Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titan characters

Mysterious Goth Girl

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos. Azarath Metrion Zinthos."

Over and over again she chanted to herself, hovering a few feet off the floor now, completely in sync with herself, her breathing slow and calm, eyes closed, her lotus position perfect, hands folded over her knees and all was good in the world.

Dark clouds, thunder sounding, hiding the sun and lighting bolts being thrown all over Jump City. In this case, it was a perfect day for Raven.

"Hey Rae, whatcha doing?"

Suddenly a rather loud and squeaky sounding voice came from behind Raven. She slowly cracked one eye open and hoped that it would go away soon.

"Rae?"

But it didn't.

"Huhh."

Raven sighed as she slowly let her body float down to the floor. She picked up her hands to rub the temples of her head as she finally rose and turned to look her green friend in the eye.

"Hey Beast Boy."

Her voice was somewhat irked but she knew she could never hate him for too long. She looked into his large green eyes, which were widening as he got more attention from her.

"What?"

Raven looked at Beast Boy curiously.

It was true that the Titans really were growing up. Robin preferred being called Nightwing and he and Starfire were now steady and got their own apartment outside of the tower. Cyborg found his hobbies now involving cars and a certain Bumble Bee, thus he wasn't around much.

Thus leaving Beast Boy off the ban wagon, since he was still single. Raven wasn't much for going out in the first place, so it wasn't much of a surprise that she was still single. Beast Boy wasn't much of a picky guy when it came to girls, but after Terra, he just lost interest all together for a while.

But seeing love everywhere around him, he was starting to feel left out. He was about eighteen now and had managed to trade in his scrawny body for a muscle filled body which he was rather proud of. Since he managed to spend more time at the Titan gym rather than in front of the TV. Raven had grown a few inches and was a few months older than Beast Boy, but she'd never admit it.

Her body had luscious curves that were well shown by her tight fitted leotard with her flowing dark blue cape that gave her a graceful yet dark and mysterious look. Her short blue hair was now long and flowing past her shoulders, her bangs hung near her large dark blue eyes. Her lips were full and she now fully wore black lipstick that had a dark blue-purple tone.

Her skin was a pale color that reflected a certain grey tone. She had her utility belt that hung loose around her wide hips and she didn't ever intend on showing off her body but she very well could have. Her ruby stone that sat in the center of her forehead glowed as she looked over at her friend. Beast Boy was an interesting fellow with his large green eyes that were slightly lighter than his light green skin and his pointed ears. His canines were not of that of a normal human, since he was a changeling who could turn into any form of animal, and ultimately a frightening beast.

He still wore his purple and black Titan suite that showed off his new muscular body, his silver gloves, utility belt, and combat boots also helped him stand out in the crowd. Beast Boy didn't always try to show off, but when he was in the right place at the right time, he couldn't help it.

"Nothing, just wanted to see if you wanted to hang out or something since everyone else seems to be preoccupied?"

"What do you mean by something?"

"Ya know, go out or something."

"There's a thunderstorm out there."

"I know, I thought you might enjoy it."

"It definitely sounds interesting. What did you have in mind?"

Beast Boy was rather shocked that she even paid attention let alone saying she'd go for it. Suddenly he realized he hadn't really thought of a plan since he assumed she'd be shooting him down anyways. But now that the ball was in his court, he had to think of his next move.

"Well uhh, I was thinking maybe we could go to that new rose garden place. I heard it's really cool, and some parts of it are covered so we won't get soaked. And there's a little dessert place just up the street. It's vegan friendly place, so I thought we could both appreciate that. Then we could maybe watch a movie when we get back since everyone else is spending the weekend out."

"Sounds good. Let me just go change really quick."

"Sure, ya me too."

They walked opposite ways to their rooms and went to put something more waterproof on. Raven found a waterproof coat that somewhat resembled her normal cape, except it hugged her body more and had pockets, along with a tie to keep it around her slender waist. She conceived what she was wearing until she felt the timing was right. Beast Boy found a large coat that kept him warm and wore some jeans and a large shirt that fit his body well enough to show off his muscles and it's light blue color helped bring out his eyes. He smiled in the mirror as he passed his fingers through his thick green spiked hair. He walked out to find Raven leaning against the wall adjacent to his door. Beast Boy noticed that she was wearing some smoky eye shadow and her hair was slightly curled. He looked over her to see that her legs were bare 'cept her black fishnet stockings and her black combat boots.

"Wow, you look great. Black really looks good on you."

"Thanks. You don't look too bad yourself Gar."

"Hmmm."

For whatever reason, Beast Boy liked it when Raven called him by his first name, even if it was only the first half of it. He also noticed how her eyes sparkled as she received compliments.

"Shall we?"

She asked politely, trying not to laugh at the dumfounded look on his face. She kept thinking he wasn't her type, but he did entertain her in different ways.

"Ya!"

He grabbed her hand and they were out the door, an umbrella in hand and they were off. Luckily the rose garden was only a few blocks away and there weren't very many people there, enough to count on one hand. Raven looked around at all the varieties of roses and couldn't help but smile. She loved the dark colored ones, especially those resembling a violet-lavender color. She walked up to them and inhaled their sweet scent, she felt another smile creep up on her face, and then she suddenly felt like she was being watched. She turned to Beast Boy (Garfield) and noticed he was observing her every move.

"What?"

She looked at him inquiringly.

"Oh nothing, just never seen you smile like that before. Are you having a good time?"

"Ya, I am actually. I really like roses. They have that beautiful look and smell, but one wrong move and you prick yourself. It's painful yet worth the pain because of its beauty and mystery."
"Wow, you really do like poems don't you?"
"Ya and I always like to think of things as metaphors. Like life is telling us a story and we have to figure out what it is and what it means."

"That's a cool way to think of life. I never knew you were so enlightening Rae."

He couldn't help but smile.

"There's probably a lot of things you don't know about me Gar."

She playfully winked and smiled as she walked towards the next rose bush, with its ruby red roses. Beast Boy was somewhat shocked at Raven being somewhat, dare he say it, flirtatious. But it called him in, like that mysterious blue rose he saw hanging in a pot before him. He knew he wanted to find out more about her and wanted to see what the mysterious Raven would do next.

"So uh Rae, what else do you like to do, ya know when we're not fighting crime?"
"Besides sleep, meditate, eat, shower, read, and look up some of Poe's work? Hmm, I actually like to write, maybe even try and do some painting."

"Writing, that seems like something you'd do. But painting? What do you paint?"
"Well, I like birds and roses. So sometimes I try and paint them, or I look deep into my soul and find some hidden emotion that's calling out for a self portrait."

Raven chuckled at her joke and was surprised to find Beast Boy laughing along side her.

"Hey that was a good one! Ya know, since all your emotions are like in Nevermore, which is inside you! Haha!"

"Hu, ya."

Raven couldn't help but smile, and even laugh at how simple minded he could be.

"So, what do you write about?"

"Pretty much what I paint about. It's like telling the story behind the painting. And I like poetry, so . . ."

"Oh, cool."

Beast Boy found himself leaning in closer to Raven, who was slowly catching on. She couldn't help but feel astonished at how much Beast Boy was trying to hold up a conversation with her, he usually let her do her own thing, so to speak.

"So Rae, what do you wanna do now?"
"Well, I could use some vegan chocolate cake."

"That sounds great! Come on!"

Beast Boy took Raven's hand and dragged her behind him as they headed for the exit and their next destination.

"Garfield! Slow down!"

Raven called after Beast Boy who had just realized he was now sprinting to the quaint bakery that was only a few feet away. And in the process, they both did get slightly moist.

"Sorry Rae. I just got a little excited."

He rubbed the back of his head bashfully as he slightly blushed.

"It's fine Gar."

She gave him a knowing look and he knew all was forgiven. They walked on and found the restaurant to be not quite full and they managed to find a quaint little table hidden in a corner. Raven couldn't help but look over at Beast Boy who was now sitting rather close to her.

"Sorry, do you want some personal space?"

Beast Boy looked bashful again.

"If you don't mind. But you don't have to move to the other side of the table. I just like to breath, and some elbow room is always nice."

Raven gave a faint smile, and Beast Boy began to laugh at her not so obvious joke.

"Hello, I'm Julie and I'll be your server tonight. Our special is vegan cheesecake, we also have some nice strawberry cake that's quite popular with our couples tonight."

"Oh, we're not . . ."

"I'll take some cheesecake and some herbal tea."

Raven cut Beast Boy off before he tried to correct their server. He honestly looked a little stunned that Raven was not only the one to allow this little "hiccup" to slide by, but also to move her hand onto his!

"I'll try the strawberry."
"Would you like some herbal tea as well?"

"Sure."

Beast Boy looked over at Raven who actually smiled at Julie. Beast Boy had an obvious dumbfounded look on his face, he really didn't know much about Raven after all. She was unpredictable now, and he rather enjoyed seeing each side of her, alongside her new emotions that continued to emerge when the timing was right.

"What?"

Raven looked over at Beast Boy, slightly raising her eyebrow.

"Huh?"

"Gar, you've been staring at me ever since that waitress called us a couple. What's wrong?"

"N-nothing. I-I just didn't think you'd . . ."

"Go for it?"

"Ya."

"Hmmm, well everyone has their lucky day, I think mine's today. What about you?"

She leaned into him, his heart beginning to race.

"I guess."

Once again, Raven being a bit flirtatious as she leaned on his shoulder as she looked up at him.

"Am I confusing you?"

"Totally dude, and I like it."

Beast Boy leaned his head on Raven's as he inhaled her lavender shampoo. He let a smile escape his lips as he felt his heart rate increase as her hand gracefully entwined with his. They just sat and enjoyed each other's company as their food arrived along with their drinks.

"Here we are. I hope you enjoy."

"Thanks."

They both thanked Julie in unison and looked at their rather large plates.

"Wow, this is a lot."

Raven looked unsure of being able to finish it all.
"Ya, but at least we'll have some left overs!"

"True."

Raven picked up her spoon as she bit into the savory and sweet meal.

"How is it Rae?"

"Really good."

Raven tilted her head as she smiled, eyes closed, and a faint blush emerging on her cheeks.

Beast Boy felt his eyes sparkle as he noticed how cute she could be and how much he began to have a strange warm feeling at the pit of his stomach. He finally realized what he was doing again and decided to join his friend in devouring (rather than eating) his meal. They ate in peace, exchanging one bite with another as they sipped on their tea and just had a pleasant evening. When they'd finished they made sure to get some boxes, he paid the bill, and it was time to walk home.

"Hey, the rain stopped."

Beast Boy let out his hand as he found no raindrops were meeting his palm.

"Ya, I love how everything smells so fresh after the rain."

"Look! It's a double rainbow Rae, make a wish!"

Rather than conflicting anything, Raven did something she'd never attempted to do in her entire life. She made a wish and behind it, she felt some hope, an odd and rather enjoyable feeling. She opened her eyes and found Beast Boy was looking at her again. His lips were split so that his sharp canine teeth showed and his eyes were closed as if he just mentally took a picture of something. She felt herself blushing again, but this time it was because of him, someone she never thought she could get along with. She felt her hand being lifted and slightly pulled.

"Come on! It's movie time!"

She smiled and followed his lead, something she was once terrified of doing. They arrived back at the tower and of course, no one was home.

"So Rae, what kind of movies do you like?"

"You pick."

"You sure?"

"Ya."

"All right!"

He put in a zombie movie and went to make some popcorn as she hung up her coat, revealing her outfit for the first time that day.

"Here you go Rae . . . whoa."

He put the popcorn down and looked over her slender and well-curved body. She was indeed wearing fishnet stockings with her combat boots, but she was also wearing a little navy blue dress. The top half hugged her well-developed chest and had numerous straps that were just sliding off the shoulders. There was a faint black and purple belt that was studded silver and the bottom half was like a tutu. The fabric wasn't the same but it went out slightly and gave her a girlish yet punk appearance. There were some other colored fabrics that were peeking out, but all Beast Boy could look at were her legs. Her dress was short enough to show off how truly long and curvy they were.

"If you keep drooling like that you'll get the popcorn all soggy."

Raven passed him and took a seat on the couch, taking her boots off and then taking some popcorn. Beast Boy followed her every move and found it hard to pay attention to the movie.

"That was an interesting movie, I never thought it possible for a zombie to become human."

Raven looked over at Beast Boy who left his popcorn untouched and his eyes were glued to her.

"What?"

Silence.

"Gar?"
Silence.

"Ok, well I guess I'd better get washed off and put some warm clothes on."

"Y-ya. Sure."

Beast Boy looked a bit disappointed. Raven knelt down and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"I had a great time Gar, we should do this again sometime."

"Y-ya! Ok! How about tomorrow night."

"That's fine, but next time I get to call the shots."

"Deal."

He smiled up at her as she did the same.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"You mean you aren't going to do it?"

"What?"

"This."

Raven sat down in Beast Boy's lap and wrapped her arms around him as she placed her lips to his for a simple kiss. By the time Beast Boy was able to respond, Raven had already turned the water on.

"Hu?"

He sat there dumbfounded, once again bewildered by this mysterious goth girl.