Fan Fiction ❯ Inside the Silence ❯ Inside the Silence ( Chapter 1 )

Note to Disclaimers: I do not and never will own Teen Titans, cause if I freaking did, Beast Boy and Raven would get together, Starfire and Robin would get together and Terra would find somebody…cause I just can't bring myself to hate her. AND Cyborg would find somebody too cause he's damn awesome! Slade would die…so on and so forth. I think you get the point that I don't own Teen Titans, right? This fic is based solely on the Toonami showing or Teen Titans, not the comic book cause I haven't finished those yet. Please DON'T sue me as I have NOTHING to give you. Struggling college student here.

{{A/N: Okie, here is my first try at a Teen Titans fic. I decided to try it cause I LOVE this freakin show! I just had to watch the episode "Nevermore" and I fell in love with Beast Boy/Raven as a pairing. And for Starfire/Robin, well, those hints are practically EVERYWHERE, especially in "Sisters" and "The Apprentice 2" as well as "Transformation" and I LOVE IT! That's all I can say. Please R&R and for those of you who do not like Raven/Beast Boy or Robin/Starfire, I warn you…DO NOT READ THIS FIC! You will be disappointed unless you're open to alternate pairings and will most likely want to flame me, which would be stupid because I warned you. If you want to flame me for something else, I guess that's fine. You'll do it anyway, right? Constructive Criticism is welcome, as always. Please try not to flame since they are not helpful. Enjoy.}}

Word Coding:

'Thoughts'

"Speaking"

Everything else

Inside the Silence

Silence. It was odd at such an hour that silence be predominant in Titan Tower. If plausible, a mouse could be heard, or even a pin dropping, too. The hour was not early, nor was it late; but it was mid-day, the time of day when the Teen Titans tended to be awake and running around doing the daily activities lest they be called on some rescue mission mid-activity. And yet the silence reigned like an iron fist as the only coherent occupant made her way down the long staircase that led to the kitchen located in the lower areas of Titan Tower. The only audible sound was the sigh that escaped her lips as she placed the kettle on the stove, water inside, and turned on the burner to its lowest flame. Having done this, she removed a ceramic mug from the cabinets above along with a small bag of her special herbal tea. Glancing in the box, she noted that it was her last packet. 'Whoever goes shopping will have to pick some more up for me.' The thought of shopping bogged her down in an instant, more than she already was always bogged down; luckily, she realized she did not have to shop. It was Starfire's turn.

Coming back from her momentary thoughts, she focused on the matter at hand. It was mid-day and no one was up. 'Did I...miss something?' She had been accustomed to the noise her friends made while out of their rooms. But there were no immediate signs that even one of them had congregated to the living room or kitchen area earlier. In the living room the TV was blank, it's black screen a contrast to the bright sun flowing in the windows. To its side lay the game console that Cyborg and Beast Boy were so fond of, piles of videogames falling over it in a messy heap. Not usually the most hungry, she suddenly found herself peering into the refrigerator where masses of old food still lie, rotting away and once again covered in the mysterious blue fuzz. She did notice, however, a bowl of green gooey-like liquid sitting in the middle of the icebox, untouched by the blue fuzz. 'No doubt one of Starfire's concoctions.' She found herself gagging before hastily shutting the door as the green gooey substance bubbled rather sporadically. A sharp whistling noise signaled that her tea water was ready as she heard footsteps descending the staircase. 'Someone is up.' She was pouring the water in a cup when she felt the very presence of the person enter. The opening of the plate cabinet didn't hide much else either but she said nothing in greeting, simply pretending she hadn't heard anyone come in.

"Morning Rae."

"My name is Raven. " She rolled her eyes. "Don't you mean Afternoon?"

The green changeling behind her did a double take, his groggy eyes snapping open instantly. "What? No way! It can't be the afternoon already! That would mean I slept in!"

"You did." Robin's sleepy voice drifted from the end of the stairs. "We all did."

"It must have been because of all the fighting, right Robin?" Robin nodded lazily at the cheery, young tamaranian woman. "But friend Raven did not wake late, right?"

"Right Starfire," Raven replied as monotonously as ever.

Cyborg waltzed in suddenly with a stack of packaged bacon is hands with real eggs, which he pointed out to Beast Boy with fervor. Raven rolled her eyes again as the daily, commonly morning, argument began. Tofu eggs or real eggs-it never changed, amazingly enough. It was anything but breakfast time but when everyone awoke as late as they did she figured it made sense that everyone was still operating on morning-mode. Another sigh escaping her lips, she turned to leave the kitchen where the chaos of the morning ensued, heading towards the stairs for her room. She had barely stepped on the first step when someone tapped her from behind. With an irritated smile, she made an abrupt turn to face the person who caused her much annoyance. "What is it?"

"Rae, how come you don't stay and eat breakfast with us? I won't make Tofu eggs…I promise!" Beast Boy's shining smile made her insides tingle as she politely declined. Seemingly disappointed, Beast Boy walked away dejectedly with a pan in his hands. Once inside the kitchen, far from Raven's earshot, he plopped down next to Starfire, who was eagerly mixing something that appeared completely toxic to the others. Robin was easily wolfing down some pieces of buttered toast that he'd managed to scrounge up. Cyborg was, of course, practically inhaling his bacon and eggs off his plate. Beast Boy exhaled a long, steady, utterly bored breath as he watched his friends. "Today bites you guys."

Robin, who had previously been eating, finished his orange juice in one gulp before turning to his green skinned friend. "What's the matter Beast Boy? You're not very cheery today."

"Yeah…I know." His response was clipped and heavy with the tone of bitterness. Not hesitating to explain why, Beast Boy rose and vanished through the open window.

Starfire looked up from the gunk she'd been stirring with worried eyes. "Robin, what seems to be the matter with friend Beast Boy? Why does he not…joke like he always does?"

Cyborg watched as the green sparrow disappeared from view. "I'd say he's blue, right man?"

"Right," Robin agreed readily as he placed his knife in the sink where dishes were overflowing, like normal.

Starfire blinked in confusion. "Robin, I do not understand. How can friend Beast Boy be blue when he is quite clearly green? Is this a…as you call it…figure of speech? Friend Raven had informed me of them some time ago." Robin nodded in answer as Starfire jumped for joy. "I do understand!"

And so the day commenced, albeit later than usual.

{{Scene Break}}

In her room Raven found herself gazing into her mirror with a sense of foreboding and longing as her mind drifted to the changeling flying around outside. She'd spotted him five minutes after he took off. She noticed that he didn't venture far off, but she also knew it was unmistakably him as she gazed upon the olive feathers flapping. Taking this as her chance, and perhaps one of very few chances, to secretly observe him, Raven followed his every movements. He suddenly transformed into an eagle and began soaring further away from the tower. Hanging her head in slight disappointment, Raven picked up her mirror and embraced the nothingness around her as the world and Titan Tower vanished from around her.

Once inside the mirror, Raven called a council of emotions. She was idly walking around when the first to arrive, Happy, greeted her. "Hello! What are you doing here?" She giggled without reason. Raven rolled her eyes.

"I called a council."

"Yes, we are all aware of this now Raven." Knowledge emerged from behind Happy with Courage, Timid, Rage, Wisdom and the rest. "Why did you call the council together?"

Raven bit her lips nervously, relieved that she was in her mirror and not in front of her friends. "I'm in…I think…" She paused as Happy continued to giggle and Knowledge threw her a knowing look. "Why do you even ask? You already know Knowledge." Courage shot her a glare. "Oh all right…I think I'm in love…"

"With the green changeling? Yes…we figured so when Love entered this realm."

From underneath her cloak she was blushing like hellfire but glad that it was not visible. "Do you have any suggestions as to what I should do? Otherwise I'll just be going."

"Perhaps you should tell him…" Timid's idea did not go unnoticed.

"Yes, cause that would be so like me and so easy-" Raven's sarcastic comment was shattered midway when she heard someone calling her. "I have to go." Her emotions sensed that there was another presence trying to come in the room. "I don't want anyone coming inside of my mirror again." Outside her mirror again, she heard the knocking on her door. With her trademark impassive look back on her face, she answered the door and almost keeled over at the sight. Beast Boy stood before her scratching his head and blushing madly. She gave him another blank stare as he finally opened his eyes. "What did you need?"

"Nothing, necessarily…that is…dinner's ready?" Beast Boy's face became even redder if possible.

Normally, and in the past, Raven had to look down at Beast Boy to even give him the time of day. But in recent times, now at the age of 18 and no longer TEEN Titans, she noticed how much taller he had become and really, he was no longer Beast BOY. 'More like Beast Man…but that sounds strange.' Swallowing the lump that had suddenly risen in her throat, Raven nodded as her own voice answered at it's own accord words that she was not going to say. "Sure…that'd be very entertaining." Her eyes would have bulged if she'd not kept her composure, vowing to crush Bravery for her little outburst.

Beast Boy's eyes almost popped out of his head. "What? No snide remark or death threat for interrupting you?" He slapped his hand over his mouth before he could say anything more that might get him in trouble. "Wait! That came out wrong! I mean-

"What did you say?" At his comment Raven's eyes did widen as she processed what he said. 'Is that…how he thinks of me? But then again…' She mentally slapped herself. 'I haven't exactly been the nicest person to him…on MANY occasions.' And though rational thought had persuaded her mind, he emotions were slightly offended by his statement, especially Pride. Without thinking, Raven lashed out with her anger at the young man before her who was trying desperately to correct his vain mistake. "Well, it's not my fault you are so annoying and are always telling stupid jokes! And you think I'm bad! Is that what you think of me Beast Boy? If that's the case, leave before I have a conniption and destroy something, maybe even you!" As if to emphasize her point all the lights in the hallway shattered simultaneously, raining glass on their heads although Raven's was protected by her cloak. Beast Boy nodded and began running down the hallway. But not before shouting her way, though it might not have been angry so much as hurt. 'I thought we were friends Rae! I'm sorry, it was just a mistake; I'll never talk to you again if that's what you want. Just don't come begging me for friendship.' His words echoed in her head along with the face he'd made as she'd sent him away. 'I'm so terrible…' Her self-loathing kicked in right away as she slammed the door to her room and fell onto her bed, pillow over her head.

On the other end of Titan Tower, Beast Boy was sitting in his room, miserable as ever. He'd passed by the living room where Cyborg and Robin were at another videogame, Robin losing as usual. Starfire was behind them cheering loudly as ever for the Boy Wonder whom she fancied. Beast Boy made a face. 'When are they going to admit that they like each other?' That sudden thought brought Raven back to mind and he skulked away to the privacy of his room, which was now, like Raven's, dark. He didn't bother to turn on the light as he plopped down on his bed, face in the pillows as he exhaled slow, heavy breaths. His mind wandered to the reason he went to her room in the first place. She sounded upset but more than usual, as though he'd interrupted more than her daily meditations. His mind came tumbling back to the time he entered her mirror without permission just to apologize, the place he'd met her different emotions that she bottled up for good reasons. Happy, Timid, and Courage…he remembered them most of all. Of course, he took particular liking to Happy, for she was a part of Raven's personality that hardly ever showed through. It was true that every now and then Raven would smile or blush, but on rare occasions that many times had nothing to do with him. The constant jokes he told her never seemed to filter into her mind and she just became annoyed with him. 'So why don't I give it up?'

He knew the answer to his own question, an answer he was trying to deal with. "Because she fascinates me, because she's so mysterious, because I think I might love her." He whistled to the air around him as he heard himself say it. Outside his room came a loud knock and he guessed whom it might be. "Come in Cy." Cyborg did not hesitate to come in, breaking the door in his hurry to speak with his green friend. Beast Boy flinched. "Come on man…now I'm going to have to fix that and Robin's going to kill me."

"Well, I'd say that's a small price to pay for getting ya out of this room and downstairs for games! Stop mopin man!" Cyborg's arms were crossed over his chest in irritation. "What's goin on with you anyway BB?"

Beast Boy merely shrugged and continued to look at the floor as he felt Cyborg's weight sink into the mattress next to him. He sighed again, something of habit these days, as he envisioned what he would do if he were ever to ask Raven to be his girlfriend in the future. 'Yeah…like she'd say yes…' With a forlorn smile on his lips, beast Boy ran a hand through his slicked back Green hair. 'Oh yeah…the ladies love me…' His grin only lasted a few seconds when the image of the gray-skinned young woman flashed in his mind. He couldn't seem to rid himself of her image. Next to him, Cyborg was staring at him as if he'd grown another head. After having called to his friend for the past five minutes he began to suspect that something was wrong. Finally, fed up with Beast Boy not responding, the half robot half-human smacked him on the head--viciously. Beast Boy glared at him in pain as he rubbed his sore head. "What's your deal Cy? That really hurt!"

"Well, I've been tryin to talk to you for the past five minutes man…but you ain't responded to anythin I said!" His patience wasn't exactly wearing thin but he did not want to be ignored. He did sense though, however, that there was something wrong with his usually cheerful companion. "Come BB, tell me what's wrong man! You ain't never actin weird like this unless somethin's really botherin you."

Beat Boy rubbed his head again as he thought of a way to go about telling his metal friend that he had feelings for the resident Goth of the Teen Titans. "Well Cy," he began hesitantly as his friend looked at him expectantly. "What? Can't I be nervous a little bit? Geez…I've never admitted anything like this before, nothing of this magnitude! You know what this could do to my brain waves? I could die from something this simple!"

Cyborg blinked. "What? Did you just use those words in a sentence?" Beast Boy glared. "Ok, I get it…you're trying to tell me something terribly serious man. Go ahead."

Sighing again, Beast boy began to tell his friend everything that had happened since Terra's "death" three years ago. He told him everything from his confusion of feelings for the Earthmover to the Goth sorceress who had intrigued him so early on in when he joined the Teen Titans. He told him everything he'd bottled up from behind his happy-go-lucky façade that had, apparently, not fooled Cyborg himself. Beast Boy seemed to be struggling with whatever feelings he still had about the entire Raven/Terra issue. "Cy, what do I do? I can't just ignore my love for Terra, right? I know she might never come back, I mean…at this point it's pretty much inevitable...but," Cyborg nodded his acknowledgement. "But lately...I've been thinking about Raven so much...it's like a plague. I'm confused beyond belief man...I just can't get her out of my head. Is it wrong Cy? Is it wrong to want Raven and forget about Terra, as though she was never here? Is it bad that I...don't regret wanting Raven?"

Placing a gentle hand on his friend's shoulder, Cyborg smiled. "Look man...did you ever think that maybe you never REALLY loved Terra, at least not in the romantic way? Maybe, all along, you have always loved Raven. Maybe Terra was just there when you needed her most, as the best friend you never thought you'd have? ." With a tired sigh, the taller teen stood up. "Things have changed so drastically BB. Nothing's been the same. Raven ain't as bad as she used to be, her emotions are under control now...Star and Robin...they ain't the same either. If anything, I think they just need to commit already." Beast Boy laughed at this. He pointed a finger at the green teen who was wallowing in pity on the bed. "Man...you've changed a lot yourself."

Beast Boy turned away, his mind drifting back to the incident that had occurred between him earlier when Raven shattered the lights in the hallway. He couldn't bring it in himself to be angry with her for reacting the way she did. 'That could be applied to a lot of situations, including the Terra one.' He winced at the thought of her. Coming back to the present, he remembered what had transpired between him and the Goth. What he had said wasn't exactly the nicest thing, especially when she had willingly and politely accepted his dinner offer. 'Even if it wasn't for me personally...' His mind had wandered off completely, immersed in its own little world while Cyborg quietly exited his room not bothering to wake the dazed teen. In the hall, Cyborg leaned against the wall and shook his head. His thoughts were heavy with confusion as well. He didn't understand why he happened to seem like the only sane one in the group. Even their fearless leader was acting strange and Cyborg was pretty sure it had something to do with their resident alien teammate. He understood that Beast Boy had not fully gotten over the fact that Terra had betrayed his trust, and that even if he didn't love her, she was still a dear friend. Not many people accepted Beast Boy for who he was besides his teammates, which was difficult for Raven even then, for she was always busy trying to keep her emotions under control to even properly acknowledge their friend. Although he liked Raven, sometimes he wondered went through her head when it concerned his video game playing pal.

He wasn't always sure what exactly went through their fearless leader's head either, but he was sure it was less complex than what Raven had going on. Slamming his fists together, he got a look of determination on his face. 'I know what I gotta do. I need to do group counseling.' He was serious for a mere five seconds before he burst out laughing at his own idea as he began a steady descent down the staircase, eyes alight with mirth at his genius. In the living room, Starfire and Robin were watching a documentary on the political aspects of the 1800's, most which involved the various food acts. Robin looked thoroughly bored while Starfire's emerald eyes were wide with curiosity. Cyborg noticed that every now and then she'd lean over to the Boy Wonder and whisper into his ear, most likely a question. At this, Robin blushed profusely but it went unnoticed by the somewhat clueless Tamaranian female. She appeared too engrossed in the film. Cyborg chuckled. 'I can't believe that guy watches that stuff with her all the time!' He did, however, have to give the human boy credit for tolerating Starfire's many "curiosities and oddities" that came along with her. It was as though he was under some invisible obligation to explain all earth customs to her. Through the following years she had gained a great amount of knowledge about earth and its ways, but now and then she would find something new and puzzling; then she would rush to Robin for an explanation unless it was a feminine subject. Raven usually dealt with those, but not without some protest.

He vaguely recalled the shattered glass in the hallway as he made his way down to the garage, figuring that it must have had something to do with Raven and Beast Boy's encounter, which Beast boy had informed him about. Picking up a basic wrench, Cyborg began to operate on his T-Car, which was looking rather dirty at that moment. He released a low growl, realizing that Beast Boy must have ventured down there, in the nighttime perhaps, and sloshed mud all over it. Luckily the rather thin layer of wax had protected it enough for the majority of the mud to slide off like water on a duck. Setting the wrench down, he reached for the nearest waxing cloth and began to wax his car until it would shine. He spent the rest of the afternoon with his car until he heard Robin calling for them to come upstairs.

{{Scene Break}}

It was around the early evening hours that Raven finally worked up enough courage to come down to the kitchen for dinner, intent on acting as normal as possible. As soon as she walked in she spotted Starfire at the counter mixing something that smelled rather foul, as was the norm for the alien. Robin was reading the newspaper at the table while Cyborg was nowhere to be seen. She also noticed that Beast Boy was absent. Chancing a glance, she looked towards the living room and saw no one. 'Where are they?' Half of her question was answered when Cyborg emerged from the door that led to the garage. He took a seat next to Robin and they both began discussing what to eat for dinner while Starfire paused from her "cooking" to float over and investigate the conversation. This went on for a good twenty minutes--still no sign of Beast Boy. Knowing it would seem out of character to ask about the changeling, she asked something else more generic. "So…where are we all going to eat? Is it pizza again?"

"Sure!" Robin grinned. "Wait," he looked around. "Where is Beast Boy?"

Cyborg growled. "Mopin--I mean…sleepin in his room." He looked away as Raven's eyes landed on him. 'Damn…how does she always know?' He knew the other Titans were staring at him for not finishing the first sentence, but soon Robin and Starfire shrugged and continued their dinner conversation. Raven, however, was not easily persuaded. Thinking that gathering his companion might be a good idea, he stood up and departed from the kitchen quickly. Once outside in the stair hall, he began as quiet a tiptoe as he could manage. Seconds later he was cut off by black energy blocking his path. With a nervous chuckle he faced the sorceress that occupied Beast Boy's every thought. "Hey there Raven. What's up girl?"

"What were you going to say?" Raven did not beat around the bush.

"Nothin. Beast Boy is sleepin in his room," Cyborg replied truthfully.

"But that's not what you were going to say before. What is he doing?" Raven's eyes bored into his, a bright white as she controlled her powers.

"Why do you care?"

Immediately Raven dropped her guard and the plasma shield disappeared as her gaze rested on the floor, arms cradling her form as she let out a long breath. "I don't know. I don't understand it myself." When Cyborg said nothing, she glanced up at him. "Um…you know, don't you?"

"Know what?" The innocent act might work for him, he figured.

It did as Raven slowly floated up in the air, turning a 180 away from him as she let her cloak cover her face. "You know what I did." Her monotone voice drowned out the chatter emanating from the kitchen's occupants. "You must have seen the…mess…I made in the hallway. He told you, didn't he, what I did? Then…I should apologize shouldn't I?" No reply. "I don't want to. I did nothing wrong. I accepted his invitation politely and willingly. He should not have replied the way he did." Still no response. "You think I deserve this treatment, don't you Cyborg?" Again, no answer. Raven's eyes began to twitch when she received no answer. "Are you even listening? I don't usually tell people this kind of stuff." Not a sound, not even breathing. With a low snarl she whipped around to come face to face with empty space. "No wonder…he must have high-tailed it as soon as I turned around. I guess I understand that much. But of all the times…"

"Are you talking to yourself Raven?"

She stopped dead in her tracks at the voice that spoke. She cringed when she felt his hand on her shoulder, rubbing it in a comforting gesture that meant more to her than he knew. Inching away slowly so as not to seem rude, she placed her cloak even further over her face. "No…I was talking to Cyborg…before he jetted out of here."

"Oh…"

Silence.

"Raven…about earlier…I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to say that to you. It was…wrong of me." Beast Boy's tone was truly apologetic. "Do you…could you forgive me? Can we still be friends again?"

Part of her wanted to strangle him, to be angry with him for insulting her; but the other part of her could tell he was truly sorry and she blushed. Whispering so only he could hear, she nodded. "Yes…I forgive you Beast Boy. Yes, we can still be friends…come on…use your brain, if you have one."

Beast Boy grinned weakly at her, glad that things seemed to be back to normal. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind." He stretched his arms over his head as Raven began to walk away. "Hey Rae." She smiled at his nickname for her, unbeknownst to him, from underneath the shield of her hood. "Do you have any idea what we're doing for dinner?"

"Pizza," she responded in an even tone..

Beast Boy graced her with yet another smile. "Ok...thank you. See you there."

Raven nodded as she began to walk through the hallway to her room, listening intently to the padding of Beast Boy's feet. Once by her room she entered and closed the door behind her, leaning against it for support. 'No...I cannot feel.' She squeezed her eyes shut in a vain attempt to block out the visions and sounds of her fellow teammate. Her attempt was failed and completely unsuccessful as she heard a random vase in her room shatter to millions of minute pieces that spread across her midnight blue carpet. She released the longest sigh she'd heaved in days, her eyes rolling to face the ceiling above of her as she heard another random object somewhere outside her room crack and crash to the floor. 'I have to get my emotions under control, I have to.' Walking towards her bed, she began to levitate until she was in a standard meditative position. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos...Azarath Metrion Zinthos...Azarath Metrion-CRASH!" Throwing her hands up in defeat, she settled for taking a short nap until her fellow Titans decided to leave for dinner. 'Hopefully,' she mused, 'there won't be any interruptions.' The rest of the time during her nap passed in relative normalcy, save for the constant screaming of Beast Boy and Cyborg, to her dismay, as she stayed locked in her room. Even so, she managed to fall out like a light until that time.

Down in the living room where they seemed to gather every hour on the hour, Starfire was sitting on the couch next to Robin as Beast Boy and Cyborg glared viciously at the TV screen. Robin was leafing through the booklet of their latest game while Starfire leaned on his arm, her eyes wide with curiosity as every now and then Robin mentioned a character he thought was interesting. Cyborg let out a triumphant yell as he threw Beast Boy's last racecar man off the track, signaling his victory. Beast Boy shouted in annoyance and slammed his controller down as Cyborg began gloating about his flawless victory to his surrounding friends. Starfire leapt up to hug him in congratulations while Robin smiled at his friend, telling him words of praise as Beast Boy protested their unfairness. This all was in good fun as usual and finally, after a few more rounds of their favorite game, they decided to head out for their signature dinner of pizza with five different toppings. Robin had sent Starfire to go fetch their hooded friend but she emerged on her own, face blank as always as they left Titan Tower for a night on the town.

At the pizza place, Raven sat down next to Starfire who had picked up a menu and fallen over herself to make sure that Beast Boy, Robin and Cyborg had seated themselves accordingly. After they had seated themselves all together, the usual argument ensued--what would be on the pizza. As usual, Beast Boy said vegetarian while Cyborg shot back double pepperoni. Robin rubbed is aching head while Raven pulled out a novel until the argument was settled. Starfire was buried behind the menu, only throwing comment out here and there, most of which could not be heard anyway. Finally, after numerous amounts of bickering, they settled on a pizza with five different toppings to accommodate each titan's separate cravings. As dinner was being eaten, Starfire began a small conversation with Robin about how delicious earth food tasted. Raven barely registered anything they said, or anything Cyborg and Beast Boy said when they fought over which was a better pizza-vegetarian or double pepperoni. About five minutes into dinner she realized she was not quite as hungry as she thought. 'Or that could have something to do with the way I'm feeling right now.' As if on cue, Beast Boy's cup turned a deep ebony color, flew up above him and shattered, causing soda to spill over his head. Raven blushed fiercely as they all gave her a questioning glance. Beast Boy was too busy whining over his soda-soaked pizza to care about the fact that Raven actually caused what had happened. Giving them her famous what-did-I-do glare, Raven continued trying to stuff the pizza down her throat while the conversations resumed.

Sometime after everyone had finished eating, they had decided since nothing was happening and no crimes were being committed-that they could see-that it would be a nice time to just hang out like normal teenagers who did not fight crime for a living. As they walked up and down the crowded sidewalk, Raven found herself in deep thought though she was able to hide her emotions so nothing would blow up or break around them. They would receive strange stares from people who did not live in Jump City, but otherwise, most stares were from admirers who knew of their resident heroes. Beats Boy gushed and soaked up the attention like a sponge would soak up soap while Cyborg tried to seem nonchalant to the admiring glances. Robin was too busy explaining more earth customs to Starfire to even notice the many appreciative stares he was being given by many a crazed fangirl, as was Starfire. Raven did not even make eye contact with any of the young men looking at her, too immersed in her thoughts of Beast Boy and her dilemma. Sure, she'd see many guys who would fit her style or persona, that would probably be a better match for her than Beast Boy-but she just didn't care about them, no matter how impressive they were. She chanced a quick glance at Beast Boy who was running his fingers through his hair while smiling at various young women. The smile he wore, she noted, did not quite reach his eyes. To her, his trademark smile appeared rather grim and false, as though he had painted it on from a fake makeup kit like on Halloween. It unsettled her inside to see him so unlike himself.

Her reverie was broken suddenly when she bumped into their metal friend. She gazed up at Cyborg in question as he did not seem to want to move. "Is something the matter Cyborg? Why have you stopped?"

"Oh man, oh man!" Cyborg's shout rang out through the group. "Look at that!" He pointed to a store filled with gadgets that Raven knew she'd probably never comprehend. One look at them told everyone where Cyborg would be. "I got to go inside!" He was gone.

Raven rolled her eyes as Robin and Starfire followed him in, Robin genuinely interested as well and Starfire not quite ready to leave Robin's side. Raven let out a breath of air-Robin was going to have some explaining to do to their alien friend. That left her outside with Beast Boy who had not even made a move to go into the gizmo cluttered store. Instead he scooted over towards Raven, who, for her part, stood nervously in place. "Hey Rae," he started. She looked up at him again, her trademark deadpan face set in place. He chuckled. "Um…I don't wanna go in there…do you?" He rested his gaze upon her head, looking down as she was no longer taller than him.

"Does it look like I want to go in there?" She replied, eyes staring at the store like it would attack her. Even though her hood hid her face, Beast Boy knew she was scowling at the shop.

"No…um…maybe we should go somewhere else. How about it? Just...you and me?"

Something in his voice made her look at him with concern and wonder, colliding emotions as he looked back at her. "I...uh...ok." Her momentary loss of speech was quickly recovered. "But are you…all right?"

He paused for a moment as she turned to start walking away, not awaiting an answer. She threw him a look that asked if he was coming. He nodded and caught up with her, not sure where she would take him but trusting her fully as he did everyday they risked their lives to fight villains. "Yeah…I'm fine." He still wasn't sure where they would end up going but wherever it was, Raven seemed to know where she was taking them. Once they were side by side, she looked at him again, seeming to ask him if he trusted her. He gazed back at her, their gazes unbroken, for what seemed an eternity before he spoke, his hand interlocking with hers, which she did not protest. "I trust you Raven, I trust you."

^TBC…

{{Okie…that was my first attempt…and as of yet, I'm not quite sure where this will go, but I hope it goes well. I really enjoyed writing it. I'm super glad that Sarbon decided to help me write it. He's such a dear at the moment. In any case, please R&R. I will continue it without reviews…but you know, they are helpful and encouraging. In any case, BEAST BOY/RAVEN FOREVER! WOOHOO! And ROBIN/STARFIRE FOREVER! They are just totally made for each other, those two. Well, I have to go now. No news on Elemental conspiracy or Thoughts of Zephyr: Chapter 20. Cutting the Miniscule threads for the Harry Potter arc will be finished soon as well. Thank you. Bye all!}}

Darkkairi1