Two Sides of Law

Chapter Thirteen

Sundaes and Decisions

RAVEN

I dried myself from my shower quickly, putting on the clothes Red X had given me. The shorts were black- thank goodness they weren't girly- and the top was white. Immediately, I could tell the tiny tank top wouldn't have a chance of fitting me. I pondered what to do for a moment. I mean, I was wearing a sports bra…girls wore them all the time in gyms. The way Red X- Collin was built, I'd bet he'd seen lots of women wearing them, so it wouldn't freak him out…

I decided to leave the shirt alone and tie the robe around me. I slid my socks back on and exited the bathroom. As I did, I heard a voice in the living room. That voice was unmistakable. Beast Boy's. Holy. Fuck. Had they found Red X so quickly? I thought I had jammed my communicator!

"Hi, mom!" Beast Boy shrieked. I let a small sigh of relief escape my lips. It was only the television. Wait. Why was BB on TV? There was a small beeping noise and a short silence. Suddenly, a woman spoke. I presumed Beast Boy ambushed the camera man and broke it in the process. Leave it to BB… I thought.

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

"And today in sports-" the man was cut off when Collin turned off the infernal device with a snort. To alert him I was coming, and not to make him believe I was eavesdropping, I opened and closed the bathroom door, sniffing. I went down the hallway with my clothes and towel in hand.

Collin looked up when I entered. He sat on his navy futon with his arms draped across the back. His black hair was ruffled and spiked. His blue eyes sparkled, making my emotions run wild in my head. This was really the first time I'd gotten a good look at him. I couldn't help but admire him; he was charming, in a way…

His smile pried me away from my thoughts.

"What do you want me to do with my towel?" I questioned.

"Oh. You can drape it over the curtain rod for now. There's a closet in the hall, if you want to put your uniform in there." He commented.

I went and hung the towel, standing on tiptoe to do so (A/N: that rhymes! Sorry…had to say that…). I put my leotard in the trash can. It wasn't worth saving with a rip like that in it. I had at least ten others, anyway. I put my boots in the hall closet. I returned to the living room to find no one there.

"Hey, Chick." I turned to the right to see Collin standing in the archway to the kitchen. He swayed in a child-like manner, holding either side of the arch to keep from falling. "Want a sundae?" He smiled sweetly.

"Sure." I smiled a bit, following him into the kitchen. He had everything already set up on the counter: a tub of vanilla and chocolate ice cream, M&Ms, peanut butter cups, chocolate chips, sprinkles, cherries, and whipped cream. He busied himself getting bowls and spoons and removing a jar of hot fudge from the microwave. The spread surprised me.

"Are you one of those ice cream fanatics?" I asked jokingly. He turned to me from the counter with his spoon in his mouth. He gave me a questioning look and pointed to himself. I glared, and he laughed, removing the spoon from his mouth.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." Collin responded. "Help yourself. I've given up making sundaes for girls; they don't use enough whipped cream." He smiled, scooping up a mound of ice cream. I laughed and took the other bowl, doing the same, only with a smaller scoop.

We worked our way down the line. He poured mountains of fudge on his along with every topping on the counter. I only took fudge and chocolate chips (A/N: sorry, I'm hungry…). Then came the whipped cream. He shook the can and sprayed a ridiculous amount on top. It wouldn't have surprised me if it was double the amount of everything else. I laughed again. He looked up at me, shaking the can. He wordlessly asked me if I wanted any, and I nodded. He put one spritz on and looked up.

His expression said it all. I'm smiling stupidly and acting immature just to hear you laugh again. And I'm sure that was his goal.

He laughed, spraying almost as much on mine as he did his own. I thanked him, and before I could say my mantra, everything was put away.

"So did I do okay?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" I returned, puzzled.

"Too much?"

"No. I'm a whipped cream freak myself." The young man before me beamed. "But you better watch it, or you'll gain weight." I poked his stomach. He rolled his eyes. "And then Robin'll catch you, no sweat."

We sat up for the next four hours or so, despite the fact that I was originally going to go to bed right after my shower. We talked some more. He told me about his acting job downtown and how he had got the job right out of high school (I had a feeling he was an actor!). We rambled for a while, and around one in the morning, another yawn escaped me. Collin took a look at the clock.

"Wow. So much for going to bed early." He said. His eyes met mine and he put on another heart-melting smile of his. I nodded. "Do you want to crash on the bed or the couch?" I hesitated for a moment. He just offered me his bed? That was sweet, but I didn't want to inconvenience the guy any more than I had to. Plus, there was no telling when he last washed the sheets.

"The couch." I answered. He nodded and stood up from the couch. He came back with a gray sheet, comforter, and pillow. He hastily pulled out the futon couch and converted it into a bed. He unfolded the blankets with care and laid them out, setting the pillow near the wall. He stood up.

He smiled again, running his hands through his adorable hair.

"If you need anything, don't hesitate to wake me up." I nodded. "Need anything now?" I shook my head, not trusting my voice. His eyes were mesmerizing me. "Night, then."

"Night. Thanks again for letting me stay here." I smiled, climbing into bed.

"Not a problem, Chick." And with a flick of the light, he was gone.

Dream Sequence

A boy with black hair attacked a punching bag with fierce, deliberate kicks and punches of sheer brute strength. His masked eyes were emotionless. If he felt anything at all, you couldn't tell. Not by his eyes, anyway. But his actions said it all. He stopped his workout and placed his hands on his knees, winded.

A door opened, suddenly. It creaked as a gray hand slowly pushed it open. It revealed a girl with gray skin and oddly purple hair. I gem known as a chakra sat on her forehead and her beautiful violet eyes sparkled. Her eyes were welling with tears. Threatening tears that promised to soon take a plunge down her face.

The boy straightened up, placing a look of disgust over his face. His childish face was replaced by a sharp, angered one. He huffed and picked a water bottle up from the floor. He took a swig from it and wiped his mouth with the back of his green glove.

"Robin, please listen to me." The girl sounded weak and defenseless, but the boy wasn't phased.

"No. You cheated on me Raven. You went with Red X. You chose him. You can't have me, too." He hissed, stalking off with a towel around his shoulders. The purple-haired girl swallowed and let water spill over her cheeks. She was suddenly turned around by a forceful arm.

Raven found herself face to face with a certain redheaded girl. A mischievous grin adorned her lips.

"Did I not say I would laugh, Raven?" The girl taunted, hovering off the ground. The girl laughed coldly, flipping her hair. "At least he has me." The redhead turned and followed Robin, touching his shoulder when she came to him. He turned, smiling. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her…

I sat bolt upright, mind racing. What the hell was that? Why was I dreaming about Robin and Starfire getting back together? Robin had…Oh. My. God. Robin had dumped me! What was going on? Was it just guilt from me staying with Red X? Hugging him? Now that I thought about it, that poke to the stomach could be taken as flirting, along with all of the smiling and laughing…

Stop, Raven. I told myself. You still have Robin. Wait. Do I? Robin had yelled at me a lot. Did he want to break up with me? He definitely will after he finds out you stayed with Red X. I thought. What was I going to do? You're screwed over with the Boy Wonder. I hugged my knees to my chest, holding back sudden tears.

Tears that showed weakness. Tears that came too often anymore. Because of Robin. He didn't need me. They didn't need me. I was merely there to Beast Boy. A party pooper as he would say. Cyborg didn't talk to me much anymore. Robin thought I got in the way. And Starfire…Starfire was my best friend next to Robin. And Starfire hated me. She said I didn't belong. And I didn't.

I was a distraction. I could barely do anything in battles. All I did was use force fields and attempt hits with levitating objects. I usually missed. I was no threat. I was merely another target to villains. A distraction.

And I had forgotten that. I'd forgotten that for the past six hours. I had gotten away from the Titans. In this short time, I felt whole again. I found a piece of me that I hadn't known was missing. I found it because of one solitary person. Red X. Collin.

I slipped off the futon and headed towards Collin's room. I pushed the door open quietly, as not to disturb him. I stood there for a moment, and then…

"Rae?" Collin asked groggily. "What happened?"

"They don't need me. They never needed me. I was just a distraction." Though I wasn't speaking in a way that he could understand, he knew what I meant.

"Come here; it's okay." I hesitated climbing in the bed with him, but I did. "He's just upset. He'll get over it." Collin pulled me close.

"I'm so confused." I told him. I cried into his strong chest. I barely noticed he was topless. "What should I do, Collin?" I asked between sobs. I could tell he was thinking by the short silence that came up.

"Do you feel at home with them?" Collin asked. "If you don't, I wouldn't stay there…"

"Of late…I haven't been…I've felt lost."

"Then there's your answer." He said softly.

"But where am I supposed to go? I don't have an Earth education. I could never support myself." I couldn't help but think I sounded similar to Starfire with the phrase "Earth education". There was another pause. This time, I believed it to be rather awkward. Apparently, X did too, because he cleared his throat a bit before answering me.

"Well, you could stay with me until you find a job that you don't need that much of an education for…like a waitress or something."

"I don't want to inconvenience you any more than I already have. And if the others are looking for me and find you…" I trailed off, not wanting to offend him, but he finished the sentence.

"I'll get chewed up and spit out by your boyfriend and then thrown in prison." He rolled his eyes. "What do you care? You're the good guy. You're supposed to want me in jail." Another awkward silence hung in the air after he let out a sigh. I acted on a whim.

"It's not every day a guy tells me I'm gorgeous." I told him, looking up. His eyes were wide with shock. I smiled and laid my head on his chest, cradled in the nook of his neck.

"I thought you said you had a boyfriend." He teased. "And you didn't care what I thought."

"Keyword: had. If and when he finds out I stayed with you, he would break up with me in an instant. I'll just save him the trouble." Collin laughed and rubbed my back.

"Shirt too small?" He questioned.

………………………………...

A/N: So how's the chappie? The whole point of it was to do the whole "vision" scene so I had to stretch it out. Cause in the next "Red X" chappie, his girlfriend- wait. I don't wanna spoil the story for you…

Oh, the "Shirt too small?" thing was because Raven didn't fit in the shirt X had given her. X felt her bare back, so that gave him the hint. Just thought I should clarify that…:-cough-:

Toodles! Plz review if you likie! Thankies!