Disclaimer: I don't own anything that has to do with "That's So Raven."

Chapter 11

Chelsea stared at her bedroom ceiling, counting the little glow in the dark stars she had stuck up on it when she was twelve. Twenty-two. There used to be more, but the glue was hardened and lost its grip. Whenever someone walked around on the floor above her bedroom, another star fell off. She could still see the outlines of where the stars used to be, but those really didn't count.

God, was she bored.

The cold washcloth her mother had put on her forehead to break the little fever Chelsea had was warm on all sides now, due to Chelsea's constant flipping to find a cold spot. Getting annoyed with it, she took it off her head and threw it across the room toward her hamper. And she missed.

Her parents had restricted Chelsea to her bed, but they wouldn't know that she left it. They weren't even here. They both had appointments with clients today, and Chelsea was grateful.

They were going to cancel all of their appointments to take care of her, but Chelsea insisted that they leave. Her parents wouldn't leave her alone for a second and it was starting to irritate her. When her mother left the room, her father came in. It was ridiculous. Chelsea knew they meant well, but she wasn't five. She was nearly seventeen and could take care of herself. It wasn't even that terrible a cold. She felt hot and a little dizzy sometimes, but that was about it. There wasn't even any coughing or sneezing. There was one sniffle two hours ago, that sent her mother into a tizzy, but Chelsea assured her she was fine.

So, they left, and at first Chelsea a little afraid that if she set one foot on her bedroom floor, some sort of weird alarm would sound. Then, a television would drop down out of nowhere, her parents would come onto the screen and scold Chelsea for leaving the bed.

Now though, Chelsea couldn't care less if an alarm actually went off and her parents did yell at her via television. She was bored out of her mind and really had to move around.

Chelsea got up and walked over to the hamper, picked up the washcloth beside it and threw it in. There was no alarm, but she did feel a little guilty. And very hot. Maybe getting up out of the bed wasn't such a good idea. Chelsea's face became very hot very quickly, and the room began to move a little on its own. 'I just need some fresh air,' she thought as she slowly made her way to the window beyond her bed.

"It's way too hot in here." Chelsea said aloud as she threw her curtains open and unlocked the window. She pulled it up quickly and stuck her head outside for a moment, closing her eyes and letting the slight breeze cool her face off. She opened her eyes just in time to see a very distraught Raven pass her by without noticing her.

"Hey Rae! Raven!"

Raven froze in place closing her eyes cursing herself for not taking a different route.

"I'll just keep walking, and think of something to tell her later." Raven mumbled to herself.

"Raven!" Chelsea called once again.

Even though she didn't want to, Raven turned. Chelsea was her weakness; she couldn't not answer her. She thanked God that she stopped crying a few blocks ago.

Raven walked closer to the window, shielding her eyes from the sunlight as she looked up. "Chels what are you doing?"

"I could ask you the same thing!" Chelsea said, looking at her clock and then back at Raven. "School's not over for another hour. What are you doing walking around?"

Raven shrugged and Chelsea yelled, "Wait there, I'll open the door for you."

"No Chels--" Raven yelled back, but Chelsea had alreay disappeared back into the house.

A few seconds later, Chelsea was at the door. Raven sighed and walked up the steps into her house. Raven took a closer look at Chelsea. The girl was still flushed and looked a little dazed. "Girl, what are you doing out of bed? You're sick."

"Yeah, but I'm bored." Chelsea whined, shuffling back to her room. Raven looked around. It seemed like the Daniels' weren't home. She reluctantly followed Chelsea into her room, stopping just beyond the doorway. She didn't trust herself to go any further.

Chelsea was sitting on her unmade bed with her elbows on her knees and her chin resting on the tops of her hands. "What are you doing out of school?"

Raven didn't answer. Chelsea thought it was really weird that Raven stayed by her doorway and didn't come any closer. It couldn't be that Raven thought she was contagious. Last time she was sick, Raven came right in and sat in the bed with her. They watched movies all day. Then again, that was a little over a year ago, and Raven had changed since then. She wasn't acting normal at all.

It was then that Chelsea really saw how upset Raven looked. Chelsea straightened up in the bed. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." Raven answered quickly, rooted to the spot.

"Come on Rae, you can tell me. I kinda owe you one."

"Trust me Chels, you can't help me."

"Why not?"

"You just can't." Raven regretted being so short with her and winced at the hurt that washed over Chelsea's face. "I'm sorry. Look, I gotta go--" Raven turned to leave.

"Rae wait!" Chelsea yelled, getting up from her bed quickly. Just a little too quickly, because the room spun like a top and threw her off. "Whoa," Chelsea moaned, putting a hand on her forehead and the otheron her lamp table, accidently knocking over the alarm clock. It hit the wall with a clatter, and Raven turned.

"Chelsea!" Raven exclaimed, running to her friend's aid. Chelsea flopped back down on her bed just as Raven grabbed her hand to steady her. Raven sat down next to her, looking at her with worry. "Are you okay?"

Chelsea shook her head a little and the room began to stop spinning. What she thought she was going to say was, "I'm fine. Just stood up too fast."

What she actually said was, "No."

"What's wrong? Should I call your parents?" Raven rambled, nervous and concerned.

"No. I'm not okay because you're my best friend and you're acting really weird, Raven."

Raven tried to slip her hand from Chelsea's but Chelsea was holding on tightly. "Chels..."

"What happened to you? You're just so...off these days! We used to be able to tell each other everything and up until this second, I thought we still could. Why can't you tell me what's upsetting you?"

"Because I can't."

"Why not?"

"Just because I can't Chelsea!" Raven shouted. "You have no idea what my life's been like for the past few months."

"I would if you just told me--"

"But it's not that simple Chels!" Raven cut her off, standing up and ripping her hand from Chelsea's.

"I don't understand why it can't be that simple. Ben broke up with me that night, and I felt horrible. I still feel horrible, but when I ended up at your house and told you about it, you made me feel better. Why can't things be the way they used to be? Why can't you talk to me Raven?"

"Because I don't want you to hate me!" Raven shouted and immediately clapped a hand over her mouth. She had said way too much.

Chelsea squinted at Raven in confusion. "Huh?"

Raven backed away, new tears pooling in her eyes. "I...I can't!"

Then, Raven ran from Chelsea's room.

"Rae. Raven!" Chelsea called, but she didn't get up, afraid that she'd be dizzy again. She closed her eyes and laid down on the bed when she heard the front door slam.

"How could you think I'd hate you?" She whispered to herself, wracking her brain for answers.

Raven ran from the Daniels residence, sobbing and holding her stomach, afraid she was going to be sick. She put a shaky hand over her mouth to keep from gagging.

'Oh god, I said way too much up there. Now Chelsea's definitly going to find out my secret.' She thought miserably.

As she ran down the block, she thought of what Chelsea would do if she found out. Pictures of Chelsea's disgusted face flashed through Raven's tortured mind.

She ran up the stairs to her front door, opened it quickly and flew inside, slamming the door behind her. Then, she ran up to her room and closed the door, leaning against it.

"What am I gonna do? What am I gonna do? What am I gonna do?" Raven whimpered over and over again, sliding down her door to the hardwood bedroom floor.

Raven closed her eyes out of sheer emotional exhaustion and reluctantly fell asleep.