Two Sides of Law

Chapter Twelve

Roommate

RED X

I sat in the shadows, watching the scene before me unfold. Robin had just gone off on Rae, shouting at her and accusing her. It took all my will power not to go over there and beat the living hell out of him. He'd shaken her, leaving her crying and broken-hearted. I pitied the girl; she deserved so much better than that bastard. I couldn't say I'd be any better, but at least I wouldn't yell at her like that. He'd treated Rae like a little girl! This guy has a knack for multiple personalities. Like me. I couldn't help but think.

After Robin stalked off, the others recommended getting home. Rae shook her head, saying she needed some time to herself and to go without her. The others reluctantly left. As she did, I noticed a smirk on the Ditz's face. WTF? I thought. Why was she so happy? I waited for a moment, until Rae's little friends had gone. The dark witch's stifled sobs echoed through the rafters, sending another wave of pity down my spine.

I stood and walked over to her as quietly as possible. She still had no idea I was still at the pier. I crouched behind her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. She looked up at me, startled at first. Her violet eyes read it, but almost instantly changed back to tearing. Rae looked down, pulling her knees closer to her chest. I assumed she was still afraid of me due to our little misunderstanding.

"What do you want?" She asked bitterly, voice quavering from her sobs.

"Just wanna make sure you're alright." I said truthfully. I lifted my mask from my face to eliminate the sound of the harsh voice modulator built into it.

"Sure." She said harshly. "I'm just peachy." The girl loosened the grip on her knees and laughed bitterly in spite of herself. "I just love being roughed up by guys."

"Nice hobby." I teased, sitting beside her with my elbows on my knees.

"Oh yeah."

"So what are you going to do about it?" I questioned. She looked up at me. I wanted to look away. Her stare bored into me. It felt like she could see into my soul. But I couldn't leave it. "Are you gonna try to work it out or break up?" She closed her eyes and sighed.

"I don't know. I mean, every time we get in a battle with you or Slade, he always blames me for your escapes." It seemed like she was going to say something more, but didn't.

"Sometimes you just need a break from everything." I said, leaning my sweaty head against the wall. I ran my fingers through my tousled hair.

"Yeah…I do." She admitted. She shifted, turning her legs to the side. "Collin?"

"Yeah?" I ignored the fact that she'd used my real name.

"Why'd you tell me that the other day?" My stomach did a flip at her sudden question. I knew what she was talking about. She was asking why I'd told her she was gorgeous. I was caught off guard. I felt her gaze return to me, but I didn't return it to her. I couldn't talk to her about something like this when I was looking at her. I felt…embarrassed.

"Because it's true." I nearly whispered, but she still picked it up. Then, the girl did the last thing I would have expected her to do. She hugged me. She rested her head of purple hair on my chest and closed her eyes. I sat there in shock for a moment before I hugged her back. So we sat there like this for what seemed like forever. We sat there like lovebirds you'd see in those mushy romance flicks that make girls cry (Kate made me watch it, don't have a cow).

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. Kate. What was I doing? I mean, I didn't love Kate like this, but I still considered her a friend. I didn't want to break her heart like-

"Collin?"

"Yes, Rae?" I said sweetly, almost musically. She pulled back and looked at me, tears finally gone.

"Can…Can I stay with you for…a day or two? Just to get away from the team for awhile? I mean, you can say no…" She looked slightly embarrassed by her words, and in seconds, a pretty pink tint appeared on her moonlit cheeks. What was I supposed to do? How could I say no with her looking at me like that? I answered against all of my better judgment.

"Sure, Chick." I replied, standing up.

"Chick?" She gave me a skeptical look and she took the hand I offered her.

"My nickname for you, if you don't mind." I pulled her up and held her around the waist. "Hold on." I pressed a button on the belt and in seconds, we materialized in my dark living room. I let go of Raven to find the light switch.

"Collin?" Rae said. "Where'd you-" She was interrupted mid-sentence by the lights coming on.

She tripped on a box near the wall at that moment, and before I could catch us, we were both on the ground. My head thumped against the thin carpet and I winced. I stared at her for a moment, taking the whole situation in. Her eyes were wide. I felt her light weight on top of me, her hands on my chest. My hands were dangerously close to her butt, and our noses barely touching. Her lips looked positively inviting. I wanted to kiss her then and there and never stop. I restrained myself, and after a moment, Rae hopped up and offered a hand up, muttering an apology.

"It's alright. No injuries." I commented. We just looked at each other for a minute before I showed her around. "Place is pretty small. I really need to clean, but I've been working a lot…"

"This is spotless compared to the tower." Rae commented. I smiled.

"Yeah, I guess it's bound to get filthy with Mold Monkey walking around." I joked. I was referring to- gosh. What was his name?

"Yeah. Beast Boy leaves everything he touches a wreck, a mess, or dead. Unfortunately, that doesn't include his pet larva."

"He has a pet larva?" So Raven proceeded to tell me about another enemy of theirs: Killer Moth. She mentioned his spoiled daughter wanting to date Robin, Starfire nearly exploding from jealousy, and Beast Boy smuggling Silkie the larva into the tower.

We talked for a while. We just chatted about anything and everything, but we eventually got into talking about our childhoods. I gave her the full Slade story, and she told me of her father, Trigon.

"So you're dad's an inter-dimensional demon who tried to destroy the Earth?" I asked disbelievingly. She nodded.

"That's how Slade came back to life."

"Wow. I just thought he was laying low for a while." Raven shook her head, yawning. "Wanna get to bed?" I questioned. She nodded. I got up and went to the bedroom with her following. I pulled down a few of Kate's clothes from the closet for her. "These were my girlfriend's, but I think they'll fit you. You two are pretty close in size."

"Thanks. The leotard was really starting to bug me." She motioned to a tear in the stomach. She took the pajamas and lilac robe with a smile.

I went and sat in the living room while Raven took a shower. I flicked on the news. Nothing better to watch. A reporter appeared on-screen.

"And we're live at Titan's Tower," My heart skipped a beat. "where Robin, the team's leader has called the police for help. Why is this, you might ask? Well we're just as curious as you are. Why would Robin, the top crime enforcer, need the police's help?" The reporter turned to Robin, who was standing next to his team on the shore of Titans Tower.

"Robin, would you tell us what is going on?"

"It's one of our team members. Raven. She went missing a few hours ago." Traffic Light told the camera. "We need help finding her since the tracking device on her communicator has been jammed. If you've seen her, please contact the Jump City Police Department."

"Do you think one of your enemies could have kidnapped her?" the woman asked Cyborg.

"Yeah. She was kidnapped the other day by this one guy…but she got away. I'm really worried. Her powers weren't working tonight, so she'll be easier to keep hold of."

"Who took her the first time?"

"This dude named Red X." Mold Monkey chimed in. "His real name is Collin something."

"Could he have tried a second time?" The woman turned back to Robin.

"Possibly. We were fighting our two worst enemies, so it's almost impossible to tell. Neither of them ever leaves a lead." Robin answered matter-of-factly.

"Do you think she might have just needed to get away for a while?"

"Yeah, dude! She was all-" Beast Boy got cut off by another question from the media.

"Was she angry with anyone?"

"Yeah!" Elf Boy nearly shouted. "Her and Robin went at it at the end of a battle!"

"I see. Miss Starfire, do you have any comments?" The reporter asked. Starfire pulled a job of fake crying and sobbing. She was faking it. Surprisingly, she was a pretty good actress. She finally gripped the sides of the camera.

"Raven, if you are watching the vision of the telly, please return to your home!" Ditz cried. The camera fell to the ground when she released it, and a crack formed on the screen. The Mold Monkey knelt down to the camera, waving.

"Hi, mom!" he yelled. The picture fuzzed out and left the crew at the station sitting there, speechless. I snorted. That green kid was so immature. The crew sat there for a moment. A man shuffled some papers, clearing his throat. The woman was brave enough to continue.

"So if you have any information about Raven of the Teen Titans, contact the Jump City Police at 615-8973."

"And today in sports…" The man began. I turned off the TV before I could hear anything more.

I sat there, quiet. Why did the ditzy redhead hate Raven? Did Raven purposely jam her tracking device? Did she want the others to find her? And who on earth was unfortunate enough to give birth to Beast Boy?

………………………………...

A/N: Hi, peoples! So how's this chappie? Plz review. Thankies:P

Oh, and sorry for the delay in updating! My computer had a brain-melt...