A/N hello chicky-pops! Here is chapter 2 of my oh so brilliant story. Ya know, this is the first Teen Titans story that I'm posting that isn't a one-shot! Go me! Though I do have quite a few others I'm working on, I just dunno when I'll post them, or even if I will cos I've lost my muse for some of them!

Anyway, as you all know, I own nothing in this story! Teen Titans isn't mine! They belong to their creators and the book mentioned belongs to its author Louise Rennison. I recommend anyone who hasn't read her books; do so now as they are funny as hell! They could make even the most depressed of emos / the most stereotypical of Goths laugh and that's saying something!

Also, I know Raven may seem OOC in this and originally I didn't want to aim for that but I guess I kinda did but she's not badly OOC, she's still dark, gothic and mysterious and she's still as witty as ever, so no worries, she isn't turning into another Starfire! She's just letting go, relaxing and kicking back, you know? I have to say, I'm a Goth as well and I can conquer that even Goths have happy days, whether they admit to it or not (it's called having emotions, though thankfully we're not OTT like quite a few emo people I know are!)

Anyway on with the story! (long author's note, yes?)

SHADES OF BLUE

Chapter 2: The Book of Laughter

Raven walked into her room and headed toward her chest of drawers. She quickly opened the bottom drawer and pulled out a black skirt and a dark blue midriff showing top. She changed out of her leotard and into the other clothes. She always had to change out of her uniform before she could relax fully. Her uniform was a reminder of a world full of crime and hate which she had to protect and whilst wearing it she was on full alert, ready to speed off to a crime scene the minute the alarm sounded. If the alarm sounded, she would still be ready to speed off to the crime scene, she'd just have to quickly change into her uniform but she had perfected the quick change over the past year so she never worried about that.

Once dressed, she walked over to her bookshelf and after standing there for a few moments, looking at the various titles of books, she reached out and grabbed one with a green cover which stood out strikingly from the other black leather bound books with shimmering gold writing.

She exited the room with the book under her arm and she very nearly skipped down to the main room. She headed toward the kitchen area once she entered the main room and flung open the mini fridge/freezer combo they had. She dug around in the freezer part for a few moments, gingerly moving frozen tofu crap out of the way before she found what she was looking for. She pulled out a small tub of Cookie Dough ice cream and smiled in delight before slamming the freezer shut, grabbing a spoon and heading toward the couch. She leaped over the back of the couch and shifted around on the cushions before deciding she was comfy and opening her book to the page she had dog-eared to remind her where she had finished reading.

She pulled the lid off the tub of ice cream and began to delve into the frozen creamy goodness. She dug out a heaping spoon of ice cream and slowly began to lick it off the spoon whilst reading her book.

It wasn't the usual kind of book she would read, which was why she only read it when the other Titans were out, she wasn't sure they would be able to handle her sudden outbursts of laughter at certain parts in the book. The book was called '…then he ate my boy entrancers' by an English author Louise Rennison and it was the sixth in a series which she had been addicted to since the first book had been released almost four years ago.

Raven began to shake with laughter as she read through her book. She had to re-read the passage twice and both times she cracked up with laughter, though thankfully nothing in the tower cracked up, or shattered, or broke.

It had been like this ever since Trigon had been subdued into the back of Raven's mind. She knew they had not defeated him entirely and it was quite likely that maybe, one day he would resume taking over the world, or some completely insane villain hell bent on suicidal missions would decide to resurrect him but for now, he had little to no hold on her.

At first, the idea that she could show emotion without causing the world around her to fall apart had frightened her immensely but she realised that it felt exhilarating to actually allow herself to feel that fear. Since that first show of emotion, she had been experimenting with how much emotion she could truly show.

She was able to laugh freely without anything being destroyed. She could cry if she wanted to and she could scream in rage without growing an extra set of red glowing eyes though sometimes she could feel her rage becoming too much to handle but she managed to quickly subdue it.

She was afraid to tell the titans that she could show emotion, though she had hinted a few times that she could, of course she realised that they were either too wrapped up in their own lives and obsessions (Cyborg and Robin) or just too dim to notice the hints she was dropping (Beast Boy and Starfire) so she hadn't pushed it too far. In all honesty she feared that once she told anyone she could show emotion then this new freedom she found would disappear and she would be back to living in the closed space of her mind.

She refused to think about the situation for too long though so every time the other four titans planned to go out, she adamantly stayed at home, claiming she was too tired or needed to meditate. On a few occasions she gave no reason for wanting to stay at home, she just ignored the other four's pleads and concentrated on her book. When they finally left her to her own devices she loosened up immediately and spent the time doing things she would never dream of doing with the titans around.

She watched silly teen comedy movies and laughed at every single joke, no matter how lame they were. She watched horror movies and allowed herself to feel the adrenaline rush that the fear brought with it. She munched on tubs of ice cream whilst reading silly teen books about some silly teenage girl getting into all sorts of mishaps. She even played games on the game station and allowed herself to get caught up in the excitement and anticipation of the game.

Half a tub of ice cream later, Raven put the lid back on the tub and closed her book. She had just finished it and she felt great sympathy for the main character who had gotten herself into yet another depressing situation, although the ending had had a slight hint of humour in it. She felt slightly annoyed however, because she would have to wait for a while before she got to read the next instalment of the story as the writer was still trying to churn out a new book.

She sat and stared out of the window for a few moments, listening to the sounds of the empty tower and thinking about the book she had just read. Her mind swirled with thoughts about crazy half Scottish wild cats and boys who were obsessed with the word 'pants'.

She shook the thoughts from her head and stood up, intent on putting away the ice cream and returning her book to her room, she was careful to never leave signs of her emotion baring time lying around for the other titans to find and question her about.

A/N Thanks everyone for reading this and thanks to everyone who reviewed for my first chapter! Thanks to Deth Haunts, BlackMagick666, serasvictoria666, ravenslair (thanks for reviewing to all my other stories by the way!) and my good friend Rikku the Legendary Guardian you all deserve lots of biscuits cos every review made me smile. I hope this chapter pleases you!