That's So Raven - Stronger Than Before

Summary: Raven and Chelsea are attending college in San Francisco and living together as roommates. Their friendship is stronger than ever after a difficult senior year at Bayside, but could it grow into something more?

Notes: This story deals with a relationship between two women. There is nothing graphic, but there is plenty of love and affection. I see that there haven't been very many new stories for this category. I hope there are still some readers out there.

Stronger than Before

Chapter 1

Raven Baxter pushed away from her desk and stretched her arms high in the air, a small squeal of contentment leaving her. She had been working on a new sketch and it was shaping up to be one of her best. Looking at her cellphone, she saw that it was nearly five-thirty and her best friend Chelsea Daniels would be home from class soon. It was their freshman year of college and the two shared a dorm together at San Francisco State University.

Their last year at Bayside High had been a difficult one concerning their friendship. As they both spent more time focusing on their passions—Raven with her fashion design and Chelsea with her environmentalism—they seemed to be growing apart. Much of Raven's free time had been spent interning for the world famous fashion designer Donna Cabonna and Chelsea was deep into her activism. It seemed that whenever they did find time for one another they clashed.

First it had been when Chelsea accused her of being self-absorbed and then when Chelsea and her school group had protested Raven's design, for which Donna Cabonna had intended to use chinchilla fur. Finally, there was the mother-daughter retreat that Chelsea and her mom had invited Raven on. Raven only went because she had a vision of a party and a cute guy, but it had caused yet another argument between the two. They always managed to make up, but the arguing made them both realize that their longstanding friendship was in jeopardy if they didn't do something about their miscommunication.

In the end, they both realized they didn't want to lose the greatest friendship either of them had ever known. Raven started taking the time to pay more attention to Chelsea and the things that were important to her and Chelsea decided that she needed to be more understanding of the position Raven was in when it came to working for Donna Cabonna and as a fashion designer in general. After making those declarations to one another they grew closer than ever. Although they both kept busy with their respective activities and preparing for college, every moment of their free time was spent together and they cherished it more than ever.

Raven slipped her blue and black pumps back on before standing from her desk. It was Friday and she and Chelsea had plans for dinner and a movie just as soon as Chelsea's final class of the day was over. Making her way into the bathroom, she checked her hair and clothes and applied more lip gloss.

She and Chelsea had stuck together like glue when they arrived at college. Both girls' parents had warned them of the dangers of living on campus, especially Raven's dad, Victor, but she knew he was being overprotective since he would no longer be close by. He and her younger brother, Cory, had moved to Washington, D.C. shortly after she graduated from high school where he took a job as personal chef to the President of the United States.

The two friends kept each other in check when it came to making sure cell phones were charged and always letting the other know what their plans for the day were. They never let each other walk through campus at night alone, if it could be avoided. There were times when it simply couldn't be helped, but they always tried their best to keep each other safe.

Raven had just finished primping as she heard the door to their room open. As she made her way into the main living area, she saw Chelsea closing the door and dropping her book bag against the wall.

"Hi, Honey," Raven said playfully as she approached her friend, giving her a kiss on the cheek. They hugged and kissed on the cheek in the morning before they went their separate ways and again when they met back up. Their friends always teased that they acted like some sort of platonic married couple. "How was your day?"

"Exhausting," Chelsea said as she hugged Raven, resting her head on her friends shoulder. "My biology professor decided to assign a research paper on top of the three other assignments we already have to do. Who knew becoming an environmental biologist would be so hard?"

"Aw, poor baby," Raven cooed as she ran a soothing hand up and down her friends back. "Well, try not to think about it, Chels. Today is Friday and we both need to just relax. Why don't you rest for a few minutes before we head out to dinner?" she suggested.

"Good idea," Chelsea said as she pulled away from Raven. At the last minute she dove back in for a deep whiff of Raven's neck, causing her to giggle. "You smell good, Rae. How come I've never smelled that scent on you before?" she asked before walking over to Raven's bed and plopping down.

"Because, I just got it today!" Raven said excitedly as she began digging through her purse. "Miss Donna is releasing a new fragrance and she gave me a test bottle," she explained as she handed the clear glass bottle over to Chelsea for inspection. The liquid inside was a light purple color and the fancy initials D.C. were stamped on the front. "And Chels, you'll be happy to know that no animals were harmed in the making of this fragrance," Raven said proudly. She smiled as Chelsea lay back on her bed, her long red hair fanned out against the pillows. She insisted that Raven's bed was somehow more comfortable than her own.

Chelsea gave a delighted smile at the news and looked at her friend fondly. Raven had really been making a strong attempt at understanding why she cared about the environment so much and it wasn't just something she did to placate Chelsea like it had been at times in the past. Whenever she designed a new piece of clothing, she always considered the alternatives when it came to using real fur and anything that would cause harm to another living being, if it could be helped.

Chelsea's mind wandered back to the time she protested what was to be Raven's very first design made by Donna Cabonna. A part of her still felt guilty about that. In the end, she had gotten her way and stopped Donna Cabonna from designing the piece, but she felt horrible about the fact that she had stopped her friend's dream from being realized. Sometime later, in an attempt to show Raven that she had made the right decision, and perhaps to ease her own guilt, she had invited Raven with her to go and see an actual chinchilla in person. She knew her friend wasn't much of an animal person, but one look at the chubby little creature with the large ears and she was in love.

"So, what are you in the mood for?" Raven asked, pulling Chelsea out of her thoughts.

"I've been craving veggie lasagna all day," she said as she stood from the bed, watching as Raven began putting her designs away.

Their dorm was just as small as everyone else's, but with Raven's decorating abilities, she had managed to make the space feel more like a studio apartment. There was an extra-long desk pushed up against one wall and a lamp sat in the middle, separating it into designated space for each of them to use. Their beds were located on one side of the room and only a nightstand separated them. From what she had seen in other dorms, most roommates wanted to separate the space as much as possible, but she and Rae shared everything and they were as close as two friends could be, so there was no fight for space. They truly lived in cohesion.

One of the best things about their dormitory was the private bathroom. It was small, but it got the job done. They had managed to be assigned to live in one of the newer buildings and a private bathroom as opposed to a communal bathroom was definitely a perk. Their space was decorated brightly, much like Raven's old bedroom. She let Raven take full control, having no intentions of standing in the way of her friend's creativity and, to her surprise she had done some of the decorating with Chelsea in mind. There were splashes of chartreuse here and there and a few patterns that Raven knew she liked. She had even designated a few spots around the room for some of Chelsea's plants.

"Ready?" Raven asked as she grabbed her purse.

"Ready," Chelsea smiled.

It was a nice evening and the restaurant they chose was close enough that they could walk.

"So, why haven't I heard any more about that cute guy from you English class?" Chelsea asked, linking her arm through Raven's.

"Girl, I've been so busy with class and work that I don't even have time to think about him," Raven said.

"What? Raven Baxter doesn't have time to think about a guy?" Chelsea teased, bumping Raven's shoulder with her own. She had never seen anyone more boy crazy than Raven.

"Girl, if I fall in these heels, I'm takin' you down with me," Raven threatened as she nearly lost her balance, hanging on to Chelsea's arm more tightly.

"Seriously, Rae, it's not like you to dis a cute guy," Chelsea said.

"I didn't dis him," Raven explained. "He seems cool, but…well…I've kinda been talking to Devon again lately."

"What?! And you didn't tell me?" Chelsea said surprised, maybe even a little hurt.

Devon Carter was Raven's high school sweetheart until he moved away to Seattle with his family. At the time, she didn't think she would ever love another boy as much as she did Devon, but the heartache eventually faded and she had been able to date other guys. It seemed that she and Devon always found their way back to each other though.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry. It's just that I didn't want to make a big deal of it. He's been calling a couple of times a week."

"And? Are you two getting back together?"

"I think he wants to and that'd be great…more than great, but Chels, how is it going to be any easier or better now than it was in high school?" Raven asked somewhat dejected.

Chelsea wasn't sure what to say in order to help her friend and simply squeezed her arm in comfort.

They finally made it to the restaurant a few minutes later and were quickly seated in a booth with menus. It was a small Italian place called Antonio's and it quickly proved to be one of the best places to eat on campus.

"So, what are you gonna have, Rae?" Chelsea asked as she looked through the menu. The spinach lasagna was calling her name.

"Maybe I'll get lasagna, too, with meat," she smiled. Chelsea smirked in return.

"Listen, Rae. Maybe things would be easier for you and Devon now. We aren't in high school anymore and that means we can come and go as we please. If you and Devon want to make plans to visit each other then there's no one stopping you," Chelsea said.

"I guess you're right, Chels…" Raven trailed off as she was pulled into a vision.

Chelsea was all too familiar with that look and waited eagerly for Raven's vision to end. "What'd you see, Rae?"

Raven let out a high pitched squeal as she grabbed Chelsea's hand excitedly. "Chels, it looks like Eddie's gonna be paying us a visit sometime soon!"

"Really?" Chelsea beamed, just as excited.

Eddie Thomas made up the third part of the best friendship that ever existed. Raven, Chelsea and Eddie had been best friends since they were little kids and their bond had remained until this day. They got in trouble together, laughed, cried, and anything else the best of friends could get into. While Raven and Chelsea chose to remain in San Francisco, Eddie had decided to attend school in New York for music production. It was hard to break up the Three Amigos, but they always wanted what was best for each other even if it meant saying goodbye.

"Chels, do you realize we haven't seen Eddie in months?" Raven said.

"I know. Not since school started." It was strange considering they were used to seeing each other every day. "So, when is it gonna happen, Rae?"

"I'm not sure. I saw the door to our room open and there he was all smiles."

"Oh, I can't wait. Should we call him?" Chelsea asked.

"Nah. Let's keep it a surprise," Raven said smiling.

Their orders came just then and the two dug into their meals.

"Rae, this is so good! You have to try it."

Raven scrunched up her face as Chelsea held out a forkful of the spinach lasagna. "Ew, ew, ew…"she whined as she reluctantly opened her mouth to let Chelsea feed her. "…mmmmm…Chels, this is good."

"Told ya," the redhead said as she took another healthy bite. The rest of the meal was spent with Chelsea fending off Raven from eating her lasagna.

"Rae, would you mind if we just skipped the movie and headed back to the dorm?"

"Sure, Chels. Are you okay?" Raven asked as she finished signing for their meal.

"Yeah. It's just been a long week."

When they got back to the dorm, the girls quickly changed into pajamas and decided that watching a movie in their room would do just as well as seeing something at the theater.

Raven returned from the bathroom to find that Chelsea had already started a movie and was sprawled out across her bed. "Chels, when are you gonna stop hogging my bed?" Raven said as she climbed in beside her friend. They both lay propped against Raven's fluffy pillows.

"I don't know what it is, Rae. Your bed is so comfy," Chelsea said as she snuggle down deeper into the pillows, her feet rubbing against the soft blanket.

"You do realize that this is only a twin bed don't you?" Raven asked. She watched as the redhead pouted and made to go lay on her own bed. Raven grabbed her arm to keep her where she was. "Come on, biscuit head, let's watch the movie," she sighed. Chelsea's pout quickly turned into a grin as they got comfortable.

Later that night, Chelsea awoke to find herself curled up behind Raven. Lifting her head from the pillow, she squinted against the bright light of the television. They had made it through two and half movies before sleep took over. Rising carefully, so as not to wake Raven, she turned off the television and put away the jellybeans they had been munching on. Chelsea looked back and forth between her bed and her warm spot on Raven's bed. She knew she needed to give her friend her space, but her own bed reminded her of a prison cot at the moment.

"Chels?" said Raven's sleepy voice. "Where are you?"

"Just turning off the TV," she responded.

"Well, hurry. It's cold."

Chelsea smiled as her decision was made for her. They had been sleeping on top of Raven's blankets and now there was a chill in the air. She quickly grabbed the extra blanket she kept at the foot of her own bed and spread it out over her friend before climbing in beside her.

"Night, Chels."

"Night, Rae."