Raven arrived in the kitchen a few hours later fresh from meditation, and she was surprised to see that the rest of her teammates were already present. It wasn't that unusual really, seeing how the team -for the most part- all enjoyed spending time with one another, but after such a busy past couple of weeks, it was strange to find everyone in the same room. The empath showed no reaction to this atypical scene and instead walked quietly over to the sofa with a book in hand. Robin was already seated on the couch, catching up on the latest news in the Jump City paper, and Starfire had settled down beside him, watching Cyborg and Beast Boy's video game match with polite interest. The robotic teenager and shape-shifter were battling it out on the big screen at full volume, so it was no surprise that when the doorbell rang, no one moved to get it. Raven doubted her friends had even heard it. Sighing, she closed her book -barely creased from a minute of reading- and walked out to the front.

"Yes?"

Bumblebee grinned back at Raven, the leader's familiar sleeping bag gear slung lazily over her shoulder. "Hey Raven! I'm here for the sleepover!"

"You're early," Raven grunted, stepping back to let the Titans East member inside.

"Well, obviously!" the tall girl replied, smirking. "How else am I gonna spend some time with Sparky separate from ya'll?" The two teenagers entered the hallway, doors closing behind them with a thud as Bumblebee lifted an eyebrow at the empath. "What's with the darker face?"

Raven glared at her, shifting her hood a little. "What do you think?"

Placing her hand on her hip, Bumblebee snorted. "Haven't had a kiss yet?" Raven didn't respond, only sinking further into her cloak, and Bumblebee rolled her eyes. "Why are you moping so much, girl? You've still got until the sleepover to complete the deal!"

Raven shook her head. "There's no point. I'm just going to spend these last few hours as comfortable friends before I'm embarrassed for the entirety of my teenage years." Bumblebee gave her an odd look, one that Raven caught. The empath exhaled through her mouth. "You and Jinx will no doubt make a huge deal about this and as my punishment force me to confess my feelings."

"You don't know that."

Raven narrowed her eyebrow. "I'm wrong?"

Bumblebee grinned.

"That's what I assumed," Raven stated, glaring down the long hallway.

"Well if you're gonna act like that, I don't blame the guy for not making a move, girl!" Bumblebee exclaimed, smirking. "I'm just glad that it's not my fault for my guy takin' his time."

Raven blinked, angling her sights to look at Bumblebee better. "You mean you haven't gotten a kiss yet?" she asked, her voice low and slow.

"I've still got time before the sleepover to get it," the Titans East leader reminded, pointing at Raven. "And I plan to get it. Sparky!" she cried, the doors to the ops room spreading apart. The robotic teenager glanced over his shoulder, and, seeing the tall girl in the entryway, dove in front of the game station protectively. Beast Boy took advantage of the fact that his friend had forgotten to pause the game, and his green digital car shot past the finish line in victory. Cyborg ignored the triumphant shout from the shape-shifter, and he stared pointedly at Bumblebee.

"Don't you dare try to take over the game this time!" the robotic teenager exclaimed, making Bumblebee laugh. She buzzed over to him, landing lightly on the ground by the couch.

"Don't worry, Sparky; I wouldn't dream of kicking your butt again," the Titans East leader snickered. Of course, Cyborg was unable to resist the challenge, drawn into the competition as easily as he'd been the first sleepover and thus leaving Beast Boy without a game controller once again. He huffed in mock annoyance.

"Dude, I should just play games with someone else," he grumped. The boy's green eyes lit up when he noticed the lone empath standing atop the stairs. "Oh Raven?"

She looked at him emotionlessly. "Like that'll ever happen." Her cool tone was disappointing to say in the least, and Raven caught Bumblebee's shaming expression aimed in the empath's direction. The dark sorceress ignored it, just like she did to the frustrated face that Beast Boy wore when he faced the television screen again. Raven had no time to think it over when a gust of wind caught her unaware, and suddenly Kid Flash and Jinx appeared in the middle of the room.

As the members of the startled team relaxed their guard, Jinx dropped down from her boyfriend's back. Kid Flash flashed everyone a charismatic smile. "Sorry for the surprise, guys; I didn't feel like waiting, and because we know the password, I figured I'd let us in."

Robin spoke for the first time since Raven had entered the ops room. "That's fine, Kid… Just warn us next time." The leader had been on his feet instantly when the two entered in such a sudden way, and he was still easing up from the adrenaline rush.

Kid Flash nodded, and he moved toward his girlfriend. "So, you think I could join the party or…?"

Jinx frowned at him. "Of course not. It's previous guests only. And you have to be a girl."

"That's why I didn't let Speedy come," Bumblebee hopped in, her game with Cyborg on pause for a moment. She received several confused looks.

"He wished to join us?" Starfire questioned, hanging by Robin's side.

Bumblebee shrugged. "Well, kinda. Speedy wanted to come over with his girlfriend, but I managed to convince him otherwise."

This time it was Cyborg who spoke up, his eyes bugging out. "Speedy has a girlfriend?"

"Yep." Bumblebee nodded, remembering that when she'd found out her face was in a similar expression to those now surprised in front of her. "Amazingly, it's the same girl who he invited to the party. Guess he finally won her over."

Jinx snorted, exchanging a smirk with Kid Flash, and Cyborg shook his head. "That poor soul."

"Speedy, or the girl?" Bumblebee laughed. "Naw, he'll have a handful with her; I think she's good for him actually. She'll keep him in line so I don't have to." The room shared a chuckle, and then proceeding to separate once again into their activities. Jinx got a peck on the nose and then the lips from her boyfriend before he sped away. The pink sorceress scanned over the place, noting the piles of pillows still assembled on the floor from two weeks ago.

"Should I feel touched that you set up all the pillows for us again?" she questioned, crossing her arms. "It must have been such hard work to do this for another sleepover."

Robin cleared his throat. "Uh… yes. That's it." Jinx grinned, reading easily into the meaning behind his words, and she approached Raven.

"Wanna help me move these out of the way so we can set up a place for our sleeping bags?"

Raven had nothing else to do, and with the help of her powers, she and Jinx were able to clear a space out. Before long, night was nearing and Robin suggested they put in a movie before the girls took the ops room for themselves. It seemed like another pillow fight was out of the question, for Cyborg and Bumblebee had mysteriously disappeared a half hour ago.

Robin and Starfire took one side of the couch for themselves, both comfortably content in their position next to the other and leaving Raven, Beast Boy, and Jinx on the other side to watch the film in silence. Raven was on the edge with Beast Boy in between her and Jinx. The movie held little interest for the majority of the audience -seeing as Robin chose it- but the teenagers had nothing else to do. About halfway through the film, Jinx was snoring loudly on the sofa and Robin and Starfire weren't even paying attention to the story anymore. Really, even the young leader had to admit that it was pretty boring. Only Beast Boy and Raven were somewhat engaged in it.

The shape-shifter leaned over, murmuring in Raven's ear, "This is nothing compared to Wicked Scary 3, am I right?" Raven just kept her eyes locked on the screen, ignoring the press of his elbow on her arm. Beast Boy tried again. "I mean, I haven't even been scared by it once! Not that Wicked Scary scared me at all," he added.

Raven refused to look at him. "That was a horror film; this is not."

"Yeah, I know," Beast Boy stated, pleased that she was at last responding. "It's an old boring detective thing. I can even tell you who did it in the end," he declared, nodding at the movie dragging along on the screen. "It was the butler."

"Wow, genius, did it take you all night to figure that out?" Raven growled. "Now if you don't mind, I'm trying to watch the movie without having some annoying chatterbox talking in my ear the entire time." Her heart dropped with Beast Boy's ears, and the green teenager fell into a melancholy silence, not lifting his eyes to her again until the movie was over an hour later.

Bumblebee snorted, wrinkling her nose, and spat off the side of the tower. She and Cyborg watched in anticipation, leaning precariously over the side to observe as her spit sailed down past the floors and landed on the rocks below. Lucky for them, the wind carried it away from the Titans' home instead of toward the tower or perchance Robin would have had their heads. As it was, the gust of air assisted Bumblebee's saliva and carried it further than Cyborg's previous shot.

"Hah!" Bumblebee exclaimed victoriously, grinning at Cyborg. "Even at spitting I beat you, Sparky!"

Cyborg had to chuckle. The two had left the ops room a while ago to get some fresh air. They'd both realized that they wouldn't get much time to spend alone with one another otherwise and now were enjoying each other's company, seated together on the edge of the roof. "Alright, I'll admit that this one you did win; not that it's really anythin' to brag about." He nudged her with his elbow. "I mean, I wouldn't go tellin' any guys you're interested in 'bout it. Not really an attractive quality."

Bumblebee lifted an eyebrow. "Are you saying I'm not attractive?"

"'Course you're attractive," Cyborg assured, smirking.

The girl prompted him. "And?"

"And…" Cyborg took a moment to collect a mental list. "Well, you've got a quick mind. And a quick tongue. Competitive, but that's not a bad thing. You're a pretty bad winner though," he jested, laughing when Bumblebee stuck her tongue at him.

"Good thing you'll never know what I'm like when I lose," she retorted with a smile, "'cause you'll never beat me!"

"I've beat you before," Cyborg stated, leaning toward her.

"As if," Bumblebee countered, likewise slanting closer to him. In a bold move, she suddenly grabbed his hand. Hers felt tiny in the robotic teenager's, but she gave it a squeeze nevertheless, enjoying the surprised look on Cyborg's face. The girl tilted her head, feeling the space between them diminish more. "Cyborg?" she asked, causing a rare occurrence of his chosen name passing her tongue. "What are you thinking?"

Cyborg laughed quietly beneath his breath, meeting her eyes. "What I'm thinkin'? Well," he paused, "I'm thinkin', or wonderin' more, 'bout why you're wantin' to kiss me so badly?"

The courageous statement made Bumblebee blush, and Cyborg took advantage of her embarrassment to wrap his arm around her shoulder in a brief hug. The Titans East leader realized she was very nearly trembling. "Uh…"

Cyborg got to his feet, offering a hand to Bumblebee. "We should probably go back before Rob sends out a search party or somethin'."

"Y-Yeah."

"Have fun at the sleepover!" Cyborg added in almost too cheery a tone to be believable. The skepticism in Bumblebee grew when he gave her what could be interpreted possibly as a knowing wink. On their way to the door, the girl cast another glance at him, but Cyborg's bright expression revealed nothing of his knowledge about the deal invented at their first sleepover.

Raven turned a corner in the hall, dread that had been prowling steadily nearer all day finally at its peak. The sleepover was but a walk away, and then, in a few mere minutes, one of her most humiliating fears would come to life. And it was all because of a stupid deal that she'd been convinced into taking part of. Maybe in the future she shouldn't blame Cyborg for getting tricked into so many contests because of Bumblebee. That girl knew how to push just the right buttons.

The empath gripped the edge of her sleeping bag and scarlet pillow tightly as she drew nearer to the ops room, and gave a mental repeat of her mantra. She was going to blow something up; she could feel it. In the next few minutes, something or someone was going to break. In the back of her mind, Raven found she was wondering if it would be herself. Raven rounded the last bend, spotting the doors on the side of the wall that would lead to her inevitable doom. Exhaling, she strode toward them; there was no point in procrastinating. With her head held high, Raven stepped through and into the ops room.

It looked the same as when she'd left, the only difference being the lighting and a tad different placement of pillows due to Jinx, Bumblebee, and Starfire's adjustment when setting up after the movie. Night had long since taken over the sky, and everyone was ready to start the sleepover. Raven shifted her weight, preparing mentally, when she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. In the hallway behind her, a lone figure plodded slowly by without stopping, and Raven found she could not disregard the miserable and desolate emotions that seeped off of the person into her. With a glance at the other girls to make sure none had noticed her presence yet, Raven discarded her sleeping gear and slipped back into the hallway.

She was surprised -and a little concerned- to find that Beast Boy had been the one to pass her, meaning he was experiencing such emotions. The doors swished shut behind Raven to leave the two Titans alone in the dim hallway light, and Beast Boy's ears picked up the sound. He turned around, perking up a moment when he saw the empath before his emotions crashed to an even worse level than before. Without a word, the shape-shifter started to walk down the corridor again.

Raven couldn't help it. Even though she had been trying to avoid him and stay distant all day, there was no way she was able to ignore his heavy gut-wrenching emotions. "Beast Boy."

He gave no indication that he'd heard her, so Raven repeated the call. "Beast Boy." The shape-shifter did not stop, and Raven, fighting the fear building inside of her, flew over to him and grabbed his shoulder. "Beast Boy." The green teenager at last turned to her, though it was at a slant, and his dull eyes met hers. His shoulder shrugged up, creating a barrier between himself and Raven. The empath released her hold, dropping her hand by her side. "I was trying to talk to you."

"Then it's okay for me to talk to you now?" Beast Boy asked, his head angled away from her.

Raven realized what he was talking about and straightened her back. "As if it's ever stopped you before." Beast Boy hummed something to himself beneath his breath, making as if to walk away again, but Raven stepped in his way. The worry in her heart made the girl soften. "Beast Boy, what's wrong?"

He fidgeted, trying to see a way past her and the situation. Beast Boy had never been good at explaining himself without looking like somewhat of a fool. "It's nothing really…" He scratched the back of his head, finding he was trapped. "I don't think you… Well, you don't need to really know. I mean, because you wouldn't really care what it's about."

Beast Boy meant it in the best way that he could, but his words, especially the last ones, sent a sharp pang of guilt through Raven. Setting her sights determinedly at him, the empath demanded, "Beast Boy, what is wrong?"

"It's you!" Beast Boy blurted out, and then he slapped his hands over his mouth in horror. Raven remained as emotionless as ever save for the slight widening of her eyes, and Beast Boy continued, wanting to clarify before she shot him to the moon. "You… You've been all cold and… weird to me today. I mean, I probably deserve it most of the time when you're like that to me, but today? Seriously, I have no idea! What did I do?!"

"It's-," Raven started, trying to find the right words to explain, "-not your fault. I've been…"

Beast Boy, having started talking, found it easier to continue than listen. He'd kept a lot of things he'd been wanting to say inside today, and now he just couldn't find it within to stop. "I've been nice to you all day, but you're just acting like-like-like- I'm a kid who ate all the cookies in the cookie jar! I know everyone gets in bad moods once in a while, but usually they apologize! You just ignore me, leave, or snap at me, Raven! Why do you hate me?!"

This last statement hit Raven like a bullet, and while she was an expert at suppressing her reaction to such things, her impassive mask slipped for a moment. She gawked at Beast Boy a moment before realizing it, and the girl shook her head. "Beast Boy, why do you think that I hate you?"

The green Titan was talking so fast that he could hardly register what was coming out of his mouth. Raven hadn't forced him to stop yet, not with a physical or verbal threat, and before she made him, he was going to get what he had to say out into the open. "Other than being just so weird today, ignoring and insulting me, you won't even let me talk to you! You won't even let me near you! I mean, come on! You've refused to kiss me twice already! First when we were stuck in that house during the snowstorm and now two days ago you refused to kiss me again!"

"Beast Boy," Raven interrupted, holding her hand out to cut him off. She was already red in the face. How had he gotten to such a subject so quickly? "When did I refuse to… to?"

"Spin the bottle, remember?" Beast Boy tapped his head. "And then when that kid wanted you to for her birthday?"

"Beast Boy, kissing someone is not-."

"It's not a big deal!" Beast Boy exclaimed, throwing his arms up. "The one time was a game and the other was for little kids! It'd be like acting or putting on a show! The kids would have gone 'eww' and then just left us alone, Rae! You wouldn't have had to use up all your magic and then you wouldn't have caught a cold if you'd just kissed me!" The teenager hadn't stopped once to take a breath, and if he hadn't been so green, Raven assumed that blue would be rising in his face from lack of air. "But I guess that since you're so set on staying away from me, I should just forget about it, right? But what I don't get is why you must really really hate me!"

Raven blinked. How he'd gone from refusing to kiss someone to hating that person, she had no idea. Beast Boy, on the other hand, was heaving deep breaths, staring at Raven in expectation for her response. What Raven didn't realize was that, in the past, the boy had almost kissed someone he'd dearly cared for, and then the girl had betrayed him. She'd betrayed the entire team, and it'd broken his heart.

Raven chose her response carefully, sensing that if nothing else she was treading on unstable ground. "Beast Boy, there is a large gap between hating someone and wanting to kiss them."

Beast Boy looked her straight in the eye, his expression serious but tone tinged with sadness. "So where do I fall under there, Raven?

"Beast Boy-," she sucked in breath with surprise. Whatever she was going to say, it stopped in her throat and she dipped her head, resorting back to her previous deadpan attitude. "What kind of a question is that? This is not the time."

"But Raven-."

"No. I was only wondering if you were okay, and now I see what a waste it was for me to have stopped. So if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be." She turned to the door when a hand grasped her arm, and Raven looked back to see Beast Boy staring at her with pleading eyes. Her heart pounded in her ears.

"Please, Raven, wait," he begged. Despite her previous declarations, Raven found that she did want to stay, and so she hesitated. Beast Boy bit his lip. "Do… do you… want to kiss me?"

Her words caught in her throat, and Raven swallowed. "I-I don't hate you if that's what you mean…?" She trailed off, tone unreadable. Beast Boy dropped his gaze, mumbling something beneath his breath that Raven managed to catch only the end of.

"….t exactly what I meant."

"…"

Silence befell the two, one that burned at Raven's face. She wished for her hood, but, being in her pajamas, the dark sorceress was left without her normal defense and out in the open. They looked at each other again, Beast Boy's expression calculating and nervous and Raven's as blank as she could make it. It was an impressive feat, though ruined by the red coloring her cheeks.

"Close your eyes."

The request was as surprising as it was unexpected, and Raven had to take a moment to grasp what he'd said. She narrowed an eyebrow. "What?"

"Trust me on this," Beast Boy insisted, the smile that had been absent during the length of their conversation finally appearing, however edgy it might have been.

Raven hesitated. "Why?"

"Oh, come on, Rae!" Beast Boy exclaimed, exhaling. "Please just do it, okay?"

Raven tightened the corner of her lips, but after a little more urging, she gave in and obliged. Without any sight, the girl was left isolated with only her other senses and her magic for guessing what Beast Boy was doing. The dark teenager disliked the sensation of experiencing such vulnerability, her hands dangling loosely at hers sides, head held high, and eyes squeezed shut. What the green teenager had in mind was a mystery. Raven could sense emotions pulsing off him in an unreadable blur of heat, but separating the blend of his feelings would take longer to do than waiting for him to finish whatever he was up to. At least that's what she'd assumed, but after what felt like a long time, nothing had happened.

"Beast Boy?" she asked, and his emotions jolted, sending off a noticeable spike of surprise. "Can I open my eyes yet?"

"Uh, not yet," the green teenager answered, and the rustle of clothes indicated his movement. "Give me a minute."

Raven waited patiently for another sixty seconds -or what she believed to be the appropriate length anyway- as Beast Boy wrestled with his fluctuating emotions, but still nothing occurred. The empath exhaled, her shoulders dropping with a sigh. "Beast Boy, how much longer is this going to take, because I have somewhere t-." She cut off, her lips tingling with contact as something brushed lightly over them, feeling quite similar to her own. Body heat of another standing very close suddenly disappeared in the exact moment Raven realized what had happened. Her emotions sparked, shooting up in the form of black energy, and shattered into the light bulb above. Raven's eyes snapped open, but the lack of light made it impossible to see. It didn't matter though; she knew Beast Boy was gone. Raven forced herself to inhale, heart hammering and ears roaring, and when she'd eventually found her breath, the girl hesitated. Lifting her hand, she touched the tips of her fingers to her mouth for a moment, and then lowering her arm, Raven walked quietly into the ops room.