Hello again, folks, how's it going? Today's been kind of a slow weekend, so I'm writing a ton of stuff down…hopefully stuff that I shall publish very soon. I really appreciate the reviews!

Aquarius Gal: Thanks a bunch for your review. And yeah, I'll be one of the first to admit it-I'm totally obsessed with Robin too. If you like this, please stick around: I'm gonna be posting a lot more stuff like this…someday…By the way, Green Day ROCKS! I'm glad you liked my lyric thing at the beginning (I like Chump too, heh heh heh.) I'm definitely considering putting in other song lyrics for my fics…maybe not all of them will be Green Day, but…

Alexnandru Van Gordan: AHHH! begins panicking like heck. All right, all right, all right! I'll update as fast as I can! Can't have you dying before you finish "Not Again," and "Blast to the Supposed Past," now can I? Besides, I think your other readers would murder me (gulps and glances around nervously.) Anyway, I'm really glad you like this-I was worried that this chapter would suck, to tell you the truth…So, naturally, I'm relieved to hear this.

GDeacur: Yes, the lyrics at the beginning were from Green Day…God, I love their music…the song was called "Chump." Sorry if I forgot to include that…I promise, the story will get better...I think...

Crazy Girl Person: I'm glad you like it. By the way, I love your username.

I think normal people would probably wait until more reviews come in, but, well…I did say normal and I really don't think that I would qualify…whatever. Besides, I'm a writing nut and I don't bother to wait before writing more stuff. So, I hope you like this new chapter!

Chapter Two: Apart

Distance: To place oneself at an emotional distance from something; to cause to be at a mental or emotional distance.

Raven-

She wasn't quite sure what woke her up, to put it truthfully, especially at five in the morning. All she could say was that…it was some sort of disturbance in the Tower's usual atmosphere, more so than usual.

Raven's powers were sensitive, giving her the ability to pick up vibes caused by emotions, particularly strong ones, such as anger, aggression, fear, joy, grief, pain…the list went on and on. Usually there were just minor emotion waves that went through their home; small stuff, like Beast Boy and Cyborg bickering, or Starfire discovering something "new and glorious about Earth."

But this just felt…different. And Raven didn't like the feeling. She did recognize where it was coming from though:

Robin.

Raven slipped out of bed, swathing herself quickly in her usual, dark blue cloak, before she slid the door open and glided silently down the hallway like a shadow. She had to admit, she felt a little awkward, being up so early. She was usually one of the last people up, preferring to dedicate a few hours to meditation, just to make sure her emotions were in check.

The main room was still rather dark, though a few distant rays of pale blue light were starting to creep across the floor. It was completely empty…except for the single figure standing before the wide glass windows, their silhouette just barely framed by moonlight.

"Hey," she murmured quietly, floating over to stand by her leader. "What's up? You're up a bit earlier than usual…"

Robin angled his head slightly, as though he were watching her out of the corner of his eye, though she couldn't really tell. It was just that mask…

What does he have to hide? What lies behind the mask?

"I just…I couldn't sleep."

Raven nodded, but said nothing. She already knew he was lying; she needed no powers to figure that out.

"You don't believe me, do you?"

She could never quite understand how Robin had the skill to see right through people and detect what they were really saying in their mind. It was extremely frustrating...

But also informing…

Was this one of the reasons that Robin was so easily provoked by Slade? Was that why he spent so much time attempting to discover what lay behind the madman's mask? She had to wonder…

"No. Not really."

He sighed.

"I thought so."

"It's…it's Slade, isn't it?" She muttered.

"…Yeah…it is," Robin growled, keeping his eyes completely focused on the still ocean that stretched in front of them.

Raven didn't bother to question him anymore. She didn't even try to enter his mind. It was surprisingly exhausting... She didn't think that a human mind could have so many layers, so much depth, even one as intelligent as Robin's.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked, as gently as her monotone voice would allow, without giving away too much feeling.

But from the way his shoulders stiffened as she said this, she already knew the answer.

"No. I'm fine."

He always said that. Frankly, she was still a bit too sleepy to bother pressing on.

"Okay. I'm going back to bed."

Robin only shrugged indifferently, mind already somewhere else.

To be continued…

Aargh! Another slow chapter! Curses! Oy. I'm sorry. This story is taking awhile to really pick up, and I sincerely apologize for that. Ah well…Please review! I really like to see what people think of my work.

Oh, by the way-this is not implying a Rob/Rae pairing, just to let you know. I just picked Raven because she's one of my favorite characters, and also because she's pretty much an expert when it comes to struggling emotions.

And, just in case any of you were wondering (cough cough, Aquarius Gal, cough cough) there will be more Green Day stuff coming up. Hurrah!

Over and out:

Rebel-Aquarius

PS: Again, I'm SOOOO sorry this is slow. I PROMISE that it'll it pick up...soon.