Howdy, everyone! I know this may look like my first fan fiction, but it is not; I used to have another account, but it was a while ago and I don't really think I should bring it up again. So here is the first chapter of my "first" story posted here. Wish me luck!
.aedi eht dna yrots eht nwo od I ,revewoH .sretcarahc eht fo yna ron ,snatiT neeT nwo ton od I
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The clouds had wrapped themselves around the Earth over Jump City in a vaguely protective manner, preventing any rays of the sun's light from coming through brightly enough to harm the eyes of any of the animals so far below. The clouds loved their little pets, and it would love to protect them in any way possible.
A loud, greasy airplane drove through one of the clouds, effectively scattering it around. The clouds wished their pets would love them as well….
Raven watched the airplane split the cloud with mild interest, doing her best to ignore the many distractions around her…. Namely, Beast Boy and Cyborg. She had just wanted to go downtown and pick up a book or two, but Robin has insisted that the two boys went with her "in case anything happened". Raven has figured out later that, if the three of them left the Tower, this would leave two certain Titans in their home alone. "In case anything happened", indeed….
At the moment, Cyborg and Beast Boy were frantically yelling at Raven to help, as a not-so-fortunate incident had lodged Beast Boy in a gutter up to his waist. Raven wasn't sure how this had happened, and frankly, she was afraid to ask. After a moment more of pleading, Raven turned to the pair and offered her advice.
"Get your mind out of the gutter, Beast Boy."
Cyborg poorly contained his laughter as Beast Boy crossed his arms, staring at Raven angrily but with a touch of pride, as he had noticed how clever a joke Raven just made. "No, seriously though, DOOoooOO SOMTHIIiiiIING!" Beast Boy whined.
Raven sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose to try and ease the coming headache. "Have you thought of changing into something smaller?"
Cyborg and Beast Boy stared at Raven blankly before turning to face one another. "Why didn't you think of that?!" They yelled in unison. Beast Boy shortly became a hummingbird, flew out of the hole, and became his normal albeit somewhat elfish self once more. "Thanks, Raven. Y'know, if you had said that earlier-- Rae? Raven?" He looked around, the girl nowhere nearby.
Raven was already opening the door to the bookstore several yards away. Beast Boy and Cyborg ran to her with a touch of indignation at her apathy. As they entered the store, they stared in slight awe. "Dude!" Beast Boy yelled. The store was easily larger than the T Tower's main room, their bedrooms, and the roof combined, and they could not even see the opposite wall past the endless shelves.
At Beast Boy's exclamation, every person in sight poked their heads out of their books brashly and shushed him louder than he had ever been shushed…. And for Beast Boy, that was an accomplishment. Hidden in the back, Raven cringed. She had been hoping that they wouldn't find her…. The half-demon girl put up a small shield of dark magic on one side and pushed her self against the bookcase. Sure, a surfboard-sized slab of darkness may be a bit obvious, but maybe they wouldn't see her…. She could hope, anyways.
As the two boys combed the bookstore, Beast Boy walked the aisles and searched everywhere, taking down a mental list of what he saw. Book, book, book, black force of darkness, book, book…. Wait a minute…. Whuh? He paused and looks back into the aisle. Now, that shield could be some freaky decoration-- he didn't know what a bookstore would be decorated like-- or that could be a certain someone….
Beast Boy crept toward it and slipped through the space between the edge of the shield and the bookcase. He broke out into a wide grin. "Found you!"
Raven rolled her eyes. "Bravo."
Cyborg passed the aisle and did a double take as he saw the force field…. With Raven and Beast Boy's feet showing at the bottom.
"Aw, now you two better not be makin' out or nothin' behind that!" he yelled.
Hearing this, Raven finally noticed how little space there was between Beast Boy and her. There noses even touched a few times, and she wondered how neither of them even registered this yet. She quickly drew her cloak closer to her person and puller up her hood, hiding her growing blush. The shield vanished, although a few books suddenly and "inexplicably" were yanked out of their shelves by an invisible force.
"Don't say that so LOUDLY!" The two of them yelled in unison. Cyborg was in hysterics at this response, and only after much shushing by others and a drink from the water fountain did he shut his mouth.
As Raven picked out quite a few books, the other two (in boredom) surveyed the store, being a bit too loud for the customers' taste. Several minutes passed by and as Raven approached the clerk to buy her tower of sixteen books, Beast Boy ran up, yanked her off her balance, and pulled her away while simultaneously scattering her books on the ground. Before she could attempt to wipe him out of existence, they pulled to a stop as Beast Boy pointed at a bookshelf with a stupid grin gracing his face, as it often did.
Raven blinked, pulling her hood down to examine the shelf. "….You've found the self-help section. Congratulations."
Beast Boy shook his head, getting closer to the shelf and pointing to one book in particular. Raven read the title aloud: "One Thousand and One Ways to Become a Better Leader. And?"
"Dude," he dude'd with glee, "I dare you to buy this for Robin."
Raven clenched her jaw, trying not to bash Beast Boy over the head with the book. "Why should I? You've just made a mess of my books and have been nothing but trouble since I brought you." She noted with horror that she sounded exactly like a mother.
Beast Boy didn't seem to notice. "Hmm…." He stroked his imaginary beard. "I dunno. If you win, I'll give you a big ki--" he started, opening his arms to pull her toward him for this "prize", but he found Raven's cloth boot suddenly jammed in his face, pushing him back and demonstrating great flexibility on her part.
"No thank you," she said coldly, removing her foot from his face. Beast Boy rubbed the feeling back into his nose and continued casually, as if nothing had happened.
"Okay then, what should you get?…." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Just as Raven was about to walk away and grab her books, Beast Boy perked up. "I got it! I…. Drum roll, please!"
Cyborg, who had been watching the whole time in a vaguely stalker-like way, moved his forefingers up and down as if he were playing an invisible snare drum, imitating the sound poorly.
Beast Boy tightened an invisible bowtie around his neck. "Thaaat's right! If you complete this dare, Beast Boy himself-- yes, the Beast Boy-- will pay for an all-expense paid trip to the mall! You can buy whatever you want for however much you want, and I will pay for it! What do you say, Rae?"
Raven stared for one, long, hard moment before smirking. "Your piggy bank shall die."
Beast Boy paled, the pseudo-game show coming to an abrupt end. He had prepared for much more persuading and even wrote in jokes…. But this last comment put Beast Boy in a state of fear. "Uh…. Awesome…. I guess…." He absentmindedly placed a hand on the wallet in his pocket.
Raven quickly gathered up her forgotten books, placing the book for Robin at the top, and bought them all with cash that was mostly change-- It wasn't as if she got a normal salary, and most of the Titans' money was juts that: spare change. The trip back to the Tower was mostly uneventful, except for a point at which Cyborg couldn't quite "keep his head straight", so to speak; trying to best Beast Boy in a race somehow left his torso facing the opposite direction of his legs. Beast Boy had been laughing too hard to help, and Raven hadn't noticed, as she had been reading while flying home, leaving the cybernetic teen to fix it on his own. This made the trip last twice as long as it should have, and Raven was immediately heading toward the bathroom to get aspirin when the three of them got home.
"Ugh…. Next time robin asks me to take Beast Boy and Cyborg somewhere without muzzles, I will politely decline and punch him in the teeth," she said, walking toward the peaceful, not headache-inducing darkness of her room. However, as our story would be rather boring if she had reached her destination, she was stopped by Beast Boy, who was staring through the slightly open doors to the main room. He beckoned her over silently and she reluctantly looked through with him, stacking her head just below his. Starfire
Through the crack, she clearly saw the tops of Robin and Starfire's heads poking up above the edge of the couch. Raven strained to listen, despite herself, and heard this:
"Friend Robin, what is it that you wish to say? It has been clarified that there shall be no interruptions, and I am very curious." Raven fought herself in her mind to keep her mouth shut, although it was still difficult to keep from laughing at Starfire's not-so-discreet hopeful tone.
"Uh…. W-Well…. I…. I-I guess I need to stop stuttering and just, just, just talk, huh? Ahahaha!" Robin's laugh was a bit too loud, and the two "super-spies", so to speak, fell back in surprise. As Raven fell flat on her back, she felt a wave of disbelief at the situation, distinctly feeling a weight pinning her legs down. She groaned and, knowing what she would see, propped herself on her elbows to look toward her feet.
Sure enough, there was Beast Boy's head on her stomach, and the rest of him followed suit. Her face grew hot, and she quickly pushed on his shoulders. He sat up, clearing his throat, and resumed his position at the door as if nothing had happened, Raven doing so as well. There was an awkward silence, even on Robin and Starfire's part, and Beast boy gulped loudly.
"Uh, Raven? Do…. Do you see that, too?" he asked in a high-pitched voice.
Raven nodded. In the main room, Robin and Starfire now stood while staring at the other two Titans; Robin with a death glare for interrupting their "moment", and Starfire with glee, as they had probably witnessed Beast Boy and Raven's embarrassing mishap.
"What is it, already?" Robin demanded, his eyes a veritable weapon on their own. Beast Boy shuddered.
"Well, uh, we…." the changeling fumbled, searching for an answer. He brightened suddenly, pushing Raven forward while slipping something into her arms "Raven has something for you," he finished, grinning as if he had just completed a dastardly plan of his own thinking. As if Beast Boy planned these things out.
Robin raised an eyebrow at this new twist. Usually, it was Beast Boy doing something stupid that would cause this, but the fact that it concerned the mostly serious Raven gave it merit. Either that, or it was even more evil than he imagined…. Robin hoped it was the former.
Raven rolled her eyes. "When I was at the bookstore, I saw this and thought you might want it." She casually handed him the book, which was what beast Boy had given her, and crossed her arms.
Robin regarded the title blankly, and Beast Boy mentally giggled as he imagined Robin asking of Raven defensively what was wrong with his leadership skills. The gag gift was truly the king of all presents, and Beast Boy was happy to give one any time he could. Well…. He wasn't really the one giving the gift…. But…. Uh…. Beast Boy began to see how this wasn't as hilarious as he had thought.
And it didn't help when Robin smiled and said, "Thanks, Raven!" As he opened the book and began reading, Beast Boy's ears drooped.
Raven smirked, turning to Beast Boy. "I'll take my 'prize' now."
Beast Boy whimpered.
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Okay, so that's that. But I must say, this ENTIRE story shall be dedicated to one of my closest friends: TAUT13. The thing is, she doesn't know yet that I have an account, and if she is reading this now…. Surprise! Taut, if you STILL cannot tell who this is, this codeword should help:
Butterscotch.
Booyah. I said it. No matter who it is reading this, thank you very much for reading, and know that not much has happened yet, but it shall. Beware. If you see any spelling or grammar mistakes, please tell me immediately. I am nitpicky about that.