As promised, chapter eight! I just want to thank everyone so much for understanding and reviewing and just being wonderful in general. I couldn't have any better readers. I seriously love you all. Okay, my replies to reviews:
To Cool Bubblegum: Thank you so much! I'll even ignore the fact that you don't like RobRae (HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?) because you gave me so many stars. I like stars. :D And honestly, if you had gone through the effort of putting in ten reviews (and I hadn't gotten a writer's block), I probably would have posted it, no joke. :) Anyways, thanks so much for reviewing!
To SladeRavenFan: Raven is most definitely in denial. She can't seem to believe that everyday her life consists of fighting bad guys and doing magic, etc. And anywayas, it'd be no fun if she actually believed everything. So yeah. Thank you for reviewing! Oh, and thank you for understanding. I loved reading peoples comments after I posted my A/N. The support was much needed and much appreciated. So thank you. :)
To Xaphrin: Thank you so much. I try to keep it flowing, make sure the flashbacks don't make everything choppy, because they are really fun to write. And I haven't forgotten about them, I just haven't decided what I want to do with them yet. ;) Thank you for reviewing! Means a lot. Sorry to keep you waiting. Hope you enjoy!
To Twiheartlover: She'll start remembering bits and pieces through the flashbacks, which I love to write, but she probably won't believe it for a while and won't remember completely for a while. And a kidnapping you say... interesting. I appreciate the idea nad review! Thanks!
To Smiles-X-Giggles: I like freaking love you. You are just wonderful. I'll start with the first review: I just loved that first sentence. It made me smile. Not that that has anything to do with anything. I just felt the need to say it.
It is freaking hilarious. I would definitely advise seeing it. It is really lighthearted and just a fun movie. :)
I freaking love Richard Grayson. He is definitely my favorite Robin. I mean, even in Young Justice, he is just so . . . sexy. Which worries me that I can think of a twelve year old like (that's how old he is in YJ), but I can't help it.
I don't know. . . as much as I love RobRae, if I had the chance, I'd probably kidnap Robin and force him to fall in love with me. Nbd.
Virtual hugs work for me. :) I mean jsut the other day, my friend virtually pinched my cheeks... twice.
Even if I am writing, you are still awesome!
I'll warn you right now, this isn't the whole date. Just didn't turn out that way, though it was intended to be it all originally. And I glad you like the flashbacks. I love writing them. I feel like it adds... I don't know, depth to the story. You know?
I was like giggling like a crazed fangirl while writing dopey Robin.
That was the whole point. To show more of why he is so determined to get her back.
Robin really is just so appealing, as you say it, in every possible way. And every impossible way. He is just... wonderful.
Okay that was the first review, onto the email: I was just going to delete the author's not then post the chapter, so I don't know how that works. And also, thank you. I really appreciate all of that. And I probably will take you up on that offer. It is always nice to have someone to discuss ideas with. And anyways, I do love longer messages. :) I don't want to take up too much space (I failed), so I'm going to stop here. Thank you so much you wonderful person! :D
To ziandra: I totally understand. Instead of a journal though, I have the time type them really quickly on my phone or ipod. I have so many, little stuff here and there, it's quite funny. I'm really glad you are enjoying the story. Thank you for reviewing! Oh and thank you for understanding. For the time being, my writer block has dissipated. Everyone's kind comments definitely helped that. :)
To Fight 4 Randomness: Thank you for the constructive criticism.
To ingenium posse: At the moment, I still see him as human. That might change, but for now he is human. Anyways, thanks for reviewing!
To 13BrokenHearted13: Thank you for understanding! I like the dark side idea. Very interesting. :D
And a big thanks also to Koobalt, Ouran-Lyoko-Girl, Alexis Fowl, The Amethyst Eyes, Pink, and izzy.
I love you all. I do not own anything. Thank you,
DeadlyRedAlice
xoxo
"And done!" Darla exclaimed, finally stepping away to examine me, along with Cecelia. They hadn't let me anywhere near a mirror in a while, so they could have totally been making me into a clown and I would have no idea.
"Come on," Cecelia said, offering me her hand. I stood up a little wobbly, the heels much too high for my taste, especially on carpet, but I had given them full control of my look, so I'd have to deal. They helped me into the bathroom, closing the door so I could look at myself in the full-sized mirror hanging on the back.
"Wow," I breathed, taking it all in. They had somehow managed to curl up my hair into little ringlets, pulling the brunt of it up, out of my face, with a clip, while still leaving a couple curls down and playful. They had also managed to give my eyes a smoky look with black, blue, grey, silver, and white eye shadows, making my eyes pop with the eyeliner they chose. A light blush rested on my cheeks, making my cheekbones much more prominent, and my lips were painted a dark red, a gloss over them making them shine in the light of the bathroom. Rhinestone earrings hung delicately from my ears, matching the dress perfectly and the sliver shoes, that made me taller than my two friends, just completed the look. I never would think of myself as someone who is vain, but I was sparkling and beautiful. Well, not me exactly. More like the Barbie me that Cecelia and Darla had created. So I wasn't beautiful, but the doll they made out of me was.
"All in a day's work, my dear," Cecelia said, smirking at me before looking at the clock. "Tyler should be here soon. Try not to zone out like you did with us, okay?" she advised, making me frown. While her tone was soft, the words bothered me. How could I explain to her all that was going through my head? I couldn't.
Suddenly the doorbell rang and the two girls squealed in delight.
"He's here!" Darla whispered excitedly, the two of them basically pushing me out of my room.
"Amy, dear, Tyler is here!" Col- I mean, Mom yelled in, her own voice barely concealing her own excitement. She and Jim practically threw me out at my date.
"Try to be back by midnight," J- Dad said before closing the door. And then it was just me and Tyler, standing in front of my front door, neither of us quite sure what happened.
"Ummmm, yeah," I said, knowing one of us had to say something.
"You look amazing," he offered, gazing at me. I blushed, feeling uncomfortable. He cleared his front, looking at the closed front door and then at the road behind us. "Since it was such a beautiful afternoon, I figured we would walk," he continued. I looked at the colorful sky as the sun was setting and had to agree that it was quite beautiful. "I hope that is okay," he confirmed nervously. I nodded.
"It is fine. We should probably get going, though," I advised. He took a step towards the road, before stopping and offering me his hand. I hesitated, but ended up taking it. He led me away from the house, onto the tree lined road. Not a lot of cars were driven around here, so practically nobody used the sidewalks. We walked in silence for a little while, the whole time, me trying to figure out what to say. I kept coming up blank for ideas.
"I'm really glad you decided to do this," Tyler commented awkwardly. I mean, what am I supposed to say to that? Me too? Instead, I just nodded a bit, hoping that that would satisfy him. He didn't seem to notice. "The restaurant we are going to, usually is out of reservations a week ahead. It's the nicest place to eat here. Anyways, I have a friend in there, who managed to get us a table," he continued, probably just trying to fill the silence. I nodded again, seeing as he was plenty happy to keep talking, not really noticing that I was beginning to tune him out. My thoughts involuntarily shifted to Robin and his friends. How could they actually expect me to believe their story? It was impossible. No more impossible than you holding hands with the quarterback, a little voice inside of me pointed out. I ignored it, now extremely conscious of the larger hand engulfing my own. I had to force myself not to let go. It just felt weird. And yet almost familiar. Familiarity was good sign though. Maybe if I dug deeper into that familiarity, I could make myself remember something.
I closed my eyes, letting Tyler guide me, and focused on the feeling of my hand in his. He was so much bigger than me, bulkier, looming over me. And his hand was enveloping my own…
I watched the two of them, my face devoid of any emotion. I stood in the kitchen, leaning against the counter. Robin and Star were on the couch being flirty and couple-y. For some reason it made me… frustrated. You know why… I ignored the stupid little voice. I managed to pull my eyes away from them with some difficulty. Instead I trained my eyes on my tea, which was now cold.
Cyborg was in the kitchen as well, sitting on a countertop, finishing up his lunch. Thankfully, it didn't seem like he noticed the direction that I kept glancing in. He took the last bite of his food, throwing his plate into the sink on top of all the other dishes. I put my cup of tea down, letting my arms hang at my sides, now examining my nails. Anything to keep me from looking at them.
My gaze flashed back towards the couple as they stood up and left the room together. I just stood there, my eyes not being able to tear themselves away from the closed door. Suddenly, a hand took mine. My head snapped towards the hand, finding it connected to an arm, which was connected to a body. I met Cyborg's eyes and saw sympathy in them.
"What?" I asked, my usual calm tone a little edgy.
"You were clenching your hand so tight, your knuckles were turning white, and soon you were going to draw blood because your nails were digging into your skin," he answered gently. I looked down at my hand, now in his, and realized that only now were my knuckles returning to their original color, and suddenly I could feel the sting from where my nails were close to breaking skin.
"Oh," was all I could say. I looked out the window to avoid his caring gaze. The sun was shining brightly in the middle of the sky, not a single cloud in the sky. It was way too nice of a day.
"Look at me, Rae," he commanded gently. Hesitantly I met his eyes. He was the only one I didn't mind calling me Rae, at least, when he was serious. "If you ever need someone to talk to, I am here for you one hundred percent, okay? You are the best little sister a guy could have, and what kind of brother would I be if you felt you couldn't talk to me?" he questioned, giving me a little smirk. I gave him a small smile in return, turning and leaning against him, my hand still enwrapped in his. I tried to think of what to say, how to put what I was feeling into words, but I couldn't seem to. "You don't have to say anything. I just want you to know, that if you ever decided you wanted to, I am here for you," he continued, making my smile grow a smidge.
"You're awesome," I murmured quietly, closing my eyes, enjoying the feeling of knowing he was there, looking out for me. He chuckled a bit.
"I know,"
"Here we are," he announced, shaking me out of … I didn't even know what to call them anymore. "Hope the walk wasn't too long," he continued, sounding a little apologetic.
"Not at all," I responded, being completely honest. That little walk was nothing. Hardly even a warm-up.
"Well, let's get seated shall we?" he said, letting go of my hand to open the restaurant's door for me. I took a calming breath, trying to rid my mind of the haunting superheroes, though to no prevail. One face seemed to refuse to leave my thoughts, and for once it wasn't Robin. No, instead, Cyborg's concerned and caring face when he had talked to me in the janitor's closet. When he had tried to convince me I was like a little sister to him. closed my eyes, willing the image to go away. "They have our table ready," Tyler interrupted, making my eyes shoot open.
"Follow me," the waiter said, sounding a bit bored. I walked a step behind Tyler, heading to the table. It suddenly dawned on me that the date wouldn't be over for at least another one to two hours. In that time, I would eventually have to talk. This is going to be a long night...
Okay, so originally, this chapter was going to be the whole date, but because I added in the flashback, I decided against it. I hope you all enjoyed it.
-DRA