The smell of pine trees grew stronger as she ran. Cooler and cooler became the air as the darkness of the forest swallowed her whole. Her heart beat rapidly from a mixture of over-exertion and fear. Fear. It wasn't something she was used to, but it enveloped her now like a stormy sea drawing a ship into its depths for all eternity. A branch snapped and her heart skipped a beat. Her pursuer as getting closer. Faster. She has to run faster. Trees blur by. Faster. The wind whips her hair. Faster. Leaves crouch and twigs snap under her feet. Lights ahead caught her attention. A highway. A few hundred feet and she'd be safe. Safe. Safety was almost in her grasp. Pain spread through her ankle and the ground rose to meet her. She fell. She fell and hope was gone. Safety was gone. Her ankle. It must be broken. There was nothing she could do. Nothing but wait. Wait for it. The monster. No, the demon. She squeezed her eyes shut as she felt the not, dank breath on her face. This was it. This was the end. The beast let out a low, guttural snarl and -

The sound of the common room's door sliding shut startled Raven out of her trance. Placing her bookmark between the pages she was just reading, she glanced over the top of the couch to see who had just entered. A breeze scented of oak and pine drifted by and something thudded on the couch beside the sorceress. "Sup, Rae?"

Raven let out a sigh and closed her book. "What have I told you about disturbing me while I'm reading?" she deadpanned.

The green changeling slouched into the couch. "If you don't want to be disturbed, then why are you in here?" He snatched Raven's book. "What are you even reading?" he asked, opening the book upside down.

Raven let out a small grin as she grabbed the book back from Beast Boy. "And what have I told you about touching my things?" she said in a forced monotone. As much as she hated to admit it, Beast Boy's feigned stupidity often amused her.

Beast Boy frowned, but his ears twitched, hinting that he noticed the falter in her usual stoicity.

Raven scoffed to cover up her slip up and reopened her book. "Where have you been all day, anyway?" she asked as she placed her bookmark on the arm of the couch.

Placing his hands behind his head, Beast Boy stretched into a lounging position. "Out."

"No shit, Sherlock," Raven scoffed. She glanced at the green changeling out of the corner of her eye. "But I won't make you talk about it." Her eyes lingered here his shirt had risen up to expose his skin. Raven caught herself and snapped her attention back to her book.

The two sat in a comfortable silence. Between sentences, Raven snuck glanced at her friend. Time had been kind to Beast Boy and he had finally grown. He now towered over all but Cyborg, and his scrawny form had filled out and become more toned. In place of his spikes, he now wore his hair in more of an I-just-woke-up style. With his eyes closed, he looked peaceful.

Raven closed her book and carefully placed it on the coffee table. "I'm going to make tea. You want some?"

"Sure," Beast Boy replied without opening his eyes. His one-word responses were starting to get on Raven's nerves.

The purple-haired girl rose from the couch and float d towards the kitchen. "Are you going to the Titans party tonight?" she asked as she filled the kettle eight water. She placed it on the stove and turned the burner on.

"Dude, totally," Beast Boy replied. "Garth, Roy, and Iare all wingmanning for each other. Gonna try to get some ladies."

Raven rolled her eyes as she placed some tea leaves into two infusers and grabbed two mugs from a cabinet. Ever since Beast Boy matured, he had become kind of a player; he was very rarely seen with the same girl twice. What Raven would never admit is that his promiscuity upset her. No one could know about her feelings for him.

"What about you? Are you going?"

The kettle started to whistle and Raven picked it up and began pouring over the first infuser before answering. "You know I never go to parties." She began filling the second mug.

"You should go," Beast Boy said, sitting up to look at Raven. His emerald green eyes watched her every move as she added three packs of sugar to one mug and one pack of crystallized honey to the other. "You might enjoy yourself."

Raven took a sip of the honey sweetened tea as she used her powers to pick up her friend's mug. "I don't know." She walked back to the couch, placed the floating mug in Beast Boy's hands, and sat back down in her corner. "I'm not a huge fan of large crowds of people."

Beast Boy took a sip of his tea and closed his eyes, savoring the warm liquid. Raven never understood how he could stand his tea so sweet; her one packet was almost too much. "Well, think about it. It never hurts to let loose every once in a while."

Raven placed her mug on the coffee table and picked up her book. "We'll see," she said as she settled into the couch. She opened her book and began reading.

All of a sudden, an alarm started going off. The two Titans looked at each other. "Trouble!"

A/N: I apologize for such a short and boring chapter. I promise, now that the stage setting is out of the way, this story will get much better.