Transcendental

A carefree, daredevil playboy with a tortured soul. A shy, traumatized artist with a past. This is a story of two broken people healing each other, overcoming the past and looking towards a brighter future.

Author's Note: Thank you for your patience readers! And once again, thank you for the reviews and criticism. I know this is a different take of Robin and Starfire, but I at least hope you are enjoying each chapter so far. Thank you to j. schofield, teentitansluver, and JewelFire3, and to those who favored and followed, I really appreciate it.

One of you asked if this is inspired by a novel called "Speak," and the answer is no, it is not. Honestly, I have never heard of the novel. - Mayumi Y.

Warning: Out of character-ness. Mild language. A tiny graphic scene with blood. Some bullying.

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans, any DC Comics based materials, and Honda Civic.

Transcend(ental): to overcome or surpass something (a goal, an experience, etc.) beyond ordinary limits

Chapter 4: Trust

One of Richard's friends, a motorcycle mechanic, Ryuku Orsono, inspected the sabotaged bike. With a scowl, he commented, "Fortunately, you reacted quickly. Otherwise, you'd either be dead or half dead at the speed you were riding. Both your brake lines have been cut off. Does someone have a grudge against you?"

Richard scoffed, crossing his arms, "Too many to count."

"You better be careful," Ryuku frowned deeper, concerned for his friend. He stood up and reached to his cupboard and gave him a new helmet, "Here," he handed it to him, "You'll need it."

"Thanks, Ry."

He went back to the bike, repairing the brakes, "Do you still race?"

Richard sighed sadly and gave reasons, "Bike out of service. No money. How can I race?"

Ryuku raised an eyebrow at his money issue, "Did you fight with your dad again?"

"Yeah," Richard frowned and shook his head. "I just don't get along with him. And he keeps bugging me to quit riding motorcycles all the time."

"He's a dad, Dick," he gave a small smile. "He's just worried about you. Why don't you move back home?"

"Go home," he chuckled. "If I go home, I think I'd go crazy."

Ryuku grinned and punched Richard's arm, "But you're already crazy anyway."

He snorted and agreed, "True."

"Good morning, Mister Wilson," a group of girls greeted him as he walked through the hallway.

He had a smile on his face, "Good morning, ladies." The girls giggled and started gossiping on how hansome he looked.

There was a smug smirk on his face as he walked and was greeted by other students. Suddenly, a bare, pale arm slung over his shoulder and he felt all the blood in his body leave as he heard a voice laced in fake sweetness and honey, "Good morning, Slade." He was shoved by Richard, who still had his arm over Slade, as he conversed in a casual tone. "It seems that you have more than one side that people don't know about."

"What are you talking about?" Slade retorted, his voice a little shaky.

Richard laughed humorlessly, "Stop pretending. I almost ended up lying on a hospital bed." He brought him to a deserted hallway as classes already started, he pushed him in front of the stairs, at the edge on top. The water bottle that Slade was holding rolled down the steps. He held Slade's coat as he threatened to push him over. "Fortunately, I like thrilling and dangerous things." He leaned in closer to whisper near his ear menacingly, slightly growling, "But, Dear Mister Slade, if we're going to play, why not go all out?" He could hear him panting nervously, his chest heaving up and down.

"If it were me," Richard continued roughly. "I wouldn't leave something unfinished." He gave a hard shove, but he held on to his coat just enough to scare him. With a light, friendly pat on his back, Richard walked down the stairs.

"Oh yeah," he added as he reached the bottom. "If I remember correctly, you're driving a white Civic, right?"

The look on Slade's face was priceless.

Richard smiled and shook a taunting finger at him, "Be careful driving, Slade."

Richard had arrived late for his homeroom class and as Mr. Mod ignored him the whole time, he figured it was best to just take a nap. So he donned the hood of his black sleeveless hoodie and snored through class, while the girls ogling at his bare, muscular arms. Soon, the class ended and students were packing up their things. Suddenly, a student ran in the class room, announcing some shocking news, "Hey! You guys won't believe this! I just heard something from the administration office that Mister Wilson had just abruptly quit."

There was a flurry of conversations, gasps, and why's to this news.

Kori immediately stared at Richard, who was sleeping like a baby beside her.

Since Slade had quit teaching, a new teacher, Mr. Blood replaced him, but their class location, the theater, was still the same. Richard entered the theater with Rachel stuck on to him like a leech, "Dick, are you even listening?" He looked at the room, spotting Kori sitting on the aisle seat in the back row and Gar at the seat right in front of her. Gar was reading one of his comic book and Kori was sharpening her art pencils with a small knife.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm listening," Richard replied absently, his eyes still settled on Kori as he made his way to her.

"I heard you broke up with Rosabelle, the junior," Rachel pressed on, digging for information.

"Is that right? Why did we break up?" he mumbled back, not caring what they were talking about.

"Stop it. I mean it," she whined.

"I mean what I say too," he stated as they got nearer to the back row.

"If you don't what to say, then forget it," Rachel snorted, then changed the subject with a smile. "Hey, take me for a ride on your bike sometime."

"Uh, no," Richard answered her seriously as he made his way to his seat. "My bike gets jealous when I let girls ride on it. And then, it knocks me off the ground." As he sat down, Kori turned to her seatmate and gave a small smile before returning to her sharpening. He gladly beamed back and took out his notebook.

Rachel noticed this and narrowed her purple eyes. Feeling a little jealous, she made her way to her seat, beside Richard, and along the way, she purposely bumped her bag on Kori's back. This caused Kori to slip and cut herself as she was sharpening. "Ow," Kori quietly whimpered. This caught Gar's attention as he twisted around to see what was going on.

"Sorry," Rachel muttered and took her seat.

Richard saw this and turned to Rachel with a scowl, "Why did you do that?" He turned back to Kori, who was pressing her cut and squeezing the blood out. "You're bleeding," he observed.

"Here," he took her bleeding finger and placed it in his mouth.

Kori gaped at him, her mouth slightly open, and so did Gar and Rachel. As soon as he felt the top of his tongue, Kori pulled it out swiftly, shocked and surprised by his action. She stared at her finger, while Richard stared at her.

There was a sound of a horn and all the runners dashed through the track field. At the sidelines, Gar stretched his arms and legs, while Richard was beside him, offering to help time his run. He wore black sweatpants and a green sleeveless shirt. "By what you're doing, you've put her in a very dangerous position," Gar stated as he stretched. "Do you know that?"

"Dangerous?" Richard's eyebrows knitted in confusion. "Oh, are you referring to this?" he indicated as he gestured a finger in his mouth. "That's a habit I had since I was little."

"That's a strange habit," Gar retorted, a little angry. "It's not as if you're ugly and nobody wants you." He made his way to his track line and stretched some more, he babbled on sarcastically, "So, why do you like a simple and conservative girl who doesn't know how to take care of herself?" He sighed and warned him, "Let me tell you, if anything happens to Kori because of you, I won't get involved."

Richard stood beside him as he did his jumping jacks, crossing his arms on his chest, "Why are you so concerned about her?" As he tried to understand why Gar was being such a stiff, he realized something. Narrowing his eyes, he accused him, "Ah . . . you like Kori. Don't you?"

His green eyes popped out. "W-What are you talking about? I don't like her," Gar said, stuttering, but the blush on his face did not help prove his statement.

Richard grinned teasingly, "Yes, you do! I've suspected this for a long time. One moment you said she was weird. Next, you told me to stay away from her. What about now?"

Gar stopped jumping and faced Richard, all humor gone, "Why are you interested in Kori?"

Richard faced him, his nose inches away from Gar's, seriousness clouding his eyes, "Do you like Kori or not?"

Gar backed down, dejected as he sighed sadly, "Whether I like her or not, it doesn't matter." He bent down to a kneeling position, ready to run on the track, "Ever since high school, I've been a nobody." As soon as he said those words, he sprinted off, leaving Richard to stare at him as he ran.

The cold wind bit at her face. She felt numb. Kori's eyes were glued to the ground as Rachel stared at her menacingly. Her stare was colder than the chilly breeze.

Tara whispered in her right ear, "You've got quite an attitude lately, Anders." Then Karen whispered in her left, "Don't think you're so high and mighty just because somebody's been a little nicer to you lately."

Tara taunted further, "Do you think Dick would get serious with a girl like you?"

Kori did not say anything except hunch her back more. "Hey," Karen shoved her. "Why do you always look like that?" She hovered over her with her heels, pouting mockingly at her, "Do you think that we're bullying you?"

Tara nudged her roughly on the shoulder, sneering, "Say something."

Rachel sauntered towards her and stated frigidly, "I don't like the way you look so pitiful and miserable. Every day you hide in a corner acting pitiful. You react so slowly." She grimaced as the words formed in her mouth, "I feel sick whenever I see you." She paused and tilted her head, "You like to act pitiful, don't you?"

Despite her short height, she came face to face with a silent Kori, her hunched back making her smaller. "Today, I'll grant your wish. But I hope you'll always remember . . . never go near Dick Grayson again."

Kori whimpered as they took off her hair tie, her black coat, her gray scarf, her green sweater, and her light peach pleated skirt. The girls threw them uncaringly over the edge of the building and they either fluttered to the ground or was swept away by the wind.

Rachel walked to class with a little smirk on her face. As she sat down, Mr. Mod was writing notes for the geography afternoon class. He turned around to take attendance and was surprised to see Kori not there. "Is Miss Anders here?" Mr. Mod asked the class, a little worried. "She doesn't usually skip class."

Rachel looked at Tara and Karen, licking her lips, she answered with a smile, "Mr. Mod, she won't be coming today."

"She won't be coming?" he raised an eyebrow, then sighed. "That's strange, even Mister Logan and Mister Grayson are not here."

Rachel's head snapped up and looked at their empty seats. Mr. Mod pursed his lips, "Alright then, let's just get started. Take out your textbooks and turn to page 145."

Gar sprinted on the track, sweating, panting as he released his frustrations, stress, and thoughts.

Richard strolled on an empty hallway, opening a can of Pepsi. He made his way to the stairs, going up to the roof for a breath of fresh air and space to think. As he opened the door, he felt a strong breeze. Thankful that he had brought his red sports jacket, he raised the collar to shield the back of his neck and donned his black hood. Taking a sip of his soda, he stared at the wide college campus. As he turned his head, he noticed a redheaded girl at the corner. She had her knees bent up to her face and only had her lilac bra and panties on, nothing else. Her hair was in a mess and she hugged her knees for warmth from the cold breeze.

Richard dropped his can of soda and ran to her. Kori heard hurried footsteps and ooked up, her eyes puffed and red. Slowly, he kneeled down in front of her and whispered, "What happened?"

She sobbed, her shoulders shaking, whimpers and sniffles could be heard.

"H-How did this happen?" he asked again.

She did not look at him, her head buried in her arms.

"Was it because of me?" he whispered, getting angry at himself as each second passed by. "Who did this?"

This time, she raised her head, tears streaming down her cheeks, and whispered sadly in confusion, "Why do you care? It's none of your business. It's all because I'm too timid so people don't like me."

Richard immediately took off his jacket and draped it around her arms and shoulders. He then wrapped his arms around her to prevent her from shaking any further. "Where do you live? I'll take you home," he whispered softly.

She did not answer, and he knew what she was thinking of doing.

He gawked at her, "Let's go, you're still thinking about staying here?"

Kori stood awkwardly beside Richard's motorcycle. She was barefooted and wore nothing but his jacket. She noticed that she and Richard had nearly the same height of 5 feet and 10 inches, and fortunately, his jacket was big so it covered her panties.

"Here," Richard handed her his silver helmet. She did not take it.

"Don't tell me you want to go back to class," he scowled at her in disbelief. "You don't even have clothes?"

Kori looked at her bare toes and said quietly, recalling the words she heard him say to Rachel, "Didn't you say you don't let people ride your bike? . . . Especially females?"

Richard chuckled, a small smile on his face, "I've changed my mind. You're an exception." He stared at her, it seemed like the reason she did not want to get on the bike was not because he said he does not let people ride it. It was for a different reason.

"Ah, that's right," he murmured, nodding his head slightly. "If you get on the bike, you'll have to be very close to me." She peeked at him as he continued, "You also have to hold me really tight. You don't like men." He felt a little disappointed, "It's okay if you don't want to, forget it."

Kori gazed at him, lifting her head and her hands slowly. A gesture saying that she would accept his help.

He smiled and handed it to her, "Make sure the helmet's fastened," he instructed gently as she climbed at the back. "Aren't you cold?" she asked as her fingers brushed against his bare arms, "And where's yours?" she asked another question as she clipped it.

"No, I'm fine, you need it more than I do, and the bike only has one helmet," he grinned, starting the bike's engine. "You'd better pray for me not to get caught . . . Are you ready?" he asked as he noticed she did not hold on to him. "Hold me tight," Richard said softly. He felt Kori's delicate fingers grip his waist and then placed her hands in the pockets of his vest. He put his hood on and drove away.

Tara looked up from her textbook as she heard noise coming outside. She snapped her head to Rachel, who sat next to her, "Rachel. Do you hear that? It sounds like Dick's motorcycle."

Rachel slammed her pen down and stalked out the classroom door. Mr. Mod stood up as he shouted after her, "Miss Roth, what are you doing?" She went out the door, ignoring him, and ran outside. She saw his bike riding away and someone was at his back. She saw the familiar red hair and his sports jacket. Angrily, she slammed her palm against the balcony railing.

Gar gasped for breath, panting as he was sprawled on his back at the middle of the track field, a silly grin on his face.

Kori thought it was kind enough for Richard to briefly drop by a cheap department store to buy her slippers and shorts. As he slowed down to a stop in front of her apartment building, she climbed off and removed the helmet. Giving it back to him, she ran her fingers through her wind swept hair.

"Thank you . . . " she said softly.

He smiled charmingly at her, "Were you scared?"

"Since I got on your bike, I could only trust you." She bit her lip, "Fear wouldn't help."

Richard laughed at her, but thanked her sincerely, "Thank you for willing to trust yourself with me."

"You like to do insincere, momentary, sweet talk," Kori stated, getting straight to the point. She thanked him again, looking down at the ground as usual, "Thank you for helping me so much. You've just rescued me. Last time, you said you'd protect me. I know you didn't mean it, but I'm still very happy about it. You're very important to me," she admitted. "Because I haven't been this close to anyone for a very long time . . .

. . . Thank you," she whispered tenderly, full of meaning and admiration. And then she quickly walked away.

"Kori," Richard ran after her, gently taking her hand. "Kori . . ."

"You!" someone shouted. Richard turned and saw an older woman that looked like Kori, except she has blue eyes. "What are you doing to my daughter?" she ran to him, protecting her daughter, and shoved a hand on his shoulder, pushing him away.

"Mother!" Kori gasped. She took her hand and begged her to understand, "Mother, stop! You've got it all wrong. He wasn't going to hurt me." She looked at Richard as she explained to her mother, "Something happened at school. He rescued me and brought me home with his bike."

Luan's eyes snapped to the silver bike. Coldness ran through her.

"This is my mother," she told Richard.

"I'm sorry," Luan apologized rather frostily. "I saw Kori looking rather sad, so I asuumed the worst . . ."

Richard smiled politely, "Don't worry about it, Miss Anders. I haven't introduced myself, I'm Richard Grayson. You can call me Dick. I'm one of Kori's classmates." He held out a hand, "Nice to meet you."

Luan hesitantly shook his hand. As she was about to draw it away, she felt Richard's other hand grasp it. He looked at it in awe and wonder.

"Wow . . . so this is what a mother's hand feels like," he murmured. "It's so warm."

Luan drew her hand back and turned to her daughter, feeling alittle uncomfortable about the boy touching her, "Kori, shall we head up?" She walked passed her. Kori made no move as she stared at Richard. "Kori," she said again, a little more sternly. "Let us go."

"Oh," Kori blushed, a little flustered. "Yes, mother."

"Wait," Richard rushed. "I . . . I just wanted to ask you what you think of Gar."

Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion, "Hm?"

He chuckled, "What I mean is, do you think he's filthy? Or you really don't like him?"

She frowned slightly, "Why do you think this way?"

"Uh, what I mean is," he stuttered, not knowing how to put this and since her mother was staring at him, he decided to drop it. "Never mind, forget what I said."

She nodded her head and turned around to walk up the stairs with her mother. Kori headed straight to her room and closed the door lightly, locking it. She ran her fingers over the soft and smooth fabric of his jacket. Changing her clothes, she cloaked his jacket on a hanger and hung it near her window. She sat down on her bed and stared at it, with a smile on her face.

"You want me to be in races?" Richard asked Oliver in disbelief. "Are you sure about that?"

He decided to visit him at the hospital to check on the progress of his leg. As soon as Oliver met him, he started to mention about motorcycle racing. Richard continued to rant, "Ollie, I don't even have a bike. How can I compete?"

Oliver was sitting down on a bench, a pair of crutches beside him. "I'll get the bike ready," he assured Richard. "Maintenance and repairs aren't issues either. All you're responsible for is riding the bike."

He gawked at him, and Oliver sighed.

"Dick, don't you want to be a GP rider?" he asked the boy who he has considered as his son. "Then you must perform well in some international races before being qualified for GP."

Richard looked down, deep in thought.

Oliver continued his persuasion speech, hoping that the boy would not pass this opportunity and consider it, he then mentioned, "I think this time, if we're lucky, we may be able to get an original bike from a manufacturer."

He snapped his head up, his blue eyes filled with excitement. "Really?"

Pleased that he was now considering it, Oliver leaned into him, "Those manufacturers are looking for some young and promising riders to represent them in races." He grinned, "What do you think?"

Richard pursed his lips, seriously considering the fact that he could be what he always dreamed of. But, there were always doubts, "But I've been out of it for so long."

"No problem," Oliver shrugged casually. "I'll find some people and form a team. I'll be in charge of training you. How about that?" He held out his hand to Richard, ready to make a deal.

Richard looked at his hand, then beamed, grasping it firmly. "Okay."

Author's Note: I love creating a cruel Rachel. She's such a bad egg!

For every chapter, I shall list a few points for those in need of clarification:

1. Characters in the show, listed in the order of appearance through this chapter - Bushido, Brother Blood, and Pantha.

2. GP rider - a motorcyclist who competes in races.

Please feel free to message me for any questions or clarifications. Thank you very much for reading and I hope you readers are enjoying so far. I shall try to update the next chapter as soon as I can. Since I have summer homework and my senior year, I will be having slight delays, but I hope to myself that I shall update at least once a week. I greatly, so greatly, appreciate reviews and I thank you for taking the time to read and review! - Mayumi Y.