Chapter 3

"I'm not really in the mood for all of this."

The anniversary of her birthday had finally arrived, and she was another year older. After twenty-one, she began dreading the day once more as she did before the prophecy had been fulfilled. However, she was somewhat more contented with the approaching date, as Robin had finally broken off the relationship with Star. Lately, he had been sneaking into her room so frequently within the past few days that at times she had to levitate instead of walk to reserve strength and energy. Oddly enough, Starfire did not seem to be very upset, although there were those days where she would be silent and in deep thought for long periods of time.

Starfire pulled Raven's reluctant body down the dark hallway towards the doorway to the common room. "Oh, but friend Raven, you must! We will do the painting of the toenails and the consuming of large quantities of unhealthy foods! We will have a wonderful night of the girls!" Raven rolled her eyes in exhaustion as Starfire opened the doors.

"Oh, jo-"

"SURPRISE!"

Raven was knocked backwards in shock. Every Teen Titan on the face of the earth (and the greater Milky Way) was in Titan's Tower. "Happy Birthday, Friend Raven!" Starfire clapped joyously. Raven's facial expression was still solid with confusion.

"All of this, for my birthday?"

There were black and blue balloons and decorations covering the floor, walls, and ceiling. Many Titans were even wearing blue cloaks with "Big 24th" embroidered on the back, including Beast Boy, who was wearing a purple bobtail wig and running around yelling Raven's mantra at anyone who cared to notice him. The sight was comical.

"When did you guys have time to do all of this?" Robin managed to maneuver through the crowd to greet her, grinning from ear to ear. "We just asked Starfire to distract you. You wouldn't believe the amount of time that bought us."

Raven shook her head. So that was why Star meditated with her for two straight hours.

Wonder Girl rushed to hug her with the longest embrace of her lifetime. "Oh my God, Rave, it's been so long! 24? Gosh, how time has gone by so fast! I remember when you were just 16 and awkward."

Raven smiled. Well, it was all in good spirit. "Donna. I agree, It's been a long time. But why are all of the Titans here?"

Wonder Girl smiled, wisdom showing through her knowing eyes. "Well, everyone now knows what you did for Earth. You defeated Trigon. Many of us had no idea until recently." She rubbed her cheek. "Happy Birthday."

Raven stood in surprise. It literally took everyone seven years to figure that out that the Earth had already experienced an apocalypse. What a hell of secret to keep for so long.

Cyborg had decorated the kitchen bar with various finger foods and festive glasses and even made his famous "Monster Punch". To drink it in excess would absolutely guarantee a devilish hangover in the morning.

Raven rarely enjoyed such large parties, but in this case, she could honestly say she felt true happiness. She was surrounded by those who loved and accepted her for who she was, demon spawn or not. Even being near Beast Boy was tolerable, of course with the aid of the mixture of vodka, rum and whiskey in one cup.

"You didn't put Everclear in it?" She inquired. She was starting to feel the heaviness of the strong liquor. Cyborg shook his head. "If I did, I might as well call it a Green-Eyed Monster Punch. Everclear should never be taken lightly." She burst with laughter, slapping the counter.

"Hah, Rae's getting drunk!" Beast Boy exclaimed, pointing under his hood.

"No the hell I'm not," Raven mumbled. "I could take another glass." Cyborg leaned into her face. His smirk was irritating her.

"You must want shots."

She growled. "Bring it on."

After nine shots of gin, Cyborg rubbed his head, staring intently at Raven, who looked as if she hadn't budged from her buzz. "I don't understand. I'm three times her size. How is she still sitting up straight?"

"Dude, Raven is a freaking demon! She can take anything." Beast Boy patted her on her back. "Go ahead. One more shot." At this point, Titans East, Hotshot and Kid Flash were watching the duel, waiting for one or the other to give in. The onlookers began to chant.

Raven filled her shot glass once again and held it to her face, taking in the pungent aroma. She looked up at Cyborg, who was mirroring her actions.

"Are you sure you want to take one more shot?" She noticed his stern facial expression had begun to falter.

"Sure as hell, Rae. Sure as hell." They knocked them back in unison, causing the crowd of Titans surrounding them to erupt in cheers. Cyborg picked Raven up above his head, causing her to scream in rebellion.

"Put me down before I throw up!" He boomed with laugher and sat her on the bar.

"Hey Rob, come see what this little 120-pound-lady just did! Ten freaking shots!"

Raven grinned wide from the overwhelming sensation of inebriation and the feeling of elation.

"Looks like Robin'ss…t-trying to get llaaaiid tonight, " Beast Boy mumbled. Raven looked at him. "What?"

He pointed over by the booming speaker. "Look!"

In the corner was Starfire sitting on Robin's lap, kissing him in a passionate frenzy of sexual frustration. His hands were everywhere, in places that made rage creep and grow like hot magma in Raven's heart. She felt her mind and senses go numb and her chest felt stone cold.

Suddenly, she didn't feel so happy anymore.

She had a feeling people were speaking to her and asking questions, but she felt as if water was logged in her ears. She had to leave.

She had to get away, anywhere but here.

Raven glared at the disgusting black coffee in her cup and forced herself to take one last sip. She grimaced as the steaming dark liquid slid down her throat. Ugh. She never drank black coffee, but she needed something, anything that could take her mind off the disturbing view that was permanently branded in her brain. A terrible aftertaste was doing just the job.

This was the starting of something new, a time for her to make a serious change. And she was done with Robin forever.

"Trying to sober up?"

She looked up from her gloomy stare and noticed a very familiar face. On any other occasion, she would have told any random stranger to fuck off, but she did not mind company at all.

"Not exactly, but it's helping. How did you know?" Sheila slid into the booth, softly smiling. She toyed with her ponytail as she waved at a waiter who was preparing to bring her a cappuccino.

"Well, it's kinda common to see people trying so sober up in coffee shops. So what's new, sweetie? What brings you here after midnight, when all the freaks come out and try to dry hump you while you're walking to your car?" She thanked the waiter as she laid her ebony-painted lips on the cup opening. "Seriously, that bullshit just happened to me. I almost died of disgust." Her smile faltered when she realized her sarcastic jokes had gone unnoticed.

"Alright. What's the problem?"

Raven sighed. "I'm just not having a good night." She shifted her eyes to the window and stared at the bright lights of the city life. Sheila cocked her head to the side, analyzing Raven's obvious depressing mood.

"Well hey, I'm a pretty good listener," she said, sipping slowly. "But I'm not going to pressure you if you don't want to talk." Raven looked over at her. Sheila's long black nails tapped on the curve of her cup, giving Raven something to watch as she spoke.

"Well, I don't want to say it's a guy but…" She shrugged. "Yeah, it's a guy, crappy douche bag at that. I just don't understand. I mean, on my birthday too?" Sheila threw her hands in the air and sucked her teeth.

"Geez, I knew it! Always screwing shit up. It's in their genes. And it's your birthday? Oh, you deserve a celebration, not a heartbreak!" Raven shook her head.

"Been there. The Teen Titans gave me a wonderful celebration. They made me feel 21 again. Until I saw him kissing his ex-girlfriend in the corner…that just ruined it for me." Sheila looked at her with long eyes.

"How depressing. You don't deserve that." She looked out the window, pursing her lips.

"I'll tell you what. I know how to turn your night around. Down by the west beach, they're doing Chinese lanterns for this…whatever they're doing it for. We should go there."

Raven raised her eyebrow. "For what reason?" Sheila glared at her and stood up.

"Just come with me, Raven. I've got something to show you."

Sheila's dark mane flew behind like a flowing black cape in the night air as they drove to the beach in her expensive-looking car. She drove with the brutal confidence to complement the hurtling automobile.

When they approached their destination, Raven could hear loud voices coming from the beach. The pair walked in the sand towards the sounds until they could see a large crowd of young people gathered around a bonfire.

"They're students," Raven noted. "Clearly they're celebrating the end of their semester." Sheila nodded and grinned at her. "Very observant! I would have never known. Honestly, I wouldn't. I just heard about it through a friend of mine a few hours ago." She laughed as she sauntered towards the crowd to request a lantern.

Raven sat down near the tide and looked at the full moon. The night was clear and beautiful. She almost wished she could have spent it enjoying an orgasm on top of Robin—until his actions of the evening returned to her current thoughts.

"Hey, those kids are so nice! I was gonna just chalk it up to the vodka they were all drinking but the guy who gave me this clearly high on life." Sheila giggled as she opened the lantern. "Ha! Just kidding, he was high from their weed brownies. I should've brought some over here."

She held the lantern up to the sky and nudged Raven. "Now, this is my birthday gift to you."

Sheila pointed two fingers to the fuel paper and a soft green flame expelled from her fingertips. The plasma curled around the square until it was encapsulated in glowing energy.

Raven's eyes expanded in surprise.

"You're a…pyrokinetic?"

"Eh…something like that. It's a little stronger than fire. More like burning gas." Raven smirked as she observed the lantern join its counterparts in the night sky, giving off a green light among the many reddish orange orbs.

"I've got an even better trick." Raven drew a bubble from her powers with a small opening on the bottom. Sheila beamed. "Ohh, we're getting somewhere." She tossed a ball of her green energy into the bubble and Raven closed the hole instantly. She let it float up into the sky and the two watched as the flame grew and shined brightly.

"It's like a…"

"Star? Also known as ball of burning gas."

Sheila turned to her and smiled. "You're something else." She grabbed her hand.

Raven looked at her, smirking. "You clearly have no idea."

I do like where the story is heading, and I've got it over halfway written. I can always make changes at any time, and I see I've got a lot of viewers, but everyone is afraid to say something! Don't worry, I don't bite! Let me know what you think!