Stealing hearts : Chapter 2

        Raven woke up and she was in bed, where she always woke up. Sunlight streamed through her curtains covering her with like like a second blanket. She looked at her clock. It read 9:19.

         ‘I overslept? How could I oversleep?’ She though.

        Of course she knew why. It was the dream, the extremely vivid one about her and Beastboy in the field. The one that had felt so real.

        Raven got up, brushed her teeth, combed her hair, and changed into a fresh leotard and cloak. She then left her room and made her way down to the ops room for breakfast, not bothering to put her hood up. Her mind kept wandering towards her dream of last night. She never had a dream like that. Most nights were dreamless while the one that weren’t were usually plagued with the most horrible of nightmares: Betrayal, the gruesome deaths of her friends, being shunned from her family, heartbreak. The good dreams were few and far between, but none had been this powerful or as uplifting. It was the first dream she wish had never ended.

        ‘What am I thinking?’ It was good but it couldn’t that good,’I mean Beastboy was there.’ Thou it wouldn’t have been the same without him. ‘Ok, so maybe it was nice that he was there, but it wasn’t that Important.’ She thought back to the moment right before she had woken up, where he had cupped her cheek and leaned forward. Was he about to kiss her? Probably. Had she wanted him to? Maybe, the real question was, when closed her eyes was it because she wanted the kiss or to wake up? ‘It doesn’t matter. Even if I wanted to in the dream, that doesn’t mean I want that now or ever.' 

        "I don’t care what my dream was. I do not like Beastboy.” she said out loud right before she entered the common room and saw ….. him.

        Beastboy's stomach was lead. The feeling from last night had not gone away and it now weighted on him like concrete in his stomach. Everything he had done that morning had been for the simple sake of routine. He hadn’t wanted to get out of bed that morning, not because he was tired, but because he just didn’t see any reason to. He had poured himself cereal simply because it was breakfast and it would have looked weird if he didn’t. He just sat on a barstool stirring around his cereal in the bowl. It had gotten soggy in the milk and at this point he was just picking at it.

       “Friend Beastboy, are you not enjoying your sugar based flakes in lactose creme?” Starfire asked noticing his demeanor. 

        “Yeah, it’s fine Star.” He said turning to her and giving her a small smile. He then got up, not bothering to take his bowl to the sink and walked towards the door. He had barely gotten any sleep even after his nightmare and he didn’t feel like staying in the common room. He was planning on going back to his room when he heard the whoose of the door opening, looked up and saw….. her.

        It was weird that he would be the first person she saw that day, but when she saw him, it was just like when they were in the field. He still had that look to him, the one that tells you it’s a dream, or a memory, because it’s too perfect to be anything else. He looked straight out of the dream, and yet he was just standing there in the middle of the room. His emerald eyes stared right at her and it was so shocking she momentary forgot how breathe……..

        It was her, she had hood down, he could see her face. The sunlight streamed through and caught her just right, as if that were there only purpose. It was as if he was seeing her for the first time, and she was beautiful. She glowed with the luster of any sunrise, for she was as radiatant as the sun itself. Her amethyst eyes pierced him causing a flood of emotions to penatrate his heart, and for the first time all day he face curled up in a genuine smile.

        He was smiling, just like in the dream, and like the dream his very presence warmed her. She felt it start in her chest and spread throughout her entire body. The feeling was more magical than anything she had ever experienced. I made the edges of her mouth tuge upward into a soft smile.

        Was she smiling? Her smiles were always beautiful, and today they were even more so.

        And his eyes…

        Her beautiful amethyst eyes…..

        Why are friend BeastBoy and friend Raven staring at each other?

        Hey the Gotham D-backs won, that is a huge win for them.

        Bacon pancakes, Bacon pancakes, I make the bacon and I put it in the panccccaaaaakes!!! Bacon Pancakes!

        Starfire looked back and forth at her friends as they stood completely still their eyes fixed on each other.

        “Hey did you guys know that the diamond backs won yesterday?” Robin said, reading the newspaper as he sipped his coffee.

        “Boyfriend Robin?” Starfire said as she nudged him on the shoulder. 

        “Yeah, Star.” he said turning towards her.

        “Is there a new earthly ritual in which two people will stare at each other for long periods of time?”

        “Nnnnoo…. I don’t think so. Why?”

        “Because friend Beastboy and friend Raven have engaged in that activity.”

        Robin looked perplexed, “What do you mean?”

        “Look.” his girlfriend said pointing at their friends.

        Raven was standing just inside the door, while Beastboy stood ten feet from the bottom of the stairs. Both were frozen in place, their eyes transfixed on each other. Both wore soft smiles with a look of calm and peace on their faces.

        “How long have they been like that?”

        “About ten minutes."

        Robin didn’t know what to make of it, so he instead tried to get their attention. “Hey Guys.” They didn’t move.

        “Guys.” No response.

        “Beastboy!” he said sharply. Beastboy blinked and turned to him, seeming  to come out of whatever trance he was in. “Ahh yeah, what?”

        “You’ve been standing there for ten minutes.”

        “I have?”

        “Yes. Are you ok?”

        “Ahh yeah, I just…..” he stared back at Raven and the same look crossed his face, “Good morning, Raven.”

        “Good morning Beastboy.” Raven replied, a soft blush in her cheeks. She made her way down the stairs and started towards the stove, Beastboy’s eyes never leaving her.

        He made his way back to his seat and resumed eating his cereal.

        “I believed you were finished with your meal.” said Starfire a curious tint in her expression.

        “Not yet.” Beastboy said enjoying his cereal while staring at his blue cloaked team mate.

        Raven found an empty burner for her kettle and set it next to Cyborg who was flamboyantly frying bacon and pancakes in the same skillet. 

        “Hey Raven, would you like one of my world famous bacon pancakes?” The metal man leaned in and asked.

        “Sure” she said a little lighter than her usual monotone.

        “Alright, that’s one for….. wait what?”

        “I’ll have a bacon pancake.”

        “Really? Because you usually decline my offer.”

        “Well this time I’m accepting.” she said, adding the tea mix into the kettle.

        “OOOKay,” the Cyborg said still surprised, but going with it. “So that’s one for you, one for Rob, three for Star, five for me, and BB you sure you don’t want any?”

        “I’m good Cy” the Changling said still staring at his blue-cloaked teammate, “I’m good.”

        The metal man saw this and was even more confused than before. He returned to his creation, his processors grinding. 

        When the kettle whistled, the empath removed is from the stove and poured some tea into her favorite mug. She sat down in the chair next to Beastboy. A quick glance revealed he was staring at her which made them both turn away blushing. Their teammates watched this in a stunned and perplexed silence .

        To them it was crazy enough that it was happening but even crazier was that it kept happening. One of them would be staring at the other and then they would either turn back when they saw the other’s head turning or they would lock eyes and then turn away, both blushing. It happened as Raven slowly ate her bacon pancake as if savoring every bite and as Beastboy finished his cereal and then refilled it.

        When Raven was done, she got up and put her plate in the sink, “ I’m going to go meditate.” she told her fellow teammates. “Alright.” Beastboy said with the same look he’d had since she’d walked in. The rest of the team all gave generic answers as they continued to watch the interaction. Beastboy watched Raven as she left and when she was gone, he breathed a happy sigh.

        “OK, What was that?” Beastboy turned to his leader “What was what?” 

        “Don’t play dumb.”

        “I’m not playing.”

        “What was that thing between you and Raven?”

        “What thing? You mean saying good morning to her?”

        “No….. well, yeah, that and everything else.”

        “What everything else?”

        “You know, staring and smiling at each other all through breakfast.”

        “You too did gaze upon each other with the eyes of affection.” Starfire added.

        “Yeah, y’all were like that one couple in a class that spend the entire period passing notes and blowing kisses to each other.” Cyborg analyzed, as chibi forms of the team in white school uniforms formed in a cloud above his head acted out what he had just described. 

        “I don’t know what you guys are talking about, I was just happy to see her.” Beastboy said, making his way to the couch. 

        “How do you ….?” Cyborg started, but Robin cut him off, “Say that again Beastboy.”

        “Say What?” Beastboy said turning back from the game system he had just started.

        “What you just said.”

        “Thatttt I was happy to see her?”

        “Say it again.”

        “I was happy to see her.”

        “One more time.”

        “I was HAPPY to see her.” the changing said starting to get annoyed.

        “Alright,” the boy wonder said as he put his hands up defensively “Anyway I’ve got  some paperwork to do so I’ll go get on that.” he said as he turned to the other titans. He made several hand gesture towards Cyborg who nodded in response. “Yes and I must go and check on my bungorf Silkie, I hope he has not overslept.” Starfire said as she followed Robin out of the ops room. 

        “Wanna go two player?” the changling called to his metal friend. “Sure.” Cyborg said as he plopped down on the couch next to green friend and grabbed a controller. Ten minutes later the duo was knee deep in a heated race when the changing quickly stood up dropping his controller.

        "Oh my god!!!!!” he shouted and raised his hands to his head. “What?” his friend asked in concern. 

        The green skinned teen looked at him in shock, "I was happy to see Raven!!!”

        Cyborg then lifted his hand to the side of his head, “Hey, Rob.” he said and after a pause replied “He just got it."

        The girl with the long red hair walked down the hallway towards her room. She had let her pet larva Silkie sleep in and she had to make sure he didn’t oversleep or wake up missing her. As soon as she opened her door she was quickly pulled inside and hand was shoved to cover her mouth.

“We need to talk.” A voice told her.