Another chapter is here! This may have been the hardest chapter for me to write, and I have a feeling that the next one's going to be harder. Please excuse the delay; I was out all day yesterday. After you read the chapter, I have review answers and questions for some. Enjoy!
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Rain. Pouring, wet rain. Beast Boy stared out the window, dismal. He didn't like the rain. He didn't hate it; after all, there was nothing as soothing as standing in the downpour and letting the water seep into your skin, and there was nothing as exciting, (well, almost nothing, he thought ruefully, remembering the all of the battles that they had fought) as seeing the lightning flash in the sky and hear the thunder drown out your every scream. But it was the warm spring/summer rain that he loved, not the cold, bone chilling rain that was going on outside today.
It was times like these that he retreated to his room, declining Cyborg's requests to play video games or Robin's attempts to get him to train. Sometime he liked just sitting in his room and watching the rain and listening to it beat against his window. And sometimes he just sat and reflected on everything that went on in his life. The summer rain was exhilarating, but the cold rain was soothing and calming. So although he was upset about not being able to go outside, he was content just to let everything wash away and listen to the rain.
Now things were becoming clearer to him. He did have a brain, no matter what his friends said or thought. He just didn't use it as much, preferring to trust his heart instead of his mind. And his heart was telling him that he did care for this girl, maybe more than care. His brain was protesting, pulling up every reason not to like her, comparing them and telling him he had no chance, but he paid no mind. His heart had never failed him before, and he wasn't about to doubt it.
Sighing, he continued to look out the window. The only thing that he could do today was think. And Beast Boy didn't want to think, not now. Because, like everything else, Raven would be the first thing that he would think about. He had found himself thinking more and more of her. Everything, starting from video games, of all things, to a simple lunch, made him think of her. Slowly but surely, he began to realize how he felt about her. Beast Boy's wish was coming true.
But today, today he didn't want to think about her. He didn't want to be confused any more than he already was. A battle was taking place inside him between his heart and mind. Although he wanted to trust his heart, his head did have some good evidence. How could someone like her like someone like him? She's the aloof, powerful dark telepath, and I'm...he sighed, I'm the annoying, lighthearted, shapeshifting joker. What more was there to say? He was light; she was dark.
But he couldn't crush the little spark of hope that stayed with him in his heart. They were complete opposites, but isn't there a saying that opposites attract? And after the present from Raven, that little spark of hope was growing. And no matter how hard he tried, no matter how many times his mind told him that it can never work, his hope was growing. Because hope is something that no one can ever squash. When everything is in shadows, it's hope that will make you see the candle.
But this didn't hide the fact that Beast Boy was bored. There was nothing to do. Finally, for lack of better things to do, he began cleaning his room.
His room definitely needed it; that was for sure. Dirty clothes littered his floor, bed sheets were rumpled and messy, video games were strewn across the floor, and he wouldn't even open his closet door. Beast Boy began to pick up all of his clothes and put them into a hamper. Picking up his video games, he shoved them into a case, resolving to sort them later. Finally, he made his bed. Turning around, he faced his greatest challenge.
His closet.
Cautiously, he turned the knob. Slowly, ever so slowly, he opened the door, closing his eyes as he did so. When he felt no impact, he opened them. Miraculously, nothing fell. He breathed a sigh of relief. The objects in the closet shifted. He noticed and frantically tried to hold it back.
Too late. Everything came crashing down on him. Groaning, he sat up, removing various articles of clothing from his body. All of his stuff in the closet was strewn around the floor. Standing, he started to pick up his room, only to stop as something caught his eye.
It was a book, a scrapbook to be precise. The cover was brown leather with gold trimmings and writing. Beaming, Beast Boy picked it up, exclaiming "So that's where you went!".
He had found what he was going to do while the rain went on.
Opening it, he came upon the first page. A picture of all of the Teen Titans stared back at him. Robin was in the front as usual, smiling a little in his 'leader' pose. Starfire was right next to him, beaming with joy and frantically waving at the camera. Cyborg was in the background, doing his part as the 'strongman' and lifting up a muscle. Raven stood apart from the group, turned away with her hood over her face. He himself was in mid jump, with his hand on Raven's shoulder with the other in a 'V' pose behind her head, grinning broadly. Underneath that there was a newspaper clipping that announced 'TEEN TITANS FORMED'.
On the next page was a white feather. He picked it up, twirling it absentmindedly in his fingers. He had plucked this off the stuffed chicken that he and Cyborg had won for Raven. He idly wondered if she had kept it. Shaking those thoughts away, he continued on.
Beneath the feather was a bit of a purple streamer, left over from the dance that Robin went to with Kitten. Beast Boy smiled. He had tried so hard to get Raven to dance, but to no avail. She didn't want to dance, 'least of all with him' she had said. Although this memory should have made him sad, it actually had the opposite reaction. That was the time where he had told himself that he would get her to dance someday, and it would be with him.
Beast Boy continued to look through the scrapbook that he himself had carefully arranged. He flipped past the picture of the Titans on a picnic, a wooden splinter from his puppet, a bead from the necklace that Starfire gave them for her friendship festival, a poster of Wicked Scary, among other objects and pictures that all triggered something in his brain.
Finally, he came to his favorite picture. It wasn't much, just a picture of two friends. However, it seemed to allude to something more.
Beast Boy was standing behind the counter in the kitchen, preparing his famous tofu waffles. On the opposite side, Raven was sitting, chin in her hands, elbows on the table, apparently bored. She was staring at him, who was giving her his best grin while holding up one of his waffles. A chef's hat was perched on his head. Her hood was down, and, if you looked closely, you could see her eyes. In those eyes there was something...something more. They betrayed her attitude towards the boy. Beast Boy stared at the picture dreamily.
That photo reminded him that he had another picture to add to his collection. He shuffled around, searching for it. Finding it, he stuck it in his album. It was a picture of him and Raven on his birthday, looking up at the stars. Smiling, he shut the album, still reminiscing.
A knock on the door interrupted him from his stupor. He groaned as he stood up, having sat there for some time. Opening his door, he stared ahead, eyes glazed. Cyborg stood there, looking down at him. "Hey BB, you wanna play some games...?" He trailed off as he poked his head into Beast Boy's room. "...what happened to your room? It looks like a bomb hit this place!"
Tiredly, Beast Boy surveyed his room. It was just as dirty, if not more so than when he had started to clean it up. Turning back to the half-man, half- robot, the shapeshifter replied, "Nah, I was just doing some cleaning. And yeah, games sound good. Let's go." With that, he started to walk out of his room, Cyborg trailing behind him, looking at his suspiciously.
There was something more in Raven's gaze in those two pictures, Beast Boy concluded as he made his way to the living room.
Something more...more than friendship, more than annoyance, more than affection...
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Well, that concludes another chapter. Sorry for the bad ending; I'm starting to run out of ideas. I think I'm repeating some things and contradicting others. The scrapbook was the thing that really provided a problem, because I didn't want to have to explain all of the things in it. The first and last objects are mine, but the others (from the chicken feather to the first Beast Boy/Raven picture) are from, in order, Sisters, Date With Destiny, Sum Of His Parts, Switched, How Long Is Forever, Fear Itself and The Apprentice Part Two. Like it? Tell me!
Here are the reviewer answers:
red52: What are you talking about?! Your fic Something More (sorry for stealing the name) is VERY good! Everyone, read it! And thank you very much!
byebyebb18: I don't think it's on TV. Usually, I read the manga by renting it from my library, or borrow it from my friends. It's a really good manga, and is special to me because it was the first manga that I read. Thank you!
K9 and Co: I read your story, Black-Eyed Raven, and I was looking for the book, but all I could find was Black-Eyed Susan, and a song. Was Black-Eyed Susan the one (it's about her mother who doesn't want to move on the prairie I think). Would you please tell me? I want to read it!
People who I want to thank: Kestrel, beccah16, Calisto, SpiderSquirrel, UrufuKiba22, raven1322, Change-Of-Heart2, TsukasaSIGN, Fairy-li, Dannysckr, Falling, Regrem Erutaerc, hannah, RBack, miss akuro, Sakura Cherry Blossom1, audi katia, Miss Moon, Matchin' Laces, new identity, Dust'in, Raven-Vegeta, Piezo, warprince2000, theskywillfall, lyssi, and KeLLy BeaNz. Thanks so much for all of the kind reviews. I REAAAALLLYYY love them!!!
Can't wait til' July 31st! New episodes! See ya!
