Chapter 2

Raven walked into her room, closing the door behind her. She had just left the common room, where Beast Boy was excitedly explaining their plan for getting the Titans East a big basket of baked goods for Christmas. Raven had decided that she had been social enough for one day and retreated to her room.

She looked around her room, a habit she had acquired since Beast Boy had snuck into her room and been sucked into her meditation mirror. Everything was in its place, and nothing seemed to be missing. As Raven's eyes fell on her bed though, she stopped. She walked over to her bed and picked up a messily wrapped box, with a note attached.

She opened the plain white envelope and read the note.

Raven,

First, I just want to say that I know I shouldn't have gone into your room, but I didn't touch anything.

Okay, I don't know how to say this, so I'll just spit it out… for the next twelve days leading up to Christmas I'm going to leave you presents! They probably won't all cost a lot… it adds up, after all, but it's the thought that counts, right?

Today is the first day of Christmas. Since I couldn't get you a partridge in a pear tree, I figured this would work.

-Your secret admirer.

PS. I would really appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone about this. It's kind of embarrassing, even if no one knows who I am.

Raven allowed a small smile to cross her face. She had a secret admirer. Of course, she knew who it was, so 'secret' was a term being used loosely. It was Beast Boy.

He had changed his writing a bit, but not much, and he had written in pencil. Being a lefty, his hand had lightly smudged the letters. How Raven knew Beast Boy wrote with his left hand was beyond even her.

Gingerly picking up the small box, she ripped the wrapping paper and crumpled it in her hand. Under the wrapping paper was a plain white box that fit nicely into the palm of her hand. She opened the white box in her hand and smiled at the gift inside. A small ornament sat in it. It was a pine cone painted green to look like a Christmas tree, decorated with fake snow and using beads for Christmas balls. She could still see some strings of glue from the hot glue gun he had used, but she decided that it was still nice.

What did it mean? Did he like her? Was it just a friendly gesture? Raven wasn't sure what she thought of it, but she decided that she couldn't let him give her anymore gifts. If she let him, he might begin to get the wrong idea, and that would be like leading him on.

Placing the ornament on her bedside table, she lay down on her bed and closed her eyes.

-

Raven woke up the next morning with thoughts of Christmas presents. More specifically, the Christmas presents she still had to get her friends.

Raven thought back to the other day. She had given away all her friends' presents. The porcelain doll she had bought for Starfire, the cashmere scarf she chosen for Robin, the model car she had bought Cyborg, and the ridiculously expensive stuffed gorilla she had chosen for Beast Boy.

She didn't regret giving them to the people living in the alley, but now she had to redo all her Christmas shopping. Oh well, better to do it now than a couple days before Christmas, right?

Stretching, Raven rolled out of bed and walked over to her closet. As she padded across her room, she noticed how cold her feet and nose were. That was her least favorite part of winter: the cold.

She opened the door of her closet and shuffled through the clothing. She didn't feel comfortable in normal clothes, but with the snow it was a bit too cold to wear her usual leotard and cloak. After a while of staring at her clothes and hoping an outfit would jump out for her, she chose a black turtle neck and a pair of dark blue jeans. She pulled out a pair of thick wool socks and put them on immediately, warming her cold feet.

After changing and brushing her teeth, Raven made her way to the kitchen. Only Robin and Cyborg were up. Robin was reading the newspaper while sipping coffee and Cyborg was looking through the sports sectionand chomping on a large blueberry muffin.

Raven made herself a steaming cup of tea and sat down at the table. She glanced at Robin and smirked. He was also wearing normal clothing because of the cold, but his mask remained firmly in its place. Raven knew that the Boy Wonder never took his mask off. She had doubts if he even took it off when he showered.

Raven opened the book she had carried from her room. It was a nice thick book with small print and long words. Opening to her bookmark, Raven began to read.

Starfire came in shortly after, and sat down next to Robin with a bowl of mustard-covered cereal. An hour later, Beast Boy stumbled in, yawning.

"Morning," he greeted, lazily opening the fridge. The others returned his greeting as he pulled out a bowl of fruit salad. "So, what are you doing today?" he asked no one in particular.

"I need to do my shopping," Raven replied, flipping a page in her book. Beast Boy smiled knowingly, and she pretended not to notice.

"I too have the shopping to do," added Starfire. "Would you like to go to the mall of shopping with me, Raven?"

"I prefer to go window shopping downtown," Raven replied, flipping another page. Starfire frowned slightly; she prefered going to the mall, with its warm store and bright displays.

"I'll go with you Star," said Robin, putting his newspaper down to look at the alien girl, who smiled brightly.

"Y'all are so unprepared. I did all my shopping ages ago," bragged Cyborg from the couch, where he had gone to sit after he finished reading the sports. Raven rolled her eyes.

"I'll go shopping with you Raven," offered Beast Boy, excited already.

Raven didn't say anything; instead she just nodded her head to show she had heard. She didn't really care if he went with her or not.

Everyone finished their breakfast and headed to the door, although Cyborg stayed where he was. Raven pulled on a spare jacket and warm boots, and waited for Beast Boy to finish getting his own outdoor clothing on. Once he was completely bundled up they walked outside.

Starfire and Robin had already left on Robin's R-cycle. Raven and Beast Boy walked to the edge of the water. Effortlessly, Raven lifted into the air. She turned around and watched as Beast Boy jumped into the air and shifted into a bird. Once he was flying next to her, she turned and they flew towards the bright city.

They landed downtown in front of a toy store. The display window was brightly decorated with a display of a model train traveling in a circle around a large pile of toys. Beast Boy pressed his face against the glass, watching the train pass through a fake snow covered tunnel.

As Beast Boy watched the train display, Raven watched Beast Boy. He seemed unfazed by the quickly fogging glass as he watched the shiny red engine. A little boy soon joined Beast Boy, gazing at the train. Beast Boy's grin grew larger when a small puff of steam escaped the engine. Raven felt a giggle rise as she watched the seventeen year old boy gaze at the same toy with the same excited expression as the seven year old next to him. She suppressed the giggle, but allowed a Mona Lisa smile to grace her features.

After a while, Beast Boy seemed to remember that he was supposed to be shopping with Raven, and he pried himself away from the window.

"Why don't we go in here? I'm sure there are stuffed animals or something that Starfire would like," he suggested, pointedly not mentioning how he had been watching the toy train in the display only five seconds ago.

Raven nodded her agreement and they walked into the store. It was slightly crowded with customers and excited children showing their parents what they wanted from Santa that year. A few employees made their way through the crowd, marked by nametags and bright red Santa hats.

They wove their way through the many people until they reached the rows of shelves with dolls and stuffed animals. Dozens of glass eyes looked at them as they walked down the aisles. After a while of browsing, Raven stopped and picked up a doll. It was perfect. With vibrant red hair and bright green eyes, the doll looked like Starfire with pale skin. The doll's dress was a light purple satin gown with an orange sash and orange detailing around the sleeves and hem.

"I haven't found anything for Starfire," commented Beast Boy, walking over. "Hey! That doll looks just like Star!" he exclaimed, pointing at the doll in Raven's hands.

"Yeah, I think I'm going to get it for Robin," replied Raven, looking at the price tag. Beast Boy laughed.

"Awesome! Didn't know you had it in you, Raven," giggled Beast Boy as they walked over to the till. The crowd in the store had dwindled down a bit, and there wasn't a very long line, so they were able to quickly pay for the doll and leave.

After they left the toy store, they continued their trek down the snowy streets of downtown Jump City. As they waked, Raven's mind drifted.

A group of young teenagers, probably just passed their pre-teens, was walking down the street in front of them. They were laughing loudly and carrying numerous bags of gifts for their many friends and their families. Raven wondered what they were thinking. Did they know that Christmas was getting too materialistic? Did they even care? Did they know any better? Raven wondered vaguely why shewould beso consious about it all, when she was just over three years older than them. Surely if she realized it, they did too.

The group of teens turnedand disappeared into a small store, causing Raven to turn her thoughts away from them.

"Why don't we go in here?" suggested Beast Boy,catching her attention by placing a hand on her arm. She shook his hand off and looked at the store he was pointing at. It was alarge department store. She nodded and they walked throughthe spinning doors into the gaudily decorated store.

While Raven found the store much to decorated to be anything but cluttered and try-hard, she had to admit it was a good place to look for gifts. With so many different sections of items, it would be easy enough to find all the gifts they needed for their very different friends.

Beast Boy found a car waxing kit for Cyborg, and a pair of boxing gloves (Robin really wasn't a boxer, but he had always wanted to learn), but couldn't find anything for Starfire. Raven found a pretty silk bathrobe and slippers for Starfire, but wasn't sure what to get Cyborg.

"I can't find anything," groaned Beast Boy as they walked out of the department store. "And my arms are going to fall off carrying all this stuff."

"You only have one bag," pointed out Raven.

"Yeah, but this car waxing kit is heavier than it looks," insisted Beast Boy. Raven rolled her eyes, knowing that the kit didn't weigh more than two ounces for easy travel use,and looked at her watch.

"It's almost noon. Do you want to stop for some lunch?"

"Yeah, sure. I know a good place," agreed Beast Boy. Suddenly Raven was jerked to the side as Beast Boy grabbed her elbow and pulled her into a small restaurant. Raven glared at him, but he ignored it.

They ate quickly and shopped for a couple more hours in a comfortable silence, only speaking when they needed to, or when Beast Boy felt the need to tell Raven one of his annoying jokes.

After a while of window shopping, it had started to snow pretty hard, and they couldn't find any more presents, so they decided to give up for the day.

At the tower, Raven went straight to her room. She closed her door and smirked triumphantly. There was no way Beast Boy could have left a gift for her today. He had been with her the whole time and even he wouldn't risk leaving a gift while she was in her room. She turned around from closing her door, and her triumphant smirk changed to a look of annoyance. There on the bed, was another gift.

She walked over and sat down on her bed. The present was wrapped in the same wrapping paper, green with cartoon reindeer on it, and was as badly wrapped as the other one. She opened the new note and read it.

Raven,

I was watching the weather forecast and I decided that you might want these.

-Your secret admirer

The note was short, but to the point. Raven put the small slip of paper down and picked up the new gift. This one was wrapped, but not around a box. It was more like a bundle. She tore off the wrapping paper, and found a dark purple, knitted scarf and a pair of matching mittens. Examining the scarf, she could see that the loops of yarn on one end were slightly loose, like the knitter was just getting the hang of it. Further down the scarf though, they were tighter and the knitter had obviously gotten use to knitting- or crocheting, she wasn't sure which.

Raven sighed. When had he gotten it into her room? She thought back and realized that he had probably stopped in her room in the morning, while she was in the kitchen. She would really need to get a better lock.

She looked out her window and watched as the snow fell down heavily. There was already at least four inches covering the ground. He was right, she probably would need them if the snow kept falling. She hated how right he was, but smiled lightly as she folded the mittens and scarf and placed the bundle at the end of her bed. He was being pretty thoughtful.

Raven sat back in her bed and frowned. She still wasn't sure what he meant by all the gifts. She had spent the day with him and he hadn't acted any differently than usual. So, they were probablyjust friendly gestures. She furrowed her brow. If that was true, it brought up the question of why. Why give her presents for all twelve days of Christmas? He obviously wasn't giving anyone else twelve gifts, or he wouldn't have asked her not to tell anyone else in the first letter. So, then were the gifts his way of showing her that he cared for her? That brought her back to the fact that he hadn't treated her any differently.

Raven let her head fall back onto her pillow. She realized, begrudgingly, that she wouldn't be able to find a reason tonight. Her thoughts just kept running in circles. She could always figure it out tomorrow. Without bothering to change, Raven crawled under her covers and went to sleep.

Here it is, the second chapter. This is where the story really starts. The next chapters will be full of wintery/x-masy activities and Raven's twelve gifts. I'd like to say thank you to everyone who reviewed, I was absolutely flabbergasted at how many reviews I got for the one chapter. I hope this chapter was acceptable, and I'll see you again tomorrow.

Tammy Tamborine