Disclaimer: I do not own the teen titans or the words to the song Misfit by Amy Studt. Sorry it's been sooo late, things have been hectic for a while now but things are settling down….woohoo….it has been a while since I updated.

Hand in Hand

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Misfit

7th December

"What on earth are you wearing?" asked Raven as she stood stunned at the side of Claire's black Pontiac Firebird. Raven herself had decided to at least try and dress discreet in black jeans and a black polo neck and boots. Claire it seemed though didn't share that ambition.

Claire was dressed in a black spaghetti strap top that had small chains hanging off it. On the front it said 'Remember EVIL is just LIVE spelled backwards' in red pointy letters. Claire had a red leather spiked dog collar on and black three quarter length jeans that were laden with silver and gold hoops and chains. She was wearing shiny black thigh length boots which had a heel that would probably cause considerable damage if she stepped on someone. Over all of this she was wearing a bright red knee length leather jacket with a high collar. Claire's hair had been pinned up very…enthusiastically and it spilled outwards in all directions. Claire had painted her eyes with such vigour that she looked like reject from the film The Crow.

"Clothes Raven. They're called clothes." Claire said grinning like an idiot.

"They're very…noticeable clothes." Muttered Raven as the two of them started walking towards the mall.

"That's the whole idea Rae." Claire said flinging her black pentagram shaped bag over her shoulder. "I'll be damned if I'm going to dress like everyone else. That's just pathetic and superficial."

##So you think you've got it all worked out,

You got your hot pants on,

You got your arse right out,

And you think you're something,

New and special,

And me in my drab dress,

We won't do it at all##

Raven shook her head, "Riiiiight…"

Claire grinned back her easily; "There's this shop on the top floor called 'Black Magicks' we have to go there." She slipped from one topic to the other as if it were the easiest thing in the whole world. She bounced as she walked making her look like an excited kid, "I want to check if they've got something I want at the same time. There are a few things there that you might like."

Raven nodded, if there was a prize for the most words said in a minute then Claire would take the trophy home. It amazed her at the length her new friend could talk out without running out of breath. But surprisingly her endless babble didn't annoy her as much as it should have.

But Claire, for her part, was a very good listener when it came to important things. Raven remembered yesterday evening well, she had expected lectures and swearing as soon as she had told Claire about her self-harming, but the black haired girl had merely traced the wounds with her finger nails and gave her advice on sterilising her knife. She was glad that Claire hadn't given her the 'selfish' speech.

"Claire, do you have a fascination with the colour black?" asked Raven when she realised something.

Claire paused as her hand touched the door to the mall, "Why do you ask?"

"Well your hairs black, your café is called 'The Black Out' and now you're going to a shop called 'Black Magicks'." Raven counted off the reasons on her fingers.

"Says the girl dressed in black." Replied Claire sarcastically and then she sighed, "Do you know that scientists say that black isn't a real colour. And neither is white apparently." She shrugged, "Maybe that's why I like it so much."

Raven nodded, "That's a good answer." she said as Claire finally managed to push open the door and entered the mall.

To Raven's surprise not that many people turned to stare at Claire as she brushed past the masses of 'normal' looking people. In fact most acted as though she wasn't even there. Raven wasn't sure if she was relieved or not.

"The shop's this way…c'mon!"

##I spent so long trying to fit the prototype,

I kept slipping on the heels and I never got it right,

What's the use?

What's the point?

You've got the wrong girl! ##

Raven looked around her at the interior of the shop. She had to admit it was tasteful and silently applauded Claire's choice for shopping. It was a long room with a low arched ceiling. There were golden and green coloured lanterns hanging off of the walls at regular intervals, casting mellow lights on the midnight blue walls. The carpet was thick and black and the display cabinets were made of chrome or steel or something like that. But it seemed as if the shop sold everything.

There were special decanters that raven knew were used in witchcraft, there were open bowls, bowls with lids, tall glass and topped bottles in a range of colours. There were packs of incense, herbs and spices, packs of tarot cards, shaman wisdom cards and fortune cards. There were rune sets, staves, crystals and collections of bones. There were gargoyle ornaments, black fairies with rubies for eyes, jewellery, clothes, daggers and cutlery. The back walls were lined with rows upon rows of books.

She browsed through the small trinkets and jewellery and her eyes caught on a bracelet that she liked. It was three different kinds of metal, silver, white gold and platinum wounds together like snakes, two claws were the fastener and the talons hooked together securely. It was beautiful.

She was about to pick it up when she heard Claire shriek at her from the other end of the store, "RAVEN!"

Raven left the bracelet and went to see what her friend was doing. Claire had a thick black book in her hands, which she was waving madly in all directions.

"Look at this Rae! You should totally get this!" she said while grinning.

"You're a very happy person aren't you?" stated Raven as she drew up to the goth girl and peered down at the book.

Claire nodded, "Only when the situation calls for it." She answered happily shoving the book into her hands and then wandering off to look at something else.

Raven allowed a small smile to grace her features and she looked down at the book in her hands. She snorted in amusement when she saw the cover. 'The Book of Spells.' Raven wondered if it was a joke, she opened the cover and read the index of spells, quickly she found one that appealed to her and she leafed through the thin white pages. Her eyes travelled down the page absorbing the information. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to try it. She closed the book and decided to trust Claire's judgement. She walked to the counter and paid for the book.

She turned around and searched the shop for Claire. Claire was standing near the jewellery stand looking longingly at something.

##So keep on doing what you're doing down there,

Because I'll be flying higher,

Waste your own time,

I don't care,

Anything you can do I can do better##

"What are you looking at?" asked Raven as she walked over to where Claire was standing. The black haired girl pointed to the necklace that was displayed next to the bracelet that Raven had previously been admiring.

The necklace was suspended on a silver string and the pendant was a silver wolf's head with emeralds for eyes.

"Buy it if you like it." She told her friend while her own eyes travelled back to the bracelet she had noticed before. It was large enough to cover quite a number of her scars so she could probably get away with wearing it.

Claire sighed audibly, "I don't have enough money to buy it."

Raven looked up and then looked back down at the price tag, it said it big black letters forty-five dollars. Raven looked back at the bracelet. That was only thirty dollars. A plan formed in her mind.

"Hey Claire?"

"Hmm?"

"Have you got thirty dollars?" Raven stuck her hand in her pocket and grabbed her purse.

"Yeah."

Raven nodded, "Well how about you buy me that bracelet," she pointed to it, "And I'll buy you the necklace. They can be Christmas presents."

Raven suddenly stumbled sideways as Claire threw herself at her. The other girl's arms wrapped around Raven's neck and hugged her tight. Raven was sure she felt her ribs splintering.

"Raven!" cried Claire in a euphoric voice clinging to the titan, "That's the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me! It's the only thing anyone's ever done for me!" she hugged Raven tighter, "I could kiss you!"

##All you girls you look and flip your hair,

You wonder why I'm still here, well,

You're superficial I'm a misfit,

But baby that's okay##

Claire grinned and hugged Raven again.

"C'mon let's pay for all this and get outta here!" cried Claire enthusiastically.

Raven nodded dumbly, "Uh, sure…can we go to life essence after this though?"

Claire looked mystified for a moment, "You want to buy candles?" her eyes dropped to the book in Ravens hand, "OH! Okay then!"

"After that, do you wanna come back to the tower?" Raven asked this for two reasons, one because she didn't want today to end but there wasn't really a lot to do when they had just spent nearly all of their money, and secondly because she wanted to prove to Robin that Claire was her friend and that she did make plans without notifying him.

Claire's eyes got as big as saucers, "R…really? You want me…to come back to the tower?????"

Raven shrugged, "Only if you want to."

##All you girls when you look into the mirror,

Tell me how do you appear? Well,

You're superficial I'm a misfit,

You're superficial I'm a misfit,

But that's okay! ##

Raven watched Claire out of the corner of her eye. The black haired teenager was staring up at the T shaped tower with amazement. In fact she was doing a very good impression of a fish. Raven keyed in the access code to the door and it slid open with a hiss.

Claire jumped when she heard the noise, her hand flew to her chest and she took several deep breaths. She flashed a smile at Raven. "This is it, isn't it, this is the moment where we enter the tower…" her voice came out as a mere whisper.

Raven sighed, "Yeah…it's nothing special, really." She tried to placate the teen, but nothing seemed to work. She was beginning to wonder whether or not buying Claire that sugary soda had been a good idea. She suspected that the present sugar high girl was the result of that refreshment stop. Raven made a mental note to stay well away from soda.

Claire looked at her in disbelief, "It's all right for you to say that. You live here!" she shook her head in disbelief, "I don't know whether I can do it."

Raven, who for her part had been most accommodating for the day was beginning to lose her patience, she recognised somewhere in the back of her mind, that losing her patience was not a good thing, she could snap or say something harsh to her new friend, and even though she trusted Claire implicitly there are a lot of things that people will do when they are hurt and confused.

"Just get in there." She sighed pushing the strange girl towards the open doorway. Claire kind of ran over the threshold and then closed her eyes as if expecting alarms to go off or something. Raven shook her head and closed the door behind her as she too entered.

## So you got your little groups and gangs,

You got your VIP, your member only things,

Your 'Happy Clappies' and your 'VC Crews'

And if you get in their way they've got ten on you ##

Raven held her breath and counted to ten in her head, true she had no idea what she was so annoyed about, Claire was her friend and a lot funnier than Beast Boy any day, but there was just something about the strange girl that bugged Raven or rather bugged her remaining emotions. "Claire, I hope you don't mind me asking, but is there something wrong with you?" she asked lightly, trying to figure out what was wrong and not sound to horrible at the same time. Sighing she levitated their shopping and floated it up towards the roof with her powers to distract herself.

"Yes actually, it's ADD."

Raven raised an eyebrow; did this girl have something mathematically wrong with her? "What?" she asked in clear bewilderment.

Claire grinned and waved her hand, "Oh sorry, it stands for Attention Deficit Disorder. Disease. Disorder. It's one of them." She looked up at the walls, "Just think, I've been looking at the walls that make up part of Titans Tower….wow."

Raven groaned and put a hand to her face, great, not only had she befriended a lunatic, but she was a raving lunatic at that. Well, she reflected dryly, at least Claire would get on with the rest of the titans then. She thought that in all seriousness, all capabilities at laughing and joking had gone out of the windows with her happiness.

## Well I don't wanna be in that game,

I don't wanna follow the leader,

No way, what's the use,

What's the point?

You've got the wrong girl ##

Raven tilted her head to the side as she heard the sound of footsteps coming towards them; she turned to look at the doorway that the person would soon come through.

Sure enough seconds later, Robin, looking very disgruntled, emerged from the hallway into the entrance hall, he was looking at the mess of papers that he was carrying in his hand. He didn't notice them standing in there watching him. He was muttering under his breath and shuffling through the papers like his life depended on it.

Raven cleared her throat to get his attention.

Still scowling he looked up, "What?"

It must have taken a few moments to realise who was standing there. His eyes widened and he looked down self consciously, his fingers pulling at the corners of the bits of paper he was holding, he cleared his own throat uncomfortably, "Hey Raven, Claire. Did you two have fun today?"

"It was good thank you." Said Claire crisply, her eyes dropped to his hands, "What have you got there?"

Raven stood there, slightly thrown off by her new friend's sudden change in attitude, she had gone from moron to curious ice cube in seconds flat. A feat she was sure was hard for any normal person to manage.

Robin looked down and then looked up, he smiled happily, "It's the invitations for our Christmas party, I've already filled mine out and sent them, these are Star's and Cyborg's, I think BB and Terra have gone to deliver there's by hand, Aqualad is inviting some people as well, and you should find your blank invitation in the kitchen." Apart from the dark look that crossed his when he mentioned the atlantians name, Robin's smile seemed genuine. He was actually happy about the party.

Raven nodded, "Okay."

Robin grinned, "Yeah, I can wait if you want and then I can post yours as well."

Raven narrowed her eyes at him, "No, it's all right I'll do it myself. Thanks for asking though." She counted to ten in her head again. She had to try and preserve their friendship, who knows what would happen to the team otherwise?

##So keep on doing what you're doing down there,

Because I'll be flying higher,

Waste your own time,

I don't care,

Anything you can do I can do better##

Robin's posture seemed to relax a little and he gave them both a warm smile, "Great, I'll see you later then," he paused to reach up and grab his coat that hung on the hook on the wall, "I guess I'll see you at the party too Claire, it's on the fifteenth. I know we kinda got off to a bad start but things can change yeah?" he smiled again and slipped out the door, closing it quietly behind him.

##All you girls you look and flip your hair,

You wonder why I'm still here, well,

You're superficial I'm a misfit,

But baby that's okay##

Raven and Claire exchanged glances. They were silent as tombstones for a few moments.

Claire was the first to break the silence, "What was up with him?" she asked looking over her shoulder at the door as if to check no one was eavesdropping.

Raven shook her head, "I have no idea."

"PARTY!" screamed Beast Boy as he suddenly appeared from around the corner, he raced over to Raven and Claire, not seeming to notice that Claire wasn't a regular visitor at Titans Tower, grabbed them both by the wrists and dragged them into the kitchen where everyone else was sat, "WE'RE GONNA HAVE A PARTY!" he practically screeched shoving the invitations into raven's outstretched hands.

While Raven shook her head and wondered whether the only reason Robin was so nice just then was that he somehow knew the others were in the kitchen and could hear what was going on.

Claire just introduced herself and joined in with the fun, leaving Raven alone for a few moments so that she could fill out the four invitations she had been given. Who on earth could she invite to the party?

She didn't really know anyone who would want to come to a party.

Hang on…she knew some people that would come, she hadn't seen them in ages, and it would be nice to talk to them again. She picked up a pen off the side board and began writing out the invitations.

##All you girls when you look into the mirror,

Tell me how do you appear? Well,

You're superficial I'm a misfit,

You're superficial I'm a misfit,

But that's okay! ##

A/N HERE'S YOUR CHANCE TO HELP ME OUT!

For the party I need guests, you have two choices, either choose your favourite character from any other anime/manga or make up your own. You can tell me by putting them in your reviews. You must tell me who is to be inviting them, and how they know that particular titan. THANKS!