This is my first Teen Titans chapter Story. You don't have to be easy on the reviews okay. I want your honest opinion. Your constructive criticism is what makes me a better writer!
Please review.
"Please Raven I insist!" Starfire pleaded, tugging at her dark friend's arm. Raven sighed and looked up at the Tamaranean irritably.
"Shopping isn't my thing, you know that. You and the others go without me. There's nothing I need." Raven replied monotonously, raising her book to read again. Starfire gave her a defeated look and walked up to the others, who were waiting by the door.
"Very well Raven. We shall return soon!" Starfire exclaimed.
"Whatever." was the reply
"You sure you don't want to come Raven?" Robin asked.
"I'm sure."
"Really? Cause a little fresh air outta do you good." Cyborg added. The vein in Raven's head throbbed dangerously. Why was everyone being so difficult? She suddenly felt her book fall from her hands and a small, adorable, little green cat jumped up onto her lap, looking up at her pleadingly.
"Ugh! Why are you all testing my patience like this!? And Beast boy….GET OFF ME!" she shouted as the little green cat began to rub his head against her stomach. She picked him up and threw him on the ground. The cat morphed back into a human and sat next to her on the couch.
"C'mon Raven, why don't you just come with us?"
"NO!" Raven screamed, her outburst not only caused the several titans to jump but also for the black aura covered windows to crack. She stood up, closed her book and fumed out the door. Beast boy frowned as she left.
"Why can't she just admit defeat and come with us?" he shouted.
"Chill BB, She's probably just in one of her moods." Cyborg said.
"When isn't she?" Beast boy asked sarcastically.
This caused the titans to smile a bit but Beast boy still held his frown.
"Let us proceed to the mall of shopping!" Starfire exclaimed. She took Robin's arm and dragged him out of the door. Cyborg laughed at Robin's slightly reddened face.
"Everyone knows that Rob's got the hots for Star. Dunno why he just doesn't ask her out." Cyborg chuckled. Beast boy shrugged.
"Yeah I guess it is kinda annoying when some people just don't have to guts to ask someone out." Cyborg raised his eyebrow.
"Heh, You're one to talk."
"Huh?" Cyborg rolled his eyes.
"Never mind, C'mon lets get to the mall before it's crammed with people and traffic's hell." he urged. Beast boy ran down the hall next to his cybernetic friend. He couldn't stop thinking about Raven and how angry he'd made her. He put the thought at the back of his mind as he jumped into the T-Car with Cyborg and they drove to the mall in silence.
--
Raven fell onto her bed and yelled in aggravation.
"Ugh! Why do I always have to break something when I'm this angry!" she shouted, fully aware that the titans were now gone. "No, why does HE always have to pester me about every little thing!" she screamed. She jumped slightly when a couple of her books encased in a black aura flew by.
"Relax. Your emotions are dangerous remember. Stay calm and meditate. Azarath…Metrion…Zinthos…Azarath…Metrion…Zinthos…." she sighed. "My father is gone but my emotions still need to be controlled…Azarath…Metrion…Zinthos…what I wouldn't give …to feel…"
--
"Okay team. Cyborg you take whatever is at the grocery store, I'll take Star clothes shopping (like anyone else would do it) and Beast boy you go get the meds." Robin ordered. Cyborg chuckled when Robin gave out the order that he was helping Star. Beast boy groaned at his task but shuffled his feet towards the Pharmacy. It always took forever for him them to get the right prescriptions and he also had to stop at the pet store to get most of his meds and Zoonotic medication (spreading diseases form animal to human). About an hour later he finally got all the meds he needed in about six bags full. He was heading back to the car to wait for the other titans when a strange yet familiar aroma met his nose. It smelt of leather books, chamomile and deep incense. He turned toward the smell quickly, expecting someone to be there.
"Raven?"
Nope. Instead he found a dark little shop with Indigo colored drapes in the window and a deep navy blue carpet. He wouldn't have noticed it there if he didn't have his ken sense of smell. Curiosity getting the better of him, he walked towards the little shop and stepped inside. It was a quiet store with shelves and shelves of leather bound books. He noticed a little café in the corner that served mostly herbal teas and fruit. He sniffed the air dreamily as he stepped in. This placed just screamed Raven's name. 'I wonder if she knows about this place,' he thought. He was surprised to see that the shop wasn't as creepy as he thought it might be. Thought he hated that word. He could still remember how much he'd hurt Raven when he'd accidentally called her creepy. He didn't like to think about it, he would never be able to apologize enough. He then remembered how mad he'd made her that afternoon and instantly felt even more guilty. He looked around his surroundings again and got an idea.
"Maybe I can get Raven something to apologize, just a present." he said to himself. He immediately went over to the books and began browsing. He found a few titles that were interesting to him, and only him. He found Guide to Mind Reading, How to use the Wigi Board, and Your Future, told in Tea Leaves. He was going to have to pay a second visit but for now, he couldn't find anything else that he thought Raven would like or anything that he could understand. He was about to give up and head home when he passed by the cash register and found a small jewelry case next to the cashier. He browsed the collection, amazed. They weren't your average everyday gold encrusted diamond. They looked…
"Handmade." said a voice from behind the counter.
Beast boy looked up at the clerk.
"Excuse me?" Beast boy asked politely
"These little trinkets you're looking at are handmade."
"Yeah they're really cool. You made these?"
"Yep, made them with my own two hands."
"Wow. They're really beautiful."
The clerk raised his eyebrow at the green changeling and smiled.
"You know your friend comes in here often to read. And from what I've seen, she's a bit partial to that one over there." The clerk said pointing to the far end of the case.
Beast boy followed his finger to the piece that he was pointing at. Beast boy stood in awe at the glittering necklace. The stone was in the shape of a raven with it's head down and it's wings covering its body. The stone was unrecognizable but the deep purple velvet that lined the neck seemed to shimmer, as well as the gold link in the back. Beast boy didn't know how long he was staring at it before he finally asked.
"May I see that?" The clerk chuckled.
"I don't know what you were doing before but sure." The clerk joked. Beast boy got the joke and gave him a friendly smile.
The clerk took out the necklace and showed it to him.
"This stone is called Dragon Bone. Now it's not actual bone from a dragon of course, but it's rare. I found it on a hike through the Himalayas."
"You were in India?" Beast boy asked. He may not have been the smartest person in the world but when it came to Biology and Geography he was the master.
"Yep, I didn't even know what it was until I heard the local legend."
"Cool how much is it?" Beast boy asked.
"A little over three thousand. If you don't mind me asking, why are you so interested in it?" Beast boy looked away briefly, blushing as well. This did not go unnoticed by the clerk.
"Ahhh… I see… For your Friend." He emphasized the word friend but Beast boy didn't seem to notice.
"Yeah so uhhh…what was that legend you were talking about before?" he asked.
The clerk leaned on the table as if he was going to tell him a secret.
"According to ancient Indian tale, Dragon's Bone is enchanted. The Indians believed in deep meditation, and this," he said holding the necklace in front of him "was what helped them to control their emotions and help them reach the stage of enlightenment. But that's just a legend." he said, tucking away the necklace back into the case. Beast boy suddenly slapped down his credit card with a huge smile on his face.
"I'll take it!" she said excitedly. The clerk chuckled and accepted the card. Since the Titans had frequently been given awards for protecting the city, they were loaded. They did however, donate a great majority of it to charity and for essential things such as groceries. The clerk packaged up the necklace neatly in a black and blue box and handed it to Beast boy.
"Here you go. And tell raven Jerry says Hi." he said. Beast boy smiled, he seemed like a friendly old man with a lot of experience. Though he thought he heard Jerry mutter something about 'young love'. Beast boy disregarded it and ran towards the T-Car. He threw the meds in the back seat and flew home with the box in his talons. He couldn't wait to give Raven her present and hoped that maybe the legend was true, and if not then she got a nice looking necklace. You could hardly see Beast boy's large smile through his beak but he flew back to the tower with hope in his heart that Raven would love his gift.
--
Back at the tower.
Raven was slowly bringing herself out of her trance. "Azarath…Metrion…Zinthos…" she muttered before she lowered herself back down on her bed and lay down, the fury from this afternoon was washing away as well as her consciousness. She quickly fell into a deep sleep on top of her satin sheet with her feet dangling off the side of her bed. She out like a light and didn't hear the knock coming form her door. 'Knock Knock Knock.'
"Raven? Hey, it's me. Look I have something that I think you might like. Can you come out here so we can talk? Raven?" he put his ear next to her door and listened carefully. He could hear her slow breathing and her stable heartbeat. He was a little ticked off that Raven was ignoring him but he just felt more guilty about this afternoon. He probably deserved it.
"Okay, I'LL talk. Look, I'm sorry about annoying you earlier but I'm willing to make it up to you."
Silence.
"I got you a present. Something I know you'd really, really, really like!" he sang.
Silence.
"Raven! C'mon! I'm sorry okay, but just get your but out here it's important!" he shouted.
Silence.
"Fine Raven you want to ignore me than I'll make you listen!" he said in an aggravated tone. He punched in the code to her room and stomped in, only to almost immediately stop and stare at what was before him. Raven was sleeping soundly on her bed. His anger dying away as quickly as it had come, he chuckled to himself.
"Of course she was sleeping. Raven wouldn't completely ignore me like that." he whispered to himself. He walked over to her sleeping figure and smiled warmly. She looked so cute, her hands laid beneath her head, supporting it like a pillow. Her chest moving slowly in sync with her breath and her legs dangled lifelessly off the edge of her bed, yet her face was contorted into an expression of discomfort. He noticed that with half her body lying on her bed and half of it not, who wouldn't be uncomfortable, she also seemed to be getting a slight chill and pulling her cloak around her body more. Beast boy looked at the thermometer on the wall and notice that the A/C was kicking in. Beast boy looked around the room to make sure no one was there and he looked at Raven to make sure she was completely asleep. He set the box down on her night stand and pulled back the covers.
"Raven would kill me if she woke up right now." Beast boy muttered to himself. He slowly picked Raven up bridle style and carried her to the front of her bed. He had had a growth spurt in the last year and now stood an inch above Raven. He had also built up his body a little more so he was able to pick up her gentle figure with ease. Her face relaxed when he picked her up and she seemed to snuggle against his chest subconsciously, taking in the warmth from his body. He blushed slightly and set her back down on her bed. He brought the sheet back over her and tucked her in slightly. He set the box down next to her so it would be the first thing she saw when she woke up. He was heading beck toward the door when he heard her rustle beneath the sheets and mumble something.
"Beast boy."
He stopped dead in his tracks and waited for her to either yell at him or throw him out of her room. He braced for impact but it never came. He slowly turned around to see Raven still sleeping and her eyes twitching every now and then. He let out a sigh of relief. 'phew, she was just dreaming.' He then blushed deeply as he felt the blood rise to his cheeks 'She was dreaming…about me!' he thought. He exited her room with his cheeks still flushing. He couldn't help but feel smug that he was in her dreams and her face wasn't contorted in anger or disgust…it was a good dream. He entered the main room, still thinking about her sleeping form.
The titans were all going about their usual business. Cyborg was on the couch playing video games with Robin, and winning 20 to 4. Starfire was cooking in the kitchen and testing out her Tamaranean concoctions on Silkie (a.k.a the only one in the tower who could bear to eat them.) She looked up with concern to see Beast boy's rather heated face. She immediately flew up to him and nearly scared him to death.
"Ahhh! Star!"
"Beast boy are you well? You are looking rather…brown." Hearing this he immediately broke eye contact and blushed even further, even more now that the blush was affecting his normally green skin color so dramatically. Starfire began to pull his ears, feel his forehead, stretching his eyelids and tugging on his face.
"Perhaps you have come down with the earthly flu, or the fever." Starfire said, trying to play the role of the doctor.
"Ow, Starfire cut it out!" he yelled, desperately trying to regain his normal body temperature. Cyborg and Robin paused the game and looked over the couch to see Beast boy shying away to the table.
"hmmm…why so flushed BB?" Cyborg said suspiciously. Beast boy had taken this chance to calm down and his face cooled down almost immediately.
"Huh? Whatdya mean?" he asked innocently
"ooooo I get it?" Cyborg teased.
"get what?"
"We lost you at the mall. Getting friendly with the ladies are we?" Beast boy couldn't help but let out a laugh of relief at Cyborg's assumption.
"Ummm…yeah…heh…ladies love to pointy ears." he lied
"Heh, yeah right. What was I thinking, you couldn't get a date even if you were a superhero….wait a minute…I think you are!" Cyborg and Robin burst out laughing. Starfire proceeded with her cooking. She never understood what they were talking about when they teased Beast boy like this.
"Dude! I could totally get a date from any girl!" Beast boy shouted defensively.
"Oh really?" Cyborg replied unconvinced. "wanna bet?
"You're on!" Beast boy agreed. "okay, so let's go to the mall and check out…"
"ah, ah, ah" Cyborg sang " you said you could get date from any girl right?"
"Yeah so?"
"Sooo, the girl I have in mind isn't at the mall."
Beast boy gulped "Okay…so…who's the lucky gal?" he asked nervously, fearing for one particular name to pop up.
"I want you to ask out…" then he leaned in to whisper…Starfire!"
"No way dude! I'm not asking out Rav--wait, what?"
Cyborg snickered "That's right ask her out. There were no terms on whether they were alien or not" Beast boy shook his head.
"Nuh uh, no way dude. Robin'll mess me up more than Raven would and who knows what Star will do!" He protested.
Cyborg put a hand to his chin "So you're saying you'd rather ask out Raven?"
"Yes…I mean…"
"Ha! Alright bet's on! You're going to ask out Raven!"
"Cy, please tell me you recorded the whole thing!" Robin laughed from the couch. He apparently didn't hear the bit about Starfire.
"Wait…what?" Beast boy asked. Cyborg sighed.
"I just asked you to ask out Raven and you accepted. Game On!" he shouted, almost giddy
"Hey I didn't say…"
"Need I replay it?" he asked, hitting a few buttons on his arm and replaying his and Beast boy's voices over and over again.
'So you're saying you'd rather ask out Raven?'
'Yes…' replay
'Yes…' replay
'Yes…' replay
'Yes…' replay
'Yes…' replay
"Okay I get it!" Beast boy shouted. Cyborg moved in so Robin wouldn't hear
"Okay so when are you going to do it?" he asked seriously
"I'm not okay…bet's off" Beast boy snapped. He hated that not only had he been tricked but he had been tricked to ask out the one girl that hates him the most.
"Sure, whatever you say dude but seriously man, you should just ask her out."
"What are you talking about?"
"Do I have to spell it out for you? Man, I know you like Raven"
"Of course I do, we're friends aren't we?"
Cyborg rolled his eyes "Will you stop beating around the bush! I meant you really like her." he said putting an emphasis on 'like'. It took Beast boy a minute to register what he was saying. Once he did he felt an oncoming blush and tried to hide it from his mechanical friend, but unfortunately nothing gets past Cyborg.
"See man you're blushing! Just tell her how you feel."
"Dude! I do NOT have a crush on Raven!" he said a bit too loudly. Robin turned around and Starfire looked up form her cooking. Beast boy felt all eyes on him and began to blush even deeper.
"Yo, denial does not look good on you." Cyborg said, ignoring the others.
"There's nothing to be in denial about! I do not like her that way!" he whispered so Robin and Starfire didn't hear. With that he left the room to go to his own. Cyborg shook his head.
"What was that all about?" Robin asked.
"Why is friend Beast boy upset?" Starfire asked, turning off the stove and abandoning her alien dishes. She flew over to the couch and sat down next to Robin. Cyborg headed towards them as well, shaking his head.
"I confronted him about Raven." he said
"What about Raven?" Robin asked.
"Please, is she unwell also?" Starfire asked concerned. Cyborg just gave them a look like they were crazy.
"You mean you guys don't see it? BB's crushing on Raven?"
Robin's eyes went wide behind his mask and he slapped his hand on his forehead. How could he…Robin…miss this? Once he thought about it, it was so obvious. Beast boy's constant attempts to make Raven laugh, his determination to impress her, why he's been reading his comics more than watching T.V. It all made sense now! Starfire gasped at what Cyborg said. She of course thought that he was being literal.
"Why does friend Beast boy wish to crush Raven? I know they do not get along but why would he wish to harm her?"
Cyborg and Robin let out and uneasy chuckle.
"No Star On Earth when you have a crush on them that means you like them."
"Oh…well in that case, have a crush on you Robin."
Robin immediately began to blush and break out in a cold sweat.
"…and you as well Cyborg…" Starfire added.
Cyborg looked at her confused then chuckled while Robin gave him a death glare.
"No Star, when we say that Beast boy has a crush on Raven, we mean that he like, likes her. As in he likes her more than a friend." It took Starfire a little longer than Beast boy to realize what Cyborg was saying. Once she did she gasped and flew around the room.
"Oh Glorious! Perhaps Raven may share the romantic feelings for Beast boy as well!"
"Uh…not so sure about that Star." Robin said.
"Oh but I hope so, would that not be marvelous?"
" I guess so Star but I'm going to have to confront Beast boy about it first." Robin replied
"Why?" Cyborg asked
"Just need to see this for myself." he smirked
Beast boy slammed his door and began pacing around in circles. He was practically pulling his hair out of it's follicles. He fell onto the bottom bunk of his bed and moaned. "What does he know? I don't have a crush on Raven!"
'Are you sure?' a voice inside him said
"Oh great, now I'm going crazy."
'Just tell Raven how you feel.'
"I don't feel anything other than friendship."
'You like her.'
"No I don't"
'You want to hold her.'
"No I don't."
'…kiss her…'
"Shut up!"
'Not until you talk to her'
"Ugh! This is useless. I'm going to sleep now!"
'Fine, good luck with that.'
Beast boy ended the conversation with his mind. He wasn't really tired but as soon as he hit that pillow, a wave of laziness swept over him. He relaxed into his bed and thought about the one person that, in his conscious mind, he wouldn't allow to think about, Raven. He fell into a light slumber with a smile on his face, thinking about her, her face, her personality, the way she talks, the way her pale skin seems to glow when the sun hits it just right and the way she would react when she finds the necklace that will give her the ability to feel…for the first time.