(Oo Wow! So many reviews! At this rate it's quite possible it can break 300! Thank you guys so much!! Oh, and you'll notice the author's notes this chapter are not italicized. It seems the site is experiencing problems, so all codes are not working. So things that should be bolded or underlined or italicized are not, and that's why the AN are in parenthesis. I apologize, and I hope it's fixed soon. One last thing, I will be going away on the 15th for a week and will not have access to a computer, so just a heads up now. Anyway, here's chapter seven!! )
Raven walked into the common room with a book hooked under her right arm. It had been an average morning; Beast Boy and Cyborg engaged in the tireless 'Meat vs. Tofu' debate, which lead to her eating cereal. By the time the shouting match over what video game to play had ensued, Robin and Starfire emerged from their respective rooms. Robin had apparently done something to aggravate Star the previous night, and he was now on his knees, begging her to speak to him again. Raven found this event very entertaining, and sent Star a few bemused smirks telling her to keep it going as long as possible.
Eventually Starfire complied with Robin's pleas, but only if he agreed to eat entire bowl of a concoction she called 'Forgiveness Pudding.' He reluctantly ate the whole thing (but not without makes a few ugly faces with each spoonful) and after Star confirmed that she did indeed forgive him, he rushed to the bathroom and didn't surface for quite some time. (Little did Robin know that the entire ritual had been formulated in Star's head beforehand, and she was merely testing to see if he would honestly consume whatever she threw in that ill-fated bowl.)
Around noon there was a disturbance downtown that needed to be attended to. It took some time, but the team successfully managed to clear up the whole debacle before returning to the tower. Raven retired to her room with a cup of tea, where she showered and meditated for a few hours.
And that's where she found herself now, early evening in the empty common room. She sighed somewhat contently; at least it was peaceful, she could read with no disruptions. The tranquil silence was broken by an annoyed gruff in the center of the room. Raven raised an eyebrow and leaned in to get a better view, balancing her forearms on the back of the couch. She found Beast Boy, lying unceremoniously on the floor with both arms out at their full length and legs locked together in a straight line. He looked like he was on a crucifix, the martyr for boredom.
"Hey Raven." he said after a second. She drew back a little, squinting slightly. His eyes were locked on the ceiling and she was out of his peripheral vision, how did he know she was there? He rolled over on his stomach so that he faced her, and grinned.
"How did you know it was me?" She asked, feeling gravity pull her head to one side. Beast Boy tapped a finger on his nose proudly.
"Keen animal senses, they kinda come with the powers. I could smell you." She rolled her shoulders back and felt her lips part, blinking a few times too many over her faintly widened eyes.
"You know how I smell?" she questioned in a half whisper. Beast Boy shrugged dismissively, not sensing the hope weaved into her question.
"I know how everyone in the Tower smells. It's linked to memory, so naturally it stays imprinted in my head."
Raven felt the whole of her body sink a little as she slowly released the air that she had been using to hold up her chest. Her gaze moved downward dejectedly ad she used her free hand to fiddle with her belt. She didn't know why she was so disappointed; she didn't even know why she had gotten so excited over such a trivial thing. She just felt...flattered. Flattered that someone knew something about her and only her. For a moment, she felt special.
"Oh." she muttered, and her previous thoughts were evident in her tone of voice. Beast Boy glanced up, confused by ol grumpy's shift in moods. He knew it was something he did (9 times out of 10 most problems were his fault) and immediately felt guilty.
"It's nice, though." The words fell out of his mouth involuntarily, and he suppressed the urge to slap his hand to his mouth in shock. Raven's gaze lingered on him again, though this time her eyes were fused with confusion.
"What?" He felt himself flush a bit, and began tracing a small circle on the rug with his finger.
"You're scent. It's nice. It's hard to describe, but it suits you well. It's pretty"
His eyes wandered upward, expecting to receive a full-on death glare from the lavender haired beauty. What he got was...less than he expected. Raven had drawn her shoulders up and lowered her neck a little, giving her the appearance of a frightened turtle. Her arms were crossed over her book, which she tightly hugged to her chest, and her chin rested softly just on the top of the binding. But most astonishing of all, she was blushing. A thin, delicate layer of pink tinted her pale cheeks.
She was BLUSHING.
Beast Boy grinned. She looked adorable like that, like a lost child on their first day of school. Raven's cloak fell back over her shoulders, and she coughed nervously.
"Oh. Well, thank you."
They stood in silence for a moment longer, before Raven finally broke from her shy trance and resumed her emotionless front. She floated over the couch and settled down comfortably, her feet tucked underneath her, and she pealed open her book and tried to read. Beast Boy huffed another sigh impatiently and flipped over to his original position on his back.
So they stayed there. In complete silence.
For 30. Long. Seconds.
Raven found herself read the same sentence over and over. Truth be told, she was commanding herself to even look at the page. He mind kept slipping away to other things. The thoughts were bothersome, so she fixated her eyes on a specific spot in the book and tried to sort them.
This whole day Raven hadn't been herself. Her head was a jumble of thoughts and daydreams and silly ideas and it was bleeding into her actions. This morning she'd let her mind wander so far that by the time she regained her senses she realized that her bowl of cereal was overflowing with milk, and the carton she held in her hand was nearly empty. She was embarrassed to say the least, but luckily Beast Boy gave her a comforting smile and wiped the mess up for her. He even offered her some of his soy milk, since she'd literally drained the entire stash of whole milk. She smiled slightly at that memory.
THAT was the other thing. Ever since last night, Raven had felt this weird... pull towards the changeling, like a magnet to metal. Normally she would want to avoid him at all costs, but suddenly, she wanted to be around him, to be in the same room as him, even if only for a few moments. He made her feel different from everyone else, like she was the only girl in the world.
'Whoa! Calm down! It sounds like I'm in love with the boy! Ok, let's try to rationalize this...'
Aside from Starfire, Beast Boy was the only person she would consider as her best friend. Sure, she was close to Robin and Cyborg in other ways, but with Beast Boy she just clicked. She would never admit it, but she valued his friendship above anything else. She kept all of this locked away, because (aside from Cyborg having blackmail material on her for years to come) she knew that such a feeling towards anyone would only cause them pain, and her. She hid behind a mask of animosity so he would never know how much she really admired him.
But what caused the sudden reflection on the green elf? She thought back to Carden, frowning a bit. Their night out had been...less than stellar. Even at the beginning before all the chaos (and before she met Beats, she added with a blush) her thoughts lingered on her teammate and what he was doing. They must have been linked somehow.
'That's it. You're upset that your time with Carden wasn't as fun as you expected, and so you're attaching yourself to the nearest male counterpart, Beast Boy. You think you're attracted to him, when really you're just replacing him with Carden. That way, having fun with Beast Boy makes up for the brooding night out with Carden. So you don't love him. You're attracted in the relationship sense to Carden, and you love Beast Boy as a friend. There. Simple explanation.'
She leaned back into the seat with a pleased sigh, satisfied with her thought. Although there was a slight tug in her stomach that told her it was wrong, she ignored it, and was finally able to read again. The triumph was short lived, as Beast Boy began to let out a series of loud, annoyed moans from his position on the floor. She looked up briefly, glared at him a bit, and resumed reading.
Beast Boy was going mad in the silence, and in the lack of attention. He had been moaning for some time trying to get Raven's attention, but it didn't seem to work. This was insane; the girl he was crazy about was no less than 4 feet away from him, and they weren't even looking at each other! He'd just found the ability to speak to her again, why weren't they talking?! He couldn't initialize the conversation, it would be too suspicious, and so he let each of his groans get progressively louder and longer in hopes to provoke her.
"Ugggghhn....Ugggggggghhhhn....uuuuuugggggggggggghhhhhnnnn.....UUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHNNNN!!"
"WHAT is wrong with you?" she snapped, sealing her book shut and placing it in her lap. Beast Boy smirked. Bingo. He banged his head into the floor, playing up his extreme restlessness.
"I'm BORED! There's nothing to do in this Tower!" Raven rolled her eyes, annoyed.
'Whining little whelp.'
"Why don't you go find Cyborg and bother him?" she said, reopening her book and attempting to read. Beast Boy rolled back over so her faced her and dropped his cheeks into his propped up elbows. He shook his head in the negative.
"Not here. He ran off to pick up some stuff downtown while you were in your room. Hasn't been back for a few hours." She growled softly, tightening her hold on her book.
"Well, why don't you go talk to Robin? Or Star? They must be somewhere around here." She absently turned the page of her novel, her eyes quickly scanning over the words.
"Another no-go. They disappeared a while ago, said they were going for a," he raised his head up so his hands were free, and he formed air quotes around the next word, "'walk.' I don't expect them back for some time." His chin dropped back into his open palms, and tilted to the side as he studied her. She sighed, exasperated, and looked at him over her book. He grinned impishly and leaned forward, somersaulting in her direction until his feet hit the couch. He shook his head, regained himself, and sat up so he was just about eye level with her knees. He threw his arms out to the side and puffed out his chest, beaming like a mad man.
Raven lowered her chin and lifted her eyebrows, blinking slowly a few times to illustrate how unimpressed she was by his trick. Beast Boy's smile faltered and one of his eyes slimmed a little in semi thought.
"Ta-da?" he asked meekly, but was only answered with a scoff and a curt turn. Beast Boy frowned, momentarily disappointed, but recomposed with a smile and stood up, using the couch as an aid. Dusting himself off, he ambled slowly around Raven so he once again facing her.
"So...whatcha reading?" he questioned curiously, bending over so he could view the title on the front cover. She slammed it into her lap before he could get a glimpse and stared him down with rage glinting in her eyes.
"Aren't you done annoying me yet? She responded evenly, and his ears twitched slightly.
"I'm just being friendly..." he weakly defended.
"You wanna be friendly? Leave me alone and let me read my book." Her tone was icy and filled with vexation and anger, and it cut through Beast Boy's happy mien like a knife.
"I was just making conversation-"
"Well maybe I don't want to HAVE a conversation!" She bit back, and her fierce words echoed in the otherwise silent tower. Her teeth were gritted threateningly and she awaited his equally harsh reply.
There was no reply. His jaw was slack, his mouth now hanging agape. His ears folded over and drooped dejectedly down to the crook of his neck. He had straightened up and taken a small step away from her, now casting a shadow over her seated form. His eyes looked awful; they were sunken and dark with misery. They refused to meet her and instead studied the floor as they slowly clouded over. His eyelids hooded halfway over the olive gems. He closed his mouth and feebly nodded, walking away from her with slumped shoulder and dragging feet.
Raven felt her hear wrench as she watched him leave, and her enraged expression melted away with all the annoyance she previously felt for him.
'Oh great. Now I feel guilty.'
Her eyes darted between the boy and the novel in her lap, and she indecisively bit her lower lip as she weighed the options. She closed her eyes, the remorse piled down on her mercilessly, and she heaved a defeated sigh.
"A Farewell to Arms."
Beast Boy paused and turned back to face her, perplexity etched in his green features. "Huh?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. She rolled her eyes and held up the paperback, rapping her fingers on the title printed in gold lettering.
"A Farewell to Arms. You wanted the name of the book and I told you. Now can you stop with the mopey act and let me be?" her voice didn't match her words, it was softer and concerned. Beast Boy smiled, she felt bad that she hurt his feelings. Aw. Then it hit him.
"Wait, A Farewell to Arms? By Ernest Hemingway?" he queried, holding a palm out in a 'stop' signal. Raven slowly nodded as her brow knitted.
"Yeeees." she drawled, and Beast Boy beamed. His entire face lit up in excitement, and Raven was secretly thankful he wasn't upset anymore. He suddenly sped towards her and leapt over the armrest of the couch, sliding on his knees before screeching to a halt inches in front of her. She winced and drew back a little when he got to close, but he did not touch her, and she leaned back in, interested on what caused such happiness.
"This is like, my favorite book ever!" She nearly fell to the ground in shock, and her expression mirrored that.
"You read it?" she asked tonelessly, and his head nodded furiously. She pulled the book up so he was blocked from her view. "Why do I doubt that?"
Beast Boy squeaked in surprise, and wagged his arms out wildly at the sides as he tried to argue. "But I did read it! Last Summer! It's about an American soldier fighting World War I in the Italian army and he meets British nurse and they fall in love! I READ it! The guy's name was Henry and the girl was Catherine and she died at the end! I really did read it! Honest!"
Raven looked up, impassive as ever. Ok, maybe there was the extremely off-base chance that he did read it, but the events of their last literary conversation were still fresh in her mind. She thought the best plan was just to ignore him; she didn't feel like buying another teapot.
"Wonderful." she muttered, and turned a page. He scooted in closer and peered over her shoulder.
"Do you like it so far?"
"Mmm."
"Oh...that's good. It's a good book."
"Yep."
He sighed, her curt one word answers were getting him nowhere. He tottered back so he was supported by the back of the couch. Need a topic. Need a book topic. Need one now. He closed his eyes, letting the book's images his mind conjured up flash by. He really did read the book; he just needed to think of a part they could discuss. Catherine's death was too sad for him, and he didn't want to go into the intricacies of love with Raven of all people. He'd end up blurting something that would only lead to his embarrassment and possibly send him flying through a wall.
His eyes snapped open as it came to him. He sat back up and crossed his legs, tilting in a bit towards her.
"Have you found the symbolism yet? Hemingway's a pretty straightforward guy, so it's kinda hard to find." He mentally patted himself on the back for his brilliance. An eyebrow perked up from behind the binding.
"You mean how all the rain symbols doom?"
Ouch. He literally cringed at the cold, hard quality of her voice, and he knew her words had an alternate meaning. Nonetheless, he pressed on.
"Yeah, there's that...and there's the other thing."
NOW he had her interest. Steadily, she lowered the book until everything but her mouth was visible. Her features were intrigued on being proved wrong, but he had to approach the situation cautiously. If he were to be too blunt that wall across the room would suddenly be getting a lot closer.
"Other thing?" she stated unhurriedly, and both her eyebrows flickered up anxiously. Beast Boy inhaled and forced down his smile.
"Yeah. I'm surprised you didn't pick up on it. But it's not a reoccurring symbol, so it's understandable if you didn't see it. I didn't catch onto until the 3rd time I read-"
"Will you tell me what it is already?" she was impatient; he was only prolonging his news to annoy her. Beast Boy nervously scratched the back of his neck and smirked cutely out of the side of his mouth. Argh. His charm was enough to even soften her up, if only a little.
"It's Catherine's hair." he said finally, and she blinked, awaiting an explanation. "Well, you know that part when Henry is lying in bed and Catherine crawls up to him and lets her hair fall around his face?" She nodded. "Well, that's a symbol."
After a brief pause, Raven spoke. "Of?" Beast Boy hesitated, searching for the right words to describe his answer.
"It...It shows their isolation from the rest of the world. I mean, there's this huge war going on around them, but it doesn't matter because they're protected by something as delicate as hair." Slowly her book dropped to the floor, her full lips just barely parted. His voice became gentle and sweet as he spoke. "It showed that they were so in love, that nothing else mattered. They had each other and all the chaos, all the hate and anger that surrounded them was nothing. Their...bond...was so strong, that they could stay detached from everything and be together. Her hair sealed them in this blissful seclusion where they could stay...happy and in love and unaware of anything bad. I mean, they had each other...why would anything else matter anyway?"
Raven found herself taking in air in very large, forced breaths. She wet her lips and refused to pull her gaze away from Beast Boy's eyes. The jade orbs danced with brightly youthful happiness, and then Raven realized; everything he had just said came purely from the heart.
They said nothing else after that, because it wasn't necessary.
"Everyone may now continue functioning properly, for Cyborg has returned!"
A booming voice echoed through the tower, and the shock sent Beast Boy flying over the armrest and landing bottom first on the floor. Raven felt her cheeks heat up, and pulled up her hood to conceal her bright face. She scrambled for the novel and held it out in front of her, though now reading was the LAST thing on her mind.
Cyborg happily ambled into the living room, beaming in pride and dropping a few grocery bags inconsiderately to the floor. He smiled brightly at his friends, rolling back and forth on his heels.
"Y'all will never guess what happened to me! It ROCKS!" Beast Boy stood and brushed himself off, suddenly excited by the metal man's words.
"Dude! What is it?" Cyborg wagged a finger in the shape shifter's face.
"Uh uh uh! This news is too big to tell twice! The whole team's gotta be here! Where's Rob and Star?"
As if on cue, the aforementioned couple stumbled blindly into the room. Starfire's hair was a complete disaster zone and she shyly tried to tame it while simultaneously wiping at her lips. Robin was no better, his shirt was hanging off one of his shoulders and his mask was askew. He cleared his throat and did his best to sound nonchalant.
"Oh! Hello team! Well, yes, Star and I were just...out...doing...things. That did not involve me taking my shirt off!" He smiled, and she dropped her forehead into her palm and groaned. The rest of the Titans blinked, exchanged glances, before staring them down with hooded, no-nonsense eyes. Cyborg finally spoke.
"You were making out in the closet again, weren't you?"
"NO!" Starfire and Robin squeaked in unison. Their limbs were constricted at their sides and they gave each other a worried look. Cyborg rolled his eyes and pointed an accusing finger in the Boy Wonder's direction.
"That's a nice shade of lipstick for you, Rob. Makes you look pretty." Robin stared at him blankly before raising a gloved hand to the side of his face. He brought it down to view and chuckled nervously when he saw his fingertips were now caked in a pink, shiny substance. The stuff was all over his face, and ironically, all over Star's mouth. He flushed and tugged at his shirt.
"You...uh...wanted to say something, Cy?" He said meekly, but the robot took the bait either way. His face lit up and he continued his story.
"A'ight, so I was down at the mall picking up some things, when I ran into my friend Lynn-"
"Lynn?" Raven asked.
"Who is this Lynn you speak of?" Starfire chimed in. Cyborg waved them off dismissively.
"Just a friend of mine. Anyway-"
"Whoa whoa whoa, hold up! How come we never met this girl? Are you hiding a secret giiiirl-friend?" Beast Boy remarked slyly. To this Cyborg moaned.
"Look, we're not dating. She's just a pal of mine who happens to be of the female gender. And also," he crossed his arms defiantly and jutted out his lower lip. "I CAN have other friends besides you."
"But how come-"
"WILL YOU LET ME FINISH THE STORY?!" The metal man shouted. His deep, rich voice could be frightening when amplified, and after a moment of shell shock the remaining Titans nodded obediently. Cyborg smirked.
"Good. So, I ran into my friend Lynn, and we got to talking. Turns out, she's opening up a club downtown, and look what she gave me!" He fumbled through one of his non-existent pockets and finally produced 5 small slips of paper. "BOO-YAH! 5 VIP passes to the Grand Opening TO-NIGHT!" All the others (save for Raven) clamored animatedly.
"Awesome!" Beast Boy cried.
"Most glorious!" Starfire exclaimed as she clapped her hands.
"Sounds cool!" Robin remarked with a smile.
"Whoo hoo. I'm all a twitter." Raven mumbled monotonously. Cyborg glared at Raven briefly, which went unnoticed.
"So, when does the party start, Cy?" Robin asked, examining the slips closely.
"Not for a good two hours, so that gives us time to prep and get all prettiful." The last word was spoken in a falsetto, and he lifted a leg and batted his eyelashes femininely. Raven rolled her eyes and Starfire giggled.
"If that is the case, then I shall depart and partake in the act of cleansing myself. It shall give me ample time to prepare!" Starfire beamed, and disappeared down the hall. Robin subconsciously rubbed his cheek and turned back to the crew.
"I think I better shower too. Later." And he vanished as well. Cyborg grinned mischievously, and cupped his hands around his mouth to intensify the sound.
"Remember Robin, use separate showers!" A black plate then broke against the back of his head. He yelped in pain and rubbed the sore spot furiously, and turned with a glare to the goth sitting indifferently on the couch.
"Why do you always hit me?!" he cried, flailing his arms in the air.
"Why do you always make it so easy?" Raven replied without missing a beat, and casually turned the page of her book. Cyborg sent her one more look for good measure, then swiftly snatched up his bags and headed towards his own room.
"Such a gala event calls for gala attire! That means oil changes, bolt tightening, the works! I even got me a magnetic tie! This is gonna be great!" His voice faded into the darkness, leaving Beast Boy and Raven alone once again. They stayed there in uncomfortable silence for a while until Beast Boy coughed awkwardly.
"Well I-uh, better go get ready and...whatnot." She nodded, and he weakly waved a goodbye and headed to his own room. Raven found her gaze shifting back to him again, and a sound of protest escaped her throat involuntarily. He turned back to her, leaning against the doorframe. She mentally kicked herself.
'Crap, I have nothing to say....why did I call him back?'
Beast Boy impatiently raised an eyebrow, and Raven strained for a remark until she finally stumbled across one.
"What was the name of the nurse's aide who was a friend of Catherine?" Now at least she could catch him in his lie. His brow knitted as if it were the simplest question in the world.
"Helen Ferguson." he responded quickly, and with a nod he was gone. Raven's jaw was on the floor.
Oh my God. He READ it.
(I've just realized how long this story is gonna be. It was originally supposed to be 10 chapters, but by the way I have to keep splitting these for length reasons, it may double that. Wow. Long-ness. Not that I mind, of course =eats chocolate covered cookie= So you know the drill, please review and it makes me do the happy dance of joy. And no, I'm not below accepting bribes. =hoards cookies and runs away=)