Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to the Teen Titans or any characters in the DC Universe.
Raven shut and locked her door behind her as she retreated to her room. A wave of bitterness surged through her body as Beast Boy's remark hit home. Fighting back her tears she dropped the books he had returned unceremoniously to her on the floor.
"I'm not ashamed of you." she whispered in the privacy of her room. "And why her? Why did you have to bring her up?" she seethed at the absent changeling. Without thinking she began to recite her mantra and after 10 long minutes she had regained a semblance of control. She got up and began to slowly pace around her room until she saw her tear stained face in the mirror. Unwilling to allow her teammates see her in such as state she washed up and applied some eye drops to her bloodshot eyes.
She sat down at her desk, pondering what to do next. Beast Boy was obviously upset with her and it wasn't just going to blow over. She humiliated him in front of their friends, so she reasoned that the right thing to do would be to apologize to him in front of the others. But what would she do if Cyborg or Starfire asked her if they were a couple or not? She felt a flock of butterflies in her stomach, unsure of how she would respond if cornered with that question.
It was 3:00 PM, and she decided that some meditation was in order. Her plan was to meditate until dinner time, which would be the perfect time to apologize to Beast Boy. She sat back down on her bed, moved into the lotus position and slowly began to recite her mantra. She began to levitate, as if sitting on an invisible pillow. Her eyes were closed and the room around her dissolved as she attempted to become one with the cosmos. She was struggling to find her center as her inner turmoil resisted any of her attempts to tame it and progress came slowly.
Eventually her efforts bore fruit and she felt relaxed and refreshed. As she opened her eyes she saw, to her shock, that it was already late the next morning. She lowered herself to the floor and ran out of her room. It was already past 10 AM and nobody had come to look for her. She rushed into the common room, finding only Starfire there, watching the World of Fungus show on the TV.
"Good morning, Raven!" she greeted the demoness. "Did you slumber well?"
"Yeah, sure" she replied absentmindedly as she scanned the room. "Where's Beast Boy?"
"Beast Boy is gone for the day." The princess replied as she fussed over Silkie, who was now sitting on her lap.
"Gone? Gone where? I thought he wasn't cleared yet to return to duty."
"He is not. He has taken the day off and left very early this morning to go to Los Angeles."
"Los Angeles? What's he doing in LA?" the sorceress asked with and expression that was both cross and confused.
"He has taken a date to Disneyland. He said they will be returning late tonight."
Raven's eyes grew wide. "A date? Who?"
"He said that her name was Heather. She is a volunteer at Children's Hospital and they met there some time ago."
Raven walked out of the common room without saying a word. The Tamaranian watched her leave with a knowing look on her face.
It was now past 11 PM and Raven was lying on top of her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. She barricaded herself in her room since that morning, trying vainly to reconcile what had had happened.
I should be happy for him…but I'm not. She thought bitterly. So this is what jealousy feels like. I wonder what color her cape his, not that I'll set foot in Nevermore. Forget that!
Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on the door. Her first thought was to send whoever it was away, but she knew deep down that she needed some company.
"It's open. Come on in." she called out.
It was Starfire, who was carrying a tray with some food.
"Cyborg asked me to bring this to you, as you have not eaten anything all day." She said innocently.
Raven leaped up and off her bed. She was hungry and the food smelled good.
"Thanks Starfire" she said as she took the tray and set it down in her desk. Cyborg had made her a steak with a baked potato and some sautéed vegetables.
"I welcome you." Starfire replied. "Do you mind if I stay while you have your dinner? I wish to share the girl talk with you."
"Trouble with bird boy?" the sorceress asked through a mouthful of steak.
"No, Robin and I do not have the boy-girl troubles. I wish to talk with you about Beast Boy."
Raven paused, her mouth open as she was about to shovel another bite of her Porterhouse steak into it.
"What?"
The princess turned away from her friend.
"You do not wish to talk about him?"
"What is there to talk about?"
"You might be a mighty sorceress, friend Raven, but you are a poor liar."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
The Tamaranian folded her arms over her chest while she gave her friend an angry look.
"It means that you have the feelings for our green teammate."
Raven snorted derisively as she continued to eat.
"I see you are not ready to discuss your love for him. I am most disappointed and shall leave now."
Starfire walked to the door and punched the open button.
"klorhbag" she muttered sotto voce as she walked out.
As the orange skinned alien crossed the threshold Raven paused her feasting.
"Starfire, wait, don't leave."
The tall girl turned around, her eyes were glowing, a sign Raven knew well. She was upset, very upset.
Raven sighed and shoved her unfinished dinner aside.
"This isn't easy for me, Starfire."
"That which is worth doing is rarely easy."
Raven chuckled. "Is that an old Tamaranian saying?"
"No" Starfire giggled, her anger gone. "I read it the other day in a fortune cookie."
Raven laughed even harder and then began to cry.
"I don't know what to do Starfire. I do love him, but I'm so afraid."
"Of Beast Boy?" she asked incredulously.
"No." Raven answered. "I'm afraid of myself. I'm afraid I'll hurt him, that I'll be stupid and break his heart."
Starfire was staring at the floor and looked up at her friend.
"I'm afraid you have already done that. What happened in the theatre?"
"Nothing, I just began to caress his hand without even thinking about it."
Starfire grinned. "Oh Raven! That was so, so …"
"Juvenile." Raven filled in the blank. "What's wrong with me Starfire? That's what nine year olds do! It's like I'm an emotional baby, and I have the gall to call him immature?"
"You are the tardy flower?"
"Late bloomer." Raven corrected her. "Perhaps. But I don't know what to do Starfire. Just the thought of opening up to him scares the daylights out of me. What if he wants to kiss me?"
"Do not worry Raven, just take the small steps. He will be patient, trust me."
"I don't know…"
"You have fought and defeated the deadliest of villains and with no fear."
"This is different."
"It is, but I will be there to help you."
"OK." Raven said quietly. "And I know what the first step is. When is he due back?"
"Soon, he promised to bring the Heather back before midnight."
Raven's stomach tied itself into knots. She had forgotten about the other girl.
"Will you stay up and wait for him with me?"
Starfire smiled. "Of course I will. What is your first step?"
"You'll see."
As Raven and Starfire approached the common room they heard voices having an animated exchange. Raven sensed that Beast Boy had returned and started running to the room, followed closely behind by Starfire. As the doors slid open they entered the room unnoticed by the others. Robin, Cyborg and Beast Boy were there, as was someone else.
Raven's heart sank when she saw her. She was a tall, leggy and very shapely brunette and she had her arm draped around Beast Boy's shoulder.
"I've been to Disneyland before, but I never had such a great time there." Heather gushed.
"Star! Raven! You didn't have to wait up for us!" Beast Boy called out.
"And miss meeting Heather?" Raven droned in her monotone. Heather's demeanor changed instantly when she saw the grey skinned sorceress.
"Hi." She said weakly."It's, uh, nice to meet you Raven, and you must be Starfire?" She quickly read the two girls' body language and it was clear that they were less than thrilled to meet her.
"It's nice to meet you too. So you and Beast Boy had a good time at the Magic Kingdom?" Raven replied, her voice completely devoid of emotion.
"Uh, yeah, we did." She turned her attention to Beast Boy. "I'd better get going, I told my folks I would be home by midnight."
"I'll walk you to your car." Beast Boy offered as they left the common room together.
"It was nice meeting you; I hope to see you again soon." Heather called out as the doors slid shut.
"I hope not." Starfire growled.
"Star! What's with you?" Robin accused her.
"I do not like the Heather." She replied.
"But why? She's perfectly nice and she's crazy about Beast Boy."
"That's why." She replied cryptically.
Robin stared at her dumbfounded. "I think I'll go to bed."
"No Robin, wait for Beast Boy to come back. There's something I want to tell everyone." Raven interrupted, just as Beast Boy returned.
"What do you want to tell us Raven?" the changeling interrupted.
Raven swallowed hard, knowing that this wasn't going to be easy for her. In fact, she was ready to bolt out of the room, but summoned all her willpower to stay put.
"I want to talk about what happened back in the infirmary a few days ago."
Cyborg interrupted. "I'm sorry I teased you Raven. I should have known better…"
Raven raised her hand and he stopped.
"As you all know Beast Boy and I spent a lot of time together before that day in the infirmary. I won't downplay it, the truth is we've gotten closer to each other and have nurtured a special friendship."
Cyborg interrupted again. "Yeah, we kind of already figured that out."
Raven continued. "Well, as Robin and Starfire already know, Garfield and I had a little 'moment' back at the movie theatre and when they found out, BY SPYING ON US, I was upset to say the least."
"And that's why you got so angry when Cyborg teased you about Beast Boy being your boyfriend." Robin concluded.
Raven sighed. "That's correct." She paused. "And I took it out on the wrong person." She said sadly as she turned to Beast Boy. "Please forgive me Garfield. And if it helps, I want you to know that I'm not ashamed of you. How could I be? You're my best friend." She said as a tear rolled down her cheek.
Beast Boy grinned and gave her a tight hug. "You're my best friend too, Raven" As he released her he pecked her on her cheek. She quickly blushed, and rested her head on his shoulder, much to Starfire's grinning approval.
"Well, this has been quite a day." Robin remarked. "But I do need to get up early tomorrow. I have an 8AM appointment with the principal of Murakami High School."
"What for?" Beast Boy asked.
"Slade has some kind of interest with that school and I was hoping the Principal might have some clues for me."
"Dude! Terra goes to Murakami School."
"You mean the girl you thought was Terra?"
"No Robin, she is Terra. She told me and Slade told me too."
"Slade?" Robin shrieked. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Beast Boy looked contrite. "I had my reasons."
"I still wish you had told me." Robin then addressed the whole team. "Everyone get a good night's rest. We need to be ready for whatever Slade might throw at us."