3. Teardrops on My Guitar
"Drew (Robin) looks at me; I fake a smile so he won't see that I want and I'm needing everything that we should be. I'll bet she's beautiful, that girl he talks about. And she's got everything that I have to live without." – Taylor Swift
Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans or the rights to any song references.
"Yeah, can I get my usual black coffee with coconut milk and a hint of cinnamon?"
'Robin has the weirdest food and drink combos,' Raven thought as the waiter nodded at her friend and then turned to her.
"And you, Miss?"
"I'll get my usual herbal tea." The waiter nodded again and trotted away in his heavy no-slip work boots.
Robin smirked and joked, "Why don't you try something new, Rae? It might be rewarding."
"Do you ever try anything new?" Raven raised an eyebrow as his smirk fell.
Then, he said in a smart alecky way, "Well, I am trying this whole dating thing. It's been an interesting thing I must say."
'It's already been a thing?!' Raven screamed in her head. He hadn't told her about any recent dates. Her bile riled in her body furiously. "You've been on a few dates already?"
"Yeah," he said happily. "I finally gave Kitten a chance last Saturday. Everyone knows she's had a crush on me forever. But let me just say, that was the worst mistake ever. She was as annoying and self-absorbed as she is in school. Plus, she kept calling me that God-awful nickname, Robbie-Poo. I couldn't even finish the date!"
"Here's your coffee, and here's your tea." The waiter arrived back at the table and placed their beverages in front of them. They both picked up their mugs and sipped simultaneously. Things like that happened often with them. As kids, the fact they were so much alike made them giggle, but now they were so used to it they never gave it a second thought.
Raven let out a mental sigh of relief and wondered out loud, "So, who was the other lucky girl?"
'Really, Raven? Did you seriously just say lucky girl?' Now, she was mentally scolding herself.
"Oh, this girl I met off Tinder named, believe it or not, Barbara—"
"And I thought you guys' names were old-fashioned," Raven murmured with a monotone voice.
"Yeah, and get this, her friends call her Batgirl cause she likes to sleep during the day," Robin stated as if it was the most amusing thing in the world.
"Innttterrresting," Raven dragged dryly. "How'd that go?"
"It was awesome!" he answered joyfully. Raven looked away before he could see any hurt in her eyes. "But…idk. Something just didn't click with her which is why I'm pursuing, Star. Honestly, I've had a crush on her for about a year now. Just don't know if she likes me back." Raven didn't think this night could get any worse. She never would've guessed that one of these Tuesdays they would be sitting there discussing Robin's dating life. They both usually worried about more important things like school, extracurricular activities, and their usual friends. This was going to take some getting used to.
"Have you guys began on your project yet?" Robin shook his head up and down at her question. "Did you talk to her?"
"Ehh," Robin twisted his mouth nervously, "no. Every time I had the opportunity, my words got stuck and Beast Boy ended up saying what I was thinking. He and Terra are playing Odysseus and Penelope while I'm just the stupid camera boy." He folded his arms and rolled his eyes, angry with himself for being so scared.
"Just talk to her. You know work your charm," Raven assured him. "You're Richard Grayson. It's not hard for girls to fall for you." Raven let out a deep breath, sure that, once again, Robin wouldn't catch that hint.
Robin beamed, thankful that Raven always found a way to give him confidence. "You're right, Raven. So, how's your project going with Wally, Jinx, and uh what's his face?" Speedy and Robin never got along due to the fact that they were both hotheaded, extremely competitive, and slightly cocky-Speedy more than his rival. Robin was the basketball star; Speedy was a track star. They both were ladies' men, but in totally different ways. Robin was unintentional, and often turned the girls down in a humble manner while Speedy happily accepted the groupies. Their popularities just clashed.
"Speedy? It's going pretty smoothly I guess," Raven said, suddenly feeling butterflies in her stomach from the thought of Roy.
And then as if on cue, the entire track team waltzed in the café with medals clinking on their chests. Raven instantaneously put her face in her palms hoping Roy and Wally wouldn't notice her. But who could miss that violet hair?
Suddenly, she heard the chairs closest to them screeching the floor. "Hey, Raven! Hey, Robin!" Wally screeched along with them.
Raven let out a sigh of relief assuming that it was only Wally, but before she could even fully lift her head up she heard, "What's up, Gem? Hey, Robbie-Poo," in that enticing voice.
Robin folded his arms for the second time and puffed, "Who is Gem? And don't call me that!"
"Raven obviously," Speedy said matter-of-factly.
Wally turned up one corner of his lip and looked at his friend funnily. "Where'd you get that name from, Speeds?"
Then, Roy stated coolly, "Raven's eyes are like this pretty amethyst color and amethyst are gems, so boom."
"You think my/her eyes are pretty?!" Raven and Robin unanimously yelled at the boy, astounded.
Finally, Speedy became embarrassed. He didn't want anyone to think he was actually beginning to like a girl. All throughout high school, he'd been the player, the hot bachelor everyone wanted a piece of. He couldn't fall for a girl now.
He rubbed his hair nervously and choked out, "So, Raven, since we have to be a romantic couple and all for the video, I was thinking maybe we should do some romantic stuff if you know what I mean."
"Ugh," Raven grunted. For a second, she thought Speedy might've actually thought of her as more than just a booty call. "How was the track meet, Wally?"
"Marvelous I must say. Speeds and I won gold in all our events," Kid Flash happily answered as Speedy shook his gold medals in Robin's face.
"Yeah, Robbie-Poo. We're going to be state champs unlike the basketball team," Speedy added. Robin's face instantly scrunched up as it began to match the two newcomers' hair color. The state championship game was a sore topic for Robin. They made it to the final game which had been close the whole night. They were winning by one point when Robin fouled the other team right at the five second mark of the fourth quarter, allowing them to get two free throws. The other team made the free throws with no trouble which in turn helped them win the game. That day would scar him forever.
"What makes you think you have the right to call me that?" Robin snapped. He was getting frustrated and Speedy noticed, so he decided to it egg it on.
"Well," Speedy chuckled evilly, "Kitten told me about you guys' little rendezvous Saturday. She said you were so horrible in bed that she just got up in the middle and left."
Raven's heart stopped. He didn't tell her about that little detail, but then again why would we he? Well, big detail.
"What!?" Robin managed to get out. He had a crazy look on his face, and he just wanted to round kick the smirk off Speedy's.
"Yeah, Robbie-Poo. Then, she said you followed her to the door begging her not to go while jacking off," Speedy began cackling and slamming his fists on the table. Kid Flash looked at Robin uneasily, feeling out of place. Then, he looked at Raven who seemed like she was close to exploding.
"Yeah," Speedy continued, "so I basically had to finish her off for you, Boy Blunder."
"That's a lie!" Robin growled, and then said loud enough to silence the whole café, "I'm a virgin!"
Everyone eyed him funnily. It was so quiet you could hear the steady rhythm of everyone's breath. Then, unsurprisingly, Speedy broke the silence with even more laughter. Soon, mostly everyone except his companions at the table joined him. He didn't expect Robin to say that, especially so loudly. His goal of infuriating Robin was complete.
"Um, come on let's get back to the team, Speedy," Kid Flash stopped his friend's chuckles and stood up. "See y'all later."
Robin slumped in his chair and looked up at his best friend. She was watching him with pity. Then, to both of their surprise, she picked up his hand off the table and held it in her own. "It's going to be okay, Robin. Come on let's go." She dropped a ten dollar bill on the table and motioned for him to follow her.
Outside, Robin put his hands in his pocket and looked at the ground. "Thanks, Raven. For always being there."
Raven smiled a small smile at the concrete and quietly said, "No problem."
"Hey, wanna go to the park down the street?" he randomly threw out.
Raven looked at him with eagerness in her eyes. It had been awhile since they last went to the park. Up until about sophomore year, it was a common hangout for them. She shook her head up and down to signal yes.
All of a sudden, "Last one there is a rotten egg!" Robin took off down the street leaving his friend in the dust. Raven rolled her eyes and tried to catch up to him, but he beat her there. He wasted no time running to the monkey bars. They were always his favorite as a kid, and he always had the upper body strength to get all the way across.
Raven laughed as her friend stepped off the steps and realized that his feet were touching the ground. He kicked his feet back and tried to swing, but realized it was no use. He was way too tall.
"Give up," she continued her dry chuckle. "You're too big!"
Robin grinned devilishly and yelled, "I know one thing you're never too big for!" He took off towards the slide and climbed up the steps. Soon as he sat down, he realized firstly that his long body took up the whole slide and then secondly that he was too wide.
"Well, I guess you proved yourself wrong." The mysterious girl walked over with a smirk.
"Uh, Raven," the spiky haired teen started nervously, "I think I'm stuck." Raven shook her head at her rarely silly friend and plopped her foot in between his feet at the end of the slide. She grabbed his hands and started pulling towards her, but the boy wouldn't budge. She struggled and struggled but it was like his jeans were gripping to the sides of the slide.
Suddenly, she slipped in the mud at the end of the slide, but instead of falling backwards, she fell forward. Right into Robin's chest…Whatever feelings of embarrassment would've normally taken over her, vanished the moment she inhaled the smell of his manly, musky Gucci Guilty cologne and felt the hard rock-ness of his abs underneath her hands. She could feel his nose in her hair and wondered if he was enjoying her scent as much as she was enjoying his.
"Um, Raven," Robin broke her dreamy state. "Are you okay?"
Raven immediately stood up and tried not to slip in the mud again. "Yeah, I'm fine." She walked over to the back of the slide and pushed him as hard as she could until finally he managed to get up. The whole time she didn't say a word, because of the awkward moment they'd just experienced.
Robin hated the awkwardness, so he tried to break it, "I bet we're not too big for the swings. Beat you to them!" He took off again this time towards the swings, but once they sat down, the awkward silence captured them for the second time. The full moon was shining brightly, illuminating both of their somber faces.
"I think Speedy likes you," Robin blurted out spontaneously.
Raven's eyes were saucers. 'What made him say that?' she thought then asked out loud.
"He basically said your eyes were pretty, and I think we all know it's not usually girls' eyes Speedy's paying attention to." Robin was right yet wrong. Raven had also noticed that, but she also noticed that he'd hinted sex more than once to her.
"Yeah, but yesterday he asked me if I know what they say about big feet which he has and then you heard what he said in the café today."
Robin observed the grass quietly as his swing moved close to the ground. For some reason, he just had this empty feeling in his heart when he thought of Raven with Speedy. He hated the idea of them even talking let alone sleeping together. Yet, he didn't know why. He believed it was a reason deeper than the fact that he just didn't like Speedy. He had a similar feeling last year when Raven was dating this guy named Malchior.
Flashback
"Hey, punk! Leave her alone!" Robin burst into a movie theater seconds after Raven and Malchior. The previews weren't playing and the lights were still on so everyone there could see his face loud and clear.
"Robin, what are you doing here?!" Raven exclaimed angrily. Robin had shamefully been following Raven the whole date. He bribed Beast Boy with the idea of starting a vegetarian club into helping him play detective/stalker. He had told himself over and over that he was doing it just to make sure she was okay. Boys always had a way of breaking his friend's heart, and if it was up to him, it was never going to happen again.
"Yeah, Robin. Why are you here?" Malchior narrowed his eyes.
"You shut up! She doesn't look very happy to be here!" Robin walked over to them with his fists balled up. "Did he force you here, Rae?"
Raven looked at her friend with a murderous tinge in her eye. "No, Dick." Beast Boy just stood quietly, so he wouldn't catch the rage.
"Then, why haven't you cracked a smile? You've been frowning and grimacing the whole night!"
"How would you know that?!" Raven screamed, even more infuriated than before.
But before Robin could answer, Malchior explained. "I bet her that she would smile and laugh more than once by the end of the night. Loser has to pay for the next date, and let's just say, she really doesn't want to pay for the next date."
Out of nowhere, Robin pulled his arm back and swung his fist at Malchior's nose. Red droplets instantly started dripping down the boy's face. Before they knew it, they were wrestling and swinging fists while rolling down the aisle. The spectators watched and cheered on with excitement, glad they got to see two movies. Eventually the two boys slammed into the screen causing it to tremble. Then, the security swooped in and escorted them both out of the theater, leaving Raven to watch the horror movie with a squealing Beast Boy.
End of Flashback
Robin scratched his chin and chalked his past and present feelings up to his urge to overprotect his friend. He hated seeing her hurt; that's all. Finally, he responded to her last statement, "You know how guys are. He's probably just trying to play off the fact that he likes you. Just watch out, Rae. Who knows what he's capable of."
Raven furrowed her eyebrows, remembering what happened last year with Malchior. "Even if Speedy did try something, I can defend and take care of myself, Robin."
Robin grinned at her defensiveness. "Yeah, you're right." Then something else crossed his mind. "Hey, you will be there for moral support huh?"
"Be where?" Raven asked curiously.
"In the courtyard when I ask Kori to prom? You know the whole promposal thing."
'Damn,' flew through Raven's head. She had forgotten about Kori and all the other girls for a moment. In her head, the only girl that mattered to him right now was her. "Of course I'll be there," she lied. She didn't know how or what, but she was going to find some kind of way to miss it. There's no telling how she would react if she had to stand there and watch Kor
i say yes.
"Yay," he said sort of happily and stood off the swing. "Last one back to the café is a rotten egg!"
