AN: Thanks a lot for the reviews guys, installment number 5. I'm getting a feeling this will end up being pretty long, so stay tuned for more.

Disclaimer: I just happen not to own the Teen Titans

"I was misunderstood
I stumbled like my words, did the best I could
Damn, misunderstood
Intentions good"

- Bon Jovi

Chapter 5 – Sleepless Nights

There was nothing. Nothing there but the empty blackness of the void. Raven lay sprawled onto a layer of black, her form unclothed, her body exposed. There she lay in the darkness, with the void beyond yearning to her. And suddenly she was falling, falling for an eternity, her body flapping pathetically as she fell down into the blackness. A face flew by her. Cyborg. You're always alone. His familiar voice mouthing the unsuited words. You don't have any friends. The image of Starfire's face flashing in front of her own. How could anybody like you? Raven swung around, seeing Robin's face slowly fade into the black. Everybody hates you. Beast Boy's face floating around Raven's head. His face vanished. Words seemed to boom out of the darkness, shouting at her, echoing and rebounding across the black void. Hate.

Suddenly Raven plunged into a swirling mist of darkness, and flames erupted around her, engulfing her, choking her. There was no way out, no escape from the flames. Those dark fires licking at her bare flesh. She was going to die, her body was burnt, her mind was sick, her heart was shattered. She would die there, sitting amongst the chaos. Alone.

Raven woke up with a start. Her eyes wide and her bed soaked in sweat. Her sheets lay scattered across the floor. Taking in short, heavy breaths she stood up, her heart pounding painfully within her ribs. The dreams had been going on for ages, she couldn't remember when she never did have them. This time was worse. She sighed, her breath shaking as it exited her mouth. There was no way that she could get back to sleep after that nightmare. If she had a choice, she wouldn't sleep at all. She slipped into her uniform, and quietly left her room. She really didn't want to wake up another Titan and be forced to explain why she was up, at midnight no less.

Upon entering the common room, Raven felt a chill run up her spine. It was eerie being here when it was so dark and so empty. Usually it was full of life, but to see it so… dead was creepy, for want of a better word. She slowly flicked on the lights to the common room, causing brightness to pierce even the darkest corners of the room. Suddenly, from behind the couch came Beast Boy, as if appearing from nowhere.

"Hey Raven" he said lightly.

Raven's limbs stiffened, her mouth letting out a small gasp of surprise. She quickly re-established her usual face. What the hell was he doing here, she thought to herself. Trust Beast Boy to screw all of this up.

"What are you doing up?" asked Raven gruffly, voicing her thoughts.

"I couldn't get to sleep" replied Beast Boy. "What are you doing up?"

"I couldn't get to sleep" muttered Raven. The two looked at each other, an awkward silence surrounding the pair. Then, silently, Beast Boy sat back down on the couch, looking out at the stars. Raven sighed and walked towards the kitchen.

"So… are you feeling okay?" asked Beast Boy, he hated silences.

"I'm fine" Raven sighed, she was sick of hearing that. She lifted a cup of tea to her lips, and blew letting the smoke gracefully swoop away from the cup.

"Are you okay?" asked Raven, cautiously.

"I dunno… I guess I am" answered Beast Boy dreamily.

"What's that supposed to mean?" said Raven, heading towards the couch. She sat down on the opposite end to Beast Boy, she disliked talking to people's back.

"Today's just been… you know, just weird" replied Beast Boy, looking at Raven.

Raven nodded. "Yeah, that's definitely true."

Beast Boy just stared back out the window again. It was nice to talk to Raven, without arguing but he never really knew what to say. The only times they really conversed was through shouts and screams.

"I forgot to thank you for before" murmured Raven softly.

"For what?" Beast Boy replied.

"For standing up for me about my decision" muttered Raven, looking at Beast Boy.

"I was just doing what I had to do. I understand what it's like to give something up. I had to give up meat, didn't I?" replied Beast Boy, turning to Raven.

Raven had completely forgotten about that. Finally she knew why Beast Boy was acting strange. But still, something seemed a bit… out of place.

"So was that why you've been acting odd since the battle today?" inquired Raven, hoping to get some form of an answer from Beast Boy.

Beast Boy's ears drooped, he had hoped that he wouldn't have to talk to Raven about his bout of weirdness. But now confronted with it, what could else could he say but the truth?

"I dunno" said Beast Boy.

"You don't know?" replied Raven incredulously.

"I don't know why I did all that stuff I did. I mean, I didn't think about them, I just did them" murmured Beast Boy, hoping Raven had some answers.

Raven was perplexed. He didn't know why he had done it. And neither did she. She hated not knowing things. Raven sighed.

"Maybe it was because, when I saw you lose control I kinda blamed myself for it" continued Beast Boy carefully, hoping he hadn't revealed too much of his own thoughts.

"You blamed yourself? But… why? You were streets away from where I was" said Raven.

"I dunno… I just felt bad because we argued in the morning, and that might have made you to lose control… or something" Beast Boy replied slowly.

"You couldn't make me lose control Beast Boy. It was my fault for not having control over myself. I should have restrained myself. I shouldn't have been so stupid, and none of this would have happened" muttered Raven.

"You can't blame yourself! It was a mistake" exclaimed Beast Boy. His eyes staring at Raven's face.

"I'm not allowed to make mistakes" said Raven darkly.

"Of course you are! You're human, like the rest of us" cried Beast Boy.

Raven wished she could believe his words, but deep-down she knew that it wasn't true. You're a demon. Hated among men, hated among children. She shook her head, trying to shake the memory out of her head.

"You're mistaken Beast Boy" Raven murmured, before standing up and turning away from the green boy on the couch.

"Wait, Raven!" exclaimed Beast Boy.

Raven stopped, turning slightly to look at Beast Boy.

"You can't keep beating yourself up for what you did to that telepath" said Beast Boy.

"You don't understand" replied Raven.

"Then make me understand!" cried Beast Boy.

Raven shook her head at Beast Boy. She looked into his green eyes, filled with disappointment. She couldn't say anything, otherwise she'd have to reveal everything about herself. She wouldn't tell anyone anything, least of all Beast Boy. They had been at odds for so long, opening up to him would be… insane. But he's changed, she thought to herself remembering Beast Boy tackling Robin in an argument.

"You can't keep everything bottled up inside you Raven" murmured Beast Boy.

"I can't tell everyone what's inside of me" muttered Raven quietly.

"Why not? Why do you always try to be alone?" exclaimed Beast Boy.

Beast Boy's entire sentence was drowned out in Raven's head. All she could hear was that one word. Alone… You're always alone…

"I don'ttry to be alone" replied Raven angrily.

"Then why don't you ever try not to be alone?" asked Beast Boy.

"Because I can't just put on a happy face like you do, and pretend everything's fine" growled Raven. Beast Boy's eyes widened.

"As if you can talk, with the same face that you hide behind every hour of every day" said Beast Boy. "All I've ever asked for is for you to open up, just a little bit. You can't always just shut yourself away, and deal with everything yourself"

"I don't need other people going out of their way to help me. I can deal with things myself, and I don't need you to tell me what I should do, and how I should do it" cried Raven vehemently.

"You still haven't gotten over what you did to the Telepath, how can you say that you can deal with things yourself?" questioned Beast Boy

"This argument is pointless. If you don't mind, I'm leaving" muttered Raven, suppressing her anger.

Beast Boy watched Raven walk out of the common room. He sighed. Having an argument with Raven was like running headfirst into a brick wall. He just didn't understand why she had to always hide everything. Didn't she realise he just wanted to help? He shook his head angrily. They had fought again, some things never changed.

Raven closed the door to her room swiftly, and quickly seated herself onto her bed. Beast Boy always irritated her. Why couldn't he just understand that she didn't want to talk about herself? She was sick of him constantly pushing her to open up. She didn't want to. If the others learned everything about her, they'd hate her. She didn't want anyone's pity, she didn't want people bothering themselves with the likes of her. Why couldn't Beast Boy understand that? Just the thought of him made her frustrated. He had defended her, and now they had argued. It was amazing how things could change so quickly… She sighed, knowing that sleep was too far away. She walked towards her window, waiting for the sunrise, while frustrating thoughts of Beast Boy continued to whirl around her head.

Beast Boy looked out the common room window, still having not moved. He still was thinking about Raven. She confused him so much. She always made things so complicated, a memento to her own complexity. He sometimes found it intriguing to try and work Raven out, but he knew he never could. He thought back to their conversation. He never really understood why Raven always refused help, why she always stood alone. He was reaching out a hand for her to grab, but she had slapped it away. Maybe she didn't think that he could help. It wasn't a question whether she wanted help. He had always seen in her violet eyes those silent pleas that the other Titans always missed. Yet willingly she refused what she wanted, and it frustrated him. Beast Boy lay down, staring out the window, still thinking.

The sun had begun to rise, and the stars had faded away taking the night with them. The moon could barely be made out in the background of increasing light, and sparkles could be seen as the brightness reflected off the drops of dew surrounding the Tower. Brilliant rays of sunlight shone through the Tower, and all of its windows, a signal to wake up except for two people. Beast Boy lay on the couch, staring out the window. Raven stood by the window, observing the sunrise. Both of them not an ounce tired, their minds a whirl of thoughts, having shared a sleepless night.

AN: Enjoy : ). Today was the last day of school from me, so expect some days to have two chapters uploaded. I hope the semi-explanation was okay, I had a number of other reasons that Beast Boy might have said, though some of them had connotations that shouldn't be around yet. Sorry for not including Starfire much, she's a character that I have trouble writing and I'd rather not desecrate characters. Thanks for reviews! Have a bril day. And BTW I'll be away during the Easter Break, Friday to Sunday, so I may not be able to upload chapters then, since I'm unsure whether the place I'm going to has internet. If none are uploaded, I'll shove three chapters on, on monday. (Australian 10 GMT time).