Next chapter is here! To let all you know, Sacrifice reached 50 reviews the other day. New Kids got to 30, and I also will be starting a Harry Potter story soon. Got it? Good. Now here's my new chapter.
"Robin, you…you cut yourself?" Raven said amazed, pointing at his arm.
He ran up a placed a hand over her mouth. "SHHH! Do you want the others to find out?" He then pulled her into his room. "You know what'll happen if they find out? It'll go straight to the people who praise us. As soon as they find out that one of the titans has a problem, do you think they'll want us to protect their city? I don't think so," he said, as he sat down.
She sat down next to him. "You mean two of them," she said blankly. "Yeah, even better," he said with his head in his hands.
"But…why do you cut yourself? Robin…I mean you're a remarkable person. You're kind, you have friends, you're not plagued by some problem, and you have a great girlfriend. Why would you cut yourself?" she said confused.
"You don't get it. Being the leader is a great thing, but it also come with enormous amounts of stress, pressure, and sometimes pain. How would you feel if you knew that the protection of this city was in the hands of 5 teens, and YOU were the leader of them? Not exactly a walk in the park if you ask me," he said.
"I see what you mean about that," she said raising her eyebrows.
"Okay, so maybe that's not all of it, but how about a psychotic madman terrorizing the entire region, and you knowing that you have had many chances to stop him, but haven't been powerful enough? Slade has added so much tension to my life. At the point where I almost had him, I slept about 20 hours a week. I still didn't get him though. How would you feel if you knew that you had the power to stop him, but he had manipulated you so you couldn't? And then, once you think he's gone, and you finally relax, you find out that he's somehow come back and played your weaknesses?" Robin said enraged.
Raven stared back at him. "I'm…sorry. I guess we never really thought about all the pressure that was placed on you during those couple months. We really should have paid more attention. Or, at least, I should have, because I know what it's like to a crazy person always there, trying to make your life a living nightmare. But, that's only two things; why else would you do that to yourself?" Raven said, but not in her monotonous voice, in a semi-comforting voice.
"Well, I have the pressure from the town, the stress from Slade, but the pain comes from within myself, somewhere inside me. I know that really doesn't make any sense, but it's kind of built up…well…ever since…" He couldn't finish.
"Robin, about your parents, it's okay. There was nothing you could do to stop it, and it's okay that it still haunts you. In fact, I had to watch my mother murdered, and to this day, I see her mangled body, even though it happened fifteen years ago." Robin gave her a very small smile.
"But even after that, living with Bruce wasn't exactly every child's dream. He was never home, and even when he was, it was always 'You stupid kid, why did you do that?' or 'You'd shame me if they saw the boy Batman trained fighting like that.' I was never ever good enough for him. Even when I would do something right, I would never be praised; he'd always tell me why I couldn't have done it earlier so I wouldn't have wasted that time." Robin said. "My only friend in that house was Alfred, and he never smiled," Robin said softly. "Maybe that's why I still don't feel good enough to be the leader. The only leader figure I knew was such a angry condescending person."
Raven took a deep breath. "Robin, do you remember when we first met?" Raven said. Robin smiled. He remembered it quite well. It was actually one of the best days of his life, for he finally had a friend. "We were 11, and as soon after I crashed into you, you asked me if I liked having superpowers. Well, I told you I didn't, and you said you'd kill for them." Raven said looking at the ground. "Robin…you don't need superpowers. You all ready have them: in here, and in here," She pointed to her head, and then to her heart. "You are probably the bravest person I know. I've never seen you cry. In fact I've never seen you upset. But, the thing is, is that you're not a robot. You can show emotions; don't take that for granted." She said as she stood up. "Robin, there's no reason to feel you're not good enough. You…are probably the best thing that has happened to all four of us, and this town. Think about it," she said before closing the door. Robin stared at the door long after she had left.
'She's right, you know,' a voice said inside his head. In fact, Robin was already feeling better about himself. 'I should have asked for her help a lot earlier.' He thought to himself. He was finally free of his problem that weighed him down. He no longer had a reason to commit suicide. He couldn't wait see Starfire. But then something hit him like a baseball bat. 'You're not the only one with problems in this house' "Oh my god," he mumbled softly. Raven was doing the exact same thing to herself, and he had done nothing to help her. She had just made the biggest difference in his life, and he had done nothing for her.
Things she had said kept popping up in his head. "You're not plagued by some problem." "I had to watch my mother die." "You can show emotion; don't take it for granted." Raven, was almost exactly like him except for the emotions. She would kill for emotions, and he didn't bother to show them. He had to find her. He ran out the door, and toward her room.
Well, what do you think? I am trying to make my chapters longer. I know a lot of this chapter was AU, but I had to make it work. I'll try to update soon.
