Raven stayed inside her room for the majority of the time after her little hospital experience, especially trying to avoid Kori and her boyfriend. She only came out for school, to hang out at her friend Jessica's house, or to go to the kitchen to pick up her food and bring it up to her room.

The day of the Valentine's Day dance approached, and Raven was having second thoughts about going. Kori had been a brat lately, and, well, Richard… he was just… she couldn't even find a word for how infuriating he was. Intolerable, maybe.

Kori's parents were home now, and although they didn't exactly approve of Raven becoming a recluse, they didn't intervene. Actually, she was always a loner when she was with the family, preferring to stay in her room than to talk with the family, but now she was uber-antisocial.

Kori's parents were also quite mad at the girls for not contacting them when Raven was in the ER, despite the girls protesting that the adults were quite unreachable.

But, anyway, it was the night of the Valentine's Day dance, and Raven was at her friend Jessica's house, where all her friends were getting ready for the dance. Raven was wearing her normal black clothes with a little dark purple mixed in since it was a special occasion. Well, she had a new black and grey skirt for the dance. It had safety pins in it, although they weren't holding things together or anything. It looked very cool. (This is an actual skirt from Hot Topic that I have, and I'll post a link to it from my profile or in here.)

Her friends included Jessica, Amanda, Sally, Li, Val, Frances, Nadia, and Becki. Jessica, Sally, Frances, Nadia, and Amanda were actually wearing pink (the dreaded, evil color that the other four refused to wear, unless it was hot pink on black), while the other four (including Raven) were wearing dark colors.

Li had a black shirt on that said 'If you can read this, BACK OFF' in hot pink letters and black and red pants and Val was wearing a black velvet top with crimson trim and a matching black skirt. Becki was wearing a black short-sleeved shirt with a picture of Captain Jack Sparrow on it and black jeans. 'Pirates of the Caribbean' was the best movie, in her opinion. Actually, she was waaaaaaaaaaay too obsessed with it, and it showed.

Jessica was wearing a light pink clingy sleeveless top with a black miniskirt on; Sally was wearing a tight short-sleeved pink-tinged white shirt with a pink miniskirt on. Amanda was wearing typical Amanda clothes, a slightly clingy dark red shirt with a black miniskirt and pink tights on. Nadia had a very tight red shirt on, which looked fabulous because she was so (naturally) skinny, and fancy jeans with rhinestones on them. Frances was wearing a light-to-medium pink shirt and black pants on.

Raven looked around at her friends and smiled. Her smile immediately fell as she thought of the impending dance. She made a face when she thought of who was going to be at the dance. Maybe thinking about going to the dance wasn't such a great idea…

"Guys, I don't think I want to go to the dance," Raven announced. This was met with stares and protests.

"Rae, you have to go! I won't go if you won't!" Jessica protested. The others nodded.

"Rae, I'm only going because you're going. If you don't go, I won't have any fun," Li whined.

Raven sighed. "I don't want to have to be in the same room as Gar or Richard or Kori," she explained.

The rest of the girls rolled their eyes.

"Look, you don't even have to talk to them. We'll be there to kick their asses if they try to talk to you, Rae," Val said. The others nodded.

Raven looked happy at the thought of Richard getting his ass kicked by a bunch of girls, and she nodded reluctantly. "Okay. I'll go. But we need a warning system if one of them is coming our way. I vote for nicknames. Any ideas?"

"Gar should be Beast Boy since he's such an animal," Sally suggested. Raven nodded enthusiastically.

"Perfect. And for Richard?"

"Uh… Robin?" Amanda asked tentatively.

Raven stared. "How'd you think of that?"

Amanda shrugged. "Dunno. It just seemed like a good name for him."

Raven thought about it. "Good. It'll work. It's a good name for him. I think we need one for Kori, too, because wherever she goes, she's accompanied by either Robin or her little posse of preps."

"How about something like Blackfire?" Jessica suggested.

"No, she hates the color black."

"Pinkfire?"

"Haha, very funny, Jess. How about something like Starfire?" Raven asked.

"Yeah, that'll be good," Jessica said thoughtfully. The others agreed as Jessica's older sister called up the stairs for the girls to 'hurry their asses down to the car before the car left without them'.

The girls all trooped downstairs and to Jessica's sister's car. It was a silver convertible, and they had to squish into the backseat in order to all fit. Luckily, it was a short ride to the school and they got out of the car as fast as they could, smoothing out their outfits and talking excitedly.

They waited until Jessica said thanks to her sister and she drove away before going into the school.

The first thing Raven noticed was how dark it was. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she could see her friends looking everywhere, taking in the scene. She did the same, noting where the dance floor was, where the snacks were, and where the enemies were. The 'enemies', Richard, Kori, and Gar, were in a corner of the dance floor, dancing.

She turned away, hoping the evil people didn't notice her, and looked towards what was left of her friends. Jessica, Sally, Frances, and Nadia had been whisked away by their boyfriends as soon as they walked in the door, and Amanda was talking to the guy she liked. She liked him a lot, and it was evident in the way she kept giggling and blushing. The boy didn't seem to mind; he was smiling and deep into conversation with her.

Li looked at Raven nervously. "Rae, I don't like it here… it's too… pink."

Raven laughed. Li was very scared of the color pink, and Raven loved to make fun of her for it. "Li, that's kind of the point of a Valentine's Day dance. Besides, you're wearing pink on your shirt!"

Li looked down at her shirt. "But it's HOT pink on my shirt!" she whined. "I'm not scared of hot pink, I'm scared of light, girly pink!"

Becki started looking around with wide eyes. "Now that you talk about it, it IS too pink!"

Val rolled her eyes. "Li, Becki, get over it. Li, go talk to that guy; he's checking you out."

Val lightly pushed Li into the guy. Li glared at her before turning around to smile at the guy. They began talking and Val smiled victoriously. Raven smiled too, then her smile dropped as she saw the 'enemies' coming towards her.

Raven turned her back to them and began talking to Val and Becki (the only people left of her gang of friends), ignoring the enemies. She counted down the seconds until the 'enemies' reached her, Becki, and Val, and as she got to 0, she heard a voice.

"Well, look who came to crash the Valentine's Day dance," Richard's voice came.

Raven turned around slowly. "I have just as much of a right to be here than you do, Greyson."

Richard, or "Robin", smirked. "Yes, but, you see, Valentine's Day is for those who actually could fall in love or appreciate it."

"In which case you certainly should not be here," Raven returned. A loud "Ooooo" was heard from the surrounding people who had gathered around the six (the six were Gar, Kori, Richard, Raven, Val, and Becki).

"At least I have a girlfriend. I bet you couldn't get one if you tried."

"You know what, Greyson? Your head is so far up your arse (A/N HORSE. Don't ask, private joke between me and the real Li and Val) that you can't see anything but your own good qualities. So fuck off, or you'll wish you did."

"Excuse me? You're telling me to fuck off? Who was the one who stayed for four hours in a hospital room waiting for you to wake your sorry arse up? And who was the one who had to convince their parents to come bail you out of the hospital?"

"You didn't have to stay. I would've found a way out myself, but you happened to be the easiest way out. So, yes, Greyson, F.U.C.K. O.F.F."

Kori stepped into the conversation as Jessica, Sally, Amanda, Li, Frances, and Nadia pushed their way to the front of the crowd with their guys and glared at the enemies.

"Raven Roth, I told you to be nice to Richard or I'll tell my parents about all those times you snuck out to-"

She was cut off by Raven putting her hand over Kori's mouth.

"Shut up about that, alright? I'll be civil to him if he's civil to me. He started it, anyway. And Kori? You should be happy I even came. I came to make you happy, alright? So please, restrain your boyfriend and go dance somewhere far, far away. And Gar? Please don't even get me started on you."

Gar pretended to faint. "She said please! Call the media!"

Raven and her friends all glared daggers at Gar. He put his hands up in defense.

"Alright, alright. I'll go away," he said, walking away towards where Kori and Richard had resumed dancing.

Raven remained glaring at them until Frances tapped her on her shoulder. "Uh, Rae?"

Raven turned around. "Yeah?"

"Stop staring at them. You're freaking us out. One would almost think you liked Rich- er… Robin or Beast Boy, or something like that. Just calm down, nobody cares what they think. At least, nobody that matters."

Raven managed a smile. "Sorry for freaking you out, but don't ever say that I like Robin or Beast Boy again. And thanks for the moral support."

Frances nodded before Nadia interrupted.

"C'mon, people! This is a dance, not a sit-around-and-mope session!" Nadia scolded, laughing. She waved and giggled as her boyfriend pulled her away to go dance.

Sally, Jessi, and Frances eventually went off too, waving and telling Raven they'd keep an eye on the enemy for her. Amanda stayed for a little bit longer, but she, too, gave into the temptation of her "boyfriend" and went to dance with him in the center of the dance floor. Li went too, in the arms of the guy she was talking to before. Once, again, Raven, Becki, and Val were the only ones left.

"So… what do we do now?" Becki wondered. "No enemies to argue with, no friends to bug… what do we do?"

Val rolled her eyes. "We PARTY, Becki! And we DANCE. That's why it's called a dance!"

Raven shrugged and started moving her body to the beat of the music. Becki hesitated but started doing the same. As for Val, she had been dancing the whole time.

Over by the 'enemies', Gar was watching Raven dance.

"Kori, your cousin's hot," he announced. "What do you think my chances with her are?"

Kori stopped dancing and stared at him. "You think she's hot? What are you, some sort of freak? You want to go out with my cousin? She's all weird. She never even comes out of her room except to get dinner and for school."

Gar shrugged. "But she's hot! Especially when she dances like that…" He was nearly drooling.

Richard smacked Gar's head. "Gar, get ahold of yourself! That's Kori's cousin you're talking about, the Goth of the school, the recluse, the most anti-social of them all! Why would you want to date her?"

"Uh… cuz she's hot?"

Kori rolled her eyes. "Fine, go ask her out. She'll just say no. She doesn't even like you, Gar. She thinks you're an annoying little freak who likes to get into trouble."

"And how do you know that? You've said yourself that she never talks to you unless she absolutely has to," Gar asked.

Kori looked a bit sad. "She used to talk to me, you know. She wasn't like this until the summer before eighth grade."

Richard put his arms around her. "Well, there's nothing you can do about it. When a person goes evil like that, you can't change it."

Kori sighed and snuggled into Richard's arms. "I guess you're right. So let's party!"

She broke away and started dancing again.

…………Back to the main characters…………

Raven was dancing, really getting into it, when a slow dance came on. She immediately stopped dancing.

"This is for all the girls and guys out there who are lucky enough to have found each other," the DJ announced.

Raven, Becki, and Val backed up against the wall as the all the couples moved into the middle of the room.

They watched the couples dance, each looking a little uncomfortable since they were some of the only ones without boyfriends/girlfriends in the whole room.

Each of their friends looked blissful in the arms of their boyfriends (or crushes, in Amanda's case, or people they were talking to, in Li's case). Kori smirked at them as she passed by cuddled in Richard's arms, but nobody paid any attention to her. Nobody that mattered, anyway.

Finally, the slow dance ended and a faster one came on. Raven's friends with boyfriends made their way back to those without boyfriends, chattering excitedly.

The whole dance, all four hours of it, passed in a very similar matter. Gar tried to hit on Raven several times, until finally she snapped and slapped him. That stopped him for a while.

After a long time, it was the last song of the dance. It was Good Riddance/ Time of your Life by Green Day, and everybody got into a big circle, held hands, and swayed around in a circle. Even Raven and her friends did it, although they all thought it was kinda dumb. In the middle of the song, all the couples started breaking out of the circle and slow dancing outside of it, making the circle significantly smaller than it had been. Raven was very lucky; Gar was one of the people who didn't have a significant other, and he ended up next to Becki, who was next to Raven, who was in between Becki and Val.

Then the song ended, and everybody started leaving. The girls went outside to wait for Jessica's sister to pick them up and were chatting away.

"Ohmigod, did you see Josh? He's sooooooooo hot!" Li gushed. Raven smirked.

"I plead the Fifth."

Li smacked her upside the head. "Stop being mean, Rae. You know he was hot."

"Know who is hot? Raven, I didn't know you thought I was hot," came a voice from behind all the girls.

Raven twirled around to see Gar standing there with his moped. "Stop trying to hit on me, Logan. Or you'll get the same fate as Greyson will."

He smirked. "It's not my fault you're hot, and I can't resist you." He wiggled his eyebrows. "I'm pretty hot too, you know."

Raven rolled her eyes. "You know, I'm not even going to deign to answer that, because it's so stupid, so absurd, that it doesn't even deserve an answer. So go away, before I have to answer in language not allowed in school."

Gar nodded. "Okay, I get it. Go away. Right." He got on his moped and sped off into the night with a "Good-night, Raven!".

Raven turned around to face her friends. "Ooooooookay, does anybody have any clue what that was about?"

Everybody shook their heads, and a loud beep behind them took everybody's attention. It was Jessica's sister in her silver convertible. As they all piled in, some sitting on others' laps, they discussed Gar's latest habit of hitting on Raven.

None of them came up with any good solutions to stop it, aside from blackmailing Kori into burning all of Gar's stuff, slapping Gar every time he tried to talk to her, and ignoring him.

Personally, Raven was leaning towards the first one, but she knew it was impossible. Unfortunately.

The car dropped off all her friends, first Sally, then Nadia, then Frances, then Amanda, then Becki, before it reached her house. Raven hugged Jessica and got out of the car, waving as it disappeared into the blackness that is midnight.

As soon as she stepped inside, she rushed upstairs to her room and fell asleep on her bed, still in her party clothes.

She woke up the next afternoon to the sound of her aunt banging on her door.

"Raven, wake up! It's past noon!"

Raven groaned, walked over to the door, and opened it. "Alright, I'm up. Now go away."

Her aunt raised an eyebrow. "You slept in your clothes?"

Raven shrugged. "So?"

"Nothing. What time did you get home last night?"

"Midnight."

"Well, I guess that's not that bad. Kori got home at one. Get dressed and come down for some lunch," her aunt said. Raven shrugged.

"Maybe I will."

Her aunt left and Raven got dressed and went downstairs, being very careful not to fall down the stairs. What she saw at the bottom made her want to smack her head repeatedly on the wall.