(BEASTBOY'S PERSPECTIVE)
"I haven't seen Raven up here in a couple of weeks." I heard Robin walk up behind me.
"Hm."
I was sitting on the Roof.
"And I never see you up here much either." Robin sat down beside me.
"Yeah I don't come around here a lot. I come to "cackle-doo-doo-do", go back to sleep, wake up to eat tofu eggs, play some games with Cy, kick some bad guy butt, and the cycle continues." I said blandly.
"Oh. Well... yeah. Is everything okay?" Robin asked.
The sun spread colorful bands across the horizon as it began the day. I examined strands of violet, azure, gold, burnt orange, and scarlet paint the sky as if it were a canvas.
Some delicate, pure clouds bounced along the picture. The wind whistled, singing its own song. Below the setting was the rippling water surrounding the Tower. And out in the distance was the bustling and hustling of Jump City.
"Yeah, everything's fine." I fibbed.
"I'm totally convinced." Robin sarcastically responded.
I exhaled deeply before speaking.
"I'm just worried about Raven."
"Me too. She's been acting off recently. I feel like whatever's going on is connected to that night we fought the robbers, since she was acting up ever since. But she won't tell me anything so I can only assume." Robin explained.
"For sure. Raven skipped our last mission, and she never does that. Then the panic attack she had the other day, totally uncalled for dude."
"Most are."
"I know but I've never seen her have one. Not to say that she hasn't had one before, who knows. Either way... it hurt."
"What hurt?"
"Seeing her like that. So vulnerable, afraid, and hurt. I've seen Raven in pain before but not to that extreme, Robin. Feeling her heart throb against mine. Hearing her trying to catch her breath and shaking so violently. She was suffering and there was nothing I could do about it."
"What do you mean? From what I saw you were the only person that could calm her down. All you did was say a couple of words, hug her, and you got her back to a decent state. No one else in the area had no idea what was going on or how to control it. You did." Robin pointed at me.
"Ha, yeah. I heard someone say that she was having a heartburn."
"Mhm. But... Beastboy."
"Yes?"
"I think you should try to talk to her about what's going on." Robin recommended.
"Not like she's gonna tell me." I puffed.
"You fail twice if you don't try once."
"Mm, profound. Alright I'll talk to her later." I confirmed with a faint smile.
The day zipped by like a lightening bolt. There was not much I did but read some manga and eat tofu. I was to myself most of the day although I did talk to Raven. The whole time I wondered how exactly I was going to approach her and how to stick with the discussion. I had to prepare myself for anything because Raven is unpredictable, especially as of late.
The alarm sounded through the Tower and I got up from my bed.
"Ugh. I don't feel like playing superhero today, dude. Gimme a break." I slid on my shoes and ran out.
"Cinderblock and Plasmus." Cyborg said as I entered the Common Room.
"Double the trouble. Titans, head out!" Robin commanded.
"Where's Raven?" Starfire asked.
Robin looked at me.
"Probably in her room. I'm going to sit this one out with her." I asserted.
"Fair enough. Cyborg, Starfire, let's go."
The three Titans left the Tower.
"Oh, boy. How am I gonna do this?" I plopped myself on the couch.
"Do what?"
"Ah! Don't scare me like that, Raven." I crossed my arms over my chest and pouted.
"Sorry," Raven said with a light chuckle, "What are you trying to do?"
Figure out how to talk to you.
"Uhm..." I raised my eyebrow, "Don't worry about it."
"Okay. Where's everybody?"
"They went to go fight Plasma and Cinderella."
"Plasma and Cinderella, ha."
Raven smiled dimly and sat down next to me with her book.
"You're really happy today. What gives?" I glimpsed at the purple haired girl.
Raven abruptly broke into tears.
"No, no, no don't cry. Please don't cry." I hurriedly got up from the couch and grabbed some tissues.
"Here." I kindly handed them to her.
"What's wrong, Raven?" my eyes swarmed with worry.
"I'm not happy." her voice was weak.
"I figured." I sighed.
"What do you mean?"
"You haven't been yourself recently." I frowned at my distressed teammate.
Raven sniffled and tried to suppress another round of tears.
"It's nothing." she took in a quick breath.
"Skipping a mission, acting distant, and having a panic attack isn't nothing."
The empath began to hyperventilate.
"Hey, hey," I gently held her shoulder, "Breathe. Don't rush it, I got nowhere to go. Tell me what you want, when you want. Cry if you need to. Just know that I'm here and I'm not leaving you." I affirmed in a subdued manner.
Raven quietly scooted closer and leaned on my shoulder.
I waited patiently as tension operated the next few minutes.
"The—the guy." Raven mumbled.
"What guy?"
"The robbers we fought. Th-there was four of them and..."
"Mhm..."
"I saw one of them try to escape through the corner of my eye then..." Raven let out another cry.
"Take your time, take your time."
"I chased him... I don't know why. My feet were moving ahead of my mind. The superhero i-in me I guess. I trapped him into an alley we got into a has-sle and then..." Her voice trailed off into a choke.
Come on, tell me.
You're almost there.
"And then?"
"H-h- He." Raven grasped her chest.
"Breathe. Shhh... I'm right here." I wrapped my arm around her.
"I'm right here." I repeated tenderly.
"Pulled out a bun." Raven spoke quickly.
"Pulled out a bun? What's so bad about a bun? They taste very sweet and soft."
"A gun." Raven reinforced.
"No way." my eyes widened.
"He did. And he... f-f-fired at me."
I felt shiver shake through her body.
"You're kidding! What does he look like? How tall was he? He's a freaking crook, I am going to find him and beat him up with my own two hands."
"No, you won't." Raven said calmly.
"Ha. That's what you think." I gritted my teeth.
Raven dabbed her eyes with a tissue and swallowed a sob.
"Well... how did you manage to come out safe? We found you unconscious on the floor but you didn't have a wound or anything. We only put you in the Medical Wing just to make sure everything was normal."
"I guess I put up a shield, I don't know. I don't remember clearly. All I remember was being so scared and I didn't know what to do."
"I see, that's understandable."
"Mhm. And... everything's n-not normal." my friend's voice was delicate.
"I know."
My eyes teared up at the thought of losing Raven.
"I had no idea all of this was going on." I drew the girl closer to my chest.
"No one did. I kept it all to myself."
"You shouldn't. I'm glad you told me though. What you're going through is a lot. But you shouldn't think you have to carry the weight alone."
"I do try to think that, I do. I know I'm not alone... but sometimes I can't help but be lonely."
A tear fell from my eye, onto Raven's hood.