Chapter 4

Raven took in her surroundings in awe. Lana had said that this was an old style ice cream shop straight out of the 50's but Raven was not expecting this. This was now the fifth time her and Gar had gone out for ice cream, checking out the different places around town. This was different though, this time Gar had asked for it to be like a date. It seemed strange since he didn't know any more about her than what he had when they first met usually they talked about movies or books, never about themselves, which according to Gar was the point of this date. She was snapped out of her thoughts as Gar reached down and grabbed her hand pulling her towards a corner raised table with stools. Raven slid her hand out of his as they hopped up onto their respective stools. Raven never having been one to beat around the bush, unless she's the one being questioned, immediately began asking questions. "So why did you want to go out?" Gar snapped his head up with an ornery grin. "Come on Rae we haven't even gotten our ice cream yet, can you hold off on the friendly interrogation." Raven sighed, "fine, lets go get our ice cream, then I get to ask all the questions i want." As she hopped off and walked away Gar found himself amazed by her light footfalls and uncocky confidence. He and found she seemed to be afraid of nothing, except being open with him. This date, he figured, was his only opportunity to change that.

While Raven wasn't paying attention, he decided to take in her appearance. She was dressed simply in her green cargo capris, and black lace topped tank, but their was something uniquely beautiful about her. Gar also admired Raven's intelligence and the fact she could be graceful and non noisy in flip flops. "Gar, why are you staring at me?" Gar grinned, he suddenly had an idea. "Because your a ninja." Raven quirked an eye brow at him, "I'ma what?" Gar hopped off his stool and walked towards her with a mischievous bounce in his step and a troublesome gleam in his eye. Suddenly Gar grabbed her and pulled her behind one of the blocked glass dividers. "Wha-" Gar quickly covered Ravens mouth. "We are ninjas we must be quiet." Said Gar in a mock Asian accent. Suddenly Gar ninja rolled across the floor of the ice cream shop, as he sat up he beckoned for Raven to join him. She shook her head at him. "This is stupid!" She whisper yelled at him. Gar grinned, "then why are you still crouching?"

Raven sighed, he had a point, she was still crouched down. She looked over at him catching that childish glint in his eye. Suddenly Raven got a wild hair and rolled over to him. Gar smiled at her as she stopped right next to him sitting up with an eye roll. "Why are we ninjas again?" "Because you," said Gar getting really close to Ravens face. "are beautiful, mysterious and you can walk silently in flip flops, therefore you are a ninja." Raven once again quirked her eyebrow in his direction. "I'm beautiful?" Gar chuckled, "Ummm Duh. Now lets go get some ice cream." Raven stood, eyes widened in disbelief for a few moments before following him towards the counter.

Raven peered over her mint chocolate chip ice cream begging Gar to start a conversation, something she had never been a fan of doing. Gar just looked up, met her eyes and smiled before going back to his banana split. Raven had wanted to question him before the whole ninja fiasco but now she wasn't so sure. She looked down at Gar's ice cream. Ice cream. That gave Raven an idea. "I thought you were a vegetarian? Why do you still eat ice cream and cheese?" Gar grinned up at her, "there's no loss of life milking a cow. An egg still could have been a chick if it would have been fertilized that's why I eat tofu eggs for breakfast. However, if somethings made with eggs in it, like cookies, I'll still eat it though because I don't have to look at the egg. It's kind of terrible but I feel less guilty. Besides I can't be sure that the egg was fertilized."

Raven looked at Gar, he was definitely alot more complex than she imagined. "I don't think it makes you a bad person. I only eat chicken and seafood because I was in foster care at a farm when I was around fourteen or fifteen I walked in on them slaughtering a pig and butchering a cow. I know that chickens dont get treated any better and I know fish suffocate, but I've never seen it or had to help do it so I don't feel nearly as guilty eating them." Raven finished her sentence with a shrug, as Gar stared at her in disbelief. She had done something nice, something to make him feel less crappy about something he'd said and she just shrugged it off like it was nothing. So he decided to say something to Raven she wasn't use to hearing. "Thank you, Raven." And she smiled.

"So you said earlier once we got our ice cream I could ask you questions, is that still okay?" Gar looked up at her. "How about this, one of us asks a question both of us answers it?" Raven looked down, she wasn't so sure about that, she wasn't one to just throw out personal information, as if he could read her mind Gar spoke up. "If you'd like to wait until you know me better that would be fine, we can talk next time." Raven looked up at him,"there's going to be a next time?" "If I have it my way there will be lots of next times Rae." Raven felt a blush cross her cheeks, something that had been happening much more frequently as of late. "What if there's not." Rae said kidding around, but she quit smiling when she looked up and saw Gar's face. He looked absolutely crushed, then without saying a word he hopped up and threw his ice cream away. "I'll get a ride home, this was obviously enough time for you to actually communicate with someone who gives a damn about you." Raven winced at his words as the shop door closed with an added angry clang from the bells hanging on it. Raven sent the small brass objects an angry glare for mocking her on her way out the door. Raven expected to see Gar on his phone calling for a ride, however, when she reached the parking lot he was long gone.

Raven quickly hopped in her Jeep and attempted to start it, no dice. Of course, the one time she doesn't have her jumper cables, the one time she needs the damn thing to start it doesn't work. Raven angrily flung open her door and hopped out. "Damn it!" Shouted Raven kicking her car door closed. As she leaned against it she reached a hand up to brush sweat off her face, but found it wasn't sweat, she was crying. Raven Roth the amazing unbreakable woman of steel was crying over someone she'd met less than a month ago. Raven quickly threw her door open and climbed into the jeep with an exasperated sigh, banging her head down on the steering wheel, when she lifted her head up their were tiny drops on her windshield. She tried to turn the key in the ignition but yet again her engine whined as if shouting no no no no no at her. Suddenly the drops on her window got bigger and far off on the horizon she could see lightning and hear the angry thunderclaps from out at sea. As the weather worsened Raven realized that she had to find Gar, he had said he was getting a ride home, but if he hadn't that meant he was caught in this downpour. Her eyes immediately went to the path to the beach, if Gar had wanted to get home that would be the way. It was only a six mile walk on the path and if Gar had wanted to think that would have been a great way to do it. Without another thought of her inappropriate clothing for the weather Raven hopped out and started walking.

As she entered the path she saw a figure about a quarter mile away from her. Why am I doing this, thought Raven to herself. She could just as easily get in her Jeep drive to the next entrance and wait for him, but something told Raven to go now, oh that's right her damn Jeep wouldn't start. She began walking again, then suddenly Raven burst into a full sprint against the rain. She could barely see, but the figure that had been up the path seemed closer so she sped up until she was totally sure it was Gar. "Gar, wait!" She yelled as loud as possible against the wind that was now picking up sand and flinging it in her direction, thankfully he stopped and turned so she could slow down.

As she neared him Gar stared at her in disbelief. "Are you crazy?" He asked gesturing at her soaked clothes and bare feet, wait bare feet when had she lost her shoes? Raven looked him dead in the eye, "yes, I am totally out of my mind. But I didn't want you to think that I don't care, because for some ungodly reason I do. And what I said was just a joke I was totally kidd-" Raven was suddenly cut off by Gars hand over her mouth. She looked up into his eyes and was surprised at their intensity. He began to speak but kept his hand on her mouth. "Rae, I know we just met but I'm pretty sure that I'm totally crazy for you already and I know you don't give people alot of chances, and I know you are guarded and closed and untrusting but I think I can, we can make this work. Okay you can tell me no now," said Gar as he uncovered her mouth. "Well," began Raven, "if it doesn't work we never have to see each other again after summer, and I think if I let you in I would like you alot. So my answer is yes, but it's not going to be easy for me Gar, and I'm not going to promise you that I'll be worth it." Raven was now near tears with self doubt, Gar was a nice guy she didn't want to hurt him and even though she knew it wouldn't be on purpose, she wasn't sure how she would deal with it. Gar was staring at her in disbelief through the downpour. "Are you crazy, of course you'll be worth it now come on we need to get back to the jeep." Gar grabbed Ravens hand wriggling his palm against hers until their fingers intertwined. This time Raven didn't let go.

As they climbed into the jeep Raven immediately put the key into the ignition and turned it. Nothing. Not even a sputter. "Raven stared at it in disbelief, "you have got to be shitting me." Gar turned towards her, "we could wait for it to stop raining. You could ask me those questions. Raven turned towards him. "Okay, why were you in foster care, I'll tell you my story if you tell me yours." Gar just looked at her before beginning:

"I was born in Africa to two scientists, Mark and Violet Logan. My parents were biologists and were high on the hit list of some poachers. They were really into conservation and their conservation and anti-poaching campaigns put thousands of poachers out of business. When i was five we were on a river-boating expedition to see some birds. Out of nowhere an RPG hit the far end of the boat. My mom through me into a life raft and I arrived safely to shore, my parents sunk with the ship when the second RPG hit. They couldn't even have a service for them because the crocodiles cleaned out the river." Raven gasped as Gar began crying and she quickly wrapped her arms around him. "I watched my mom die too. My dad murdered her right in-front of me." Gar pulled back and looked at her in shock. "He got away with it because I was too shocked to testify or so my psychologist said. He didn't get put in jail till he put me in the hospital when I was thirteen." Gar stared at her, "you lived with that monster for thirteen years?" Gar was in absolute shock no wonder she had so many trust issues she couldn't even trust her father. Raven looked down, "yeah." She quickly looked up, "anything else?"

They sat in the Jeep for hours and asked seemingly pointless questions until Gar asked Raven if she enjoyed her prom in high school. "I didn't go, I don't know how to dance." Gar sighed, jumped out of the jeep, and walked around to Ravens side. He pulled her door open and yanked her out into the rain. "Gar what are you doing, I just got dry!" Gar chuckled at the exasperated look on Raven's face. "We are going to dance, come here." He then pulled Raven close to him, placing their hands in all the appropriate places. Raven looked around uncertainly. They were in the middle of the ice cream shops parking lot. However, because of the rain it was mostly empty, finally Raven allowed herself to relax into Gar's embrace. Then they began to rock back and forth in the rain and stayed their until Raven began to get goose bumps. Gar then pulled her back towards the Jeep where they climbed in on their respective sides. Gar leaned over the front seat and grabbed the picnic blanket off the floor board, and tossed it towards Raven.

Raven, who had been staring out the window, jumped as the blanket landed in her lap. She smiled at Gar's kindness and looked up to thank him but before the words came out their eyes met. Instead of making a move like most guys Gar smiled and took the key Raven had in the ignition and put a different one in from her overloaded key ring. On the first turn, the Jeep came to life. Raven looked over in confusion but just Gar smiled. "I'm a magician and ninja it looks like you could use me around."

-Okay that's it for now ^_^ I shall continue! Promise!-

-WaFfLeZ