Before you begin reading another chapter in this very... unique story, I must say thank you to Starrobin4eva, who happenes to be the only person to have reviewed me so far (as of 7:43pm eastern time, 1/14/05). To answer your question, its Raven and my character Zaith. How I came up with the pairing, or even how I thought of this story, don't ask me. It just happened. I hope you continue to read it, and please send me another review if you would like. Well enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans, but I do watch the show.
Chapter 5: Shopping
By four o'clock, Raven, Star Fire, and Zaith had made there way to what appeared to be a small clothing store by the name of Lou's Cloths and Fabrics. They entered the small store, finding walls of fabrics and several expensive looking dresses.
"Ahhh, Raven, Star Fire, what a pleasant surprise," Said a middle aged Asian man. "What brings you here today?"
"Hello Eric, were here to get this guy fitted." Raven said, pointing towards Zaith.
"And who are you, young man?" Eric asked, looking up and down Zaith.
"My name is Zaith Falken. I'm a new member of the Titans." Zaith replied.
"Well then, Zaith, follow me to the back and I'll start sizing you."
"Uh, ok." Zaith said.
Zaith followed Eric down one of the isles of the store all the way to a door that said 'Manager Only'. They went through the door, ladies behind them, and Zaith found himself in astonishment. Behind the 'Manager Only' door was what looked like another store full of super hero costumes.
Eric continued walking down another isle, straight to a wall of mirrors. The mirrors were positioned in such away so as to give Eric three different views at the same time.
"Go into the changing room and put on the large leotard, alright." Eric told Zaith.
Zaith did as he was told and went into the curtained changing room, which was just to the right of the mirrors. Once inside, he closed the curtain behind him, and then looked around for the leotard. He found three of them hanging on the curtain rail, and decided to see which one would fit best on him. The first too were obviously too small for him to wear, but the third looked like it might fit him, if it stretched out enough. Zaith then quickly began undressing, when he suddenly heard Eric say "Ok ladies, go look at something else. I don't think he will find your presence very comfortable."
Zaith soon came out wearing the leotard that just fit him. It was black and felt very confining.
"Stand on the stool," Eric told him.
He did so, and almost immediately, Eric pulled out a measuring tape and began to measure every part of his body, then jotted down several numbers on a small notepad.
He heard Eric say 'Thirty six by thirty four' when he was measuring Zaith's waist and leg length. After about three minuets of strange directions and measurements, Eric spoke again.
"Alright go back and change back into your other cloths."
Zaith went back behind the curtain and change into the clothes he wore before. Then once he was done, he came out and found both of the ladies standing there, apparently waiting for Zaith.
"Ah, there you are friend." Star Fire said.
Raven remained silent, though she wouldn't have had much time to talk as Eric came back with pen and paper in hand.
"Alright, now before I can get you a costume that fits, I need to know what you like to wear during a battle. Let's start with your upper body."
"I prefer a black tank top, followed by a black t-shirt, and a Long trench coat after that."
"Ok. And what about the lower body?"
"A pair of black baggy jeans or cargo pants."
"Feet?"
"Black boots, combat or hiking, with black socks."
"Anything on your hands?"
"Black leather gloves."
"And do you wear any kind of jewelry or maybe a mask?"
"None at the moment."
"Any special weapons you plan on taking with you?"
"Just a sword that I carry on my back."
"Alright, I'll be back with a few things in a moment."
Eric then left, leaving Zaith and the two ladies alone. There was an awkward silence for a moment, which disturbed Zaith. Normally he wouldn't mind but the fact that other people were there with him and they were not saying anything just bothered him.
In an attempt to start up a conversation Star Fire asked a stupid question. "What do people mean when they say boxers or briefs?"
"It means what type or underwear a guy wears." Zaith said.
"Well, then which do you wear?"
"I'm not telling you." Zaith said.
"It's just a question, Zaith. It's not like it's that important anyway." Raven said.
"Oh, but it is. Just knowing what type of underwear a man wears shows a part of that mans personality, whether it be in public or in the household." Zaith said.
"Here try these on." Eric said as he returned to the group. He handed Zaith a large pile of clothes, then ushered him into the small curtained changing room.
Zaith found that they were just what he had described his regular fighting clothes as. He put them on one by one and when he stepped out again, he found the ladies gasping. The cloths were new and shiny, unlike the dull ones from before. The boots were greased, and the all black seemed to be a likeable thing to Raven, whose jaw dropped on sight.
Eric led Zaith over to the mirrors, and found a few interesting things on his cloths. For starters, the back of his boots had a silver plate on each side, which looked like they might click if he walked. His gloves had silver studs on each knuckle, which seemed to fir perfectly on his hand. As for the pants, the seemed to have that special fade that would be found on many carpenters style pants. The holes for the belt had silver plating, and the belt he had on at the moment was silver with the design of a dragon on it. As for the coat, the collar was a steel that seemed to wrap around his neck in such a way that, when closed, it was comfortable and almost form fitting. On the back, a red dragon could be seen, giving its own personal distinction in the clothing.
"Do you like it?" said Eric with and interested look on his face.
"Like it? I love it! Can I get four of this entire thing?" Zaith said.
"Consider it done."
"And can I leave with this on?" Zaith said.
"Sure, just make sure you pay for them all."
"Nice!" Zaith exclaimed.
"Alright then, get your clothes then follow me." Eric said.
Zaith got his clothes then followed Eric back out of the room then into the store. The ladies followed them, and were practically drooling at how marvelous Zaith looked. He followed him straight to the register and Eric spoke again.
"Alright, now for payment. That's four sets of cloths, and three are going to be delivered, that comes out to… three hundred, seventy nine dollars, and eighty nine cents."
"Uh…" Zaith was confused as to how to pay Eric, but then remembered the card Robin gave him. "Oh yeah, here."
Eric took the card and swiped it like it was a credit card, and moments later a receipt came out. He then handed Zaith back his card, then started checking the receipt.
"Alright, the clothes will be delivered by tomorrow."
"Okay, thanks Eric. We'll see you later." Raven said.
"Goodbye then." Eric said, giving a small wave to the group.
The group walked outside, and then chatted amongst themselves.
"Friend Zaith you look magnificent!" Star Fire exclaimed as she gave Zaith another bone cracking hug. Luckily she did not hold it for as long as the last time.
"Well, I guess we're to the mall, right?"
"Why would you need to go to the mall now, you already have the clothes you need." Raven said.
"True, but I prefer not to where the same thing every day. And I still only have four sets of clothes."
"What about the ones in your hand, Zaith?" Star Fire asked.
"Well I've been wearing these for a year and a half now, and they are getting pretty worn out."
"Alright then, follow us." Raven said.
The group then began walking down the sidewalk, talking quietly amongst themselves. Although throughout their conversation, Zaith did not realize that the ladies gave each other slight glances towards one another. And all though they didn't say a word, they both meant the same thing.
While Zaith had been changing earlier, he did not know that he had left the curtain open by just a bit. He also didn't know that through the opening, both Raven and Star Fire had been watching him undress. They managed to get a very nice view of his backside, which made both of them blush when they viewed not only his back, but his very firm… buttocks.
The three continued to walk along the side walk, making only two turns, one to the left and one to the right. They soon came across a large building with many cars and such strewn across a very large parking lot in a somewhat organized manner. This was the mall.
They entered the mall, and then stopped and waited for Zaith to decide where to go first.
"So, where would you like to go first, friend Zaith?" Star Fire asked in a pleasant tone, maybe even too pleasant.
"Well, I don't really know which stores sell what, seeing as I haven't really been inside a mall for several years." Zaith said. "Raven, I'm going to have to ask for your opinion as to where we should go first."
"Alright, then follow me." Raven said, and then started off through the mall.
She led Zaith, who was followed by Star Fire, through the sea of people inside the mall. As they walked, many people, mostly women and young ladies, gave him interesting looks, most of which said 'Oh I love your clothes' and 'would you like to go out with me'. Zaith followed Raven intently though, only giving people small smiles. Eventually, Raven led the two up an escalator to the second floor, and then to a store called 'Hot Topic'.
As Star Fire, she became somewhat intrigued and afraid of the interior. The black apparently didn't fit her lifestyle. "I believe I shall wait outside." She said wit ha strange smile on her face.
Zaith looked back towards Raven, who apparently was searching the cloths in the store. Zaith then took the moment to look around. Clothes, as well as hats and some wallets, lined the walls, though most of the shirts were black, like the wall paper of the room. One side of the wall was obviously dominated by what looked like men's pants and shirts. The other side had many pairs of female clothing. Zaith looked at the pants that the guys would were, and found them not to his tastes. They weren't by all means ugly or ludicrous, but they just seem right in Zaith's mind.
He looked towards the shirts offered as shown on a large selection shown hanging on the wall. Many of theses shirts seemed to simply be funny in nature, which he found very interesting. Many referred to various, other to movies and TV shows. He decided to see what sizes they offered them in, and took about nine different shirts, all in 2x.
He saw a sign that said 'Changing Room' in the back. He went there, and began to see which ones would fit. Needless to say, he found that the 2x was just fine for him, so he changed back into the black shirt from before, and then checked that all the shirts were 2x. They were, so he then left the changing room and headed for Raven, who was now holding several pairs of pants, most of which looked small; they obviously were for here. Yet one pair of pants struck his as odd, as they were obviously too large for her to wear. She must have wanted him to wear them. Zaith went up to her and began speaking with her.
"Are you planning on wearing all of those, or are the large ones for me." Zaith said jokingly.
Raven, being very serious, replied "Yes the large are for you, now go try them on."
"Sorry, but no." Zaith said. He managed to sneak a look at the tag, which said 32x32.
"And why not?" She said in annoyance.
"Well for one, they are too small. I'm thirty six by Thirty two, not thirty two by thirty two. And second, I just don't see myself wearing those pants."
"Oh…" Raven said, embarrassed slightly. "Well, then I guess we should check out, as you seem done now."
Raven and Zaith walked over to the counter where a young lady working the register was at. The lady happened to be wearing cloths that looked like those inside the store. Also, she had two visible piercings on her, on in her bottom lip, and one in her left nostril.
"Oh, hi Raven, I see you final found yourself a boyfriend." The lady at the register said.
"Be quiet, Alice, he is not my boyfriend. I'm just helping this guy get some clothes."
"Really…" Alice said, as she looked Zaith up and down. "I doubt that."
"No really, I've been out of the whole civilization loop for a while now, and just recently I became a Teen Titan." Zaith said nervously, while a sweat drop seemed to drop down his forehead. He probably wouldn't mind having an interesting person like Raven as a girlfriend, but he didn't really feel like he had the right to do such a thing at the time. After all, he knew better then to ask a brand new friend like Raven something like that. It's just how he was.
"Don't worry, man, I was just kidding. Besides, if Raven doesn't want you, then I'll be happy to take you for myself."
"Uh, no thanks, I… uh… I don't know how to say I wouldn't like to go out with you without hurting your feeling. AH! Did I just say that?!"
"Whoa, chill man, I can see you're pretty nervous." Alice said calmly. "Listen, I think we got off on the wrong foot. The name's Alice Fornly." She said this while extending her hand.
"Uh, Zaith Falken, pleasure to meet you." Zaith said, taking her hand in his own then shaking it lightly before letting go.
"I'm liking the clothes. Where did you get them?" Alice asked.
"Trade secret." Raven interrupted.
"As it always is." Alice said jokingly.
Alice then took the clothes we were holding and began to ring them up in the register. After tallying everything then folding them, she reached under the counter and pulled out a large cardboard box. She then placed all the clothes inside the box, and then looked back at the two.
"Anything else you would like before I close the box?"
Zaith looked at the wall behind her, where all the wallets, hats, belt buckles, belts, and a couple wrist bands were. A wallet with a dragon design immediately intrigued him, as well as a set of black wristbands, and one of those rocker belts people wear. He told Alice what he wanted, and she quickly got the stuff he asked for. She rang them up, then placed them in the box, then closed it and sealed it with brown duck tape. Then once she had taped it, she pulled a sticker out from under the table, slapped it onto the top of the box, and then began to scribble several words onto it.
Once she was done, Alice said "Alright, the box will be sent to the Tower. Now all I need is the money for all of this."
"Thanks Alice." Raven said as Zaith handed Alice the plastic card. She swiped it quickly, handed the card back to Zaith, then hit a few buttons on the electronic register, causing a receipt to come out. She handed the receipt to Zaith, and then began to speak.
"No problem, have a nice day." She said back to Raven.
"You know, you're too cheerful for this job."
"Yeah, but that's who I am." Alice replied.
Raven and Zaith then left the store and then began to look for Star Fire. It didn't take long for them to see where she was.
Star Fire was having a 'conversation' with three men who apparently were looking for some fun. Star Fire, being the gentle and unknowing type, thought they meant to play a sort of game. But what they wanted was far from the thought. No, they wanted a piece of action, namely Star Fire.
The men continued to harass Star Fire, and when ever she tried to say that she did not want to talk to them, they found a way of distracting her. Zaith, being quite the gentlemen, as well as being somewhat intelligent, was annoyed at the sight of what they were obviously trying to do. He went over to them, then shoved the men out of the way as to grab Star Fire out of the way and bring her away from the men.
As Zaith had planned on doing, he made his was through the men to Star Fire, and when he had tried to pull her away from them, was stopped by the three men, who had blocked his passage.
"What do you think your doing, buddy?" said the tallest of the three (though not as tall as Zaith), who was to the right of Zaith.
"Retrieving my friend." Zaith replied.
"I don't think so. We were just getting to know the young lady here, and you just interrupted our conversation." Said the man in the middle, apparently the shortest of the group.
"Well, sorry to disrupt your 'conversation', but from what I can tell, I don't believe she would like your company." As Zaith said this, Star Fire nodded lightly, yet her grip on Zaith's hand did not falter.
"Well, we think she liked our company. And you, buddy, are bothering us, so if you have any manners, then I suggest you leave." Said the third man on Zaith's left.
"And I say no."
"Then I guess we'll have to teach you some manners." Said the short man.
The short man then tried to punch Zaith, but using his left hand, gripped and twisted the shorter mans arm, then turned him so that his arm was behind him and he faced away from Zaith.
"Hurts, doesn't it." The short man winced in pain, and nodded lightly to what Zaith said. "If you two don't want to see what I'll do to you, then I suggest you leave Star Fire alone."
The other two men, both in fear at how their apparent leader was in pain, nodded there heads and began to run away. Zaith then let go of the short man in front of him. Immediately he began to run after his friends.
Zaith then let go of Star Fire's hand and turned around to face her. "Star Fire, are you alright?"
"Y-yeah, I'm fine." Star Fire replied in an uncomfortable tone, as if about to cry.
"Good." Zaith said wit ha smile on his face. This made Star Fire feel more comfortable.
"Well, glad that's over." Raven said as she came up to Zaith and Star Fire.
"I believe I should return home, I do not want to meet more people like that." Star Fire said quietly.
"Alright, well be careful going back to the tower then." Zaith said.
"Goodbye friends Raven and Zaith." Star Fire said as she lifted herself into the air then flew away, leaving Raven and Zaith alone in the mall.
Yet again, I would like for people to review this story. Yes I'm a bit wierd in asking for criticism, but i need it. I know i probably left out a detail or something, so if you catch me in the act tell. Thanks.