Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans, Pirates of the Caribbean, Johnny Depp (though I wish I did), Hot Topic, Charlotte Russe, Forever 21, Bath and Body Works, Scream Shoe Shop, or any other retail store usually found in a mall.
Jabba the Cup is an imagined coffee shop. (As far as I know.)
This Chapter's Cast of Characters:
Raven: Rachel Roth aka "Rae"
Starfire: Kori Anders
Robin: Richard Grayson
Aqualad: Connor Selky
Takashi Genrou
Chapter 5
"Azarath…Metrion…Zinthos…Azarath…Metrion…Zinthos…Azarath…"
"Hey, Starfire?"
Opening one eye, Starfire looked over at the hovering empath next to her. "Yes, Raven?"
"After this, you wanna go to the mall?"
"I would like that very much," Starfire replied. Sighing contentedly, she closed her eyes.
"Azarath…Metrion…Zinthos…Azarath…Metrion…Zinthos…Azarath…Metrion…"
A knock at her door alerted Raven to Starfire's presence. "Enter!" she shouted through the shirt she was pulling over her head. "You changed pretty quickly, Starfire."
"I only changed my shirt, removed my armbands, and changed my shoes, Friend Raven," Starfire said.
Looking over, Raven saw that Starfire looked pretty much the same. Except for a white tank top that had the word "Princess" airbrushed on it in shades of purple, gray, black and pink. "Nice shirt," Raven mentioned.
"I have one for you as well, Raven!" Smiling, Starfire held out a black tank top in front of her. It had the word "Sorceress" airbrushed in shades of dark red, purple, grey, and white.
Taking the top, Raven admired the airbrushing. "When did you get these, Star?"
"I made them after our encounter with the Puppet King," Starfire answered. "It is a hobby of mine just as reading is yours."
"Your very talented," Raven said, impressed with Starfire's artistry. "You told me that the arts were included in your education, but not this kind of artwork."
"Please, remove your current clothing choice and wear the top I made," Starfire pleaded. As Raven complied, she floated towards the vanity mirror. "On my planet, when a girl marries and becomes a mother, she paints on her wedding dress and the swaddling clothes of her children. The brighter and more detailed the artwork on the bridal gown, the happier the bride." Turning to Raven, Starfire nodded at the effect. "There is nothing more telling of a bride's unhappiness than a pure white wedding gown."
"If the gown is unpainted, does the bride get punished?" Raven asked, intrigued. "Does the wedding still go through?"
"Usually, no," Starfire answered. "One look at a pure white gown frightens even the strongest of warrior bridegrooms. They do not want an unhappy bride, so they usually halt the wedding ceremony. Only the Grand Ruler of Tameran can force a marriage."
"So it's a subtle way of protesting an unwanted marriage," Raven concluded, as she attatched the silver necklace turned head band to her chakra and used her magic to turn her hair black.
"Yes," Starfire said in a puzzled voice. "Friend Raven, why do you attatch jewelry to your forehead? And how did you change your hair color so quickly?"
"It's called a glamour. It's just a small spell to make it look like my hair was black. And I'm gonna put the same spell on you. We need to blend in a bit better at the mall, Star," Raven said. "You look nice, but still too alien for normal people."
A frown covering her features, Starfire looked over at her chest. "My grabnacks are covered. And I have seen most of the girls of this city wear clothing such as this. What is wrong with my appearance?"
Raven smiled and walked over to Starfire and placed her arm next to hers. "My skin is allowed to be grayish because I'm what people call a goth. Goths are supposed to be pale. But your skin is too orange. And your eyes are too green."
"Your eyes are purple."
"Yes, but again, since people see me as a goth, strange colored eyes are somewhat acceptable. They think that they're contacts anyway. What's strange about your eyes is that you have no white in them. They're just green on green."
"I cannot change my eyes, Friend Raven. Nor can I alter the color of my skin," Starfire pointed out.
"That's what the glamour is for, Star," Raven said patiently. "It will make people think you have normal skin and eyes, but you won't actually have to change anything physically."
"Is this 'glamour' very painful?"
"No, it's pain-free. Now close your eyes so we can go to the mall," Raven ordered.
When Starfire opened her eyes, she saw that Raven had turned her normally bright green eyes into a duller forest green (duller but by no means ugly…just not as bright as her usual eye color) and her normally orange tinged skin was an attractive light brown.
"I look more human now, Raven," Starfire said, gleefully. "We can now go to the mall of shopping!"
Smiling softly, Raven held up her hand. "There are just two things you need to remember, Starfire. One: you can't use your powers at all. If you do, the glamour will be broken and your appearance will revert back to normal. The same goes for me. And two: when we're at the mall, you can't call me Raven."
"Why not?" Starfire asked. "If I am not allowed to call you by your name, then what should I call you by?"
"If the people at the mall knew we were Titans, then we probably would be mobbed for autographs," she answered. "Call me Rachel, or if you can't remember that, just call me Rae. It could be short for either Rachel or Raven, so it might be easier for you."
Nodding her head in understanding, Starfire looked at Raven. "Rav-I mean Rachel, what am I to be called?"
"Kori, of course," Rachel smiled.
"You smile more often when you are Rachel," Kori observed. "Why is that?"
"I have no clue, Kori," Rachel said. "But it could be because I get to drive my new car to the mall."
At the mention of Rachel's dark purple Mini Cooper, Kori jumped up and down. "Yes! Finally you shall drive your new transport!"
Picking up her keys and a black wallet, Rachel grabbed Kori's hand. "Let's go before one of the boys see us and ask where we're going. I don't want them to see us like this."
I believe that Garfield will like the way you look, Rachel, Kori thought to herself. Out loud she said, "Yes, let us go. I do not wish for the boys to mark along with us."
"I think you mean 'tag along' but that's okay," Rachel said. "Let's just go already!"
JumpCity Mall
"Where to first?" Rachel asked.
"Bath and Body," Kori answered instantly. "I am out of the Cucumber Melon body lotion."
"Okay, I need some lotion myself," Rachel replied.
Half an hour later, the two girls stumbled out of the store—dragging no less than 3 bags each.
"Stupid sales," Rachel grumbled. "Stupid 'Buy three get the fourth free' sales. Stupid female impulse to have the body lotion, body spray, bath lotion, bath salt, bath oil, room aroma oil bulb thing-a-ma-whosit all in the same scent!"
Kori giggled as she dragged her bags along. She couldn't use her super strength because of the glamour. "I did not even begin to imagine how attatched to the scent of Coconut Lime Verbena you were, Rae," she laughted outright at Rachel's grouchy expression.
"That's funny. I would have figured her for a lavender girl," a male voice said behind them. "What do you think, Richard?"
"I think that if I want to keep my limbs intact, I would keep quiet about what I thought, Connor," Richard replied.
"Smart man," Rachel growled.
"Richard! We did not know you would be here!" Kori said self consciously. "Who is your friend?"
Richard motioned toward the tall teen beside him. He had straight, shoulder length hair—black-blue like the ocean at night—and dark fathomless eyes that always seemed to be lit up with an intense fire from within. "Connor Selky, meet Kori Anders and Rachel Roth."
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Connor," Kori said, clasping his hand and managing to keep the drool off of her chin and the hearts out of her eyes.
Rachel wasn't so lucky. "Hi," she rasped.
Aqualad, she thought. What is he doing here?
"Hello, Rachel," Connor took her hand and rubbed the palm of it softly. "How are things?"
Can't an underwater hero go shopping, Rachel? Connor replied telepathically.
"Things are fine. And how are things with you?" she asked. Looking Connor up and down, she smiled and politely took her hand back.
I'm not supposed to use my powers, Aqualad! The glamour will fade! Rachel thought in a panic.
"Things could be better," he answered. "I can't keep my mind on my work. A certain lavender girl keeps running through my brain."
Laughter gleamed through his dark eyes. You're not using your powers, Rachel. I'm just invading your space and reading your mind. And call me Connor, I insist.
"I'm sure that if you focus really hard, that lavender girl will leave you alone," she shot back.
Rachel glared daggers at Connor, the hearts disappearing with her anger. All the while, Richard and Kori engaged in some mild flirtation of their own. Oooohhh…you're gonna get it when we get back to the Tower!
"Rachel!" Kori said, interrupting their double conversation. "Do you not agree that, since Richard and Connor have interrupted our shopping expedition as well as poked the fun at you, they should accompany us in the form of pack animals?"
"What?" Connor asked.
A mischievous grin graced Rachel's face at Kori's words. "Yes," she agreed. "They can carry our bags as we shop and give their opinions on outfits we try on."
"What!" both boys asked, startled out of the stupor they fell in at the beauty of Rachel's smile.
"Yes, that's what they should do," Rachel decided.
"Would you, Richard?" Kori asked, turning forest green eyes in his direction. "I remember seeing the most beautiful dress in the store of Forever 21. Could you tell me if it drapes my body in an attractive manner? I cannot trust the sales persons, they all want me to buy the dress. You could tell me if it makes my bractacks look big?"
Not wanting to fall into that particular trap, Richard coughed. "Well, uh, we had some shopping of our own to do…"
"We do? " Connor asked, only to get an elbow in his side. "Yes! We do."
"What kind of car do you guys have?" Rachel asked.
Instantly suspicious, Richard stared at Rachel. "Why?"
"I only have my Mini and if we buy as much stuff at the next few stores, then we won't have enough room for everything."
"I have my Prius," Connor mentioned.
"How'd you get a Prius? They aren't supposed to be available for another year," Rachel accused.
"I didn't know you were that into cars, Rach," Richard smirked.
"Victor told me, Rich," Rachel answered.
"I didn't know you were hanging out that much with Victor, either," Richard said.
"With whom I hang out with isn't really something you should know, Big Brother," she replied.
"Okay. Time out!" Connor interrupted. "To answer your question, Rachel, my family pulled some strings over at Wayne Enterprises. Conserving the planet is my thing, you know. What better way to do that than to drive a hybrid car when I'm in town? But as I was saying before I was interrupted, we could store your things there and follow you guys back home."
"That would be wonderful!" Kori decided. "Let us go place our purchases in your vehicle and then you may accompany us in our shopping trip."
"Actually," Richard said. "We can take your bags now, put them in the car, then meet up with you at the Alley in about an hour, okay?" The Alley was the part of the mall that had a lot of different fast food places—kind of like a food court, but one where instead of cafeteria style stalls, each restaurant had it's own enclosed space. "That way we can get our stuff done too."
"Deal," Rachel said, shoving her bags into Connor's hands. "We'll meet you in front of Jabba the Cup in an hour and a half."
"Um…I said one hour, Rach," Richard commented, taking Kori's bags.
"We still have Charlotte Russe, Hot Topic, and Scream to see, Rich," Rachel shot back. "You can't ask us to be back in an hour. Not when I'm shopping with Kori."
"Alright," Richard conceded. "We'll see you in an hour and a half."
"Let us depart, Rae," Kori giggled and grabbed Rachel's hand. "I just heard from those girls over there that there is a sale of clothing at Charlotte Russe!"
As the girls left, Rachel heard one last thing from Connor.
"What did they buy! This bag's heavier than a whale!"
Smiling, she entered Kori's shop of patterned horrors.
"Rachel?" Kori asked an hour and fifteen minutes later.
"Yes, Kori?" Rachel replied from behind a black curtain in Hot Topic's only dressing room.
"Who is this unkempt man on this covering and why is he inquiring as to the disappearance of an alcoholic beverage?"
Stepping out of the dressing room, Rachel looked at the fleece blanket Kori held up.
"Oh, that's from Pirates of the Caribbean," Rachel explained. "The unkempt man is Jack Sparrow."
"That's Captain Jack Sparrow," a voice behind her called.
"And that's twice in one day someone's done that to me," Rachel fumed as she spun around. "Oh, hi Taka."
Taka looked at Rachel and frowned. "'Oh, hi Taka'? That's all I get? No hug, no smile. Just 'Oh, hi Taka' in that monotone?"
"The way I acted the night we met was an aberration," Rachel said. "Never to be repeated."
"Maybe it was the atmosphere that created such an aberration?" Taka suggested as he leaned closer to Rachel and smiled. "If you came back to the Pit perhaps the experiment can be repeated with the same conclusion."
Rachel put her hand on her hip and smirked at the red-and-black stripe haired youth. "I'm not the type of person who indulges in experiements."
"So you're not a scientist, then?" Taka asked, running his fingers down her arm. "If that's the case, then you must be a romantic. Your choice of clothing is proof enough for that."
Rachel looked down at what she wore. A black leather corset with lace cap sleeves covered her chest and torso while a calf length black pencil skirt with a back slit and dark purple lace covered her legs.
"There's still a third option, you're ignoring Takashi," Rachel murmured.
"And what's that?"
"I could be a realist."
Taka's eyebrow raised a fraction of an inch. "What sort of realist wears clothes like that?" he asked.
Kori's eyes widened as Rachel leaned even closer to the man named Taka and whispered something in his ear. She had never seen her friend act this way. Sometimes Rachel could be reluctantly pleasant to the boys in their lives, but she had never flirted with any of them. (A/N: Kori was too busy flirting with Richard to notice Connor flirting with Rachel…and even then most of the flirting was telepathic.)
And, Kori thought to herself. This is some serious flirting.
Taka's mouth dropped open at whatever Rachel said to him and caused him to cough a couple of times. "Well," he gasped. "There is that…" He watched as Rachel closed the curtain on the dressing room to change her clothes.
"She is very attracted to you," Kori mentioned.
Taka whipped his head around. "Really?" he asked. "Did she say anything to you?"
Kori laughed at the man's nervousness. "No," she whispered behind her hand. "But I have never seen Rae act in this manner. It is very refreshing. My name is Kori Anders, by the way."
Taking her hand, Taka apologized. "I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself. I'm Takashi Genrou. Call me Taka."
"Very well, Taka. Where did you and Rae meet? When did you meet?" she asked, taking her hand back.
"We met at my club, the Desert Rose, two months ago. She was there with—"
"With the intention of enjoying a perfectly wonderful poetry reading," Rachel interrupted, a armful of clothing in her hands.
"Yes," Kori said. "Rachel does enjoy poetry."
Taka's eyebrows rose when Rachel shook her head slightly at him. "Kori, why don't you go on to the Alley. I've still got to pay for these and I'm sure you're hungry by now," she said.
"If it is alright with you, Rae," Kori answered. "I do feel a bit of the hunger pains."
"She has a very unusual way of speaking," Taka mentioned as Kori left the store. "Almost as if English wasn't her first language."
"It isn't," Rachel said as she paid for her things.
"Why didn't you want her to know you were with Richard the night we met?" he asked as he picked up her bags.
"Because," she said as she took the bags from him and headed for the Alley. "She doesn't know we went out that night. And I would appreciate it if you didn't mention that or the fact that we were celebrating my birthday."
"Oh," Taka murmured. "Do you and Richard have a thing going on?"
"We might've started something if it wasn't for the fact that we work together," Rachel answered, compelled for some reason to be truthful and at the same time convince Taka that she and Richard weren't an item. "That and Kori's over the moon for him. Just like he is for her."
Taka looked at Rachel's face and reached for one of her shopping bags again. "Do you wish something could have started?"
"Not really," she answered, finally letting him carry one of the heavier bags. "We're both too stubborn and too dark in our personalities for it to work out. If things were different—if Kori weren't around, if we didn't have our work to deal with—then maybe it could have worked out."
Stopping outside of Jabba the Cup, Rachel turned to Taka. "Richard knows how I feel about this," she said. "He was the one who was confused for a while. We have a lot in common, but there's not a lot of chemistry there."
"But there could have been," Taka said.
"There could have been," Rachel answered. Tilting her head, she reached up and pushed Taka's hair out of his eyes. "I normally don't tell these things to people I've only met once, but there's something about you."
Catching her wrist in his hand, Taka kissed the palm of her hand. "There's something about you too, Rachel," he said softly. "Come to the Rose tonight."
"I don't know," she replied. "It's Sunday, Taka, and I have to go to work tomorrow."
Taka's head lowered while he moved Rachel's chin up until their eyes met. "Come to the Rose tonight," he whispered before he brushed his lips against her forehead. "Please."
"I—I—" she stammered. Two stores away, all of the lights exploded. Knowing that her hair would turn purple in a few seconds, Rachel did the only thing she could think of to keep Taka from seeing the change.
She kissed him.
It was wonderful and sweet and very, very bad for her control.
After struggling for a few moments to make sure the glamour was back in place, Rachel pulled away and looked up into his glowing eyes.
"Is that a yes?" Taka asked.
Rachel's eyes darted away from Taka's, only to see Richard's angry face and the wounded look in Connor's eyes through the front window of Jabba the Cup.
Raven…Aqualad's voice echoed sadly in her head.
Turning to look at Taka, Rachel answered.
"Yes."
A/N:
Uh-oh…what's gonna happen next? Does Robin really wanna settle for friendship? And what about Aqualad? He and Raven were getting a bit flirty. I really don't know who Raven will end up with…the story's kinda writing itself and it won't give up the goodies.
But be prepared for some major Raven/Aqualad in upcoming chapters!
BTW…the beginning part is from the end of the episode "Switched"