Disclaimer: Blar!

Yes, I am doing a Valentine fic. The inevitable has happened! Woo! This should only be about three or four chapters long, and I really hope it turns out how I was hoping it would. I hope you like it! Reviews are much loved: they're what I thrive on. Please feed me!

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It was only early morning, and already the Jump City Mall was overcrowded with people doing last minute shopping. The whole place was hustle and bustle, desperate shoving crowds of pink, red, and white clad mall goers. The noise was tremendous, shouting, music playing, cell phones blaring. The whole place was filled with heart-shaped balloons and confetti, crepe paper streamers, candy boxes and hearts in every shop window.

Among all the bliss of the day and the excitement of buying gifts for loved ones, one person in particular stuck out. A thin teenage girl with deep violet hair and eyes to match. She was a strange sight, dressed in a black leotard and a flowing blue cloak that fell around her ankles, her pale, grayish skin attracting the glances of passerby. Unlike the other shoppers, she was not at all in the Valentine spirit (who can blame her?). She was walking quickly to avoid the stares of the brightly-clad spectators and the look on her face was expressionless, though her eyes held a distinct look of displeasure.

Raven moved as quickly as possible into the small bookstore and wound her way around the people clogging the place to get to the counter, where she stood for a moment.

"I'm here for a book I ordered," she said, her distaste for speaking to anyone today extremely evident.

"Ah, yes," said the elderly man behind the counter, clearly remembering her. Someone that out of the ordinary wasn't hard to forget. He dug around under the counter for a moment, and produced a thick volume, placing it on the countertop. Raven paid him quickly and took the book without giving him time to put it into a bag, hurrying out the shop as quickly as she could.

Raven got through the journey out of the mall by imagining being back at Titans Tower, in her room reading the unpleasant day away. She had loathed this day for as long as she could remember. She hated the sentiment of it all, the sappy love cards. That wasn't what she hated most, though.

Relieved to be out of the horrible place, Raven started the trip back to the Tower.

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As Raven stepped in the front door several minutes later, the first thing she was aware of was a flash of red and someone swooping in front of her, jumping up and down.

"Hello, Starfire," Raven said slowly as Starfire finished her jig and stood still. The other three Titans stood behind her, all of their expressions wondering silently if maybe this was a bad idea.

"Hello, Friend Raven!" she said, sounding even more cheerful than ever. "I am overjoyed to see you! You departed this morning before the rest of us awakened, and we were confused of your whereabouts!"

"I was at the mall, getting a book," Raven said. "Now if you don't mind, Starfire, I'd like to get to my room."

"Oh, but Raven, you must join us in the merriment of the Valentine's Day! I have heard much about it from Robin. It is a celebration of love and sounds most glorious! We shall make items in the shapes of red muscular organs! You do not wish to join us in the joyous celebration?"

"I don't do joy," Raven said simply.

"Raven, if you will just give us a chance to-"

"No," Raven said, starting to get irritated.

"Star, I don't know if we should-" Robin began.

"But Robin, it will not be the same without Raven joining in the festivities and-"

"I said I don't want to, Starfire, OK? Now just leave me alone! I don't do joy, I don't do merriment, and I don't do Valentine's Day. Stop trying to make me participate in something so completely idiotic," Raven said through clenched teeth.

"Dude, what is your problem? Why do you have to be so gloomy all the time? We're just trying to help you have a good time and you're biting our heads off. What's the matter with you, anyway? Just stop being so depressing for once and have fun like a normal person!" Beast Boy said. That was the wrong thing to say.

"I said leave me alone!" Raven very loudly, eyes glowing red and a window shattering and spraying glass nearby. "You have no right to tell me what to do! Sometimes I think you are the most brainless person on the face of this earth!" she walked quickly past her friends and up the stairs. When she reached the top, she turned for a moment, in a furious state but calmer than before. "Now, will you four please stay away from me for the rest of the day?" and with that, she whipped around and walked out of sight.

"I knew that was a bad idea," said Cyborg, shaking his head.

"What is her problem? Sometimes I wish she could just stop freaking out long enough to act like our friend," Beast Boy said.

"Not everyone likes to celebrate," Robin said. "She is our friend and you know it, Beast Boy. She doesn't need to do everything we think she should, no matter how much we want her to."

"I'm gonna go see what her problem is," Beast Boy said, turning around.

"Uh, BB, I don't think that's such a good idea," Cyborg said.

"Somebody's got to," Beast Boy said with a shrug, heading up the stairs.

"Should we stop him?" Robin asked, looking at Cyborg.

Cyborg shook his head. "That boy needs to learn his lesson. Some things are better left alone, and he'll find that out once she uses him as a human punching bad," he said.

Robin gave a slight chuckle at this. "Yeah. Come on Star, let's go get things started. It's OK, we'll still have fun. It doesn't matter if Raven doesn't like it. She'll be OK," he said comfortingly to Starfire. The three of them headed toward the living room.

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Next chapter soon. It should be more interesting than this one was. And longer.