I don't own Teen Titans, or the characters. Cartoon Network and D.C. Comics are still on my wish list. I am simply a writer of fanfiction. Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I don't own CCR's song either.
Romance on Bad Moon Mountain
A fanfiction story by Lar Lindor
Chapter two: Cool Welcomes and Hot Tea
Don't
go around tonight,
Well, it's bound to take your life,
There's
a bathroom
on the right.
(Gar's perspective)
Those were the words I sang as me and Rae pulled into the town of Creedence, CA. The population was listed as 451.
"Funny, Gar," Raven smirked. "Now let's find this 'bathroom on the right.' I really need to pee."
"To hear is to obey, milady," I bowed chivalrously. Slowing the Eclipse, I pulled up to a diner, and let her out. She mouthed the word "thanks" and ran in.
My stomach was growling, so I decided to follow her into the diner. Probably won't find anything meatless here. Checking the menu, however, they did have a fair assortment of salads.
"I could use a little nourishment," I thought, "and some coffee."
"Raven, over here," I beckoned to my teammate as she exited the rest room area.
"Let me guess, you're hungry," she rolled her eyes.
"Aren't I always?"
"Pretty much," she agreed. "I could use a cup of hot tea and maybe a bowl of soup myself."
Nodding, we walked over to one of the five booths. I could feel the eyes of the residents on us. The looks were not friendly.
"I sense fear, and hostility," she whispered. "We're not welcome here."
"Yeah, I can feel it too," I acknowledged in a low whisper.
"May I help you two?" a middle aged brunette asked. She might've been pretty at one time, but her looks had faded. The woman was now overweight, and her hair was cut badly. Her nametag said "Jane."
We ordered quickly. The hostility was still there, but the glares were a little less frequent.
An older man walked over and stood over us. His eyes were unfriendly, and his tone matched.
"May I ask what you kids want here?" he asked rudely.
"We want to check out the caves on Bad Moon Mountain," Raven submitted. "My friend and I love spelunking."
"Oh," the man said with a little more warmth. "You must've seen the articles in that Travel magazine from a couple years back. We still get some folks to see those caves."
"Yeah," I bluffed. I'd been checking Raven out again, so I missed the old dude's yakking. Gonna have to pay better attention.
"Are the caves easy to find, or do we need a guide?" Raven asked.
"Ask for Marilyn at the Chamber of Commerce," the elderly resident instructed, pointing to their left. "She can get you maps of the mountain and the caves."
A younger man joined us. He looked to be in his early twenties-in good shape too. He exchanged looks with the old guy.
"You 'spelunkers' go halogen or LEDs?" he asked in a challenging manner.
"One, I consider myself a caver, not a spelunker," I replied. "My friend Rae is still getting used to the lingo. Secondly, I prefer halogen. Are you into caving, dude?"
Raven raised an eyebrow. She thinks I'm dumb, of course. However, I saw the note from Robin about our 'cover story' here. Rae didn't bother to tell me about it.
"Not so much anymore," the young man smiled. He pulled up his right pants leg. It showed an artificial leg. "I lost this leg kayaking on the Wolf River in Wisconsin. That more or less ended my daredevil days."
"Sorry to hear that, man," I sympathized. "Name's Gar Logan. This is Rae Roth."
"Mike Murdoch," the man pointed to himself. He shook hands with us. If you need any equipment, don't be afraid to ask. I still have all my old stuff."
"We appreciate the offer, Mike," I grinned. "Where can we find you if we need anything?"
"I'm here most of the time," the man admitted. "I own the diner. It doesn't need me much, though. Jane and her sister do all the work anyway."
"And don't you forget that, either," the wait person smiled as she brought their drinks.
"Is there a motel in town?" Raven asked.
"You can rent a cabin from Gerald Foley," another patron suggested. "He's down two blocks that way." The man pointed to their right.
Mike excused himself to answer a cell phone call. The other patrons slowly returned to their familiar places at the diner.
"You're a caver?" Raven whispered. "Since when?"
"I've been going for three years now," I shrugged. "I also do Paintball and Laser Tag. Some of us do more than read books on our days off."
"I thought you were just a couch potato," she explained. "I only see you playing video games and reading comics."
"You might be surprised at a lot of things if you keep hanging around me," I teased. Not that she will, anyway. She is way out of my league.
"I'm going to tell Cy that you're flirting with me," she warned, "again."
"Do you mean you'll tell on me again?" I asked. "Or do you mean I'm flirting with you again?"
"Besides," I challenged, "since when is Cy the flirting police?"
Her face turned bright red. "I'm…um…"
Any chance of the two 'having a moment' was lost when Raven's cell phone rang. "Hey Rob," she said. "Yeah, we're here..."
"We had a nice drive," she nodded.
"Gar was fine," she acknowledged.
"Yeah, it was a good suggestion, thanks."
"Bye Rob," she said, "you and Kory behave yourselves."
She hung up. "That was big brother Rob, but you probably figured that out," she stated with a wink. "He's just checking up on the two of us."
She meant Robin, of course. I'm surprised we didn't get calls while we were driving up here. The dude is such a control freak.
"What's he think we're doing?" Gar snickered. "Running away together?"
(Switch to Raven's perspective).
"Why does Robin seem to think Garfield likes me?" she thought. "Yeah, he's a big flirt, but he flirts with Kory and Cassie too.
"Besides," I pondered, "why would he want me? He can get a girl anytime he wants. God, he is good looking. I do like the green hair over the blonde, though."
We finished up our food in quick time. "Shall we go check out the cabins?" I asked Gar.
"What? Sure, Rae," he answered distractedly. Had Gar been staring at me? It sure looked like it.
We drove the car over to the cabin rental place. The cabins were small and rustic, at least from the outside. We went into the office and found Mr. Foley. I had to repeat the same cover story to get the old fellow to stop glaring at us.
"Cavers, eh?" he nodded. "You kids are welcome here, then. Sorry, but we're a little paranoid. All those investigative reporters wanting to talk to everybody about the murders, you know. They drove us all a little crazy."
"I promise you that Gar and I am not reporters, Mr. Foley."
"Can we see the cabins?" Gar asked.
"Sure, young fellow," the man agreed. He walked us to cabin #3, and pulled out a huge ring of keys. The place was small. There was a bedroom/living room, bathroom, and a tiny kitchen. One problem: there was only one bed.
Gar walked in a minute later with our luggage.
"There's just one bed, Gar," I pointed out brilliantly. "He must think we're a couple."
"Oh, no big deal," he shrugged. Smiling, he morphed into a green kitten, and lay at the foot of the bed.
"Oh, of course," I blabbered. "There's no problem at all…I mean…"
"You're babbling, Rae," he accused.
"I'm going to take a nap," he announced. "If you don't want to nap, you could check out the Chamber of Commerce." The green feline curled up on the bed.
"I'll do that," I said decisively.
I left before I said something even more stupid. "Azar, could I have made a bigger fool of myself?" I rebuked myself. "Of course he wasn't going to suggest sharing the bed. He's too much a gentleman. Besides, he doesn't like me like that."
"The rest of the team thinks he does," came Knowledge's irritating voice.
"You like him, so why can't he like you? Happy asked.
"He's so dreamy," Love added to the cacophony of voices in my head.
I don't have to travel to Nevermore to talk to my "emotions" anymore. My mirror, in fact, is still back at the tower. Since my father's defeat, they just talk to me. Raven the Schizophrenic, that's me. The good news is having freedom to express my feelings more.
"Just read his emotions," Hate joined in, "and then you'll know what he feels. That'll cease this insipid argument."
Timid disagreed. "That wouldn't be right. It violates his privacy. We have to find another way."
"Fine, just ask him. Be direct," Brave advised.
"Join him in bed tonight," Lust sneered. "You'll find out how much he likes you. Besides, it could be fun if you put Me in charge."
"You," I addressed Lust, "stay out of this."
"It's not like you haven't fantasized about him before," Lust said defiantly.
The voices stopped as I walked in the door of the Chamber of Commerce. There was one employee. She looked terminally bored. She immediately put on a 'perky' face when she saw me.
"I'm Marilyn," she announced. "Welcome to Creedence. How can I help you?"
"I'm Raven Roth. My partner Garfield and I are visiting your town to check out the caves. I understand you have maps of them?"
"Sure do, Miss Roth," the woman smiled. "I'll go get them for you. Sorry, but I have to charge you $5 for them: Mayor's orders."
"Not a problem," I shrugged handing her the money from my purse. I started to leave, but she spoke to me again.
"Be careful up there, Miss Roth," she warned me. "Please don't go near the woods at night."
"We didn't plan to go at night," I assured her. "May I ask why not?"
Her voice sank to a whisper, "Beware the Children of the Moon."
No one can hear Raven's inner voices expect for Raven, of course. Expect another chapter by Wednesday, I would guess. Normally I'd try for Tuesday, but that is RPG night.
