Oh, and on a little side note, a fellow Fanfictioneer by the pen name RavenEternal deserves a great big thank you for inspiring me to write this little bit of chicken scratch I call a fan fiction. So, a big shout-out to her and an even bigger Thank You from the very depths of my black heart is hereby issued. Thanks, sweetie! You're the best!
Hmmmm…. I KNOW I'm forgetting something…but what is it? I can't seem to…
Beast Boy: Peeks in from a corner Psst! Psst! You forgot the disclaimer!
Oh yeah…Thanks, BB.
Disclaimer: I, unfortunately, do not own the Teen Titans series, its characters, or any other aspect of the anime. Although I do wish I had control of them, because if I did, I would force my fist down Slade's throat! Flames appear in his eyes, fists clenched tightly…. Why I'm going to….
Robin: Control yourself, Matt! It's only a show, remember?
Oh...right...hehe...
Enjoy the story!
My Saving Grace- Chapter 1It had been another horrible day for Raven. The waning sun casting its multi-colored, pastel shades of oranges and yellows was utterly lost on the poor girl, and all the young woman had left to think about was how she could survive another day in this abyss of torment and misery that she is all but willing to call home. It was supposed to be a sanctum for her, a place where she could be nourished and helped to prosper in mind, body and spirit. It was to be her home, her place of the planet, yet she didn't belong. It was not a home to her. It was a fabricated representation of Hell, a wooden and glass-covered prison, her very own Arcata, and she hated it. It was Hell.
It was not supposed to be this way. She was supposed to be turning 16 tommorrow, in fact! It was to be a time of rejoicing for her, and yet there was very little reason for happiness. Her father was the cause of this, or rather, her foster father. Raven never knew her real parents. All the memories she had in her head at that moment were of the abusive, bitter, and hateful man that was supposed to be her father. But that insufferable drunkard couldn't be her father! She couldn't possibly have come into the care of a constantly drunk, profane, and barbaric man! There must have been some mistake! Unfortunately, it was a mistake that nobody bothered to even consider rectifying, and Raven wept every day for what was, and what could have been.
She had been beaten again. Her "father" was in one of his drunken rages again, and as soon as he came home, he had tromped upstairs and proceeded to viciously beat his adopted daughter. This was normal, unfortunately. It was the same every day in fact! Wake up, contemplate, get beat up, cry, contemplate some more, get beat up again, and cry herself to sleep. She never even got a decent meal, just enough to survive and prevent that disgusting, sorry excuse of a father from going to jail. Of course, there were many forms of child abuse that her "father" had already committed that Raven could have had him arrested for, but who would believe her? The abusive man would just try and lie himself out of any trouble! Despite being drunk normally, the man was a surprisingly good liar when he knew where he was…
A soft, ashen hand softly traced the dark, purple bruises on her arms and neck, silky fingers probing the tortured skin as she silently wept, trying to keep her emotions from spilling out in an audible manner. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing how she felt inside. He tore her apart mentally and emotionally every day, and it hurt beyond compare, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction in knowing he hurt her. She would remain strong! Wide, almond-shaped lavender eyes closed for a brief moment, and she sighed deeply before swinging her feet over the side of the bed she slept in and standing in a slow, shaky manner. What could she do? She was alone. There was no one to help her. No one to talk to. No one that would listen. She was alone. Oh so alone. Or was she? Could there really be people who would care about her? No. She was alone.
Wait! What was that noise? It sounded like…what did it sound like? Some sort of animal? She didn't know, but she wouldn't be kept in the dark for very long! Walking over to the small, square window that exposed the sky to her lavender optics, Raven slowly reached out a pair of shaking hands, and lifted the window up, letting some air into the room. A gust of cool air greeted her nearly instantly, and she shivered slightly before letting out a long, deep sigh of happiness. The mildly frigid air felt nice on her bruised skin, and she even let a soft smile pull at her full, soft lips as she stood leaning against the window she stood behind, her navy blue tank top showing off her bruises without any form of protection.
Then the sound came again, low and loud, a bass barking sound coming from below. Since Raven's room was in a two-story house with a good view, all Raven could do was cast her gaze down at the ground below, and she could feel a small pang of fear and surprise in her heart as she finally located the source of the noise. It was…what were they called again? A dog? Yeah, that was it. And it was HUGE! Its dark fur was a deep chocolate color, and its body had rolls of fat almost hanging off of it, shaking and flapping with each loud, thunderous bark. Even darker brown eyes met hers with a soft, happy glint within them, and a long, pink tongue drooped outward from its gaping, toothy maw, strings of saliva dripping from its jaws as it barked and struggled against the dark, leather leash that was fastened around its throat. It was disgusting, yet in a strange way…kind of cute. Raven had become interested. She had to get closer to it. But how? She was stuck here!
"Hehehe…hey there! I think he likes you!"
What the--? Was that…. a voice?
It was!
IT WAS A PERSON!
Immediately as the soft, deep voice echoed through the air, Raven's lavender gaze moved to the side, and she could actually find herself gasping at what she saw next. Sure enough, it was a person. He was a very odd-looking person, but a person nonetheless. A mildly messy crop of soft, chocolate locks framed the top of his head, parts of it descending like a curtain over a pair of shining, sapphire eyes. He wore a tank top like her, although his was black, revealing lean, chiseled muscles on his arms and chest. It was obvious he worked out a lot, and it was also obvious he wasn't afraid to flaunt what he had. Modesty didn't seem to be his best attribute.
However, it was his lower body that amused her interest. ((No, not that you perverts!)) It was the fact that his legs, unlike his arms, were stringy and very under worked. Not only that, but he also rode a strange contraption, something that she had never seen before in her entire life! It was a chair, but it had wheels! It had WHEELS! That was amazing!
"Who…are you?" Raven asked in a soft, airy tone, surprise evident in every feature as she leaned in close to admire the two newcomers. It was not long, however, that she remembered she was heavily bruised, and that one thought made Raven shrink backward, trying to make her bruises less evident. The boy had already gotten a good look, however, so her cover was blown even if she wanted secrecy, which she did.
"I-it's not safe here. M-my father is a very…very bitter man, and he won't be happy if you-"
"What did he do to you?" The boy replied, moving a few pushes closer, making the transition from pavement to lawn as he tried to get a better look at her. Concern showed on his face, resulting in a confused frown, and Raven then could surmise that she had been wrong about him. She thought he would be abusive, like her father, but maybe, just maybe, there were good people in this world. Maybe there were souls that actually did care about people like her. Maybe…
"It isn't safe. You should go. Please. Please leave. I…I don't want you to suffer through the same fate as me. I…I want to get out, but I can't. I'm trapped here. Just go and…leave me here…"
Then the tears came. Big, salty tears, filled with grief and sorrow for her own personal Hell, and for this boy, who looked so adamant to help her. He couldn't let him go through what she did. It would weigh far too much on her conscience for her to bear, and she just couldn't let either of them suffer more than she had already. It would hurt both of them far too much.
But he was still there. Why was he still there? Did he really want to help her that much? That was different. Why did he feel so pressed to help her? He didn't even seem to care about the consequences of his actions! It was…admirable. Very much so, and Raven could feel something stirring in her heart, that she thought she would never ever feel. It was a warm, tingling feeling spreading from her heart, moving along her entire body and causing new tears to form in her eyes. Tears of joy. Tears of happiness. Tears of…
Hope.
However, that soon melted again into sorrow after she realized what was going on. She was up here, and he was down there! What could he do? It wasn't like her father wasn't still there. God, she wished he wasn't there! That way this boy could help her. She needed him. She needed his help, but as long as her father was there, she couldn't be helped. She was alone as long as he was there. He was an anchor holding her down, keeping her from spreading her wings and flying away from this horrible place. This mortified her more than anything. It was now more apparent than ever before that she was trapped. She was alone. She was in Hell, and this sweet boy couldn't do a damn thing about it!
Sobbing harshly, Raven quickly turned and ran into her room, practically leaping onto the bed, tears streaming down her face as she collapsed onto the messy sheets and screamed in tearful agony.
"Why! WHY THE HELL DO I HAVE TO BE SO ALONE!"
This alerted her father. Strong, thundering footsteps echoing throughout the house in an erratic pattern signifying a drunken stumble. Within minutes, the door to Raven's room was kicked open, and an absolute bear of a man stomped into the room, a tall bottle of Smirnoff in one hand and the other clenched into a white-knuckled fist.
"What the hell do you want? Why are you yelling! You got a problem?"
This caused Raven's eyes to snap open, and her head to turn to face the behemoth of a man standing in her door way. He wore a simple, red, buttoned shirt that was open, exposing a strong body. His hair was black and messy, not at all like Raven's soft lavender locks, and his eyes were a dark green, again unlike Raven's. Turning that dull, yet dangerous emerald gaze onto Raven's horrified form, the man immediately downed the rest of the strong vodka in the bottle he held, then forcefully swung the glass bottle downward, smashing it and leaving a broken, jagged half in his hand, the rest clattering on the ground in sharp, pointed pieces.
"I'll shut you up here and now, you miserable little brat! I'll kill you!"
Those last three words made Raven's blood run cold. Did he just say 'Kill?' Was he really going to kill her? How could he even think of that in his foggy, messed up brain? He wouldn't dare lay a finger on her!
…Would he?
"No…stop! Leave me alone! GET AWAAAAAAAAAAAY!"
"FREEZE!"
It was as if God had answered her prayers at long last! It was as if some sort of guardian angel had descended from above, but at that moment, as her foster father's putrid, alcohol-smelling breath could be felt on her neck, as what memories remained in her mind began to flash before her eyes, she was saved. A dozen police men armed with night sticks, tazers, and even pistols charged into Raven's room. Her "father" had absolutely no time to react before he was mobbed, pinned to the ground by at least eight police officers, while three more kept him at gun point just in case he escaped.
One of the officers walked over to Raven and put his arm around her, which was immediately met with a an unusually strong hug from the lavender haired girl.
"Are you okay, Miss?"
"Yes…thank you. Thank you so much! I can't believe this is really happening!"
"Well don't thank me, Miss. Thank the man who gave us the tip!"
"Tip?" Raven asked, a strong hint of question on her voice. What the heck did he mean by 'Gave us the tip?' Who could possibly…
"No way…"
And with that, Raven charged past the police officer that was speaking to him, dodging the others as they pushed her foster father out the door of her room, and her lavender optics instantly cast themselves on the ground below…
Sure enough, there he was, a warm smile painted on his lips as he looked up at her, and Raven could feel tears welling in her eyes again as her hand made it over to her heart. It was as if a void in her heart had suddenly been repaired. It was as if she was whole again, and he had only this young man to thank, apparently. It was amazing, but in the course of a few minutes, this young, brown haired male went from complete stranger to a savior; a hero in her eyes.
"Oh my God…thank you…thank you!" Raven spoke in a breathless, sobbing tone, dropping to both knees and burying her face in her hands. It was not long, though, that she was being led outside, and as soon as they moved out the front door, Raven took off into a run. When she came close enough to the young man, she nearly jumped upon him, flinging her arms around his neck and landing sprawled out on his lap, tears streaming down her face as she cried her heart out on him.
He was her savior. He was her guardian angel. He was her saving grace.
"Thank you…my saving grace…" Raven uttered, a small tinge of pink spraying across her cheeks as she was led by EMT's and police men to a nearby ambulance to check on her injuries. She had been bruised quite noticeably, and it really hurt sometimes, but with all the physical pain she endured, the mental pain would haunt her for the rest of her days.
But now she was safe. Safe from him. Safe from pain. And she had him to thank.
Her saving grace.