Hey guys! Oh, just to let you know, this chapter and the many chapters to come are all flashbacks, ok? And, this chapter is happy, so enjoy it now cause it doesn't get any better.

Chapter 2: Family Game Night

"Hey Raven! Open up!" Beast Boy knocked on Raven's door, which opened a few seconds later.

"Perfect timing, I just got done meditating," said Raven in her usual emotionless tone. "So, what do you need me for?"

"Uh, I just wanted to let you know that Star saw a commercial for 'Family Game Night', and she wanted to try it out, so she wants everyone to get a board game or something." When he saw Raven's skeptical look, he added, "And if you don't come now, Star will have to drag you there, so…"

Raven rolled her eyes and sighed. "Fine, hold on a second." I know I'm gonna regret doing this. She disappeared back into her room, leaving a bewildered Beast Boy outside.

She looked around her room, looking for some kind of board game. She only had, what, two games? After some searching, she found them under her bed. Actually, one wasn't even a game, it was a Ouija board.

Raven mentally cast that one aside. The rest of the team wouldn't take it seriously. She put it back under her bed, got the other one, and walked out of the room.

"Dude, I never thought that you'd agree to something like this!" Beast Boy exclaimed as they walked down the hall toward the main room.

"Yeah, well don't expect me doing anything like this for a long time," she retorted.

"Heh, I didn't know you had a board game in your room either."

"You never asked."

When they walked in, Starfire flew up to them. "Friend Raven, you have decided to join us! Glorious! We shall now begin!"

Raven was relieved to see that there was only one actual board game. Cyborg had brought playing cards, Beast Boy got dominoes, Robin had UNO, and Starfire had gotten Clue, which, Raven admitted, wasn't that bad of a game.

They went through UNO and Clue without any difficulties (although Beast Boy and Cyborg laughed their heads off when it turned out that Robin's character was the murderer). Dominoes was uneventful, but Raven thought it was stupid ("What's the point of setting them all up if you're going to knock them down again?").

When they got to the playing cards, they argued over what to play. Starfire and Raven were the only ones who were silent and the team finally decided to play B.S.

About halfway through the game, Starfire asked, "Please, what do the B and S in this game's title stand for?"

Raven sweat-dropped as Robin tried to prevent Beast Boy and Cyborg from saying anything. "…Can we move on, please?" she asked.

"Yes, it is now time for your game, Raven!" announced Starfire.

Cyborg and Robin looked skeptical. "Raven? Brought a game? This is somewhat disturbing," said Cyborg.

The half-demon glared at him as she got her game. It was a rectangle made of wood, with twelve small holes in it, two across, six down, and there was a large hole at the end of both sides. In Raven's other hand was a bag full of small, assorted colored stones.

Beast Boy looked at it, confused. "So uh, what do you do?"

Raven set the board down and got out the stones. "It's called Mancala," she explained. "You put four stones in each small hole, and the two large holes are where you put your stones. The first player starts with any place on their side. You take the four stones and you drop them into each hole you pass. When you drop you last stone into a hole, you take the stones that are in that hole, and you keep going. You also put a stone into your large hole when you pass it. If your last stone goes into your home hole, you choose any hole on your side to start again. If you last stone goes into an empty hole, the other player starts at that spot. The person who has the most stones by the end of the game wins."

Raven looked up to see her companions with confused looks on their faces. She sighed. "It seems confusing and boring now, but it's better when you're playing, so bear with me, okay?"

The other Titans agreed and played, and they thought that the game was a lot more fun than they thought it would be. (A/N: I love Mancala!)

After that, Starfire had put in a DVD, and they all sat down on the couch to watch. Raven just read her book, occasionally glancing up at the screen. After a while though she forgot her book altogether and watched. At first she thought that she wouldn't be interested in anything that wasn't horror, but this film was actually pretty good. It was fantasy, with wizards, elves, and dwarves, and the mythical creatures and battle scenes were very realistic. (A/N: Yep, Lord of the Rings!)

Although she wouldn't admit it openly, she had actually enjoyed Star's 'Family Game Night', and she was glad that she didn't shut herself like she always did.

Raven awoke to sunlight streaming in her room. Sunlight? She sat up and found that she wasn't in her room, but she was still in the main room. Apparently the movie had been longer than she thought and she had fallen asleep on the couch.

She looked around and saw that the other Titans were asleep too. Beast Boy was in cat form, curled in a tight ball next to her. Starfire was using Robin's shoulder as a pillow, but Cyborg wasn't next to them. Raven got up and floated into the kitchen, where Cyborg was making himself breakfast.

"Mornin' Rae."

"Morning," Raven replied, letting the nickname slide.

She went past him and started making some tea. After a few moments' silence, Cyborg glanced over his shoulder and then spoke in a low voice. "So, what's up with you and Beast Boy?"

Raven didn't look up from her tea. "What about me and Beast Boy?"

"Man, quit denying it Rae! You obviously have a thing for each other! You guys sit together all the time. At the table, in the car…" He paused. "On the couch…"

"Starfire and Robin sit next to each other all the time. What's your point?"

"Yeah, cause Star and Rob love each other! And besides, I see the looks you give him every now and then."

Raven raised her eyebrow. "The only looks I give Beast Boy are the 'leave me alone before I kill you' look, and the 'quit moping over that dumb blonde' look."

"Yeah, you want him to get over Terra so he'll come after you," Cyborg mumbled.

Raven clenched her fists and was about to send the part-robot to another dimension she heard the other Titans waking up. She just glared at Cyborg, who had a triumphant grin on his face for the rest of the day.

The days that followed were normal, but although they couldn't sense it, the air crackled with tension, threatening to break any second.

That was when the fights started.


Yay, no more happiness for a while. (gets strange stares) Sorry. Anyways, brace yourself for da next chapter, cause it won't be pretty.