psycicflower- Thank you. But if you really are psychic, shouldn't you already know what's to come? j/k Zackery Faelan- Much thanks. But this update was actually kinda quick. Next one's gonna be 7 days. Wrathchild- Yay, she's believable:D That just so made my day... seriously. But if you're expecting her to blow up at Slade 'cause he's in her room, you might be disappointed. :( MCLBLUE- Eee... thank you. jade- Mwaha. Cliffhangers are what I strive for. :3 VampireSelene- Wow, really? oO; I didn't really think I'd make that much of an impact. sugarhighnutcase- Thank you. :3 spiracle- I'm updating, I'm updating! raven's magic- Wow, thanks. :) And Slade's only gonna get jerk-i..er... meaner? Lulu Cross- Thank you. :) I try. LoL.

Chapter 3

The communicator in the living room, fine. But her room? Now that was crossing the line. Several lines. At least. Her room was like her sanctuary. Slade could not be in her sanctuary.

"Can't you just leave me alone?" shouted Raven.

"We didn't resolve our chat from earlier," his voice replied. Where was it coming from? It was hard to tell with the loud downpour in the background.

"There's nothing more to say," the girl stated quickly as she crawled off of her bed. She began to stalk around the edge of the room, searching and listening for the device.

"No, Raven. There is much more to be discussed."

"I think you pretty much covered everything last time," she hissed, looking around her bookshelves.

"Not quite. However, I am curious, how was your meditation?" inquired Slade. The dark girl started. Quickly she looked around, wondering if he had cameras stashed around the tower, too. But how did he know about the meditation? The way he asked it sounded as if he knew how horrible it was. But he couldn't have known... could he? It was just a lucky guess. Raven shook her head. She was jumping to conclusions. He didn't know how her meditation was for sure, he was just asking. Perhaps he thought she'd reply asking how he knew, when he really didn't, but the girl would've then told him what he wanted to know. Raven almost smiled to herself. Could she be outsmarting Slade?

"That is neither your concern nor your business," the girl retorted coldly. A second later she heard his trademark laugh. She hated that laugh.

"Dear child, everything is my business," he said. Raven checked under her few pieces of furniture.

"I am not a child," said the Titan.

"You're right. You most certainly are not," Slade agreed. Raven growled to herself. Why did he have to concur with her? It made it more difficult for her to argue.

"Just leave me alone, Slade."

"I can't, my dear. Not just yet, anyway."

"Why not?" she exclaimed. The girl checked the corners of her room where the shadows were the deepest. Suddenly the room brightened as a flash of lightning split the sky. No device hidden in the darkness.

"Like I said before: there is much more to be discussed," he said calmly. The way he kept his cool tone annoyed her. He sounded like he knew everything and it was all working out the way he planned. She hated that, too.

"Humor me," growled Raven. She could've sworn he chuckled at that.

"All right. You're always meditating to keep your emotions in check, but did you ever think it was because of your friends that you must meditate so much?" The dark girl straightened. Where was that device?

"That's ridiculous," she said immediately.

"Is it? You wish to remain emotionless so you can keep a hold of your powers, but it is your friends who bring out your strongest emotions. Worry, happiness, sadness. Feeling mad or guilt or perhaps even jealousy. Your friends are your real problem. If it weren't for them, you could have a better control of your powers," explained Slade.

"No," Raven said. It was the best response she could come up with. His speech sounded logical enough, but it couldn't be true.

"My friends helped me. My powers are developing just fine because of their help!" she added.

"Are you sure you couldn't be farther along if you didn't have their hindrance?" the man shot back.

"My friends are not a hindrance!"

"Not intentionally, at least, but they are. In the back of your mind you know it's true. Don't deny it. My dear, you don't need friends," said Slade.

"I don't need you, either, if that's what you're getting at." The girl folded her arms across her chest. He had hidden the device well.

"Was it?" he questioned. Raven rolled her purple eyes and vented a sigh, though it was barely heard over the heavy rain falling outside her window. She wondered if Slade was trying to confuse her. A quick flash of lightning brightened her room for a second, then faded. A minute of silence passed and Raven thought the man had forgotten about her. She would've liked that. But soon his voice again filled the room, cutting through the silence like a sharpened blade.

"My dear, do you really have fun with your friends? And I use that term loosely."

"Of course," she snapped. The girl sat on the edge of her bed. She was halfheartedly hoping for another long-winded speech so she could locate the new communicator.

"Are you sure? The other Titans have such close bonds- they're true friends. But you... you're not as outgoing as Starfire, nor as humorous as Beast Boy. In fact, you're exactly the opposite. You're not interested in what Cyborg and Robin like, or vice versa. They are all true friends, my dear, and you're merely an observer," Slade said. Raven was beginning to wonder if he just liked the menacing sound of his own voice.

"I balance out all their immature behavior," replied the dark girl matter-of-factly. "I keep them down-to-earth... for the most part."

"Ah, so you don't quite get along with them. They're too childish for your taste, aren't they?"

"I didn't say that," Raven swiftly added. "They know when it's time to be serious and–" She was interrupted by a knock on her door. The noise made her jump. The girl quickly collected herself, stalked over to her door and opened it only far enough to see who it was. Robin was standing there.

"Hey, Raven," he said a little nervously. A long pause followed, the only noise being made by the rain. The girl didn't say a word. She was waiting for an apology, and if he wasn't going to give her that, she wanted him to state his business and leave. Raven watched him with an unreadable expression. Robin absently scratched his head.

"I... think I sorta... overreacted earlier. This is the first time in awhile that Slade has reappeared– and right in our tower. I guess I thought it was more serious than it was and–"

"Is this your attempt at an apology?" Raven cut in quickly. She was afraid that Slade would interrupt at any moment, and it was anybody's guess how that would turn out.

"Um... yeah," said Robin nervously. He wasn't the best at apologies for he usually wasn't one to make them.

"Apology accepted," Raven blurted, then closed the door.

She felt almost traitorial talking to the Titan's worst enemy right in their own home. She wouldn't know what to say if they ever found out, or even how they would react. The girl had almost let it slip to Robin about the morning conversation, but she hoped he wouldn't know for sure.

Raven clapped her hands over her eyes and then pushed through her hair. The girl collapsed onto her bed and stared at the ceiling. The room was illuminated by another flash of lightning. All she could hear was the rain and her slow, steady breathing. She was too tired to argue anymore. Hopefully Slade was done talking to her.

The rain began to lull her to sleep again. Raven felt her eyelids becoming heavier. She crawled over to the pillow and just as her head hit it, a quick rap came from outside. With a groan she got up. Opening the door part way she saw Cyborg standing there.

"Hey, Raven. I just wanted to see if you were okay. You seemed... different today," he said.

"I'm perfectly fine," replied the girl with a sarcastic undertone. "Just tired." With that she closed the door.

"What was Slade talking about?" she said aloud as she returned to her bed. "Of course they're my friends. They care about me."

"They may care, but look how you respond to them. You shut them out," came the reply. The girl instantly wished she had kept her thoughts to herself.

"Go away, Slade. I don't like to be pointlessly bothered when I'm tired," Raven announced. She thought she heard a faint chuckle. He seemed to find quite a few of her statements amusing– especially when they were intended to be very serious.

"Very well. Good night." The girl looked wildly around the room. The Teen Titan's bitter nemesis was wishing her a good night? That possibly creeped her out more than the laughter. Raven unclasped her cape and draped it over a chair back before climbing back into bed. She listened with great appreciation to the rainy silence. The girl let out a long sigh and pulled up the sheets around her. Suddenly another knock fell on the door. She was beginning to hate that noise. Robin and Cyborg had already visited and said what they wanted to say, so all that was left was...

Beast Boy put on his big grin when Raven cracked the door. He lifted a finger and was about to speak when her door was slammed in his face. With a huff, the dark girl returned to her bed and soon fell asleep to the soothing sound of the rain.

--

Next Update: 9/5 Monday

P.S. Does anyone know if Hot Spot actually talks? I know he didn't in the show, but has anyone read the comics? That'd be a great help, if someone knew. :)