Chapter 8:

"Simon?"

"The name's Cy," the bulking teen automatically responded without looking up from his hand-drawn design project.

"Oh… umm… hi," the voice answered nervously. The soft, female voice, Cy suddenly realized. He looked up from his seat at the drawing board to see a tall girl with a smooth, bronzed complexion and short, shockingly pink hair that appeared slightly spiky.

'Cute,' he instantly thought with a grin.

"How can I help you, little lady?" he asked, giving his full attention.

"Well… I was kinda hoping that you could give me a crash course in beam analysis so that I could do my project," she explained.

"Sure, I could help you out. But why ask me?"

"'Cause I heard you were the man to go to," she grinned, "all the guys are still in awe over your design for a concept hybrid sports car. And from the way Mr. Avondet gushes about your work, I'm sure you must have the highest grade in the class."

Cy laughed and lifted a large hand to scratch the back of his neck self-consciously. "I am great aren't I?" he grinned. "Okay, tell you what. You go ahead and pull up a stool and I'll give you that crash course. But in exchange," and here he gave his most charming smile, "you go with me to the pep party tonight."

The girl smiled at him flirtatiously, brushing a few strands of hair out of her dark eyes. "How do you know I don't already have a date," she asked playfully.

"Do you?" he countered, leaning towards her with a devilish smirk.

"No," she laughed, enjoying his avid attention, "but it looks like I do now. The name's Jayanti by the way, my friends call me Jinx."

"I like that. Jinx. I guess you already know but allow me to formally introduce myself…" he raised two fingers to his temple in a mock salute, "Simon Green at your service. Everyone calls me 'Cy' as in Cyborg 'coz I'm all about new-age technology, baby."

"Cyborg… cute, I like that as well. So what time are you picking me up tonight, Cyborg?"

Beast Boy was not having a good day. Scratch that, Beast Boy hadn't been having a good week. He found himself sneaking around school, peeking around corners, and tiptoeing past every blonde he saw in the hallways. Not to mention that Cy was still upset about the prank he'd pulled that he hadn't even gotten a kick out of. Why did Terra have to come to this school of all schools? She wasn't even Catholic! Never mind the fact that he and his siblings weren't either!

With a heavy sigh, Beast Boy entered the school library with his Biology book tucked under his arm and made his way to the only occupied table in the whole room. With a scowl, he rudely dropped his book in the center of the table causing the petite girl to look up from her work.

"Please tell me again why I am standing in the school library after school hours on a Friday that I finally have off from practice doing extra credit for a class I know I'm not failing," he demanded irritably.

Raven regarded him with cool eyes before lowering her head back to her books and scattered papers. "Dr. Barkley was kind enough to give us this extra credit work to make up for the grade we got on our last lab report," she stated in an even tone.

Beast Boy plopped down in the seat directly in front of her and stared at her open mouthed for a moment. "Raven," he finally uttered, "we got a B on that report."

"No. We got a B minus, which is practically a C plus, which could easily bring down our standing in the class," Raven stated matter-of-factly as she quickly turned the pages of one of her books and scratched down a few notes on a loose sheet of paper.

"Are you freaking kidding me?"

When Raven didn't even glance up at him, Beast Boy took in a deep angry breath and shoved his chair away from the table. "I've had enough crazy for one week, I'm not about to spend the first Friday afternoon I have off from practice doing extra work for a class we both know we're still the best students in."

Raven looked up to see him already heading for the exit with an angry stride. "Fine," she bit out, "I didn't ask for your help, anyway."

Beast Boy paused and snapped his head around with another incredulous look. "I don't get you, Raven," he shouted suddenly, storming back over to her. He leaned over the table, staring her straight into her shocked amethyst eyes. "You have perfect grades, the highest grade point average in the school, you're class president, student of the year, and the most popular girl in the school without even trying!" he yelled at her, disbelief clearly evident in his voice. "Why the hell do you feel the need to push for more?!"

Raven blinked at him, uncomfortably aware that his nose was inches away from hers. What idiot would invade someone's personal space so carelessly? Her cheeks were definitely burning. If he caught her blushing, she would kill him!

"Have you ever even heard the saying 'enough is enough'?" Beast Boy asked with an annoyed roll of his eyes as he straightened and crossed his arms, expectantly waiting for some sort of answer.

"I wouldn't expect you to understand," she said quietly. "Like I said, I can do this by myself."

Beast Boy watched as her forehead scrunched up slightly with a small scowl. For someone whose face was usually devoid of all emotion, a wrinkling of the brow was a clear sign that she had become upset.

"That's not what I was trying to say, Rae. You shouldn't have to do this by yourself. I'm saying you don't need to do this at all," he clarified with a slight tinge of frustration in his tone. He realized, with some annoyance, that this whole business with Terra was making him fly off the handle with Raven. He never would've thought he'd snap at her like this. After all, he felt somewhat obligated to be extra sensitive with her after what he'd witnessed a couple months ago.

He watched as Raven stopped writing again and he slowly retook his seat. "I'll help you with the stupid assignment but I have one thing to ask in return."

"I told you, you don't have to-"

Beast Boy immediately cut her off by grabbing her wrist and forcing her to meet his eyes. He grinned mischievously at her shocked expression. "Before the party, you have to show me where the best pizza place in town is… I've been dying for an extra cheese veggie pizza!"

Raven just stared at him in shock for a moment. Hadn't he been angry just a second ago? "Umm, o…kay…," she answered slowly.

"Excellent!"

Beast Boy instantly picked up one of her books, a few sheets of paper, and an extra pen with a satisfied grin. Without hesitation, he cracked open the book and began to work.

Shaking her head at the enigma that was Logan Garfield, Raven slowly lowered her head back to her books. She was secretly glad that he was talking to her normally again despite her failed attempt at avoiding him and her apparent obsession with work.

As they worked, Beast Boy kept a steady conversation going, mostly by himself, about the complexities of their last lab assignment and how the points they had lost were completely innocuous.

From his comments, Raven could see that he really did have a firm grasp of the material. He was easily able to list off all of the facts about amphibians and their common physical traits.

"You know," she started, cutting him off in the midst of his rant about Dr. Barkley's strict attention to detail, "for someone who plays juvenile pranks on his siblings twice a week and goofs off in class… you are surprisingly very studious."

Surprised that his companion had said more than two words, Logan grinned and scratched the back of his head self-consciously. "Lucky for you that we're partnered together in a class I actually have an interest in," he replied in his mischievous tone. "If this were math or something I'd definitely be bringing your grade down."

She simply stared at him curiously, still wondering at his lighthearted demeanor.

"Hey, I'm just about done with this last analysis. What about you?" He was talking as he wrote the last few lines of his half of the report.

Raven was very surprised that he had been able to get so much work done in the midst of a steady commentary but decided not to waste energy commenting on it. "I have another paragraph or two that I want to add," she replied simply, turning her attention completely back to her work.

"Oh, okay then I think I'll get something to drink from one of the vending machines while you finish up." Beast Boy finished writing the last words of his concluding sentence before standing with a satisfied sigh. "Meet me outside when you're done, 'kay? I'm really looking forward to that pizza!"

With a grin, Beast Boy happily left an unresponsive Raven scribbling away at her extra credit work. He felt a keen sense of accomplishment that he was able to show up without much notice and write a professional lab report – well, half a lab report – in less than an hour.

"I really am great, aren't I," a full fledged grin was now stretched across his face. His feet took him automatically to the Fruit Works™ vending machine where he closed his eyes in satisfaction as he insert his dollar. He blindly selected one of the super sweet fruit drinks and heard the tell-tale sound of the drink falling to the bottom compartment. As he bent over to reach in and get his bottle, though, Beast Boy suddenly felt something brush against him from behind.

"Ahh!" He shouted somewhat hysterically as he whipped around and backed into the vending machine.

He was greeted with the unpleasant yet familiar sight of beach blonde hair and cerulean blue eyes.

"Hey BB," Terra greeted with a smile and a mischievous chuckle. "I've been looking for you… where ya been?"

Beast Boy tried to calm the erratic beating of his heart. What the heck was Terra doing here after school hours? And more importantly… "Umm, did you just grab my left butt cheek?"

Terra broke into a fit of laughter. "Oh, God, Beast Boy you are so hilarious! You should've seen your face after I did, though… priceless!" she continued to giggle off her fit of glee.

Beast Boy was not seeing the humor in all this. "Terra, what are you doing here?" he demanded, clearly annoyed.

The smile slowly slipped from her face as she watched him cross his arms, waiting for an answer. "I already told you, BB. I transferred schools."

"Uh-huh, why to this school, Terra? You're not Catholic and you hate private schools."

"What are you trying to accuse me of here, BB? Why not just say it?" Her whole demeanor had drastically changed. Her blue eyes were narrowed and piercing into him; her lips scrunched up with her disapproval.

"Why are you and Slade following me again?" he demanded.

Terra smirked. "There," she stated, "That's better. I hate when people don't just speak their minds."

Beast Boy merely glared, awaiting a response to his question.

"BB, c'mon, you and I have a history. There's no one who will ever understand you the way I do," as she said this in a soft, cajoling voice, she began inching closer to him. "Think about it, babe, who else would be with you in spite of what you did?"

"That's none of your concern, Terra," Beast Boy seethed. "And furthermore, I thought I settled this with you two when I left California? I'm not part of that life anymore. You chose to stay by Slade's side and that's where it ended!"

"Aww, BB, don't be like that…," Terra slowly moved her hands up his solidly crossed arms. "You knew it could never be that easy."

Logan glared directly into her eyes. "What does your brother want?"

Terra snorted softly. "You think that, all of a sudden, Slade started telling me about the inner workings of his mind? Get real, BB. I was just dragged along for the ride, as usual. I came looking for you on my own… Slade has nothing to do with how I feel about you."

Terra reached up to gently place a kiss on his mouth and Logan didn't move. She gently brushed her lips against his and smiled hopefully at him as she leaned back. There was a very obvious blush covering his face but unfortunately for her there was also a very serious look in his eyes.

"Terra." He carefully held eye-contact to make sure she knew how serious he was. "I don't feel the same way about you anymore." He grabbed her shoulders and stiffly moved her aside so that he had enough room to walk away before slowly making his retreat in the wake of her sudden silence.

He felt no satisfaction in saying those words. In fact, he felt like complete scum. As soon as he'd said the words, something in her eyes had clearly broken into pieces.

As Raven was closing the door to the library, she turned to see Beast Boy coming around a corner with a solemn look on his face. She said nothing as he continued to approach her.

"Hey," he said, "you ready?"

She mutely nodded her head, shifting her messenger bag on her shoulder as she turned and began to walk with him to the parking lot.

"I borrowed my mom's car so you can just show me how to get there," he suggested in a dull tone.

Raven raised an eyebrow at his odd behavior. "Umm… sure…," she mumbled. She continued to look at him from the corner of her eye in slight bewilderment. This guy went through emotions like a toddler, she thought incredulously. One minute he's angry, the next happy/content, and now he's… what? Depressed?

"Uh… are you okay?" she finally asked in her usual monotone as he stopped in front of a dark gray Audi. "Did the vending machines steal your money or something?"

"No," he sighed, "I don't think I wanna talk about it right now."

Raven nodded and slipped into the passenger seat without another word. Beast Boy gave her turned head a slight smile of appreciation before closing her door and walking over to the driver side.

"We're headed for Lil' Nina's Pizzeria. It's an outdoor café in the middle of the city," Raven said as he got in and started the engine.

"Best pizza in town?" Beast Boy asked.

"So Gray keeps telling me. I haven't actually tested it for myself. I've been meaning to try it out, though."

"Sounds good. Just point me there."

The ride took them fifteen minutes, mostly because St. Gabriel's was somewhat isolated from the rest of the city. But by the time they reached, and Logan managed to parallel park his mother's Audi, the whole incident with Terra was all but forgotten. He was trying extra hard to put the incident out of his mind and focus on Raven and her urgent need for leisure activity.

"Dude, I could probably eat sandpaper and think it's cuisine right now. I'm so hungry!"

Raven smiled and hesitantly took his offered hand to help her out of the car. She ignored the slight tingly sensation she felt when Logan idly rubbed his thumb over her knuckles before letting go.

"Well?" he demanded excitedly, "Lead the way. My stomach can't wait much longer."

With a shake of the head, she led him to the entrance of Lil Nina's. The inside of the café was designed like an old-fashioned Italian kitchen. There were pizzas baking in a large brick oven, wine racks adorning an entire stone wall, and real grape vines growing against another.

The scintillating smells mingling in the quaint little kitchen had Logan's mouth watering and a huge grin spread across his face. The hostess escorted them outside to a patio table on a terrace and handed them menus with a warm smile.

"Take your time to look through our menu, your waiter should be over in a few minutes," the hostess said before returning to the front of the restaurant.

Beast Boy looked around at their surroundings for a minute before glancing at Raven over his menu. "This place is great!" he exclaimed. "Kinda feels like I'm visiting my grandmother or something." He gave a slightly forced laugh after realizing what he'd said. "Well… if I had a grandmother. I guess she wouldn't be Italian even if I did, though."

Raven smiled and glanced down at her menu.

Beast Boy fought the urge to kick himself for saying unnecessary things. Why was he suddenly nervous? His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he watched his companion calmly glance over the food and drink selections.

"So, uh… what're you ordering?" he asked, just to fill the silence.

Raven's eyes met his over their menus and for a moment she said nothing. Then she suddenly glanced back down at her choices. "Oh, right," she said quickly. "I was just going to go for an extra cheese with pepperoni and olives. What about you?"

Beast Boy grinned happily. "Extra cheese, green peppers, mushrooms, and olives!"

Raven looked up at him again and couldn't help a small smirk forming at yet another Logan Garfield mood change. "I take it food makes you happy," she commented sardonically.

"Very happy," Beast Boy exclaimed with a vigorous nodding of the head.

The waiter came over then and took both of their drink and food orders before leaving to put in their ticket, taking the menus with him.

"So when are you turning that extra credit work in, anyway?" Beast Boy asked conversationally. He hadn't bothered to ask when Raven had mentioned it to him earlier that day. She'd only spared enough time to tell him that she was going to complete it after school.

"I'm turning it in Monday morning," she answered. She was looking around at the terrace and the random people passing on the busy city streets below. Basically, looking anywhere but directly at him.

"I guess it's just your style to get it out of the way before the weekend, huh?"

Raven nodded absently and took a sip of water.

Beast Boy gave up on trying to start idle conversation and turned his own attention to the downtown Gotham streets. The people here look a lot less happy than the people in California, he thought idly. There were a lot of men wearing slightly wrinkled business suits with their ties undone, apparently on their way home after a hectic day. Women were carrying their heels in one hand, briefcases in the other, as they trekked home in sneakers that clashed horribly with their business clothes.

Definitely not like California, he thought nostalgically. No tank tops and Bermuda shorts here. No beaches, no warm ocean breeze…. Thinking about California made him think about the people he'd met there. And thinking about the people he met there made him think about a certain blonde, blue-eyed beauty that he had once thought he was so in love with...

Beast Boy frowned and rested his chin on a perched fist. There was no use fighting the urge to think about his ex. Most of his memories involving California centered on her in some form or the other; good memories and bad memories. Then again… he hadn't met Terra in California had he? No, he'd been involved with her long before then….

He sighed despondently. He'd done a lot of stupid things back then… Most of which he knew would cause his mother grief. He didn't know what he would do if his new family found out about what he'd been involved with from New York to California. It was eating him up inside just thinking about it.

"Hey."

Beast Boy snapped his attention back to the present and his eyes met the slightly concerned dark-blue, amethyst eyes of Raven Roth. She has the most gorgeous eyes, he thought idly.

"You okay?" she asked gently.

Logan shook his head to clear it. "Umm… yeah, I'm cool."

"You looked a little troubled." She stared directly at him without pretense and he realized that she was offering her full, undivided attention.

Beast Boy smiled hesitantly. "Well I don't know how you Catholic kids always manage to look so untroubled but I can't control my facial expressions that well." The weak joke did absolutely nothing to hide how his green eyes darted around evasively.

She quirked an eyebrow at him as he shifted in his seat uncomfortably.

Raven decided to take pity on him and not press the issue of what had him so troubled. Clearly Logan Garfield was not a shy individual; if he wanted to talk he would talk. "So is Simon still mad at you?" she ventured blandly. She wasn't used to idle chit-chat, let alone starting idle chit-chat.

"Who?" Logan asked, meeting her eyes again in confusion. Then, he quickly processed her random question. "Oh! You mean Cy!" He smiled at her abashedly. "Yeah, he's still upset about the locker incident. That's why mom let me borrow the car. He really needs to learn how to appreciate a good prank, though. I mean, think about it! As long as Cy and I have been brothers, I've undoubtedly pranked him over a hundred times! And yet I still manage to catch him by surprise every time… that takes talent!"

Raven half-smiled at his full blown rant. It doesn't take much to distract him does it, she thought with half amusement, half irony.

Once Beast Boy got on the topic, there was no stopping him. The conversation turned to the ten best pranks he'd ever pulled on his siblings. Even Raven had to stop herself from bursting out in laughter at some of his stories. Their food came and Raven stared in amazement as Beast Boy nearly brought himself to tears in praising how wonderful his pizza tasted. They lingered at the restaurant for another hour, Beast Boy managing to continue his entertaining monologue as he scarfed down a whole pizza and Raven eating two slices of hers and boxing the rest.

The waiter brought them the check and Beast Boy snatched it from the table when he saw her reaching for it. "Relax, Rae, I'm treating," he stated simply.

She tried to stop him but he simply waved his hand at her dismissively. "Least I could do. I mean you did get snarky Dr. Barkley to give us some extra credit work."

She quirked a skeptical eyebrow at him. "You didn't seem so receptive to the idea earlier."

"Oh that?" Beast Boy glanced up from counting what was in his wallet. "I was just angry at a little bit of everything. I hope you don't take it personal, Rae."

"Is that an apology?"

"Depends," he smirked mischievously. "Do you forgive me?"

Raven couldn't help the slight smile that came over her face. This guy was just too amusing. "You're forgiven," she sighed and rolled her eyes to cover her reaction.

"Great!" Beast Boy jumped up and placed a wad of cash on the table. "We should get going before we're too late."

Raven was more than a little confused when Beast Boy offered her his hand. She hesitantly took it and caught his attention with her questioning gaze once she was on her feet. "Late?" she asked, "Late for what?"

Beast Boy grinned as he led her back through the restaurant. "You've forgotten already? There's a party tonight, Rae!"

Three things registered in Raven's mind as she was led back to the car. 1) yes, she had in fact forgotten all about the football-cheerleaders semi-annual pep extravaganza, 2) Beast Boy was becoming entirely too accustomed to referring to her as 'Rae,' and 3) Beast Boy either didn't realize it or didn't see anything wrong with the fact that he was still holding her hand….

A/N: I'm so sorry this update took so long guys. Let's just say that I can't make any promises on an exact time frame in the future. I've just started a new job that I absolutely love… but the downside is that it's an hour and a half drive to get there and another hour and a half to get back. All in all, I'm left with very little leisure time to enjoy writing like I so badly want to. Please don't be mad!

Anywho, tell me what you think so far. This chapter didn't progress as much as I thought it would but I usually just go with the flow and hope it turns out okay. Thanks a bunch to all who have reviewed so far. I take everything you guys say into consideration, really, so feel free to point out whatever… .