For Raven, what was only supposed to be a private trip between her and Bumblebee, turned more into a rowdy group excursion. Little did she know that Mas Y Menos, the high speed twins were waiting for them by the car.
"Buenos dias, senorita Raven. . ." Mas chipperly replied, as his other brother hopped in the back seat. "Hola. . .Hola. . ."
"Hello. . ." she hissed through her teeth. Now Bee watched as her eyes found hers and narrowed rather questioning. Looking from them to her, she chuckled and said,
"Umm. . .They wanted to come along. I hope you don't mind." Fuming privately on the inside, Raven calmly muttered through her teeth. "Sure. . .No problem. . ." Little did poor Raven know just what she was getting herself into. For the ride into the city turned into a nerve-racking ordeal.
Through Bee's loud bassy, techno music, the boys began to argue in the back seat over whose turn it was to play the Gameboy! "Esto es mi vuelta, Menos!" (It's my turn, Menos!) Mas hollered, yanking it in one direction.
"No, No es!" (No, it isn't!) Menos yelled back, pulling in another.
"Si es!" (Yes, it is!) Mas screamed, tugging back a little harder.
"No!" Menos shouted, snatching it out of his hands. Then he gave his brother a rough push in the shoulder and began to concentrate playing the game. That did it. Angrily Mas balled his little fist and hollered, "Ah, esto esta en ahora!" (Oh it's on, now!) And before Bee or Raven knew what was happening, a fight ensued in the back seat!
Looking through her rearview mirror, Bumblebee hollered out over the loud thumping, "Hey you boys cut it out! Don't make me stop this car!" By then, Raven was cringing down in her seat, actually beginning to contemplate wanting to kill Cyborg! Oh, would he pay dearly for this!
And if that wasn't bad enough, touring through the city was no better. With Bumblebee wanting her to go one way, and the twins wanting her to go in another, Raven felt like she was being torn in two different directions. And their constant bickering only made it worse! By nightfall, Raven was at the end of her rope!
"Este Camino!" (This way!) Mas said, trying to steer her in one direction.
"No! No! No! Este Camino!) Menos snapped, pulling her in another. Now very irritated, Mas threw both hands on his hips and shouted, "Usted siempre consigueso camino!" (You always get your way!)
"No, no hago!" (No, I don't!) Menos argued.
"Si, uster hace!" (Yes, you do!) Mas shouted at the top of his lungs.
By the way a hand slowly rubbed over her face, Bumblebee knew Raven was about to have a nervous breakdown! Knowing she'd better intervene, she quickly come up behind them. "Yo!" she hollered, getting their attention. "Isn't that a video store over there?" For a minute, it was like the petty dispute was suddenly forgotten! Eyes lighting up, the twins looked from her to themselves with excited grins on their faces.
"Si! Si!" Mas shouted, tugging on his brothers arm. "Estamos fuera de aqui!" (We're out of here!) As they shot off at the speed of light, Bumblebee hollered out, "Yeah? Just make sure you're here in about an hour!"
"Si!" Letting out a chuckle, Bumblebee gave Raven a playful glance.
"Besides. . .I didn't think they'd want to stick around, here anyway." She said, pointing up at the sign overhead. Looking up, Raven's aggravated glance immediately widened to an intrigued one. For not only were they standing in front of a huge coffeeshop. But by the blackened outfits and beanie caps some of the kids wore, she knew it was more of a gothic hangout. . .and right up her ally!
"Now. . .I knew this was more your style. . ." Bumblebee said, fifteen minutes later. Together her and Raven were sitting in the darkest and quietest corner of the café, chilling to the jazz. . .and dark poetry. Taking the teabag out of her cup, Raven nodded and said, "Know me rather well, huh?" Raising an eyebrow, Bee replied,
"Mmm-hmm. I also know that the boys were definitely getting on your nerves." Caught off guard by her truthful observation, Raven shrugged. "Uh. . .sorry?"
"Hey. . .that's ok." Bee said, waving a hand at her. "I know they're high strung. . ."
Letting out a flustered sigh, Raven shook her head. "Gee, you think?" Rather playfully she leaned forward and mocked, "Hey, you think you'd be used to all that hyperactivity, with Beastboy around."
Cocking her head, Raven folded her arms and said, "Let me tell you something. Compared to them two, Beastboy is a lamb!" Struck funny over that comment, Bumblebee let out an amused chuckle. Now she noticed the grin on Raven's face and said, "Ooooh. Is that a smile, I see?"
"Yes. . ." Raven mocked. Sighing she added, "As much as I hate to admit it, Cyborg was right. I'm glad he kicked me out. . ." Raven replied, taking a sip of her tea. Setting her spoon down on the table, Bee then asked,
"So. . .What do you think of Steel City far?"
Shooting her a glance, Raven asked, "Honestly? You've seen one city, you've seen them all. . ." she mimed as Bee slowly shook her head. "The only difference between here and the West Coast, is that they have more café's than veggie bars." Eyes narrowing, Bee asked, "Veggie bars? Since when are you a vegetarian?"
"I'm not. . .but Beastboy is." Now gradually, Bumblebee began to notice a troubled expression cross over Raven's face. Beginning to
pick up on her signals, Bee artfully replied, "You know. . .I talked
to him this morning. . ."
"Oh?" Raven asked, trying to be nonchalant.
"Yeah. He said that Terra is making remarkable progress. . .and is beginning to adjust rather well." Shooting her a derisive glance, Raven muttered, "That doesn't surprise me. Terra has always been able to adjust to anything." Thinking about it, she added, "But I suppose that's a good thing, right? At least she'll be able to move on." Knowing there was a little more to this conversation, Bee began to twiddle with her napkin. "He uh. . . also keeps asking about you."
Although Raven tried to disguise it, Bee could still see the look of intrigue flicker in her eyes. "Really?"
"Yeah. You know. . .it seems like every time he calls, you disappear."
"Well. . .I can't be at two places at once." Raven replied with a clip of sarcasm in her voice. "Did you tell him I've been busy?"
"Um-hmm. . .And so has Cyborg, but he's had time to talk to him. Why haven't you?" She asked, watching as Raven shot her an irritated glance. Smirking at her, Bee's head slowly cocked.
"You're not fooling me, girl. I know you're avoiding him. . ."
she mocked, as Ravens eyes rolled with frustration. Deciding to fish a little more, she cleverly added, "Not that I blame you, though. With ya'll age difference, I'm sure he's like an annoying little brother, hmm?" From the surprised look on Ravens face, Bumblebee knew she'd pressed the right buttons. Raising an eyebrow, Raven mocked,
"Age difference? Come on, Bee. He's not that young. Only by a year." Thinking on it a little more, she shrugged then added, "Although sometimes it does feel more like dog years!" Letting out a chuckle, Bumblebee asked, "Why you say that?"
"Because he was so obnoxious and immature! And we were both so opposite that got on my nerves all the time. But just recently, he's grown up a lot. And. . .I found out that we're not so different after all." Putting her head down, Raven replied, "He's shown a side of himself that I've never witnessed before. . .Serious. depressed. . ."
"Yeah, I know. Cyborg and Robin told me that the whole Terra thing really freaked him out."
"Yeah. You might say that. . ." Sighing deeply, she muttered, "But he. . .um, spilled some things about himself that I wasn't expecting to hear. Things that were so bad, that it's got me looking at him a little differently, now. And what's worse is, that I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. And it's driving me crazy!" Raven hissed, beginning to grow very troubled. Silently Bumblebee watched as she continued to avoid her eyes, glaring more at the table. "I mean, I've never gone through anything like this before. I've always been able to let things go. But this keeps gnawing away at me, and I can't figure out why." Slowly shaking her head, Bumblebee smiled and said,
"Raven. Did it ever once occur to you that maybe, your heart has changed too?" Eyes narrowing with suspicion, she babbled, "What do you mean?"
"Well. . .You said you were looking at B.B. a little differently. The question is. . .how different?" For a minute, it looked as though Raven got hit with a baseball bat. The very idea of what Bumblebee meant had her eyes widening, and the blood rushing to her face.
Completely thrown off guard by that implication, her head slowly began to shake. Swallowing hard, she whispered, "I don't think so. . ."
"Are you sure?" Bee pressed, giving Raven an earnest peer. "Because something made you run away. . .But what?" Her question had Raven looking away, suddenly realizing that for the first time ever, the hidden feelings of heart had finally been exposed. By then Raven was so mortified, that she could barely look Bee in the face. Very moved over her upset reaction, Bee gently replied,
"Look, Rae. I know you have this thing about controlling your emotions."
"I have too. . ." she defensively cut off with a cracked voice.
"I don't have a choice."
"I know. But what's so dangerous about caring for somebody? I mean, love may be a powerful emotion. . .but it's a also positive one, remember? I really don't think it would hurt to let it go. . ." Painfully gazing up at her, Raven whispered,
"Yes, it would. Because it's already too late. " Thrown off guard by
that reply, Bee's eyes slowly narrowed with suspicion. "What are you talking about?"
Unable to take anymore, Raven shook her head and crossly answered, "Nothing. Can we please get off the subject?" Actually
feeling her frustration, Bee sighed then nodded.
"Ok. . .But I'm telling you as your friend, that you need to deal with whatever it is that's eating away at you, before you go home. Otherwise you won't be any better off than you were when you left. You'll just be plain miserable. . ." Actually letting out a painful chuckle, Raven shook her head and replied,
"I'm already miserable. So it won't make a difference what I do. . ."