Human Behavior

Sorry this took so long…I've been busy and suffering a mild writer's block…It's a little short, I know, but it was a good place to end the chapter before the next one begins. Many thanks for all the wonderful reviews.

Chapter Five: The Wretched

Raven shut her eyes as the last meteor streaked low across the cloudless sky; thoughts of where her girlfriend could be scrolled across her mind in a slow, melancholy crawl. They made a date and Jinx never showed up, never called. It was the first time it had ever happened, and the Titan wasn't sure how to react. Maybe there was a legitimate explanation. Raven thought of a few naïve reasons before a little bitterness brought her back to the real ones. Like incarceration. She furrowed her brow, knowing that even if she was out thieving and ran into a snag, jail was the last place she'd end up. For the basis that the girl was far too talented in her craft, illegal as it may be, to fail. That left her misplacing her phone, forgetting it was on silent, or purposely putting it on silent. Can't have a ring tone blasting in the middle of a heist, now can we…

Raven stood from her perch on a fallen log, staring off across the still waters of the bay. Jinx was a bit of an air head occasionally, but it pained her to think she could forget something like this. She played with the zipper of her black jacket, slipping her cell phone into the pocket of her pants. What if something really happened to her? An accident? She could be unconscious in the shower, face down in some stagnant, filthy gutter on the side of the road …

Productive thought, Raven. And they call you a cynic.

She should run by her apartment just to be sure. I swear to Azar, if she's passed out with the television on… Raven shook her head, lifting up into the air and heading for town.

Jinx rubbed her temple as she slowly walked back home, Selinda stalking beside her. As rapidly as the spontaneous urge had come; it vanished, leaving an awful dread burning away at the pit of her stomach. How could I…what…what the fuck? Did she really just make out with Selinda in that alley? She suddenly felt nauseous, dizzy; cold; darkly thinking where it all could have led. None of that felt real, none of it felt like her; but the sickening truth was just that.

There was something nagging at Jinx' mind, pushing through the alcohol induced fog and shame burdening her mentality. Something else was present, a foreign, scheming force never before experienced by the feline. I feel so…distant…God, what have I done? Raven… She felt faint; it hit her like a ton of bricks. …Fuck, what time is it? She franticly patted her pockets looking for her cell, finding it missing a few seconds later.

"Do you have my phone?" Her mouth had a dry, metallic taste that wouldn't go away; she blinked rapidly as her vision slowly lurched from side to side. Something was wrong, this wasn't the effects of the few drinks she had.

"Oh, yeah," Selinda reached into her coat pocket, retrieving the small silver device, placing it in Jinx' outstretched hand. "You left it on the table at the bar."

Jinx flipped open her phone, feeling her stomach lurch even more when she read the time to be two forty-eight…and notice the nine missed calls from Raven. Fuck me…wait, at the bar? Something clicked, her mind groaning like an unused machine suddenly asked to perform. Jinx had been drunk many times before, this didn't feel anything like that. And if it wasn't the drinks that were making her feel so strange, then what was?

They had reached her building now, heading up the stairs to the top floor.

A thought murmured throughout her head. No, no. Not possible. That wasn't something that happened; it was just a good thing to watch out for. And Selinda wouldn't do something like that to Jinx…would she?

She's been blatantly obvious with her intentions this evening, though, knowing I have a girlfriend. This doesn't feel right…not that it would… I just let some girl almost have her way with me in goddamn alley while ditching my girlfriend. My dark, sexy, understanding girlfriend that I owe my very life to. And now we're heading back to my place to finish what we started…Jesus Christ, I'm a fucking bastard.

She stopped at the door to her loft, fixing her narrowed-eyed stare on those blue eyes as they turned.

"What's that look for?" Selinda's brow rose momentarily.

"Did you put something in my drink?"

Raven touched down silently on the damp pavement of the parking lot; eyes searching the windows of the apartment building for any light coming through the glass belonging to her love. She frowned, seeing none, and turned to leave when a familiar voice caught her ear. She blinked. Jinx. The empath headed up the steps towards the top floor. Just as she was about to call out her name, she froze dead in her tracks; the voice of another woman trickled down to her ears.

Selinda just stared back at Jinx indifferently, seemingly unfazed by the question. "You were having a good time, that's all," her eyes narrowed ever so slightly at their corners.

"You didn't answer my question," Jinx almost spat back. Deep down she knew the answer already; it just hurt to even consider.

"Why do you ask?" the goth murmured in a bored tone.

"Because I feel drugged, Selinda, that's why."

"It was nothing, just something to help you relax; you've been so tense lately…" she reached out and trailed her fingertips down the feline's arm.

Jinx backed away, feeling horribly betrayed and used. Her expression set in a deep scowl, she shoved Shimmer roughly backwards. "Fuck you."

"I'd watch your tone, little lady," Selinda brushed her jacket off, "because next time I will…" and with one last bone chilling stare, she sauntered down the staircase, whistling some unknown tune to herself. "See you later, Jinxy."

With an aggravated growl, Jinx kicked the front door several times, feeling her toes cry out in pain with each and every contact. Digging for her keys, she finally managed to unlock her door and fall inside, slamming it shut with a rattling boom. She lay there, slumped over in her dark apartment, just staring. "Such an awful day to spring forth," she muttered bitterly.

A quiet knocking tore her back to reality, and she stood up shakily, wrenching open the door and shouting "I said F…" Raven stood there.

The thief slumped to the floor once again, face buried in hands. Raven let herself in, shutting the door and switching on the lights. She knelt down before Jinx, gently pulling the pale girl's hands from her face. Her cheeks were flushed, hair a bit disheveled; breath tainted with rum, clothes a bit ruffled. "Jinx, what happened?"

Haunted pale pink eyes looked up; a little tear trickled down. "I'm sorry, Raven. Sorry about messing up the date, sorry about messing up everything," she bit her bottom lip to hold back a sob. Don't cry, for god sakes don't cry.

"Why don't you let me decide what you did or didn't mess up," Raven reached up, wiping away the tear with her thumb. "Come, sit," she moved over to the couch, pushing the girl down gently before seating herself. "Just start from the beginning."

Jinx sniffed a moment, trying to compose her racing mind to form a semblance of a sentence. "When I got back from your place, I came home to find an old friend had let herself in. We chatted for a bit, and she wanted to take me out to dinner. I agreed, but told her I couldn't stay out late. We met up with Wick at the bar down the street and hung out there for hours…I lost track of time. I was a little tipsy, she was fine, but Wick was gone. She…" Jinx paused, remembering the burning kiss still vivid in her mind.

"She got up to pay the tab and call a cab for Wick. We got him in the cab and sent off, and then we started walking back to my place."

Raven had been watching Jinx intently, picking up each and every little thing her body language gave off. There was something she wasn't telling her, and from the look on the girl's face, she was having a hard time trying to say it.

"Then," she finally felt her lips move, "as we were walking…she pinned me up against the wall of the alley and kissed me. I tried to get away, but I was so dizzy and—"

"She forced herself on you?" the Titan's tone turned dark and vengeful.

Jinx looked at her feet. "…Not exactly."

Raven's heart sank. This certainly wasn't one of the reasons she had come up with earlier; she was starting to wish she had been arrested instead. "Not exactly," the dark bird repeated in monotone.

Jinx cringed. Up until now, Raven had been so forthcoming and warm towards her, her tone was rich with a friendly playfulness most never knew could come from such an individual. But now, to hear those cold, emotionless words pour from her mouth…it was startling. She feared she was going to lose Raven. She was terrified to look up, but did so anyway. The violet eyes that stared back held so much hurt and anger she couldn't quite tell which was worse.

"So what happened," Raven demanded with a slight clip in her tone. "Did you two just fuck in the alley, kiss, play cards, steal the Mona Lisa—what?"

Jinx's stomach tightened; Raven never said fuck. Things were going to get ugly, fast. "No, we just…made out." She felt that bad taste in her mouth come back. "…she put something in my drink. I don't know what, but I still feel weird."

"Sure that's not just guilt." She wasn't even looking at her anymore. Raven glared across the room at the wall, brooding.

"None of that's an excuse, though," Jinx said quietly, almost a whisper. "I headed back here, she followed me wanting more. I told her to go and I came inside. I'm surprised you didn't see her walking down the stairs."

"I saw her," she hissed, suddenly pissed for not pouncing the girl as she walked away so smugly and ripping her to shreds. "And I heard everything."

Jinx felt another tear well up. She stood, slowly pacing to her bed and back, biting the tip of her thumb. "I'm…did I mess everything up?" she finally asked.

Raven didn't move, she didn't speak. Jinx wasn't sure if she had even blinked in the last few minutes. The silence, however, wasn't really the answer she was hoping for. Jinx hung her head slightly, and wandered over to the window. She watched Raven get up and open the door, pausing with her fingers wrapped around the wood.

"I need some time," she finally murmured, stepping out and shutting the door behind her.

Jinx never cried so hard in her entire life.

Robin peeked inside the computer room sleepily. The girl had been in there since three in the morning and the sun was beginning to rise. Paper lay scattered about the floor, with a slight singeing of the gray carpet near the wall; a mug of steaming hot tea rested on the desk. She obviously had a rough night…he stared at one of the ceiling tiles hanging perilously by one corner. "Uhm…What are you doing, Raven?"

"Research," she mumbled, eyes never leaving the screen.

"Oh…are you okay?"

"Just peachy."

Oook, she's very angry. He really wanted to ask her what was wrong, if he could help, but the vibes he was getting off of her warned him otherwise; she would probably unleash the fires of a thousand hells on who ever dared distract her. He quietly shut the door, heading back to his room for a little more sleep before the day got too far ahead of him.

Morning brought little solace from the nights events.