Casting Shame, Crying Rain

by ChristinaRoss

Sequel to BLOS: It's been two months since the 'incident' and Raven won't let it go. She desperately tries to find answers. But are there any? And if so, can she find them? A Raven Story. Rated for violence, maybe sex, maybe yuri!

2. Moving Out But Not On

Casting Shame, Crying Rain
Author: ChristinaRoss

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans or any of its characters. Nor do I own the song '30 minutes' by t.A.T.u or their lyrics or them. Wish I owned all of these things though.

Author's Notes: Okies! Well, well, well, look who is back from the dead, eh? Me! (cough, cough) Yes I am very terribly sorry for my behaviour… or lack there of… for the past year. It was terrible of me not to update and trust me, I feel awful about the whole ordeal. A lot happens in a year! Honestly! I have been to heaven, then down to hell and now I'm finally back on good ol' Earth again. I shan't bore you with all the gory details, instead I shall inform you of my new installment! Okay, so it's still part of the sequel to my first story, Broken Lines Of Silver, so if you haven't read that yet, I highly suggest you do because you will most likely be/get lost. Things are the same as I always do: italics for thoughts and bold for flashbacks, unless stated otherwise. This chapter contains some mild yuri, so if it's not your thing, just… avoid or whatever. There is some angst-y kind of stuff so… if that bothers you… read above. And this also has some swearing so please protect your poor virgin eyes and ears if you visualize/hear it all as I do when reading something. Enough said so… Read, Review, Enjoy!

Chapter 2:
Moving Out But Not On

Raven launched herself into the air, soaring high above the ground as her eyes darted around scanning for the brown haired speck as it weaved through the crowd of people. She spotted the mysterious girl moving quickly against the flow and followed her closely. Where are you going? Why are you running?

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Robin strutted down the large hallway and entered the main room proudly as the doors swooshed open for him. After his short shower, the Boy Wonder had contemplated a plan; if Slade wasn't going to come to them, then they would go to him. He had scrounged up an oldhot tip of a possible location of the villain's lair and he was on his way to inform the team of the actions they needed to take.

As he stepped into the room, he frowned, only spying Starfire who was sitting by herself hunched over the kitchen table. He walked up to her, coughing quietly to make his presence known before he spoke.

"Hey, Star. How's it going?" he asked casually, trying to build up to the more serious matter he had on his mind.

The redheaded alien quickly covered the white piece of paper she had been working so furiously on and blushed slightly as she stared back at the spiky-haired boy. "Oh, hello Robin. It is going well, thank you. How is the 'it' going for you?" she responded, her speech somewhat choppy and robotic as she still didn't fully grasp the English language and how it's used.

Robin grinned at how child-like and innocent Starfire seemed to be. He leaned over the girl's shoulder, trying to see what she had been drawing, but she covered it further, her muscles stiffening from his closeness. He eyed half of a pink heart popping out from behind one of the tanned hands overlapping the coloured wax.

"What's that you're drawing, Star?" he asked, trying to act polite but uncaring, when really he was dying of curiosity to know.

Starfire's face burned a hot red and she scrunched up the paper quickly into a tight ball, clenching it within her closed fist. "Uh… nothing, friend Robin. It is not important. It was merely a picture I had been drawing. It wasnot very good though." Starfire rose from her seat and faced the young man, shaking, slightly anxious.

"Oh. Well, can I see it?" Robin held out a hand, threatening to steal the picture away from her, and smiled warmly.

"No!" she screamed, dashing out of the room and down the hallway to her chamber before he could reason with her.

The Titans' leader stood dumbstruck, placing a hand behind his head to brush down his hair shyly. What was that all about?

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The girl swerved through the sea of bodies, quickening her movements as she briskly walked. Alleyways were not her favourite locations in the world, but now she would give anything to be able to duck into the cover of a shadowed lane and hide herself from everything. She needed relief from the holes being stared into the back of her head before she'd snap and breakdown into a fit of tears. With each step taking her further away from the symbol of hope and peace, her heart sank deeper. She longed to return to that place, to the one person in the entire universe who made her feel safe and happy, but she knew she could never go back. Not now. Not ever.

The brunette finally came upon a passageway and she swiftly glanced behind her once again, trying to make the action seem subtle, casual, in hopes of spying her pursuer. The flying sorceress was nowhere in sight. She sighed; half in relief that she was able to elude the follower and half in sadness for the same reason.

She leaned up against the brick wall, glancing around to ensure she was alone. Once satisfied she was, the weary girl allowed her legs to collapse beneath her and she sat on the ground, resting and thinking deeply.

"I guess this means it's time for me to leave," she eventually said, drearily.

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Cyborg grabbed the changeling boy around the neck and pulled him close under his arm, giving him a vicious rub on his green-haired head with his hard metal knuckles.

"Hey, cut that out!" Beast Boy yelped as he tried to push himself out and away from the metal man's grasp. "Come on, let me go. Dude! This is so not cool!"

Cyborg chuckled at his friend's discomfort and pitiful attempts at freedom. "No way, man. I'll be gone for a couple of days so I want to be sure you'll be feeling this until I get back."

Beast Boy scowled at the taller man and cleverly changed unto a sleek snake, slipping out of the half-robot's arms easily. Once he reached a distance he felt was far enough away to be safe, Beast Boy morphed back into his boyish form. "Hah!" he shouted, grinning and pointing at the baffled Cyborg. "Got away." The childish hero stuck out his tongue mockingly and danced around lightly on his feet, causing Cyborg's tolerance level to fall, and he lunged to recapture the creature. Just before the two boys were about to become entangled with one another again in a playful fight, their leader stepped into the room, interrupting them.

"Enough, you two," Robin commanded in a stern, serious voice. The two other boys stood still, both of them rolling their eyes at the Boy Wonder. Robin frowned, displeased and went on. "We have some serious business on our hands right now that we have to get to right away."

"Except for me. I'm off to Titans East," interrupted Cyborg, boasting proudly as he stood tall, smirking.

Robin stared at his teammate and said flatly, "Your trip is going to have to be postponed until after this matter is taken care of."

"What?" the robotic hybrid yelled. "No way, man. That's not fair. What's so important that you can't handle without me?"

"Slade. We're going after him. I need everyone with me on this."

Cyborg opened his mouth again to protest and Robin waved a hand up to silence him. "I'll gather up the girls to join us," he informed as he left the room just as quickly as he had entered it.

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"Come on, man. It's just in here. It's perfect, I tell ya." The teenaged boy climbed over the fallen debris, juggling the six-pack of beer in his hand, while using the other one to motion for his comrade to follow.

His friend followed slowly behind, having some difficulty clambering over the obstacles. He shouted back nervously, "I don't know. Seems kinda creepy in here, don'tcha think?" He ran a hand through the tuff of brown hair he had, trying to pry his bangs off of his damp forehead.

The leader turned back and smirked. "You're not afraid, are you? It's just an old abandoned warehouse. We're only going in here to down a few beers, okay? So we don't get caught. Then I promise we'll head over to Lucy's party. You wanna go to Lucy's party, don't you?"

The young man nodded uneasily and caught up to the other, just as they finally reached the core of the building. "Wow," he said in awe as his mouth opened in amazement at the sheer size of it all.

Johnny handed him a beer and lifted his own up, smiling. "Cool, huh? Come on, let's go sit down over there." He motioned to a shaded area off in the distance and they walked off together.

Something caught Roger's eye, something lying on the ground. At first he thought it was another chip of the building that had fallen, there seemed to be pieces of the place everywhere, but as they came closer he squinted harder and started to doubt that. "Hey, John. What's that over there?" he asked, elbowing his friend in the ribs to get his attention as he pointed to the dark lump.

"I don't know," replied Johnny, dryly, he really wasn't interested but he decided to amuse his friend. "Maybe it's a dead body." He laughed aloud and then dashed off in the direction of their mystery. "I'm going to find out before you!"

Roger took after him; his pace was slower no matter how hard he tried, unable to catch up due to Johnny's athletic abilities. As he finally approached, the blond-haired kid stood frozen over it and Roger laughed unsurely. "What's the matter, Johnny? You look like it really IS a dead body." He slapped his friend on the back and turned to look at his face. It was as pale as snow. "Holy shit, John. What's wrong?"

Johnny stared at the pile; his eyes wide in shock and Roger followed his gaze downwards. He still couldn't quite tell what it was really, so he bent down to get a closer look. He slowly reached out a hand to touch it and the thing rolled over. It was a girl. Her brown hair covered half of her face but her eyes were closed and her shirt was stained red from blood.

"Oh fuck, John. Oh fuck. What the hell do we do?" Roger said, beginning to panic. He looked her over again carefully, nervously and moved his hands to the bottom of her shirt, lifting it up slightly. A big gash was found on her stomach, the source of all that blood, and Roger started to weep. "What the fuck do we do?" He looked up at his friend for guidance, but Johnny still stood petrified to his spot. He reached up and grabbed his hand, shaking and trying to pull him down. "Snap out of it, John!" he ordered. Shit, what am I going to do? Wait, maybe she's still alive. He stretched out two fingers and placed them carefully on her neck, checking for a pulse as he bent his head down, his ear hovering above her lips. His heart jumped for joy a little and he turned back to Johnny. "She's still alive, John. I feel a faint pulse and her breathing is shallow, but she's alive!" He stood back up beside him and forced their gazes to meet. "Come on, we have to get her out of here. Send for help or get her to a hospital or something! We gotta save her, man."

Johnny finally snapped out of it. "No way, man. We have to get out of here."

Roger gave him a puzzled look. "What do you mean 'get out of here'? We have to help her." He pointed back down at the dying girl.

"We come out of here carrying her and we'll be blamed for it. We will. And then they'll ask why we were here and find out we were drinking. Then they'll tell our parents. You want your parents to know? Mine will send me to military school if they found out about this! I say we run away and act like nothing happened. Come on, Rog, think about it."

"I can't believe you're saying this. Look at her! She's going to die if we don't help her and all you're thinking about is yourself! Well, get out of here then. I'll do it myself." Roger pushed Johnny away angrily, tears streaming down his cheeks as he kneeled down beside the young woman again. He moved his lips close to her ear and whispered soothingly, "It's going to be okay. I'm here to help. You're going to make it."

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"Where's Raven?" the spiky-haired leader questioned in an impatient tone to the remaining three members of his team, his voice pleading for an answer from anyone, and fast.

After several failing attempts at convincing Starfire to come out of hiding and leave her room, Robin had gathered the young heroes in the main room and was now pacing feverously about in a circle, his hands held together behind his back. The Titans looked at each other nervously, knowing Robin was not in the best of moods and therefore not wanting to anger him further by giving him the response he wouldn't want to hear.

Finally, Cyborg cleared his throat and stepped forward, taking on the responsibility of being snapped at. "She went out," he stated, staring down at the Boy Wonder.

"Out? Out where?" Robin further pushed, his voice full of edge.

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Raven eyed over the mass of people below her, searching through the crowd for a lost brown bundle, which was previously weaving through in an unformed path. She spotted her target, the petite brunette girl and watched her closely, following her every move. Suddenly, as the dark sorceress floated above the ground, a familiar ring echoed through her ears. She reached down to grab hold of the source of the distraction, her Titan issued communicator, keeping her eyes fixed on the back of the quick moving girl's head. Her pale hand only grasped the bare air and her muscles tensed.

"What the?" she cursed quietly out loud as the ringing continued to blare annoyingly and she struggled to maintain the vision she needed.

Losing her nerve, Raven chanced a glance downwards to her waist, spotting the bright yellow and black device holstered a little to the right then its usual location. She clutched it quickly, bringing it up to her lips as she looked out about the people again to find the running girl.

"Yes?" she said bitterly, her heart pounding faster, her desire vanished from her. Damn it!

A crackle and hiss came from the other end before a nasally Robin's voice managed to make its way through the static. "Raven? Where are you?" he asked, angrily.

Raven frantically began to fly faster, darting her eyes around and scanning for the pedestrian. After a moments pause, she answered the Boy Wonder, spitting out her words, "Look, Robin, I'm busy right now. Call back later."

"No," her leader exclaimed forcibly, "I need you here now."

The heroine held the device close to her mouth, her breath steaming onto it, her finger holding down the button to talk. She was about to protest until she realized it was futile, the girl was gone and Robin was stubborn. She had to go back now but she didn't have to like it. "Fine, I'm on my way."

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Even with her whole body shaking so completely, the frail girl had finally managed the task of climbing up the stairs and reaching her floor of the apartment building. Her right hand clutched her chest, over her heart, hoping to ease the pain and sorrow. It was as if she was trying to hold her breaking heart together, even though she knew it was pointless, as her heart was already shattered into a million pieces beyond repair.

The brunette flopped her hand down on the doorknob, inserting her key and turning it slowly. A click radiated from the lock and she twisted the knob with her slender fingers. She had lost quite a fair bit of weight over the past couple of months and she seemed more petite than she was before, which she was pretty skinny to begin with. Her face always glowed a ghastly white and she constantly looked and acted tired and worn. People would gawk at her with open mouths before finally asking if she was all right or how she was feeling. She slumped into the two-bedroom apartment, tossing her keys off to the side, uncaring of where they would end up.

"Angela?" she cried out as best she could, her voice so soft and quivering that even if her roommate was home, she wouldn't have heard her name being called out. She knew she wouldn't receive an answer back, remembering that Angela had work that afternoon, so she whisked into the small bathroom, closing and locking the door behind her. She fell to the ground and tears started to flow down her smooth, pale cheeks. Hugging her knees tightly, the weeping girl buried her face in her hands and tried to gain back her self-control. Ever since she left the hospital, she figured the best way to handle the pain would be to bury her emotions down, keeping them bottled up deep within her heart and mind. She did not want another episode to happen like it had at the hospital.

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"No! No! I didn't mean to! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! Please… I love you!" The young woman's voice rang through the hospital's white hallways as she tossed and turned in her restless sleep.

An elderly nurse came scurrying round a corner, passing all the doors until she came to the first one open where the wailing was radiating from. The frazzled worker scampered up the bed's side, it's occupant damp from a cold sweat. Bending over, her face rather close to the girl's, she spoke soothingly, "Miss? Miss? Please wake up." She shook the bony shoulder gently and the patient woke up with a shock.

Sitting straight up, the brunette struggled to catch her breath and slow her racing heart down. She held her pounding head in her moist palm and looked around quickly, almost forgetting where she was exactly and why. She reached down slowly to feel her stomach, tracing the marks lightly to ensure herself that that much had not been a dream. That part had made her heart weep more than any nightmare could have, to find it had not been a dream but also to find out if it really was. Her mind pulled in so many ways since she arrived that she constantly had a splitting migraine.

The kind nurse placed a hand on her shoulder, understanding what the girl must had been thinking about and wanting to somehow ease what inner pain she was feeling. Lost in her own world for a moment, the girl nearly jumped from the warm touch.

"Sorry, miss, to frighten you. You were dreaming and…" the old woman's voice faded. All the workers in the hospital were severely worried about the Jane Doe that had showed up in their emergency one night, brought in by a young, brave lad. It seemed the wounded girl had no identification of any kind and her past life a terrifying secret. Every time she would close her eyes to rest for a second, she would cry out in sadness, nightmares constantly plaguing her mind. The police had come to talk to her multiple times, trying to find her family and any information that would lead them to her attacker. But each time they came, she would recite the same lines, claiming she didn't remember anything. The doctors and nurses knew better though, they knew she remembered no matter how hard she tried not to. She did.

The brunette turned to face her comforter; her face was creased and withered. "I was yelling in my sleep again, wasn't I?" she asked shyly. Her face burned red with embarrassment even though she knew she talked in her sleep, always had although it had gotten her into some rather interesting situations before. That thought made her heart sink further and she stared down at her covered feet.

The nurse kindly patted her on the back and asked her if there was anything she would like. After receiving a negative response as the girl shook her head, the woman dressed in white stood up and left. The brunette was alone in the dark again.

She felt so lost, so incomplete, as if someone had ripped part of her very soul out of her in a most painful way. A lost love and the burden of guilt weighed heavy upon her constantly, unable to shake the cold, dying feeling within her. I want to die. I should have died in that building. The distraught teenager stared down at the palms of her hands with her water filled eyes. She grunted in disgust. I deserve to die for the sins I've done.

Dark thoughts filled her mind, clouding her judgment and all else. All she knew was pain, guilt, loneliness, and sadness. She wanted it to all end no matter what it would take. Moving quickly, she ripped the tubing leading from the hanging sack of clear liquid to a needle stuck in a vein on the top of her right hand right off of her, oblivious to the pain. Her hands progressed on their own accord, tying one end of the slim tube to the guardrail on one side of the hospital bed and wrapping the other end around her neck tightly. Once everything was secure, she slumped off the edge of the bed and sat on the ground, causing the material to pull until taut. Her throat was collapsing and her airflow began to slow to a stop, unable to surpass no matter how hard she tried to inhale. This… This is… the end. Her mind was starting to grow as fuzzy and blurry as her vision now was. Everything turned pitch black.

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She had arrived just in time. Another close call for my monstrous life. Sitting in a bathtub filled with cold water, her body numb to the feeling, the young woman recalled the past events during her hospital stay. She remembered being awoken from her deep slumber so suddenly, coughing violently with her lungs stinging in sharp pain. The nurse had found her before it was too late, reviving her immediately from her chosen unconscious state. Since that moment, she had been watched over strictly and forced into counseling. She refused to tell her therapist anything of great value and despised her watchers, feeling imprisoned. The police's interest returned upon her once more, curious as to why she would attempt suicide right after being saved from such an ultimate fate as death not too long ago. They dug deeper into her past and finally managed to unmask part of her identity.

Jenny Craine. She twisted the name through her mind and grimaced at the sound of it. She still wasn't used to it even though it was her birth name. Until that point in the infirmary, it had been ten years since she had heard that name. In truth, she had forgotten long ago after its use died along with her innocence… and her parents.

After a while, Jenny succeeded in convincing the police, the therapist and all the hospital workers that she wasn't going to be a threat to herself or others anymore. She was released and given a home through connections of the nurses' as they took pity on her for having no place to go.

So there she was now, floating in a pool of cold water and salty tears, given up on everything now that she didn't even bother to cut herself anymore, though the scars still flashed on her scrawny thighs. "I'm such a mess," she wailed out in between sobs. She slapped the water hard with a clenched fist. I have to pack what little I have. I have to get out of here. Leave forever.

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Raven casually walked into the busy room, it filled with her teammates who all looked a little frazzled; even the always-cheery Starfire looked a little distraught. They were all standing in a circle, listening to Beast Boy as he attempted to make them laugh with a supposed funny story and ultimately stalling the gang until Raven arrived.

The dark sorceress made her way up to them, her face shadowed by her hood, and she stared blankly at all of them. "So, what's the situation?" she said coolly, in her infamous monotone voice.

Robin turned quickly on a hot heel, his face burning equally. "First, where were you and what were you doing?" I'm the leader. I demand respect and obedience when I order something.

Raven lowered her hood casually, the movement slow and with ease. Her face,now revealed, didn't answer any of Robin's questions; her expression was unreadable. After a mini staring contest between the two stubborn teens, Raven finally answered. "Buying tea," she responded and held up the small box in one hand as proof of her statement. The Boy Wonder cocked an eyebrow at her, as if he was still trying to figure out if she was telling the truth or not. He finally set the issue aside, ignoring it all together. He wasn't about to let some girl get the better of him, he would find out eventually what else had caused the heroine to arrive late.

The remainder of the meeting, Raven remained silent, not wanting to draw attention to her, lost in her own thoughts as the traffic-light-dressed boy continued to ramble on about locations and Slade in general. It wasn't long before his boyish voice was just background noise, like a passing car or static from a television set would be. Who was that girl? I feel like I should know her… but from where? And why did she run? She must be hiding something. I'll find her… and when I do, I'll find my answers.

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Tired, Angela slipped her key into the lock and turned it; unaware that her broken-hearted roommate had left the door unlocked when she arrived home. She paraded into her home and grabbed an apple absent-mindedly as she passed the open kitchen area. She loved her quaint apartment, with its grand windows over looking the busy streets. The young woman had always hoped that Jenny hadliked it there too. She barely knew the saddened girl, only living with her for about two months now. She had met her through a friend who worked at the city hospital while she was looking for a potential roommate. The girl seemed nice enough, though awfully quiet, not matching her own bubbly personality much but perhaps a good balance for each other. She had heard all about what little anyone knew about the girl. Jenny had no family and it seemed no friends, disappeared for several years and then finally showed up again practically dead with no explanation as to why or how. In a way, that was probably the main reason Angela had allowed the stranger to live with her, taking pity on the lost soul.

Angela patted her black hair down, trying to flatten it, as she looked out the window. She had never liked her natural waves and curls. That was something she gawked at of Jenny's; her hair. Jenny had cute, medium length brown hair that was flat, perfectly flat; in fact Jenny couldn't even curl it if she wanted to. As she pondered about locks and tresses, Angela spied the Titan Tower off in the distance by the calm water. That was another good reason as to why she loved this location so much. Not only was the building near downtown so they could walk and go shopping, no need for a car at all, but she liked looking at the giant 'T'-shaped building, fascinated by it. Jenny must find it fascinating too. I always catch her staring out the window, like in a trance, at the Titan's direction. I wonder what she thinks about when she's looking there. Maybe she has some hope that they could be the ones to catch the person who hurt her so badly. I had never seen someone in so much pain and yet she suffers through it in silence… all alone. I wish she would open up to me and let me help her out.

Still speculating, Angela briskly walked over to her roommate's room, the door slightly ajar. I wonder what exactly she has in her room. Maybe something could help me to help her out. Jenny was a very private person, barely even talking besides the loud cries she would exhale in her sleep. She never let her new companion into her room; the place was off limits to anyone and everyone. Angela always respected this request, even though she was constantly tinged with an unyielding curiosity. Though this time the girl could not resist, walking towards the forbidden zone without thinking, drawn like a moth to the flame. She stepped in gracefully and her eyes began to soar across the landscape in front of her.

The room was very plain; it had a normal, small bed and a normal, small dresser and even a normal, small desk. But there was something about it that was rather odd that caught Angela's eye immediately. On the left side of the room, plastered on the wall above the wooden desk, was a collage of colourful photographs. The intruder took another step closer to confirm what she thought she already knew. She was right; they were all photographs and newspaper clippings of the famous, teenaged heroes of Jump City, the Teen Titans. Although, she also noticed that there seemed to be an abundance of Raven pictures littering the mass. So she is a Titans' fan… especially a Raven one. Angela studied all of the pictures over, placing a hand on the desk's smooth top. Her hand lightly brushed against something and she nearly jumped, the sensation scaring her. What's this? She picked up a folded paper, the edges tattered and worn, it had obviously been touched all too often. Blue eyes gazed at purple ones. It was another picture of Raven, a close up of her face, most likely a blown up copy of another photograph. Holding the fragile object in her open hands, Angela traced a finger slowly across its surface, touching lightly at what seemed to be small water stains. Must be tears. At the bottom, in sad, printed letters 'I Miss You' was scratched into the parchment.

Suddenly, the sound of creaking floorboards radiated throughout the apartment, as the creator of such things drew closer to her destination, her bedroom. "Shit," Angela whispered under her breath after her mind registered the noise and its source. The invader frantically looked about, trying to find a way to escape before she could get discovered and ultimately hurt the younger girl by failing her trust. Spying the bed, she scrambled quickly underneath it successfully, only moments before Jenny entered the room. Her brown hair was damp and dark, dripping down on her shirt's shoulders like rain droplets soaking the hot pavement, and Angela watched her from the shadows under the bed. Jenny slumped down onto her tidy bed, breathing in heavily, grabbing Raven's tattered picture as she fell. The dark haired girl in hiding slapped a sweaty hand over her mouth before a yelp could strangle its way out, she was being somewhat crushed by the girl lying on top of her.

"Don't look at me like that, Raven," a soft voice floated through the air from the top of the bed, nearly inaudible. "I'm sorry I ran. I wish I could explain…" There was a long pause of silence before she went on, her voice filled with tears, the words struggling to come out. "But I can't. I can't see you at all anymore, not even in passing. It's too dangerous. It's too…" Painful. She hated admitting that aloud still, admitting how much she cared, how far she had fallen. "That's why I have to leave. And I won't be coming back."

"Leaving?" A voice cried moments before a loud crack sounded from the shadows of underneath the bed and the whole bed leapt an inch into the air. Angela let out a low groan and crawled out into view while holding her freshly swollen head.

Jenny stared blankly at her roommate, now standing before her, completely dumbstruck. The outburst had terrified her to the core, her heart and breathing momentarily stopping from shock, and she became speechless and frozen in a zombie-like state. Finally, after the pair had been looking at each other in silence, words began to whisper from her lips slowly. "What are you doing here?" she asked, her tone was not angry as Angela expected it to be but rather flat and emotionless.

Angela frantically searched upon the room's contents for an excuse for her intrusion and her actions but none came to her and she honestly did not want to lie to her acquaintance. Instead, she turned the question around on her and blurted out in a pretend rage, " So I'm not allowed to worry about you? But what is this about you leaving? Where are you going to go? Why do you want to leave? You can't leave!" She threw up her arms desperately in frustration every time she finished a sentence.

"I don't need to explain myself. You're not my parents, you're not my lover, you're not my psychiatrist, and you're not my owner!" Her lacks were weighing her down quickly causing her stress to accumulate easily. She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose tightly to prevent her splitting migraine from spreading any further through her head. Exhaling loudly, she looked up at Angela's quaking gaze and felt deeply ashamed. "I'm sorry, Angela. You've been nothing but nice to me and I know I haven't exactly been the easiest person to deal with, let alone live with. I just have a lot of…" Jenny paused, searching for an accurate but decent word to use but found none, "things that are really messed up right now. I just need to get away from all of it for a while, okay? Don't worry. I'll be fine. Trust me, anywhere other than here would be better for me."

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An alarm blared throughout the tower, ringing in the teens' ears, threatening to puncture their drums and cause permanent damage. Raven gritted her teeth in correspondence and followed her teammates reluctantly to their main computer. Displayed on the large overhead screen was a detailed map of Jump City and a bright red symbol was flashing at one location. The heroes barely had a chance to glance at their disturbance when Robin explained it all for them, using one word, which he uttered under his breath, "Trouble."

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Jenny climbed up the tall steps, clutching the railing firmly in a white fist. She stood in bad posture, her shoulders hunched forward slightly, and she scanned the contents of the train's cabin. Besides a few passengers here and there, the place was barer than a desert and the brunette sighed in relief for that fact. She tiptoed her way past most of the seats until she reached a set far enough away from the other commuters for her privacy. She didn't want to be bothered as she usually was.

Good. It's almost time for the train to depart and there is practically no one aboard. Hopefully that means I will be able to be alone for once. Jenny tossed her bag on the seat near the aisle and flopped down into the next one over, glaring out the window immediately as she landed. "Soon I'll be out of here and then I can just…" She sighed heavily, unsure how to finish her thought.

Before she had a chance to search for a proper word or a way to finish, her silence was interrupted by the rather sultry voice of a person standing in front of her aisle. "Hi," A raven-haired girl greeted before taking her place in the seat directly in front of Jenny. Jenny broke her gaze from outside to glance up at this invasion and nodded back in response. "You look absolutely horrid," the girl bluntly stated. "What happened to you?"

Jenny looked once more at the girl, this time studying her over. Her eyes were almost as dark as her long, silky hair, causing them to look so deep that anyone who stared into them long enough would drown. With her tall, tanned, skinny figure, the stranger seemed oddly familiar to Jenny as if she had appeared in a dream years ago. Jenny was so lost at staring at her that she almost forgot that this dark beauty was waiting for an answer. "I'm fine," Jenny murmured with in a sharp tone, as her mind was screaming at her for lying and her eyes threatened to tear up again. Can't you just leave me alone, please!

The stranger didn't move, refusing to until she received a proper answer.

Sighing heavily, Jenny breathed out, "I'm just not having a very good day, well actually more like a very good life, okay? Just… just leave me alone."

The tanned girl leaned in close and placed a hand firmly on the depressed girl's shoulder. "Aww, come on now. You don't really want to be alone, do you?" Her voice was so charismatic, reminding Jenny of someone else who had that power to control others just by speaking, and she shuddered at the memory. "I know you don't," she answered for Jenny quickly. She held out an open hand, smiling slyly, hiding her teeth. "The name's Beck Rafil. And who might you be?"

Jenny rolled her eyes in mock defeat and caved into Beck Rafil's demand, shaking the girl's hand. "Jenny," she replied in her tiny voice.

"Well, Jen, if I can call you that, tell me about your problems. Maybe I can help you out. I can be a rather useful little girl when I want to be."

Jenny shifted uneasily, partially from being called 'Jen', which she didn't much care for, but mostly from the eerie feeling the conversation's topic had. Ordinarily, she would have just pushed the stranger away and left without another word. Jenny had been around the block a few dozen times and this situation felt oddly similar to one involving a con artist or a drug dealer or even a pimp looking for some fresh meat to sell. But something about this 'concerned' girl stuck out differently to Jenny and she became quickly curious. I have nothing to lose, so… whatever. The troubled teen still refused to say a word though, instead just sat back and listened.

Beck Rafil wasn't fazed by Jenny's sudden silence, so she continued on as if they had been best friends for years. "So, who or what are you running away from?" she asked directly, her voice sharper than before, slicing through the distance between them and straight into Jenny's heart.

The victim winced, cringing back in discomfort, shyly responding, "Who said I was running away from someone?"

Smirking, Beck Rafil created a disbelieving sound as she sat back, kicking one of her legs up onto the empty seat beside her. "Your body language. It says it all."

"I'm not running away," the shorter girl answered back in defense, staring out the window once more.

"Someone broke your heart, didn't they?"

The question stung Jenny's mind, her heart twanging from the mere mention of it. She could feel the hot tears building in her heavy eyes and she suppressed the urge to break down and weep. Instead, she took a deep breath in and held her head up high, turning to face this invader directly. "You know nothing of the matters of my heart so stop acting as if you do and being so… so…" She was too enraged and discouraged to think of a proper word to use, thinking it over until her mind was interrupted.

"Truthful?" Beck Rafil offereda smug look plastered on her face. It made Jenny sick to her stomach. She froze in her spot like a deer caught in a set of bright headlights. Beck Rafil realized she crossed a line and slinked in sitting right beside the statuette. "Oh, Jen, I'm sorry. But really, what foolish bastard gave up this hot body and luscious mind?" She started to stroke Jenny's thigh teasingly. Jenny's face burned with embarrassment from the contact of the other girl.

A loud crashing sound, followed by the train doors opening so suddenly, saved Jenny from further torture by the longhaired seductress. Robin marched through the new passageway and down the aisle. "Everybody, there has been an emergency," The brightly dressed hero informed with his loud, empowering voice, "Please do not panic and exit the car in an orderly fashion as soon as possible. I repeat, exit the car in…" The spiky-haired boy stopped short as he reached Jenny and Beck Rafil's seats, staring down at the pair of young ladies. Behind his mask, his eyes squinted, focusing on one of the girls and he pointed in their direction. "You!"

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Thank You And Apology: Instead of writing big long replies, I shall list! Because then it would take longer to post AND someone told me we can't do replies anymore… or something like that. So a very HUGE special thank you to: Duos-gal-18, silverfox, Painestwin, DBZmotoko, TheDenied, AsiaRe, Rabid-Gouki817, Reya Guardian of Azarath, Zack Samurai, The Sacred, D. Montgomery, Rae Marie, shadow lurker, inu-yaha 1234, TheGirlWithDemonicTemper, sweetnsexy2688, Timid, Master Rain, Happy, yurifan134, Neralos, CL, Der ein Revan, RebelRogue127, The Lost Fayth, ilovegc67, DarkChild5, wAFFLES, Triggerhappy Sniper, blackrider11, Jaspyn, reallyravenroth, Psychic Werewolf Assassin, BbxXxraven', Dragoon23, Hardwin, bluedragoon, Sherbet Mayhem, and Clone Daniel. So SUPER, UPER, DUPER THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU! And I really hope you find it in your hearts to give me another chance. I will try very hard not to let the same thing happen with my other chapters. I finally have my imagination and creativity back so I can think of good things to write! Hourra! So I'm very sorry and I will try to make it up to all of you. An ExtraSpecial Thank Youto some people who really helped me out the past year with my writing and so much more: Squishy, Rain, Sacred, OAZ, and Reya. I love all you guys and you mean a lot to me and helped me out tons.Thank you everyone!