I am Stephanie Roth Ch 1

Disclaimer – I will say this straight off the bat so I don't have to put my disclaimers at the top of each chapter that includes references. I do not own Harry Potter. J.K Rowling and whoever she gave the movie rights to own the rights to Harry Potter. I also do not own any rights to Lord of the Rings. I haven't even read the book or seen the movies (some of you might be gasping here), so I definitely do not own LOTR nor wish to profit from HP or LOTR. Lastly, I do not own Teen Titans if any of you insist that there is a connection from this story to TT. The names "Robin" and "Kori" together in this story are coincidental. Sure, "Robin" is described in a similar manner and shares the same name as the DC Comics and Animated Series character, but the rest of him and his personality are from my head. Apologies if he is too similar. I do have a particular soft spot for him and the name, hence my choosing of it. Kori's name, on the other hand, makes no reference to Starfire/Koriand'r at all. I read a book when I first started this story where there was a character named Kori. I liked the name and chose to incorporate it here. If there are legal matters that I should know about that concern me and/or the story, then please notify me and I will change things as needed. Thank you for understanding.

Stephanie's POV –

A dark room.

Walls painted black.

Jet bed sheets.

Black and white classic Converse.

Ebony skinny jeans.

Silver studded belt.

Black V-neck T-shirt.

Royal blue necklace with a small white starflower in its center.

Obsidian painted nails.

Slightly past shoulder length black-dyed hair.

Bangs conceal the face.

Who am I?

I am Stephanie Roth, your stereotypical Goth at a seemingly normal high school. Now, I welcome you to my world.

I stood before a beautiful school campus with lush, green trees, blooming flowers, and newly renovated buildings. Birds flew rapidly back and forth, and the sky was a bright blue, completely void of any fluffy white clouds. The sun shined down on me. I felt the warmth slowly spread from my shoulders to my lower back. With my black shirt, the heat spread quickly and I straightened, fully enjoying the warmth from the sun. I smiled slightly, always having loved lying in the sun as a child.

I looked around at the unfamiliar campus, taking in all that I could see. Students bustled about, even though it was bright and early on a school day and classes had yet to begin. Full and heavy-looking backpacks sat on the ground outside the café building. I heard soft conversations as I continued looking around. Indistinguishable chatter filled my ears as I walked into the tall brown building to my left on my very first day at Ashbury College, which has a very misleading name as I am seventeen and am attending my junior year in high school. I entered the front office building looking as any new student would; a slightly confused look in my eyes, and in my hands, a few pieces of final paperwork.

The lady at the front desk saw me and gently put down her coffee.

"You must be Stephanie," she greeted. "We were just expecting you. Please give me your papers."

I handed them to her, looking around the bright bustling office.

"Here you go." She handed me a picture-day form. "Just go into the gym to get your yearbook picture taken. Hope you like our school!"

"Thanks," I said, nodding to her.

I left the building and went to the gym. I had just pushed through the doors when I bumped into a tall redheaded girl facing away from me.

"Excuse you!" she shouted into my face, quickly turning around. She gave me a quick rundown, skimming her eyes over me. "What are you, a poser Goth?" she sneered.

"Just new." I was used to this type of greeting and it didn't affect me much anymore.

"And I'm annoyed, so go away!"

Great first day, huh.

"My pleasure," I replied indifferently, walking away.

Someone tapped me on the left shoulder. Expecting it was the stupid redhead girl again, I looked back with a stony expression on my face, waiting for more yelling. Seeing it was a different girl, I relaxed.

"Sorry about that. Kori's been head cheerleader for two years now, starting her freshman year. As you can tell, she's very full of herself. She pretty much hates me but I loathe her too, so it's totally fine. I'm Evelyn, and I was a new freshman two years ago, so I kind of know how it is being new." Her straight brown hair was sleek, shaping her face perfectly. "What's your name?"

"I'm Stephanie, and yes I'm new. I probably even look new," I replied.

"Let me see your schedule." I handed her one of the papers I still held. "Oh hey! We have chemistry and math together! Yay sciences!"

She seemed to be a very academic person. Kind of and kind of not my type. I managed straight As and A minuses each year, but wasn't one to go to the library for fun.

"Okay, settle down kids, settle down," a voice sounded through the loud vocal din of a few hundred teenagers. Please get in line by homeroom!"

"Oh right, what homeroom are you in?" She checked her paper and I handed her mine. "Nice! We're both in Ms. Lockhart's advising! Even better! Let's go over there now."

We headed over together and got in line. I looked around at the students in the entire room. Someone with shiny jet-black hair caught my eye.

"Who's…that…"

"Oh, that's just Robin. He's a junior too."

"Huh…"

"Hey, I know that look! Don't even think about going for him! He's cute and smart, but he's kinda weird. You should have seen him last year. Ugh." She shuddered a little, apparently remembering.

"How so?" I asked her, watching him smooth his dark emo-style cut hair.

"His house was badly robbed last year and he got really upset. He left school suddenly and came back about a month later. I swear, it was like he was trying to find out who did it. The police haven't found the perpetrator either. Robin's a little crazy," Evelyn explained.

"What about that guy?" I pointed to a guy with brown hair in a similar hair cut who approached Robin.

"His jerk best friend, Sterling. He's so mean to everyone, except his girlfriend and Robin," she said, scoffing.

"Grouchy much."

She nodded and sat down on the wooden floor. I sat down beside her.

"So what's after this?" I asked, looking at the small clock on the gym wall.

"We go to our Monday classes. Then after the first three, it's lunch, then three more…fun huh?" she asked enthusiastically.

"Mhm…"

"Hey!" she yelled, smacking me on the arm. "I told you not to go for Robin! He's not worth it! He'll drive you insane!" she insisted.

I tore my eyes away from him. The second before I looked away, he looked up. Startling black eyes stared back at me for a split second.

"Whoa, his eyes are really dark," I murmured.

"Yeah, just don't get sucked into the black hole. No way out."

"Right."

"Evelyn Michaela? You're up next!" the lady at the camera shouted, barely heard over the noisy crowd.

"Oh hey, I'm up! Bye for a second!" She leaped away.

"One…"

I smiled to myself. I looked up. Robin was gone.

"Hey where'd Ro-"

Then I remembered my first friend in this new school was no longer beside me.

"Hi, I'm Robin."

I snapped around.

"Whoa, weren't you just over there?" I whipped back to where he was standing and pointed slightly. Feeling stupid pointing at nothing, my arm relaxed and fell back to my side, brushing my leg.

"Yeah, but I came over to welcome you to Ashbury. You're new, right? he asked in his soft voice.

"You can tell, can't you?" I sighed to myself. I just wanted to be known as Stephanie, not the new girl or the poser Goth.

"There wasn't a Goth girl last year, so I'm taking a great plunge and assuming you're new."

"Well you got me. Hi, I'm Stephanie." I extended my hand.

He took it, his warm, soft grip enveloping my hand tightly. He looked at our hands for a second, then returned his gaze to my face. I really hoped I wasn't blushing. I swiftly looked away and let my hair fall in front of my face.

"I'm Robin. Nice to meet you."

He released my hand and turned to look at the long line of students waiting for their picture to be taken. He casually slid his hands into his front pockets. I chose to break the ice a little further.

"So whose homeroom are you in?"

"Mr. Amgott's. He's like the coolest math teacher ever!" he responded.

"Cool. I'm in Ms. Lockhart's. Do you know if she's nice?" I asked, refusing to take my eyes off his face.

"I think I have her for history, but I haven't met her yet, so I don't really know. She only teaches juniors, so no one in our grade has met her yet. Who do you have for history?"

"Uh." I scrambled to find my schedule. "I have…B block history with her."

"Nice, me too!" He seemed at least kind of enthusiastic.

I smiled. "Cool."

"Yup."

Awkward silence filled the space around us.

"So…"

I looked at him again. "So…"

"I guess I'll see you around." He left.

"Bye…" I spoke so softly, it was almost a whisper.

"Hiyya!"

A brunette jumped in front of me.

"Gah! Oh hi, Evelyn."

"You seem distant." She suddenly gasped, realization flooding over her face. "No, you just talked to Robin!"

"So what if I did?" I still didn't see why he was so bad.

"Shoot! Please don't do it again. You're getting on the wrong train, girl!"

"Tell me about it…"

"Okay, well—"

"I was kidding, Ev."

She shut her mouth and pressed her lips together a little.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that," I apologized.

"It's okay, I talk a lot," she said, understanding, and brave enough to open her mouth again."

"Stephanie Roth! You're up!" the same faint voice called.

Well looks like I'm up to take a picture. Whoo…" I muttered unenthusiastically.

"Have fun!" Evelyn called after me.

Later that day, Evelyn and I sat together in the school's cafeteria. I stared at the plate of unrecognizable mush in front of me.

"Yeah, I think I'm going to bring my own lunch from now on," I stated, still glaring at the mush in case it dared to move.

"Oh it'll be fine after a week. We just got a new chef, that's all." She started to eat her plate of goop. "It looks like they put pizza in a blender, and it tastes alright, but it's not pizza."

"No thanks," I refused, pushing the plate a foot away. "I'm good. Pizza or not, I m not eating that. I crossed my arms easily over my chest.

"Hey, do you mind if we stop by the band room for like ten minutes?" I asked her about ten minutes after finishing lunch.

"Sure, why?"

"Okay, well, believe it or not, I am an avid piano player." She almost burst out laughing.

"Wait, really? You?" she asked, stifling more giggles.

"It calms me, thank you very much." I lifted my chin, almost defiantly.

"Sure, sure," she replied, stifling a small giggle. "Here it is."

I sat down at the piano in the corner of the band room and just breathed for ten seconds. Evelyn watched me. I rested my fingers on top of the keys F# and A natural. A second later, I began. My fingertips caressed the white and black keys as I played. A few minutes later, the final notes resonated in the air around us. I released the damper pedal and exhaled. I glanced up at Evelyn who was looking at me intensely.

"Wow, beautiful. What was that piece?" she asked.

"Yiruma's 'River Flows in You'. I learned it a long time ago, but I just love it so much." I sighed, content with my work.

"It was nice. I think I've heard it somewhere before, but who knows." She glanced at her red watch strapped to her left wrist. "Okay, well now we have twelve minutes left. What do you want to do?" Evelyn asked me.

"I don't really know, Ev."

"Maybe studying for the pre-calculus vocab quiz we have on Friday?" she suggested.

"Ev," I put my hand on her shoulder. "It's Monday. The first day of school."

"Yeah, and Friday will be the fifth day of school. It's not that far!"

"I'll probably start reviewing tomorrow night," I complied.

"Hey."

I instantly recognized his voice. I whipped around, my hair almost scratching his cheek.

"Hi, Robin. What are you doing here in the band room?"

"Getting my violin out for orchestra next period?" he replied. He bent over and picked up a violin case and opened it. The shiny brown violin appeared before us.

"Care to hear something?"

"Go ahead."

As he touched the bow to the violin strings, I felt the music whoosh over me, this glorious feeling of happiness overwhelming me. I closed my eyes and let the music fill my soul.

He finished five minutes later with a satisfied look on his face.

"How was that?

"Wonderful. Truly," I praised.

"Yep, it was great!" Evelyn confirmed, pulling me out of the room. "Okay, Steph, now we have six minutes to get to our E Block classes." She took out her neatly folded schedule from her back pocket. "What'd you got?"

"Chem. You?"

"Do you have Ms. Wilson? If you do then we're in the same class."

"I'm in her class too."

This sentence did not come from me, but Robin.

"Well, I mean not next period, but for C Block…I have her for chemistry," he finished awkwardly.

"Well it's not C block now, is it, pretty boy?" Evelyn asked playfully, but there seemed to be an edge to it.

Evelyn started walking up to the building. I turned and looked at Robin, who had just put his violin down on a chair and mouthed, "sorry," to him.

Following Ev to the building, we happened to see Kori. Goody.

"Well well, look what we've got here. Looks like poser here found a friend. A lame group compared to mine. Isn't that right, posse?" The small group of people snickered behind her.

Amongst all the girls, I found one boy. That boy was Sterling.

"What did you guys have for lunch?" Kori asked us menacingly.

Neither of us said anything.

"Did it look like this?" Kori took out a plate of disgusting pizza blender mush from behind her back, like the one that Ev ate earlier. "I bet it did."

She thrust the full plate into my face before I could react. I staggered back, blinded by mush. I scooped the gunk out of my eyes so I could glare at Kori, who was laughing her head off.

"Here, take some smoothie for the road!" Sterling appeared in front of me and dumped half of a thick pink smoothie on me and the rest on Evelyn. "Think of that as 'Lame Junior' initiation!" He laughed, walking backwards to the group. To my surprise, Kori pulled Sterling close and smashed her red lips onto his. Everyone in the posse cheered. As a group, they headed down the stairs toward the café. I assumed they all had a free period or didn't care to go to class.

"Wait, so Kori and jerk face Sterling are dating? They're both so mean and good-looking! What a match!" I yelled sarcastically.

"Yeah. Here, there's a bathroom around the corner."

She pushed the door open to reveal an empty bathroom except for one girl at a sink who looked like she was ready to kill something. Her face-length ginger hair was dripping wet, as was the top of her blue long-sleeved shirt.

"What the heck happened to you guys?" she asked angrily, wiping her wet hands on her gray jeans.

"Oh hi, Gwen. Kori happened," Evelyn explained.

"Right…" she mumbled.

"What's wrong?" Evelyn seemed quite friendly towards this angry girl.

I walked over to a sink and started rinsing out my hair and washing my mush covered face. I felt disgusting.

"Robin said no to a date with me! I finally worked up enough courage over the summer to ask him out and this is what I get?!" She messily splashed another handful of water onto her face, possibly to hide her almost unseen tears. Several drops landed on the front of her blue shirt, further dampening it.

"Ow!"

I had just bumped my head into the sink faucet. I pulled my head out from the sink and stared at Gwen. "You asked Robin out?"

"Yeah, and he said no! What's it to you?"

"Nothing," I murmured, returning to my sink.

She sighed and turned to me. "I'm sorry for being so mean. I'm just pissy today. This must be your first day and you've already met Kori, huh?"

I nodded.

"Well I'm Gwen. You are?"

"Stephanie," I responded. I took quick notice of her red stone necklace. It was shiny and translucent, a brilliant blood red color. Everything about it seemed familiar, like I'd previously imagined it in a dream.

"Cute name. Well, I'll see you around."

"Wait, quick question. Where did you get your necklace?"

"Mom. And I gotta go, sorry!" She rushed out the door.

"Huh, you're right. Her necklace is kinda like yours. She's worn it forever though."

"Funny," I thought aloud, "because my mom also gave me my necklace." I fingered the similar royal blue pendant hanging from my neck. "It's also pretty much the only color I'll wear other than black."

"Black isn't a color."

"Hey, physics was two years ago!"

"Heehee, I know! I love science, remember?" she laughed enthusiastically.

"Ha, well you got me." I checked my phone. "Hey, class is in two minutes! We better hurry to chem!"

"Agreed."

We hurried to room 103 to see a few people trickling in. Ms. Wilson stood at the front of the classroom. Sitting down at the seat marked "Stephanie", I saw Evelyn across the room, smiling at me. On the other side, however, sat Kori, her eyes almost not visible through her heavy, dark make up. She scowled at me.

This is going to be an interesting school year...

A/N - Well there is the first chapter! Since I wrote this story early last year and am still writing it as a continuous plot line, the lengths of my chapters may be erratic and not be constant. So don't be disappointed when you get a chapter shorter than 1,000 words, as I think it's bound to happen. It's just that something important and long is going to happen next in the story, so simply hold on and enjoy the show! Please review my story with your comments, questions, random exclamations, flames (if you're going to flame, don't bother logging in), or anything else that pops to mind. Hope you all enjoyed the first part!