Chapter Two: A Way Out
Raven held the dagger in her hands, feeling the cool metal against her skin. Do I leave a note? Is that too obvious? She questioned, still holding the dagger. She set the weapon back down and grabbed her notebook that held all of her poetry. She flipped to a new page and grabbed a pen.
"Friends,
If you are reading this, that means you are safe now. I am taking my life to spare yours. By now, you should be aware of the prophecy, so you should know why I had to do this. Starfire, you were my best girl friend. I regret not spending more time with you, I did enjoy our trips to the mall, however infrequent. Cyborg, you are the only person to have ever beat me in a chess match. I am happy I got to help build the T-Car with you. Just remember that while part of you is metal, your heart is all human. Nothing can change that. Robin, you know more about me than anyone else. I have been inside of your mind and because of that, we have a connection. This will hurt you for a while, but you have Starfire You'll be okay. You are a great leader and I can't thank you more for helping me find a place in this world. Beast Boy, I am sorry that I was so mean to you. I do think you are funny. I just wanted to hide how I felt about you. Beast Boy, I love you.
Friends, please see my reasoning behind my decision and know that I love each and every one of you with all of my heart. Thanks for being the best friends I ever had.
-Raven"
Raven wiped the tears away from her eyes as she set the note on her dresser. She grabbed the dagger and held it in her hands again, her heart dropping. She pulled her sleeves up, revealing her porcelain skin. She took a deep breath and pressed the blade against her wrist. She applied pressure and began dragging the blade across her wrist. She gasped as the sting of the cut hit her. Blood began trickling out, falling onto her bed. She repeated this until there were several deep cuts on each of her arms. She began to make another cut when there was a knock on the door.
"Raven? Robin told me what happened. Are you okay?" Beast Boy called out. Raven tried to speak but the blood loss was getting to her. She dropped the dagger and fell back on her bed, everything going black.
"Raven? Raven! I'm coming in now okay?" Beast Boy opened the door and couldn't move. A bloody Raven was laying on the bed, unconscious. He ran over to her and lifted her up gently.
"Robin! Help! It's Raven!" Beast Boy yelled frantically, carrying Raven out of her room into the hallway. The other titans showed up and didn't say a word until Robin spoke.
"Take her to the infirmary. We need to replace all of the blood she has lost." Robin said gravely, looking down at the colorless girl. Cyborg followed Beast Boy while Starfire and Robin entered Raven's room.
"Who attacked our friend?" Starfire asked, looking at the bloody dagger and bed. Robin picked up the note and his heart dropped.
"She did." He whispered. He handed the note to Starfire who began to read the note, but was interrupted by her tears.
"Our friend…She will be okay, yes?" Starfire asked, tears rolling down her face.
"I hope so." Robin said, looking at the bloodied bed.
Beast Boy and Cyborg had Raven in the infirmary, transfusing her blood while they finished stitching up the cuts. Besides the "beep" of the heart monitor, the room was silent. Robin and Starfire came into the room, Robin holding the note in his hand.
"Beast Boy…Cyborg… We need to show you something. I'll take over while you read this." Robin walked towards Cyborg, handing him the note.
"She is all stitched up now. No need to take over. I wish she would start healing herself though, I don't know why she isn't." Cyborg responded, glancing back over at Raven. He looked at the note at his hand and his eyes narrowed.
"No…No… This… It can't…No…" Cyborg stammered. He dropped the note and walked out of the room. They heard a crashing sound and Beast Boy snatched the note up.
"What's wron-" Beast Boy's voice cut out as he began to read the note. "Beast Boy, I love you." He felt a lump in his throat.
"She-she did this to herself?" He asked no one in particular. Robin nodded. Beast Boy walked over to Raven. He looked at her bandaged arms and her colorless face. Please wake up. I love you, too.
Cyborg came back into the room, looking down. He walked over to Raven's bed and checked her vital signs.
"She will be okay. We caught her just in time. Any more blood loss…" Cyborg trailed off.
"When will she wake up?" Beast Boy asked, caressing Raven's face.
"I can't really tell. She isn't healing herself, so it will take longer for the blood transfusion and for the wounds to heal. I'd estimate she'd wake up within two days, but she won't be in any condition to fight." Cyborg answered, looking at the tubes sticking out of his fellow titan.
"We need to take turns watching her. Who volunteers first watch?" Robin asked, looking at his distraught friends.
"I'll do it." Beast boy said, never looking away from Raven. The rest of the group left the infirmary, and Beast Boy sat beside Raven, occasionally getting up to replace the IV drip.
"You didn't have to do it, you know? We could've stopped him. You didn't have to…" he trailed off, looking away. He tried to forget what he saw in her room, to no avail. She was so cold, so still… I've never seen so much blood in my life. The scene kept replaying in his head, and no matter what he did, he couldn't forget. He turned on the TV in the room, watching some reality show but not really paying attention. He looked back over at Raven. She wasn't in her uniform. Instead, she was donning an oversized, white hospital gown. The gown wasn't much lighter than her pale complexion, although after the blood transfusion, her face was starting to look less deathly. Her purple hair framed her face. The thin blanket was pulled up to her waist, so her arms were sticking out. Beast Boy tried to avoid looking at her bandaged arms, but his eyes were drawn to them. They were spotted in blood. Beast Boy gingerly removed the bandages, and replaced them with new ones. He was just about to sit down again when Cyborg came in.
"Hey BB, I can take over now. Get some sleep." Cyborg said calmly, walking towards the bed. Beast Boy looked down at Raven. I love you. He got up and went over to the door, hesitated, then turned back.
"Can… Can I sleep here? I don't want to miss anything." Beast Boy looked at Cyborg, pleading. Cyborg nodded. Beast Boy took the bed to the right of Raven's. The clock on the wall read 2:06 am. Beast Boy yawned and turned toward Raven. He fell asleep watching the rise and fall of her chest.
"Hey BB, wake up. Raven is coming to." Cyborg whispered, lightly shaking Beast Boy's shoulder. Beast Boy looked at the clock. 4:28 pm. He got up and walked towards Raven's bed, where Raven was just waking up. The other titans surrounded her bed, awaiting her awakening. She opened her eyes and looked around, realizing what happened. She looked down at her wrists, and sighed. I knew I should've cut deeper, or sliced my throat. I can't stop Trigon now…
"Hey, Rae. How are you feeling?" Robin asked, forcing a smile. Raven just stared at her teammates, trying to suppress her feelings. After a few moments of silence, the titans gave up on talking to her.
"We will let you rest, come on guys." Robin said, motioning for his team to follow. Cyborg and Starfire followed, but Beast Boy stayed.
"Raven…" he began, looking in her eyes. He saw her eyes start to water before she looked away.
"You should've let me die." Raven said, her voice starting to tremble. Beast Boy's heart sank. He touched her arm.
"Don't ever say that again. You dying wouldn't have solved anything." He assured. Raven looked back, tears rolling down her face.
"I was trying to save you. I can't save you-or anyone else-if I become the portal. The only way to avoid becoming the portal is by dying. Now…" Raven was really crying now, "My fate is absolute. I can't stop any of this from happening… And it's all my fault…" She buried her face in her hands. Beast Boy put his hand on the small of her back and rubbed circles. He didn't say anything; he just let her cry. Eventually, she lifted her head up and looked at him. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her face was streaked with tears.
"I'm sorry, Beast Boy. I'm sorry you had to see that. I'm sorry you had to see everything. Please forgive me." She whispered, looking down at her bandaged arms.
"You did nothing wrong, Raven. You tried protecting us; that was incredibly brave. Can you promise to never do…that…again? I don't want to lose you, Rae. None of us do." Beast Boy responded. He leaned in towards Raven and kissed her forehead. "I love you." He whispered.
"I love you, too." She whispered, smiling at him.
"So, are you ready to talk to everyone else now? Let's get you dressed and bring you downstairs." Beast Boy said, taking off the bandages and handing Raven some clean clothes. He avoided looking at her arms. "This isn't your uniform, but you need to leave the…uh…cuts, uncovered, for a few days. I'll leave while you change." Beast Boy left the infirmary and shut the door behind him. He stood outside, waiting for Raven to come out. When she did, she was donning a pair of fitted black jeans and a dark blue t-shirt. The t-shirt hugged her curves, showing off her perfect hourglass shape. She didn't have any shoes on, just a pair of black socks. She made an obvious attempt to hide her arms, but Beast Boy grabbed her hand and smiled. "Let's go."
Author's note: I'll try to update ASAP, but I don't think it'll be as quick as this. Please review and tell me how to improve! Thank you for reading, hope you enjoy it so far!