"Oh! Hi, Raven," Beast Boy said, quickly closing the cabinet doors.

"Please don't root around in my stuff," she said, as she locked the cabinet with her powers.

"Um…sorry," he grinned sheepishly. "So you keep some of your personal stuff here?"

"Yes, my room in the Tower is cluttered enough. And some people occasionally like to sneak into it," she replied pointedly looking at him. "Why were you looking for my diary anyway? To embarrass me?"

He looked less sheepish and more hurt by her last statement. "No, Raven! Okay, first, I haven't snuck into your room in a long, long time. And I never wanted to embarrass you."

"Why then?"

He shifted his weight uncomfortably. "Okay, back when I was, like, a kid and I didn't really know you, I couldn't figure out some things you said. I mean did you hate me? Did you think I wasn't fit to be on the team? I know it was stupid, but I just wanted to know what you really thought."

She gave an exasperated sigh. "You and Cyborg went into my mirror and saw the reflection of my mind!"

"Yeah, but that gave me more questions than it answered… Anyway, I'm all over that now."

She tossed the pillow down on the bed. "So all your questions are answered?"

"I'm just past all that, you know? I mean, we're friends and team mates, but you've got your life. I've got mine." He laughed. "I don't lie in bed at night wondering what Raven- or anyone else- thinks about me anymore…you know, like 'whatever', right?"

"Good!" she said firmly, but for just an instant he thought he saw a flicker of sadness cross her face. But that was crazy; it must have been a trick of candle light.

The rain came down heavily on the roof, and they heard it running off in torrents.

"Uh, where are you going to sleep?" he asked, changing the subject.

"There is another room at the other end of the house."

He frowned. "I didn't see any other room…"

"Trust me, its there. I'll see you in the morning," she said, turning to go.

"Is somebody playing a musical instrument? I mean, even with all this rain, I hear this one constant note, like A on the guitar."

Raven whirled back to face him, with an expression of alarm, but it quickly faded. "It's A-flat," she corrected him. "That's the collective Mind of Azar that I told you about. I had hoped you would be immune..."

"Wait…it's what?"

"I told you before, all the people here are telepathically linked. That sound is what you hear when the collective is trying to tune into your brainwaves. You'll have to stay in the safe room with me."

She motioned for him to grab the pillow, and she led him back to the living room.

"Can you explain this whole 'collective mind' thing again, and what it's doing?" he asked.

She sighed. "I'm too tired to get into all that tonight. It's just not a good idea to have them roaming around in your mind, and even I can't block it while I sleep. But we'll both be safe in here."

A rectangular panel had been removed from one of the side walls, and he saw a concealed room through the opening. A single candle flickered inside. The interior walls were a much lighter colored paneling than all the other rooms in the house.

"A secret room!" he murmured in amazement.

"Yes. The wood it is made of is still alive, even though the tree it came from was cut down a thousand years ago. It blocks all forms of psychic energy. I can't even use my powers in here."

Raven bent down and crawled through the opening and he followed her.

Inside was a large bed resembling the one in Raven's room at the Tower, with an overhanging top part that made it look like her hood. But this one was carved with the same ornate designs like most of the objects in Azarath. There were no windows.

She knelt down by the opening and replaced the panel with handles it had on the back.

"So you built this?" He said, holding his pillow and looking around.

"Azar ordered this built when I was child, to protect me. And I was shut in here to keep my mind from disturbing the serenity of the Collective."

She sat down on one side of the bed.

"You're my guest here," she said, "so I can't ask you to sleep on the floor. That side will be yours. I trust you will stay on your own side?" She said the last part quite firmly.

"Sure," he agreed.

"And please take off your shoes."

He sat on the bed and did so, along with the gloves on his hands. He then lay down on his pillow, taking care to stay close to his edge. At least this bed had a mattress, he thought, although it was quite thin and not very comfortable. Unfortunately, there was no sheet or blanket to cover with either.

Raven took off her cloak and used it as a blanket for herself. She blew out the candle on the night table. "Good night."

"Do I get a blanket?" he asked.

"There aren't any. You'll be okay as you've got all your clothes. Now go to sleep."

Beast Boy lay there in the darkness. After a while he rolled on his back and his eyes gradually adjusted to see with the small amount of light that was coming from somewhere. It was kind of weird laying there with Raven. After a while he had to make some kind of a wisecrack.

"This is just my luck," he joked softly. "I finally am lying in a bed with a beautiful girl and we're on opposite sides and fully clothed."

He expected her to groan, or tell him to be quiet or something, but there was no response at all. She must be asleep. Well, it was kind of a stupid thing to say. He rolled on his side, facing away from her and closed his eyes. He was just drifting off to sleep himself when he heard a small voice:

"You really think I'm a beautiful girl?"

"Sure," he mumbled, matter-of-factly. He almost clarified that it wasn't a personal compliment from him, that many guys he had talked to thought the same about both her and Starfire, but he decided to let it go.

After a pause, he felt her cover him with the edge of her cloak.

"Yep, you're the most beautiful girl in this room," he quipped.

She yanked the extended part of her cloak back off him, and he smiled to himself. That seemed more normal. They said nothing more and were soon both asleep.

.

.

.

Hours later, Beast Boy awoke. Did he hear something? He was still in the secret room, everything was dark and quiet. He closed his eyes again.

There was the sound of a muffled sob. Was it Raven? He remained perfectly still and listened. There it was again, accompanied by some sniffling.

Raven was crying.

That was something he had never encountered before. Something he didn't even think was possible. Carefully, he turned to look. She was lying facing the wall and her shoulders were quivering.

"Raven?" he said gently.

She didn't acknowledge him. She only tried to muffle her sobs more, and without complete success.

He sat up and looked at her in the dim light. "Raven, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," she mumbled.

"Come on," he said gently. "You can tell me."

"I think she might have … died."

"Arella?"

More sobs. "Yes. I think that must be why they summoned me here."

He sat there feeling very uncomfortable and awkward with her like this. What should he do? He knew Raven didn't like physical contact, but there seemed to be no choice but to put his arm around her.

"It's okay, Raven…"

"I checked at the hospital, b..but her name wasn't listed." She sat up and turned half way to him and cried harder. He put both arms around her and held her.

"So you don't really know?" he said after a while.

"No…I'll find out in the morning."

"I'm so sorry, Raven," he whispered. "Whatever happens, we'll get though it. I'm here and I'll help you in any way that I can."

He held her for a long time. Finally she calmed down and they settled into a laying position, with her head on his chest. He still had one arm around her.

"This is why I wanted you here with me," she murmured. "I knew you could understand."

He gently stroked her hair in a soothing fashion and they both were quiet. She wasn't sobbing anymore, but after a while he noticed another tear silently rolling down her cheek. He brushed it away with his finger tip.

"You're sweet," she whispered. Then she closed her eyes and settled herself to go back to sleep.

Without thinking about it, he kissed the top of her head, probably the way his mother had kissed him goodnight as a child. He then rested his head back into the pillow and closed his eyes.

In a moment, Raven raised her head and crawled toward him. As he opened his eyes, her face was right in front of his, her hair dangling down over him. And as he tried to figure out what was happening, her mouth found his and she was kissing him. Passionately kissing him.

He was in shock at first, but once he recovered, he began to kiss her back. Then just as suddenly, and without a word, she disengaged and rolled over to face the other way on her own pillow.

Beast Boy lay there a long time, trying to process what had just happened. Should he say something? Should he attempt to initiate it again? Maybe she just wasn't herself due to all the stress and overflowing emotions?

As his mind churned on this, he heard her softly snoring. Exhaustion eventually overwhelmed him too, and he slept.

.

.

.

Many hours later, he awoke again. It was morning. The entrance to the room was open and Raven was gone.