Answers to reviews:
TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne: Well, I'm back! And ikr?!
S1L3NTSH1NG4M1: Yes haha. 😊
Eldritch Sardine: This was a really kind/ thought out review. I hope I didn't upset you with this dark chapter, but Raven is kind of dark… Don't worry though, there will be a lot more BBRAE to come. 😊
Malcolm7281: Cool 😊 I'm still waiting on your idea, will be using soon though. I have a plan :v)
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Hey guys, thank you for the feedback, I appreciate and look forward to more of it! 😊 I'm almost sorry that I'm updating so soon because I don't want you all to expect such quick updates from me all the time. BUT today I was inspired, it was raining, & I just couldn't help posting this. This chapter is pretty psychologically intense, so please tell me what you think. 😊 It's not based on a classic love story. If you want me to write another love story between the two soon, suggest one! Remember, all of these chapters are based on classics and molded into one full story line! I'll get creative with whatever you give me. 😊 Anyways, if you haven't read The Raven, it's a poem about a lover dying and descending into madness because of it. Raven did just lose someone she loved in a way, except he's not dead- just gone. When you're an empath, your emotions might want to send you a message about that. This chapter is kind of short compared to the others, but there is a lot of poetic elements I hope your all able to catch onto. Hopefully they make up for the brevity. Please enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or any of Edgar Allen Poe's work.
The Raven
Manipulating Raven's emotions was an enormously depraved offense. But manipulated they had been. In only one night she had fallen in love, gained a fiancé, and been rejected by that same love. The heartache revealed itself as she fully broke down. But after a few hours, the effects of the love potion wore off. Those surfaced feelings were pushed back to where they belong- behind a placid expression. Anything less would vitiate her powers.
This was, of course, to protect her friends and family from being subject to a terrible reckoning of unjustifiable emotions that were unsettled during this incident called 'falling in love.' And she was expected by everyone else in her life to overcome it immediately, if not for herself and her former fiancé, for the team. And so the emotions were buried with her others, deep inside. And there toiled and festered, simmering and bubbling just under the surface…
...THE RAVEN...
"Stop moving!"
"Well stop making it tickle so much!"
Raven rolled her eyes with a light blush covering her cheeks. An irritated look was plastered onto her face. They were in the Meeting Room. It was about 2:00 o'clock in the afternoon and Beast Boy had been watching some cartoons before Raven walked in. They awkwardly greeted each other. Before Beast Boy knew it, he was being pushed off of the couch and was sitting criss cross on the floor. He yelled back at her for an explanation. She gave none and sat on the couch behind him, wrapping her hands gently around Beast Boy's neck. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to lean in or run for his life.
Lean in?
Beast Boy shook his head, trying to get the events of the previous night out of his mind. But as he saw the bluish glow cover his green skin, he realized she was removing the marks from the night before. He muttered a quick "thanks" and there they sat in silence. Until Beast Boy started squirming and laughing from her touches.
He could be so annoying. To think, he was almost her husband. Maybe if she just tightened her grip a little bit more…
"Good afternoon my friends!" Starfire flew into the room, heading straight for the refrigerator and grabbing a soda before turning around. "Have you prepared for the night of pizza at friend Dana's- eep!" Starfire squeaked as she turned to see Raven's hands delicately wrapped around a squirming green boy's neck.
"Is this the- personal moment?" Starfire asked, preparing to leave. Raven's hands jumped off of Beast Boy's neck and he leaned away in horror.
"NO!" They both yelled in unison, heavy crimson filling every bit of their cheeks.
Raven turned away and crossed both her legs and arms. Personal moments. With him. Yeah right. Before she realized it, a smile crept onto her face.
She shook her head in disgust with herself. Disgust with the fact that she wanted more than what had happened last night.
No. Never again.
"Rae was just healing the," Beast Boy stopped to cough uncomfortably. "Marks from last night." He gulped before Raven escaped her thoughts and wrapped her hands around his neck to pull him back in front of her. He gagged from the force but Raven ignored it, wanting to heal him and leave to meditate.
Beast Boy pushed further into the wall as she gently tugged her teeth across his bare skin. Raven opened the buttons and unwrapped the bowtie at the base of his neck. Now kissing his lips, she carefully dragged the scarlet bowtie fabric into his back pocket. She took a moment and stepped back. His eyes were closed, breathing heavy. Perfect. The demonic side of her howled and screamed. Feast. And so, with clear mutual consent, she did.
The base of his collarbone was hidden beneath his uniform. Raven flushed at the memory, trying to shake it off like a bad dream. After a heavy gulp, she moved to heal that area. But her hands stopped. Some sick part of her screamed at her.
No one has to see them. They're only for him. So he can remember what we did to him.
What I can still do to him.
Raven grew another pair of eyes to intimidate this thought and throw it out of her head. The evil within her could suggest some disorienting things at times. But as she searched for the perpetrator within her thoughts- she stopped. Raven realized with revulsion that the thought had not come from some deepseeded demon or untapped emotion- it had come from her.
"We're done." She said blankly, standing to leave. Beast Boy grabbed her hand before she started walking, unaware that deep inside, Raven's feelings sparked. She was unaware of it as well. He looked up at her with large doe eyes.
"But what about-" Beast Boy felt a drop of sweat running down his cheek and pointed to his collar bone and upper chest area. A glass cup from the kitchen screamed across the room and slammed into the far wall. Raven didn't change her expression as she picked up the glass with her powers and disposed of it. "If you can't tell, I'm tired Beast Boy. I need to meditate before I can heal you anymore." She said, carefully taking her hand out of his.
It was only a half lie. Raven's powers were malfunctioning right now- but for very very different reasons. Beast Boy smiled nervously and nodded before giving his thanks. Raven hissed inwardly as some sick part of her grinned that those marks would be staying there, hopefully for a long time. Maybe she'd get the chance to renew them soon.
"Alright- time to go to Dana's house!" Beast Boy jumped off the floor and stretched his arms behind his back. He glanced at Raven.
"You sure you don't want to come?" He cocked his head and smiled invitingly.
…His lips tentatively touched Ravens, his fingers fell into the spaces between hers… bit his own lip as whimper escaped… the darkness- the wrongness- attracted her…
Raven shook her head and the images filtered out as quickly as they had flooded into her mind. "I need to stay and meditate." Raven said plainly. Her own thoughts protested.
'He's going to Dana's house. He's going to leave us for her!' They screamed. Raven whispered her mantra to control her thoughts and emotions.
Raven would've denied it if asked, but the truth was, she wasn't sure the love serum had worn off. Or worse, if it had, and her emotions were riding some kind of empathic wave from it. Or worse worse, if she genuinely felt something for-
Raven looked up to see Beast Boy interacting with Star. "-No, I asked you what's under there, Star?" Beast Boy asked pointing at no where imparticular. Starfire looked shocked. "Under the where friend Beast Boy?"
"Star, you don't need to say 'the' before where."
"My apologies. Under where?" Star asked naively.
Beast Boy let out a loud chuckle, a tear forming from his eye. "You just said underwear!"
Raven shivered at the thought of liking Beast Boy.
Regardless of the reason, Raven felt jealous of Dana. She felt a stab of pain whenever her name was mentioned- and she was ashamed of that. Dana was her friend as much as she was Beast Boy's, save a romantic interest in her.
She could've been honest and told Beast Boy that her feelings had not completely worn off yet. He would've understood and stayed home. But who was she to force him to stay home and manipulate him, just because her emotions had been played with? Though she knew he would've done it. That's just how he was.
"Um- friend Raven?"
Raven turned her head to stare blankly at Beast Boy and Starfire. Starfire hesitantly lifted a finger, pointing to an overturned couch on Raven's left. Her powers quickly corrected the couches position and Raven shook her head. She had never felt the level of heartbreak that she experienced the night before- and thus she didn't know what to expect from her powers.
"Sorry." She murmured, turning to exit the room. Just as she reached the door, Cyborg and Robin loudly entered the room, talking and laughing about a recent mission.
"And then when Mumbo's hat-" Cyborg was practically yelling before he saw Raven. A spark of anger flew into her eyes. "Hey Rae." He said, briefly looking away from her. He was always told not to make eye contact with wild animals. She simply stared at him, her brows furrowed and mouth in a frown. She turned to look at Robin.
"Have fun tonight." She muttered in monotone. Another glass in the kitchen broke. Beast Boy and Starfire jumped to dodge the debris. A chill ran down Cyborg's spine. Raven quickly disposed of this glass before exiting the room.
Raven knew very well that isolating herself never made her feel any better. But it made the rest of the team safer. It made him safer. She had to protect them first and foremost. Protect him.
Raven shook her head. She had to stop thinking about him.
When Raven entered her room, she meditated a bit. Minutes turned into well deserved and needed hours. Using her powers to grasp a small black mirror, Raven finally felt ready to face her emotions. Little did she know, she wasn't. She beckoned it forth, looking into her reflection. And then her reflection smiled wickedly, showing all of it's eyes before Raven gasped.
…THE RAVEN…
Raven woke up under purple sheets. Her mirror was lying on the ground in shambles. A massive headache overcame her and she tried to rub it out of her temples. The room before her slanted and shifted. Her bed post duplicated itself and then returned to being one. Raven had never drunk alcohol in her life but felt as though she had the biggest hangover in the world. She groaned gently before shoving her face back into her pillow.
She ran her palm down Beast Boy's arm and found his hand, interlocking their fingers once again. Raven moved from his lips to his neck, to his collar bone, branding him with licks… hickeys… teeth marks… TAP TAP TAP… "Raven"
Raven woke once again from her stupor, grasping her sheets in irritation. Had someone just tapped at her door?
"They always show up at the worst times…" She muttered to herself, still not moving. Why did her room feel so cold? Her muddled mind drifted back onto her bed, unwillingly to push through the pain.
Pain. That was all she'd been experiencing since the night before. Raven found herself thinking about the boy she'd never known before. The boy that told her he loved her and kissed her lips and couldn't wait to marry her. She had wanted to memorize him. Understand him. Love him. But now he was gone. And she would never know him more.
Their love was gone.
Woosh.
Raven gasped and turned to see her curtains moving ever so slightly. No one was there. A chill curved down her spine. She was finally awake. She pushed through the lethargy and sat up in her bed, pressing a hand to her forehead.
"I- I'm sorry." She murmured to the person at the door who had been waiting for far too long. "I was sleeping."
Raven pushed herself from the bed only to find the room slanting again. Her walk was uneven to the door. Finally, pressing the button to open it, she glanced around the hall. And there stood- no one. Odd. Raven continued to stand at the door, suddenly hoping and fearing that it was him. That he was here to apologize again, not for the situation, but because he hadn't told her how he felt. That he loved her so dearly. And then he would hold her and kiss her again. The thoughts swirled in Raven's head, her emotions giving her a headache.
But no one came. Not even the air conditioning bothered to cut through the excruciating silence. Finally, the words left her lips.
"Beast Boy?" She whispered. The sound waves hit the wall of the hallway and came crashing back to her in a blood curdling scream, "BEAST BOY!"
Raven retreated to her room immediately, slamming the door in front of her. Her inner soul felt as if it's been seared by something, something evil and wonderful. Something terrifying.
Another TAP TAP TAP rushed into Raven's eardrums as she stumbled back onto her bed.
"I-" Another kiss. "I love you." He murmured.
Raven shook the thought out. Whatever was behind that door- she wasn't sure she wanted to answer it. Her heart was beating in her ears now. Raven glued her eyes to the metal frame. No other taps came, but Raven continued to stare at the door for the next thirty or so minutes. Strange thoughts and smells of Beast Boy flitted in and out of her mind.
Woosh.
Her head snapped back to look at her curtains. They were moving yet again. Raven slowly stood up, taking a deep gulp of air to swallow down her fear. She approached the curtains cautiously. Not having the heart to get extremely close to them, and out of fear, she ripped them from their post with her black aura. The purple cascaded to the floor, revealing a large green bird perched on her window sill. She realized her windows were actually empty frames, allowing a gentle and frigid breeze to enter her room. Behind the bird sat a desolate waste land of darkness- Nevermore. The bird cocked it's head as Raven observed it's double red eyes, and then flew overhead and landed above her doorsill.
Finally, Raven understood: She was in her mind.
Staying as steady as possible, Raven sat back onto her bed, facing the raven that rested there above her door, and did nothing more.
"You have a lot of courage visiting me in that state." Raven muttered to bird. She was referring to the fact that the bird had chosen to turn green, though she didn't say it out loud, she didn't bother to. The bird wouldn't understand what she was saying. Another few minutes passed.
Hair was sweaty and sticking onto his head as he looked up… He leaned further back onto the brick wall behind him… Raven nipped again at his neck… already unbuttoned his tuxedo jacket…
"What's your name?" Raven mused, forcing her focus onto the bird.
"Nevermore." Said the raven.
While she normally would've snorted, knowing that was the only word the bird could speak, she instead felt the word empathically as the raven spoke it. There the bird sat lonely and poured it's soul into the cup of this one word. Raven looked down in compassion.
"He's gone tonight at Dana's house. Why did I let him go?" Raven fell back and lay on her bed despairingly.
"I could have told him. He would've stayed and been nice about it- like a friend-" She glanced at the raven. "Just like he was before."
"Nevermore." The raven croaked.
Raven shot up in her bed and slanted her eyes at the strange green bird.
'He doesn't know what he's saying.' Raven reasoned in her thoughts. 'He just says that word on repeat. Beast Boy and I are only friends- we're close. But-'
"Never more!" The bird yelled.
Raven turned once again, hate and anger now fueling her actions. Her eyes separated into several red ones, fangs growing. "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" She growled, trying to intimidate the bird. The bird squawked with delight. Raven's emotions broke like a damn. She rose her bedding with her powers and tossed it at the bird while it taunted her with laughter. She threw just about everything- books, pillows, curtains. But after her outburst, Raven breathed heavily to see the bird still perched. She screamed.
…moved her hand to twirl circles into his side… She grabbed his chin and gently pulled it down so that he was looking into her eyes… "I love you too" … sweetly kissing his upper lip…
Raven grabbed her head as the memories became more and more difficult to dismiss. She glanced up at the raven. It had stopped squawking and now its eyes bore into her heart. Raven let her head fall into her hands and went to lay on her now empty bed. All that was left on it was a fitted sheet. She lay facing away from the bird. Before she knew it, her hand was fidgeting with the bedding beneath her. She ran gentle circles into it- much as she had into Beast Boy's side.
She imagined him lying next to her. Smiling. Whispering. Touching.
"Nevermore…" She whispered.
The air coming from outside seemed to grow denser as Raven no longer allowed flashes of the previous night to enter her mind. Instead she ran over the night consciously. What she wished had gone differently. If she had known it would end so soon- she would've wanted more from him. Not just physically, but emotionally. She would've asked for a ring, or a momento, and he would've given it to her because he loved her. Loved.
No more.
And now all she had was a broken heart and a stupid bird. As she delved further into these thoughts, the room began to smell of Beast Boy. Raven would be lying to say she wasn't enjoying it. Within moments, Raven was in the same state of lethargy she had been when she first heard tapping at her door. She began to hear foot prints- his foot prints- make their mark in the hall in front of her door. But it wasn't real. She was still in her head. No matter how badly she wished for it, Beast Boy would never want to say those things to her. She continued to lay there, not bothering to move. After another ten minutes the footsteps didn't stop. Raven turned to lay on her back and stare at the ceiling.
"Stop it!" She screamed to her own mind, knowing she was the only one who could. "I don't want to remember it!" She looked at the Raven. "I just want to forget him!"
"Nevermore." Quoth the raven.
"STOP!" She jumped off her bed and yelled at the top of her lungs.
She anchored herself to his shoulders with her hands, pushing against the brick behind her and lifted her head… "Will you marry me?" He turned… She could barely breath… "Yes."
"Nevermore."
"I'm done!" She screeched. "Get out of my room and leave me ALONE!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."
Raven felt the world swirl and spiral. Nevermore? Nevermore? She would never feel his hands on her hips? Never breath in while kissing his neck? Never marry him? Never have him?
Never?
Never?
Never?
The words curled and produced themselves over and over in her mind. Nevermore?
Raven found herself now sitting on the floor in a ball, her breathing shallow.
"Get out of my head…. Out of my head…" She whispered to herself. The raven cocked it's red eyed face at her. How dare it pretend like it didn't know what she was saying?!
"GET OUT!" She screamed, pushing her hair from her face. Finally, her body could no longer sit down, and she laid to the ground, her breathing out of control. Yet there was the Raven- Still sitting-
STILL SITTING.
He had the eyes of a dreaming demon and stared further into her heart. Raven felt her soul- her mind- anchor to the floor. She was unable to get up. All she could do was look up and stare at the bird in horror. She was trapped in her room, tormented by The Raven.
And though she begged to leave
She knew she would
Nevermore.
…THE RAVEN…
The Titans sat around the dining room table, sharing concerned looks. It had been a day since anyone had seen Raven. Luckily, the crime alert hadn't rang, but everyone was still concerned for her well-being. Beast Boy sat at the end of the table, stabbing his Tofu with a fork.
"I tried to check on her. She just won't answer- won't open the door! What are we supposed to do when she doesn't let us in?" Beast Boy said angrily. Everyone just exchanged another set of looks.
Then a terrifying scream broke the silence. The team scrambled, sure of the source. They made their way to her room, and unfortunately, due to his nerves, Beast Boy made it to the room last. He walked in on the scene of the Titans surrounding Raven and Robin elevating her head as she lay on the floor.
Her eyes were wide open. She stared blankly at the ceiling while her eyes morphed from human to demonic and back again several times.
"Raven? Raven, can you hear me?" Robin begged.
Raven's eyes stopped changing just seconds later. She started whispering something. Beast Boy caught it with his extra senses.
"Never- get out. More- nothing- never." She breathed out the mantra.
Robin shook her a bit, hoping to bring her out of her trance.
"You're not making any sense!" Beast Boy yelled.
"How can we help you friend?" Starfire inquired over Robin's shoulder.
Then Raven shook her head as if she was finally coming to.
"Get-" Her weakened form whimpered. Finally, she pushed out of Robins arms and fell to the floor.
"Get out of my room." She hissed, her eyes turning red. The Titans backed to the door unsurely.
"Rave-?" Beast Boy started. Raven's powers pushed them all out and slammed the door in their faces.
Another couple of day passed before anyone saw Raven again. Beast Boy made an effort every few hours to entice Raven out of her room, but with no response. When she finally reentered into the land of the living, she walked nonchalantly into the kitchen to brew some tea. Beast Boy was the only other person in the Meeting Room and his eyes slanted. So, she would come out for some tea, but not for him?
He shook his head. That wasn't what was important right now. He had been worrying about her for days. He turned to look at her from across the room.
"Are you okay?" His worried voice asked, as it had a thousand times before.
"It was just a bad dream." She pours her tea. "And nothing more."
"I could've helped you Rae, if you let me in." He walked over to her, across the floor.
"I don't need you're help." She hissed. Taking her tea, she made her leave, regret stabbing to the core.
Just before she turned the corner, she stopped to look back at him from the door.
"Stop worrying about me like that Beast Boy." She looked downcast as the demon within offered a roar.
"We're friends. But never- ever- will we be anything
More."
-FIN-
Please review, favorite, and follow! Please make suggestions and let me know how I'm doing! :)
