Okay. Yes, I know that Robin's character was overly exaggerated and mean and such… intentionally so. It was almost painful to write because he's my favourite character. But not too painful… They may be rather moody and overly reactive – but what kind of a story would it be without hyper mood swings?

Shards of Distortion

Chapter Two: Interpretation of Beauty

'You lose,' the screen read. The car crashed into a wall and proceeded to explode into computerised fragments. Robin sighed, dropping the controller. It was into the early hours of the morning, but he couldn't sleep. Guilt was eating away at his insides. Perhaps it had started after the actual situation sunk in. And maybe that had something to do with the fact the rest of the Titans had started yelling at him and had abandoned him. So now he sat on the couch, staring at the same screen of the one-player game he had buried himself in for hours.

Why had he been so hard on Raven? Had he really failed to see her feelings? Had he chosen to ignore them? Was what Raven said true about him?

He pried himself from the couch to get a glass of water. Then, he realized Raven had shattered them, and started sulking again. "Robin…" a soft voice called. "Robin?"

He turned to see Starfire. "What are you doing up so late?"

"I ask of you the same," she said. "Are you wondering right now whether what friend Raven has said is the truth?"

He stared at her, mouth hanging open. "Robin, it is not hard to guess. I know you care. She is your friend. You are kind. So Robin, please go apologise to her."

He studied her carefully. Compassion filled those brilliant emerald eyes. Her long, red hair cascaded down her back as she gently hovered. A smile was present on her pretty face.

"Yeah, okay," he said. "In the morning."

"Excellent," she grinned. "Although technically it is 'in the morning'. Will you go to bed now?"

"Sure thing," he said. She headed to her room. "Just a sec." She cast him a wary glance, before exiting. Robin sighed, getting a plastic cup instead and filling it with crystal clear water.

What was it about her? She infuriated him so much... First of all, their personalities conflicted. They were both headstrong and stubborn. For every 'clever' thing he could come up with, she countered it instantly. And the way she spoke… it was as if she was above everyone else. She could get away with insults, sarcastic comments and fits of rage. Though the fits of rage didn't necessarily include speaking… but still.

Second, she was just so mysterious. He hated the way she avoided confrontations, how she would flat-out avoid people in general. Then again… was it her he was bothered by, or himself…? For he had an even hazier past than her. He had told nobody. Then again, they hadn't asked… Stop making excuses, he told himself. He shook his head. Okay. So he couldn't blame her for that. In fact, he rather liked mysteries. It was like a puzzle, or a crime case. He liked them. He enjoyed trying to put all the pieces together, and there was nothing better than the satisfaction after solving it. But, the process was indeed most frustrating. And he only had a fragment of the many pieces to figuring out Raven. So there. She frustrated him like a puzzle that was missing pieces.

And third… just the fact that they were friends. He felt an obligation to be her friend. To the other Titans to bear with her. Why were they friends? Right now, Robin saw no beacon of light in the darkness of her flaws. Okay, maybe she was pretty. 'No, definitely not it,' he smirked to himself. Was she? Nah. Robin had access to the most beautiful girls – he could get almost anyone he wanted. In comparison, Raven was nothing. Especially as she stood next to a certain red-haired beauty. Starfire was a perfect, flawless rose; Raven a mere weed. But she had a strange, haunting sort of beauty. Maybe, maybe she was a twisted vine or gloomy oak. Of course, one that stood alone in an enchanted forest of beauty. Maybe an internal beauty? No, he confirmed. He laughed inwardly.

'Okay, definitely not pretty,' he thought to himself. 'And no nice points.'

Then why were they friends? Robin strained his mind, wracking his brain. He wished he could figure it out. Because right now, it would be so much easier if they weren't friends. He could stay mad at her. And his conscious wouldn't be eating him alive.

He eventually drifted into a sleep on the way comfy couch, after much pondering and wondering. His dreams intertwined with his thoughts. He was attacked by weeds, and vines, and oak trees.

"You're inviting Raven with us?" Robin ranted. "Are you kidding?" It was early into the afternoon, and there seemed to be no crimes whatsoever.

"Oh yeah, we were totally kidding. NOT," Beast Boy rolled his eyes. "Give her a break. Honestly, Robin."

"Yes… I'm sure Raven will absolutely adore the hanging out at the mall!" Starfire grinned.

"Or at least give her the opportunity," Cyborg added. "Please give it up, already."

Robin stared at them, an annoyed look fixed on his face. He hated giving in. "Fine," he said, throwing his hands up in the air. "Invite her. But you already know what's going to happen." They watched him. "Shopping is a waste of time," he said in a slow, croaky monotone, incredibly accurate. The others laughed.

"Dude!" Beast Boy laughed. "Don't give her more reason to kill you." He then grinned. He couldn't resist. "NOBODY. Mocks Raven," he added in a similar tone. Laughter again.

"Stop laughing. Fun is useless. As are emotions," Robin smirked, continuing with the monotonous voice. "Instead, we should go to our rooms and sulk."

"And we can listen to the dark, dreary music with lyrics that are sad and angry," Starfire added, giggling.

"And drink herbal tea," Cyborg said. "Then meditate for a few hours. Much more productive than fun at the mall."

"Affirmative," Robin muttered in his Raven-voice. "I feel the need to remind you morons that fun is a waste of time, so I repeat myself needlessly because I obviously know better. Maybe someday, I will stop being arrogant and actually admit that you weren't all stupid and not complete fools."

"Obviously, that someday isn't today," the fifth Raven voice was heard. Wait…

"Uh oh," Beast Boy said quietly, under his breath. Raven stepped out from behind the shadows, violet eyes penetrating them and each had a sinking feeling in their gut. She had been watching from around a corner the entire time.

"Raven…" Starfire grinned so wide it took up the majority of her face. The exact grin was copy and pasted onto Cyborg's. And then again onto Beast Boy's. "We were not… expecting you…"

"Well, if you haven't convinced yourself otherwise… I'd like to go to the mall."

The Titans happily agreed, anxious to dismiss anything she may have heard. She didn't bring it up again, thankfully. But why? That was the question that resounded in the majority of their heads. Raven wasn't one to take an insult lying down. Not that it had been a direct insult, but close enough. And the initiation to go to the mall? Maybe it was to contradict what they had portrayed her as. Or maybe convince herself that she wasn't like that. Maybe to escape from her dark room. Or maybe she felt she owed it to them, after blowing up at dinner and not following through with Starfire's spa idea. Regardless, it was rather out of character, as she had been lately. Though they had felt temporary relief over the dismissal of mockery, they felt now they may have preferred if normal, predictable Raven had launched a verbal assault. Maybe then they wouldn't feel so bad.

The mall was surprisingly not very crowded at all. Which made for a wonderfully pleasant shopping experience. Air-conditioned and thoroughly refreshing, they couldn't help but feel the tension settle. Robin seemed to cool down, and Raven… well, she seemed rather content. At least, she wasn't complaining about anything, which probably meant she was happy, right?

"Raven!" Starfire squealed. "Let us get the spa treatment here!"

"Okay," Raven nodded. The boys raised their eyebrows at the quick and positive response. "You boys can go to the electronics store, or something," she shrugged.

"O-kay… sounds good!" Cyborg said, before racing the others to the nearest game store.

Raven smiled slightly in response to Star's gigantic grin. "So what colour are you choosing," she asked. They sat next to each other in incredibly comfortable chairs. Star studied the palette closely – there were so many colours!

"I think… I will go with… 'Precious Pinkest Princess' for the fingernails, and 'Perfect Petunia Purple' for the toes," Starfire said carefully.

"Sounds… Pleasant," Raven muttered. She was aware of Starfire staring at her expectantly. "'Darkest night' and 'Ebony'."

Starfire tried to grin, but it turned out to be more of a grimace. Raven could tell Starfire liked her chosen colours (or lack of colours) about as much as Raven liked Starfire's.

In honesty, Raven didn't enjoy her spa experience. She was edgy as some stranger made physical contact with her hands and feet – massaging and painting. And it was a total waste of time. And the smell of the nail polish mixed with the flowery fragrances of candles and perfumes was slightly toxic.

However, she glanced over at Starfire, who was absolutely enjoying herself. And Raven figured that maybe it wasn't such a waste of time after all. If it made her friend happy… she could feign happiness as well. Maybe. And at least it was distracting her from her usual painful thoughts.

The girls walked out of the spa a long time later, after manicures, pedicures, facials and massages. Raven had shrugged and agreed to the full spa package, seeing the sheer delight in Star's eyes. Raven thought she had fallen asleep through the massage – though she couldn't really tell whether she was awake or asleep due to the overly scented room – though it was more of boredom than relaxation.

"Ohhhh that was so delightful!" Star squealed. "We shall do it again!" Raven smiled slightly, as the two girls walked through the mall. "Oh Raven! Let us go in here!" she said, skidding to a halt in front of a clothes store.

Raven sighed, agreeing reluctantly. She didn't know why she was even considering going along with this. Oh yeah, the way she had avoided them for the past week or something. And the missed spa date last night. And to assure the others that she was perfectly fine. Maybe to prove to herself she was fine…

Actually, she didn't even think she could retaliate if she wanted. She was tired, tired of being. Tired of life and all its shortcomings. So she wearily carried on through her existence, waiting to find some sort of hope or meaning along the way.

"Raven! Raven!" Starfire excitedly shouted. She blinked a few times, finally actually seeing Star's hand waving in her face. "What sized clothing do you wear?"

"Uh, a little smaller than that," she said, pointing at the extra-large shirt Star was holding up to her. A vein throbbed in her temple.

"Eheh…" Starfire grinned. "I did not mean… er, you're Earth sizes are strange to me…"

Raven sighed heavily (no pun intended). She watched Starfire whip around the store, gathering numerous articles of clothing. She noted most of them were dark in colour – these must be clothes for her.

"Go to the changing room and put these garments on!" Star grinned. She thrust a pile of clothes into Raven's arms. Yup, she had been right.

Raven shrugged and played along, entering the change room beside Starfire's. One could see several brightly coloured garments being tossed around from Starfire's change room, and she was out in a flash with an enormous pile of clothes to buy. "Raven, are you finished?" Starfire called as she purchased her clothes.

"Sure." Raven opened the door, to see Starfire with several large, heavy bags. She was also wearing a new pink outfit.

Star squealed as she caught sight of Raven, dropping her numerous bags. "Oh, Raven! You are… looking so very good! It is like you are no longer you!"

"Uh… thanks," Raven said dryly. In her black halter and indigo shorts, she was rather stunning. Although she didn't think so herself. She carried a few other articles of clothing with her to the cash register, paying for them.

"You look… thinner," Starfire noticed. Raven looked back at her silently, wondering her reaction. "You look almost beautiful now!"

Raven shrugged it off. At least she knew Star wouldn't lie to her. "And now, friend Raven, for the final touch of our beauty experience!" Starfire said, dragging Raven by the wrist.

"Don't tell me…" Raven's eye twitched as she saw what was coming, inhaling the strong perfume scents.

"A makeover!" Starfire beamed. Raven clapped her hand to her face. "Come on, Raven… please?" Star looked at her with an almost sickeningly sweet, pleading face.

Raven shrugged (her shoulders tired from shrugging so often), and sat in the cushy white stool. Passive Raven had taken over again, indifference reigned. 'Why not… looks can't get any worse,' she thought. 'Give the impression I'm trying, anyway.'

Two heavily done ladies came trotting over in their stilettos. False smiles were plastered on their faces. Starfire didn't hesitate to ask for makeovers for them both. Raven almost choked as one of the plastic ladies came over – her perfume was so strong it could make eyes water. She grimaced, but saw Star so happily choosing out beauty products to try.

'This might be more fun if I was pretty,' Raven thought grimly to herself, as the woman started drawing on her face. After all, there had to be some reason Star and other girls liked this sort of thing. The only one she could come up with was the plain and simple fact that they were better looking than she.

"Sorry about that, sweetie. I, err, couldn't quite find any facial product to match your skin tone…" she heard the lady saying. "You can open your eyes now."

She opened her eyes, looking into the mirror in front of her. Raven was slightly shocked – she hadn't turned out plastic after all. Actually, all that had changed was her eye makeup – mascara and eyeliner, nothing she wasn't used to wearing. Raven liked hiding behind her own dark eyes.

She watched the other lady carefully do Starfire's makeover, but grew bored. A pretty hair clip caught her eye. Well, Raven's idea of pretty. It was made of a black metal with eerie-looking crimson gems embedded into it. It reeked of darkness.

The woman saw her staring at the large clip. "Like that? Want to buy it?" she asked. Raven's answer would be spelt as 'OK.' Not a formal 'okay,' or a more time-consuming 'O.K.', but a casual, quick 'OK'.

The plastic lady did Raven's hair up loosely with the large clip. And that finished it – a whole new Raven had emerged from her mall makeover. "Aaaaand done!" the other lady's shrill voice was heard. Starfire opened her eyes, looking as dazzling as ever.

"Raven!" she squealed. She nearly tackled her. "Oh, you are so much prettier!"

Raven just cocked an eyebrow. "Are we done now?" she asked in her bored manner.

"Yes, yes we are. We shall meet the others now!" Starfire, beaming, grabbed Raven's wrist and yet again dragged her across the mall, this time to the electronics store.

There they met the boys, who had been playing the demos for hours. Their eyes were still glued to the screen. "Hello, friends," Starfire greeted. There was a smile and overall happiness apparent in her voice.

The three spun around to see the two newly made-over titans. Their jaws dropped. "Wicked," Beast Boy finally said. "You guys – er, gals – look great!" he smiled sincerely. "Love the 'do, Rae."

"Oh man!" Cyborg grinned. "Nice!" He gave them two thumbs up. Everyone stared at Robin expectantly for his comment. Raven felt her heart pace hasten uncontrollably. Maybe he was the reason she had gotten the makeover? No, she quickly told herself.

"Why are you out of costume?"

She sat silently on the marble edge. Robin glanced over at her. They sat several feet apart on the edge of a fountain. It was an uncomfortable distance, and Robin longed to just inch over and bridge the gap. He was tired of his stubborn act, and wanted to perhaps patch things up. Starfire, Beast Boy and Cyborg had gone to grab something to eat. Raven hadn't wanted any, and Robin wanted to stay with her.

She was a friend, he acknowledged. And he wanted her to stay friends with him. "Hey Raven?"

She looked back at him, her gorgeous dark eyes piercing through him into his soul. "I… uh…" This was harder than he had planned. He scooted over, until they were nearly touching. "Wanted to say… I'm sorry," he finished. "I was a jerk, I know. I get a tad carried away sometimes."

"A tad? Sometimes?" she raised her eyebrows.

"Okay, I often get quite carried away. I have faults too. But, uh…" he furrowed his brow in frustration. This was not something he was used to doing. He was suddenly aware he had grabbed her hand. He almost jumped, shivered, dropped it, but had self-control. He didn't let go, either; he was still in shock over his subconscious action. "Raven, will you forgive me for being a total loser?"

He stared back at her, her face so close to his own. "Robin…" her voice was soothing and compassionate. Robin felt a sudden wave of some emotion he wasn't quite sure of, as it washed over him in a tidal wave. He felt shivers down his spine as she put her hands on his shoulders.

Maybe her more passive, gentle manner. Maybe it was the makeover. But Robin realized she was quite beautiful indeed. Inside and out. A rose… painted black.

Her thick, dark lashes framed her now closed eyes. Her hands were still on his shoulders, with a firm yet gentle grip. And she moved closer, closer in… He closed his eyes, too, waiting for it…

SPLASH. His heart nearly stopped as he suddenly made contact with the cold water, the fountain continually pouring heavily onto his head. He was knee deep in fountain water. Opening his eyes, he coughed on the water and realized what had just happened. She had shoved him into the fountain. He stumbled and climbed out of the large fountain in the centre of the mall, dragging himself over the marble ledge.

Shaking his soggy bangs from his vision, he saw her. He opened his mouth to yell at her, but nothing came out. For on her face was a smile. The first real smile in what seemed like forever.

END OF CHAPTER

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Penguin Pop