Vermillion
Chapter 5: Pink
:1:
"What have you done to my room?" cried Raven, clutching her head to keep the emotions from bursting out of her.
"You're mine, Raven," said Red X, advancing towards her. "This is just a symbol of that."
"This? I've had some of these items since I was an infant! You've ruined them!"
His reply came in the form of an embrace. He closed his arms around Raven's shoulders and pressed his cheek against her head. "Shh..." he said. "You have no idea how much I care for you."
She breathed in his scent—a mix of the fresh smell of pine, the slightest bit of cologne, and the aroma of smoke—and wondered why she wasn't pulling away from him. Was she falling for this maniac?
At that instant, a raging rhinoceros charged straight at Red X, flinging him away from Raven and onto her bed. "Stay away from her!" Beast Boy yelled, changing back to his human form.
Red X pulled himself up and took out a familiar steel ball, throwing it towards Beast Boy. He changed into a hawk and flew away as the gum-like substance erupted from the sphere. Raven took the chance to mutter her spell and cast her chair against Red X, throwing him to the ground.
"I don't care if you like me or not. I hate you."
"That's not true, Raven. You know it's not," he replied, pulling himself out from beneath the chair. He handed the flowers towards her. "A token of my ardor, beautiful winged maiden."
"I can't be wooed," she said, flinging away the bundle of carnations.
"Please..." He seemed almost desperate at that moment, staring at the door in anticipation. Sure enough, Cyborg and Starfire were standing there in shock. Beast Boy leapt onto his shoulders as a green monkey and attempted to pull off his mask, but Red X caught his arm and flung him into Starfire. "I want to be with you, Raven. Robin does not deserve you."
She scowled. "Why do you want me? Why not Starfire?"
"Because you are amazing. You are beautiful, intelligent, and you have so many emotions to give. I'm in love with you. We can leave, Raven. We can fly away from here, just you and me...." He leaned close to her, almost pleadingly, and stared into her eyes.
"No. This is my home," she said.
"Raven..."
"Do you think that all your fancy words and little touches can make me fall in love with you? You're wrong. You're arrogant, rude, and you don't know me at all."
"I know you perfectly well. I know you, daughter of Trigon. I know you, half-demon witch. I know you, essence of darkness."
Her eyes glowed white. "Don't call me that."
She gestured with her hand and his clothes took on the black glow of her power. She flung him out the window and let him fall, hoping he would be impaled on the jagged rocks below.
Cyborg recovered first. "Raven?"
"I hate him. I hate him." With that, she departed, leaving her room in ruins.
Starfire glanced at Beast Boy. "Please explain. How is Raven an 'essence of darkness'?"
Beast Boy shrugged. "How would I know?"
:2:
Kevin looked up as the door slammed in his café. Raven entered, emitting an aura of anger. "The usual?" he asked, cleaning a tall glass cup.
"No. Make it the special," she replied, sliding into a stool. She lowered her hood, showing her discontented eyes.
"What's wrong?" he asked, taking out the ingredients to the Special.
Slowly, she related the events in the past couple of days to him. When she was finished, Kevin pursed his lips thoughtfully and laid a steaming cup of tea in front of her. "I may just be a beatnik like any other, but I think that you should give him a chance."
"Red X?" she scoffed, fingering the cup.
"No, Robin."
"Robin?"
"He cares, you know, more than you think."
She gave him a confused look and took a sip of the tea. Immediately, a feeling of peace washed over her and she felt much better.
"You know, the boy there has been eyeing you for some time now," Kevin said benignly. She looked over her shoulder to see a buff, blue-eyed varsity boy staring at her. When she looked directly at him, he blushed and turned away.
"He really doesn't seem the kind that likes poetry," remarked Raven as she turned back to her tea.
"We've been getting many boys who come here just to see if they can get a glimpse of you," said Kevin.
"But why?"
"Why not?" he replied. "You're intelligent, darkly beautiful, and a teen titan."
"That's no reason."
"That was three reasons," he smiled.
She frowned and looked away, meeting again the gaze of the schoolboy. Fools, the whole lot of them. Heartsick fools.
:3:
As she returned to the Tower, a pink-haired leader greeted her by chasing Beast Boy around the control room, yelling threats at the top of his lungs.
"Uh... what happened?" she asked.
Cyborg laughed. "I suppose this is payback."
"Huh?"
"A week ago, Robin did a very unleader-like thing. He put toothpaste in Beast Boy's socks and spent the night racing motorcycles illegally. You were in your room, so you didn't hear how Beast Boy fumed. So BB bought some really strong pink dye and put it in Robin's shampoo. And this is the result." Cyborg took a seat on the sofa. "Care to watch the drama unfold?"
"No. I'm going to the roof to meditate."
"Suit yourself," said Cyborg, watching as Robin trapped Beast Boy in a corner. The green changeling transformed into a spider and scuttled away, but Robin whipped out the bug spray. The spider panicked and transformed into a cheetah, running circles around the room.
As she was ascending the stairs, Starfire caught up with her. "Friend Raven, are you all right?"
"I'm fine, Star."
"I have taken the liberty of suggesting a night out onto the city, to perform dances for strangers in night-clubs."
Raven stared at her. "We're gonna go dancing tonight?"
"No, not tonight. Tomorrow," smiled Starfire.
Raven shrugged and continued on her way.
"Are you sure you are fine, Raven?"
"Yes, Star," she replied.
Starfire seemed saddened by Raven's coldness and turned to go.
"Thanks for caring," Raven added as an afterthought.
Starfire immediately brightened, lighting up the room like the sun. Raven rolled her eyes and went out on to the roof.
The night wind whipped her cloak around her body. Storm clouds drifted overhead and lights twinkled on the mainland overhead. She closed her eyes and positioned herself in the lotus position. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos," she said. Her cloak flew out behind her, courtesy of the strong breeze. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos."
A finger slowly moved down her spine. "Raven," came Red X's voice, unusually soft.
She fell to the floor ungracefully and glared up at him. "What do you want?"
"You should know by now. I want you."
"I told you--"
"No, listen. I can't stand the fact that anyone else wants you. I want you to be with me, and only me. I've worked hard to get to this position, to be able to look you in the eye and say, 'let's go away.' Please, Raven. Love me."
"I cannot love, genius," she shot back.
"Yes, you can."
"Are you trying to let Trigon loose through me?"
"No, of course not."
"Go away."
"Raven..."
"Go AWAY."
He started to fade into the air as if he were a specter, like smoke in the air.
"As you wish, my dark Lady."
As he finally disappeared, a gentle rain began to drizzle on her head and shoulders. Raven sighed as the storm grew and she was forced inside.
:Fin:
Disclaimer: Not mine.
This chapter is noticeably shorter than my others, but my father says I have to get off. UGH. Red X is also a lot more mushy/romantic in this chapter because he's getting desperate. Why? That's up to you to hypothesize.
125 reviews! EEK!! I'm so happy! I love you, my wonderful reviewers!
jejuneepitaph: Don't worry. There won't be a threesome.
Ripdos A.K.A the Bad Ash: Don't worry. No lemon in this story. The closest was the poetry.
Serene's Magick: Is he being overprotective or does he care? Heh. You'll see...
Springsprite: A robot built by Slade? Interesting theory.
Lotus Cat: Thank you! How sweet! Utterly and completely? XD
Le Chat de Darigan: Possessive stalker=Red X. And yes, the poetry was horrible.
Queen: I don't know... I could write another story starring Red X... Are you sure Red X doesn't know Raven? He doesn't kiss Raven. He blows a kiss towards her.
peace215: You're right. He isn't happy with Starfire. But Robin doesn't know that!