Chapter 8
Raven flew over the city as fast as she could. It was a chilly night, and the cold bit at her cheeks from so high, but Raven didn't care.
She wasn't sure why she was so angry. The ghost hadn't really said anything offensive… he had even told her not to believe the things they had been told at the séance.
Still, tears stung her eyes as she flew through the city. She wasn't sure where she was going, only that she needed to get there.
The city lights faded behind her as she flew just outside the city limits. Eventually she landed, not bothering to take in her physical surroundings. She didn't need to look; she knew where she was now.
Instead, she concentrated on her other senses. The salty sea air filled her nostrils, accompanied by a faint hint of dry flowers and upturned earth. Thick mist clung to her with chilling fingers. Wind whistled as it blew around objects, unseen in the fog.
Raven let her feet carry her. She had only been there once, but somehow she didn't need to look to know where she was going.
Finally she stopped, and let her eyes gaze at the stone in front of her.
Garfield 'Beast Boy' Logan
An amazing hero
An even better friend
Neverwill he beforgotten
RIP
Wilting flowers still leaned against the gravestone, next to a picture of the smiling green boy.
Slowly, Raven sunk to her knees. Mist curled around her like a blanket as she read and reread the inscription through blurry eyes.
-
Beast Boy ran after Raven's retreating form, soon joined by Johnny.
"Where are you going, man? That guy you possessed is still doing bad stuff."
"I have to talk to Raven," Beast Boy replied.
"I though you couldn't talk to anyone," asked Johnny, keeping up with Beast Boy's sprint easily.
"I don't care," came Beast Boy's stubborn reply. "Raven's obviously upset, and I'm sick and tired of just standing by when she's hurt."
"But-"
"Besides, no one said I couldn't talk to her, I just can't let her know about the tasks."
-
Beast Boy was still running when Raven finally slowed down and lowered to the ground. The only good thing about being a ghost was that he wasn't tired, after running full speed after her. He would still need to catch up with her though, as she had been flying faster than he could run.
He walked through the dense fog, trying to figure out where Raven had taken them. It seemed too familiar. To his right, a small gust of wind momentarily broke through the mist, revealing the haunting shape of a headstone.
He quickened his pace, realizing where she had gone.
Finally he found her. She sat on her knees, her back to him, facing the slab that Beast Boyfelt strangely attached to. As he silently drew closer, he could hear her soft voice mumbling something.
"Beast Boy…" she whispered. "Beast Boy… Beast Boy…"
Beast Boy knew that if he had an actual body, a shiver would have run down his spine. They were in a foggy graveyard, at night, and she was whispering the name of someone she knew had died. Not to mention, he was that dead someone. Something about that seemed wrong.
"Beast Boy," she repeated. Her voice had grown louder, which only made it wobble and crack. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I never got to say good bye. I can still remember exactly what I said the last time that I saw you. You asked if I wanted to go get some ice cream with you, and I said, 'Not right now Beast Boy. I'm reading'. Better parting words have been spoken."
She paused, as if searching for the right words. It frightened Beast Boy to see Raven at such a loss for words, although he didn't know why.
"I'm also sorry I wasn't more… serious about your death. I just didn't want to except it. I kept telling myself that it was all some elaborate joke, and that I'd see your goofy smile the next day. I guess now, that next day is never going to come.
"I suppose you're wondering why I'm here now, right? Why I didn't come a week ago, or why I bothered to come now? The truth is, I don't know. I just couldn't handle coming when you first died, and now… I can't handle anything.
"We had a séance for you the other night. Did you know that? And some ghost came and told us it was Terra. It said so many horrible things. Things it said you wanted to say to us.
"There were a few times before that… when I though I saw you. And I wasn't sure what to think."
She paused, swallowing the bile that had been rising in her throat.
"And then tonight, I met another ghost. It said it knew you, and I couldn't take it anymore. It's just not fair. Why should all these ghosts get to walk around in other people's bodies -coming close to living- while you're…" The words caught in her throat. "You're dead."
"Being a ghost is no where close to living," Beast Boy told her. Raven jumped a bit, gasping and turning around. Her tear-streaked face held a mixture of fear, anger, sadness and confusion.
"Beast Boy?" Raven whispered, wide eyes taking in his mostly transparent form. He nodded. "What? When-?"
"I've been around since I died Raven," he told. He walked over to her and sat down next to her. Up close, he could see that she was shaking, although he wasn't sure if it was from the cold or not.
"Then why haven't you said anything to us?" she asked, her voice hard. He tried to make eye contact with her, but she refused to look at him. Instead she kept her eyes on the ground.
"It's complicated," he replied. He could tell his vague answer annoyed her, but there were bigger things to talk about now. "Please don't be sad, Raven."
Her head snapped up and she looked over at him.
"How do you expect me to feel?" She asked, anger flashing in her sad eyes. She jumped to her feet, voice raising. "First, you die. You have no idea how much my world crumbled when I realized you would never be coming back. Then, some random ghosts decides to toy with my emotions. And now, you show up, saying cryptic things and telling me how to feel. Maybe I don't want to feel anything at all. Have you ever thought of that? But, now that you mention it, I really shouldn't feel sad. I should feel angry. Angry at you for causing all of this!" Tears streamed down her pale face. "But I don't."
"Please don't cry, Raven. What's wrong?" asked Beast Boy softly. He wrapped his arms around her trembling form as well as he could without slipping through her.
"Don't- make me repeat- all that," Raven choked through her sobs. Beast Boy sighed.
"Rae… come on Raven. You know I care about you. I always have. I don't want you to cry. Don't get so upset just because I died," Beast Boy whispered, trying to soothe her. His comforting words only made her cry harder.
"I never got to say it…" She gasped, burying her head in her folded arms. "I never got to tell you…"
"Tell me now," Beast Boy whispered. Even in his ghost form, he imagined he could feel a shiver run down his spine in anticipation.
"I love you, Beast Boy."
-
Johnny walked through the streets of Jump City, playing the day over in his head. It had started out normal enough. First he had haunted his usual hangouts, scaring little kids by making spooky noises. Then, he took advantage of his ghostly state to peek into the ladies' change rooms in the clothing stores at the mall. After that he took a break from his fun, to pay an old 'friend' a visit. Having learned how to lift small things, he wouldmove random objects around the sitting room in Elton McPherson's house. The forty-something year old man was currently going through a mid-life crisis because of it; a small thank you from Johnny for stabbing him in the back… or rather, chest.
Yes, it had been a normal day. That is, until he had decided to check out Titan's Tower. There he had found, to his delight, a séance was being performed. While it didn't happen all that often, Johnny always enjoyed crashing a good séance.
He had then proceeded with manipulating everyone's feelings so he could have a good laugh. Nothing strange there.
Then things began to get a little complicated. He had met Beast Boy.
He had listened to Beast Boy's story, and a feeling he thought he had lost years ago stirred in him: sympathy.
And now that damned emotion was going non-stop.
Why was it that he had spent all of his time as a ghost doing bad things, without feeling a bit of remorse, and now he couldn't stop thinking about all the small things he had done to people. They had been amusing to him, but were they really fun for the people he had harassed?
Johnny thought about Beast Boy's task. First, Beast boy had said that he had to make a good guy from a bad guy. While they were following the Titans into the city, though, Beast Boy had explained that the exact wording had been 'to make a good person from one who is taking the wrong path'.
He couldn't help but wonder: was he taking the wrong path? Was it even possible for him to redeem himself?
A child's yelling snapped Johnny out of his thoughts. Looking around, he saw that a young boy was chasing after a ball that had rolled onto the street. Johnny was surprised to recognize the boy as Jason McPherson, Elton's only son. Though a bit mentally disabled,Jason was the pride and joy of the balding man's life.
He watched as the boy began to chase the ball onto the street, despite the large truck speeding down it.
Before he could think twice, Johnny found himself speeding towards the ball. The only though that passed through his head was, 'What would Beast Boy do?'.
He reachedthe ballbefore Jason could. Falling to his knees, Johnny concentrated on pushing the ball. As usual, it took a while for his half-possession to work, but he managed to pushthe toytowards the small boy.
Jason stooped down to pick up the ball, stopping just short of the large truck, which chose that moment to speed by.
Johnny closed his eyes as the truck drove through him. When he opened his eyes again, he saw Elton's pudgy form running out of the nearby park, towards his unmarred son.
Johnny watched as Elton scooped up his son, kissing him on the cheek and babbling hysterically.
"I thought you were going to get run over! Don't you ever scare me like that again! What is your mother going to say? You could have died. Thank God, your ball rolled back to you when it did. Someone's looking out for you," he gasped, squeezing his son in an over-protective hug.
Johnny watched the exchange between father and son, and felt almost like he was intruding, even though they were on a busy public street. A thought passed through Johnny's head, or rather, a decision. It may be too late to completely redeem himself, but that didn't mean he couldn't do what he could to make up for the bad things he had done. Beast Boy might be a bit upset that he wasn't going to help him finish the rest of the tasks, but he would understand. Johnny would be too busy watching over Jason.
-
Beast Boy looked over at Raven, trying to decide if he had heard her right. Did she really just say that she loved him? She sounded sincere, but doubt nagged at the back of Beast Boy's head.
"No, you don't." he told her, before he could stop himself. Raven looked up in surprise, as if she had forgotten that he was even there, and nodded her head.
"Yes, I do." She replied stubbornly.
"Then why haven't you ever shown me it before. You've never done anything to suggest that you love me," Beast Boy replied, suddenly feeling sorry for himself.
"You never did anything either," Raven replied, voice a strange mixture of defiance and timidity. "Does that mean you don't- didn't love me?"
'Of course I love you,' Beast Boy thought immediately. Before he could voice his thoughts though, he stood up. The familiar sensations of becoming more alive shot through his body, and white sparks wrapped around him.
He noticed Raven's questioning look, and wasn't sure how to respond to it. He couldn't explain what had just happened without telling her about the tasks.
Before Raven could say anything, Beast Boy turned and ran back to the city.
He knew he should stay- wanted to stay- and tell her that he did love her, but he couldn't right now. He had to go find out why he had changed, and then he would have to figure out how to make Raven happy, because there was no doubt in his mind that the last task involved Raven.
Here it is! Sorry if it's been a while since I last updated, but I've been busy. Usually I take a few hours out of my days to write chapers in large chunks, but this chapter was really a bunch of tiny chunks. Does that even make sense?
Lol, whatever. I hope you liked it. Reviews are always appreciated.
Tammy Tamborine
