if you all can take time to read this story AND review, then I need to make it worthwhile. I hope it's up to par so far.

Harry Potter Fan 1994: All I can say is that this will NOT be a Babs+Dick story in the end, despite how it may seem now. Just typing their names so closely together gives me disturbing chills. Thank you for thinking it's awesome though.

BerryDrops: Glad you love it so far. And here's hoping you'll continue to love it. Thanks for reviewing.

BookWormSchnitzel: Danke! I'm glad you're enjoying this story thus far. How about if you keep reviewing and I'll keep udating. Deal?

PS…I so want to visit Germany. Lucky you, you get to live there for free (well not technically "for free" but you get the idea).

puppyeyes135: Oh let me just say, I'm not done with Helena. And I too am a RedX+Star fan, so I'll see what I can do for them. Thanks for the reviews on all my stories. It's great that you liked them. Hope to hear more from you.

Ash Wednesday: Thanks for reviewing this one as well. I'm glad you're enjoying it. I'm a fellow RedX+Star girl, I think we're growing in numbers!