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Little Do You Know
"I can't believe that jerk ruined karaoke night." Garfield quietly told Raven as she sat by his side on the couch. "I meant to find a new song to serenade you with."
The empath fought back a smile. "I see. So I don't make you stutter anymore?"
"You know you do." The Changeling grinned charmingly. "But I thought maybe you didn't want me to be so obvious since technically we're not together."
Raven smiled softly and tilted her head to the side a little. "That's considerate of you."
Then she was suddenly distracted by a wave of heartache emanating from Wally West. She looked at him and then followed his gaze to see Jinx and Superboy talking in the corner.
Garfield noticed she was distracted and by what. "Oh, yeah. That."
"That?"
The Changeling nodded and lowered his voice even more. "Look inside my head…"
The sorcerer discreetly went into his mind so she could hear his thoughts.
They disappeared for a while then came back all flustered and everything. I think she cheated on Wally.
Raven frowned. Oh.
Oh?
I just…I don't find that likely. She really loves him.
Garfield nodded. Right, but…what else could it be? You were healing Damian when they came back, but they looked really guilty.
Raven exhaled and left his mind. "Well…that's disappointing."
"Yeah. And what about that?" The shapeshifter tilted his head a little towards where Terra and Aqualad were laughing together while Speedy got her a glass of water.
Thank Azar he's noticed this. Raven's eyes widened ever so slightly. "I know, right? I don't think you saw it but when-"
"What are you two whispering about all secretively?" Cyborg sat down on a chair across from them, waggling his eyebrows. "Something…personal?"
Raven rolled her eyes. "Don't be absurd."
"We're gossiping." The Changeling said breezily.
Bumblebee sat on Victor's lap and chuckled. "Oh, interesting. We're in."
"Yes! Share. Now." Cyborg said eagerly.
Garfield laughed light-heartedly. "Yeah okay but first, I really liked your duet. Rae liked it too. Didn't you, Rae?"
"Oh, it was delightful." Raven said stoically, with just a hint of sarcasm behind it.
Karen just blushed a little, but Victor was absolutely exasperated. "Right but about that, what was that!? And are we going to be the only ones that-" His protest was interrupted by music coming out of nowhere. They looked around to find no source. "Ohhh it's happening again!"
"Superstar, where you from? How's it going?" Jinx started singing to Superboy.
Everyone but Kid Flash gasped in shock watching her smile teasingly at him while singing the first verses of Womanizer(Britney Spears). Kid Flash didn't gasp because his body basically shut down the second she started.
"Ohhh this isn't good…" Garfield whispered.
Conner was smiling charmingly at her and running a hand through his perfect hair, taking steps backwards while the enchantress walked towards him, unknowingly approaching Terra, whose voice made him turn around for the next few verses.
"Look at you…" The blonde sang, twirling around flirtatiously.
Speedy dropped the glass of water he was getting for her and huffed. "Oh, c'moon!"
"No no no no…Star!" Richard called after his girlfriend as she went into trance and made her way to join the number. He grumbled under his breath. "Awesome."
Starfire joined in to defiantly sing the first verses of the chorus right to Conner's smug, unfazed face at the same time Bumblebee slowly got up from Cyborg's lap in spite of his protests and danced towards the singing party.
"Noo, not you too!" Victor whined.
Karen walked in circles around Superboy, singing the second part of the chorus to him. She was the least flirty one and was singing in an almost warning tone, but there was still some playfulness in her voice.
"Well this is extremely uncomfortable to watch." Rose Wilson folded her arms at the scene while the four girls were now taking turns singing verses to a blissful Superboy.
Damian just nodded slowly, furrowing his brows. It was utterly ridiculous, but he couldn't look away. At least he was momentarily distracted from his agony.
Raven looked down at her arm when she felt Garfield's hand grasp it gently, but firmly. Then she looked up at his face to see him watching the group number intently. "Gar?"
The Changeling immediately averted his gaze to her, with a glint of fear in his eyes. Please don't go there. Please don't get up. "Y-yeah?"
The empath raised an eyebrow. "Why are you holding my arm?"
"Huh?" I'm not. Wait, am I? Garfield looked down and saw that his hand was, indeed, securely wrapped around her arm. He let go at once. "Oh, sorry! I didn't realize..."
"I'm not going out there." Raven whispered, tilting her head towards the girls who were now all dancing and singing around Conner.
The shapeshifter exhaled air he didn't even realize he had been holding and shot her a grateful smile. "Are you resisting it or just getting no urge to sing about him?"
Raven shrugged. "No urge."
Garfield's smile widened. "Because you're immune to his charms!?"
The empath rolled her eyes. "I guess."
His grin became gigantic and idiotic while he examined her face. She's the only one who's not there. I mean, other than Rose, but he doesn't hit on Rose. And now she's smiling at me. She's trying to hide it, but she's smiling. My girl. My girl is the best girl. No, wait, she's not my girl. I mean, not really. Chill, Garfield. Still…she IS smiling at me.
"Okay, relax. This level of happiness is completely unjustified." Raven said pointedly. "It's not a big deal."
"Hey guys? How do we end this?" Nightwing approached them urgently.
"Yeah." Victor said grumpily from where he was narrowing his eyes, watching the rest of the uncomfortably flirty routine play out. "How?"
Raven sighed. "Let me get my books. I'll figure out a way to reverse this curse."
Garfield chuckled. "I mean, curse is a bit extreme…"
"Oh, this is a curse." Richard fumed, with his arms folded.
When the girls finally stopped, everyone but Superboy was mortified. Bumblebee hid her face with her hand and walked back to Cyborg. Starfire frowned and folded her arms, feeling absolutely outraged that out of all the nice things this spell could have made her sing about, this was what it did to her. Terra and Jinx blushed and looked away awkwardly, avoiding both Conner and their boyfriends' eyes.
Raven floated back into the ops room after retrieving several books from her room and realized they were done. "Well thank Azar that one is over."
"Actually as fun as that was for me, I do think it's clear we have a problem now." Conner said. "This spell…it forces people to sing what they feel whether they like it or not."
"So you're saying it makes people reveal secrets." Kid Flash said sternly. He didn't really need confirmation, he was a hundred percent sure he'd been cheated on at this point. And he didn't want to hear Jinx sing some heartbreaking song about it.
"Definitely." Superboy said calmly. He didn't like being forced to express, but he figured there were several unspoken feelings to be sung before the spell got to him, so he was chilling.
Raven closed her eyes and grimaced because of her friends' fear and anxiety. Garfield placed a supportive hand on her back and she took a deep breath.
"Wanna go back to your room? Or the roof?" The shapeshifter whispered to her.
She opened her eyes after both Bumblebee and Starfire managed to convince their boyfriends that whatever attraction they felt for Conner didn't mean anything. The empath exhaled in relief, because she knew it was the truth. "Maybe later. Thank you."
"Can I help you with these?" Garfield asked, picking up a book. "What should I look for?"
Raven smiled softly at him, taking a different book. "Anything on how to lift curses or cancel spells in general."
"Gotcha." The Changeling grinned reassuringly at her and started flipping through the pages.
"Why are you being weird?" Jinx asked her boyfriend by the kitchen counter. "I told you that song didn't mean anything. All the other girls sang it too; it was just about Conner being a player. Besides, this whole thing is dumb anyway."
"Ravager didn't sing it. Neither did Raven." Wally said pointedly.
Jinx rolled her eyes. "Well that's probably because they're both too morose for it."
"Well it's not about the song, Jinx. And I'm not being weird."
"Sure you are. Will you just tell me what it is about so I can-" The enchantress stopped talking, frowned and spun on her seat at the sound of music playing. "Seriously? Again?"
"Is that the melody to Jessie's Girl?" Cyborg asked worriedly.
"Isn't that the song about pining over a friend's girlfriend?" Bumblebee widened her eyes. "Who's singing that!?"
"Jessie is a friend..."
Aqualad's smooth voice turned everyone's heads towards him. Garfield felt immensely relieved when he realized the aquatic Titan was singing directly to Terra and Speedy, who had just gotten over the whole Womanizer fiasco. Aqualad sang the first verses of Jessie's Girl (Rick Springfield) and if looks could kill, he would have dropped dead from the way Speedy was glaring at him. Terra on the other hand was a little embarrassed, but clearly flattered. She couldn't help but blush a little. When he got to the chorus everyone noticed other voices had joined in and turned around to see Mas and Menos singing to Starfire with eager eyes. The Tamaranean actively tried to hide behind her boyfriend, but the twins just danced in circles around them.
Conner smirked. "And you guys thought my song was uncomfortable."
"Yeah this is difficult to watch." Jinx agreed.
"But does everyone sound a little better than usual?" Superboy chuckled.
"Yeah maybe that's part of it. Like the music coming out of nowhere." Bumblebee shrugged, being absolutely distracted by the scene in front of her.
Suddenly, Garfield felt his stomach turn and all his relief was gone, because Aqualad started singing the verses again and he could tell his voice was much closer, actually right behind him and Raven on the couch. He could tell she'd tensed up beside him too.
"…when they start talking cute…" At this point Aqualad was kneeled down in front of them, bringing the book that was in front of Raven's face down and singing to her.
If Terra had been a little embarrassed, the empath was completely mortified. She crossed her legs, looked away and placed a hand on her forehead, tilting her head down to try to hide as much of her face as she could. And if Speedy's glare had been intense, Garfield's was ten times worse. He resisted the urge to protectively wrap his arms around her the way Speedy and Nightwing had because he wasn't Raven's boyfriend, but to all effects Aqualad was singing as if he was, so he didn't try to disguise his loathing. At the chorus, Mas and Menos joined in again, running after Richard and Kory everywhere they went across the ops room.
"…lovin' him with that body I just know it..." Aqualad elegantly twirled around, singing to Raven and the Changeling.
The empath's face flushed, but because of embarrassment rather than flattery. Garfield's glare intensified.
"This is my favorite one yet." Jinx grinned mischievously, being absolutely entertained.
"You know…I want to look away…but I can't…" Bumblebee whispered to a speechless Cyborg.
When Aqualad started jumping over the couch and dancing with impressive skill, alternating between singing about Terra – who couldn't help but playfully rock her body to the music a little – and Raven, Rose Wilson decided she had seen enough and stood up.
"Well, I certainly can." Ravager said before walking out to go find Damian.
She found him mercilessly destroying a punching bag by himself in the training room. Robin stopped as soon as she walked in.
"You were smart to leave." Rose told him. "It's getting weirder out there."
"Oh?" Damian raised a curious eyebrow. He had fled to get away as soon as he started feeling a strange urge to sing to her. "What's going on?"
Ravager sat down and huffed. "Aqualad and the speed twins are singing a thirsty song about lusting after other people's girls."
Damian genuinely chuckled at that, forgetting his worries for a moment. "You're kidding."
"I would never."
Robin realized his urge to sing to her got even stronger now that they were alone in a room. "Well I understand why you had to escape but I think we need to see the chaos that follows that, don't you?"
Ravager smiled somewhat wickedly and nodded. The song was over now and they could hear some commotion before they even reentered the ops room.
"Is it just every girl I've ever dated!? Why don't you just give Flamebird a call!?" Garfield practically yelled, flailing his arms around in the middle of the ops room.
Aqualad had been feeling regretful, but he considered that idea. "I mean, maybe…"
"What!? No, dude! That's weird!" Garfield squeaked.
"Hold up." Speedy said pointedly, gesturing between the shapeshifter and Raven. "Are you two going steady again?"
The sorcerer answered without looking away from the book in front of her face. "Not really."
"See? Raven is single now!" Speedy said quickly, shooting Aqualad another angry stare. "What are you doing singing about my girlfriend!?"
Garfield glared at the archer and received an apologetic look that screamed sorry, it's every man for himself now.
The aquatic Titan once again contemplated the idea and approached Raven by the couch. "Well, actually, I have been meaning to ask-"
"No." The empath said dryly, once again without looking up from her book.
Aqualad spun on his heels and went back to leaning on the wall and folding his arms, muttering under his breath. "Single. Yeah, right."
Damian and Rose exchanged amused looks and he chuckled whole-heartedly when he saw his brother tiredly rubbing his temples as Mas and Menos smiled at Starfire from afar.
"So…what do you think you're singing about?" Terra asked Raven. She had joined her on the couch as soon as the boys started arguing over them.
"Oh, I'm not singing." The sorcerer said surely.
Bumblebee shared a look with Terra. "How are you so sure? You must have something to get off your chest…"
"I said I'm not singing." Raven repeated blankly. "I refuse to."
The other two girls smiled at her confidence but secretly wished she was wrong, because they were more than a little curious.
"Wally, just say what you mean already!" Jinx suddenly raised her voice.
"Drop it, Jinx." Kid Flash walked away from her.
She followed him. "What is wrong with you!?"
The speedster turned around hastily. "What is wrong with me!?"
Everyone's focus was on them now. Even Raven looked up from her magic books. Jinx glared and opened her mouth to respond, but then, obviously, a soft melody started playing.
Ravager sat cross-legged over the kitchen counter. "Well this is gonna be a disaster."
"You and me we made a vow…" Kid Flash sang with teary eyes.
Raven closed her book shut. "I think I need to get out of here. Excuse me."
The empath floated away, dodging Wally's heartbreaking performance and Jinx's utterly disappointed face on her way. He was singing I'm Not the Only One(Sam Smith) and there were simply too many feelings around and they were too intense. She needed a break. If there wasn't time to meditate, she at least needed a few deep breaths in solitude.
"This is the weirdest thing that's ever happened to us." Nightwing pointed out, looking up from Raven's books to see Jinx looking angry while Wally continued to sing dramatically about being absolutely sure he had been cheated on.
"I agree." Cyborg frowned. "This is even worse than Control Freak!"
"Yes…" Starfire nodded. "I thought it was fun at first but now I think it can cause a lot of the problems."
"Yeah and how long will this last for?" Garfield asked worriedly. "I mean, what if we need to go fight crime or something!?"
"Are you dreading your turn?" Conner smirked at him.
The Changeling shrugged. "Just a little, I guess. I'm probably just gonna sing about Rae, though. I think I'm fine with that."
"Are you dreading her turn?" Superboy asked insightfully.
Garfield grimaced slightly. He was obsessing over that a bit. He wasn't dying to hear her sing about not loving him anymore or still resenting him deep down or something.
Starfire noticed. "Do not worry, friend BB! She probably won't even do the singing."
"I know I'm not the only one…"
They turned around and held their breaths as Wally wrapped it up. Jinx looked absolutely heartbroken too. They both had tears in their eyes. Kid Flash fell silent the second the spell released him from his trance.
"What the fuck was that about?" Jinx hissed after a few seconds.
Kid Flash was nearly panting to avoid breaking down. "I think it was pretty clear…"
"You think I cheated on you?" She angrily narrowed her eyes.
"I know you did. You and Conner disappeared for like forty minutes then came back all flustered, I'm not stupid!"
Superboy suddenly straightened up. "Woah, wait a minute-"
"I really don't want to talk to you right now, Conner." Wally said menacingly.
"No, but-" Superboy pressed, but stopped and exhaled when the speedster ran out. He could follow him of course, but he didn't want to risk them bursting into song about this in the middle of Jump City. "Shit."
"I hate to tell you, but that's what happens when you go around kissing other people's girlfriends." Dick said pointedly.
Conner frowned. "I didn't. I mean, I would. I definitely would. But I didn't."
"Yeah, right." Garfield scoffed.
Superboy was absolutely outraged. "Does anyone believe me?"
"About what?" Raven asked, reentering the room. With Wally gone it was slightly easier to stay there, though the heartache emanating from Jinx wasn't that much better. She frowned at her fellow sorcerer, standing in the middle of the room with a lost stare in her eyes.
"Making out with Jinx." Bumblebee muttered.
"He didn't!" The enchantress yelled before hastily leaving the room without another word.
Raven floated to the others' side between the couch and the TV. And then she rolled her eyes in annoyance when music started playing again. "What now?"
Terra got up from the couch in a trance and sensually walked around it. "Rule number one…"
The empath took an intake of breath and puffed her chest, doing her best to control her face, because Terra sang the first verses of How to Be a Heartbreaker (MARINA) while flirtatiously caressing Garfield's hair and chest from behind the couch. He frowned and was slightly startled at first, but then he went into trance too and smiled up at her. Raven's whole body stiffened and her best efforts couldn't disguise her scorn anymore so she folded her arms and glared unapologetically while everyone else watched worriedly. She didn't exhale until Terra removed her hands from him and went to Speedy's side, but even then, she couldn't relax, because the shapeshifter was still in a trance and he was standing up now.
"Rule number two…" The blonde sang, walking around her boyfriend and teasing him with a flirty hand on his shoulder.
And then it got really weird, because she sang the chorus while dancing tango with both her boyfriend and her ex at the same time. Raven puffed her chest a bit more and held her breath as Terra switched partner again and again, being charming and openly naughty the whole time. The lights flickered in the entire tower and a large crack appeared on the window.
"Friend Raven, are you okay?" Starfire whispered to her best friend.
She was not okay. Her jaw was clenched and she was focusing on not losing control and accidentally dropping the ceiling over Terra and Beast Boy's heads. "Oh, I'm wonderful. I'm so glad I came out of my room for this."
"See? You should have made out with me. You still can." Conner said breezily, folding his arms behind his head, earning warning glares from both Nightwing and Cyborg.
Raven didn't even look away, though. She was a little relieved when the chorus ended, because Terra moved on to sing to Aqualad.
"Rule number three…"
"Conner?" Nightwing frowned when Superboy went into trance and stood up, slowly walking towards the blonde as she danced around with the aquatic Titan.
"Rule number four…" Terra smiled at Conner and sang the verses with her back pressed to his chest, moving her hips along with his.
"Poor Speedy…" Cyborg mumbled.
Terra danced tango with Aqualad and Superboy during the second chorus and Raven finally exhaled heavily. She felt a lot better now. Okay, this isn't a song about Gar still having feelings for her. This is just a song about Terra being a player. He's her ex, of course he's in it. She's broken his heart a few times. This isn't that bad. For me, that is. It's pretty bad for Speedy.
Terra sang the bridge of the song seductively in the middle of all four boys as they danced around her and took turns twirling her and lifting her and doing the dip with her while shooting her hungry eyes.
Okay but I don't need this shit. The empath cleared her throat and forced her eyes to look away from him. "I'm not watching this." She teleported to her room before her powers caused even more damage than they already had.
The last chorus was even flirtier and Starfire was happy Raven wasn't there. It was actually really good choreography and it would be highly entertaining if it wasn't so inappropriate.
"At least I think I do." Terra whispered the final words directly to Speedy, with her hands pressed to his chest and his arms around her.
And then they all snapped out of it. And Speedy's face became extremely hurt. And Terra's, extremely regretful. Aqualad and Superboy tried to conceal their contentment. The Changeling rubbed his head and as soon as he realized what had just happened, he looked around for Raven. She wasn't there. And everyone else was as silent as they were awkward. Except for Damian and Rose, who just seemed amused and entertained, leaning over the kitchen counter. And Jinx, who reentered the ops room, but was still too upset to care about why they were all acting so dramatically weird towards one another.
"Roy…" Terra whispered to her boyfriend.
Speedy pulled away from her. "No, don't. Just…I need to be alone."
He left to go punch the punching bag in the training room and Nightwing followed him for support. The blond Titan exhaled and rubbed her arms, biting her lip. Aqualad tried to reach her to comfort her, but Superboy got there first.
Garfield turned to the two amused teens by the kitchen counter. "Where is she?"
"Oh, she left before she accidentally murdered you both." Ravager said, poorly fighting back a smile. "You're in trouble."
Damian chuckled loudly beside her.
The Changeling slapped his own face in frustration and grunted. "Fuck."
Terra's eyes suddenly widened as she listened to them. Oh, shit. Raven. She turned around to see Garfield heading towards the empath's room. "No, wait! Let me go first." She said, hurriedly walking past him. "It was my song." I can't fuck up this friendship again.
The shapeshifter hesitated, but her eyes and voice had a pleading urgency to them and she was already gone, so he sighed heavily and collapsed on the couch again. "I hate this spell."
Cyborg elbowed him encouragingly. "Hey, it's all good."
The Changeling opened his eyes to stare at his friend skeptically and then he saw the huge crack on their glass window and frowned. Was that her?
Bumblebee noticed what he was staring at and nodded, practically reading his mind. "Yeah, that was her." She decided to elaborate when his eyes widened. "But hey, if it helps, I think she relaxed when Conner and Aqualad joined in."
Garfield glared at the aquatic Titan. He was still feeling sour about Jessie's Girl. "You're a bad friend, by the way, you know that?"
Aqualad scratched his head apologetically. "I…I've just been a little unlucky in love, okay?"
"Hey, Aqualad!" Ravager shouted from where she and Robin were practically giggling. Once the others turned their attention to them, she cleared her throat. "How come you control water and you're still so thirsty?"
The teens burst out laughing and the older Titans rolled their eyes at the joke. Except for Garfield and Superboy – they laughed whole-heartedly. Then Terra and Raven's voices sounded from the corridor and everyone fell silent to listen intently.
"Raven, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to dance with him."
"You can dance with him, Terra. I don't own him."
"Then why are you mad?"
"I'm not." Raven hastily walked – not floated, walked – back into the ops room and quickly headed to the couch, sitting down and picking up a book without meeting anyone's eyes.
Garfield grimaced from the other end of the couch, unsure of whether he wanted her to look up at him or not. Everyone else's curious eyes on the empath suddenly disappeared when her powers pushed them all away until no one was crowding her anymore.
Terra rushed in after her. "I don't even know what that was, Rae! I swear, this is worse than the Lasso of Truth!"
"Tell me about it." Jinx grumbled sadly.
"Wait, what? When did we use the Lasso of Truth?" Cyborg frowned.
"Not you, us. Girls night." Bumblebee answered.
Terra was tapping her foot in front of the empath, who was holding up a book to her face. "Raven, stop ignoring me."
The sorcerer looked up slightly. The truth was she knew she had no right to be annoyed. And yet, she was. "I'm not ignoring you, Terra. I simply don't have anything to say."
The blonde narrowed her eyes and then decisively and boldly sat on Raven's lap, with her arms folded and her chin up. "Well try ignoring me now."
The empath glared at her at first, but her annoyance quickly switched targets when she sensed Superboy and Aqualad's arousal, so she let out a disgusted sound and blindfolded them with dark energy. Terra immediately understood and chuckled light-heartedly.
And then Raven looked at her and her heart softened up. She knew they weren't in love. And these song choices were clearly out of their control. Besides, it was Raven's stalker who caused all of this in the first place. She sighed. "Terra…just give me some time, okay? This whole thing is stressing me out. I have to sense everyone's embarrassment and heartache while trying to find a way to end this...besides, shouldn't you be talking to Speedy?"
Terra bit her lip and grimaced remorsefully.
"Hey, what's going on!?" Superboy complained. Her magic even blocked his X-Ray vision.
"Yeah man, let us see!" Aqualad protested.
The Changeling chuckled, smiling fondly at the girls. "She's still on her lap. So hang in there."
"And stop complaining or I'll gag you, too." Raven said pointedly, studying Terra's face and feelings. Aqualad and Superboy mumbled something under their breaths, but stopped talking. She leaned in and whispered to the blonde. "You've fallen out of love, haven't you?"
"I just…" Terra searched for the words in her head. "I've been sorta wanting to be single again and…well, I don't know how to tell him."
The empath frowned a little. "I hate to break it to you, Ter, but I think you just did."
The blonde grunted. "Shit. This isn't how I wanted to do this."
"I don't doubt that. Still, you should clear the air with him. Also, get off my lap." Raven said stoically.
Terra bit her lip again. "But are we okay?"
The sorcerer rolled her eyes. "We're okay if you get off my lap."
The blonde stood up immediately and beamed at her. Then Raven removed the dark energy from Conner and Aqualad's eyes and Terra blushed under their intrigued gazes. The sorcerer rolled her eyes again and floated to the kitchen to get a glass of water. Starfire followed her.
"Friend Raven, do not worry, we will find a solution…"
The empath drank the water and restored the usual blank expression on her face. "We better. I swear, if this spell forces me to express myself…"
"Yeah, I agree." Damian said pointedly. He had been resisting the urge to sing for a while now. He definitely had stuff to sing about. "I feel sick just thinking about it."
"I might actually puke." Rose nodded.
At this point, Nightwing and Speedy came back and Terra pulled the archer aside to apologize and explain what that song had meant.
Starfire ignored the younger Titans on the counter and addressed her best friend. "Even if it does, what's the worst that can happen? You sing about still loving Garfield?" When the empath shot her a light glare, she chuckled. "Rae, we kind of already know."
"Yep." Damian confirmed.
Rose nodded again. "Yeah that's not the huge secret you think it is."
"No, I…I don't think it's a…" Raven sighed tiredly. "That's not what I'm afraid of singing about."
"Oh?" Kory tilted her head in curiosity.
"Kor, I…" The sorcerer stopped talking and frowned at Robin, who was clearly struggling, trying to resist some kind of impulse…oh, wait. Is he going to sing? "Damian?"
"Yeah, you!" Speedy, Aqualad, Mas and Menos sang in unison.
Mysterious, upbeat music came out of nowhere.
"Yeah, you!" Nightwing, Superboy, Cyborg and Changeling sang it the second time.
And then Robin couldn't fight it anymore. "I used to wanna be…"
Ravager had been frowning at the boys singing to the pop-rock melody with excited grins on their faces, but then when she heard Damian's voice singing next to her, her head turned to him in shock. And then she took a sharp intake of breath in horror, because he was singing Somebody to You (The Vamps) directly to her. Rose freaked out and took a few steps backwards, but he just took a few steps forward and continued his musical confession.
"Shit." Raven whispered before exchanging a concerned look with Starfire. It was all very cute and charming, but she knew Damian would feel exposed.
Rose Wilson was beyond overwhelmed. She heard what he was singing and it wasn't that she didn't like it; it was that she kind of did. It was confusing. He was openly singing about falling in love and the lyrics were as intense as they were flattering, but she didn't know how to feel about it and she didn't want to deal with it in front of everyone.
So when he got to the chorus, she tried to run away. But when she turned around, Cyborg blocked her way. Then she ran to the other side and Conner did. Every boy in the room was in a trance and they were all singing backup to Damian and everywhere she turned, there was a boy to make sure she couldn't leave. Garfield and Richard gently pulled her by the hands and made her sit down on the couch. Then Damian got in front of her and sang the next verses twirling and dancing in a cool and charming manner.
After he sang the line about needing to know her lips, Rose's flushed face turned to Raven. "Teleport me out of here!"
The empath bit her lip and shook her head apologetically. It was too late for that. Now that could hurt Damian even more.
"Oh, oh, oh, now!"
By the second chorus, the boys got behind Robin to back him up with some boy band choreography. Garfield was digging this one. It was cheerful and sweet. And he managed to glance at Raven more than a few times and wink, and he definitely saw her blush. Nightwing and Cyborg stole glances at Starfire and Bumblebee too. Rose saw a chance to escape once they were all behind Batman's son and got up to run away again, but there were speedsters in that group. Mas and Menos blocked her way and when she turned back around she froze, because Damian was suddenly standing so damn close to her.
"Look at me now, I'm falling…" He sang quietly and truthfully.
Ravager's heart skipped a beat. Her stomach filled with butterflies. Fuck. What is happening!? Don't look into his eyes. Get out, Rose. Get out, get out, get out. She looked away from his deep, green eyes and realized she was surrounded again. Damian was extra cute on the last chorus and she could feel her heart melting and it absolutely terrified her.
"Yeah, you!"
As soon as they were done and began snapping out of it, Rose and Damian stared at each other wide-eyed and embarrassed for about three seconds before he ran out without a word and then she ran out in a completely different direction.
Raven sensed his anger, regret, hurt and anxiety the second he was done. So she silently floated after him and knocked softly on his door. "Damian, open up."
"Leave me alone." Robin grumbled from inside his room.
The empath sighed. "Listen, it wasn't that bad."
"Easy for you to say, you haven't sung at all."
Raven frowned. She had actually started feeling an itching desire to sing her feelings out, but she was adamant about resisting it. "Right, that's fair. But let me in anyway."
"Go. Away. I don't need your pity."
"Good, you don't have it." She said plainly. "And mind your tone."
He sighed loudly and grunted at the same time. Freaking Doomsday.
"Damian Wayne, stop feeling sorry for yourself. So you like a girl. It's not the end of the world. And we actually have been through the end of the world a few times."
Raven smiled slightly – but triumphantly – when he opened the door with a tired, skeptical look. She didn't wait for an invitation and floated inside.
Robin shut his door. "Are you here to tell me I should pursue these feelings?"
"Maybe I'm here to tell you suffocating them will get you nowhere."
Damian huffed and folded his arms. "Well I'm not acting on them. So do you have anything useful to say? Like how to kill these…what am I talking about? Of course you don't." He said bitterly. "If you knew how to get rid of this, you wouldn't be in love with Beast Boy."
Raven frowned. "I know you're hurting, but I really don't like your tone. I'm here because I care about you. So tone down the attitude."
That got to him a little. Her voice was calm and stern and it made him feel ashamed. Damian relaxed his muscles to get out of the defensive headspace he was in and sat on his bed, cradling his head in his hands. "Sorry."
She smiled softly. "You know I could take it away, but I won't. These feelings are yours and you're supposed to experience them. And I know this wasn't how you would have planned to tell her…" She waited for his bitter laughter. "…but it's done now. Aren't you curious to talk to her? Don't you want to know if she likes you too? I know it's scary, but…sometimes it's good."
"No, don't give me that." Damian looked up to frown at her. "Love ruined your life. Love got you captured and tortured and nearly enslaved. Then love cost you your freedom and senses, it nearly made you lose sight of who you are. Don't try to tell me it's a good thing." He said pointedly. "And I know, I know. I'm not you, I'm human. But…that doesn't mean I'd be okay."
Raven took a deep breath and sat down next to him. "That's all very true." She nodded. "But…and I never told you this. In fact, I never told anyone this…"
He straightened up to look at her with curious eyes. "What?"
"Well, when we fought the Dark Phoenix, I was just about to unleash Trigon to fight it when I felt a miniscule spark. And then I risked everything chasing that spark instead of following the plan and that's how I figured out where my white magic comes from. It gave me enough power to expel that monstrous force out of that poor girl's body…"
"Raven? I know all that." Damian chuckled, rolling his eyes. "Starfire tells that story, like, every week."
The empath smiled slightly. "Yes, but…what you don't know because she couldn't tell you because only Garfield knows is…well, is why I did it. Why I recklessly abandoned reason for hope and so why Jean and I are both alive today."
Now he was truly curious. When she put it like that, it did sound very out of character for Raven. "Why?"
"Because Gar asked me not to die."
Damian's frown disappeared and was replaced by surprised, wide eyes. "Oh."
"He made me promise to do everything in my power to live. There were four eyes on my face already when his voice in my head made me push Trigon back to the shadows as soon as I felt that spark." Raven told him in a soft voice. She could see and sense that now the young Robin was lost in thought and she stood up. "So you see, sometimes love makes you incredibly strong. Sometimes it makes you the stuff of legend."
Damian exhaled loudly and allowed all that information to sink in as she floated towards the door to give him some privacy.
"So…it's a gamble then, huh?" He said just before she left his room. "A Russian roulette where you can either win the lottery or get shot in the leg?"
Raven smiled knowingly at him, standing by his door. "I guess you'll just have to be brave, Damian al Ghul Wayne. And just in case you're wondering, she's on the roof."
And just like that, the sorcerer left to her own room to look through some books away from everyone else's feelings. And Damian decided she was right as usual. The fact that she brought up his lineage made him more aware of how little sense it made to be scared of this. If there was one thing he could be, it was brave. As Robin headed to the roof, he heard music again and curiously took a peek into the ops room to get a glimpse of whatever was going on.
"I'm still learning to love…" Jinx and Kid Flash were performing on one side of the room while Terra and Speedy sang the same song on the other. Their voices were harmonizing beautifully and full of sadness and sorrow.
Damian knew that one. It was Say Something (A Great Big World, Christina Aguilera). He was glad no one noticed him and made his way to the roof before he lost his courage again. Ravager was standing there in armor, staring out into the bay. Somehow, they could still hear the sad breakup song coming from the ops room.
"I'm sorry about that." He announced himself.
Rose turned around, startled at his voice. Oh, shit. "Damian! That…yeah, sure. I know."
Robin took careful steps towards her. "I know that was embarrassing for both of us."
Ravager decided to make a joke and lighten the mood. She still wanted to be his friend. "Was it? I didn't notice."
Damian chuckled, now standing very close to her. The dramatic melody from the ops room got louder and more powerful and he looked into Rose's eyes. "I did mean it, though. Every word."
She took a sudden intake of breath and held it in. This wasn't how she expected this conversation to go. She didn't know what she expected, but it certainly wasn't him owning up to it. He's saying he has feelings for me. What the fuck am I supposed to do with that? "I…I don't know what I'm supposed to say."
Robin took one more step in her direction so that they were inches away from each other. "I think this is the part where you tell me if you have feelings for me too."
Rose frowned. "I…" Of course I do. "I…" I think I might love you. "I'm not sure."
Damian smiled and boldly brought his hands up to cradle her shocked face. "Then let me do this and help you figure it out." He whispered before leaning in to kiss her.
Ravager's frown slowly disappeared as she closed her eyes and kissed him back before she could even think about it. It felt good. It felt right. It felt like cheesy, stupid fireworks and she wanted to reach out and run her hands up his back or through his hair, but she didn't. She just lightly touched his elbows while he held her face. Her chest ached and she cursed internally, because she knew. She just knew she was doomed. And then he pulled away right when the singing stopped. Rose stared at his expectant, small smile and then opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. So she took a step back with a tortured look on her face and ran away again without another word. It was her turn to lock herself in her room.
Damian's heart sank. He refused to cry, because with everything that was happening with his grandfather, crying over a rejection seemed silly. But he wanted to. He really wanted to. So he dragged himself back to the ops room instead, looking to be distracted by other people's heartache. Jinx and Wally were fighting while Terra and Speedy just awkwardly stared at each other in some weird and tragic mutual understanding.
"What do you have to be upset about, Jinx?" Wally frowned.
The enchantress fought back tears. "How about the fact that you don't trust me?"
"Yeah well, why would I? It's not like you haven't done this before." Kid Flash blurted out harshly. "Once a cheater always a cheater, right?"
That broke Jinx's heart. Her teary eyes filled with anger at an intensity they hadn't seen yet.
And that was the exact moment Raven floated inside, oblivious to the drama going on in there. "Hey guys, I figured out how to undo this spell. I just need something of Klarion's…" She trailed off when she sensed the tension, hurt and anger in the room.
Cyborg immediately went for the main computer. "Don't worry; I'll locate that jerk in no time."
Jinx's eyes burned with fiery determination. "You know what!?" She walked up to the empath and stretched her hand out, never removing her eyes from her boyfriend. "Raven, this is how you repay me for stopping your lame ex. Here, look through my memories."
Everyone was shocked. And everyone was confused. Mostly because they all thought she had cheated. Conner wasn't there since he'd left as soon as the breakup song started, because he didn't want to deal with Speedy or Wally when it ended. Kid Flash was definitely taken aback by Jinx's suggestion and frowned. There's no way Raven would cover for her. What is she doing? Is she bluffing?
The sorcerer was just uncomfortable at this point, with all eyes on her and Jinx's hand hovering in the air. I keep picking the worst possible moments to come out of my room. When she did nothing, the enchantress turned her head to her and Raven grimaced apologetically. "Ah…I don't usually like to meddle and-"
"Too bad." Jinx cut her off, holding her wrists and forcing her memories onto her.
The empath stumbled backwards and closed her eyes at the painful sensation of having someone else's memories harshly thrown inside her mind. Garfield instinctively took a step towards her, but Jinx shot him a stare that meant she'll be fine. And then Raven unwillingly watched a scene play out in front of her. It was slightly unfocused with slightly muffled voices, because it was a memory, but Jinx and Conner were definitely outside Titan Tower.
"So when will you stop pretending you don't want to kiss me?"
"I'm not." Jinx rolled her eyes. "You're hot, Conner. But that doesn't change anything."
Superboy walked towards her. "I'd argue it does. I'd think you're the kind of girl who does whatever she wants."
The enchantress narrowed her eyes at him. "Usually, yes. But not this time."
He walked up to her until her back hit the side of the building and attraction sparkled between them for a moment. Superboy leaned closer and whispered. "I want you."
She smirked, ignoring the accidental misfortune blast she'd shot backwards when he trapped her against the wall. "You want everyone."
Conner chuckled softly. "Well maybe you can change that."
Shit, he's good. Jinx struggled a little, but she placed her hands on his chest, adamantly stopping him. Her eyes became more serious. "I can't. I won't. I love Wally."
Raven noticed the enchantress's bad luck shot started damaging the tower's structure.
Superboy sighed loudly in frustration. "Why does this keep happening to me?"
Jinx shrugged slightly and smiled. "Sorry."
"Seriously, what do these guys have that I don't? Richard? Garfield? Wally?"
The enchantress tilted her head to the side. "Sincerity and vulnerability?"
He stared at her with surprise in his eyes for a few seconds, then chuckled. "Okay, fair."
And then the side of the building finally started to cave because of Jinx's accidental shot. Conner rushed to hold it in place with his strength. "Shit, was this us?"
"Probably." She said nervously as larger cracks appeared around the weakened spot. "Damn, that's gonna do some damage."
"Can't you just fix it with magic or something? I only have two hands and it's getting bigger."
"Ah…my magic is more about breaking stuff than putting stuff back together…"
"Fuck, if we take down the tower we'll never hear the end of it."
Then the structure threatened to crumble and Jinx flew into the air to give it her best shot. She summoned her magic again, remembering when she worked with Raven on attempting to reverse her skills to have the opposite effect they usually did. If she could jinx things, she could potentially fix them too. But she'd only done small things so far. It didn't matter, because Superboy was right, they would never hear the end of it. So she focused as her eyes glowed pink and she fixed the tower's structure back to perfection. Raven smiled absentmindedly as she watched the blurry memory.
"Okay…enough of this…let's just go back…" Jinx panted.
"Yeah, okay." Conner nodded, a bit tired from the effort himself. "So do you think I have a shot with Terra or is she all about sincerity and vulnerability too?" He smiled charmingly. "Because I can try sincerity, but…I'm literally invulnerable."
The enchantress chuckled, rushing back inside.
Raven opened her eyes and looked into Jinx's surprisingly vulnerable ones as the memory ended and she was pulled back. "You didn't cheat." She whispered with a slight hint of surprise in her voice. And then she was hit by the wave of shock and regret from everyone else.
Kid Flash made his way to them and stared at the empath intently, as if looking for any signs she wasn't telling the truth.
Raven returned his stare. "He tried. But…they didn't. I mean, they nearly took down the tower, which is probably why they looked messy and guilty when they came back, but…she rejected him." The empath pulled her hand back and hurriedly went to stare out the window, because all these emotions had dangerously intensified her urge to burst into song.
Garfield wanted to follow her, but he still wasn't sure she'd want to talk, so he focused on the drama unfolding in front of him.
Wally turned to Jinx with the most regretful look that had ever crossed his face. "Shit. Jinx, I-"
"Save it." The enchantress frowned. "I didn't do this so we wouldn't break up. I did this so you would know why we broke up. It was because you couldn't trust me."
Kid Flash's eyes filled with tears. "No, wait…please…" He tried to follow her as she walked away from him, but her glare made him stop dead in his tracks, unsure of what to say.
Meanwhile, Richard had approached a clearly distressed Damian. "Hey, man. How are you doing? Have you talked to Rose?"
Robin shot him a miserable look. "Oh, I'm great." He said sarcastically. "And yeah. That's dead. Good thing, too. We should be focused on Ra's instead of all this."
Nightwing frowned. "No, Damian, that…your feelings are important too. What do you mean that's dead? What did she say?"
"Literally nothing." Robin answered bitterly before picking up a beer and drinking from the bottle, looking sideways as if daring Richard to stop him with his eyes.
"Listen, Damian-"
"Raven…?" Starfire suddenly asked, averting everyone's attention to the empath by the window. "Are you okay…?"
She wasn't. Raven was hugging herself so tightly her knuckles had turned white, and even though they were looking at her back, they could tell she was struggling with something. And then she started making small, painful sounds.
"Li-ugh…lit-mmm…" The sorcerer squeezed her eyes shut, furrowing her brows.
"Rae!?" The Changeling's heart tightened with concern. "What's wrong?"
Nightwing got it first. "Oh…" When everyone turned to him for an explanation, he leaned forward and whispered. "I think it's happening to her…"
Their eyes widened in realization. Garfield sensed that he was about to sing too and braced himself. Jinx felt grateful for the shift of focus in the room – and rather curious.
"Mmm lit-mmh…"
Terra turned to Raven again and smiled slightly. "It's happening. She's gonna sing."
"Mmmhh nooo I'm not…" The empath shook her head.
"It's okay, Rae…just go with it…" Bumblebee whispered soothingly.
Starfire nodded. "Yes, please…resisting is hurting you, friend."
Damian frowned. He was still a little sour because of her advice earlier and what it led to, but he definitely didn't want her to be as embarrassed as he was right now.
"Little do you know…" Raven breathed out and started singing quietly about not being totally healed from heartache while soft music accompanied her. She didn't know this song, but the words just kept coming to her. No, please. Please don't make me sing about this. I can't keep bringing this up. He's apologized enough, he'll get sick of it and I'll lose him. I can't hold this over his head forever. She didn't want to sing about it. She wanted to be over it so badly. She just wanted to be happy – or at least some version of that – already.
As soon as the Changeling heard her breathy, pained voice, he knew what she was singing and he knew he was going to sing it with her. He didn't resist at all. He wanted to sing these words to her. Raven turned around to look at him after the first few verses of Little Do You Know (Alex & Sierra) and Garfield's heart ached when he saw tears in her eyes.
"…for the fear that you might change your mind…" At this point, the sorcerer was completely in trance, her resistance entirely gone and her voice dripping with emotion. When she sang about needing more time, she turned around to look away from him again and hugged herself in fear – she had no idea how the rest of this song would go. And then she heard his voice and it immediately soothed her heart.
"I'll wait, I'll wait…" Garfield sang his part, walking up to her. She turned back around to look up at him with vulnerable eyes and he stared deeply into them and meant every single word. When he sang lay your head on me she almost did, but then she pulled away and took a few steps back. The shapeshifter kept looking at her and singing devotedly.
Raven listened while he offered the most comforting words she could have possibly heard at that moment with heartwarming sincerity. He knows I'm hurting. He knows I'm not there yet. And he still loves me. Her eyes widened and she started singing with him at the chorus, as they slowly walked towards each other.
"I love you like I've never felt the pain…"
"They sound great together, huh?" Cyborg whispered, but both Bumblebee and Starfire shushed him because they were watching intently, so he rolled his eyes.
At the last chorus, Garfield reached out and held her hands. His heart was racing and his stomach was full of butterflies, because Raven kept singing about loving him over and over again. It was way better than he could have imagined. This song wasn't resentful; it was about healing and needing a bit more time. Little did she know she could have all the time in the world; he wasn't going anywhere. Every time she sang I love you to him, his chest burned in the best possible way and by now he had a smile on his face. And then at that final lay your head on me, she actually did finally lay her head on his shoulder. He stroked her hair and finished the song with his last verse. "I love you 'till the sun dies…"
Raven snapped out of it as soon as he was done, and as comforting as his words had been, she realized she had just poured her heart out in song in front of a bunch of her friends and she felt much more vulnerable than she was comfortable with. She pulled away, but didn't meet his eyes. Instead, her own eyes helplessly tried to find a safe spot on the floor to stare at. She knew he was watching her. She knew everyone was watching her. And then she suddenly felt like a school girl in a bad dream about being naked in front of an audience, so she did the only thing she could think of. She ran out to her room.
"Aren't you gonna follow her, dude?" Cyborg nudged his best friend after a few seconds of absolute silence.
Garfield exhaled and nodded. "In a minute. She needs a minute."
Superboy came back and sighed at the palpable tension. "What now? What did I miss?"
"You missed Raven singing." Bumblebee smirked when he seemed frustrated. "You wouldn't love it; it was a love duet with Beast Boy."
Conner chuckled. "Oh, I don't know. I kinda ship them now."
The shapeshifter turned to him in surprise. "You do?"
"Sure." Superboy shrugged friendly. Two guys hating him was quite enough, he didn't want to add Garfield back to that list. Besides, he did think they were sweet together.
"You also missed Rae going through Jinx's memories and telling us you two never kissed." Cyborg reported.
"Oh, I see." Conner noticed a grumpy Jinx on the couch and a miserable Wally by the kitchen counter. I might have to apologize to him anyway.
Raven was in her room trying to meditate and work through the overload of embarrassment this whole day had caused her. She was more than a little relieved about what that song revealed about Garfield's feelings, though. But then at the same time, she hadn't planned on telling him how much she still loved him today. And she definitely hadn't planned on telling him she was still hurting because of what he did. She had been poorly meditating for a few minutes when she sensed him and then heard him knock.
The Changeling sighed when he got nothing but silence from the other side of her door. "Rae?" Still no answer. "C'mon, please. No one's gonna say anything. I reminded them of Slade and Rouge and Lex and Eclipso and the Joker and I promise, everyone's still scared of you."
Raven couldn't help but smile a little. "Really? Are you sure?"
Garfield's lips spread into a wide and relieved grin at the sound of her voice. "Yeah, of course! Besides, they're all too caught up in their own embarrassment to give you a hard time, trust me. Please come back. Cy says he's almost locating Klarion."
The empath opened her door just a crack and stared at him with suspicious eyes.
He chuckled whole-heartedly. "I promise it didn't humanize you as much as you think."
Raven relaxed slightly. "Good. One person not being scared of me is enough."
"Is that one person supposed to be me? Who said I'm not scared of you?"
"You did. Multiple times."
"Right." Garfield chuckled again. "Well, yes, technically, I'm not scared of you. But I still think you're scary. I dig it, actually. You're as hellish as you are heavenly. It's a rush."
She blushed and rolled her eyes. "Flatterer."
The Changeling beamed when he saw her blush. "So…you're not mad I danced with Terra anymore?"
Raven frowned. "I was never mad about that; it was just…unpleasant to watch." She shivered slightly at the memory.
Garfield felt a little guilty. He was so relieved when she didn't sing to Conner with the other girls and he'd witnessed first-hand how miserable the guys were watching that. She didn't put him through that. That's because she's fucking perfect. And then he goes and dances a flirty tango with his ex. It wasn't his choice, obviously, but still. "I'm sorry anyway. I don't want you to think that there's room in my heart for anyone else and-"
"There is, Gar. She is in your heart. And that's okay." Raven told him softly. He was about to protest, so she spoke first. "Am I still the exclusive ruler?"
The shapeshifter blushed and smiled at her. "The one and only."
"Then I don't care that she has a place in it. I understand. It's okay, I promise. I don't even care if you're still attracted to her." I mean you just sang about loving me 'till the freaking sun dies.
"No, I'm not still-"
"Gar, I know." She said quickly. "I didn't mean to imply anything. I'm just saying…it's okay."
The Changeling smiled wider. "Have I told you how perfect you are today?"
Raven rolled her eyes and ignored the compliment. "So how are you? With all this…drama?"
He shrugged. "I'm weirdly okay. I just…do you wanna maybe talk about what we just sang?" Because I really, really do.
The empath nodded once. "Later. I need to meditate some more. But…I'll go back in there soon, I promise. Thanks for coming after me. It helped."
Garfield smiled affectionately and felt his chest swell with pride for doing right by her. He playfully kissed the back of her hand while she rolled her eyes again and then he headed back to the ops room. He could already hear a soft new melody playing there.
I know, I know, I couldn't wrap it up in one chapter lol.
Little Do You Know (Alex & Sierra)