AN: I do not own Teen Titans. Please refrain from reviewing until the end of the story. Thank you.

Chapter 13

The moment the scent hit his nose he'd jumped. Raven's scent. His nose had caught it between the raindrops and on the wind. He barely felt his wounds as he rose to his feet and followed the elegant aroma of his teammate. He was alarmed when he smelt it mixed with blood but he'd be kidding himself if he thought he wouldn't smell it. His eyes scanned the area and finally he spotted a figure that did not blend in with the wooden surroundings. They were sitting but trying to get to their feet.

"Raven!" he called out and limped his way over to her. She was very startled by the sound of his voice and fell back to the ground. He reached her and got down the best he could to be at eye level. "Are you okay?"

"Oh I could be better," she groaned. "But I guess being dead would be worse."

He smiled. She was alright. "How bad are you hurt?"

"I took the brunt of the fall on my hip," she winced. She was leaning far to her right, trying to take any pressure off of her left hip. "I've been trying to stand up but so far it hasn't been going well. And my neck's pretty messed up. I probably almost snapped it."

"Well good thing you didn't," he said, scared just hearing that she'd nearly died. "That's all I need, to have your death on my conscience."

"This wasn't your fault," she said, trying to adjust herself to a less painful position. "It was that insane man with the flamboyant goggles. And once my powers come back I'm going to shove his eyewear down his throat. How bad are you hurt?"

"Just my knee and wrist," he shrugged. "And my foot. And my tongue."

"Okay, what didn't you hurt?" she asked.

"Don't worry about me," he said, moving to sit so as to relieve the pressure on his knee. "I'm better off than you. You fell out of a train and got caught up in that explosion. Not many people can say they survived either, let alone both in a matter of minutes."

"I don't think this is something to brag about," she said, pushing her dripping locks back. "Call Robin and have him contact the nearest police station to come help us."

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"You have the communicator."

"Oh…right. Well, um, I sorta activated its self-destruct mode and threw it at that creep."

Raven let out a groaning sigh. "So we've got no way to call for help. Wonderful."

"Sorry," he said and meant it. "I didn't think about the fact that we'd be stranded out here. I just wanted to get him back for what he did to you. I should've thought it through."

She inhaled deeply and shook her head. "Don't worry about it. Hopefully you damaged him enough to give the train's employees a chance at stopping him." It went quiet for a moment as the rain continued to drench their bruised and battered bodies. "You didn't have to jump out after me, you know. You should have stayed behind and made sure that guy was taken down. Stopping him is more important than coming after me, not to mention less likely to kill you."

"Well, sorry, but I don't think that way," he shook his head. "To me it's more important to make sure my friends are okay than to stop some crook. Whatever a villain's stealing will never be worth the life of someone I care about. But that's just me." He brought his good knee up and wrapped his arms around it, trying to keep himself warm.

He felt something cold and wet press against his side. He turned and was stunned to see that she was leaning against him. "You know, I never thought I'd say this, but I'm really glad you're here with me right now. And I'm glad you stowed away in my bag and came on this trip with me." She leaned her head against his so that his ear felt her temple. "If it weren't for you I'd have been far worse off. I might have been killed five times over if it hadn't been for you being by my side. And…I'm glad I'm able to call you my friend. For some reason, even though were really screwed out here, I actually feel comforted that you're by my side."

That was it. The guilt that had been gnawing at him finally chewed right through his soul. He ripped himself away from her and screamed, "I can't do this anymore!" He crawled in front of her and looked her in the eyes. He didn't care how much it would hurt, he had to do this the right way or his soul would never heal. "Raven I…I lied. I lied about everything."

"What do you mean?" she asked, quite confused.

"I've never read any of the Ashen Splendor books and I couldn't care less about meeting the author of them. I hid away in your bag so that I could get across the country and go to Fiona Star's concert in Empire City. I lied and told Aqualad that she and I were friends and that I was gonna sing with her. He bet me that I wasn't and if he wins the bet he gets my spot on the team permanently and I've gotta go to Titans East. So I caught a ride with you cuz it was the only way I could save my spot on the team. This whole time I've been doing everything in my power to get us to Empire City instead of Civic City. I changed our bus tickets and I let you sleep through our stop on the train."

She stared at him with wide, perplexed eyes. "You…You what?"

"And you didn't lose your book on the bus, I did," he continued. "All the bad stuff that happened to you on this trip was because of me. Except for the bus accident! I swear I didn't have anything to do with that. But everything else was my fault."

She held his intense gaze for another heartbeat then dropped her eyes down to the mud. She nearly fell over she seemed so disoriented by all of this information so she grabbed at the wet ground and locked her arm. He watched as her body lurched with breath once she remembered to breathe again and she began to tremble all over. After what felt like a year's worth of breath, she gripped the earth so tightly her knuckles went white. She raised her eyes alone and they burned with rage so brilliantly he felt scared to his very core.

"You used me," she hissed through her teeth, pulling up the terrain enclosed in her fist.

"I'm sorry, I didn't-" he started.

"Stop talking!" she exclaimed, her voice echoing against the rain, and threw the mud in her hand at him. "Don't you ever talk to me again. You…You are the most selfish child I've ever met. How dare you use the trust I have in my teammates against me? How dare you upset me like this? I'm screaming and filled with rage! If I had my powers you'd be dead and I'd be issuing in the next apocalypse! Do you understand that? How dare you do this to me?"

"Please, Raven, I-"

"Shut up!" she demanded. "And you did all of this because of Aqualad? Because of some imagined rivalry you think you have with him? I can't believe that after all of this time you're still intimidated by him. Not only are you selfish but your immaturity and jealousy has nearly gotten me killed! Does that mean nothing to you?"

"Of course-"

"Shut it! Shut your mouth!" She moved her injured body and began to force herself up to her feet. It was incredibly painful and she wailed through her teeth in agony. But she made it up to a standing position and once she had she looked down on him. "Go. Go to your concert. But I promise you that I will never be on the same team as you again. If you stay on our team then I'll transfer to another." She gave him her back and was about to hobble away but paused. She reached up around her neck and grabbed the gemstone on the silver chain. She yanked it off and threw it at him, hitting him square in the sternum. "You've lost my trust and respect. And I can't be on a team with someone like you." She turned back around and limped off, finding her way to the tracks that she followed away from him.

He didn't make any attempt to stop her. He didn't have the right. He just watched as her limping figure disappeared down the tracks. And once she was out of sight he dropped his head in shame. He spotted the Snowflake Obsidian sitting in the mud, staring up at him. Now what was he to do? Continue on towards Empire City? Was it even worth it at this point?

No. It wasn't. He loved his team but none of this was worth his position with them. And once they found out what he had done and how stupid he had been there was no way they'd want him on their team anymore anyway. He'd be lucky if they allowed him to be in the Titans at all. So screw the concert. And screw Aqualad. And, most importantly, screw himself.

He picked up the necklace, carefully got up, and followed after his teammate, if he could even call her that now. He wasn't sure where the nearest town was but sooner or later the tracks would lead to civilization. The sun was rising for the day and the rain was finally clearing up. The landscape was muddy and dark but the gray sky was starting to glow with morning light. He felt as though the sun was dawning on a new part of his life; a humble, disgraced life.

Ahead of him he spotted something on the side of the tracks. At first he wasn't quite sure what it could be but within a few yards he was able to make out that it was a person. And it wasn't just any person; it was Raven. She was lying down on the ground, her elbow propping her up slightly. He could smell tears on the wind. He quickened his pace but he slowed when he finally reached her. He approached very carefully, scared she'd turn and lash out at him. But she did not. She continued to silently cry. He stood next to her for a few seconds then got the courage to sit next to her. And he sat there for a very long while as she sniffed and wiped her eyes with her already wet sleeves. Finally he cleared his throat.

"I know you don't want me to ever speak to you again," he began meekly, "but if this is the last time you're ever gonna be anywhere near me then I've gotta use every second I've got left with you. I know you think I'm a liar, and I am, but I want you to know that I really am sorry. I never thought it would go this far. I never thought you'd get hurt. And you're right, I never thought about what would happen if I got you so angry that your powers went out of control. I was so focused on getting to Empire City that none of that mattered to me. I just…I didn't want to leave the team. I love the city and I love the four of you. And the thought of Aqualad getting my place on my team just made me so upset that I had to do anything I could to make sure it didn't happen. Even if that meant lying to you. But I've decided that hurting you the way I did wasn't worth my spot on the team. So I'm gonna go home, confess everything, and lose the bet. That way I'll have to switch teams and you can stay. It's not fair for you to have to go somewhere new. I know how hard it is for you to feel comfortable or to fit in. So you stay with the team and I'll go to Titans East. I'm sure you'll be happy to have Aqualad by your side instead of stupid little me anyway."

He listened as she continued to cry and it made him very uncomfortable. He wanted to hug her, make her feel better. That's what his instincts told him to do but he knew that was forbidden. "I'm sorry I've made you cry. I really broke you down, huh?"

"Don't be absurd, I'm not crying about you," she spat.

"Then why-"

"Because I'm in pain!" she wept. "Not only am I burned, scratched, and bruised I've been walking on a most likely fractured hip. I can't even deal with my emotions towards you right now." And with that she began to cry a little louder.

He'd never actually seen her in such pain before and he didn't like it. She was obviously frightened that she was out of control of her body and wasn't sure what to do. And he felt just as helpless. "Anything I can do?"

"Just be quiet and leave me alone." She dragged herself to a flat area and lay down on her back, finally feeling some relief from the agony in her hip. She took in deep breaths to calm herself but she still exhaled with moans. Now that her hip had been addressed she began to feel the pain in her neck and no matter which way she tried to rest her head it hurt terribly.

He could see her struggling to lay her neck the right way so that it didn't pain her. He pulled off his wet sweatshirt, rung it out, rolled it up, and carefully slipped it under her head. She didn't say so but he knew it helped when he saw the tension on her body noticeably lessen. He wished he could do more for her.

"Raven, do you want me to leave you and keep walking until I can find help? I'm not sure how far away we are from the next town but if I set out now I could-"

"I swear to Azar, Beast Boy, if you leave me alone and helpless out here I really will never forgive you."

"I thought you wanted me to leave you alone."

"I meant don't pester me not to leave me out here by myself."

"But didn't you say-"

"I know what I said! Just shut up and keep your eyes open for any train passing by or helicopter flying overhead. If help hasn't already been sent out to try and find us then it will when the next train spots us in distress on the side of the tracks. So until we're rescued you are to stay here and do your best to actually keep me safe."

He didn't say anything after that. He moved to sit next to her and kept his eyes on the tracks, turning his head from left to right every other minute. Perhaps if she was able to count on him now, when she was at her most vulnerable and had never despised him more, there was hope.