Hi, I'm JodieJelloCube (You can call me Jo, Jode, Jodez, Juan, JoJo - anything goes). And it seems I'm representing Great Britain in this collab. Some of you may have read my angst-ridden, total vent-filled excuses for one-shots. That's part of the reason why I'm excited to work on this collaboration, because I've fallen into habits with my writing. I want to expand and explore and I was thrilled to be given this opportunity.
In case you didn't know, each of us writers are going to be carrying on from the previous author's chapter, we're free to take it in any direction we feel appropriate (after running it by the others for opinion purposes.) This offers us constant challenges, and this is yet another reason why I'm excited about this.
"He swears that he isn't mad as you quietly let him down." – 'Never Enuff' – Mansions.
Raven, who had gone by no other name in all of her life until the day her family fell apart, was now known as Rachel Roth. This new identity was for simplicities sake, so that she could get a job and attend school and pretend she was a regular citizen. She worked a 9-5 job at a bookstore, and on quiet days she curled up with an old favourite or flicked through the new arrivals. By night she studied psychology and social care, taking evening classes because she needed the wages of a full time job to maintain her apartment, but she'd long had the aspiration to become a psychiatrist.
Raven had struggled with her emotions for so long, and it had been strictly necessary and nobody had been able to aid her. She still had to meditate but otherwise had acquired the ability to freely express whatever she wished. The difficulty she faced now was that she didn't know how to be emotionally expressive. Raven wanted to help people with their emotional issues because she knew how difficult it could be.
When it came to the Titans, Raven had limited knowledge. She had clung so desperately when things had started to fall apart, and it is so greatly unhealthy to cling to dying things. The only person she had regular contact with was Beast Boy. Garfield Logan had become quite the movie critic since his superhero career had ended. He was in his element, he just ranted and raved about movies and got paid to do so. It helped him on a personal level as well, because he'd struggled with insecurities his whole life, and now he was making a living by having his voice heard. His opinion mattered and effected people world-wide and it gave him a sense of purpose. However, Gar was not one for the wealthy, upper-class lifestyle. He had a substantial amount of money, but did not indulge in great properties and luxuries. He lived happily and comfortably and kept a small fortune for future prospects.
He'd offered countless times to help Raven out financially so that she could cut down on her work hours and focus more of her time on her dream of becoming a successful therapist. But Raven was as stubborn as she'd ever been, and refused his help. The reason why these two former team-mates still remained close despite their diverging lifestyles had something to do with emotional investment.
Garfield had long ago accepted that he desired Raven romantically, and there were times when he was sure that she knew of his feelings, but she never said anything. Raven and Garfield were best friends; they had been before the Titans had disbanded. Raven wasn't ready for a relationship, she was apprehensive about taking a step like that. Garfield would've waited forever for her. They tried to see each other at least once a week, usually on the weekends. Raven still worked during the days but sometimes they'd order take-out on a Sunday evening and watch some of their old favourite movies, on occasion Garfield would practise his reviewing by making rough drafts and opinions on old classics, and Raven would help out by suggesting effective synonyms. It was comfortable, that was the easiest way to describe their arrangement.
Raven also kept infrequent contact with Starfire, their conversations were few and far between but Starfire was always excited to talk to Raven, and Raven was pleased to hear of Starfire's happiness. Starfire owned a very quaint flower boutique. Now going by the name of Kory Anders, she had great success in providing sweet-smelling, colourful bouquets for all occasions. Starfire had sent Raven pictures of the adorable little shop, the sign above the door declaring it as 'Bloom' in swirling pink script.
Interestingly, Starfire had also expressed her interest in her delivery man, Jason. Raven had never been one for 'girl talk', but she was impressed that Starfire had made slight progress. Starfire had been heart-brokenly devastated when the team had gone their separate ways, but one of her biggest regrets was that she'd left things on such a bad note with Robin. She hadn't spoken to Dick since that awful evening, and he'd been such a huge part of her life that leaving things the way they were had left Kory with inconsolable guilt. Raven had feared she'd never overcome it, and though years had passed, Raven found that over the previous weeks, Kory was improving.
Garfield obviously kept in near constant contact with Cyborg. They were always the best of friends. They didn't see each other very often, but spoke daily, even if only through emails. They played against each other in online video games every other day and made an effort to visit each other every few months or so. Through Victor, Garfield also kept in contact with Karen.
When it came to Nix, Raven spoke to her infrequently, mostly about business though. They spoke about her upcoming novels, and Raven would always call to congratulate her and inform her whenever a new shipment of books arrived at the store and Nix's work was among them. Raven missed the team dynamic they'd once had, and it felt almost like the more she spoke to them, the more she missed them. She usually kept their conversations short and sweet. In fact the only person that Raven could speak to for an extended period of time without grief was Garfield.
Sometimes she wondered if she'd allowed herself to feel for him in the same manner that she knew he felt for her. But she wasn't ready for that commitment and dependence, and refused to dwell on it. It was a Saturday evening and Raven and Garfield were sat at the small breakfast bar in her kitchen, their hands curled around hot mugs of tea. Raven had confided in Garfield that she felt she wasn't progressing far enough in her classes, and he was trying to console her. He hated it when she pulled herself down; he told her she needed to be patient, that she should never be hopeless. She'd given him the most gentle of small smiles and reached across to place her hand upon his own.
He glanced down to where the heat of her skin met his and felt his lips stretch to mirror hers. He looked up to meet her eye and just as he opened his mouth to speak his phone rang. Raven withdrew her hand as the moment was lost and with a look of great apology Gar answered the call.
"Are you serious?" Gar said, his eyes wide and jaw slacking as Raven tilted her head in curiosity.
There was a squawking as the person on the other end replied.
"Let me know the plan when you have one. Of course I'm on board. Yeah, I'll tell Rae. Bye." Garfield ended the call and met Raven's quizzical expression.
"Victor ran in to Dick earlier on tonight. He promised he'd talk to all of us before he arranged a reunion." He explained.
"Really?" Raven asked, her voice was soft with quiet shock.
For a second Gar felt a flicker of envy, in his adolescence he'd been certain that Raven harboured feelings for Dick. Gar quickly shook off the slight jealously. Raven had every right to be excited at the prospect of seeing Dick again; Gar himself was stunned, but enthusiastic.
It had definitely been a long time coming.
Uh, so, this happened. I don't really know. I hope I've given the others something to go on. This team work thing is pressuring. Please leave comments, do a Beast Boy and review! Diolch yn Fawr!