AN: I've never owned the Teen Titans, so why would I now? Quite asking!

Chapter 4

An hour passed and the two read silently. Raven hadn't been comfortable with Beast Boy being in there at first, but now that she was sure he was just reading she felt better. She had a feeling that he was going to spy on her stuff or something. She really was underestimating him. He certainly had grown in those past few years.

Another hour passed and their eyes had grown tired from reading. Beast Boy sighed and closed his book, rubbing his eyes that weren't used to reading so much. He looked up at Raven and saw that she had finished reading a little while before and was now meditating. He was so happy she was being kind to him lately. Well, as kind as Raven could be.

He stood up and gave a good stretch. His bottom had fallen asleep and he had a hell of time waking it up. He wasn't sure what to do next. He wondered if he should just leave. He really didn't want to, since he had nothing else to do. But he knew it would probably be creepy if he just sat there and stared at her silently.

Raven sensed everything that was going through his mind. She was a little surprised that he was… happy to be around her. Had she really been kinder to him lately? She supposed so, since he had been having trouble with Terra. But that's what friends were for, and she needed as many friends as would accept her.

"You want to talk?" she asked out of the silence and made Beast Boy jump out of his skin.

"What?" he asked.

"Do you want to talk?" she asked, opening her eyes and settling back down on her bed. "I can tell you don't really want to leave because you're going to be bored. So we can talk, if you want."

"Uh… sure," he said. "What about?"

"Tell me how you like the book so far," said Raven. "And you can sit at the end of my bed if you want. You looked a little uncomfortable on the floor."

"Thanks," he said and sat down. "Uh, Raven?"

"Yes?"

"Why have you been so… nice to me lately?" he asked hesitantly.

"Because you're finally acting like a grown up," said Raven plainly.

"So… all this time we've been friends the only thing keeping you from being nice to me was my immaturity?" he asked with a chuckle.

"I've told you that from the beginning," she sighed.

"Oh, guess I wasn't paying attention," said Beast Boy with a smile.

"Exactly," said Raven. "You never paid attention. But, now, you're finally calming down and are willing to talk and listen. I have to say, it looks good on you."

"What does?" he asked, confused.

"Maturity!" she said, getting a little impatient.

"Oh," said Beast Boy. "Sorry, I couldn't understand, but you talk in riddles sometimes."

"No I don't," said Raven.

"Yeah you do," said Beast Boy. "You have this weird way of talking that makes you sound so… refined or something."

"You… think I sound refined?" she asked, a little surprised.

"Well, you sound smart, at least," said Beast Boy. "Maybe I should take a lesson from you so I can finally sound as smart as I am!"

"Beast Boy, you already talk as smart as you are," said Raven.

Beast Boy was a little hurt by this comment, but then he saw the look on her face. She had a smirk on it and he knew she was just doing it to get a rise out of him. "Well maybe I'm just so advanced I don't need to talk good."

"Talk well," she corrected him. "You don't need to talk well, which you do."

"Well you just know everything, don't ya?" he asked with a smirk.

"Pretty much," sighed Raven in her normal voice.

He smiled and let out a small chuckle. "You know, I like having these talking sessions with you," he said.

"Really?" asked Raven hesitantly.

"Yeah," said Beast Boy. "I never knew we could talk without getting into an argument."

"We still argue," said Raven.

"No we don't," said Beast Boy.

"Yes we do," said Raven.

"No we don't," laughed Beast Boy.

"Beast Boy, we're doing it right now!" said Raven raising her voice.

"Well, you started it," said Beast Boy.

"I did not," said Raven shocked.

"Did too," said Beast Boy moving closer to her.

"I did not!" said Raven moving closer to him.

"Did too!" said Beast Boy moving even closer.

"Did not!" she yelled, making all of the candles in her room melt away, due to her powers, and the room went pitch black. "Now look what you made me do," she hissed.

"I didn't make you do it," said Beast Boy.

"You did too," said Raven.

"I did not," said Beast Boy.

"You did too!" said Raven, feeling her emotions creeping back up. "Oh would you stop it!"

"Stop what?" he asked, half laughing.

"Stop making me lose control!" she said. Beast Boy started to chuckle to himself. "It's not funny! Do you have any idea how much meditation I'm going to have to do to get my mind calm again?"

"Let me guess, a lot?" he joked.

"Okay, I've had enough," she said very irritated. "Get out."

"I can barely see anything," said Beast Boy. "I'll probably trip over something."

"Fine," she said standing up and grabbing his hand. "I'll show you to the door."

She pulled him to his feet and began to lead him towards her door. She knew the room by heart, but she hadn't counted on the pillow that Beast Boy had been sitting on while he read. Her feet just caught it in a way that tripped her and down she fell. She gave a small yelp as she tumbled to the floor, bringing Beast Boy down with her.

Now she was lying on her stomach, with Beast Boy on her back. Both let out a moan of pain and annoyance. Beast Boy propped himself up and Raven turned over onto her back. Now they were face to face.

"You okay?" asked Beast Boy, trying not to laugh.

"Yeah," she said, trying to get over the shock of tripping.

Beast Boy couldn't hold it in any longer and he began to chuckle. Raven, who was annoyed and angry, couldn't help but let a small smile out. She could feel him shaking with laughter and that made her want to laugh as well.

"And I thought I would be the one to trip," he laughed.

"Well you're the one who left that fucking pillow on the floor," she said, trying to hold back her laughter. "And, Jesus Christ, you're heavy!"

"Sorry," he laughed.

Now they were in the dark and starting to laugh up a storm. Raven was trying her best to restrain herself, but it was hard with Beast Boy lying on top of her giggling away. The lightning flashed and for a moment they could see each other. They were both smiling and laughing at the situation.

The lights above them flickered for a moment and turned on. They both looked up and felt a little relieved.

"Well, I guess the power's back on," said Beast Boy looking at the lights.

"Thank Azar," said Raven.

Beast Boy looked back and suddenly the two realized how close they really were. Their midsections were touching and the only things keeping their chests apart were Beast Boy's arms, which were propping him up. Their laughing had ceased and now they were just staring at each other. An awkward silence grew between them.

"Uh… Beast Boy?" asked Raven. "Could you… get off of me?"

Beast Boy snapped out of his little trance and said. "Oh yeah! Sure, sorry." He hopped up and lent a hand to her. She took it and he pulled her up. They looked around her room and saw that most of her things had been rearranged. Raven sighed and felt very angry with her self.

"Damn it," she said, massaging her temples.

"You okay?" he asked.

"No," she said irritated. "I let my emotions get the better of me."

"Well, there's no real damage," said Beast Boy. "No reason to go beating yourself up over it."

"Yes, there is plenty of reason," said Raven sitting down on her bed and running her hands through her violet hair. "I should be in more control of myself. I shouldn't have gotten mad and I certainly shouldn't have laughed."

"But I like it when you laugh," said Beast Boy. "It reminds me that you're not emotionless."

"How I wish I was," she said.

"Come on, you don't mean that," said Beast Boy.

"Yes I do," said Raven in a serious tone. "My life would be so much easier if I didn't have to worry about my emotions."

"Yeah, but you'd never… feel anything," said Beast Boy sitting down next to her. "Happiness, sadness, excitement, anything!"

"And my powers would be kept at bay and people wouldn't have a reason to be afraid of me," said Raven. "Seems like a pretty good trade to me."

"Raven, people aren't afraid of you," he said. She looked at him with a look that said, 'Yeah right.' "Okay, so some people are afraid of you, but… I'm not."

"Yes you are," said Raven, sighing. "Everyone is."

"Well, it's true that I'm afraid of certain parts of you, like when you get angry," said Beast Boy. "But, as a whole person, I'm not afraid of you. And I would never want you to be totally emotionless."

"Yes you would," said Raven matter-of-factly. "Think about it, I would never say anything sarcastic or mean to you. I would never make everyone feel depressed when I walked into a room. I think everyone would be better off."

"Raven, your emotions make you who you are," said Beast Boy scooting closer to her in a concerned way. "If you take those away then you would just be… bland. There would be no you."

"Would that be such a bad thing?" she asked, looking him in the eyes sadly.

"Of course it would be," he said, taking her hand. "I like who you are. You're different. You're not like every other girl out there. You stand out."

"Well I don't want to stand out anymore," she said, looking away from him. "I just want to be… normal."

"No one's normal, Raven," said Beast Boy, softly taking her chin and turning her face back to him. "Not in the sense of what people think is normal. It's our differences that make us normal."

Raven looked deep into his emerald eyes. "When did you become so wise?" she asked, still feeling sad.

"When I saw a friend in need," he said, concerned. "A friend who can't see how great she really is. A friend who needs to know how much she really means to her friends."

Raven could feel tears seeping into her eyes. No one had ever spoken to her like this, and the fact that it was Beast Boy really made her question if she was in reality. She closed her eyes, letting the tears fall, and bowed her head shamefully. Beast Boy lifted her face again and for a few seconds they looked into each others' eyes.

Slowly Beast Boy leaned in and placed his lips on hers. Their eyes closed, causing more of Ravens tears to drip down her cheeks, and they kissed. It was like an electric shock had been sent through them, causing the hairs on their arms to stand up on end.

Suddenly Raven pulled away and said, "No! No, we shouldn't… we shouldn't be doing this." She stood up quickly and moved away from him. "You… you should go."

Beast Boy nodded, still shock over what he had done, and stood up. He felt very strange and quickly left. Once he was gone Raven went back to her bed and sat down. She put her head in her hands and began to cry all over again. She sat up and then crawled into the middle of her bed. She lay down and curled up, trying to make sense of what happened.