Hiraeth /here-eyeth/ (noun): A homesickness for a home to which you cannot return, a home which maybe never was; The nostalgia, the yearning, the grief for the lost places of your past.

. . .

Kory Anders was never one to feel nervous.

She was spontaneous. She was fun and outgoing. She lived in the present. She always jumped into new experiences with a big smile and an open heart. Kory Anders was not a nervous person.

Any day except for today.

It was her first day at Titan Academy, the most prestigious private academy in San Francisco and one of the best in the country. Only a few weeks prior, her parents had decided it would be the best place for her to finish her secondary education so she could end up "a well-educated young woman." Though Kory had a sneaking suspicion they were silently hoping some wealthy boy from this foreign land could sweep her off her feet, and she could take him back to her home country, an idea Kory was not fond of. In fact, Kory hadn't been fond of the idea of moving halfway around the world simply for her education. There were plenty of good schools in the country of Tamaran. Why couldn't she just study there?

Unfortunately, her parents disagreed, and they had made the final decision like they always did. Worse of all, she hated the idea of starting specifically at her sister's school halfway through the year. Had Kami been supportive, caring, and welcoming, Kory might've felt different. But her sister was everything but that. And now not only was she stuck in the same school as her but also in the same house along with a few of her parents' most trusted guardsmen. Sadly, unlike Kory and Kami, they would not be living in San Francisco as they had issues to attend in their country.

"Kory Anders?"

The stern, female voice snapped her out of her daydream, and she turned in her seat to see an older, petite lady staring at her with a dismissive glance. "Please follow Karen to your first period."

The lady handed her a piece of paper with her schedule on it and went on her merry way. Behind her, a dark-skinned girl with two tight buns wearing a black and yellow striped tee and a pair of tight black jeans smiled at her warmly. It made Kory feel all the bit better about being there.

When she stood up, the girl let out a surprised, "Woah!"

"Is something wrong?" Kory held her hands together tightly and looked around, wondering if she'd done anything she wasn't supposed to. After all, she had only been in this new country for less than a week, and she was not accustomed to their customs. Luckily, Kory had taken English classes back in Tamaran, so she was all set on that field, even if it sounded a little broken at times.

"Not at all! Look at you, gal!" The girl circled Kory with an eying glance and a soft whistle. "You're so gorgeous! You've got to tell me how you managed to get that figure! I NEED your workout routine!"

Kory blushed and smiled at the kind girl. "Thank you. Perhaps I can let you in on the secret later."

"Deal!" She offered to shake her hand, and Kory gladly took it. "Now let's get to class before the teacher starts wondering where we are. My name's Karen Beecher, by the way, but everyone calls me Bee."

"Very nice to meet you, Bee. You are most kind! My name is Kory Anders… and, um, everyone just calls me Kory." She considered telling her the actual name people called her back in Tamaran, but she doubted the girl could pronounce it very well. There was a reason as to why her parents had given her a Western name, after all.

Karen stifled a laugh. "You're a cutie, aren't you? All the guys will be fawning over you in no time. I'm already feeling jealous." She winked at her before heading out of the office and motioning for Kory to follow her.

Perhaps she wasn't going to have such a terrible day after all.

. . .

Garfield Logan was having a terrible day.

All morning, Steve had berated him about joining more "manly" clubs like Football or Basketball (despite the fact his rather short stature prevented him from fitting in with those monstrous players) and trying harder on his academics (because God dare the son of one of the wealthiest men in the world not end up at an Ivy League). The man was a maniac! He nitpicked every single thing Gar ever did, from the way he ate to the way he dressed to even the way he walked!

You can't do this because it'll make a bad impression.

Don't wear that! It makes you look like a troublemaker.

Real men eat meat. I don't understand why you insist on this veganism of yours!

To make matters worse, the expensive new Mercedes Steve had gifted him for his seventeenth birthday had decided to die a few miles into his drive to school and leave him stranded on the side of the road until one of his friends could come pick him up. He decided right then and there the car hated his guts. After all, how could such an expensive car just outright die like that? It made no freaking sense! Or maybe Gar just had the worst luck in human history (which wouldn't have surprised him at all).

Then once he had finally arrived at school, Joey (his co-chair for the recycling club) had conveniently decided to let him know the posters for their recycling club event in the coming week were not done. Thus, he was stuck finishing all the posters by himself during his free period because Jillian had decided she was too pretty to stain her outfit with paint. Scratch that, she just didn't want to be stuck next to him because she thought it was too awkward to be making small talk with his ex. As if he'd ever make a move on her considering they had broken up two years ago, and it hadn't even been that long of a relationship.

Needless to say, it wasn't even lunchtime, and Gar was already done with the day.

"Man, you're still not done?" His best buddy, Wally, the one who had picked him up earlier, asked as he casually strolled into the spare art room with his hands in his pockets.

"Maybe I'd be done faster if somebody thought it'd be nice to actually help me instead of walking around the school being useless!"

"Look, I only joined this club to talk to the hot treehugger brunette... Lola, is it?"

Gar stopped his painting and sent him a glare, almost tempted to fling some paint at him.

"Oh, yeah, and also to help you out or whatever." He yawned like he was bored until his eyes turned wide and a smirk took over his expression. "Anyway, you're never going to believe who I just saw!" He pulled up a chair next to Gar, turned it backward, and sat down. "I just saw the hottest redhead walking with Bee earlier. Boy, she was S-M-O-K-I-N-G, smoking! I wonder where she came from! New students don't usually join so late in the year." He put a finger under his chin and dreamily looked up at the ceiling, grinning like a madman.

"Mhm." Gar could only nod as he resumed his painting.

"Man, are you even listening to me?" Wally reached over to mess with his blond locks which were highlighted green at the tips because he was just that kind of guy. It was also the one thing he had gotten away with doing without Steve murdering him on the spot. Sure, he had been fuming when Gar had first walked into the house wearing a coy smile and almost-grass for hair. But, eventually, he had sort of gotten over it.

"Dude, stop!" Gar pushed him away just as he painted the last stroke on the poster. "There. All done."

"Did you not just hear me say I met the hottest redhead?"

"I didn't hear you say you met her. I heard you say you saw her," Gar pointed out in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Since when are you such a smartass?" Wally huffed and slapped him in the back of the head to which Gar just frowned and stuck his tongue out like a little kid.

"I can be witty when I feel like it."

"Yeah, right. And I'm the fastest man alive." He chuckled before getting serious (well at least as serious as Wally West could ever get). "Now have you thought about getting back at stupid Roy for the stunt he pulled last week?"

"What? You mean trapping you and Jinx in the janitor closet?" Gar let out a snort. "Last time I checked, that had nothing to do with me."

"Man, you've got to help me out here! I can't do it alone!"

Gar put away the posters on the rack to dry and turned to Wally while cleaning his hands with an old rag. He watched him with a raised eyebrow "You mean how you helped me with this?"

Wally sighed. "I'll be on cleaning duty for a month if you do this for me."

Gar raised an eyebrow but didn't agree. Instead, he threw the rag in a bucket on the corner of the room and crossed his arms as he stared at Wally.

"Fine. And I'll add in my Timetwister on top of that!"

"Deal." He grinned, thinking about the benefits it would bring to his Magic: The Gathering set. "What do you have planned?"

The mischievous smirk Wally sent him did nothing but assure him this would be a prank to remember. And only one person in the school knew how to pull out successful pranks better than Wally did. The great Gar Logan would soon strike again.

. . .

"Hi, Dick!"

Dick Grayson slammed his locker shut after taking out his physics textbook, clearly not in a very good mood. He turned toward Kitten with an unamused expression.

"Nice weather we're having, huh?" She leaned against the locker trying her best to give him her 'sexy' stare, which ended up making her look more like a drug addict than an actual attractive girl.

Dick shrugged his shoulders and walked past. Kitten struggled to follow up at his pace, continuing their 'conversation.'

"So… Are you up for going out after school today? Maybe we can get some ice cream or something? I know the perfect place. It's near-"

"Kitten, I need you to get one thing straight." He halted in his steps causing her to stop all the sudden, staring at him with wide eyes. "You and I are not dating. You and I have never been dating. You and I will never date."

Kitten continued staring at him, still appearing confused despite him addressing her like a child. "But… You went out with me for our homecoming dance."

"I only did it because your father backed me into a corner, and it was the polite thing to do. Besides, I told you it wasn't a date while there."

Kitten frowned, suddenly taking a more irritated expression. She raised her head like the stuck-up spoiled brat she tended to act like before walking past him and slamming against his shoulder, feigning the appearance that she didn't care she had just been rejected.

Dick sighed and walked the opposite way she did. Maybe he was being a dick (pun not intended), but it was best for both Kitten and him. They were nowhere near compatible considering Kitten was an annoying popular cheerleader who loved to stick her head into drama while Dick was a rather serious guy who preferred to stay out of it.

Not only that but Dick didn't have time for relationships. Truth be told, he was handling some issues at home that really prevented him from focusing on a romantic partner for the moment. His guardian has just taken in another stray from the street the same as he had with Dick, and the guy was a major brat. Sure, Dick had had his adjustment period which involved a lot of rebelling and even getting kicked out of his old school for a few of the stunts he had pulled. However, he had eventually grown out of it after Bruce had enrolled him in this academy full of stuck-up rich kids, and he'd gotten a cruel wake-up call for his actions. Much to say, Dick was done with acting like a brat, and his new step-brother was just getting started.

Thus, with everything burdening him at home, he made the logical decision to swear off girls for the time being. He could barely handle the headache that was Jason, and he didn't want to add any more unnecessary stressful relationships to his life. Besides, he wasn't interested in any girls from his class.

As he turned the corner, still deep in thought, he almost ran into Karen who appeared to be in full-on conversation mode.

"Why don't you join- Oh! Hey, Dick!"

"Hey, Bee, who-" His mouth nearly dropped open, stumbling on his words as he noticed the girl accompanying her. Dick had never been one to seek females out. If anything, they always sought him out. Thus, he had never ever really been truly attracted to anyone. The few girls he had dated he had either felt bad for or he'd been pressured into doing so by his friends. This girl, however, caught his attention the moment his eyes landed on her.

She was a gorgeous, tall redhead with an amazing figure. Her outfit wasn't all that impressive—a simple NASA t-shirt with some light denim jeans. Yet, somehow, it managed to accentuate all of her good features and still made her look like a goddess. Her skin was a dark bronze shade that practically glimmered even in the hallway's crappy lightning. And her eyes, two gorgeous orbs engulfed in green that nearly sucked him in. The girl couldn't have possibly been human.

"Earth to Dick?" Karen snapped her fingers in front of his face.

He tried to get a word out, but his mouth was too dry to say anything. Not that he would've thought of anything to say.

Even Karen appeared shocked. Never in her life had she seen the oh-so-great Dick Grayson stumble on his words.

"Hello?" she asked again.

"Um, oh, yes, hi," he finally managed, clutching his textbook a little harder.

Karen looked in between Kory and Dick considering neither had taken their eyes off each other. Kory was staring at him with wide eyes and a slight smile while Dick still appeared dumbstruck.

"Greetings! My name is Kory Anders. I am new here," she introduced herself.

"Uh, Dick." They shook hands, though it appeared to be a rather long handshake to Karen.

"Very nice to meet you." Kory's smile only grew.

"Likewise." His face turned a shade of pink, and it honestly looked ridiculous with his dark shades covering his eyes.

"Alriiiight," Karen cleared her throat and walked around Dick. "I have to take Kory to her first period if you don't mind, Dick."

"Oh, yeah, of course." He stepped out of the way to let them pass, not breaking eye contact throughout the whole exchange.

"Don't worry. I'm sure you'll see each other during lunch," Karen told him after sending him a teasing wink and practically dragging Kory away.

Completely red-faced, Dick finally turned around after they disappeared around the corner and continued making his way to his own class. Whoever this new girl was, he had a feeling she was going to be on his mind a lot moving forward. And he wasn't sure if he liked that at all.

. . .

"What did you say?" Victor Stone asked her through furrowed eyebrows once he realized he hadn't been listening to the past five minutes of their conversation.

Jennifer didn't bother to look him in the eyes, instead opting to focus on her manicure. She huffed and turned her head, a bright neon pink strand of her hair falling in front of her face. "I said we should break up."

"Um, why?" he questioned, not as upset as someone who was just dumped ought to be.

"Face it, Vic. The spark's been gone for months now. When we started dating last year, we couldn't even get our hands off each other. But ever since you got out of the hospital last month, you've been out of it. You've practically ignored me as much as I've ignored you. I just thought it was time for me to end it." She blew a bubble with the bright red cherry gum she was chewing, and it let out a distinct pop as it exploded. "I just don't want to waste my time."

Vic nodded as she spoke, unbothered by the fact she was looking at anywhere but at him. "Okay. You're right. I've been neglecting our relationship because I have a lot going on."

"And I don't think that's a valid excuse." She uncrossed her arms and finally looked him in the eyes, her catlike eyes looking truly serious for the first time since he'd known her. "So I guess this is it. I'll see you in class, and you better not make things awkward." She walked past him like it was nothing. Like they hadn't just broken up after nearly a year and a half of dating.

He almost wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all, not to mention her natural careless, bad girl demeanor. Honestly, it didn't bother Vic all that much. If there was something Jennifer was good at, it was being upfront and brutally honest with everyone, and he admired that about her. It had actually been one of the qualities that had drawn him to her. Despite his tall, muscular, and somewhat intimidating frame, everyone thought of Vic as the peacemaker of their class, constantly preventing unnecessary conflict and stepping in when he thought someone was in trouble. Though recently, something had changed about him.

Vic let out a defeated sigh and leaned his head against his locker. Truth was, he had been feeling down ever since he had gotten out of the hospital. A month ago, he'd gotten in a particularly bad accident after a drunk driver hit the driver's side of his car. He had nearly died on his way to the hospital, but thanks to the emergency surgery the doctors performed, his life had been saved. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said about his right leg. Knee down, his limb had been completely obliterated during the crash, and they had made the tough decision to amputate it. When Vic had awoken a few days later, his worst nightmare had come to life.

His father had tried to convince him he was going to be okay, that he could fix it. But not even the brilliant scientist could fix something that wasn't there. Even with the prosthetic on him, Vic felt empty. His dreams to play football during college so he could make his way up to the big leagues had been basically flushed down the toilet, and considering he had never really tried that hard in school because of his obsession with football, now his dream to even get a college experience was probably going down with it. Worst part was that not even his closest friends knew what was going on with him. Nobody knew Victor Stone was slowly crumbling away internally.

Needless to say, Vic was exhausted, and his father hadn't stopped berating him about getting him a better prosthetic he would be able to play football with at the cost of amputating more of his leg. To Vic, that was impossible (not to mention illogical), and he wasn't about to lose more of himself to become a robot man.

He let out another sigh before deciding to head to the restroom to wash his face in hopes of clearing his mind. Everyone was already heading inside after their lunch break, and he was probably going to arrive late to his next period. But Vic couldn't really bring himself to care.

. . .

"Raven Roth."

"Yes?" she snapped out of her daze once her English teacher called out her name. Surprisingly, her classmates were already picking up their stuff and scattering about the room to get to the door. Had she missed the bell?

"Are you alright? You look very tired." Her teacher leaned against the desk in front of her eyeing the raven-haired girl with concern.

"I'm fine," she muttered as she gathered her stuff and stood up. "I was up late working on my assignment. But it's nothing I can't handle."

"Are you sure? I can give you an extension if you would like. You've always been a good student. I wouldn't mind."

"It's alright, really," Raven assured her as she walked around her to get to the door. "Have a nice day."

Her teacher sighed and nodded, sending her a faint smile that Raven didn't reciprocate.

As Raven turned around to face the door, someone bumped into her causing all of her notebooks to scatter on the ground.

"Wally! You ass! Look what you did!" The infamous jokester of their grade, Garfield Logan, exclaimed.

"That was all you," the redhead, Gar's partner-in-crime, let out before disappearing out the door.

"Jerk," she heard Gar mutter as he kneeled down to help pick up her books.

"Sorry, uh-" He struggled to remember her name (despite the fact they'd been in the same class for nearly three years). Raven was rather used to being invisible, not that she minded it. She was actually rather fond of being left alone.

"Raven."

"Raven." He smiled and nodded as he handed her her books.

Raven hugged her books to her chest, maintaining her frown. "Do you mind stepping aside, so I can get out of here?"

"Oh!" Gar jumped out of the way, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head. "Right."

Before she could step outside, she heard Gar exclaim, "Wait!"

Raven glimpsed at him with a blank expression.

"Um, you're good at English, right?"

She sighed and nodded, impatiently tapping her foot.

Gar held his hands together tightly and rocked on the heels of his feet nervously. "Would you, uh, mind helping me with this essay? Just looking over it I guess. I'm not really that good at English, and if I don't pass this, I don't think I'll be able to pass the class. And my dad will kill me if I don't pass it. Like literally, I'll have to choose my casket and all," he gave an awkward chuckle.

Raven thought about it for a second, longer than she'd honestly expected to be considering his proposition. She didn't understand why he would ask her of all people. Gar was pretty friendly all around, and everyone seemed to like him. There was no reason for him to come to her. "I'm sure you'd be better off asking Toni. She's better at writing than me. And I'm sure she's good at explaining things too."

Then she walked away without bothering to get a reply.

Though a lot of people regarded her as the ice queen, or in Kitten's words 'cold-hearted bitch,' of the grade, Raven didn't care much for other people's opinions of her. She didn't really have any friends (at most, they could be called acquaintances), but she also didn't have all that many enemies. People just tended to avoid her all in all, and in Raven's opinion, they were right in doing so. She had always had a tendency to bring bad omens to those around her. They could call her superstitious, but Raven truly believed she was cursed. Otherwise, she couldn't find another explanation for all the bad stuff that happened around her.

Not only that but Raven didn't exactly fit in amongst all the rich kids. But right now wasn't the time to think about that. Right now, all she was preoccupied with was taking her lunch break to finish her Calculus assignment.

Raven didn't really have much time for schoolwork at home. Considering she lived alone with her mother, who had recently been struggling with her mental health and finding a job to properly support them in their tiny apartment in the rather bad part of town, she had been too preoccupied with her afternoon job at a book cafe and doing chores around the house. Thus, it often only left her with lunchtime to work on her assignments, not that she minded. Sure, she got a little hungry, but Raven didn't need much food or sleep to function (as unhealthy as it was, it simply wasn't feasible with her schedule).

She had to make sure to keep her grades up considering she was in Titan Academy on an academic scholarship. Unlike most of her classmates, Raven didn't have a rich mommy and daddy to support her. In fact, her father wasn't even in the picture. He had left long before Raven could even remember him. Frankly, Raven didn't care about him. The only thing on her mind now was survival. She had even thought about dropping out of school all together, but her mother had convinced her not to, claiming she would find another job soon that could earn them enough money for their basic necessities and bills.

But Raven knew that wouldn't happen.

She spent her half-hour finishing up the last few problems, and by the time she was done, it was nearly time for her next period. Once packed up, she headed out the main hallway and toward her History class.

For whatever reason, Raven started getting this sick feeling at the pit of her stomach like something was about to go terribly wrong.

And Raven was never wrong about her sixth sense.

She stopped in her tracks, looking around but only finding the hallway empty. As she continued walking toward the corner (where she could hear voices), the feeling only made her stomach more nauseous with every step. She had the sense she wasn't about to like what happened next.

. . .

"Hey, Kory!" Dick caught up to her after their lunch period, during which Karen had unfortunately decided to drag her toward her group of friends even after she'd seen her walking toward his table which included most of the so-called 'jocks,' though Dick mostly hung out with them because his buddy Roy had dragged him along.

"Oh! Hello, Dick," she smiled shyly at him, grasping to her textbooks as they walked, the hallway being quick to clear considering they were walking so slowly, neither very preoccupied about getting to their next period.

"So… How's your first day going?"

"It is going well. Everybody is so kind here, especially Bee and her friends."

"Yeah, they're pretty cool." He nodded awkwardly. "Listen, uh, I wanted to ask if you..." What was he going to ask her? He hadn't exactly thought their conversation would get this far. He chuckled to himself. "If you wanted me to walk you to class?"

Kory chuckled with amusement at how anti-climatic the question appeared to be. Her face turned a little red before responding, "I would like."

"Awesome!" he said rather loudly and excitedly before he looked around embarrassed and lowered his voice. "Where are you headed?"

"History. I believe it is with a man named Mr. Heywood?"

"Alright, cool! I know where that is."

Kory's smile grew as she noticed he was staring at her before they both awkwardly looked away to face the direction they were headed in.

They continued on their way down the main hallway which appeared empty beside the two figures arguing outside the faculty lounge at the end of the hallway. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was Wally West and Garfield Logan standing outside the door.

Well, that couldn't be good.

There appeared to be a bucket mounted above the closed door attached to the top as well as a pile of marbles on the floor in front of it. Next to them, there were a couple of paint buckets.

"Are you sure it was him, Wally?" asked Gar whose shirt was splattered with paint.

"Relax! I would recognize that red head of hair anywhere. Plus, Roy always sneaks into the faculty lounge to buy from the vending machines after lunch."

At the mention of his friend, Dick stopped next to them, causing Kory to yelp in surprise and bump into his back.

He sighed. "What are you two up to now? Is this another prank war? Because I'm warning you that it never ends well."

"Chillax, Dick." Gar waved his hand dismissively as if that should be of any relief. Coming from Gar Logan, no gesture was ever to be taken as a relief.

Dick glanced suspiciously in between them before deciding he didn't want any part of their ridiculous games. "Come on, Kory. Let's go before they get us in trouble," he told her as he walked past Gar.

"Woah, hold up, you're that new girl, aren't you?" Wally put his hand in front of Kory to stop her, though the girl appeared to be a little startled at the sudden action that she ended up tripping on the bucket of paint behind her, falling back, and spilling it all over the hallway as well as herself.

"Dude!" Gar exclaimed while Dick rushed over to help Kory to her feet.

He seemingly underestimated the slipperiness of the floor, however, so he ended up stumbling on the ground next to her, getting drenched in red paint in the process. He looked up at the two culprits with the dirtiest glare he could manage.

"Heh." Wally stepped back cautiously, afraid of Dick's bad side while Gar attempted to walk around the mess so as to not ruin his shoes.

Right about that moment, the boy's restroom decided to open (which was directly facing the faculty room) to reveal Victor Stone. "What the hell is going on-" Vic appeared to fall straight into the trap Dick and Kory had fallen into as he started to slip on the paint, though not before clutching onto the wall like his life depended on it and pushing Gar to the side accidentally.

As if the situation couldn't get any comically worse, Gar let out another "DUDE!" as he struggled to maintain his balance while sliding backward until he crashed into a new figure turning the corner unsuspectedly, sending them both to the ground. No one other than Raven Roth.

"Um, heh. Hi, Rae," he squeaked, lying above her with both palms at her sides.

Raven looked temporarily shocked, but she managed to recuperate by giving him her infamous death glare.

At this point, all five members were drenched in paint and either looked really surprised or looked like they were about to murder someone (mostly Raven and Dick). Meanwhile, Wally was the only one properly on his feet and completely clean.

"Shoot! I'm so sorry, guys! This is not what I plan-"

To add onto their current predicament, Wally was interrupted by the faculty room door opening at the worst possible moment and the initial prank appeared to work perfectly as the victim fell on his back the moment his foot stepped on the marbles and the bucket of paint successfully dumped all of its green contents onto him, splattering the rest of the group as it did. Unfortunately, the victim didn't appear to be Roy at all.

It just so happened to be Vice-Principal Morgan, and Roy was standing innocently behind him, trying to contain his snickers at the almost cartoony scene before him. Wally had taken this to be the perfect time to disappear and leave the five members literally red-handed at the scene of the crime.

"WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS!?" the vice-principal bellowed after recuperating from his initial shock.

At this point, all five had managed to get on their feet and were all looking down at the vice principal who was still struggling to get up. Roy attempted to help, but the older man muttered an irritated "I got it" before hanging onto the door and managing to half stand since his feet were still standing on a few marbles. The look he sent all of them could've probably obliterated them on sight.

Roy was the first to speak after clearing his throat. "Should I suggest the five students standing in front of you covered in paint?"

"You," he growled pointing at them individually. "DETENTION FOR A MONTH! ALL OF YOU!"

A/N: It's finally here! If you guys haven't noticed, I love basing my themes off of short-term concepts, definitions, or quotes. Reviews will be answered at the top of every chapter from now on, and chapters will be uploaded every week/every other week for at least the first few chapters. Thank you for reading! Please review if you enjoyed it, it really encourages me and makes me super happy when you guys do! Love you guys! :)