Problems

by Shadako

My name is Beastboy, I just turned seventeen and have to deal with being a teenaged superhero changeling, who obviously has a thing for his leader and boy wonder robin, and should really question his sexuality. So, yeah, I do think I have a lot of problems right now, without much hope for solving a single one. Just peachy, isn't it? -BB/Rob-

2. Second Problem: Jealousy and tentacles

Problems

Fandom: Teen Titans

Pairing: BB/Rob

By: Shadako

Second Problem: Jealousy and tentacles.

There are some things about a certain alien princess you just can't help but notice. Like the fact that she is stunningly beautiful, long shiny hair flowing around her shoulders and all. Or that she is probably the nicest person you'll ever meet. And that she looks oh so lovely in her skin tight clothes. Starfire is just the perfect girl, interesting and pretty and what not.

Well, at least to normal people who are actually interested in girls. I however seem to be a bit different when it comes to that. Not that I wasn't weird enough already, no. I just had to have another problem to add to the pile.

No idea since when or why, but apparently my brain somehow decided that it would be a great idea to fall in love. Not with a girl like Star, no. That would make things to easy, wouldn't it? I would risk appearing somewhat normal for once. So no, it has to be someone like him instead. It's frustrating, really.

I steal a glance in his general direction while I'm trying to beat Cyborg's virtual ass in a video game. Currently Robin's talking to some random person I couldn't care less about via his communicator. The whole time Starfire is floating next to him, clinging to his arm. I roll my eyes as I turn my attention back to the screen in front of me. Looks like I'm losing, again.

"Oh come on, Cy. Not fair!" I whine while trying in vain to still get first position, pouting as his car crosses the finish line. "Haha, victory!" He jumps up, pumping his iron first into the air. Well, at least one of us is enjoying themselves. I grumble while he's typing his name in the high score list. Again. By now it's nothing but his name on that list, anyway. That's it.

My controller hits the ground as I carelessly let it slip from my grasp. "Dude, that's no fun at all! I'm out." With that said I get up and walk over to the couch, sitting down with crossed arms. Cy just shrugs my bitching off and goes back to playing on solo mode. Some lovely friends I have. Couldn't care less if I was part of the game or not. Soon he's so absorbed in his race that he forgets I exist. There goes my only distraction in this boring tower.

Now I'm left to sulk on the couch, watching Robin and Starfire. Not helping my mood at all. He is trying to explain some new training methods to her, while she is smiling and giggling the whole time. It's not that hard to notice that she is far more interested in him then in his training methods. I mean, come on! The way she is battering her eyelashes, touching his arm whenever she can, always making eye contact. She couldn't be more obvious. Well, she could hold a sign up 'Please date me Robin, I love you!', but I guess even then he wouldn't get it. And people always call me naïve.

Really, look at Mr. perfect over there, a pretty alien princess is all over him and he just doesn't notice! Or he doesn't want to notice. But I guess that is just the weird part of my brain thinking again. What reason could he have to not like Star? Aside from the 'we're superheroes, we don't need a private life!' crap. She is perfect after all, just like him. They would make the perfect couple, like everybody's saying. Well, everybody but me. Perfect couple my ass. She can go and date a trash can for all I care. And marry it right after.

Sounds like I'm pretty jealous, huh? Well, yeah, that might be true. And I feel pretty shitty about it, believe me. It's usually not like me to think so bad about a close friend. It isn't that I don't like Star, I really do. But she's not the only one in our team who would like to get a bit extra attention from our dear leader. Sadly, she is the only one succeeding. But then again, she really tries. Hard. I guess being oblivious to the basics of peoples' personal space and the meaning of the word subtle helps. I roll my eyes when she practically glues herself to his arm. Her constant flirting and the boredom of sitting in this tower all day are pure torture. How am I supposed to take this all day? Seriously.

So I get up from my sulking position on the couch and casually walk over to them, leaving Cy to play his game. Star is the first to notice me. Of course she is. "Oh, friend Beastboy! Do you wish to discuss the training routine with us?" And she is smiling so bright at me, it's impossible to be mad at her. Not that she did anything to deserve it in the first place. I'm just being a jealous schoolgirl here. "Nah, Star. Actually I was thinking about something a bit more fun."

Her bright green eyes light up and she smiles even wider. I can tell she's in as soon as I mention the word 'fun'. Robin isn't. Anything that's not training or fighting crime is not important, at least to him. With crossed arms he just watches us. "Oh, how joyous! What do you have in mind?" She is bouncing on her heels, finally letting go of our boy wonders arm.

"How about we go to see a movie tonight? It's pretty quiet lately, so one evening won't hurt?" A high pitched squeal is my answer. Well, she likes it, I think. Her expression changes to one of childlike excitement. She always had a thing for cinemas. And the snacks they serve. Sadly we don't get to go there too often. Hero duty and all that.

"Oh, that sounds like so much fun! Robin, let us go see the movies, please!" And she is giggling again. This girl sure got a lot of energy. But she's helping in convincing Robin, so I'm not complaining. An slightly annoyed sigh leaves our leaders lips.

"Yeah, come on, dude. It's been forever since we had an evening off!" Star is nodding quickly, lashes batting and eyes bright. He's still not happy about the situation, but finally giving in.

"Fine, but tomorrow it's an extra hour of training, got it?" Ugh, why does he have to ruin our fun all the time? Geeze, work and training is the only thing on his mind I think. So why did I happen to fall for someone like him again? Really, I don't get it. But I guess my messed up brain doesn't know the answer either. So no need to wreck it even more about that. Might cause some serious damage. Probably just a side effect of being weird enough to not have had a single real girlfriend and that at 17. Well, whatever. Thinking about it too much won't change it either.

So instead I stroll down the hallway with a happily talking Starfire next to me. "-and then I will eat the popcorn and have so much fun, and we shall sit in the last row and-" I tune her out after that.

Like I said, I like her. But I guess at the moment we shouldn't get to friendly with each other, since one of us will most likely end up heartbroken. I have a feeling that one will be me, but I sure as hell won't give up without even trying. Even if I don't stand a chance against her. No chance at all, to be honest. But you gotta fight for what you want, right? And thanks to crappy reasons like being a teenager and hormones and what not, what I want happens to be Robin at the moment. So I guess the competition with the nicest girl I have ever met is on, even if she doesn't know about it yet.

We part ways when our rooms come in sight, she floats off to her own, waving at me. I return her smile, even if I just decided that we are at war, kind of. I type in the code that opens my door, shut it behind me and look around. First I need to find some wearable clothes. It's no fun at all to walk around dressed as a superhero all the time, let me tell you.

Some people constantly annoy you about who knows what if they recognize you. So I prefer to cover up most part of my green skin. Yeah, it's kind of difficult to go out as a civilian and just enjoy yourself when your skin is coloured like this. For Star it's easier, or she just doesn't care when people stare at her. Most guys just notice that she is hot either way, not caring that she's an alien. And Robin usually still wears his stupid mask. Guess he has a bit of a secret identity to hide, so it's fine. I finally manage to find a hoodie with some random gaming logo printed on it. Long sleeves and the hood hopefully help with my 'Can't people stop staring at me for once?!' problem. Still, being a superhero isn't that cool at times. Especially not one with pointy ears and green skin. Already told you that, didn't I? Whatever.

After I scan my mess of a room for something to wear for like, 2 hours, I finally get ready and head back to the living room. I've been dying to do something interesting all day! It was pretty boring since we came back from that mission yesterday. Aside from the 'Robin is playing nurse for me' incident. I wasn't able to go to sleep after that. Really, all kinds of ugly zombie butterflies fluttering around in my stomach. Having a crush on your leader sucks. A lot. Just makes everything so much more complicated.

As I walk into the living room Star is already there, waiting for us to join her. No surprise there, she's probably dying to finally get out and do something entertaining as well. Also, this is like her chance for a date with robin. Well, and the rest of us, really. She smiles at me and my face falls instantly when I get a good look at her outfit. Tight, red dress, high heels and her hair pinned back fashionable. Oh come on, really? How am I supposed to have a chance with Robin when she's there walking around like this? No way!

So it's 1 – 0 for Starfire, huh? Ugh. Not being a hot alien girl sucks as well, you know? She's cheery enough, apparently not picking up on my dampened mood. So I just sit next to her on the couch and sulk (again), while we wait for the rest of the team. Star is talking about popped corn the whole time. It gets slightly annoying, especially her bouncing up and down on her seat. Show's off her cleavage nicely, doesn't it. She sure chose her outfit well. I try not to glare while I half heartedly listen to her. It doesn't take long before Robin shows up, thank god. As soon as he is in sight, she stops talking to me and goes back to fawning over him. Not that much better, to be honest.

"Oh, what a lovely attire you have chosen for the movies! It suits you well!" She's clapping, floating up to Robin and touching his shoulder yet again. I resist the urge to roll my eyes. Laying it on a bit thick, huh. But I have to admit that I too like his Outfit. He's dressed in a casual black Shirt and dark jeans, not flashy and shiny like Star. Oh, and the mask, of course. "Now that you are here, may we head out, friend Robin?" I raise an eyebrow and look up at her.

"Shouldn't we wait for Cy and Raven?" She's already out the door when she answers. "They do not wish to give us company! Friend Raven got the headaches and friend Cyborg is fixing his car!" Headache, huh? Of course. Cy I can understand, somewhat. He gets weird comments about his looks almost as much as me.

So it is only me, her and Robin? Eh, and here I was hoping we'd get to enjoy some time off all together for once. Well, better than not going out at all. I hate to be stuck inside the tower for days, aside from missions. So we head towards the door, Starfire going on about the delicious sauce of nachos. She might be the perfect girl, but to me she is nothing short of annoying right now. How can a single person blabber so much? And no, that isn't just the jealousy talking here. I roll my eyes at an especially stupid comment about cheesed onions with whipped cream, looking over to Robin who's currently walking next to me.

"Is that even edible?" Star is already down the hallway. She's fast, I give her that. "Not sure. I wouldn't want to try it, though." He says, smiling at me. He really shouldn't do that, because it somehow turns my brain into mush. But I guess I should be grateful that he's not mad about the incident yesterday any more. Normally he's pissed at least a few days if I ignore orders like that. Maybe he still feels bad about my little breakdown, who knows. I won't complain if he's acting all nice.

"I guess we'll meet Star at the cinema. She's pretty eager about this kind of stuff, so I don't think we''ll catch up to her, even if we try." Robin is still smiling, no idea why. It's rare that he is in such a good mood. I nod, still looking away to cover up my stupid blush. The alien girl is indeed already out of sight. Being able to fly at record speed sure has it's perks. "Looks like it."

"You feel like walking all the way, or need a ride?" Wait, what. Did I just hit my head really hard or something? I blink a couple of times, wait for him to start laughing and to tell me it was a joke. He doesn't. So I look at him and nod sheepishly. "Uhm, sure." I'm not able to talk properly right now. I mean, come on, a ride? He never, ever offered that to me before! Not as far as I can remember. His bike is like his most precious treasure or something. I wouldn't be surprised if he talks to it lovingly any time he enters the garage. And he actually want's to let me on it? Maybe I do have a chance against Star after all. A very, veeery tinny chance. Well, tonight is the time to find out.

"Oh my god, I'm going to die!" I do believe I will, really. Currently I cling to Robin for dear life, eyes shut tightly. Hell, why didn't he tell me that it is this fast? And why is he even allowed to drive this fast in the god damn city?! I regret ever agreeing to this. I am going to die, die, die! Wind whipping around us and lights flashing by in a blur. This is what falling to your death from a high building must feel like.

"Come on BB, it's not that fast!" Oh, really? Well, for me it is, thank you. Ugh. I can tell from the tone of his voice that he's smiling again. So maybe the only reason he offered the stupid ride was to scare the hell out of me? Lovely. It works, amazingly so. But at least I get a good reason to be a bit closer to him. Like, crushing his midriff with my vice like grip because I am terribly afraid to fall off of this hell machine. Not the kind of closeness I would have liked, but better than nothing, right? Right. If I survive this ride, that is. And I'm having doubts about that. Serious Doubts. Please just let it be over soon.

With amazement I watch Starfire as she shoves a handful of popcorn into her mouth. I never knew they served that stuff with cheese, onions and whipped cream. No idea how she got it, but I don't think anyone but her would eat it. Oh, if you're a bit confused, right now I'm sitting in a dark cinema, watching some horror movie. Yeah, I did survive the ride here somehow. It took Robin five whole minutes to make me let got of him once we arrived. Really, it was scary. Star was already waiting for us, a bit sad that it was me and not her on that bike with Robin. Well, not my fault, was it? If she has to run of on her own because she can't wait. Sucks to be her, I guess. Not really, though. Since she is still the hot alien girl.

Once inside, she went to get this horrible stuff she is currently eating. Now she is sitting next to me. Well, good part is that Robin is sitting to my right, so Star will have a hard time clinging to him all the time. But now she is talking to me instead, about the joyous movie of the dying people. Joyous, huh? I wouldn't call it that, but whatever. Let's see if she's still so eager about it once the flick really starts. You might ask yourself how I even got into a horror movie with 17. Yeah, I send Star to buy the tickets and no one asks a hot girl in a skimpy outfit how old she is, I'm telling you. Robin wasn't happy, but he decided to let it slip. Maybe he's not that eager to treat me like a 12 year old any more. Would certainly be a step in the right direction. Or maybe he was just fed up with my whining.

When the story begins to unfold and some scared blonde woman starts screaming for her life, Star stops eating. Instead she's clutching the bag of popcorn to her chest. So much for that 'joyous' part. But I do agree that the movie is kind of scary. They keep switching the scene in just the right moments to give the audience a good shock, never revealing too much about the killer. Yeah, pretty creepy, actually.

Half an hour into the flick Star is hiding her face with her hands, peeking trough her fingers. I stare at the huge screen, hands clutching the armrest of my seat. Okay, this movie is pretty graphic. Actually makes me shudder once in a while. Another gruesome, scary scene and most girls in the room cry out, Star included. And I swear one or two dudes as well. I have to admit that it is getting pretty unsettling by now.

Another ten minutes later and I too end up shielding my eyes. Maybe we shouldn't have tried this 3D movie thing. Or we should have agreed with Robin to watch some action film instead.

Speaking of the boy wonder, he is sitting calmly in his seat, watching the screen with interest. Not scared at all. I have no idea how he manages that, really. I'm so going to have nightmares from this crap. Just in that moment he leans over to me. "You're right, BB. The movie's not that bad." I jump a little as the audience is screaming once again. Why do they have to show that much blood and stuff? Gross. I so don't need all that splatter stuff. "Y-yeah, I guess." Wow, that didn't sound very convincing. His answer is a light chuckle. "Scared, are you?" I pout at him. I'm a guy, we don't admit stuff like that. Not even while half way hiding behind our own hands. "No way, dude!"

A terrifying scream fills the room and I look back at the screen, swallowing hard. Now that psycho killer guy is behind the woman, grabbing her hair. They show is way too much detail how he brings the blade down on her throat. I close my eyes tightly. Yeah, I guess Robin believes me now, like, a lot. My fingers find the fabric of the armrest and dig in. But it doesn't feel like an armrest at all. I dare to open my eyes again, only to see that it is not the armrest I currently hold onto. More like Robin's wrist. Uhm, oh, okay. So, basically I'm sitting in a dark cinema, scared to death by a horror movie I wanted to see in the first place, clinging to my dear leader. Wow, now that is a lovely way to prove that you are not just some little brat. Very mature, really.

Robin doesn't seem to mind my hand above his, he's still grinning. Making me eat my words about this flick probably not being that bad, I guess. "Of course you're not scared, what was I thinking." Now my so called crush is making fun of me. Oh the joy. But he never pulls his hand back. What means we are, kind of, holding hands. Yeah, not really, but whatever. Let my messed up brain believe it, so the icky butterfly zombies can return.

The rest of the movie is spent in silence, well, between myself and Robin. The rest of the audience is still screaming and shrieking and all that. I do all I can to watch the darn flick and not claw the boy wonders hand to shreds. I know for sure that I will never, ever again, watch a 3D horror movie. I won't be able to sleep for days without looking under my bed and checking for serial killers. Stars condition isn't much better. She looks horrified and still holds onto a crushed popcorn bin. The credits start to roll and I finally let go of Robin's wrist. I'm quite touchy feely today, aren't I? Well, only when I'm scared shitless, really. Our leader gets up first, stretching after sitting for so long.

"Never would have guessed that guy was the killer. But the movie was pretty good." I shudder as I get up, pulling the hood over my head before the lights flicker back on. Don't want some random dude pointing out how my ears are all weird or something.

"I really didn't need this 3D stuff, with all that blood and… ew." Robin's smirking at me. Starfire gets up as well, still holding the remnants of her snack. "Aw, come on, BB. You wanted to see this one, after all. How about we go see the second part once it's released?" I glare at him from under my hood. He is going to tease me forever with this, I just know it. Hopefully he doesn't tell Cy, or I won't hear the end of it. Grumbling I shove past him. "I'd rather not."

We leave the crowded cinema, Robin and me still arguing about the movie and its questionable qualities. Starfire is silent the whole time, probably scared for live the poor girl. She never went to see a horror movie before. And I guess she never will again. I don't hear a word from her for the rest of the evening.

Its half past midnight, I'm sitting on the edge of my bed and I'm unable to sleep. Yeah, I'm a seventeen years old superhero and I'm afraid of some mass murderer living under my bed anyway. So, what now? Sit in my dark room and stare at the wall until I finally fall asleep somehow? I guess I can just as well get up and go to the living room, watch some not scary stuff without killers and blood. Anything to replace the gruesome crap with. Clad in my washed out batman pyjamas I pad down the dark hallway, looking behind me every five seconds. Yes, I check for mass murders, so what? I'd like to see you walking around a giant, empty tower in the dead of night. Bet you'd be just as frightened.

Ten minutes later I sit on the couch, clutching the remote to my chest, punching in some random channel. I survived the journey to our living room. But now I'm already facing the next problem. Why isn't there anything watchable on? Yeah, one in the morning and all, but that's no reason to send nothing but crap! News. Sports. Finally I find something that looks like a cartoon.

Some pretty blonde chick is in a random dungeon, with sword and shield, armoured and all. Way cool, I totally like these fantasy cartoons! A little bit of anime action will hopefully take my mind off of the horror stuff. So I throw the remote somewhere and try to follow the story. It doesn't take long before some random monster shows up. Weird black thing with a lot of tentacles. Tentacles, huh? Strange thing to show in a kids show. And they do look remarkable like-… oh. I don't think that show was made for kids.

Just as I come to that realization, the black monster starts to tear the blonde woman's clothes off. Not a kids show at all. She is screaming and moaning, I hastily grab for the stupid remote to turn the volume down.

"What the hell are they showing at night?! The hell, why is this a stupid cartoon in the first place?" Next to me is no remote. But I'm sure I threw it over there somewhere. God darn, I should have turned on the lights! Now I can''t see anything but the weird tentacles shoved down the girls- I am not watching this. Not at all. I turn around, searching the whole couch for the freaking remote, but find nothing. Are you kidding me? Just as I start to get really, really annoyed, the door to the large living room swishes open. My eyes widen comically. Fate must hate me. A lot.

With a yawn Robin walks in, and suddenly my face is drained of all colour. Surely somebody, somewhere, really wants to make my life as miserable as possible. Panicking, I look over to the TV screen, and thank the gods, it changed to a scene with talking people in some forest. So he did not see the tentacles or anything. He doesn't think I'm some creepy pervert that watches weird anime porn. Good. Just now he notices that I'm there at all.

"Why are you still up, BB?" I shrug sheepishly, not sure what else I can do. I still have no remote. So I can only hope there was just one scene like that in this show. Or that Robin will just go away again, soon. "Couldn't sleep." A soft chuckle. So he is still making fun about me and the flick I picked, yay. "I wonder why that is." I glare half heartedly at him.

A minute later he's sitting next to me on the couch. Apparently Robin decided that he isn't tired and wants to keep me some company watching this horrid porn cartoon. Of course he doesn't know that it is porn just yet. And let me tell you, I feel very uncomfortable right now. If only I could find the remote. But it certainly would look kind of dumb if I would search for it like mad. So I just sit there, biting my bottom lip and praying that they won't show those awful tentacles again. But knowing my luck.

"Never seen this show before, what's it about?" Robin just had to ask something like this. I blush the darkest shade of crimson. Luckily it's dark, so he won't notice. I hope. I really do.

"Uh, no idea, really… just turned it on when you walked in." That actually sounds like a pretty decent excuse to me. Robin is convinced, nods and goes back to watching the show. And I feel so, sooo very uncomfortable. You ever sat with one of your best friends in the living room at night and suddenly they show a lot of naked flesh and creepy tentacles and what not in TV? Well, not the thing you would enjoy that much. At least I wouldn't. Someone, please save me from this situation.

Nothing out of the ordinary happens for a few minutes and I actually start to hope that the cartoon will end without any more naked woman. I am wrong, of course. Some warrior chick is fighting against another one, when out of nowhere, mr. tentacle monster shows up. I worry my bottom lip between my teeth, staring anywhere but the screen. Robin raises an eyebrow, guess he is having the same thought process I had when I first saw that thing. Not a kids show at all. Go figure.

And again clothes are torn of and woman moan. For a few moments it's silent between us, before he speaks up. "...we really shouldn't watch TV that late at night." I totally agree with him. Looking away from the screen I nod. "Uh-huh." This scene is even worse than the last. The naked girls are kissing and stuff, while that thing is using his… yeah, you get it, don't you? Embarrassing isn't nearly enough to describe this situation.

Robin is looking around now, for the remote I think. "Uhm, BB, where is-" I interrupt him before he can finish his sentence. "No idea." This godforsaken thing is the reason for all this. Once I find it I throw it out the window! After changing the channel, of course. His face falls, I can tell he too is getting quite uncomfortable by now.

"You're kidding, right?" I shake my head. "No." So we are stuck sitting on the couch, watching this cheap porn flick. Peachy, isn't it? Also, these tentacle things get bigger every passing second, don't they? Even more stuff for my nightmares. I use my hands to block out the images. It works.

"Well, then find it." I shrug meekly. "I Tried." He takes a deep breath, probably pinching the bridge of his nose by now. The sounds coming from the TV don't help the situation at all. Schlurp, Schlurp, Schluuuuuurp.

"What the hell had that been the sound effect for?" I can't help but ask. Robin shudders next to me, his voice sounding slightly disturbed. "You don't want to know." He's right, I don't. Not really. But I can think of a few things.

"Can't you change the channel manually?" Again I shake my head. Cyborgs idea when we bought a new TV a while ago. Since no one would want to get up to do that anyway. Also, that is what you have a remote for. Ha. Ha. A loud moan and more wet noises.

"Oh, come on!" Sounds like the boy wonder's getting angry. "Where is this stupid remote?" Now he's feeling around the couch, nothing I haven't tried before. Good luck with that, Robin.

I open my eyes a little, keeping them away from the screen toavoid finding out what the sound effects are for. And just in that moment I see it, lying innocently on the floor. The Remote. Right behind Robin's feet. Overwhelmed by sheer joy I lean forward. My actual plan was to support me with one hand one the couch, but somehow I miss it. So I grab into nothing instead, falling forward with a yelp. I manage to avoid hitting the ground, and lie sprawled across Robins lap instead. He is quite surprised by my random fall, leaning back to keep his balance.

And just in that very moment, when we are in the most compromising position two guys could be in at one o'clock in the living room, watching cartoon porn, the door slides open for the second time that night. Sure, why not make it even more embarrassing for me? Now wouldn't that be fun. Just Peachy.

~~~tbc~~~

So, who is walking in on them now?

Probably the mass murderer! Lol.

Thank you guys for the lovely reviews!

I'm glad my english isn't that horrible. ^^ If I didn't scare you to death with the randomness and stupidity of this story you can prepare yourself for the third chapter already! :D

~Shad.