Andy was in her bunk; a focused expression on her face as she wrote furiously in a little black book. A knock on her door went unanswered twice until it flew open with revealing Shay. Looking at her friend, the red-head shook her head as she approached the bed.
"C'mon Andy, you've been writing in that stupid book for like…forever. You gotta stop it, girl; it ain't healthy."
The girl did not respond much, she merely gave a grunt as her tongue comically stuck out of her mouth.
Sighing heavily, Shay sat down on the bed.
"Listen up Andy, you know Val and Sky already called dibs on the grass stain. We'll only complicate matters," said Shay in an uncharacteristically soft voice.
Andy paused her writing when she heard that. Turning her head to look at Shay, she asked, "But you…like him too, right, Shay?"
"I guess; the boy's got something about him. Something that I guess makes me feel...different. I daresay it has got to do with the ears," replied the Reaper with a grin.
Andy laughed.
"Haha. To think that you were the one making fun of'em in the first place. You're such a 'crite!"
"Well, I try to be, Andreeeaaaannna," teased Shay as she tugged lightly at the girl's curly blond hair.
Andy glared at Shay.
"Don't call me that."
"Call yer what? Oh, you mean Andreeeaaannna?" teased Shay again as she dodged a punch from Andy.
At least I got her mind off that damn diary.
"Aw c'mon Andy. You're getting slow. Is that really the best you got? Damn, I got to teach yer some new tricks. Stop lis'nin to Ruka will'ya?"
"Oh, I'll show you slow Shay," growled the girl playfully as she launched herself from her bed in a half-twist, landing gracefully on the floor before leaping at her friend.
10 minutes later, the two were on the floor, panting.
"Damn, Andy. When ditcha learn to punch like that? Corax's gonna complain about this bruise tomorrow and I've already run out of excuses for the week!"
"Yeah and we'll get Ruka in trouble. She gets creamed by the Big Man because of us more times than we get'em ourselves. I'm beginning to feel bad."
"'Beginning' huh?" said Shay as she raised an eyebrow.
"Oh. Heh-heh. You know what I mean," said Andy as she blushed.
Shay was just about to reply with a smarting comment when the two heard voices outside the room. There was nothing particularly unusual about the voices except that one of them sounded male; and there could only be one other man in the Enclave besides Corax.
"Garfield," squeaked Andy; her eyes growing wide.
"Shut up, Andy," hissed Shay as she went to the door and opened it slightly, peering outside. What she saw made her freeze; Garfield and Skyler were walking side by side towards the mess hall.
"What is it, Shay? Why're you…," Andy's voice trailed away when she saw the same thing.
As soon as the two were out of sight, Shay gave a large grin as she opened the door wide to exit the room. The action startled her friend causing her to fall heavily on the floor. Rubbing her chin, Andy looked up at a frowning Shay.
"Heh, my bad," said Andy giving a sheepish grin.
"Whatever yer idiot…c'mon let's go," said Shay as she hoisted Andy up and started dragging her away.
"Where are we going, Shay?" asked Andy as she struggled to keep up with her friend.
"We gonna crash a party, Andy dear," said Shay with a wicked grin.
"Oooh," replied the girl as a similar grin appeared on her face.
"I like it."
As Garfield ate, his thoughts digressed from Raven to his new life as a Reaper and to his current situation; all his life he had to endure constant stares and jibes from people due to his condition. He could never have foreseen that not one, not two but six girls have the hots for him. Speaking of which, one was currently sitting opposite him and playing with her fork.
"Sky, are you eating yet?" asked the changeling as he looked at the brunette girl.
"Huh? O-oh yeah, heh," replied Skyler as she gave a sheepish grin before helping herself to a small mouthful.
"You, uh, seem to be thinking a lot there. You okay, Sky?"
"Yeah, I am. Don't worry, I was just, um, thinking…," said the girl dumbly.
Great, can this get any worse? Okay just calm down Sky; you can do this. Just…ask him. What's the worst that can happen, right?
"Um, Garfield?" said Skyler nervously.
The young man looked up from his meal.
"…*munch*…yeah?"
"I-I was wondering if, uh, you wanna, um…"
The poor girl was stuttering so badly that Garfield could not help but feel sorry for her. Putting down his fork, he patted Skyler's hand gently.
"Hey, c'mon; ease up a little there. Looks like you're gonna have a nervous breakdown or something," said Garfield with a smirk as he tried to calm the girl down. "What do you wanna tell me? Remember, I'm all ears!"
Twitching his prominently pointed ears for emphasis, the gesture brought a stifled giggle from Skyler as she covered her mouth.
"Okay-okay, I was just wondering if you're, um, free the day after tomorrow?" said Skyler.
"I'm not sure. Crime in Jump City can be a little unpredictable but I guess I can make it. Why?"
This is it, Sky…the moment of truth.
"W-would you like to, uh, g-go out with me on that day?" asked Skyler as she shifted her gaze downwards at the table, her cheeks flushed.
Garfield contemplated for a moment as he absorbed Skyler's request.
"I-I mean if you're not comfortable with it, it's perfectly alright. I-I was being too hasty, wasn't I? I mean I've only met you for like a day. I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to make you upset…," rambled Skyler as she took Garfield's silence as a rejection.
"Y-you know what? We'll forget this conversation ever happened. I never asked you out and you never heard anything…"
"Sure…"
"Yeah, uh, uh, okay. I take that as a 'yes'. Okay, uh…"
Skyler's rambling was cut short when she felt a hand touching her shoulder. Looking up, she saw Garfield smiling at her as he removed his hand.
"Sure, I'll go out with you, Sky," said the young man, giving a small chuckle as he saw her eyes grow wide in a frenzied mixture of elation and disbelieve.
"R-really?" asked Skyler, still in astonishment.
"C'mon…do I really need to spell it out for you? I would love to go out with you…but as friends, of course."
"Oh, right. Of course, heh-heh," said Skyler quickly, being subtle in her disappointment.
Well beggars can't be choosers after all.
Just then, a loud crash brought their attention towards the mess entrance. Turning around, they saw two girls; a redhead and a blonde in a tumbled heap on the tiled floor with sheepish grins on their faces.
"Uh, h-hi," said Andy as she waved nervously at Garfield and Skyler, trying to ignore the death glare that the brunette was giving her.
Raven closed her eyes as she savoured the bitter taste of tea in her mouth. A moment like this was one of the few pleasures that the empath allowed herself to indulge in. Until, of course, the sweet sound of silence would be broken by the inevitable cries of a certain green changeling eager to tell her his latest joke.
Reminiscing, Raven subconsciously smiled. Beast Boy. Gar. Those two were one and the same yet so different. To her, Beast Boy was the Titan she had known for years; a teammate and a friend. Gar was the boy that grown up to become the man she fell in love with. To be frank, Raven realized that she had already fallen in love. She had already fallen in love with Beast Boy.
One and the same.
"Raven?"
Robin's voice permeated the silence of the Common Room as the Boy Wonder entered. His face was etched in worry as he sat on the couch opposite Raven.
"Yes, Robin?"
"Is Beast Boy home yet?"
The empath shook her head slowly before taking a small sip.
"I would have felt his presence in the tower. He isn't here yet. Don't worry, he'll be back. Beast Boy is never one to break a promise," said Raven as she gave the team leader a ghost of a smile.
Robin raised his eyebrow.
"You seem pretty optimistic. Anything I should know about?" asked the Boy Wonder.
"I just know he'll be back that's all," replied the girl coolly.
"Fine-fine. I'm just worried about him that's all,"
"I think we all are, Robin."
Robin nodded absent-mindedly. There was silence between the two as each Titan became preoccupied with their respective thoughts concerning the changeling.
"So, how's Starfire taking this?" asked the empath nonchalantly.
"Kori? She's taking it perfectly well, actually. She seemed distraught just yesterday but now, she's back to her happy self. Not that I'm complaining of course but each time I ask her about it, she would just say everything's fine and that I have nothing to worry about."
"I see."
"Um, you don't happen to know anything about this do you, Raven?"
The empath let out an amused snort.
"Well, Dick. Let's just say that we women have our own secrets to keep; the ones not privy to snooping from members of the opposite gender."
"Oh great, you too," muttered Robin. Nevertheless he did let out a small grin before his frown returned.
"Even so, I still worry about him, Raven. As team leader and his friend, it is my responsibility to look out for the green guy. The things he said yesterday…"
"Stop beating yourself over it, Robin. If there's anyone who should be affected by all that has happened, it should be me. I-I was the cause of everything that has happened."
"But it shouldn't have happened, Rae. I should have seen it coming. I should have noticed that he was not feeling alright but I didn't…I failed him. I failed all of you...Ow!"
The Boy Wonder received a smack on the back of his head by a force of black magic which almost knocked him to the floor. Rubbing the sore spot, he looked indignantly at the culprit.
"What the heck was that for?"
Calmly sipping her tea, the violet-haired girl replied, "First of all, do not ever call me 'Rae' or any other nickname for that matter. Secondly, you're being silly just by saying what you just said; you have made mistakes before Robin, and what happened yesterday was but another one. Mistakes happen. We fix it and move on. So stop with all the self-pity and woe speeches. Being all gloomy is my job after all."
Robin gave a snort.
"I guess you're right…"
Raven sighed.
"Listen to me, Richard."
Robin's body turned rigid when he heard his name being called.
"I care for Beast Boy just as much as the rest of you do. Even though I don't show it that well, I really do and I'd do everything in my power and more to help him. I won't stop until I do. You have my word on that."
Robin smiled.
"I know you will, Raven. I can see that he means a lot more to you than any of us does."
The remark caught the empath by surprise.
"What do you…?"
"Mean? Well, Raven; I put two and two together. He tries his hardest to get you to open up even at the cost of his safety; he was clearly the most affected during the Malchior incident; he turned into the Beast to protect you and only you. I don't know if I'm mistaken about your disposition towards him but one thing is for sure. You have a special place in his heart."
Raven was shocked at Robin's revelation. Was it that obvious? Had she been that oblivious to the changeling's affection the whole time?
So much for having emphatic powers, Raven.
Robin continued talking.
"A lot that has happened is because we did not take Beast Boy seriously. Yeah, it's true he's our friend and teammate and that we always say that we are like one family. But did we treat Beast Boy as family? It's true what he said; I only see him as the joker, little else…and I'm sorry I made him feel that way."
With that, the team leader became silent as he stared towards the window.
Raven put down her cup of tea before getting up from her seat. Walking towards Robin, she sat beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"We all made that mistake Robin, but what is done is done; we cannot change the past. What we can do now is to right what has been wronged. In this case, I can only hope that we're not too late."
Robin smiled a little.
"I guess you're right. I'm gonna check up on those people we fought with yesterday. I can't really put my finger on it but something about them doesn't really fit in."
"What do you mean?"
"When we arrived, did you notice anything damaged? Besides the vehicles and some lamp-posts I mean."
Raven shook her head.
"I don't recall, Robin. I was too busy with my opponent."
"There wasn't any; these guys wanted to fight us. They wanted us to be there. And did you notice how they fought?"
"Yeah, they were holding back. It was as if they did not really want to hurt us. It was like a charade."
"Exactly. No one was hurt that bad except for Beast Boy."
At the mention of the changeling's name, Raven's eyes went wide.
No one except Beast Boy…
Oh, Azar…
"They were after Beast Boy, Raven. It was him the whole time," said Robin as he looked at the girl to see her reaction.
It was Raven's turn to turn rigid. Her already pale skin was now almost clear white in the moonlight. Her thoughts ran amok with concern and fear for her love. Amidst the chaos, only one thought managed to raise itself above.
Garfield…
"Rae? Raven? C'mon Raven, SNAP OUT OF IT!"
Robin's panicked voice woke the girl from her stupor. Glancing around, she noticed that objects and furniture were levitating all around the Common Room; some collided with each other causing splinters to shower the area.
Raven quickly materialized a shield around herself and Robin and at the same time struggled to rein in her rampaging emotion; fear. Chanting her mantra, Raven gradually calmed herself down causing the levitating objects to crash down onto the floor with loud crashes.
Pulling up her hood to cover her face, Raven began to walk out of the place to get to her room when she felt Robin's hand on her shoulder, causing her to pause.
"You feel the same way about him too, don't you?" said the Boy Wonder softly.
Shrugging off the intrusive hand, the empath continued her exit without answering his question; which pretty much meant the opposite.
Robin stood alone in the Common Room as he pondered his conversation with Raven. Things were getting complicated in his opinion and if he handled this wrongly, it could potentially have a detrimental effect on the team as a whole. Letting out a resigned sigh, he made his way to his own room to find out more about the mysterious assailants that were after Beast Boy. Sparing a glance at the mess behind him, he gave an uncharacteristically dismissive shrug.
That can wait till tomorrow.
"Well…?" asked Garfield with his arms crossed as he frowned at the two girls who were now standing awkwardly as they tried to come out with a reason for their intrusion.
To be honest, he was not at all bothered. In fact, he welcomed it; things were quickly becoming a bit awkward with Skyler; the girl was currently snarling as she continued to glare murderously at her two teammates.
"Shay and I were…uh…we were, um…"
"We were hungry!" said Shay, almost screaming the words as she elbowed her friend to keep quiet.
From Garfield's narrowed glance, it was clear that he had doubts regarding her words. Nevertheless, he was in no mood for an argument so he let it slide this time.
Looking at Skyler, he asked her, "Sky, do you keep any leftovers?"
"Yeah, they're in the fridge; top compartment," answered the girl.
Andy cringed.
"Errr…you know what? I just realized that I'm not that hungry. I think Shay thinks so too, right Shay?"
Unfortunately, the resident firebrand did not catch the hint clearly enough.
"Yeah right, like I'm gonna soil my taste buds again with that steaming plate of cra..."
"SHAY. ANDY. THERE YOU ARE!"
Displaying what could possibly be the best timing to interrupt a conversation, Haruka stepped in through the doors with a stern look on her face. She did not seem to notice the other two people though.
"Alright, the two of you; start explaining," demanded the older girl to her two charges.
"Aw c'mon, Haruka. We're just playing," whined Andy.
"Well, play time is over. Corax's assigned me to watch you two troublemakers and I'm not letting the both of you out of my sight! I had to search the entire Enclave…twice! Heaven knows what you girls would be thinking of next and whatever it is; I would get part of the blame! No way, Jose! And most importantly, there is absolutely no way I'm gonna let you two make a fool out of me in front of Garfield, you hear me?"
Shay's sniggering made the fuming girl pause as she turned to glare at her.
"Anything funny, young lady?"
Shay's snigger turned to outright laughter as she pointed towards a very flattered-looking Garfield. Even Skyler could not help but let out a few giggles of her own.
"If, uh, it makes you feel any better, I think you're doing a good job so far…," said the changeling weakly as he smiled.
The four young people watched in an amused manner as they saw a stunned Haruka began to blush profusely. Facing the young man, she dared a stuttering 'hello there'.
"Hello yourself," laughed Garfield.
There was an awkward silence among the five until the door burst open revealing a sweat-drenched Felise. Looking ahead to find five pairs of eyes staring back at her, the Reaper blinked her eyes once before tilting her head in confusion.
"What did I miss?" asked Felise.
"Nothing. Nothing at all. Gar and I were just having some supper together that's all," said Skyler a little too quickly.
Felise began to frown.
"Together? Just the two of you?"
Skyler merely nodded.
"Why?"
"What do you mean 'why'?"
"Why is it just the two of you? Can't you ask at least one other girl to accompany you?"
"And why does it bother you so much Fel? It's my business who I choose to eat with, alright?"
"Okay-okay, time out," said Garfield as he got between the two girls.
"Okay look here; Sky, I'm sure she's just looking out for you, okay? Nothing to feel offended about; 'tis just sister love, right?" turning to face Felise, the changeling said, "Fel, you know I'd never do anything to Sky. She's my friend and so are you. All of you are my friends. Please stop fighting."
Garfield barely heard Shay mutter something that sounded like ''sister love', my ass' but decided not to say anything about it. Things were already tense enough.
"C'mon, since we're here, why don't we have supper together?" the young man suggested.
"Someone should fetch Valerie; she'd be upset if we left her out and I'm not going to be the one consoling her again," said Felise.
"Yeah, I swore even Corax had to resort to saying a joke or two to get her to smile again," muttered Haruka.
"I'll go," said Garfield as he shrugged.
"NO!"
The changeling drew back a bit, startled, as the girls practically shouted the word at him.
"Why not?"
"She could be, uh, busy with girl stuff, you know?" answered Andy uneasily. Scowling at Shay, the girl gave her a good nudge.
"Huh? Yeah, uh, we can get all 'grrr' if guys just barge into our bunks just like that. Especially green ones, heh-heh…Ow!"
Shay rubbed her arm to soothe the bruise caused by Skyler's pinch.
"Hey I'm gonna knock, you know. What sort of perv do you think I am?" said Garfield with a smile as he began to make his way towards the exit but was stopped short by the girls. If he had not already known their feelings for him, Beast Boy would have thought this was all pretty funny.
"You know what, I'll go. I'm second in charge so I will fetch her and bring her here. You stay, 'kay?" said Haruka, blushing.
"Um, whatever you say, Haruka. You're the boss," laughed Garfield as he gave her a mock salute.
Haruka smiled and winked discreetly at him before exiting the mess hall. Somehow, her hips seemed to sway a bit more prominently as she walked. The young man's gaze could not help but linger, much to the other girls' annoyance.
As soon as Haruka left, Skyler muttered, "Let's just get a table."
Walking past, she made sure to 'accidently' step on Garfield's foot.
"Ow! Whaddya do that fo-…Ow! Ooof! Yeooow!"
In quick succession, the rest of the girls made their way past the young man and making sure to make their displeasure known.
Rubbing a bruised shin, Garfield looked at his teammates and shook his head before joining them.
Women…
Nevertheless, the changeling smiled as he took a seat with the Reapers. Skyler, who had gone to the kitchen to re-heat the food, soon came back carrying a large tray.
Corax leaned back against his seat as he watched the visual feed from the security camera in the mess hall. He gave a satisfied smile as he chewed slightly on his cigar.
I knew I've made the right choice. Logan's the one for my girls. All that is left are the Titans. But if I'm proven right, , I don't think there's a need for me to do anything the Titans wouldn't do themselves.
Humming a slow tune, he turned on his own communicator. A holographic image materialized, showing a quiet gathering of a man flanked by six young women. Gazing fondly at the image, Corax allowed a single tear to cascade down his right cheek.
Chapter 10! I'm beginning to add several sub-plots here and there. if they seemed confusing pls tell me and i'll do my best to clarify them in my later chapters:) also, i'm afraid that updates will be quite irregular from now on until November. im really sorry. school's a bxxxh.
but i would like to reassure reader's that this story is not on hiatus as some would say:) i appreciate you guys and it would be plain disrespectful to submit a shoddy piece of work. so bear with me kay?
all in all thank you very much for reading. until the next update!!
spartan585
this chapter is dedicated to my friend and fellow writer TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne:) sorry bro for the late submit!!