A/N: HOLY COW! TRIFORCE90 IS WRITING A TRAGEDY/ANGST! WHAT IS THE WORLD COMING TOO! (looks out the window and watches a mushroom cloud get closer and closer)

Anyway, this is my first attempt at a tragedy and angst, so it's probably a little bad. But who cares? It's my fic!

And remember, kiddies! Don't do drugs! They're bad for you! Take it from me, Triforce90! If you want to get high, it's as easy as being yourself!

It could've happened any other day . . . But it just would've happened to happen on that day, wouldn't it? The day the remainder of my life changed forever . . . I could've gotten help . . . But it was too strong. I tried to quit, but I couldn't. It became part of my body and I couldn't survive without it. And the worst part, overall, was that my best friends didn't know until it was too late to save me.

This is my story . . . of when I was changed . . . and how I died because of it.

I was just sitting there, minding my own business. It was a day to celebrate, but I didn't care. Birthdays were nothing, anyway. Celebrating the day you were born . . . Something that I regret even from day one.

But for everyone else it was different. I guess it was because nobody knew what it was like to be me. Nobody new about my cruel past or any thing else in my life. But that was OK, wasn't it? They were my friends, after all. Why not be happy with them?

So, I decided to do just that. I put my book down and got off the couch, then made my way over to the Birthday Boy. Beast Boy had just turned sixteen, and all of his friends were over at the Tower to celebrate with him. Normally, guests such as these wouldn't have been allowed . . . But it was a special day. For him, anyway.

"Hey Beast Boy," I said, casually. "Happy birthday."

"Thanks Rae. You like the party?"

"Yeah, it's OK. I guess . . ."

"Well, come on! There's got to be something here you like. You like food, don't you?"

I looked over to where all the refreshments were, and I had to admit, everything looked delicious. Chocolate-chip cookies with mounds upon mounds of delicious vanilla icing, a bowl of M&Ms, those little . . . funky mints that when they hit your tongue they begin to dissolve. And in the middle of all the other great snacks was a huge chocolate cake, which, in green icing, said "HAPPY BIRTHDAY BB!". It was the first Earth cake Starfire had ever made, along with the help of her good friend, Betty Crocker.

"It all looks real good, Beast Boy," I said, smiling as I scanned the table once more. "Perfect for your birthday."

"It is pretty perfect, isn't it?" asked Beast Boy, winking at me. I sighed and looked away, totally ignoring him.

"Come on!" he said, grabbing my hand. "Try some of the punch! Cyborg got it at some deluxe fruit shop or something!"

"I know how to walk, Beast Boy," I said, quickly jerking my hand away from him. I hope he never saw it, but secretly, I blushed.

"Well then, please show me, for I seem to have forgotten everything I learned when I was 15!" he said, smiling widely. Obviously, some attempt at a joke.

"So you learned how to walk at fifteen? Congrats! Did you also become potty trained?"

I walked away, leaving Beast Boy behind to sort out that comeback. It wasn't too long before he noticed and ran up to me once more.

"That was clever . . ." he said, giving me the "evil eye".

"What else could you expect?"

I reached the food table and began looking at all the wonderful treats. But where was that punch Beast Boy wanted me to try?

. . . Ah! There it is!

I grabbed the ladle and a cup, then poured the red contents into the cup. Beast Boy also did the same.

"To a new age," I said, lifting my cup.

"To a new age," he repeated, also lifting his cup. Our cups touched, and we withdrew them and drank.

It was indeed wonderful. The different fruits in it were hard to identify. There were just too many in one little space.

I drained my cup before he did, then took it away from my lips.

"That was good," I said, eyeing the punch. "I think I'll have some more."

"Don't drink too much, my dark princess," said Beast Boy, dripping with sarcasm. "You'll pee your pants."

I gave a slight chuckle, then added some more punch to my cup. Surely this party would be over with soon.

Some scantily clad girl walking by, distracted Beast Boy, and he immediately took off, leaving me at the table alone. I sampled some more of the punch, then grabbed a few of the weird mints and felt them melt on my tongue.

"Hello, Raven!" said Starfire, walking up to me with a big goofy smile on her face. "Do you like the cake? Have you tried it?"

"No, I haven't," I said, looking at the cake once more. "But I'll try it sooner or later." I took another sip of my punch.

"I am very much enjoying the party of birthdays, but I was wondering . . . when are we going to play attach the pin to the donkey's rear?"

I spit out the remainder of the punch that was in my mouth, almost about to actually laugh at the name she had given to the childish game.

"Older people don't really play that at parties," I said, explaining to Starfire. "That's more of a child's party."

"Oh," said Starfire, I hint of sadness in their voice. "Then tell me, why did we play it at Robin's last party of birthday?"

"Well, we weren't really playing it with a picture of a donkey, remember? We were blindfolded and trying to stab the person that was . . ."

I was cut off short when my vision began to change.

"Yes, Raven?"

I could hear Starfire's voice, but I couldn't see her the way she had appeared a couple of minutes ago. Everything was becoming a large swirl, spinning around . . . and around . . .

It was then I saw every color possible . . . A great, blissful feeling came over me. It was like trying to bottle sunshine, or see music, or hear a thought . . .

It was all so wonderful.

"I . . . gotta go to the bathroom," I said oddly to Starfire. What was wrong with my voice? "I think I'm getting dizzy."

"OK . . ." said Starfire. I could see her staring at me, wondering what was going on. I wish I had known, too. I had never had a feeling like this before.

It was then that her long hair seemed to double in length, and it looked like she was getting farther and farther away from me. I knew that she was right there with me; I could feel her breathing. But my brain wanted me to think she was miles ahead. I just had to sit down . . .

Somehow I had managed to get to the bathroom. It looked exactly the same . . .

I turned on the faucet, thinking that if I washed my eyes out the hallucinations would go away. The water was the clearest blue I had ever seen, and it looked icy cold. But it burned like fire when I touched it.

I was loosing control over my senses. I sat on the toilet and put my hands to my head, thinking that it would help. I sat there, wondering what to do, when all of the colors disappeared. The running water was no longer the chilling blue that it once was. I was no longer dizzy, and I felt like myself again.

"Is it over?" I asked myself, then eyeing the room as in looking for something. Everything appeared like it should have been.

I got up and made my way back to where the party was. But when I got there I noticed my friends, starting to clean up after the place. Everyone had left.

Was I really gone that long?

I made my way over to help, where I then noticed Beast Boy sitting on the couch, gazing into the ceiling. Was he experiencing the same thing I just experienced?

Robin walked over to Beast Boy, a concerned look on his face.

"You alright?" he asked.

"I think I'm stoned or something," said Beast Boy, looking into Robin's eyes. "Since when did you get your nose done?"

"Robin has had his nose 'done'?" asked Starfire, who came over and stared at Robin's face.

Beast Boy began to laugh in hysterics. He rolled around on the couch, cracking up as if the funniest joke in the world had just been told to him.

"Yeah, he's high," said Cyborg, looking at him. "Did anybody notice if he was doing something peculiar? Like eating large amounts of something?"

"Uh . . ." I said, looking over at the food table. The punch . . . "He drank a lot of the punch."

Cyborg walked over to the table and stared hard at the punch. His red eye was gleaming . . . He was searching for something.

"There's some kind of weird chemical in here . . . Something that just kind of stand out in all the other compounds . . . Something shouldn't be in here."

He picked up the bowl and walked towards the elevator. "I'm taking this to the lab."

Starfire, Robin and I looked at eachother, shrugged and followed Cyborg. Beast Boy remained where he was.

"Well Cyborg?" asked Robin, sitting on one of the beds. "Any idea?"

"I haven't even scanned yet, man," said Cyborg as he pushed a button. "Chill."

A sample of the punch had been put in a plastic bag and was now being scanned. The chemical composition would show up on the computer.

. . . And, sure enough, there it was. A huge web of something . . . obviously the punch. But here and there were other compositions, which must've been what made Beast Boy and me feel so weird.

"It's LSD," said Cyborg, looking at the screen. "Somebody spiked the punch."

"Spiked?" asked Starfire, confused. "But the punch can feel no pain. What is the point of . . ."

"He means somebody put drugs in it," said Robin, helping Starfire out. "Illegal drugs. They're bad for you, and make you do some crazy things."

Starfire nodded. "That would explain Beast Boy, yes?"

"I'm getting rid of this stuff," said Cyborg, once again picking up the punch bowl. "Just what kind of a sick freak would do something like this out of entertainment?"

Just as Cyborg stepped out the door, I interrupted.

"I'll take it," I said, hands outward and waiting for him to put the bowl in them.

"Why?" asked Cyborg, staring at me confused.

"You guys can go back and clean up. You know I won't help you much."

Cyborg shrugged and handed the bowl over to me. I tried my best not to look at it, which would probably give him suspicion.

I walked out of the room, not saying a word, and headed towards the bathroom. I turned my head around and saw my friends already returning to the living room to clean up. I turned around quietly and began to go to my room.

I approached the elevator and pressed the up button. I stood there, patiently. The doors didn't open. I began tapping my feet and humming a light tune, and after about a minute, the doors still didn't open.

I let out a sigh, then looked down at the punch. It was so close . . . I could just have a little now and then some more in my room. I cupped my right hand and dipped it in the cool liquid, then brought it my mouth. I drank happily, knowing that the blissful sensation would come to me again.

The doors finally opened and I hurriedly rushed inside. I pressed the button for the sixth floor. A light surrounding it glowed red, and already I could feel myself rising. Just four more floors to go . . .

It was then that the feeling rushed over me again. I felt lighthearted, like all of my sorrows had grown wings and flown away. I smiled as I watched the colors return, giving some life to the gray elevator.

I looked back to the lighted button, wanting to see what would happen if I looked at the light. But instead, I was horrified at what I saw. There was fire in the elevator, and I was trapped with it.

I screamed my head off, not able to keep my emotions under control. I could've formed a barrier to protect myself, but the fear of being burned and charred was overwhelming me. I then heard the elevator doors open and I gladly left the blazing lift.

I sighed in relief, then turned towards the direction my room was. It wasn't too far of a walk; maybe about fifty and sixty steps. But the once dark, straight hall was now twisted and filled with color. I stumbled around, not able to tell if I was going the right way or not. I was able to faintly make out my name on one of the twisted doors. I had made it.

The next day I woke up, still feeling half-asleep. I looked over to my nightstand, where I had put the bowl of spiked punch. I made my way out of bed, almost woozy, and grabbed a cupful before I made my way to the shower.

The shower was nothing different than the previous encounter with the water. Crystal, icy blue water, but this time not as hot. But this time, however, I was able to actually see the heat of the water rising and hitting the ceiling. I had to get out of there . . .

I managed to stumble out of the shower, get dressed, and make my way downstairs. By then, the trip had worn off.

I sat on the couch and tried to look as normal as possible. I grabbed my unfinished book, opened it, and began to read.

Beast Boy and Cyborg were playing their video games, as usual. It was almost as though yesterday had never come.

Robin was listening to a portable CD player. He listened to it just loud enough to where I could hear . . . Led Zeppelin. Jimmy Page was playing another one of his wild guitar solos.

Starfire randomly suggested that we went to go eat pizza for lunch, even though it was only nine o'clock. We all agreed, then went back to whatever we were doing for the next three hours. I managed to finish my book by then.

By the time we got back it was well passed six in the afternoon. Lunch had taken about two hours, due to a fight between Cyborg and Beast Boy about what to get. Then Starfire was easily distracted by the dresses displayed in windows and just had to see them for herself. She bought five of them, but tried on about forty. That took about four hours . . .

And then, just to get it over with, we decided to get dinner as well. Nothing fancy. A McDonalds salad for me.

We finally got home, where Beast Boy just insisted that we watched a movie on TV that came on at about that time. Something about a guy with a clubfoot that shot people.

About an hour into the movie, I began sweating profusely. I got dizzy soon after, and everything was a blur. My hand, which was resting on the sofa's armrest, began shaking uncontrollably.

This went on for about three minutes until Starfire finally noticed.

"Are you OK, Raven?" she asked, voice filled with concern. The other Titans looked at me.

"You don't look so good," said Beast Boy, eyeing me with wide eyes.

"I think it's just exhaustion from today," I said, trying my hardest to get up. "I'm going to go to the bathroom and splash some water on my face.

"OK," said Beast Boy, "but be back soon, or you're going to miss the best part!"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world, Beast Boy."

I headed to the direction of the bathroom but instead walked past it. I needed the punch . . . Something just told me that if I didn't have it, I would die.

I managed to make my way to my room and rushed over to the bowl. I picked up the whole thing and brought it to my lips, where I drank at least about four cups full. It probably wasn't healthy, but I didn't care. I needed it all.

I took at breath and literally threw my face into the now lukewarm liquid. I didn't care if I ruined my hair or get it in my eyes. I just wanted it more than anything.

The whole bowl was now dry . . . Every last drop of the drugged punch gone.

A knock came at my door, just as the LSD began to kick in.

"Just a minute!" I said as I quickly looked for a place to hide the bowl. But with everything looking so hazy and distorted, how could I?

"Raven, please open up!" came Starfire's muffled voice from outside.

"HOLD ON!" I screamed angrily. What was happening?

The door opened and sure enough, there stood Starfire. She must've seen the bowl, for she gasped in fright.

"Raven! You did not throw the spiked punch away?"

"WHAT DOES IT MATTER TO YOU?" I shouted back.

"But . . . Raven. Robin said that the drugs were bad, and . . ."

"GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!"

I then began to feel lightheaded. I dropped the bowl, which hit the ground and broke with an ear-splitting crack. I fell to my knees, hands on the ground holding me up for support. Something was happening. My hands gave out, and I hit the floor.

"Raven!" shouted Starfire as she ran to my side.

All went black.

I opened my eyes, slowly, at first. But when I realized I was alive, they shot open as if my life depended on it.

I was looking into a bright lantern . . . I was obviously lying on my back. I wanted to lift my head, but I felt too weak to even do so. Just beside me, I could hear a heart monitor running besides me, beeping away every pulse. Something was seriously wrong with me.

"Where am I?" I asked, stupidly. I knew very well where I was.

"The lab," came a voice . . . A familiar one at that. Cyborg soon appeared over me. "You were in a coma. You're lucky that Starfire was next to you when it happened."

"Starfire?" I asked, vaguely.

"Do you remember anything?"

"Vaguely," I lied.

"Why didn't you tell us, Rae? We could've gotten you help."

"I didn't . . . know." But I knew very well. My pride was greater than my wish for health. "I'm sorry . . ." And indeed I was. I was just lying here, listening to each heartbeat.

"I feel . . . weird," I said. Suddenly, all was starting to get dizzy again. Had there been side effects on the drugs?

No . . . this was it. The real thing.

Beside me I could hear the heart-monitor pulse faster and faster. Soon, it would flatline.

"Raven! RAVEN!" Cyborg shouted, suddenly looking over me.

"Tell everyone goodbye for me."

I smiled. And it was the last thing I did as I watched Cyborg's frantic face get blurrier by the second.

That was when my life had ended. The short years I had with my friends were indeed the greatest. I just wish there were some way I could've extended those years.

And I could've had more of them, too. I guess there were several things to blame. I could blame the kids that had spiked the punch in the first place. That would be logical. Or I could blame the punch for tasting so good and making me want glass after glass. Or I could blame the LSD for giving me those haunting but wonderful hallucinations.

And I could also blame myself . . .