Teen Titans: I Need Her
Chapter Two: The Truth is always the right answer.
Richard took a long time in the shower that morning, desperately try to figure out last night's events. I clearly remember going to the bar, he thought as he stood below the warm water. I only sort of remember leaving and coming home. I— I do remember seeing Raven with her tea, but I don't remember her helping me or passing out. The water started to turn cold so he shut it off and stepped out; he dried off and changed into a pair of black sweatpants and a white tank top. He was going to get a cup of coffee but he pushed it aside for awhile so he could try and sort out the 'memories' that had popped into his head just this morning.
Man, he thought, lying down on his bed and staring at the ceiling. That thought was almost too real to have been my imagination. But Raven insists nothing happened last night— well, she wasn't in the room, so maybe something did happen. Maybe... maybe someone else came in and I just put Raven into that memory because she was there this morning. Yeah... it was probably someone else.... Maybe it was St—. Richard abruptly sat up and rubbed his eyes. He shouldn't be thinking like that; Star wasn't his anymore, they were over. She was with him now.
Flashback
Richard had not wanted to break up with Starfire, in fact he had gone to the jewelry store a few days before and he had picked out an engagement ring. He knew they were still young, but he still wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. Star had been a bit flighty lately, even more than usual, and so Richard decided he would take her out for a romantic dinner to ease whatever troubles she might have had. Everything had been going fine until Richard finally got up the nerve to propose. "Star, honey, I have something I need to tell you," he said, taking her hand. "Oh yes Dick. Of course," she smiled. He always hated how she called him Dick, but he never said anything because he figured she would grow out of it. "And I too have something to tell you." "Oh, well then," he said, beaming. "By all means, you go first dear." "Thank you," she said, shifting nervously in her chair. "This is not easy for me to say, so I am just going to come out and say it." Richard's grin faltered for a sec as he noticed the remorseful tone in his girlfriend's voice. "My dearest Dick," she continued with a deep breath, trying hard to avoid his eyes. "I am saddened to inform you that my feelings of love for you as more than a friend no longer rest in my heart. In truth, they have not been there for sometime, almost for six months now; I thought maybe I was just feeling stronger for you but I knew that was wrong when I found myself in love with another. I have been dating him for five months now and he has asked to marry me and I have said yes! I am sorry if I have hurt you, but are you not happy for me? You once said you were only happy when I was happy, and now I am happy, are you?"
Richard didn't know what to do; he was no longer holding her hands and he found himself wanting to squeeze something, anything, to relieve his tension. He could only think of one thought and it kept repeating itself in his head. "Who," he said softly, looking down at his hands. "Excuse me friend?" she asked, perplexed. "Who what?" "Who," he asked again through gritted teeth. "Is it? Who is the guy you're, you're—" "Oh!" she exclaimed, realization dawning on her orange face. "The man I am in love with? Oh, he is wonderful and great and charming and handsome and really great in b—" "Star!" Richard grunted, furious and heartbroken. "Just who. Is. He?" "Speedy..."
That had been a month ago and things had just gotten incredibly awkward, well at least for him anyway. Starfire and Speedy were always around the tower and she never acted like anything was wrong. Richard had turned 21 a few months before, so he often took his frustration and hurt out at the bars, drinking until someone had to come pick him up or he passed out there. Sitting there on his bed, he decided he would no longer go out and excessively drink; he had to patch things up and either get Starfire back or get over her. He truly thought he wanted the previous, but after those risqué thoughts about Raven had popped into his head he no longer knew what it was he wanted.
"She's just a friend," he muttered to himself, while sitting on his bed. "An extremely gorgeous friend, but a friend nonetheless. We have a connection over our pasts and we care for each other very much, but I don't think Rae feels that way about me. If she did, she probably would have done something about it by now, wouldn't she? Although.... She couldn't really express her feelings before without blowing stuff up and when she finally controlled her inner demon, I was with Star so I guess she really couldn't say anything. But... wouldn't she have said something in the last month? I mean, Star and I are no longer, so wouldn't she have said anything? Although I have been kinda resilient and maybe she noticed I needed some time and space to consider everything..." Richard's thoughts kept going on like this and he started to really confuse himself. He didn't think Raven liked him like that, but then he would think right back that she never really got the chance to tell him even if she did.
"Maybe I should ask her," he decided after about thirty minutes of hurtful thinking. "I don't know if she would actually come out and say something, but I don't want to sound like I am accusing her or anything." His thoughts debated for another fifteen minutes before he decided he would just give up. "That's it," he said rather angrily, as he got up and walked towards the kitchen. "I am just going to get a cup of coffee, get a clear head, and then pursue these stupid and crazy thoughts." He walked into the kitchen and immediately noticed Terra cleaning something up while Beast Boy and Cyborg were on the couch playing a video game like usual. When Terra finally noticed someone standing over her, she looked up and kind of glared at him. "Umm... Mornin' Terra," he said rather sheepishly. "How's it going?" "Oh," Terra replied spitefully. "It's going just peachy. I just love cleaning up after other perfectly capable people." She emphasized her words and Richard couldn't understand why she was being so curt with him; he thought maybe she was talking about Cyborg and Beast Boy, but then he noticed what she was cleaning up.
Terra was crouched down on the ground desperately scrubbing to try and remove spilt and sticky whiskey from the table and the floor. He looked and saw the bottle he had been drinking out of last night laying atop the garbage. "Oh, geez Terra," he apologized. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize I had left it there last night. Listen, just leave that and let me clean it up; it is my mess after all." Terra sighed and looked up at him, this time the malice was gone from her eyes. "No, don't worry about it Dick. I know you're going through a rough time right now and you probably didn't even realize you left it there. But I would have thought that at least she would have cleaned up after herself." She? He thought, mulling over Terra's words. Who else didn't clean up after herself? I can't believe Terra expects stuff like that outta me; I really need to get my act together. Terra seemed to notice his look of confusion and elaborated on her words. "Yeah," she said, starting to scrub a little over to the side now. "Raven must have decided to have some tea last night and she left the sopping wet tea bag on the floor and her full-to-the-brim mug on the counter. The floor is kinda stained from the tea bag so I had to do some extra cleaning this morning. She is usually pretty good about this kind of stuff; I guess her mind was elsewhere last night." "Raven?" Richard questioned a little harsher than he intended to. "She left her tea here last night? She didn't clean it up?" "Uh, no," Terra replied shortly. "What do you think I'm cleaning up here? I sure as hell didn't leave a wet teabag on the floor." Richard walked away and sat on the couch by Cyborg and Beast Boy. Raven left her tea on the counter? He thought, trying to put the puzzle pieces from last night together. And her teabag was on the ground? I remember seeing her make the tea, but what would have made her drop her stuff? Well, duh, seeing me stumble in, I guess. But why would she leave it there? That's not like her. Something else must have startled Raven and made her forget about her tea. But what?
Richard was so lost in thought; it took him almost five minutes before he realized Cyborg was trying to get his attention. "Huh? What? Oh, Cy, sorry, I kinda drifted," he answered, somewhat dazed. "I was just thinking about... stuff." "It's all right Dick," Cy replied casually. "I was just gonna ask if you wanted to watch BB and me race in our new video game?" "Oh," Richard replied, pushing aside the tea dilemma for a moment. "Umm, sure. Hey, when did you get this game? I don't recall ever seeing it before." Cy grinned as BB and him began to play. "Bought it yesterday. We've, well, I've been playing it all day. BB joined me at like seven this morning, but I was playing until almost five last night, well, this morning, I guess."
Richard just sat there and nodded until something struck him as strange. "Until five this morning you say?" he asked, his mind wandering again. "Didn't Raven have a problem with that?" Cyborg paused the game and stared strangely at him. "Why would Raven have a problem with that? I mean, I know she hates these things, but she has never stopped me from playing. She didn't wanna play or anything did she?" Richard couldn't believe what Cyborg was saying. "No, she didn't want to play or anything! She slept out here on the couch last night." BB and Cy exchanged worried glances and Terra looked up from her cleaning and eyed Richard suspiciously; she knew something had happened and she was determined to find out. "Umm, dude," BB replied slowly. "Raven didn't sleep out here last night. I mean, Cy didn't come home until like two, but she was definitely not here." "She wasn't? Really?" Terra alone noticed the confusion and slight panic in Richard's voice. She was positive now that something had gone down last night between Raven and Richard. She silently slipped out and went to go find her dark friend.
Richard never got a response from BB or Cy because they had gone back to their game; he didn't even notice Terra had left. Raven didn't sleep on the couch last night? And she didn't clean up or finish her tea? That definitely doesn't seem like Raven, he thought. But then what does it all mean? I know that I left the bar around one in the morning because the bartender said I was past my limit. That means I must have ran into Raven around quarter past one because I know I came straight home. So she surely would have been asleep by the time Cy came home. Did she lie to me then? Did I not pass out? Did she not help me into her room? Did she not sleep on the couch? He paused for a second. But why would she lie to me? It doesn't make sense unless— unless something did happen and she doesn't want me to know! But why would she do that? It just doesn't make sense! Determined, he got up and decided to go find Raven, sit her down and find out the truth. As he got off the couch a sudden feeling came over him and he just stood there for a moment. Even if something serious had happened, Richard didn't feel anything about it, he just felt... Well, he didn't know how he felt because he didn't really know what happened. He knew then that he needed to find Raven and talk to her so he could know what had happened last night. He didn't know where to look first, so he figured he would try her room first in case she was done meditating already. He headed down the hall and slowly made his way to her room.
Meanwhile, on the roof
Raven hovered there above the floor, letting quiet tears fall as she pretended to mediate, but she was really thinking about everything that had happened in the past few hours. She was so involved that she didn't even hear the door open and close or the footsteps making their way towards her. "Raven?" Terra asked timidly. "Is everything all right? Is—oh! Are you crying?" Startled, Raven had dropped to the floor and was wiping her tears away hastily. "No! No, of course—" she said quickly, turning to see Terra looking at her with disbelief. "... Yes... Yes, I was crying."
Terra walked over and sat next to her on the floor; she gave Raven a light hug. Raven sniffled a bit, then sat back and faced Terra. "Thanks, Ter. I really needed a shoulder to lean on right about now." Terra smiled. "No problem, Rae. What are friends for?" She lost her smile and turned serious. "Now, you wanna tell me what's going on? First, you leave a mess in the kitchen. Then, Dick said you slept on the couch last night, which is impossible because Cy was up until this morning playing video games. That got me wondering why you would sleep out there in the first place. And now, I find you up here crying. So what gives? And I am not leaving until I get everything from you." Raven fidgeted for a moment and then settled down; she was taken aback at her friend's brashness, but it made her comfortable and she admired her for her bravery.
Raven took a deep breath and told Terra everything. She told her how she had fallen in love with Richard shortly after she joined the titans, but she couldn't say anything without fear of blowing everything up and not to mention, the threat of her father destroying everyone she had ever cared for. She then went on about how after they had defeated Slade she decided it was time to fight for control of herself against her father; she had almost lost Richard and she couldn't live with herself if she lost him and never told him how she felt. She nearly fell to pieces when she told Terra about wanting to die because it hurt so much when Starfire and Richard had started to date and how that had forced them to grow apart once more. That had really hurt her because she had just taken control of her life and her and Richard were starting to get closer. Finally, she came to the events of last night and she completely broke down by the time she was done telling her about lying to him this morning and then coming up here on the roof. When she was done, Terra didn't know how to react; part of her felt so sorry for Raven and that same part wanted to totally rip Dick to shreds for last night. Obviously Dick didn't know everything Raven had done for him in the past few months, let alone the past few years.
Starfire had confessed to Terra shortly after she joined the titans that she cared for Dick but she could never marry him and she didn't think their relationship would last; he was just too serious and he could never act as carefree as she did. Terra, alone, was also the only one to know that Starfire was cheating, although Raven had a pretty good idea of what was going on, but neither one said anything to Richard because they didn't want to hurt him and they didn't feel it was their place to intrude. Raven finally stopped crying after a few minutes and smiled half-heartedly at her good friend. "Terra," she asked quietly, as if afraid of what answer she would get. "What do you think I should do? Especially if you think he might have figured out I lied to him this morning." Terra sat there for a moment and pondered her friend's situation. "The only thing you can do," she finally answered. "Is tell him exactly what happened. I really think that is the only answer. Just suck it up and tell him everything; if he blows up then just leave him to me and I'll make sure he pays dearly. You have done so much for him, especially in the last month and he needs to realize it." "You're right," Raven sniffled. "I need to just put myself out there and take it with a grain of salt. The truth is always the right answer. Thank you Terra. You truly are a good friend to me." The blonde just smiled at her and the two embraced once more.
Terra got up and left, leaving Raven alone to think of how she would approach and tell Richard all that she had done and felt for him. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she failed to notice the shadow looming over her. Suddenly, a hand was placed over her mouth and before she could use her powers or teleport a needle was jabbed into her arm and she found herself unable to move or talk or anything; she was just kind of slumped over while her hidden attacker chuckled behind her. "Long time, no see," the voice wheezed behind her. "My dear, dark Raven." Raven's eyes would have widened if she could move them, but they were slowly drooping closed; she recognized the voice but she couldn't believe it was him. He was supposed to be dead; they had defeated him almost two years ago!
"You thought you had destroyed me, my fine feathered friend," he spoke up once more. "But I merely have been in hiding, trying to regroup and start anew. I have been keeping an eye on you titans; watching you ever since I ran into your precious little leader at the bar fight. He didn't know I was there of course, so I followed him back here and I found out an interesting little tidbit that I have decided I would use in my new plan. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk, little Raven. Little, naive Raven. You should know better than to confess your feelings in the open like that. I heard what you said to him that night when you healed him; I heard you tell little Robin that you loved him. And of course, I saw what happened last night. I can definitely use that to my advantage. You see, Raven, I am in the market for a new apprentice and seeing as how my choice before failed me, I have chosen a new one." Raven wanted to scream so badly, but she couldn't move anything. For the first time, in a long time, she was scared and she didn't know what to do. She wished anyone would come up here and find her and save her. Somehow she knew that no one was coming, though, and the urge to cry overwhelmed her again as she blacked out completely and lay unconscious in her attacker's arms. He sneered at her as he picked her up, got on his little hover bike, and carried her to his new lair. "I have chosen you, Raven," he whispered in her ear. "To be my new apprentice. Robin was a mistake and he will regret the day he crossed me. I will rule Jump Town in a matter of time. And shortly after, I, the incomprehensible Slade, will rule the world..."
Richard had just left Raven's room without getting an answer and was heading up to the roof to see if she was there. He passed Terra on the way and he could have sworn that she gave him a death glare, but he ignored it and figured he would ask her if she had seen Raven. "Hey, Terra have you seen Raven anywhere? I really need to talk with her." Terra seemed to ponder his question as though she didn't really want to answer it, but in the end she relented. "Yeah, she's on the roof. I just left her not a minute ago." With that she walked away leaving Richard to make his way to the roof wondering why she had seemed mad with him once more. He hesitated before opening the door, but when he did, he stepped out onto the roof and looked around. She was not there and Richard suddenly felt angry; he thought maybe she had heard him coming from Terra and decided to split before he got there. He looked around again quickly before he turned around and headed back down to her room, slamming the door as he left. He stomped down the stairs back to her room and began pounding on her door. "Raven!" he yelled, hitting hard enough to break down the door. "Raven! Get out of there right now! We need to talk and I don't appreciate you lying and trying to avoid me. Raven!" He attempted to pound on her door for a few more minutes and finally gave up after his hand began to hurt. Fine, he thought spitefully. If she won't answer me than there's no point in trying to argue with her. She wants to pretend nothing happened, then nothing happened. It's going to take more than a mere apology to get her back in my good graces!
Richard stalked back angrily into the living room and didn't even notice that Terra was looking surprised to see him so soon; Starfire was also sitting in the living room and she looked up at him as he entered the room. He sat down on the smaller couch like earlier and Starfire smiled at him then came over and sat next to him. He was totally surprised and confused at what was going on, that he didn't know how to react. Unbeknownst to him, the others had been discussing his drinking problem and had decided to stage a sort of interference; Cyborg and Beast Boy told Star to act nice and caring towards him so they could confront him later. Star wasn't entirely sure what they meant, so she acted the only way she knew how towards him; she acted like she did when she was his girlfriend again. She just kept smiling at him and then she surprised everyone by hugging him tightly. "Oh, Dick," she said sweetly. "I do hope you are feeling well. I had a wonderful time last night, did you not as well?" Star's question was innocent enough, but to Richard and to Terra as well, it held a double meaning. Star was simply saying that her night with Speedy had been wonderful and she was inquiring as to how his had been.
Richard was taken aback at Star's question and immediately he thought that Star had been saying that his initial thoughts were true; that last night he had been with her and not Raven, as he was beginning to suspect. But then Richard became confused because during their entire relationship him and Star had never slept together. That had been what angered him the most when Star broke up with him, the fact that she had slept with Speedy already made him think she broke up with him because he wasn't ready to sleep with her yet. Maybe that changed, he thought hopefully. Maybe things are going sour with Speedy and she regrets breaking up with me. Maybe she saw how hard of a time I was having and decided she would patch things up between us. Maybe... His thoughts drifted off as Star was looking at him, waiting for an answer. "Oh, Star," he answered hurriedly. "I guess I had a good time too." She was positively beaming and she hugged him even tighter and kissed his cheek, a little too close to his lips, and Richard suddenly felt uncomfortable. She pulled back with, what else, but a big smile on her face once more and then said how wonderful that was and she went to the kitchen to get a can of pop.
Richard sat there lost in his own thoughts once more as he thought about what just happened. I thought at first that maybe Raven was lying to me this morning because something had happened between us, he began to think. But maybe she was lying because she wanted to protect me because she knew I slept with Star. Maybe that was what startled her; maybe I had run into Star when I came home and we hooked up again. But then how did I end up in Raven's room? That doesn't make sense, unless that happens to be where I stumbled to and then Star followed me. But then where did Raven sleep if she wasn't on the couch. Maybe she left for a second and then when she came back in, she saw Star and I and decided to leave us alone and went to sleep somewhere else. Maybe that's why she is mad at me and won't talk to me now; all because Star and I finally consummated our relationship in her room last night. I really should apologize the next time I see her. Terra could see Richard's eyes shifting as he considered this new situation and she knew exactly where his thoughts were headed. She wondered why he was back so soon and if him and Raven even talked. She decided that before Star came back, she had to talk to Richard privately and tell him that what Star was saying, wasn't what happened.
"Dick," Terra asked as politely as she could, which brought him out of his reverie. "Can I speak to you privately for a moment?" Richard was ticked that Terra had interrupted his train of thought, but nodded in agreement and followed her past the door, into the hallway and then, to his surprise, into her room. "Uh, Terra," he asked when she motioned for him to sit down and so he sat at her desk. "Why are we in here? What is this all about?" "We're in here because I needed to talk to you alone," she stated matter-of-factly and he could have sworn that there was some residual anger in her voice. "And I really need to talk to you about what Star just said in there." "Why?" he questioned angrily. "You don't think it's right that Star and I hooked up last night?" She looked angry and offended at his outburst. "No! I don't think it's right that you should be thinking that. Star was out at Speedy's last night and nothing happened between you two!" "What are you talking about? You just heard her ask me how I enjoyed our night together last night." Richard was starting to get even angrier than he had been lately and he was mad that Terra was even insinuating his thoughts about last night were just a dream. "She didn't actually say that, Dick!" Terra yelled back determined to speak up for Raven if she wouldn't speak for herself, but she wasn't about to tell him exactly what happened if she could help it. "She didn't come out and ask you how the sex was last night because she wasn't here! And you didn't sleep with her, so nothing happened between you two; you should know by now just how her words come out and how she thinks."
"Listen Terra," he said through gritted teeth. "All I know is that I had some weird dreams last night and now Starfire just confirmed that what I dreamt was really real and it was with her!" Both of their faces had turned red and their anger was steadily growing with each second. "You didn't dream anything last night," Terra screamed, unable to hold back the fury she had within herself. "Anything you can remember was real, but it wasn't with Starfire! You didn't sleep with her last night. You slept with Raven!" Terra's eyes widened in shock and her hand flew up to cover her mouth, but it was too late. Richard's eyes widened also and he seemed to just sit there. Finally, after a few minutes, he spoke up again. "Raven? You mean, I really did sleep with her last night? She did lie to me this morning then?" Terra just let out a big sigh and looked down at her carpet. "Yeah, you two were together last night. She told me when I went to find her a little while ago. She lied to you because you didn't remember what happened last night and she figured you would just think nothing of it. She was sick of being hurt all the time, so she just gave up on her feelings for you." Richard didn't know what to think as Terra had given him a lot to think about. "Wait," he said. "What do you mean she gave up on her feelings for me? What feelings?" "Can't you figure it out?" Terra spat out at him. "After everything she has done for you, and you still don't get it? Maybe Raven was right to lie to you; you don't deserve her."
"What has she ever done for me?" Richard asked, his anger rising once more. "You honestly don't know?" Terra scoffed. "Are you serious?" At his lack of response, she continued on with a vengeance. "Let's just look at the last month, shall we? Every time you have come home drunk, she has had Cy or BB or whoever put you in your room and then she went and stayed up all night by your side making sure you didn't try to get up or choke on your own vomit or something. And that steaming cup of coffee you got every morning? She left it there for you, mixed in with her own recipe for a hangover. She told everyone around here to leave you alone and let you do what you needed to get over this whole breakup. She has defended you countless times against a few people that have bad mouthed you and she even told Star to stop flaunting her new life around the tower; that's why her and Speedy haven't been spending much time here. She was also the one who brought it to Speedy's attention that Starfire was with you when they started dating and that forced the two of them to rethink some stuff." She paused to take a deep breath and continued on.
"Not to mention," she started up again. "Two weeks ago when you came home from that fight at the bar, you passed out and once again she had Cy put you in your bed. Then she went and used her healing powers on you to make sure all your cuts and scrapes and bruises were healed. Then she stayed up the entire night to make sure you were all right, even though she was on the brink of passing out herself. I finally went in there around four in the morning and I heard her tell you how much she cared for you and then watched as she passed out so she could replenish her powers and her health. She had been sick all week and shouldn't have even got out of bed and yet, here she was by your side, making sure you were pain free, when she was in pain herself." Terra was breathing very hard by the end of her ranting and her face was almost purple; she thought she had made some headway with Dick, but when he opened his mouth, he shocked her to all ends. "I never asked her to do all that," he said, almost above a whisper. "What?!" Terra yelled at him. "I said," he stated again calmly, with a hint of frustration and anger hidden beneath his words. "I never asked her to care for me like that. She didn't have to do anything with me, ever. I couldn't help the way she felt about me, whatever that may be. That's her choice. I am still in love with Star and I always have been. Nothing can change that, no matter how she feels for me."
Richard got up and headed out of her room. "You prick!" Terra screamed at him as he reached the door. "She loves you! She fucking loves you! Maybe you should go be with Starfire; both of you are blind enough to make each other very happy. I hope you rot and die a very painful death. She, for some reason that baffles me, is in love with you, you son of a bitch, and you're just going to walk out of here because I told you the truth and it wasn't what you wanted to hear. You bastard!" He opened the door and shut it just as he heard a barrage of objects fly at the door behind him. He didn't feel like going back into the living room so he made his way down the hall to his room. He passed by Raven's room and shut his eyes the rest of the way down the hall. He went into his room and flopped down on the bed. There he let the tears that had been threatening to fall ever since he had left Terra, hit his pillow and he cried silently. But he wasn't crying because his night with Star had been false. But because he had someone who cared for him more than Star ever had, or anyone had since his parents had died, and he didn't even know it; he refused to see it and he didn't want to think about what Terra had said at the end. Raven was in love with him, well after last night she was probably done with him now and that hurt him more than anything, even his breakup with Star, did. He cursed himself for never noticing it and even more because lately, he had never told anyone, but he was starting to have intense feelings whenever he saw Raven, but he thought it was just because she was such a good friend to him. This past month he had always been thinking about her and he valued any time she could spend with him. He originally wanted to ask her out, but he thought she would turn him down, so when Star asked him out one day, he just said yes and never looked back.
Part of him had wanted his dreams about Raven to be real last night, and it was then that he realized how he truly felt about her. He instantly wanted to have been sober last night and then that way he could have remembered his encounter with his Goth goddess. Last night was his first time ever and it was with a girl that he cared for very much and he had ruined it beyond all possibility. He was never ready with Starfire and he never even thought about it; anytime he had a sexual dream, it involved Raven and he never felt guilty about it afterward. In fact, he actually would feel sad after, because he thought she didn't love him and so he gave up on pursuing her. He would just have Starfire and let Raven find her own love and happiness with someone she cared for, but he never thought that would have been him. She truly would have helped him to get over Star and it was in that instant that he wished he had never said any of those things to Terra for she was surely going to tell Raven.
It was getting late and so he decided he would go in the morning to tell Raven everything and how he felt about her and hopefully, she would forgive him and then he could tell her his true feelings. He was in love with Raven and, maybe he always had been. He thought back to the engagement ring he had bought for Star that lay in his dresser drawer across the room; it was a simple ring and when he bought it, Cyborg had been there with him. He had wanted Raven to come, but she was out having girl time with Terra at the mall. When he had found the ring that he felt was right, Cy had merely looked at it and said the plainest of things that made Richard positive he wanted to buy it. Cyborg had said it was a simple ring, one that he imagined Raven would like if she wore jewelry. For some reason, that made Richard think that Starfire would like it because she had always admired Raven's taste in jewelry and accessories. He bought it that day and later on, when he saw the ring Speedy had given Starfire, he knew he had not bought his for Star; her ring was big and bright and it reflected Star in every way possible.
Maybe I didn't buy the ring for Star after all, he thought. Maybe I was really hoping to give it to Raven one day.... I really need to talk to her now. I am in love with Raven. He turned over on his side and began to drift off into a deep sleep. I just hope she is still in love with me...
A/N: Sorry it's so long. And sorry it took me so long to update. I have been dealing with some financial aid crapola for the fall and I just got distracted. Hopefully, I will be updating my other TT fic The Only Way soon too. Hope y'all like it. J