Chapter 2: Superficial Sunday

It was a beautiful afternoon, the sun's calming rays reflecting off of store windows and sunglasses of passerby. People chatted and sang on the sidewalk, cars drove by and occasionally honked at nearby friends. In the midst of this seemingly happy settlement walked a lone girl, enshrouded in an invisible mist of mystery and despair. The exciting buzz didn't affect her in any way as she calmly walked by. Many asked her to taste their free samples, or to buy the latest breakthrough in the BLAH! Section. Pointless, so pointless…

Raven came across the city park and paused. It looked so similar to something she had visited before. Perhaps she had come here before? She showed no interest at all to the guys playing soccer and basketball in the courts nearby. Certainly there were many guys watching her, she felt their eyes piercing her back. She ignored them. Just distractions…

For a reason unknown to herself, she stopped in the center of the walkway. She tried to move forward but her legs resisted her own command. Raven tried to take this with an amused expression, but it quickly became annoying. What was she meant to see here?

To make it look like she stopped on purpose, she gave a sigh and crossed her arms, looking about for something to take interest in. She saw men in jerseys playing soccer, someone had just scored a goal… A tall man had just made a basket and was doing the windmill in victory… A squirrel had stopped a few feet in front of her to just… stare at her…

"Heads up!" A distant male voice called. Raven heard something racing through the air towards her, and instinctively she held her hands out and caught… a football.

"Whoa, nice catch! I didn't know girls could be good at football! Especially catching." The person to the voice finally appeared in front of her. He was a tall young man, older than Raven by a few years at most. His brown eyes held a mischievous spark in them, it revealed that he was one that liked to play around. Why was he so familiar?

"Cyborg?" She said out loud before she could think about it.

"Do I look cybernetic to you? Sorry girl, but I think you're looking at the wrong guy." He paused, noticing that the girl was holding the football tightly. Why would she be so stressed?

"Uh… Umm… Hey, you're that Rachel kid, right?" He said, trying to make conversation. He didn't really want to be rude and just demand for his ball back. His friends could wait. This girl seemed lost and confused, and he wanted to send her on her way respectfully.

"You could say that…" She answered in a low whisper.

"Well, aren't you?" He asked back, straining hard to not give her a demanding and confused expression.

"My mind keeps telling me that I am Raven of Jump City, yet everyone here calls me Rachel…"

"Jump City? Where's that?"

"It's located on the border of the Pacific Ocean, on the west side of America…"

"…"

Raven noticed how quiet he seemed to become.

"Would your name happen to be Victor? Victor Stone?"

"Why yes, that's what it is…" Victor murmured softly. Something was going on in his mind, for confusion was now plainly set on his face. "Uh, hey, could I have the ball back? Me and the guys need it to play, and you kinda.. erm.. have it…" Raven placed it on his offered hand and watched as he ran back to the field. She muttered something quietly to herself, something that no other could hear…

"You are Cyborg… I just have to make you realize that."

She walked off.

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"Hey man, what went on with you and the gal?"

"Yeah, did you snag her?"

"That wouldn't be the first time you threw a ball out of bounds and caught a woman with it."

Victor was quiet as his friends laughed merrily around him.

"Who was it anyway?"

"Dude, there's only one person with purple hair like that. Her name's Rachel Roth. She's that freaky girl at school everybody talks about. She's so stupid she doesn't even realize that she's being insulted behind her back all the time."

"She's the one with the odd set of violet eyes, right?"

"They're so creepy when she looks at you… Makes your heart freeze…"

"Shut up."

The conversation stopped and all turned to the speaker, who was Victor.

"Why you getting so defensive man? You're the one that always cracks jokes about her."

"Yeah, you called her an ice princess the other day. Don't ya remember?"

"Who the hell cares what I said the other day. Her name's Raven, not Rachel. Remember that." Victor threw the ball down hard and walked away, not caring that his friends were totally stupefied of his behavior.

"I think he did more than snag her…" A guy whispered, wiggling his eyebrows. A few snickered.

"What sick perverts we are…"

"Like we care, right?"

"Uhh… What?"

"Who?"

"…"

"…"

"Hi."

They laughed merrily at the random greeting and went back to playing football.

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Victor Stone walked quietly back to his house, not reacting at all to the greetings shouted towards him. He was silently pondering what had just occurred. He didn't know why he stood up for Raven, it was more of an instinctive urge than a courageous deed. It didn't worry him in the least, as he had always been the leader in his friends' eyes. Tomorrow they would still be how they always were: cheerful and laid back. The only difference now would be that they would respect Rachel's solitude for what it was.

How odd it was, so simple to make people's feelings turn at one's word…

After casually unlocking and relocking the front door (his parents were rarely ever at home, they worked at S.T.A.R labs for most of the day), he plopped down on the leather couch and just sat there. He didn't move, his muscles were relaxed and spread across the cushions. What was wrong with him? After the mention of her name, Raven hadn't been out of his mind for even a minute. Those piercing violet orbs haunted his vision, aching him to listen to their story. It was embedded in confusion but a sense of knowledge that not many had.

"What am I talking about? That makes no sense." He sighed, rubbing his temples. As he stared at the blank, white ceiling, he had the ever growing impulse to hold Rachel's hand. He found himself become increasingly wary at his condition. Why was his subconscious telling him to do that?

Maybe I will learn something from this… He thought, grabbing a slender black remote from the coffee table in front of him. He pressed a button and the plasma screen flipped on, producing a show of cartoons. But first, I need to relax a little.

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"Cyborg? Raven?" Their calls echoed throughout the seemingly deserted city streets. The red head bit her lip as it began to tremble. After successfully finding the T-Car left a few streets away from their current location, they had thought that all was fine. However, after Beast Boy trying connecting to Cyborg, they found that everything was not fine. Not at all. All they got was some alien sounding screech…

They tried contacting Raven but nothing happened; it was a mute response. Robin became unusually frantic as he heard this, and whipped out his own communicator. Unlike the others his had a few extra necessities on it, including the heart rate of his teammates and their current condition. He checked out Raven's…

And it was dead silent. That could only mean one thing…

"Robin, is Raven, the okay?" Starfire asked innocently, coming to float up beside him. Robin quickly whipped his communicator out of view and into his pocket.

"She's fine, but the tracker isn't working. We're going to have to search. Beast Boy, you take the west wing; Starfire, take the skies. I'll take the east side." They all nodded on the orders and went to carry out the plan.

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The day slowly faded away without many points of importance, as Raven was clearly becoming more and more lost as the day went on. Though the growing silence of the city comforted her in a way, there was also a growing sense of unease. She had no idea what the crime rate was here. Who knew what could happen at night. Just as she made her way around the corner towards home…

She slammed into a broader figure who was also rounding the corner. She fell backwards, feeling some pain from the concrete sidewalk. However she ignored this and glared up at the figure which caused this current situation to occur.

The figure itself, it happened, was no more than a teenager. His muscles were nicely trimmed and could clearly be seen from the tight shirt he wore. It was more of an attire from the 70s than present day. His jeans were slightly baggy, giving the impression of being a bad boy. The way his hair was slick and spiky further ensured the cool factor. He gave her a trademark grin and reached down to help her up.

Raven stared at the offered hand, confusion now apparent on her face. After thinking about what she could run into at night, she was almost certain that she had gotten into trouble. But the way his cocky grin came out, the look in his crystal blue eyes that revealed sincere concern and apology…

She took his hand, and was immediately hoisted back up into standing position. He stared at her shyly for a moment.

"Thanks…" She muttered, feeling indeed very awkward. She wasn't used to things like this.

"No problem, and sorry about bumping into you." The teen put his hands in his enlarged pockets and met eye contact with her violet orbs. He thought for a moment. Where had he seen this before? Ah, school.

Raven saw the way he was looking at her and felt the need to get out somehow. It was obvious in some way or another that he recognized her, and she felt hopeless that she didn't know him. Well, he did feel familiar… She just couldn't place him.

"Hey, you there?" He waved a hand in her face. She blushed slightly in embarrassment, too deep in thought to realize that he had been talking to her.

"Yes, sorry, I had just gotten a bit distracted… come again?"

"I was just wondering if you were heading home, because I could walk you there, if you wanted." He gave a small smile. Gosh, wasn't he full of them…

Raven thought about it for a moment. It would be a good idea; she didn't know where she was and now the clear night sky had come upon them. Some lights from the buildings spilled out and lighted the streets, but that didn't bring comfort in the least. She would accept, but she needed to know something first.

"I will accept, but I need to know something first. Who are you?" Raven felt that she could have worded that better, but it had already slipped out and she couldn't correct it now. The teen looked at her in some surprise. She didn't know him?

"I'm Richard, but I thought you'd already have known that. I mean, we are in the same High School and all…" Raven gave a small blush.

"Sorry, I've been forgetting a lot of things lately…" She drifted off, staring at him. Yes, he was definitely familiar to her. She had the same gust feelings that she did when she was around Victor, even though that was only for a short period of time. Perhaps if she hung around him a bit more often…

She blinked as Richard gently pulled her arm, catching her attention. She shook him off lightly and walked beside him until they had finally made it to her temporary home. They walked up to the door together and then turned to bid each other farewell.

"Thank you for helping me, Richard." Her voice tone revealed her appreciation.

"It was nothing, don't mention it." He gave a small smile, hung around the doorstep for about a minute longer before walking down the pathway to the road. "See you tomorrow!" He waved, turned a corner, and disappeared. A moment later, Raven realized that she had actually risen her hand to wave goodbye. Though she had forgotten many things from the past, another thing she hadn't forgotten was that she couldn't feel emotions, and rarely ever portrayed them.

Yet there she had just now. Raven thought about it for a moment… and smiled. Perhaps this new turn out wouldn't be that bad after all…

To be Continued…

Author's Note: As I was asked what the pairings were, I'll tell you why I haven't stated them yet. I was thinking about having it as a Robin/Starfire, Raven/Beast Boy and maybe Cyborg/somebody in the future, but then, once I got to the alternate reality, my motives changed without really intending to. I've heard the phrase love triangle often, but perhaps I shall broaden it and create the love… square. Hehe.

In this prospect I can make it to meet almost all shipping needs: in the Teen Titan universe (where Star, Rob, and Beast Boy currently are) that Star/Rob, BB/Rae, Cy/someone exists; and in the alternate reality it will be the love square I was referring to earlier: Rae/Rob/Cy/BB. Rob and Star will probably also be together for a part of it (it all depends on what happens with the square, really) and if Raven gets up with Robin, then Star will be with Speedy. Tell me what you think, it'll help!

So, now for a little poll:

Who do you think Raven should be with in the Alternate Reality:

Robin

Cyborg

Beast Boy

Starfire (Just kidding… sort of. XD)

Please review, it makes a writer happy! )