Hey guys. I'm sorry I keep taking so long with the updates, I'm just not getting enough reviews. Mention this story to your fellow Titanites for me? The more reviews I get, the more I'll update. I'll set up a standard, so that every 10 reviews I update. Hope you enjoy, I think the story is bombing a little.
Cody and Beastboy were playing Guitar Hero, Cody on drums and Beastboy on guitar and microphone. As they finished up Audience of One by Rise Against, Cody stood up, and stretched his sore back.
"That thing needs to get heightened," he said, groaning from the pain in his back.
"Get over it," Beastboy said, laughing.
"Jerk," Cody glared at him, Beastboy laughed more. "You have a really good singing voice, you realize that don't you?" Cody asked.
"Actually, I-"
"He just hit puberty or something, his voice used to crack and rasp all the time," Raven said, walking in to get some tea.
"Hey! It barely cracked!" Beastboy said, offended.
"If you say so," she said, grinning.
"Which I do," he said, giving her a kiss as she passed him again, leaving. Turning back, he saw Cody laughing quietly.
"Shut up," Beastboy said, blushing a little.
"You're a beast at this game, dude. How'd you get so good?" Cody asked.
"Well, I guess I'm just an alright singer, and I can play the guitar, so maybe that's got something to do with it," Beastboy told him.
"What? Since when can you play guitar?" Cody asked. So far, he and Beastboy had been playing video games and chatting all day. As of now it was three o'clock, and they were bored to tears.
"Since forever! In the Doom Patrol, my team before the Titans, that's all I did on my down time! I even practice here sometimes," Beastboy said.
"What songs can you play? Any of The Offspring?" Cody asked.
"Just 'You're Gonna Go Far, Kid'."
"What about Avenged Sevenfold?"
"I can play all of the City of Evil album and 'Scream'."
"Green Day?"
"No."
"Three Days Grace?"
"Nope."
"Sixx:A.M.?"
"'Life Is Beautiful' and 'Van Nuys'."
"Do you know Famous?"
"By who?"
"Puddle of Mudd."
"Yeah."
Cody cheered, and pointed to an ad in the newspaper. It said there was a little battle of the bands at Eclipse Records in downtown Jump City tonight at 7. The set length was three songs, and the winner got 5,000 dollars.
Beastboy shook his head. "No way am I embarrassing myself like that. We don't even had a bassist! Or a drummer!"
"I can drum, and I know three of those songs. 'You're Gonna Go Far, Kid', 'Life Is Beautiful', and 'Famous'. That's like, a sign from God! We should go!"
"If we can find a bassist," Beastboy said, assuming he would be victorious, considering that no other Titans played any instruments.
"Well, damn," Cody said, disappointed.
"You can't be serious about this," Beastboy looked at him as though he were a psycho.
"Serious about what?" asked Cyborg, reentering the room.
"Cody wants to perform at amateur night at some music place downtown. Eclipse or something."
Cody nodded excitedly. "We need a bassist though. Too bad too, the winner gets 5,000 bucks." Cody looked at Cyborg, hoping against hope.
Cyborg's jaw nearly hit the floor. "For one song?!"
"Actually, a set of three. Ironically enough, BB and I know more than enough for that," Cody said, saddened that he had had such good luck up until this point.
"Well, I can't play bass. Yet, at least. I could always download the ability," Cyborg said, grinning at the other two teens in the room, who were confused and agitated by the clichéd turn of events.
"What? There is no way you're pulling a Matrix on me," Beastboy said. Cyborg nodded.
"With all those instructions on the net? Of course I could learn it. And with 5,000 bucks I could get a new TV. Or maybe a system. Or a massive stockpile of games!" At this point Cyborg was practically drooling.
"So why not?! It would be so amazing to get up and just rock out. I've never been able to show my drum skills off," Cody said, looking eagerly from Cyborg to Beastboy.
After a long pause, Cyborg and Beastboy simultaneously stated they were in.
"So what songs am I learning?" Cyborg asked.
"'You're Gonna Go Far, Kid' by the Offspring, 'Famous' by Puddle of Mudd, and 'Life Is Beautiful' by Sixx:A.M.," Cody said, grinning from ear to ear.
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"Where are you three going?" Robin asked as he watched Cody, Beastboy, and Cyborg meet up in the main room, in civilian clothes. Beastboy and Cyborg had holo-rings on, they looked completely normal now. Cyborg looked like he did before the accident, in tight black clothes with rock horns on his shirt, Beastboy was dressed in his black Avenged Sevenfold shirt with black camouflage jeans slightly sagged, and Cody was wearing a red and black Sixx:A.M. hoodie on with dark red camouflage jeans.
"Well, uh, you see, Cody kinda convinced us to go to this little battle of the bands thing at a record place downtown," Beastboy said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"You are engaging in a battle? As civilians? You will most certainly be injured!" Starfire said. Cody, Beastboy, and Cyborg all sighed as Robin explained to Starfire exactly what they were talking about. "Oh, I see. I wish to accompany you, and cheer for you! I am sure Robin would enjoy viewing your performance also."
"Sure, that'd be pretty fun to watch," Robin said, grinning maliciously.
"Are you saying we'll crash and burn?" Cyborg asked.
"I'm saying I have little faith you'll really win," Robin said condescendingly.
Raven entered the room, and saw her boyfriend, Cyborg, and Cody dressed like, essentially, rock stars.
"Ok, what's going on?" she asked.
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That night, Beastboy, Cyborg, and Cody all stood backstage, warming up for their performance, while the others sat towards the front of the crowd, also wearing holo-rings or just civilian outfits. They hadn't had trouble signing up, since only one act, an Evanescence cover band, had come before them, and a heavy metal band after them. The downside? The cover band was amazing, and Cyborg was still a bit iffy on his parts. They felt out of place at a rock concert as superheroes who had never outwardly shown any sort of aspiration to do this sort of thing, but at the same time they really liked the idea.
"I can't believe we're really doing this," Beastboy said, stunned by the random adventure.
"5,000 dollars is 5,000 dollars, and it's completely worth the possibilities," Cyborg said.
"That's the spirit, Cy. Now, what do we call our band?" Cody asked, laughing nervously.
"Oh! Perfect time for my... nevermind," Beastboy dismissed his comment. "How about Casual Night Out?" he proposed.
Cody looked to Cyborg. They nodded. "Sounds great to me," Cody said.
"Yeah, dude, how'd you come up with that so fast?" Cyborg asked.
"Well, I kinda, uh, used to fantasize about being in a rock band, and that was always my band's name," he said, laughing nervously while rubbing the back of his neck. Cyborg and Cody looked at eachother, and burst out laughing.
"Alright, what's you're band's name?" the manager of the store asked them.
"Casual Night Out," Beastboy said, grinning.
"Ok, you're up," he said. For a couple hours, they had been warming up and practicing. They told themselves even if they lost, they'd still have a hell of a lot of fun. As they stepped on stage, a few people clapped, and the others were smiling.
"Next up is Casual Night Out, with a few rock songs for you!" the announcer said.
The crowd came alive again, and turned to the stage.
"Uh, hey. We're Casual Night Out, and we're here to blow your minds!" Beastboy shouted to the crowd, trying to overcome his nerves. All three of them were shaking a little. Cody and Cyborg face-palmed the overdone greeting.
"Let's rock this ship! Life Is Beautiful by Sixx:A.M.!" Beastboy said, embarrassing himself further. As they began to play, the crowd picked up massively, getting into the music, and instantly Beastboy was practically in love with the feeling of being on stage, performing. He started to sing.
"You can't quit until you try
You can't live until you die
You can't learn to tell the truth
Until you learn to lie"
As Beastboy sang, some part of him began to think about Raven, and their battle with Trigon. Raven always believing that no matter what, if Trigon came, they would all die. She had given up before he came, and completely disregarded the Titan's ability. Once she became the portal, the Titans had done everything they could, and were nearly defeated, until Robin returned with a young Raven, reborn into a new life with an actual choice in her destiny.
She had denied her destiny all of her life, learned to hide it from her friends. By the time she told the, it was nearly too late.
"You can't breathe until you choke
You gotta laugh when you're the joke
There's nothing like a funeral
To make you feel alive
"I felt like I could finally breathe," Raven told Beastboy a long while ago. "Like my father wasn't limiting me to feeling absolutely nothing. Before, I couldn't laugh, I couldn't yell, I couldn't go anywhere without feeling, and every time I did I got so scared. When I came back, I could... think. I could laugh, I could smile, and I could cry without any consequence. The only thing that ever affected me was shock or anger, and even then it was miniscule. For the first time, I felt alive."
"Just open your eyes
Just open your eyes
And see that life is beautiful.
Will you swear on your life
That no one will cry at my funeral?
I know some things that you don't
I've done things that you won't
There's nothing like a trail of blood
to find your way back home
I was waiting for my hearse
What came next was so much worse
It took a funeral to make me feel alive
Raven knew her future had nothing in it, but she never would have guessed that her friends would be endangered aswell.
"Just open your eyes
Just open your eyes
And see that life is beautiful.
Will you swear on your life,
That no one will cry at my funeral?
Alive, Just open your eyes
Just open your eyes
And see that life is beautiful.
Will you swear on your life,
That no one will cry at my funeral?
Just open your eyes
Just open your eyes
And see that life is beautiful.
Will you swear on your life,
That no one will cry at my funeral?"
When they finished, the whole crowd was either applauding or in a massive mosh-pit. Chills ran down the teen's spines, and they felt lighter than air. They all high-fived, and the audience again fell silent.
"Next up is 'You're Gonna Go Far, Kid' by The Offspring," Cody said. They all started to play again. When Beastboy piped up and started to sing, he found himself thinking of Terra's betrayal. He dismissed it quickly, and kept his focus on singing. His pain may have subsided, but his anger at Terra was still burning with a strong passion. He looked at Raven for comfort, and saw that she and Robin were talking. Instantly, he felt, oddly, angry. More so than he had in a long time.
"Show me how to lie
You're getting better all the time
And turning all against one
Is an art that's hard to teach
Another clever word
Sets off an unsuspecting herd
And as you step back into line
A mob jumps to their feet
Now dance, fucker, dance
Man, he never had a chance
And no one even knew
It was really only you..."
He continued singing, surprisingly well, and the song came to an end a few minutes later.
"We are kicking so much ass!" Cody said quietly.
"Aw, yeah. We are so gonna win this thing," Cyborg whispered back.
"Let's finish this up, I want to be able to spend this tonight," Beastboy said, grinning widely.
"Classic BB," Cyborg said as they began playing yet again.
When the song ended, the crowd became louder than the Titans had been all night. The applause died down when the next group came up on stage, and Beastboy, Cyborg, and Cody all waited patiently for the announcing of the winners.
"Most wonderful!" Starfire said, running backstage and hugging the boys. Robin trailed her, and Raven quickly walked to her boyfriend's side.
"That was really good, guys! Surprisingly so," Robin said.
"Dang right!" Cyborg said.
"Psh, and you thought we would fail," Cody laughed.
"So, Rae, what's it like having a rock star boyfriend?" Beastboy asked, grinning, with his arm around her waist.
"Hardly. You were great though," she said, smiling.
"Hehe, thanks," he said, hugging her.
The Titans chatted a bit, discussing the list of things they would be buying, should they win the 5,000 dollars.
"Alright! We've had some great talent here tonight, folks, but now it's time to decide who gets the 5,000 dollar prize! Get out here guys," an announcer on stage said. All three bands walked on stage, and the audience immediately sprang to life, cheering for whomever happened to be their favorite. "Clap for who you think should win! How about Nuclear Era?!" the announcer asked, pointing to the metal band that had just been up. Applause filled the facility, the announcer nodded. "Alright, alright. How'd you like 619?!" he asked, pointing to the Evanescence cover band. Applause nearly deafened the Titans, and they were positive they had lost.
"Cool, cool. Now, last, but most certainly not least, Casual Night Out!" the announcer called to the massive crowd, finally slicing through the tension built between the trio.
Applause erupted from the audience, accompanied by cheers and yells, and the Titans actually had to cover their ears the pain was so great, all from noise. Beastboy was certain the roof would collapse.
"I think we have a winner! Congratulations to Casual Night Out! You just won 5,000 dollars, in cash!" the announcer said, handing over a little briefcase filled with money.
Chills shot through the three shocked Titans, and their expressions shifted from pure amazement to victorious smiles stretching across their faces.
"We won!" Cyborg exclaimed, jumping for joy.
"Dudes, we did it!" Beastboy shouted. Cody high-fived both of them, and looked at the crowd. He waved, and they again went nuts.
Exiting the stage, the boys met back up with the others.
"That was insane! We totally creamed those other guys!" Beastboy shouted.
"Job well done," Robin said.
"Now... how to spend these bad boys," Cody said, opening the case filled with money.
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The Titans were all home, preparing to go to bed or sleeping. As the night came to a sad ending, Beastboy entered his room quietly to find Raven sleeping silently in their bed, a book on the nightstand. She had gotten the book that day, with the money used from the battle of the bands, and already she had finished it. Beastboy rolled his eyes at his girlfriend's far superior intellect, pulling on his pajamas and carefully climbing into bed. Sighing rather quietly, he nearly had a heart attack when Raven spoke monotonously, having shown no signs of consciousness.
"Long day?" she asked, turning to face him. He nodded. "What did you guys manage to do that kept you busy for another four and a half hours? When we left the department store, you had spent all of your money," she said, facing the window again, eyes closed.
"Well, not all of it. We sorta went to an arcade, then we crashed back here around ten, set up our new GameStation, games, Dance Dance Revolution, the band kit for Guitar Hero, and Time Crisis 2: Arcade. I creamed Cyborg at DDR, by the way. Then we ate a late night pizza. Cyborg crashed earlier, and me and Cody wrestled for a little bit. It was a pretty sweet night," he said, smiling. However much he wanted to share about his night, he decided against it, since Raven was obviously tired. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and at that point he realized how much different she was from a few months ago. She was slightly taller, and remained slim, however the curves of her body were less drastic, giving her a body matching Arella's, not that Beastboy would know that. Somehow, she had had a full-on growth spurt in the span of two and a half months. He had to admit he thoroughly enjoyed the change, no matter how perverse it made him, taking into account the fact that her... accessories... had grown as well.
She slowly rolled over to look at him, catching him gazing at her lovingly. Every time she looked that deep into his eyes, she would always be lost for minutes on end, trying to look away, and finding herself completely unable. He shifted onto his back, and she snuggled up closer to him, cold. Resting her head on his shoulder and an arm on his chest, she closed her eyes and tried to sleep.
Beastboy wrapped his hand around her back, and stared at the ceiling, thinking. He began to recall their adventures in saving the world, the 'whole dang universe' as Cyborg had said, and the significant battle that the comment was spawned from. The battle with Trigon. This brought on his deep confusion for who Raven was, and until they had gotten together, he hadn't known her as well as he would have liked. This brought up the memory of her and Robin's closeness. The envy he carried about Robin during the end of the world. He was envious of Robin's uber-closeness to Raven, the mental bond they shared, and Raven's consistent display of appreciation throughout all of it. She hugged Robin so closely, but when Beastboy hugged her he got a dismissive "quit it". He knew very well that that was a long time ago, and things had changed. But he couldn't help but feel as though Robin and Raven had always been closer, and even now could be.
"Is something wrong?" the apparently conscious Raven asked.
"Not at all, why do you ask?" he asked a bit too quickly.
"In case you forgot, I'm an empath. I would be able to sense your jealousy from a mile away. What's bothering you?" she asked.
"It's... nothing. Don't worry about it," he said.
"Beastboy, the passion behind that feeling woke me up. What is it?"
"You promise you won't make fun of me?" She nodded. "I'm sorta jealous of... how close you and Robin were. Or are. Or... I dunno."
She propped herself up on her elbows, looking into his eyes. They sat up. "What is there to be jealous of? He's just a good friend."
"You two seemed so close when Trigon was taking over," he said, nervous. Reading her expression that said 'continue', he did so. "He was always talking to you in private, and touching you comfortingly, and just making you feel better, you know? And whenever I did that, I got yelled at," he said quietly. Instantly, she felt a pang of guilt as she sensed his deep sadness from her reactions at his attempts to be helpful. "I heard you guys talking, and you said something about him knowing you better than anyone, and how you two had that mental bond thingy. I know it's old, and I'm surprised I remember it, but I do, and I don't really know why I'm so jealous now. You two just seemed like, really close when all that was going down. And you even hugged him! The only time I've seen you hug someone is then, and when you hugged me after the whole Malchior thing."
She thought for a bit. "Gar, Robin and I are good friends, but he doesn't know me that well anymore. When I was, basically, reborn, that connection was severed. I lost my father's powers, therefore everything they had ever been connected to. When I regained them, the bond was broken, and soon after Trigon we had a fall out. He stuck with Starfire, any strong bond with me gone. Up until recently, I haven't had someone who knew me well enough to know my favorite color, and now you know me better than anyone ever has." She looked up at him. "And ever will. You acknowledge my flaws, and you practically worship them. You treat me like a queen, and I've never deserved that."
He smiled. "Really?" he asked excitedly.
"Really," she said, laying down with him. "If you're still feeling that way, we'll talk in the morning. It's 1:24, and I'd like some sleep," she said. Kissing him, she once again rested her head on his shoulder. "Goodnight, Beastboy."
"G'night, Rae. I love you," he said, half-hugging her quickly. She returned it.
"I love you too," she said, eyes closed.
Sleep came easily that night, as Beastboy was dead-tired, and Raven was extremely happy and excited to have Beastboy back at her side. She focused on the idea of sleep, and that it would bring the next day very quickly.
Before long, the Tower fell silent, filled with the soft snores of six teenage superheroes.
To be completely honest, I got the idea for the beginning of the chapter from Saffire55's story Titan Rock Bands, which was inspired by another story I've never read. I didn't know what else to do, really, so I just took my desire for a songfic, took that story, shoved them into a blender filled with my favorite music, and hit Frappe.
This is a semi-long chapter, and I hope it's ok. I personally think the story is getting worse with each chapter, and it's really worrying me. Uneventful, rather all over the place, and I feel absence of character bonding. Idk, but you all NEED to review, or else I honestly will not update this story. Once I get 90 reviews, I'll get the next chapter up. Until then, I just don't have the will power, since I feel like no one is reading. Please, please please please review! Even if you don't like it, correct me. No flames, please, but I NEED reviews.! The next chapter will be rather long too, hopefully I'll have it up within a weeks time. Sorry that I have to play hardball, but I don't know how to improve if you don't tell me!