A/N: Sorry for the long hiatus. I had to buckle down and focus on graduating college (which I finally did last month!) Hopefully, I'll be able to start publishing a little more frequently now. As always, reviews are greatly welcome. Enjoy!
Raven stood and watched as Starfire dragged Robin through the door of the club, drawing the attention of the people they passed. It had been twenty minutes since they left the tower, and Raven was still unsure of her decision to join in the festivities.
"You'll be fine," Cyborg said stepping up behind Raven. "You've faced much worse than a party with friends."
"I know, but that doesn't mean I'll be comfortable." She shivered in the cool air and hugged her arms to her body. Why did Star have to take away my sleeves?
"If at any point you decide you want to leave, let me know and I'll take you home. I don't show it, but I'm not big on parties either."
Raven looked up into her friend's smiling face. "Then why do you always go?"
Cyborg gently placed a hand on Raven's shoulder. "Because it's good to step outside of your comfort zone." With that, Cyborg left Raven alone on the sidewalk and entered the club.
Raven sighed. Cyborg was right. She would never get anywhere if she didn't take risks and be uncomfortable. Taking a deep breath for encouragement, Raven stepped into the club.
The lights were dim inside with black lights and colored lasers accentuating the near darkness. To the left was a bar, LED lights illuminating the alcohol on the shelves. A few large, circular booths occupied the back right corner. The main part of the space was a large dance floor filled with people dancing to the loud music playing. In the years after defeating Trigon, Raven was able to get control of her powers. While she wasn't perfect, situations like this didn't bother her nearly as much as they used to, and there was essentially no chance of there being any problems. Didn't mean she liked the place though.
Seeing an empty seat, Raven made her way to the bar. She sat on the stool and watched Starfire and Robin on the dance floor. Some song from a Channing Tatum movie was playing, and Starfire was dancing with no inhibitions. Robin's mask did little to hide the blush forming from Starfire's sensual moves.
"Can I get you anything, miss?"
Raven turned to look at the bartender. She didn't drink often, but when she did, it was some peach and pineapple mix Beast Boy made her. Unfortunately, she didn't know what it was called. A lit up sign with neon marker caught her eye. Today's special: Long Island iced tea. Well, I do like tea. Raven placed her order and turned her attention back to the dance floor. Seeing the usually stoic team leader this uncomfortable was quite entertaining.
The song ended and Raven turned back around to find her drink, adorned with an orange and green toothpick umbrella, sitting on the bar next to her. She pulled the drink closer and took a sip through the straw. As the cold liquid passed over her tongue and down her throat, her eyes widened in shock. Whatever this drink was, it was not tea. Once she had swallowed the sip, Raven made a noise that sounded similar to a cat hacking up a hairball.
"Not what you were expecting, was it?" someone next to her said through a chuckle.
Is he mocking us? Rage said as Raven turned to face her accuser.
Kid Flash sat on the stool beside her, sporting a smile that caused his blue eyes to twinkle. His red hair was gelled into messy spikes and he was wearing black skinny jeans and a plain, crimson tee. "The name is very deceiving."
Raven felt herself blush a little. "Oh, Ki- I mean Wally. I don't really drink," she explained, "so I thought it was going to be tea with a shot in it."
Wally chuckled again. "You couldn't have been more wrong. It's made of nothing but straight alcohol. Here, let me order you something you'll like better." He waved down the bartender. "We'll take two pink Starbursts, please."
The bartender nodded and walked off to make the two beverages.
"What's a pink Starburst?" Raven asked, wary of unknown drinks now that she realized how little she knew.
"Where's the fun and surprise in telling you?" Wally joked. "Trust me, you'll like it."
"You better be right," Raven responded as the bartender placed two shot glasses on the bar in front of them. The glasses contained a neon pink liquid and were rimmed with pink sugar crystals. "Pink?"
Wally picked up one of the shot glasses. "Trust me."
Raven sighed, picked up her glass, and sniffed it. It smelled sweet.
"Cheers," Wally said, raising his glass to her.
"Cheers," Raven responded, mimicking his actions. She watched as he tipped his head back and gulped the drink and she did the same. It was extremely sweet and tasted like candy. "Wow, that was pretty good." She glanced up to see Wally licking the sugar off the rim of his glass.
"It's definitely a good one for starters," Wally agreed. He signaled to the bartender for two more drinks, then turned back to the dark-haired woman in front of him. "I don't think I've seen you at one of these things before."
Raven looked around at all the intoxicated young adults in the club, half-heartedly sifting through the emotions before pushing them down from her consciousness. "Crowds have never really been my thing."
"Well, it's good to see you out," Wally responded, placing his arm on the bar and leaning forward. "It has been a while." The tips of his fingers lightly brushed against Raven's bare knee.
Raven internally flinched at the touch, but held herself back. She really didn't want to make a public scene over something so small, and the alcohol working through her system definitely helped suppress the urge to throw him into the shelves of bottles behind the bar. In fact, now that she wasn't repulsed by it, the touch seemed intriguing in a way she wasn't used to. "That it has."
The bartender placed the two new shots down next to the pair of Titans.
Wally picked up his glass and raised it towards Raven. "Here's to friends and firsts."
Raven picked her glass up, raised it toward Wally, then downed her second shot. Within a few moments, she felt a numbing buzz start to take hold of her mind and the press of the crowd's consciousness around her dimmed a little.
"I've been in Steel City awhile. How have things been here in Jump City?"
Raven began recounting tales of confrontations as the bartender provided yet another round of shots. Wally nodded along with her stories, and she was acutely aware that he took every chance he had to touch her in some way, but she paid it no mind. Wally also had many stories to share, and for the first time in a very long while, Raven found herself somewhat enjoying her time out of the Tower.
After a while, the conversation found a lull. Raven noticed that, although they weren't talking anymore, the silence wasn't awkward. Wally was the one to break it first.
The song that was playing began to come to and in, and Wally placed his hand on Raven's. "What are the chances you would say yes if I asked you to dance?"
Blood rushed to Raven's cheeks as she quickly glanced away. She had never been asked anything of the sorts by a guy before, and she really wasn't sure how to respond. She had never thought about any guy in that way, other than Beast Boy, and even then it was rare by choice.
Movement by the side wall and a spike of emotion breaking through her numbed empath senses caught her attention. She looked up. Beast Boy was guiding a starstruck blonde towards the bathroom by her hand. He leaned over and whispered something in her ear, and she giggled. The blonde ran her spare, manicured hand up Beast Boy's chest, pulling his dark grey shirt away from his dark jeans and exposing his midriff. The two disappeared behind the swinging door.
Raven felt a pain in her chest. Pushing the all too familiar feelings down, she turned back to Wally. "After another drink, I'd say your chances are looking pretty good," Raven responded with a slight slur emerging. She waved down the bartender for another round.