Chapter Five

Disclaimer: I do not own the Zombie Survival Guide. It is authored by Max Brooks. I also don't own "I Bet That You Look Good on the Dancefloor" by The Arctic Monkeys. I also don't own She Wants Revenge nor anything they own. Duh...

The Previous Night::

"It was a simple outpatient procedure. They loaded me up with fluids, monitored me for a while, then sent me home. It was no big, Rave. Really."

Raven eyed her friend's noticeably less gaunt figure. She nodded and pulled Kristana's white nightgown further down her legs. "I can see your underwear," she explained.

Kristana giggled and drew the startled empath into a deep affectionate hug. "Still the same old Rave," she murmured rather weakly, releasing Raven from the imprisoning embrace.

Raven watched the plucky blonde run her slender hands through her now-wild mane. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then," the empath said.

Kristana picked up her copy of the 'Zombie Survival Guide' and flipped it open to a bookmarked page. "Yep yep," she replied as she hungrily devoured the hypothetical survival tips.

Raven half-smiled, drew the hood on her midnight blue cloak, and left

"Well, I bet that you look good on the dancefloor!
Don't know if you're looking for romance or-
Don't know what you're looking for..."

Robin sent his gloved fists flying at Beast Boy's door. "GARFIELD!" he yelled.

The green changeling opened his door, his eyebrows cocked and a single hand on his hip. "Yeeeeeesssss- DUDE! MY DOOR!"

"We can have that fixed," Robin muttered quickly, waving off the damage he had caused. He plugged his ears with his fingers. "Can you lower that music?" he winced.

"WHAT?!"

"CAN YOU LOWER THE MUSIC?!"

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU BECAUSE OF THE MUSIC! LET ME GO TURN IT DOWN!"

Robin narrowed his eyes and sighed. He walked away, shaking his head. A midnight blue figure whizzed past him, knocking him backward into Beast Boy's closed door. He used the wall to help himself to his feet. The bathroom door slammed close as he rubbed his neck. Raven, he thought as he made his way to his door. Robin waited until the bathroom door opened again. As the purple-coiffed telepath flew through the hallway, Robin grabbed her hand, halting her.

Raven looked into the mask of the Boy Wonder with confused eyes. She glanced down at the hands that held her so tightly. "Robin...?"

"Can we talk?" Robin asked, his eyes seeming to plead with the emotionless telepath that lay before him. He loosened his vice slightly, afraid to let go for Raven might slip through his fingers- yet again.

Taken aback, Raven used her free hand to play with her green Dawn of the Dead shirt. "Robin... I-I-I can't...-"

"Please-"

"No," Raven broke free of Robin's grip. "I'm going to meet a friend," she explained rapidly.

Robin checked the time. "It's 1:45. Whoever you're going to meet should be in school-"

"Robin, leave me alone," Raven demanded as she backed away, "Please." With a flourish of her cloak, Raven was gone.

Robin kicked his door with great force and a loud grunt. He sunk to the carpet, pulling his knees deep into his chest. The other Titans left their rooms to watch the spectacle that was Robin.

"He's got a beef with doors," Beast Boy whispered.

Robin glanced up at the spectators. "Oh...," he murmured as he stood up. Muttering expletives to himself, the Boy Wonder entered his room.

CRASH! Sploosh. CRASH! Sploosh.

Raven watched as the cerulean waves rushed up to meet the rocky shore. They embraced, if only for a moment. They then decided it was time for their meeting to come to an end and the waves returned to the surf. This, of course, repeated several times as Raven looked on. She removed her hood and let the sunbeams set her violet hair ablaze with its powerful light. She pulled her knees into her chest.

What's wrong with him? Why did he try to get my attention... like that?

A sigh.

Sometimes I just don't understand him.

An army of pebbles engulfed in a black glow rocketed into the open ocean. Raven drew on her hood and left the rooftop.

"Grand plié! Fouetté en tournant!"

Raven's legs moved as briskly as the rest. Her arms were a twirling blur. Waterfalls of sweat formed pools behind her clavicles.

"And let's end it with a grand jeté!"

Raven, along with the rest of the class, made a grand leap forward, ducked down, and placed her feet back into first position.

Ms. Von Catania led the overworked sweaty girls into a round of applause. "This was a good session, if I must say." Her smoldering hazel eyes fell upon a certain panting empath. "And you, Raven. I must admit I am rather impressed with how quickly you caught up with the rest of the class. Have you had any prior training?"

Kristana snickered.

Raven nudged her. "No," she replied as she grabbed her bag.

Ms. Von Catania's usual sneer was replaced with a thin-lipped smile. "Well, good for you, darling." She turned to face the class. "This concludes today's class. I'll see you all tomorrow. Au revoir!"

Kristana adjusted the strap on her leotard and released a sigh of relief. "Dude, today was...-"

"Hard. Annoying. Maybe even pointless," Raven finished up for her.

After a brief moment of suspended approval, Kristana giggled and shook her head. She removed the blue scrunchie from her hair and shook it out. She grabbed Raven's hand and dragged her out the door.

Raven released a bevvy of coughs. "I think that's enough hairspray," she managed to choke out.

A raccoon-eyed Kristana halted her volume-injecting and turned to Raven. "You think?" She checked her reflection in the misty bathroom mirror. She handed the bottle to Raven, "You wanna have a go?"

Raven studied the hairspray bottle. She took it and tested a small, unnoticeable section of her hair. Appeased with the result, she developed an itchy trigger finger. When the smoke cleared, the two girls donned similar hair styles. Raven watched Kristana reach for an eyeshadow brush. "Uh, I think you have enough on," she said.

Kristana smirked. "Who said this was for me? Now close your eyes and DON'T MOVE," she instructed.

Raven rolled her eyes and did as she was told. When she opened her eyes, she also resembled a raccoon.

Kristana grinned. "What do you think?" she asked.

Raven studied her reflection. "I look like a raccoon," she answered without blinking.

Kristana rolled her eyes. "Do you have your ticket?"

"Yeah," Raven replied, holding the concert ticket up for Kristana to see. She flipped it over and studied the words "She Wants Revenge" engraved ever so finely into the hard paper. "I've never even-"

"They're amazing," Kristana assured the unsure Raven. She turned, grabbed her bag, checked her reflection one last time, and smiled at Raven. "Ready to go?"

Raven rose from the edge of the porcelain bathtub. "Yeah."

I would like to tell you, I would like to say
That I knew that this would happen
That things would go this way
But I cannot deceive you, this was never planned
I know that you're the right girl but do you think that I am the right man?

"Hey!"

"Well, move it asshole and maybe next time you wouldn't get shoved!"

"You wanna piece o' me, bitch?!"

An abandoned bottle of alcohol began to rise. "You want to think twice about what you say to my friend, asshole?"

"S-s-sorry!"

The girls pushed their way through the sea of vibrating bodies. Raven studied the way the music traveled though them- like a dose of heroin pulsating- no, speeding- through their veins. They became one with the beckoning bassline and seductive synthesizer. Raven's head began to sway just as Kristana whisked her away to the bar area.

"Want anything?" Kristana asked as she divulged her drink order to the bartender.

Raven shook her head. As she once again looked out onto the pit, a small group of teenage boys approached her and Kristana.

"Hey," a tall pasty-skinned boy greeted. He ran a slender hand through his shoulder-length light brown hair as his alice blue eyes twinkled.

Before Raven was given even an inkling of a chance to answer, Kristana crawled over her and sat by the boy. She grinned and said, "Hey!"

Raven rolled her eyes and leaned back against the bar. Another dared to approach. As he sat by Raven, his chocolate brown hair shielded his eyes. He swept his bangs behind his ear, revealing his brilliant emerald green eyes. He looked out toward the band. "I love them," he stated in a smooth bass voice.

Raven nodded slowly and turned away. The boy craned his neck and said, "Uh, I'm Anthony...in case...you were...wondering..." His voice trailed off as Raven's interest dwindled.

Raven turned to face the nervous Anthony. "That's great. I'm glad that you're sure of your identity. Now please, vanish," she growled.

Kristana turned around and recognized the dark-haired teen. "Oh my god! Raven, this is-"

"Anthony. I know. He was just leaving."

Anthony's eyebrows shot up. Startled, it took a few moments to register Raven's harsh words of rejection. "Oh, I'm sorry," he apologized sotto voce. Eying the sullen empath one last time, he grabbed his soda and fulfilled Raven's wish.

"...no, you're cute..."

Raven eavesdropped on her friend's shallow and pointless conversation. As another sucker came forth, Raven rose and approached the door. Kristana cut her flirting short and followed Raven, grabbing her shoulder and turning her around slightly. "What the hell are you doing?" she whispered sharply.

Raven, without looking at her friend, replied, "Leaving before another fucker tries to get in my pants."

Kristana exhaled sharply. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came. Instead, she shook her head and sighed. "Let's go."

Kristana plopped down on one of her beanbag chairs while Raven leaned against the closet, a scowl claiming her face.

"What's wro-"

"Why'd you do that to me?" Raven snapped.

"Do wh-"

"Try to hook me up with someone," Raven replied hastily.

"I thought-"

"Do you-"

"STOP CUTTING ME OFF!" Kristana retorted. She rose from her seat. "Now, I thought you'd like it. I thought you needed to meet someone, Raven. So I'm so sorry for trying to help!"

Raven sighed. "You know that it would be pointless because I can't show emotion," she uttered through gritted teeth.

Kristana rolled her eyes. "For a girl who can't show emotion, you sure have a hell of a bad attitude."

"What?"

"Nothing." Kristana stopped pacing and stared into Raven's eyes. "Do you know how hard it is to have emotions? Do you know the pressure?"

"I-"

"Do you know how much pressure I'm under to- to- to be perfect? Every fucking day I'm told that I'm too awkward, that I'm not graceful enough, that I'm not thin enough." Kristana emitted a brief hysterical laugh as she fought back her salty tears. "Do you know why I fainted? Do you, Rave?"

"No..." Raven admitted.

Kristana pulled up a portion of her black shirt, revealing a grim outline of her internal bone structure. She turned away from Raven's stunned expression, grimacing. "I don't eat. Well, I do, I guess. Only the minimum amount that it requires to stay alive, at least. Yes, yes, anorexia nervosa as the doctors call it. But I drink. Ha. A lot. My mother knows. She says that I'm turning into my father-" She paused and looked at her bed. She turned to Raven. "Want to know why I don't sleep on my bed?"

Raven nodded.

"The night before my father left, he came into my room. He told of his plans to leave. He told me to not be scared. He then lay down beside me and held me as I cried and begged him not to leave. I never sleep on my bed. I barely even touch it. I do so in hopes of maybe one day, daddy will come home...-" Her voice whittled away to nothing louder than a dull whisper. Kristana turned to the empath, tears cascading from her dodger blue eyes. "That was seven years ago, Rave..."

"I-I-I'm sorry, Kris," Raven empathized.

Kristana searched Raven's eyes for any sign of emotion and sighed. "Yeah... Go home, Raven."

Raven blinked. "Okay," she replied as she pulled on her hood. As she approached the door, she turned to look back at the sobbing teenager. She looked at, sighed and left.

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