Fan Fiction ❯ Promise ❯ Promise ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

By: DavCube

I don't own Teen Titans or any of its characters, so stop hounding me about this!

This story takes place right at the end of “Spellbound”. If you didn't see that, this might be a little confusing. This is my first fanfic attempt, so try not to be too harsh. Enjoy!

Oh, `` means thoughts, and ““ means actual speech, if you didn't know.

“Whooo! Stankball!” Cyborg yelled triumphantly as Beast Boy slowly rose from the floor of the hallway of Titans Tower, wearing a questionably fuming ball made out of God-knows-what on his face.

Raven reached down and picked up the smelly ball, which if it was a real ball, would be looking severely flattened right now, and looked toward Cyborg with a malicious smile on her face as the ball became enveloped in black energy. Cyborg's faced quickly became scared and hopeless, and he waved his arms in front of him as a surrender, knowing what was coming.

“Now hold on, Raven! Don't!-” He began to protest, but Raven tossed the stankball at the mechanical powerhouse, placing him in the same position Beast Boy was in just moments earlier. Beast Boy immediately began to laugh uncontrollably at the state his “rival” was now in, pounding the floor with one fist while holding his chest with the other, trying to get his breath back. Even Raven managed a chuckle out of her little stunt.

Cyborg was not at all happy with Beast Boy's content in his misery. He got up, taking the stankball in his hand and began to charge toward the green teenager. Beast Boy's laughter quickly subsided as he got up quickly and started to run down the hallway and down a corner, with Cyborg right on his heels.

“Hey! That's not in the rules! Raven's wasn't even playing!” Beast Boy exclaimed as the chase continued. “Yeah, well it's just your bad luck, green boy!” Cyborg retaliated, throwing the stankball yet again at his roommate, which is where Raven's mind left the fight.

`Those two… always a pleasure.' She thought as she turned to go back into her room. `Although that was just what I needed to get me out of my bad mood. I'll have to thank them for that later.' She then stared at her room, although physically put back in order, it was still quite a mess, what with the gaping hole left behind by the release of the dread dragon Rorek. `I still can't believe I fell for that trick.' She considered postponing her next thought, but who was there to know? `In more ways than one. He brought out a side in me that let me use my emotions freely. Dare I say it… I was falling for him. That bastard. No one fools with my emotions like that. At least not intentionally. No one.'

She went to the center of her room and floated about 2 feet above the ground into a meditation position. She then began to use her powers to clean up the pieces of plaster scattered about the room and meld them back onto her ceiling. `No one… except her.' Her thoughts trailed to one of the Titans, her only gal pal, Starfire. `That debacle with the puppet king, we shared so many secrets, learned so many things. She wanted to help tame my feelings and put them under control for me. No one ever tried to do that before that stupid dragon did, and he even succeeded. And she seemed so happy to see me that way.' The last pieces of plaster were reassembled above her head, but she remained in her meditative state just a little longer to sort things out in her head.

`I'll find a way someday to do that, not just for her, but for everyone.' She thought as she finally began to float back down to the ground, landing feet-first. She looked at the clock. 11 PM. `Guess I'd better sleep. This has been a long day.' She began to walk towards her bed, but was interrupted by a knock at her door.

“Raven?”

Raven recognized the voice coming from outside. `Speak of the devil.'

“May I enter? I wish to see if you are feeling better.” She inquired with much concern in her voice, and the same sincerity she always had. Raven sat down on her bed.

“Come in, Starfire.” The door opened almost instantly and Starfire came inside with a look of sadness and sympathy on her face. Raven sighed as she came closer to her, knowing what she would ask. “Look, before you say anything, I just want to say that I made a mistake, and I won't do something so foolish again.” Starfire's expression did not change as she came to a stop right next to her. “That is exactly the subject I wanted to avoid, I did not come here to ridicule you. Anyone could have been fooled by a masquerade as complex as that.”

Raven wasn't entirely surprised by Starfire's reaction, and patted a vacant spot on the bed next to her, offering her to sit down. Starfire obeyed, sitting and twiddling her thumbs nervously. “Thanks, but then what was it?” Raven asked. Starfire sighed slightly before she spoke.

“As I had said before, Beast Boy had told me much about what happened between you and the Malchior, and from his point of view, it seemed that the two of you had formed… something special.” Starfire started hastily, not wanting to anger her friend for bringing up a painful memory. Raven's silence seemed to be a signal for her to continue. “According to what he had said, you seemed to be using your emotions much more freely because of his teachings, and once you had shown yourself after your training was complete, I was elated to see your progress.” Raven blushed slightly from hearing these comforting words. `Is she psychic or something? I am glad that she's concerned, but its just weird that we were thinking about the same thing.'

“So…” she continued, “I suppose not all of the things that came of this were bad, were they not?” she said, hesitantly putting a hand on Raven's shoulder. Raven smiled faintly, knowing what she said was true. “I'd have to agree with you there. Feeling all of those things, without restraint, without consequences… it was one of the most exhilarating things I've ever felt, the best I've ever felt.” Raven took her hand and placed it on the one Starfire had placed on her shoulder, but then took it away and looked down at the floor.

“But then he took it all away, it was all for nothing.” Raven said with a glint of hopelessness in her voice. Starfire took her hand from Raven's shoulder and placed in then on her knee, not averting her view away from her friend.

“You are right,” she offered. “To be betrayed like that, to have held a loved one in your arms, and then to be severely wounded by those same hands in the same say… you must have felt as if you had been denied everything that was fair in life.” Tears started to threaten to spill out of both the girls' eyes, but each of them were able to fight them back easily.

“It's not that bad. Everything worked out in the end, didn't it?” Raven attempted to resolved their little girl talk, but apparently to no avail, as Starfire shifted herself to face her. “No, not everything. Ever since we began our meditating ritual together, I have been sensing how you battle with your emotions, and…” Starfire trailed off, slightly afraid of finishing her statement and grabbing her other arm out of that fear.

“…and what?” Raven asked, shifting herself as well so they were facing each other. Starfire looked back up at her, smiling. “I hope that… you win your battle someday. I would like that very much.” Starfire leaned in and hugged the sorceress, something that was common between the two by now. Raven, still getting used to being comfortable in this fashion with Starfire, waited a moment before putting her arms around the Tameranean herself. “Thanks,” Raven said, smiling with a little more vigor as they broke their embrace. `I wish she would smile like that more often.' Starfire thought to herself.

“I suppose, all I want to say is… that if you ever need someone to comfort you, I promise that I will be there for you. Excuse me.” She said as she pushed herself off of the bed and started to walk back toward the door to Raven's room. Raven hesitated a little, and then stopped her.

“Star, wait.”

Starfire turned back around to look at the sorceress, who scratched the back of her head, looking for the right words to say. “You too,” was all she could mutter in the darkness of her room. Starfire was confused a little about what she meant. “I… beg your pardon?” Raven sighed heavily, embarrassed a bit about talking like this.

“I meant that… I'd do the same for you. If you, you know… needed someone to talk to and stuff… you could talk to me, too.” Raven stumbled through her explanation with little struggle, glad to see Starfire smiling warmly back at her.

“I am glad we have this agreement, friend Raven. It makes me happy to have such a close friendship with you.” Starfire said cheerfully as she walked out of the room, paying attention to close the door slowly and quietly after exchanging “Good night” with each other. Raven walked back to her bed, pausing a little to view the place where they sat just a minute earlier, around the same spot they usually meditated. She then crawled into the bed and tucked herself in, thinking about what had just transpired.

`Heh, that was a little weird. But still, it's great to know that I have a friend like that who'd always be there. I'll be sure to honor that promise, Star, someday.' She thought as she trailed into a long, peaceful slumber.