It's been a while since I've attempted a multi-chapter story… so here's the deal. I write this, finish it, then I do my high school AU. After that, I totally redo Wrecked. Rewrite and continuation. I'll have a couple one-shots in between, but these'll be my big projects.
This first chapter alone here has taken me ages, so please be patient with me. I'll get this thing updated as soon as possible every time, I swear! I have the whole plot and everything set up for this, so here goes. I hope it's satisfactory.
Enjoy!
It was a typical morning, one in which Raven found herself to be enjoying rather thoroughly. She was poised in the air above the roof, facing out towards the water as the wind coming off of the pulsing blue glass slightly stirred her hair and cloak about her. For every deep breath she took in, there was a deep breath out. Her eyes were closed as her lips moved with a silent chant of her usual mantra, centering her soul and relieving herself of the world around her.
She focused on that little sprout of emptiness and prodded it gently to bloom and consume her. Her surroundings, her thoughts, her innermost emotions tumbled away as she was left with an overwhelming sense of calm. All of her burdens: forgotten. All of her woes: dismissed. All of her weaknesses: banished. Here, she simply existed in a state of nothing. And as nothing, she was perfectly content.
Her little mental alarm clock shouldered its way up into her awareness, telling her she'd been meditating for a solid five hours now. She frowned, opening her eyes slowly and cat-like to the noon sun. She didn't want to leave the nothingness, but she figured she'd have to at some point. As with every other day, she unfolded her legs and sighed. When her boots made contact with the flat surface of the roof again, she headed into the tower for a transitional mug of tea.
"Hey, Raven," Robin greeted her as she walked through the doors to the main ops. room. He was seated at the curved couch, mug of coffee and newspaper in hand. He lifted the paper to wave.
She nodded in response. "Hello." White mug on the table, Raven started boiling her water. "Anything new?"
"Not really. Just a few petty thefts, a fire, and the mayor making another bonehead decision."
Reaching for her preferred flavor of tea, she rolled her eyes. "Big surprise. What is it this time?"
He glanced at her and let a brief smile cross his lips. "Titans themed party. In honor of your eighteenth birthday."
She dropped the tea box to the floor, a single bag clutched between two fingers of her left hand. "Pardon me?"
Robin chuckled. "Yeah well. You have the only age and birthday that anybody outside the team knows about."
"Yeah," she seethed, "I wonder how that happened."
"Hey now, no need to growl at me. That was all Beast Boy and Starfire."
Her eyes narrowed with a sour emotion, and she was glad to have taken the time to meditate earlier this morning. Otherwise, she probably would have shot him out the window. "Yes, well. For future reference, I claim he had it coming." At that opportune moment, a scream sounded behind her and she whirled to take the kettle off of the stove. Water poured, tea prepped, she took a seat at one of the side sofas and reached for one of the many books she stored next to the furniture.
She tried to read, in all of her life it never took so much willpower to try and soak in a simple sentence. Maybe it would of helped had the book been right side up, even if by now she could read upside down reversed text in the dark with ease. With a defeated, silent sigh, she gave up. Her thoughts roamed to a time nearly a year ago. Her seventeenth birthday.
Each time a titan had a birthday, they'd throw a little celebration and eat a cake or six, as well as buy a couple presents. Last year, the titans had been determined to make it her best birthday ever after the… previous events. They'd gone all out. The tower was littered with confetti, strung with miles of streamers, and stacked up with all sorts of sugary foods. The table was covered with wrapped gifts.
She was never one for advertising her birthday, nor did she normally enjoy a large celebration. But the thought that went into it made her smile a little and go along with it. The presents were all perfect, she cherished each one. They were practical and useful. Well, most of them were. There were a few luxuries that looked more than a little expensive, and she had a small idea as to whom it was to dig into their pockets and dish those out for her.
Yet, there was always a small doubt in her mind. Those expensive gifts seemed as though they were from two different people. Now surely nobody was hiding any wealth from her… right? Robin had stated once in conversation that he was up in social class… but everybody else said they left behind their old lives and the banks that went with them.
She focused her mind on the birthday again, no reason to ponder on that now. She'd done so before and ended up nowhere.
Later that night, Starfire and Beast Boy had dragged her and then begged the others to the city where they raided shops and occasionally stopped for tea and sodas. Everywhere they went, the two in lead shouted out with glee that it was Raven's birthday. She was not at all happy about that, but when she approached them and Starfire stood taller with Beast Boy still shorter, albeit by only a few inches, she couldn't bring herself to do more than just scold.
She knew she'd come to regret it.
Starfire then burst into the room, excitement palpable. "Glorious news, my friends. I have been watching Silkie for the two hours now, and he is still alive!" She giggled and pulled Robin into a quick kiss. "I heard a 'gurgle' and now know that he was only taking a very long nap as he removed his coat. I wonder why he was wearing one…"
Raven studied Robin as he shook his head and laughed lightly, and she realized that he'd finally given up on trying to correct her on things. She reached out with her senses, pleased to find that he now rather much enjoyed her innocent mind-set. More than before, anyways. Thinking on it, though, she found herself in slight disagreement with Robin. Starfire was not innocent. A warrior princess who'd experienced life as a slave, simply ignorant to certain aspects of earthen ways.
As Star made her way to the fridge to begin prepping her breakfast, another figure stumbled through the doorway.
Groggy and tired, Beast Boy made his way over to Robin and fell down beside him on the couch. He looked at his leader and friend to say something, but he stopped short and slammed his mouth shut. His green eyes formed slits as they tried to analyze some sort of situation Raven seemed to be missing out on.
Then he leapt off the couch with a newfound vigor and thrust and arm in the air. "Yes!" He raced around to where the alien stared curiously from the counter and stood eye to eye with her, moving his hand from the top of his head to her nose. "Yes!" He exclaimed again. "Stand up, Raven!"
"I beg your pardon?"
He made his way quickly over towards the empathy and grabbed her by the arms, pulling her up.
"Beast Boy!" She scolded quietly but forcefully.
"Look, Rae!" I beamed excitedly, standing directly in front of her.
"Look at what? Your childish, green face?" That's when she noticed, though. His face was lean. Sure, it was an evolution and hadn't just happened over night. But… he now looked so much more mature. His eyes were bright with a perpetual youth, but set above sharper cheekbones and shaped features. Still boyish, most definitely. Nothing could take that away from him. Still, older. She swept her gaze over the rest of his form. He was still thin and wiry, but had a layer of lean muscle with his years of active crime-fighting.
She looked back up at his face and was startled to discover that her vision was set to his chin.
She must have shown some sort of surprise, because his grin grew shrewd. "And now… you are officially the shortest person on the team."
"Dear Azar, is that all you were jumping around for? A couple more inches?"
"Hey!" He frowned. "More than you can say. You're done growing. Forever," he sneered.
"I'd be willing to bet that you are too, now."
"Challenge accepted!" He exclaimed. "What are the terms?"
"If you don't grow anymore after my birthday by the time it's your birthday, I'll require that you leave me alone upon request for the next five months. Maybe it'll get you in the habit."
"Okay, and if I do grow… then…" he took the time to seriously consider. She was patient, surely he was trying to gather a plethora of orders for her to complete. "You kiss me."
That was something she was most certainly not expecting. She was ready and prepared for commands such as pulling off pranks for him or cleaning his room or acting as wingman/woman or all of those together. So of course, she figured she must of heard wrong. "Excuse me, what?"
He grinned as if he'd just found the answer to the world. "At least a minute long, on the lips. Anything other than that is up to you, but it will be your punishment for losing the bet. And you have to do it as soon as I win."
Her eyes flashed with defiance. Both were sincerely stubborn and in no chance ever going to back down from a bet of this caliber. "You're on," she thrust a hand out.
He pretended to spit on his hand, presumably just to annoy her as she figured, before taking her hand in a firm shake. "Deal," he finalized. Neither let go of the other's hands, though. They stood there, gazing into each other's daring eyes and clasping hands.
"Y'all need to get a room one of these days," an entering voice interrupted their trance. Raven pulled her hand away and turned to see the doors closing behind Cyborg.
"Good morning," she sighed as she dutifully ignored the insinuation that her and Beast Boy had need for 'a room'.
"Cy!" Beast Boy exclaimed. "I need you to measure me every day between Raven's birthday and mine. Let's go."
Raven watched as he pulled the larger, confused man along to be measured elsewhere.
"Quite the differing terms of payment on the bet," Robin put in from behind her.
She turned to face him. "Yes, well. He's eluded himself either way. There is no way he's growing anymore and there is no way he'll be winning the bet."
"He's probably thinking the same thing, you know."
"Oh most certainly. I think, actually, that I'd rather enjoy getting his hopes up, too."
She raised her book back up to her eyes, still upside-down, and missed the worried glance shared between the alien and acrobat.
.:..:..:.
The next day, Raven mentally crossed out yesterday's date on her little 'mind calendar'. Three more days until her birthday, and three more days until the bet would begin. Normally, Raven was never one to indulge in any sort of gamble, much less a wager on growth. The idea of five silent months, however, ceased the voice in the back of her mind that was telling her to quit now.
She dressed in a fresh leotard and cloak before heading down to greet the others {those who were awake, mind you} and prepare herself breakfast. She was pleasantly surprised to see Cyborg already up and moving alongside Robin, and took the opportunity to mention how long it had been since she'd last had waffles.
Not much later, she was seated by a waffle-stacked plate as Cyborg made a verbal note of how he'd make waffles any time his 'little lady' so desired. She had to smother a grin and settled for a fond smirk.
The oh-so-fearless leader hid his face behind the day's newspaper and cleared his throat. "So, three days until the party. I've been informed that it will begin at seven at night and last until midnight. Formal wear," he added with a sniff. "So, uh… Star wants to go dress shopping with you." He could feel, feel the empath's glare through his newspaper. "It can't be all that bad, Raven. She knows what kind of things you like…"
"It isn't her decisions, more so the fact she'll want to look in every store there is."
"She's just curious-"
"Yeah, I know. Wants to figure out what is in the store of 'Secrets of Victoria'."
Robin sighed, "You know how much she appreciates spending time with you." He lowered the newspaper so he could look at her fully. She shoved a forkful of waffle in her mouth as he continued. "It's just a method of prolonging it."
She swallowed. "Uh-huh, whatever. We leave at eleven," she paused. "All of us."
"All… of us?"
"Yes," she raised a brow dubiously, "Don't tell me you already have a formal suit."
He smirked, "Actually-"
"And you expect Beast Boy and Cyborg to be capable of collecting their own suits?" She asked innocently.
"I'm right here. Y'all know that, right?"
"I suppose not…" Robin finally grumbled, ignoring Cyborg's protests. "Alright. I'll get the other two around. We leave in an hour."
Raven nodded and continued to eat her waffles, watching as Robin left to gather the rest of the team. Cyborg sat down next to her and started in on his own plate of waffles and bacon. The two sat in a comfortable silence, simply indulging in their own thoughts and enjoying the other's silent company.
"Should I…" Cyborg trailed off unsurely.
Raven set her fork down and turned to him. "Yes, Cyborg?"
"Should I wear a halo-ring to the party?"
She was silent a moment, then she smiled lightly. "Why are you cautious about it? How else are you going to fit in dress shoes?"
He smiled and brought her in for a side hug. Hesitantly, she wrapped an arm around him as well.
"Cyborg," she looked up at him earnestly. "If you want to be seen as Victor Stone for the day, you don't need permission from anybody. You are who you want to be." She stood and rinsed her dish, then stooped to put it in the dish washer. "I actually think it'd be best if we all wear halo rings to the shops today, actually. In an effort to not make this more painful than it already is."
"Yeah. Hey, thanks, Raven."
The corners of her mouth lifted lightly and she nodded. "Anytime. So long as you give me waffles." Then she left to prepare for the day, and tell Robin about the halo rings.
After hunting down the Boy Wonder and convincing him to have everybody wear their civvie suits, Raven shuffled through her drawers for some normal clothing. Each of the Titans had what they called a 'civvie suit'. It consisted of a halo ring custom made by Cyborg, and a few sets of regular clothing. Starfire had gone a little overboard, though, and has at least ten sets of each colour of the rainbow as well as seven formal gowns and a shoe collection to rival the mall.
Apparently the mall of earthly wonders truly fascinated her.
Since she'd be trying things on, Raven took out clothes that were easy to change in and out of. She ended up in a black ankle-length skirt and tee covered by a royal purple cardigan, unbuttoned. She slipped on a pair of purple elf-boots, similar to her usual pair. Before heading to the ops. room, she took her halo ring out of her side-table drawer and slid it onto her right ring finger.
Passing her mirror, she caught sight of her civilian façade. Cold blue eyes stared back at her, hair about three inches longer and painted black. Her greyish skin was… normal. Still pale, but pinkish white as a regular, full human could be.
She shook her head and left.
In the main operations room, she was met with a slightly unsettling sight. A jean-clad, red tee-shirt donning Richard, combed hair and dazzling blue eyes, was talking merrily to a fully human Victor. Her oldest 'brother' was dressed in a pair of loose jeans and flannel button up, undone over a plain wife-beater. Richard fidgeted with the leather jacket slung over his arm and nodded in greeting to her as she entered.
Raven tilted her head up in response then slid her attention over to the remaining two members, fiddling with something over at the couch. She grimaced slightly to see them in some sort of hold, intertwined as they both reached out for something while simultaneously trying to push the other back. Kori's straight, now more natural red hair tumbled down to her waist where her loose tank top met her leggings.
Beneath her, Raven caught sight of a tan young man with messy, sandy blonde hair and a pair of basketball shorts and loose hoodie. She saw a playful gleam in his usual green eyes and was reminded of overhearing his vehement argument to keeping his eyes green. For some reason, he refused to give his holographic image his birth-given eye colour. She was curious, naturally, but he denied any information and so she let it go. Loudly, she cleared her throat to grab the attention of the two wrestlers.
Both stopped their struggle and snapped their heads over to her simultaneously. Both of their grins grew, Garfield's slightly bigger. Somehow. "Raven! Err… Rachel, I guess."
Despite Raven being her given name, she had to take Rachel as her civilian name. Elsewise… a civilian with the name Raven might draw attention. "Good afternoon, Garfield. Kori." Each of the titans were comfortable enough to know each other's given names. The only two who hadn't had to give their full names were the girls, Raven who had no other and Starfire who had in the beginning introduced herself as Koriand'r. Those were the names used for their civvie suits, save for Raven who had no other and Starfire who shortened her name to Kori Anders.
"Friend, please. I am trying to obtain the remote before B-Garfield so I may have first choice of television show," she explained gleefully.
Raven waved her hand, beside it. "Doesn't matter, we're leaving." When the two simply stared back at her, she growled and used her powers to separate them, placing each at far ends of the couch. She muttered something under her breath and turned around. Dutifully ignoring the looks on the other two boys' faces, she motioned the team to hurry up. "The sooner this is over with, the better."
The car ride was for the most part silent, Cyborg-excuse me, Victor-drove with Richard riding passenger. Rachel was sandwiched in the middle of the backseat, mentally ticking off musts for the dreaded evening gown she'd need for the party in just a few short days.
Kori could have very well stayed behind, already having several suitable dresses to choose from. She'd decided it was a necessity to help Raven pick hers out, though, and since this was a special occasion: get a new, special dress for herself.
Once at the mall, Rachel and Richard set up the meeting place to be in the food court by Arby's and the time to be around three. That accomplished, the girls went off in one direction and the boys in another. The first place Kori wanted to visit was Macy's, and the two went up the escalator to reach the everyday items.
"Umm.. St-Kori? Why are we coming up here? I thought clothing was downstairs."
"We must collect items for our hair and make-up, friend," she smiled.
Rachel grumbled under her breath, "Fantastic." She followed the taller, still-tan-but-not-orange girl through the second level and found herself carrying an assortment of specialized hair-care products and make-up kits. "You don't already have these?"
"Rachel!" she gasped. "I have only the basic things, look! This curler gives the tightest curls ever to have been seen, and this one says it gives straight hair to last for a week!"
"How much do these things cost, Kori?"
She shrugged lightly, "Ro-Richard said I could spend however much I needed. To use our Titans Cards and he'd pay them off later."
Rolling her eyes, Rachel lit up when she found a plastic carrier laying empty on a counter. Just as she was about to dump everything from her arms to the basket, a large, tan hand swiped it away from her. "Hey!" she snarled, indignant. When she whirled around to confront the jerk, she felt all emotion drop from her face to the point where it was blank and agape. Her heart jerked for a moment and she just caught her mouth from sliding open.
Standing before her was a gorgeous man, and if she'd been thinking properly she probably could have compared him to Aqualad. His dark hair was combed back, golden eyes glittering, tall, broad frame standing in a position that suggested he was front and center at all times. "H-hey…" she mumbled.
He smirked and stuck out a hand, "William McCunther." Then he pulled his hand back slowly. "Oh wait, guess your hands are too full to shake, aren't they? You should probably find yourself a cart or basket…" he drawled.
She was thankful Kori had wandered over, as she shoved everything she was holding into the redhead's arms and snatched the basket away from William. "Yes, thank you for the advice." She swiped everything from Kori's hold into the basket and then gave that to her afterwards so she could turn on Mr. Gorgeous A. Hole. His face was mix between a scowl and a sneer. "What's your name?"
"Wouldn't you like to know."
"Can't even give me your first name?"
"Rachel."
"Mmm… beautiful name to match the face," he grinned haughtily.
"Both of which are on the outside, take a look at my personality and background and you'll be crying for your mother," she scowled.
"Better than my father though, isn't it?" He lifted his head in appreciation to her challenge, "I'll see you around, Rachel."
"You wish," she snarled to his retreating figure. When he was gone, she finally let the small smile she'd been hiding grace her features before biting her bottom lip to keep it down.
Kori was beside herself, smiling and giggling. "Rachel! What was that?"
She waved her hand and grumbled. "Nothing, let's go."
They bought the hair and make-up products then entered the restrooms, where Rachel went into a stall and teleported their bags back to the tower so they wouldn't have to carry them around. Apparently the reason Kori wanted to get those things before trying on dresses was because she knew Rachel could teleport them, and wanted to make sure she wouldn't forget. Classic.
Downstairs, Rachel did her best to steer clear of the perfumes and found the evening gowns. Kori selected a few dresses for herself and went to try them on, leaving Rachel to her own devices for the time being. She skimmed through the floor length options, immediately dissing the brighter, more vibrant selections such as that sparkly pink or princess-styled yellow. She ended up trying on a 'Royal Tiara' coloured gown, 'Xscape Embellished Flyaway Halter Gown' , the tag labeled it.
Kori insisted on seeing it, so she stepped cautiously out of the stall so she could see. "Oh, Rachel! It looks most beautiful!"
Blushing a little, Rachel nodded slowly. "I don't know. I like it but… I don't think I'll be buying it. It doesn't really… work for me. A little too open."
Shyly, Kori twidled her fingers, "Do you suppose it would be alright if I… were to try it on?"
Corners of her mouth lifting, Rachel nodded. "Of course."
Gathering the smaller girl in a hug, ("Kori… breath") she left her to change out of the gown and sought out a dress like Raven's in her own size.
Rachel tried on a few more dresses, but each had their own problems. This one showed to much skin, that one was too short, one even had awkward sleeves and despite having a nice appeal, she got rid of that one as well.
Kori had decided to purchase the Halter Gown she'd liked that Rachel tried, and after spending about three-hundred total on that, the girls left to find another shop. They raided every store that had even a hat in it, even going so far as to try the Halloween Shoppe. Nothing. While Rachel was frustrated beyond comprehension, Kori found a sort of pleasure in their little 'scavenger hunt'.
All the way across the mall from where they began, they walked into the final store. There was low lighting, classy furniture, and racks upon racks of clear-covered dresses. Well. This might have been the place to start.
The two started scanning through the dresses when a well-dressed, middle-aged woman approached. "Good afternoon ladies, can I help you find something?"
"Um," Rachel said gracefully. "Yes, please. I need an evening gown for an upcoming party. A… conservative gown," she added slowly.
The woman looked her over. "Alright, I think I know just what you're looking for. Come over here, let's size you up." On the way to a small platform, the employee grabbed a tape measure off a counter as well as a small pad of paper and a pen. "I'm Marah, by the way."
"Rachel, and this is Kori."
"Nice to meet you two. Have- just step right up there- have you two been looking around long?"
Rachel blew out a breath, "Hours… speaking of which, we have a half hour before we need to meet the boys, Kori."
"I'll call them and inform them we'll be a little late," she responded, then stepped out of the store to do so.
Marah jotted some things down then motion her to a chair, a chair that Rachel crumpled into gladly. "These boys escorting you two?"
"Wha- oh. Oh no. Well… one of them is going with Kori. The other two boys will probably be inviting some other plus-ones. I think I'll be going alone, though," she sighed, "I really can't be bothered."
"Well," she smiled, sticking her pen into the bun on the back of her head, "When we get you a dress here, I can assure you it'll have all the boys dropping their jaws. You're a naturally pretty girl, Rachel. The dress we pick out here will just highlight it, then we'll see how bothered you are."
As Marah wandered away to sift through dresses, Rachel found herself thinking over her words. The whole thing about how bothered she is wasn't foremost on her mind, though, rather the previous comment. She called Rachel pretty, but what will everyone think about Raven coming down those steps at the party?
She didn't really get to guess because Kori returned and told her that she'd given them another half hour. Kori took a seat next to her, and waited a couple minutes until Marah returned. When she did, she had five dresses in tow. Each, through the clear plastic, was a dark colour and floor length, each with sleeves and decent necklines. Rachel was glad to note that they all had backs.
Without her cloak, she'd need all the coverage she could get. Maybe she should invest in insurance as well…
The first dress was a deep purple, long sleeved and mermaid styled. She wasn't a fan of the skirt, nor the beaded waistline, so they moved on to dress number two. This one was navy blue and had sleeves to the elbows, but the tight, clinging fit had her cautious. Dress three… black and downright breathtaking. The sleeves were short, and the neck ended a little low… but heavy, thick lace covered the remaining space above and went a couple inches up her neck. It lightly hugged her figure, but flared out at the knees.
"I…" she started nervously, "I really like this one."
Marah smiled brightly. "Me, too. Alex Perry Catori, on the list. Let's finish up here to see if any of these are any good, as well." (A/N: These are real dresses BTW, the two I've picked out for Raven and Star, so you can google them and check 'em out.)
The next was a dark green, very loose and the top a thick halter. Even with sashes that hung over her upper arms, the bare shoulders reminded her of how that last dress was covered. The last was another black, sheath and long sleeved. This one also climbed her neck, but the semi-transparent sides –ranging from mid-side to hip – had her shaking her head.
"Alright," Marah smiled. "You like the Catori?"
"Like it? I love it! I never thought I'd hear myself say that about a formal gown but… it's perfect." She put her boot on and checked the dressing room in case she'd forgotten anything. "So, how much is it?"
"Well, you're in luck. This week we're taking twenty percent off of everything… which should bring that dress to… well we'll just round it down to one-thousand four-hundred."
Rachel stopped in her tracks and seemed to choke on the air in her lungs. "One-thou- that's twenty percent off?"
Kori stepped up, "She is not used to dress shopping, that is quite the steal for a dress like that, Marah. Many thanks!" She smiled and pulled out her card to pay for the dress.
She dragged Rachel out of the store, still spluttering over the price, dress in tow.
"Good luck with those boys, Dear!" Marah called after her with a smile.
.:..:..:.
The boys were waiting at a table, three in from Arby's, in the food court. They were throwing fries at one another, trying to make it as hard as possible for the other to catch it with their mouths. The girls arrived to witness Garfield dive, literally dive, off the chair to catch a missile de Victor. He turned his head and was met with the sight of a heavy skirt, and trailing up slowly, a disapproving gleam in unfamiliar, cold blue eyes.
"Hey, Rae! How was dress shopping?" He scurried to stand.
Rachel held her gown up, this time outfitted with an opaque black dress cover. Kori decided to follow suit, and held her own bag up. "Yes, friend, we have joyfully collected our gowns for the upcoming evening."
"Joyfully," the dark teen repeated.
"Rav-Rachel!" Kori gasped.
"Yes…?" she ventured. Near terrified that the disguised alien had remembered shoes, she took that moment to steal Gar's seat. ("Hey!") When Kori just pointed to something, her brow lifted and she trailed her gaze to the given direction. What she saw iced her somewhat. Oh how she did not want to deal with this right then.
"Rachel! Fancy meeting you again."
"Pleasurable, you mean," she put on a gallant scowl.
He hummed in agreement. "These your friends?"
Rachel didn't have time to open her mouth when Garfield spoke in a low voice, "Yes. And you're not. Who are you, exactly?"
He looked Gar over for a second before answering, "William McCunther." He held his hand out to be shaken.
"Garfield Logan," the response came slowly, and the teen had to be careful when gripping William's hand. A weird possessiveness strangled his inhibitions, and he felt a feral sense try to wrangle his control away. He shoved the feeling down and pulled his hand away only when sensing Rachel's confusion and discomfort. "What brings you here , Billy? Want some fries?" He held up the box of curly fries he and the boys had been eating earlier.
William grimaced at 'Billy', but stuck his hands in his pockets –slacks, Gar noticed with a fleeting glance to his own basketball shorts—and shook his head. "No, thank you. That's quite alright. I met Rachel here earlier today, and seeing her here, I just decided to say hello."
"She's right here, no need to talk about me as if I'm not," Rachel said with a slight sense of disdain.
"Look," William turned towards her. "I think we got off on the wrong start. How about we meet for coffee some time?"
"I don't drink it," came her immediate reply.
"Or something else, anything. Come on, give a guy a chance." He smiled charmingly, and even though she got the feeling it was a meeting room smile, she was reminded of the handsome impression he gave her when she first saw him.
Garfield watched with burning eyes as her cold resolve ever so unnoticeably slipped. Only the Titans, who'd known her for years, could see it. William simply assumed he'd won from the beginning; there hadn't been a girl yet to turn him down.
"Manny's Café, eleven Friday morning. Don't be surprised if I don't show up, though." She turned to her friends, and faltered slightly when she saw them all watching the blonde to her left. He was watching William with a glare she'd only seen him wear a select few times. "Let's go, we've been in the mall long enough for the day."
As the group left, the shorter boy standing directly behind the dark girl to purposely block William's view of her, his 'meeting room smile' dissolved into a cold sneer. His fingers snapped and a businessman from a table and another from line at Tom Wahl's moved to his side. Each put a corded phone in their right ear, and followed William out of the door.
They got in a sleek car with tinted windows, and when seated William took out a pad of yellow paper and wrote five cursive words in red ink.
.:..:..:.
"What was that?"
"What was what?"
"Beast Boy," she said sharply, "You were about ready to start World War Three back there. And what did we tell you about nicknaming people?! Remember the whole 'Dick' incident?"
When the team had gotten back, they put all their shopping bags away and taken their halo rings off. None of them were in the mood to change, so they kept in what they had worn to the mall. Beast Boy had thrown himself on the couch, not much in the mood to do anything. Raven had other plans, though, and stood right in his line of vision to question him.
He turned his head into the couch cushion and sighed before grumbling a little and propping himself up on his elbows. His back curved backwards and he took the opportunity to stretch. He ignored her impatient snarl and lazily closed his eyes. "I just didn't like the way he was looking at…"
She raised a brow. "Looking at whom?"
"Us," he said and opened his eyes. "Like we were targets."
She hummed lowly. "I think you're being-"
"I'm not being any-"
"-paranoid, which is perfectly fi-"
"-thing, just stating-"
"-ne, but I don't need you doing everything for me."
"-the obvious." His eyes glittered with clear stubbornness.
"I can protect myself," she stated with deliberate syllables.
He looked at her, silent, for some time. Both of them burned with a fiery intent, neither willing to let the other win. After a couple minute-ticks of the clock, he averted his eyes down to the ground and moved to a sitting position. "Yeah," he said softly. "I know. Just… sometimes it's nice to know that I'm not hurting someone, and the best way to do that is to make sure nothing happens."
She wasn't sure what to say, so her mouth opened uselessly and then slid closed again.
"I've already failed to keep three of the most important people to me safe, just let me make sure I don't have to go through that again, okay?"
Before she could respond, he stood up and brushed by her, headed towards his room. She cast her gaze to the ground and folded her hands, fingers fumbling over each other. She was suddenly overcome with a hate of standing, but sitting down would be like admitting defeat.
So instead of picking between the two, she teleported to her room and lied down. Her attention was caught by a black dress cover, hanging from her curtain rod and glaring at her tauntingly. She'd chosen a dress that offered skin only on her arms and face, and now she was asking herself if she'd ever be daring… bold and brave. If Beast Boy said that going to a café with some mystery man was dangerous, then maybe she ought to go.
Her life had always been timid steps and careful words. It hadn't been working out so well, it seemed. Her father nearly destroyed life on Earth, she'd been deceived by an evil book, she was a 'creepy' recluse, and she had a total of five friends. Maybe if she just tried something new, something interesting… maybe things could be different.
She looked at her dress again and frowned. Her mind was made up then, two days after the party she'd be going to Manny's Café. Eleven o'clock in the morning.