Chapter 8

They had been searching for three hours. Three long, unproductive hours. Raven shifted uncomfortably in her seat, ready for a break. After their discussion about directions turned into an argument before they had even taken off, Beast Boy had remained silent the rest of the trip thus far. Raven brought her ship lower in the air, mind and eyes alert for Plasmus.

"Uh, Raven?" Beast Boy's voice came over the intercom, a little unsteady after three hours without use.

"What?" she replied curtly.

"I, um, just wanted to say that I was sorry. About earlier. I mean, you were right and all, about the directions, but... I'm sorry I was so argumentative."

Raven was quiet for a moment. Well, that was mature of him, she thought, somewhat impressed. She considered his words, but Beast Boy took her silence to mean something else.

"Look, I know you probably didn't want to be stuck with me on this trip—actually, I know you didn't want to be stuck with me on this trip, and I'm sorry for that too but—"

"Beast Boy," Raven cut him off.

"Yeah?"

Raven sighed. She hated admitting any sentiment towards him, as it always went straight to his head, but he sounded so down and self-depreciating...

"I don't completely hate being paired with you." His face perked up immediately. "You're... more mature than you used to be." There, she thought, that should suffice.

Suffice it did. Beast Boy was well-acquainted enough with Raven to know that that was the best compliment he would get out of her. His demeanor lightened, easing her guilt and causing her to don a soft smile.

"Well, thank you. You're less, um... scary than you used to be." She raised a brow, but the smirk remained. "What? I mean, you just smiled. You know I can see you smiling, right?"

Hmm. She had forgotten about the video screens that currently gave the two visual and audio on each other. She made an attempt to turn her lips in the opposite direction.

Beast Boy chuckled and opened his mouth to say something when he was cut off by the ring of the communicator.

"Robin calling Titans." His voice filled Raven's pod as she tapped on the screen to pull up Robin's image.

"Do you have something?" she asked eagerly.

"No, not yet. How about you two?"

"Nope, we've got nothing," Beast Boy responded.

"Starfire? Cyborg?"

"We have yet to locate the villain Plasmus," Starfire replied with a sigh.

"Keep looking," Robin said with determination. "And remember to keep stopping and talking to locals. They might have noticed something that could help us track him." The screen went blank for a moment, then returned to the image of Beast Boy.

"Heh, guess we kinda dropped the ball on that one," he said to Raven. It was true: they hadn't stopped once since they left the others.

"Well, all I see is farms, woods, and... oh great. A truck stop." She reluctantly lowered her ship, slowing down as she approached the rest stop, which appeared to have a gas station and a small diner.

Raven landed the ship next the trucks in the far corner of the mostly empty parking lot. Beast Boy landed his beside her, jumping out and jogging to catch up with her as she stalked hastily towards the diner. She wasted no time; she was eager to get this mission over with.

The bell above the door jingled as Raven threw it open and approached the bar counter. She could hear Beast Boy's grunt as the door slammed back on him, but he scampered to her side quickly, if not without a dirty look. She tapped her fingers impatiently on the counter as a young waitress ambled over.

She stopped right in front of them, one hand holding a notepad, the other on her hip. She had one brow raised and looked at them expectantly.

"Hi," Raven drawled after a few awkward seconds. "My name is Raven and this is Beast Boy. We're from the—"

"Oh, I know who you are," she said with a grin, looking at Beast Boy. "You're from the Teen Titans."

"Fantastic. We're trying to locate an escaped criminal called Plasmus. We want to know if you've seen him or heard about anything unusual happening in this area." She pulled out her communicator. "Here's a picture of him."

The girl made a face. "Uh, nope. I'd remember seeing something like that."

"Yeah, he's not much of a looker, is he?" Beast Boy said.

The girl, whose name-tag read "Jennifer," giggled and continued to stare at Beast Boy, grinning coyly. Raven, whose eyes now traveled over to her teammate to see what was so intriguing, gagged a bit as she caught sight of him leaning towards "Jennifer" with one arm on the counter, an equally stupid grin plastered on his face.

"Well, if you do see anything suspicious, please report it to your local police department." Raven could tell her words went in one ear and out the other.

"And thank you—" Beast Boy looked at her name-tag— "Jennifer, for all of your help."

"Oh, you can call me Jenny," she smiled flirtatiously. "And thank you, for all you do."

"That's our job, Jenny," he smiled back.

"Well, we really appreciate it out here, Beast Boy," she drawled, pausing for a beat. "Beast Boy. That's quite a name to live up to." She winked.

Raven threw up a little in her mouth.

Before he could reply, Raven grabbed the back of his collar and yanked him towards the door. "I think it's time we get going," she said in a deadpan.

"Bye, Beast Boy! It was nice to meet you!" the girl called from behind them.

Beast Boy had righted himself, now moving towards the door of his own volition, but turned back around to give her a final wave. Once outside, Raven glanced towards him and raised a displeased brow.

"What?" he blushed.

Raven, at a loss for words, shook her head and started back towards the ships.

"Hey, wait a sec, I wanted to stop by the gas station and pick up some snacks before we head out again," he called after her.

"Didn't you pack some?"

"Yeah, but I ate them already," Beast Boy admitted.

"Boys," Raven mumbled. "Make it quick."

"Yes, ma'am!" Beast Boy shouted, retreating to the station's convenience store.

Raven floated up into her pod, settling herself in for another long ride. She tapped her fingers on the controls, trying to push the last ten minutes from her brain. Watching Beast Boy flirt (if that's what he calls it) made Raven feel incredibly awkward, irritated, and... possessive? Is that the right feeling? She contemplated with confusion. It was because Beast Boy was her family and her friend, right? He was her friend. Somehow, though, she just couldn't conjure the same feeling when she imagined Robin or Cyborg in that place. What, am I protective over him or something? She thought incredulously.

Raven slumped into the seat with her head back and her arms crossed, waiting for Beast Boy to return.

Stupid, stupid, stupid... Beast Boy chanted over and over again in his head as he navigated down the narrow aisles. What on earth had possessed him to act like such an idiot with that girl? In front of Raven!

I take one step forward with Raven, then two steps back! he ranted in his head. He pulled various snack items from the shelves, at least pleased with the selection. They had not only puffed, but twisted puffy Cheetos.

She was clearly irritated with him now. Good going, Beast Boy. Now you'll be having all kinds of conversation the rest of the way. You'll be her new best friend!

He wasn't really interested in that girl. She was cute, but... she isn't someone like Raven.

Beast Boy sat on that thought for a few seconds. I mean, of course I want to date someone like Raven. Smart, powerful, brave, kick-ass. It's like when guys like the same things in the chicks they date that they like about their mothers. Wait, that came out wrong...

Great. Now I can't even think right. Beast Boy tried to clear his head. Besides, Raven is not like a mother to you. She's... well, you said she was like a sister the other day. She and Starfire are. Starfire is like the innocent one you want to shelter, and Raven is like the hot one that you kind of have this thing for but not really because she's your sister and...

Beast Boy stopped himself again. Well, that's zero for two, he sighed. But it stopped him in his tracks. His stomach clenched and his heart beat a little faster. Did he have a thing for Raven? Could he have a thing for her?

Beast Boy shook his head, forcefully dropping the subject and instead moving on to the simple task of selecting what type of soda he wanted. He was going to be with Raven for the next two days. Now was not the time to be thinking about this.