Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.
…..
This was no birthday party she'd ever seen.
Okay... so Raven was no expert on parties... but this was much too formal and too much like a richy-richy get-together of business tycoons than any celebration. Raven could see Robin from across the room, crossing and uncrossing his arms. His face may have been emotionless, but his eyes betrayed him. No wonder he hid them from the world.
A glittering Starfire flitted around him like a moth to the flame.
"Punch?"
Beast Boy held up a paper cup in her face and she took it without a thank you. A drop never went into her mouth. "Robin is not happy," she said, distantly.
Beast Boy scoffed.
"Ya think? This place is Dullsville, which is why I got Cyborg to bring in his amplifiers and stereo system. I snuck in a few of Robin's favorite rock and party CD's."
Raven raised an eyebrow. "You didn't," she insisted.
"Of course I did. It's Robin's party, isn't it? Cy's hooking it up… any minute now."
As if on cue, the twinkling music notes stopped and heads glanced up placidly. After a silent moment or two, bass rattled windows and guitar solos bounced off the marble walls. Cyborg appeared beside them gleefully. "Hell yeah!" He high-fived Beast Boy and they howled, dancing ridiculously to the rhythm.
Raven saw every face in her direction. At least the party stopped being boring. Maybe Robin would stop sulking. She had tried so hard to blend in though. It had worked, but now this…..
Cyborg's metal hand grabbed her limp one and spun her around. She stood caught in the middle of the fiasco. But… she was dancing now, too. The beat changed to a faster pace. As her body rocked and swung slowly, she heard her two friends yowl at the top of their lungs- "Yeah Rae!" - "Go girl!" - "Whooo!"
For the first time in a long time, she heard the truest form of her laughter reach her ears. The music stopped abruptly.
They turned to see a very angry Bruce Wayne glaring at them.
"I'll ask you all kindly to leave the grounds."
Beast Boy's face twisted into outrage. "WHAT?" he shouted.
"Noise pollution. You three have shown an extreme amount of disrespect to myself. You should be ashamed."
"Dude… we were just trying to have fun."
"No, you were making trouble. I said I wanted you out now. Go back to your city."
She could see that everyone was staring at them like they were on display. The kind of attention she hated. Raven looked at Robin who was seething, not at his old mentor, but at them. That only made her anger struggle to be let out more. A hand touched her shoulder and she looked to see a old butler staring at her, calmly. Raven yanked herself out of his grasp, eyes glowing blood red.
"Come on," she said to the others with a demonic note to her voice.
Her black energy crackled around her, slamming into light fixtures nearby and with people dodging them, she fumed out of the mansion. Cyborg and Beast Boy followed behind fearfully. Once they were out in the clear, night air, Raven yelled, "I have never been talked to like that! That... bastard doesn't even know us and he thinks he can judge? Robin and Starfire didn't even bother to stick up for us! I should just-!"
Beast Boy waved his hands, panicking, "Whoa! Raven, calm down!" Tendrils of black came out of her hands and smacked into him, throwing him into the bushes and out of sight. Cyborg grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her.
"Snap out of it, little lady!"
The energy disappeared and the violent in her iris returned with slow horror. She gasped, "Beast Boy!" Both Titans raced across the grounds and found him sitting by the front gates, rubbing a rather large bump on his head. Raven knelt beside him. "I couldn't control it." He flashed her an easygoing smile.
"Heh, I guess I deserved that... I don't know why..."
"You didn't," she whispered ashamed as Cyborg helped him up.
"Remind me to never get on your bad side. You aren't going to skewer Rob and Star, are you?"
She narrowed her eyes and said cryptically, "They should know how to dodge heavy objects."
The boys shared a worried look.
…..
Meanwhile:
Starfire was cowering beneath the rage that was Robin.
"What the hell were they thinking?"
"Robin…"
"When I get back to the Tower, they are gonna regret ever humiliating me and the team like this!"
"I think that…"
"And Raven went along with it, too; that's what I don't get!"
"Maybe we should…"
"Now he thinks that we're a bunch of kids who-"
She tapped his shoulder, saying kindly, "I do not know why, but I do not see why your mentor was so upset. I'm sure that our friends did not mean to hurt anyone."
"...? ...You're too nice, Starfire." He sighed.
She leaned down to kiss his cheek, softly. Robin chastised her, quietly, "Star!" There was a bright smile on her orange face.
"I thank you, Robin. Now, would you like to dance?"
"There's no music."
She beamed, "Music is not needed."
He returned her smile, letting her enthusiasm clear his troubled mind as they waltzed. She might have been too nice at times, but she knew how to warm his heart. They were enjoying their moment together in each other's arms when Bruce Wayne cut them short. He started, "Those friends of yours-"
"I'm sorry about that, Bruce. I'll talk to them and we'll get this straightened out."
The man cracked a thin smile. "Actually, everyone loved the change of music. They all want it back. I talked to the Mayor, and he was... intrigued."
Robin frowned. "You've gotta be kidding me…"
"Yes, well, Alfred is bringing your friends back in and we can forget this ever happened." Cyborg and Beast Boy barged by them, happy to be able to set up the stereo system. To Robin's relief, they flashed a thumbs up at him as the bass came back on and the formal guests actually started partying. The only thing wrong was Raven hadn't returned.
Just as he was considering going out to find her, she appeared next to the punch bowl, staring lividly at anything and everything. Her eyes laid upon him and a sour message passed on. Beast Boy had come up to her. She grabbed his hand, pulling him onto the dance floor, still looking over at Robin, contemptuously.
'Oh... Raven... two can play that game.'
Starfire was delighted when Robin danced closer to her. Occasionally, the two foes took a second to glance heatedly at each other. The only person who knew them well enough to know what was going on shook his computerized head. Frankly, they disgusted him.
Raven didn't mean to use Beast Boy, especially after what happened outside. And she sure as hell didn't like him like that, but it was just… he was there and she really wanted to get on Robin's nerves.
Maybe even make Robin jealous…?
She slackened.
Her eyes met the sight of the two people locking lips in a very passionate kiss. In public. The world felt numb. She thought Robin had more humility than that.
All the same, she had sunk to the same level, too.
...Why did she have the sudden urge to throw up? Raven absently swallowed. Her throat dry and tight.
Beast Boy had noticed that she stopped dancing and his shoulders slumped. He followed her gaze and turned back to her dumbstruck. "Yicks. I'm just as shocked as you are."
…..
A/N: Uh-oh. What's gonna go down? I'm pulling for an update on Saturday(Happy Birthday to me). Look forward to Chapter Eight! Reviews are good for your karma.