Chapter 19 – Decisions

August 13th 2009, 11:41 pm

Beast Boy was rolling all over his bed, not being able to sleep. The events from the previous day still were pressing in his brain. Specially his reaction to Raven kissed by somebody else. Just the thought of it made him feel some kind of anger impelling him, squeezing his chest and throat, almost blinding him. At first he tried to tell himself it was just a protection instinct towards his friend. But this theory fell flat when he remembered he felt nothing but surprise to see Starfire kissing a complete stranger, and hell, not even when he caught Terra, his girlfriend, kissing someone else he had such an intense anger. Something… primitive… bestial.

Raven had finished recovering energy during the day and was feeling fine. When she came to thank him for saving her, he felt a cold wave going through his insides that had nothing to do with injuries or lack of energy.

So, that must meant he had… Feelings for Raven. Of course, she was very pretty – she seemed to get even prettier lately, and one day, years ago, he had a little crush on her. Plus, the two of them were in great terms since he matured a little bit, but… It was weird. He hadn't felt this way about anyone since his break up with Terra. He wasn't sure it was a good thing.

He laid down on his belly and let his mind wander. Again the scene of Raven being kissed against the dark sky popped in his mind, but this time he was the one kissing her, and not against her will… A warm sensation spread in his chest and he smiled.

Yes, this was a good thing. And he was ready to do something about it.

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August 14th 2009, 10:24 am

The next day, after breakfast, Beast Boy went to his usual rock by the edge of the little island where the Titan Tower stood and sat down to think. He had established the previous night he had feeling for Raven, and decided to something, but he didn't know exactly what. Simply confess, right now, seemed wrong. He wasn't ready, and he knew she wouldn't take him seriously.

The thing was that Raven wasn't like most girls. He had followed the two times in all those years the empath dated and both didn't end well. First that Malchior dragon, who had used her without a second thought and broken her heart, and then the gothic guy some months ago, who tried to go too far.

He needed to do something, anything that showed her how serious he was about it and at the same time made her trust him. But she was Raven, so it had to be something special. Really special. Something… Different from what he normally would do.

What would he normally do on a date? First thing on his mind: go to the movies. But he needed to think like Raven. If he had learned anything on his relationship with Terra, was that the date needed to please both parts. So, what did Raven think of the movies? They were too crowded: she didn't like conglomerate of people. Another thing: the empath had a weird taste for movies. She thought that in general TV melted people's brains and she always criticized the plots of the movies he liked.

What did she like then? Reading. That was something they couldn't do together. Once, he tried to read a book over her shoulder to see what was so good about it, but apparently someone's breath on your neck when you're reading is not exactly pleasant. At least that was what he deduced when she threw a cushion on his head.

What else? Meditate. Ok, he could do that with her – Star and Terra did sometimes, but it's not something that allows them to talk and meet one another. He knew she liked to go to a Coffee place where people declaim poetry, but he also knew he would be so depressed by the place's aura he wouldn't be able to be himself.

Beast Boy hit his fingers against his knee, thinking, He had the feeling he was missing something. Then he remembered somewhere perfect.

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Raven had just put her feet on the floor after some hours of meditation when she heard a knock on her door. She struggled not to smile. When Beast Boy and Terra broke up, the changeling stopped his visits to her for about two weeks. Of course, he was miserable and trying to put himself together, reorganizing his life and schedule – Cyborg called him 'zombie BB' – but she did miss him.

But that was no reason to lower her guard, she thought, putting on a grumpy expression and going to the door.

"What?" she asked, opening the door to let only her face appear. As expected, Beast Boy was there. He was closer than usual, however, making the empath take a step back, and the door opened completely.

"Hey Rae… I mean, Raven" he greeted her with a big smile on his face. A different emotion was emanating from him today. Would it be… anxiety? Worry? "How are you today?"

"… As usual. Why do you ask?" she lifted an eyebrow, finding the green colleague's behavior a bit odd.

"Well, I was just thinking…" he muttered, staring at his feet for some reason "If you're doing something tomorrow night"

"Tomorrow is… Saturday, right?" she said, turning inside her room and looking at a calendar hung above her desk. In the next day's square was written 'Star'. "Well, since it's not my laundry day, I'll just meditate."

"So nothing imperative?" he questioned, serious.

"I suppose not" she shrugged, wondering where he was getting.

"Cool! So, would you like to go to the movies with me?" he opened a smile again. She frowned, feeling something was wrong.

"But Starfire will be doing laundry" she said. He stared at her like he didn't know what she was talking about. "Are we going to the movies without her? Is Robin okay with that?"

"What? No, no. I meant… Just the two of us"

Raven just stared at him, half impressed, half suspicious. What if he was messing with her?

"Why?"

"I just thought we could have some fun and, you know, get to know each other" he explained, and there was no trace of joking on his voice. Neither had she felt the excitement he usually emanated before a practical joke.

"We live in the same Tower for like five years" she said, feeling her face going warm and a euphoric emotion she was sure had something to do with Affection.

"Well, we never do anything together" he argued, looking her in the eyes "I'd like to spend some time with you. So… Shall we?"

Something on the way he said that, or maybe it had been just his hypnotizing look made her answer immediately, not stopping to think or consider the meaning of it.

"Yes"

Beast Boy's face lighted. His eyes sparkled and he opened a gigantic smile.

"Great! You know that fast food I worked at, right? Meet me there at 9 pm!"

"But… The movie theater is on the other side of town" she said unsure, since she only had been there once.

"We're not going there. Oh, I'll wear civil clothes, but you can go as you prefer" he informed smiling "See ya!"

With this enigmatic phrase he left her, seeming in a hurry to leave before she could change her mind.

'Are you sure this was a wise decision?' asked a little voice in the back of her mind making Raven remind a certain brown cloak emotion.

'You tell me!' she answered, closing the door annoyed 'You're the one responsible to tell me why not to go!'

'Well, it's hard when someone shouts and pushes…' she knew the voice meant Affection.

'No problem' she breathed deeply 'Because Affection is thinking this is some kind of date'

'Isn't it?'

'Of course not. He said it himself: we never do stuff together, like he does with the others. As friends.'

"It's not a date!" she said firmly to her reflection on the window.

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'This is not a date' Raven thought that night, while she laid down to sleep and set the clock to an hour earlier, allowing her to have time to meditate before the… event.

'This isn't a date' her mind repeated while she was in the shower, dropping some extra shampoo on her violet hair.

'It isn't a date' again as she saw the sunset from the balcony, finishing her meditation.

'No, it's not a date…' she considered, picking up clothes carefully.

'It is not!' she emphasized, going back to her dressing table and putting a pair of discrete blue earrings.

'It...'

"Hey Raven!" shouted a voice in the distance. She had got to the fast food place, and saw a green man waving at her. She took a deep breath and walked to him.

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"Where are we going?" asked Raven, turning on a corner.

"To the movies" answered Beast Boy, staring at her more than usual. She was very pretty, in black pants, a white long sleeve blouse and a blue coat. Her boots and belt were the same as always, but they fit these new clothes very well. Something else was different… Earrings?

"I know that" she said dryly.

"Ok, ok, we're not too far now, just after this traffic light…" he pointed and held her wrist to show her they should cross the street. It was delicate and subtle movement, but it made Raven's heart jump inside her chest. "Here we are!"

The empath forgot for a moment of her emotions to look at the place her friend indicated. Had he not took her there and showed her, she would had passed without noticing anything. It was a glass showcase with some posters on it. They were movie posters, but she couldn't see how that was a movie theater. There were four posters and that was it.

"Here" called Beast Boy, and she saw one of the posters was hanging on the place's door. She followed him and they went down some stairs. What kind of place was that? Would they watch the movie at someone's basement?

Getting to the end of the stairs, however, Raven saw a nice lobby with the same posters hanging at the entrance with indications of time and price, dim light and some tables spread all over the place. Three ticket windows were open at the back and a hall took to the exhibition rooms. There was also a snack store with great variety.

"So what do you think?" asked Beast Boy next to her.

"This place is amazing" she said honestly "How did you find it? Why is it so hidden?"

"I don't know, it's not a big place" he shrugged "I fell here once when we were fighting Plasmums. Do you wanna sit?"

Raven followed him to one of the little tables. He was wearing blue jeans, a purple T-Shirt with a black shirt and white sneakers.

"Did you pick the movie?" she questioned, examining the posters.

"Yeah, I did, there're only two rooms each time anyway" he passed her a ticket and she noticed it had been bought while she was surprised with the place's existence.

"How much do I owe you?" she asked, opening her wallet.

"What? No, Raven, I invited you, it's on me" he said quickly, putting his hand over hers and stopping her from opening the wallet completely. She raised her head and their looks crossed for a second. Then he put his hand away as she diverted her look.

"That's stupid, I can pay for my own ticket"

"Never mind that. Anyway, the session starts in fifteen minutes. Did you like my choice?" he tried to change the subject. She bit her bottom lip, knowing she wouldn't be distracted.

"I obviously didn't see the movie, but…" she started, examining the posters "I think that would be my first choice too" Beast Boy was delighted.

"But… These aren't the movies in the usual theaters, are they?"

"Aren't you smart" he laughed. "They're not. Actually, this movie is emptier 'cause it has this 'cult' movies… I thought you might like"

"It is peaceful" she agreed, feeling her cheeks blush to know he had the concern of thinking of something she might like.

"So Rae…" he said after some quiet minutes "Did you know I speak the Upper Lamumba's tribe language?"

"No, I didn't" she shook her head, not knowing what he meant by that.

"See, that's something you didn't know about me!" he exclaimed in a victorious way "Now you"

"What about me?"

"Tell me something I don't know about you"

"Hm… I can speak Sanskrit"

"I already knew that"

"Did you?" she was surprised "How?"

"I asked you once about one of your books language, and you said it was written in Sanskrit" he explained "Another one"

"I…" she thought. She didn't really want to share any of the things that came to her mind with the friend.

"Okay, you suck at this. I'll just ask you instead" he determined, and before she could protest, he asked: "What's your favorite flower?"

"Sunflower" she answered, again, without really thinking.

"Wow, I would never imagine that" he seemed excited "Well, I guess we can go see the movie. But let's get popcorn first!"

"Two buttered popcorns" Raven passed Beast Boy with the wallet on her hands, putting the money on the counter "An ice tea and a Coke"

"Hey" Beast Boy protested, a little confused.

"You paid for tickets, I'll pay the food" she commanded firmly "It's only fair"

"… Okay, deal" he agreed, finding it funny. It was certainly an unusual date.

If it was, in fact, a date.

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