A/N: I'm BACK! Cheer for me! J/K. I have, like, two reviewers at this point.
People, PLEASE review! You don't know how much it means to me!
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Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own Teen Titans. If I did, Robin and Starfire would have kissed by Aftershock, Pt. 2, Raven and Beast Boy would have done more than hug, if you know what I mean, by The Prophecy, and Jinx would have more eps to herself. Also, Terra would have rejoined the Titans – sorry, Terra-haters, but you can be comforted by the fact that she'd roast with envy at Beast Boy's love for Raven, because while I am fine with Terra, many others aren't.
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Fuschia Bright ignored the cheerful looks of the students around her. Worry knawed at her usually optimistic mind. She knew Victor Stone was missing. And she knew where he was. But she had been ordered to keep it a secret. How long would it be, she wondered, before she let something slip?
---
And there was Gar Logan – Gar Logan! Raven supressed a cry of shock. So Gar was in her literature class. But she had never expected him to be at the April poetry recitation! She wondered what kind of crappy move he was going to pull.
"…and next up is Raven Roth!"
Raven started at the sound of Ms. Pulwood's voice. She didn't remembered Michael Greye finishing "Finifiere's Egg." There wasn't much applause, anyhow.
Raven took a deep breath and walked onto the stage. The whole poetry club, and a couple additionals, stared up at her with bright, eager eyes. She thought she heard someone whisper, "Come on, Raven…" But the only person close enough to the front of the room for her to have heard was Gar, and why would he cheer for her? She assumed that it had been her imagination and racked her brain for the right words.
And then she began The Raven, by Edgar Allen Poe.
"Once upon a midnight dreary while I pondered, weak and weary
Oe'r many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore;
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door;
'Tis some visitor,' I muttered, 'tapping at my chamber door,
Merely this and nothing more.'
Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor—"Raven stopped abruptly when she heard another voice from the audience. It was Gar, speaking her poem with her. Ms. Pulwood looked appalled, but Raven couldn't help but surpress a grin of amusement…and slight anticipation. What stupid move would the teen boy make next?
But he continued for her.
When it got to the eighth verse, Raven joined back in:
"Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling By the grave and stern decorum of the countanence it wore…"Raven and Gar stood on stage, reciting the famed poem clearly. Gar spoke the words carefully, sleekly, yet with strength and confidence in his voice. As they went on and on, Raven couldn't help but notice Gar's features for the first time. His out-of-bed, sandy blond hair, the numerous freckles dusting his nose – Raven admired these as fine, almost handsome physical attributes, but it was the green of his eyes that entranced her most of all. She was lost in them. They were like a wild seastorm, churning and frollicking, and yet like a deep forest glade, quiet and peaceful. Raven was enraptured. She hardly noticed when she and Gar spoke the last words of the poem; all she could think about was that he had gently taken her hand before it ended.
"…Shall be lifted – Nevermore!"
The audience cheered. Ms. Pulwood, however, angrily put her foot in. "Garfield Mark Logan, I am taken aback by such rude, disruptive behavior! Raven was in the middle of a poem! You are not even – "
"Excuse me, Ms. Pulwood," Raven cut in, "but it was fine with me. I honestly don't care."
Ms. Pulwood was taken aback. "I – I – "
"Thanks for everything," said Raven, walking out the door.
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Gar followed the dark girl to the paved road. It was after school. He felt stupid. The point was that he already had a girlfriend: Tara Markov. He should not be going crazy about Raven.
But he couldn't help himself. Gar was attracted to everything about this girl – her dark hair, pale skin, thin lips, slender figure – and her amazing violet eyes. Today she wore black jeans, a black turtleneck, and a plain navy hoodie. She never worried about how she looked, only that she looked decent, and although he was part of Richard's gang, "the cool crowd", he admired that aspect of her.
Tara saw Gar when the bell rang and caught up to him. "Hey," she said softly.
"Hey."
"Something wrong, Gar?" She looked concerned.
Gar felt terrible. "No…" he began, guilt welling up in his stomach.
"I saw you at poetry club today."
The feeling in Gar's stomach got worse. "Uh…"
"So, do you want to invite that girl Raven to dinner with us tonight? I'm bringing a few friends, so I thought it'd only be fair if you did, too."
Gar stopped dead, shocked. "You're – you're kidding, right?"
"No joke." She smiled casually, raising her eyebrows. "Something wrong with me hanging out with people besides you?"
"Um, no."
"Great!" she laughed. "See you tonight, then. And tell Raven she's coming…" Tara skipped away cheerfully. Gar looked miserably after her, and winced when she didn't catch his gaze.
Then he turned around, and ran to catch up with Raven.
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Richard felt like a pure idiot. He had asked girls out before. What was wrong with it this time? Gar had invited him to some dance party thing that the father of his girlfriend, Tara, was hosting. You had to show up with a date. Of course, Gar didn't need to, because Tara would already be there.
His hand trembled nervously as he dialed the Anders' number. The telephone rang twice. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of Rich's forehead. Then someone picked up.
"Hello?" asked a snooty voice which Rich recognized immediately. "Oh, um…hey, Amanda. It's Richard Grayson from school. I was wondering…could I talk to Kori for a sec?" Okay, Rich, he thought nervously. Come on. You can do this. Here we go.
But he wasn't going anywhere for a while. Rich could practically hear Amanda settling down for a three-hour talk. She loosened up a lot, and her voice immediately became flirtatious. "Oh, hey, Richard! You know, I was wondering where you were, because I head some rumor about a dance, and I was wondering if – "
"Amanda. Concentrate. Kori."
"Huh? Yeah, yeah, in a minute. So anyway, I'd love to be your date there. I knew that you and Donna had broken up, so I knew you wouldn't be taking her and –"
Rich was starting to get annoyed. "Amanda…"
"Okay, okay! Just…hold on, all right? Anyway, I heard this rumor – "
"You seem to get a lot of information from rumors," said Rich through gritted teeth. "Now, Amanda, I want to talk to Kori."
At that moment, another phone was taken off the reciever and the voice Rich wanted to hear most right now said, "Sister, who are you speaking with?"
"Kori!" exclaimed Rich happily. "It's Richard Grayson. Look, uh…" He suddenly was nervous again.
"Yes?" asked Kori innocently.
"I…I…Iwaswonderingifmaybeyouwannagotothedancewithme?"
"What was that, Richard?" asked Amanda suspiciously.
"I was just asking Kori if she wanted to be my date at Tara Markov's dance party tonight," said Richard slowly.
"Oh, Richard!" said Kori delightedly. "I – I would love to!"
Richard smiled. Awesome! he thought. "Cool," he said. "So…I'll swing by to pick you up around 7:30, 'kay?"
"That sounds marvelous!"
Richard could still hear Amanda muttering angrily long after he had put down the phone.
A/N: Like? Please review. Personally, I think it's awesome. I am so proud of myself.