Diddle-le-do! Here is Chapter Eleven!
He liked Raven.
He took a deep breath as that thought ran through his head again. Ever since Tara helped him to understand his feelings two days ago, that was the only thought that would continuously roam his mind. When he thought about, it kinda made sense. It certainly explained why his heart thumped every time that statement flittered across his mind. He liked her, and he probably messed up his chances with that last stunt he did.
What was just as prevalent on his mind was the fact that it's been over a week since he's heard any news from Raven or even Arsenal. The only calling they've received from the two since they left for their mission was a call telling saying they made it to Colombia safely and that was it. There wasn't another call since. Not a greeting, not an update on the mission, just absolute complete silence from them. He tried to ask Nightwing and Cyborg if they could just give them a checkup call, but both of them would respond with,
"We need to trust them," and, "We can't interfere with their mission."
And that was it. Of course, he understood where they were coming from. She was on an important mission with the world being in trouble and what not, but dammit, if he wasn't worried. All he needed was one call, just so he'll know that she was okay. Since he couldn't call her, he figured he should talk to Starfire in hope she'd be able to give him dating advice.
That's why he stood outside of Starfire's door with his fist up, ready to knock. He brought his fist down and rapt it against the door and by the second knock, the door swished opened.
"Friend Changeling!"
"Uh, hey Star." He smiled a bit to greet her growing one and he rubbed the back of his neck. "I was hoping you'd help me with something?"
"But of course, Changeling. I would be glad to help you with your problems."
"Would it be okay if we talked, you know, in your room?"
She giggled as she flew back into her room and Changeling followed, watching as she performed a few twirls before settling on her bed.
"So, how may I help you?"
He stood in front of her and rubbed the back of his neck as he looked at her colorful room and searched for the right words. For some reason, it was difficult to just come out and ask for advice. It was like he was embarrassed, which he probably was. Ugh, he could even feel his face getting warmer the more he avoided looking at his smiling and patient friend. He took a deep breath, brought his arm to his side, and looked Starfire in the eye. All he needed was confidence.
"Starfire, I need your help. See, I like Raven and I really want to show her just how much by taking her on a date when she finishes her mission and-"
He was interrupted by a loud shout of excitement as her arms clamped around him and he was picked up in the tight hug.
"Oh, this is most exciting! I just knew that you would reciprocate the feelings of love that Raven has for you! Now that you two are boyfriends and girlfriends, you must join Nightwing and I on the double date."
He struggled to breathe and get away from the death grip that his friend called a hug. One would think that from years of strangling her friends, Starfire would have figured out the right amount of strength to distribute when it came time to give hugs, and she did. But sometimes when she is given exciting news, like him returning Raven's feelings and now they're dating, she tended to forget the small things and focused on her emotions. And while Changeling struggled to get out of her grip, he paused in his escape and replayed his last thought.
"Wait, are you saying that…Raven likes me?"
Starfire's giggles immediately stopped and she pulled back from him at arm's length.
"Why did you say that as if you were asking a question?"
He wasn't sure how to answer that, but he was lucky that Starfire seemed more interested in continuing with her train of thought.
"Because I assumed you two were together after your first date last week. Friend Raven told me she was going to ask if you wanted to be in an intimate relationship with her while you two were doing the dating. She didn't tell me anything about that night because we were busy discussing a mission but I assumed that everything went well because she did not seem the heartbroken as she normally did when you disappointed her."
Her words gave him a mix of emotions and he started to feel remorse until she gasped and released her grip on him. He fell and managed to catch himself before he plopped on his butt.
"Star-"
"Oh! I just realized since you did not know of Friend Raven's feelings, you have made me reveal important information that I promised to keep a secret on the pact of best friends."
He watched as her horror stricken face morphed and hardened, her finger pointed at him and her eyes glowing with righteousness.
"And I have also just realized that you must have distressed Friend Raven during your date last week since she did not tell you of her feelings for you and you two are not already dating." She crossed her arms over her chest as she continued, "If you want me to be doing the advice giving, I expect you to tell me the truth."
He should've been more intimidated by the powerful alien who was glaring down at him but he was too tired to be afraid. There was also the fact he really needed her help.
"I ended up breaking my promise again and I showed up late. But that's why I'm here. A couple of days ago, I realized that I like her and that's why I'm here talking to you. I want to make it right and I know you'll be the best person to help me when she gets back."
Her glowing eyes started to dim and a look of worry crossed her face.
"But Changeling, I believe you may be too late. Raven told me if you were to mess up again, she would assume you do not want to do the dating with her and she would stop trying. I believe it would be even harder for you to get her to get into a relationship such as mine and Nightwing's."
He felt a thump in his heart that didn't make him feel jittery as it did outside Starfire's door. It was like he froze as her words ran through his mind and he wasn't sure what to say next.
He felt another thump, this one bringing about feelings he was missing and he knew what to say.
"I have to try." He squared his shoulders as he stared her in the eyes. "I'm not going to give up when I haven't even tried yet. I mean, it's been a little over a week since we last spoke with her and already I miss her. I'm worried about her, but not in the same way you guys are. I'm worried that I might not be able to tell her how I really feel. I'm worried I won't be able to grab her in a hug and hold her to me again. I'm worried I'll never be to see her small smile again." He took a deep breath and rubbed the back of his neck as he struggled with his last sentence.
"I just really miss her and I'm worried I won't be able to tell her my feelings. I feel like something is going to happen on that mission…something bad…and I just want her to know how I feel."
He watched as Starfire uncrossed her arms and gave him a hard look before she nodded and grabbed his hand.
"Come. We shall ask Nightwing if we may call Raven and Arsenal so we can make sure that our friends are doing okay."
She pulled on him and he followed her out the door, down the hall and to the common room where Cyborg sat in the kitchen table as he tampered with his arm and Nightwing was on the monitor checking over the city's surveillance. Starfire released his hand at the common room's door and flew to their leader with a giant smile on her face.
"Oh Nightwing, I was wondering if we might be able to give Friend Raven and Friend Arsenal a call to see how they are doing on their mission. It's been some time since we last heard from them and I am worried something may have happened."
He watched as she planted a kiss on their leader's lips and it was as if she had their leader wrapped around her finger. Then again, he was sure if Raven was to kiss him while he was playing a video game, that console would long be forgotten as well.
"I suppose we can give them a call. We should make sure they have everything under control and see how far along they are on their mission."
"Yea," Cyborg chimed in as he took a seat on the common's room couch, "we should make sure everything is fine with them. I miss my girl, Rae."
Changeling wanted to throw his arms up in frustration, but he wasn't going to complain about the method since it got the results he was searching for. He sat on the couch in between Cyborg and Starfire as she took a seat on the couch's arm and he watched as Nightwing switched to the frequency Arsenal and Raven were using for their mission. The monitor flashed that it located and was calling Raven and they sat back and waited.
Changeling placed his hand on Starfire's arm and when she turned to acknowledge him, he gave her a smile and a nod to thank her. Starfire began to smile back when the monitor switched to a live video of Raven. From what they could see, her surrounding was dark and she looked to be ducking or hiding behind a car. When she looked down to the monitor, she opened her mouth to speak, and then stopped as if she realized who was on the monitor.
"What are you guys doing-?"
"Friend Raven! We are calling to make sure you two are okay and-"
They watched Raven's shocked face switch to one of frustration. Then, there was a bright flash of light that reflected off the car and she snapped her head up. They watched her eyes widen as the light seemed to get brighter and she flew out of the way, leaving a great explosion beneath her.
As Raven dodged another blast and Changeling felt as the Beast woke up and gave the monitor its full attention.
"Raven, what was that!" Nightwing called out to her as another blast of light zoomed past her and she retaliated with an attack of her own.
"That's an attack that tends to happen when you call while I'm in the middle of a battle." They watched her speak through clamped teeth as she threw up a shield as she teleported away. A bit of the blast still managed to nick her and they all stood when her face contorted to one of pain.
"Raven!"
"I'm fine!" She grunted as she seemed to dodge another attack before she threw another attack and flew to higher ground.
"You guys need to get off this frequency. I need to make sure I can communicate with Arsenal and I can't do that with the frequency blocked."
They were able to hear another blast but this one seemed to come below Raven and she looked down as the sound of a male in pain could be heard. Her eyes widened and her body tensed as she seemed to find the source of the sound.
"Arsenal!"
She looked as if she was about to fly down into the middle of the battle before the monitor went black as the word, "Disconnected!" flashed across the screen.
The four titans stared at the screen, too shock to immediately react.
And so, chapter eleven. I hope it wasn't confusing and that you enjoyed the ending. Thank you for reading and please review.