Disclaimer- I don't own the Teen Titans

Impulses

Story by StormDancer

Chapter 4

It is not light that we need, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake.

"So?" Victor asked, leaning against Roy's locker.

"So what?" Roy quipped, grabbing some books and slamming the locker closed a bit harder than may have been necessary.

"What have you found about this Mark?" Victor snapped back, in no mood for jokes.

"Nothing," Roy responded, "And that's what worries me. Name's Mark Chior. No one knows where he came from. I tried to intimidate him away, failed. Thinks of women like things to be taken, but other than that, nada."

Victor hit the locker hard.

"Well that won't convince Rae to stop hanging with him."

"No," Roy agreed, "It won't she's even pissed at me because I tried to get him to lay off."

Victor shrugged.

"Well, keep digging; you might be able to find something. I have to get to class, call me if you find anything."

Roy nodded, and Victor left, jogging to his next class. The younger students stepped prudently out of the way, and many of the older ones looked quizzically and almost jealously at Roy. It wasn't usual to see the resident bad boy turned good talking to one of the most popular jocks in school.

Roy rolled his eyes at the masses and turned to walk to his own class when someone got in his way.

"Hey, Roy!" a voice cooed.

"Kitten," Roy nodded curtly. He was not in the mood for this. "What do you want?"

"Oh nothing," she smiled flirtatiously and draped herself against a locker, "I just wanted to get to know you."

Roy nearly hit his own head. Kitten, the slut of the school, had stopped obsessing over Dick and was onto him now? Could this day get any worse?

"You know Roy, I've been meaning to talk to you for a while," she flirted not so subtly. Roy decided this needed to stop.

"Kitten, can't you go obsess over Dick? We aren't that much alike, damit! I'm not him, so getting me won't help you get him!"

Kitten's suggestive smirk turned into an ugly grimace, than back.

"Oh, no, Roy. You aren't a replacement for Dick, you're better. I decided you're more experienced anyway, and I won't need to stay devoted to you because you won't to me. And you're easy to get. So, what do you say?"

Roy stared at her blankly. Sure, he knew he wasn't the most committal of guys and he did tend not to have girlfriends for more than a week, but was he bad enough that Kitten Moth was propositioning him for a quick lay?

"I don't think so," he said, taking a step back.

"Come on, Roy, you know you always flirt with me anyway! It's no different really! Or?" she advanced as he backed away, "Are you losing your nerve?"

Roy continued to take a tactical retreat, but she matched him, step for step. Just as Roy was considering making a run for it, his savior appeared.

"Hey, baby," Raven said, walking up to him and putting a casual arm around him, "What you doing?"

Roy stared at her in amazement, than caught her subtle wink.

"Nothing much, just trying to get rid of an annoyance."

Kitten was staring at Raven, two things were wrong here, she decided. One, that Roy Harper, one of the hottest guys in school, was going out with the Goth dancer chick, and two, Roy had a girlfriend! This was going to have to be set straight.

"You do know," she informed Raven kindly, "That he's cheating on you? I mean, how long have you been going out?"

Raven didn't miss a beat.

"Three weeks," she replied. Roy nearly gaped, but remembered just in time that that would give the game away. How did she know that was the last time he had hooked up with someone? He knew he hadn't told anybody, because he didn't want to ruin his reputation, but he hadn't felt like finding a girl for weeks.

Kitten stared at Raven as well. She knew that Roy had stopped playing as much, and this would have to be the reason.

"Why?" Raven asked guilelessly, "Were you cheating on Fang with him? Because than it's my duty to tell Fang you know."

Kitten's face fell. Breaking up with Fang meant no more presents and her daddy wouldn't approve. She made a face, and flounced away from them. As soon as she had turned the corner, Raven slipped out of Roy's arm.

"Thanks," he said gratefully.

"No problem," she replied, "But now that's going to be around school in an hour."

Roy laughed.

"No one will believe her, Rae. She's spread too much untrue stuff for people to believe it." Mentally he added, 'Why do you care so much?', but he didn't dare ask.

"good," Raven sighed gratefully.

"So," Roy asked as they continued down the hall to their history class, "I thought you were still mad at me."

"I was," Raven responded with a slight smirk, "But you looked so pitiful, cornered by the big ugly Moth, that I had to forgive you and help. Somehow," she mused, "you're the only one I can't stay mad at for long. Make sure to inform Vic I'm still angry at him, by the way."

"Will do, my knightress in shining armour," Roy mock bowed, "And Kitten isn't ugly, on the outside she's actually pretty hot!"

Raven shook her head despairingly, but Roy thought he could see her wince slightly at his defense of Kitten.

"You know," she pointed out after a small pause, "Female knights are either called Lady Knights or Dames."

"My Dame in shining armour…" Roy experimented, than shook his head, "No, doesn't work."

Raven grinned at his face, which was screwed up in distaste. Roy smiled back.

"But now I see why girls like having knights rescue them. That was pretty hot, back there," Roy continued. Raven rolled her eyes. Take pig out of the pigsty, but you can't take the pigsty out of the pig.

"It's more than that," she corrected him in a monotone that Roy knew she used only when hiding something, "It's that every girl, no matter how independent or powerful she is, likes to have the feeling of strong arms protecting her and sleeping well at night because she knows those arms will keep her safe."

Raven sighed regretfully, Roy gazing at her in a combination of admiration, pity, and something else she couldn't read.

"Even me," she muttered under her breath. Roy heard, however, and pulled her into a chaste yet friendly hug.

"Don't worry, Rae, we'll find you your knight! And you can have your special night!"

Raven giggled into his shoulder.

"Roy, that's redundant."

"No," Roy corrected patiently, "there wasn't a k on the second night."

"Wait, was that a night or a knight?"

"A night!"

"A knight?"

"Never mind."

Roy and Raven had both collapsed in a laughing fit by the end of the argument.

"Damn homophones!" Roy muttered through his laughter. This only caused Raven to laugh harder, and they walked into Mr. Mod's class still in fits of laughter. The teacher glared at the two latecomers.

"Mr. Harper? Miss Roth? Is there a reason you saw fit to interrupt my class in this unseemly manner?" the teacher asked in a clipped English accent. Roy smirked.

"Indeed there was, sir, I was attacked by a killer moth!" Roy replied with a straight face, imitating the teacher's accent. Raven cracked up beside him, tears running down her face as she twitched in helpless laughter.

"Well," Mr. Mod snapped as he gestured for the two to take a seat, "than you two will have plenty of time to save each other from killer insects as you serve detention this afternoon. He turned back to the board and returned to his lecture on the glories of England, which Roy promptly tuned out as he took a seat next to Dick.

"Kitten?" Dick whispered. Roy nodded emphatically, "In know how you feel, man," Dick told him.

Author's Note- So, you, as my readers, have a descicion to make here. I can make this a shorter fic with Mark as the main bad guy, or extend it to work with a different bad guy (points if you huess who). Please review and tell me your opinion. Thanks!