Teen Titans #3: Show-and-Tell: We Finally Found Her

The next morning, when all the titans, new and original, they looked in the kitchen and noticed three things. 1. That there was enough breakfast made for everyone, 2. That the kitchen looked absolutely spotless, and 3. That Diamond wasn’t there with them.

“Hay, where’s Dia gone to?” BeastBoy asked. They all, except Ivan and Darien, looked around for her. After a few moments, Robin spotted a note on the counter. He walked over and read it.

“Hay guys, it’s a note from Diamond.” called Robin. The old titans ran towards him and stood in front of him as he read. “It says, ‘Morning everyone! I’m sorry I’m not here right now. I’m also sorry that I’ll be missing training today. I’m at school! I hope none of you are angry at me. I know I should’ve told you. I guess it just slipped my mind. I’ll be back around 2:00 p.m. Oh wait! No, it’s Friday so I won’t be back ‘til around 5:00 or so, but I promise to make dinner for everyone. That is, if you want me to. The food on the stove is for all of you. Hope you like it. Enjoy your breakfast and have a good day!

-Diamond :)”

Everyone looked at the note in, somewhat, shock. They all grabbed a plate and ate. BeastBoy looked in the fridge and found a plate of tofu with a card with his name on it next to it he took the card and read it silently to himself.

‘Dear BeastBoy,

I heard that you don’t like regular food so I made you a special tofu breakfast! I hope you like it. I made it with extra care. I’ve never really made anything from tofu so I hope I made this one right. Enjoy!

-Diamond :)”

He couldn’t help but smile at her generous gesture. He picked up the plate and sat with everyone else and ate. They were all silent. When they tasted their food, they nearly choked on how good it was. After some time, Cyborg finally broke the long silence.

“Didn’t know the lil lady went to school, or even cared about her education so much.” he said.

“Yea.” spoke Darien. “She’s in High School now.”

“Oh how they grow up so fast.” Ivan said. He wiped an imaginary tear from his eye and laughed.

“We really don’t know anything about her. We should get to know her more, but how?” asked the boy wonder.

They turned towards the neko (a/n: cat in Japanese) twins when they heard them clear their throats. They both had smiles on their faces.

“You know if you wanna start to get to know her…” started Ivan.

“Why don’t you look at her pictures?” Darien finished. They looked at the twins with question marks over their heads. The twins just smiled at them. “Come on.”

“Just follow us when you’re done.” said Ivan.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (IN DIAMOND’S ROOM) xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When they finished eating, they all headed for Diamond’s room. As the sliding door opened, the titans walked into her room. Darien stopped in front of her desk and Ivan stopped and sat on her bed.

“Alright, if I were Diamond and wanted to see my baby book, but don’t want anyone to suspect anything or find it, where would I hide it?” Darien asked as he thought. Both brothers thought for a moment before it clicked. They both went on each side of her bed and pulled the pillows away neatly and gently one at a time ‘til they found what they were looking for. “Bingo!” he yelled.

“We have a winner!” shouted Ivan with happily.

They pulled out a rather small picture book and put her pillows back in place. When they were done, they all sat on her bed and floor and looked at all the pictures. They all couldn’t help but smile. Their were pictures of her when she was a baby, when she was eating spaghetti and got it everywhere while smiling, when she was naked on her stomach and you could see her cute little bottom, that one made all the titans laugh. There was also a picture of her when she looked around the age of two to three. She had her hair in a big puff ball at the top of her head, had pink feathers all around her, a pink background, and was smiling. She had all of her teeth in luckily. Darien and Ivan paused at this picture. They all stared at in with smiles on their faces.

“This is our favorite picture.” Ivan said.

“Yea.” Darien said. “It reminds us of how cute she used to be before she grew up...”

“And guys started eye ballin’ her.” Ivan concluded. They just laughed and continued to look through them. “Hay, what’s this picture?”

“Dunno.” his little brother answered. “It wasn’t in here before, but it looks really familiar.”

They were at the last picture. She was about five or six or seven years old. She was wearing a white midriff, a pair of brown, white, pink and red baggy hip-hop pants, a pair of black sketchers, one red, pink and brown and one pink and white fingerless gloves, and a black baseball cap that was turned backwards. Darien and Ivan leaned into the picture to get a better look and make sure they were seeing it right.

“It can’t be, can it?” asked Ivan.

“’Course not! We haven’t seen her in years.” Darien said.

“Yea, but…” he tried to reason.

“Ivan please! You swore you wouldn’t talk about her ever again! She’s gone and there’s nothing we can do! Diamond isn’t her so just drop it!”

The titans just watched as the two brothers argued. Darien looked hurt and angry, but not at Ivan, but at himself. Ivan looked just as hurt, but also with sympathy in his eyes. The titans didn’t know what the heck was going on, but they stayed quiet as usual. Finally, Ivan got up and turned to all of them with a small, sad smile on his face.

“We’re sorry you guys had to see our little argument.” Ivan apologized. “Why don’t we leave?” And that’s what they all did. They headed for the door, but Darien tripped on something and fell head first into the floor. “Darien.” he called.

“What?” he asked. “It’s not my fault I tripped over this stupid photo album.”

Something snapped in him when he said those words. He pulled the book from under the covers that draped over the bed. It was a photo album, and it was HUGE!! They opened the book and flipped through the pictures. They were pictures of them, all three of them! There were a few pictures missing which they knew, by the order of the pictures, came from the other album. They were completely speechless. The titans were looking through the pictures with them. They stopped a picture that looked similar to Diamond’s. Diamond was in the same outfit, and so were they. They were all together wearing the white shirts, but theirs were regular shirts, not midriffs like hers, and baggy hip-hop pants. Ivan’s pants were red, brown, and black with the same design as was Darien’s pants, but his were green, brown, and silver. The shoes, hats, and gloves were the same and the same color.

“This is us.” said Darien.

“That was her. I knew it.” shouted Ivan with glee. They were completely and utterly speechless as they stared at the picture then at each other. Their eyes began to water with tears.

“Dudes, what’s the problem?” asked a concerned BeastBoy,

“Why are you crying?” asked Starfire.

“We’re crying because…” started Darien.

“We found our little sister.” finished Ivan. The titans were confused so the twins explained. “When we were little, it wasn’t just the two of us.”

“Yea. We also had a triplet, a sister.” Darien said. The titans could see the happiness at the far memory.

“We were always together.” said Ian. “We did everything together; sports, played, got into trouble, danced, preformed, shopped, bathed, everything.” The titans smiled even more as the happiness grew in their eyes and face.

“Anyway,” came Dariens’ voice. “Before the story gets too long, I’ll get to the point. A few weeks after our performance in this picture, someone broke into our home and kidnapped her.”

“Me, Darien, and mom all searched everywhere for her, but we just couldn’t find her.” Ivan spoke.

“We thought we’d never see her again, but when we saw Diamond, we nearly ran to her at top speed and tackled her in a hug, but we didn’t. When we went up to her, it turned out that she didn’t know who we were, but we still wanted to be near her so we all became really close.” Darien ran his hand through his hair, something he always did when he was angry to try and calm his frustration.

“Who’d a thought that she was our real little sister?” asked Ivan.

“I can.” whispered Darien. Everyone looked at him. He looked angry. “She knew.” She knew all along and never told us.”

“Darien, you don’t know…” Ivan started, but was cut off.

“She knew Ivan!! She knew all along who we were yet she never told us! She knew who we were and what she is!”

“Darien…” He tried to reason with his little brother, but he knew that there was no way of getting through to him once he was angry,

“Why are you defending her!? She lied to us! We suffered for all these years, thinking she was dead or something and yet she was right under our noises all along!”

They were all silent for a while ‘til the door slid open. To all of their surprise, Diamond walked in, her hat still on her head. She looked at everyone with passive eyes.

“Diamond…” whispered Ivan.

She looked at everyone before giving them a big, happy smile. “Ohayo minna-san.” she spoke. They all looked confused.

“She said ‘good morning everyone’.” Ivan translated. He walked over to her and placed one hand on her shoulder and the other on his hips. “And why aren’t you in school right now young lady?”

She couldn’t help, but giggle at the little scolding he was giving her. “Algebra1 book. After lunch.” She was still trying to speak so she couldn’t say a whole sentence just yet. Everyone looked at her clock next to her bed and couldn’t believe that it was already lunch. “Like breakfast?” she asked.

“Yea thanks. It was great.” Robin said.

“Especially the tofu. That was perfect.” commented BeastBoy.

Diamond couldn’t help but smile more. “Arigato. I make lunch?” she offered.

“That’d be great!” shouted Cyborg in happiness.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (KITCHEN) xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Everyone sat at the table in silence as they watched Diamond cooking. She was making a special chicken soup that wasn’t only for people who were sick. Darien had been seething the whole time to himself and everyone, but Diamond knew it. After some more time on uninterrupted silence, Darien finally snapped. He abruptly stood up, slammed his hands on the table, and glared at Diamond threw his bangs. Diamond had turned off the stove and abruptly turned to look at the angry Darien staring at her. “Ready.” she finally said.

There was a short pause before Darien broke it. “Why?” he asked softly,

Diamond was confused at the question. “Nani?”

Darien slammed his hands on the table again. “Don’t you ‘what’ me! You know exactly what I’m talking about!” he yelled at her.

There was another pause.

“Tell me if this rings a bell. ‘LADY’S AND GENTLEMEN, PLEASE WELCOME OUR NEXT HIP-HOP TRIO, IVAN, DARIEN, AND FAITH PHILLIPS, THE NEKO TRIO!!!” Diamond’s eyes seemed to pop out of their sockets. “Does THAT ring a bell!?!”she demanded. Diamond’s lips flapped open and closed, but no words seemed to come out. Finally Ivan intervened.

“Darien, STOP!!” shouted Ivan. “What are you doing!? You’re not making anything better by yelling at her!!”

“I don’t care!!” he shouted to his older brother. “You know how much we suffered!! You know how many nights mom would stay up and cry when we couldn’t find her!!” He turned back to Diamond who had her head down and was trembling. “Why?” he softly asked; almost begged. “Why did you lie to us all this time? Why didn’t you tell us?”

After one more pause, Diamond grabbed her backpack and dashed for the door. Sadly, Darien ran after her and grabbed her backpack to stop her. Unfortunately, her backpack unzipped and everything fell out. The one thing that caught the neko brothers’ attention was the picture in a heart shaped picture frame that fell on top of everything. The glass of the frame broke as it fell to the floor. The picture was of them; their mom, dad, and all three of them. Diamond’s hands were on either side of it as she cried. She slowly picked it up and held it to her chest as she cried more.

“Dia, that picture, it’s…” Ivan started. Diamond didn’t say anything, at least not aloud. Instead she moved her lips that, somehow, Ivan was able to understand. He had always been good at lip reading so he understood what she was saying right now. “‘A dream is a wish your heart makes when you’re fast asleep. In dreams you could lose your heart ache. Whatever you wish for you keep.”

They all stared at him. Darien looked from his older brother back to his little sister who had started to pack her things slowly and back in her backpack. “Faith, I… I…” he stuttered. Without another word, Diamond stood, opened the back of the picture frame, took out a hidden DVD, handed it to Ivan, and bowed, tears still falling from her eyes onto the floor.

“Gome nii-san, aniki.” That was the last thing she said before dashing out of the room.

Everyone was dead silent. Ivan walked over to Cyborg.

“Do you think you could play this for us?” he asked.

“Uhh, sure man.” he said.

He got up, went to the T.V., and played the DVD. When a song played and pictures started to appear, Darien and Ivan’s hearts nearly stopped. The DVD played the song “A Dream Is a Whish Your Heart Makes” (by Raven, Aly Michalka, Ricky Ullman, Amy Bruckner, Orlando Brown, Anneliese Van Der Pol, Dylan and Cole Sprouse, Ashley Tisdale and Brenda Song – Disney Channel Stars) and a slideshow of all three of them when they were little up until they were they were about eight or nine years old. But by then, the pictures were only of Ivan, Darien, and their mom and of Diamond and their dad. At the end of the song, there was a video of Diamond and their father. She looked about the age of nine.

“Hay Faith.” her father called.

“Yes daddy?” she answered.

“What’s the one thing you wish for the most in the world?” he asked.

Diamond put her hand on her chin as she thought. “I’d wish for our family to be together again.” was her answer. “I miss mommy and Darien and Ivan. I hope they miss me too, but I know that they’re happier without me. I was always a burden when I was with them. They probably are happier without me.”

Their dad gave her a big hug and kissed her forehead before tucking her into bed. “I know for a fact that they aren’t happier without you. I’m sure they all miss you so much right now.” With that, the video ended.

Darien and Ivan had silent tears falling from their eyes unknowingly and uncaringly. The titans cried as well at the sad video. They all turned when they heard the sliding door open.

“Hay man,” Cyborg called. “Where are you going?”

There was a pause before Ivan spoke. “All this time, she’s been suffering more than both of us. She wanted to tell us, but didn’t. I guess she saw that we were happy when she was gone and decided against it.” He turned his head upwards as the tears continued to fall from his closed eyes. He then opened them and looked at everyone. “I’m sorry that we made such a mess of everything. And it’s only our first day. I seriously apologize and ask for your forgiveness.” With that, he left.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (AT DIAMOND’S SCHOOL) xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ivan got off of his motorcycle and took off his helmet as he pulled up and parked at Diamond’s school next to her motorcycle. (a/n: Ivan. Darien, and Diamond all ride motorcycles. just to clarify thet) He knew that the lunch bell had just rung for all the kids were leaving the grass area and returning to their classes. He spotted Diamond by herself, reading with a pair of glasses on that made her eyes look a normal chocolate brown and her white hat on. He was about to run to her and tackle her in a hug and apologize over and over when he noticed some guys walking up to her. She just closed her book and stood up. As soon as she was up, one of the guys grabbed her by her collar and shoved her into the wall behind her while the other two guys started to beat the snot outta her. Ivan was frozen on the spot for a split second before he sprang into action. He ran up to them and kicked the guy in the stomach who was holding her, socked one of the guy in the face who punching her, and jammed his elbow into the ribs of the other guy who was hitting her. When the guys got up and ran away, Ivan went and help Diamond get up.

“Dia, are you alright?” All she did was nod her head. As soon as she was on her feet, her stance wavered and she ended up falling into Ivan’s arms as he eagerly caught her. “Dia, are you okay?” She didn’t say anything for a while. All she did was clutch onto Ivan’s shirt.

“Nani?” she asked. “Why here? You hate me too?” She started to cry as she held onto his shirt. He held her as she cried her eyes out. After some time, she began to sniffle. He pulled her away and wiped his tears away with his thumb.

“No. I don’t hate you.” he said. “And neither does Darien or mom. We all love you and though we were happy at times, things still weren’t the same without you. We really missed you, but we knew that we had to get over you just in case you were dead and we never saw you again. I hope you understand.”

She just nodded her head with a smile. “Glad.” was all she said.

“Thanks Faith.” Ivan helped her up again and they dusted each other off. “Come on. Let’s head back to the tower.”

She shook her head ‘no’. “Show-and-tell. Think have best project of all.” she spoke.

“And what might that be young lady?” he asked.

Diamond again laughed at Ivan and the way he acted older and superior. “Call Darien. Tell come here. Wanna show family.” she said that with a sincere smile on her face that read that she was happy to belong.

Ivan smiled at her and gave her the biggest hug he could. “It’s good to have you back sis.” He let go and dialed Darien’s number.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (AT THE TOWER) xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Darien was outside, skipping rocks into the lake. He felt really bad about what he had said to his lil sis and couldn’t seem to get it out of her head. Or what Ivan had said about her suffering more than them. He felt someone’s presence behind him and somehow knew who it was.

“I know I made a mess of everything.” he said sadly. “I shouldn’t have yelled at her. I was happy to know that she was alright, but at the same time, I was so angry at myself for not being able to protect her when we were younger. I didn’t mean to take it out on her. I’m the worst brother in the world. I don’t blame her if she never forgives me.” He sat down on the rocks.

Cyborg, who Darien had been talking to, came and sat down next to him and placed his hand on Darien’s shoulder. “Hay man, don’t beat ya’self up for it. We all make mistakes. Nobody’s perfect and I know the girl knows that and will forgive you. Just try it.” Darien thanked Cyborg and thought on it for a while. Cyborg got up and started to skip rocks in the lake like Darien was doing. After a few minutes, Darien’s cell phone rang. He looked at his brother’s picture and picked it up waiting and expecting to get yelled out of his mind into his ultra sensitive cat ear.

“Darien.” To his surprise, his brother just sounded happy. “Get on your bike and get down here to Dia’s school quick.”

He started to panic. “What’s wrong? Is Diamond okay?” Cyborg turned around with a look of concern on his face when Darien said that. What Darien got as a response was a laugh.

“Yea, she’s fine. She wants us to be her show-and-tell project for her class.”

That struck him as odd. “Wait, what?” he asked in complete confusion and slight annoyance. “Show-and-tell? What are we, an inanimate object that she can show off when ever she wants?”

“Darien! You know, that’s the kind of attitude that scared Dia in the first place! How do you expect her to know we love her if all you do is yell at her and say stuff like that!?”

Darien sighed. He knew his older brother was right. He was never good with his temper when it came to Diamond in the past and it was still horrid in the present and it would more than likely get worse in the future if he didn’t try harder. “You’re right. I hate to admit it, but you’re right. Alright. I’ll be there in a few.”

“Darien.”

“Yea?”

“The reason she wants us to be her show-and-tell project is because she wants everyone to know that she’s happy and has a family unlike what everyone else says. She really appreciates us and having us around more than anything. She wants everyone to know that. She loves us more than anything.”

Darien’s eyes widened and his head fell downward. “She… really loves us?” he asked. “Even me? Even after the way I yelled at her and accused her earlier?”

“No duh Einstein.” came Ivan’s sarcastic voice. “Now get down here.” They hung up and Darien put his phone back in his pocket before heading back into the tower.

“Ay man.” called Cyborg. Darien stopped and turned to look at him. “Don’t worry about her. She’ll be just fine. She really loves you and I’m sure she already forgives you.”

Darien smiled and nodded his head before turning back around and heading to the garage where his motorcycle was and heading to Diamond’s school (gonna call her Diamond for all the chapters except when someone calls her real name. Her profile name and her hero name is Diamond, just to clear things up).

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (AT DIAMOND’S SCHOOL) xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was after Diamond’s Algebra class was over that Darien made it to her school. He ran through the hall ‘til he spotted Diamond and Ivan walking out of her class. He ran up to them and bent over to pant.

“Hay man. Enjoy your run around campus?” asked Ivan with a smirk.

“Oh shut up!” Darien shouted angrily to his older sibling. “Can we just go?” Diamond nodded and grabbed both their hands and started running towards her next class.

“Ven aqui, ven aqui!” called Diamond. (a/n: Spanish translation: hurry, hurry!)

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (IN ENGLISH CLASS) xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Everyone walked into the classroom. Like everyday, most, if not all, the students picked on Diamond as she walked in towards her seat. Darien and Ivan were outside, seething with anger. They wanted so desperately to go in there and teach those kids a lesson, but just barely controlled themselves. When class started, the few students that sat around her picked on her throughout the presentations. One student wrote a note and passed it over her shoulder from behind her. He and his friends were snickering and giving each other high-fives when they saw her read it. Ivan and Darien’s eyes seemed to zoom in on the paper and read it. When they did, it was all that was needed to snap Darien. He lunged for the door, planning to break it down, as he snarled like a wild animal as he tried to get out of his brother’s arms that held him from doing what he oh so wanted to do. He tried his hardest to get free, but his brother had a firm grip on him. He soon stopped struggling when they both saw Diamond right something back on the paper and passed it back to the guy behind her. He smirked to his friends before reading the paper. When he did, his face went blank in shock. His friends it from over his shoulder and instantly started to laugh like crazy. The teacher came up to them with anger written all on her face.

“And what may I ask is so funny boys?” asked the teacher. The boys could stop laughing and crying long enough to answer her question. When she didn’t get an answer like she wanted, she snatched the paper from the boy that was still staring at, dumbfounded at what he read over and over again. She read it over and her face went from angry to passive. She looked down as Diamond who was listening to what the student in the front was saying like everyone was supposed to do until their teacher; Mrs. Mendre was her name, yelled.

“Diamond, did you write this; the second part?” Mrs. Mendre asked her. Diamond looked into her eyes and gave a nod ‘yes’. Mrs. Mendre reread the note:

Hay Princess Freakazoid, why don’t you go back to your own planet where the people might actually like you around them?

But King Jackass, I thought I was home. Oh silly me, I forgot; my King doesn’t have a swollen lip from the last time I punched him in the face. I’m so sorry. I must be on the wrong planet.

She then took Diamond’s pencil and writing something on it as well and placing it back on her desk for her to read. When Diamond read it, she looked back up at her teacher who smiled at her. The note read:

Nice one! You really got him good! :)

Diamond smiled as well and went back to listening to the presentations. Everyone was completely oblivious to the two twin nekos outside the classroom, laughing and crying their butts off in sheer happiness.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (LATER) xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was a few minutes ‘til the bell would ring, indicated that class was almost over.

“Alright class,” spoke Mrs. Mendre. “You have about ten minutes ‘til the bell rings so…” She didn’t finish her sentence when Diamond’s hand went up in the air, shocking her. “Yes Diamond?” she asked. She had expected Diamond to do sign language to ask her question or speak in Japanese or Spanish, but what she said next shocked her and the entire class beyond comprehension. She spoke slowly as to pronounce every word and completed a whole sentence.

“May I do my show-and-tell project?” she asked very slowly. To say everyone was shocked would’ve been the understatement of the year. They all beyond shocked they had all stopped breathing. After some time, she finally recovered her ability to breathe and spoke.

“Why of course Diamond.” she said with glee. “Go right ahead.” Diamond got out of her seat and walked over to the door. In walked Ivan and Darien. All the girls immediately started to drool over them and a few of the guys (a/n: the gay ones. haha J). She again started to talk slowly to make complete sentences.

“My show-and-tell project is my older brothers; Ivan and Darien.” stated Diamond. “They’re both the best brothers you could ever want. They protect me when I need it…” The three guys towards the front that were bullying her earlier only nodded and shrank down in their seats when Ivan looked (a/n: or rather glared) at them.“They know how to fight, sing, and dance. When we were younger, we always preformed together. We would either sing or dance. We were really good.” (a/n: when ever she makes a complete sentence, she talk slowly. At least ‘til I say otherwise) She was interrupted when one of the guys in the middle of class spoke.

“Yea right!” yelled one of the guys. “You don’t know how to sing! I bet you sound worse than my cat when she sees herself in the mirror after getting shaved!” Everyone started laughing at her. They didn’t stop until the heard music playing. They all looked up in front and saw Diamond playing a CD before turning to them and singing (a/n: it’s Energy by Keri Hilson).

Diamond: “[Intro] Ooh ooh,
Oh ohh,
Ohh yeah, yeah.

[Verse 1]
I wish I could rip out a page of my memory cause I put to much energy ahead of me, can't wait till I get through this faze cause it's killin’ me to bad we can't rewrite our own history

[Hook]
Such a mystery,
When he's here with me,
It's hard to believe I'm still lonely,
Chances fadin' now,
Patience runnin' out,
This ain't how it's supposed to be.

[Chorus]
I'm havin' nightmares from sleepin' with the enemy, (enemy) (no no)
How do we reverse the chemistry? (chemistry)
I don't want us to be the end of me,
This love is takin' all of my energy, (energy)
Energy, (energy)
My energy, (energy)
Takin' all of my energy, (energy)
Energy, (energy)
My energy, (energy)
Takin' all of (my energy).

[Verse 2]
Seems only like yesterday, (day)
Not even gravity could keep your feet off the ground when you're with me, (you're with me)
How can two be as one?
then become so divided now?
There's no use hidin' from misery, (no).

[Hook]
Such a mystery,
When he's here with me,
It's hard to believe I'm still lonely,
Chances fadin' now,
Patience runnin' out,
This ain't how it's supposed to be.

[Chorus]
I'm havin' nightmares from sleepin' with the enemy, (enemy) (oh ohh)
How do we reverse the chemistry? (chemistry) (how do we)
I don't want us to be the end of me, (me yeah)
This love is takin' all of my energy, (energy) (all of my energy)
Energy, (energy)
My energy, (energy)
Takin' all of my energy, (energy)
Energy, (energy)
My energy, (energy)
Taking all of...

(Oh oh)
'Cause you takin' all of my energy.
Now I can feel you change in me
and I can't afford to slip much further
from the person I was meant to be (ohohohohoho)

I'm not afraid to walk alone
not giving up but moving on
before it gets to deep
cause your taking all of my energy

[Chorus]
I'm havin' nightmares from sleepin' with the enemy, (enemy) (oooh)
How do we reverse the chemistry? (chemistry) (oooh)
I don't want us to be the end of me,
This love is takin' all of my energy (energy) (all of my energy).

I'm havin' nightmares from sleepin' with the enemy, (enemy) (ohh ohh)
How do we reverse the chemistry? (chemistry) (ohh)
I don't want us to be the end of me,
This love is takin' all of my energy, (energy)
Energy, (energy)
My energy, (energy) (oooh ohh)
Takin' all of my energy, (energy)
Energy, (energy)
My energy, (energy) (takin' all of me)
Takin' all of...

You kept me,
You're takin' all of me, yeah, oh ohh.

This love is takin' all of my energy.”

Everyone just stared at her in aw. There was a long silence before Diamond began to talk again.

“If you like my singing, you’ll love theirs. They have better voices than me. Ivan’s favorite song is Moving Mountains by Usher and Darien’s is Closer by Ne-Yo. We…”

“THAT’S NOT YOUR REAL VOICE!!!” shouted Daisia, efficiently cutting her off. Everything in the room went dead silent. They all looked from Daisia, to Diamond and back. Daisia Daniels was her name. Miss Popular was her game. She was the most popular girl in the whole school. She was said to have the best acting skills, dance moves, singing voice, fashion knowledge, everything. You could call her the triple threat if you wanted, not that she really was one. She always dressed up like a (a/n: oh what was the word, ah yes) two bit tramp.

Today, she actually wore the least amount of clothing that se could without showing any… vital body parts. She wore a light pink, yellow, white stripped low cut V cut short sleeved shirt that showed WAY too much cleavage on the rack that she didn’t even have, a slightly darker pink zip-up vest midriff, a hot pink with light green and gold stripped skirt, and a pair of lime green and gold high heals with ugly pink and white flowers in between the big toes. She had short blond hair that went just barely past her shoulders and a pink bandana holding her bangs down on her head. Her nails were pink and lime green on every other nail of her toes and her fingers.

All the guys thought that she was the most beautiful thing on the face of the planet. They would drool over her and even started a stupid fan club for her when she started the seventh grade. Diamond just looked at her.

“Would you like for us to battle?” asked Diamond. The whole class gasped. No one had ever dared to challenge Daisia to a completion of any sort. Daisia’s eyes widened for a moment or two before they went back to there normal size and she smirked.

“Alright, but I say we sing without music.” said Daisia.

“Acapello.” said Diamond. Daisia stared at her in confusion. “Means sing with no music.” she stated.

Everyone started to laugh at Daisia for not knowing something as simple as that. She on the other hand started to growl and bare her teeth.

“Alright!” Daisia shouted. “Actually, we will sing with music. But I get to pick the song. And I choose Beautiful Liar. You get why. I’m beautiful and you’re a liar.” The class chuckled at her little joke as she flipped her short blond hair back behind her shoulder. She went into her sling pack and pulled out a CD.

“I sing Beyonce, you sing Shakira. Be prepared to be humiliated.” she said in that oh so annoying cocky voice. She placed it in the CD player ad pressed play. The music began to play and she began to sing. (a/n: sorry to all you Beyonce lovers. I like her too, but Daisia has to sing first. She has to lead so that she can still be cocky and stuck up and stuff so don’t take it personally and think i don't like her. I really like her songs)

Both: “Ay, Ay, Ay
Daisia: “Nobody likes being played
Both: “Beyonce, Beyonce
Diamond: “Shakira, Shakira (hey)

Daisia: “He said I'm worth it, his one desire
Diamond: “I know things about 'em that you wouldn't wanna read about
Daisia: “He kissed me, his one and only, (yes) beautiful Liar
Diamond: “Tell me how you tolerate the things that you just found out about

Diamond: “You never know
Daisia: “Why are we the ones who suffer
Diamond: “I have to let go
Daisia: “He won't be the one to cry

Daisia: “(Ay) Let's not kill the karma
(Ay) Let's not start a fight
(Ay) It's not worth the drama
For a beautiful liar
Diamond: “Can't we laugh about it (Ha Ha Ha)
(Oh) It's not worth our time
(Oh) We can live without 'em
Just a beautiful liar

Diamond: “I trusted him, but when I followed you, I saw you together
Daisia: “I didn't know about you then 'till I saw you with him again
Diamond: “I walked in on your love scene, slow dancing
Daisia: “You stole everything, how can you say I did you wrong

Diamond: “You never know
Daisia: “When the pain and heartbreak's over
Diamond: “I have to let go
Daisia: “The innocence is gone

Daisia: “(Ay) Let's not kill the karma
(Ay) Let's not start a fight
(Ay) It's not worth the drama
For a beautiful liar
Diamond: “Can't we laugh about it (Ha Ha Ha)
(Oh) It's not worth our time
(Oh) We can live without 'em
Just a beautiful liar

Diamond: “Tell me how to forgive you
When it's me who's ashamed
Daisia: “And I wish could free you
Of the hurt and the pain
Both: “But the answer is simple
He's the one to blame

Beyonce, Beyonce
Shakira, Shakira
Beyonce, Beyonce
Shakira, Shakira
(Hey)

Daisia: “(Ay) Let's not kill the karma
(Ay) Let's not start a fight
(Ay) It's not worth the drama
For a beautiful liar
Diamond: “Can't we laugh about it (Ha Ha Ha)
(Oh) It's not worth our time
(Oh) We can live without 'em
Just a beautiful liar”

Everyone was dead silent in the classroom as the music stopped playing and the two stopped singing. Daisia was the first to look away and turned her cocky self towards everyone.

“SO, what did you think? Did you like me more or the loser over there?” Daisia asked.

There was still silence. Her smirk grew.

“Well duh. Why did I even ask. It’s obvious that best singer here is…” she started. She didn’t get to finish her sentence before the whole room burst into cheering. To her dismay, they were cheering for Diamond, not her. They laughed and cheered and hollered and yelled for Diamond, yet not a one was cheering for her. Not even her boyfriend. This really ticked her off.

“WAIT A MINUTE!!! Why are you all clapping for her!?!” shouted an angry Daisia.

“’Cause she can sing!” said one guy.

“Yea. She sings better than you do.” another said.

Everyone immediately started to “Ooo” him and laugh at Daisia’s anger. She was so red, she looked like red pepper. She turned towards Diamond in anger.

“YOU!!! THIS IS YOUR FAULT!!!” she accused Diamond. She raised her hand and brought it down to slap Diamond. The entire class and Mrs. Robinson stared in shock as everything seemed to go in slow motion for them. Darien and Ivan just stared and a smirk appeared on their faces. In the blink of an eye, Daisia found her wrist in a vise like grip. She looked and saw that Diamond had caught her wrist before it hit and was squeezing it tighter and tighter every second. Daisia and everyone else in the class just stared at her in even more aw. Diamond, the school reject, who got beat up on a regular bases and never even tried to defend herself, had done just that; DEFENDED herself from an attack. In another blink of and eye, she bent down and kicked Daisia’s legs. She fell on her butt with a loud thud.

“Did… did you just… trip me!?” stuttered Daisia.

Diamond only nodded and smiled. She bent down towards Daisia’s ear and whispered into it, making her shudder. Diamond got up, turned around and walked towards her brothers. Daisia got up and turned smugly to go back to her seat, but stopped and smiled a devilish smile when something popped into her mind. (a/n: what little mind she has) She turned around and walked ‘til she stood in front of Diamond.

“Oh, Diamond…” called Daisia. Diamond turned to look at her. “If you have a lovely voice, then why do you dress in such horrid clothes?” she asked.

Everyone gasped and whispered.

“I mean,” she continued. “Shouldn’t you dress as beautifully as you sound? Unless, that’s not your voice?” “Ooo” was heard throughout the whole classroom. Diamond’s face just stayed passive. She turned and looked at Ivan when she heard music playing. He had put another CD in and began to play a song. He smiled at her and she smiled back before turning back to everyone and singing. (a/n: Absolutely Not by Deborah Cox)

Diamond: “[Verse #1] Always waitin' for someone
To make me happy, pick me up
I realize that someone is me
What you call life, that ain't livin'
Bless the child that's got his own
It's my season, now I stand alone
Just thought that I would let you know
Some things you just can't control

[Chorus:]
Should I wear my hair in a ponytail?
Should I dress myself up in chanel?
Do I measure me by what you think?
Absolutely not, absolutely not
If I go to work in a mini-skirt
Am I givin' you the right to flirt?
I won't compromise my point of view
Absolutely not, absolutely not

[Verse #2]
Told myself I won't complain
But some things have got to change
Not gon' be a victim of
All your social push and shove
Right or wrong, you judge the same
My picture never fit your frame
What you thought, you'll never know
You can't see me with your mind closed

[Chorus:]
Should I wear my hair in a ponytail?
Should I dress myself up in chanel?
Do I measure me by what you think?
Absolutely not, absolutely not
If I go to work in a mini-skirt
Am I givin' you the right to flirt?
I won't compromise my point of view
Absolutely not, absolutely not

[Bridge]
Now I see, life means more to me
More than fancy clothes
More than you'll ever know
All the ugly words that I heard you say
Made me stronger everyday
Now I live my life for me…

[Chorus:]
Should I wear my hair in a ponytail?
Should I dress myself up in chanel?
Do I measure me by what you think?
Absolutely not, absolutely not
If I go to work in a mini-skirt
Am I givin' you the right to flirt?
I won't compromise my point of view
Absolutely not, absolutely not

Should I wear my hair in a ponytail? (oh)
Should I dress myself up in chanel? (oh)
Do I measure me by what you think?
Absolutely not, absolutely not (uh, uh)
If I go to work in a mini-skirt (mmm)
Am I givin' you the right to flirt? (oh)
I won't compromise my point of view
Absolutely not, absolutely not (absolutely not)

Should I wear my hair in a ponytail?
Should I dress myself up in chanel? (oh, oh woo, woo, woo)
Do I measure me by what you think? (by what you think)
Absolutely not, absolutely not (absolutely, absolutely not)
If I go to work in a mini-skirt
Am I givin' you the right to flirt? (giving you the right to flirt)
I won't compromise my point of view (compromise my point of view)
Absolutely not, absolutely not (absolutely not)”

Everyone stared at her in shock. She began to speak slowly again.

Everyone stared at her in shock. She began to speak slowly again.

“If you think I’m going to degrade myself just to meet your standards, than you can forget it. You don’t have to like me. And I don’t have to fit in. If you can’t accept me for who I am, then don’t bother to even look at me.” she stated firm and simple. They were all speechless.

“Anyway,” Diamond continued. ‘That was my show-and-tell project. I hope you all enjoyed it.” As she finished talking, the bell rang, yet unlike every day, the students didn’t rush out the door, ready to get home. Instead, they all just sat there, most with their mouths agape, others who looked like their eyes were about to roll to the back of their heads. After some time, one person, being Mrs. Mendre, began to clap, followed by a student, then another and another until soon, the whole class was clapping for her. Diamond and her brothers just smiled and bowed. Everyone began to file outta the class, one by one, whispering to one another about her show-and-tell and about how she acted, sang, and how they treated her.

When everyone was out of the door, and only the teacher and the neko trio were left inside, Mrs. Mendre ran up to Diamond and tackled her in a great big hug. She congratulated her and told Diamond that she got an A+.

“Arigato sensei.” she thanked her teacher.

“You’re welcome. You earned it. Oh, and you have a beautiful voice. I wish I could sing as well as you.” Diamond only dropped her head in modesty with a smile plastered on her face. “Anyway, congratulations.” She looked at her watch and gasped. “Oh my! We better hurry! Your dance class starts in 10 min. Let’s go!” She and Diamond both took off towards the gym, but not before saying goodbye to Ivan and Darien.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (AT THE TOWER) xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“Ivan,” Darien spoke when they both had gotten to their room at the tower.

“Yea?” he answered.

“I’m glad that Faith’s okay. And that we have our little sister back.”

Ivan smiled and laid in bed. “Yea.” he said. “Me too.”

To be continued...