Terribly sorry for the long update.

Chapter Seven: A Tree, a Lake, and Jake

Dedication: Nina, you rock! For all you have contributed to my inspiration, this one's for you!

Authoress Notes: It's not a wisdom tooth, thank the Lord! I'm feeling better now and I'm not as stressed so this should be a tad better than last time's. If it's not, I apologize with all of my heart and give you the right to tell me that I'm an ass.

New Quote: "The good Lord says He'll spare me. But I'm pretty sure... you're fucked!" - Steven from Braveheart

Story/ Series Recommendation: The Titan Chronicles Episodes I thru III by CidGregor

The snow was falling gently on the ground, the strength of the storm increasing every few hours. Starfire was curled up in a chair by the window of her hotel room, a book clasped in her hands and a small smile on her face. Raven was down at the ski slopes with the boys and the alien girl had indulged in a day of painting her nails and ordering movies on tv (it had taken her a couple hours to figure out how to order the movies, but she finally got the hang of it), and now she was relaxing and enjoying a good book. She turned the book more so that the light from the lamp hit it better, revealing the title and the summary on the back of the book. Her peace was interrupted, however, when Raven came storming into the room, Beast Boy hot on her tail. Starfire frowned and shrunk back into her chair, hoping to avoid being pulled into the fight by the usually green changeling.

"I'm sorry, Rae!" Beast Boy howled. "I didn't mean to!"

Raven whipped around to face her friend, revealing a bloody line that was running down her face. Starfire could see that she was close to tears and that Beast Boy's constant pestering was making it worse. "Get out, Garfield."

Beast Boy stumbled back, a dumbstruck look on his face as though she had just slapped him. "Wh- what?"

"You heard me," Raven sniffed, wiping a trickle of blood out of her eye. "Just... please get out. You... shouldn't be in here."

"Rae." The changeling reached out to touch her shoulder, but she recoiled, her arms wrapped around her waist protectively as if she were afraid of him.

"I said get out."

Beast Boy hung his head and nodded meekly, shuffling out of the room dejectedly. As soon as he was gone, Raven slipped into the bathroom and Starfire ran from the room, snatching her coat on the way out the door. Raven probably needed some time to be alone. She passed Beast Boy as he entered his room, not missing the stray tear that slipped down his face. For a second the alien girl considered stopping to talk to him but decided against it and jogged down the stairs, crashing through the door of the lodge and into the open air, a smile plastered to her face. No other guests were around and the young girl made her way down to the frozen lake that was some distance from the large log structure.

With a happy sigh, Star flopped down in the snow and busied herself with watching the sun set, as it cast amethyst and rosy hues against the sky as the stars slowly showed themselves one by one. Somebody sat down next to her his brown hair falling into his eyes as he looked at her.

"Is it okay if I sit here?"

Starfire sat up at the sound of the familiar voice, finding herself face to face with Jake. She offered nothing more than a polite smile. "Yes it is."

"I'm Jake by the way."

"Oh." Starfire turned her attention back to the sky that was still darkening slowly. Jake frowned.

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"What's your name?"

"Kori."

Jake's face split into a grin. "That's cool. I've never met a girl named Kori before."

A movement caught Starfire's eye and she turned to find Robin standing a few feet away, a scowl perched on his handsome features. She beckoned him over and he sat down a little ways away from her. Starfire frowned and scooted closer to him, her hand accidentally landing on his leg. Jake cleared his throat as if to signify that he was still there. Starfire looked at him.

"Oh, I am terribly sorry! I have forgotten to introduce you to my-"

"Boyfriend." Robin cut her off. "I'm Richard."

Starfire tried not to look surprised when Robin said this, but she couldn't help but let a small, secretive smile cross her face. Jake's grin faded. "You know what? I should probably go now. I left my little sister alone... and... yeah." He finished lamely and stood up, quickly walking away.

"What was that about, Robin?" Starfire demanded.

Robin turned bright red, opening his mouth to reply, and then found that he couldn't respond to her question. He opened his mouth again and then closed it. He looked so like a fish out of water that Starfire burst out laughing.

"I cannot believe that you would say that! I cannot believe that you have just lied to someone!"

Robin muttered something incomprehensible.

"Pardon me?"

"I didn't like the way he was looking at you." Robin's blush deepened as he said this. "But it's not really my fault you know, I mean watching the sunset is supposed to be our thing and-"

"Our thing?"

"Uh... you know. Something that we always did together. Just the two of us."

"I was only aware that couples did such things as just the two of them."

"Well, maybe we could. You know... sometimes maybe?" Robin grinned weakly, trying not to get his hopes too high.

Starfire smiled softly. "I think that... I would like that."

- - - - - - -

"So, what happened with you and Rae earlier?" Cyborg asked.

Beast Boy frowned, looking up from his comic book. "I accidentally pushed her into a tree. I told her that I can't balance for shit on skis, but she still got all pissy about it!"

Cyborg chuckled slightly. "That's Rae for ya. You tell her something and it's like she either doesn't believe you or ignores you."

"No," Beast Boy shook his head violently. "She's just more emotional than she admits, and when she can't express her emotions freely, she just sort of... ya know."

"Bites your head off?"

"Yeah. She won't even let me apologize, she's just like more distant with me than she usually is. It bugs me too."

Cyborg smirked slyly. "You like her, don't you?"

Beast Boy tried his best to look offended and taken aback at the same time, failing miserably. "No! I mean, yeah she's pretty, but she's really not my type. With all of her books and gothic-ness, it kinda creeps me out, but in a good way. But no! She's-"

"You're hooked, grass stain."

"No, I'm really not."

"Dude, it's so frikin' obvious. Ever since the Terra thing, you've been totally hooked on Raven."

Beast Boy could feel his ears starting to turn red and he opened his mouth to protest, then changed his mind. "Tell anyone and die."

"Dude, do you really think I'd tell?"

"Do you really want me to answer that question?"

Cyborg shrugged. "Good point."

- - - - - - -

"He pushed me into a tree."

"I am quite sure that it was an accident, friend Raven. Beast Boy can be very... boorish at times." Starfire tried to reason with her friend.

"There was nothing boorish about it! He pushed me on purpose!" Raven seethed.

"He did tell you that he could not balace, did he not?"

"Yes."

"Then the blame is yours. You really should not say that it is his fault when you know that it is yours; it simply is not fair." Starfire plopped down on her bed, twirling a strand of hair around her finger, a dreamy look on her face.

"Why are you so happy?" Raven demanded, her eyes narrowed in annoyance.

Starfire shrugged. "Nothing." She turned off the light and snuggled under her covers, but not fast enough for Raven to miss the small, satisfied smile on her face.

To be continued...


R and R!