"You're nervous." Raven eyed him as they made their way to the restaurant door, but stopped before they reached it.
"What?" Dick let out an incredulous laugh. "Nervous? Noo. Why would I be nervous?"
"You tell me." She raised an eyebrow at him, not buying his smile for even a second. Something was off and she knew it. His emotions gave it away, even if he didn't realize it.
"Come on, Rae. There's nothing-"
"What did you do?" But as soon as she finished the sentence, a sudden realization struck her. Her frown turned into a shock as she turned her head towards the restaurant, feeling a flood of anticipation coming from there. "No…" She gasped softly.
"I didn't do anything"- Dick's explanations were cut short when the girl suddenly turned on her heel and started walking in the other direction. "W-wait- Where are you going?"
"I'm not going in there, Dick."
"But why? Rae," he sighed and caught up to her, gently grabbing her by the wrist, "please, just give it a chance."
But she was really having none of it. Turning to face him, she frowned, her eyes becoming dark with anger.
"It was supposed to be only me and you. Maybe even Bruce if he showed up on time for once. What is going on in there right now?" Freeing herself from his grip, she used her free hand to poke at his chest. "You know better than anyone else in this damn world that you can't hide these things from me. So you better spit it out."
"Okay, fine, fine." Dick raised his hands in defense and sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair while the other rested on his hip. "I didn't plan for any of this. It was Wally's idea-"
"Wally's?"
"Y-yeah… He said- Well, it's your 18th birthday and it's our last year together in this school and perhaps even in this city, so… He wanted to celebrate all the little things for as long as we still can. And I mean"- A shrug rolled off his shoulders as he looked at her with a hopeful gleam in his eyes- "I agree with him."
A part of her wanted to argue with him. To say that they could still be friends and hang out even after they graduate. But she knew that realistically chances of that happening once they go their separate ways were slim. They could fool themselves thinking that things wouldn't change after high school, but the reality of life would set in sooner or later.
As much as she didn't want to admit it, Wally and Dick were right. She didn't have a lot of friends to begin with. Most of the people she knew was thanks to Dick. Or thanks to her last name. And she didn't spend nearly enough time with the few friends she did have, feeling as though she didn't quite fit in. It never felt like her group of friends. But… This might be her last chance to make it hers. To feel like she belonged somewhere. Before it all went to shit.
"Did you really have to choose this day for celebration?" Her features slowly softened and Dick could swear he saw the corner of her lips tug into a smile, which made him smile in return.
"Hey, it's not my fault your birthday fell on a Friday this year, which is the perfect day for celebrating." He then offered her to grab onto his hand and turned back to the restaurant. "It's just this one night, Rae. It'll be fine."
Somehow his words weren't exactly reassuring. She knew how all these it'll be fine turned out in the past. But maybe… Maybe she had just a bit of a hope in her heart. She wanted for it to be there anyway.
"Alright, alright." The girl sighed in defeat and took his arm, trying to ignore the cheerful smile Dick gave her, pleased by the outcome of this conversation.
"Glad to see you opened your present." He simply commented with that smile still on his face as they were making their way back to the restaurant.
"Oh. Yeah." Her hand subconsciously reached for the small red diamond shaped pendant hanging around her neck in a golden chain. "It's beautiful. I figured it fit the occasion." She smiled and glanced at him from the corner of her eyes to see him practically glow with happiness, making her release a quiet chuckle.
"Oh and"- he then suddenly remembered once they'd reached the door again- "try to look surprised, okay?"
"I call for a toast!" Wally stood up from his seat, his glass of juice high up in the air as he smiled brightly at the rest of the group.
"Another one?" Donna raised an eyebrow at the redhead.
"We're not even drinking for you to make so many toasts, man." Vic only laughed, but wasn't exactly opposed to the idea of a toast. Wally's humor was good enough for a laugh after all.
"Exactly. There's no harm in that then." He grinned at his friend and raised the glass a bit higher, his attention now turned to Raven.
"What haven't we had a toast for yet though?" Dick let out a chuckle and followed Wally's gaze over to Raven.
"Well, for this special occasion, of course! The first ever Raven birthday party." The redhead proudly pointed the glass to the girl in question.
"And probably the last one too if you don't stop yammering about." Dick teased his friend and shook his head, receiving a thankful look for Raven. The last thing she wanted from all of this was to bring more attention to them than they already did. But she was also grateful for everyone that had come. Even Kory freed some time even though she had a cheerleader practice and Gar with his endless school plays that he seemed to be constantly rehearsing for. Not even talking about Vic, who was the leader of the football team, and Donna, who was running the photography club.
"Aw come on, don't be a party pooper." Wally pouted at him before turning his attention back to Raven again and winking at her. "Right, Raven?" There was no vocal response from her, but she did offer him a smile and a small nod, lifting her own glass up from the table.
"I do thank you all for coming together like this." Her blue eyes looked over everyone. "Cheers."
"Cheers!" They exclaimed in unison and took a sip of their drinks before returning to casual chatter. But however fun and peaceful the evening was, Raven couldn't shake the sense of dread off her shoulders. She hadn't even quite realized that she kept taking a look around the restaurant and outside the window, she jumped a little every time the waiter came by and that every new customer rose suspicion to her. But Dick did.
"Rae?" He spoke in a hushed voice, scooting his chair a bit closer to her. "You okay?" But she only made a face at him, making him raise his eyebrows. "What? You look like you're expecting a ghost to walk through that door at any minute."
"Well, what if I was?" She looked at him in complete seriousness and Dick wasn't sure whether to laugh or be even more worried for her. A part of her didn't want him to worry, but another just wanted to get these things off of her chest. To share it with someone. But… It didn't feel like the right time. It never did.
"I'm fine, don't worry." She quickly gave him a smile, but it didn't convince even her. Still, he decided not to push it further for now.
"Everything good here? Anything else I can get for you?" The waiter had come by once again, slightly startling Raven. Only this time, her face went completely pale. As soon as she looked up at the man, a horrible chill went down her spine because what she saw was not a man at all. She was looking straight at a demon. A horned, four-eyed, red-skinned demon, speaking in a distorted voice. And her heart stopped. No! This was not real! Blinking several times, however, the man returned to his human self. But to say that it still left her shaken was an understatement.
"Rae…" He looked at her with a concerned expression and cocked his head to the side to look at her face.
"I'm fine." She repeated in a quiet breath, looking down and pressing her lips together, as if to hide the heavy breathing. Her hands were hiding underneath the table, clutching onto her black dress to stop them from shaking, as she tried to take quiet deep breaths to hopefully make her heart stop pounding in her chest. Seeing this behaviour though didn't make him feel any better.
"Rae, it's fine if you're not feeling okay, we can just-"
"Dick, will you-" She snapped back at him, but her sentence was cut short when she suddenly exclaimed in absolute horror and jumped back, literally falling out of her seat, which now brought everyone's attention to the scene. Worried looks and questions were aimed at her, but all she could see was a burning body looking down at her. The same burning body from her nightmares. But it felt so real this time. She felt like the smoke was choking her and the heat was burning in her face. They were coming to life now. How was this possible?
"RaVEn, WhAT hApPeNEd?" A distorted voice rang in her ears and when she looked to her side, she saw Kory burning too as she tried to reach down to help her get up.
"No! Don't!" The girl exclaimed and stumbled up on her feet. Everyone was burning. Looking at her with their hollow eyes. It was just a vision. But it… It was just real. Too real. "I- I need to go." She barely managed to gasp out before she was already on her way to the door. She needed fresh air. To just get out of there and away from everyone. What was she even thinking? This had been a bad idea from the very start!
As soon as she exited the restaurant, she quickly walked around the corner and pressed against the brick wall, gasping for air, her hands rested on her knees as she stared down at the ground. But the air seemed just as dense here as it had been inside. A sudden chill rushed through her body and it made her look up again. Something… Someone was there.
Walking back from around the corner, Raven turned her head to the restaurant. No, no one was there. Then turning her head in the other direction, she saw a person standing at the end of the street. A well-dressed man wearing a red suit, golden hair, a cold stare and this incredibly sinister aura around him. Never before had this ever happened. What was it that she was seeing?
"Rae!" A voice snapped her out of her trance-like state and she turned around to see Dick, not a burning corpse now, running towards her. "What happened? Are you alright?" His concern was very evident in his voice and he reached his hands to place on her shoulders.
"I… I found my ghost." She let out a chuckle, but the horror was still in her eyes as she looked at him. Hearing footsteps behind her though, she glanced back again. He was approaching. Slowly. His hands in his pockets. Not saying a single word. "I need some space, Dick. Just… go back inside."
"B-but why?" He looked at her in confusion and then behind her, following her gaze. "Do you know him?" Now her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach, her head slowly turning back again to face him. Dick was looking straight at the man behind her.
"Y-you can see him?" Her voice was just barely above a whisper, as she was just too shocked to even properly raise her voice. This wasn't another one of her visions? But how? It had the same feeling around it. How was it that Dick could see it too?
"Now, now. Don't be so distraught, my child…"