Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans

Chapter Four: Dreaming of Stars

Rachel stood awestruck, staring after her past leader from her dreams. She watched as the unlikely choice of a superhero sidekick and a crime stopper pushed past people and out of the door. So the titans were real? She wasn't sure anymore, but there was only one way to find out.

Rachel pushed past people to get to her second period class. Her teacher was a warm and bubbly person who didn't give her the frightened or mad glance she expected from her. She got an explanation of what they were doing in that class, career investigations mixed with computer technology. She got her work and was directed to her seat, next to a girl with blonde hair. "Do you have a year book?" She asked in a monotone. The girl nodded and handed over a yearbook that was previously stashed in her backpack while studying her curiously. Rachel ignored her and took the red bound book. As she had hoped, the pictures were colored, something that would be useful. She flipped through the until she had gotten to the ninth grade section, where the present tenth graders pictures would be, and where she would find the person she needed to talk to if she was correct. She didn't go far before a brilliant flash of orangey-red hair met her eyes, a picture of a girl with green eyes and waist length fiery hair smiled out at her. The caption read, "Anders, Kori –Foreign exchange student, School Spirit Club, Writing Enthusiast." Rachel studied the picture for a moment, then snapped the book shut, handing it back to it's rightful owner. She thought… "Kori Anders," She didn't have to write the name down, it wasn't likely she would forget Starfire's real name.

Rachel sat at a cafeteria table where no one would notice her. She would approach Kori later, but for now she had to evaluate her. She hoped she wasn't as out of character towards her as Robin, or should she say Richard, had been. Thinking of Richard though, she glanced over towards the rebel's table, a table full of loners. He had his sunglasses back on, and was sitting a little apart from even those at his table. His mysterious aura had obviously been inherited by his dream characters counterpart. Rachel concluded that he was somewhat popular, as girls kept staring and pointing at him, but he didn't like it. A familiar laughter reached her ears, and Rachel slightly turned her head in that direction. That was Star alright. She almost did float rather then walk as she glided across the cafeteria floor, laden by a tray and a couple of friends. She crossed over and sat by, not a popular crowd as Rachel would have guessed, but a group of misfits. At least one of every wanna be labeled stereotype was there, the people who tried to fit in but couldn't. The low self esteem, the depressed. Kori was the light of the table. She sat down as others greeted her enthusiastically and asked her about math homework. Boys looked at her dreamily before snapping back to their lunch. She was popular, at least, among her group of misunderstood. You could tell, by the joy radiating off her, that she wasn't there because she couldn't fit in somewhere else and she was trapped, but because she enjoyed shedding some light on this dark table. She enjoyed making a difference. She enjoyed helping. And Rachel needed a lot help.

Rachel approached Kori in sixth period, math, which Kori shared with her. A look of slight anxiety dawned her friends' faces as Rachel approached, but once Kori realized that she wasn't going to pull out a knife or something, her worry faded, although her friends weren't as understanding. Rachel walked up to her desk awkwardly, and Kori smiled.

"Greeting's new addition to our school, how may I be of assistance?" she asked happily.

Rachel looked uncertainly at the other girls crowded around her once superhero teammate who were either glaring at her or trying to make themselves seem as small as possible.

"Um…" she started uncertainly, how could she say this in front of all these people? Then an idea dawned on her, "Since I'm new here and everything, I'm a little behind on my lessons, and I was wondering if you could help me after school?" She asked.

A grin spread over Kori's face. "Certainly new friend, shall we do the work of home at your house or mine?"

"Yours," Rachel said quickly, thinking of the small house she lived in, always smelling of tea. Kori nodded, and gave Rachel her address quickly while the teacher walked in, ready to collect homework.

"I shall meet you at the fountain of drinking near the C hall after school," Kori added as she handed the slip of paper to her. Rachel nodded and went back to her seat, thinking of what just happened carefully, and how she was going to get what appeared to be a dark history out of such an enthusiastic girl.

Rachel made it through the rest of the day without any incident, and soon she was standing by what Kori called 'the fountain of drinking,' or the drinking fountain in the C hall. She soon saw Kori come down the hall, smiling as usual. Rachel wondered how she could always be happy, but that was Starfire for you. Kori approached her and started talking nonstop, about different things that caught her attention. Rachel followed her out of the school and across the neighborhood to her house. They entered a subdivision were the upper and lower class were mixed; there was both mansions and small run down houses. Looking at Kori's designer clothes and book bag, Rachel would have put her money on her house being one of the houses that shadowed those around them with their oriental roofs. She was surprised when she led her up the driveway to a house with grass that needed to be cut and a broken window boarded up. Kori looked over at Rachel, and saw her staring at the house. She looked down at her clothes and smiled.

"My sister does the modeling in return for clothes." She said in response to her unasked question. "I get the downs of my hands when she is through with them." She looked down uncomfortably and fingered a hole in the pocket of her sweater.

Rachel knew Kori good enough to know she was talking about hand-me-downs, and nodded, following her into her not so glamorous house. It smelled like cats, and sure enough Kori pulled a cat out from under the table as they entered.

"Rachel, meet Silkie, Silkie this is new friend Rachel." She said with a dazzling smile. The almost furless and hideous cat let out something between a hiss and a purr and then jumped out of Kori's suffocating arms.

"This way to my room," She called as she led the way. Rachel entered Kori's room, painted purple with cheap paint. She followed her lead in throwing her backpack on her bed. Kori flopped beside her backpack and took out her books.

"What do you want to work on first?" She asked happily, flipping through her agenda. Rachel sat next to Kori.

"Actually… I wanted to talk to you."

"About what? Is it a boy?" Kori asked enthusiastically.

"No, actually, this may sound weird, but it's about me." Rachel said awkwardly.

Kori didn't say anything, just looked down and messed with her shoelaces.

"I need to know what my life was like before I went into a coma, I can't remember any of it, and I have a clue that you could help me. Can you?" Kori looked up as Rachel said this.

"You don't remember any of it?" she asked in a whisper.

'Any of what?' Rachel wanted to scream, but she held it in. "No." she said simply.

Kori took a deep breath. "Well, your father, he… he didn't do very nice things. And sometimes you didn't either," she finished lamely.

"What did I do?" Rachel whispered, her eyes wide open, "I have to know."

Kori shook her head. "Just… not nice things. I can't tell you, it's too hard. All I will tell you is that your father got sent to jail for those… bad things." She shook her head again, then changed the subject hastily. "What do you mean a clue?" she asked curiously. It was Rachel's turn to shake her head.

"It's silly, but I had a dream, while I was in my comma, and it was about me, you, and three other people, and we were on some kind of team. We stopped crime together." Her face reddened, it sounded ridiculous for her to have such a childish dream, and one that she actually had believed too, for years. Kori apparently didn't think so; she just looked thoughtful, nodding her head.

"I guess it's logical for your mind to make up things that you thought you were doing while you were missing out… but why me? The last time I talked to you it was probably in third or fourth grade," she said, "What about the other three you mentioned? Do you know who they are?" Rachel shrugged.

"I've seen one of them around, but he didn't want anything to do with me. I'll look for the others tomorrow I guess, although I don't know what good it would do, but it would be great to see them again."

"Maybe they can tell you more about your life then I can." Kori said.

Rachel nodded, deep in thought, could they possibly fill in the huge gaps that even her mother couldn't? She would find the titans, or die trying.

Like it? Love it? Hate it? There's only one way for you to let me know! Thank you so much to my reviewers! You all now have at least an idea of what Rachel's past was about, and that it had to do with Trigon. Sorry if she was a lil OC, but she's confused right now and trying to find out her life. Tell me what you think, REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!