Sorry the last chapter was so short- it was a prolouge after all. This one is a bit longer. Hope you enjoy the first chapter!
I am pressed next to Cyborg, squeezed in a crouched position behind the sofa, waiting. Above me are colorful banners hung ceiling to ceiling, donning obnoxious lettering. Robin and Starfire are across the room, conversing quietly, also tucked away behind the kitchen counter. I can hear her asking him questions in that excited tone of hers and Robin answering quietly, his voice hushed. The eagerness is palpable. And then, the door opens with a gentle swish and activity bursts forth.
"Happy Birthday, Raven!" We chorus, popping out as confetti starts bursting from the cannons around the room. Her eyes widen and she freezes, taking in the brightness of the occasion. Starfire bobs forward, dipping her head to kiss Raven's cheek.
"Happy Day of Birth, dear friend!" She exclaims, clasping her hands. "Oh, what a joyous occasion!" At this Raven begins to reboot, slowly shaking her head in a musing fashion.
"Thanks." She murmurs, eyes scanning the room.
"It's the least we can do." Robin says, stepping forward to put a hand on her shoulder. "Happy Birthday." Raven smiles gently as Cyborg pops up next to her, holding a three-tier cake.
"Yeah, yeah, Happy Birthday, now let's go eat some cake!" He exclaims, shoving the dessert in her face. Starfire flies forward, snatching the cake out of his hands.
"Wait, friend-Cyborg. We must first commence with the opening of presents!" She says in a scolding tone, placing the cake on the near-by counter. Cyborg's jaw drops, but he quickly closes it when he sees the glare that Robin gives him. Stepping forward, I meet Raven's eyes and my mouth opens, about to tell a joke, when Starfire zooms in and grabs Raven by the arm. Dragging her across the room, she plonks Raven down on the sofa and drops a load of presents onto her lap, leaving me staring after them. I shake my head, quickly following Robin and Cyborg to the living area, where I take a seat on the couch next to her.
"Open mine first!" Star demands, plucking a delicate looking present out of the bundle. Raven takes the box, scanning the light pink packaging before gently removing the wrapping paper. Inside is a box of new herbal tea, and some black nail polish. I internally groan. That's genius. Raven smiles at Star, actually smiles, as she examines the present.
"This is great. Thanks, Star." She comments, placing the present on her lap to move onto the next. She selects a parcel wrapped chrome-colored paper, which turns out to be from Cyborg. As she removes the wrapping paper, I feel my stomach churn. Watch his present blow the rest of ours away. Raven reaches inside the box, pulling out a pair of small yet high-tech headphones.
"For meditating," He explains, pointing to a button. "This baby can block out all the sound when you press this button." Raven murmurs in approval, thanking him too as she places the headphones back into their packaging. Robin ends up giving Raven a framed photograph with a picture of the entire Titan crew, which she clutches close to her chest for a few seconds before putting it down. And finally, it is my turn. Why didn't I get her a normal present?
"Happy Birthday, Rae."I say lamely as I hand her the box. There is a confused look on her face as she examines the box. It is small, with purple and green packaging, which I figured was perfect for her. After a few seconds she proceeds to work away the wrapping paper, setting it beside her, and open the white box inside. I can feel my heart jump in my chest as she takes in a small breath of air, eyes on the present inside.
It is a ring with a silver band and a grey gem in the shape of a Raven. I can only hope I got the size right. Starfire leans over her shoulder, gasping as she sees it.
"What a beautiful ring!" She says in a hushed tone, her eyes wide. Raven nods, her eyes still fixated on the ring. I feel Cyborgs eyes on me, his tone mocking and I grimace.
"It's a mood ring." I say, scooting closer to her. "See how the gem is sort of colorless? When you slip it on your finger it'll tell you your emotion, which I figured was useful because you wouldn't have to tell people when to leave you alone and it'll also replace..." My voice trails off as she turns to look at me. "Well, you know." There is a long pause where she just looks at me, gently turning the ring over in her hands.
"Thank you." She says, giving me a small smile. I immediately grin back, but she turns away and begins to round up her presents.
"Um, thank you so much," Raven says, rising with the presents in her hands. A slight blush graces her cheeks. "For all the gifts. And for being my family." She adds. I can feel my smile grow. There is another pause, before Raven quickly flees from the room and the door shuts behind her. We stare at it, our minds other places before Cyborg breaks the silence.
"She's never been one for parties." He comments, chuckling. "Oh well, more cake for me!" I roll my eyes as he dives in the cake, getting chocolate all over his mouth.
"Is she okay?" I ask Robin, watching as Starfire helps herself to a slice. He nods, smiling slightly.
"I'm sure she's just a little flustered." He replies.
"I guess that makes sense." I say, rising from the sofa. "Cyborg, if you eat all the cake I'm going to kill you!" His head pops up, a devilish smile on his face.
"Before I say my comeback, which is awesome by the way, can I just ask you why you got Raven a ring?" He asks, eyebrows wiggling. "You got something to tell us?" My face grows hot as Robin and Starfire giggle.
"When you put it that way..." Robin says, coming up behind me and patting me on the shoulder. "It does sound like you proposed to her or something."
"Are you and Raven in a romantic relationship?" Star squeals, her eyes wide.
"What?" I say, shaking my head frantically. "No! I just got her a ring cause..." I fumble over my words. "I don't know, I thought it would be appropriate seeing as I broke her mirror and I mean you don't have mood necklaces or mood head-bands or whatever so it just seemed logical to go with that, right?" They just continue to stare at me with their smug looks.
"Hmm," Cyborg hums suggestively. "Beast Boy and Raven sittin in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" I lurch forward, pressing my hand over his mouth as Robin and Starfire burst out into obnoxious laughter.
"She's not deaf you know!" I hiss, my face becoming even redder than before. Cyborg laughs against my hand, his head tipping back.
"Calm down, Beast Boy." Robin says, wiping away tears from his eyes. "It was just a joke." I glare at him, but remove my hand from Cyborg's mouth.
"That does not mean that friends Beast Boy and Raven would not be cute together though, correct?" Star nudges him, her eyes scanning my frame. Cyborg and Robin burst out into hysterical laughter again, and my mouth drops open slightly.
"That's it, I'm done!" I say, rushing over to the door. Star waves her hands frantically, calling for me to come back, but it is Cyborg's bragging over getting the cake to himself that brings me reluctantly back to my friends.
Little did I know that Raven was standing on the other side of that door, her ear pressed against the door and cheeks pink.