Two Sides of Law

Chapter Ten

Old Woes Unleashed

RAVEN

I arrived in the living room seconds later. I looked around and saw nobody was there. I figured they were out looking for me. I went over to the computer to call them all back to the tower. They were probably worried; especially Robin. I pressed a red button on the keyboard and the huge screen told me it was calling everyone's communicator. The screen had four panels, each with one of my friend's faces on it.

"Hello?"

"'Sup."

"Hi!"

"Robin here."

I watched everyone's expressions turn from serious to positively giddy in a second flat.

"Friend Raven!"

"You're alright!"

"Dude!"

"Rae! What happened? I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have left you up there. Did he-" I cut Robin off before he turned purple from lack of oxygen. I saw Beast Boy roll his eyes at Robin's reaction.

"Come home and I'll tell you what happened." I told them. The weakness still clung to my voice, which I could tell in an instant would make Robin more suspicious. I hung up before I was bombarded with more questions.

I went to the kitchen to boil some water for my tea. I needed something to calm my nerves. I still sounded scared. I was ashamed of myself for it. How could I possibly forget I had powers? What if X did rape me and I didn't think to use them? How could I be so stupid? You were scared. No one can think clearly when they're scared. I reassured myself. Can they? After all, I wasn't an expert on fear. I couldn't feel emotions in fear I'd cause damage to anything around me. I was terrified I'd one day harm a friend or an innocent bystander.

I sat at the counter, head on my hands, waiting for my water to boil and my friends to come home. I hoped they'd come quickly. I hated to admit it, but I really needed a hug.

Until Robin came along, I didn't know what a hug felt like. Not really, anyway. When Starfire hugged me, it was out of happiness. She didn't have the ability to console. And back when I had a crush on BB, I had hugged him. It was right after Malchior or Rorek (whatever the hell his real name was) tricked me. But Beast Boy didn't hug me back. Shortly after that, I began feeling things for the Boy Wonder. My leader. My best friend.

They say the best relationships start out as friends first. But how was I supposed to know? I had only had a few relationships before I got my powers, and then, I was a little girl. If you considered fourteen to be little, anyway. Even if Robin did like me that way, did I want to risk my friendship with him if we broke up? I tried to push my feelings for Robin aside, hoping it was just a phase. But I couldn't. I hid away in my room more than usual, and tried avoiding Robin in particular. To be honest, I'm surprised Cyborg didn't notice.

Then my father came along. The man I hated. The man who was going to make me do something I didn't want to do. He was going to make me take over the world and destroy everything I held dear. I tried to hide it from my friends, but then Slade came back on my birthday. The day it began. When I told Robin I was supposed to do something horrible, he didn't pry. He comforted me as best he could.

Then, after The End, I hugged him. I hugged him despite the fact he was dating Starfire at the time. To my pleasant surprise, he hugged me back. And that's when I went crazy. I fell head over heels for the guy.

He and Starfire broke up weeks later. Star, apparently, couldn't forget what happened after The End. Cyborg, Beast Boy and I had been sitting on the couch, exchanging glances. You could hear their argument from the floor below, they were screaming so loud.

Flashback

"Why are you breaking up with me?" Robin yelled through Star's door.

"Because I am not blind, Robin! I have the eyes which allow me to see what is doing the going on right before me!"

"Star, I don't understand!"

"Do not do the playing of the dumb!" Star shrieked. Sobs echoed through the tower.

"I'm not playing dumb! I don't understand! Tell me what's going on, baby!"

"Do not call me that term of endearment!"

"Fine! Now what's going on?" Robin snapped.

"You are not capable of "the loving"!"

"What? Star, you know I love you."

"Then why do you not show it? You have not told this to me! You do not do the hugging to me, and you do not kiss me! You do not love me! You are in love with someone else, I am knowing it!" Star screamed. A door was wrenched open, making her already deafening cries louder.

"Why would I want to be with you if I don't love you?"

"You do not love me! You are in love with someone else!"

"Who then, Star?" Robin barked. His anger was clear. "Who the fuck am I in love with?"

"FRIEND RAVEN!" Star yelled. The tower grew quiet for a moment. The two boys looked at the dark girl on the couch with shock in their eyes, as if it were true. The dark girl scowled at them before more angered yells tore through the atmosphere.

"Grow up, Starfire! Raven's only a friend; don't drag her into this! If you aren't happy with me, you don't need a crummy excuse like that to break up with me!"

"It is not the excuse! It is the truth! I have seen with my own eyes the way you hugged her! You were doing the smiling and you made no effort to ever do the hugging to me in such a way!"

"I was smiling because I was happy, smart one! I was happy she was alright! I hugged her back to make her feel better, and you know it! I've hugged you better than that a million times! And if you're jealous, I could say the same thing to you! You always hug the other guys! Does that mean I should have dumped you?" Robin yelled. A loud, sharp noise followed as Star slapped the boy in front of her in disgust.

"I was merely doing the hug in a friendly manner!"

"What the hell, Star! I-"

"You are a Zorb Morker! Do not lie to me! I no longer wish to do the dating of you!"

And that was how their relationship had ended. The tower remained eerily quiet for the rest of the day, and neither Star nor Robin exited their rooms until the next morning. I wondered if that was their first true fight…

My thoughts were interrupted when the front doors opened, revealing Beast Boy and Cyborg. They rushed in, racing to hug me. Beast Boy won, and nearly crushed my ribcage. The elf is much stronger than he looks.

"Dude! What happened? We were all freaking out. I-"

"B, the girl needs air." Cyborg said simply. Beast Boy smiled and pulled away. I took in precious breaths, only to have them squeezed out of me by the bionic man.

"Aw, Rae! I thought "Man, if that bastard so much as lays a fucking hand on my little sister, I'm gonna punch him so hard, his ancestors feel it!" But you're okay, right? Did he-" Cyborg was cut off by a red, yellow, and green streak.

"RAVEN!" Robin yelled. He wrapped his arms around me, causing Cyborg to jump back in fear of being hit. "Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have left you there alone with him! I know he likes you, and it was a stupid thing to do. He could have killed you or hurt you or even…holy hell! Did he rape you?" Robin pulled back and held me at arm's length, looking worried. The other two looked on with looks of worry as well.

"No. I'm okay." I said. Only then did I realize I was crying. I laughed and Robin pulled me close again. He rocked back and forth a little.

"I swear, if that ass laid a hand on my girlfriend…" He growled. My heart skipped a beat. He had called me his girlfriend in front of the others! I wasn't ashamed or anything, but that was a bad way for them to find out.

"Group Awwwwww." Beast Boy joked. Cyborg smacked him on the back of the head.

"Leave 'em alone, B." It was then that I realized everyone already knew we were together. I wondered how they found out, but I pushed the thought aside.

"So what happened, Rae?"Robin asked, leading me to the couch by the hand. The others followed. As we sat down, I noticed Starfire had come in. She sat down opposite me on the U-shaped couch with folded arms.

"Um…" I paused, looking at Robin. How could I tell him X had told me he loved me? "He said he only wanted to tell me why he wanted Slade put away…" Robin nodded, urging me to continue. "I had woken up in his bed, and-"

"You said he didn't try to rape you!" Robin exclaimed.

"He didn't." I answered quickly. "But I…I thought he was going to…I backed away from him, but he pulled me back. I thought he was, but he only…" I looked around at the others who had varying levels of shock and anger etched into their faces. All of them did. Except Star. She just watched me.

"Only what, Rae?" Robin asked softly, holding my hand.

"Only…only kissed me." Robin's eyes grew wide. He opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off. "It was only on the forehead." Robin shut his mouth, waiting for me to continue once again. "And…he just…told me he…loves me. It's-"

"That asshole!" Robin burst. "He's definitely gonna pay."

………………………………...

As I was going up to bed, I felt strong hands grab me wrists. I opened my mouth to scream, but a hand covered it. I thought it was Red X again. No. Please, not again. I thought. I found myself face to face with Starfire. She stood there without a look of happiness on her face. I thought this was rather strange. It wasn't normal for her not to be bubbly and giddy, but then again, she hadn't been since I came back. What was bothering her, anyway?

"Star?" I inquired. Starfire took no notice to my question.

"You have been doing the going out with Robin?" She asked, eyes sharp and hating instead of sparkling and inviting.

"Uh, yeah." I responded, wondering where she had been the past few hours.

"I was right. He does feel the loving for you." She said coldly. "Listen, Raven." I couldn't help but notice the "friend" part before Raven was missing. "He is a Corbort Plixing Zorb Morker. He does not do the show of affection. He is grumpy and rude. You will not like doing the dating of him." I felt a surge of hate in my stomach. Was she trying to get me to dump Robin so she could have another chance with him.

"Still jealous?" I snapped. Once again, she ignored my comment.

"When he does not show the love for you any longer, I will be glad. You are a Corbort for taking him from me." Star continued. "He will grow bored of you and dump you without warning. When he does, I will laugh. You are not worthy of his attention. You are a demon and you should not be here at all. I do not see why you do not go home." The way the girl talked to me sent shivers up my spine. Who did she think she was, anyway?

"So you deserve to stay here instead of Tamaran?" I mocked.

"At least I fit in." And with a flip of her long red hair, Starfire turned on her heel and walked away. I couldn't help but think she was right.

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A/N: So how's this chappie? Hope you liked it! Toodles, and thankies for reading!