Chapter Two: Demolition Lovers

I growled as my phone vibrated. 'Again? I'm obviously ignoring you, Dick'

I fell from my thoughts as my bedroom door swung open. "Come on Komi, just leave me alone already. I'm getting ready for tomorrow."

"By staring at yourself in the mirror?"

As the voice sounded a smile crept across my face. 'I know that monotone voice anywhere.'

"Rachel!"

She nodded, a slight closed mouthed smile forced upon her face. "Look, you said you wanted to talk... here I am."

"I can't... I can't even... I don't even know where to begin... I..."

"Stop," She said calmly. A hand put in between us. Her eyes remained motionless as she spoke. "Kori, I'm your friend so I can be honest and tell you when you sound like a complete mess. Now... my question is, why are you bugging me with this? Isn't this more Dicks' territory?"

"I can't speak to Dick about this. I need to speak with you."

"You never come to me with this shit? Why now?"

This alone was my favorite thing about Rachel. You may think she and I are complete opposites, which is true, we are, but our friendship was solid. I knew I could always count on her to be upfront with me, and that was her thing, even if it was sometimes painful to hear. Rachel was honest, and she spoke her mind, and while she didn't care for most things... she was fun. Nothing was ever fake with her and I had grown to know the difference of her behavior. She always sounded careless and yet slightly frustrated, and most people are afraid of her for it. But trust me, if she was mad there would be no question... you would know.

I inhaled deeply lowering my voice to a whisper as if someone could hear me otherwise. "Its about... a guy..."

My frustration set in further as Rachel smiled now. Her violet eyes gleaming in unison with her purple, shoulder length hair. "I'm listening."

"He's... " I opened my mouth to speak but fell short of words.

'Wait a minute,' I thought to myself. 'I can barely handle knowing that I'm in love with Richard. If Rachel knows... she'll freak.'

I hesitated, Rachel's brow lifting with each passing second in annoyance as I remained in silence. I giggled slightly. "What should I wear tomorrow? Perhaps you can help me with..."

"Oh no," Rachel said, her brow still raised in impatience. "...you dragged me all the way here, now spill. What is it? Who is this guy?"

"I... He's... look, I'm not ready to talk about it. Can I please continue this tomorrow?" I paused. "Wait, what do you mean I dragged you over here, you live next door?"

There was a brief silence, then Rachel stood. She stepped to my bed and sighed. "Fine, but..." she lifted one of my pillows from the bed. "...I'm not going home. I'll just stay the night."

I nodded. "The guest room is always free for you."

Rachel laughed. "Don't you mean for Dick? I'm just the exception to his territory."

"Very funny," I said with a nervous laugh as she disappeared into the hallway. I looked to the mirror once more with a heavy sigh.

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The morning chimed in with a loud bang. I jolted upright in my bed in a panic to find Rachel glaring down at me.

"Get up already. I'm about to leave your ass behind."

"Alright... alright..." I paused, rubbing at my eyes. A yawn stretched across my face. "Wait... I don't need a ride. I already have one."

"Oh, that's right..." Rachel said with much distaste. The roll of her eyes and the bitter laugh that escaped her made me blush slightly. "I forgot you and Dick's friendship tradition. Driving to school together on the first day each year. Its all very romantic." She rolled her eyes again then pulled a thick blue sweater hood over her head. "Fine, but... I doubt Dick's bike will be looking so good once you realize its raining outside."

I looked to my window, silence lingering as Rachel removed herself from my room. The sky opened up to a kaleidoscope of different shades of blues and grays, clouds hanging heavy over the sun. 'Great' I thought. Not only did I have to attend a day in which I had no desire to be apart of, I would be left with the rain to constantly remind me of my troubles.

Within minutes there was a loud knock on the front door. Quickly dressing I rushed downstairs making a stop in front of the mirror beside my door. With a pause, I looked to my reflection and forced a smile, realizing how much I hated the fact that my first day would be met with relentless rain. I'm convinced there's never an outfit that can distract one from the mess the rain does to my hair.

"Kori, come on," Richard shouted through another knock.

I opened the door with a smile.

He looked to me with a smile and embraced me warmly. "See, you look amazing. You can't even tell you were sunburned at all."

Accepting his hand as he led me to his car I remained silent. The silence lingered as he shut the door behind me and raced around the back of the car taking his place in the driver seat. There was a brief moment as we both situated ourselves in our seats from being in the rain that I caught a glimpse of his eyes from behind his shades. A lump in my throat surfaced. There was no way I would make it through the day... I was sure of it.

"Are you ready for this?"

I shrugged, I could barely look at him at this point. "Lets just get it over with."

"I'm used to you being in such a great mood on the first day. What happened?" He paused. "Does this have anything to do with why you've been avoiding my calls?"

I avoided his gaze looking to the passing world outside my car window. "No... I don't know Richard,... I'm just not feeling well today."

"Well, I obviously upset you some how." He glanced to me with a smile which I caught the reflection of in my window. "Why is it you feel the need to call me Richard?"

I shut my eyes, hating myself for not noticing such an easy give away. "I... I'm not upset with you Rich...' I paused and rolled my eyes at another disapproving glance from him. "... Dick. I just... I don't feel well." My heart leaped inside my chest as his hand made its way securely upon my knee.

"I'm sure your just nervous about today. Things will get better once we're around our friends." When I ignored his attempt at sympathy for me, he took my hand and lifted it to his lips. I looked to him as he kissed my hand gently. "Don't worry about it alright. I'm right here with you."

I smiled again, but my heart was far from calm. This is what I regretted, this very moment, fairly certain it was only the first of many. Damn Dick Grayson ... I was drowning in his charm.

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(RIchard Grayson POV)

Alright, so I'm not really good at this but here goes... The name... Richard Grayson. Yes,... ward and heir to Bruce Wayne of Wayne industries. Alright, well, I'm Dick, infamous Jump City playboy which I'm sure you've heard. You might say my life is very privileged and yea, ... your right, I suppose it is. After my parents passed I was vulnerable, and yet when Bruce took me in as his ward things got a little better. The loss of my parents was the hardest thing I've had to go through and to be honest, as grateful as I am to Bruce, I can only thank one person for my survival of such a loss.

I smiled right now because it was she who I had fallen for. Her arms were wrapped around my right arm as I sped around the corner in my car. There was no way to tell her how I felt ... because lets face it, at the risk of sounding dramatic, what would happen if she did not feel the same? Our lifelong friendship could be ruined by such outlandish ideas that spun through my mind. In the end I was afraid to take any further step with her because I was afraid of myself. I was a playboy, I knew it and wouldn't deny it. Kori loved me but I could never expect her to truly trust me in a relationship beyond friendship, and I wasn't proud of this fact. I guess the situation was fine though... Kori had always been mine, and only time would continue to prove that. So yea, I'll endure another year hiding behind our friendship ... she made that easy for me.
My breathe was cold as we finally parked before the school we had grown to both loathe. I turned to her with a comforting smile, secretly hating the day myself. "Ready?" She smiled at me, the smile that had haunted my summer. My entire summer.

"Yes."

The rain had come to a halt so we both exited the car, rallying at its front. I smiled as kori's fragile figure leaned against the bumper. The rain always brought out her beauty. The cloudy skies and dull colors around us only made her hair burn a brighter red as it trailed down her back violently, and her eyes, ... her eyes reflected every drop of rain in a green kaleidoscope. Even her smile brought light to this dull day.

I paused, trying to spy on who she was texting when she looked to me with a raised brow, "What?"

"Nothing," I proclaimed.

She turned back to her phone with a roll of her eyes. Even as I felt her long red hair tickle at my arm as the wind blew by I felt weak in the knees. I had been friends with Kori Anders since as far back as I cared to remember. There's nothing else to say other then that I love her. As family, as a friend, as a part of me, no matter what you choose, its the truth. If not for her, I would not be who I am today. Yet, as of right now I wasn't exactly sure if it was merely my own mind, but Kori had seemed distant with me since Miami. If it wasn't my own self conscious thoughts about her, then she was upset over something I had done before returning, I just couldn't think of what it was.

I stood beside Kori, trying not to seem so protective of her as Red approached. He was a known playboy, just like me, and he knew I had my eye on him. I placed a hand upon her waist pulling her closer to me now, an act in which she did not seem to mind.

"Hey cutie," Xavier said.

Kori's attention was grasped. She looked to Xavier Red with a smile. "Hey. Did you change your number? I don't have it anymore for some reason?" Kori said with an innocent and confused expression as she stared down at her phone.

"Here," Xavier said, "I'll add it to your contacts."

I hated moments like these. I mean it was obvious, not merely because of the tabloids, but Kori was beautiful. Not one man can resist her beauty. No matter where we are men are gazing at her, the act alone frustrated me. The only thing that made this any less frustrating was how oblivious Kori was to this fact. When she walked into a room everyone noticed,... except her. She remained in this awkward innocence which I had grown to love. I couldn't explain it in a normal sense, because when I see Kori ... I don't see logic... I just see her.

I gritted my teeth behind closed lips as Red returned Kori's phone to her, a devilish grin upon his lips.

"I'll call you," Kori replied back sweetly.

I looked to her, her smile remained upon Red as he made his way into school. "Hey, so..." I cleared my throat as she looked to me. "... I thought I saw Rachel at your house. Where is she? Shouldn't she be here by now?"

She shrugged her petite shoulders, a wrinkle in her nose. "I don't know. She was a little frustrated with me this morning." She paused removing her black coat and hung it over her arm with a sigh. "Should we go in?"

I nodded and the both of us entered the building.

"Dick!" I heard a group of freshman girls giggle in my direction.

I forced a smile and placed an arm around Kori. "Morning Ladies."

I caught Kori roll her eyes as the girls giggles became louder. We were faced with a sea of blushing faces, and while it didn't bother me I couldn't help but notice Kori seemed rather disturbed by this. In all fairness I'm certain this scenario must have gotten fairly old for her, but she had never allowed the flirtatious eyes and exploits of those around us effect her, so why now? I shrugged the idea from my mind as an approaching voice rang with familiarity.

"Hey Kor! Dick!"

We both turned at the sound of Gar. Gar was the goof of our group, he alone being proof that some people remain kids forever. Everyone needed a Gar in their life, especially when times are hard.

He stepped to us with that cheesy smile of his, his hair recently dyed green. "Do you like it ... or do you like it?"

I smiled as Kori laughed. She lifted a hand to Gar's hair staring at it with much curiosity. "It looks... green... really green."

"I guess when people call you grass stain it will actually make sense this time around." I chuckled, drawing a glare from Gar.

"Ahh, come on, its your fault your friends call me that in the first place... Dick."

I laughed. "You are one of my friends Gar."

"Unfortunately... he's right," said Rachel as she stepped to us with a smile.

A smile which was rare to find, but with the weather we were having, it seemed appropriate. Rachel was a gloomier person, in fact the exact opposite of Kori. I sometimes wondered how it was possible they were even friends. She was Kori's neighbor and she had come along before any of the others so naturally she was closest to me and Kori because of it. I turned as they began to find their way toward us.

First there was Gar, then Rachel, ... now... Wally.

"Hey guys..." he said a suave tone to his voice. I narrowed my eyes as he placed a hand upon Kori's. "I missed you this summer. Where were you?"

Kori smiled. "Sorry Wally I was on vacation. I wasn't at home."

"Vacation? Cool... cool. Where were you?"

"As if that's hard to guess..." Rachel added. All eyes turned to her now. She rolled her eyes, tossing a book in her locker. "... she was with Dick of course."

Wally nodded. "Well,... you should of stayed behind with me. We could have had a really great summer."

My patience for Wally was thinning now. I placed an arm around Kori, drawing her figure back into me, and I smiled at Wally. "She had a great summer, don't trouble yourself Wally." I paused looking to my watch. "And... there's the bell."

Kori stepped away from me and joined Rachel in the hallway. That was the last conversation I had with her for a few hours until I decided to text her while in class.

Dick: Haven't seen you since morning. whats up?

There was a short wait before she responded.

Dick: Kori?

Kori: Sorry, I'm actually trying to pay attention in class. Whats up?

Dick: I'm bored.

Kori: Its not that bad. What class are you in?

Dick: Calculus... =[

There was another pause in her response. I sighed to myself.

Dick: What are you doing after school?

Another pause.

Kori: You tell me?

I smiled.

Dick: Bruce is downtown for the day and the jumps are done with construction.

Kori: ... =] sounds great.

"Mr. Grayson," the math teacher shouted, drawing me from inside Kori's world. I looked to the teacher with a sigh, hiding my phone.

"What?"

"Can you solve the equation?"

I paused looking to the board. The teacher was good at this, singling out the students who weren't paying the least bit of attention. This fact alone made me smile because while I truly hadn't been paying attention I was no stranger to Calculus.
Answering the question... correctly, I might add, the teacher receded with a gruff mutter of a remark in which I didn't care to acknowledge.

Dick: Invite Rachel if you want. I know Vic's gonna wanna be there.

The bell rang and my body sighed in relief... lunch... finally. Entering the food court I stepped to the table, everyone was there. I looked to Kori, and sat beside her.

"So..." Vic said. His eyes scanned over us in mischief. "First day of school... first day of the poll."

"Please don't tell me you guys are still doing this?" I said with a roll of my eyes.

"Its tradition and you can't break it." Gar laughed in anticipation. "Besides, its free money."

"What are they doing?" Kori asked me innocently.

I smiled. "I knew you'd never make bets about me." I motioned to the others now. They crowded around a small notebook, the scribbling too distant for either of us to see. "These guys however are a different story."

Kori's eyes narrowed in confusion. "Victor, to what is Richard referring to?"

"Only the easiest way to make money." Gar shouted, the excitement on his face, I found extremely exhausting. "Every year we begin a bidding war against Dick."

"We bet on who Dick will date first." Victor said.

"When they break up." Gar added.

"Even who he decides to keep a one night stand." Rachel added nonchalantly.

I looked to Rachel now in disappointment. "Even you are in on this?"

Rachel shrugged. "Its a win win for me... I find you entirely too predictable."

I laughed now. "Alright, lets here it. Who is the first on the list to whom I will be with next?"

"We can't show you. That would ruin it." Gar whined.

"Sorry, playboy, the bets are off limits to you." Rachel said with a sinister grin.

"What about me?" Kori asked.

"Sure, you can..." began Gar.

He fell silent as Rachel lifted a hand to silence him. She stared down at me with a knowing smile. "Nope, Kori cant know either. All Dick would have to do is ask her and she'd tell him who we chose."

"I would not."

"Yes you would." I said laughing along with Rachel now.

There was a long silence then it happened. A girl approached me with a flirtatious smile.

"Hey Dick." She said, her voice ringing sweetly.

I smiled. "Becca."

Becca's cheeks flushed red. My eyes ran up and down her slowly, she was prettier then I had remembered. "I was hoping you would want to hang out after school?"

I smiled, it was far too easy. This girl was puddy in my hands. I nodded. "Yea,... alright."

As she walked away I looked to the table which had fell silent now.

"That's me." Gar laughed. His hand held out toward Raven and Victor now. "Ten bucks please."

"You don't really expect me to believe out of all these women you chose Becca for me to go out with first."

Victor smiled now. "Believe it spike. This was preordained months ago."

I rolled my eyes then looked to Kori now. My mind froze and I lifted a hand to my head. "Damn, I completely forgot." She smiled, knowing exactly my thoughts at the moment.

"Its fine, really. I mean, maybe Alfred and I will enjoy the track."

I shook my head again trying to ignore the comical perspective she took on a lot of situations. She always tried to spare me of any guilt but I was determined this would not be one of those occasions, she deserved better from me. "No... I'll be there. You don't mind if I invite Becca do you?"

"If your talking about the jumps then I'm in." Victor said.

"I didn't realize they were finished. I thought you said they were still under construction?" Gar questioned me.

"Nope." I smiled. "They finished just yesterday."

"Yippee," Rachel sighed lowering her gaze to her book now.

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The rest of the day was brief, Kori was in several of my classes but always at a distance. I was certain she was not avoiding me and yet... the look in her eyes made me second guess this certainty. Regardless of the truth, I had every intention of being more agreeable around her. I could see her now as the last bell rang for the day. She stood just outside the school doors in conversation with a small group.

"Kori,..." I called, grabbing her attention fairly quickly. She turned to me, ignoring the girls beside her that tensed up at my arrival.

"Hey Richard."

I raised a brow at her. "Still calling me Richard huh?"

"Does it really bother you?"

"Only if it means your upset."

She sighed. "I'm kind of busy Richard. What do you need?"

It sounds ridiculous but I had sent word to Alfred to have my motorcycle brought to school since the rain had stopped, and here it was... just as I expected it to be. There was something different... better, about the ride with Kori when I had my bike and as a result I went out of my way to ride with her as much as I could. I handed her one of my motorcycle helmets, paying no mind to the giggles that erupted at this action. Kori accepted the helmet and returned her attention to her phone.

"Who are you texting? You've been distant all day." I finally asked, my frustration with her brimming now.

Her eyes flashed to mine with a sheepish smile. "No one, just ... friends."

I ran a hand through my hair then stepped to her. She lowered her phone as I motioned to the helmet. Releasing it to me she stood perfectly still as I lifted the helmet over her head, tucking the bottom strap tightly under her chin. She remained perfectly still, a childlike wonder in her eyes. It was moments like these where I cherished our friendship more then ever. Kori allowed me to be this close with her, no attachment expected or interpreted, she just allowed me to exist with her, not alongside her.

I leaned down slightly, checking that the latch had been tightened properly. "Did you want to stop at your house first?"

Kori hesitated. "I thought you made other plans... with Becca?"

My brow raised in frustration. I knew she knew how I was when it came to women, but I had already made plans with her. I couldn't cancel... especially since she had expected it of me. I ran a hand through my hair nervously. "Well... I was hoping to give you a ride home before we went to the Manor."

I was actually offended as her eyes widened. "Are you sure?"

"Kori, I told you we would try out the track and I meant it."

Now, even as I said this I could not believe the amount of anger I felt. The truth being that I was not upset with Kory in the least, but with myself. Kori had every right to anticipate my changing of plans, which I was famous for in her eyes and I adored her for understanding, but I was in fact offended. I looked to her with a burrowed brow.

She was focused on her phone again, avoiding my gaze, which was something I had grown to hate. I rolled my eyes, passing a glance to the blushing girls to out right. "Look... Ive..." I fell silent,... there was that noise again. I inhaled deeply now, Kori's eyes perking at the sound. I turned to find Becca.

"Dickie... I haven't seen you all day. I've been nothing but excited for our plans together." Becca said in a giggle. She glanced to Kori now giving her a fake smile. "Kori." Her tone finding a more hatred rooted tone.

While the girls I was with always forced a smile for Kori to make me happy I could see right through it. No one, ... no one I was dating or otherwise intimately tied to, liked Kori. I knew it, they knew it, and Kori didn't. She would go out of her way to ensure that whoever I was with at the time had a friend in her and I adored her for it. For the longest time I could never understand the full extent as to why Kori was held with such distaste by my admirers ... that is until I was older. I understand it know, and completely agree. Not to say that I would ever condone their hatred for her, but I suppose it made sense. Why wouldn't it? Kori was beautiful, genuinely kind and last and probably most important, she was close with me. I held Kori above all others, and while I knew she was aware of this, she never took advantage of it.

Kori smiled. "Hello Becca. How have you been?"

"Great, thanks. I heard you went to Miami with Dick?"

Kori nodded, finding no words to reply to the hollow conversation among strangers.

"I would have given anything to be there," Becca continued. She looked to me now. "So... what did you want to do?"

I looked to Kori who, to my delight, had focused upon me, anticipating my answer. I cleared my throat. "I'm actually busy with a few of my friends but your welcome to tag along."

The girl hesitated then with an eager smile agreed. "Alright, cool." I swung a leg over my bike, a hand finding its way behind me as Kori joined me. A smile escaped me as I revved the engine, Kori gripping onto me tightly. As I was certain Kori was prepared, I took off, skidding out of the school driveway.

The ride was brief and when we arrived at her house first she insisted on showering and redoing everything... whatever 'everything' means. She looked exactly the same when she exited the bathroom an hour and a half later. I stood and sighed in a prolonged stretch to emphasize how long she had taken to get ready. She looked to me with a smile but beyond that it was silent. She quickly vanished into her room and for some reason took forty five minutes to change her clothes.

She stepped to me now with a smile. I, of course, smiled in return handing the bike helmet to her once again.

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(A/N) Awww, I completely loved this chapter, but regardless... R/R ... =]