Chapter Three
Disclaimer: Still don't own em. (If you don't know who I'm talking about you're a retard)
(Titans Tower)
Raven sighed as she finished off yet another sketch. The eyes were still messed up; no emotion was to be seen. They were hollow. She folded the drawing into a paper airplane then let it fly across the common room. It joined a pile of about twenty other attempted sketches that had gathered at the far side of the couch. She yawned and started over. Just one more…
"What'cha doing Rae?" a voice said in her ear. Raven's heart leapt into her throat and she turned around, breathless. That voice! It had interrupted her meditation or reading so many times she would know it anywhere. Behind her she could see Gar in his old Titan's uniform. His silver smile plastered across his face. He walked over and picked up one drawing. His green eyes studied it and Raven waited for him to say something. But instead his image wavered and slowly evaporated into thin air.
Raven sat up quickly. Her art pad had fallen on the floor along with her pencil. She sighed and held her face in one hand
"It… it was only a dream." she whispered to herself. Tears sprang to her eyes. She cursed in Azarathian and threw a pillow across the room with her powers.
Behind her the doors opened and Starfire stepped in as Raven sat back down on the sofa hiding her face in her hands
"Raven? Are you alright?" she asked floating over to her friend. The demon girl looked up and wiped her watery eyes quickly
"Ya, I'm fine Star. I was just thinking." the alien princess did not look convinced in the least but nodded and glanced at the pile of paper. Drawing had been Raven's new hobby for the past year
"Would you like me to throw away the rejections of drawings you have made?" Raven looked up again and took a moment to process the question
"Uh, no Star. I'm going to keep a few of them. I'll throw them out myself." Starfire smiled and floated over to sit next to her friend
"Raven, perhaps you would like to do the party of slumber with Jinx and I. We would be staying in Jinx's room as mine is too pink." Raven hid a smile and shrugged slightly
"I guess… ya. Ya, that'd be nice." Starfire smiled and clapped her hands in delight. Before she could start ranting though Robin walked in stretching his arms. Instantly the alien girl clammed up and grabbed Raven's pale hand
"Come, let us go prepare!"
"Starfire!" Raven protested in vain. The alien girl dragged her through the doors leaving a confused and clueless Boy Wonder.
That night Raven levitated some blankets behind her as she walked to Jinx's room. Cyborg was walking the same way and stopped her
"What are you doing exactly?" he asked when Raven acknowledged him with a glance. The girl sighed and gestured to her black pajamas
"Starfire decided that we were going to have a sleepover in Jinx's room. I'm attending only because… never mind." Cyborg smiled slightly and patted her head
"Well just to let you know Jinx really wants to be your friend." Raven nodded then a small smirk crossed her face as Cyborg started down the hall, his back to her own
"And she really wants to be your girlfriend." when the android teenager turned around the girl was gone from sight.
Raven chuckled to herself then knocked on Jinx's door. It slid open and Raven was instantly assaulted by the smells of lavender and lilac. She put her blankets and pillow on the floor then looked around for Jinx. The pink haired sorceress was in her closet, Raven found out because she stepped out of the large walk in area
"Oh hey Raven! Just put your stuff anywhere. I'll be right back." the girl hurried out of the room leaving Raven standing in the middle of the floor.
Jinx's room was black and purple. The walls were a deep shade of purple and black wall hangings were suspended from the corners and along the walls. Yet despite the dark colors the room was brightly lit by several hanging lanterns. The lavender and lilac smells were from a collection of candles by the window, which took up half a wall
"Do you just love it!" Jinx exclaimed walking back in balancing bowls, snacks and drinks in her arms. Raven nodded and helped her open the bags of food and put it in the bowls
"I like it. Dark yet light. Very nice." Jinx smiled happily and started mixing the sacks together. Raven took a bottled water and opened it
"Where's Starfire? I thought she'd be here by now." Jinx shrugged and looked just as confused as Raven was
"I dunno. I haven't seen her all day. Should we go check up on her?" Raven frowned then nodded. It wasn't like Starfire to disappear when she had plans.
The two girls walked down the hall and finally came to the alien girl's door. Jinx knocked then placed her ear to the door
"Star? You in here? It's me and Raven, are you coming to the party?" she called. Raven frowned and made a swift hand gesture. The door was engulfed in black energy and slid open.
Starfire was face down on her bed, her shoulders were shaking violently and she was hugging the pillow that her head was resting on
"Star? What's the matter?" Raven asked pulling down her hood. Concern for her friend was etched into her pale features. The girl looked up. Her face was blotchy and red from crying and tears were still making little trails down her face. Her green eyes trembled as she looked at her friends
"Oh friends! I apologize! I must have lost track of time. Please give me a moment and I will change and then we-."
"Star, what's wrong? Why were you crying?" Jinx asked cutting her off. Starfire's gaze turned to her blankets. After a minute of silence Raven touched both their shoulders
"How about we all go to Jinx's room and we can talk." Starfire nodded reluctantly and the two left her alone to change.
The silence in Jinx's room was awkward. Starfire kept sniffling, Raven was staring into space and Jinx was glancing from one girl to the other
"Okay someone say some thing! I'm getting freaked out here!" this earned a small laugh from Starfire and a smirk from Raven
"Okay, Star. What was the matter? Why were you crying?" Raven asked gently. The girl's smile faded and she looked down at her pink nails
"I… was talking with Robin and we exchanged angry words. I asked him why he kicked Gar out when he let Jinx who was a former thief join so readily." she glanced at Jinx "I mean you no offence though friend Jinx." the girl waved a hand
"None taken."
"What'd he say Star?" Raven asked quietly. Starfire's eyes brimmed with fresh tears and she looked at the ground before answering her friend's question
"He said… that the team… the team was better off with Jinx… with Jinx as a member than with Gar." Raven's blood boiled as anger flowed through her veins
"He said that!" she yelled. The other two girls looked at her and she calmed her temper. Starfire nodded
"Yes, he did. I told him that at least Gar was a true friend who did not ignore me and hide in his room trying to find someone who is dead."
Starfire burst into new tears as she finished speaking. Jinx did her best to soothe the crying girl while Raven just stared at a wall. An image passed in front of her vision
Robin and Gar were sitting at the kitchen counter talking. Then their voices got louder. Finally Gar halfway stood and yelled at the masked Boy Wonder:
"Look, I came back because Raven was hurt. As soon as I know she's better I'm outta here and you can stay up til' dawn trying to figure where the heck I am. Just like you did when Slade was around. And," he was fully standing now. Robin had a birdarang out and hidden under the table "you can go break Star's heart while you do it. But when you do expect a violent call from me."
Gar stormed out the door leaving Robin standing in the middle of the room with an open mouth
"Raven! Snap out of it!" a voice yelled. Someone's hand was in front of her face barely an inch from touching her nose. She jerked out of her trance and shook her head.
She wasn't in the kitchen. She was in Jinx's room. And she wasn't watching Gar and Robin. She was looking at Starfire and Jinx who both had worried expressions on their faces
"Are you alright friend? Your eyes… they turned green for a moment." Raven shook her head again ridding herself of the images
"I'm fine Star. Just a little tired I guess. I've been staying up longer than I normally do lately." she lied. The two girls shrugged.
Starfire's sadness was forgotten as the girls ate snacks and teased Jinx about her crush on Cyborg. They played a quick tournament of chess which Jinx won. Raven was actually enjoying herself. Music played softly in the background and she soon found herself holding back tired yawns.
Then a song came on and Jinx squealed loudly and turned the stereo up slightly
"I love this song!"
A woman's voice played through the speakers. It was the same song that Raven had heard in the cave when she had stayed overnight with Gar
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I was alone in the dark. Let down by God. Closed the curtain on my heart. So the world could not see all the demons in me. Told myself I was free.
And you showed me… how wrong I could be
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Raven's eyes filled with tears. She instinctively reached for her hood but she wasn't wearing her cloak. Images of Gar's smiling face assaulted her mind.
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Now I'm standing on a mountain of rubble that once was a wall. Took years to build around me. And you came along and you tore it down like it was nothing at all. Now it's a little scary… Learning to fall.
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Jinx started humming along and was soon singing softly. Raven fought to push away the memories but she couldn't.
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When you looked in my eyes. Past the fear and false pride you saw goodness inside. I can't believe how I feel I believe love is real and I'm ready to heal……
And you showed me how right I can be.
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Starfire was listening intently and neither girl noticed the tears that were flowing down Raven's cheeks. The girl's eyes were squeezed shut and she strived to block the images from her mind but in vain.
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Now I'm standing on a mountain of rubble that once was a wall. Took years to build around me. And you came along and you tore it down like it was nothing at all. Now it's a little scary learning to fall.
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As the song started to end Raven absently wiped her face off but kept her eyes closed. Whoever was giving her these images would pay. Dearly.
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I was holding on. Now I'm letting go. I was holding on. Now I'm letting go. I was holding on Now I'm letting Go…………
Now I'm standing on a mountain of rubble that once was a wall. Then you came along and you tore it down like it was nothing at all. Now it's a little scary. Learning to fall…………
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Finally the song ended and the other two girls turned their attention to some food and more chatter. Raven wiped off her face again and opened her eyes. Gentle silver light blocked her vision for a fleeting moment. Then a voice that could only be one of her emotions whispered across her mind:
"Don't be afraid Raven. Just because of what happened the first time, do not doubt your feelings. You said you trusted him. Do you trust him enough?"
Raven shook her head and went over to where Jinx was helping Starfire spread out her blankets to create a bed. Then she turned to her own makeshift bed. She refused to sleep on her king sized bed and 'miss out on all the gossip' Raven smirked slightly and spread out her own black blanket carefully before lying down and listening to Jinx and Starfire chatter. Occasionally she joined in but mostly she just listened.
Meanwhile in Nevermore the silver cloaked emotion Gar had met about a year ago smiled a little. Raven would have to come to term with her feelings sooner or later. But hopefully for both her and Gar's sake it would be sooner rather than later…
(What'cha thinks? On a scale of one to ten? I think maybe a six. And I don't own that song which is the same one I used in Past Mistakes. R and R!)