This chapter was sad for me to write.

Writing Raven's story here reminded me of my own life, but I won't go into it.

Again, I am sorry for not doing more RobStar. But with the drama and angst going on in the story, right now, it's kind of hard too. And whats worse, once they get rid of the Terra problem (temporarily), Malchior comes in. Oy, the drama.

Oops...hope I didn't give too much away!

Read on!

"Jeez, Raven. Would you quit looking at the clock? We're not going to be late for class; we haven't even ordered yet."

Jen was not here yet, and Raven was afraid she would not come. She wouldn't admit it, but Raven needed friends now more then ever.

Raven finally tore her gaze away from the clock, watching her best friend smirk. Lately, it seemed like Karen and Wally were the only friends she had. And it was all because of her.

She had everything. She was everything Raven was not. She was pretty, she was slender, she was popular. She was perky, she was happy, and she would—could let people in.

Raven was nothing in comparison. She was pale, she was ugly (in her eyes), she was fat (again, in her eyes. In reality, she is far from either), and she was substituted for something better.

She stared down at her covered arms, feeling the tears burn at her eyes. She hadn't cut in nearly three days, but she was itching to. It was driving her past insanity. Raven was the kind of person who lived to torture herself. She had endured so many hardships, her heart had been broken and scarred so many times, that it had become somewhat or a ritual for her. But she never had the chance.

Karen felt somewhat guilty for Raven's cutting, and kept a watchful eye on her. Karen knew that she, Jen, and Wally were the only things between Raven and her sanity.

Raven had once broken down in school, not being able to put down a pair of scissors. During a class, they had gone to the library to research. But Karen had been there for her…and so had Gar.

FLASHBACK

"Raven…calm down. Put the scissors down, Raven," Karen's soothing voice filled her ears. A slender river of tears was flowing from each eye. She was pleading, crying, shaking with the pair of scissors in her hands.

Gar had somehow wandered from Terra's grasp and had found them at that moment, in the back of the library. His green eyes darted back and forth from Karen, to Raven, to the pair of scissors that she cupped.

"Raven…what are you doing?" He'd cried, frantically rushing to her side. She opened her mouth to speak, but only more tears came. She sobbed harder, trying to find the words.

He held her and rubbed her back, humming softly in her ear until the crying ceased. Karen had disappeared in that moment, and had the rest of the world. No one else existed; no one else mattered. It was just her and Gar, Gar and her.

And then the moment was gone. The bell had rung, signifying that the class was over. Terra poked her head around the corner, disrupting Gar and Raven. She'd handled it the only way she could; pulling them apart.

She grabbed Gar and pulled him away, murmuring something about being late for the next class.

Gar nodded, and without looking back, left the room.

END FLASHBACK

Another memory began to awaken in her mind, but a familiar voice pulled her from her trip down memory lane.

"Uh…Raven?"

Raven looked up to see a very nervous-looking Jen. Her long pink hair was pulled into a long braid, and her black eyes were flickering back and forth from Raven and Wally. Karen titled her head at Raven, waiting for an answer, and Wally…well, to say he was interested would be an understatement.

"Oh, hey Jen. Karen, Wally, this is Jen. She's in my rehab class," Raven finally said, letting a small tug on her lips form.

Wally's grin grew as he slid over in the booth to make room for Jen. He mouthed a greeting and waved his eyebrows.

"Hey, Jen. I'm Karen, and the hormone-crazy kid next to you is Wally," Karen cut in with a smile, and Jen couldn't help but smile back. She could see why Raven liked her.

At that same moment Jen had joined Karen, Wally, and Raven for lunch, a boy on the other side of town, fiddled with his food nervously. It was just four today, instead of the usual five. Their fifth member, a peppy blonde, was sick with food poisoning (no doubt from the cafeteria) and hadn't come out of her room in a day.

"Guys," he began, sliding his tray away from him. His appetite had disappeared. His three friends looked up from their meals and studied him. His face looked serious, a rare break from its normal perky. "Has anyone else noticed that Raven never eats with us anymore?"

This hit the rest of the group like a brick. Snapped into realization, they were left speechless.

"Karen, too," Vic finally said, his voice lowered.

"I haven't even seen either in the lunchroom for nearly a week," Rich added. Come to think of it, none of them had really heard from Raven in a while. Karen was occasionally there, but she was quieter and colder.

As it turned out, Terra was in every one of Raven's classes. And any class Raven shared with Vic, Gar, Rich, or Kori, Terra was there too.

Kori's eyes diverted back to her food, guilt washing over her face. "I am unfamiliar with this countries ways of living, but…" Her voice trailed off.

"What, Kori? You can tell us," Rich encouraged, drawing an arm around her.

FLASHBACK

Tweet!

"Alright, ladies! I want you to hurry up and change, this time. None of that prissy, pampering stuff!" The voice of their P.E. teacher called through the door.

As Raven later discovered, Kori too had gym with her, Vic, and Gar. While changing, Kori had stolen a glance at Raven as she slipped off her blazer. For a brisk moment, she thought she had seen red, blistering scars trailing up her 'friend's' arms.

Raven had met her stare, quickly slipping a black sweatshirt over her P.E. uniform.

"Raven—"

"Not now, Kori. You heard Ms. Bailey. We don't want to be late."

"But friend, your—"

Raven pushed past and scampered out the door. Terra peered her head over the lockers and stared at Kori blankly.

"What was that all about?" She asked.

"I am…unsure," Kori replied, tugging at the ends of her shirt.

"Whatever. She's probably just being all moody Goth-like. Just ignore her, Kori."

Just ignore her, Kori…Just ignore her…

END FLASHBACK

"Cuts on her arm? And you're sure?" Kori nodded in reply. They were speaking in hushed whispers now and she was near tears.

Vic leaned back in his seat. "Man…that's really serious. I wonder if anyone knows." The group fell dead silent.

"Friends?" Kori's ever innocent voice broke their quiet. "Is Raven…alright…in her mind?"

The way Kori had pronounced it made it sound much more eerie and shattering.

Gar looked to the empty seat Raven used to sit in. But it wasn't Raven's seat anymore. It was Terra's. It was had been taken over by Terra, she had replaced it.

She had replaced her.

Knock, knock, knock

"Hold on Jen, I just need to hide the razors and I'll be right with you!" Karen's voice called from the other side of the door. Raven's roommate obviously was expecting it to be Jen, bringing Raven home from the rehab center. Jen always came up a little earlier then Raven, to help Karen hide anything potentially dangerous.

"Uh…Karen? It's me, Gar."

There came no reply. Slowly, the dorm room door cracked open. "Oh, hello Gar."

Karen's voice was strangely cold, unlike the usual, bossy and happy Karen Gar had known. She extended the word 'Gar' like it was a curse. Karen was the type of person who was protective of her friends, and resentful of the ones who hurt them. And in Karen's eyes, Gar, Vic, Rich, and Kori were the source of Raven's problems. Gar especially.

He cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck. "Uh…I was wondering if Raven's home, Kare." Karen's eyes narrowed to slits.

"No, she isn't. She's at a class."

A class? This late in the day? School had ended nearly two hours ago.

"Oh, okay. Well, could you tell her—"

"Tell her what?" Jen said from behind him. Twirling around, Gar racked his brains to remember who this girl was. She obviously knew Raven or Karen, but he hadn't seen her at JCA before.

"—that I was looking for her?" He finally finished, not daring to meet Karen or the pink-haired girl's eyes.

"Why don't you tell her yourself?" Jen motioned to the opening elevator door, an exhausted, somewhat scared-looking Raven exiting.

"Gar?"

"Oh, hey, Rae," He stuttered. The word 'Rae' felt so different as it left his lips. He hadn't used that word in nearly a month.

"What do you want?" She asked, hugging her arms to her body. Gar winced; he had never seen Raven this way. She looked so…scared, so destroyed and lost. Even when she first had arrived on JCA, she was never so hurt-looking. When he'd comforted her when she was crying in the library, she had been sad. But this was something different. It was something else.

The Raven he knew was sarcastic, verbally abusive, mature, and contemplative. This Raven was unknown to him.

"I just…I haven't seen you in a while—"

"Gar!" A high-pitched, female voice called at the other end of the hallway. Four heads swerved to see the voice's owner. A blonde, blue-eyed girl was waving at him, her head peeking out from behind a dorm room door.

He waved nervously back.

"Rae—"

"Go, Gar. She obviously wants to talk to you. Which is more than what I can say for myself." Raven pushed past him and into her room. Gar tried to catch another glimpse of her as she left his presence, but Karen and Jen blocked the view.

Karen was staring coldly at Gar, Jen's face set in a scowl. She gestured to a confused-looking Gar. "Is he one of them?" She asked, drawing out the word 'them'. If she could've, Jen would've spit on it.

"Yes, he is. He used to be her friend." The door closed in his face.

"Gar!" the girl screamed again, this time in the middle of the hallway and stamping her foot. "Come in and make me feel better, you big teddy bear!" She laughed at her own joke as Gar tore away from his post.

I'm really not too sure with this piece right now. I haven't yet thought of how to explain what Terra is doing.

I know I make her seem really bad, and any Terra lovers might hate me right now, but all Terra is is lost. She is like Raven. She replaced Raven because she is lonely...understand? Eh, if you don't right now, you will later.

The story has an arc much like the one the Titans animated series did. She'll be hurt, go, and come back. But, hehe...thats all for now!

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