A/N: I've had this idea for a while and since it's over halfway finished, there's really no reason to not just go ahead and start posting it. Originally, it was supposed to be another chapter in The Green Files but then it took a life of its own and before I knew it, I had about twenty-two oneshots centering on Beast Boy and Raven and their interaction—all those "moments"—during the animated series and my ideas of what could have happened beyond it. They're all pretty short, told in second person (which means you should get ready of run-on sentences and the like), and alternate between the pair's point of view.

So. Anyone confused yet? Probably, so we'll start off easy: This one takes place during Go! and this chapter is told from Beast Boy's point of view. The next chapter is Raven's. Happy reading!

This is the start of something good.
Don't you agree?
– Gavin DeGraw "Follow Through"

The First Meeting

Yesterday was weird.

Not in a bad way, though, you decide as the group of you—Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, Raven, and you, Beast Boy—watch the sunrise from the little island's beach. You didn't start today expecting to walk into a new city, run into a group of teenagers who don't seem bothered by your green-ness, fight off a bunch of evil alien guys, and somehow, in the middle of it all, make friends as well.

At least, you think you're all friends. Everyone's acting like it and no one looks like they're about to leave (or worse—ask you to leave). Instead, everyone is looking at each other and smiling happily, and it's a nice feeling because you know that everyone is smiling about the same thing. You want everyone to be friends. It's been a while since you've had any of those.

They all look like they could use some friends, too.

So, yesterday was weird in a good way. You met Cyborg, who is fun and awesome, when he's not worrying about how he looks; and Starfire, who is really sweet and totally not intimidating when you actually talk to her; and Raven, who is…well, you don't know because you can't recall ever meeting anyone like her but she's really quiet and kind of weird, but in a way that makes you want to know her—and you really like all of them.

And you worked with Robin—the Robin—and how cool is that? He's just like you figured he would be—serious and smart and totally in-control of everything. He's pretty nice to you, too, which is kind of unexpected because…well, you're you, and he's Robin. But he acts like that doesn't matter, like you're just another hero like him and a friend, too, and maybe it wouldn't be that way if he actually knew stuff about the Doom Patrol and what you were on it—but he doesn't, and that's a good thing.

Because now you have the chance to start over and this time, you won't screw stuff up. This time, you'll give everyone a reason to be proud of you, and then there won't be all the anger and bad feelings like with the Doom Patrol. You're not going to have to run away from these people (and maybe if you ever did…maybe they'd love you enough to chase after you).

This time, everything is going to go right. You know it will.

"That's quite a view," Raven says, drawing you from your thoughts. She's talking about the bay but you're actually paying more attention to her now. Her voice is sort of deep and slightly gravely, but you like it. It's a nice voice. Raven should talk more so you can hear it more.

Cyborg nods. "Someone should build a house out here."

"Yeah, if you like sunshine and the beach," you say with a smile. You relax a little bit more when you see that no one's going to yell at you for it—Mento was always yelling when you made a joke, like there was something wrong with trying to get people to smile—and because you are so relieved, you nudge Raven.

And then it happens.

She laughs a little and smiles at you—and for a second, all you can do is stare. Her smile is tiny and shy and seems both completely out of place and totally perfect on a girl like Raven. It's beautiful and even though you've never thought of anyone's smile as beautiful before, you think hers definitely is.

"You know, you're kind of funny," she says.

You fall a little in love with her right then and there.