To Raven's surprise, Beast Boy was proving to be more adept at the game of chess than she would have ever given him credit for. He understood the rules and seemed to have a basic grasp of the purpose of planning several moves ahead. That wasn't to say he wasn't still obviously a beginner. Raven, on the other hand, had been playing for many years and demonstrated this by taking a rook, a bishop and several of his pawns in the early going of the game. All he managed to take from her so far being a few pawns. He was doing well, but he definitely wasn't the caliber she was used to playing against.
Still she had to admit she was enjoying herself. While she always considered Beast Boy a friend, she often wished there were more things the two of them could share in, other than the usual pizza or movie.
Sitting across from her, Beast Boy studied the pieces in front of him while he furrowed his brow in concentration. Without warning, he then cast his gaze up at Raven and smirked.
'Uh-oh,' Raven thought to herself. She wasn't sure if she liked his sudden change in demeanor.
"You know I just thought of something," he said, sitting up straight.
"You don't say," replied Raven, hiding her apprehension.
"We're having a pretty good game here, aren't we?"
"I suppose."
Beast Boy was really just a novice in her opinion, but things had been peaceful so far so she kept that bit of information to herself.
"And games are always more interesting when there's something at stake."
Raven couldn't believe what she was hearing. He couldn't be serious. Was he actually proposing a bet? She chuckled inwardly. He must really be full of himself if he thinks he's doing well enough bet something.
"Perhaps," she responded, smirking slightly.
"Well, what do you say to a little wager?"
Truthfully, Raven was not the betting kind, but she was somewhat interested in seeing what could possibly be gotten out of the changeling.
"What did you have in mind?"
Beast Boy leaned forward in his chair and clasped his hands together in front of him.
"Well, how about if you win I promise to let you have you're privacy for an entire month?"
Raven considered his proposal for a moment.
"You mean you won't come knocking on my door every five minutes?" she asked, arching an eyebrow. "Or ask me to listen to any of your new comedy routines?"
Beast Boy's only response was making a zipper motion across his mouth followed by pantomiming locking a lock and throwing away the key.
The idea appealed to Raven. Imagine all the reading she could get done with no Beast Boy around. For some reason, something in her gut cringed at the thought of "no Beast Boy" though she quickly dismissed it.
A thought then ocurred to her.
"So, what happens if you win?"
Beast Boy grinned mischievously for a minute before leaning back in his chair and rubbing the back of his neck.
"Oh I don't know," he said nonchalantly. "How about if I win... you have to give me one itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny, little…kiss?"
'What?' Raven thought to herself.
"What?" She said in disbelief.
"Yeah," Beast Boy said confidently. "A Beast Boy free month for you if you win and a little kiss from Raven for me if I win."
Raven could feel her heart beating wildly against her chest as her stomach fluttered somewhere up into her lungs. A million thoughts raced furiously through her mind; most of them consiting of "He wants a KISS?"
"Well, what do you say?" He asked, reaching out a hand.
After much inner turmoil, Raven was able to get enough control over herself to make a rational decision. This was just another case of Beast Boy having too much confidence for his own good. There's no way he could possibly win and a gamble isn't really a gamble if you know you can win. Raven was sure of her victory in this game, so she accepted Beast Boy's out stretched hand in her own.
"Alright," she said with confidence. "You're on."
After shaking hands and sealing the deal, the game resumed and Beast Boy made his move. To Raven's shock, his move took her queen and put her in check.
Raven was thoroughly dumbfounded. What just happened?
"Check," said Beast Boy, who then gave her a little wink.
Blushing being her only response, she quickly buried her nose in the board. After recollecting herself, she began studying her pieces, contemplating all possibilities. She then made her move.
Breathing a sigh of relief, she looked back up at Beast Boy who scratched his chin for a moment before swiftly making his move.
"Check," he said once again with a wide grin.
This was only the beginning. Beast Boy seemingly transformed into a professional right before the empath's eyes and it didn't take her long to realize she had been duped. All those poor choices he made at the beginning of the game? Her taking several of his pieces right out from under him? It had all been part of a strategy. He had tricked her into thinking he was a mediocre player while simultaneously luring her into a trap that forced her for several turns to back peddle out of check while sacrificing several of her pieces.
Nevertheless, Raven was not a quitter. Giving her full attention to the task at hand, she battled back against Beast Boy's forces; doing everything she could to box the changeling into a corner.
While matching Beast Boy's moves, she did her best to kill the part of her that for some reason felt exhilarated at the thought of kissing the young man.
'Losing is not an option,' she kept telling herself. 'I don't want to have to kiss Beast Boy. I don't want to have to kiss Beast boy.'
Finally, after over an hour of playing, the duo's numbers were dwindling. The end was most assuredly near for one of them.
It was Raven's turn. Her eyes slowly covered every inch of the board as she plotted her course. Raising her hand, she wrapped her fingers around her only remaining rook.
"Oh, you sure you want to move that?" Beast Boy said suddenly.
Raven glared at the changeling.
"Stop it," she said coldly.
"What?" He replied innocently.
Raven placed her hand back in her lap and again studied the board. After a moment, she tentatively grasped her knight.
"Hmm. Moving that one, huh?" Beast Boy broke in again.
"Garfield!" She exclaimed.
"What?"
Yet again Raven studied the board. Making up her mind, she again reached for her rook. She threw a threatening glance at Beast Boy who just stared back at her, smiling. After a few final moments contemplating her available options, Raven decided her move. Unfortunately, this particular moment also happened to be when the Titan alarm decided to sound.
Beast Boy looked up at the red and white lights flashing around him.
"Aww come on!" He complained loudly.
Without missing a beat, Nightwing burst into the common room.
"Come on, you two. Trouble down town," he said quickly before dashing off.
Beast Boy and Raven looked at one another for a brief moment before following their leader. It seemed their bet would have to be settled later.