The Teen Titans are owned by some kind of company or something. Idk. All I know is that they aren't mine.

Raven attempted to regulate her breathing as she wiped the tea from her mouth. She knew Beast Boy was only teasing her, but the fact that he did so in front of the whole team made her feel a tad bit uncomfortable.

She should have been moderately flattered by the compliment, but the fact that he was able to say it so casually proved how deep into the friendzone she was. It was a bad sign when he a boy could call her hot and not be flustered by it.

She coughed lightly, still attempting to clear her airway, and the changeling had the decency to show concern as he patted her on the back.

"You okay, Rae?"

No, she wasn't okay. It wasn't fair that he could cause her so much confusion and embarrassment and get away with it. He couldn't just ignore the fact that she was a semi-attractive girl. She had to remind him.

"I'm fine," she managed dryly, before "accidentally" setting her hand on his thigh as she stood from the table. "I just need to change."

She watched from the corner of her eye as he stiffened at her sudden gesture, and though her hand hadn't lingered for a second longer than an "accident", she could tell it got to him. Perfect.

She tried to suppress her smirk as she made her way through the common room doors and towards her room. Beast Boy would not get away with causing her all this distress - she was going to return the favor.

Once she was in her room, she quickly opened her drawer to find some civilian clothes to wear. She didn't have much aside from her workout clothes, but at the very back she found a long-sleeved, v-neck shirt. It was black, and would probably be a little warm for the nice weather outside, but it would have to do. She threw it on quickly, noting how it discreetly reminded onlookers that she was a woman, without being too revealing. Besides, modesty and mystery was way sexier than skimpy. Well, at least she hoped so, anyways.

The neckline dipped past her collarbone, and though it only showed a tad bit of cleavage, she knew it would be a shock compared to her high-collared uniform.

Satisfied that it would have the intended effect, she began searching for bottoms. She realized bitterly that all she had were leggings and yoga-pants, which made her butt look good, but weren't as non-Raven as she was hoping for. Sighing in defeat, she pulled on a pair of dark-grey cropped leggings, causing her outfit to become a little more "comfy" and a little less "sultry" - though she knew if she were given the choice, comfy would probably prevail.

Sort-of satisfied with her outfit as a whole, she made her way towards her rarely used vanity. She opened the drawer and pulled out an old, dust-covered tube of ruby-red lipstick that Starfire had given her ages ago. Popping off the cap and twisting the bottom, she watched apprehensively as the waxy-red product came into view.

She knew there was no way in hell she'd ever wear lipstick to the mall, but she hurriedly dabbed a bit onto the apples of her cheeks, before blending it out and creating a very subtle, natural-looking blush.

Thankfully her eyelashes were already black (or rather, a very dark purple), so she only had to curl them with a lash-curler (another gift from her alien teammate). Makeup was definitely more Starfire's thing, but Raven recalled some of the tips she had learned after being forced to watch tutorials with her teammate on "girls night".

Giving her reflection a skeptical glance, she decided that she looked enough like her normal self to not warrant any questions, yet different enough to earn a second look from the changeling. Or so she hoped.

This kind of deceitfulness was really not her thing, but his casual compliment drew the line - if he was ever going to compliment her again, he had to be flustered and embarrassed like the day before. This cocky, teasing Beast Boy had to go.

A knock on her door reminded her that she had left breakfast rather abruptly, and she found herself hoping it was the changeling coming to apologize. She opened the door slowly, only to feel her heart sink as she took in the smiling face of the alien.

"I hope you are well, friend!" Starfire cried cheerfully, before her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Your appearance seems altered."

Raven arched a brow quizzically, somewhat surprised at the keenness of her teammate. "It does?" she deadpanned.

Starfire nodded slowly, before shaking away her thoughts. "Never mind - we must get ready for the trip to the mall of shopping! I trust you are already done with the primping?"

The empath held back a snort of amusement - like she'd ever be caught dead "primping".

"I'm ready to go, yes," she replied dryly.

The orange girl smiled brilliantly. "Glorious! I shall change into the appropriate attire, and then we may proceed to the sales!" She began to fly down the hall, before stopping suddenly and turning back towards the pale girl. "Please to the getting of friend Beast Boy!"

Raven nodded in response, before making her way back towards the common room. Oh, she'd get Beast Boy all right. One way, or another.

As the three titans walked through the mall, Raven couldn't help but notice the male attention her and Starfire were receiving. In all honesty, most of it was directed at the alien, who was wearing a white miniskirt and a lace, pink crop-top (and still managed to look sweet and innocent), but Raven had caught a few eyes as well. Which apparently didn't sit well with her green teammate.

She could feel the protectiveness oozing off of him as they walked side-by-side, and she couldn't help but wonder why he seemed so disgruntled by the lingering stares directed at her. She could read his emotions clear as day, and all she was picking up was the regular feel of friendship, along with an underlying spark of anger. But why in the world was he angry?

Raven loved that he was feeling that way, but she couldn't for the life of her come up with a reasonable answer - he was just angry. He had literally growled when she was approached by a somewhat attractive guy, who had only smiled at her and quickly walked away, obviously not wanting to deal with an angry superhero.

She had given Beast Boy a questioning glance, and he had the decency to at least feel a little embarrassed. But that was all he felt - there was nothing to warrant his sudden protectiveness of her. And it was even more confusing that he didn't seem to feel protective over Starfire, who had taken almost twenty pictures with some of her male fans.

Deciding that her theories would only get her so far, she finally mustered up the courage to confront him. Waiting as Starfire was approached by another fan, she pulled the changeling aside.

"What's your problem, Beast Boy?"

He gave her bewildered look, obviously confused by the lack of hostility in her voice.

"Huh?"

She rolled her eyes at his incompetence - was she really crushing on a guy who was so thick-headed?

"You're literally growling at all of my fans - what, are you jealous that I'm more popular than you?" She made sure to keep her tone light, so that he wouldn't think she was just picking a fight.

Again, she felt a wave of embarrassment pour off of him. "Oh, uh... sorry," he replied sheepishly, not answering her question at all.

She suppressed a groan of frustration as she gave him a pointed look. "I'm serious, Beast Boy. Why are you being so... weird?"

She cringed internally at the pathetic way she worded her sentence, but figured it would get the job done.

He looked away bashfully, and she could see the reluctance on his face; he obviously didn't want to tell her something. Which made her want to know even more.

"What?" she pressed, unconsciously leaning towards him.

He continued to avoid eye contact as she waited for his answer.

"I-I can smell them, Rae," he started uncertainly.

She gave him a bewildered look - what did he mean by that? He could smell everybody!

As if sensing her confusion, he elaborated. "Let's just say, I can tell what they're thinking when they look at you... and I don't like it."

She felt herself blush as she picked up on what he meant. Being an empath meant that she, too, realized what the guys had been thinking when they saw her, but she had no idea how much she had been... affecting them.

"They have the same thoughts about Starfire," she blurted, not really meaning to say it out loud.

Beast Boy nodded in agreement, surprisingly unembarrassed by her observation. "Yeah, but Starfire's completely oblivious to it all, whereas you can sense what these dudes are thinking, and I just don't want you to think of yourself as a piece of meat or something."

Raven was floored by his reasoning - it was honestly one of the sweetest things anyone had ever told her. And sure, he only meant it as a concerned friend, but it did nothing to prevent the fluttering in her stomach.

"Oh," she started awkwardly, unsure of how to express how touched she was. "Uhm, thank you, I guess."

He finally looked at her, a small, shy smile on his lips. "I know you probably don't get it much, but you're a lot more than a pretty girl, Rae. And someday, you'll find a guy who isn't a total moron."

She returned his smile with a bittersweet one of her own, and felt as if her heart were about to pound out of her chest as she soaked in his words.

I'm pretty sure I've already found him...

Since I still feel kinda bad about taking awhile to update, I've decided to post another chapter! And this one is kinda cute! Lol I hope you all enjoy your pity-chapter!

Sorry for taking more than a day to update (cough cough, impatient much? cough)

Just kidding! I love you guys!

Anywhoo, review?