First and foremost, thank you all so much for the feedback! This is my first fanfiction, and I wasn't expecting it to generate such a response. Okay, I know, I digress. On with Chapter 3 for your enjoyment! Snoogans.
The car pulled into the Denny's parking lot and slowly came to a stop. No sooner had Cyborg put it in park than Beast Boy made a dive for the door, landing hard on Raven's lap. "Move your fat ass, Raven!" he yelled. "I'm starving here! I require nourishment!"
She scowled at him and defiantly lifted her leg, blocking his access to the door. "You can wait," she growled.
He groaned in protest, but Robin turned around, giving him a look that suggested it would be wise to shut up. The other Titans filed out of the car, not wanting to prolong the argument any more. As they made their way to the entrance, they noticed how surprisingly full the parking lot was. Nearly every space available was occupied by a BMW, Porsche, Audi, Jaguar, or other expensive-looking European sports car.
"Jeez, this must be the big hang-out in Palm Springs on Saturday mornings," Cyborg commented, stealing an occasional glance at the shiny metal beauties before him.
"Well, people here sure like to show off their money," Raven added flatly, "and not just with cars." She nodded subtly at a couple climbing into a silver Audi convertible. The man appeared middle-aged, with salt-and-pepper hair and thick-rimmed glasses. He wore a silk shirt and shorts, probably either Gucci or Prada. The young woman with him was platinum blonde with large, European-style glasses. Her tight pink dress hugged her plump breasts and her spiked heels accentuated her tanned legs. If she hadn't locked the man in a passionate kiss just then, she could easily have passed for his daughter.
Robin shook his head. "That's pretty creepy."
"I know," Raven nodded. "He has 'mid-life crisis' written all over him."
"Dude," Beast Boy cut in, "that guy must get so much pussy…"
Meanwhile, Starfire had found friendship in a blue Camero. "Stand back! You are too close to the vehicle!" the alarm sounded in a harsh robotic monotone.
"Friends!" cried Starfire excitedly. "I was unaware that Earth vehicles had the capacity for verbal communication!" She turned back to the car, leaning forward as if talking to a child. "Greetings, Earth vehicle! I am Starfire of Tamaran! Shall we converse together?"
Her hand only gently brushed the surface of the Camero, but that was enough to trigger the alarm. The car's lights flashed wildly as it screeched madly in the parking lot. Starfire gasped and turned to her friends for advice. "I have offended the Earth vehicle?"
Robin tugged at her arm. "Uh, yeah. It's pretty pissed off, so you'd better just leave it alone." He tried to pull her to the door of the restaurant, but she pulled back.
"I feel I should apologize to the vehicle. I did not mean to be rude to it."
Robin sighed. Sometimes she could be very difficult to reason with, and this was one of those times. In his mind he reminded himself that she didn't understand that cars don't have feelings. "Okay, Starfire," he said soothingly, "you should apologize to the car, but I think you should wait until it's stopped flashing and making noise and drawing attention, okay?"
She nodded in agreement. The rest of the Titans sighed with relief, glad that she had finally come to her senses – kind of. They walked into the Denny's and stood in front of the hostess, waiting for her to notice them. She looked up and examined them, not quite knowing how to react. Of course, it wasn't every day that people like them walked into Denny's in Palm Springs, right?
"How many?" she asked quietly. Cyborg held up five large fingers. She instinctively grabbed five menus and nodded for them to follow her. As they snaked between tables and waitresses, the Titans – especially Beast Boy - began to notice that there were almost no women in the entire restaurant. All the tables were occupied by groups of men. Most of the men appeared to be in their twenties and early thirties, wearing tight sleeveless shirts to show off their muscular bodies. A few wore earrings and necklaces, and nearly all of them wore at least one article of white clothing.
The Titans slid into their booth one by one. Robin and Starfire took one side, while Cyborg sat between Raven and Beast Boy, just in case they needed a buffer. They spread open their menus and scanned the pictures. "Remember, guys," Cyborg said proudly, "get whatever you want. Breakfast is on Robin." He winked deviously at the Boy Wonder. "So, I propose eggs, bacon, sausage-"
"Whoa, whoa!" Beast Boy cut him off. "Did you forget that I'm a vegetarian!"
"Actually," Raven said dreamily, "sausage sounds goooooooooooooooooood…" They followed her gaze, which was directly focused on four twenty-something men sitting at a nearby table. All four wore white wifebeaters and white shorts. One of them turned to the Titans' booth and noticed Raven staring at him. She licked her lips flirtatiously back and batted her eyelashes. He gave her a confused look and whispered something to his companions. All four turned to Raven. This time she went straight for the attack. She ran her fingers through her hair, letting itflow gently. Looking directly at them, she began licking her finger and then slid it into her mouth, sucking it seductively. The first guy nodded to Robin and beckoned for him to come over. Confused, Robin scooted out of the booth and walked over the table.
The man who called him over motioned for him to lean in. He whispered to Robin, "Look, could you ask your friend to stop being a pervert and leave us the fuck alone? She's really starting to creep us out."
Robin looked back at Raven and then turned back to the four men. "Listen, she just went through some rough times emotionally, okay? Are you sure you couldn't humor her with just a little harmless flirting?"
One of the other men leaned toward Robin and whispered in a somewhat feminine voice, "I thought the white clothes made it obvious, but I guess not. Thing is, she's not exactly our type."
Robin shrugged. "Raven's a little…different, I guess. But all I'm saying is that it wouldn't hurt you to flirt a little. Just make her feel special, you know?"
"Listen kid," said the first man. "Haven't you ever heard of The White Party?"
"Uhhh…no." Robin looked at them with confusion, trying to figure out what "The White Party" meant and what it had to do with Raven.
The second man rolled his eyes. "Omigod, are you serious? Listen, The White Party is the world's biggest festival for gay men. And me and my compadres here have been coming to Palm Springs for three years for it. And you know what else? Most of the other guys here were on the bus with us from West Hollywood, so your friend should just give up while she's ahead."
Suddenly it all started to make sense to him – why there were no women in the restaurant, why all the men wore white, why they didn't pay any notice to Raven or Starfire. "So…almost every guy is this restaurant is…gay?"
"Like, yeah!" the man answered sarcastically. "Took ya long enough, jeez!"
"Well, uh, sorry to bother you. Have fun." Robin turned to walk back to the booth, wanting to get away from the awkward situation.
Raven sat up, her eyes sparkling with hope. "So, you got all their numbers, right?"
Robin fidgeted, not quite sure how to break it to her nicely. "Uh, not exactly. See…they're…kind of…gay."
Her face turned paler than usual. "Wait," she said in disbelief, "what do you mean 'gay'? Like, as in-"
"As in they don't fuck women!" Beast Boy interrupted. "Damn, Raven, what did you think he meant?"
Cyborg mentally braced himself for what was coming. Starfire clutched Robin's arm protectively, fearing the wraths of both Raven and Beast Boy. She leaned close to him and whispered, "Is the Beast Boy going to kill Raven?"
Robin patted her hand reassuringly. "No, of course not. Actually, she'll probably beat him to it."
Sorry this chapter was so long. I kind of ad-libbed it this morning. That, and I simply couldn't resist making fun of my hometown of Palm Springs! (Yes, all the stuff about rich people and The White Party is true.)
Peace, Love, and All Things Rock,
Terra The Masterful