The Teen Titans sat at their dinner table, with the addition of Kid Flash. They had a large pan in the center of the table, with little bowls strewn about.

"This stirfry is amazing, Cy." Beast Boy said, chowing happily on the vegetable dish and clicking his chopsticks.

"It really is." Raven offered, sipping the pungent green tea she made to go along with the meal. The Titans ate and chatted with each other, with Beast Boy sharing the most jokes and laughs.

"Beast Boy, you seem to be in the most wonderful mood." Starfire happily remarked, smiling at the young teen that she considered her brother. "May you share why?"

"It's an uh- school thing." He said bashfully. "I can't even tell you guys." He frowned inwardly at how he couldn't even share his hallmark achievement, making swim team and another group of friends his age, with what was practically his family.

"Awh, give us a hint." Kid Flash said, on his fourth plate of stir fry. He reached for the bowl containing the chicken and peppers, and pointed his chopsticks. "Don't tell us what you did, just how you did it."

Robin nodded alongside Kid Flash, patting Beast Boy on the back. Beast Boy saw all of the expectant faces, and the pride hiding behind Starfire and Cyborg's eyes, and went for it.

"I made the team that I wanted. Varsity level." Beast Boy said, and everyone smiled at him, with Starfire reaching to hug him. Raven gave Beast Boy a small smile, but still looked proud of him.

"Good job!"

"That's great BB."

"Didn't know you had it in you, string bean."

"I am the most proud of you, Beast Boy!"

"Good for you."

Beast Boy smiled widely, a blush rising on his cheeks. "It's not a super big deal."

"You can insist all you want, but that's a big deal to me." Cyborg said, looking like a proud older brother. "Really, you're a sophomore that made a varsity team? How do you do it."

"I was just good at what I tried out in."

"What are there even tryouts for right now?" Raven asked quizzically. "School starts in a week, won't everyone just … suck?"

"There's practices all day, Rae."

"The tryouts are for the spirit thing-" Starfire flinched slightly, but sighed a breath of relief that no one saw her. "Volleyball, football, soccer, and swim team."

"Football must be a killer." Beast Boy observed, tapping his chopsticks on the bowl of kimchi. Raven pushed it towards him, and he gave her a soft smile. "Isn't their athletic program, especially football, one of the highest rated in the area?"

Cyborg winced as he thought of the practice they had that day. Despite being the first day, the coaches pushed the boys to their very limit, and almost immediately cut over 20 boys.

"Victor!" The redheaded boy said, standing next to a boy with stark raven hair and a scowl. "Nice meeting ya. Hey, congrats on having Coach Boris call out how good you are. I didn't think he had a nice bone in his body!"

"Thanks, Wally. It was nice meeting you and Dick." The two boys sniggered while Richard rolled his eyes, flipping them off. "I'm surprised we made it through cuts. All we have left is tomorrow and then we'll know."

"You're definitely going to be Quarterback." Richard said, as the trio walked to the locker room. The three boys were met with smiles, jeers, and whoops. Robin felt his stomach clench in excitement. Only a five hour practice, and he was already well liked by all of the boys. He looked over at Wally, who blew kisses to the boys.

"Ah, I love my fans." Wally said, and two blond boys laughed, giving him shoves. Richard laughed alongside Victor.

"Hey, did you guys see those Spirit Squad girls?" Wally asked, popping open the locker that was temporarily his for the tryouts. The other two boys nodded, and Wally held his hands over his heart. "That beautiful Indian girl… what did they call her? Jeni? I swoon."

"She was okay." Richard said, quickly changing from his plain grey t-shirt to a more stylish black one. Victor sucked in a breath, pointing at Richard.

"She was fine! Do you not have eyes?" Victor asked, tying his shoes. He switched from his black shorts and white shirt to a pair of khaki shorts and a dark blue t-shirt. Wally wore practically the same thing, only with an orange shirt.

"I thought blondie was much cuter. Kori, wasn't it?" Richard thought of the girl, with her long cascading blonde locks, bright green eyes, and multiple freckles. They would officially meet tomorrow, if he even made the team.

Cyborg was shaken out of his thoughts by Robin speaking. "Well, the Jump District starts two weeks earlier than other schools, so our tryouts are at the same time. We have the same amount of practice, but our school starts earlier."

The team then settled into light conversation, talking about the impending doom of school, and then talking about how Kid Flash balanced being a hero and a good student.

"Well, I kinda look at it like this. Being a hero is my job, and being a student is my duty. I choose to be a hero, but I need to go to school. Having powers doesn't make me the most amazing person on Earth." Kid said thoughtfully, tapping his chin. "It certainly makes me one of them-" Robin groaned, rolling his eyes. "Being a hero makes my school life easier."

"So being a hero makes it easier to go to school?" Beast Boy asked confusedly, and Starfire nodded along with him, and Kid Flash shrugged.

"Well, yeah! Because I want to be well rounded." Kid Flash explained further, and his mind fluttered over to Jinx. Was it right for him to say his Jinx? He didn't see her most nights anymore; but always left her a rose where he'd know she'd see it. He even spray painted on the side of a convenience store he saw her by one time!

Was it wrong to be possessive over her? Is this healthy? He continued to think about her, her soft pink hair and piercing gaze. She was so intense- so dark. It intrigued him. He resolved that he'd get at least one kiss from her tonight if he saw her, and that she would immediately fall into his arms and into the Teen Titans.

After dinner, the teens all separated, with Starfire chatting Raven's ear off, Beast Boy headed to the couch with Cyborg, and Kid Flash and Robin went to the training rooms.

"Can you just imagine those cheerleaders we'll see?" Robin said, an edge in his voice that Kid Flash had never heard before. Excitement. Not out of the thrill of the chase with villains, or a new gadget, but genuinely happy excitement.

"I'm going to go for the Indian girl. There's absolutely no way she wouldn't fall for my charms." Kid Flash said confidently, flexing and kissing his muscles.

"I don't think I want to limit myself just yet." Robin said, smirking. "I don't think I'd date any of them though… Flirting wouldn't kill me."

"Because you're saving yourself for Starfire?" Kid Flash asked, and Robin began to splutter, coughing to hide his blush. Kid Flash laughed, clapping Robin on the back.

"You're crazy." Was all Robin could force out of his mouth before they entered the training room.

Meanwhile, Raven was in her room, examining herself in the mirror. Rather than a holo-ring, she had chosen to instead use a spell to make her alternate identity.

Starfire had left, stating that she had to practice her cover stories, but assured Raven that she would be back within the hour.

All the more time to create her persona.

Her hair was now pitch black, ending just at her shoulders. She had dark blue eyes, and her skin was still pale, but peachy. She had given herself bangs, feathered, to change her face shape.

She looked normal.

Well, almost normal. Like one of the goth, alternative girls. Isn't that what most of her fans looked like? It was good, and Raven really liked the look of the bangs.

She went through her closet, not frantically, but with thoughtfulness. She didn't really care if anyone liked what she wore, but she was taking her school photo on the first day, and she wanted a fresh start.

She decided on a pair of black, ripped jeans, and she would wear combat boots. She looked through her closet, still looking for a tee. Some were too fancy, some were too casual. She searched until she found a bag from her shopping trip with Starfire and the boys.

"Hm." She had forgotten what was in the bag, and considering that she had put everything else away, she must have forgotten about it.

She unraveled the bag, and pulled out a piece of indigo cloth. "Oh." Raven blushed heavily. It was a cami that Starfire had chosen on a whim, due to the color, and Raven blushed even before she had it on!

It had a corset's lace up in the front, and it was cropped, ending just above her belly button. The lacings of the cami tied at the bottom, and the neckline had scalloped lace.

It was pretty, she would admit, but even as she tried it on, the blush stayed on her face. The outfit was cute, she thought, looking in the mirror.

"Rachel…" She said, doing a small spin. "Rachel can pull this off." She had decided that Rachel would be a little more outgoing. She thought for a few seconds. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos."

In the mirror, Rachel had gained a few moles on her neck and chest. In the mirror, Rachel grinned back at Raven.

And Raven smiled back.

"Girl, you need to smile more." Karen said jokingly to Jenil, who threw her pom-poms on the ground in frustration. Kori stretched the fabric of her first costume's skirt down.

"Shut up." Jenil said, though not angrily. She scrunched her nose up in the mirror, examining the costume. "It's not working for me."

The top was a tank top, with a white, wide band across the middle. The entire thing was a solid black, and there was a triangle of gold that went from the middle up to the neckline. The skirt was solid black, with white and gold trim. On the triangle, the words JHS were emblazoned.

"Yes it is. Pull the top down a little." Karen adjusted the costume for her, zipping the skirt up higher and smoothing out the wrinkles. "See?"

Jenil stuck out her leg, testing the flexibility of the fabric. "It does look better. It looks good on you, Kori." Kori smiled nervously, her hands quickly braiding her hair back for practice.

The chatter in the locker room was reaching a peak. With the arrival of 3 costumes, and that they would be voting for squad captains later on, made the room electric.

"My favorite is the winter costume." Kori said, looking at the white, long sleeve ensemble. Unlike the spring/fall costume, it was one white solid piece, with JHS on the front in gold, outlined in black.

"I like the show costume." Karen said, and held up the show costume for competitions and showcases. It was black, and two pieces, with a long sleeve top and skirt. It had the same logo as the other two, and had the jaguar mascot on it too.

"Girls!" Coach Cloche said, peeking her head in through the door. "Put on fall costume and let's go! Gold bows today!" The trio rushed with the other girls, zipping up skirts and putting hair up.

They entered the field where there was a circle of boys, with Coach Boris and Coach Carnie in center. They whooped, hollered, and began doing the stomp chant.

"Guess that's the final team." Karen remarked, standing on the tips of her white shoes to stare at the group. "Any of them cute?"

"Can't tell from here." Jenil shaded her eyes from the sun, staring at them. Kori blushed, leaning to see. The boys finally turned around, looking at all of them, and the trio quickly turned and walked faster, giggling.

"So embarassing!" Kori said, sweeping her braid behind her head. Karen laughed, adjusting the bow in her puff.

"I know." Jenil said, head in her hands. Karen laughed even harder, pulling the two girls in. They all smiled, then rushed to meet with the group of girls.

"Alright!" Coach Cloche said, signalling for the girls to sit. "Sooooo…" She dragged on her words, smiling at the large group, holding a small envelope. "We have our nominees for Senior Captain! Junior Co-Captain, and Sophomore Rep!"

The girls all cheered, holding hands and laughing.

"Our Senior Captain nominees are- Hannah Baines and Jade Nguyen! Come on up girls." The two girls went up, Hannah smiling and Jade with a serene look on her face.

"Alright girls! You all voted… and majority is…" Everyone leaned forward, excited. "Jade! Congratulations." Mrs. Cloche hugged Jade as the team cheered. Hannah hugged Jade, and the two laughed. Jade stayed up while Hannah went to sit down, and cleared her throat.

"Thanks for voting for me. I'll make this our best year ever! Senior Captain does sweaters, shirts, all of our personal stuff, and I have so many good ideas." Jade smiled, and Jenil cocked her head as she stared. The smile looked very genuine… but Jenil couldn't put her finger on what rubbed her wrong.

She shook her head out of thought as Mrs. Cloche announced the junior candidates.

"And we have Eliza Gallagos, Karen Beecher, and Jenil Lakhani! Come on up girls!" Karen looked excitedly at Jenil while they went up, and all three of the girls held hands.

"And our Co-Captain is… Jenil!" Jenil stared at all of the girls, who smiled widely. Eliza and Karen hugged her, and she almost teared up. She could almost pretend that this was always her life, as her team cheered and congratulated her.

That she was Jenil Lakhani, now Junior Co-Captain and popular. That she was born like this, not a carefully crafted and forged facade.

"Thank you!" Jenil said loudly, looking at all of the girls. "I- I don't know what else to say! This team… this team brings out the best in me, and I'm excited to bring out the best as Co-Captain. Thank you guys so much."

The rest of the nominations went well, and Kori was deep in a whisper conversation with Karen and Jenil until she heard that voice.

"Thanks guys! I think we knew I was the best for this job! We're going to be the best team ever, all because of me!" The blonde girl at the front said, and Kori almost threw up.

Kitten! She would have to tell Robin.

But for now, she had to smile and clap. The team then got up, with Jenil and Kitten leading stretches while Mrs. Cloche and Jade went to discuss clothing ideas.

"I do not like that girl." Karen said, stretching down into her split. Kori nodded, staring at Kitten with inquisitive eyes.

"She seems very.. bossy."

"Jeni is too." Karen remarked.

Time passed between stretching, and Coach Cloche and Jade came back, breaking into 3 groups to practice the halftime dance and kickline. Coach Cloche led group 1, then Jade with group 2 and Jenil with group 3.

"No!" Jenil said, sighing. Neither Karen or Kori were in her group, and she felt herself slowly getting agitated. "Guys! Come on. I'm not trying to be rude, but it's a lot easier than you're making it." 5 faces stared back at her, and she took a deep breath.

Jenil felt herself get angrier, so she shook her head. "Okay. 5 minute water break." She said through gritted teeth, and walked towards the bleachers, where Karen and Kori already were.

"Those freshman giving you a hard time?" Karen asked, opening her water bottle and taking a deep sip before passing it off to Kori.

"Yes! It's like they don't understand the rhythm of the music." She said, dramatically falling to the ground. Kori laughed, moving her feet to rest on Jenil's face. Jenil scrunched up her face, batting Kori's legs away. "Not funny, Kori."

"Super funny, Jeni." She retorted, tossing a granola bar on the Indian girl. Karen nodded in agreement, and the trio settled into easy conversation.

"Want to get coffee after this?" Kori asked, and Karen frowned, shaking her head.

"I have a hair appointment. I'm getting braids put in."

"Cute." Jenil said, rolling over to sit up. Kori suddenly sat up straighter, and three shadows towered over the girls.

"Hi there." A redheaded boy said, smiling at Jenil and thrusting his hand in his face. "I'm Wally. Wally West." She pushed his hand away.

"Who the hell are you?" She let slip from her mouth, and the two boys next to him looked thoroughly embarassed.

"It's actually Wallace." The raven headed boy next to him said, raising his eyebrows. Upon seeing the girls looking at them strangely, he groaned. "We're part of the final football team. We kinda have to … meet you guys and Coach wants us to watch one of your routines."

"Oh." Kori said, and the boy looked at her in shock. He was in awe at her, her tan skin and freckles, her soft accent and her big green eyes. "I'm Kori Anders."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Richard, this is Wally, and Victor." He said, and Karen smiled at them, standing up and dusting off her uniform. Victor smiled at her, and Karen held out her hand.

"Karen Beecher. That's Jenil Lakhani. I think she's a little starstruck that a guy like Wally is looking at her." She teased, pointing at the pair who were still staring at each other. Kori giggled, and even Dick had to laugh.

"Jenil." Wally tested, and held his hand out again, helping her up. She blushed, quickly standing up and dusting her uniform like Karen.

"Jenil. Jenil from the mall." Wally thought, feeling more and more nervous near her. He tuned out the rest of the group and their conversation, staring at her in as much of a non-creepy way as he could.

A 7th person entered the group, and Wally felt Dick clenching his fists. They both knew it was Adonis, only as a civilian. So his hair was lighter and he was buffer, but he still had the same voice and annoying ego.

Adonis Lykaois. He immediately began flirting with the three girls. Jenil simply crossed her arms and turned away, Kori blushed, and Karen rolled her eyes and continued her conversation with Victor.

"So.. Jenil. I bet I could lift you over my shoulders." Adonis said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. She scowled, pushing him away.

"Hell no. You'll drop me on my head." She said sourly, and Kori frowned at her. Kori whispered something in her ear, and Jenil shook her head. Karen looked at the duo in worry, and Wally took a step forward, putting himself between Adonis and Jenil while still looking like he was trying to talk to Karen.

"Look, Coach is calling us over." Karen said, grabbing the two girls by their upper arms. Kori gave them a bright smile, and he saw Dick's face light up. The cheerleaders walked away, and the boys made their way to the stands.

"Dibs." Adonis said, smirking wolfishly at the other boys.

"On who?" Dick said, raising his eyebrows. "Because I already talked to Kori, and-"

"Jenil, stupid." He said, staring at her while the girls took their place on the field to perform. "She was soooo into me. Trust me, girls like her love playing hard to get."

"Uh huh." Wally said, nodding his head sarcastically. "Yeah, those looks she was throwing you were definitely looks of adoration, not her attempts at laser vision."

Victor laughed, clapping Wally on the back. "Good one, hot head." Wally spluttered at the nickname, while Dick laughed.

Adonis, however, looked angrily at Wally. Wally gave him a bright smile back.

"Two can play at that game, asshole."