Something I've been working on as I go through my writer's craft class. You may see a visible improvement in writing style as the chapters progress.

Disclaimer:

I wish I owned the Titans.

But the Titans belong to me just as much as the entire earth can belong to one individual.

My Iconic Birthday

Prologue

It's amazing how despite everything you are: a horror, a tormented teenager, in icon of evil to an ancient race of people… you still have to deal with the little things in life. Raven and her mother came to Jump City a year ago to get away from it all, because the young girl felt imprisoned and close to snapping, because Jump City was a small unnoticed place where nothing ever happened. The monks said yes, almost seeming happy to be rid of her, or to give her a freedom she had never before had, and her mother tagged along because she had nothing else. Raven was her tie to this world and the one they had come from. Raven kept her mother sane, and Raven's mother kept Raven in control. They were a team of the most unusual sort; one that Earth had probably never seen before. But despite all this, she still had to do the little things like take out the garbage.

At least it was nice out. The sky was mostly clear and the large deciduous trees flanking their street seemed home to many families of birds that fall. Raven would've smiled and taken it all in if she could've, but she had other things to worry about. Her birthday was coming up. Though most people would think that's a time for celebration, Raven's birthday was never happy and she and her mother usually spent it in awkward silence, meditating and hoping to forget just what it meant. This year was even worse.

She was turning sixteen.

As she walked down the cracked driveway with her household garbage floating suspiciously behind her, she contemplated what exactly that meant for her family and the world in general. Nothing good of course.

"Hey, that's pretty cool."

Something green slipped out of a nearby tree and grew into a teenage boy. Raven quickly let the garbage fall behind her and took a step away from him, not sure what his intentions were or just what he made of her. She also wondered why she hadn't notice him before.

Taking in her defensive stance he threw his hands up, looking shocked. "Woh, hey! I'm not gonna hurt you. I just thought what you were doing… with the garbage. It was you, right?"

At least he was being sincere. Raven felt confident enough in his words to relax a bit and took that time to examine him in better detail. Aside from being completely green and sporting a pair of, she had to admit cute, pointy elf ears, he seemed like any average teenager. He was about the same height as her and his hair was messed up in that intentional bed head guys seemed to think was attractive. She didn't much care for it, though her experience with men was a tad minute. On the other hand, she did recognize the boy from school.

"Look, you can't tell anyone," she stated, glancing back at the window to make sure Arella hadn't seen anything. "If my mother finds out-"

"Dude, chill. I'm different too! See?"

As the words left his mouth she watched his body shrink and mutate into another form. Coarse fur sprouted over his body while his nose elongated, turning black on the end and dripping a disgusting clear wetness. His fingers shrank into small paws, nails growing black and claw-like. A fuzzy tail poked out his backend and Raven nearly gagged. He'd turned himself into an adorable little puppy.

As amazing as it was, she wasn't nearly as impressed as he seemed to be hoping. He padded around her legs and sniffed her ankles in what she figured was an attempt to tickle her. She would have kicked him, but she remembered a saying she'd heard a while ago about kicking puppies. Apparently it wasn't a very nice thing to do.

He walked away from her and shifted back to normal, or at least as normal as he was going to get.

"You, know," he stated, looking thoughtful. "You smell familiar. You're in my science class right? Uh, Rae… Rachel…"

"Raven."

"Ya! I don't know if you've noticed me at all." He put out his hand for her to shake. "Garfield Logan."

Raven looked at his hand for a moment. Human contact wasn't really her thing. "How could I not notice you? You're the most annoying green person in the school."

He huffed. "I prefer to think of myself as the only green person in the school." He then paused for a moment. "Wait, was that an insult?"

"You're apparently none to bright either," she muttered, reaching down to pick up the garbage bag with her hands.

She started hauling the surprisingly heavy trash towards the curb, but the irritating beast was following her. "You know, you won't make many friends with that attitude."

"I'm not sure if you've noticed," she grunted. "But I'm not really a making friends kind of person."

"You should try it. It's not as bad as it sounds."

"I think I'll pass."

"Whatever. It's your loss." He turned to leave, waving his hand in farewell. "See you at school."

Raven dumped her garbage on the curb and watched Garfield Logan walk down the sidewalk. He's anxious, she noticed. Probably wants to turn around and see if I'm watching him leave. She stared at his retreating form, taking in the way his feet skidded behind him and dragged along the ground. It was hypnotizing. Entrancing, and- she realized with a start that she was doing just what he wanted her to do, and looked away blushing. "Can't blame myself I suppose," she mumbled. It wasn't like people from school approached her every day with the intention of becoming her friend. Maybe it was time to start…

No. Not now, not ever. The world was going to come to an end, and when that time came she didn't want to be blamed for showing emotion.

Not that there would be anyone left to place the blame.

She sighed. Maybe it was time to make some friends. Might as well enjoy my last year on Earth.