A/N: I do not own the Teen Titans. Trust me, you'd know if I did.
Chapter 4: Acting Strange
The next morning Raven awoke and felt much better. She actually smiled as she sat up. Her body felt refreshed and well rested. She slid out from under her covers and got up to stretch. The sun was very bright and warmed her skin. As she stretched she noticed how loose her clothes were. It was then that she realized that she wasn't in her usual uniform. She was in a pair of sweatpants and a tee-shirt. She hadn't remembered putting this on. She suddenly felt horribly embarrassed at the thought of the other Titans seeing her in this. Not only that, but Cyborg had carried her and Beast Boy had sat next to her on her bed. A few of the books on her shelf flew onto the ground. She took a deep breath in and calmed herself down.
She went to her closet and grabbed a clean uniform. She slipped it on, but it was too big. She knew she would just look foolish if she went out into the common room in a baggy leotard. She groaned to herself. She didn't have a choice but to wear the sweatpants and tee-shirt.
She looked at herself in the mirror and saw how nasty her hair looked. She realized that she hadn't taken a proper shower in over a week. Her stomach was growling and she was in pain from it, but she knew that she had to bathe first. She grabbed some clean undergarments and made her way to the shower.
Beast Boy awoke and felt normal, for the first time in over a week. He crawled out of his bed and stretched. It felt nice to wake up at home. He grabbed some clothes off the floor and threw them on. They were cool from lying on the floor and made him feel even more awake.
As he walked down the hall he could hear the shower running. He was getting closer to the bathroom door and he had a sixth sense about who was in there. He heard the water being turned off and someone flipping their wet hair back and forth. His suspicions were confirmed when he heard a familiar, gravely voice say, "Shit!" He paused at the sound of this and stood right outside the bathroom door. "Can I get some help?" he heard her call.
"Are you okay," he said a little too quickly, but he was nervous that she was in trouble.
"Beast Boy?" she asked, a little startled by his quick response.
"Uh, yeah," he said, realizing he must have sounded like he was stalking her outside of the bathroom door.
"Can you do me a favor?" she asked a little hesitantly.
"Sure, anything," he said feeling embarrassed about how he must have sounded, and he covered his eyes with his hand naturally.
"I forgot to grab towels," she said very annoyed, but she wasn't annoyed with him. She sounded aggravated with herself. "Could you get me some from the closet?"
For a moment Beast Boy's mind suddenly realized that just on the other side of the door Raven was standing naked. He quickly slapped himself mentally for thinking of such a thing and answered her. "Uh, yeah, just hold on a sec." He ran over to the linen closet and grabbed some towels. He ran back and knocked on the door. "Here ya go."
The door opened a few inches Beast Boy pushed his arm through with the towels. She grabbed them and as she did the side of her wet hand brushed his dry one. A strange feeling welled in his stomach and he felt the blood rush into his cheeks. He quickly pulled his arm out of the moist, warm bathroom. Before closing the door Raven said a quick, "Thank you."
"Anytime," he said in an odd tone. As he walked down to the common room he felt so stupid. He must have sounded so creepy. He sighed and entered through the door leading to the common room.
Cyborg was whistling as he made a large breakfast. He was a big guy and he always had a big appetite. Robin was sitting at that table reading the paper and had a cup of coffee in front of him. He could never start his day until he new what was going on in current events and had a good cup of caffeine in his system. Starfire was at the counter with the orange juicer in front of her. It was the one cooking job the Titans trusted her with, as long as she only used oranges. It took her a while to realizing that orange juice was made of oranges and only oranges, not everything that was the color orange or even yellow.
"Good mornin BB," said Cyborg with a smile as he flipped a dozen pancakes onto a plate.
"Hey," Beast Boy managed to say as he made his way to the table.
"Friend Beast Boy, how are you feeling this morning?" asked Starfire as she poured the juice she had just made into a pitcher.
"Okay," he simply said.
"You sure?" asked Robin who could sense that something was a little… off with him. "You sound kind of down."
"No, I'm just getting used to being home," he said with a smile. He realized that he must have looked a little low and that he had better perk up before they asked more questions.
Cyborg placed all the breakfast foods he had made onto the table and sat down with a large, hungry grin on his face and in his eyes. Starfire poured them all a glass of fresh juice and then sat down herself.
"Will Raven not be joining us this morning?" asked Starfire.
"She's just getting out of the shower," said Beast Boy serving himself. "I'm sure she'll be here soon."
"And how would you know that she was gettin outta the shower?" asked Cyborg cocking an eyebrow.
Beast Boy thought quickly. "Someone was turning the shower off when I passed by the bathroom and the three of you are in here," he said in a "duh" voice. "So obviously she was in the shower."
"Well, someone's starting to feel better," said Cyborg a little surprised by Beast Boy's tone.
Raven entered, her hair still wet but combed straight. She blushed at the fact that she was still in those sweatpants and tee-shirt. She walked over to the table and sat down. As embarrassed as she was, she was starving.
"A morning of goodness I wish to you, Raven," said Starfire with a large smile. "Are you feeling well?"
"Yes, thank you," said Raven serving herself quickly. She began to eat ravenously, something the others had never seen her do before.
"Hungry?" asked Robin very surprised by her appetite.
"Very," said Raven sighing as she swallowed.
Beast Boy watched her eat out of the corner of his eye. She looked calm as she ate, even though she was eating as if she would never eat again. He noticed how graceful she was with her fork and knife, as if she knew some secret table manner dance. She looked so elegant. He had to admit that he had never really seen her eat before. She kept to her tea and a few snacks during the day. He figured that she wasn't a "meal" person. By this point he was no longer looking at her out of the corner of his eye, he was looking right at her. This did not go unnoticed by the other Titans and soon Raven caught on as well.
"You okay?" she asked after a few awkward moments of her staring back at him, with him not noticing.
He snapped out of his stare and looked around the table. The other three were looking at him as queerly as Raven was. He felt himself blush and he knew he had to get out of there. "Well, I'm done," he said with a quick nervous smile and got up so fast his chair nearly fell over. The others watched silently as he ran out of the room.
"Jeez, what's up with him?" asked Cyborg.
"He is acting strange, yes?" said Starfire.
"I'll say," said Robin.
"And why was he starin at you like that?" asked Cyborg looking at Raven.
"How should I know?" said Raven shrugging and eating another piece of her pancake.
Beast Boy went to his room and locked the door. He felt as if he was hyperventilating. A million things were rushing through his head. He began to pace back and forth in his room.
"Dude! What the hell is wrong with you?" he asked himself. "Staring at Raven? While she's eating! Why the hell would you do that? Now they all think you're insane." He collapsed on his bed and covered his face with his hands. He gave himself a few moments to calm down. "I know why I was staring at her. Because I nearly killed her. I almost ended her life. That's not guilt that can go away easily."
He hated thinking about mortality, but he had thought about it more often than he would have wanted to. Unfortunately, death was something that had appeared in his life numerous times. Now he thought about how close he was to having another person close to him die. He couldn't even think about what he would have done had she died. How could he live without her sarcasm? Her emotionless face. Her constant annoyed groans. Well, maybe he could live without those things. But then he thought about the things he would actually miss. Those few, once in a blue moon, moments when she smiled. Her willingness to always listen when he had a problem. The wisdom that seemed to pour from her soul. She was a one in million. No, one in a billion. Actually, the truth was that there really was no one else like her.
Suddenly the room felt like it was closing in on him. He had to get out of there, to clear his mind. He quickly got off his bed and exited his room. As he quickly walked down the hall he saw Starfire walking towards him.
"Hello Beast Boy," she said sweetly. "Would you like to…"
"Sorry, Star, I need to go out for a sec," he said passing her by.
"Oh, okay," she said a little confused and flustered by how fast he was walking by her.
He exited the tower and went to the one spot he always went to think. He sat on a boulder that rested right on the water's edge. He only came here when he really needed to think things over. It was his spot. He skipped a few stones and took a few deep breaths of the cool air in. It had been a nice morning, but had quickly turned to overcast and a bit cool. And now there was a cold mist floating around, as if it wanted to rain but couldn't pull itself to do it. He slowly breathed out and watch the hot air float out over the sea like a cloud.