Sorry I'm taking so long! I'm very busy. But please please please review! Hop you enjoy! Love you all!

~it'srose xoxo


Chapter 24: Dazed and Confused

The next week came and went and soon, it was time for the 80's dance. Everyone was pretty pumped for it and the StuCo board had put a lot of time and effort into decorating the gymnasium. It was bright, colorful, and just put you in a good mood.

Kori, Richard, Gar, and Rachel sat at a ten person table and watched as the student body danced away to the song 'Hit me with your best shot.' Kori looked super cute in her off the shoulder purple shirt with a green tank top underneath. Her hair was poofy and she had green hoop earrings in. She wore some bright yellow leggings with bright pink pumps and she looked as if she really was from the 80's.

Rachel didn't really try. But with the help of Karen and Kori, she fit in pretty well. She was clad in a blue shoulder showing sweater with black leggings. She had a black headband that fitted around her head and her hair was teased to perfection.

All the guys just wore bright colored shirts or something else spectacular. It always came easy for guys.

"Hey Rae, wanna dance?" Gar asked.

She looked at him with a blank face. He smiled a toothy smile and she rolled her eyes. "Why not."

At first Gar was pretty shocked to here her actually accept his offer but Nontheless whisked her away to the dance floor.

Kori laughed and said, "They're too cute."

Just then Jade and Jenny walked up looking absolutely stunning. Jade wore a green dress with long sleeves that flared out at the end. It had white groovy patterns and she finished it off with white go go boots.

Jenny wore high waisted black pants that were poofy but tight at the ankles. She had on a tight purple half shirt that showed a bit of stomach. Her hair was in a side ponytail and she had in hoop earrings.

"Why aren't you two dancing!?" Jenny asked.

"For real! These dances are always fun!" Jade added.

"Maybe to you." Richard crossed his arms. "But I'm not much of a dancer."

Kori shook her head and stood up. "Fine. I'll go dance with them!" She walked away with her two friends and Richard scoffed. "Women."

TT

An hour passed by and there were still two hours left until the end of the dance. So far, Richard managed to stay in his seat the whole night unless he had to use the bathroom or get something to eat/drink.

The guys ended up sitting with him as the girls continued to dance the night away.

"This blowssss." Wally groaned as he flicked some colorful confetti off of the table.

"I know right." Vic leaned his head on his hand as he watched Karen move her hips to the music. "I could be watching Breaking Bad right now!"

"I just want to go to Ihop already!" Gar moaned.

Richard laughed and added, "So Gar, when are you gonna ask Rachel out?"

The guys laughed and Gar's face flushed red. "Shut up dude!"

Just then Roy pointed towards the dance floor. "Hey, guys who is that guy?"

Everyone looked to where he was pointing. There was a guy behind all of the dancers dressed in all black. It looked as if he was staring at all of them.

"I don't know...lets get the girls and get out of here." Richard demanded.

Before anyone could leave though, they saw Karen and Jade leave to go to the restrooms.

And the guy followed them out.

"Shit!" Vic sprang up and ran towards the door for his girlfriend. The guys followed closely behind.

Kori had noticed all of this and turned to Toni, Rachel, an Jenny.

"You guys, what's going on?" She asked.

"C'mon love. We better check it out!" Toni began to head out of the gym along with Rachel, Jenny, and Kori behind.

As the girls caught up with the guys, they stood in the middle of the four way hallway. Vic cursed and yelled, "Which way!?"

They looked around frantically in fear of losing their friends. The guy dressed in black plus Jade an Karen had both disappeared.

"Hey guys!" Karen said happily with Jade by her side. "What are you guys doing in the hallway?"

Vic, Kori, and the others stared at her confusingly. "I thought-you just-we were just needed to get away.." Vic trailed off and rubbed the back of his neck.

Karen walked up to him and took his hand. "Well c'mon! Lets go dance!" She whisked him away and the others followed behind.

Rachel stayed back and put a hand to her head. She felt a little dizzy and had this odd feeling that someone was watching them. She whipped her head around but saw nothing.

"Rachel," Richard came up to her and put a hand on her shoulder, "are you okay?"

Rachel stared at him and looked back behind her. She looked at him yet again and nodded her head. "I'm fine. Lets go."

He looked intently at her and she saw his jaw clench. She squeezed his hand in reassurance. "It's nothing...c'mon."

TT

After the dance, they decided to ditch Ihop for once and head out to Jump City park for awhile. It was about 1 am by the time they got their since they had to change out of their outfits and into warm, comfy clothes.

Rachel sat in a swing, swaying back and forth. The cold wind blew through her purple locks and all she could think about was that weird feeling back at the school.

She heard the swing next to her move and she looked over to see Gar. He smiled a half smile at her.

"Hey." He said calmly.

She merely smiled and replied, "Hi."

"So, you've been looking a bit off...are you okay?"

Rachel looked away and nodded her head. She saw Toni and Jenny sitting on the merry-go-round while being pushed by Alain and Wally. They were screaming and laughing at the same time and she smiled at the scene.

"Hey," Gar said as he put his hand on top of hers. She looked at his hand in slight shock and her cheeks flushed red, not even because of the cold air. "I'm here for you Rae."

For once she didn't smack him, yell at him or even say something sarcastic. She just looked him straight in the eyes and saw that he meant what he had said. "I know. Thank you."

He smiled at her and got up out of his swing. Her eyes followed to where he was going and soon she felt herself getting higher and higher. He began I push her but for some odd reason, she didn't care.

Meanwhile, Roy and Jade were walking on the walking track, hands stuffed in their pockets. It was cold and all was silent. Roy had suggested they take a short walk just so he could talk to her.

After a few more minutes passed by, Jade finally broke the silence. "So. What was going on tonight when you all were out in the hallway?"

Roy looked at her and tried to make up an excuse. He didn't want her worrying about it. "Uh, well, you know. Vic said that he needed-well we all needed-to get away from the, uh, loud sounds. Err-music."

Jade snorted and laughed out loud. "Roy Harper, you are the worst liar ever!" She began laughing and snorted.

"And you have the funniest laugh ever!"

She stared at him in surprise and hit him playfully. "I do not!" She hit him again and he began to run away. "Take it back you butthead!"

Roy laughed and ran from her punches. "No way! You 'Butthead'!"

He turned around and caught her of guard by throwing her over his shoulder. She laughed and screamed at the same time, "ROY! Put me down right now!" More laughs filled the night sky and it's a wonder how half of Jump City didn't wake up to all the loudness.

"I don't think so!"

"I'm going to fart if you don't!"

Roy stopped and immediately put her down. He knew she was not afraid to fart in front of him and frankly, it wasn't a pleasant smell.

Jade brushed back her hair and giggled. "That was fun."

Roy shoved his hands in his pockets and looked down. "Just like old times."

Jade looked intently at him, her eyes filled with sadness and guilt. She took a step forward and took his hand. "Roy, listen," he looked at her and a spark of hope was shown in his shiny green eyes, "I-

Her sentence was cut off with the sound of her cellphone beeping. She quickly took it out and read her text message.

"Shoot." She said as she began to turn around a lightly jog. "I have to go! I'll talk to you later though! I promise!"

"Wait! Just wait for a ride!" Roy yelled after her. He was confused as to why she all of a sudden had to leave. She never had a curfew on the weekends.

"I can't! I..I...I got to go!" And with that she took off without even looking back.

Roy stood there utterly confused. Nonetheless, he turned on one heel and headed back to his friends. He began to smile as he realized him and Jade had a moment. He also smiled at the fact that she had promised to talk to him later-and it seemed like it was going I be a good talk.

"Yes!" Roy pumped a fist in the air and beamed as he thought of him and Jade getting back together.

TT

Slade sat in his large black chair facing his super computer. Images of Kori, Richard, Vic and the others appeared on the screen. There were at least ten different scenes of each teen doing something different. It occasionally switched to a different person and showed what all they were doing.

The masked villain turned slowly around to face the person in front of him. He walked over to the teen and tipped her chin up.

"You're doing very well my child."

The girl slapped his hand away and with her teeth clenched, she said, "I'm only following your orders to protect my friends."

He stepped back slowly and laughed. "After your friends find out you're working with me, you'll have no one left." He motioned for someone else to come out. The girl turned her head and saw Red X walk in and stand next to Slade. He had his mask on but she figured he had a nasty smirk on his face.

"X." She spat.

"Mmmm. Nice to see you too." He replied sarcastically.

She turned her head back to Slade and asked, "What else do you want from me."

He held up his index finger and motioned it back and forth. "Ah ah ah, young girl. Patience."

She scowled and was about ready to punch him in the face. In fact, she wished she could kill him on the spot. But the only thing keeping her from doing that was her friends. She stared down at her pale hands that were currently turning red from all the clenching.

"I hate you." She said with pure hatred in her tone.

Red X walked up to her and walked a circle around her. "You're a mean one huh?"

"I'm also a strong one and I wit hesitate to rip you limb from limb you egotistic asshole."

Red X stopped in front of her and laughed. "Ouch." He walked back over to Slade, who was watching the entire scene.

"Enough playtime. X, get back to work." Red X obeyed the Leader's orders and walked out of the room.

Slade turned to the girl and said, "and you," he laughed a short laugh and turned to face the screen, "you may leave."

Her face stayed in a scowl and she slowly turned around to walk out the door. She knew what she was doing was wrong but she couldn't help it. It was only to protect her friends. Wiping a tear away, she straightened up, slipped her mask back on, and Jade walked out of the building.

TT

"I'm just saying," Kori told Richard as she sipped her coke, "I think we need less training hours."

Richard looked over his menu. He looked back up at Kori and sighed. "You know I love you, more than anything right?"

She sighed, "Yes."

"But no. I'm not cutting training hours short. Now that this Slade guy has popped up we need all the training we can get."

"Richard, we have school, family, I'm president of the freshmen StuCo! I am very busy and one day I'm just going to pass out from exhaustion."

He laughed and put his menu down as a waitress came to their table. "And I'll be right there to catch you when to do."

Kori stuck her tongue out and the waitress took out her pen and pad. "What'll it be for you handsome?" She asked Richard, her bright blue eyes sparkling with amusement.

Oblivious to the waitress's flirtatious ways, he said, "A cheeseburger with a side of fries and a chocolate shake." He put his menu down and looked up at the googly eyed blonde.

Kori narrowed her eyes and quietly growled. She cleared her throat so she could get the irritating waitress's attention.

The blonde looked over to Kori and her huge smile turned into a frown. "Who are-I mean what do you want?" It was more of a demand than question.

Kori smiled sweetly and knew Richard was watching her the whole time. "A new waitress who won't flirt with my boyfriend."

At first, the blonde looked astounded at the rude comment Kori just made. But She inhaled deeply, turned on her heel and walked away.

Richard watched as she went into the kitchen and turned back to Kori who was laughing. "Huh." He leaned back and crossed his arms.

"What?" Kori said as she stopped laughing, aware of Richard staring at her.

"You are the jealous type."

Kori's mouth dropped and she hit him playfully. "So are you!"

"I know!" He laughed and kissed her hands. "But it's cute when you get Jealous."

Kori rolled her eyes. "On a more serious matter, what was up with Rach last night?"

Richard looked at his water and shrugged. "I don't know...but whoever was at that dance was obviously not supposed to be there."

Kori looked out the diner window and frowned. "I know..."

He saw how worried she was and placed his hands on top of hers. "Don't worry, everything will be all right."

Kori smiled and appreciated his reassurance. But deep inside she new that something bad was bound to happen. Richard was right, they needed all the training the could get. It was a fire ready to spread and as of right now, she wasn't ready to put it out. None of them were.