This Prison

Chapter Nine

Midnight Kisses

Days in the tower were unbelievably tense in the next three proceeding days. On the morning after the fight, I'd gone to breakfast and noticed the seething Boy Wonder glare at me with hate in his masked eyes. The metal man and Beast Boy did not seem to hate me as much; they only pulled me aside and told me not to "mess with her". The princess of Tamaran, however, barely spoke to me at all. I supposed she was angry with me for harming her dark companion. After all, she had already given me a warning. I had stayed inside my room almost all of the time after that. From what I could see, Raven did the same…more so than usual, I mean.

I mulled over my thoughts. I lay on my bed, hands behind my head. I stared at the ceiling above me that was almost black in the darkness. The curtains were drawn tight, windows closed, and doors shut.

Guilt spread through my veins as I remembered my little fight with the young boy. How old he was exactly was a mystery to me, but he had to be at least seventeen to drive according to his metal companion. He was only two years behind me in technical age yet I still considered him to be a child. Perhaps I referred to him this way because of a maturity issue. Yes, that was it. After a thousand years, I was quite tired of being nineteen.

I peered over at the black box with flashing red numbers. This was an alarm clock and told you the time. It read 11:57. I sighed, adjusting my position a bit. It was never like me to have trouble sleeping but then again, it was almost alien to me by now. This had been the norm every night at the Titan Tower. I would bid the members goodnight (in the rare occasions I was in the common room) at eight thirty and lay in bed, consumed in thought. This was the latest I'd ever stayed up.

My train of thought was interrupted by a soft knock on my door. I got up and went to open the door in an instant, not thinking of the possibility it could be Robin come to take his childish revenge. I opened the door to reveal a girl I hadn't seen for the past three days-Raven. She was in her usual set of night clothes. Her deep violet eyes glimmered with emotion, as if she had been crying. Puzzled, I greeted her.

"Lady Raven." I stepped back, offering her to come in. Instantly, I thought better of it, but it was too late. To my surprise, Raven entered and stopped in the center of the room. I stared at her for a moment and finally shut the door. In the darkness, she turned to face me.

"I need help." She said flatly. My eyes widened in shock. Raven actually needed my help? And she was admitting it? I readjusted my eyes, as not to anger her. "I don't want to become the portal." Her arms were crossed, her voice faltering ever so slightly. I new in an instant she was referring to Trigon.

She wanted me to help her with Trigon? How was I supposed to? She'd known this all her life. Why was she choosing now that she wanted to prevent it so badly? She walked towards me, hands now at her sides. She stopped right in front of me and stared into my eyes. My heart fluttered; she was only a few inches from me. A beautiful, radiant, charming girl was standing in front of me- in my bedroom! I restrained myself. "Please, Malchior." Raven's voice cracked. I watched tears well up. "I don't want to murder my friends." Her fragile voice pulled at my heartstrings. Did I dare?

"What am I supposed to do, Raven? Even I haven't a clue about how to stop Trigon." I said truthfully, trying to sound as hard as possible. I didn't need to get emotional right now.

"Please, Malchior. You're the only one who can help."

"You can't stop-"

"I can try! When you said it was impossible to get rid of you, what did I do? I sealed you in that damn book! I've done the so-called impossible before; I just need your help!" the dark girl snapped. We were both quiet for a moment before she threw her arms up in frustration and turned to leave. "Why do I even try? I'm worthless." Before she could reach the door, I grabbed her by the shoulder and turned her to face me. I braced her shoulders. I looked into her eyes.

"You are not worthless." I told her. Tears were spilling down her cheeks. "You hear me? You aren't worthless." A sob escaped her throat, making me pull her close. I stroked her hair and whispered in her ear. "I'll help." She let out another sob with a slight smile on her lips. Surprising me for the third time that night, she wrapped her arms around my neck and laid her head on my chest.

"Thank you." She pulled away after a minute, smiling. I wiped tears from her face, kissing her forehead. I knew she was still dating that damned boy, but I didn't care. I pulled her into another embrace which she immediately returned.

"I meant it when I said it." I told her. She looked up at me, obviously puzzled. I smiled. "When I escaped, I said "I love you". I meant it." I set a soft kiss on her lips. "I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused."

"It'll be worth it if we can stop Trigon." she said, pulling away and moving to the door. I smiled.

"Goodnight, sweet Raven."

"Goodnight." she opened the door. I turned to go to my bed, but felt a small tap on my shoulder. I looked back to see Raven standing there. Surprise number four? She stood on tiptoe to reach my lips and kissed me. She smiled and left without another word, leaving me speechless.

I fell onto my bed. Raven had kissed me on her own free will.

Talk about a sign of the Apocalypse.

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A/N: sorry for the short chappie! The next one will be longer, I swear!

Thankies to the readers, but the real credit goes to the reviewers!

Oh, and answer my question from way back in chapter six: Why does Malchior say he and Rorek look so much alike? It's easy, c'mon!