SNOWGLOBE

SNOWGLOBE

Ok, I'm tingling now, just having watched The Apprentice, Part 1. (I know, what kind of a monster am I? I haven't even watched most of TT yet.)

Disclaimer: Teen Titans belongs to Warner, etc. I think. Well it belongs to someone, and I know it doesn't belong to me.

Emerald Star / Yami no Kaiba: Thank you for such a quick response! O_O;; I know, it seems like every teen drama and fantasy rolled into one... XD... And it really is turning into Utena, isn't it? ^^;;
Sasha: Damnit, why so it is. O_O;;; Thank you for pointing it out. O_O;;
Mistress of Dragons: Thank you! *shiny eyes* *respects dragons*

RR very very very welcome. O_O Any kind of comment helps me to write more.

SLADExROBIN, NC-17

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Chapter 2: Invitation

Ring. Click.

A dead tone greeted his end of the receiver.

Robin stood at the only public access telephone in the whole school. It was early evening, but no one would be around the area, and so he had decided to call Bruce. So far, the results had been dismal, and he was down to his last quarter. The blasted phone had eaten the rest.

He should have expected as much. The same power that kept them bound there kept him from contacting anyone on the outside. From what he had learned from Beast Boy, the only way to talk with their parents or guardians was through the telephone in the general office, but he wasn't willing to trust anyone who had anything to do with the administration.

The names. It was eerie. How could someone forget their own names? He thought about Raven and suppressed a shudder. Sixty years. Locked in this unchanging loop. His eyes were open now, observed keenly more and more of the things that were wrong with the school

It was earlier that morning in class, when he was looking at the test paper he had been returned that he realised the dates made no sense. He had taken the test last week, but it bore that day's date. Even as he looked at it more closely, the numbers of his score, the answers, and the formulas began to melt together until they were about as logical as a Dali painting. He had turned away, feeling sick.

The names were the key. He rolled it over in his head. He had never appreciated his name as much as he did now.

His first course of action exhausted, he moved onto the next, and that was confrontation.

Whoever ran this joint was responsible, he was sure. The mystery that surrounded the school, everything was connected to the shadowy figure of the principal.

He was just about to head towards the dining hall when the phone rang, startling him. He stared at it for a moment, wondering if he should pick it up. His mind was made up in a split second, the receiver in his hands before he realised.

On the other end, lips curled, hearing the breathless gasp of "Hello?!"

"Hello."

Robin, who had not been expecting an answer after all, nearly dropped the receiver.

"Who are you?"

"You should know. You were thinking about me."

The voice. He had heard it before. There was a cold lump in the pit of his stomach and again came that unnerving feeling of being intimately touched.

"Who killed Cock Robin? 'I' said the sparrow, 'with my bow and arrow.'" tunelessly, mockingly, whispered.

"You're--"

He didn't get much further than that. The phone went dead.

Lips grimly pursed, he left the receiver dangling off the hook.


***

He stared at the image he had frozen. Of pale skin and fresh, pink lips. Blue eyes that encompassed infinity better than the sky.

Every cell of Robin's being personified what he wanted most.

He could taste it. Freedom.

***

Robin stepped into his room, the call still on his mind. He had left the dining hall early, much to the concern of his friends, citing the flu as an excuse. They had hardly looked convinced, but did not press the issue.

He had thought of a plan, but had not wanted to share it with the others. It was just... personal. He had known it, some small part of it knew the minute he pick up the phone and heard that voice. He had been singled out among all the students, though the reason was unclear.

It didn't matter. He would go ahead with his plan. What could he lose? At any rate, he refused to spend an eternity within the compounds of the school. He refused to be beaten down like Raven.

He would meet the principal, and he would remember what this invisible monster looked like.

***

Squeaks and thuds bounced off the high ceiling as Robin completed the gym circuit effortlessly. His training in the circus has been much more rigorous than that. He was garnering stares from people who had slowly gathered to watch, their expressions ranging from awe to disdain.

His new friends gaped. They knew nothing of his past, for Robin had kept prudently silent about it. Even the usually unshakablven ven had quirked an eyebrow in something like admiration.

Wiping the sweat off his face with the front of his t-shirt, Robin passed by the trio of Mammoth, Jinx and Gizmo. They were among those watching him with resentment. There was also something else in their eyes, something like... fear? As a group, they let him walk by, turning to escape in the other direction.

He stiffened his resolve at this realisation, and just as he was about to pass them, deftly tripped Jinx with a twist of his ankle. Shrieking, she landed on the polished wood. She looked up venomously to meet the rakish grin, hand over her cheek where a bruise would surely develop in a few minutes.

Robin saw his fds' ds' astonishment at what he had just done out of the corner of his eye. Star Fire looked disapproving, her frown creasing her pretty face.

Mammoth growled and lunged for his shoulders but was deftly sidestepped. A quick fist grazed his cheek, making his teeth cut into the inside of his mouth. Perhaps he had underestimated the little one, because Gizmo gave him a hard kick to the back of his knees, downing him, but not for long. He rolled to a swift recovery on his feet. The three surrounded him.

Cyborg and Beast Boy wanted to join the fray, but a firm hand of restraint from Raven held them back. Unlike the others, she had sensed something afoot. She shook her head and mouthed "Watch."

Three shrill whistle blasts tore through the air, halting the trio as they were closing in. The non-descript but angry gym teacher jogged up to them.

"What's going on here?"

You know perfectly well, Robin thought, wiping the blood from his mouth.

"He tripped her sir, "Gizmo said helpfully.

"And what was the meaning of that young man?" he thundered, giving Robin a scorching look.

"Accident sir. I didn't mean it." Robin tried to smile, showing the blood between the cracks of his teeth. The gym tea loo looked at him in disgust.

***

A laugh formed in his throat. He was so simple, crude but effective.

He was growing more attached to the boy every second.

***

"Accident my ass!" Jinx shrilled.

Everyone had been too busy staring, but now, a sandy haired boy walked up and tapped the gym teacher on the shoulder. He turned on the boy, nostrils flarin exn exasperation.

"Pardon me sir. " He said, voice flat. He jostled past, not caring that the man did not move to get out of the way. He stood before Robin and pressed a white envelope into his hand

"The principal would like to see you in his office." He said, and slipped away.

The crowd swallowed him up as quickly as he appeared, eager for a glimpse of the doomed man. In the few seconds that Robin had seen his face, he had realised with a faint sense of revulsion that the boy was one of those with no soul.

The gym teacher blinked, then started to scream at everyone to disperse, that there was nothing to see.

Robin was rooted to the spot, a small smirk of triumph on his face. In his hand was a small crisp note. The print was fine but elegant. Handwritten.

"Who saw him die?"
"I," said the fly,
"With my little eye,
I saw him die."

Well, he had certainly obtained the man's attention.

----
End Chapter 2.

*giggle* suddenly Slade sounds like one of those phone harassment types ^^...

Umm.. There is no originality in this story, I realise, but I hope you will bll bear with me and my wankyness ^^ Thank so so much ^^

Um. Can you tell I like Chuck Palahniuk? *wink*

kojiluvsizumi@hotmail.com