Another installment! Also, this is quick announcement that I've turned off private messages. I've been getting non-stop spam about turning my stories into comics (so long as I pay). At least I'm assuming it's spam. It's been message after message after message. Does anyone else have this problem? Back when I wrote on this platform years ago, this didn't happen. I'm not sure if this is a newer trend, but I'm not vibing with it.

If you want to message me, please leave a review/question/whatever, and I will reply up here in the author's notes.

Sisters

(Raven)

He guided her to a high rise table tucked away along the right side of the bar. It was the farthest option from the dance floor, and Raven was internally grateful. The pounding music was reduced to background noise, and it was significantly less sticky. Plus, it was slightly easier to separate herself from the emotional whirlpool around her. Of course, now that she was here, she wasn't entirely sure what to do. The boy simply sat there, staring at her as though he was waiting for her to make the first move, and she had no idea what to say. She wasn't a natural flirt like Robin apparently was, and she didn't know what her end goal was. For once in her life, she didn't think this decision through.

"So…" Raven awkwardly spoke, shifting slightly in her seat. "Why are you here?"

I'm terrible at this.

"I heard it was haunted," the boy answered. "I wanted to check it out."

Raven nodded. "Me too… but it was too crowded."

"I know. Really takes away from the vibrations of the ghosts."

"You think there are ghosts?"

"Can't be haunted without ghosts."

"Feelings linger. Not people." she countered. "If someone experienced rage here then died, their rage is what remains. That's what makes it haunted. I've never seen a ghost."

The boy's bored expression diminished ever so slightly, and he leaned forward. "I'm Evan."

"Raven."

His eyes went wide. "Quoth the Raven, Nevermore."

"Edgar Allen Poe?"

The boy smiled, just barely, and nodded. "I know it's basic and stereotypical, but he's my favorite poet. You have a beautiful name."

Raven blushed. Usually, thanks to Robin's presence, she was well adapt at hiding her blushing or at least finding an excuse for it. This time, however, she could feel it heating her face, and she knew it was visible. She couldn't help it though. No one has ever said anything like that to her before.

"Thanks," she mumbled, sounding as embarrassed as she felt.

"Listen," he squirmed a bit in his seat. It was a comfort to know he was embarrassed too. "I never do this, and I'm not very good at it but… could I get your number?"

He was so earnest. It was quite endearing. Raven could easily see herself enjoying his company. They could theorize about haunted buildings, ghosts, poets, and the pointlessness of existence; however…

"I don't have a cell phone."

Raven braced herself for his disappointment.

Instead he looked impressed. "That's so cool. Rejection of big tech and living every second in the moment. Hardcore."

That's when she did something crazy and unlike her. She reached her hand to the hood shielding her face and lowered it, exposing herself. She was sure she was still blushing a bit, and her eyes most likely went soft at the compliment. She didn't care. She felt comfortable around Evan. Perhaps it was a misunderstood soul recognizing another.

Perhaps she just wanted to feel pretty, even for just a moment.

Judging by the way he stared at her, he found her attractive. His expression lightened a knot in Raven's stomach, and she smiled at him. He smiled back. In this moment, for the first time in her life, Raven truly felt like a regular teenager. A girl going out and having fun and meeting cute boys and talking with them, however nervously and awkwardly. For once, she actually felt a mutual romance blooming.

"There you are!"

And just like that, the moment was broken. Raven whirled around and, astoundingly, there was Robin, holding two drinks in his hands.

What on earth is he…

"I've been looking all over for you," he approached the table and set the drinks down. "I got you some water."

He grabbed a chair from a table to the right and pulled it over, placing it unnecessarily close to Raven. When he sat down, the arms of their chairs were practically touching. To make matters worse, he rested his arm along the back of her chair, almost as though he was placing an arm around her.

Raven couldn't believe this.

Evan gave a little cough.

Robin turned to him and smiled. "What's up, man?"

Raven narrowed her eyes at him. His tone and smile were off. He sounded almost condescending towards Evan, who appeared quite baffled.

"Um… hi," Evan answered. His eyes darted between Robin, Raven, and the arm that slung around her chair.

Robin gave a curt nod and shifted his body towards Raven. "Your hood's down. Are you getting hot? I can take back my jacket if you're warm."

"I'm fine," she frowned.

"You having fun?"

I was, Raven scowled.

"I guess not," Robin shrugged. "I wasn't expecting so many people either."

"How do you two know each other?" Evan butted in.

Robin smirked at him but didn't answer. Raven sighed. He was making things difficult and creating misunderstandings on purpose. As though he wasn't having enough fun with the three women clinging to him, so he had to go and bother her instead.

"We work together," Raven answered.

"Oh cool," Evan did not sound like he found that cool at all. "What do you guys do?"

"Fight crime," Robin grinned. Again, like before, he sounded as though he was joking when in reality it was very much the truth.

Evan did not look amused. "Really?"

"Yep," Robin's grin turned smug, and Raven braced herself. That was the look he gave when he was about to deliver the winning blow in a fight. "I certainly have the body for it, don't I Rae?"

When she blushed for Evan before, it was a light rose color that tinted her cheeks, which was made clearly visible by her pale skin. Now?

Her blush overtook her entire face, making her feel significantly hotter and absolutely mortified.

He remembered that stupid little comment she made on the battle field. That ridiculous, borderline flirty comment that accidentally slipped through her lips. She hoped he had forgotten after all the drama that unfolded afterwards. Maybe when he hit his head, the memory got knocked out. But no… he remembered it word for word. She was so embarrassed she could sink into the floor right now.

Meanwhile, Robin looked absolutely delighted.

She was so busy staring at him, face flushed and lips slightly parted in shock, that for a brief second she completely forgot about Evan's presence. At least, until he spoke.

"Your boyfriend's funny," he commented, a heartbroken understanding dawning on his face.

This made Raven break eye contact with Robin and whirl around to Evan. She scowled. "He is not my—"

"Thanks!" Robin grinned.

What the actual hell is he doing?

Evan gave a little nod, as though he expected this, and stood up. His eyes met Raven's, and he gave her a sad smile. "I'll see you guys around."

Raven wanted to tell him to wait, that this wasn't what it looked like, but she couldn't make a sound. After all, she did have a one-sided love for Robin, and it wasn't fair to Evan to be a rebound. Still… she genuinely saw the potential for something real to blossom between the two of them.

She glared at Robin once Evan was gone. "What was that about?"

He innocently smiled at her. "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean," she crossed her arms. "Besides I thought you were busy with your harem."

"Jealous?" Robin smirked. He looked far too pleased with himself, and it grated on Raven's nerves.

Raven scoffed and rolled her eyes. "You're absolutely ridiculous."

Robin shrugged as though saying can't argue with that.

Raven sighed, disappointed over the strange turn of events, and her gaze focused on the water in front of her. She frowned and glanced over her shoulder at the bar, which was getting more and more crowded. Pieces of the puzzle started connecting. She only just left the dance floor, and Evan and her hadn't been talking for that long. Yet in that short span of time, Robin had left his little fan club, fought his way to the bar to grab some waters, and searched for her amongst the many tables in the dark lounge area.

He must have left right after me.

Which meant he immediately noticed she had gone. She tried not to let that please her, especially considering his obnoxious behavior this past week.

"Did you like him?"

Raven frowned and met Robin's stare. "I just met him."

Robin shrugged. "You don't usually talk to strangers. You also almost never put your hood down in public. Seems to me like you liked him."

His voice was bitter, and Raven couldn't comprehend why.

"What does it matter?" The bitterness in her tone matched his. "You did a great job scaring him away. Now he thinks we're—"

She swallowed back her words. She couldn't even say it.

Robin's fingers tapped lightly against the table. It was harder to discern his expression with the sunglasses instead of the usual mask, but she guessed he was trying to read her. "Is there really something so wrong with that?" He mumbled, sounding a bit sad.

No, that would't do. He didn't get to act like this.

"What game are you trying to play?" She scowled. "You've been flirting with Blackfire all week, and now you're getting in my way when I'm trying to connect with someone. It's not fair, Robin."

She regretted her words the moment they left her mouth. They sounded too close to righteous jealousy, too close to admitting something that she absolutely kept locked away for no one to see. Not even herself.

Robin's intense gaze remained on her face for a beat, and he leaned slightly closer to her. "What do you think of Blackfire?"

That was absolutely the wrong thing to say.

"If you want my approval—" Raven spat.

"No," Robin interrupted. "I mean it. What do you think of her? I don't trust her."

Raven blinked. Doesn't trust her? "What do you mean?"

"I mean exactly that. I don't trust her. You don't think it's strange that an alien robot attacks Starfire out of nowhere then suddenly her sister shows up wanting to hide away with us for the week? I think they're connected," Robin confessed. "So, what do you think of her? Really?"

"I do think it's strange," Raven agreed, almost happy they were talking about work again. Everything before was getting too close to something she didn't want to touch. She was glad for the distraction. "I don't like her. She has a malicious energy, and I don't like how she treats Starfire."

Robin nodded in agreement. "She came here illegally. Those black holes she mentioned on her first day? It's forbidden to travel there. That Centauri moon diamond she gave to Starfire? She stole it."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "How do you know that? She told you?"

For once, Robin actually looked embarrassed. He scratched the back of his neck and awkwardly looked away from her. He said with a little cough, "I may have… insinuated that I like bad girls."

Raven snorted.

Robin blushed, shaking his head and sighing. He removed his arm from the back of her chair and grasped her hand, something he seemed awfully fond of doing lately. "I wasn't flirting with her because I enjoyed it. I was trying to get information, and it worked. She told me a lot of stuff. I guarantee you that whatever is after Starfire is actually after Blackfire. We just have to figure out who Blackfire pissed off. Unfortunately that seems like a long list."

All this time he was manipulating her. Raven wasn't entirely certain how she felt about that. Yes, she was relieved that he didn't actually like Blackfire, but something still bothered her…

"And the blonde?" She couldn't help but ask. The bitterness returned to her voice. "Were you trying to get information out of her too?"

She didn't like how happy Robin looked in response to her question. He tried hiding his smile, but he couldn't help it. The grin overtook his lips. "No, I wanted to make Blackfire squirm a bit. That worked too. I also wanted to…"

He paused, looking at her as though he was trying to predict her reaction to what he was about to say. She frowned, waiting for him to finish.

Whatever he wanted to say, he decided against it. He casually shrugged. "Whatever. It was petty of me, but it worked, so I can't say I regret it."

She raised an eyebrow. "What worked? What are you talking about?"

Robin smirked. He let go of her hand, which frankly she forgot he was holding, and instead placed it gently on her outer thigh, giving the muscle a little squeeze.

Once again, Raven's face turned beet red.

"You really want to know?" He whispered, his voice deep and full of promises. "You're not going to run away this time?"

She gulped, completely transfixed. Even though she wore jeans, his hand felt as though it was burning hot. His expression and voice were different compared to how he spoke to Blackfire and that blonde… even Starfire.

She didn't know what to think. Her mind was completely blank, and heat stirred in her belly, but it wasn't from embarrassment this time. She didn't know what this feeling was.

"Robin!" A voice called out.

Raven practically flew out of her seat, stumbling back a couple steps away from Robin, who looked equally stunned and annoyed.

Blackfire strutted to their table, a strange pink wig on her head, and she looked back and forth between the pair. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No—"

"Yes." Robin snapped. He glared at Raven, clearly unhappy with the answer she gave Blackfire, and turned back to the sister. "Look, could you give us a minute?"

Blackfire scowled, crossing her arms. She forcibly relaxed her features into a smile and said, "But I love this song! Come dance with me."

"No, I don't want to—"

Too late.

Blackfire yanked his arm and dragged him to the dance floor. Robin stared after Raven as though saying are you going to help me?

No, she didn't think she would.

Her heart was still pounding, her hands were trembling, and her face was absolutely flushed. The waters on the table were boiling. She stared at them, forcing her magic to cool down, thus settling the waters back to stillness. She could feel her body temperature drop, and she yanked her hood back over her head. She counted the seconds of her inhales and exhales.

What was that?

She's never seem him like that before. He's never… she didn't… he couldn't…

She shook her head.

Clear your mind. Don't think of it.

These thoughts were pointless. Robin revealed that Blackfire was a danger to the team, especially to Starfire, and that came first. She needed to focus the problem at hand. If someone mistook Starfire for her sister, then they would need to clear her name. That also meant turning Blackfire over to whatever authority was searching for her. How would Starfire react to that?

Yes, Starfire. She needed to focus on Starfire.

"Raven!"

Raven's head snapped up, and this time it was Cyborg in front of her.

"Star's in trouble," he yelled.

Perfect timing.

Cyborg and Raven weaved through the bodies as quickly as they could, making their way towards the exist. Along the way, Cyborg bumped into Robin, who looked incredibly unhappy. Blackfire was clutching his arm, refusing to let go no matter how much Robin attempted to tug away.

Cyborg didn't seem to notice, and he yelled over the music, "Star's in trouble!"

Robin nodded and immediately followed the two heroes towards the exist. Blackfire poutingly went with, still attached to Robin's arm as though it was her own.

The four of them burst outside just in time.

Beast boy was facing off against one of the squid-like alien robots, but it was clearly a difficult battle. Meanwhile, two replicas of the robot were hoisting a dumpster bin into the air, attempting to fly away with it. Judging by the muffled screaming, Starfire was trapped inside.

Cyborg instantly sonically blasted the lone machine Beast boy was fighting, forcing it back and giving Beast boy a reprieve. Robin hurled a couple small, bead-like objects at the machines. Once they hit, they exploded, and the force of it made them drop the dumpster. Starfire emerged, covered in garbage and slim, and flew towards her team, relief on her face. The three robots began flying quickly toward the team.

Before anyone could move, Blackfire flew in front of them, her eyes glowing violet. Suddenly, she blasted starbolts from her eyes, hitting them square in the center of their bodies between their many tentacle-like structures. They instantly exploded into pieces. Blackfire landed amongst the rubble, a self-satisfied smirk on her face. She placed her hands on her hips and turned to the Titans.

"So," she sounded as cocky as she looked. "Can we go back inside now?"

"Whoa!" Beast boy gasped. He was leaning against Cyborg, who was helping him limp over to the alien girl. "That was amazing!"

"Super cool," Cyborg grinned.

"How did you know where to hit them?" Robin's tone was outright suspicious.

Looks like he's done playing pretend, Raven noted.

Blackfire innocently smiled. "Lucky guess?"

"We could use luck like that," Cyborg stepped forward, offering his hand. "Maybe you should join the team?"

"What?" Robin, Raven, and Starfire all exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Beast boy grinned. "You should totally join!"

"Me?" Blackfire gasped dramatically, placing her hands over her heart. "A Teen Titan?"

"No." Robin firmly rejected. He scowled at Cyborg, who blinked in confusion.

Starfire sighed in relief, and Raven couldn't help but relate.

"Why not?" Blackfire pouted, lightly touching Robin's arm again. "Haven't I proved myself?"

Robin narrowed his eyes, yanking his arm away from her touch. "Not yet."

"Come on man," Cyborg argued. "Why are you being so hot and cold? She'd make a great team member. We have plenty of space. Let's just—"

"I said no," Robin snapped, his tone final. Cyborg took a slight step back, displeasure all over his face, but he didn't argue. "Let's go home. I've had enough of this."

Robin marched forward, his shoulders tense and his hands clenched into fists. The team lingered behind, various levels of shock and surprise on their faces.

"Geez, what's got him so pissed off?" Cyborg grumbled.

"No idea," Beast boy sounded just as baffled. "He looked like he was having a great time before he left the dance floor."

"Who knows," Blackfire mused though she was looking directly at Raven with a knowing expression. "Anything could have happened."

Raven scowled at her. Luckily, Blackfire said nothing else.

"Let's go home," Starfire clapped her hands together. "I must bathe immediately."

No one could argue with that.

Instead of posting one long chapter, I decided to split it into two. I was too excited for this one to wait. Most of the "episodes" will be just one or two chapters, but some of the important ones (Sisters, Nevermore, etc) will be longer.

Thanks for reading everyone!