A promise is a promise.

-"Some girls won't dance to the beat of the track/ She won't walk away but she won't look back." Dance in the Dark

There was more tension in that room then at the surrender at Appomattox. Raven was in complete shock. Not because she cared enough about Garfield's feeling for the guilt to set in, but more because for the first time in her life she had gotten caught right in the act.

Garfield's expression could only be described as shocked. He looked at Dick and then at Raven, then at Dick again and then back to Raven. There was a long excruciating moment of unbearable silence. Raven finally scrambled off of Dick's lap and covered her nude body with a discarded bathrobe. Garfield's face turned an unusual shade of bright red. He crossed the room faster than anyone had seen and sent a hard punch to Dick's face. Raven's mouth dropped. She had never seen him behave so aggressively. It kind of turned her on.

Blood trickled out of the corner of Dick's mouth. Garfield stood heaving in anger, then a look of horror. He wordlessly stormed out of the room. Raven stared at Dick who wiped the blood from his mouth keeping his face relatively even. She was satisfied that in some way he had gotten his comeuppance. She followed Garfield out of the room.

He was halfway down the corridor, leaning against the wall with his head in his hands. Raven stopped upon sighting him. She slowly approached him and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Garfield-" She started.

He smacked her hand away from him. "Don't touch me!" he growled.

She sighed and let her arm drop to her side. Garfield ran shaky hands through his hair. His chest was heaving. The sounds of his heavy breathing filled the hallway. After a long moment Garfield stood up. His eyes were wild and reddened.

"Why?" He finally choked.

Raven was surprised by the question. She opened her mouth to answer, but abruptly closed it. "I-" She started choosing her words carefully. She still needed to keep him around for a little while. "Because-"

"Raven," He cut in before she could give an answer. "I have sensed for awhile that you are no longer happy. I want to make you happy, I think- I know that I can make you happy and I'm sorry. Whatever I did to make you unhappy I am sorry."

It took whatever will power that Raven possessed to not scowl and then laugh in his face. She suddenly lost the infinitesimal amount of respect she still had for him. It was almost more than she could bear. If she weren't currently in a battle of the wills against Dick Grayson should would have called him a pussy whipped loser, tell him he needed to grow a pair, and send him on his way. Instead she took a deep breath, and let indifference send her into autopilot.

"Garfield," She started slowly. "I- well my feelings for you have changed and I find that I no longer feel the same way I felt about you, or at least that's what I thought. So, he offered me something new, something different. And I'll not lie I had a few drinks and I fell into that trap, but now I realize that my feelings for you haven't changed and I still want to be with you."

She fed him the best bullshit she could muster. Her confession, as false as it was, was enough to make bile rise in her throat. She hoped in the least it was enough to get him to forgive her long enough to get Dick Grayson permanently out of her life. Garfield was silent he leaned against the wall, staring at the floor. Raven stood in silence waiting for him his emotions to return to her control.

He pulled her into his chest. She was caught by surprise and stumbled into his arms. He rocked her gently and kissed the top of her head. Raven cringed at his tenderness. She just needed to grin and bear it.

"I love you." He said finally.

"I know." She whispered softly.

"Do you love me?" He muttered into her hair.

"Yes." She answered a little too quickly.

"Tell me."

Raven shifted uncomfortably. "Garfield." She breathed into his ear.

Her eyes penetrated his. Lie to Me. Hypnotize. Seduce. I don't care. His eyes went into a haze. He was completely under her spell. She wrapped her arms around his neck. Her exposed collarbone brushed against lips. He caught a whiff of her hair. He made himself drunk of cucumber and melon. Her lips attached to his. His hands wandered down to her waist.

She stepped backwards taking him with her. He pushed him into her bedroom quickly staggering over carelessly discarded clothes. His back roughly fell onto her mattress. She was on top of him before he could catch his breath. She forced her lips against his, headily. Her fingered ran over the ridges in chest and abs.

She straddled on top of him, a nibbled at his bottom lips. Intoxication. Passion. Lie to me. She hungrily yanked his shirt over head. He sat up bolt straight, desperate to get her clothes off. He roughly pulled the string of her bathrobe and tossed it side. His eyes ran over her body. Her ample chest, tight stomach, toned legs. Her dark hair draped over her shoulders and framed her face.

His hand reached up and grabbed her breast. He flipped her over so that he was on top of her. Raven's fingers ran over the hard muscles of his back before falling to his belt. She undid his belt buckle with expert speed. She moaned his name. He leaned down and kissed her collarbone and neck inhaled her perfume. He smelled the same perfume that Dick had swallowed a few moments ago.

He stopped moving and climbed off of Raven. "What?" She panted.

Garfield turned around so that his back was facing her. How many other men had fallen for her? How many other men had been between her thighs? How many other men had fucked her? It was at that moment that Garfield had realized that Raven, the woman who he had given his heart to and loved, was a whore.

"God damn it!" He screamed punching the wall. Raven wrapped the sheets around her chest.

She remained silent. She had never seen Garfield so angry.

"Raven," he said finally. "I can't keep you. I can't keep you because I can't make you happy and I am sorry that it's taken me this long to see how selfish I've been."

"What?" she said perplexed.

He crossed the room and grabbed her hand. "Goodbye my lover."

Raven yanked her hand out of his. "Wait a minute you're leaving me."

Garfield proceeded to break into a long diatribe about why their relationship would not have survived much longer, and how it was emotionally beneficial that neither of them continue to stimulate their relationship when it was doomed to failure. Of course Raven had conceived this herself long before their relationship, on Garfield's part had become serious. His harangue went on long enough for her to get dressed and make the bed. Her annoyance with him had transformed into utter rage.

"-and with that being said," Gar continued. "I think that maybe we aren't emotionally mature enough for a monogamous relationship."

Raven stared at him incredulously. There was a painfully long moment between them. Suddenly, before she could stop herself, Raven picked up the closet blunt object and viciously chucked it at Garfield. It nearly missed his head, put a black dent in the wall, and broke into a million pieces. He should have known better than to break up with a girl within arms length of a porcelain vase.

Raven steadied her breath before continuing. "Go learn how to fuck you cock sucking faggot!" She screamed at him.

Garfield made a few more remarks in a vain attempt to calm her. She responded my making graphic insults and degrading slurs. After about a half an hour of the heated exchange Garfield packed up a suitcase and left. Raven sat on the edge of bed pondering the strangeness of the whole event. How could she have been so careless? She sighed dejectedly before leaning back onto her mattress. There were plenty more where he came from. She'd find one soon- maybe even tomorrow.

The sky outside had gone from pitch black to a blue-purplish shade of twilight. She hadn't realized how much time had passed. It was almost five in the morning. Her head was pounding; this was too much before breakfast. Her teeth snapped together, she wanted to sleep but she was consumed in anger at her own folly.

Stupid, careless woman!

How could she have let herself fall to Dick Grayson? She knew everything about the way he operated. She knew all of his little games and tricks. It made her sick to think about how close she had come to getting into bed with him. She tried to go back to her thought process. What the hell had she been thinking? She had felt so in control like she always did when she seduced a man, but this time it had been so out of control and mindless. It had been so primal and animalistic, no words between them and yet somehow it had managed to feel...right.

She shook the thought from her mind. She would have to be on high alert. Having almost forgot about Dick Grayson she realized she needed an ally and quick. He was staying in her house for God's sake! It would be so easy for him to slip into her bedroom at night, rape her in her sleep, and proceed to slice her jugular. Raven was aware of the fact that she was being a tad bit dramatic, but she was almost positive that if Dick were the murdering type he could very easily get away with it.

Raven slid under her comforter. The heavy down made her feel hot, but she cherished the isolation. Buffy hopped onto the bed and settled into a spot next to her head on top of the blanket. She purred lowly. Raven's eyes felt tired and heavy but her mind felt active. She lay underneath her blanket surrounded by the white sheets feeling like she was in an insane asylum.

Raven didn't remember falling asleep, but was promptly startled awake by her alarm clock at five thirty five. She struggled to untangle herself from underneath of her blankets and hit the snooze. She lay on her stomach against the coolness of her unused pillows. Her body felt sweaty from the heat. She mustered enough strength to kick the blanket to the floor. She took a deep breath and bathed herself in silence preparing to embrace exhaustion and sleep until noon.

"Ahem." came a voice from her door.

Her eyes snapped open and she sat up bolt straight. She wasn't surprised at all to see Dick Grayson leaning in her doorway. He had the nerve to make five o'clock shadow look good and be shirtless in her bedroom. She stared at him blankly for a minute.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she said evenly.

He scoffed. She could see him smirking in the darkness. "You know you should really consider sound proofing your walls. I heard what happened and I just wanted to see if you were alright Kitten."

Raven groaned loudly before dropping herself back into bed. She pulled her comforter back onto the bed and buried herself in it. "Go away!" her muffled voice demanded.

Dick remained silent for awhile. She listened closely to sound of his shuffling feet. "Interesting," He began slowly. "That Garfield would return just when you were about to submit to your own desire."

Raven brought herself into a sitting position. "What did you say?"

Dick shrugged casually. "I was just commenting on queer it was that Garfield would show up at the worst possible time."

Her heart pumped in her chest as she struggled to maintain her poker face. No, he was just messing with her. He was taking advantage of the situation just to irk her. There was no way he could have planned the whole thing. It was too complex to fathom. It was too cynical. It was too insane. No, there was no way...It was just a coincidence.

Dick's face turned stone and not amused the way Raven was expecting. He glided across the room, Raven's eyes watching him suspiciously. He sat at the edge of the bed. Raven tried to keep her heart inside of her chest. His warm hand reached out touched the side of her face. His head tilted. Raven watched his finger as they rubbed her cheek. He reached out a brushed a piece of hair out of her face before dropping his hand to his side.

"When I was in school- well before I was expelled- I hated poetry. I found it trite and extremely dull. But that's beside the point. There was this one poem by Thomas Hardy which I found quiet interesting and timeless." He said.

"Had he and I but met by some ancient inn we should have sat us down to wet right many a nipperkin. But ranged as infantry, And staring face to face, I shot at him and he at me, And killed him in his place. I shot him dead because –Because he was my foe, Just so – my foe of course he was; That's clear enough; although."

He paused before continuing."He thought he'd 'list perhaps, Off-hand like – just as I –Was out of work – had sold his traps –No other reason why. Yes; quaint and curious war is! You shoot a fellow down. You'd treat if met where any bar is, Or help to half-a-crown"

Raven swallowed before answering. "I think it applies here very nicely."

He shrugged indifferently. "I liked Garfield he was an- honest man, but he was in the way. He'll survive, get over you, and find some nice wholesome Christian girl to marry and settle down with."

She was finding it difficult to engage with him. She tried to prevent her disturbance from seeping to the surface. "Is that part of the plan?" she asked sarcastically.

His face hardened and his eyes darkened. "It's all part of the plan." He said grimly.

He didn't give Raven time to reply. He stood up and slid across the room leaving an icy trail behind him. "Sweet dreams Kitten." He said on his way out.

Raven spent the next fifteen minutes staring at the spot where he had left. Her mind kept going back to the night they had first met, the promise he had made her. I want to watch you burn. He was more destructive than she could have ever imagined. In a matter of two weeks he had managed to destroy the relationship she had built for years with Garfield and inflicted sever blunt force trauma on her mentality. God, she had been so stupid to let herself get so physically close to him. How could she have made such a stupid mistake? She had been wrong. She thought she could handle him because she thought he knew him. She realized she had no idea what sick little things went through his mind. He was nothing like her.

He was much worse.

Kory called Raven and insisted on having a girl's afternoon. Raven couldn't muster enough energy to reject her. She was secretly glad for Kory's persistence. She needed to get out of house, be away from men. Kory arranged to pick Raven up at eleven sharp. So naturally she showed up at ten thirty and had Raven dressed and out of the house at ten forty-five. She treated for spa messages and pedicures which went on well past brunch time. They enjoyed lunch at the Marriot before spending the afternoon at the mall.

Three shoe stores, eight Alicia Keys songs, and seven credit card swipes later Raven was beyond Kory's company. Kory spent most of the day babbling on while Raven listened passively and nodded at the appropriate moments. Raven fell into plush chair in the Unicorn Boutique, while Kory tried on an overpriced Mischka Badgley dress.

"Raven, are you alright?" Kory asked while she examined herself in the mirror.

Raven hadn't been able to really relax all morning. Even when the masseuse pointed out all of the stress related knots in her neck and back, she found her mind wandering back to Dick Grayson. She needed to get rid of him immediately. She was done playing this game. It wasn't fun anymore and she didn't want any part of it. She briefly considered maybe renting a hotel room until he got the hint and left, but she quickly squashed that idea. She was much too proud to let him scare her out of her own house. Besides there were no guarantees that he would leave her alone.

Raven sighed. "Nothing Kory."

Kory turned from her post at the mirror. "Please Raven you have barely said a word all day."

"It's nothing really. I'm just-" she said the first thing that came to mind. "I don't know PMSing or something."

Kory fell into the seat next to her and stared at her sympathetically. "Raven, Garfield called me this morning."

Raven let her head fall back against the chair and stared at the ceiling. So that's why Kory was so ardent on taking her out this morning. If she was sleeping regularly her mind would have been able to conceive that. Kory had, after all, introduced them. "What do you know?"

"Not much. He didn't go into details." She said thoughtfully. "All he said was that something happened between you two and that he's not sure you guys could work through it. Whatever it is you two can work it out."

Raven wasn't sure if she wanted to tell Kory everything. On one hand she desperately needed to vent, but she would purposely have to dance around the subject of Dick Grayson. Kory would feel all betrayed and get emotional and Raven was not in the mood to put up with it right now. She would play to sympathy card.

"I don't know Kory. He moved out this morning."

Kory suddenly pulled her into a back breaking hug. Raven tensed at her touch. "Okay that's enough." she said quickly.

They were interrupted by the bell at the front door. Kory released Raven with tears in her eyes. She sniffed. Raven stood up and pretended to examine a rack of earrings, just so that she would have an excuse to get up and roll her eyes. While Kory went into the changing room to return to her normal attire, Raven began to contemplate her escape plan.

"Pardon Madame." A sudden French accent caught her attention.

She could tell he was a student tourist by his red soccer jacket and the expensive looking Nikon camera hanging around his neck. He looked exactly like Diego Luna. She suddenly became aware of her appearance. She was almost grateful to Kory for forcing her into this curve hugging black dress and push up bra.

Taking down guys just like this made her feel powerful. "Oui."

He looked pleasantly surprised. "Oh you speak francais?"

She placed the bracelet she had been holding back on the table to give him a good peek at her cleavage and whiff of her perfume. He shivered. "I studied in college." She answered casually.

He shook himself back into reality. "Uh- I- I'm new around here and I am having a difficult time getting back to my hotel. Are you familiar with the area? I am staying at the Marriot."

At that moment Kory exited the dressing room. She stopped in her tracks when she saw the exchange between Raven and the foreign boy. She smiled to herself before slithering up to Raven.

"Kory, did you hear that? He needs help finding his way back to the Marriott." Raven said conspicuously queuing in Kory.

She got the hint. "What a coincidence, we just left there."

"What kind of people would we be if we let him wander through the city clueless of his location, and I'm terrible at giving directions. We should bring him back to his room."

Kory glanced at her cell phone. "Uh actually there is some...important business that I need to attend to but that shouldn't stop you from performing a civic duty and accompanying him."

Kory retreated to the cash register to pay for her dress. She winked at Raven as she stepped into the street her potential boy toy in toe. "Are you sure this is okay? I don't want to burden you. If it's a problem I'm sure I can manage."

Raven's lips curved into a smile. "Really it's no problem at all."

Antoine, as Raven had come to learn his name, immediately invited her up to his suite. She had at first refused claiming she had somewhere she needed to be later. Of course he was captivated and intrigued by her, and half begged her come up with him. She agreed, "But only for ten minutes."

Raven sat on the lush bed her dress slid up to expose just the right amount of her toned thighs. Antoine sat in a chair a small distance from her. His hazel eyes frequently ran across her body. Her slender neck, her ample chest, her burning eyes. She pretended to not notice. Raven kept him waiting by asking him pointless questions about things she didn't care about. She had come to learn that he was twenty- four, three years younger than her, and had traveled to America to receive his masters in International Relations. He had been in America for six months, recently moving out of a relative's house and into a hotel while he searched for an apartment.

"What is the difference between American and French girls?" Raven asked demurely.

He shrugged. "French girls don't wear as much makeup and don't shave as much."

"Do you like American girls?" she asked as he stood up and crossed the room.

He didn't reply he just slid into the spot on the bed next to her. He pressed his lips against hers. It started off slow and quickly increased in intensity. Say what you want about the French they sure know how to kiss. His hand fumbled underneath of her dress and clumsily searched for the clasp of her bra. His hands slid up her waist.

Something just didn't feel...right. She didn't feel stimulated or excited or even turned on. Something was missing. There was no passion, nothing primal, nothing fun or at least not the way Raven was expecting. Not like last night. She pushed that thought out of her mind. Antoine removed his hands.

"I'll be right back." He told her breathlessly before hopping off the bed and disappearing into the bathroom.

"Fuck." Raven whispered to herself.

She groaned in annoyance. What was wrong with her? This was her area of expertise. Dick Grayson wasn't around to spoil it. She slid of the bed and pulled her dress down. She put her shoes back on and searched through his bed side table for a pen. She scribbled down her cell phone number on a blank index card and tossed it on the bed in case she changed her mind later.

It was half past eight by the time she made it back to her car. She took a leisurely trip back to her house and parked in the garage. She slithered into the kitchen and stood in the darkness. It was completely silent. No sign of him. Raven climbed the stairs and went into her bedroom. All of Garfield's things were gone, she noted and his house key lay on his abandoned night stand. She dumped her purse onto the bed.

She quickly undressed and climbed into the shower. The heat felt good against her skin. It was like the steam had cleared her mind and for the first time all day she felt peaceful and calm. Dick Grayson suddenly lost his importance, and everything returned to the way they had been three weeks ago. She was unconscious of how much time she had actually spent in the shower, but when the water started to cool she lathered her hair and rinsed. She begrudgingly turned the brass knob of the shower head, turning the water off.

Raven stood in the shower. Something didn't feel right. Suddenly the glass shower door flew open revealing a very cold looking Dick. Raven gasped. He quickly secured his arms around her waist and dragged her naked, soaking body out of the shower. Raven quickly overcame her shock and began to thrash wildly. He stumbled a few times on his way into her bedroom. As soon as he was close enough, he tossed her onto the bed. Her back sprang up against the mattress. Before Raven's breath could return Dick climbed on top of her.

Her dripping hair obscured her vision, but Raven blindly thrashed. Dick leaned up and took her arm and forced it into a prepared restraint that he had attached to the bed. Raven used her free hand to throw wild punches. With her other arm secure he had no problem restraining her free one. Dick's weight on top of her disabled her from moving very much. She could only move the parts of her legs below her knee and she couldn't move her torso at all.

"What the fuck are you doing?" she growled through her teeth.

He leaned forward. "Relax." he told her coldly kissing her neck.

Raven refused to fall for this again. She would not allow her body to control her. Dick proceeded to lick the side of her neck. His tongue slid down and her neck and chest and down to her naked hips. He slid his entire body down and nibbled at the skin of her hipbone. He removed his entire body from hers. Raven took advantage of this and helplessly kicked out. Dick grabbed her by the knees forcing her legs apart. His arms slid underneath of her thighs and secured on her knees. He kissed the inside of her knee and trailed his lips up to her thighs.

"What are you doing?" Raven said in a near whisper trying to expel the panic in her tone.

Dick ignored her and slid his tongue against the muscles in her legs. His cold eyes glanced at her penetrating her. He brought his tongue hungrily into her womanhood. Raven gasped out in surprised. Her knees buckled, but he held them apart in a tight grip. He flitted his tongue a few times earning a few involuntary moans. He slowly stroked her using his tongue, eventually increasing his speed.

Raven's knuckles turned white and her fingers curled into her hand. Her nails dug into her palms. Dick continued to flick and suck her clitoris. She could no longer control herself. The sounds she was making her very encouraging. It was easily the greatest pleasure she had ever known. She knew it was wrong, but it felt right. Her mind was muffled and she was once again betrayed by her body. Raven's muscles contracted and her body shivered as she groaned loudly.

Her body flattened against the mattress. Dick leaned over the front of the bed and removed her restraints. He grabbed her from around the waist and forcefully kissed her. She didn't attempt to fight him. Her lips fought his. Her fingers ran up and down his chest and stomach. She found herself nearly ripping his shirt apart. She bit his bottom lip drawing blood. She lapped up the warm substance and was disturbed by how good the metal and salt tasted.

Her eyes snapped open. She was falling for it again; into his trap. She was doing exactly what he wanted to do. Raven pulled away from him and sat up. She wrapped the now wet sheets around her body. She watched the darkness and listened to Dick's breathing beside her. She could feel him move beside her.

"Meet me tomorrow at the Palace Hotel at seven." He whispered in her ear.

Raven didn't say anything. Dick slid off of the bed and like a phantom was gone. What she had just done was beyond stupid and shameful. But somehow she felt awakened by it. She had always embraced her sexuality, but now it was like a new part of it had been born. An angry, animalistic part. She felt her will power breaking. She wandered if she really was a match for him. If she was, then why did she keep falling to him? She was so impulsive it would be impossible for her to tell if she'd actually show up tomorrow. She was still afraid of Dick, but now she also afraid of herself. Self Destructive.

"Tomorrow at seven." His voice rang in her head. Her mind fought an internal battle.

After all: everything looks better when the sun goes down.

-"In the dark."-

Sorry for the delay I was on vacation, I had a ton of supplements to write, and this took me awhile.

I will now take the time to address a problem that has been bothering a few of you. It has come to my attention that a small minority of reviewers has a problem, with the characterization of the protagonist and antagonist of this story and feels that they should pertain more to the Teen Titans television show. Fear Monster is an alternate universe fiction and to my admittance only loosely based on the cartoon series. In my defense this is certainly not the first AU fiction to be written and I can't help but wonder if all writers who write AU fictions are hassled in similar ways. It is very seldom now a day that my creativity is stimulated and I tend to find inspiration in the most curious places. I am more than satisfied with the outcome of this story and I refuse to derail this satisfaction by adhering to superficial bonds and chains on my creativity. If this minor detriment becomes too bothersome for anyone I invite you to please go read something else.

Happy New Years!