AN: 7th Chapter is now up. Thanks for reviews, and hope you're enjoying it.

Disclaimer: No, I don't own the Teen Titans.

"I'd like to be the sort of friend that you have been to me.

I'd like to be the help that you've been always glad to be;

I'd like to mean as much to you each minute of the day,

as you have meant, old friend of mine, to me along the way."

- Edgar A. Guest

"You have been my friend. That in itself is a tremendous thing. I wove my webs for you because I liked you. After all, what's a life, anyway? We're born, we live a little while, we die. A spider's life can't help being something of a mess, with all this trapping and eating flies. By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone's life can stand a little of that."

E.B. White

Chapter 7 – Friends?

It was late afternoon, and the sun was heavy in the sky. The clouds had departed from the ceiling of the world, leaving a calm ambience about the day. Beast Boy was still sitting lying on his bed, thinking, a new hobby. Why did having a conversation with Raven mean so much to him, he thought to himself. I haven't cared that we'd argued every chance we got for the past few years and now, suddenly, he was changing his tune. Maybe he just felt bad about what had happened to Raven when she had lost control, and his sub-conscious was driving him to make-up for her loss. Beast Boy pondered it over and over. He never was good at interpreting his own emotions or thoughts. It was something Raven took to with ease or so he thought.

Raven couldn't understand what was going on. Usually she'd be able to think clearly, and be able to see through dilemmas or her own thoughts easily. But now, her mind was clouded. She couldn't meditate, her head was unable to empty itself, and allow her peace of mind. A replay of her conversation with Beast Boy ran through her head. He had said sorry and she felt that he had meant it. And that surprised her greatly. It wasn't often that Beast Boy apologised whole-heartedly, and when he did it usually meant a lot. And she had to soak his flame with her proclamations of dissidence. She let out a cry of frustration in her head; she had let her thoughts trail off again. At this rate she wouldn't be able to meditate for weeks. She closed her eyes, trying yet again to throw out her thoughts of Beast Boy.

Beast Boy got up off his bed. Though he was inclined to reflect on things more lately, he could only take so much thinking. He walked out of his room, and into the common room. Cyborg was playing video games by himself, while Starfire was in the kitchen, feeding Silkie. Beast Boy had no doubt about where Robin was, as he stole a glance at the door leading into Robin's sanctuary. Having heard the common room doors open, Cyborg swiftly turned around, his eyes focusing onto Beast Boy.

"Yo B, where've you been all day? I was looking forward to kicking your butt after we cleaned up Gizmo, but you went straight to your room" said Cyborg, looking thoroughly offended.

"Yeah, I've been busy" replied Beast Boy, unsure what to say.

"What has caused your busyness, Beast Boy?" asked Starfire.

"Uh… I just had to um… clean up my room" answered Beast Boy. He really didn't want to tell the others that he had talked to Raven; otherwise they might remind Robin to get back on the prowl.

"Since when did you clean up your room" cried Cyborg incredulously.

"Dude, it took me like over an hour to find my clothes this morning" said Beast Boy.

"So is that why you were up so early?" asked Cyborg, knowing something was up.

"Nah I had a um… nightmare so I woke up early" replied Beast Boy.

"Whatever you say" said Cyborg rolling his eyes.

The sound of the common room doors rang out again, a sound imprinted in the minds of the Titans. Raven stepped into the common room, her hood down, intently reading a book, the title reading as Carrie. Beast Boy took in a sudden breath. He had not expected to see Raven so soon after he had been thinking of her. He snuck a furtive glance at Raven, who still stared intensely at the book she was reading. Looking away, Beast Boy joined Cyborg on the couch, grabbing the controller that was waiting for him, hoping the game would take the thoughts from his head.

The door to Robin's room slid open, and Robin stepped out, into the common room. None took notice of their leader's arrival but Starfire, whose eyes widened.

"Hey guys, could you give me your attention please" called out Robin. The other four Titans turned to face Robin.

"I've been thinking about it and I have decided that because there's only four on the team now, we're going to have to increase our training" said Robin.

"What! You've got be kidding!" exclaimed Cyborg.

"Dude, that's totally unfair" cried Beast Boy.

"I know you guys don't like it, but if we're going to survive we need to get used to not having Raven on the team" replied Robin.

The other Titans sighed. They knew arguing with Mr. Leader Robin was a pointless task. They returned to what they were doing, fuming at Robin.

"In the meantime, Starfire and I are going to watch a movie at the mall" said Robin, as Starfire zoomed to his side. The three Titans glanced at the couple, and shook their heads, as they saw Starfire dangle off Robin's arm.

Suddenly Cyborg's communicator rang, and the panel on his arm opened up. He excused himself from the room, leaving Beast Boy and Raven both sitting silently in the common room. Beast Boy gave Raven a fleeting look, before returning to his video game. She continued to read her book, sitting on the floor. Cyborg re-entered the common room, looking at his two fellow Titans.

"I just got a call from Titans East. Looks like their Tower needs repairin' and I'm the guy to do it" said Cyborg matter-of-factly. Without another word, he walked out of the room, humming to himself, as he got ready for a nice drive in the T-Car. Raven and Beast Boy were alone in the common room. Beast Boy was playing video games, but his mind wasn't really into it. He couldn't shake the feeling that Raven was watching his every move, and he really didn't want to stuff up in front of her. He didn't dare try to steal another glance at Raven in case he caught her eye. He forced his mind back onto the screen, hoping to drive his mind away from distracting thoughts.

Raven wasn't really reading her book. She was merely staring at one word, on the page, Carrie. She couldn't read like this, with Beast Boy sitting a few metres from her and hiding in the depths of her mind. She didn't want to seem uncomfortable with his presence, so she continued to stare at that word. Was Beast Boy ignoring her, or was she ignoring Beast Boy? Maybe she should say something to break the tension. But what if he didn't feel that there was any tension? She didn't know what to do. Her mind let out a growl of vexation. She stood up, placing her book on the kitchen table. Carefully, she sat on the other end of the couch to Beast Boy, watching the screen. She couldn't believe that Beast Boy was still able to think after staring at a screen for so long.

Beast Boy saw Raven sit on the couch with him and felt his heart quicken. He had no idea why he was so nervous with her around, he just felt that she was gleaning things from every little thing he did, and one slip would change her entire opinion of him. But why did he care what she thought of him? Damn it, he was thinking about her again. They couldn't just sit their in silence for hours could they? Beast Boy felt the urge to talk, he wanted to talk.

"Want to have a go?" asked Beast Boy lamely, hoping he didn't sound stupid.

"Uh… no thanks" replied Raven, softly.

"Okay" breathed Beast Boy, his voice getting stuck in his throat.

Raven was surprised. No persistent nudging? No annoying determination? She sighed. Beast Boy had made some effort at conversation, so she felt obliged to follow suit.

"Sorry that Robin's pushing you into more training" muttered Raven quietly, forcing a casual topic into her mind.

"Nah, it's not your fault. Robin probably would have increased it anyway, knowing how paranoid he is" replied Beast Boy, turning away from the screen.

"Yeah… I guess your right" murmured Raven.

"It's just annoying though. I mean, training is cutting into my me time!" exclaimed Beast Boy.

"And what exactly does 'me' time involve?" asked Raven, raising her left eyebrow.

Beast Boy flushed at the implications. "Not that" cried Beast Boy defensively.

"Not what?" replied Raven, the smallest of smiles, sprouting upon her face.

"Nothing" said Beast Boy, the flutter of a smile shocking him. It was considered a great gift to witness a Raven smile. He truly was privileged by God Almighty.

"Listen… About our chat before…" started Raven slowly.

Beast Boy's ears pricked up, hoping for a conversation with Raven.

"Yeah?" murmured Beast Boy.

"I'm sorry that I ruined the conversation" continued Raven, looking down.

"You didn't ruin it!" said Beast Boy earnestly.

"No, really I did" replied Raven.

Beast Boy remained silent, knowing better than to be contrary to Raven. Maybe she would open up to him finally. He looked back at Raven, who was still gazing at the floor.

"And, thanks for apologising. I know that it was hard for you. And it… meant a lot" finished Raven, finally lifting her eyes, and glancing at Beast Boy.

"Yeah well… you deserved an apology, you've got to know I didn't really mean that I disliked looking at you. I was just trying to get Robin off my back" murmured Beast Boy.

"Robin was on your back?" said Raven curiously.

"Yeah, after I acted all weird after the fight with the Telepath, Robin said that he was going to investigate why" replied Beast Boy softly.

"He said you were… staring at me" whispered Raven.

"Oh yea. I was um… just wondering if you were still angry at me after our argument" murmured Beast Boy.

"Oh… right…" muttered Raven.

There was silence between the two. Beast Boy stared into Raven's violet eyes. They were captivating, dark and mysterious. Behind them lay a puzzle that could never be solved. Looking at Raven was like staring into a black abyss, where ones eyes seemed to be sucked into the darkness, as it searched for the end that was not there. It thrilled him. Her pale grey skin seemed to be illuminated in the fading sun's light, as if a soft glow was radiating from it. He had never really looked at her thoroughly before, but now that he had he could not deny that Raven was someone that he did like to look at. She was pretty, and he hated how she didn't know.

Beast Boy's eyes were gazing into Raven's own. She looked back at him. She had memorised all of his features over the few years, she had done so with all the Titans. But Beast Boy was the hardest to remember, as he changed the most, a memento to his own power. Raven looked at Beast Boy's eyes and saw the strength in which he looked at her. She felt as if she was being examined and she looked away. Beast Boy's voice broke the silence.

"Something's been bothering me since we fought the Telepath and I just remembered" said Beast Boy abruptly.

"What?" murmured Raven.

"I know you lost control when you fought the Telepath but… why? Why did you lose control?" asked Beast Boy.

Raven felt her heart freeze. She had been dreading the day that someone would ask her that question. She didn't know how to answer. She couldn't tell the truth, it would cause her to unveil herself in entirety, but she couldn't come up with a sufficient lie that would be acceptable. She looked down, hoping an answer would spontaneously appear in her mind. Beast Boy sat waiting for an answer.

"Well…" started Raven, buying herself time.

Beast Boy continued to gaze at her, thoughts still running busily through his head.

"He was a telepath, so I'm going to guess that he was talking to you, through his mind?" said Beast Boy, trying to make things easier for Raven

"Yes" replied Raven, hoping Beast Boy would answer his own question.

"So, you lost control because of the things he was saying to you?" asked Beast Boy cautiously, knowing he was treading on a minefield.

"Yes" answered Raven quietly. She couldn't lie to Beast Boy. She couldn't lie to one who valued honesty and loyalty so highly. She remembered when Terra had betrayed Beast Boy, how he had been absolutely shattered. She couldn't help but feel horrible when that had happened. Her pity for Beast Boy overrode her hate for Terra, but she would never reveal that. She knew that Beast Boy would not take to her pity, it was something they both shared.

"What was he saying?" said Beast Boy, interrupting Raven's thoughts.

"I don't want to talk about it" muttered Raven, hoping Beast Boy wouldn't pursue the issue.

"Raven… you've got to. You can't keep all your problems and memories locked away, waiting to rise to the surface and haunt you over and over again" murmured Beast Boy, trying to persuade Raven to open up.

Raven was surprised by his insight. Since when did he know so much about suppressing memories.

"You've obviously had some experience with bottling up your memories and problems" replied Raven.

"Raven. I'm just trying to help" whispered Beast Boy softly.

"You can't help me. Don't even bother trying" muttered Raven, turning away from Beast Boy.

"Everyone can be helped. Please Raven, just open up to me" murmured Beast Boy, pleadingly.

"Why are you so persistent? How do you keep on trying?" asked Raven quietly.

"By knowing that it's the only thing that I can do" whispered Beast Boy.

"I'm sorry Beast Boy… I can't" sighed Raven, before standing up and making her way out of the common room.

"Wait!" yelled Beast Boy, getting to his feet. Raven turned around slowly.

"Why won't you let me help you? That's what friend's are supposed to do Raven. We're supposed to help each other, but I can't because you keep pushing me away. Am I your friend or not?" cried Beast Boy desperately.

Raven looked into Beast Boy's eyes. "Yes. You're my friend… but even friends can't always help" murmured Raven. She turned around leaving the common room.

Beast Boy stared at the door as it closed, watching Raven's cloak sweep around the corner, before the gap was blocked by the intrusion of the door. He sighed woefully. Another day, another bleak conversation. He was glad that he and Raven were on speaking terms but he had hoped their conversations would be just… happier. Raven's face floated in Beast Boy's head. And those eyes clung to his brain, those deep violet eyes. He sighed yet again, yes she was very pretty he thought to himself. Beast Boy's last thought left him in unease, but yet just thinking of Raven seemed to take his mind out of the world. Did he, Beast Boy, have feelings for her? No, he said rejecting the thought immediately. It was a ridiculous notion. But yet he still felt something, something beyond the highest euphoria, beyond the greatest exhilaration whenever he sighted Raven. Beast Boy shook his head, trying to shake delicate thoughts from his head. They were friends. Just friends. Nothing more. Friends.

AN: Carrie was the first Stephen King novel I read, so it get's a special mention. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and Happy Easter too. I'm agnostic, so if I'm offending anyone by saying His name, then I apologise but it's not within my nature to be fully politically correct when I write. Take it as poetic license. Hopefully I'll be able to get another chapter up tomorrow, thank you for reviewing.