Chapter nine: Wishes
Author's notes: Okay, HERE'S the chapter (most) all of you have been waiting for! The climax of the story! The portion that tells us what the heck just happened in our last installment! The part that hopefully helps me pass the "150" reviews marker! XD I realized that the last few chapters haven't been "humorous" at all. As a matter of fact, they've been downright angsty. -.- Well, the chapter before last was kind of funny, but...besides that, it's been kind of dark. Think I should change the genre to "Romance/General"?
By the way, there is some blood in this chapter, if you're easily turned off by that kind of thing. Don't say I didn't warn you!
---
'Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh,' Beastboy thought worriedly to himself over and over again, pacing in front of a door labeled in bright red words "EMERGENCY ROOM".
After what seemed like forever, Robin and Cyborg poured out of the room, much too fast for Beastboy to get a glimpse of the girl he was so concerned about.
"Is she all right? What happened? Where's Star?" Beastboy blurted, almost too fast to be comprehensible.
Cyborg held up his hands. "Woah, slow down there. Breathe."
Beastboy did as instructed, then looked at the two male titans with a questioning expression.
Robin answered the changeling's face with one of his own. A face of uncertainty. "Beastboy, I'll be honest...we're not sure what exactly is wrong."
Cyborg nodded. "Her pulse is irregular and her breathing is shallow...we would have done some further inspection, but..." A tint of redness spread over both boys' faces.
"Well," Robin stumbled, "I don't think Raven would appreciate us guys inspecting her body. Plus, it's...awkward. We left Starfire to do the job. You know, since she's a girl and practically Raven's adopted sister..."
Beastboy understood. But that didn't remove any of his worries. Thoughts of the night at the hotel had branded themselves into his mind a moment ago, and he couldn't help but wonder if Raven's father had anything to do with these current events.
Beastboy leaned against the wall opposite of the door, his arms folded. Robin and Cyborg stood next to him, almost as anxious.
All three were in deep thought until a faint shriek came from the ER. Robin opened the door quickly to see what was wrong.
"Starfire, what's..." Robin's sentence trailed off and his eyes widened considerably (though you wouldn't be able to tell, what with that mask and all) at the sight before him. "Cyborg, Beastboy...get in here."
Starfire had been inspecting Raven, as she was told. She had torn off portions of the dark Titan's uniform, revealing shiver-inducing severs. All up and down her arms and torso...hence, Starfire's shriek of surprise.
Beastboy and Cyborg entered the room hurriedly, gasping once they were in.
Beastboy approached his crush's side. "Raven, can you hear me?" he asked desperately.
Starfire proceded to bandage her friend's wounds, wincing ever so slightly at the grotesque scene. Raven trembled as the cloth met her skin.
Beastboy scooped up Raven's hand and felt her wrist. Cyborg was right; her pulse WAS irregular.
Beastboy almost felt like crying on the spot. But he didn't want to in front of all of his friends. To them, he was the joker. He was always the one to lighten the mood when times were dark. He earned their love that way, and he didn't want them to see any other side of him. They had already seen enough of his (or so he thought) undesirable characteristics.
Raven murmured softly and made an effort to open her eyes, an effort in which she succeeded. She sat up and looked around the room.
Everyone let out sighs of relief. They all seemed to have been tightly wound.
A wave of guilt swept over Raven.
'They wouldn't be so stressed if it weren't for me,' she thought dejectedly.
"I'm so glad you're okay!" Beastboy exclaimed. He couldn't help but throw his arms around her shoulders.
Starfire smiled cheerily and would have done the same thing, but she didn't want to ruin the moment. She could tell they were enjoying it.
Raven smiled, then whimpered, her body being tender. Beastboy seemed to have just remember this and let go abruptly.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you..." he apologized.
Raven shook it off. "Don't worry."
"How do you feel, friend?" Starfire asked.
"I'm all right. It's nothing to..." Raven looked at her bandaged wounds and realized that they must already know she was anything but all right. She also noticed how bare she appeared and shyly pulled up her sheets. "Okay, so maybe I'm not..."
Robin cocked an eyebrow and asked suspiciously "These wounds aren't fresh. They look about 24 hours old. How long have you known about them?"
Raven moved her mouth as if to say something, but nothing came out. "Ah, the, um..."
Robin folded his arms. "Raven, how did you get these wounds?"
Raven ruffled her eyebrows in anger. "It's none of your business," she huffed.
Robin didn't want to probe any further with her in this condition, so he turned on his heel and left the room, followed by Cyborg.
Starfire glanced at Raven. She could tell that Beastboy wanted a moment alone with the injured girl.
"I will fetch some 'tea of herbals' for Raven. I shall return momentarily," Starfire announced as an excuse to leave the two alone.
Beastboy instantly knew that Starfire was trying to give him an opportunity to say whatever was on his mind to Raven. He jumped at the offer.
"Uh, Raven...I know you don't really want to talk about this, but..." Beastboy scratched the back of his head. "Well...do these injuries have anything to do with what's been going on with your dad?"
Raven seemed startled at his accurate guess. "Yes, it does," she admitted outwardly. "I didn't want to say anything about it to the team and get them all worried, though."
Her eyes were layered with sadness. Beastboy reached for her hand. "I wish you had told us before it came to this. That's a lot of lost blood. I was worried I might have lost you..." His voice cracked near the end of his sentence. The mere thought sickened him.
Raven was surprised at the amount of concern Beastboy was showing. "I'm so sorry...this is all my fault."
Beastboy shook his head. "No, it's not. Don't say things like that. Besides, think of all the stuff we've gone through. When Starfire ran away, we went after her. When Robin fractured his arm, we had his back. When a Beast took over my body..." He shivered at the recollection. "you guys saved me. And when you need help, we're here for you."
Raven was touched by his words. He could tell she was thinking. "That was so sweet."
Beastboy turned red, a strange contrast to his green complexion. Hearing Raven use the word "sweet," especially when she was referring to him, was truly a shock.
Raven blinked fast and reached for her head. Suddenly the room was spinning again.
"Raven, are you all right?" Beastboy asked, noticing that she was looking pale.
Raven couldn't speak; she didn't even attempt to. She fell back onto the bed, swiftly slipping into unconsciousness again.
Beastboy could feel his heart pounding against his ribcage. The first thing he could think of was to fetch the others, when Starfire entered the room.
"Did friend Raven fall asleep?" she questioned sweetly.
Beastboy flailed his arms, panicked. "No! She...!" He couldn't finish his sentence.
Starfire understood, gasped, and darted to get Robin and Cyborg.
---
Beastboy walked down the streets, staring at the sidewalk. "Raven seems to have been pulled into some kind of trance," Cyborg had said. "There was no telling when she'll wake up," Robin had sighed. "Perhaps you should get some fresh air. You've been under a lot of the stress," Starfire had suggested. Their words buzzed around Beastboy's head. He felt horridly depressed. The other Titans didn't want Beastboy around Raven...he could tell they were trying to get rid of him. They didn't want to scare him.
"If I lose Raven..." He didn't finish his threat, however. He merely sighed and kept walking. "I just wish I could do something..."
The youngest Titan mused over going somewhere. But where? He didn't feel like the arcade today, he wasn't hungry...
He stopped walking to think. Looking around the street, Beastboy realized he had just stopped in front of the cafe Raven visited every so often.
The last thing Beastboy wanted to think about was his bedridden crush, but his body went for the door against his will. The lighting inside could have fooled anyone into thinking it was nighttime. The cafe contained were no windows, and only dim ceiling lights every here and there. The people there ranged from rivaling Marilyn Manson in the creepy factor, to normal people, to everything in between.
Beastboy sat on a chair. A young lady with a LOT of eyeshadow and long black hair approached him from behind the counter.
"What can I get for you?" she asked, her monotone matching Raven's. Beastboy noted that her nametag read "Nai". A strange name.
"Uh, just...get me any kind of drink, I guess," he sighed, not really caring what he drank.
She cocked an eyebrow. "Are you legally old enough to drink alcoholic beverages?"
This grabbed Beastboy's attention. "No, but even if I was, I wouldn't be interested." He didn't even know they served that kind of thing at this kind of place.
Nai left for a minute or so and returned with a mug. Beastboy looked at the liquid it contained and sipped it. Herbal tea.
"Just put it on the Teen Titans' tab," he said to reply to her "you-plan-on-paying?" look.
"Had a feeling you were a Titan," she observed. "Either that, or you were an early trick-or-treater."
Beastboy half-smiled and sighed. Everything about that place reminded him of Raven.
Nai leaned on the counter. "Beastboy, right?" He nodded. "Thought so. Haven't seen Raven around here in a while. She's usually a regular. How is she?"
Beastboy cast his eyes down and yet sighed again.
"That good, huh? From what I've heard from her, you're the talkative one. Something got you down?"
Beastboy guessed that Raven talked frequently to this girl, or else she wouldn't. "She's not doing well...Raven, that is. I'm worried."
"She sick?"
"I guess you could say that..."
"Emotionally or physically?"
"Probably both."
"Does it have to do with her father?"
Beastboy jumped. "Jeez, how much did Raven tell you about herself?"
Nai tilted her head side to side. "Eh, I mostly squeezed it out of her. She came here at least once a week. When she first started coming, she would barely say more than two words at a time. So I got curious. Curiosity: a curse that I was born with and can't seem to rid of. I asked her questions every now and then, and for the longest time, she wouldn't give me so much as a glance. Now she'll briskly answer most of my queries. Not all of them, mind you, but it's enough to satiate my curiosity."
Beastboy nodded indicating that he understood.
"So...just out of curiosity..." Nai began to say, twiddling her thumbs. "Are you two...like...an item or something?"
Beastboy spit out his drink in a very cliche manner. "A...an item?" he choked.
"Yeah," Nai wore a bemused expression at his reaction. "She seems to mention you most often, and you seem awfully bunched up about her."
Beastboy screwed up his face. "Any good friend would be worried about her."
Nai raised an eyebrow at him.
"But...I guess I do have feelings for her...it doesn't matter, though. She doesn't feel that way about me."
"Oh?" Nai questioned.
"Yeah...she told me she felt affection for someone else..."
"Did she say 'someone else' or 'someone'?"
Beastboy scratched his chin. "I guess she said 'someone'. What does that matter?"
He saw Nai smile for the first time since he met her. "You're in denial. That's natural."
Beastboy screwed up his face again. Nai seemed to make him do that a lot.
"You should go back to her."
Beastboy nodded and handed her his empty mug.
"Be open. Don't assume things. There's always hope."
Beastboy's ears perked up at the sound of the word "Hope". Suddenly, he had an idea.
"Thanks for the talk and everything. I've got to go," Beastboy hurriedly stood up.
Still leaning on one arm, Nai waved. "Thank you for coming," her monotone and creepy vibes returning.
---
Hope can never really be gone for good. Raven must have lost Hope. It's time for me to find her...
End of chapter nine
Next time, on Finally Snapped...
Beastboy has an idea...he must find Hope to give Raven a will to fight. And what better place to look for a lost emotion than in one's mind...
"The Search," on Finally Snapped. See ya then!
Another author note: Wow, this is probably the fastest I've gotten around to updating ever! -.-; I usually take some time...this chapter didn't come out exactly as I wanted, but...oh well.
---
Review replies:
Regrem Erutaerc: Thank you! It seems he's willing to go the extra mile. :)
teenRAVENtitan: Cliffhangers...mwahaha. My specialty.
babal002u: Thank you so much:) I hope you continue to review!
lovex3spell: Keehee. I love leaving reviewers in suspence.
AnimationWickedRaven: Thanks lots!
OveractiveMind: XD! Oops...I should have put a disclaimer at the start of the story that I'm not responsible for any injuries you sustain reading this fic...(looks around the room)
Tammy Tamborine: I think lavender IS the best way to go. :) Thanks for your input!
Coolcatjas: Heehee. Thanks for your review.
disappearer/Syani: Thank you much!
Teleportal: Arigato!
Papersak: Kyaahaa. Tomodachi-cuteness? I should have put that. Oh well. Short chapters...urgh. Those are evil and they're taking me over. Sky blue is good...I muse over it for a while. I have to decide before next chapter though...0.0
Qzie-of-rain03: Thanks!
moo: Teehee.
Kkori: ;)
warprince2000: Thank you a lot!
Half-Gothic Girl: But of course!
RavenVsDestiny: Mwahahaha! Fear me.
nightmare car: Thank you sooo much!
The Mad Shoe: Domo. :)
Wow, that's a lot of review replies...thanks to everyone who reviews! Meh to anyone who reads and does not review! ;P