A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I realized that I first started writing this fic exactly a month ago. Little did I know that almost half of it would be posted on the internet a month later…

Chapter Eight: Freedom!

"So...are you going to do it?" he asked.

"Do what?"

"Skip practice!"

"You never do learn, do you?"

It was Friday, the day with the outing night, and the two Titans, Raven and Beast Boy sat on Raven's windowsill, bickering. The sitting on the windowsill was becoming a routine for them at the end of the day. They would train in the morning, do whatever else they needed to do (this included the sleeping some since they lost some while reading), read a little in Raven's book, talk for a very short while, bicker, and read a little more.

"Not really," the shape-shifter answered her. "I just don't feel like training."

"And what if I feel like training?" Raven asked him. "I know I don't need to as much as you, but I can still leave you here and go."

"But you're the reason why I'm skipping!" he blurted out. "F—For the book."

"For the book," Raven muttered. That's it? "I don't know...it was kind of fun reading with you." She couldn't believe what she was saying. How was it fun reading with him?

Because he gave the book a chance.

"Oh, yeah," Raven said aloud. "Robin seems fine about Star going to school now," Raven said.

"See! That's another reason we should skip. He's not in a bad mood today."

"He will be if we ditch the training session."

"But he got over it last time…after we came to the gym a couple of more times. It's like he completely forgot!"

"I don't think so...and last time we only came late, we didn't ditch completely."

Although Raven was apprehensive, both of them didn't budge as six rolled around. It seemed that Robin was letting the Titans to get up whenever they wanted that day, since he didn't bang on their doors asking them to get up.

They watched the sun rise out of Raven's window, but neither of them concentrated on it. It was as if they both wanted to skip, but wouldn't unless the other stayed with them.

"Well, since it looks like you don't plan on training today, we're probably staying here and reading that book, right?" Beast Boy curiously asked.

Raven had forgotten about the book. It was the reason they were up late in her room, but her mind didn't dwell on it as much as it should have been. For a moment she hated to hear about the book. After all, it was the only reason he was hanging out with her...not that it really mattered, but that was a really pathetic reason.

"No, I'm not reading the book today."

"Why not?" Beast Boy asked alarmed.

"Because I can't read this book to you all of the time...I've got other things to do Beast Boy. Like meditate...or read on my own."

"Then let me read it by myself," Beast Boy muttered, although he'd never do that in a million years.

"No, we're not reading it at all. If you want to stay here without me reading the book, then stay. If you don't, then we'll go to practice."

Beast Boy looked at Raven's clock. If he chose the latter, it wouldn't matter because they would already be late to training.

"I want to stay here," he said. "Book or not."

Raven raised her eyebrows, and her face tinted. "Ok, then."

oOo

That night was fairly quiet. Robin didn't even bother telling Beast Boy and Raven that they couldn't go to the outing, which happened to be bowling, and the two skippers watched the Titans get ready to leave.

Starfire quietly stood with Robin as he pulled on his jacket. She didn't speak much, and looked at the ground often.

"Ready to leave, Star?" he asked, while pulling his arms through his sleeves.

"Not exactly."

Robin halted.

"I...I would rather take a walk by myself tonight. It has…been a long week."

"...what?"

"Robin, I do not deserve to go to the outing with you and Cyborg. As Raven and Beast Boy, I was not in the gym everyday, training. And I did not make up my work as well."

"Starfire I said it was—" he paused and remembered Starfire telling him that she did not want to be seen as weak. "Ok, then. If that's what you want." He managed a smile.

Cyborg, Starfire and Robin exited the tower, and Robin and Starfire parted ways. "I am hoping that you have fun," Starfire told him.

"You too."

"Where's she going?" Cyborg asked him, as he climbed into the T-Car.

"Walking," Robin simply told him.

As soon as the other Titans exited, Beast Boy spoke. "I can't believe we're stuck here together again!" he cried. Raven looked up to tell him that it was his fault they were there in the first place, but closed her mouth when she saw that he was smiling.

"So...what are we going to do?"

"We're not going to read the book," Raven said, "If that's what you're thinking."

"Wanna play video—"

"No."

"Man, I should have gone to practice," Beast Boy muttered. "At least I could leave the tower."

"Well…what's keeping you from staying here?" Raven asked. "It's not like we're locked up or anything."

Beast Boy's eyes widened and he looked at the empath, astonished. A moment later he gave himself a forehead slap. "Oh…yeah! And all of this time I've been stuck home without realizing that."

Raven rolled her eyes.

Beast Boy ran towards the door in excitement. Although he was not locked up, he sure felt like a prisoner. He halted and swerved around. "Wait…where should I go?"

Raven sighed. "I don't know….the arcade?"

"Ok! Um…where is that again?"

Raven blinked at his remark. "You go there all the time. You know where it is."

"Yeah…but Cyborg always drives me there."

Raven walked towards him. "Come on, I'll just show you."

"You mean you're coming with me?" he asked, astounded.

Raven looked away from him. "You want to leave the tower, don't you?" she quietly told him.

Beast Boy nodded feverously. "Dude, this is gonna be so fun!"

Raven flinched at being referred to as a "dude". "I'm going to take my book with me, because I know I'm going to get bored."

Beast Boy stared at her and smiled. Raven flew up over him, ready to leave. "What are you smiling at?"

Beast Boy's eyes widened. "Nothing. Let's go."

oOo

The arcade was loud and noisy as Raven expected, and as soon as they walked in she found a table in a corner to sit at to read her book. Beast Boy disappeared into the crowd after she did this. Raven took a deep breath and started reading her book.

"I'm going to the art festival," Darcy told Lorenzo with a wave of her hand. She gripped the knob of the door to leave. "You don't want to go; you wouldn't be interested."

"I'm interested," he told her, his eyes shining. "You always have to put up with my games, so I'm going to put up with yours."

"It isn't a game," she corrected him. "It's something you wouldn't be able to comprehend." Without waiting for an answer, Darcy continued, "You are sure you want to come?"

Beast Boy, who had tried every one of the games at least four times, finally came and sought out Raven.

"Are you done?" Raven asked him, without looking up from her book.

"I guess so...I ran out of tokens," Beast Boy told her, while checking his once full pockets twice.

"Good. Now let's go home before the others do before us. I can't even believe I let you talk me into coming here."

"It was your idea!" Beast Boy interjected.

Raven stood up, trying to forget that Beast Boy was right. "Come on."

Beast Boy stood his ground. "Um...Raven?"

"What?"

"I was wondering if we could do something you want to do also."

Raven's heart raced. This was all too familiar. "There's nothing I'd want to do here," She said coldly. "I only want to read my book."

"I'll read it with you then," Beast Boy offered. "You did take me here after all."

Raven looked away. What was he getting at? "It's too loud in here to read. Let's just go home."

"But I don't want to go home just yet...let's read it in the parking lot."

Without thinking, he pulled Raven by the wrist out of the arcade, and into the lot. They sat between two parking meters and Raven hesitantly opened the book up.

"What part are you on?" Beast Boy asked.

"Lorenzo went with Darcy to the art museum," Raven muttered. "It's nothing really exciting."

"You were smiling while you were reading it," Beast Boy pointed out.

Raven's eyes widened and she looked up at him. "You noticed?" she asked. "I was in the way corner of the room, there was no possible way you could have seen me."

Beast Boy shrugged. "Well when I found you, you were. It was kind of funny 'cause you rarely to that…can I read this time?"

"Why?" Raven asked, trying to ignore his previous comment.

"You always get read the book out loud. I want to try for once." As he had done when Raven first showed him the novel, he attempted to grab it from her. As he tried, Raven did not let go. "I'll hold the book," she told him quietly, "You just read."

Raven handed him the open book and he flipped the pages. The text looked odd, and Beast Boy began to believe that it looked that way because he never really read a book. "Darcy and Lorenzo go to the art museum, blah, blah. Hmm…here's probably where you left off: "Lorenzo rubbed the back of her neck and slowly brought them closer together. She could feel his breath on her and…"

"That isn't where I left off!" Raven panicked.

"Oh…it's not? That's ok, just show me the real place and I'll –"

"Let's just go home," Raven said while blushing. "We've been here long enough." She quickly stood up, with Beast Boy jumping up after her.

"Look, what was so bad about that part of the book?" Beast Boy asked, breathing hard.

"That wasn't the part I wanted you to read," she simply said. Raven walked faster, causing Beast Boy to run to keep up.

"But it's just a book, Raven. So it had a little romance, so what?"

Raven shrugged.

"I'm sorry about it though," he said. "I didn't mean to make you mad by reading that."

Raven flew up into the sky, and Beast Boy did the same after he morphed into a hawk. She knew that if she flew, he would have to as well, and luckily birds did not have the ability to talk.

A/N: After reading this over, I don't think this is as great as I remember it. XD It's kind of cheesy. Hopefully this chapter shows up despite technical difficulties. I know probably some of you won't be able to because of the site's problems, but when they are over please review, and remember tell what you liked and stuff.