A/N & Disclaimer: Do not own Teen Titans in any way or form. Alright, so this here story is going to be a collab fic between WhyDoYouWantToKnow and myself. This first chapter was written by her, and we'll be alternating chapters. Yes, this is Raven and Jinx and it is also going to get fairly dark as the story goes on. As always, if you don't like, don't read.
Read on, chief, and have a nice day!
The car was silent. Silent as her mother's funeral, where she didn't dare cry for fear of her father seeing. She missed her mother dearly, and wished she would have gotten to her sooner. It was Raven's fault after all, at least in her mind. As she shifted slightly in the seat, her side stung slightly. Raven placed a hand to it and pressed gently, feeling if the skin was broken, but found nothing there. Her stomach churned in nervousness as they road. She could feel her father's disapproving eyes on her for a split second before he turned to face the road once again.
Raven stared out the window. She had been tracing the clouds outlines in the sky since the moment she left her house. She remembered as a small child how she wanted to fly. Of course then she wanted to fly for fun, now she wanted to fly to get away. She wasn't even supposed to be here. If the pills would have just worked like they were supposed to she wouldn't be. She couldn't even succeed in that. Raven sighed as she realized that her father was right, she couldn't do anything right. Not even dying.
Trigon pulled the car into a large, nearly empty parking lot in front of a large building. The grey, stone walls stood ominously in front of her. Raven could feel her heart speeding up. This is where she was staying for an indefinite amount of time. A sigh left her lips before she realized it and she hoped Trigon hadn't heard it. The fact that he hadn't said anything made her think he hadn't.
"Remember, don't say anything about me." Trigon told her, finally breaking the silence.
"I won't." Raven said. Trigon scowled and Raven started to worry. Had it come off shortly to him? Raven turned to get out of the car and go grab her stuff, but a large hand on her jaw told her that there were other plans for her. Raven winced internally as Trigon jerked her head back to face him, her nails digging into the car door. Her heart started to race. She didn't think he would do this in public, but she wasn't sure.
"Remember Raven you'll always be daddy's little girl." He told her. Raven's stomach churned at these words. Without another word he released her and popped the trunk of the car. Raven got out, being careful not to slam the door, and grabbed her stuff. Trigon met her at the back of the car as she closed the trunk and grabbed her stuff. Raven was confused at this action; Trigon wouldn't have done this even on his best of days. Trigon seemed to sense the girl's confusion as he looked at her.
"We don't want them asking questions do we?" He asked, knowing the answer already. Raven shook her head and tried to straighten the sleeves of her striped blue and black sweater.
The walk to the door was as silent as the car ride. Raven internally groaned as she read the sign that was outside the building. Jump City Asylum for the Mentally Ill, perfect for daddy's little screw up. If only he had shown up just a bit later or just would've left me alone as usual. Guess he could only handle one body on his hands. Raven thought to herself. The squeak of the door was what brought her out of her thoughts. The echoing click of her father's boots as he led her down the entrance hallway of the asylum to the check in desk made her realize something. This was the last time she would have to see him. This thought was a comfort to her as she saw him grab the pen, sign her in, and place her stuff next to the desk.
"Raven," He started to say, faux caring in his voice, "You'll be able to get better here. I know it's going to be hard for you to leave home, and I'm going to miss you, but I know this is for the best." He flashed a sad smile that was laced with hidden triumph. He was glad she was leaving, and she knew it, but they needed to put on a show. The blonde nurse out the checkout desk instructed Raven to walk through the door to her left to meet her new therapist and join the rest of her ward. Raven nodded and started to walk that way before remembering her clothing and personal items that was lying next to the desk. As she turned around, she saw another man taking them through a different door. Sighing, Raven turned back around and headed towards the door, and to her new life.
The hallway that the door led her down was very long. The flickering lights, that Raven assumed needed fixed, added to its length. The walls were a plain bright white. Guess the crazies can only handle a bland color. Raven thought before realizing that she was one of them now. She was labeled as crazy now. Raven knew that this wasn't something that would leave when, if, she left. This would stick with her for the rest of her life.
Raven traced the wood of the oak door that was at the end of the hallway with her fingertips. She steeled her nerves and was ready to face whatever was on the other side. As she opened the door and walked into the room that was beyond it, Raven realized that it wasn't what she expected. Raven looked around to investigate her surroundings. The carpet was a clean white, with very few stains, which was surprising to Raven. A tan chair sat in front of an average sized couch, which Raven assumed was for one on one therapy, and a lamp sat on a table next to them with a box of tissues on it. There were two windows, one on either side of the chair, which showed the middle wing of the asylum and a park area in the middle.
Raven jumped slightly as the other door opened, she didn't expect anyone to come in. A tall, pleasant looking African American man came over to her with a smile on his face.
"You must be Miss Roth; I'm your therapist Dr Stone." He told her, holding his hand out. Raven shook it and was suddenly very aware of what was going on. Dr Stone motioned for her to sit down on the couch and she obliged.
"Now I know this is a strange and generally very uncomfortable place to be, but I'm going to need you to work with me. Contrary to popular belief our therapists care deeply about their patients, and, considering how long most of them stay, bonds tend to be made between the groups. Oh, and one last thing, before I allow you to meet your roommate and the group I'm going to need to ask you a few questions." He stated. Raven merely nodded as she took in the information. Raven hoped that her roommate was one of the sanest of the group.
"Do you know why your here?" Dr Stone asked her. Raven nodded and began to speak.
"The hospital mandated it after pumping the forty pills I had taken out of my stomach. I was then diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder and told I would need to be sent here." Raven said as if reciting it from a text book. Dr. Stone nodded and continued.
"And how did your parents feel about that?" He asked. Raven sighed and tried to think of the best story she could in the few seconds she had.
"My father was deeply upset. My mother is dead. She killed herself, and my attempt brought back those feelings in him. I regret putting him through that." Raven said. She deeply hoped that the therapist found her convincing. He nodded and then proceeded to continue.
"Okay then, one last question Miss," he looked his clipboard, "Raven. Do you want to get better? We can only help you if you want the help." He asked. Raven froze. She had felt empty for so long with only minor interruptions of pain. She didn't know what it would be like to get better. Dr Stone took her silence as indecision and wrote something down on the clipboard.
"Well that's all the time we have for this, let's have you meet everyone else." He said and stood. Raven followed him and walked to the door. Raven braced herself as she waited to see what the rest of the ward looked like. It was actually surprising to her when she saw how normal it looked. To her left was a table on a wooden floor with a black haired man and a red haired woman sitting and talking animatedly. In front of her was a carpeted area where people were grouped around a medium sized TV. Raven tried to figure out what they were watching, but couldn't see it enough to tell. To her left was another table and two hallways. At the table sat a pink haired woman, a white haired woman, and a blonde haired girl all playing a card game.
"Hey Jennifer, come here." Dr. Stone called out to the table. The pink haired woman laid her hand down, obviously winning the game judging by the looks on the other women's faces, and walked over to the pair. The girl had a lightness to her step, and Raven could tell this girl was more than likely trouble.
"What's up Doc? And hey, I thought I told you to call me Jinx, Jennifer is too stuffy." She said and laughed. A smile crossed Dr. Stone's face and Raven realized this must be her knew roommate.
"Oh so this is the new bird," She said as she held her hand out to Raven, "Call me Jinx, I'll be your new roommate." Raven shook her hand and nodded, forcing a smile from her lips.
"I'm Raven." She said quietly. Jinx chuckled a bit. Raven looked at her and raised her eyebrow, silently asking what she found so funny about her name. Jinx shook her head and started to speak.
"I called you our new bird, as in jail bird, but your name happens to be Raven. I thought it was funny." She said. Raven shrugged and looked back at Dr. Stone.
"Come on Jennifer you know that one was bad. Now, take Raven to your guys' room and kind of fill her in on everything. Group is in an hour and I don't want you to be late, again." He added, giving her a pointed look. Jinx nodded and gave a look to Raven. Dr Stone seemed to take that as "I got it, don't."
"Well then, let's go." She said and started to walk away. Raven quickly followed her; she didn't want to be left behind any more than she already was in this strange new place. Jinx led her down the hallway to the left and went three doors down. She opened it and slipped inside, followed closely by Raven. The room was okay. One half of it was covered in posters and sketches and things of that nature while the other half was bare. Jinx plopped down on the left side bed and motioned for Raven to sit down. Once Raven sat, Jinx turned to look at her.
"Well here we are, home sweet home. Third door on the left, left hallway, first ward, crazy town. Sounds like a nice address for mail huh?" Jinx asked. Raven merely nodded and let Jinx continue.
"Well as stated earlier, I'm Jinx and I'll be your room mate for your stay and your mentor for a few days while you get used to everything. I'm pretty sure they put a rule book in your dresser so you'll want to look that over later tonight. Uh, you're kind of lucky because this is our large group day so you'll just meet everyone in one shot, and that's about it. Any questions?" Jinx asked. Raven's mind was a hurricane of questions, but one seemed to stick out the most.
"Why are you here? You seem sane enough" Raven asked Jinx. A mixture of emotions flew across Jinx's face in the few seconds before she answered, and finally settled on a boasting smile.
"Me? I'm this ward's resident Bipolar I Disorder. As for what brought me here you'll find that out later." Jinx said. Raven nodded and thought again for a minute.
"What do you mean this ward's? Isn't there someone else here that's bipolar?" Raven asked. Jinx laughed and shook her head.
"Nope. The doctors thought that having more than one disorder in the ward of the same type would cause more triggers, so everyone that you meet is different. Very different, for that matter." She said with a chuckle. So I'm the only one here with my problems. Raven thought to herself before shrugging.
"Sounds like doctors." She mumbled much to Jinx's amusement.
"Yep, so what're the docs treating you for?" Jinx asked. Raven thought about what to say for a second before responding.
"Major Depressive Disorder. I'm assuming the only one here." Raven said. Jinx nodded at her statement and shifted to get more comfortable on her bed.
"Yep," she started to say while sitting up, "Well it seems that's all the big questions out of the way. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a card game to finish. Group is in 15 minutes and you'll just need to meet up with me at the card table. Good luck." She told Raven. Raven nodded and watched as she walked out the door.
Good luck? I'll need it. She thought to herself. Raven sat there trying to sort out all the information she had gotten today. After a while she looked at the small clock in the room and saw she only had five minutes to get there. Raven stood and smoothed out her clothes, checked to make sure nothing was showing, and headed to the card table to meet up with Jinx.
Well, that's chapter 1. Chapter 2 should be up shortly. Thank you for reading and feel free to review if you would like. Have a lovely day!
Slightly Unkempt&WhyDoYouWantToKnow