Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.

Author's Note: Because I can't leave well enough alone. This isn't meant to elicit any particularly strong emotions, but instead to provide a sort of launching pad for more unpleasantness. To think of it in terms of a volleyball game, the spike begins with a set.

Promise you won't forget me, because if I thought you would, I'd never leave.
-Winnie the Pooh

Cool, Calm, and Confident

Raven was quickly developing what promised to be a very painful migraine. It felt like ages since she had had some time alone to herself. Cyborg wanted her help with fixing "his baby," Starfire was constantly harassing her for "girl talk" and "trips to the mall of shopping," and Robin was… well, she didn't really mind the time she spent with Robin. At least they had gone back to sleeping in separate beds once more- neither of them wanted to go too far too quickly, and neither trusted themselves to resist the temptation for too much longer if they continued to tempt fate by sleeping together.

The only person in the entire Tower that left her to herself, oddly enough, was Beast Boy. Ever since his "issues" from a few weeks ago had been resolved, he had finally gotten the hint and let her be.

Not that he had changed, mind you. He still told the same awful jokes, still made his futile attempts to get others to try his tofu, still made light of almost every situation, and still remained obsessed with his video games. The only difference was that he no longer did those things to her, and frankly, she found herself feeling thankful. Raven was certain that if the changeling had continued to try and force his company on her as he had for the past six years, the combined pressure of him and the rest of her team mates would have made her snap.

Or, at least, it would have made her snap sooner than she did.

"I think we might have ticked Raven off just a wee bit," said Cyborg, sparks still flying from his slightly damaged cybernetic chassis.

"I agree with your assessment, friend Cyborg," said Starfire, "although I do not understand what caused her to 'soar from the grip,' as you say."

"I think you mean 'fly off the handle' Star," Robin corrected automatically. "She just needs some alone time, is all. We have kinda been pestering her for a while."

"But we are her friends, and enjoy her company!" replied the confused alien.

Robin shrugged. "It's just who she is- she appreciates her time by herself, and we haven't really given her that much lately."

"What I want to know," said a voice behind them all, "is why she's pissed off at me!" The three friends turned to see Beast Boy standing in the doorway, a trail of smoke rising faintly from his hair. "I haven't bugged her for weeks!"

Cyborg chuckled and gave his best friend a gentle noogie. "I think she's just obligated to be upset with you, BB. Maybe now that you're giving her some space, she's making up for all those times in the past when you wouldn't."

Beast Boy muttered darkly and rubbed his head, making absolutely certain that the last of the embers had been extinguished.

"The fact still remains, however," said Cyborg, changing the subject, "that I still need some help with the T-Car."

"And I require accompaniment to the mall of shopping, as well," chimed in Starfire.

Beast Boy and Robin both did the math in their heads- two of their friends needed assistance, and there were precisely two people who could help. One would remain at home in the Tower with Cyborg, the other would undergo the unpleasant experience of being dragged around the mall by an overeager Starfire.

Surprising everyone, Beast Boy beat Robin to the punch. "Alright, I'll help Cy, and Rob can escort Star 'round the mall."

"But-" said Cyborg and Robin simultaneously.

"No! No 'buts,' that's the way it's gonna work." Then, again surprising everyone, he pushed Robin and Starfire through a nearby door and shut it behind them.

"First of all," said Cyborg, "if you even think that I'm gonna let you touch my baby-"

"Would you let Robin touch it?" Beast Boy countered.

"No, but that's beside the point- not everything he touches explodes!"

Beast Boy dismissed the thought with a wave of his hand, already making his way towards the garage. "Dude, I went five weeks without bugging Raven, I think I can go a few hours without blowing something up in the garage." Pausing at the door, he turned back to Cyborg. "What was the second thing you wanted to say?"

"Oh yeah," said Cyborg, suddenly remembering his second point. "You do realize that you just pushed Robin and Starfire into a broom closet, right?" The only response he got was the sound of running feet as his friend hightailed it out of there. "Guess you didn't," mumbled Cyborg, before following the changeling down to the garage.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos," mumbled Raven as she floated above her bed. She felt a little bad about her eruption earlier this morning, but just barely so.

They've had it a long time coming, she reminded herself, keeping the feelings of guilt at bay as she meditated in blessed solitude.

Beast Boy and Cyborg worked in relative silence for about twenty minutes before the android finally got fed up and initiated a conversation.

"Why the hell are you being so quiet, BB?" he asked, the confusion evident in his voice. He hoped that his friend wasn't slipping back into his funk from a few weeks ago.

"Concentrating on not breaking anything," was the terse reply. Cyborg raised an eyebrow.

"Ya know, most of this stuff is actually pretty tough, in spite of how careful I am with it." He got no response. "Alright, how about this- you talk, and as long as you don't manage to somehow launch the engine into the bay, I'll forgive ya."

Beast Boy gave a smile and a short nod before handing his friend the wrench he had asked for earlier. "Alright, it's a deal. Anything in particular you feel like talkin' 'bout?"

Taking the tool and turning to the car, Cyborg thought quickly. "Hmm… I dunno, you got any girls you're interested? You and Star would be pretty cute together, I think."

A loud crash followed this assertion, immediately bringing Cyborg's attention to the source of the noise- in this case, a part that Beast Boy had dropped on his foot. "Dude! Not cool!" shouted the changeling, hopping around in a small circle.

Cyborg smirked at Beast Boy's antics. "So you do have a thing for our little princess?"

Beast Boy sat down and rubbed his foot through his shoe. "Cy, do you think that if I had a thing for Starfire, I would have foisted her onto Robin so quickly?"

"Foisted? Someone's been hitting the dictionary, hasn't he?" Beast Boy rolled his eyes and bit back his reply. "But I still think you and she would go nicely with each other."

Shaking his head, Beast Boy emphasized his denial. "Not a chance- she's too much energy, even for me. I just don't have the patience for that twenty-four seven."

The half-robot scoffed before returning to the vehicle. "No patience? I seem to remember you trying for six years to get Raven to laugh at one of your awful jokes."

"That's not patience," retorted Beast Boy, "that's perspicacity. Totally different concepts."

"Keep using those big words," quipped Cyborg, "and I'll be doing repairs on my circuitry before this day is over."

Beast Boy snorted in annoyance. "What about you, big guy? You have your eye on anyone?"

Cyborg hesitated slightly. "No, 'course not."

Grinning evilly, the changeling sidled up next to the android, waggling his eyebrows. "Not even a certain pink-haired sorceress?"

Cyborg jumped in surprise, lost his balance, and fell forward onto the T-Car. "Wha- what gave you that idea?!" he asked in shock.

"Well, if your reaction and lack of denial are any indication…"

Looking around for any possible eavesdroppers, the android leaned in close to his friend. "If you tell anyone-"

Beast Boy patted him on the head patronizingly. "Don't worry- your secret's safe with me. Scout's honor."

Cyborg fixed him with an dubious glare, his one eyebrow raised into his forehead.

"Alright, alright! I promise! Geez."

Raven kicked back and lay down on the couch, an old copy of The Three Musketeers open in her hand. She was halfway through the book before she began to wonder why it was so quiet in the Tower.

Just where is everybody off to? she asked herself, sitting up and looking around as though they would walk in at any moment. Sitting back down and shrugging off the question as unimportant, she returned to her book.

"What place of sales do you wish to visit first, friend Robin?" asked Starfire, as the two stood at the mall entrance.

"Well, I don't know- I haven't really spent much time here at all," said Robin. "Where do you and Raven usually go when you come here?"

"Friend Raven and I usually alternate between places of sales of our choice. Do you wish to begin at the bookstore, then?"

"Hm," said Robin, "not really- I do enough reading as I research. Is there a sporting goods store in here, by any chance?"

"There is a place called 'Dick's Sporting Goods' not too far from here." She noted that Robin got a funny sort of smile on his face when she named the store, but let it pass without comment. "I am not familiar with the merchandise sold there, but I believe that it would fit the description of the store you seek."

"Alright," laughed Robin, "to Dick's we go!" He walked off, but stopped when he heard a soft giggle behind him. Turning around, he saw Starfire trying in vain to suppress her laughter behind a hand.

"What's so funny, Star?" asked a genuinely puzzled Boy Wonder.

"Friend Robin, the store is this direction." She gestured behind her with her thumb, indicating the precise opposite direction that Robin had been headed.

"Oh," replied Robin, blushing slightly at his mistake. "Lead on, then."

"I shall, friend!" chirped Starfire, smiling widely. "This way, please!" Robin followed his floating friend for a little ways, until she came to a stop in front of a very large entryway. "I believe this is the store you were looking for?"

Robin looked inside, seeing a large variety of sports equipment ranging in everything from tennis balls to barbells, and beyond.

"It's perfect, Star. All we need is to buy some replacements for the various balls that Beast Boy and Cyborg have destroyed between them." Robin immediately headed towards the nearest row of shelves, which contained various sizes of basketballs for him to choose from.

An hour later, the two were still in the store, as Robin taught a very interested Starfire about the many varieties of sports played on Earth.

"This here's a bowling ball, which as the name implies, is used for bowling." He handed her a sixteen pound ball, which she accepted as though it were no heavier than a marble.

"How very odd," said Starfire, rolling the ball around in her hands. "It doesn't feel as though it would be very good for bouncing."

Robin laughed, taking the ball back and returning it to where he had found it. "No, I don't imagine it would be- it's meant for rolling and knocking over bowling pins."

"Oh!" exclaimed Starfire, "I know what this one is!" She held up a black and white checkered ball. "Cyborg said this ball was used in a sport played by pieces of fruit!" Her expression became more puzzled as she finished the sentence, trying to imagine apples and oranges throwing a ball bigger than themselves back and forth.

"That's Cyborg being… well, forget he said that. Anyway, that's a soccer ball, which is used to play soccer. Or if you're not in the United States, it's called 'football.'"

"But I thought football was played with a brown prolate spheroid," said the confused alien.

"That's what the rest of the world calls 'American football.'"

Starfire blinked a few times before putting the soccer/football back where it belonged. "Weird." Then she looked over to the corner, clapped her hands together in excitement, and flew off, leaving Robin blinking in her dust.

"Um, Star? Where'd you get to?" he asked, looking around for the excitable alien.

"Over here, friend! Please, what sport is this ball used for?"

Robin walked in the direction the voice was coming from, emerging from one of the rows of shelves to see Starfire holding a-

"Starfire! Don't throw the kayak!" he cried out. Starfire looked a little abashed as she set the kayak back down on the floor, before floating back over to Robin.

"Would you like to continue to a new place of sales, friend Robin?" she asked meekly.

"Sure, if you want to. It's your choice, I believe." He had barely finished his sentence before he felt something firmly grip his hand and pull. The next thing he knew, he was standing in front of-

"The Pink Poodle?" he asked, looking up at the sign over the very pink store.

"Yes! Friend Raven positively refuses to enter this store, so I have not yet been able to come by a friend's opinion regarding how an article of clothing appears on me."

Robin realized only then just what he had signed up for- what Beast Boy had signed him up for- and gulped.

"L-lead the w-way, Star."

"I sense a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced," said Obi-wan Kenobi.

Raven jumped and looked around, wondering who the hell had turned the TV on.

Oh, she thought. I fell asleep on the remote control.

"I gotta admit it, grass stain," said Cyborg as he walked into the common room. "That wasn't a quarter as disastrous as I had expected it would be."

Beast Boy snorted. "Glad to see my mechanical aptitude inspires such great confidence, tin man."

"Dude, I told you to stop that!" Cyborg shouted playfully. "Seriously, my circuits are gonna fry!"

"What's he done to your circuits, Cyborg?" asked Robin as he exited the elevator, Starfire trailing behind him with an armload of pink bags.

"Little dude keeps using big words," the android cried, slapping himself in the forehead dramatically. "And even worse, he's using them correctly!" He then proceeded to fall to the floor in a good imitation of a dead faint.

"Well, will wonders never cease," came a monotonic voice from the couch. "I should probably find a new hiding place for the dictionary." Starfire paused in her frantic attempts to revive the "unconscious" Cyborg to look up to her friend.

"Oh hello, friend Raven! Have you have enjoyed your quiet time today?" she asked, before returning to the task of vigorously shaking the rattled android on the floor.

"Yes, actually." Raven then let her conscience get the better of her, adding: "and I'm sorry if I was a little… harsh this morning." She looked around at her friends, then asked the question that had bothering her all day. "So where did you all disappear to today? I haven't seen any of you since breakfast."

"Oh, well BB and I rotated the tires on the T-Car, changed the oil, and replaced a worn brake pad." Cyborg paused as he stood up from the ground. "And all without causing any international incidents!" he added. Beast Boy eloquently stuck his tongue out at him.

"Robin and I went to the mall of shopping!" exclaimed Starfire. "And I discovered that kayaks are not for throwing!"

"Don't ask," muttered Robin, groaning as he forced back a laugh. "And I don't think I've ever seen so much pink in my entire life."

Raven smiled at his exclamation. "I see she got you inside-"

"The Pink Poodle? Yep. Lots of pink, but not so many poodles, thank God." He studiously ignored the green poodle tugging on his cape.

"What about you, Rae?" asked Cyborg. "You keep yourself busy?"

Raven nodded. "Yes- I spent the day meditating, reading," she raised a mug, "drinking tea- you know, 'Raven-y' things."

Beast Boy turned back into a human and stood up. "Well, I don't know about y'all, but I'm bushed- Cy, no green jokes and Star, it's an expression that means 'tired.'" Cyborg looked a little disappointed, and Starfire nodded in understanding. "I'll be headed off to bed- ya know, if anyone's keeping tabs."

"I too, am the 'shrubbery' that Beast Boy spoke of, and will be retiring to my room. Good night, friends!" Starfire waved cheerily and floated off carrying her purchases.

Robin gave a loud yawn and stretched his arms over his head. "Me too- keeping up with that girl's harder than fighting Slade. Tomorrow morning's training is canceled. Cy, could you relay that to Star and BB?"

Cyborg nodded. "Sure thing, Rob." Following Robin into the hallway, he gave Raven a tired wave. "Night Rae. Glad you enjoyed your time to yourself today."

Raven, still on the couch, checked the clock on her communicator. Her friends had been in the same room as her for less than ten minutes.

"Yes, I enjoyed it," she said quietly to herself. "But I was kind of hoping it was over and done with."

Raven woke up the next morning feeling oddly sociable- that is to say, she greeted the first person she saw in the hallway (Cyborg) with a "Good morning, Cyborg" instead of her usual "Hello." Her efforts were rewarded with tired grunting, but the android really wasn't ready to face the day without his waffles.

Breakfast was, for once, a quiet affair- Cyborg wasn't in the mood for meat for once, and Beast Boy had no moral objection to his friend's use of milk in waffle batter- he just preferred soy milk himself. Once everyone had finished, Raven collected the plates with her powers and walked over to the sink- it was her week to do dishes. As she scrubbed, she heard her friends talking behind her.

"Hey Cy, you hear about the arcade? They just put in this awesome new two-player shooter game: Attack of the Zombie Dinosaurs from Area 51! I've got a bag of quarters with our name on it!"

"Friend Robin, would you care to accompany me to the mall of shopping once more? There are still many places of sales that we did not visit yesterday, and none of them have poodles."

"Sounds like a plan, little man!"

"Heh, sure thing Star."

Raven paused, realizing that there wasn't really any place for her in their plans- did they expect her to spend another day reading and meditating? It sure seemed like they did. A few years ago, that might have been the norm for her, but now…

A few minutes passed by as Raven was lost in thought, and the dishes cleaned themselves. Snapping out of her reverie as the last plate gently landed on the counter, she turned around-

-to find an empty room. She had been left behind.

And suddenly, for the first time since that wretched dragon had made a fool of her, Raven felt very alone.

Raven spent the rest of the day meditating on the roof, lost in herself as she found her center and balanced her emotions as best she could. The sudden tug of her senses alerted her that her friends had returned once more, and she headed back inside to greet them.

Entering the common room unnoticed, she saw two open boxes of pizza lying on the kitchen table. Raven presumed that Cyborg and Beast Boy had come back with dinner, and grabbed herself a slice of cheese pizza from Beast Boy's box. Turning to her friends, she quietly observed them as the laughed, talked, and joked around with each other.

She felt left out as she saw Cyborg and Beast Boy roughhousing with each other.

She felt replaced as Starfire gleefully described some oddity at the mall's food court to Cyborg.

She felt strangely saddened at the usual lack of attention she received from Beast Boy.

She felt alone as Robin sat down next to Starfire to explain just why using both ketchup and mustard on a hot dog was not a culinarily criminal act.

Nobody so much as even looked her way.

And Raven showed nothing.

She had no other choice.