Burning
by Heavenly Awkward
Disclaimer: If you really think I own Teen Titans, I'll need your name... So I can turn you in to the local insane asylum.
Note: Each line represents either a switch to a different time/place/POV, or, in this case, switching between Raven's POV and Robin's journal writing.
Chapter 3: In which Raven avoids the roof and cannot sleep, and Robin becomes more worried.
Raven lay in bed. Staring at the ceiling. How boring. She knew she should close her eyes if she ever hoped to get to sleep, but she couldn't stand lying there with her eyes any more that she could stand lying there with her eyes open!
"Ugh, just go to sleep, Raven!" She growled at herself. She tried to lay still. But she soon started fidgeting. Growling, she switched positions and tried to calm down. It didn't work. She forced herself to stop moving completely. It seemed to work, and she calmed down a bit. Until she noticed that she was shaking.
Dear Journal,
Today was pretty much incident-free. Thank you, God, for that. I don't think most of the team would be ready for that just yet.
I'm still worried about Raven, though. She's avoiding us, I think. She tries to avoid joining us for any meals... She isn't eating much either, that I can see. She has her tea, of course, and does eat some things every once and a while... apples and stuff like that. Little things. She meditates more than I remember. And she's spending more and more time alone--yeah, she's always a loner, but before, she would at least come and read in the living room or something like that. Now, I barely see her.
On the bright side, she volunteered to go to the MALL with Starfire! Insane, I know. I'm not sure if I should be worried for her, since she would never do that before, but I think getting out a bit would be good for her. The date is set for this Saturday. I suspect that Starfire is going to try to give her a makeover... And I'm not sure if either of them will survive that.
Raven was trembling like someone on a caffeine high. But she hadn't had any caffeine, had she? No, there was no way. She hadn't eaten anything today, not even her tea. She couldn't possibly have gotten any caffeine. So why did she feel so wired?
Raven doesn't seem to be sleeping well, either. She came out in the middle of the night (a few minutes ago). I was here in the kitchen, writing this, and she came in...
Raven kicked the covers off her bed and stood up. This time, she ignored the cold, not touching her cloak. She was about to leave her room when the twinging annoyance in the back of her mind reminded her that her bed was a mess from her tossing around, trying to get comfortable. She sighed and turned back, straightening her grey sheets with practiced moves. Pull on this side, and it made wrinkles all over. Then pull on the opposite side, and those wrinkles straightened out. Then she had to pull the other two ways, and then lay the sheet and comforter over the pillow, tucking it in gently. Impeccably neat. Much better.
After one last hard look at her delightfully spotless room, Raven stepped into the hall and closed the door behind her. Her bare feet gripped the cold floor as she walked to the kitchen, wondering, for the umpteenth time in the last three days, what to do now. The first thing that came to her mind was food, to eat something. She shook her head hard, her hair whipping and stinging her cheeks, and dismissed the thought. She didn't want to eat. Tea, perhaps? ...maybe. A book would be fine, though, just as long as she could escape the stifling closeness of her room...
Raven's thoughts were rudely interrupted by Robin's voice. "Raven! What are you doing up?"
Raven frowned, somewhat annoyed. He always seemed to be everywhere, whenever she wanted to be alone, he was always there, worrying over her like a mother hen... Or at least, that's what it seemed like. "I couldn't sleep."
"Obviously. Did you come down here for a specific reason?" Robin was sitting at the table with his knees drawn up to his chest, holding a book and a pen, pausing from (apparently) writing. In his other hand, he loosely gripped a mug of a sweet-smelling, thick brown liquid. Hot chocolate.
"Just to get out of my room," Raven said flatly, looking for a moment at the steaming mug Robin held.
"Ah."
Raven looked around, trying to resist the sweet smell of the hot chocolate and find something else to drink... since she apparently was going to get something to drink one way or another, it might as well be something that she wouldn't feel guilty about afterwards. After a moment, she decided on a tea she often used to clear her throat. She set about preparing it, and very soon ended up sipping it at the table across from Robin. He caught a whiff of it and wrinkled his nose.
"Ugh, what is that?" He asked.
"Hot water, vinegar, and honey," Raven replied calmly.
"What? How can you drink that?"
"The taste grows on you after a while."
"But why would you take it for that long?"
"Because it clears out your throat."
"Oh."
"Vinegar is a wonderful cleanser."
"I guess so."
They sat in silence once more. Robin began writing again, his mug now empty.
She basically couldn't sleep. I just hope this doesn't last long, for her sake.
Robin
Robin closed his journal and got up. "'Night, Raven."
"'Night." Raven stayed at the table, slowly finishing her tea. Then she stayed for longer, reading a book, until about two in the morning, when the shivers wore off and she could sleep.
Her sleep got better, but in the following mornings, Raven began avoiding the roof, feeling the burning in her stomach whenever she glanced at the stairs leading up there. She began waking up later on purpose, so she wouldn't have a reason to try to go up. She was usually absent for meals, and Robin grew steadily more concerned for her.
The days went by as said above, and Saturday arrived. Starfire roused Raven from her meditation with a tap on the shoulder.
"It is Saturday," she said. "Let us go and prepare for our shopping trip!"
Raven obediently stood and let Starfire pull her down the hall, ignoring the boys, who were watching her as though they thought they might never see her again. Raven found herself in Starfire's room, and Starfire was rummaging through her large, walk-in closet.
"I shall find you something suitable for wear at the mall!" Starfire said determinedly, her head buried in clothes.
"Take your time," Raven said easily, looking around the bright, colorful room. It did not, however, take Starfire long to find something.
"Ah-hah!" She stood straight and showed Raven the outfit she had in mind.
"No," Raven said immediately, and it wasn't hard to figure out why. The outfit consisted of an orange skirt that fell to mid-thigh, a light yellow shirt with puffed sleeved and knee-high brown leather boots. Kinda cute, but not her style. "I'm not going to the mall wearing that."
"But what shall you wear, then?" Starfire asked.
"Well, let's take a look through your closet, shall we?" Raven said patiently, poking her head in. She didn't see very many of the darker colors, which disappointed her. However, there were some shades of purple and blue, and a few blacks, which were the only ones she took a second look at. After a moment, she pulled out an outfit and held it up for Starfire to see. She smiled as Starfire clapped joyfully.
"It will fit you perfectly, Raven! You have such wonderful taste!"
"Oh. My. Gosh." Beast Boy stared with the rest of the boys as Starfire came to show Raven off. It wasn't hard to see why.
Raven was wearing low-rise stretch jeans, which were a dark brownish navy blue, complemented with a large black belt whose oval buckle read simply, "Yeah Right!". Over that, she wore a dark blue, low cut shirt that wrapped around her torso and tied on the left, emphasising her slim, curvy figure. She had a black camisole underneath (and a lot of the cami showed, too), but the shirt still showed off her collarbones, while a slender black choker did the same for her graceful neck. Her hair was tied in a ponytail, which was slightly messy in an edgy way, and the slightest hint of makeup added color to her lips and cheeks.
Robin blinked and regained his composure. "You look awesome. Both of you."
"Thank you," Raven said dryly, fingering the choker lightly.
"I hope you do like it," Starfire said slyly, (she was wearing the orange outfit she had suggested for Raven) "for today will be, as you might say, wild."
A/N: Third chapter! stretch My back hurts now. Hmm, I want ideas about villains! After all, they ARE superheroes, they have to fight SOMETHING... Anybody who helps me with that gets cake and milk!
Human Lightshow: Hope you like 'em!
DarkWolfBlade: Thank you. I try very hard to make sure I keep them in character, but sometimes I don't think it works. However, I do think you're right here.
Hmm, yeah, I guess the first chapter was funner to read. Much more dramatic, no? (I didn't like the writing, though, I was rusty...) The second and third aren't, but if I get my way, the fourth will be! In fact, I think I may just join the second and third into one at some point, but not yet. I'll wait till I've got the fourth. And don't worry, the stuff with Terra will come... Later. I'll just have to torture you for a while, huh?
NNY273000: Thank you.
wordbearer: Thank you! :D I like dialogue. It's fun.
Mmm, now I start on the fourth! Great fun, huh? :P Lol...
by Heavenly Awkward
Disclaimer: If you really think I own Teen Titans, I'll need your name... So I can turn you in to the local insane asylum.
Note: Each line represents either a switch to a different time/place/POV, or, in this case, switching between Raven's POV and Robin's journal writing.
Chapter 3: In which Raven avoids the roof and cannot sleep, and Robin becomes more worried.
Raven lay in bed. Staring at the ceiling. How boring. She knew she should close her eyes if she ever hoped to get to sleep, but she couldn't stand lying there with her eyes any more that she could stand lying there with her eyes open!
"Ugh, just go to sleep, Raven!" She growled at herself. She tried to lay still. But she soon started fidgeting. Growling, she switched positions and tried to calm down. It didn't work. She forced herself to stop moving completely. It seemed to work, and she calmed down a bit. Until she noticed that she was shaking.
Dear Journal,
Today was pretty much incident-free. Thank you, God, for that. I don't think most of the team would be ready for that just yet.
I'm still worried about Raven, though. She's avoiding us, I think. She tries to avoid joining us for any meals... She isn't eating much either, that I can see. She has her tea, of course, and does eat some things every once and a while... apples and stuff like that. Little things. She meditates more than I remember. And she's spending more and more time alone--yeah, she's always a loner, but before, she would at least come and read in the living room or something like that. Now, I barely see her.
On the bright side, she volunteered to go to the MALL with Starfire! Insane, I know. I'm not sure if I should be worried for her, since she would never do that before, but I think getting out a bit would be good for her. The date is set for this Saturday. I suspect that Starfire is going to try to give her a makeover... And I'm not sure if either of them will survive that.
Raven was trembling like someone on a caffeine high. But she hadn't had any caffeine, had she? No, there was no way. She hadn't eaten anything today, not even her tea. She couldn't possibly have gotten any caffeine. So why did she feel so wired?
Raven doesn't seem to be sleeping well, either. She came out in the middle of the night (a few minutes ago). I was here in the kitchen, writing this, and she came in...
Raven kicked the covers off her bed and stood up. This time, she ignored the cold, not touching her cloak. She was about to leave her room when the twinging annoyance in the back of her mind reminded her that her bed was a mess from her tossing around, trying to get comfortable. She sighed and turned back, straightening her grey sheets with practiced moves. Pull on this side, and it made wrinkles all over. Then pull on the opposite side, and those wrinkles straightened out. Then she had to pull the other two ways, and then lay the sheet and comforter over the pillow, tucking it in gently. Impeccably neat. Much better.
After one last hard look at her delightfully spotless room, Raven stepped into the hall and closed the door behind her. Her bare feet gripped the cold floor as she walked to the kitchen, wondering, for the umpteenth time in the last three days, what to do now. The first thing that came to her mind was food, to eat something. She shook her head hard, her hair whipping and stinging her cheeks, and dismissed the thought. She didn't want to eat. Tea, perhaps? ...maybe. A book would be fine, though, just as long as she could escape the stifling closeness of her room...
Raven's thoughts were rudely interrupted by Robin's voice. "Raven! What are you doing up?"
Raven frowned, somewhat annoyed. He always seemed to be everywhere, whenever she wanted to be alone, he was always there, worrying over her like a mother hen... Or at least, that's what it seemed like. "I couldn't sleep."
"Obviously. Did you come down here for a specific reason?" Robin was sitting at the table with his knees drawn up to his chest, holding a book and a pen, pausing from (apparently) writing. In his other hand, he loosely gripped a mug of a sweet-smelling, thick brown liquid. Hot chocolate.
"Just to get out of my room," Raven said flatly, looking for a moment at the steaming mug Robin held.
"Ah."
Raven looked around, trying to resist the sweet smell of the hot chocolate and find something else to drink... since she apparently was going to get something to drink one way or another, it might as well be something that she wouldn't feel guilty about afterwards. After a moment, she decided on a tea she often used to clear her throat. She set about preparing it, and very soon ended up sipping it at the table across from Robin. He caught a whiff of it and wrinkled his nose.
"Ugh, what is that?" He asked.
"Hot water, vinegar, and honey," Raven replied calmly.
"What? How can you drink that?"
"The taste grows on you after a while."
"But why would you take it for that long?"
"Because it clears out your throat."
"Oh."
"Vinegar is a wonderful cleanser."
"I guess so."
They sat in silence once more. Robin began writing again, his mug now empty.
She basically couldn't sleep. I just hope this doesn't last long, for her sake.
Robin
Robin closed his journal and got up. "'Night, Raven."
"'Night." Raven stayed at the table, slowly finishing her tea. Then she stayed for longer, reading a book, until about two in the morning, when the shivers wore off and she could sleep.
Her sleep got better, but in the following mornings, Raven began avoiding the roof, feeling the burning in her stomach whenever she glanced at the stairs leading up there. She began waking up later on purpose, so she wouldn't have a reason to try to go up. She was usually absent for meals, and Robin grew steadily more concerned for her.
The days went by as said above, and Saturday arrived. Starfire roused Raven from her meditation with a tap on the shoulder.
"It is Saturday," she said. "Let us go and prepare for our shopping trip!"
Raven obediently stood and let Starfire pull her down the hall, ignoring the boys, who were watching her as though they thought they might never see her again. Raven found herself in Starfire's room, and Starfire was rummaging through her large, walk-in closet.
"I shall find you something suitable for wear at the mall!" Starfire said determinedly, her head buried in clothes.
"Take your time," Raven said easily, looking around the bright, colorful room. It did not, however, take Starfire long to find something.
"Ah-hah!" She stood straight and showed Raven the outfit she had in mind.
"No," Raven said immediately, and it wasn't hard to figure out why. The outfit consisted of an orange skirt that fell to mid-thigh, a light yellow shirt with puffed sleeved and knee-high brown leather boots. Kinda cute, but not her style. "I'm not going to the mall wearing that."
"But what shall you wear, then?" Starfire asked.
"Well, let's take a look through your closet, shall we?" Raven said patiently, poking her head in. She didn't see very many of the darker colors, which disappointed her. However, there were some shades of purple and blue, and a few blacks, which were the only ones she took a second look at. After a moment, she pulled out an outfit and held it up for Starfire to see. She smiled as Starfire clapped joyfully.
"It will fit you perfectly, Raven! You have such wonderful taste!"
"Oh. My. Gosh." Beast Boy stared with the rest of the boys as Starfire came to show Raven off. It wasn't hard to see why.
Raven was wearing low-rise stretch jeans, which were a dark brownish navy blue, complemented with a large black belt whose oval buckle read simply, "Yeah Right!". Over that, she wore a dark blue, low cut shirt that wrapped around her torso and tied on the left, emphasising her slim, curvy figure. She had a black camisole underneath (and a lot of the cami showed, too), but the shirt still showed off her collarbones, while a slender black choker did the same for her graceful neck. Her hair was tied in a ponytail, which was slightly messy in an edgy way, and the slightest hint of makeup added color to her lips and cheeks.
Robin blinked and regained his composure. "You look awesome. Both of you."
"Thank you," Raven said dryly, fingering the choker lightly.
"I hope you do like it," Starfire said slyly, (she was wearing the orange outfit she had suggested for Raven) "for today will be, as you might say, wild."
A/N: Third chapter! stretch My back hurts now. Hmm, I want ideas about villains! After all, they ARE superheroes, they have to fight SOMETHING... Anybody who helps me with that gets cake and milk!
Human Lightshow: Hope you like 'em!
DarkWolfBlade: Thank you. I try very hard to make sure I keep them in character, but sometimes I don't think it works. However, I do think you're right here.
Hmm, yeah, I guess the first chapter was funner to read. Much more dramatic, no? (I didn't like the writing, though, I was rusty...) The second and third aren't, but if I get my way, the fourth will be! In fact, I think I may just join the second and third into one at some point, but not yet. I'll wait till I've got the fourth. And don't worry, the stuff with Terra will come... Later. I'll just have to torture you for a while, huh?
NNY273000: Thank you.
wordbearer: Thank you! :D I like dialogue. It's fun.
Mmm, now I start on the fourth! Great fun, huh? :P Lol...