Disclaimer: Hello, people that read this story! I am really sorry this took so long. I just had a bit of writer's block for a couple weeks. :] I'm back now; so please enjoy! Moreover, I still own none of the characters. I listened to a really long mix CD while writing this, with lots of Cascada and Three Days Grace. Wow… That was an odd mixture.

We had already packed up the small picnic, magically (not literally) managed to fit the portable radio into the basket, and started out walk to the larger part of the beach where the carnival was being held. I carried the basket, walking backwards in front of Raven with my hands and the basket behind my head. Of course, I was still grinning at her.

"So where are we going now?" she mused, a very entertained look on her lovely face.

"We are heading to the carnival! No worries, Rae; we won't stay very long. Just long enough for a short ride or two. It'll be fun, I swear." I gave her a huge smile, and she rolled her never-changing eyes at me. "Hey, tell me if I'm about to run into anything. okay? I wouldn't want to hurt the natural things around here." Rae didn't say she would, but her almost-smile was back. I took it as a good sign.

"Rock," she called. I expertly moved to the left. The violet-eyed girl raised her brows at me.

"I'm just that good. No lie."

"Sure you are," she teased lightly.

"For the record, I'm much more coordinated than Cy."

Dear Irony took her turn on me now. As soon as I said it, I tripped. Truth be told, he landing was totally perfect for the moment – completely flat on my back. But when I saw Rae quickly cover her mouth to hide the quiet giggling, it was all worth it. I lay there for a moment, silently looking up at her. Her bangs fell in her eyes, barely letting me see the purple orbs. Rae's hands, just a bit darker than usual, covered her smiling lips. The sleeves of her jacket had fallen, exposing her wrists, which were just as pale as her hands. Seeing them made me smile. No angry red slashes were decorating them today, or lately actually. Only a few thin, pale pink lines remained, showing her steady improvement to all.

She bent her knees, squatting to almost my height. "I don't think Cyborg would have tripped like that, Beast Boy."

"Is that because I'm the only one that can make you giggle?" I quipped back.

"I think it's because you're only hand-eye coordinated." She stood with a look a little smugger than before.

Managing to stand up, I teasingly rolled my eyes at her. "I'm very coordinated. Beaches just don't like green things that much. Why do you think we don't see any grass around here? It's because beaches are racist against all green things."

"You're not green right now," she pointed out.

"It can sense my true nature."

"Yeah, right." She rolled her eyes, but this time they were smiling her mouth's smile. My heart beat harder against my chest at that. And I didn't really mind.

"It's not tripping you is it? Why would it be mean to just me? See, beaches totally hate green things. You know, I base my idea purely on facts. I don't see why you won't accept the truth already Rae. Tsk, tsk. Like saying you aren't beautiful." I was not supposed to say that out loud… Oops. I panicked, deciding to go with it anyways. "That's based on facts as well, Raven. You should be ashamed of your self."

Her face flushed and she looked towards the vast body of water on her left. Her eyes wouldn't meet mine for a long moment. "You should be ashamed, Beast Boy."

"And why is that?"

"Lying gets you no where in life."

"It's not a lie, its simple logic." She raised her questioning eyes to mine with an odd look.

"Says the boy who believes beaches can be racist."

"Hey, if you were green like me, you would understand. Since you aren't, I won't hold it against you." Raven grinned at me but didn't say anything after that. 'Why not go with what I already had?' I thought. 'As long as it doesn't totally mess the night up, I should be alright with this.'

"You don't have to be green to see that you're really beautiful though, Rae. You just have to have common sense. Before you even say it, yes I have common sense. It's just not very exercised, as Cy would put it."

Raven still said nothing, only gazing over the rolling grey-blue sea. We walked the remaining distance to the pier with that almost-awkward silence settled between us.

The pier was all lit up with laughter and large crowds and couples and solo people all smashed together on it. We looked around, waiting in line to get tickets for a few rides. A Ferris wheel spun around with lights flashing madly. The forever-a-classic Merry-Go-Round sat next to it with giggling children riding the horses and a few cuddling couples on the benches. Other rides were placed here and there, separated by crowds and games. Music blared from the closet ride – the Moby Dick. The ride was just twenty seats right next to each other, set against a whale backdrop. People were laughing and screaming – I wasn't really sure if they screamed in fear or thrill though. They were perched in the seats and being thrust around and up, only to repeat the sequence. I stared at the Moby Dick, in all of its laughing, excited, lit-up brilliance. Rae stared up at it too, a slightly apprehensive look plastered on her always-beautiful face. Smiling, I bought twelve tickets for ten dollars, just in case…

I wondered if I could manage to get her on the ride. Its line wasn't long, and people seemed to enjoy it a lot…

"Rae…"

"I am not getting on that, Beast Boy." She looked defiant.

"Look at it! They're all laughing and having fun. C'mon, you'll totally love it. I know you will, Rae!"

"They're all screaming and looking afraid, actually."

"Please, I know it'll be great."

"That ride could not possibly be great."

"Are you scared?"

"It doesn't look fun."

"You said you could handle whatever I throw at you, Rae. Are you sure about that now?"

"I can."

"Then let's ride it!"

"I don't want to."

"Raven," I said with a much more serious tone, "would this ride scare you?"

She glanced up at it with her lovely violet eyes. "It does not look like fun," she repeated cautiously. The guarded voice she used was very familiar. I sighed, waiting for her to look back at me. I knew the warning in her voice. There were people around and if she did get scared, something could happen. She didn't believe in herself.

"Have a little faith, Rae. You won't hurt anyone."

"You don't know that."

"What about this: if you get on this one ride with me, you can choose what we do for the rest of the night. Even if it is just heading back to the Tower early, you can choose. Just ride this one ride, Raven. Please. I won't let you get scared." I smiled at her, hoping to convince her she was tougher than she thought.

Raven glanced up at the ride again, looking half-defeated and half-apprehensive. "How do you plan to make sure I'm not scared?"

The line was moving; people were getting on. I didn't answer her, only ushered Rae towards the Moby Dick. We managed to snag the last two seats with four tickets. Settling into the second-to-last seat, I peeked over at Raven. The violet-eyed girl still looked scared as she fumbled to buckle the protective strap. With a quiet grin, I gently remove her pale hands and buckle it – securely – myself.

"Thank you," she mumbled. Since she was not willing to speak any more, Rae put a death grip on the two armrests at her sides.

The ride began slowly. As soon as it picked up a little speed, Raven sent me a panicked look. I smiled at her, placing my Caucasian hand over hers. "Calm down, Rae. It's just a carnival ride."

Unable to calm down by herself, Raven clutched my hand with both of hers. "Raven, it's okay, I promise." She looked at me, sitting there perfectly fine while she practically freaked out over a ride. "It's just a ride Rae. It can't hurt you; you're just fine. I swear, Rae, the ride isn't going to hurt you and you won't hurt anyone else. Just calm down..." I continued to reassure her and by the third time around, she wasn't even gripping my hand that hard. "See, Rae? I told you it wasn't horrible. You're almost enjoying the ride now." My grin was ear-to-ear as I said this to her.

"It's not horrible, just not fun. Like I said before…" She shot me a dry look. "At least it could have been worse," Rae said, her gaze softening somewhat.

"There's your positive outlook!"

Her look made me laugh. "C'mon, you even released the death grip on my poor hand. That's very impressive, Rae. You should be extremely proud of yourself." We both knew that the last part carried more meaning than the rest of the sentence, and she gave me a small smile in return.

"I guess. By the way, your hand brought it upon itself." Raven's hold tightened as we were thrown to the left with the ride. I squeezed her hand back tightly, reassuring the beautiful girl beside me once again. Her eyes avoided mine for the third time that day and it was the second time her face was flushed with a color somewhere between red and pink. I smiled to myself and kept her hand in mine for the remaining part of the ride. She was even laughing by the end of it.

We got off the ride with matching smiles. Instead of shooting off to somewhere safer as I figured Rae would do, she ushered me to the back of the line to get on again. The guy working the ride laughed whenever he saw us again, taking out tickets with a wide grin. Raven and I took the exact same seats. This time Raven was laughing with me the entire time. After the second time around on that, we rode the Ferris wheel. While we waited to climb into the cages of the giant wheel, Rae told me she was only afraid of the Moby Dick because it creaked more than the other rides. It made both of us grin a bit wider to hear about her silly fear.

Once all of our tickets were gone, Rae and I went to do the exact thing I promised we would – get pizza. Sure, there was the war debate of the toppings (which we settled by getting half-and-half), some really sore hands, a couple of falls (traffic light poles aren't that fond of naturally green people either), and a spilled drink, but it was the best night of my entire life. I loved the rides and the talk on the beach, even the pizza was great. But the best part of the night, in my honest opinion?

It was that Rae never let go of my hand.

That was the best part.

'Hands down.'

Again, I'm sorry for the wait. Also, sorry this one wasn't that long! This chapter was pure fluff, if you didn't notice. I hope you enjoyed this one as well as the others! Review, people. :] It's been one of my favorite to write.