Disclaimer- I D-o N-o-t O-w-n T-e-e-n T-i-t-a-n-s.
A/N- No fluff, sorry people, that's for the next chapter. We just had to get through this part and then things will get better I promise. Personally this chapter's a bit boring just as a warning. Review and let me know what you think so far!
Review Responses-
Regrem Erutaerc- Hello again! You always seem to pop up in my reviews lol. Although I didn't really have Raven flashback on that morning I gave her a few fond memories of all her teammates. Very brief, but I was finding this chapter a bit tedious so it was a little rushed. The next one will be better most likely. I'm glad you like it though! Thanks for reviewing! You always have great suggestions so I really appreciate it!
lol61188- Glad you liked it! There will be more funny stuff to come I promise. This chapter however doesn't have a lot but the next one will so bear with me! Thanks for reviewing!
AddictiveJon- Thanks for reviewing! Hope you're enjoying it! This next chapters a little blah Just as a warning but it'll get better.
Chapter 3- Happy Birthday
Raven floated softly down to the concrete sidewalk below in the downtown area of Jump City. Before her stood a 5 or 6 story building that looked like it had been built sometime in the 1920s. The windows were dirty and offered no view into the offices inside and bricks of the building were crumbling and brown with decay. The door she stood in front of was made of cracked wood and covered by a chain link material.
Hesitantly she stepped foreword and red the grimy sign posted on the wall. The office of the apartment company was on the 4th floor. There was a small button next to the name Ms. Becker who ran the office and Raven pushed it. After a few moments a voice answered from a speaker to Raven's right.
"This is the Willow Apartment Agencies. Can I help you?" It was the same female nasal voice that Raven had heard on the phone. Feeling a little better now that she knew she was in the right place, Raven pressed down the button and responded.
"Yes this is Raven Roth. I've come here about the apartment we discussed this morning." There was a small pause and the voice answered.
"Oh yes, Ms. Roth I'll let you in. Come on up. I'm on the fourth floor, first door on your right." There was a buzz and the chain link that had covered the door slid back to allow Raven to pass.
Upon entering the office of Ms. Becker, she found it too look not much better than the outside of the building. It was a small cramped place with a single dirty window and a small light on the ceiling that buzzed constantly. Most space in the room was taken up by rows and rows of filing cabinets, which were bursting to capacity. In front of the dirty window was an old desk, leaning to one side, and cluttered with so much paperwork that Raven could barely make out the women behind it all. The lady didn't seem to realize that Raven had arrived so she coughed politely to get her attention.
"Ms. Roth? Oh excuse me I didn't realize you had come in." Some paper work was shoved aside and now Raven could see Ms. Becker. She was a brunette woman around her 40's, but she looked older due to the streaks of gray in her hair which had probably come from living a stressful life. Her face seemed worn away by age and sleepless nights although Raven could have guessed that in her youth she was probably quite attractive. She had a slightly plump figure, but most of it was hidden beneath an large black jacket. Raven walked over to the desk and greeted the woman.
"Well if you'll take a seat I'll get the paperwork ready for you Ms. Roth."
"Please, just call me Raven." She said searching for a chair.
"Yes, oh you can move that stack of papers, there should be a seat under there somewhere." Said the woman gesturing to a heap of files on Raven's right. Raven picked up the stack and dumped it on the floor and was rewarded when stool was revealed. She sat down and it wasn't long before a much less menacing pile of papers was handed to her.
"You'll need to sign on the bottom of every page next to the 'X'. You'll also have to read the terms of agreement which is the last page and sign that. And you need to fill out the form on top. Then we'll go from there." Raven was handed a pen and she immediately began filling out the papers. It was a little awkward answering some of the questions. 'Heritage….hmm… demon and Azarathian seems a little…strong…maybe I could pass for European… Current residence of parents….okay mother deceased….father…er… Arkansas sounds reasonable.' Raven continued to struggle through a few more before Ms. Becker noticed her hesitation.
"Oh don't let those any of those questions make you feel uncomfortable. There simply there for survey and insurance reasons. It doesn't matter if you're the daughter of devil himself, you'd still get the apartment." She said to Raven with a smile. 'How ironic.' Thought Raven dryly.
30 minutes later Raven had read, filled out, and signed just about everything except for the terms of agreement. Now as her eyes settled on the empty line her right hand began to shake. All she had to do was write her name there and she would have the apartment. She could move out of Titans Tower and start her new life as an adult. She would live on her own, get a job, go to college, get a better job, meet new people, even maybe fall in love and get married.
And now all that stood between her and that dream was a signature. She lowered her trembling hand to the page and suddenly got a received a sharp blow from submerging memories. She saw Cyborg, helping him out with his car, and his brotherly affection towards her. Then Starfire, her peppy attitude, her encouraging words, and spending girl time with her. Robin, his constant concern for her, how he pulled her through the rough times with his never failing hope. Then Beastboy, his happy go lucky attitude, the way he cracked jokes to make her laugh, and his support and corny although kind words.
She was leaving it all behind. A sharp pain tore through her heart. Although Raven never told her teammates, they meant the world to her. They were her family, they cared about her in a way that she could never expect from her parents or anybody else. They took her in, became her friends, and taught her to see the good in life, and in herself.
Did she really want to leave them? Did she really want to do this? She tried to imagine breaking the news to them tonight and found her mind blank. Would they congratulate her? Would they be upset, maybe even angry? 'No they couldn't be.' She reasoned. Star and Robin wanted to get married and move on, and so did Cyborg and Bumblebee. They chose to take that path out of the Titans, and she chose this way. But what about Beastboy? She remember her discussion with him last night. It seemed to Raven he had no plan for the future and it worried her. What would he do once everyone had left? Her thoughts were interrupted by a nasal voice.
"Raven? Raven? Honey are you okay?" Raven shook her head and looked up to see Ms. Becker staring at her with a worried expression.
"I'm sorry. Yes I'm fine."
"You've been staring into space for the past 5 minutes. Do you want me to get you a drink? Some water or coffee?" The woman still looked concerned.
"No, no. I'm okay. I was just thinking that's all."
"It's a big step isn't it? Getting your own place." The woman mused resting her head on a hand. Raven watched her, unsure if she wanted to trust this woman.
"I suppose." Her answer was blunt and she hoped Ms. Becker would get the impression she did not want to discuss it.
"You're planning to leave the Titans I take it?" She continued.
"You know who I am?" Asked Raven, feeling slightly exposed and startled. At this Ms. Becker burst out laughing.
"Who you are! Everybody knows who you are dear! In fact you saved my son from a fire a couple years back. Not to mention the outfit gives it away." Raven blushed and looked down at the leotard. 'Brilliant Raven.' She thought. The woman wiped away the tears in her eyes and looked at Raven again.
"Have you finished with the paperwork?" She asked smiling.
"One more signature." Muttered Raven turning back to the paper on her lap. Taking a deep breath Raven brought the pen down and signed before doubt could enter her mind. Then with a forced smile, handed the papers back to the lady who glanced over them before stamping something on the front page.
"Arkansas eh?" She said putting the papers in a file that was identical to the one's surround them. Raven blushed again.
"Well the place is legally yours!" Announced Ms. Becker handing her a small brass key. "You'll need to mail me a payment of $250 sometime over the next week and then the monthly rents starts next month. As you know its $120. I'm printing out a map with the address right now so you can go check it out and I suppose you could move in today if you wanted to. We do offer free moving services if you have any furniture to move, but our guys won't be available till tomorrow morning."
"That's actually better. I want to spend one more night at Titan's Tower, so if they could come in the morning to pick up my things that would be good. They'll need to call in advance so we can open up the tunnel to the island." Said Raven standing up. Ms. Becker nodded and smiled at her while handing her the printout of the map and address.
"I'll let them know. Thank you for your time Raven and feel free to call me if you have any questions." Raven shook her hand and started to walk out of the office. She paused at the doorway however and turned around.
"Actually I do have a question." Said Raven. "How far is Jump City University from the apartment?" Ms. Becker smiled again.
"About 5 miles or so. Not very far at all. Especially for someone who can fly." She winked. Raven thanked her and said her goodbye before exiting the office.
A few moments later Raven was busy flying over the city, a paper in her hand, looking for her new place. She was in the downtown area and spotted the University so she knew she had to be close. Following the map for a couple miles Raven finally spotted it. She floated down onto the sidewalk ignoring the stares of passing people. The apartment was…simple.
It wasn't a beautiful building that would make a person think, "Wow, it would be nice to live there!" and it wasn't exactly an eyesore that would make a person think, "Damn, that's ugly. They should bulldoze that piece of junk." Raven sighed. She hadn't been expecting much for the price and she was right not to. Of course it was hard to judge a place by its outside, so Raven swallowed her small disappointment and pushed open the heavy glass door.
Inside there was hall lined with similar looking cream doors and a flight of steps and an elevator. The stairs where covered with a faded mauve carpeting and the railing was made out of worn wood. Again, it was…simple. Raven looked at the paper again. Her place was on the fourth floor, room number 42. Raven went up using the elevator and when she stepped off came face to face with her door. 'Well at least the elevator's nearby.' She thought, trying to be optimistic.
Taking the key she put it into the lock and turned it so it clicked. Then slowly she swung the door open, hesitant about what she would find. It was too dark to make anything out so Raven flipped a switch and a dim light flooded the room. It was completely bare, which was to be expected. The floor was covered in a dark cream carpet and the walls were a gray color but parts where chipping off to reveal a dark green underneath. The size was…cozy. 'Oh who am I kidding, this is smaller than the room I sleep in and I have to fit a kitchen, living room and dining room in here.' Thought Raven feeling a little worried.
She stepped insides and continued to inspect the place. There were two more rooms leading off from the one she entered. One was a bedroom which was a decent size and the other was a bathroom with a small shower, a sink and a toilet. The main room already had 3 cabinets over in a corner where the kitchen would go and there was a sink too. She would need to buy a fridge and a microwave or oven.
Raven also realized there would be no room for a washing machine so she would have to find a laundry mat somewhere nearby. She was happy to see that there was a door that led outside to a balcony however, even though the view wasn't exactly 'breathtaking'. Raven sighed and attempted to open one of her two windows. When it refused to budge she proceeded to glare at it before sinking down to the floor below. Raven leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes. 'Happy birthday to me' She thought bitterly.
THE CHAPTER CEASES TO CONTINUE HERE
(ok now we're getting a little out of hand)
A/N- (poke) (poke) you can wake up now, it's over. Um, you've got some drool on your lower lip, yup right there. Sorry for this chapter. I could have just summarized it for you I guess-
Raven signs paperwork and find out the apartment is a piece of crap
Tada! I could have saved you all from undergoing such torture. I promise the next chapter will be better, I really really do. It's the 'surprise' party you see. Ok well review and let me know what you think so far.
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