Disclaimer: I do not own teen titans. I do not own Dennys. This is just the product of a silly fangirl's imagination. Please R&R.
Note: Thank you for all of the reviews. Special thanks to those of you who come back time and again. (You know who you are!) I appreciate all of your comments and concerns. All will come to light with time.
Chapter Modified. Special thanks to Rochelleteentitan for pointing out my goof.
Let Me Dream: Part Twenty - How could you?
Robin was woken by the sound of something rapping on his window. He sat up groggily.
"I must have fallen asleep.." He mused while clearing his vision by rubbing his knuckles against his eyes. He blinked, trying to adjust to the darkness of the room. Getting up carefully he made his way to the window and pulled the curtain aside. Raven was perched outside his window on the ladder she had used before. He undid the latch and opened the window for her, allowing her to come inside. Robin was a bit annoyed to find that the shadows of the room concealed her face from him. After closing the window, he switched on the light and turned to face her.
"Hello Robin." She greeted him in her customary tone. Robin smiled slightly.
"Hi Raven, did you decide to fly again?" Raven gave him a wry smile but did not respond.
"I wanted to come and see you." She explained her presence while managing to look a touch uncomfortable.
"It's ok. You are always welcome. I'm actually glad you are here. There are some things that I would like to ask you." Robin sat on his bed and motioned to a place next to him. "Sit with me?" Raven's eyes settled on the spot he indicated for a few seconds before she nodded and sat next to him. "I spent the afternoon with Beast Boy."
"Oh yeah? How'd that go?" Raven faced him, her expression blank.
"We had a long conversation. He filled in a lot of the empty parts of my memory." Raven shifted and her face began to drain of what little color it held. "There are a few problems I found that I wanted to discuss with you."
"Uh, like what Robin?" She smiled uneasily and folded her hands in her lap.
"Have you been lying to me?" Robin asked, his eyes focused on her so strongly that she cringed.
"Wh..Why do you ask that?" Raven had turned her face away from him so even before mentioning the instances he knew already that she had. He just didn't know why.
"First you let me think you don't know anything about Cyborg or Beast Boy, then you tell me you have never had a friend before. Finally you tell me that you thought Beast Boy was purely imaginary when you knew he existed. You knew about all of them. I know you lied. Why Raven? How could you?" Robin's voice had not been raised, but it held all of his confusion and hurt within its depths. Raven turned to look at him slowly, her eyes glassy and her faced pinched in a pained frown.
"I can't, I don't know how to explain it to you." Robin stood up and began pacing in front of her.
"What do you mean you can't explain it? Why did you do it Raven, why did you lie to me? I was your friend Raven, why would you do this? You know how important this is to me." Raven's eyes narrowed.
"How could I do it?" Her voice was icy and strained as she glared at him. She remained seated on the bed, but her body was tensed and face held the look of a barely contained rage. "How could you do it?" Robin stopped pacing and turned to face her.
"I am not the one that lied to you."
"Yes you were!" She spat out, the anger flaming along her words. "You were never my friend. You needed me, because you recognized me. You needed me to lead you to them. To help you get her. To help you gain her love. All that time spent as children?! It was fake! All of it. I was ALWAYS on the outside of your circle, as long as I have known you. For once in my whole life I was the one that was important, I was the one that was needed. If you found them you wouldn't need me anymore. How could I tell you? How?" Raven had lost control of the emotions that she fought to hide and tears streamed freely down her face as she threw words at him like daggers. "I couldn't tell you where they were because you wouldn't need me. It was the closest I had to anything real. To not being alone." The last word was half choked as she moved to stand directly in front of Robin. His eyes were wide and he was frozen in space. He had never seen Raven cry, not like this. He lost the anger he had been holding onto and felt only pity for the friend who wept before him.
"Raven, I.." Robin reached out to her.
"All I wanted to do was keep you." She whispered as she wrapped her arms around herself. "I'm sorry." Robin lowered his arm and tried to think of something that he could do. He had no idea that her motives for lying would be so heart wretching. He chided himself for even thinking that it may have been malicious. It was selfish, definitely. He couldn't be angry with her though. Her anguish was a product of his creation and he knew that. She had endured years of pain because of Slade and himself. They made her feel that this is what she had to do to keep a friend.
"Raven," He spoke gently to her, trying to draw her attention away from her grief. "Raven, I'm not angry with you. We're still friends. I'm still here for you." He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around the crying girl. She shifted her arms from around herself and wrapped them around Robin's waist. He held her for a minute until she stopped crying. He pulled back slightly and bent forward to look into her face. "Are you ok now?" He asked, his voice filled with concern. Raven looked at him for a moment. Their faces were merely inches apart. Her face flushed and she pulled away from him sharply.
"Yes, uh, I want to go home how. I'll see you Monday." Robin stood in the center of his room and watched her open, and climb out his window. This time he did not make a move to stop her. He walked over to the window after hearing the scrape of the ladder being pulled from the side of the house. When he looked outside Robin noticed that it had begun to rain. The ladder was once again on the ground next to the house and Raven was making her way down the sidewalk. Her back was to his home and she did not glance behind. Her shoulders were curled forward and her head was bent. The wind whipped through her trenchcoat causing it to billow out behind her. The rain had plastered her hair to her face and neck. Raven's hands had been thrust firmly into her pockets and she strided slowly across the pavement. Her steps were marked with purpose, yet each one grew heavier on his heart. He was the only friend she had, and he just stood there as she made her way alone. Robin shook off the melancholy that choked his thoughts and quickly put on his shoes and jacket. He ran down the steps and out the front door.
"Raven!" He called her name out into the storm. "Raven? RAVEN!" He searched the street for her, but his searching was to no avail. By the time he had gotten there she was already gone.