Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans, but once I saw Marv Wolfman, in person. (From really far away...)

Titans on the Run!

Chapter 8: Bass

Song of the Chapter: Drive by Incubus

Twang

Twang

Sigh...

It's about three o'clock in the afternoon.

Everyone's either doing something on their own, or sleeping. I can't blame them.

It feels sort of sleepy in here, you know. Like staying awake takes more effort than usual.

Yawn

Beast Boy's asleep in the back with me, huddled against the window. I don't think Cyborg would appreciate the amount of drool he's getting on the glass...

He'd already made him clean the interior.

Speaking of Cyborg, he seems to be welded to that driver's seat. I'll make him rest, even if I have to knock him out.

He and Raven were in the front seat, explaining things they saw on the road to Star, as she sat on the floor between them.

Twang

I like playing the bass. There's no reason for it, really.

As I strum, unplugged, I can feel the vibrations, more than I can hear them.

It's cool. That's it.

Twang

Star's looking at me. I smile back. She gets up, and sits in the vacant seat in front of me; facing backward, resting her head on her elbows. She smiles, but her eyes hold a slight intensity to them. As if she was looking for something.

So I stop my fingerpicking, and look right back at her, not knowing why I followed suit. My insides feel wierd. Not bad weird, like when I eat Star's saddness pudding. A diffrent weird, like when I jump off the roof of a building, or go on a roller coster. I know this seems corny, but her eyes are so...hmm...so...important. Yeah, important. They seem like they could hold the universe in them...

She takes a breath, and lets out a sigh.

Looks like I won this staring match.

Putting her head down, she looked out of the window. Trees and the occasional billboard flew past. In the far northeast, the ash-gray clouds of a thunderstorm hung in the sky. Beast Boy stirred in his sleep, mumbling something.

I went back to playing, arbitrarily going over scales I'd use for the show.

G major, E minor, D major, D minor, A major.....

Twang

It was here that we drove into the path of the storm, being rewarded with heavy drops that pelted the roof noisily.

It was also here that a soft hand clasped over my fretting hand.

I looked up into Starfire's curious, but slightly playful gaze.

"Can I try?"

"Sure."

She's too cute when she's like this.

Handing her the instrument, she took it, and turned around. Hearing a few experimental notes, she turned back.

"It is more difficult to use than you display, Robin." She said, eyeing the headstock.

"Try it again." I offered.

I sat up, and watched over her shoulder as she got into position.

"Alright. What is the first thing to be done?" She asked.

"Hold the neck in your palm, between your thumb and fingers."

I saw her stiffen from my proximity to her ear. I hadn't meant to scare her.

"Sorry... The next thing is to position your fingertips on the string closest to your body, E." I explained.

She put her left fingers on the string, but she used her left hand fingers, and tapped.

"Like that?"

"Almost, use your right hand to pluck the string..." I took hold of her hand and put it by the bridge. "...Here."

She cautiously sounded the note, getting a thick and resonant sound. "Hmm..." She murmured, testing the string again. "So, if I finger..." Twang "...here, the tone gets higher?" She asked, looking back with quizzical eyes.

Wow. That was quick.

"Uh...yeah." I said, a little unnerved. "They also get higher when you use the other strings"

"Due to their thickness?" She ventured.

"Right." Wow.

"Imagine if they had such implements on Tamaran..."She wondered aloud, with a faraway look.

"Yeah, I wish we had some Tamaranian instruments to play with."

"Yes, I had to leave my Gorka pipes in Jump City." She said, sounding more notes.

I let her play around some more, leaning back into my seat, feeling that drowsy feeling return. Beast Boy rolled over.

"Robin, your electric bass is very nice, but I think drums are much more enjoyable." She said, flashing that smile of hers and handing me the bass.

I couldn't look at her then. It was too much. She turned again, and had another question for Cyborg. It was incredible how she could pick up something absolutely foreign in a matter of minutes. Never mind the bass, she took to the drums way faster than a normal person could hope to...

Yawn

Twang

I wonder what the old man is doing back home?

AN: That was hard! For some reason, this chapter took me a little while... It wasn't even very long...Perhaps I should practice writing Rob/Star... Anyhoo, I'm going to turn up the juice since I don't have any gigs until the end of the month. So stay tuned! And now for the reviews:

RebelRikki: Thanks so much! Yeah, I'm a hardcore BB/Rae fan. Sometimes I scrap ideas, because it has too much of those two. Perhaps I should make another story....

[Author gets hammered by a sonic cannon blast, and thrown through a nearby wall.]

Cyborg: No! Stay on task! [Walks away, grumbling.]

Piezo: Maniac. Next review!

Buhnana monkey: Thanks! More BB/Rae no problemo--

[Cyborg sticks his head in the door, cannon ready.]

Piezo: [In fear.] Next review!

KeLLy BeaNz: Hey! Thanks. Truthfully, I fear three things:

1. Scorpions under the bed. Cringe

2. Blue Furry Food.

3. Writing romance.

I'm really glad people like how it's going, but if I goof up tell me! And Yay Comic books!!!

Silvergriffen: IwillIwillIwill! Thanks for reading!

RobinRox13: No... ideas (for the most part) are to be shared! And at least you asked! You should start with your story! Tell me when you do! Thanks!

Human Lightshow: Thanks so much! But how to say this in the best way possible... I'm not a girl...(But that's okay, you couldn't have known... But I thought I gave it away when I said describing clothes was difficult...)

Thanks so much for reading! Later!