Well, it seems the site's finally sending out alerts, which means I can finally post this chapter!

EDIT: Nevermind, it seems the problem really hasn't been fixed yet. This site really is run by morons. XP

Well, I was looking at my stats and saw that this story has just made its way into the C2 community, "Purple and Green". Thanks to whoever liked this story enough to make it a part of a C2! You've just made a writer very happy.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 7: The Day After

The next day at the tower was interesting, and that's putting it lightly. As if having six more people living in the tower wasn't enough, five of them were from another world and were completely oblivious to earth customs. The fact that they came from a world that was straight out of Dungeons and Dragons didn't help.

That day, the five newcomers all seemed eager to learn as much as they could about the new world, and Robin had decided to show them around the Tower. However, not long afterward he conveniently became 'busy' and had to do something else. Raven of course had hardly come out of her room, let alone spoken to anyone, and Starfire of course was still learning earth customs herself. Therefore, it was only natural to Robin that Cyborg and Beast Boy take over the duty.

Some of it, to Beast Boy's delight, was rather comical to watch. Cyborg was stuck explaining for a whole half an hour what electricity was and why they didn't need fire to light a room or cook their food. The five mages had been astounded by the wonderful thing known as a "light switch", and they all had taken turns flicking the lights on and off constantly. This continued until finally Cyborg stopped them and explained why it wasn't good to keep flicking the lights on and off. The same thing had to be done when they all discovered the faucet and running water. Beast Boy's favorite moment of course came when Cyborg had to explain to them the concept of the toilet. The bionic teen tried to make him do it, especially since someone like him didn't really use a toilet to begin with. The changeling however just remembered that he had "left some tofu waffles burning" and left poor Cyborg all by himself to explain.

Despite this, Cyborg, Starfire and Beast Boy both seemed happy with the visitors. Robin didn't seem to mind either, though being Robin he kept them all at arm's length. Jinx, when she finally came out of her room, didn't seem to mind too much, but was still somewhat angry at all of them for her apartment. Raven of course, being Raven, had almost avoided them at all costs. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately, to Beast Boy's curiosity. She was always slow to trust newcomers, but for some reason she now seemed especially reclusive. What was going on?

It didn't occupy Beast Boy's mind for long, however. With so much to do, he had quickly become distracted with other things: namely, getting to know the five Templar before they left (and actually learning how to pronounce their names). They all seemed normal enough, though it didn't take Beast Boy long to work out the personalities of each one.

Eutonos, their leader, surprised him. While in battle he was downright intimidating, the change in him when not fighting was pretty dramatic. He was actually very calm and collected, almost gentle. He was very friendly and sympathetic as well, and he also seemed eager to hear make friends with the Titans. He reminded Beast Boy of, well, almost of a giant teddy bear. As a leader he was smart too, though unlike Robin he seemed very patient and less critical, and he always seemed open to his teammates' ideas.

Worek was the intelligent one, as Beast Boy quickly learned. While Eutonos was wise, Worek was book smart. Despite his blonde, almost 'pretty boy' appearance, he was actually almost nerdy in personality. Of all five of them he was the most excited to learn about earth culture. He had lamented not having something to write his records down on, but was overjoyed when Cyborg had showed him the miracle of the notebook and ballpoint pen. While Cyborg and Beast Boy showed them around, he would frequently write things down while sometimes uttering words like "Wow!" or "Amazing!".

Phanos seemed normal enough too, though like Raven he had a somewhat bad temper. The changeling found it ironic that a fire mage like him had a "fiery" temper. He was usually the most serious out of all of them as well. Despite that, he seemed to genuinely care about his teammates and those around him. Lekim was also serious, though not as much as the former. He also seemed to be the least patient out of all of them, always eager to jump into action or do something new. Being Evad's older brother, he also was the one to watch out for him most of the time. He also, according to Evad, had the best reflexes out of anyone on the team.

Evad had surprised Beast Boy the most. Of all of them, he and Beast Boy were the most alike. Like Beast Boy, he was the youngest member of his team, and like Beast Boy, he too loved to joke around and pull pranks. This of course, like Beast Boy, had caused him to get in trouble with his team more than once. It therefore came as no surprise that he and Beast Boy quickly became friends. They started hanging out with each other, and Beast Boy took it upon himself to show him all the fun things about earth.

Noon saw Beast Boy, Evad, and Phanos in the common room playing videogames. Evad and Beast Boy had been playing, but when Phanos had walked by Beast Boy had insisted he join them. The fire mage and the changeling soon became immersed in a round of Super Monkey Ninjas 5 while Evad eagerly watched. Having never played videogames before though, Phanos found himself losing round after round and soon became frustrated. Beast Boy pumped his fist into the air after winning the tenth straight round in a row.

"Boo-Yeah! That's ten victories for me!" he shouted. "Go Beast Boy! It's your birthday…"

Next to him, the fire mage growled and threw down his controller in frustration. "Hoorah."

"Hey, want to play another one?" Beast Boy asked eagerly, now that he was actually beating someone for once.

Phanos shook his head. "No thanks. I think I'll go waste my time elsewhere."

"What, are you going already?" Evad asked.

"Yes," he replied flatly.

"Aw come on, Phanos, don't give up yet! You're still only learning. Not everyone's a pro as soon as they start," Beast Boy said.

The red-cloaked templar turned to him angrily. "No."

"But-"

"I said NO THANK YOU!" he shouted.

Beast Boy withdrew defensively. "Alright, alright! Fine. Geez. No need to be a sore loser, though."

At hearing this Phanos turned around and faced him again. "Sore loser? Did I just hear you correctly?" he asked, voice raising.

"Well, you were-" Beast Boy started, but was cut off.

"What? You think that just because I don't want to do this it makes me a sore loser?! Is that it???"

"No, I-"

"If you think I'm frustrated over losing, you're wrong, okay? I'm beyond getting angry over such a little thing!"

"Look, I-"

"I'm not upset! If I wanted to get upset, I'd have left a long time ago, but-"

"HEY! I'm on your side, okay?!" Beast Boy finally shouted, making the room go quiet. "Look, I'm sorry for calling you a sore loser, okay? Geez! You don't have to get all angry over it!"

The changeling folded his arms. "I only did this because I just wanted to get to know you better. This was just a friendly offering, that's all! For your information, Robin didn't even want you in here, you know that? That's right! He said you'd be a fire hazard! I had to bring the extinguisher in here in case you go off!"

To emphasize this, Beast Boy pointed to the bright red cylinder next to the TV stand. This didn't seem to cheer Phanos up though, and he folded his arms and left. After an awkward pause, Beast Boy finally sat down on the couch and sighed.

"Sorry about that. He tends to get frustrated," Evad finally said as he sat down next to him.

"You're telling me. He and Raven ought to go out sometime," he said rolling his eyes.

Evad chuckled and lowered his gray hood. "That reminds me. You didn't answer my question earlier. How long have you and Raven known each other?"

Beast Boy shrugged. "Uh, about three years now. Why?"

"Just curious. She seems rather tame for a half-demon."

"Trust me, she can get pretty nasty sometimes," Beast Boy said shuddering, but then cracked a smile. "But she's gotten a lot nicer over the years."

"Saved the world, huh?"

"Yup. She's…an amazing person."

"What about the other one? The red-haired one…what's her name?"

"Starfire," Beast Boy said.

"Oh yeah! Starfire. Just curious..."

Suddenly a light bulb went off over Beast Boy's head. "Oh yeah, that reminds me. Look, I'd hate to break it to you, but you know Robin? Our leader?"

Evad nodded. "What about him?"

"Well, he's um, he's uh…he's Starfire's boyfriend."

Evad paused and looked heartbroken. "Are you serious?"

Beast Boy nodded sadly. "Afraid so. Sorry, man. You might wanna tell your brother, too." Evad nodded, looking crestfallen.

"So what is it you five actually do in this city of yours? You called yourselves 'superheroes'?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah! We fight crime and stuff. We stop the villains from hurting other people or taking over the city."

"We do something sort of like that. We're often sent out to take care of any threats to any cities or villages. We don't always work together though – sometimes we have to be dispatched separately."

"That's cool. By the way," Beast Boy said, changing the subject. "You guys have some cool powers. Were you born with all them?"

"A templar must be born with the ability to wield these powers, but some are better at it than others. I was sent to an academy to learn how to control my powers when I was only seven. My brother was sent to his school at the same age. I didn't even see him again until after I graduated. It was by pure chance that he and I were put on the same team. I haven't seen my parents for years, though." His voice trailed off at the end, and he sounded sad as he said this. Beast Boy merely nodded understandingly.

"But anyway, I can fly, as you know. I can also control the wind and even use it to pick up objects. I can even summon cyclones, as you saw."

"You mean as Jinx saw," Beast Boy said with a laugh.

Evad blushed. "Yeah."

"What about your leader? When I fought him, I hit him and nothing hurt him! How did he do that?"

"That's called an earth shield. It allows one's spirit to protect them from physical blows, but it does have its limits, as you saw. It drains energy as its used, and it can only protect you from attacks you're aware of. You probably noticed how when you threw that dirt in his eyes he instantly became vulnerable."

Beast Boy put two and two together. "Oh yeah!"

"What about you? How did you learn how to shape-shift?" Evad asked.

"I didn't learn them. I got my powers sort of by accident," Beast Boy replied. He paused. "When I was little I got a vaccine that changed my DNA. It made me green and gave me my powers."

Evad nodded, only half-understanding.

"Hey, what about your other power? Like how you can turn into smoke and stuff?" the changeling asked.

The wind mage blinked in surprise. "Oh yes! I can turn ethereal for a limited amount of time. It can be very useful when you have to escape."

"So you can like, go through small cracks in surfaces even?"

"Yeah."

Beast Boy suddenly seemed very curious about this. "Can you like, carry things while you're doing it too?"

"Well, only small things, and only if they're not attached to anything." He looked at Beast Boy, puzzled. "Why do you ask?"

A mischievous look crept onto Beast Boy's face. "Just curious."

For only the second time that day, Raven left her room. She didn't really want to go, but even she could only go so long without food or some kind of sustenance. Her cravings had gotten the better of her and she decided to head for the kitchen for a cup of tea. Though she knew it was rude to think such, she couldn't wait for these people to leave. Having five people in the tower was one thing, but having eleven was almost unbearable. There was now noise almost everywhere, and all the extra emotions were starting to give her a headache. Not only that, the one mage – Evad – particularly got on her nerves. As if one wasn't bad enough, it was now like having two Beast Boys in the tower!

Speaking of Beast Boy, Affection's words from yesterday still rang clearly in her mind. Frankly, she didn't know what to make of it. Could she have been telling the truth? Could she have been right? It didn't matter much, though. Raven had avoided the changeling like the plague since that little revelation. Ever since her little talk with Affection, her emotions had started surging within her, and the last thing she needed was them running wild whenever he got near. She didn't know what she was feeling, but she was sure it wasn't…whatever Affection thought it was. Whatever it was, she didn't like it, and she was determined to make it go away. She may have felt...close to Beast Boy at times, sometimes closer than the others, but that didn't mean she thought of him as more than a friend. If anything, she was the victim of typical teenage hormones. Right? She would prove to them – to herself – that this was nothing.

When she finally got to the kitchen, she found it empty except for Robin rummaging through the refrigerator.

"Hi Raven," he acknowledged as she entered. He pulled out a bottle of Gatorade and poured himself a glass, and then sat down next to the counter.

"Hello," she said as she opened up the cupboard to pull out her kettle. Nothing was said as Raven boiled the water, poured herself a cup, and finally placed a teabag inside. Finally, she couldn't take it any longer.

"Robin, I need to tell you something," she said, her voice thick with worry. The leader looked up at her, both curious and concerned.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"It's kind of hard to explain, so just bear with me," she said as she approached him. She took a cautious sip of her tea and went on. "It's about these…visitors."

"What about them? Do you think they're dangerous?" he asked.

Raven shook her head. "No, it's not that. I…I had a dream…a vision before they came. I dreamed about them beforehand. I dreamed about their arrival."

Robin nodded, stoically taking in her every word.

"But that's not all. You remember that demon – that sorcerer they showed us yesterday?" Robin nodded again. "Well, the day after my first dream I had another. I dreamed about him. I had a vision about him."

Robin narrowed his eyes. Whatever he was feeling was hidden behind his mask as he stared back.

"I'm worried, Robin. I don't know why I dreamed about him, but my first dream was fulfilled when those people arrived. If that dream came true…"

She didn't need to finish her sentence; Robin understood perfectly.

"You think that dream might come true as well?" he asked her.

"I don't know what to think, really. But as one who's had visions before, I know better than to just brush them off. I just have a feeling that something terrible is going to happen." She took another nervous sip of her tea, though she had lost her appetite by now. "What do you think we should do about it?"

"Well, I don't know what we can do. We'll just have to be extra careful and be on our guard." Robin stood up and put his glass in the dishwasher. "In the meantime, one of us should probably try to learn more about this demon, just in case." Robin and the others had already had enough experiences with demons to know what they were capable of, and just because they were on another world didn't mean they weren't a threat.

"What about the others?" Raven asked.

"Don't tell them just yet. If we need to, we'll tell them. For now, just let them have fun."

The half-demon nodded. "Alright. Thanks Robin."

Cup in hand, Raven headed for the exit. She was just about to open the door when it swung open tot reveal the person she wanted to see the least –

Beast Boy.

The changeling looked like he was in a hurry, but he stopped as soon as he saw Raven and noticed her expression of concern. Not only that, his animal senses could sense the tension that was in the air. Cautiously, he glanced at Raven then at Robin.

"Raven? What's going on?" he asked her. She didn't reply. She instead looked back at Robin then back at him. "Are you okay?"

Raven struggled to come up with an answer, trying desperately not to look in his eyes. "I…" she stuttered. "I'm sorry. I can't tell you."

Beast Boy glared at her, then at Robin. "Could you tell Robin? Is that whom you could tell?" he asked angrily. Raven couldn't answer at first. Finally, she scowled at him.

"Just get out of my way!" she said angrily and exited the room, leaving Beast Boy even more frustrated and confused than the night before.

'Why the hell is she avoiding me?' he thought angrily.

Not wanting a repeat of last night's incident, Robin tried to explain to him calmly. "Beast Boy, don't take this the wrong way. You don't even understand why she came to me in the first place-"

"I understand just fine," Beast Boy said venomously and stormed out of the room.

Alone in the kitchen, Robin gave a long sigh. "This is gonna go downhill really fast," he said out loud.

Raven could hardly wait to get back to her room. This was just getting too stressful.

'Look at yourself. Running away like some scared animal. Hiding from him isn't going to solve anything,' that little voice in her head said.

'Shut up. I'm not running away. I'm not hiding from him,' she said back.

'Now you're lying to yourself. Why can't you just accept your feelings?' it said.

'Because I don't have any for him!'

'That's not true and you know it. Tell me, what has he ever done to deserve your scorn?'

Raven felt like she was ready to go insane. She could hardly wait to go into her room and meditate. Right as she opened the door though, a voice from behind stopped her.

"Hi," it said plainly. Raven spun around, and to her surprise found the tall earth mage looking at her from down the hall. His hood was over his head, but Raven could still see his eyes underneath.

"Hello," she said. "Do you…do you want something?" she asked. 'Genius, Raven. What a way to respond,' she scolded herself.

"Just wanted to say hello, that's all. We never really did introduce ourselves properly yesterday, and you did leave rather abruptly," Eutonos said as he approached her. "Forgive me, but I was just noticing you seemed to be keeping to yourself. I sure hope it's not because of us?"

Raven couldn't stop herself from feeling slightly embarrassed. Was it really that obvious?

"Um, no," Raven said, partly lying. "Why do you ask?"

The earth mage shrugged his broad shoulders as he approached her. "Well, I figured I might as well get to know you people since we would be gone in just a few days. And so far, you're the only person I haven't really talked to."

"Oh, okay," Raven said, feeling awkward.

"I'm really sorry about this. I'm sure this must be very stressful for you, suddenly having this many strangers in your house at once," he said apologetically.

"No, it's okay," Raven said. "It's just…It's not you. I've just never really been good with strangers."

Eutonos nodded. "I understand, but I'm sure having five of us around doesn't make it any easier on you."

"Well, I guess you could say that," Raven said, now feeling a little less awkward.

He smiled down at her. "Well, the way I see it doesn't mean we can't get to know each right?" he said. "Would you like to talk for a while?"

Raven was caught between saying no and agreeing. Sure she wasn't that comfortable with strangers, but these guys seemed harmless…and what was the hurt in learning a little about them? Besides, Robin did say that would be a good idea.

"Um, okay. Sure," Raven said hesitantly. As she finished, she heard the sound of footsteps approach and stop just down the hall. Both of them turned, and to Raven's shock, saw Beast Boy standing there with a look of shock on his face.

"Uh…" he said as he took in the site of Raven and Eutonos talking to each other.

"Yes? You want something?" the tall templar asked.

Beast Boy still stood there, mouth hanging open. His eyes moved to Raven, who was staring back at him, then to the tall mage. Finally he shook his head as if waking from a daydream.

"Oh, uh, nothing! I'll see ya later," he said in a fake cheerful voice, and left.

Eutonos however was not fooled. Concern in his eyes, he looked down at the empath. "What was that about? Is something wrong?"

Raven was still staring at the spot Beast Boy had occupied just seconds before. A faint blush had unknowingly worked its way onto her cheeks. Finally, she shook her head.

"No, it's nothing. Let's go," she said quickly. Complying, but still suspicious, Eutonos followed her down to the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Beast Boy opened the door to his room and absentmindedly made his way to the bunk bed.

"Why does this always happen?" he said out loud as he sat down on the messy sheets. Why did it always happen? Just two days ago it seemed to him like they had really gotten closer. Their conversation that day had even filled him with a faint glimmer of hope. Now, she had unexplainably gone to avoiding him at all cost. He didn't know why she was doing it, only that she was doing it, and he seemed to be the only guy whom she was doing it to. It was almost like the way it was in the beginning.

Then again, that seemed to be the story of their relationship since day one. Every time they took a step forward, they just went two steps back. Every time he got closer to her, she would just get further away. And every time they had made some real progress, someone else would just come along and get in the way. Whether it was Aqualad, Robin, or now Eutonos from the way it seemed. But then again, he really shouldn't have been surprised.

"Maybe she really is out of my league," he said sadly. Maybe she really was. After all, she was almost the exact opposite of him. They didn't see eye-to-eye on a lot of things, and they got into fights almost every day. She probably wanted a guy who was more like her – guy whom she could actually relate to. Maybe she would never see him as any more than an annoying friend.

"Maybe I should just stop trying," he said sadly. He knew it wouldn't bring him any happiness, but at least it would it would make things easier on him. Perhaps giving up really was his only option. After all, what were his chances? And what was the point of trying when all it did was hurt him inside? The changeling lay there on his bed for an unknown amount of time, simply thinking about all that had happened between them since they had first started.

"Yeah, I think I'll just stop trying," Beast Boy finally said as he sadly got up and left his room.

The rest of the afternoon passed relatively rather smoothly, with only a couple 'incidents' happening. Sunset saw all eleven teenagers lounging around the common room. Cyborg and Jinx were talking in the kitchen. Raven and Eutonos were seated at the kitchen table, both talking over a cup tea. Beast Boy and Evad were once again locked in a furious round of Mega Monkeys 5. Starfire and Robin were seated on the couch watching, with Starfire eagerly cheering on both contenders. The remaining three templar were watching from the other couch, not really saying much but watching the spectacle with amusement.

Eventually though, once darkness started settling, the same thought ran across every teenager's mind in the room: food.

"Man, I'm hungry!" Cyborg said loudly from the kitchen. "Anyone else up for a little grub?"

"Sounds good, I'm kinda hungry too," Robin said.

"Yeah! What about you guys?" Beast Boy asked.

"We've been eating the same stuff out of our packs for days," Evad said with a grimace. "If you have anything better, we'd love to try it."

"Well, you can stop worrying about that, cause we have plenty of stuff to try!" Cyborg said cheerfully. The question was, what? A thought suddenly came across Beast Boy's mind. These guys were from another world, so they had never tried earth food before.

"Dude Cy, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" the shape-shifter asked with a wide grin.

Cyborg processed Beast Boy's question, and then the smile on his face grew even wider. Throwing up his arms, the mechanical teen shouted, "Pizza Party!!!"

OMG! Will the visitors like earth pizza? Will Raven ever talk to Beast Boy again?? Just stay tuned! As for Beast Boy questioning Evad about his powers, you'll find that out in the next chapter as well. I'll try and get the next one out soon, since the next chapter is going to be very important to the story (and unlike the last couple, it's going to be solely BBxRae focused). Anyway, keep those reviews coming; you might save a story's life! See you next time.