Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans™, You've Got Mail (starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan), or any of their respective characters. I also do not own the quotes at the beginning of each chapter. However, I do own this story in its non-profit entirety. Similarities to other works are merely coincidental.
Author's Note: In this chapter, I inject the song "L-O-V-E", which was originally performed by Nat King Cole. Obviously, I don't own it.
Response To Reviews:
romantic-raven—Thank you. Hopefully you'll find my attempt to lighten up
the plot good (that is, this chapter).
robinsmaskedgirl—Yes, some well-worded fluff is wonderful, isn't it? And yeah, 'seriousness' is a word.
Soldier of Darkness—In this story, Raven still believes her pen pal did not show up, so she will still talk to him.
iamhollywood—Thanks! I do try my best.
Hanita-chan—Oh, don't worry, there will be a happy ending. The story's not over yet!
Kit-Kat43—Thanks, I was wondering if reviewers would think the screennames were stupid or unoriginal or something, but you reassure me that that is not the case. I feel so loved.
You've Got Mail!
Written By JMPchick
4. Starlight And Onion Rings
Have you ever seen such a beautiful night?
I could almost kiss the stars for shining so bright
Then I see you smile and I go, "Oh, oh, oh"
I would never want to miss this
'Cause in my heart I know what this is
This is what dreams are made of
"What Dreams Are Made Of" by Hilary Duff
Raven checked her email, just to be certain. As she expected, there was nothing in her inbox. She sighed; her hopes hadn't been high anyhow. It was just…she had anticipated there would be an explanatory letter from veggiezoo, describing why he had not been there. An excuse, any excuse, would have brightened her mood. But there was no excuse. There was no letter. There was to be no brightened mood.
To: whimsywings
From: veggiezoo
Dear friend,
When you did not appear at the DiCamillo Café last night, someone who irritates
the hell out of me turned up in your stead. I confess, I was a beast to him.
Have you ever had one of those moments where you want to say something
positively horrid, but either can't pluck up the courage to say it or can't
find the right moment? I did not have one of those, though now I wish I did.
Let me tell you from experience: Once you have said that terrible thing you
mean to say, regret immediately sets in. And I regret what I said to the
wretched creature who emerged in your rightful place.
:TT:
"Oh God," Beast Boy whispered. He hung his face in his hands, feeling the edges and contours of his warm green face. "What have I done?"
He answered his own question. "Something absolutely horrible. Cy and Robin were correct; I did break her heart. Oh, B, you loser." He banged his head on his desk and instantly wished he hadn't, as a throbbing headache sent in. Beast Boy gazed miserably at the message pulsing on the screen, and the words seemed to dance, increasing his dizziness, but he didn't care.
To: whimsywings
From: veggiezoo
Dear friend,
I know my apology most likely does not carry much weight nor comfort, but here
it is anyway.
I was not there last night, I confess. And I know the feeling of saying something you immediately wish you hadn't. It's true—that stupid feeling, guilt, instantaneously engulfs you.
I would not like to be that poor person who barged in on you last night, but I feel like I am. That nagging emotion is pulling at me, screeching, "You weren't there! You weren't there!" And I can only hope that you'll accept my request for amnesty, because even though it's electronic and rather impersonal, I could never forgive myself if you didn't.
:TT:
"Perhaps if you do not wish to call upon the Mall of Shopping, we could visit the Jump City Nail Salon? Your French manicure appears to be peeling, friend Raven."
"Yes, Starfire. I noticed." Raven grumbled something indistinctive but undoubtedly unpleasant. Fortunately her best friend did not hear. She was beginning to suspect that asking Star to cheer her up was not the brightest idea. While Raven considered the beautiful alien princess to be like a sister and very understanding, she just…wasn't like her. Starfire did not share almost any of Raven's character traits or interests. She didn't enjoy "depressing poetry" nor mocha lattes ("X'hal! This beverage tastes like iflecrapoo!").
"Then conceivably you should order another manicure? To…as you Earthlings say, 'fix it up'?" Starfire was bouncing on the balls of her feet.
"Maybe we could."
"Or, we could purchase a 'jumbo pack' of hair accessories and cosmetics. And then we could bestow upon each other makeovers?"
The lavender-haired empath winced—not visibly, she hoped—as she imagined what she would look like when Starfire finished the proposed makeover. Makeover, hah! More like extreme gaffe from hell. Raven grimaced inwardly. "Uh…distinct possibility for the future," she-who-fears-makeup said hastily. "Why don't we—er—go out for lunch? I kinda have something to discuss with you."
:TT:
After dragging a salivating Starfire away from the condiments table and buying an extra-large basket of onion rings, Raven described her pen pal to her friend. "And then that incredibly thick imbecile Beast Boy had the nerve to talk to me about Malchior," she concluded.
Starfire's emerald eyes widened. "But, Raven…friend Beast Boy's density is not over average. In fact, he is rather…skinny."
"No, no. Not his density. I meant he is lacking when it comes to intelligence. Very lacking."
"You are declaring that he is 'stupid'?" Starfire bit into an onion ring. Her appetite for Earthly eats had increased, especially for junk food. No doubt due to Cyborg and Beast Boy.
"Yes! That's exactly what I'm saying." Raven absentmindedly ate a ring. When the others weren't looking, she did consume other things than herbal tea. If Cyborg ever paid attention, he'd notice that occasionally he was a few waffles short, or maybe a rib if she was really famished.
Starfire eyed her with odd shrewdness. "But he is cute, yes?"
Raven cocked an eyebrow. "In what way?"
"A…puckish way? As a feasible love interest?"
Raven snorted. "Beast Boy, a love interest for me? You must be kidding."
"No, Raven, I do not jest." But still Starfire kept that uncharacteristically astute look on her face as she sipped Dr. Pepper from a flimsy paper cup wet with condensation droplets.
:TT:
"We're havin' a party," Beast Boy sang. He danced around the common room like a dervish, tossing tinsel and crêpe paper everywhere. Few of the delicate decorations actually landed where they were wanted, and several ended up in Raven's afternoon cup of tea, thoroughly irritating her.
"We're havin' a party," Beast Boy repeated, more loudly.
"Yeah, we'll have a party," Raven spat through clenched teeth, "you just let me get my hands on you, and we'll have a funeral. A merry party that would be."
Beast Boy sweated slightly and hastily stepped out of her reach, but continued to "arrange" the adornments. "Party, party, party, party," Beast Boy rang out.
"Pizza, pizza, pizza, pizza," Cyborg added to the same tune as he entered the room, carrying an armful of complex-looking cables of different colors.
"What if I don't want to go?" Raven said half to herself as she turned a yellowing page of her book.
"We don't ca-are!" the young green elf cried, still in sing-song tones. He seized her book, tossed it aside, and grabbed her hands, whisking her out in front of the large screen television set and dancing with her sloppily.
"Hey!" Raven attempted to pull away, but the shapeshifter's grip on her hands was too tight. "Beast Boy, let me go!"
Cyborg watched with interest as Beast Boy twirled Raven, her cloak billowing out behind her. At the same moment, Robin and Starfire entered the room, deep in conversation about the latest villain. When they caught sight of Beast Boy's ill-advised dance, Raven finally pulled away, cheeks flushed with embarrassment. She snatched her book from the floor and stormed away, her pale face an unusual shade of pink. Beast Boy shrugged and resumed his insane deck-the-halls craze.
"You know, I think she was enjoying it," Cyborg commented once he was certain Raven was out of earshot.
:TT:
An hour later, Starfire had managed to wrest Raven from the shadowy clutches of her infamous room and the party was in full swing on the roof. Moonlight filtered through the gauzy clouds as the disco ball Cyborg had been unable to outfit Titan's Tower with shed a neon rainbow upon the dancing floor. Titans East had finally arrived, and Bumble Bee was dancing with Cyborg.
"Good to see you, mate," Aqualad grinned, high-fiving Robin.
"You too." Robin also slapped hands with Speedy, who immediately engaged him in an 'enthralling' exchange about the pros and cons to his arrows and Robin's discs.
Aqualad shook his head, still smiling, and walked over to the refreshment table where Raven was lurking, irked. "Hi, Raven," he said, pulling a Pepsi from the cooler and uncorking it with a loud pop!. "Why aren't you dancing or something?"
A muscle twitched near Raven's mouth as she said stiffly, "I don't dance."
Aqualad smirked. "Yeah, well…Beast Boy told me you were dancing with him this afternoon. Bit hypocritical, eh?"
Raven reddened and spat, "That was his fault. He was the one who grabbed me from the couch and attempted the tango."
The handsome Atlantian prince chuckled and moved off to dance. Raven huffed. It wasn't her doing, the dance earlier. Beast Boy had done it. Maybe Star's right…he is kinda…cute. In a mischievous way. It was a mark of how much the breeze a few days ago had affected her, for she was not instantly disgusted with herself like she would expect.
:TT:
"Robin, I wish to show you something." Starfire seemed to appear out of nowhere. She gently placed a hand on his arm and brought him over to a corner of the roof. She seated herself and directed her gaze upward to the luminescent full moon. "The stars and moon. They are beautiful, yes?"
Robin nodded, noticing for perhaps the first time how lovely she looked tonight, bathed in the starlight, jade eyes rapturously staring at the moon's reflection upon the rippling ocean. Her silky scarlet hair waved slightly in the still-there breeze. She was radiant.
A strange, hot feeling rose from his stomach to his face as he stared not at the heavens but at her. Robin quickly pretended to be adjusting his mask when she glanced his way. When she looked away, he said nervously, "You know, Star…I've been wanting to tell you something…."
Starfire's eyes transferred back to him as she watched him innocently, waiting for him to speak. "Yes?"
Oh hell. "I should have told you a long time ago, but…" He leaned forward, eyes closing, and gently pressed his lips to hers. A wonderful sensation spread through their bodies, breathtaking and dizzying all at once. He pulled away slowly, and looked down, poised for rejection.
Suddenly, a warm tanned finger slipped under his chin and forced him to look up. Starfire's eyes were dancing as she said quietly, happily, "I feel the same way."
:TT:
Raven's form grew rigid as she sensed a soaring ripple of affection. It seemed to be coming from the farthest corner. Her alert gaze softened as she realized why. She floated over to Beast Boy, who was chatting with Aqualad and playing the role of DJ, and whispered something in his ear. She pointed underneath the table groaning with the green-skinned boy's CDs to the corner. Aqualad watched curiously when Beast Boy's pointy ears perked up. He nodded and she flew back over to the refreshments. Beast Boy rapidly, deftly switched from a blaring punk rock to a lulling romantic ballad.
'L' is for the way
you look at me
'O' is for the only one I see
'V' is very, very extraordinary
'E' is even more than anyone that you adore can—
Love is all that I
can give to you
Love is more than just a game for two
Two in love can make it
Take my heart and please don't break it
Love was made for me and you
Robin uncertainly led Starfire out onto the dance floor, which was currently occupied by Bumble Bee and Cyborg, who had stopped disco-ing and began to slow dance. Starfire placed her hands on his shoulders, and Robin at her waist. Time seemed to pass by much less faster than usual, as the two couples moved slowly around the dance floor.
Beast Boy left the stereo running and went shyly over to Raven, who appeared tense and out of place. His trademark silly grin was on his face as he said to her as casually as he could, "Hey, Raven, wanna dance?"
"To this music? Slow dance? You and me? You must be mad."
"Guilty as charged." Beast Boy was still smiling, but his eyes were beseeching her to accept. "C'mon, Rae, please?"
Raven sighed, but didn't flinch as was normal when he used that nickname. Robin and Starfire, Bumble Bee and Cyborg…she was the only girl left, unless one counted Mas Y Menos, who were solemnly dancing with themselves with no regard whatsoever to gender tradition. Come to think of it, it would be nice to dance….
Beast Boy had begun to walk away in disappointment when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to find Raven blushing. "If you want to dance, I suppose I could," she said hesitantly.
"YES! I mean, okay." Beast Boy brought her over to the dance floor and they joined their friends. On the spur of the moment at the café, Beast Boy had said he thought Raven pretty, but he had to admit that in the light of the night sky, she did. Her violet eyes seemed to glitter with a strange glow of—could it be?—contentment.
'L' is for the way
you look at me
'O' is for the only one I see
'V' is very, very extraordinary
'E' is even more than anyone that you adore can—
Love is all that I
can give to you
Love is more than just a game for two
Two in love can make it
Take my heart and please don't break it
Love was made for me and you
Love was made for me and you
Love was made for me and you
And on they danced, through the night, through the starlight.
Fifteen reviews! (Swoons with pleasure) Well, hopefully you'll rave about this chapter, too. I finally decided to have some real romance, this being a romance-genre story. So, please review me and tell me what you think. I really appreciate the feedback on my readers' behalf.
P.S.—This is my first ever romantic scene, so please tell me how I did.
JMPchick
