Chapter 4 Confessions

Things were back to normal at Titans Tower, or at least as normal as things ever got for the Teen Titans. Training sessions became more frequent now that Slade had reappeared, and Robin had, again, taken up his obsession with apprehending him. Raven had been meditating more than usual due to her more frequent visions of death and, although she would never admit it, even to herself, the fact that Beast Boy was spending all of his time with Terra, the two of which were scarce around the tower.

There was one embarrassing incident in which Starfire, in her normal fashion, had burst into Beast Boy's room to announce that breakfast was ready. She never got a chance, because the first thing that met her eyes was Beast Boy sucking on Terra's neck. She had hurried out of the room before she could be reprimanded, but the vision would stick in her head. She had asked Raven what it meant. "Who did you see doing it?" Raven had asked. When Starfire said it was Beast Boy and Terra, Raven had stalked off, mumbling to herself.

Eventually though, Beast Boy and Terra had to come out into the light, and they did. "Hey y'all," Cyborg had exclaimed, "the lovebirds are here!" Beast Boy replied with a dramatic bow with much twirling of his hands, and Terra had replied with "We have to eat sometime."

"Yeah, well come, sit, eat, enjoy," said Robin invitingly.

"Did you make any tofu?" asked Beast Boy hopefully.

"Dude, nobody likes that stuff," exclaimed Cyborg.

"I do. Now where is it," demanded Beast Boy, turning into an angry gorilla. Cyborg, faced with the prospect of facing an angry 600 pound gorilla, gave in and revealed the sacred location.

Meanwhile, Terra had cautiously approached Raven, who was floating a foot off the ground reading a heavy leather book. "Raven…," Terra said carefully. Raven grunted to show she was listening. "I know that I haven't gained your trust back yet, but…," Raven had cut her off with a snort of mirthless laughter, causing Terra to change tact. "All right," she said boldly, "Just tell me what your problem is!"

"I would think that was obvious," Raven shouted angrily slamming her book shut.

"Look," Terra yelled back, annoyed, "This is getting old. I already apologized for what I did and nearly lost my life to fix it. What more do you want from me?"

"You can leave and go ruin someone else's life," replied Raven angrily.

"How have I ruined your life?" asked Terra.

"You took away my dignity, and you took away Beast Boy!" The last words tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop them. She looked over to see a strange expression on Beast Boy's face. It was like a mix of a smile and a grimace. Raven was enveloped in a black, bird shaped shadow and disappeared from the room, leaving the others behind, dumbstruck.

The roof of Titans Tower was, like the tower attached to it, massive. One person standing on the roof would look like a dot from the air, and today, that dot was Raven. Her pale legs dangled over the edge as she thought about earlier events. I can't believe I said that out loud. What does everyone think now? I didn't even know I felt that way about Beast Boy. What's that?

A small creaking noise sounded from behind Raven, causing her to whip around. Great. The last person I need right now is here.

Beast Boy stepped onto the roof, crossed to Raven, and sat down next to her. There was a prolonged silence, very uncharacteristic of Beast Boy, before one finally spoke. "So, why didn't you tell me?" asked Beast Boy awkwardly.

Raven did not turn. Someone who did not know her well would think that she had not heard them, but Beast Boy was not one of these people. "I don't know what you're talking about," she replied. Again, someone who did not know Raven well would have believed her and explained, but again, Beast Boy was not one of them.

"You know what I mean," he said, no hint of a joke in his voice.

This time, Raven did turn. "Look at us. Do we look like we belong together? We're nothing alike, and I was afraid that, if people knew, they just wouldn't understand. I didn't even understand my feelings until now." She looked down and said to her dangling feet, "I guess I'm jealous of Terra."

"So, you don't really think she's evil," stated Beast Boy, "you're just jealous."

"No," replied Raven, "I do think she's evil. Why won't you believe me?"

Beast Boy, who had shuffled away from Raven a little, replied sullenly, "I, I can't. She's already apologized for it and I know she's not just saying that."

"She may be sorry, but that doesn't mean she won't do something like it again. You don't have to be consciously evil. Sometimes it's just someone's nature, they can't help it." but does that mean I'm evil…?

"I, I'm sorry." said Beast Boy, beginning to stand, "I just can't believe that."

"Wait!" said Raven as he started to walk away. Beast Boy stopped and turned back to Raven. "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this," said the latter regretfully, "but if you can't believe me, I'll have to show you. I'm sorry."

She rose, walked over to him, placed a hand on each of his temples, and concentrated. Beast Boy screamed as images flooded into his head. He saw all the visions Raven had seen earlier, plus new images: himself kneeling before 5 fresh graves and Terra, on the ground with a bloody hole in her stomach. Suddenly, the images stopped, leaving Beast Boy and Raven panting on the floor. "Why did you do that to me?" asked Beast Boy, tears streaming down his face. He rose and ran through the door to the inside, leaving Raven on the roof with a single tear running down her face.

"What was that about?" asked Robin. Beast Boy had just run through the living room, completely ignoring his friends' concerns. "Was it something we said?"

Starfire placed a hand on his shoulder. "I do not think it was us," she said, "he seemed to not even notice us. Maybe it was something mentioned in his conversation with Raven."

"I'll go ask Rae about it," offered Cyborg, starting toward the stairs.

"No," said Terra, stepping in front of him, "I'll go talk to her." She climbed the abundant stairs toward the roof and Raven. She stepped through it and out onto the roof. She walked over to the edge and stood next to Raven, who was floating a foot off the ground meditating. "So," she asked pleasantly, "what happened up here?"

"Nothing," replied Raven dully, not opening her eyes. Terra gave her a small flick in the back of her head.

"What did you say to him?" she asked, more forcefully. When Raven again refused to divulge information, Terra stepped in front of her and punched her in the face. Raven was sent rolling across the roof, and stopped just short of the volleyball net at the center of the roof. She gingerly stood up, not having completely recovered from the draining experience of transferring memories into Beast Boy's head. Terra walked up to her saying, "Do you feel like telling me now?"

"I didn't say anything," repeated Raven. Terra elbowed her in the stomach. Raven knelt on the ground, tried to catch her breath, and couldn't. Finally, she regained her composure and shakily stood.
"Here," said Terra, "this is what you wanted isn't it? A hostile Terra? Well, you got your wish." She punched Raven in the face and a few flecks of blood flew from her mouth. She managed to get to one knee before Terra picked her up and threw her into the heavy metal door. Raven's head collided with the door and she crumpled to the floor.

"I tried to be nice to you," Terra said to Raven's still form, "I tried to like you, but no. I was too much of a threat to your damn ego. I really did try, but I hate you Raven. I hate you." With this, Terra turned and walked inside the tower, leaving an injured and bloodied Raven on the roof.

She descended the stairs and reached the living room. "What's Rae doin'?" asked Cyborg as Terra crossed the room.

"She's thinking," she replied as she reached the staircase.