hey you guys! So in loving the reviews! Yes, I'm sad that they're broken up:( but no worries, good luck is coming. This is a short chapter because I wanted to get something up for you guys! Enjoy and don't forget to review my loves!

~Xoxo, Rosie

Chapter 12: Fight for what you love

Kori stepped out of Alain's sleek, dark blue Corvette and tugged at the tight fitting dress that Jade had picked out for her. It was thigh high, black, and pretty revealing. Her hair was perfectly straight and cascaded down her back and her makeup was pretty heavy.

"I'm not so sure about this you guys." Kori said uneasily as she stared at Cassie's three story, Malibu Barbie house.

Jade walked up next to her and hooked an arm through hers. "Trust me. Ya look good!"

Alain and Gar walked up next to the two girls looking fresh. Cassie's house was blaring with music and you could see the colorful lights shining in the window. A few people were heard splashing around in the pool in the back. If that pool wasn't heated, then those people were drunk.

"Ready?" Alain asked them.

"No."

"Ahh yeah!"

"Totally."

They walked up to the door and prepared for their entrance. Jade still had her arm hooked through Kori's and after taking a deep breath, they walked in.

As the music still blasted, all eyes turned to Kori. To them, she was the nerdy girl who was transformed to a goddess, dated Richard Grayson, and got played by Richard Grayson.

"Uhh, lets go get a drink." Jade said to a frozen Kori.

Kori shook out of her trance and took a deep breath. She could do this. She wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing her broken.

Gar and Alain had already raced to the dance floor and began to dance away. Soon, the crowd of people went back to dancing and it seemed that the whole entrance was suddenly forgotten.

As Jade filled up two cups with beer from a keg that sat on the giant marble counter, Cassie came up to the two girls with Conner trailing behind.

"Holy crap, Jade, Kori! I'm so happy you came." Cassie threw her arms around both girls.

Kori hugged her tightly, happy that her and Cassie were still friends. "Me too. Your house is amazing by the way."

Cassie shrugged and said, "Thanks darlin. Uh...have you talked to Richard at all?"

Kori pursed her lips and looked down. Conner and Cassie realized that this wasn't the best question to ask.

"Hey," Conner started, "Keep your head up."

Kori smiled and nodded. After waving goodbye to the brilliant couple, she turned to Jade.

"So what do you want to do?" She asked her best friend.

"Wellll..." Jade smiled sheepishly and looked to the dance floor. "I kind of want to dance.."

That was the last thing Kori wanted to do. But she didn't want to bum Jade out so she downed the rest of her beer and followed her out to the dance floor.

Together, the two girls danced away without a care in the world. Kori actually felt pretty great and enjoyed the exciting buzz that ran throughout her body. Jade and her were in the middle of the dance floor enjoying themselves not caring about the drunkards that continued to push up on them. Everything was going just fine.

Until Kori locked eyes with Richard.

He stood about ten feet away from her with Rachel by his side. He wasn't dancing or drinking or even talking. He was just standing there staring at her with those piercing blue eyes she'd tried so hard to forget.

Kori stopped dancing long enough to look at him. But she quickly looked away reminding herself that she was here to have a good time. Not fretting over the fact that she'd got played by some guy who doesn't care about her. Or does he...

"Ouch!" Kori shouted as she felt her fort being crushed. She looked around and saw that the crowd was caving in on her. "Jade?" She shouted over the loud music. A few seconds ago, Jade was right beside her and now she was gone.

Kori forced her way through the crowd but failed miserably. "JADE!?" She screamed. She was in desperate need to get out of this hectic crowd.

All of a sudden, she felt a hand grope her butt. She jumped slightly and turned around. A guy she didn't recognized stared smugly at her. He looked like he was from Gotham.

"Hey there sweetheart, wanna dance?" He asked.

Kori grimaced and quickly moved away from him. Thankfully, she made it out of the horde of people and ended up at the bottom of the stairs.

She began to head up the flight of stairs in desperate need to find her best friend. Or Alain or Gar or somebody she knew. But there was no sign of anyone. Maybe coming here wasn't such a great idea.

"Shit." She cursed as she realized she'd left her cellphone back at Jade's house.

"Damn." Someone said from behind her.

She whisked around and came face to face with Seymour Davis. He was eyeing her up and down and biting his lip at the same time. She frowned and was thoroughly tired of all the creeps tonight.

"Can I help you?" She spat as she pulled her tight dress down a little lower.

Seymour moved closer and his breath smelled of beer and a lot of vodka. "Yes you can."

Kori groaned and started to head downstairs again. "Listen, I'm really busy and I don't-MMM!" She was cut off by Seymour grabbing her and smashing his lips against hers.

She pushed him back roughly and slapped him hard against the face. "What the hell!?" She screamed at him.

Seymour clutched his cheek and laughed. "You're gonna pay for that one sweetheart." He drew back his fist and Kori gasped slightly.

But the powerful blow never came.

When she opened her eyes, a fist had caught Seymour's. She looked behind her and saw Richard.

"Touch her again and I'll rip your tongue out of your mouth." Richard said grimly. His tone was full of pure venom.

Seymour looked like he'd just saw his best friend get shot. Before he could even say anything, Richard pushed him off and dismissed him from his sight.

Kori cradled her right arm and looked down. Richard stood there in his right jeans and black shirt and didn't say anything.

"Kori..." He started to say but that was all it took for her to start crying.

"I have...to go." She said while she sniffed.

She began to walk down the stairs but Richard caught her hand. "Wait! Kori, you can't leave like this!"

"Sure I can. Watch me." She headed down the stairs but Richard wasn't going to give up. He followed her down and out the front door, not bothering to bring an umbrella in the freezing rain.

"Kor! It's raining and it's freezing! I know you didn't come here by yourself and I know you're not planning on walking."

Kori stood on the long driveway, the rain pelting down on her. She wondered when it had started to rain like this. Turning around to face Richard she said, "I've been through worse."

That hurt him.

He hated feeling like this. How many times did he have to say sorry?

"I'm sorry! That bet should've never happened and you should've never found out that way!" He walked down the steps to meet her on the driveway, not caring how wet he got. He took her hands in his and looked down intently at her. "I made that bet before I got to know the real you."

Kori stared up at him, fully aware that he looked like a hot mess right now. Her mascara was running down her face from the tears and her hair was flattened and tangled from the rain.

"Richard..." She looked down and her lip quivered. "I'm sorry too." She slowly began to drift away from him until finally, their hands were no longer touching.

He was left standing there, watching her run down the side walk barefoot. Once again, he'd lost this battle.

TT

"So you finally talked to her and apologized, you even saved her from that kid Seymour! And she still hasn't forgiven you?" Roy said and poured some lucky charms into a bowl.

Richard sipped on his orange juice and nodded. "Yeah. And then she ran away."

Roy laughed a short laugh. "Running away is a habit of hers."

"Yeah. It is. Maybe I should chase after her next time. Maybe that'll make a difference." Richard's voice was monotonous and he stared at the orange beverage in his glass.

Just then Cassie and Conner walked in, hand in hand. Just what Richard needed to see.

Once Cassie took sight of Richard, she frowned and walked over to him. "Hey buddy, lighten up. She'll come around eventually."

Her bubbly voice reminded him of Kori. "I can't wait any longer, Cass. It just might kill me."

Cassie, Conner, and Roy all looked at each other. Then Roy looked at Richard and said, "Dude, you're in love."

Richard scooted out of the barstool he was in and grabbed an apple out of the blue bowl that sat on the counter. He started to leave but Conner's voice made him stop. "Fight for what you love man."

Hearing this, Richard felt tears in his eyes. But he refused to cry, especially in front of his friends. With his back still turned he said, "I'm willing to do anything." He took a deep breath and turned to face his friends.

Roy walked around the counter with the bowl of cereal in his hands. When he came face to face with Richard he took a large bite of the cereal.

"Really dude. You're gross." Richard said backing away and taking a seat back next to Cassie. He actually liked the little island with barstools in Cassie's kitchen. It was so...Cassie.

After Roy was done chewing and swallowing he set his bowl down. "I am hungry! And, I was gonna say I have a plan."

"You having a plan? That's new." Rachel said as she walked through the doorway.

Roy glared at her as she began to make herself a cup of coffee. "Actually, Rachel, it's a really good plan."

Now, the ginger had everyone's attention. "Okay here's how it's gonna go..."