Burning
By Heavenly Awkward
Disclaimer: I don own nuthin. Quit buggin me.
Note: The rating went up for suggested alcohol use, mild sexuality and... other stuff. It's not really dirty, so just go ahead and read it!
Chapter 4: In which Raven goes shopping and loses control.
"Look, Raven, there is a store that was not here when I last came!" Starfire looked intently at the store, then started to tug her friend towards it. "Let us go and see what is inside."
"No, Starfire," Raven said firmly, reaching up with her free hand, gently grabbing Starfire's ear and carefully pulling her away from the store. "If you ever go in a Victoria's Secret store before you're at least eighteen, you and I will have a LONG talk about your standards."
"Oh!" Starfire said, though this was more in reaction to being pulled by the ear than anything. "I assume, then, that this store is considered... inappropriate?"
"You could say that," Raven replied, letting go of Starfire's ear. "Nobody would argue with you." They walked as they had before, looking at the stores as they passed them, Starfire stopping every once and a while to go in a store or looking at one of the smaller vendor's booths scattered here and there. [A/N: Have you ever noticed those? Nobody mentions them, and I find it odd, since they're in every mall I've ever seen. shrug] Suddenly Starfire tugged on Raven's wrist.
"I've been told that you would like this store," Starfire said, pointing at a store on whose front large, jagged red letters read...
"Hot Topic?" Raven looked at Starfire. "Who would have told you something like that?"
"Last time I was here, some young men began speaking to me. We talked, and I told them about you. They said you would like this "Hot Topic"."
"They were probably hitting on you," Raven said in annoyance. She didn't like the idea of guys flirting with her friend, especially when Star herself didn't have the slightest idea of what they were doing.
"Hitting?" Starfire looked puzzled. "They were kind, we did not exchange blows..."
"No, I mean..." Raven thought desperately for some way to explain. But how did you explain flirting to someone who, as far as she knew, didn't even know what dating was? "Do you remember Kitty? And the way she was acting with Robin?"
Starfire's eyes narrowed predictably. "Yes."
"Kitty was hitting on Robin. Do you get it now?"
"Ohh!" Starfire's eyes cleared, and she smiled slyly. "Yes, they were... Hitting on me."
"What?!"
"They were hitting on me," Starfire repeated, looking sly and a little smug. "As you said--"
"Yes, I heard that part," Raven frowned. "What did you do?"
"Oh, I just... Let them."
"Did you ENCOURAGE them?"
"Perhaps a little..."
"Starfire!"
"You asked, Raven."
"Yes, but..." Raven sighed. "That just doesn't sound like you."
"Perhaps you do not know me as well as you thought, friend Raven."
"I guess not," Raven grumbled.
Starfire smiled. "Do not be upset, Raven. That is why I brought you with me; So that we could begin to understand each other better." Then she took Raven again by the wrist and pulled her into Hot Topic.
"Whoever those guys were," Raven said to Starfire, "they probably thought I was a goth."
"A goth?"
"One of those people who likes black and macabre things and shopping here."
"Except for the part about shopping here, that sounds very much like you, Raven."
"...Good point." Raven looked in amusement at one of the t-shirts on the rack against the wall. It was based on the "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" saying, but instead of the monkeys one usually saw (one covering its eyes, one covering its ears, one covering its mouth), it featured teenage fairies. The one that was supposed to represent "See no evil" was covering her eyes--but peeking. The one for "Hear no evil" covered one ear, but cupped the other, as though listening to a secret. And for "Speak no evil", the fairies was covering her mouth--so as to better direct her whisperings to the phone in her other hand.
"Sassy," Raven commented to herself.
"Have you found something you like?" Starfire asked.
"I think I like that one," Raven said, pointing at the one with the devilish fairies.
"Let us buy it, then!" Starfire said, taking it from the rack and draping it over one arm with a few other things she had collected from the racks and shelves.
"What are those?" Raven asked, nodding toward the other things in her hands. Starfire got that sly smile back.
"Oh... Some things for you."
"Excuse me?"
"Let us go and purchase these!" Starfire said quickly, and Raven shrugged and followed her friend to the counter, where they paid for the items and walked out, Starfire happily swinging the bag in one hand.
They hadn't walked long, however, before Starfire dragged her into another store, this one called 5·7·9, saying, "I want to purchase some clothing from this store as well." But it didn't seem like she wanted to purchase clothing from that store for herself, for the moment she got in she began pulling clothes off the hangers, and it was hard not to notice that they were all in dark colors.
"Ahm, Star?"
"Yes, Raven?"
"Something tells me those aren't for you."
"No, Raven, they are not. They are for you!"
"Star." Raven looked at a short skirt that Starfire had chosen. "That's not exactly the type of thing I usually wear."
"Whatever do you mean?"
"Look at that skirt!" Raven said, waving at the skirt she had been looking at. "It's so tiny, it's not even there!"
"Yes, Raven," Starfire said patiently, "I believe it is called a "miniskirt", and it will be the perfect attire for where we go next."
"I choose not to ask where that is just yet," Raven sighed.
"Excellent." Starfire took Raven to a dressing room and sent her in with a handful of clothes. The first time she came out, she had tried on a dark, coppery red-black shirt over the pants she had been wearing before. Starfire frowned.
"It is too loose," she said in slight confusion. "I underestimated how small you are, dear Raven. Wait here, I must get a smaller size." They went down two full sizes before the shirt fit to Starfire's satisfaction. "You are much, much smaller than I realized," Starfire commented, exchanging the other clothes for more appropriate sizes.
Once Raven had gone through all the clothes Star had picked out (to many "Ooh"s and "Aah"s, and "Raven, you truly are beautiful, you know"s) and Star had set aside the ones she really liked, Raven found Starfire holding out an ensemble that included the miniskirt. "Try this!"
"What? With that? No!"
"Please?"
Raven glared at Starfire, who simply gave her a trademark "poor, sweet Star" look. Raven growled and took the clothes, then turned and went into the dressing room.
Starfire smiled and waited patiently. She had prepared herself for Raven's protests, and so they didn't bother her so much as they normally would. After Raven's incredulity when she heard of Star's encounter with those boys, she had guessed that her dark friend would react similarly to this. "After all, it only makes sense," she murmured to herself. It was at that moment that she heard a soft knock.
"I have it on," Raven said, opening the door. Starfire's smile widened as she looked at her friend. She was wearing the dark blue miniskirt with a similarly colored camisole. The camisole was low-cut, and so much of her upper chest and shoulders were gloriously bare. Both pieces of clothing were figure hugging, complementing her slender waist and rather curvy hips. The high-heeled black leather knee-high boots, working with the messy ponytail, added a slight touch of edginess to the look. Raven made no comment on the outfit, but looked uncomfortable with showing so much skin.
"Close," Starfire said. "But it's a bit simple. Come, we shall purchase these, then go home and prepare."
"Again," Raven muttered, "I choose not to ask."
"Ahm, Starfire?"
"Yes, Raven?"
"Why are we at a club?" Raven had suspected something like this, but still thought too much of Starfire's innocence to really believe those thoughts. Once they got home, Starfire had dragged Raven back to her room and fixed the problem of the outfit being too simple. Now, in addition to the leather boots and all the skin that showed with the cami and miniskirt, Raven wore a chain around her waist that accented her hips, earrings, and various other accessories, including a leather band placed rather suggestively high on one thigh and a sliver band shaped like a snake wrapping around her upper arm. Her hair was done up in an edgy but elegant twist, and she also wore more makeup now, mostly eyeliner, mascara, and lipstick. The entire makeover took advantage of Raven's delicate figure to produce a fierce look, made so much more alluring by the fact that the one wearing it was so small.
"We are here to dance, speak with young men, and enjoy being here!" Starfire informed her, pulling her inside by the wrist for the zillionth time that day.
"You didn't seem to enjoy going to that party your sister took us to," Raven pointed out flatly as they entered the club interior. The lights were low.
"Agreed," Starfire said. "That is why, when those boys told me of this place, I decided to come... In order to become accustomed to the atmosphere."
Raven shook her head. "You really will do anything, as long as it teaches you something about "Earth life"."
"Almost anything, yes." Starfire observed that Raven looked rather uncomfortable. "Do not be apprehensive, friend Raven. You may wait before going out among the people, if you wish."
"I think I'll take you up on that offer," Raven muttered. Starfire then waved and went "out among the people", to the dance floor, while Raven hung back. She watched the people from a safe distance, both because she knew that going out might pose a particular threat to her control over her powers, and because she was insecure and curious. Raven had never been to a club before, and she decided that she liked watching them dance. She stayed, sitting at a table and watching, observing the way they acted, debating with herself about whether to go out or not. It really was a shame to waste all Starfire's work—it must have really taken a lot of it to make her look good! But Raven wasn't completely comfortable with going out, either. Finally, she decided something along the lines of "What the heck", stood up, and joined the people.
For a moment, Raven didn't move, attacked suddenly by a fit of nervousness. Then she glanced to the side and saw two girls dancing a ways away. At first, Raven copied them, then quickly caught on, and began dancing on her own, feeling the strong beat of the music pound into her like a pulse. The lights began to flash slightly. Apparently she was doing pretty well, because some people started giving her looks that weren't altogether bad... One guy, whom she had seen earlier and thought was hot (though not exactly in those words) came up to her and asked, basically, if she'd dance with him. Raven nodded (she hadn't missed him checking her out), and he moved behind her. His hands were on her hips as she rolled them, and started to gain that confidence that come from knowing that you were sexy... The song changed, and as the beat got heavy, so did the dancing... The sexual tension in the air thickened noticeably...
"Lemme get you something," the guy said to her in a low voice, leading her off of the dance floor.
"Mm... Then one more dance?"
"Hell yeah!"
A/N: Mm, that was incredibly naughty for me. :P I tried not to be too descriptive, cuz I DO have standards! And this is my longest chappie so far! Yay! Umm, yeah. What was I going to say? Oh, right. I DID have a reason for that club scene, as you will see in the next chapter! It was pretty darn important to the advancement of the plot!
Right, maybe I'm imagining it, but I think I wrote Starfire a bit OOC, so in my own defense... YES, Starfire's main charm and personality trait is her sweet innocence, BUT I can clearly imagine her wising up and becoming more like I portrayed her here. People can't stay innocent forever, you know, but I will try to keep as much of that sweet innocence as possible--because she's just so adorable.
Aah, and the next chapter is where the real point of this story REALLY starts coming in. :D I have so much fun with this. See, I'm having so much fun, I'm grinning! :D
wordbearer: Boiling in her own juices? Oh, yes. ::evil grin:: If you thought that was torture for her, wait until you see the stuff that starts coming up next chapter...
Human Lightshow: LOL! Or maybe the pizza could be that rat person's sidekick! (rotfl) Mm, I think I shall steal that idea... And then abuse my artistic license a bit... I have the greatest time doing this.
Cake and milk to both of you! (by the way, the whole villain thing is still going, so if anyone else wants to help me out...) And THANK YOU, my wonderful reviewers, who are reading and reviewing so faithfully! I love you to DEATH! ...okay, I'm done. Watch out for da next chappie!
By Heavenly Awkward
Disclaimer: I don own nuthin. Quit buggin me.
Note: The rating went up for suggested alcohol use, mild sexuality and... other stuff. It's not really dirty, so just go ahead and read it!
Chapter 4: In which Raven goes shopping and loses control.
"Look, Raven, there is a store that was not here when I last came!" Starfire looked intently at the store, then started to tug her friend towards it. "Let us go and see what is inside."
"No, Starfire," Raven said firmly, reaching up with her free hand, gently grabbing Starfire's ear and carefully pulling her away from the store. "If you ever go in a Victoria's Secret store before you're at least eighteen, you and I will have a LONG talk about your standards."
"Oh!" Starfire said, though this was more in reaction to being pulled by the ear than anything. "I assume, then, that this store is considered... inappropriate?"
"You could say that," Raven replied, letting go of Starfire's ear. "Nobody would argue with you." They walked as they had before, looking at the stores as they passed them, Starfire stopping every once and a while to go in a store or looking at one of the smaller vendor's booths scattered here and there. [A/N: Have you ever noticed those? Nobody mentions them, and I find it odd, since they're in every mall I've ever seen. shrug] Suddenly Starfire tugged on Raven's wrist.
"I've been told that you would like this store," Starfire said, pointing at a store on whose front large, jagged red letters read...
"Hot Topic?" Raven looked at Starfire. "Who would have told you something like that?"
"Last time I was here, some young men began speaking to me. We talked, and I told them about you. They said you would like this "Hot Topic"."
"They were probably hitting on you," Raven said in annoyance. She didn't like the idea of guys flirting with her friend, especially when Star herself didn't have the slightest idea of what they were doing.
"Hitting?" Starfire looked puzzled. "They were kind, we did not exchange blows..."
"No, I mean..." Raven thought desperately for some way to explain. But how did you explain flirting to someone who, as far as she knew, didn't even know what dating was? "Do you remember Kitty? And the way she was acting with Robin?"
Starfire's eyes narrowed predictably. "Yes."
"Kitty was hitting on Robin. Do you get it now?"
"Ohh!" Starfire's eyes cleared, and she smiled slyly. "Yes, they were... Hitting on me."
"What?!"
"They were hitting on me," Starfire repeated, looking sly and a little smug. "As you said--"
"Yes, I heard that part," Raven frowned. "What did you do?"
"Oh, I just... Let them."
"Did you ENCOURAGE them?"
"Perhaps a little..."
"Starfire!"
"You asked, Raven."
"Yes, but..." Raven sighed. "That just doesn't sound like you."
"Perhaps you do not know me as well as you thought, friend Raven."
"I guess not," Raven grumbled.
Starfire smiled. "Do not be upset, Raven. That is why I brought you with me; So that we could begin to understand each other better." Then she took Raven again by the wrist and pulled her into Hot Topic.
"Whoever those guys were," Raven said to Starfire, "they probably thought I was a goth."
"A goth?"
"One of those people who likes black and macabre things and shopping here."
"Except for the part about shopping here, that sounds very much like you, Raven."
"...Good point." Raven looked in amusement at one of the t-shirts on the rack against the wall. It was based on the "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" saying, but instead of the monkeys one usually saw (one covering its eyes, one covering its ears, one covering its mouth), it featured teenage fairies. The one that was supposed to represent "See no evil" was covering her eyes--but peeking. The one for "Hear no evil" covered one ear, but cupped the other, as though listening to a secret. And for "Speak no evil", the fairies was covering her mouth--so as to better direct her whisperings to the phone in her other hand.
"Sassy," Raven commented to herself.
"Have you found something you like?" Starfire asked.
"I think I like that one," Raven said, pointing at the one with the devilish fairies.
"Let us buy it, then!" Starfire said, taking it from the rack and draping it over one arm with a few other things she had collected from the racks and shelves.
"What are those?" Raven asked, nodding toward the other things in her hands. Starfire got that sly smile back.
"Oh... Some things for you."
"Excuse me?"
"Let us go and purchase these!" Starfire said quickly, and Raven shrugged and followed her friend to the counter, where they paid for the items and walked out, Starfire happily swinging the bag in one hand.
They hadn't walked long, however, before Starfire dragged her into another store, this one called 5·7·9, saying, "I want to purchase some clothing from this store as well." But it didn't seem like she wanted to purchase clothing from that store for herself, for the moment she got in she began pulling clothes off the hangers, and it was hard not to notice that they were all in dark colors.
"Ahm, Star?"
"Yes, Raven?"
"Something tells me those aren't for you."
"No, Raven, they are not. They are for you!"
"Star." Raven looked at a short skirt that Starfire had chosen. "That's not exactly the type of thing I usually wear."
"Whatever do you mean?"
"Look at that skirt!" Raven said, waving at the skirt she had been looking at. "It's so tiny, it's not even there!"
"Yes, Raven," Starfire said patiently, "I believe it is called a "miniskirt", and it will be the perfect attire for where we go next."
"I choose not to ask where that is just yet," Raven sighed.
"Excellent." Starfire took Raven to a dressing room and sent her in with a handful of clothes. The first time she came out, she had tried on a dark, coppery red-black shirt over the pants she had been wearing before. Starfire frowned.
"It is too loose," she said in slight confusion. "I underestimated how small you are, dear Raven. Wait here, I must get a smaller size." They went down two full sizes before the shirt fit to Starfire's satisfaction. "You are much, much smaller than I realized," Starfire commented, exchanging the other clothes for more appropriate sizes.
Once Raven had gone through all the clothes Star had picked out (to many "Ooh"s and "Aah"s, and "Raven, you truly are beautiful, you know"s) and Star had set aside the ones she really liked, Raven found Starfire holding out an ensemble that included the miniskirt. "Try this!"
"What? With that? No!"
"Please?"
Raven glared at Starfire, who simply gave her a trademark "poor, sweet Star" look. Raven growled and took the clothes, then turned and went into the dressing room.
Starfire smiled and waited patiently. She had prepared herself for Raven's protests, and so they didn't bother her so much as they normally would. After Raven's incredulity when she heard of Star's encounter with those boys, she had guessed that her dark friend would react similarly to this. "After all, it only makes sense," she murmured to herself. It was at that moment that she heard a soft knock.
"I have it on," Raven said, opening the door. Starfire's smile widened as she looked at her friend. She was wearing the dark blue miniskirt with a similarly colored camisole. The camisole was low-cut, and so much of her upper chest and shoulders were gloriously bare. Both pieces of clothing were figure hugging, complementing her slender waist and rather curvy hips. The high-heeled black leather knee-high boots, working with the messy ponytail, added a slight touch of edginess to the look. Raven made no comment on the outfit, but looked uncomfortable with showing so much skin.
"Close," Starfire said. "But it's a bit simple. Come, we shall purchase these, then go home and prepare."
"Again," Raven muttered, "I choose not to ask."
"Ahm, Starfire?"
"Yes, Raven?"
"Why are we at a club?" Raven had suspected something like this, but still thought too much of Starfire's innocence to really believe those thoughts. Once they got home, Starfire had dragged Raven back to her room and fixed the problem of the outfit being too simple. Now, in addition to the leather boots and all the skin that showed with the cami and miniskirt, Raven wore a chain around her waist that accented her hips, earrings, and various other accessories, including a leather band placed rather suggestively high on one thigh and a sliver band shaped like a snake wrapping around her upper arm. Her hair was done up in an edgy but elegant twist, and she also wore more makeup now, mostly eyeliner, mascara, and lipstick. The entire makeover took advantage of Raven's delicate figure to produce a fierce look, made so much more alluring by the fact that the one wearing it was so small.
"We are here to dance, speak with young men, and enjoy being here!" Starfire informed her, pulling her inside by the wrist for the zillionth time that day.
"You didn't seem to enjoy going to that party your sister took us to," Raven pointed out flatly as they entered the club interior. The lights were low.
"Agreed," Starfire said. "That is why, when those boys told me of this place, I decided to come... In order to become accustomed to the atmosphere."
Raven shook her head. "You really will do anything, as long as it teaches you something about "Earth life"."
"Almost anything, yes." Starfire observed that Raven looked rather uncomfortable. "Do not be apprehensive, friend Raven. You may wait before going out among the people, if you wish."
"I think I'll take you up on that offer," Raven muttered. Starfire then waved and went "out among the people", to the dance floor, while Raven hung back. She watched the people from a safe distance, both because she knew that going out might pose a particular threat to her control over her powers, and because she was insecure and curious. Raven had never been to a club before, and she decided that she liked watching them dance. She stayed, sitting at a table and watching, observing the way they acted, debating with herself about whether to go out or not. It really was a shame to waste all Starfire's work—it must have really taken a lot of it to make her look good! But Raven wasn't completely comfortable with going out, either. Finally, she decided something along the lines of "What the heck", stood up, and joined the people.
For a moment, Raven didn't move, attacked suddenly by a fit of nervousness. Then she glanced to the side and saw two girls dancing a ways away. At first, Raven copied them, then quickly caught on, and began dancing on her own, feeling the strong beat of the music pound into her like a pulse. The lights began to flash slightly. Apparently she was doing pretty well, because some people started giving her looks that weren't altogether bad... One guy, whom she had seen earlier and thought was hot (though not exactly in those words) came up to her and asked, basically, if she'd dance with him. Raven nodded (she hadn't missed him checking her out), and he moved behind her. His hands were on her hips as she rolled them, and started to gain that confidence that come from knowing that you were sexy... The song changed, and as the beat got heavy, so did the dancing... The sexual tension in the air thickened noticeably...
"Lemme get you something," the guy said to her in a low voice, leading her off of the dance floor.
"Mm... Then one more dance?"
"Hell yeah!"
A/N: Mm, that was incredibly naughty for me. :P I tried not to be too descriptive, cuz I DO have standards! And this is my longest chappie so far! Yay! Umm, yeah. What was I going to say? Oh, right. I DID have a reason for that club scene, as you will see in the next chapter! It was pretty darn important to the advancement of the plot!
Right, maybe I'm imagining it, but I think I wrote Starfire a bit OOC, so in my own defense... YES, Starfire's main charm and personality trait is her sweet innocence, BUT I can clearly imagine her wising up and becoming more like I portrayed her here. People can't stay innocent forever, you know, but I will try to keep as much of that sweet innocence as possible--because she's just so adorable.
Aah, and the next chapter is where the real point of this story REALLY starts coming in. :D I have so much fun with this. See, I'm having so much fun, I'm grinning! :D
wordbearer: Boiling in her own juices? Oh, yes. ::evil grin:: If you thought that was torture for her, wait until you see the stuff that starts coming up next chapter...
Human Lightshow: LOL! Or maybe the pizza could be that rat person's sidekick! (rotfl) Mm, I think I shall steal that idea... And then abuse my artistic license a bit... I have the greatest time doing this.
Cake and milk to both of you! (by the way, the whole villain thing is still going, so if anyone else wants to help me out...) And THANK YOU, my wonderful reviewers, who are reading and reviewing so faithfully! I love you to DEATH! ...okay, I'm done. Watch out for da next chappie!