Chapter 2:
Beast boy thundered across the floor, his feet causing the Titans Tower to rumble with every step. With a swift jump, he slammed into a group of robots, sending them exploding into a mess of circuits and debris.
"Raven, are you okay?" he shouted over the chaos.
"For now…" she muttered.
Robin leapt past him, hopping from robot to robot, punching their heads in as he went. Streaks of green light shot from Starfire's eyes, tearing through the metal exterior of one of the larger robots. Cyborg hammered down every robot in his path with his robotic fists.
And then there was Raven. Beautiful Raven. Beast Boy watched in wonder as she annihilated huge swaths of robots with widespread blasts of necrotic energy.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"
Those three words were forever burnt into the depths of Beast Boy's heart. They gave him the strength to charge through an entire battalion of robots. In a matter of seconds, he and the rest of the Titans had vanquished all of the robots from Titans Tower.
All of the robots had been taken care of now, and it was quieter in the tower than Beast Boy expected. Cyborg collected some of their remains, and took the scrap metal back to his workshop. Robin surveyed the damages to the window and the exterior of the tower. Starfire floated up to the top to scout for reinforcements. Raven stood at the center of the room, staring at Beast Boy.
His heart fluttered in his chest as the cloaked titan looked right into his soul.
There she is, now's my chance!
He walked up to her, his palms trembling and sweating.
"Uh, heh, hey," he began.
"Hey, uh… Thanks for back there."
Beast Boy looked away and started to blush.
She thought I did a good job! Maybe now she'll… No, why would she ever think that somebody like me would amount to anything? I'm not good enough for her, she probably thinks I'm just annoying and clingy, just-
"Uhh, Beast Boy?" she questioned.
"Oh! Sorry! Uh, oh, yeah, thanks!" he stammered, turning and walking away from Raven.
Raven watched him leave, confused, before shrugging and fading into the ground beneath her.
She's gone. Oh, God, I'm an idiot! I just sat there and didn't say anything. I'm a coward! It's no wonder she isn't interested in me. I'm hopeless.
With his thoughts and a familiar shame, Beast Boy retreated to his room and fumbled onto his bed. Although he didn't think he had a chance, his feelings for Raven were unrelenting.
You know, it's probably not so bad. Dying alone.
It's what I deserve.
Beast Boy began felt his pillow become wet against his face as his chest heaved in gradual sobs that he fought to control. Somewhere between them, Robin had opened the door and walked into the room.
"Beast Boy! What's wrong?"
He was overcome with a fresh wave of embarrassment as his team leader watched him here, on his bed, crying into his bedsheets, behaving like more of an animal than he had ever been in combat. He flipped over, onto his back, and covered his face with his pillow.
"It's nothing, Robin," he lamented.
"Oh, uh… I was just coming in to check on you," he explained. "You did a pretty good job taking care of those robots just now."
Beast boy sat up, rested his feet on the carpet, and stared emptily at the bedpost.
"Thanks, I guess," he said. "Just doing my job."
His face was still wet, and his cheeks were quite pink. Robin tentatively moved forward and sat on the edge of the bed beside him.
"What's wrong?" he repeated, with determination.
Beast Boy looked up at his leader's face and was moved by the overwhelming amount of concern in his eyes. He buried his head in his hands with a different type of shame and began to speak, the entire frame of his body quivering.
"It's Raven."
"What did she do to y-"
"I'm in love with her," he deadpanned.
Robin froze up.
"I'm in love with her and there's nothing I can do about it. I'm not smart enough, not tall enough, not pretty enough, not serious enough, whatever it is, I'm not enough for her. I can barely get her to notice me, and when I do, I'm too scared to talk to her. I'm hopeless."
Robin sighed deeply and thought about his next words.
"Beast Boy, I think you're perfect the way you are. Just show Raven who you really are, and tell her honestly how you feel about her, and she'll accept you."
"She'll feel sorry for me, but she won't love me back. It would be better to stay like this. Stupid, immature, and ugly."
"You're not stupid," Robin interjected. "I love your sense of humor, and I must say, you're pretty dang attractive for being green."
Beast Boy sighed. "Thanks for trying to cheer me up, Robin, but all I really care about right now is Raven, and I can't have her."
Robin sat for awhile, contemplating. He then stood up abruptly and began to walk out of the room.
"Good luck," he offered plainly, closing the door behind him.
Great. Alone again, Always alone. I guess I should get used to it.
Beast Boy began to cry again, not caring who saw him this time.