Okay, I'm back. Sorry it took SO LONG for me to update, but like I said before, I've been busy. I took the SATs yesterday... that's 5 hours of my life that I'll never get back. All that I really have to say about that is 'ew'. But I found some time today to write, so here's the next chapter. It's a little bit longer than my others, but not much.

Anyway, here's chapter 13. Enjoy!

"We have returned!"

Starfire burst through the door into the living room, acknowledging the three boys that were present. Robin glanced up from his newspaper and Cyborg and Beast Boy paused their game to look over at the entrance, where Starfire was bouncing around, shopping bags in-hand, and where Raven had just now entered looking exhausted.

"Did you get the new clothes you wanted?" Cyborg asked, already knowing the answer after seeing all of the redhead's bags.

"Oh yes! Raven and I went to several stores, trying on things for hours! It was most enjoyable."

Without speaking, Raven walked over to the couch and let out a deep sigh before sitting down next to Beast Boy, closing her eyes and leaning her head against the back cushion.

Beast Boy quickly looked at Starfire, who was now emptying her bags to show everyone what she had bought, and turned back to face Raven. He leaned in a bit and whispered, "Something tells me you weren't too excited about being there for hours."

She opened her eyes and looked back at him sarcastically. "How could you tell?"

He laughed lightly at her tone, and then responded, "I'm psychic."

Beast Boy turned around to see what Starfire was showing them now, but then thought for a moment and turned back to Raven. "You're not the type who likes to be in crowded public places for that long."

"So?"

"Why didn't you just ask Starfire if you guys could leave early? She would have been fine with that, you know Star."

"I owed her a favor, so I kept all sarcastic and negative remarks to myself."

Beast Boy raised an eyebrow and gave his friend an 'I-don't-believe-that-for-a-second' look.

Raven rolled her eyes and sighed. "Okay, fine. I may have let a few sarcastic comments slip, but other than that I was almost pleasant."

"Wow, it must have been one heck of a favor that you owed her if you tried to act pleasant."

Raven narrowed her eyes in a threatening way, causing Beast Boy to laugh nervously and scoot a few more inches away from her. "Sorry, you're tired, so you're probably not up for any of my jokes, huh?"

"Beast Boy, I'm never in the mood to hear your 'jokes.'"

"Is this not the most beautiful dress you have ever seen?" Starfire yelled from the center of the room, causing everyone to turn toward her. She was holding up a long, fancy red dress and was spinning around. From what her friends were able to see of the dress while the Tamaranian girl was twirling, it had a strap that went behind the neck and was about floor-length. It was a dress that you might see someone wear to a prom, and it seemed like it would be very flattering on Starfire, hugging her figure nicely.

Everyone got up from where they had been sitting before and walked over to get a better look at the dress, with the exception of Raven, who merely got up and leaned against the backside of the sofa a good few yards away, keeping a safe distance between her and the awed onlookers.

Robin was the first person to say anything, since he was the only one who had been paying attention to Starfire's ranting, due to the fact that she had gotten to him first and dragged him over to her pile of new clothes. "That's… really pretty Starfire."

"Wow, it's nice." Cyborg said, picking up some of the fabric and looking at it closely.

"Yeah, Star. But where are you gonna wear it?" Beast Boy asked, now looking at the overjoyed girl in front of him.

"I do not know yet, but I thought that I should have a nice dress in the event that we go somewhere fancy."

Robin looked up from her many bags and boxes on the floor. There were just so many. "That's probably a good idea. You never know when something's gonna come up. Better to be on the safe side."

"So Raven, where's your dress?" Beast Boy asked with a smirk on his face, trying to imagine Raven actually going through the process of trying on and buying a dress. "You want to be on the safe side too, don't you?"

She looked at him, obviously irritated, but to his surprise made no attempt at a threat or insult.

"Oh, Raven's dress is right here." Starfire said, handing a shocked Cyborg her own dress while leaning down to find the box she was looking for.

"What?" Beast Boy turned and just looked at Raven with his mouth open, waiting for her to say something contrary to what Starfire had just said, but her arms were folded across her chest and she seemed to be glaring at a spot on the rug over to her left.

"Here it is!" Starfire exclaimed, opening the box and pulling out a deep blue dress very similar to her own. "It is the same style as mine, but we decided to get different colors. I believe that the blue is most flattering on Raven."

"Wait, hold on a second." Beast Boy said, expecting someone to jump out and tell him that he was on some sort of hidden camera show. "You're telling me that Raven, as in that girl right there," he said pointing to her, "bought a dress while shopping with you?"

Cyborg and Robin were both standing there speechless, but turned their heads from one person to the next waiting for an explanation. They were glancing back and forth between Starfire and Beast Boy to hear what they had to say, occasionally looking over to Raven in disbelief.

"Um… yes?" replied Starfire, starting to feel awkward now, seeing all of the bewildered looks from her friends.

"But-… But-…"

"Let it go Beast Boy, before your head explodes," said Raven as she quietly stood up and walked passed the other Titans. Suddenly the blue dress that Starfire was holding and the box that was lying on the floor were surrounded in black and lifted into the air, following Raven out of the room. Before the door closed, the others were able to hear her add, "Thanks Starfire."

With the swooshing sound of the door, the room fell entirely silent for several seconds, no one sure what to say.

"Dude, that favor must have been HUGE if you got her to not only try on dresses, but to buy one too!"

Starfire just looked at her green friend.

"What favor?"

Beast Boy turned toward Robin, who had asked the question. "Uh, Raven told me that she owed Star a favor, and that she repaid her today."

"Wow," said Cyborg, "BB's right, it must have been a pretty big favor."

"Why did she owe you a favor?" Robin asked, now addressing Starfire.

She looked like she was caught off guard with the question, and didn't know how to answer it.

"Um…" She hesitated, trying to think of a good excuse. "Oh yes. I have been assisting Raven whenever it has been her turn to do the chores, so as repayment, she went with me to the mall today for shopping." Robin raised an eyebrow, but before he was able to speak, she added, "She is not very good with the cleaning, so she asked for my help. But she did not want to bother anyone else."

"I've never noticed her having problems with the chores before."

Cyborg thought for a moment, then decided to give his opinion on the situation. "I'll bet that she just didn't want to have to do all the work by herself. I mean, the chores can take awhile to do, and Raven does get impatient sometimes."

"Oh man! So Raven's actually really lazy… We've figured out one of her dark secrets," said Beast Boy, rubbing his hands together with an evil look on his face. "Can you say, 'blackmail?'"

"Funny, I seem to recall a certain green Titan, who will remain nameless, that always tries to trick everyone else into believing that it's their turn to do the chores, just because he's too lazy to do them himself."

Beast Boy looked at Cyborg and forced a laugh. "Can I help it if I have trouble remembering when it's my turn?"

"Uh-huh. Yet you never forget when it's time for one of your shows to be on."

Starfire watched her friends' conversation, but then decided that it was a good time for her to leave. If the others were talking about Raven's odd behavior, it was best if she wasn't there. She might accidentally let something slip. "I am going to go and put all of my new belongings in my room now." Everyone watched as she somehow managed to pick up all of the bags and packages from the floor, with her red dress lying on top of everything. As she walked up the few steps to the door, she turned around and added, "I will see you all shortly for dinner."

Cyborg turned away from the door, and was now facing the other two boys again. "It's a good thing Starfire has that super strength, otherwise it would have taken her forever to take all of her stuff to her room."

"With her enthusiasm and excitement, I'll bet she could have carried everything in one trip even if she didn't have all that strength. You know how much Starfire likes new clothes," said Robin, still glancing at the door.

There was another moment of silence, when was ended with a sudden laugh from Beast Boy. "Oh man, Robin! You have to have the Titans make an appearance at a dinner party or something, just so that Raven has to wear that dress! The look on her face would be priceless!"

"You mean the look that she would give me right before she murdered me? I don't think so, BB."

"Yeah… you're probably right. She'd kill everyone in the city before she showed up wearing a dress. It was worth a try, though."

Cyborg left his two friends in the living room and walked into the kitchen area. "Okay, so what do ya'll want for dinner?"

So what did you think? It's not too action-packed or anything special, so again, my apologies. I'll post the next chapter as soon as I find time, but again, it could be a little while. I'm so busy right now that I don't even have time to celebrate my birthday this week... I have to wait until the weekend. Isn't that terrible?

Anyway, thanks for reading, and reviewing (:cough:hint:cough:)