Author's Note: Hey, dudes. Aries is back! I figured that after that cliffie I put you through, I had to post this early. To everyone who reviewed, you guys rock!
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Titans! I'm telling you, I don't! Stop saying I said I owned them, coz I reeeally don't! And that's not me putting sleeping powder in their tapioca pudding and stuffing them in a sack and hauling them away to Siberia like I did to Raven's lab partner! I'm innocent, I tell you, innocent! No… I can't go to jail! There are no chocolate truffles! Noooooooo……!
Hehe… here goes…
-
'Every war has casualties… in this case, it's you.'
-Matthew, The Sleepover Club
-
Raven continued to gape at the flyer like it was the Beanie Babies store at the mall to which Starfire found it absolutely essential to drag her into. There was a picture of a neon red-haired guy in a blindingly green tunic with fake-looking ragged edges and clinging to a bow and arrow like they were life itself. It was obvious they wanted him to look muscular, but the padding under his clothes only made him look… fluffy (I love that word!).
"Robin…
…Hood?"
Raven was staring at the poster in disbelief. "The play is about Robin Hood? (that's right folks, it's the drama club! Though a majority wanted it to be cheerleading, I'm sorry, but I made it this for a reason. You'll see! Harty-har har! Robin Hood! Oh the irony!) What idiot came up with this anyway?"
Robin (not Hood) laughed. "Weird, isn't it? The year you choose to be in the school play is the same year the board decide to make the play about a guy who runs around picking rich people's pockets in a pathetic version of Peter Pan's costume…" He shook his head, laughing some more.
Raven saw a silver lining. "You're one to talk, patrolling around the city dressed as a traffic light."
Robin looked at her in confusion. "Excuse me? Traffic light?"
"Um, you know. Red, green, yellow…oh, never mind. Why is your costume so bright and colorful anyway?"
Robin still looked confused. "So everyone sees it like that? Bright, colorful? I always thought it looked good."
"Yeah, but only on you." Raven blurted out, then she covered her mouth instantly. Now Robin was really confused, though there was a hint of amusement in his expression.
"What was that?"
"Oh, I said… uh—I meant… I said you… must be really color blind." She said, praying fervently that he hadn't heard. What was with her, anyway? Blurting out weird compliments to Robin, and all these thoughts popping up in her head without her consent! It was almost like she was…
…having a crush on him!
No! It was impossible! She couldn't… she wouldn't…
But she did.
Well, it wasn't her fault he was so nice and sweet and funny and charming and so darn cute…
Damnit! That pop-up thought just confirmed her suspicions.
She was acting like a lovesick teenage schoolgirl… hey, wait a minute…!
That was the cold (freezing!) hard (concrete block) truth. She, Raven, the ice princess, the 'goth' girl, the dark corner of the Titans, had a crush. On Robin. Her leader, her team mate, her friend…
"Raven? Earth to planet Raven! Come in!" Robin said jokingly, waving a hand in front of her face to snap her out of her trance.
"Huh? Oh. Yeah. What?"
"Raven, are you okay? You seem… kinda spaced out." His tone was now worried. "You know, if you don't want to join the drama club, I'll get you in at another…"
"No, no. Drama club, Robin… Hood is fine. Whatever you want… is fine." She was stammering more often than necessary now, stumbling over her words like a person would on their first time in ice skating. Ouch.
"Um, are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm happy… with whatever makes you happy." She whispered the last five words, and it was like getting a big burden off your chest. She liked the feeling. Maybe she should try it more often.
"O-kay. Uh, come on. Auditions for the drama club is today, and you don't wanna miss it. I'll come with you."
-
Inside the theatre, the students were busy bustling around like a hoard of bees. Demented bees, that is.
"Excuse me, where do we line up for the school play auditions?" Raven asked a purple-haired girl with so many piercings on her face she looked like a female version of Cyborg. The girl looked at her lazily, and now Raven could see the thick black kohl under her eyes, which matched the all-goth clothes she wore.
"Girl, you're already in the line." She replied, her voice slightly muffled by the gum she was chewing. As her lips parted, the black lipstick on her lips made it look like she had just drank day-old blood. If you take out all the dark-girl wannabe-ness, one could think she was probably pretty.
The two probably didn't notice this though, as they saw the mass of people ahead of them.
"You mean everyone here is auditioning?" Raven still couldn't believe it.
The girl rubbed her forehead. "Yeah, that's what I mean. Are you what, like stupid or something?" She sneered.
Before Raven could make a come back, Robin was way ahead of her.
"Listen, Goth. Because you're a girl, I'd ignore the little voice in my head that's saying I should beat you to a mushy little pump. I, however, won't ignore the fact that you called Raven stupid. I'd bet my life that your hair-dye merely seeped into your head and broke down any remaining brain cells that might have been there. And your taste in makeup too." He taunted, voice thick and heavy with rage.
Purple-hair looked taken aback, but had a little bit more bravado left in her. "Who dya think you are, talking to me like that? You think you're all great and mighty, impressing your little girlfriend over there? You pretty-boy types think you know everything, don't you, Robin? Well, I'm not just another airhead preppy girl who'll fall at your feet. I can see through your image, and you're nothing but an arrogant, image-obsessed jock."
Robin wasn't about to let that go. His fists clenched as his mouth opened to drop another insult, but Raven covered his mouth.
"Calm down, Robin. Don't let her get on your nerves like that. She's not worth it. Now let's go, and not lower ourselves more by breathing the same air as this wannabe lowlife." She led him into the crowd.
"Why you freakin' sface…" Purple-hair shouted at them. "I'll get you!"
"It's your turn to calm down, Dav! Forget about them and practice your lines." They heard another voice. Net thing they knew Raven felt a tap at her shoulder.
"Hi," The girl said. This one had black hair and a lot less piercings, and dressed in dark but comfortable clothes. "I'm sorry about that. Davina has a really big temper. It's best not to mess with her." She said timidly. She extended a hand.
"I'm Carla. And I already know you're Robin and Raven." She offered a smile.
Raven shook the extended hand. "It's okay, really. Isn't it, Robin?"
Robin's brow was still furrowed, but he managed two words. "Charming friend."
Raven elbowed him, but Carla merely laughed. "No, it's okay." Then she leaned in, as if to whisper. "But seriously, you don't wanna mess with Dav. You better watch your backs."
With that, she disappeared into the crowd.
Raven turned to Robin, but he shrugged.
"What was going on back there?" She demanded, having had enough. His reply caught her completely off-guard.
"I'm sorry." He looked so defeated and concerned it melted Raven's heart. "I just can't stand anyone talking to you like that. I like you too much."
Raven was stunned. Robin was too, as he realized what he just blurted out.
"I… I… Raven…"
She shook her head, indicating him to shut it. He did.
"You… you like me?" Her voice stood out among all the confusion and noise around them, like they were the only ones in the room.
It took Robin a minute to reply. It wasn't easy to come up with a lie with that kind of pressure. Finally, he gave in.
"Yes. Yes, yes, yes! I like you, okay?"
The word stunned Raven even more. Robin took this silence as rejection, sadly.
"Just… just forget it. Forget I said anything." He was blushing furiously. He was trying to hide it by bowing his head, but the heat radiated from his face and could have lighted a bonfire for some marshmallow-hungry campers.
'This is it. Now, just when we were starting to be friends. Real friends. But I blew it. Why did I have to open my big mouth? I'm not even sure yet! I hate myself. I hate myself. I hate myself…' He repeated the phrase in his head, bitterly waiting for her to answer.
"Don't hate yourself, Robin." Raven said gently. Robin was just too surprised by the mind-reading, he couldn't react to anything.
"Coz I like you too." She continued quietly. She would have given anything in the world for her hood right now, so she could hide her face and never show it in public ever again. But then again, if she did have her hood at that moment, Robin couldn't have kissed her ever-so-softly on the cheek.
"Thank you." He breathed in her ear
"Marvelous! Excellent! Bravo!" Someone shouted. It was only at that time did they realize that the crowd had backed away from them, leaving them in the midst of a very thick donut of people. Everyone was either wide-eyed (mostly the boys) or horrified (mostly the girls).
The person who shouted stepped forward, a woman in her mid-thirties in a pinstriped suit with a cheesy faux snakeskin scarf around her neck like an anaconda trying to strangle her.
She was the notorious Drama teacher of Jump City Public School, known as Sandra Elizabeth Cowell. Do not let the name fool you; this was the teacher who had a student's vocal cords refuse to work in an attempt to please, the woman who had sent various aspiring actors crying to their mommies with her acid tongue and devilish charm. Remind you of someone?
"What are your names?" She peered at them with beady black eyes.
Both forgot their embarrassment as they stood before this tall (6.2 inches, people!) and admittedly intimidating woman.
"Uh—Robin."
"Raven."
She cackled as everyone watched. "Well, Robin and Raven. I think we have our Robin Hood and Lady Marion!"
Students and teachers alike applauded, though some did so half-heartedly. They wanted the lead roles, after all.
"No!" Came a strangely familiar voice in the middle of the crowd. Guess who?
"Speedy?"
The Titans East looked defiant and angry.
"Robin didn't even audition, and I'm a better archer!" He yelled angrily. Ever seen Robin angry before? Well, this comes pretty close.
"Woah, woah Speedy, I didn't even want the part. I already have an extracurricular! t I was just accompanying Raven. The positions' all yours!" Robin retorted, trying to keep the peace.
"NONSENSE!"
Sandra Cowell's loud voice was heard above all the pandemonium. Her lips were pressed in a thin line, and her face was carefully blank. She closed her eyes and took a couple of deep breaths, two fingers against her mouth.
"ENOUGH OF THIS! Robin, you will play the lead role, along with Raven, and you, Sleepy, shut it! This is not Snow White!" She stamped a high-heeled foot on the floor.
"But I'm a better actor and archer!" Speedy protested, voice shaking.
Sandra breathed deeply once again, a sign that she was trying hard not to lose it. Everyone waited nervously for the reply.
"Fine, fine then. We shall hold a contest. Whoever is better at both areas shall play the part of Robin Hood." She clapped her hands, and seconds later there were two bull's eyes in front of them. Another split second later Speedy and Robin were given a bow and three arrows.
"Archery contest first. On your mark, ready, get set, go!"
The signal came too early for Robin, so he didn't even have time to position himself. His arrow landed at the outermost circle (by sheer luck, maybe? I tried archery, and it's way harder than you think!) while Speedy's, with him being the master archer of the two, hit the target perfectly.
"Ha!" Speedy stuck a tongue out, ruining his perfect 'may-the-best-man-win' composure. Robin scratched his head.
"Okay! One more time! Get set GO!"
This time, Robin's hit the red circle at the middle, though it wasn't quite so center yet. Speedy's pierced the first arrow in perfect imitation of, well, Robin Hood in the movies.
As they prepared their last arrows…
"I appreciate the effort, Robin, but I'm gonna kick your butt." Speedy said, aiming the arrow at the bullseye.
"Winning isn't everything, Speedy (look who's talking now!)…" Robin replied. Then he sniggered, realizing what a fool he'd made of himself.
"Ready, get set…"
But apparently, Speedy had been distracted, and not only let the arrow loose too early, but had it aimed somewhere other than the target. Screams erupted from every corner of the room, everyone afraid of where the arrow might hit.
Robin, thinking quickly, calculated where the arrow will be in three seconds and positioned it there. He prayed he wouldn't hit someone, and closed his eyes shut as he let it go… TWANG!
Robin's arrow hit the center of the bullseye, and below it Speedy's arrow had been snapped in half. He breathed a sigh of relief.
"Wonderful, wonderful, Robin! You were destined to play Robin Hood!" Sandra clapped her hands delightedly and faster than ever before.
Speedy was shooting acid gazes. "You're going down for this, Robin. You're going down!" He said, before storming off.
Raven went to Robin and rested her elbow on his shoulder, smirking.
"You are such a war freak, Robin."
-
FORTY MINUTES LATER, NOW AT TITANS' TOWER…
"I don't know how I made so many enemies in one day, much less one of them being Speedy." Robin remarked incredulously as Raven sat beside him on the couch as he flipped channels.
"Well, you did make one person more than a friend…" She smiled knowingly. "Besides, you released one of your hidden talents. Didn't know you were so good in archery."
He shrugged. "I'm not. Batman made me practice it for awhile, but I haven't gotten 'round to training…"
Then he glanced around the room. "Which reminds me. Beastboy?"
The changeling came from the kitchen and gave him a playful salute. "Yes, fearless leader?"
Robin clasped his hands greedily. This was gonna be fun.
"Remember our training session today?"
Beastboy's face fell. "But… You… I… aw man!"
Robin… he just kept on grinning. Bad fearless leader, bad.
But before they could get leave the rec room, Starfire burst in in her usual Starfire-bursting-in way.
"Friends! I have perfected it! Come and see!"
The three others walked slowly towards her but kept their distance. Just a bit.
"Observe!"
She had a deck of cards in her orange hands, which she held expertly as she swiftly shuffled them.
She closed her eyes and held the deck out to them.
"Pick a card."
Robin deftly took one and showed it to Beastboy and Raven. 3 of Clubs.
"Have you memorized it? Now please return it. And do not keep your eyes off me."
When he did, Starfire put her hands behind her back and opened her eyes. They could hear her shuffling.
She put one out and held it out. "Is this your card?"
It wasn't. 7 of hearts. Oh, the excitement.
She repeated the 'holding-up-a-card-and-asking-if-it-was-the-one' routine three more times.
"Amateur," Raven said under her breath. Robin elbowed her, but Starfire only smiled. Scary.
She gave them the whole deck and asked them to look it if their card was there. But it wasn't. Oooh…
"I WONDER WHERE IT IS?" Starfire said a little too obviously. He voice was kinda muffled like she had a marshmallow stuffed in it. They found out why.
She reached inside her mouth with two fingers and pulled out a 3 of Clubs folded in half twice and showed it to them proudly.
They backed away a little, so as not to hurt her feelings.
"Ew!"
"Gross."
"That was disgusting…"
When they got over their nausea, of course they had to ask,
"How'd you do it, Star?"
"It is a trick that my friend Davina Blaine has taught me (if you didn't get it yet, Davina was taken from David Blaine, the infamous street magician)! Oh well! I shall go and show it to Cyborg now!"
"Okay, that… never happened." Robin said a moment later.
Beastboy suddenly found his shoes very interesting. "Um, do we still have to train?"
"What do you think?"
He didn't have to answer that, didn't he?
(Btw, the trick was one I saw David Blaine do, and weirdly enough one of my friends could do it too! And it was a lot more impressive than it seemed, coz my writing just sucks. Anyway, read on!)
-
"Again! One, two, three, block! One, two, three, block!" Robin barked at Beastboy, to whom he was aiming mild punches at him. His tone had changed from schoolboy to gung-ho teen, a tone no one dared defy. This was a different Robin as that who joked with his team at school or at the rec-room; this was how he was in the battlefield, or in this case, the training room.
Beastboy failed to block a punch and it hit him square in the jaw, making him stumble backwards, in pain and surprise.
"Ow," He rubbed the sore spot. Robin stood over him like a giant oak tree, and he was like a scrawny little bamboo. Both had seat pouring off their bodies, chests heaving wildly in search for more air.
"Can't we take a break?"
"No."
Robin helped the smaller boy up and continued with his coaching. After a few practice techniques, Robin smoothed his hair back from his for head and straightened up.
"Now, you're allowed to use your powers, and I'm allowed to give you everything I've got." He said, not tired enough.
Beastboy nodded wearily, knowing a complaint would prove futile.
They trained for at least thirty more minutes when…
"Ahem!" came Raven's voice from the door. She sounded annoyed, agitated. When they turned around, they saw why.
Her hair was pink. No use beating around the bush, for her hair had gone from a lovely shade of violet to an irritating shade of disgusting pink. Pink. Pink, pink, pink, pink… you just can't get used to the thought, can't you?
"Hey, Rae, What's up with the hair?" Robin asked, trying very, very hard not to burst out laughing.
She glared at him unmercifully, then pointed an accusing finger at Beastboy. "He did this! To my hair!"
Beastboy looked defiant, then surrendered quickly. Robin didn't quite catch it.
"Now, now, Raven. Don't point fingers. It could have been anyone."
"But he did this! He's always the one who does the pranks!"
"How do you know?"
"I just do!"
"That's just unreasonable, Raven."
Her eyes narrowed. "So you're taking his side now."
That caught him off guard. "Raven, I never said that…"
"You're choosing his word over mine."
"No I'm not! But I am the leader, and I regard every member as equals."
"So you don't believe me?"
Beastboy, though oblivious as he is, still felt the anger and doubt made the usually comfortable and relaxed air in the room thicken. He knew he should talk… NOW. Any punishment was better than seeing these two get mad… much less fight!
"Okay, okay, I admit it! I put the pink dye in Raven's shampoo to get back at her about telling on me with the peanut butter delivery from FedEx!" He shouted, but no one was listening. This was not about him or the hair dye anymore; Raven and Robin had crossed an invisible battle line, and no one wanted to back down.
"I want to believe you, Raven, but I can't. I have to consider Beastboy's side of the story before I come to any rash decision."
"Hello?" Beastboy flailed his arms around. "I said I did it! Now stop fighting!"
"Or in short, Robin, you don't believe me!"
"Yes I do, but as a leader I'll have to believe Beastboy too!"
"You guys! I did it! Now shut up!"
"You don't believe me! You don't trust me!"
"I never said that! Of course I'll believe you, and I really do trust you!"
"But you still don't believe me!"
It was all getting very confusing. Everyone talking at once, no one was listening to anyone, and everyone didn't care that everyone was talking at once and not listening to anyone when these kind of problems were actually solved when everyone listened to everyone's else's story.
"If you don't trust me, then you might as well not call me your friend!" Raven screamed, hands beginning to glow black with energy.
Robin stamped his foot, very much like a tantrum-throwing toddler. "But I do trust you! Don't say that I don't when I didn't say anything like that… EVER!"
"And if you don't think I'm trustworthy enough to be your friend, then maybe you're too busy being unreasonable and untrusting to be my friend too!"
"But I am your friend, Raven!" Robin shouted back, but more out of desperation than in anger.
"In fact, if we're not friends, I wonder why I even bother talking to you!"
"Ugh! I give up! Be that way, if you want. I don't care anymore!"
"Then don't care!"
"Fine!"
"Fine!"
"Fine!"
"FINE!"
Raven turned around and ran down the hallway, and upon reaching her bedroom, slammed her door… hard.
Robin was still heaving, from exhaustion and the 'heated argument' he just had. He glanced sharply at Beastboy, who backed away slowly and likewise ran to his bedroom.
And Robin, having nothing else worthwhile to do, took out all his anger on one unfortunate punching bag.
-
Raven shut her eyes so tightly there were beginning to hurt. She put a pillow on her face and buried her head in it, but the thoughts just totally refused to go away.
'Why did I have to be so stubborn? Why did he have to be so stubborn? Why did we have to be so stubborn?'
'Why did we have to fight over such a pointless subject?'
She asked herself these, pondered them, though she knew she wouldn't get the answers. But more importantly…
'Why did I have to like him so much?'
-
"One, two, three… one, two, three… one, two, three…" Robin whispered as he took out all of his might in every punch he gave the punching bag. The world amounted to those numbers, the steady counting, the way everything was so nice and orderly. But lately, his life was exactly the opposite.
"One, two, Raven… GAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
With one final blow, in which he embedded all the force he had which hadn't been taken out yet, and the chain from which the sand-filled leather bag hung swung one last time and snapped, making the punching bag fall to the floor and the sand poured out continuously. He watched, watched them flow…
'Why did I have to be so stubborn? Why did he have to be so stubborn? Why were they both so stubborn?'
'Why did we have to fight over such a pointless subject?'
So many thoughts swirled inside his head, infuriating him. He's not thinking about this, he SHOULDN'T be thinking about this, not this, not Raven…
He gave the bag a kick, but softly this time, before sitting on the floor, elbows on his knees, head in his hands
'Why did he have to like her so much?"
-
Raven decided to spend the time doing something actually worthwhile, and went over the lines, her lines, in the play script.
"Ah, Robin; let not the morrow part us, for we have only tonight." She said dramatically, a hand flew to her forehead, making her laugh. "This is so cheesy…"
She browsed the pages carelessly, not bothering to read, when she went over something quite disturbing.
"Act 9 Scene 4: Kissing scene between Robin Hood and Lady Marion!" She read aloud, horrified. Not only did she have to rehearse with him, not only did she have to refer to him in the play by his actual name, but they actually had a kissing scene… TOGETHER!
It was weird, really. A couple of hours ago, she would have loved nothing more than to act out scenes, no matter how tacky and pointless, with him. But now, because of some stupid and useless argument about pink hair dye that'll wash off in a few days (thank goodness it was only temporary! If it wasn't… well, let's just say Beastboy wouldn't have been alive right now) they were mad at each other, not on speaking terms even, and they'll have to avoid each other everywhere (which could be hard, because they live with each other and had every single class together) and what used to be fun and carefree would be awful, frosty silences and awkward.
Life sucks; then you die, quoted a very wise person.
Raven sighed. 'If only I'd die right now, the suckiness would just go away and leave me alone.'
-
Nikki: I hate this day!
Mara: You always hate this day!
Kat: Which means you hate everyday!
-Normal trio conversation
-
Author's note: Hmm… that's more like my original style. Hehehe… they confessed they liked each other and had a fight in the same day! I'm such a meanie-head! Sorry if you didn't like it, I didn't like it that much either. Especially the ending. But I was in a bad mood when I finished this, so, yeah… I put away the funnies for awhile to focus on a different angle for the story. Anyway, don't worry, I know what I'm doing, and if you want to know what'll happen next, ask Thistlewitch coz I already told her but since I threatened to kidnap Uchiha Sasuke and put him in my 'owned' list, she probably won't tell you, so if you actually want to know what'll happen next,
REVIEW!
I'm putting the review target back to 30… or in short, the reviews on this story should total to 200+. I'm sorry, but I'm in a sucky mood. We have maybe 4 or 5 more chapters ahead, so that's a lot to expect! And once again…
REVIEW!
PS Just for fun, who do you think was right in their argument? Robbie-poo or Ravey? Please tell me!