I forgot to explain my catwoman-Esq quote last chapter. I am a huge fan of the Batman movie franchise especially after I saw the Dark Knight. Batman Returns happens to be one of favorites, and Catwoman is my favorite villain. Tefnut Talvi was the first person to catch that. Anyways on with the story.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans
-"I'm the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life. It's awful." The Catcher in the Rye, 1951-
"What else?" he asked kissing her bare shoulder. He leaned in closer to her naked body, her back pressed against his chest. She smelled like jasmine and vanilla. It was moments of vulnerability, like these that Garfield enjoyed the most. Raven didn't let her guard for just anyone. It made him proud that he was breaking her shell.
"I'm alergic to raw onion." she said staring straight ahead into the darkness. Raven, was the opposite. She had been betrayed by men so many times in her life, she wasn't sure if she could ever trust them again. Gar though, damn him, was persistant and caring. As dfficult as it was for her to even admit, she may have been falling for him. She sometimes thought she should've been born as a man. If he had been born as a man she would not care that she sucked at relationships.
She rolled over so that she was facing him. This is how their nights had been, for the past few weeks. They'd stumble into a cab trying to hold off the best the could. They'd be half undressed before the front door was unlocked, and then they'd screw like animals barely a word between them for the rest of the night. On the great chance they didn't make it to the bedroom, they'd just do it on the couch or the floor...or the table...or against a wall.
This bliss had been the same at one point with Malcolm, they'd have sex night after night after night, and eventually he got bored. Would Gar get bored too? Granted Raven always kept things interesting but, something about that y chromosome...
Before Gar could say another word his cell phone rang. He sighed, reaching over the side of the bed he felt around in the dark for his pants. He finally found them threw on the floor. "Hello?" he sighed into the phone. "Kory, I can't-...I can't underst...Kory, listen to me I can't understand you! What? What! Uh-" he said rubbing his eyes, and pulling his pants on. "Alright I'll be there soon."
"What's going on?" Raven asked sitting up.
"I don't really know right now, but Kory really needs me."
At this moment Gar didn't care about any stupid chick fight Raven and Kory were having. Kory was his friend and he supported her no matter what. Personally he blamed the entire fight on Dick. Raven deserved the job and he and everyone else knew it. He caused the ripple in girl world. Garfield pulled his jacket on and raced out her room, into the hallway, down the stairs, out of the emergency exit, and into the street. On the phone Kory sounded hysterical and frantic, he needed to get to her quickly.
Gar flagged down a taxi, and hopped inside. His cell phone rang again. "Hello?" he panted into the phone. "I'm on my way...right now...yes...no. I'll see you when get there...In like ten minutes. Okay, bye." he leaned in the back of seat.
Kory what the hell have you gotten into?
Kory was pacing around her living room. The table was littered with tissues. When was Gar going to get there? The anxiety was devastating. She needed to talk to someone, anyone she could trust. She couldn't tell Dick, that would be missing the point. She had actually considered calling Raven, after all they had handled the black mailer incident. She really didn't think Raven would do something so petty as to rat her out to Dick, but Kory wasn't going to take that chance.
There came the blessed knock at the door. Gar stuck his head in. "Kory what the hell is going on?"
"Oh my... what took you so long! I'm going crazy here." she said pacing again. "I can't believe this is really really happening to me. Could my life get any worse? I swear every time I think I am that close to being happy or being in love, or anything like that something happens. Something bad. Someone lies or cheats or gets arrested." She fell on the couch and began bawling into the throw pillows.
Gar reluctantly moved into the living room and consoled her. Kory never acted like this. She wasn't secretive. She didn't lie. What was happening to her? Was everyone losing their minds? Gar felt a wave of anger wash over him. Anger directed, or displaced, at Dick. He'd known Kory for years, and she'd never been like this. She was innocent and sweet. Not coniving or deceitful. Dick was turning her into something she wasn't. Gar wasn't sure he liked it. When Raven did it, it was sexy. When Kory did it, it was disturbing.
He sighed. "Kory, do you have any plans to tell me what the hell your talking about." He waited for the tears to subside into gaspy hiccups. She sat up and wiped her reddened eyes on the sleeve of her sweater. She blew her nose into a tissue.
"He's back." she said quietly.
"Who's back?"
"Xavier, he is in town. He...he is on this business trip and he knows about Dick. He sent out someone, a professional, to track me down." she swallowed hard. "He says he's been looking for me since I left him. He's been looking for me for over eight years. He spent something like- uh I don't know thirty thousand dollars or something like that to find me. He's here to try and sell some of his helicopters to Wayne Enterprises. He has a meeting with Dick the day after tomorrow, a luncheon. He's going to tell him, I know he is."
Kory took a deep breath. Gar didn't know what to say. He'd known Kory since high school and the only reason he didn't think that it was a big deal that she had not told anyone was because he knew it did not define who she was. He knew what that marriage had done to her. She needed to get out, she was not safe. This was getting exhausting. Everyone was always lying and keeping secrets.
Gar handed Kory another tissue. "He's going to hate me. There's no way he could ever love me after Xavier gets done with him."
"Not if you tell him first." Garfield answered rubbing her back.
"I can't." she said quietly.
"God, can't anyone just tell the truth anymore! Really wouldn't life be that much easier if you were honest with him. If you love him and I think you do, you should get rid of all the skeletons in your closet. Sure maybe he'll be upset at first but at least he knows you love and trust him enough to be honest with him. And if he doesn't big fucking deal. Then he so isn't right for you in the first place." He was standing up now.
It was not until then that Gar realized he did not keep any secrets from Raven. If he had a double life he wanted her to be part of both of them. Sure there were some things he wasn't proud of but, it is not like he killed anyone.
Kory jumped up angry. "Oh no, not this again. God, Gar I am so sick of you and your self righteous my love life is so fucking perfect charade. You think you know everything about her. You think you love her, but you don't know anything about her."
"Oh and you do?"
"Fuck, I know way more about Raven than you do, just because Dick talks to me. She doesn't talk to you about shit. You don't even know about the-"
"Time she was arrested?" Kory expression softened. "Yeah, I know because she told me months ago. Unlike Dick she wasn't so ashamed about it had to keep it a secret." She picked up and scarf laying on the tossed it against the wall. What was happening to them? They never use to fight like this.
It was another inevitable truth of the change that the city had brought them. In ten short months it had turned them from a tight knit clan, into screaming rivals. He loved Kory and he knew this was about him not siding with her, but he loved Raven also. He was beginning to dislike Dick, but he'd never tell that to Kory because he made her happy. Sometimes as friends you needed to take one for the team.
"Fuck you." she said quietly.
Garfield shook his head. "What has happened to us Kory? We never use to be like this. We use to be like brother and sister. Ya know I've stood by you, even when I saw you, YOU Kory Anders becoming this, this, this person who isn't you at all. I've supported you through your relationship and you can't even return the fucking favor. So I'm done." he began walking to the door, his back not facing her. "Call me when Kory gets back. Until then you can weather this storm alone."
With those final words Gar quietly shut the door. Kory sat on the floor surrounded by a sea of used and wrinkled tissues. With her back against the couch. She waited. She waited for Gar to come back, tell her he was joking. Garfield was a jokster, he would come back.
He never did.
Kory stared at the black television, smeared mascara running down her cheeks. For the time in along time, maybe even ever, she was completely alone. Even when she was trapped in that horrid, destructive marriage she had Garfield cheering her on. Now she didn't even have him. She was alone. But that didn't mean she had to be.
She stood up and slowly walked into the bathroom, her rationality and desire to feel happy battling each other out. After her accident last month her doctor had given her a bottle of pain relievers that doubled as sleep aids. She had only taken it once because vicodinwas known to be highly addictive. When she took it she felt good, and unusual high. She pulled out the bottle that had been banished to the back of her medicine cabinet.
She sighed and decided to take two to start off slow. She looked at the tiny, white pills in her hand. Before she could think about what she was doing she threw them into her mouth, and dry swallowed them.
It was not like Kory to abuse prescription pills, but neither was anything else she had been doing lately.
Kory vaguely remembered what happened the rest of the night. Just blurry flashbacks of drinking and she pretty sure she drunk dialed Dick in the middle of the night. She woke up fallen half way out the bed. She did not remember the events of last night. The unexpected visit from Xavier, the fight with Garfield. The vicodin made her forget. Well at least for a little while. Kory was startled by the sudden ring of the phone. She tumbled head first out of bed.
She felt around her nightstand for the phone. "Hello?" her voice came out raspy. She had not realized how dry her mouth was.
"Hey." came Dick's somewhat sad sounding voice. "Um, I just called to tell you that..." she heard him sigh on the other end of the phone. "I just wanted to let you know I will not be going into work today."
"What?" she said groggily. "Oh, Okay." Dick said goodbye and hung up before Kory could say anything else. He seemed really on edge. Kory was actually glad he was not going to be there. It bought her another day away from Xavier. She get up, showered, and made her way to work. She was going over strategies in her head.
She'd go over to Dick's that night get him drunk, no. She'd go over wearing nothing but a trench coat, no. She could go over there in a turtle neck, totally sober and tell him everything. Yes. That seemed like the only ethical thing there was to do. Kory was so distracted in her thoughts she didn't notice the chaos, ensuing around her. Co workers scrambling about trying to put together diagrams. The phones were ringing off the hook.
Kory sighed and passed by Raven's desk on the way to her office without so much as a glance. After all two could play the cold shoulder game. Raven slammed the phone back on the hook and jumped up looking slightly panicked. "Wait! Don't go in there." she said to Kory.
At first Kory was taken aback. Those were the first non threatening words Raven had said to her in two weeks. She wasn't ready to be set up. "Raven, I have a lot on my mind right now and I would appreciate it if you would keep the cattiness to yourself." she said turning back towards the door.
Raven looked indignified. "I was not being catty, I'm telling you not to go there because-"
Kory blatantly ignored her, and pushed the doors to her office open. What she saw made her gasp and drop her bag to the floor. Sitting at her chair with his feet on her desk was non other than Xavier, accompanied by a smirk of self satisfaction. Kory turned around and looked at Raven, as if she had something to do with this.
"I tried to tell you." Raven said. Kory knew she got some sick kick out of this. Kory shut the door around her. She gazed at her former husband with hatred and annoyance.
She sighed. "What are you doing here, Xavier?" the question was rhetorical.
The thing about Xavier Red was he was not evil or malicious. Diabolical and two faced yes, but evil no. He was debonair and handsome, a total lady's man. A whore if you will. During there ridiculous six months in that hell charaded as a marriage, Kory had come to find her independence and for that she had to thank him.
Xavier shrugged. "I told you last night I did not want anything to do with you. If I wanted anything to do with you I obviously wouldn't have left you years ago." she said finally.
Xavier sucked his teeth. "Oh dear, sweet Kory." he said standing up. "Can we not let bygones be bygones? This feud we have is silly. Silly and juvenile and below our level. I'm sure we can work something out."
"I don't want to talk to you." she said.
"I don't care. You can't keep running from me. You can't do it forever. C'mon baby we've been doing this dance for along time. Too long. Aren't you at all curious."
Kory rolled her eyes. She always hated his mind games. " I got dizzy dancing the tango along time ago. Besides just what pray should I be curious about?"
Xavier gave a echoed laugh. She had to admit even his laugh was sexy. "Why I'm here. Why after all these years I decided to come looking for you."
"Oh?" she said curiously.
"Do not worry. I'm not here to tear about your little dream life, with your executive job and your pretty boy boyfriend. Actually I'm here seeking a divorce."
"A divorce?"
He nodded his wavy brown hair locked in place. "A divorce- an annulment actually. I found an excellent lawyer and he can make our 'marriage' have never existed."
What was he playing at? They say when something seems to good to be true, it usually was. Her be free of him forever? For the rest of her life. Never having to look over her shoulder wondering if he was ever going to come back to haunt her. No more skeletons in the closet? Kory had never imagined this type of unfiltered happiness. She never could imagine how happy a life, her life, could be had she never lied or had anything to feel guilty about.
She sat down in the cushy chair across from him. "What's the catch?" she asked.
Xavier raised an eyebrow at her. "Catch? There is no catch. Do you honestly believe that, that horrible excuse for a marriage was bliss on my part. If you really think that I'm doing this for your sake, you are sadly mistaken. I don't give a damn which rich fat cat you're screwing-" he cleared his throat. "I'm sorry whoring around with to climb the corporate ladder."
She scoffed, becoming angry. "So I had to whore around to get this job? I'm not capable of getting it on my own."
"Kory be honest with yourself. It's fine half the celebrities on the front cover of any gossip rag had to suck someone's cock, to get there. It is the same in this business, and half of your co worker probably had to do it too. Prostitution is the world's oldest profession. If I walk out of this office and pull over any over their head intern they would probably confess to it. Maybe that betty outside your office, with the nice legs. Not a bad rack either."
"Stop it." Kory said firmly. "You say your sole purpose in being here is for your own benefit? What benefit are you referring to?"
He smiled at her again. "Oh details. I will tell you the course of my expedition, in time. But not here."
"When?"
He thought about it. "Well, I have business to attend to tomorrow, and a plane to catch the day after that, so say tonight at dinner." Kory shook her head. "Kory you left me. I am willing to drop whatever past we have together and all it's going to cost you is dinner with me and you're not going to accept." she knew she was defeated. "Good girl. Now I'll have my assistant call that nice, hot piece outside with information."
Kory waited several minutes until she was sure Xavier was long gone, before picking the phone and ringing Raven's desk. "Raven, cancel my meetings for tonight."
Kory felt like she had been suckered into this dinner. She should have just ditched him. She sat at a two person dinner table, in the middle of the oddly quiet but crowded Italian restaurant. She felt over dressed. She wore a simple black dress, it was casual but she felt like she was on some sort of twisted date. Kory felt like she was cheating on Dick, even though she wasn't.
What if someone saw them, and it got back to Dick? Kory felt her hands shaking, she needed to get the edge off. She unclasped the clip of her clutch and pulled out her bottle of vicodin. She looked around to make sure no one was looking, before slipping two pills into her mouth. She looked around for her glass of water. Damn it, the waitress had not brought the water yet. She took a sip of her Pinot Blanc. She wasn't suppose to take the vicodin with alcohol, but she hated dry swallowing.
"I'm surprised you showed up." Xavier said taking a seat across from her. "I thought you would bail out on me."
Kory swallowed her wine along with the pain killers. "Like wise." she said. They were silent for the next few minutes. The most interaction consisted of them reaching for the warm wheat bread. The waiter placed a sauce plate of garlic butter melt. "Thank you." she said graciously.
"That dress is a little sexy for a meeting between ex flames don't you think?" he said from behind his glass of wine.
Kory took another sip of hers, feeling the buzz coming on. "It's a simple black dress, for a simple meeting. I am however curious as to why you decided to seek me out after so long. I don't care if it's for whatever selfish agenda, I want to know why. Is it money?"
Xavier sighed and smiled at her. "Believe it or not, I wanted to find true love. I know we both thought that, that was impossible after what happened with our parents, but that wasn't our choice. It was not fair at all. Actually I did fall in love, and I want to be with her forever. After my father died last year I decided to marry her."
Kory did not know what to say. He was not the same heartless and cold person she had known years ago, he was different. He believed in love in that was sweet. "That is so...sweet."
His cheeks flushed pink. "Yeah well, I am sure you have found someone you love and want to share everything with. I at first thought marriage was a title. All you needed was a ring and a piece of paper. But two years ago Nancy got ovarian cancer, and I thought I might lose her. A few months ago she was declared cancer free so I decided I was not going to waste another minute not proving my love for her under God and everyone else."
Kory nodded. "Did you tell her about us?"
"Of course. I find it easier in life to not keep secrets from the people you love. At first I was nervous but she loved me so she accepted it. It was way worth it in the end. What about you?"
Kory cut a piece of her baked salmon. "You do not worry about me. So divorce, annulment what are we talking about?"
He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a folded white packet, with yellow high lights glided over the important details. "Technically our marriage was not legal as far as the traditional definition according to the U.S Supreme court. We indeed had what in considered a common law marriage, and since we did not carry out our duties as man and wife we can have it annulled."
"What's this?" she said pointing out the fine print, something about money.
"Because I am the enabler of the end of our marriage, you are entitled to a portion of the assets. This is monomial compensation for your pain and suffering to ensure we can skip the messy divorce details and end as this contract agrees."
"One and a half million dollars?" she said only half astounded. "You're offering me one and a half million dollars?"
"Just sign here." he said pointing to a dotted line next to where his name was already signed. Kory picked up his fountain pen and neatly scribbled her signature. She placed the pen on the table and handed him the document. "Pleasure doing business with you." he said picking up his glass.
Kory picked up hers as well, and clanked hers against his. "Like wise."
Kory woke up the next morning in an excellent mood. The best part of this whole mess being over, was she didn't even have to tell Dick, and not fear his reaction. Technically she was never married. She involuntarily took another dose of vicodin even though she wasn't suppose to have more than two in any twenty-four hour period, and it had only been about ten. She felt an extra pep in her step. Her morning was perfect.
She stepped into the elevator where coincidentally Xavier was already there. "Good morning." she said pleasantly stepping into the elevator. "Big meeting with Wayne Enterprises."
"You are in a pleasant mood today." he said adjusting his cuff links. She nodded.
"I am, I am, no offense, free. Now I can look Dick in the eye again."
He turned to her more aware this time. "Dick Grayson? That's who you've been banging? Well, then this is going to be kind of awkward." he said watching the elevator slowly move from seven to eight. Kory's eyes slanted.
She gripped her bag tighter. "Why? He doesn't know about us."
Xavier shrugged. "Not yet anyways."
Kory's stomach lurched. He had played her. All that talk about wanting to leave it in the past and starting with a clean future was bull shit. He was intentionally trying to lead her into a false sense of security, so that way she would not tell Dick, and he'd do it just to humiliate her. Everything he told her may have been a complete lie.
She shook her head disbelievingly. "But you said-"
He sighed. "Consider this compensation for my pain and suffering." Kory had to think fast. The elevator went from nine to ten. Without thinking she pressed all the buttons on the elevator panel. The conference room was on the twenty-ninth floor. If she made it to the stairs she could get to Dick in time to tell him before Xavier could.
The elevator door rung open on the tenth floor. "What the hell are you-" Kory pushed him back into the elevator and jumped out on the tenth floor. She looked around for the stair case and located it a few feet away. She pulled the gray door open and flew up the stairs, ignoring the stares of the interns. She hopped up the stairs and leaned over the side of the railing and looked upwards. She only had nineteen flights to go.
She grabbed the railing and began to run as fast as she could. If she didn't stop she could beat Xavier. She pushed herself until she got to the twenty-second flight. She was so close. Twenty-third, she could see the door to the twenty-ninth floor. She looked up and could see a figure about two flights above her. The figure glared down at her.
Xavier. He must have gotten off on one of the floors and took the stairs. Adrenaline pumped through her flesh. Kory started jumping over every other stairs. Xavier startled by her, went through the door. Shit, she lost sight of him. Kory ran faster than she ever had in her entire life, and finally made it to the twenty- ninth floor.
She burst through the door quickly glancing around for the conference room. She looked back Xavier was right behind her rounding the corner. She ran for it. He caught up to her and they both ran like a hound out of hell. It was like an episode of Terry Tate. There it was right in sight. She needed to beat him. She grabbed a wheel cart of mail and tossed it down. Xavier went down. Kory hopped over it jumped into the conference room locking the door behind her.
Dick was standing in front her looking slightly bewildered. "Kory why are you-"
"No time, don't talk just listen." she panted talked quickly. "My parents are the duke and duchess of this country you have never head of and when I was eighteen they arranged for me to marry this heir to achieve perfect financial stability or something like that. So anyways we were married for about six months and then I ran away and didn't see him again until two days ago. So he came here to tell me he wanted a divorce, and the man you're about to do business with his my ex husband and I'm really really sorry I didn't tell you the truth, but I'm telling you now so we can work out the details later, but right now you needed to know so he wouldn't tell you and ruin our relationship."
Dick barely caught any of that. "Uh okay...what was they part about the...and the um...who now?"
Kory groaned. "Man coming in right now, is-was my husband." Suddenly the door unlocked revealing a frazzled looking intern and Xavier. "I'll explain later, but right now you have a meeting."
"Kory, I don't have a meeting right now." Kory was shocked. "I got this message two days ago, something about stocks."
Oh. My. God. He set this whole thing up. It was all a pun to tell Dick. He had played her. It was just like in The Scarlet Letter all Xavier cared about was his honor. Maybe that whole story about his sick lover was true, but none of that mattered. He was disgraced, disgraced by Dick. "So," Xavier said. "You're the son of a bitch whose been screwing my wife." he said marching over to Dick.
"Look, I don't know who you are but you can't come marching into here making accusation." Dick said defensively. "Now if you have got a problem with me-"
Xavier shoved him "You're damn right I've got a problem with you." Kory grabbed Xavier arm and pulled him back.
"Don't!" she warned him. He pulled back his other hand and slapped her in the face.
"You stay out of this!" That's when it happened. Dick never thought he'd need to use this skill in his life, but he pulled back his fist and right hooked it and let it go flying into Xavier's eye. Everyone in the room gasped. Xavier stumbled backwards, but did not stay down for long. He jabbed Dick right square in the nose. There was a sickening crack, and blood gushed onto his clean white shirt. Before the fight could continue security came in looking confused and hailed Xavier's ass into the holding room on the first floor.
Dick spent the rest of the morning getting his nose looked at and repeating his story to three security officers, and then two NY PD officers. He held an ice pack to his face. "I still can't believe you won't put on a bandage. Hold your head back."
"I don't need a bandage, I'm fine." he said again. He voice sounded wheezy from breathing through his mouth. "So married huh?"
Kory took deep breath. "It's a long story."
"I'd love to hear it over dinner."
Kory's head snapped up. "So you don't hate me?"
Dick took the ice off his face, and placed it on the table with a sigh. "Of course not. Kory, I could never hate you, and frankly I am shocked that you ever thought that I would. If I've given you any reason to think so, I am sorry."
Kory smiled. "Let's face it we have not been totally honest with each other. So let's make a promise, no more secrets." she kissed his hand. "I'll be right back."
As Kory left to grab a taxi, she passed Raven without a word. They were getting really good at ignoring each other. Raven handed Dick a new shirt. "Thanks." he said.
Raven nodded, and turned to leave. "Wait." he said. He had been noticing this subtle change in Raven. She didn't argue anymore, no more witty sarcastic comments, like she'd lost the will to fight. Secretly Raven was more disappointed about losing the partnership than she lead on. Her best friend of like forever had chosen a girlfriend over her, after all the sacrifices. In the first few days Raven expected Kory to quit, but a the days turned into weeks she saw that, that was not a possibility anymore.
"Is there something wrong?" he asked.
"It's nothing-"
"Raven."
She took a deep breath. "It's just lately I been having these really bizarre-"
Before she could finish Kory came back holding their coats. "The cab is here, we don't want to be late." she said, again not acknowledging Raven's presence.
Dick gave Raven an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, can we finish this later."
She scoffed and headed to the door. "Just...forget it." she said.
Raven did not think Dick felt guilty about irking his duties as her friend. Ever since he started dating Kory his wholelife was Kory Kory Kory Kory Kory Kory Kory. My God, she was dating too but it didn't mean it was her whole life. Raven pulled on her black trnach coat, and walk out into the drizzly New York night. She saw Gar standing by the frosty water fountain outside the building. Without a word she leaned on the side of the fountain next to him.
"Hey," she said solemly. "What's going on with you."
"I think I'm losing my best friend." he said sadly.
"Me too."
I wrote most of this today. I had really really bad writer's block. Not just for this but in general. The next one will be up way sooner. Don't you hate it when a friend gets boyfriend and that becomes their entire life? Well, that was the inspiration for this chapter. I hope you liked it, I know it was really really Kory centric. I had not orginalli intended it to be that way, but that's the way it came out. More people are in the next chapter.
Chapter theme song: When You're Gone, Avril Lavigne