Chapter 2- Call Me by My Name
I look ridiculous.
Raven studied herself in the mirror. Starfire had finished with her "make-over" twenty minutes prior, and they were due to leave in ten minutes. She had debated quickly teleporting to a clothes shop in order to find something better to wear but had come to the conclusion she would never have enough time. She had to admit, Starfire had done an amazing job of her hair and make up. She managed to clip Raven's short hair into a lose bun with curled strands which framed her angled face. Her eyes now had perfect black lines flicking out from them, and her normally pale skin was brighten up by a warm nude. Against her wishes, Starfire had applied a shocking red lipstick, leaving Raven looking at least a year older than she was. When she had first looked in the mirror she was almost surprised. Almost.
The dress she had picked for herself was one of the only dressed she owned. As it was a high school dance, she avoided wearing anything that was either too tight or showed too much skin. She had Beast Boy to babysit, she did not need to have to wade of any other hormonal boys as well. The dress she had chosen was a deep purple, slightly darker than her eyes. It highlighted her cleavage, dipped in at her waist making her flawless curves stand out, and then cut off just above her knee. She had never imagined herself in this type of dress, nor did she ever imagine that she would be going to a dance.
Especially with Beast Boy of all people.
Maybe she was a little too hard on Beast Boy. He was one of her only friends, as well as being one of the ones who was always there for her when she needed to talk. But with everything there was both pro's and cons, and Beast Boy came with plenty of cons.
A knock at her door pulled her from her thoughts. Her thoughts on Beast Boy. Was I really just thinking about Beast Boy?
"Friend Raven, are you ready?" Starfire's voice sang.
Using her magic, Raven opened the door to let the taller girl in.
Starfire looked sweeter than ever, wearing a short lemon swing dress which made her skin color darken to a golden glow. Her long hair was braided down her left side and mini yellow flowers were weaved in the plait. Squealing in delight she grabbed her friends hands.
"Raven, you look beautiful!" Her emerald eyes shined
Taking her friend's hands off of her own, Raven turned back to the mirror, her stomach beginning to flip. Was she nervous? If so, why?
Did she really look, as Starfire had said, beautiful? It was a large jump from ridiculous to beautiful, but Raven could see why Starfire thought she looked good. She did look more dressed up and her figure was actually showing for once.
"Shall we go get the boys?" Starfire, on her tip toes with excitement, asked the empath.
Raven nodded her head, "may as well"
Beast Boy tugged at his collar, who knew shirts were so uncomfortable? He had fought to buy anything but the suit he had on but Robin had pushed for him to buy it. It was plain, and Beast Boy had ditched the blazer so the suit now only consisted of black tailored trousers, a white shirt and a black tie. Irritated at the long sleeves, he had rolled them up to the elbow allowing his green arms to show. He felt more like himself, he never was one for fancy clothing anyway.
Robin tried to remain as calm as possible, ignoring the pulse in his neck picking up pace by the minute. He wore the same tuxedo he had worn when he was forced to escort Kitten to her dance. He shivered at the memory.
Wiping his sweaty palms on his new pants, Beast Boy looked at the clock. The girls should have been coming out right about now.
"Do you think Bumblebee is taking as long as those two?" Beast Boy tried to make conversation.
Cyborg had already left to pick up his date, and they were most likely already at the school and enjoying themselves.
The doors swiped open.
Robin's eyes lit up behind his mask at the sight of Starfire.
Beast Boy's jaw nearly hit the floor when his eyes fell on Raven. She looked good. Like good good. He tried his hardest to keep his eyes away from areas that he shouldn't be looking at, both as he was her friend and should never be thinking of her in that way and also because if Raven so much as caught him glancing at her in that way she would throw him through a window. But he couldn't help himself, his eyes were enjoying the view.
Starfire glided down to Robin, beaming brightly.
"Do I look okay?" Starfire asked her boyfriend.
Robin grinned, "you look better than okay"
The couple embraced each other.
Raven, who had been observing the couple, turned away to give them their privacy and looked to Beast Boy.
Well he looks…
Grown up, handsome, attractive…
Did she call him attractive? No, of course not, she shook off the thought. Well, he did look a lot older and somehow his messy hair gave him a darker, more dangerous look, that accompanied with his sleeves rolled up. Had it not been for his immaturity, he may be considered compatible with her. Again she cut off the thought. Why am I thinking of these things?
Climbing the stairs, Beast Boy joined his date.
"you look different" He said, canine tooth flashing.
Raven folded her arms, "I could say the same for you"
Beast Boy studied her violet eyes, realising how scarily stunning she was. He gulped, suddenly terrified she was prying into his thoughts,
"Maybe we should go?" He suggested, backing away from the dark girl.
Agreeing with Beast Boy, Raven nodded and they both left the room.
"What do you mean we are not on the list?!" Raven tried to keep her voice calm, "why is there a list? It is a dance for teenagers" she added, "it is hardly an exclusive nightclub"
The stout woman in front of her checked over her clipboard for the fifth time. While she was occupied, Raven glared at Beast Boy,
"I thought you said Robin had everything sorted?" She squeezed the bridge of her nose in annoyance recalling the conversation she and the changeling had had during the journey to the dance. Beast Boy had assured her that Robin had made arrangements that would allow them in without the bat of an eye.
Beast Boy put his hands up defensively, "I'm just the messenger" he reminded her in a sarcastic tone.
The woman clearer her throat, "as I have already said, your names are not on the list. And I am pretty sure you two don't even go to this school" she pointed her pen in the teenagers direction.
They were holding a queue of restless couples in their wake, groans and shouts of annoyance could be heard. Irritated, the woman with the clipboard tapped her foot.
Beast Boy's eyes darted back and forward nervously, sweat sliding down his neck, "Uh, Why do you think we don't go to this school?" He enquired hesitantly.
The woman's eyes widened in frustration,
"I am almost one hundred percent sure that none of our students are green" She hissed
The two teenagers jumped slightly, neither of them had given a thought to how out of place Beast Boy appeared.
Catching a look at Beast Boy, to see if he was thinking the same as her; he was.
"So I suggest to you, that you and your girlfriend get out of here before I call the police as you are trespassing" the cranky woman stared them down.
Cringing at being called Beast Boy's girlfriend, Raven waved her hand, ready to transport away from the angry little woman.
Having other ideas, Beast Boy readied himself to charge at the woman.
Raven briskly threw a wave of black energy over him, stopping him from doing anything too stupid. In a matter of seconds they were transported from the doors of the school, to the bleachers on the football field behind the building.
The moon cast a steady glow over the two teenagers. Exhausted, Raven flopped down on a bench reaching behind her head for her good before recalling that she was not wearing her cloak. She sunk back against the wood, a little light headed.
"Rae, you okay?" Came Beast Boy's voice. He also took a seat, defeated by the small woman with the clipboard. He had fought monsters, demons and some of the worst criminals and yet he could not even win against a middle-aged woman.
Squeezing her eyes closed for a moment, Raven nodded, "I have to use my energy for my powers, transporting both you and I has left me slightly dizzy. I'll be fine" She said honestly, her hand moving as he spoke. Her eyes sprang open again when something touched her forehead, she was in the air in milliseconds.
Beast Boy retracted his hand, a guilty look painted on his face,
"Uh sorry Rae, I was just checking if you had a temperature or something" He looked up at her,
"I don't want my date walking out on me" he grinned.
"This is not a date" Raven cringed, lowering herself back down to the ground, rubbing her arms.
Beast Boy wiggling his eyebrows, apparently forgetting about Raven's love for personal space, bounced up to her, "No need to lie to yourself Raven. A boy" he pointed to himself, "a girl" he pointed at Raven, "a dance…"
Raven folded her arms, "what's your point?" she asked, her cheeks burning furiously.
Moving his hands to make and invisible rainbow, Beast Boy answered, "the perfect recipe for a date" He flashed a toothy smile at the empath, whose eye twitched in annoyance.
"Well, lucky for us, we will not be dancing. We can keep watch from up here" she said triumphantly, happy that she did not have to spend a night clustered amongst immature teenagers in a stuffy room, with everyone having to touch just to get past, the thought made her shiver.
"Dude, we are going to dance!" The changeling exclaimed.
Before Raven had the chance to question his meaning, Beast Boy grabbed her by the hand- again forgetting about her personal space rule- and took of running towards the school.
She knew she shouldn't have enjoyed it, but Raven couldn't help but smile a rare smile. Beast Boy had ran with Raven at his side down a the hill from the field to the school. Never had he held her for so long, nor had he ever had the guts to do so, and as much as Raven hated to admit it, she liked this reckless side of him. True it wasn't like he was riding a motorcycle over a ditch without a helmet or any sort of protection, but just him touching her or getting close to her without asking was risky enough. It was nice to have a warm hand holding her own, although it was only to force her to go with him and nothing else, but she still enjoyed it, more than she cared to admit.
What did I just do? Beast Boy asked himself as he bent over, panting from the fast pace that he was running at. Incredibly he was still alive after grabbing Raven and running with her to the back of the school where he found a back door. She hadn't murdered him for touching her, she hadn't banished him to a dark abyss for making her run, she hadn't shown any sign of anger. Wait was she smiling?!
Confused he moved closer to empath, staring into her eyes, she attempted to hide her smile, but her eyes shine like he'd never seen before. Ignoring the feeling of awe he had in the out of his stomach when he looked at her, he hadn't felt such a feeling since…
"So what is your plan now?" Raven asked, her voice slightly hoarse from the running, attempting to fix her bun which had become more loose than it had already been.
The music from inside the hall played loudly, it would normally annoy Raven but it didn't. Why, however, she did not know.
Snapping himself from his thoughts he replied,
"Dude, we both have super powers, I'm sure we can get ourselves into a gym hall" The changeling grinned, soaking in Raven's appearance. He wished she didn't always hide beneath that hood of hers, both her figurative hood and her emotional hood. These flashes of her emotions he saw filled him with delight, he enjoyed to see her smile and her joy flash in her eyes. He liked the way her voice softened and her cheeks deepened to the color of a rose. She was extraordinary, and he only wished that she would let it show.
"I've already used my powers, I think it's your turn" Stated Raven, smoothing out her dresses keep it from riding up.
Speaking of her voice softening, there was one thing Beast Boy wanted her to say while she was in such a good mood. Perhaps being too forward and more than a little flirtatious, Beast Boy stretched his arms out,
"Fair enough, Rae. I'll use my powers… Under one condition"
What?!
Raven's eyes blazed a dangerous red, the irritation that had just been forgotten about slowly building again.
"And what would that be?" She asked folding her arms over, digging her nails into her elbows to keep her calm. Surely he wasn't going to try and make her do something humiliating? He must've had more sense than to mess with Raven.
Grinning from ear to ear, Beast Boy answered the empath.
"Call me by my name." He said simply, leaning against the door they were about to use to 'break into' the school.
Raven studied the green boy, processing what he had asked of her,
"I have been calling you by your name" She stated.
Moving off the door and pacing closer to Raven he shook his head,
"You know what I mean"
He was close to her, dangerously close.
Raven shrugged,
"Can I ask why?" She hadn't heard Beast Boy ask for anything so strange in his life. To the Titans he had always been Beast Boy, the same way Robin was Robin and Cyborg was Cyborg, calling him by his name would be like he wasn't part of the Titans, unless… An thought struck her and she guessed it was his reasoning behind wanting to be called by his birth name. He wanted it to feel normal for a night.
"I don't want to be Beast Boy the Titan tonight, I just want to be me, at a dance, with my-"
Raven shot him a look that screamed "don't you dare call me your date"
He took heed of her warning and carried on, "good friend and just enjoy myself, without the hero work"
Understanding Raven nodded her head. She had considered reminding him that this was a mission and not just a fun night out but she thought better of it. She was always the one to ruin his amusement, maybe it was time she let him enjoy herself. But it won't last forever, she reminded herself, only tonight would she be so fair since she was in such a good mood. A good mood which she almost never was in. Come to think of it the last time she felt such a way was with-
No, I'm not thinking about him tonight. She scolded herself for letting the evil dragon enter her thoughts.
She would comply with Beast Boy's wishes. He could do with a night off from being a hero, right enough, so could she. An idea occurred,
"Okay, from now until midnight I will call you by your real name." Raven said in a monotone.
Beast Boy's ears pricked up, he flashed a canine tooth as he beamed, moving towards her and then stopping, considering that a hug might throw the whole deal off.
"However…" Raven held up a slim finger, enjoying the confused look that flashed on Beast Boy's face, "I also want to forget my hero side tonight"
With both his hands in front of him in a "slow down" gesture, Beast Boy pondered aloud "Dude, I thought your real name is Raven?" He scratched the top of his head, mentally attempting to go through every conversation he had ever had with the dark girl concerning secret identities, never once had she mentioned being anyone else other than she was.
"It is", she said, a small grin playing at the corners of her mouth,
"But I think it's only fair that I don't have to be Raven for tonight either"
Beast Boy was enjoying this. Was she flirting back? Surely she wasn't, but he couldn't be sure.
"So what do you want to be called then?"
Putting a finger on her chin in a uncharacteristic playful manner, Raven pondered who she wanted to be for the night, the only name that popped into her head was but a nickname that Beast Boy used for her, it was all she could think of. Not coming up with anything better, Raven decided on her name,
"Rae, you can call me Rae?" She wanted to sound confident as she said it, but it came out like a question.
Beast Boy, surprised at Raven's name choice accompanied by a sense of pride, it was the nickname he used for her.
"Okay then, Rae" a smile played on his lips, "would you like to break into this school with me?"
Looking at Beast Boy as his eyes flashed signs of recklessness, Raven felt a pull at her heart. She had never seen Beast Boy in such a way, nor had she been attracted to him, in any way, at all. If this was the way Garfield acted, then Raven could get along just nicely with him.
"Yes, I would, Garfield"
And perhaps Rae would be more flirtatious than Raven.