-:-sniffs-:-Sorry for the lateness of this chapter, it will never happen again; I swear! I got caught up in packing for Thanksgiving in Colorado, and then when I got back I got sick and then there were report cards and now I have this humongous Language Arts project due and a whole bunch of yearbook crap... Let's just say that I am in way over my head. So I'm terribly sorry about not updating.

Chapter Four: Cry

Dedication: This one goes out to my friend Raisa. She's one of the coolest friends that I've ever had. One of the funniest too. So this one's for you, Raisa! PS Rupert under water! Hahaha!

Beast Boy had been wrong. The poetry was not at all what Raven had expected to hear. Giving the first two people the benifit of the doubt, that maybe they were new at this cafe, she listened to the other people recite their poems. But Raven didn't do sunshine and bunnies and flowers. She stared around at the decor of the small cafe, and, come to think of it, it wasn't the right cafe either. The empath looked over at Beast Boy who was clearly enjoying himself. Raven sighed to herself and looked at her watch, by now the other poetry reading at her usual cafe would be over, but it was a small price to pay so she could get out of the dull party they'd been at.

A young girl, possibly not past the age of fourteen, stood at the side of the stage waiting for her turn. The owner of the cafe strode up the the microphone and introduced the girl as Cassidy Sanderson. She walked up to the mike and cleared her throat, brushing a strand of her mocha colored hair out of her eyes. Her black combat boot-covered feet clunked on the floor as she changed her position. "I know that this cafe isn't exactly the right one to share this at, but the other one had no openings, so..." Cassidy trailed off and pulled a folded piece of notebook paper from the pocket of her pants. "This is a piece that I wrote called 'Cry' (a/n: I wrote this poem myself). It's a poem about pain and heartache. About a girl who missed her dead boyfriend so much she took drastic measures.

"Tears fall down her lovely face
Nowhere to run,
Not a single place
Her broken wings can't help her fly
Since they can't,
She sits down to cry

She's scared to death about what will happen
Tears roll down her cheeks
Onto pillows of satin

Only one would listen
Now he's gone
At the memory of this
Her brown eyes glisten

Tears fall afresh
Like rain from the stars
Her heart burns smartly from the scars

Taking the knife
From upon the floor
She takes her life
And lives no more.

And the rain falls down
Like tears from her eyes
And thunder fills the darkened skies
And in the shadows
A lone person will cry

Cry for a person
Who died so young
Cry for a person
As bright as the sun
And they'll cry for a girl
Who had no chance."

Silence filled the cafe as Cassidy finished her poem, and without waiting for a response from her audience, the black clad girl clomped down from the wooden stage and out the door. And the cafe burst into applause.

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"Can we leave yet?" Starfire whispered. "The others are gone, we do not have to stay." Robin turned to look at the girl next to him. She was playing idly with the straw in her iced tea as she talked to him. He studied her for a minute behind his mask before he shrugged. "I guess we can. I mean, there's no point in staying really. You tired?" Starfire nodded sleepily and they stood up from their seats and exited the party, avoiding dancing couples and people who were making out. The pair stepped outside into the cool night air and began to walk back to the tower, a soft but companionable silence hung between them.

Reaching the docks, Starfire flew them both back to the tower where they exchanged their Halloween costumes for more comfortable items of clothing and resigned to the couch in ops to wait for their friends to get back. With Starfire huddled against him, Robin turned on the television and started channel surfing. Wicked Freaky (a/n: not to be confused with Wicked Scary, the movie they watch in Fear Itself, it's supposed to be the sequel) was the only thing that was worth watching that was on, and so the two Titans preoccupied themselves with it for an hour until the doors opened and Cyborg staggered in drunkenly. "Hey, guys!" the metal Titan greeted them with slurred words. "Hey, guess what? I think someone spiked my Mountain Dew at the movies tonight! Isn't that hilarious?" The cybernetic boy chuckled as though he thought it was funny.

"Cyborg, go to bed." Robin said to his friend.

Cyborg, swaying on the spot, grinned. "Why? So you two can get it on?" Starfire blushed to the roots of her hair and scooted away from Robin. The Boy Wonder, crimson in the face also, scowled.

"Cyborg, you're drunk. Go to bed."

Cyborg giggled. "Oh alright! You two have fun now!" And with that, he swaggered from the room, narrowly avoiding several run ins with the wall, the kitchen counter and the table. Robin and Starfire exchanged weak smiles and went back to watching their movie, sitting a foot or so apart as they did so.

An hour or so later, Beast Boy and Raven entered ops to see the credits to Wicked Freaky showing on the tv screen and Robin passed out on the couch and snoring slightly. Closer inspection informed the two that Starfire had fallen asleep also with her head in his lap. Beast Boy nudged Raven in her side softly with his elbow. "Told you," he mouthed. Raven shrugged and bid him a quiet good night and left for her room. The changeling grinned at her retreating back, and, when she was out of sight, he grinned wider. "She so wants me." he told himself as he too trekked to his own very messy room.

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Robin awoke the next morning on the couch, wondering how he'd gotten there. The sun was barely in the sky and Starfire was asleep with her head in his lap. Recalling what Cyborg had said the night before, Robin reddened slightly and prodded his friend in the arm in order to wake her up. "Star. Hey, Star!"

Starfire mumbled something and pushed his hand away, apparently not wishing to wake up. Eventually her shamrock colored eyes opened and she rubbed the sleep from them with her fists. Robin smiled. "Morning, sleepy head." Starfire smiled back. For a while, the two watched silently as the sun made it's way higher into the sky until Raven walked in. She greeted the two with a curt nod and busied herself with the tea kettle.

"Where'd you and the guys go last night?" Robin asked out of curiosity.

"Cyborg went to the movies and Beast Boy took me to a poetry reading." Raven replied nonchalantly, her cheeks turning red. Starfire sat straight up on the couch and stared at her purple-haired friend as though she'd heard wrong. With a squeel the extraterrestrial princess had lept over the back of the couch and was soon demanding that Raven tell her every single thing. Every one of her questions demanded an answer and Raven, it seemed, was more than happy to oblige until Beast Boy ran in some twenty minutes later and she refused to hand out any more information.

"Dudes, check it out! I was up all last night checking out all these places we could go for Thanksgiving!" The changeling waved around a stack of papers and slapped them on the counter. "I'm all for Echo Lodge! It's got everything! Skiing, snowboarding, hot chicks..." Beast Boy rambled on and on for a good five minutes until Robin cut him short.

"Beast Boy, did it even dawn on you that we can't leave the city because of all the criminals?"

Beast Boy grinned. "Yep! I've called in the Titans East, we leave in two weeks!"

To be continued...

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R 'n' R please!