As she drifted weightlessly through the clouds, Raven looked down at the crystal blue water, feeling the cool ocean spray covered her face. Inhaling the tranquil aroma from the surf, she continued to drift onward, watching as the sun began to set over the horizon. Free. . .At this moment she never felt so free and rejuvenated in her entire life.

Coming to a landing on the sandy white beach, Raven could feel the warm sand squish between her toes. For her this was a rare treat. Normally she wouldn't be caught dead without her boots on. But on this rare occasion, she just couldn't resist. Walking to the bamboo-made cabana, she approached a picnic table where her belongings still remained. Here she didn't have to worry about anybody taking her things. For there wasn't a single person within a mile in any direction. Unless she counted the hotel on the beach.
Climbing on top of a picnic table, Raven sat crossed legged, and attempted to meditate. But instead found herself beginning to listen to the light surf of the beach. This caused her eyes to open, staring out at the beautiful scenery in front of her. And to think. . .up until a few days ago she almost refused this one-time ticket. Not feeling like she deserved it after all she'd put her friends through. After all, they almost died because of her. And the world would've been lost to her demonic father, Trigon who'd used her as a portal to try and take over the earth. From the night of her 17th birthday, through the unexpected Tokyo trip, the strain of dealing with this burden was absolutely unbearable. Yet Raven fought diligently to suppress the pain that she truly felt. Afraid that too much of any emotion would send Trigon through her prematurely.
But what made things even worse, was throughout all of this mayhem, Beastboy. . .Now Raven found herself lightly scoffing under her breath. Shaking her head, she sighed. Since the time she'd met him, Beastboy couldn't have picked a worser time to be so overbearing! It's almost like he turned the up the heat, and became completely obnoxious! And although normally tolerable, Raven found herself short of patience, irritable and in no mood for his stupid antics! It had her retaliating in a manner that was mean and very cruel. From giving him the cold shoulder, to actually smacking him a couple of times in Tokyo! Yet, in spite of the fact that he never said anything about that, Raven knew inside she'd gone too far.
But what really done it for her, was after she finally faced her greatest fear, and defeated Trigon. Still dressed in white, Raven could recall hugging Robin out of sheer gratitude for believing in her, when she didn't believe in herself.
Then almost like clockwork, came the overwhelming glomp from Beastboy.
Still harboring that inner resentment, Raven found herself stiffening in his grasp, and irritably muttering, "Quit it!" In a tone that was sharp enough for him to quickly get the hint and let go. And as usual, he made like it was no big deal, and joked and played around as always.

That is until she walked in on him and Cyborg the following morning while they were cleaning up after their victory breakfast. At the sink washing dishes, Cyborg looked over at Beastboy, who was still scraping food off the plates,
"Hey, B. Could you grab the remote and see what's on the tube? I'm kinda up to my armpits in bubbles. . ." Now he watched as Beastboy continued to scrape at the empty plate, until it actually gave off a sheen. "Yo!" Cyborg hollered, watching as he jumped to attention. Shaking his head Beastboy chuckled, and handed him the plate. "Sorry."
At the same time, Robin who saw everything from the computer console, stood up and grabbed the remote.
"I got it. . ." He muttered, turning on the plasma TV. Giving Beastboy a rather suspicious look, Cyborg asked, "Uh, B? Is something wrong?"
"No, I'm cool." He said, trying to keep his chipper attitude. Seeing right through it, Cyborg smirked and replied, "Come on, Beastboy. This is me, you're talking to. So you might as well drop the front." Knowing his best friend read him like a book, his smile slowly began to disappear. Beginning to feel rather awkward, he sighed then whispered.
"Call me crazy. . .but um. . .sometimes I think Raven hates my guts."
For a minute Raven was so thrown off by his unexpected statement, that she found herself backing up against the wall. Choosing to remain unseen, she watched a surprised expression crossed over both their faces.
"You're right. . .you are crazy. And you should know better." Cyborg replied, wiping his hands on a dishcloth. Letting out a scoff, Beastboy snapped,
"Oh, really? Then why does she always yell at me? Or treat me like dirt?"
Now walking into the kitchen, Robin leaned up against the counter and folded his arms. "I don't know, man. Why don't you tell me?" Catching onto his hint, Beastboys eyes rolled with frustration. "Alright. I know I've been a little hyper, lately. . ."
"Hyper? Dude. . .you been downright annoying, and almost impossible during the last few months. Especially around Raven. . . ." Cyborg bluntly replied, as he looked away. "I mean, we're used to you." He playfully added, as Beastboy peered up at him out the corner of his eye. "But you should know better than to act all crazy around her, man. Especially with what she's been through."
"But that's exactly why I done it. I mean, I was just trying to cheer her up, that's all. And of course, I went too far like I always do! But I just don't like seeing my friends hurt. Especially her." By then Raven found herself so overwhelmed by the grave sincerity of his words, that she didn't know where to put herself. But what made matters worse, was when Robin looked up and saw her standing there.
For a minute, his eyes locked on hers. . .catching the startled, and somewhat troubled look on her face. It was in that second he made the decision not to give her away, as she quickly turned and walked out the room.

During this time, Raven never imagined what that he was really up too, and found herself rather taken back when she returned a few hours later to find the entire group waiting for her in the common room.
Sensing that they were up to something, she looked each and every one of them in the eyes. "What?" she flatly asked.
"Sit. . ." Cyborg playfully replied, patting the spot next to him. Raising an eyebrow with confusion, Raven muttered, "Ok. . ." As she sat down, she noticed that even Starfire had a serious expression, which now had her somewhat paranoid. "Alright. What's going on?" She asked with a clip of tension in her voice. "Who died?"
That little comment broke the silence. As chuckles were heard throughout the room, Robin snickered and said, "Nobody. . .We've just been talking, is all. And we've come to an important decision." Raising an eyebrow, Raven cocked her head and asked rather sarcastically, "What? You're kicking me out?"
Just as quickly, Cyborg replied with a dead serious expression, "Yeah, that's right!" As Raven's eyes widened, Beastboy chuckled and elbowed him.
"Dude?!" Now snickering Cyborg smirked and said,
"Well we are. . .aren't we?" Giving Raven a playful glance he replied, "I'm just messin with ya. . ." Sitting across from her Robin shook his head and said,
"What he means is, that you could really use some time away from here. So all of us chipped in and got you this." He stated, now handing Raven what looked like a small billfold. Still rather apprehensive, she slowly reached out and it from him. Opening it up, her eyes widened to what she saw. "Whoa. . .This is a plane ticket. . ."
"A round trip plane ticket. . ." Robin corrected, as she looked up at him in shock. "To the Caribbean. . ." Unable to contain her shock, her mouth literally fell open.
"N-No way. . ."
"Way. . ." Beastboy cooed with a proud grin on his face. "You're on your way to Cancun, baby! As in sandy beaches. . .peace and quiet." He hinted, as her head slowly began to shake.
"B-But why?" Marveling at her, Cyborg replied,
"Why? Because you've been through a lot Raven, and you need to break away from here. Far away! So we booked you in a room on the beach, where you can relax and unwind for at least two weeks. . ." Looking up at her dear friends, Raven couldn't help but smile. "I-I don't know what to say. . ."
This had Starfire sitting next to her until she draped an arm around her shoulders. Giving Raven a tight squeeze, she chipperly replied,
"Say nothing, friend. Nobody deserves this more than you do. . ." Looking from her to the rest of them, Raven shyly muttered, "Thanks. . ."
Before she could say anything further, Starfire grabbed her by the arm. "Come dear friend! We must make with the haste to get you on your way! I shall help you pack!"
As Starfire literally jerked her off the sofa, Raven knew just that alone would be an adventure!

In no time at all, she was at the airport getting ready to board on a huge jetliner. As she said goodbye to her friends, it occurred to Raven that this would be the first time in nearly five years that she'd be away from them, and on her own. The more she thought about it, the more the idea appealed to her. Maybe. . .the solitude was precisely what she needed. . .or was it?

To be continued. . .