Disclaimer: I own nothing. I think that says it all.

Chapter 15

Eddie jogged up the steps to Raven's house, whistling the tune of a song he couldn't remember the name to. He skipped his last two classes to get there early, knowing that Victor, Tanya and Cory wouldn't be home for at least another hour. Plus, he had this very uneasy feeling in his stomach, like something was terribly wrong.

Chelsea didn't come to class after they spoke in the hallway, and Eddie figured that she stopped by. Hopefully, things went well, but Eddie had a sinking feeling that they didn't.

He knocked, but no one answered. He grabbed the doorknob and turned, surprised that it wasn't locked. But not as surprised as he was when he opened the door and found Raven curled up on the living room floor.

"Raven!" Eddie shouted, running to her. He fell to his knees beside her, looking her up and down. There wasn't signs of physical harm, but Raven's eyes were wide open. Too open, like they were stuck that way.

"Hey Rae," Eddie said softly, waving his hand in front of Raven's face. She didn't respond. She didn't even blink. He took her by the shoulders and lifted her into a sitting position, dragging her over and leaning her up against the couch. Kneeling beside her, Eddie called her name.

"Rae...Rae...Raven!" Eddie shouted into her face, but she didn't move. He tried to put himself in her line of vision, but her eyes were unfocused, like they were staring into nothing.

Panicking, Eddie did the only thing he could think of to snap her out of it. He slapped her.

That did it. Raven flinched, uncurling herself from the fetal position and shaking her head. She blinked once, twice, and then she looked at Eddie.

"Hey, you okay?" Eddie asked softly, putting a hand on Raven's shoulder.

"I did it."

"What?"

"I kissed her."

Eddie let out a long, slow breath, tightening his jaw. Judging by Raven's tone, and the state he found her in, Eddie concluded that things did not go well. He moved in closer, pulling Raven to him in a firm but comforting hug, and rested his chin on the top of her head. Raven wrapped her arms around his mid section, putting an ear to his chest, listening the slow rhythm of his heart.

She stood there in awe as a poorly disguised Raven stuck it to Sam.

"Good, because she invited me to a Lakers/Warriors game tonight, front row, floor seats." Raven leaned in closely and whispered, "Her dad's tight with Kobe."

Chelsea chuckled a little as Sam whined, "Aw man!" and kicked himself for passing her up.

"That's right." Raven said, leaving him and walking over to Chelsea.

"Rae, you were brilliant."

"Yeah well, nobody messes with my girl..."

She felt her heart beat faster in her chest. 'Her girl...'

Chelsea woke up with a start when she heard a knock at her door.

"Chelsea? Sweetie, someone's here to see you." Her mother called from beyond the door.

Chelsea stood up quickly and backed away from the door to the middle of the room. "Who--who is it?"

"It's me." A deep voice answered. Ben.

"Uh-uh...come in." Chelsea said, and Ben opened the door and walked in. He stood there, uncomfortable. She didn't know why, but she couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye.

Mrs. Daniels stood in the doorway, smiling. "I'll be in my office dear, if you need me."

Chelsea smiled back, knowing all too well that anything less would make her mother suspicious. "Thanks Mom."

When they were alone, Chelsea said, "What do you want?"

"I wanted to see how you were holding up."

"Wow, you must be the first ex-boyfriend in the world to ask the girl he dumped how they were feeling."

"I didn't mean that. I mean...I had a vision."

Chelsea looked at Ben. "And?"

"And I saw Raven..." He didn't need to continue. Chelsea could see it in his face. He saw Raven kiss her. She sat down on her bed,playing with her hands.

Ben sat down next to her, folding his hands in his lap. He wanted to put his arm around her, but he wasn't sure that she'd want it. "So, how are you?"

"Scared, confused."

"Why? Because Raven kissed you?"

There were several moments of tense silence. Chelsea seemed to be lost in her thoughts, as if replaying the incident in her mind over and over.

Chelsea shook her head. "No...because I liked it."

Author's Note: Hey, just wanted to say that the little dream that Chelsea had was a scene from the "That's So Raven" episode "A Dog by Any Other Name." Well, except for the part where Chelsea's thinking "Her girl..." I added that myself. lol.