The Raven Tap, Tap, Tapped on the Dance Floor

Chapter Three

Disclaimer: I do not own Vitamin Water. It is the property of Glacéau. I also don't own Dasani water, Corona, Mike's Hard anything (ahaha 'Mike's Hard'...), and "Grandma's Boy".

Her eyes stared up at her black ceiling until the darkness formed detailed romantic patterns of stars and ballet slippers. Raven shut her eyes to rid herself of the ghostly silhouettes that haunted her slumber. She slipped one arm behind her head and looked over at her clock. The fire-truck red digital numbers burned '11:55' onto her retinas. She rubbed the nearly nonexistent grogginess from her violet eyes, muttered an expletive under her breath and slipped from under her black quilt. Her barefoot pale feet barely grazed the black fibers on her carpet as she retrieved grey legwarmers from her top drawer and surprisingly discovered white tights in her second drawer- they had a note attached that read "I figured you'd need these. -Robin". A tiny smile danced upon Raven's lips as she withdrew her favorite ripped bootcut jeans and a comfortable Yeah Yeah Yeahs tee. She got dressed and slipped her legwarmers into her bag. She then got on her knees and searched under her bed for her favorite Dravens. She stuck her hand into the black void and hoped for the best. Got 'em. She pulled them out and slipped her feet into them. Comfortable, she cooed. Raven grabbed her bag and went into the bathroom.

The sudden shock of fluorescent lighting caused the empath to flinch. She briefly flipped the switch and allowed her eyes to cool down. When she felt she was ready, she switched the light back on. She meticulously laid her makeup supplies onto the gleaming bone-white porcelain sink counter- eye makeup on one side, lip makeup on the other. She pondered her look for the day. Something simple, she decided. Raven uncapped a midnight blue eye crayon and applied a centimeter-thick layer underneath her eye. She loaded the rest of her kit back into her makeup bag and placed the bag into the medicine cabinet. With a fuzzy black scrunchy, Raven fashioned her violet hair into a tight bun. She allowed a few strands of hair to rebel and fall in front of her eyes. She nodded at her reflective doppelganger and bid her farewell.

Raven purchased a toasty blueberry muffin and a green tea 'Rescue' Vitamin Water from a small local deli en route to her ballet class. As she was about to sample what the muffin had to offer, a shout captured her ear.

"Rae!"

Raven spun on the heel of her vegan sneaker. Her eyebrows shot up. "Robin, h-hi...?"

Robin sipped from his brown paper coffee cup. He tucked his Gotham Times under his gaunt shoulder. "On your way to ballet?" he inquired, puzzled, as he eyed a facet of Raven's legwarmer.

Raven stuffed her Vitamin Water into her bag. "Yeah," she replied. She gestured toward Robin's newspaper.

Robin looked down. "Oh," he said, "I like to keep track of an old friend." He took a step forward and smiled. "I'm glad you decided to go back, Raven. You don't give up too easily."

Raven blushed and half-smiled. "No, I don't." She peered down at her T-Comm. 12:40. "I have to get going! I-I'll see you later, Robin," she exclaimed in a rushed manner.

Robin waved and took off. Raven pulled on her black Badly Drawn Boy hood and started toward the academy.

"Here is your leotard and your ballet slippers. Hurry up and change," the dance instructor instructed.

Moments later, Raven emerged from the locker room. She was reduced to a mere carbon copy of the other girls- the perfectly thin and postured girls. Raven suddenly felt flawed. She looked down at her figure. She always thought she looked fine. New negative chemicals mingled with the little positive ones that remained- Raven suddenly felt short and fat.

"Raven!" A voice interrupted her self-destructive thoughts.

The empath looked up. Kristana twisted the plastic cap on her Dasani close and grinned. "I'm glad you're here. You make this hell a little more manageable," she cooed as she draped an arm around Raven's shoulders in a pseudo-hug.

Raven felt unbearably tiny next to Kristana. Kristana was roughly five or so inches taller than her, as Raven had estimated. She looked down at Kristana's emaciated green-fingernailed digits; her joints were like rings compared to the rest of the bony finger. She shuddered.

"What's your last name?" Kristana asked as she led Raven to one of the mirrored walls.

"Roth," Raven answered, admiring the detailed engravings set into the wooden bars.

Kristana pointed to an open space behind her. "I'm Rose. You're right behind me," she giggled. She gripped the wooden bar with one hand, firmly planted her feet on the wooden floor and descended moderately, executing a perfect demi-plié.

Raven cocked an eyebrow. She bent over and made an attempt to touch her toes, but to no avail. She groaned and lowered herself to the floor. She drew her feet together and stretched- or, at least, tried to. She could hear the joints and ligaments liberating themselves from their usual rigidness. Kristana released herself from the bar and squatted next to Raven. "Here, let me teach you something that'll stretch every part of your body," she suggested, offering her hand to Raven.

Raven accepted Kristana's bony hand and stood up. Kristana led Raven to a bare wall in an unoccupied corner of the studio. She turned her back to the wall, distancing herself at least a foot away. She then bent backward, her hands crawling down the wall until she reached the floor. "It's called 'the bridge'," she announced, her body contorted into a slender arc.

Raven distanced herself a foot away from the wall, bent backward, and crawled down. She flinched as she listen to the symphony of cracking backbones. She held her position for the count of twenty, and promptly collapsed. Kristana loosened up and crawled back up the wall. "This is not easy," Raven wheezed. Kristana pulled Raven's crumbled mass from off the floor. Raven thanked her and leaned back against the wall, afraid to support herself for her fragile frame might deviate and drop her.

"Commençons!" the instructor roared. Her long, taut frame commanded the studio from the center. She barked several ballet positions, the majority of which Raven did not understand.

Kristana's demeanor snapped from playful to graceful robot. Raven watched as the girls dipped, pliéd, and twirled in unison. They're like robots, Raven noted. Their faces were expressionless and so...cold. Raven gave up trying to copy the others and sunk down.

"Shit," Raven muttered as she examined the Vitamin Water spill on her tights.

It was break time. Kristana was seated next to Raven in the corner, nibbling on saltines and drinking water to wash them down. Without hesitation, Kristina licked her thumb and rubbed the spill away. Raven froze in bewilderment. Kristana cocked an eyebrow and popped another cracker into her mouth. Raven dug into her bag and fished out the saran-wrapped remains of that morning's muffin. She offered a piece to Kristana, who- as Raven predicted- refused. Raven finished it off. Abigail and Melissa passed by, flipping the seated empath off and yelling something that Raven couldn't make out.

Kristana shot up with unmatched agility. "You better watch your fucking mouth, you prissy little bitch!" she growled, her fists clenched beside her. Abigail's eyes seemed to almost roll out of their sockets. She rapidly latched onto her friend and sped off.

Raven chuckled as loud as she could, which was not as loud as she'd like. "Thank you, Kris," she said, retrieving her Vitamin Water from the depths of her black bag. She offered some to her.

Kris examined the nutritional facts on the label. "Fifty calories? I suppose I can do that," she murmured as she took a sip. She pointed a choice slender finger at Abigail. "Stupid little Miss Von Catania," and her finger wandered over to the dance instructor, "Stupid big Miss Von Catania."

Raven's eyebrows shot up. "Her mother?" she asked as she took a swig.

Kris shook her head and swallowed her floured refreshment. "Her father's sister. Her aunt. Her bitchy aunt," she responded as-a-matter-of-factly. "Speaking of the bitch...," she mumbled as Ms. Von Catania instructed her pupils to 'lend her their ears'.

Starfire would be so confused, Raven noted.

"I have a family emergency," she announced with a grimace, "So, class dismisses early today." She scowled at the immense amount of cheers the announcement earned her. She then gathered her belongings, beckoned for Abigail and Melissa to follow, and left.

Kristana cheered and snatched up her belongings. Raven gathered her bag and stretched out. Kristana suddenly grinned. "My mom's going to be out all day today. Do you want to come over?" she inquired.

Raven entertained the notion for a few fleeting moments. She looked up and nodded, her eyes twinkling with the memories of juvenile games and play. Kristana grinned and grabbed Raven by her hand and skipped out of the academy.

The two girls came to a quiet lane- a rarity in bustling Jump City. Armed with grocery bags, they came to a towering brownstone duplex. Kristana withdrew a set of keys from her hoodie's pocket and checked the mailbox. "Dad... Dad... Dad... Dad... Mom's bills...," she murmured as she analyzed each envelope. She slipped the envelopes from her father into her bag and placed the rest back into the mailbox. She led Raven up the limestone front steps and unlocked the door. "Come on," she beckoned. Kristana led Raven through lavishly decorated rooms until they reached what Raven assumed was the kitchen. Kris instructed Raven to drop the bags onto the island in the middle of the sprawling kitchen. She removed her shoes and slid into the hardwood living room, setting the soundtrack for the adventures to come.

Raven bopped her head to the infectious guitar riffs. "Kick It?" she asked, half-knowingly, as she unpacked the grocery bags.

"By the one and only Peaches!" Kristana replied with a grin as she aided her friend in her task.

"HOW DO YOU DO THAT COOL DANCE?!" Raven yelled.

"Baby, don't split those hot pants!" Kristana reciprocated with a growl.

"I GOT THESE MOVES THAT WE CAN DO TO AND SING!" Raven screamed as she placed the soy milk into the refrigerator.

"I don't look too good in pink!" Kristana purred as she jumped onto the island and let the beat dominate her frail figure. She banged her head and her body convulsed.

Raven closed the fridge and peered up at the slave to dance. Woah. She threw a cracker at Kris. She opened her eyes; Raven could feel the tinge of mischief surging through them. Kristana retrieved two Vitamin Waters, grabbed Raven's wrist and dragged her upstairs. The immaculate rooms were a blur; Kristana didn't stop running until they reached her dormitory. She turned the brass knob and pushed open the door. Raven peered inside. If she weren't as aware, she would've sworn she had stepped through the looking glass and into wonderland. The massive room sported electric blue walls that matched Kristana's smoldering eyes. Posters of bands, celebrities, pin-up girls, and movies clothed the walls, along with shelves, unlit candelabras, and small lamps that radiated a soft glow. Her forest green shag carpet supported a relatively tiny twin-sized bed. The eerily perfectly-kempt bedspread was 'Johnny the Homicidal Manic themed'. Well, actually, it was a green bedspread set that Kristana graffitied with various images of JTHM with an arsenal of rainbow sharpies.

Kris gracefully leaped over the numerous DVD cases that were spread out on the carpet and landed onto an oversized black beanbag chair. She fished another out from underneath her bed and gestured for Raven to do the same. Raven leaped- and tripped over 'Grandma's Boy'. Agile Kristana outstretched her arm and caught Raven before she had a nasty accident.

"Thanks," Raven praised, rubbing her throbbing ankle. Kris giggled and drank her dragonfruit Vitamin Water. Raven shook hers briskly and took a large gulp.

Kristana's mind was elsewhere. Fortunately for Raven, it was a round trip, as Kristana's eyes lit up in the same manner as they had in the kitchen. "Let's go tagging," she grinned.

Raven's eyes glazed over with confusion. "Tagging?" she repeating, letting the word play on her tongue as she murmured it a few more times, hoping that the meaning would come to her with each repetition.

Kristana gestured as if she were holding an invisible can. With her mouth, she made spraying noises. Her grin widened. "You know, tagging."

Raven scratched her nose. "I don't know if I can-"

"I'll teach you! It-"

"No, with me being a 'hero' and shit," Raven explained.

Kristana nodded slowly. "And you should care because...?" she coaxed with a sly grin.

Raven reluctantly gave in. Kristana cheered and went into her closet to gather her graffiti cans and an outfit to change out of her ballet attire.

Raven- literally- tossed out her fourth Mike's Hard Lemonade. This time, it landed in the can. Kristana attempted to slap Raven a high-five, but gravity decided against it. She almost knocked over her Corona, but she decided that the beer was more important and she fell instead. Raven giggled. An innocent ficus on the island exploded. Kristana crawled toward the wall and climbed up. "Ready to go?" she inquired with a hint of slurring. Raven nodded eagerly and out they went, an army of floating graffiti can following close behind.

Kristana grabbed Raven's hood and pulled her into a pitch black alley. She lit a match and shed light onto their grim surroundings. Garbage and debris were strewn everywhere. A rat or two scurried past the girls' feet as Kristana shook a red graffiti can and imprinted the phrase SUCK MY DICK! onto the wall. Raven scoffed, snatched the can away and drunkenly pushed her friend aside. She added the words SLADE CAN onto the beginning. Kristana stepped back to admire Raven's work. "Pshh," she scoffed, "Who the fuck is Slade?"

Raven about faced and tagged Kris's yellow The Strokes shirt. "An asshole who doesn't matter anymore," she waved the question off.

Suddenly, the sky growled. Rain poured down onto them, drenching them from head to toe.

As Raven was about to shield them both, Kristana shoved Raven against the wall, pushing her into her not-yet-dried red tag. A nearby garbage can imploded, launching its contents like foul-odored fireworks. Kristana moved one hand up to Raven's cheek and let the other wander on Raven's back. She then pressed her lips onto Raven's. Raven, surprised, shut her eyes. What is she doing? What is this- this feeling? She placed her hands on Kristana's waist and kissed back. I want this...? Yes. Yes, I want this. Raven heard a rat squeal as it exploded. I'm sorry, she apologized in vain. Raven pushed her kissing companion onto the opposing wall and kissed harder. Kristana ran her hands up and down Raven's back as Raven forced herself harder onto Kris's lips.

Raven broke the kiss. Her mixed emotions were yelling various commands at her. STOP IT, YOU FOOL/ Kiss her/ ...go home... / Dude, that was awesome/ That was not a wise thing to do at all. She didn't know who to obey. She shut her eyes and went with her primal instinct.

Raven kissed Kristana's cheek- it was her turn to lead. She grabbed Kris's hand and pulled her through the rain and to her front door. Kristana fumbled with her keys until she opened her door. Raven gained a firm grip on Kristana's collar and led her upstairs. She turned the knob on her bedroom door and pushed Kristana onto her bed. Kristana shook her head. "Not on the bed. I never sleep there," she cooed softly.

Raven shrugged and pushed Kristana onto the shag carpet. They didn't even bother removing their sopping wet clothes. Finally, Kristana broke the kiss. She smiled blankly and rested her head on Raven's chest. Raven sighed contently and placed the beanbag chair underneath her head. The song of the water assaulting Kristana's window's lulled the girls to a peaceful slumber.

My head is going to hurt in the morning.

How did you like this chapter? Next one coming soon. Do me a favor- after each chapter you read, can you leave a review? That'd be great.

Review!