Disclaimer:I don't own the Teen Titans

Chapter 5: Here I Am, Hold My Hand

"Where is she?" Robin grumbled with annoyance as the 27th person asked him of the whereabouts of the darker side of the Titans. He tapped his feet and sighed heavily. She was going to be in big trouble. Then the whole room came to silence as the sound of the big double doors slid open, revealing an anxious and fidgety Raven. An audible gasp and murmurs rippled throughout the crowd. Starfire, as usual, broke the awkward silence and jumped forward to squeeze the life out of her mysterious friend.

"Friend Raven you look wondrous!" And indeed she did. She wore a gothic black knee-length skirt that was layered with a jagged hem and featured a bow detail on the front. Her tee was just a black, thin-ribbed tank top that said, "I just realized. I don't care." in white text. It was plain, but like her shirt claimed, she didn't care. For extra accent, she wore black arm warmers that featured red contrast stitches with strap and buckle accents. The tank showed her midriff, and there in her belly button was a curved barbell belly ring. Although she rarely wore them, her ears showed off earrings that each held two small black beads, a red gem and a silver skull dangling from a fishhook insertion. In her second piercings she placed a small silver stud in each hole. Unknown to most, she had another piercing up in her cartilage and a third piercing in her left ear. There she wore a silver skull with crossbones that had a chain connecting to another earring (a black gem), which she placed in her cartilage piercing. To fill up the empty space around her graceful neck she had decided to wear a choker with a kinked black band with black chains and clear gem accents hanging from it. Of course beforehand Starfire had put on her makeup, but she had darkened it. A thick line of eyeliner above and below the eyes, and dark purple eye-shadow was obvious to the naked eye. She took some time to draw in her eyebrows, and her full lips were accented with dark blue lipstick, while her hair was tied up and she used a black hairclip to hold it in place. And of course, her regular shoes weren't worn and in their place she wore chunky combat boots with silver zippers and buckles all over. To put it in a summary, she looked like one hot gothic chick with bad attitude.

"Wow." Someone breathed and her usually pale face blushed bright red, and she gave a weak smile.

"Hi. Sorry I'm late." And the party started over again. To add to her embarrassment, she could feel the eyes of her male friends looking her up and down. The outfit she chose contrasted with the pink and red of valentines, but to cooperate with the boys, it fit around her snugly and showed off her hourglass figure. Inside something glowed and for once she felt noticed, but it was short-lived. Nobody had gotten her a valentine. Not even one card. Starfire had gotten many, her two biggest from Robin, of course, and not to Raven's surprise, Speedy. Both were always in a constant battle to win, no matter what it was. Starfire, of course was happy to play the prize in the competition, and at the moment Robin was the winner. Speedy was eager to win it back. She was staring at her plate that was empty besides melting ice cream, and a gentle hand touched her shoulder.

"Hey Raven. Long time no see." Aqualad. She could recognize his voice anywhere. She flushed; remembering her secret crush on him a while back when they'd first met, but replied in her usual monotone.

"Hi." He smirked. He sat down next to her and watched as lovely little couples danced the evening away. Glancing at her he couldn't help but worry. Her face was full of unknown emotions that appeared when she was spacing out like she was doing now. They sat together in silence for a while, watching the dancers and when a fast beat song came on, he stood up, and held out his hand to her.

"Wanna dance?" She lifted her head and met his gaze.

"I don't dance." He pulled her up and placed his arm casually around her shoulder.

"Doesn't matter. I'll teach you." Hesitantly she walked out to the makeshift dance floor with him and tried to copy her other friends while he confidently moved his body expertly in his Ralph Lauren button down shirt and black baggy jeans. What a contrast. Next came another fast song, and everyone seemed to be sweating and having a blast. She began to feel the rhythm and danced on her own, and she was good at it. Soon the two were in the middle of the dance floor and everyone watched them. Her back was to Aqualad and sneakily he snaked his arms around her waist and placed his hands on her abdomen, fingering the belly button ring. He pulled her body in closer and moved to the beat along with her, while she in turn placed her hands over his, rocking her hips and pressing against the muscular body. If the crowd didn't know any better, they wouldn't have believed it was Raven dancing. But it was. And soon every boy wanted to be in Aqualad's place, and was moving in closer to ask her permission. He guarded them off her possessively, glaring at them all. She was all his, and nobody was going to take her from his arms.

Robin was gritting his teeth when he saw her dancing with him. He almost threw his cup at the other boy when he'd wrapped his arms around her. It made him sick.

Why am I feeling this way? It's not like I like Raven. I'm with Starfire.

He emptied his cup with a single swallow and continued to dance with his girlfriend, who seemed to be in Heaven at the moment. The boy of her dreams was dancing with her and he appeared to be enjoying it. But inwardly he was seething and once in a while glanced over at the gothic girl and scowled. He didn't understand why he kept on doing so, but it made no difference. It just made him angry. Then his eyes widened.

She felt his lips on her neck. She gasped but he insisted. Closing her eyes she reached up backwards and wrapped her hands around his neck, forcing his head further down. He greedily responded, and he pressed up against her so tightly they could've fused into one. His lips roamed over almost every spot on her flesh and soon his teeth nipped at her skin, making her gasp even louder. Her gasp made him more aggressive and he sucked upon the spot close to her left jawbone. The room was warm and everyone was dancing wildly and she spotted several of her friends on the couch or even on the floor, losing themselves in the mind numbing music.

He continued to kiss her neck and the way she responded allowed him to go on. This girl made him go insane and she had been the only one on his mind the last several weeks. He had been excited beyond anything when he was invited to the party. When he hadn't seen her in the beginning he'd sulked and was worried. He couldn't believe that she was here now, in his arms and that she was letting him even touch her. The other boys were throwing jealous glances at him, and even he was surprised at how well she could dance, and how well she responded to everything he did. When the song ended she gave him a quick smile and excused herself to get a drink. He followed her like a lapdog, and poured her a cup of punch. They sat down together on the couch and he leaned over and whispered softly into her ear.

"I told you I could teach you."

Ooh la la! What a strange and different turn of chapters. Seems like Raven lost herself in the music as well. I hope you guys like this one.

Thanks to:

Alena-chan – Thanks! I'm really glad that you like it. Hope you like this one, even though it's a little different.

Victoria – Yah, the ant thing was just a spontaneous act of randomness, but it did work out well with the story. The cutting is the main idea I suppose, and I'll try to get some more of my poems in there somehow. I've already got some idea for one of my songs into this, so we'll see how it turns out. Thanks!

Again, thanks, and enjoy!

Lost1n7heDark