AN: Thanks a lot for the reviews. Hope you're enjoying :). I had cross-country, so soz for the late update.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans
"Things do not change; we change." "None of us knows what the next change is going to be, what unexpected opportunity is just around the corner, waiting a few months or a few years to change all the tenor of our lives."
- Henry David Thoreau & Kathleen Norris
Chapter 4 – Things Change
Beast Boy stared into Raven's violet eyes, his own green ones flashing with questions. He could not imagine the Titans without her. Who would be there to balance Starfire's cheery nature? Who would be there to counter-act Robin's blind ambition? Who would be there to stop him in his tracks before he let loose a horrible joke? Without her… the Titans could never be. She couldn't leave. The very thought of Raven leaving, was just plain wrong in Beast Boy's mind.
"You can't leave" said Beast Boy bluntly.
"Oh? And why not? I thought this club was voluntary" answered Raven, putting on a cold voice, attempting to dissuade Beast Boy from arguing. But as always her assault bounced off Beast Boy's resilient shield.
"Well why are you leaving then, don't you want to be with us anymore?" asked Beast Boy, his voice accusing.
Raven was shaken by his statement. Of course she wanted to stay, but she didn't have a choice.
"I'm leaving because I must. Today I nearly killed someone Beast Boy. That's not something to be taken lightly. Next time I could end up a murderer… for real. As long as I am fighting with the Titans, I risk losing control" said Raven.
"Then don't fight for us anymore, just because your with the Titans doesn't mean you have to fight for the Titans" murmured Beast Boy.
Raven hid a look of surprise behind a dead-pan face. Maybe he was right. She hadn't considered the possibility of just hanging around the Titans… She had taken in more of the Telepath's words than she had thought. Memories of foul words still wandered in her head, to them, you're not a friend, you're a tool. Beast Boy was right… for once. The fact that he had tried to dissuade her from leaving was sign of their friendship, no matter how small. Still, something bothered her.
"So you don't care that I won't be fighting alongside you anymore?" asked Raven.
"Well, that's totally up to you. I can't change what you want, I've known that for years now" replied Beast Boy lightly.
"Then why do you still attempt to do it?" muttered Raven, wondering why Beast Boy was being so… odd.
"Everything's worth a try. But let's go, you've got to tell the others" murmured Beast Boy.
The two walked down the corridor, Raven following Beast Boy. She didn't know why she was letting him lead her, but he just seemed… different today. They stepped into the common room, where the other Titans were still talking about the day's events.
"And she…" said Cyborg softly.
"Hey Raven" said Robin loudly, cutting out the rest of Cyborg's sentence. The pair of them then glanced at each other, noticing Beast Boy standing next to Raven.
"And Beast Boy" continued Cyborg, slowly.
"Hey Cy" replied Beast Boy pleasantly as he walked towards the common room couch, taking a seat, leaving the other three Titans staring at Raven.
"I need to tell you all something" muttered Raven.
"Raven?" Robin said quietly.
Raven took a quick breath in anticipation.
"I'm not fighting for the Titans. For anyone, anymore" uttered Raven.
"What?" cried out Cyborg, Starfire and Robin in unison.
"You can't just stop fighting!" exclaimed Cyborg.
"We need you on the team" said Robin, outraged.
"Yes friend, how are we to kick the butt without you?" asked Starfire in despair.
"Yeah! There's nothing better than kicking bad-guy butt" yelled Cyborg as if Raven had questioned an unspoken law.
"How are we supposed to fight Slade when there are only four of us?" exclaimed Robin.
Raven sighed as her ears were drowned in the protests of her friends. Perhaps in a few hours, when they lost their voices would she get some reprieve, however for now she would have to put up with the ear-splitting racket of abundant dissent.
"Dudes! Leave her alone. She's capable of deciding for herself. She's Raven remember!" vociferated Beast Boy. All heads swung around and all eyes stared at Beast Boy.
"Man, what's up with you today!" accused Cyborg. "You've been acting weird ever since we got home."
"Yeah… are you okay Beast Boy?" asked Robin cautiously.
"Indeed, I do hope that Beast Boy has not contracted some form of disease" said Starfire anxiously.
"I'm fine. It's just that, Raven's been through a heap today and she doesn't need you guys to hound her" answered a vehement Beast Boy.
On the other side of the room, Raven watched the conversation splay out in front of her. Cyborg had hit exactly what she had been wondering for nearly the whole day. Why was Beast Boy acting so strange? Ever since they had returned from the battle with the Telepath, Beast Boy had just… changed. Or unveiled a different side of him, she thought. She always had known that Beast Boy was never as simple as he seemed. That friendly demeanour, the constant joke-telling, she had always felt it had been a mask for something darker. Maybe he was just maturing… guys often did mature suddenly even if it was quite late, she thought. She shook her head, pushing the mystery out of her mind.
"It's my decision, and it's final" said Raven, over the loud raucous that lay in front of her. The other Titans turned their heads quickly, having forgotten already she had been standing there.
"Raven, are you…" started Robin.
"I'm sure. And if you all don't mind, I'm going to meditate" muttered Raven, as she stepped swiftly out of the common room.
"I'm leaving too. If anyone wants me, I'm not available" grunted Beast Boy while he made his way to the common room door.
"Beast Boy, stop. We need to talk to you" said Robin firmly.
"What?" Beast Boy muttered, turning around slightly.
"Seriously, what's the matter with you? In the morning you're fighting with Raven, but now you're defending her?" accused Robin.
"You're the detective, you find out" answered Beast Boy strongly, before turning his back and walking out of the room, leaving the other three Titans staring confusedly at each other.
Beast Boy slammed the door to his bedroom roughly, jumping onto the bottom bunk. Stupid Robin, he thought to himself, always thinks that he can boss all of us around. What right did Robin have to harass Raven for answers? At the thought of Raven his anger subsided. The other three Titans had brought up a good point, why was he defending Raven? It wasn't like they were best friends, their friendship at the best of times had been unstable. But there he was supporting her, and worrying about her… but why? He had no clue as to why, he just did it. There wasn't any thought involved, on impulse he just did it. Sure the memory of his fear of her death still lay at the back of his mind but… He shook his head, trying to dislodge his thoughts. What am I doing here thinking about these things, he thought. He lay down, hoping an answer, any answer would come to him.
Cyborg, Starfire and Robin stood in the common room, still looking quite dazed.
"Robin? Do you have any idea what the hell is up with Beast Boy?" questioned Cyborg looking thoroughly confused.
"I wish I did. Maybe he's just… growing up? People get weird when they grow up" answered Robin scratching his head.
"It's only been a year since Terra showed up again" Cyborg said. Memories of Terra welled up in Robin's head.
"You should know better than to talk about her Cyborg. She's in the past now, if she doesn't want to remember us, then it's best we forget about her" muttered Robin gravely.
"What is troubling Beast Boy?" asked Starfire.
"Whatever it is, I intend to find out" answered Robin, his eyes narrowing.
In her room, Raven levitated with her legs crossed, her eyes closed. She sighed, coming out of meditation and slowly floating back down onto the floor. Finally she could feel her emotions fully in check. Her mind ran through the events of the day. The start, the telepath, her decision and Beast Boy. She still couldn't get his behaviour out of her head. Since when had Beast Boy cared for even an ounce of her? And now suddenly, he was shielding her from the unrelenting tirade of a Robin interrogation. She couldn't make head nor tail of it. The only explanation she could come up with was that he was maturing, but even that didn't make sense. It was like the entire incident with the Telepath had opened up a completely different side of him. Raven had always found him the most difficult to understand. Happy, playful, joyous yet at the same time, dark, bitter and sorrowful. She knew thinking about this would get her nowhere, so tiredly she slumped herself onto her bed.
A slight breeze rustled through Raven's window, causing her violet hair to ripple. Pushing her questioning thoughts to the back of her mind, she slowly dipped into a sense of fatigue. Her blanket lay roughly over her body as her figure moved into the most comfortable position. It had been a long day, and at last it was over, she thought to herself. The gentle clasp of sleep wrapped itself around her, slowly taking her deeper into its palm. And finally, grey lids fell softly over those deep violet eyes. And with that she slipped into the confines of deepest sleep, the midnight breeze still whispering, whispering her name.
AN: As some of you may know, I'm a guy, please forgive me if my attempted delving into the female mind is a dismal failure. Also a lot of my characters are based upon my perception. I never really liked Starfire, thought she was an empty character (i.e. I hardly write about her), And I have a strange dislike of Robin due to RobxRae stories or theories, however Rob won't always be an arse ;). And I've also always thought BB was a very flexible character. Have a nice day, today's been a good one for me.