Stealing hearts Chapter 3

                Stealing hearts Chapter 3

    The confused alien jerked the hand off her mouth and turned towards her attacker, arms raised and eyes glowing. “Who are….?”
    She then lowered her guard as she realized the person who grabbed her was none other than her blue cloaked best friend.
    “Raven?” she asked as her friend walked to the door and peered out.
    “Were you followed?” She asked checking up and down both halls.
    “I do not believe so, why?” Starfire asked confused about her friend secretive behavior.
    “Like I said, we need to talk,” Raven said shutting the door “and it is very important that it stays between us. Nobody else can know. Not even Robin.”
     “I understand, and you can put your trust in me friend Raven, but why with the secrecy?”
     Raven looked her straight in the eye “Because what I’m about to say is very personal and I wouldn’t be saying it if I didn’t think you could help me.”
    The girl with Auburn hair looked at her friend. Under her usual monotone and deadpan expression she could feel the waves of uneasiness and uncertainty coming from her. “Alright I will not tell anybody.” Then I thought came to her, “But can Silkie know?”
    Raven looked at her friend in confusion. “What?”
    “Silkie.” Starfire said as she walked over to her bed and picked up her giant pet larva. Upon being picked up, Silkie nuzzled his owner’s stomach and let out a soft purring noise. “I know this is important to you, so is it ok if Silkie also hears?”
    Raven looked at the larva and the bug looked back a happy grin-like expression on his face. The edges of her mouth tugged upward, threatening her usual expression. Looking down she replied “Yes, Silkie can listen too.”
    “Wonderful” the alien exclaimed as she sat on her bed. She patted the spot next to her indicating to her friend that she should sit down. The blue cloaked girl accepted and sat next to her. “So what is bothering you?”
    The empath took a deep breath as she started. “I think that I might have feelings towards BeastBoy.”

    “I don’t understand, how’d this even happen?” Beastboy exclaimed, his hands on his head.
    “Why are you asking me? You're the one who did it.” Cyborg replied slightly amused by his friends antics.
    “Yeah, but I didn’t know I was doing it while It…. I…. was….. doing… being…. done? You know what I mean!!”
    “Well what did you think was going on?”
    “I don’t know!!” Beastboy said, sitting down and burying his face in his hands.
    “Look, buddy, it’s ok. You don’t have to figure everything out, I was just pointing it out.” Cyborg said trying to reassure him.
    “I guess, but…. I don’t know it’s just….. can we go back to our game?”
    “Sure bud.” His metal friend said picking his controller back up. They continued playing for a about ten minute before Beastboy paused the game. “How did you guys see it?”
    “What do you mean?” Cyborg asked.
    “I’m trying to remember it and I want to know what you guys saw versus what I saw.”
    “What did you see?”
    "I don’t really remember anything in particular, I just know it felt good.”
    “Well it must have been because from our perspective you to were really happy to see each other.”
    “It was more than that,” Beastboy said, as he leaned back and stared at the ceiling. "it felt like…… I was cold and then the sun finally came out and warmed me up.”
     Cyborg looked at his friend, “You wanted to bask in it didn’t you?”
“Yeah,” his friend said turning to him, “Is that a bad thing?”
    “No not at all. It certainly explains why you were acting like that.” the metal man looked up in thought, “Thou I’d never think of Raven as a sun.”
    “She was today.” Beastboy sat up. “Can we get back to our game?”
“Sure bud.” The metal man said as he picked up his controller, and the two resumed their game.
    Beastboy had gotten over his original shock of realizing what his feeling meant, but in the place of the shock was an itch. One that settled on the frontal lobe of his brain like a seed of poison ivy. He tried to ignore it and focus on the game, but like a seed it began to grow and get stronger and along with it the concrete in his stomach returned, making the itch worse.
    He paused the game again. He metal friend looked at him, “What’s up?”
   “How did Raven act?”
   “What?”
   “Raven, how did she act, like could she tell I was staring at her or……?”
   “I think she could tell, but I don’t think she minded.”
   “Really?
   “Yeah she seemed really happy for some reason. That’s what caught my attention.”
   “You think she was happy……. to see me?”
  Cyborg looked at his green buddy a concerned look on his face, “Maybe. She did keep looking at you.”
  “Really?” Beastboy said lost in some thought.
  “Yeah” Cyborg said his concern growing.
  Beastboy looked as if he were going over something before saying “Let’s keep playing.”
  “Alright” Cyborg saying in some disbelief.
   They continued their game, but as they were playing Beastboy continued to feel worse. Any warm feeling from that morning had faded away and was replaced by a cold boulder in his stomach, weighing him down and chilling him. Along with this the itch had grown it’s vines around his brain and was consuming it. Finally he could not take it anymore.
   Beastboy quickly stood up and headed towards the door.
  “What are you doing?” his metal called after him.
“I’m going to go do something stupid.” the changeling said without turning around and headed out the door.
  Cyborg looked at the door after his friend had left. “Well that narrows it down."

   “That is wonderful friend Raven!” Starfire beamed, trying to pull her friend into a congratulatory hug.
   “No, No.” Raven said pushing her friend away “It is not wonderful. I don’t think you heard me, I have feelings for Beastboy.”
   “I heard and understand friend Raven, but I fail to see the problem.” Star asked confused.
   “The problem is, is that it’s Beastboy! I can’t like Beastboy.”
   “Why not?”
   “Where do I begin, he’s loud, obnoxious, disgusting, a slob and an idiot. He always tells lame jokes, to get me laugh, he always interrupts when I’m meditating to invite me to play some stupid game, he always drags me to whatever team event we’re doing so I feel involved. He always tries to make me smile with that stupid toothy grin of his, the one where his bottom left fang always pokes out. Bothers me when I’m in a bad mood just to see if I’m okay. Always gives me that one look that he knows I can’t stay mad at when I’m mad at him. He’s emerald, he has fangs, and his adorable ears are pointed. And if all that wasn’t enough one time he made me tea with that vanilla soy milk of his because he said it would taste better.”
   “Did it taste better?”
   “No that stuff was horrible.”
   “I see.” Starfire said going over everything Raven had just said, “but despite all those not to date him, you still want to date him?”
   “I never said I wanted to date him I said I might have feelings for him.” Raven corrected.
   “What kinds of feelings?”
   Raven looked down, “I don’t know that’s why I wanted to talk to you.”
   “I see.” Star said not knowing what else to say. The two sat in silence as the room went still around them. The only sound came from Silkie, purring as Starfire pet him.
   After a while Raven looked back up. “What was it like?”
   Starfire looked at her, “What was what like?”
   “Being in love, you and Robin, what was it like?”
   “After we started dating?”
   “Before that, everything, When did you realize you liked him? When did you realize he liked you? What was it like going through everything you guys went through?"
    Starfire looked up in thought for a few moments before finally answering.
  “Well I’m not sure it was anything in particular. When I first came to earth I was an outsider, but all of you took me in and made me feel welcome. It was different with Robin, however. For no real reason I always felt safer and happier when he was around and I always felt this warmth from him when he was around me. I guess when that’s happening you are in a state where you know everything, but you also know nothing and at times that can be confusing. Then it happens, the moment where everything lines up. It usually happens slowly and at no particular moment. Robin and I were special though, our moment was when we kissed that time in Tokyo. Ever since the feeling has been indescribable……………. I guess the best way to say it is, a music starts playing that only you can hear, it fills your life and you wonder how you ever lived life without it.”
   She looked at her friend “How do you feel?” Her friend stared at the ground and tried to compose her words. “It feels like I’ve been breathing through an air tank and……... I’m breathing real air for the first time. First you choke because it’s new, then……. it just feels right, like…….. it’s the most natural thing in the world.”
   Starfire smiled at her friend “So you do have feelings for him?”
“No no no no noooooo.” Raven said standing up and raising her finger. “I do not have feelings for him. Nor will I ever.”
   Starfire stood up and smiled, “Friend Raven, I believe you have gone swimming.”
   Raven looked at her perplexed “I’ve what?”
    “You have partaken in the earth ritual, where the people of earth will disregard what is right in front of them and instead go swimming in a river. I believe this river is called the Nile?” Starfire explained.
    “Starfire, nobody goes swimming in the the Nile.” Raven explained then realized something, “The Nile….. THE Nile…… danile… DENIAL?!?” Raven exclaimed “I am not in denial Starfire. I simply don’t nor will I ever want to date……” Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock. She was interrupted by five knocks at the door.
   “Starfire are you in there?” The voice of the green skinned changeling radiated through the door.
   Raven looked horrified at her friend and started mouthing the word ‘no’ while crossing her arms back and forth.
   “Come in friend Beastboy.” Starfire said with a smile. The door slid open and the green skinned changeling walked in. “Hey Star, have you seen Raven? I checked her room and she wasn’t…..” he never got to finish. As soon he saw those amethyst eyes and as soon as she saw his emeralds it was all over. Any resistance she had melted along with the cold boulder in his stomach and they were stuck in the same bliss of the morning.
   “Hey Raven.” Beastboy said a smile growing on his face.
   “Hello Beastboy” Raven repiled.
   “I was actually looking for you.”
   "You were?”
   “Uh yeah I was umm….. wondering if youuu….. would like to go to the movies?”
   “That….. sounds …. good.”
   “Really?” Beastboy said almost as shocked by the answer as the fact he asked the question.
   “Yeah.” Raven said just as surprised as he was.
   “Great……. uh…. should we eat before? We could go to that one vegan coffee house with the slam poetry night.”
   “That sounds amazing.”
   “Great so I’ll come by your room at around six?”
   “It’s a date.”
   “Perfect."
    They then spent the next several minutes gazing into each others eyes the same smiles on their face from breakfast, before BeastBoy realized Starfire was in the room. “Oh….. um….. sorry for interupting. I…. uh…. will let you guys get back to whatever.” he said turning and starting to leave.
    “Alright” Raven said, expression unchanging.
     “See you tonight Rae, Bye Star.” he said before leaving, the door shutting behind him.
     Raven exhaled as he left, already missing his presence. She turned back to Starfire who stared at her smiling, with her eyebrow raised.
   “Shut up.” Raven exclaimed.
“I did not speak.” Starfire said still smiling.

Beastboy walked down the hall before abruptly stopping. “Did that just work?"