Teen Titans Fan Fiction ❯ Ten Guidelines for Dating Earth Boys ❯ Chapter 8 ( Chapter 8 )

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Ten Guidelines for Dating Earth Boys

 

Chapter Eight

 

By Jacque Nicole

Guideline #7 - It is good to kiss and make up.

Today had definitely been one of the worse days in Starfire's life.

When she woke up that morning, she'd expected to enjoy a wonderful day with her boyfriend, but what she got instead certainly wasn't what she'd had in mind.

Instead of eating a peaceful lunch at a cozy little restaurant, she'd gotten the burger joint from hell, with devilish employees to boot. Just thinking about Candy made Starfire quiver in anger. She'd met a charming, albeit persistent, boy, and was grateful for the help he gave her, but Robin had misinterpreted her politeness as flirtation and said terrible, horrible things about her for it.

Yes, today had definitely been one of the worse days in Starfire's life, and now she was alone in her bedroom, buried in fluffy purple pillows and blankets, quietly sobbing.

The Tameranian princess slowly sat up, gently wiping tears away from her damp cheeks. “Why had I been so angry at him?” she questioned herself. “I did not have to be so brash. Maybe he had not realized that his words had hurt my feelings so badly. Maybe he really was not interested in Candy and maybe his jealous actions against Todd were justifiable.”

She thought deeply of her words before she began to sob again.

She knew, despite how much she wanted to forget, how unnecessary and hurtful Robin's actions had been.

She rolled over on her heavily pillowed bed and gently blotted a few stray tears away from her eyes with her purple blanket. “I should not feel this terrible,” she said to herself. “He is simply a boy. One should not weep so heavily for matters such as these.”

`He is simply a boy,' she repeated to herself in her thoughts, but she knew that Robin was much, much more than `simply a boy.' After all, if he was just a boy, she wouldn't be weeping for him in her bedroom, all alone.

For some reason, this revelation seemed to increase Starfire's tear production tenfold. `Why is it that such misfortunes always seem to befall unto me? Have I done something so terrible that I am destined to be punished with unhappiness for the rest of my life?'

Starfire had no time to ponder her thoughts because, before she had the opportunity to bury her face in her pillow once again, there was a loud boom, and then the familiar `swishing' sound of her door sliding open.

She looked up to see who it was, but she already knew before she saw his piercing eyes staring into her sorrowful green eyes.

“Starfire,” she heard the voice that had said so many hurtful things to her merely an hour ago say. “We need to talk.”

XOXOXOXOX

If anyone had seen Robin walking down the empty hall toward Starfire's door, they would have seen a very determined teenager. His masked eyes were staring directly at his destination, never wavering their position. His fists were clenched so tightly that Robin was certain that his knuckles had gone pale white. His strides were long and quick, never slowing or faltering.

If anyone had seen Robin walking down the empty hall toward Starfire's room, they would have deftly moved out of his way, for Robin looked like a man on the most important mission of his life.

As far as Robin was concerned, he was.

After a few more quick strides, he finally came to a halt in front of a very familiar door. A cute little sign that read `Starfire's Room' in flowery purple lettering hung on the outside.

Robin had fought evil masterminds, encountered deranged lunatics, and thwarted the plans of dastardly criminals, but none of his past experiences made him feel the way he was feeling right now.

His stomach was churning. His palms were sweating. His face was as pale as a sheet.

Robin was nervous as hell.

`Is this what it feels like to be in love?' he joked to himself in attempt to relax his nerves, but failing miserably.

The Boy Wonder took a deep calming breath before raising a fist, preparing to knock on his girlfriend's - `Ex-girlfriend's?' he wondered to himself, then forcibly shaking his head - door, when he heard a faint, nearly inaudible sound. Robin lowered his hand, moving his head to get closer to Starfire's door. His ear was nearly pressed against it before he could decipher what he heard.

It was Starfire, and it sounded like she was crying.

For what seemed like the billionth time that day, Robin's heart was crushed. With each faint sob he heard he felt like it was being pummeled by a team of professional athletes.

`Why am I so good at upsetting her, damn it!' he wondered to himself. `She must feel so low, after everything I said to her. What the hell was I thinking, yelling at her the way I did?' he thought. `I have to apologize to her.' And he made his decision then and there with absolute finality, but he couldn't help wondering, `what if she doesn't accept it?'

And Robin's afterthought, of course, rekindled his nervous hysteria to the point where the Boy Wonder became fed up with his own pitiful actions.

“This is all so fucking ridiculous,” he muttered angrily.

Robin decided that, by the way Starfire was feeling now, she probably wouldn't allow him into her room if he knocked, so he raised his hand to Starfire's door console and punched in the pin number that he knew by heart.

“7-8-2-7,” he said as he tapped the pad. “S-T-A-R.”

`Access denied.'

“What the...?” Robin muttered out loud. He tried the pin again.

7-8-2-7

The same message appeared on the small screen in bold red letters.

`Access denied.'

“What the hell is wrong with this thing? I know that this is the code. I helped her set it up, for Christ's sake,” he grumbled crossly. He tried the numbers again.

7-8-2-7

`Access denied.'

And again.

7-8-2-7

`Access denied.'

And again.

7-8-2-7

`Access denied.'

By now he was so fed up with the machine that he was punching the numbers in so hard that the whole console shook with each entry.

“Dammit! What the hell!” the Boy Wonder nearly yelled, but he managed to keep his voice down. If Starfire heard him outside her door yelling like a madman she wouldn't let him in her room for sure. “I'm going to do this one last time,” he said, teeth clenched in fury. “If it doesn't work this time...”

7-8-2-7

`Access denied.'

“THAT'S IT!” he growled. “I'M BLOWING IT UP!”

Before he had a chance to calm down or comprehend what he was doing, the Boy Wonder whipped out an explosive birdarang from his utility belt and flung it with precise aim at the little console.

The little machine exploded upon contact, and, without its security system, the steel doors automatically slid open.

The first things he saw were her eyes.

And they were full of tears.

“Starfire,” he said, his breathing slightly labored from his residual anger. “We need to talk.”

XOXOXOXOX

They stared at each other for what seemed like hours.

He looked exhausted, she noticed, with his cape slightly askew and his utility belt sitting crookedly on his hips. If his spandex pants were able to be wrinkled, she was sure they would have been. His eyes were on her in a way that made her feel like if he took his gaze away, even for one second, she would die.

`How does he make me feel this way?' she wondered. `How?'

She looked exhausted, he noticed, with her hair frizzed out and her eyes bloodshot. He could just make out dried tear tracks on her cheeks in the dim lighting of her room, but he tried his best to ignore them. Her eyes were on him in a way that made him feel like if she took his gaze away, even for one second, he would be lost forever.

`I never want to lose you,' he thought. `Never.'

And they stared at each other, for what seemed like hours until they finally spoke.

“Starfire - ”

“Robin - ”

And at the same time, they both averted their gazes, embarrassed after talking over each other.

“Robin,” Starfire began tentatively, “We do not have to talk.”

Immediately, his eyes locked with hers again. “Why wouldn't your code work?” he asked, his gaze never wavering.

She scrunched her eyebrows up in confusion, his reply completely throwing her off. “Excuse me?”

“Your code,” he said slowly, as if explaining it to a child. “7-8-2-7. Why wouldn't it open the door?”

`Oh,' she thought, finally understanding. “I changed it,” she told him.

She changed it. He should have known. He took a deep, shuttering breath. “To keep me out?” he asked, even though he knew what he answer would be.

She broke her eyes away from his and looked at the floor once again. Obviously, her reply was a `yes'. “But, it seems you got in here anyway,” she said with sarcasm, something she rarely ever used, especially toward Robin.

He began making his way toward her bed. “Because we need to talk,” he told her earnestly.

She shook her head, holding up a hand as if to stop his advancements. “Robin - ”

By now, he was at the foot of her bed, close enough to touch her if he reached out. He stared at her once more, wondering how he possibly could have driven her away. “I'm sorry,” he said finally.

Starfire began shaking her head faster, as if the more she denied him, the faster he'd leave her alone. “Robin,” she said, scooting back further on her large bed. “Don't - ”

“No,” he said strongly, leaning onto the edge of the Tameranian princess's mattress. “I need to say this, and you need to hear it, rather you think so or not.”

Starfire couldn't believe Robin's audacity. Who did he think he was, busting into her room like he owned the place and then practically commanding her to listen to what he had to say? He had no right to command her to do anything, especially after everything that had happened that day.

But then again, he did sound pretty sincere…

“Fine,” she finally said. “I will listen, but that does not mean I am going to change my mind. Robin...” She looked away, feeling tears beginning to burn her eyes once again. “You hurt me very much today.”

“I know,” he replied truthfully. “And I'm sorry... So very, truly sorry.”

“Is that it?” she shot back at him, her voice becoming heated. She sat forward so she was closer to him, managing to look more intimidating with the movement. “Do you think you can just blow my door open, say sorry, and then reset everything that has happened?”

He slumped over tiredly. “Not quite, but, in a nutshell, yes.”

“Then you may leave right now,” she fired back, “because it is not going to work.”

Robin sighed again before taking time out to climb all the way onto Starfire's bed, scaling his way over the many pillows covering it to get to the head, where Starfire sat. As he got closer, she attempted to back away but soon realized that she had no more room left. She was trapped. “Just shut up,” he said strongly, finally right next to her. “Shut up and listen to what I have to say, okay. And don't do that thing you do when you say you're listening, and you really aren't.”

She humphed in a very unladylike way, but didn't give a snappy response. Robin considered it progress.

“Okay,” he said, slumping into the pillows. “I don't really know how to say this...” Starfire could see that he was struggling with his words. She almost felt sorry for him. Almost. “Well,” he continued, raking his sweaty hand nervously through his sleek jet black hair, “I spoke to Raven before I came here - ”

Starfire's eyes went wide in shock. “I knew it. She put you up to this, did she not? Whatever she said to you to force you to apologize to me, ignore it.”

Robin shook his head forcibly. “No, Star. She did not force me to do or say anything to you. Hell, she was actually trying to get me to leave you alone.”

“Then she obviously has my best interests in mind.”

Robin ignored her. “Raven helped me realize how important you are to me. I know this may sound a little corny, but I didn't realize how much you meant to me until now.” He paused to look directly at her. She still wore a scowl on her face.

“Robin, you practically called me a slut in the middle of a park,” she deadpanned.

“Like I said, I didn't realize how much you meant to me until now. I was...” he paused, searching for the right words. “I was being a total klorbag.”

A smile itched the corner of Starfire's mouth up slightly, but she managed to keep it hidden. He definitely wasn't going to get off that easily. “Yes, you certainly were.”

“Raven helped me see how deep my feelings for you go. When I think of the things I said to you in the park...” he paused, looking away from her. “Well, let's just say I'm not proud of it. Believe me, Star. If I could go back in time to take those words back, I would have.”

He returned his gaze to her, eyes full of emotion. “Sometimes I can't control what comes out of my mouth, you know? You make me feel so many things all the time... All I can do is react. I know that's a stupid excuse for everything that's happened today, but you can make me feel things I don't necessarily want to feel, do things I don't necessarily want to do... And I like it.”

At some point in Robin's little speech, the Boy Wonder managed to get so close to Starfire that their hips were touching. His hand found it's way to her cheek, gently caressing her there. “I don't want what we have to end, Star,” he said finally. “I never want it to end because...”

He took a deep breath then, mustering up the courage to say what he knew had to be said. “Because, Starfire,” he told her, pouring every inch of his soul into his words. “I love you.”

And he kissed her.

…End Chapter Eight…

Number of Words: 2,432
Posted: July 4, 2006
Last Edited: August 20, 2006