Hi everybody! I know it's been forever since my last update, but life waits for no one. I'm back and better than ever; and hopefully I can make a habit of updating much more often. We'll see though. Finally gonna get some CyEm goin' on here to liven things up. What do the pair have in common? Are they a good match-up? Can they even learn to stand one another? Well I sure as hell ain't gonna tell you! Oh, yeah, the art I promised was a bust but I'll keep at it. My original people fell through, but I got some new people interested, so we'll see how that pans out. Don't forget to review at the end. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don not own the "Teen Titans", or any other item and/or themes from said show. My original characters are, however, my property and may not be used without my permission. Disregarding this will have dire consequences! Namely the hiring of a leprechaun assassin skilled with an ice pick.
Ch 6: A Lasting Impression
"I…I didn't mean…you gotta understand I…" Cyborg stammered before slumping down in utter hopelessness. Emily continued to smirk at him. "I'm sorry." he finally said, to which Emily responded by poking his nose.
"Bloop." she said cutely, still wearing that grin. "You really set me up with a winner here BB." she said to Beast Boy who smiled, seeing that she found all of this amusing.
"Hey, lay off him. He's my best friend."
"I thought I was your best friend." J.D. said confused.
"I'd probably say you were if the nicest thing you'd ever done for me was punch me in the back when I choked on that tofu-dog at the carnival."
"Good times." J.D. said smiling in reminiscence. "Wait…you were choking?" which caused Beast Boy to smack himself in the face.
"So why is…" Emily began, but then paused. "Hey, what's your name anyway?" she asked Cyborg.
"My name's…Victor."
"Right. So why is Victor here instead of that Cyborg guy?" she asked Beast Boy. "You haven't stopped talking about him, you get me all hyped to meet him, and then you bring me a normie. And I thought Cyborg was your best friend."
"Well…uhhh…" said Beast Boy, obviously caught off guard by the question. "Cyborg wasn't himself today and felt bad about standing you up so he sent Victor here. Don't worry though, he and Cy go way back. As a matter of fact, they're like best friends so that's why I said he was my best friend even though Cyborg is my real best friend." he said quickly. Emily stared at him, slightly perplexed. "There's no way she's gonna fall for this!" he thought nervously.
"Ok." she said happily making Beast Boy sigh. "So I met tall, dark, and anger issues. Who's spiky hair and orange skin?" Starfire stepped forward and smiled.
"Greetings pale one. I am called Starfire and this is my date Robin." Emily tilted her head and looked past Starfire at Robin.
"Hey." he said giving a little anxious wave and blushing slightly.
"Your boyfriends turning orange too." Emily said. Starfire turned, looked at Robin who had turned even redder, smiled wider, and then turned back to Emily.
"Do not fear, he is merely embarrassed that I have called him my date, and you calling him my boyfriend seems to have worsened his condition. I do not blame him though as this is our first real date."
"Cute." Emily said, sounding like she had lost interest. "So Raven, when are we hitting the clubs?"
"Oh, I thought we'd hang around here for a while?" Raven replied.
"Why?" Emily asked.
"Well Victor, Starfire, and Robin have never been to a place like this before so I thought that it would be good for them to absorb a little of the atmosphere." Emily walked up to Raven and put her mouth by her ear.
"Rae, you and I both know that this isn't the kind of atmosphere that you absorb." Emily whispered "It's the kind of atmosphere that absorbs you. I saw how freaked out little miss sunshine and the scrawny kid in the mask were when you guys came in. What do you really want to happen here?"
"I want you two to get to know each other a little better." Raven whispered reluctantly. "He rough around the edges, I know. But I also know you like people who are rough around the edges. He hasn't had any healthy relationships, his mom died when he was seventeen in an accident that also nearly killed him, and his dad shortly after. And you haven't gone out with anyone since that jerk last year. I think he'll be good for you. You guys actually have a lot in common."
"Well thanks for the concern Rae, but I'm really not interested in any kind of relationship right now. And I don't know what you think me and that lug have in common, but-"
"His last name is Stone." Raven said softly, cutting her off. Emily's eyes went wide and she rubbed her left arm reflexively.
"So he's…"
"Yeah."
"I knew something was up, but I never thought…ok Rae. I'll give it a try."
"Thanks Em you won't regret it." The two turned back to the group, seeing that Beast Boy was laughing with J.D. about something. Nearby Starfire, with Robin by her side, was talking incessantly to Mark who simply stared at her. "See, they're already friends." Raven said with a hint of sarcasm. "Ok everybody, we're gonna stay here for a little while."
"Mark could you get us some drinks and put it on my tab?" Emily asked her brother who merely nodded and skated into the kitchen.
"How's he know what we want to drink?" Cybor- I'm sorry, Victor asked.
"He knows." Beast Boy said. "Trust me dude, he knows."
"Marks always been able to take one look at someone and know what they want." J.D. said. "Half the reason Ed hired him. Oh crap, nobody's guarding the door! After you normies came in, all the posers in the neighborhood are gonna want in. If I don't see y'all before you leave, have a good time." he said as he walked back out the double doors. Starfire took Robins hand and sat him down at one of the tables close to the stage.
"I have always puzzled over friend Raven's fascination with this melancholy arrangement of illiterated statements." she said as she sat down across from him. "I believe this will be a good chance for us to better understand our dear friend."
"I'm not sure if these people are exactly like Raven." Robin said looking up at the sickly pale girl on the nearby stage. Her floor-length hair was the darkest shade of black he had even seen and she wore a long, ragged, black dress. She was mumbling softly, and even though she was speaking into a microphone, her every word was indiscernible. Despite this, the subtle irresolute sound of her voice sent shivers down his spine. "But all the same, its making me realize how lucky we have it." He whispered, only to have the girl shoot him a look so cold and devoid of feeling he jumped back. Meanwhile, Raven, Beast Boy, and J.D. sat down at the table next to theirs and began talking about the usual things; new music, movies, and the kind of adventures that naturally come with living in Jump City. J.D. and Beast Boy did most of the talking, with Raven simply smiling at the two boys' child like enthusiasm for things like comic books and videogames. Victor and Emily, however, elected to sit a few tables away.
"So slick, tell me about yourself." Emily said as she sat down. "What are you into?"
"I like the usual stuff; cars, working out, videogames, computers, football, amplified sonic tech- he replied but stopped himself when Emily's ears perked slightly. "…no. Amplified sonic techno, it's the newest thing in Japan." Emily smiled mischievously.
"You'll have to play some for me."
"Sure." he said grinning nervously.
"So you seem like a pretty normal guy. I can't see that temper of yours getting so out of control that you can't keep a girlfriend. Why are you still single?"
"My job kinda gets in the way." he said solemnly.
"What do you do?"
"I'm in…security. It takes me all over the place, and the hours can get crazy, so I don't have much time for relationships."
"I can see how that might get in the way. You ever consider getting out of the business?"
"I have, but I know I'd miss it. There's just something about protecting people that makes everything seem worth it…Anyway, how about you? What do you like to-" he began to say, but was cut off by Emily putting up a finger, signaling silence.
"Wait just a second. Mark's bringing us our drinks." No sooner than she finished speaking did Mark skate out of the swinging doors with a tray full of drinks held in his right hand. He glided past the tables, artfully avoiding the chairs while still managing to keep the heavily loaded tray balanced. As he skated by Victor and Emily's table and set down a blue glass and a clay cup.
"Let's see how good your boy is." Victor said picking up the clay cup and taking a sip. His eyes went wide and showed obvious signs of trying his best not to spit the beverage out. He swallowed it and let out a dissatisfied moan. "I think he might have made a mistake." Emily took his cup and held it under her nose.
"Mmmmm." she cooed, relishing the aroma before giggling. "No wonder, its Saicho tea." she said handing him the blue glass. "Try this."
"Well I'll eat just about anything but I'm pretty picky about drinks." he said slowly sipping from the glass. His eyes went wide again, but instead of trying to keep it down, he drained about half the glass. "Im-freakin-possible! Blueberry, pineapple, raspberry smoothie. Is he psychic or something?"
"I wonder sometimes myself." she said grinning and sipping her tea. "Interesting taste by the way." The others had gotten their drinks too. Raven had gotten her usual herbal tea, Beast Boy his root beer, and J.D. his extra spicy vegetable juice. Robin appeared to have been given a chocolate protein shake and Starfire a mysterious concoction that was setting off a pale yellow smoke.
"How is your drink Robin?"
"It's good Star, but are you sure you want to drink that? It looks…questionable."
"Of course! I would not want to offend Mark or the proprietor of this unique establishment." she said, warily pick up the plain, clay cup and putting it to her lips. She closed her eyes and sipped a little bit. She then wordlessly put the cup down, still not opening her eyes.
"Uhhh….Star?" She didn't reply. "How is it?" Starfire was quiet for a moment, but then inhaled deeply.
"IT IS MOST DELICIOUS!!!" she cried out causing everyone to look over. "IT TASTES OF THE MUSTARD!!!" she screamed, taking a long draw from the cup.
"Who would make a drink that tastes like mustard?" Robin asked. Raven, Beast Boy, and J.D. broke out laughing. "What's funny?"
"That's fire tea." Raven said still laughing. "It's made out of ground up mustard seeds, powdered horse radish, and tabasco. He usually uses it to drive unwanted patrons out, but I guess he figured Star would like it."
"How could he possibly know that?" Robin asked. He saw Mark standing by the swinging doors, staring at their group. A quick gleam of light flashed over his right eye before he skated into the kitchen.
"He's just Mark. You either accept him…" Beast Boy began.
"…or you get the fire tea." J.D. finished grinning widely.
"Looks like they're having fun." Emily said.
"How do you know Mark anyway?" Victor asked.
"Raven didn't tell you much about me, did she?"
"Nothin'. She said it would be better to learn on my own."
"Sound like good ol' enigmatic Raven."
"You and Mark…you guys never…hooked up did you?" Victor asked hesitantly. Emily stared blankly at him for a moment and then burst out laughing and kept on doing so for some time. "It wasn't that funny." Victor said feeling stupid for asking.
"Are you kidding?!" she managed to asked between fits of laughter, but quickly stifled herself when she saw that it was hurting him. "Don't take it personally." she said smiling. "I thought it would have been obvious."
"What would?"
"Did you notice that we kinda look alike?"
"I kinda thought that that was just the goth, punk thing you got goin' here." he said like it was a logical train of thought, which made her laugh again.
"It's a little simpler than that actually. He's my twin brother."
"Oh man." Victor said smacking his own head and smiling sheepishly. "Sorry about that."
"Just don't make a habit of it."
"Damn, I'm an idiot. Would you mind if we just went back to gettin' to know each other?"
"Sound's good. As long as you're honest with me. I can't tell you how much I can't stand people who aren't sincere."
"Course, why would I lie to you?"
"Well, I know as well as anyone that people have seemingly good reasons to lie, but all the same…" Emily slammed her left hand down on the table and spun backwards, sending the back of her left foot flying at Victor. Despite the obvious skill of this move evident in her blinding speed, use of her left arm as a pivot to profoundly augment the power of the kick, and Victor's surprise at this unexpected move, he knew he had little to worry about from a girl a quarter his size and composed of flesh and bone unlike himself. He lifted his arm to block and braced with just enough force to stop the kick without hurting her. Victor felt the kick connect, and the next thing he knew he was on his back against a wall on the other side of the café. Emily was standing now, the skin on her left arm and leg was torn, revealing complex circuitry that emitted a dim purple glow. "IT REALLY PISSES ME OFF!!!"
I'm pretty happy with this chapter. Hope you all were too. They're perfect for each other! Anger problems all around! Not sure when I'm gonna post the next chapter. I might take a break to do a Kingdom Hearts story. We'll see what happens. Thanks again for being so patient. Don't forget to review! I love your opinions. Peace and Love!