Thanks for the reviews thus far guys. Here's Chapter II, a bit overdue I'm sure. Enjoy.

Act I, Chapter II

The tower almost seemed to quake in fear.

"YOU WHAT!" Raven hissed in the most menacing voice she could muster from the crack in her doorway. Red eyes peered out at the others in the hallway in front of her room. Cyborg had his back to the hallway wall, with Beastboy in front of him, hand up in a gesture of trying to calm the empath down. The newspaper he had presented to her was now on the floor, the look she had given it after reading the article he had submitted one that most would have thought enough to cause the paper to spontaneously combust right there. Robin, who was standing to the right of her door and slightly out of her sight, could already swear he could smell smoke. Starfire stood on the left side. She bent down and picked up the newspaper, disproving Robin's notion. The Tamaranean then walked up closely to Raven's door, the page with the article up-front.

"Please friend Raven," she began to say. "Beastboy was only trying to help and make sure that today you had fun, and were with others."

"You mean people I don't even know..." Raven retorted. The door to her room then slammed shut, even as Raven herself walked away from the door and towards her bed. "Forget it." she then added, loud enough so that the others could hear. Raven then floated herself down onto her bed, and reached over for a book. The others however, were still at her door.

"But Raven, if you do not show up, then what will become of the person that waits for you at the cafe of souls?" Starfire then asked her. Raven had already opened the book she had taken, and was flipping back to the page that she had last been on while reading. The empath didn't even bother to look up at the door to answer.

"They'll waste their entire day waiting for someone who isn't going to show up." Raven responded without any emotion in her voice. Starfire on the other side grew a bit surprised, her arms which held the newspaper dropping slightly. Robin then tried to chime in to help her out.

"Come on Raven, can't you just go down there, for like... maybe an hour or two? It might be-"

The door to her room suddenly flew back open even as Raven emerged again. Her hood was up, and though her eyes did not glow a bright red, they still seemed to hold the power to ignite objects. She stared out at all of them unnervingly. Hr eyes narrowed in severe annoyance even as she spoke again.

"Fun? Fun would be sitting in my room or the lobby and reading, not going on a 'date'. I already said I didn't want to do anything today, and I'm not going to do anything. That's final." Cyborg looked next to him at the wall, noticing a small piece of wallpaper was beginning to peel off, a tiny bit of obsidian energy tugging at it. He groaned inwardly, knowing this was only going to get worse.

"But Raven, if you do not show up, then those people will be waiting possibly the entire day for you to come. Do you wish to disappoint those people who want to meet with you?" Starfire then said, still holding onto the newspaper. Raven turned to her, her expression softening slightly. She could afford Starfire more ground than the others, being that they were best friends, out of all the Titans. But still, Raven wasn't going to give in.

"I didn't even sign up for this, Starfire. Beastboy made up the article. I don't have to do anything; it's his job to tell anyone who goes to see there tomorrow expecting to see me that it was his idea, and that I didn't agree to anything about it."

A large gulping sound could then be heard, coming from the two Titans behind the other three. All of the others then turned to Beastboy, who had grown a bit pale at the thought of what Raven was suggesting. Raven smirked slightly, knowing what he was probably thinking about at the moment. But still, her mood on the subject was not lightened up at all. Starfire however, pressed on.

"But Raven, if you do not show up, even if it is to just tell the person 'no', then your reputation could be 'soured' with the public." she said. Raven stared at Starfire, feeling annoyed and now a bit confused at the same time.

"Reputation? I don't show up to something I didn't even plan on doing, how's that going to affect my 'reputation' with the city?" The empath asked her alien friend quizzically, not exactly sure what she meant. Cyborg however, seemed to pick up on what she meant.

Or rather, how to use what she had said to the situation.

"You know Rae, if people see that you put an article in the paper to meet guys, and then you don't show up, well you know..." Cyborg started off with the attempt, leaving the ending open to try to draw her in. Raven turned to look at her large friend next.

"Know what?" she asked, her voice low, yet demanding an answer. Cyborg shrugged, letting the other two boys continue, who were quickly to catch up on his plan.

"Raven, you know... Cye just means that-" Beastboy's attempt to play along was silenced by Raven even as she let out a growl in his direction. Beastboy's face slackened even as he tried to take a step or two behind Cyborg, onlt to find the wall having taken the spot before he could. Robin tried to press onward, even as Raven stared at Beastboy menacingly again.

"What Cyborg means is that if you don't show up, then people might start to think... that maybe you're just... nervous about meeting someone." Raven's facial expression from one of annoyance and somewhat confusion to completely the latter. She then quickly narrowed her eyes, in an attempt to disguise her momentary surprise.

"That doesn't even make any sense at all-" Raven replied back, trying to pull herself back into her room and close the door. She definitely didn't like where the conversation was beginning to head to. The others however, had other plans.

"Come on girl; the city sees you putting an add into the paper asking for some guy to spend the day with you on Valentines Day; and then you don't show up to it? That kinda' speaks for itself..." Raven gave Cyborg a glare, in an attempt to stop him from going any further. She felt the urge to slam the door on them again, tell them all where to go, and just retreat into her room and read. After spending so much time with them, over two years now, Raven would have expected them to just respect her wishes, and abide by them. But no, they always had to try and "help" her out, as if reading by herself, or just not spending every waking moment of each day with others was some sort of disease. Even as she plopped herself back on her bed after deciding to close the door on them again, she could hear the others outside her room, talking amongst themselves, as if trying to scheme on how to get her to go out to the location which Beastboy had so carefully chosen. How he had known that she liked the Souls Cafe was a mystery to her, she never really had told anyone about which specific cafes she went to, when she did go to them. It was sort of funny, neither of them had any feelings for each other, but Beastboy was always going out of his way to do things for her.

Probably, because he was her friend, just like the others were. And even if the things they tried to do for her weren't things she wanted to do and annoyed her in the process... it was still sort of nice of them to try to do those things for her. Raven had to grudgingly admit that to herself at least. Sighing silently to herself, Raven sat up from her bed, retracting her arm just as it had been about to pick back up the book she had been reading earlier. She then moved back off the bed, and levitated over to the door.

The other Titans almost jumped back from their relatively-close positions to the doorway even as it slid open, with Raven appearing in the empty space it left behind. Her hood was still up, though her expression had changed from one of gross annoyance and anger to an emotionless one. She sighed again, and then spoke, figuring it best just to give in now and get it all over with; the sooner, the better.

"Fine, I'll go. But only to tell whoever shows up that I didn't write that article, and to just go back wherever they came from." Starfire dropped the paper and clasped her hands together even as the others smiled at their success, happy in finally convincing her to go along with the plan. Raven began to grow annoyed again.

"And that's it. As soon as I tell whoever shows up first to go back, I'm coming home. I just want this resolved." The smiles slightly faded from Cyborg's and Robin's faces, and Starfire let her arms sag a little. Beastboy however, continued smiling.

"I bet you'll change your tune when you meet whoever shows up and fall madly in lo-" Raven turned to him, her eyes beginning to glow in negative energy. A small discharge came out from the floor, dangerously close to Beastboy's foot. The changeling jumped back for fear of his safety.

"Just because I agree to go just to tell whoever shows up to get lost, doesn't mean you're off the hook." she said threateningly. Raven then turned and floated down the hallway from the others. Starfire called out to her, trying to spark another discussion now that the other had been ended.

"Friend Raven, what shall you wear for the occasion tomorrow." Raven felt a twinge of annoyance, being that there was no "occasion" to dress up for. She'd already said she was just going there tomorrow to tell whoever fell for Beastboy's prank to go home. The empath responded without even turning back.

"All I'm going there to do is tell whoever shows up to leave. There's nothing to dress up for." Starfire lifted off the ground even as Raven was finishing her sentence, following after her.

"But friend, what happens if you do wish to spend the day with whoever shows up and decide you wish to look... nicer?" Raven spun in the air towards her female friend, already down the hallway. Starfire stopped a few good yards away, surprised by Raven's sudden movements.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Raven asked back, a hint of annoyance rearing its head again. Starfire swung one arm immediately behind her head and smile nervously, even as she swung in the air, slowly tilting her body to the left and right continuously.

"Oh nothing, nothing!" The Tamaranean said back, trying to keep up the facade of innocence. Raven slowly turned back in the direction she had been going, keeping her eyes on Starfire. She then started back down the hallway, the other girl Titan catching up to her quickly enough and following her. Robin could barely make out what she was speaking even as the two turned at the corner down the hall, but from what he could make out, it didn't sound like Raven was going to enjoy it much. The boy wonder shook his head, hoping the calm that was now filtering back through the tower after the mess he'd just dealt with had been closed. Beastboy then turned to him, smiling even as he slapped his hands together in satisfaction.

"Another problem, and another brilliant solution from Beastboy!" he said happily as he wore a large smile. Robin and Cyborg gave him tired stares, knowing he wasn't thinking of the consequences of what he had just done. Robin placed his head in his hand even as Cyborg walked up closer to Beastboy from behind, in an attempt to catch his attention.

"Yo' B, you do know that when Raven gets back tomorrow from that cafe, you're in for it, right?" The large teen asked his friend. Beastboy turned around to look at his friend. A look of confusion was on his face.

"What're you saying Cye? Raven said she'd go, everything's cool." The green changeling then said, trying to make sense out of his friend's own words.

"Uhh B? You did hear the part where Raven said you're not off the hook, right?" Cyborg replied back, a bit disbelievingly at his teammate's seemingly utter lack of sense in this situation. What would make him think he was going to be perfectly safe once Raven showed back up at the tower after crushing the dreams of whoever tried to show to her the cafe? Beastboy shook his head smiling.

"Dudes, I am so totally going to be out of here by the time she gets back. Chick hunting, remember?" Robin and Cyborg stared at Beastboy, their frows burrowing. Beastboy simply continued his slightly-goofy grin, before then turning back in the direction he had faced before to begin to walk away. Cyborg was about to respond to him, when he then noticed the other male Titan had left his side. The half-metal teen turned to look in the other's direction.

"Yo Rob, where you going?" Cyborg the called out in his leader's direction.

"I have to get ready for tomorrow... with Starfire and all..." Robin said back, not wanting to let his friend see his face. Even in the dull hallway light, the color had become a bit disoriented in his skin, his normal peachy-color having suddenly taken a darker shading of... red. Cyborg nodded, the words spoken by his leader jabbing at his own private thoughts.

"Yeah... same with me... check with ya' in the morning then." he responded himself, his voice a bit lower than usual. Robin nodded silently, and continued to stroll down the hallway. Rather than be left behind, Cyborg pondered on his own plans, and took the same path Beastboy had just walked down, only branching off to the right instead of the left to his own room.

Their friend's problem, while a concern, was not as pressing as their own.

And only one day left them to think just on those.

X X X

"Can't believe I let them talk me into this..." Raven muttered annoyed. She was sitting in a small yet eloquent chair, with slightly-curved metal bars forming a less-than uncomfortable back. As such, she leaned forward and onto the circular table in front of her, outside of the Souls Cafe. Cars sped by, the street being right next to this shop of course. She had been waiting here for only but an hour or so, but her patience was already growing thin. Raven just wanted whoever was going to show up first to just show up, let her tell him "no", and then leave. Of course she'd hunt down Beastboy and subject him to a pain he'd likely never have thought possibly after that... but that could be left until later in the day. For now, she just wanted to get back to the tower.

The day before, or what had remained of it after Raven had been told of the article, and convinced enough to come, had been nothing but more annoyance. Starfire had tried several times to get Raven to think on what to wear to this, or how to act. Raven had dismissed all the advice, having taken to a book and ignoring her friend's advice. Couldn't she see this wasn't any sort of date at all, and that she was just going to go back to the tower after she told the first guy to come off? Starfire was optimistic, and to Raven, that had been one of those times it had gotten overbearing.

A paper got caught in the air thanks to another fast-moving car whizzing by, and floated near Raven. Dark energies soon enveloped the paper, and moved it away before it came to close. A brief glimpse at it revealed a pink color to the overall object, with numerous red hearts dotting it. Raven allowed it to settle back in the street, where numerous other cars obliviously rode over the insignificant object. She moved her head down a bit, closer to her arms which lied on the table. Inside the small cafe, an area seperated by less than an inch of glass, were numerous couples already celebrating the occasion. Raven stole a glance from them once or twice, the chatter that was growing between all the couples in the place were muffled only slightly by the thin barrier. The words reached towards her. Raven tried to block them out, not wanting to hear them.

Unfortunately, she was not surrounded by glass on all sides.

"Hey babe, what's your sign?"

Raven immediately whirled around in her chair to look behind her. A man was standing there, turned sideways to her and facing another girl, seeming his age. She giggled at his call and started to respond in a timid, girlish voice. The man grinned a bit stupidly, the goatee on his chin the only part of his face not shaved off. Raven turned back in her chair and put her arms back on the table.

False alarm, thankfully.

She sighed quietly, wishing someone would just come along already to ask her out, just so she could crush their dreams and get back home. The last part didn't bother her much, she hadn't signed up for this, what responsibility did she have to make sure someone else had a good day today? If anyone they would be angry at, it would be Beastboy... if they actually knew he had signed her up for this of course...

An hour soon passed, and Raven grew more annoyed by each minute. Her right hand had started an incessant drumming on the table, even as she propped up her head in her left hand. She was actually a bit surprised by the turn out. From the amount of her fanmail she recieved each month, in comparison with the other Titans, she would have thought by now an innumerable mob of teenage men would have fought tooth and nail right in front of her, each trying to get to her first to pop the question for a date. But not a single one had even showed up. A mixed feeling of being glad at such and annoyance at the same time was slowly pooling up inside of her. Most of the other people who had been in the cafe earlier had left, only to be replaced with more couples meeting for a later date. Suddenly, a person spoke up behind her.

"Heh, can you imagine being stood up today?"

Raven turned around again, but this time slowly, as if to not give herself away. It didn't do any good, the group assembled next to her, leaning themselves against the flimsy glass of the cafe window recognized her awareness. In fact, the two boys seemed to actually be speaking louder than was necessary, as if in attempt to grab her attention.

"I mean, on Valentines day? Come on, that's just low, not to mention pathetic." The other boy responded. He was dressed in a black leather jacket, with a red shirt underneath, and blues jeans for pants. His hair was up in a cowlick-fashion. His male friend likewise wore almost matching clthoing, though he lacked a belt to go with his pants, and a white shirt instead of a red one. Most noticeable of all though, was a pair of black sunglasses over his eyes, and his haircut being a bit less triangular. The other two party members, both blonde-haired girls, who had dressed in pink and white clothing, giggled at the slight. Raven's eyes narrowed.

"Yeah Cash, totally not-cool."

"Right on bro'. But I guess when you ain't cool, and hang out at broody places like these, can't really expect much different."

A piece of concrete suddenly broke from the rest of it's brethren inbetween the four, enwrapped in negative energy. The two girls who had been laughing screeched and ran backwards, while the two counterparts fell back onto their posteriors, trying to likewise get away from the just seconds before sidewalk.

"Go. Away." Raven uttered in a low voice at the two, bringing her hood up, her eyes already lighting up. The pair got up as quickly as possible and grabbed their dates even as they tried to run as fast as possible to get away. As soon as they were around the street corner, Raven let the concrete come back down and settle back in, clear breaks in the ground signified where it had been torn away from. Raven then stood up, taking her hood back off.

"Forget this..." she said, taking her hand off from the table. She had waited long enough, and she wasn't going to let people start making fun of the situation. She hadn't even signed on to it in the first place! Raven began to walk away from the chair and table, with thoughts swarming through her even at the very moment of what to do first when she got back home, other than meditate and unleash some contained wrath on a certain green teammate.

Ding.

Raven suddenly turned on the spot towards the area of where a bell had just tolled. She found herself quickly enough staring at the door of the Souls Cafe, the bell sitting in the upper-part of the doorway, where it could signify someone entering or leaving. In this case, it was the latter. And the person doing just that was a very familiar one.

Raven found herself staring at him, not sure to make of the situation.

Then she thought to herself, 'Eh, just another person leaving the store. That's all.' She was just about to turn back around when the person then reached his hand out to her, to stop her. Raven stopped where she was standing, and stared at him, waiting. He was dressed in a strange apparel, though she swore she remembered him from somewhere else. A purple vest, which opened at the midsection of his chest, only to reveal a long-sleeved white t-shirt with a high collar. Golden arm and leg braces located on both ankle, wrist, and stomach areas, and black pants, to top it off. His face was soft though, and blonde, curly hair adorned his head, stretching down the sides of his face in the form of sideburns, and even crawling down the edges of his face. But most of all, was his gentle green eyes, which showed nothing but a small bit of confusion, and worry in them. Raven moved her left leg back from its attempted step.

"Well?" she asked him, wondering why he had stopped her.

Raven almost wished she hadn't asked that question. The boy's left hand immediately behind his back, as if nervous. He then took it away, still looking nervous, and began to intertwine it with his right hand, moving his fingers about in a complex fashion, one of numerous motions that all seemingly were easily pulled off by him, but left her confused. Raven put up her own hands in an attempt to stop him. He obeyed, putting his hands down and behind his back, flexing his fingers a bit. A bead of sweat went down his forehead. Had he tried to go too fast with her already?

Raven recognized slightly what that had just been, though she took a few moments to actually just stand there and sort of what she had seen. he had been trying to speak to her though sign language, as in communicating through numerous gestures with his hands rather than with words. Again, she was reminded of a person she had known very shortly before, but couldn't recall. Sign language of course, wasn't foreign to her, on Azarath she had learned it. The monks had always stressed peaceful tactics in everything, and sign language was a universally-spoken language, one that used hands for talking rather than fighting. Still, it had been a while since she had seen someone sign, and though memories of how to read such were coming back, it was still a little difficult. Raven spoke to the teen again.

"Repeat what you just tried to tell me, but slower." she instructed him. The teen obliged again to her request, and this time slowly responded in his own way. Raven read each movement of his fingers, hands, and wrists. She formed the words and letters of each swiss, flick, or general motion of them. Coherent sentences slowly formed, which she thought in her head.

"Je-Jericho?" Raven finally said after a little while. Jericho shook his head, smiling, and began to sign again, this time much faster. Raven again grew a look of being overwhelmed, and the other quickly backed off, a look of slight horror adorning his face. Again he tried to sign, his face staying as it was, his eyes becoming slightly cloudy, and his shoulders slumping a bit. Raven was able to again read what he was saying, and answered.

"Don't worry about it, just... take it a bit slower, okay?" Jericho nodded, his face becoming a bit more uplifted. Still, Raven had no idea why the honorary Titan was here. Perhaps that would be the next question to ask him.

"So uh... what are you doing here Jericho? Did Robin call you for something?" Raven asked him, albeit somewhat bluntly. Jericho smiled and began to sign again, though as per Raven's advice, he took it slowly, and gave her time to translate it. The empath's eyes opened in surprise as she read what he said.

"Uhhh... sorry to tell you... but I'm not here for a da-" Raven's sentence was interrupted by Jericho, who took back to signing again. It was faster than the last series, and Raven had a hard time keeping up. When he was done, she looked at him strangely. Jericho then moved a hand to the back of his neck and tried to smile. He could already feel a bit of sweat beginning to drop down his forehead again, and his neck itched. Raven then replied, still staring at him.

"You just want to... spend the day with me?" Jericho nodded, his smile becoming a bit more genuine. Raven continued to stare at him, which caused his smile to falter a bit, but not by much.

"Right." she then said, a bit disbelievingly. Jericho moved his hands back up, and began to sign again, feeling his case was beginning to lose ground. Raven read each of his words and sentences, thinking on them. He didn't seem so bad, definitely not as obnoxious as Beastboy or Cyborg. In fact, he seemed... nice. Raven lifted her hard stare up a good deal, which seemed to relieve Jericho.

"Fine... we can talk, I guess." Raven then said, moving back to the table. A hopeful-couple saw her sitting down, and Jericho soon join her. They threw her dirty looks before walking away, their dream for a street-side table dashed. Raven ignored them, and continued to look at Jericho even as he sat down. She crossed her arms and put them back on the table. Now with two people sitting there, a waiter finally noticed the occupancy of the table, and emerged from the Cafe. He walked over to them, a white apron across his black jeans and shirt. Holding a pad with paper on it, and a pen in the opposite hand, he began to speak.

"What can I get for the two of you today?" he said, his voice a bit high.

"Herbal tea." Raven responded, almost mechanically. Jericho responded as before, his hand motions though serving to only confuse the waiter, who didn't seem to understand them at all. Raven answered for him.

"He says he'll have a glass of water." Jericho nodded with a small smile even as the waiter wrote down the orders, and whisked himself back into the building. Raven then turned to Jericho, who sat in his chair looking back at her. The continued silence, or at least absense of signing, and just continued staring unnerved the empath a bit. Though annoyed that he wasn't going to start up a conversation, being that it was he who wanted to spend the day with her; a motive that already seemed a bit suspicious to her, Raven decided regardless to start up something at least, to break the slight tension on her part. Her voice seemed unconcerned, her almost trademark-monotone in it.

"So... come here often?" It was a stupid thing to say, and as soon as she had said it Raven wished she could take it back. Of course he didn't "come here often", he lived on a mountain! Or.. at least that was what Beastboy had told her and the others. But still, a conversation had to start somewhere, she guessed. Jericho shook his head, and slowly wrote out his next message through his hands. Raven nodded a bit in agreement, his answer what she had already known. Still... something about Jericho being here... far away as he was from his mountain, stuck in the back of her head.

"How did you know about this though? I mean... it's not like you get the paper delivered to you or anything..." Jericho silently gulped down the air in his throat, his mouth dropping a bit. He moved his hands back up, and tried to explain the rather... weird situation with the newspapers. Raven's right eyebrow began to move up her forehead even as he spoke in his way.

"... Okay..." she then said, confused. He got newspapers from an invisible man, seemingly. Still, she supposed that really didn't matter. At least he wasn't asking for a full blown date, though she found just wanting to spend the day with her so others wouldn't ask her to be a bit far-fetched. He was kind though in how he acted... so he couldn't be all that bad. Jericho put his hands back down on the table, and waited for her to say something else. His eyes narrowed a bit, even as he tried to look at her, and at the same time avoid eye contact.

The awkward situation continued on, until the waiter finally came back with a tray housing their drinks. He put them both down on the table next to the awaiting consumer, and then walked back off to leave them by themselves. Raven moved her hand down and took her cup by the small handle, picking it up and taking a sip. The tea was hotter than she usually had her own, but it was good enough. Jericho moved his own hand around his glass cup, and slowly moved it up to his mouth to take a sip himself. He then put the cup back down almost immediately, and turned back to Raven. He looked at her through his emerald eyes, trying to think of something to say, to spark up a conversation perhaps. Raven again cocked her eyebrows.

"Well... you wanted to spend the day with me... what do you want to do then?" Jericho almost fell back in his chair, bringing his hands up so quickly from the table that his drink almost spilled. He immediately began to communicate through his fingers, the words translated to Raven as nervous as they were in his head. She slumped a bit in her seat, trying to translate them all completely.

That option however, was quickly taken away from her.

Suddenly, two hands appeared around her from behind. A box of chocolates was held by them, which quickly found a place on the table in front of her, the cup of herbal tea pushed to the center and towards Jericho, who looked at the owner of the arms behind her, his eyebrows arching up, and his head rearing back.

"For you babe." Came a computerized-voice from behind. Raven quickly recognized it. Whirling her upper torso around in her seat, she looked behind at the person offering her the candy.

Red X.

Her own eyes opened in surprise at the appearance of one of her team's foes. She tried to stand up in her seat, pushing Red X back. He let go of the candy, so as to not pull Raven away in an embrace. He gracefully moved back on his feet, the wind catching up his tattered cloak and blowing it along his sides. He placed his hands were behind his back, and stood innocently in front of Raven, who as already reaching for her hood. Jericho had moved one hand off the table, and used the other for support, if he needed to quickly push himself up. His eyes had grown a bit smaller, and he stared them at the new person.

"What are you doing, X?" Raven asked the villain, already focusing her thoughts to use her powers. Red X merely shrugged, and then returned his left hand back in front of him, now containing a bouquet of roses.

"Roses?" he said sweetly, moving them up to Raven. The empath backed away a little, eyeing the flowers with mistrusting eyes. Then suddenly, she brought a hand up to her nose, and began to suck in air.

"Ahhhhhh-Choo!" she sneezed into her hand. Jericho now was on both feet, his chair next to him. His eyes were focused on Red X. He was about to step forward when Raven outstretched her left arm, stopping him from moving any closer to the villain.

"Don't bother." she said, sounding a bit nasally. Red X moved his head a bit to the right, his eye slits opening slightly.

"What's wrong girl, don't like them?"

"I'm allergic to roses." Raven said simply to the villain. She then moved back to her seat, and sat down in it, rubbing at her nose somewhat. She removed her hood, and went back to her tea.

"And besides," she started up again, catching Red X's attention, which he had for a split second focused on the other for a moment, even as Jericho continued to stare at him suspiciously. "You're late; Jericho got here first." Red X turned away from her, and back to the mutant with her. He then walked over to Jericho, and placed a hand on the front of the chair's iron back.

With a swift motion, he toppled the chair over, knocking a shocked Jericho away. He then turned back to Raven, placing a leg on one of the chair's supportive bars and leaning on the leg with his left arm.

"Who, him?" Red X said, thumbing at Jericho on the ground, who attempted to get himself back up. Raven flashed her lit-up eyes dangerously at the villain, who seemed unfazed by the trick.

"Get away from us." she said, uttering almost the same command as she had before to the two earlier punks, only now including someone else with her. Red X flashed another look at Jericho who was almost back up, and then at Raven. Then, with a shake of his head, he moved a gloved hand towards his utility belt.

"Suit yourself." he said to her, before he then pressed a button on the belt. His image became blurry, and in a split-second, he disappeared from view. Jericho had finally picked himself back up from the floor. He took his chair and placed it back correctly so he could sit back down. Raven watched him, feeling sorry for what had just happened, not to mention a bit confused. The heart-shaped box of chocolates in front of her suddenly glowed in negative energy, and crumpled up before being floated off and deposited in a nearby trash can. Jericho looked at her, his eyebrows up and a slight frown on his face. He then began to sign quickly. A short sentence, but understandable in nature.

"That was... one of our enemies." Raven said, finishing the answer off a bit confused herself at what had just happened. Jericho nodded, sharing in the feeling with her. Raven then returned to her drink. This time however, Jericho began to sign to her. She put down her cup, and read what he was trying to say.

"Not really..." she replied to him after he had finished. "He doesn't show up that much, we've only fought him about two times, and the second time didn't really count." Jericho nodded to her answer, thinking about it. He then took his own cup, and took another drink, this time a large one. A bit too large though, he started to choke somewhat. Raven giggled a bit to herself even as he put the cup back down and turned to the side, to gasp for air even as he spit out some of the water. Jericho then turned back to her, his cheeks red, a nervous smile on his lips. She smiled back, relieving some of the embarrassment on his part. The male sitting across from Raven tried to again spark up some conversation, picking his arms back up and moving them about intricately and carefully.

"I perfer vanilla." Raven said in a deadpan voice, before taking another sip from her tea. Jericho nodded, smiling somewhat at her answer even as his hands moved together, the fingertips connecting. Raven raised her eyebrows at the expression on the boy's face.

"Don't get any ideas." she added, putting her cup down. Jericho immediately seperated his hands and put them back up in front of him, signing fast again. Raven sighed, trying to keep up. The male then put down his hands, noticing the look on her face. So soon already, with the day just underhand and he had possibly blown it! He put his head back down, moving his hands half-heartedly, never making an actual word or phrase in the process. Raven watched him even as the teen then tried to actually formulate some words, taking her cup back up to her lips.

"It's okay, forget it." she said simply, the cup's edge leaving her mouth after allowing a small stream of the hot liquid to pour out and down it. Jericho moved his hands back slowly to the table, his head still a bit low. He overlapped his right hand with his left, his fingers moving back and forth across the top of his skin. Raven put her cup back down again, staring at him.

"Why did you really come here?" Raven asked him, her stare at him questioning his very frame. Jericho stopped his nervous hand antics and moved them back up in front of him. He had hoped she would believe him the first time, but by the way she looked at him... she seemed to suspect an ulterior motive on his part. Raven crossed her arms in front of her, keeping them on the table.

"Well?"

Jericho took a few seconds before starting. He had already answered her why he'd come. He just... wanted to spend the day with her, and make sure no one else tried to ask her out. Raven wasn't someone to do that thing, and he didn't want her to have to deal with that, perhaps if only for one day at least. Being the person to make that happened though was just something he'd have to deal with of course... but, maybe it'd be nice, just to save her the hassle of it all, considering the article and the reaction it would probably bring. At least, it seemed so to Jericho.

Picking up his hands again, while thinking every word through, the mutant signed his answer, the movements of his fingers speaking for the absence of his voice. Almost as slowly as his signing, Raven moved back slightly, sitting up a bit more in her chair even as she translated what Jericho was saying, the answer formulating in her head.

Just to... spend the day with her, so that no one tried to ask her out. Yeah, right. Who exactly did he think he was fooling? Just how many people thought that would actually work? Just spend the day with the other person, no date, just spend the day in their company. Talk to them, walk with them, just spend the day...

But... there was something that told her... that there was something different with Jericho. He... didn't seem to actually be after... well, a date. There was something in his words, or motions really, that told Raven he was actually being sincere, as perposturous as it might sound. There was something that she hadn't noticed before, in his eyes. She definitely didn't feel any small amount of attraction to him, after all, she had just met him. He seemed quiet though, not to mention nice. It was a good deal different the usual kinds of teenage males that she dealt with, especially those who couldn't respect other's wishes... But then, there had been others before, who had seemed nice and caring, and only showed their true colors at the end once they had gotten what they had wanted from her. Just seeming nice and kind didn't mean much.

But... still, there just seemed something about him, different from others, even from him, that told her, through his silent green eyes...

That he just wanted to spend the day with her, and nothing more.

"Alright." Raven said to Jericho, who looked up from his hands, his eyes widening. "We can... spend the day together." she added, a bit haphazardly. Jericho waited, wondering if she would add something, or say something to make her agreement seem doubting. Did she really believe him this time, or was his reason, his sole reason for being here, in doubt? Raven then took her cup of tea back to her lips, and drank. It didn't seem like she seemed to doubt his motive...

"Well, aren't we going to talk then?" Raven asked him, putting her cup back down. Jericho twitched, a spark sent through his body. He quickly calmed himself down however, not wanting her to become curious, and ultimately suspicious. He put his hands back up in the air in front of him, and moved them carefully, constructing his response.

"Well, we haven't done much ever since getting back to the city. The Brotherhood is gone for now, and most of the villians went with them. Doctor Light's still around though, but he doesn't do much." Jericho smiled at the response, containing a small soundless chuckle inside of him. Raven went back to her drink even as Jericho began to sign again. The cup in her small hand was a little below half-empty. Jericho's own glass under his arms however, being that he hadn't drank much of it, was just a little over being half-full. His face was a little more serious than before, oddly enough though.

"You could tell." Raven said, her voice back in a monotone even as Jericho nodded, placing his arms back on the table. The thoughts of the article, and the person who so kindly wrote it, summoned an annoyed look on Raven's face. Well, at least he could tell she hadn't written it, thankfully. She then tried to focus on the task at hand, and think of what she would do after getting home for later. She looked back up at Jericho and put on a small smile, her previous expression seeming to draw a look of worry from him. The male teen seemed to take the smile as a good sign, and sat back a bit more easily in his chair.

Raven watched the somewhat-tall Titan. He was an honorary, and had fought alongside Beastboy and the other three until herself and the others had shown up. She couldn't remember though, what was his powers, exactly? Beastboy had mentioned them while going over the battle when they got back to the tower, and had dismissed the honoraries all back to their homelands. SHe hadn't listened that well, a book had had her interest more than Beastboy's over-exaggerated tales of heroism, which they had been a part of, after all. She remembered one part at least, it had something to do with... his hands? No, something on his face... she stared at him for a second, even as Jericho took a drink from his cup.

He definitely didn't have any powers involving a voice since... well... His nose then? No... just no. That left then... his eyes. What kind of powers could his eyes contain, then? Jericho looked up from his drink, noticing Raven had been looking at him. She turned her vision a bit, trying not to seem as if staring, though she could that had already been blown.

"So... did you have any plans then for today?" she then asked him, thinking it better if they actually did something rather than sit here at the cafe all day, and just look at each other uncomfortably . Jericho moved his appendages back up into the space in front of him. He was about to begin, the ideas already going through his head, deciding which ones were safest.

Suddenly, his eyes opened up widely, even as he looked past the girl sitting across from him. He began to move his arms quickly, trying to spell out to her whatever he was seeing behind her. But it was too quick, Raven could barely make out what he was saying to her.

"Slow down, I can't-" Raven's attempt to stop the mute from going so fast stopped even as a whizzing sound caught her ears. Jericho pointed soundlessly behind her, causing Raven to turn her head around to look.

"What the-" Again Raven's words were cut off, this time by the surprise of the object flying at her. A giant gooey x, red in color, latched on to her chair from behind and wrapped its arms around her arms and waist. She then suddenly felt a tug on the substance, and her chair's front legs lifted off from the ground even as she was pulled back, the back legs skirting on the ground. Jericho shot up from his chair, staring at what was happened.

Raven then felt the tugging stop even as the scraping against the ground stopped, and her entire frame felt as if being picked up. She looked back, turning from the mutant and to whoever was doing this.

"See ya' later, loser." Red X said tauntingly, holding Raven and her still tied-up chair in his left arm, his right hand on the handlebar of his bike. Both of his legs were in the correct positions on the ride, only he then quickly slammed his foot on the pedal, the black and crimson-red bike immediately zoomed down the street at an incredible rate at the move, more a blur then a solid object to be seen.

Jericho ran as fast he could to the corner, to try to catch sight of them going down the street. They were gone, no sight of them on the street. Gone, disappeared at an unbelievable rate. Gone! Not only the villain, but... her as well. A knot formed in Jericho's stomach, he was already beginning to feel ill. A villain making off with her. Why couldn't he have tried to warn her more quickly, seen the attack sooner. And now that he hadn't, she was... gone.

The buzz of an approaching vehicle soon caught the mute's ears, somewhat distracting his thoughts of guilt. He looked up to see another motorcyclist coming up from down the street, in the same direction the villain had driven down. The vehicle was a bit blocky, more like an old motor scooter than an actual bike, with white plastics over the fragile motor and gasoline tanks. The person himself had on a brown jacket, and a white helmet over his head, which was attached to thick goggles strapped across his eyes. But despite the heavy plastic, they were still quite visible.

Maybe there was still a chance then...

Jericho looked out at the person on the motorcycle, who was coming near him very quickly. He'd only have a few seconds to get this right, and if he failed, then his plan would fail also. The wind was beginning to pick up, papers were ruffling in it, floating towards the oncoming bike before being pushed away by the velocity of the machine. A few dozen yards stood between the two, and with every closing one, Jericho knew the villian was gaining another ten between them. Less than half that now, the rider was picking up speed.

Jericho immediately jumped out into the street, and faced the direction in which the biker was coming from. The rider veered his head back even as he saw the teen jump out in front of him, as if wanting to be hit. He screamed a few obscenities at the other, which seemed to have no effect on making him move. Jericho in return calmly stood where he was, directly facing the oncoming person. He had to do it, he had to make-

CONTACT!

The figure of the mutant suddenly became transparent, and he jumped off from the ground and straight towards the bike rider. The person had no idea what was going, barely even being able to see what was happening. Then suddenly, Jericho's corporeal form landed into the man, and disappeared beneath him. The rider then gave a sudden jerk, his motor skills no longer under his control.

"What the-" the person said confusedly even as his foot on seemingly its own accord pressed down even harder than he had been on the pedal. The bike in turn began to pick up speed. His hands swiveled the bar, swerving inbetween cars even as the bike went faster and faster, according to the pressure on the pedal. The man began to utter inconsistent words and phrases, terrified by what was going on. Several cars began to honk at the smaller vehicle, several near-crashes taking place.

Then in the distance, the two looked up from the road and saw another bike, one much more sleeker and darker in color, ahead of them. Even more pressure was put on the pedal, so much that the biker was afraid that the pedal would break off. Regardless, he pressed down on it. The buildings and pedestrians and vehicles all zipped by them, mere blurs even as they flew past them. The other bike was getting closer, and the two could even make out the rider and unwilling occupant of said vehicle. The two kept the speed to the high level it already was at, closing the gap even as they drove between rows of cars, dodging ones that swerved into their way.

Red X suddenly looked back even as the two approached him on his own motorcycle, his eyes widening a bit in surprise. He then pressed down on his own pedal, picking up more speed himself to separate the two of them. He zoomed by even as an elderly couple tried to pull their car out of a side-parking space, the motorcycle nearly clipping its side. The other two weren't so lucky, having to drive around the side and losing precious seconds between the two, giving Red X space.

His ride's other occupant however, seemed none too pleased. Red X looked down at Raven even as she began to speak.

"Azarath, Metrion-" Red X let go of the bar for a short second, his motorcycle staying on course, and reached behind. He then quickly pulled out a rose and shoved it into the empath's face.

"Rose?" he asked again in a calm voice. Raven's spell was interrupted even as she sucked in air, and sneezed again, her last word stopped from being uttered. Red X then ignored the begun-anew sniffling and sneezing, and focused back on the road, putting his right hand back on the bar and keeping his left around the Titan. The other bikers again were catching up, the two racing parties now leaving the city limits and onto a seaside road, with long stretching cliff sides that were placed high above the waters below. Red X turned back and looked at them one last time. The person chasing him certainly didn't look like the person Raven had been with at the Cafe. Probably was just another loser after her heart, or something like that. He smirked underneath his skull-shaped mask, and flipped a switch on the steering bar. He then let his foot off the pedal, all the acceleration and speed he had gained in the last few moments driving through the city ebbing away. The other motorcyclist flew past him, looking back in surprise.

Red X chuckled to himself, and let his right hand drop off from the bar. The X on his hand then glowed red, and the substance that Raven was coated in began to grow out of it. It materialized until it was quite large, and shaped in a lower-case t, with the longest segment pointing away from him and hardened. He slammed his left foot back on the pedal, catching up to the other bikers quickly.

The two dodged the attack even as Red X swiped at them from his bike with the newfound blade, keeping it at their pace. The other rider was terrified, screaming incoherently.

"MAN I'M NOT EVEN DRIVING THIS SOMEONE ELSE IS! DON'T HURT ME!" Red X slashed horizontally at the rider, who ducked just in time. He then picked his right foot off from the side of his bike and kicked at the other. The two swerved away and closer to the rail guarding, which separated them from the very edge of the cliff. Red X moved in closer, trying to jab his weapon at them. The terrified rider however, picked up his own left foot and kicked the arm away, shattering the X blade with the hit. The attack caused a sharp pain in Red X's hand, the break of the hardened substance from his glove ripping at his sweating skin underneath. The villian veered away a bit, letting his appendage rest for a few seconds even as the other rider stared in disbelief at his seemingly own reflexes, and strength. The bar itself to the black and crimson-red bike was seemingly moving on it's own accord, with no hands guiding it.

"DUDE HOW ARE YOU DRIVING THAT!" The biker screamed at the Titan's foe. Red X moved back in towards the other driver, throwing a punch at the other riders, who dodged again.

"Auto-pilot." he said simply, even as he then picked his leg up again, to kick. But not at the riders themselves this time.

His foot slammed into the side of the engine of the bike, jiggling it a bit and pushing the bike itself more into the railing. The rider looked at him as if he were crazy.

"HEY IT'S A CLIFF ON THE OTHER SIDE!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, looking to the other side quickly, just to see how very far a drop it was to the bay. Red X picked up his leg again, and kicked, aiming for the metal bar connecting the front wheel to the main body of the vehicle.

"I know that." Red X said, attempting to push the bike to a slanted angle. This time however, the other rider picked his own foot up again, and slammed it into Red X's oncoming leg. The villain grunted in pain before pulling his appendage back. Raven tried to look up from her allergies-inducing situation, and finally looking at the rider on the other bike. He definitely wasn't Jericho, everything other than the sex being completely different in look. His face was that of a terrified person, his voice screaming in great fear. Raven almost sank a bit lower in her "seat", seeing who it was, and allowing another sneeze to come on even as the pollen from the rose got into her small nostrils.

But then, the rider did something strange even as he noticed her looking at him. Taking his left hand off the handle bar for only a few seconds, he quickly moved his index finger and thumb to form... a letter.

The letter J.

Raven's eyes opened a bit, even as she began to formulate a thought on what this meant even as the other rider returned his hand back to the bar and tried to parry another kick from Red X. J for... Jericho? But the person riding, that definitely wasn't the person who she had seen at the cafe. Something though on his face caught her eyes. She tried to focus, inbetween an oncoming feeling of a headache. Her pollen reaction was getting worse by the moment.

His eyes, even through the helmet's visor she could still make out their color. The pupils were the color... green, almost unnaturally. But how...

Red X pulled his leg back to his bike and slammed it into the side of the other bike, smashing it into the railing even more. He then swerved back away, and picked his foot back up again, swiftly driving it into the side of the bike. The other riders frantically tried to keep their bike steady, even as it began to lean in a slanted way. The thief took advantage of the situation, and delivered another kick at the opposing vehicle, this time into it's underside. The last blow had been enough to push the bike off the road a few millimeters, even as the metal of the bike and the metal of the railing began to scrape against each other.

"NO!" the other biker screamed even as his vehicle began to go over the railing, unable to right itself back up onto the road. Red X then moved away, letting him see from a distance the fruits of his short labor and the pull of gravity as he continued to drive on.

"Sea yah', kid." Red X taunted even as he then moved his right hand back to the bar, and flipped the switch off, taking back control of his bike. Raven watched in horror, all the while sneezing and sputtering, as the other bike and two riders fell over the side of the railing, and disappeared from view. Red X however sped off as fast as he could, driving away from the scene and towards wherever the villain was headed. she probably wouldn't have screamed even if she could've, the act just committed taking away her ability to speak. That, and the fact that the person who had just gone over, was...

Had that really been him, or was she just thinking too much into it? Whatever the sign or color of eyes had meant, it didn't matter now anyway, grimly enough...

Red X then spoke to her, in a completely uncaring voice for what had just happened, as if it had not even been his foot that had knocked the two over.

"Don't worry babe, that guy back at the cafe was nothing compared to me. Just you wait, today'll be special."

Raven sneezed again, trying to block out his words. Her eyes were becoming itchy, and every breath harder and harder to take in, her throat constricting a bit more with every passing second from the pollen. Red X looked over at her as he continued to drive and noticed her allergies beginning to worsen. He reached over and took the rose from her, tossing it onto the side of the road.

Yeah. Special.

Raven hated Valentines Day.

End of Chapter II