First Problem: Sleeping Issues
Problems
Fandom: Teen Titans
Pairing: BB/Rob
By: Shadako
First Problem: Sleeping Issues.
Everybody has problems. It’s not like I’m the only one who isn’t that thrilled by his current situation. But, you see, my problems aren’t as easy to solve as some others. I know, I know, everybody thinks like that once in a while. Well, let me explain, maybe then you’ll understand what I’m trying to get across.
At this very moment I’m pinned to a very dirty floor in a very dark and also dirty building. I can’t move an inch, let alone get up. The person above me, smiling like the lunatic madman he is, is talking about destroying the city with a giant laser or something. And it’s my job to stop him. What I can’t do, because he just placed his heavy boot neatly on my chest, trying to crush my ribcage. And it hurts, like, a lot. Yeah, you see this isn’t your average everyday problem. But this is the sort of problem I have to deal with nearly every day. Being a superhero sucks, I’m telling you.
To make matters worse I’m all alone. Usually we would have kicked that villain’s ass in no time. And with `we` I mean the Teen Titans. Yeah, but I happen to be kind of a hothead sometimes. So when we were on this mission today and one of the bad guys tried to sneak away, I followed him. As a bird that isn’t really difficult. Oh, I forgot to mention that I can do that. Morph into all kinds of animals, comes in handy at times.
So now I’m in this building, with the bad guy, being quite helpless. And just as he is about to stab his sharp weapon - thing in my head, he slams into the next wall. Wow, that was pretty cool actually. This `saved at the last second` kind of thing. Unfortunally it wasn’t me who knocked the villain out. Nope.
It was the person standing next to me, pose all heroic and cape billowing in the wind. This guy is Robin, the leader of the Titans. Always calm, collected and cool. And right about now I can tell that he is beyond pissed. Understandable, he just had to race trough half the city to get here in time and save me from Mr. Evil. Of course he managed that, he’s the boy wonder after all. But still, I screwed up. Like usual. And now he’s giving me this look. You know, this `cant you do anything right?` kind of look. I’m used to that by now. I messed up so many times I couldn’t count it on both hands. So I just sit up, dust my uniform off and apologize to him. “Uh, sorry bout that. Got a bit carried away, I guess.” I crook a smile, he just shakes his head weakly and turns to the evil boot – guy. Not a second later the rest of my team mates show up.
This is the worst part about being a hero, you know? This constantly disappointing your leader and making him think you’re the weak child that needs to be rescued every five minutes. It sucks. Like, a lot. A hand is brushing my shoulder gently, while a beautiful alien princess is floating next to me in mid air. “Are you alright, friend Beastboy?” I nod, giving Star a thumbs up. She obviously doesn’t get what it means, but smiles at me anyways. Being the friendly and cheerful girl she is. Meanwhile Cyborg is tying the villain up, like a nice little present for the police. Raven is nowhere to be found, so I assume she stayed behind to watch over the rest of the captured criminals until the policeman arrive.
The only one who isn’t doing anything important is me. So instead of being the hero who prevented the evildoer from escaping I am now the quite useless part of the team that can’t defend themselves. Hooray for me I guess?
It doesn’t take long until the bad guys are in prison like they should be. As we return to the Titans tower, me floating in the sky as a tiny bird, I go back to my original train of thoughts. Problems. I have a lot of them. One, my whole team thinks I am weak and need somebody to constantly baby-sit me. Two, I think they are kind of right. Three, Robin is going to be mad at me for at least three days. Four, my whole body hurts from the stupid fight with that criminal. And five, I think there is a hawk not too far above me looking for a meal.
So, you still think my problems aren’t that bad? Yeah, go figure. With a tired sigh I sink back against the couch in the towers living room. Somehow I managed to avoid getting eaten by that hawk and made it back here alive. Tiredly I rub my sore arm, when Robin walks in. “What was that about, BB?! Going after this guy alone?” He’s fuming, even if I am not able to see his eyes due to his mask, I know they are burning with the fires of hell right now. Behind him floats Starfire, worry written all over her pretty face. I just shrug a bit and look down, suddenly very interested in my shoes. How I hate it when he does this. Scolding me like some spoiled brat not listening to mommy. Yeah, he is the leader and all, but can’t he thread me like the 17 years old Teenager I am rather then like a kid? It’s frustrating, really. “Sorry, dude. Like I said, got carried away a bit.” Even more frustrating is the slight blush darkening my cheeks. What the hell is wrong with me? This guy is practically telling me I’m stupid, so why do I act like some schoolgirl? “It’s not that difficult to follow my orders, now is it?! Just stay with the team and don’t get yourself into trouble all the time!”
Ouch. He is really mad. If it is even possible I sink farther into the cushions of the couch, looking at anything but him. “I said I was sorry, okay?” How I hate it when my voice sounds so small. I just can’t help it when he is standing before me like this. He can be quite intimidating when he wants to be. “I don’t care if you’re sorry! You constantly mess up, BB! I’m fed up with your childish behaviour!” Okay, that actually hurt. I’m not that useless! I want to say just that, but can’t. I just sit here on this couch, being the pathetic kid I am in his eyes, and stare at the floor.
How I wish I was as strong as him. Not just physically. He can take everything people throw at him, no matter what anybody says or doe’s; he’s always cool and collected. He doesn’t care at all what others say or think about him. I’m not this self-confident. Nowhere near it, actually. So maybe he is right about me and being childish, yeah, so what? I can’t help it, that’s just how I am. Again I’m not saying any of those things; I just sit there while he goes on with his little speech. “You can’t do this anymore, BB! You’re putting yourself and others in danger. Get yourself together and finally start to listen to my orders, or we’re doing the next mission without you!”
Without me, eh? Like, they don’t need me at all? Nice, Robin. With that last sentence he actually managed to make me cry. I didn’t want to, really. I was trying to be strong in front of him and Star, but I just can’t help it. Hastily I wipe the back of my hand over my eyes, but I think they still saw. Damn! I get up on shaky legs, still worn out from the fight, and turn away from them. “Just say it if you don’t need me, alright?!” My voice cracks, I tried to sound angry but it won’t work. Nothing really works for me today, I guess. “Friend Beastboy-!” Starfire is calling after me as I run out the room, down the hall and as far away from Robin as I can. Great, now I made the situation even worse. I seem to have a talent for this. At least one thing I’m good at.
With more force than necessary I punch in the code to open my door. As it slides shut behind me I don’t bother to lock it. I hardly doubt anybody cares enough to come after me, really. Letting myself fall face first onto my bed I try to calm down and stop the damn crying. How can I expect Robin to thread me like an adult when I’m bawling my eyes out like a 10 year old? Ugh. Me and my stupid emotions.
How I wish there was a limited amount of problems a single person could have. But no, they just become more and more every passing second. Seriously, how can it be this difficult to be a green teenaged superhero shapeshifter? How do others manage this?! Okay. No, scratch that last line. There are no others like me. But still, I really need some advice here. And not Robins `get yourself together` kind of crap. That’s no helpful advice! If he wanted to help me he could explain to me why I happen to behave like a flustered schoolgirl around him lately. If I think about it, I really don’t want to know. I have enough stuff to deal with at the moment, last thing I need is this. Whatever `this` may be. And I really, really hope it’s just a very weird phase I’m going through that will blow over soon.
By the time I finally pulled myself together and got up from my sulking position on the bed it’s already dark outside. Starfire just brought a plate of food for me. Well, she calls it food, I call it poisonous. It still sits on my desk, far away from me. Since I don’t really feel like eating dinner anyways, I can go to sleep just as well. Cy will be mad at me for ditching our game session tonight, but I couldn’t care less at the moment. I feel beyond tired, muscles still sore and eyes red. So I quickly hop in and out the shower, dress in an ugly old batman pyjama and lay back down. With a tired sigh I pull the cover up and over my head. The only thing I want right now is sleep, to forget this horrible day.
Granted, I lie awake for the next two hours. Rolling from one side to the other and staring at two different walls plastered with colourful posters I can’t really see in the dark. I rarely had difficulties with going to sleep when I was younger, but now this happens at least once a week. When I told Raven some time ago she gave me the advice to `stop thinking so much`, yeah like I can control that. Annoyed at myself for being this messed up lately I turn again, now facing away from the door. Not two minutes after that, said door opens almost noiseless. I quickly close my eyes, pretending to be asleep. I swear if Star came down here to read a book to me again I will hit her in the head with it. Don’t get me wrong, I like her and all, but I’m a bit old for good night story’s. And who should come see me at around midnight but Star? She’s the only one who doesn’t care about peoples proper night sleep. The sound of footsteps however proves me wrong.
So it’s not her, then who? Cy would have been louder, Raven floating in without me even noticing. So there is only one person left. I unconsciously hold my breath. That person happens to be the last I want to see right now let alone have in my room. He is silent for a moment, watching me I think, which makes me all kinds of uncomfortable. And pretending to sleep is quite difficult like this, you know?
“BB, you awake?” He finally asks. I consider ignoring him for a second, but I guess it wouldn’t work. So I silently nod. He, being the boy wonder, somehow manages to notice it in the dark. He can do anything, now can he? Geeze, why does he have to be so damn perfect? I feel the warmth return to my cheeks, suddenly thankful for the lack of light. While I’m busy with my stupid feelings and how to suppress them best, Robin sits down on the edge of my bed. “Listen, Beastboy, what I said earlier, I didn’t mean it.” His voice is an edge softer than usual, which makes my stomach flutter. Oh god, how much I want to slap myself across the face for behaving like this. “You know that we need you, don’t you? We wouldn’t be the Teen Titans without you.” So much for me wanting to be mad at him. Really, who could do that when he’s like this? I still try to be pissed of, only to fail miserably.
“Its not that I don’t trust you to do things on your own, I’m just worried about you, that’s why.” After this sentence he lightly places a gloved hand on my shoulder. My blush deepens. He really wants to apologize, and the only thing I can think about is that Robin is in my room alone with me. Seriously, hormones? Being a teenager sucks even more than being a superhero. I sigh, than nod. “It’s ok, dude. I’m fine, no damage done.” Not true, but he doesn’t have to know that. I offer half of a smile he can’t see since it’s still dark. “Alright, but next time, try to listen to me, okay?” I nod sheepishly; face still hidden half way under the covers.
“I’ll try.” I can tell he’s not convinced. Guess I just screwed up one time to many. “Good. Now get up and come with me.” Okay, now I am quite confused. Get up? It’s like midnight or something. Where the hell does he want to go with me in the middle of the night? My brain comes up with a few ideas pretty fast, none of them ideas I would like to have. So, to stop this ridiculous process of though, I get up. Robin is already out the door and I follow, still in my pyjama. And still no clue what the hell is going on. “Uh, not that I mind or anything, dude, but where are we going?” I can tell he’s smiling behind his stupid mask because he managed to confuse me. “The infirmary, duh. That bulky idiot managed to beat you up quite a bit, if I remember correctly.” I roll my eyes in annoyance. Yeah, he landed a few good punches and pinned me to the floor, so what? I’m not that skilled in hand – to – hand combat. But couldn’t it wait till morning to patch me up? Well, Robin tends to be overdramatic when one of us is hurt. He’s feeling responsible or something. We reach the infirmary pretty fast. I scan the room for the black haired Witch. Usually its Raven nursing me, so where is she? I sit down on the uncomfortable metal bed, still looking for her. But the only person here with me is Robin, who is currently taking his gloves off. Wait. Waiiiit a moment. You’re kidding me, right? “Raven’s gone to bed already, said she had a headache. So I’m playing nurse for you tonight.”
I swallow thickly as the raven haired boy wonder walks over to me, now gloveless. He’s serious, isn’t he?
“It won’t be that bad I guess, just checking to make sure nothings broken.” This isn’t helping a single one of my problems, really! But starting to complain now wouldn’t be much help either, only leading to me getting even more flustered. I just have to look at this as what it is, a check – up. Nothing more, even if the weird part of my brain likes to believe that. And the even weirder part of my brain likes to make me even more kinds of uncomfortable. I lift my pyjama – shirt trying to block out my own thoughts. Yeah, just try not to think about it. Pretend it’s the scary witch – girl and not Robin. Works just fine, until his fingers graze over my ribcage. Maybe I should just tell him I’m fine, no broken ribs or anything. That villain didn’t do much damage; I’m just a bit sour is all. But then he’d stop, and somehow I’m not sure if I want him to. Seriously, I’m messed up. Like, a lot. So I just sit there, cheeks darker then ever before, and watch him move his fingers over my chest.
Problems, huh? My name is Beastboy, I just turned seventeen and have to deal with being a teenaged superhero – changeling, who obviously has a thing for his leader and boy wonder Robin and should really question his sexuality. So, yeah, I do think I have a lot of problems right now, without much hope for solving a single one. Just peachy, isn’t it?
~~~ tbc.
That’s it for the first chapter! Gosh, I wanted to write a BB/Rob Fic for so long…
Finally got it started! Oh, and guys, English isn’t my first language, so please don’t kill me! :D First try ever to write a longer story in English. Feel free to point out grammar mistakes, it helps a lot! J
Second Problem: Jealousy and tentacles.
Problems
Fandom: Teen Titans
Pairing: BB/Rob
By: Shadako
Second Problem: Jealousy and tentacles.
There are some things about a certain alien princess you just have to notice. Like the fact that she is stunningly beautiful, long shiny hair flowing around her shoulders and all. Or that she is probably the nicest person you’ll ever meet. And that she looks oh so lovely in her skin – tight clothes. Starfire is just the perfect girl, interesting and pretty and what not.
Well, at least to normal people who are actually interested in girls. I however seem to be a bit different when it comes to that. Not that I wasn’t weird enough already, no. I just had to have another problem to add to the pile.
No idea since when or why, but apparently my brain somehow decided that it would be a great idea to fall in love. Not with a girl like Star, no. That would make things to easy, wouldn’t it? I would risk appearing somewhat normal for once. So no, it has to be someone like him instead. It’s frustrating, really.
I steal a glace in his general direction while I’m trying to beat Cyborg’s virtual ass in a video game. Currently Robin’s talking to some random person I couldn’t care less about via his communicator. The whole time Starfire is floating next to him, clinging to his arm. I roll my eyes as I turn my attention back to the screen in front of me. Looks like I’m losing, again. “Oh come on, Cy! Not fair!” I whine in my usual childish voice, pouting as his car crosses the finish – line. “Haha, victory!” He jumps up, pumping his iron first in the air. Well, at least one of us is enjoying themselves. I grumble while he’s typing his name in the high score list. Again. That’s it.
My controller hits the ground as I carelessly let it slip from my grasp. “Dude, that’s no fun at all! I’m out.” With that said I get up and walk over to the couch, sitting down with crossed arms. Cy just shrugs my bitching off and goes back to playing on solo mode. Some lovely friends I have. Soon he’s so absorbed in his game that he doesn’t notice me anymore. There goes my only distraction in this boring tower.
Now I’m left to sulk on the couch, watching Robin and Starfire. Not helping my mood at all. He is trying to explain some new training methods to her while she is smiling and giggling the whole time. It’s not that hard to notice that she is far more interested in him then in his training methods. I mean, come on! The way she is battering her eyelashes, touching his arm whenever she can, always making eye contact. She couldn’t be anymore obvious. Well, she could hold a sign up `Please date me Robin, I love you!`, but I guess even then he wouldn’t get it. And people always call me naïve!
Really, look at Mr. Perfect over there, a pretty alien princess is all over him and he just doesn’t notice! Or he doesn’t want to notice. But I guess that is just the weird part of my brain thinking. What reason could he have to not like Star? Aside from the `we’re superheroes, we don’t need a private life!` crap. She is perfect after all, just like him. They would make the perfect couple, like everybody’s saying. Well, everybody but me. Perfect couple my ass. She can go and date a trashcan for all I care!
Sounds like I’m pretty jealous, huh? Well, yeah, that might be true. It’s not that I don’t like Star, I do, as a friend of course. But she isn’t the only one in our team who would like to get a bit extra attention from our dear leader. Sadly she is the only one succeeding. Her constant flirting and the boredom of sitting in this tower all day is pure torture! How am I supposed to take this all day? Seriously.
So I get up from my sulking position on the couch and casually walk over to them, leaving Cy to play his game. Star is the first to notice me. Of course she is. “Oh, friend Beastboy! Do you wish to discuss the training routine with us?” And she is smiling so bright at me, it’s impossible to be mad at her. “Nah, Star. Actually I was thinking about something a bit more fun.”
I can tell she’s in as soon as I mention the word `fun`. Robin isn’t. Anything that’s not training or fighting crime is not important, at least to him. “Oh, how joyous! What do you have in mind?” She is bouncing on her heels, finally letting go of our boy wonders arm. “How about we go to see a movie tonight? It’s pretty quiet lately, so one evening won’t hurt.” A high pitched squeal is my answer. “Oh, that sounds like so much fun! Robin, let us go see the movies, please!” And she is giggling again. This girl sure got a lot of energy. But she’s helping in convincing Robin, so I’m good with her.
“Yeah, come on, dude. It’s been forever since we had an evening off!” He’s still not happy about the situation, but finally giving in. “Fine, but tomorrow we will train an extra hour.” Ugh, why does he have to ruin our fun all the time? Geeze, work and training is the only thing on his mind I think. So why did I happen to fall for someone like him again? Really, I don’t get it! But I guess my messed up brain doesn’t know the answer either. So no need to wreck it even more about that. Might cause some serious damage.
So instead I stroll down the hallway with a happily talking Starfire next to me. “-and then I will eat the popcorn and have so much fun, and-“ I tune her out after that.
Like I said, I like her, but I guess at the moment we shouldn’t get to friendly with each other, since one of us will most likely end up heartbroken. I have a feeling that one will be me, but I sure as hell won’t give up without even trying. Even if I don’t stand a chance against her. No chance at all. I wouldn’t be Beastboy if I wouldn’t try to somehow get what I want. And thanks to crappy reasons like being a teenager and hormones and what not, what I want happens to be Robin at the moment. So I guess the competition with the nicest girl I have ever met is on, even if she doesn’t know about it jet.
We part ways when our rooms come in sight, she floats off to her own, waving at me. I return her smile, even if I just decided that we are at war, kind of. I type in the code that opens my door, shut it behind me and look around. First I need to find some wearable clothes. It’s no fun at all to walk around dressed as a superhero all the time, let me tell you.
Some people constantly annoy you about who knows what if they recognize you. So I prefer to cover up most part of my green skin. Yeah, it’s kind of difficult to go out as a civilian and just enjoy yourself when your skin is coloured like this. For Star it’s easier, or she just doesn’t care when people stare at her, and Robin usually still wears his stupid mask. Guess he has a bit of a secret identity to hide, so it’s fine. I finally manage to find a hoodie with some random gaming logo printed on it. Long sleeves and the hood hopefully help with my `Can’t people stop staring at me for once?!` problem. Still, being a superhero isn’t that cool at times. Already told you that, didn’t I? Whatever.
After I scanned my mess of a room for something to wear for, like 20 minutes, I finally get ready and head back to the living room. I’v been dying to do something interesting all day! It was pretty boring since we came back from that mission yesterday. Aside from the `Robin is playing nurse for me` incident. I wasn’t able to go to sleep after that. Really, all kinds of ugly zombie butterflies fluttering around in my stomach. Having a crush on your leader sucks, I’m telling you. Just makes everything so much more complicated!
As I walk into the living room Star is already there, waiting for us to join her. My face falls instantly when I get a good look at her outfit. Tight, red dress, high heels and her hair pinned back fashionable. Oh come on, really?! How am I supposed to have a chance with Robin when she’s there walking around like this? No way!
So it’s 1 – 0 for Starfire, huh? Ugh. Not being a hot alien girl sucks as well, you know? So I just sit next to her on the couch and sulk (again), while we wait for the rest of the team. Star is talking about popped corn the whole time. It doesn’t take long before Robin shows up, thank god. As soon as he is in sight, she stops talking to me and goes back to fawning over him. Just peachy.
But I have to admit that I like his Outfit. He’s dressed in a casual black Shirt and dark jeans, not flashy and shiny like Star. Oh, and the mask, of course. “Finally, friend Robin! We were waiting for you! Now, let‘s go, yes?” I quirk an eyebrow and look up at her. “Shouldn’t we wait for Cy and Raven?” She’s already out the door when she answers. “They do not wish to give us company! Friend Raven got the headaches and Friend Cyborg is fixing his car!”
So it is only me, her and Robin? Well, better than not going out at all. I hate to be stuck inside the tower for days! So we head towards the exit, Starfire going on about the delicious sauce of nachos. She might be the perfect girl, but to me she is nothing short of annoying right now. I roll my eyes at an especially stupid comment about cheesed onions with whipped cream, looking over to Robin who’s currently walking next to me. “Is that even edible?”
Star is already down the hallway. She’s fast, I’d give her that. “I wouldn’t want to try it.” He says, smiling at me. He really shouldn’t do that, because it somehow turns my brain into mush. But I guess I should be grateful that he’s not mad about the incident yesterday, with me and that bad guy beating me up. Normally he would lecture me for hours, but today luck seems to be on my side for once. “I guess we’ll meet Star at the cinema. She’s pretty eager about this kind of stuff, so I don’t think we’ll catch up to her even if we try.” Robin is still smiling, no idea why. It’s rare that he is in such a good mood. I nod, still looking away to cover up my stupid blush. “Looks like it.”
“You feel like walking all the way or need a ride?” Huh? Did I just hit my head really hard or something? I blink a couple of times, wait for him to start laughing and to tell me it was a joke. He doesn’t. So I look at him and nod sheepishly. “Uhm, sure.” I’m not able to talk properly right now. I mean, come on, a ride?! He never, ever offered that to me before! Not as far as I can remember. His bike is like his most precious treasure or something. Maybe I do have a chance against Star after all? A very, veeery tinny chance. Well, tonight is the time to find out.
~~~
“Oh my god, I’m going to die!” I do believe I will, really. Currently I cling to Robin for dear life, eyes shut tightly. Hell, why didn’t he tell me that it is this fast? And why is he even allowed to drive this fast in the goddamn city?! I regret ever agreeing to this. I am going to die, die, die! “Come on BB, it’s not that fast!” Oh, really? Well, for me it is; thank you. Ugh. I can tell from the tone of his voice that he is smiling again. So maybe the only reason he offered the stupid ride was to scare the hell outa me? Lovely. But at least I get a good reason to be a bit closer to him. Like, crushing his midriff with my iron grip because I am terribly afraid to fall off this hell – machine. Not the kind of closeness I would have liked, but better than nothing, right? If I survive this ride, that is. And I’m having doubts about that, really.
~~~
With amazement I watch Starfire as she shoves a handful of popcorn into her mouth. I never knew they served that stuff with cheese, onions and whipped cream. No idea how she got it, but I don’t think anyone but her would eat it. Oh, if you’re a bit confused, right now I’m sitting in a dark cinema, watching some horror movie. Yeah, I did survive the ride here somehow. It took Robin five whole minutes to make me let got of him once we arrived. Really, it was scary. Star was already waiting for us, a bit sad that it was me and not her on that bike with Robin. Well, not my fault, was it? If she has to run of on her own because she can’t wait it’s her own fault.
Once inside, she went to get this horrible stuff she is currently eating. Now she is sitting next to me. Well, good part is that Robin is sitting to my right, so Star will have a hard time clinging to him all the time. But now she is talking to me instead, about the joyous movie of the dying people. Joyous, huh? I wouldn’t call it that, but whatever. Let’s see if she’s still so eager about it once the flick really starts. You might ask yourself how I even got into a horror movie with 17. Yeah, I send Star to buy the tickets and no one asks a hot girl in a skimpy outfit how old she is, I’m telling you. Robin wasn’t happy, but he decided to let it slip. Maybe he’s not that eager to treat me like a 12 year old anymore. Would certainly be a step in the right direction.
When the story begins to unfold and some scared blonde woman starts screaming for her life, Star stops eating. Instead she’s clutching the bag of popcorn to her chest. So much for that `joyous` part. But I do agree that the movie is kind of scary. They keep switching the scene in just the right moments to give the audience a good shock, never revealing too much about the killer. Yeah, pretty creepy, actually.
Half an hour into the flick Star is hiding her face with her hands, peeking trough her fingers. I stare at the huge screen, hands clutching the armrest of my seat. Okay, this movie is pretty graphic. Actually makes me shudder once in a while. Another gruesome, scary scene and most girls in the room cry out, Star included. I have to admit that it is getting pretty unsettling by now.
Another ten minutes later and I too end up shielding my eyes. Maybe we shouldn’t have tried this 3D – movie thing. Or we should have agreed with Robin to watch some action movie.
Speaking of the boy wonder, he is sitting calmly in his seat, watching the screen with interest. Not scared at all. I have no idea how he manages that, really. Just in that moment he leans over to me. “You’re right, BB. The movie’s not that bad.” I jump a little as the audience is screaming once again. Why do they have to show that much blood and stuff?! Ugh. “Y-yeah, I guess.” Wow, that didn’t sound very convincing. His answer is a light chuckle. “Scared, are you?” I pout at him. “No way, dude!”
A terrifying scream fills the room and I look back at the screen, swallowing hard. Now that psycho killer guy is behind the woman, grabbing her hair and- I close my eyes tightly. Yeah, I guess Robin believes me now, like, a lot. My fingers find the fabric of the armrest again. But it doesn’t feel like an armrest at all. Huh? I dare to open my eyes again, only to see that it is not the armrest I currently hold onto. More like Robin’s wrist. Uhm, oh, okay. So, basically I’m sitting in a dark cinema, scared to death by a horror movie I wanted to see in the first place, clinging to my dear leader. Wow, now that is a lovely way to prove that you are not a kid anymore. Very mature, really!
Robin doesn’t seem to mind my hand above his, he’s still grinning. “Of course you’re not scared, what was I thinking.” Now my so called crush is making fun of me. Oh the joy. But he never pulled his hand back. What means we are, kind of, holding hands. Yeah, not really, but whatever! Let my messed up brain believe it, so the icky butterfly – zombies can return.
The rest of the movie is spent in silence, well, between myself and Robin. The rest of the audience is still screaming and shrieking and all that. I do all I can to watch the darn flick and not claw the boy wonders hand to shreds. I know for sure that I will never, ever again, watch a 3 – D horror movie. I won’t be able to sleep for days without looking under my bed before lying down. Stars condition isn’t much better. She looks horrified and still holds onto a crushed popcorn bin. The credits start to roll and I finally let go of Robin’s wrist. I’m quite touchy – feely today, aren’t I?
Our leader gets up first, stretching after sitting for so long. “Never would have guessed that guy was the killer. But the movie was pretty good.” I shudder as I get up, pulling the hood over my head before the lights flicker back on. “I really didn’t need this 3 – D stuff…” Robin’s grinning at me. “Aw, come on, BB! How about we go see the second part once it’s released?” I glare at him from under my hood. He is going to tease me forever with this, I just know it. “I’d rather not.”
We leave the crowded cinema, Robin and me still arguing about the movie and its questionable qualities. Starfire is silent the whole time, probably scared for live the poor girl. She never went to see a horror movie before. And I guess she never will again.
~~~
Its half past midnight, I’m sitting on the edge of my bed and I’m unable to sleep. Yeah, I’m a seventeen years old superhero and I’m afraid of some mass murderer living under my bed anyways. So, what now? Sit in my dark room and stare at the wall until I finally fall asleep somehow? I guess I can just as well get up and go to the living room, watch some not – scary movie without killers and blood. Clad in my dark grey batman pyjama I pad down the dark hallway, looking behind me every five seconds. Yes, I check for mass murders, so what? I’d like to see you walking around a giant, dark tower in the dead of night. Bet you’d be just as frightened.
Ten minutes later I sit on the couch, clutching the remote to my chest, punching in some random channel. Why isn’t there anything good on? Yeah, one in the morning and all, but that’s no reason to send nothing but crap! News. Sports. Finally I find something that looks like a cartoon.
Some blonde chick is in a random dungeon, with sword and shield, armoured and all. Way cool, I totally like these fantasy cartoons! So I throw the remote somewhere and try to follow the story. It doesn’t take long before some random monster shows up. Weird black thing with a lot of tentacles. Tentacles, huh? Strange thing to show in a kids show. And they do look remarkable like-… oh. I don’t think that show was made for kids.
Just as I come to that realization, the black monster starts to tear the blonde woman’s clothes off. Not a kids show at all. She is screaming and moaning; I hastily grab for the stupid remote to turn the volume down. “What the hell are they showing at night?!” Next to me is no remote. But I’m sure it must be there somewhere. Goddarn, I should have turned on the lights! Now I can’t see anything but the weird tentacles shoved down the girls- I am not watching this. Not at all. I turn around, searching the whole couch for the friggin remote, but find nothing. Are you kidding me? Just as I start to get really, really annoyed, the door to the large living room swishes open. Fate must hate me. A lot.
With a yawn Robin walks in, and suddenly my face is drained of all colour. Surely somebody, somewhere, really wants to make my life as miserable as possible. Panicking, I look over to the TV screen, and thank the gods, it changed to a scene with talking people in some forest. So he did not see the tentacles or anything. He doesn’t think I’m some creepy pervert. Good. Just now he notices that I’m there at all. “Why are you still up, BB?” I shrug sheepishly, not sure what else I can do. I still have no remote. So I can only hope there was just one scene like that in this show. “Couldn’t sleep.” A soft cuckle. So he is still making fun about the movie, huh? “I see.”
A minute later he’s sitting next to me on the couch. Apparently Robin decided that he isn’t tired and wants to keep me some company watching this horrid porn – cartoon. Of course he doesn’t know that it is porn just jet. And let me tell you, I feel very uncomfortable right now. If only I could find the remote. But it certainly would look kind of dumb if I would search for it like mad. So I just sit there, biting my bottom lip and praying that they won’t show those tentacles again. But knowing my luck… “Never seen this show before, what’s it about?” …Robin just had to ask something like this. I blush the darkest shade of crimson. Luckily it’s dark, so he won’t notice. “Uhm, no idea, really… just turned it on when you walked in.” That actually sounds like a pretty decent excuse to me. Robin is convinced, nods and goes back to watching the show. And I feel so, sooo very uncomfortable. You ever sat with one of your best friends in the living room at night and suddenly they show a lot of naked flesh and what not in TV? Well, not the thing you would enjoy that much. At least I wouldn’t.
Nothing out of the ordinary happens for a few minutes and I actually start to hope that the cartoon will end without any more naked woman. I am wrong, of course. Some warrior – chick is fighting against another one, when out of nowhere, mr. tentacle – monster shows up. I worry my bottom lip between my teeth, staring anywhere but the screen. Robin raises an eyebrow, guess he is having the same though - process I had when I first saw that thing. Not a kids show at all.
And again clothes are torn of and woman moan. “...we really shouldn’t watch TV that late at night.” I totally agree with him. Looking away from the screen I nod. “Uh-huh.” This scene is even worse than the last. The chicks are kissing and stuff, while that thing is using his… yeah, you get it, don’t you? Embarrassing isn’t nearly enough to describe this situation.
Robin is looking around now, for the remote I think. “Uhm, BB, where is-“ I interrupt him before he can finish his sentence. “No idea.” This godforsaken thing is the reason for all this. Once I find it I throw it out the window! After changing the channel, of course. “You’re kidding, right?” I shake my head. “No.” So we are stuck sitting on the couch, watching this cheap porn – flick. Peachy, isn’t it? I use my hands to block out the images. It works.
“Well, then find it.” I shrug meekly. “I Tried.” He takes a deep breath. The sounds coming from the TV don’t help the situation at all. Schlurp, Schlurp, Schluuuuuurp.
“What the hell had that been the sound effect for?” I can’t help but ask. “You don’t want to know.” He’s right, I don’t. Not really. But I can think of a few things.
“Can’t you change the channel manually?” Again I shake my head. Cyborgs idea when we bought a new TV a while ago. Since no one would want to get up to do that anyways. “Oh, come on!” Sounds like the boy wonder’s getting angry. “Where is this stupid remote?!” Now he’s feeling around the couch, nothing I haven’t tried before. Good luck with that, Robin.
I open my eyes anyways, keeping them away from the screen to avoid finding out what the sound effects are for. And just in that moment I see it, lying innocently on the floor. The Remote. Right behind Robin’s feet. Flooded by joy I lean forward. My actual plan was to support me with one hand one the couch, but somehow I miss it. So I grab into nothing instead, falling forward with a yelp. I manage to avoid hitting the ground, and lie sprawled across Robins lap instead. He is quite surprised by my random fall, leaning back to keep his balance.
And just in that very moment when we are in the most compromising position two guys could be in at one o’clock in the living room, watching cartoon – porn, the door slides open for the second time that night. Sure, why not make it even more embarrassing for me? Now wouldn’t that be fun. Just Peachy.
~~~tbc~~~
So, who is walking in on them now?
Probably the mass murderer!
Thank you guys for the lovely reviews!
I’m glad my english isn’t that horrible. ^^ If I didn’t scare you to death with the randomness and stupidity of this story you can prepare yourselves for the third chapter already! :D
Third Problem: Green robins and surprises in the shower.
Problems
Fandom: Teen Titans
Pairing: BB/Rob
By: Shadako
Third Problem: Green robins and surprises in the shower.
It is the first time ever I see Cyborg that shocked. Like, really, he is speechless. Just standing in the doorway, some random gaming device in hand, mouth open and all. He looks pretty stupid, staring like a fish out of water. But I can’t really blame him. Guess I would look just like that in this situation. I mean, come on, two of your male best friends on a couch, one of them practically lying in the others lap. Moans and `schluuurp` sounds coming from the TV. Who wouldn’t be shocked?
For a few awkward seconds there is nothing but this really horrible silence. Well, except the cartoon. For some weird reason neither of us moves, it’s like one of those terrible comedy shows. Just the recorded laughter is missing. Or maybe not, because just in that very moment Robin starts to laugh like mad. What the hell? Did he hit his head while searching for the remote or something? No idea what’s wrong with him, but apparently this is the funniest thing ever to the boy wonder. He’s clutching his sides by now, pressing a hand to his mouth to keep quiet. Not that it helps much.
I finally come to terms with the fact that I should probably get off of him or something. Sitting up on the couch I look at Robin like he sprouted a second head. “Dude, what the hell?” More concerned with our leader’s mental wellbeing I forget that Cy’s even there. Probably scared to death by now, the poor guy. It takes a while before Robin catches his breath and is able to answer me. “This-“, he’s gesturing towards me, the TV and himself, “-is just hilarious!” Yeah, okay. Not exactly the words I would have used but whatever. Totally random and messed up, that’s more accurate. I finally grab for the remote, this time without doubling over, and change the friggin channel to some news broadcast. Now at least the damn sounds are gone.
“…you guys didn’t do drugs or something, did you?” That’s Cyborg. By now he looks really worried. Drugs, huh? Well, if you count popcorn to that category, then maybe. “No, dude. We’re fine.” After a second glance at the still laughing Robin I add “Well, at least I am fine.” The large robot nods slowly. “Okay… so, what the hell were you watching?” Why doe’s everybody ask me that question? Honestly, I don’t know and I don’t want to know. “No idea, it looked like some cartoon show.” Well, it was, technically, just one with a lot of tentacles. Again he nods. Not convinced at all. “Alright… and why, exactly, are you lying on Robins lap at two in the morning?” It’s that late already? Wow, for how long have we been watching this crap, honestly?
“I fell.” He raises an eyebrow. “While searching for the remote.” Robin’s laughter gets louder. “…and just in that moment you walked in.” Now that I hear it out loud it doe’s sound pretty stupid. I wouldn’t believe it if somebody told me. “Riiight…” Cy still thinks we’re on drugs I guess. And Robin isn’t helping. At all. He’s always the oh-so serious leader but in a situation like this he cracks up laughing his ass of? Oh, come on! This isn’t funny. It would be, if it wasn’t me explaining the unbelievable stuff, yes. But right now, no fun at all. Cyborg just shakes his head. “Okay, whatever. I’m going back to bed.” With that said he leaves the gaming device on a counter, turning around. “But think about the serious brain damage drugs can cause you, BB.” And he’s gone again.
I think Robin is going to suffocate due to the lack of oxygen in his lungs. Good, if he dies on his own I don’t need to strangle him anymore. And believe me, I really feel like doing this right now. Not only does my whole team think I’m useless now, no, they think I have a drug – problem as well. Lovely. This whole evening is so fucked up on so many levels. I turn to glare daggers at our dear leader. “What the hell, Robin?!”
“You know what he’s thinking right now?! Really!” By now he’s calming down a bit, but not much. “Yeah, that we need some serious help.”
I can’t help but crack a grin at that. Okay, the whole situation was kinda hilarious. And the look on Cy’s face was priceless. And I don’t really feel like being mad at Robin right now. “Dude, I bet he’s not able to sleep after this!” I let myself slump back against the comfy couch just like Robin did. He’s still holding his sides. “That, or he gets the worst nightmares of his life.” We both chuckle at this, looking at the TV without really paying attention to it.
Somehow the awkwardness of the whole Cyborg-thinks-your-an-addict-incident just vanished. Right now we just sit there, not really doing anything, and it’s quite nice. You know, to be with Robin and all. I could get used to this, really. “Hey, BB?” I look over to him, stifling a yawn. I’m getting a bit tired by now. “You know, this whole evening was-“
Oh, here it comes. Weird? Freaky? Really, really messed up? “-actually kinda fun.” Huh? That sounds like he actually enjoyed spending some time with me. Some awkward, strange time, but whatever.
I grin at him and nod. “Sure, if you forget about the movie and the ride on your horrible metal – monster.” Well, it would be a lie if I said I didn’t like being this close to him, but it was way, wayyy to fast. He’s ignoring my comment about his bike. “It’s been a while since I had that much fun. We should do that again some time.” Stop the damn blushing, stupid hormones! Suddenly I’m very aware of the fact that Cy left the lights on. Damn. Why can’t I stop acting like some schoolgirl for once? He just said that he had fun with you and Starfire on a movie - night, so get yourself together. “Sure. But you and Star pick the movie next time.”
“Forget about Star.” Excuse me? Maybe I fell asleep on the couch and now I’m dreaming. Why else would Robin say things like that? “Let’s go together next time. Just you and me.” He’s saying that like it’s no big deal. Like he’s talking about the weather. Well, maybe it is no big deal for him, but for me it’s a different story. My heart is beating twice as fast as usual. And I guess it’s not possible to be any more flustered. “G-going without Star? And that’s coming from you?” How I hate it when my voice wavers like that. But I just can’t help it. He’s turning my brain into mush somehow.
“Yeah, don’t get me wrong. I like her and all-“ He’s leaning over to me while he’s saying this, getting close. Very close. I can feel his warm breath on my skin. And I’m seconds away from hyperventilating. “-but being with you is more fun.” Yeah. Honestly, I stopped breathing, thinking and anything else. I just sit there, staring at the TV. I’m, like, frozen or something. I think my stomach is going to burst from all those butterflies. Oh. My. God.
After he said those words he gets up. Going back to bed probably, leaving me to sit there on the couch and stare at the opposite wall like some idiot. But I really don’t mind at the moment. I’m happy in my little butterflies-and-flowers-everywhere-world. Isn’t it amazing what a few words can do to lift your mood? Or maybe my mind just starts to hallucinate due to the lack of sleep. Could be both. Whatever it may be, after a while it fades, and now I’m just very, very tired. So I crawl back to my bed, drifting into a peaceful slumber soon enough.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I feel like a zombie, I’m telling you. And I swear I do look like one, too. My fingers are losing their grip on the fork they are supposed to hold every few seconds. I’m too occupied with fighting a losing battle against my dropping eyelids to focus on the fork. Hell, I can’t remember feeling this tired, ever. Remember last night? When I was busy fawning over how great Robin is? Yeah, I changed my mind. He’s a friggin monster, I’m telling you!
He forced me to get up at 5 o’clock in the morning to do some stupid extra hour of training. And I really felt like strangling him just then. And he wasn’t even the slightest bit tired! What is wrong with that guy?! Ugh. Well, whatever. Right now I sit at our breakfast table and try hard to stay awake. I haven’t even managed to eat one bite of my tofu jet.
Robin is long since finished with breakfast and now busy with some more training. Now isn’t he just the perfect leader? Ugh. Where does he get all that energy from? Maybe it’s sheer force of will or something. Whatever it is, I’m lacking it. And apparently, so is Star. She looks as bad as I do, dark shadows under her eyes and all. Well, good thing I’m not the only one feeling like the walking dead.
“I’m off to take a shower or something.” With that I get up, ready to leave. Cyborg gives me a strange look when I pass him. Yeah, he is still mad about the drugs or what not. Nothing I couldn’t ignore. I can’t wait to drag my half dead body under some nice, hot water to feel a bit more awake. But apparently fate got other plans with me. Just when I set foot into the hallway leading to my room, the alarm goes off. Great, now I’m deaf and I have to fight some random villain half asleep. Isn’t today just amazing? “Yo, BB, you coming?” That’s Cy calling for me. Stupid question, duh. Of course I’m coming, what choice do I have? Robin would probably drag me there himself if I tried to complain. So, off to happy bad-guy-hunting. Yay for me.
~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Maybe you remember the first time I told you about some of my problems. When I was under that ugly, big villains boot, yeah. Well, my current situation is very similar somehow. Only this time it’s some guy dressed in a stupid black jumpsuit trying to beat me up. Seriously, why is it always me they try to turn into paste? I got some `Kill-me-please` sign on my back I didn’t notice until now, or what? Geeze. Well, at least I can take my pend-up anger out on that bad guy. A quick morph and a few attacks with tiger claws later Mr. Jumpsuit here is crying for mommy. Serves him just right.
Victory written on my grinning face I step back to let the police do their work. Yeah, I’m actually pretty proud of myself. After the last mission this is some blast for my ego. Don’t blame me, I’m a teenage boy, I need that sometimes. I turn around to face my teammates, CY giving me a thumbs-up, star clapping her hands happily. Raven isn’t doing much, just floating in midair, hood pulled over her face. Well, if some of my teammates think I did a good job is still better than none. But my short-lived joy fades when I catch sight of Robin. He looks pissed, again. Oh, come on! What did I do wrong this time? He’s quick to answer my unspoken question. “Maybe next time you should try to use your brain sooner. And morph into something before the villain is beating you up.”
Oh, well thank you, Robin! Such a lovely advice. Seriously, what crawled up his butt today? Ugh. “Dude, can’t you at least pretend to be a nice guy from time to time?! Whatever!” I’m so not in the mood for this, so I just glare at him and stomp back to CY’s car. There, now live with my death – glare, Mr. Oh-so-serious-leader. Tsk. But when I walk past him I can’t help but notice how pretty damn cool he looks in this heroic pose he’s striking right now. Wow, I’m really messed up, aren’t I? I am so mad at him I could breathe fire, but I still can’t stop staring at him. My god, I think I need therapy. And sleep. Yeah, sleep, a lot of that. Let’s start with the sleep-part and think about the therapy-thing later. And forget about CY’s car and the tower. I really don’t feel like spending time there right now. Good thing a tinny green bird can sleep just about everywhere. I morph into the first bird that comes to mind and fly off the scene. Robin is calling after me, so is Cyborg, but I don’t feel like listening.
Go on, try to jell at me now, Robin. Good luck finding me first. A green bird in a green tree in some friggin green park, now manage to do that, wonder-boy. Maybe I should work on my attitude a bit? But then again, I’m still a teenage boy. Didn’t I tell you already? Yeah, so deal with it and let me sit in my tree and fume over the fact that I choose to morph into that kind of bird. Out of all the kinds of birds I could have chosen, it just had to be a robin. I think my own mind is making fun of me somehow…
After an uneventful afternoon spent sitting in some tree, I return to the tower hours later. At least now I feel a bit better, not so much like a zombie anymore. But the little bit of feeling – better gets crushed ten seconds after I make it to the living room. First thing I see is CY, talking to Starfire about something. Next thing is Star, glaring daggers at me and leaving the room. Great. So, what exactly did I do to offend her out of all people? Is the whole world against me today? So not fair. “Yo, CY! What’s up with her?” The big guy just shrugs. “No idea, man. Just told Star about your little twister game with Robin last night and she looked ready to strangle someone.” I open my mouth, but somehow I am unable to form coherent words for at least twenty seconds. “You did what?!” He’s giving me a strange look again. “Dude, what’s up with everyone? It’s no big deal, calm down.” I’m almost screaming by now. “Yes it is! Didn’t you see that glare she gave me?! She’s going to kill me!” I’m seriously afraid she might do that. I mean, come on, everybody knows how she feels for our leader. It’s hard not to notice (unless your name is Robin, of course). And now she thinks I’m hitting on him or something! She will fry me alive! All thanks to my great buddy Cyborg. Now isn’t that just peachy?! Uuuugh.
„Aw, come on. It won’t be that bad.” With that said he turns around and faces the giant screen of the TV again. “You’re up for a game, BB?” I glare at him. “No, thank you. I’d much rather prepare my funeral now…” My mood as bad as it was before my little trip to the park I drag myself to my room. The shower is still waiting for me, I guess. Too bad I don’t even make it that far. In the hallway leading to my room I walk into the person I want to see the least right now. Nervously scratching my head I grin at her. “Uh, hi Star.” She turns to me, still mad. Great, now I already pissed off two of my team mates in one day. “You think this is funny, friend Beastboy?” Somehow she sounds utterly heartbroken and I can’t help but feel a bit guilty; even if I technically didn’t do anything with Robin last night. Just what the hell did CY tell her? I stutter a bit, still scratching my neck. Nervous habit I guess. “W-what are you talking about, Star?” The alien princess looks close to tears now. “You do know that I try very hard to get friend Robins attention, do you not?” Oh, not good. I don’t like where this is going. “Uhm, yeah… I do.” She is sniffing by now. Oh, come on, please don’t cry. I can’t handle crying girls. “Then why would you try and steal it away from me?!” Blushing stupidly I avoid her eyes, suddenly very interested in my shoes. “L-look, Star, I didn’t mean to- uhm, steal anything from you. But I guess its Robins decision whom he spends time with, isn’t it?” She’s pouting at me. “It is! But he would have spent his time with me, if he knew that I wanted to visit him last night; only to find him gone!”
Wait, what? Whoa, slow down here. “You went to his room in the middle of the night?” Now it’s her turn to blush madly, looking away from me. “Uh, well… maybe I kind of… did.” I raise a brow, felling my own temper flare. What exactly did she want from him, anyways? “And why?” She’s fidgeting with a strand of hair, cheeks still red. “It was- well, to…” It takes a second before she takes a deep breath and looks at me. “-to avoid the… death by the mass murderer.” Okay, what? I stare at her, brow raised. That’s the reason? Because she was afraid of that movie? Wow, and here I really thought she wanted to try and seduce him or whatever. Guess she is just this sweet and innocent. Now I feel even worse for nearly making her cry. Great, a guilt trip was the last thing missing to make my day perfect. “So, uhm, you couldn’t sleep because of the movie?” A light nod is my answer. Now I should probably apologize to her. Not that I did anything wrong, but I still feel sorry for the poor girl. “Sorry, Star. Next time just come and join us in the living room, yeah?” I offer a small smile. Her face lights up immediately. “Oh, I did not think of that!” She sets her feet back on the ground, now nearly eye level with me; but she is still a bit taller. “I apologize, friend Beastboy! I did not want to be mad at you.” With that she nearly crushes my ribcage in a hug. Ow, that woman got some strength. “I-it’s ok, Star!” I pad her back a few times, trying to breath. “Y-you can let go now, yeah?” She does, after I nearly suffocated.
“Next time we shall meet all together and then there is no reason to be mad!” Squealing in new found joy she is floating again, waving at me as she leaves me to stand in the hallway. Huh, now that I call mood swings.
Shrugging, I continue to walk to my room. It’s gotten dark outside already, and I’m still waiting for my shower. Really, how hard can it be to have five minutes to yourself? Sighing I work the sour muscles in my shoulder with one hand as I drag myself into my bathroom. Finally, nothing but warm, relaxing water! Just when I want to take off my uniform do I notice movement behind the curtain of the shower. What the hell?! Startled I turn around, slowly walking up to the curtain. I am scared, honestly. Isn’t it always in the shower when you get attacked in horror – flicks? Ugh. Please, don’t let it be the mass murderer. I want to live! Taking a sharp breath I fling back the shower curtain; ready to defend myself in hand – to – hand combat. The next second my breath catches in my throat. “Oh…my…god…” Yeah, that sums it up pretty much. Isn’t my life just peachy?
~~~tbc.
And that was the third chapter!
Now, what is it you found in that shower, BB?
Too bad we’ll have to wait for the next chapter to
Find out. :D Aren’t I a horrible person? :P
Reviews are always welcome! Keeps me motivated
To write, so leave some! :D
~Shada.
Fourth Problem: Aggressive Dinner
Problems
Fandom: Teen Titans
Pairing: BB/Rob
By: Shadako
Fourth Problem: Aggressive Dinner
I stare wide-eyed into my shower, unable to form words, let alone a proper sentence. Guess my expression right now must be priceless. Bet I look even more stupid than CY did last night when he walked in on me and Robin. But at the moment I shouldn’t worry about that, really. More important is the thing in that shower. It takes me at least thirty seconds to comprehend the sight before me, and another twenty to take a deep breath. After that I start screaming at the top of my lungs. Oh my god; this isn’t happening! I release my grip on the shower curtain and stumble backwards; losing my balance and landing ungracefully on my behind; still beyond shocked. The thing in the shower somehow notices me now, even if I’m not sure if it got eyes at all. It certainly knows where I am either way. Two long, slimy tendrils creep out of the shower; reaching for me. And I feel like fainting then and there. What the hell is this, anyway?! And how did it get into my damn shower?! I try to scramble backwards, only to hit my head on a tiled wall. Oh, no, no, no! When the first gooey appendage reaches my leg and pulls me back towards this- whatever-it-may-be – I start my screaming again. Trashing and kicking madly at the dark greenish – grey substance which is threatening to pull me back behind the curtain. Alright, so a giant goo – monster with slimy tentacles somehow crawled into my shower and is trying to eat me. What the hell?! I didn’t sign up for this!
While I still try to fight the tendril curled around my whole leg, a second one is slithering up my arm. Ewww, now this is the grossest thing that happened to me; ever! Someone, make it stop! Running out of options I bite down on one of the tentacles; it strangely tastes like something Star cooked half a year ago. Not good in the slightest. And the biting doesn’t even work, the thing just keeps up his efforts to render me totally helpless. With my arms and legs bound by slippery tentacles and unable to move an inch, I watch in horror as the big mass of slime slithers out of the shower; closer to me.
I am going to die; eaten by a monster that looks a bit like the one I saw in a porn movie not 24 hours ago. Would be quite funny, if the dying – part wouldn’t be involved. Oh god, someone, save me! When the slobbery creature is hovering above me, tendrils still in place around my body, I go back to screaming. Didn’t help much until now, but I couldn’t stop even if I wanted to. Guess no one can blame me for acting like a girl in this situation, honestly. I close my eyes tightly, praying to whoever is willing to listen that the monster will only eat me; not do the stuff the porn – cartoon version did. Dying as a virgin is still better than dying after being raped by a giant slime – ball, I guess.
A loud bang stops my rather stupid train of thought. Judging from the closeness of the sound and a following thump someone broke the door down. Yeah, I was clever enough to lock it, trapping me in the bathroom with Mr. monster – guy. Come on, who could have know that this thing was happily sliming around in my shower?! The shower I will have to clean, if I survive this. Eww.
“BB, you alright? We heard you s- whoa; what the hell?!” Exactly my first reaction to it, Cy. Now get your robot – butt up and help me! The hold of those tendrils is getting quite tight around me; and I’m not into bondage. “What is it?” Robins voice; so I guess he is somewhere in my room, behind Cyborg. My team mates did show up to save me, nice. But they could hurry the hell up! This is getting quite uncomfortable; and hard to breath. “Shut up and help me!” Yeah, not quite the polite way to ask for help, but in my current situation it’s understandable, isn’t it? I think one of those tentacles just slipped into the collar of my uniform. No one can blame me if I throw up in the next two minutes. But gladly the thing is cut off the moment it touches my skin. Looks like Robin is a bit faster than Cyborg when it comes to actually helping. The bulky robot is still staring open – mouthed at the wobbly creature; probably unable to process what the hell is going on. Can’t really blame him; but I still want to get out of this things clutches, fast! A shrill shriek fills the room the second the tentacle is cut off by the boy wonders birdarang. More Appendages try to pry the raven – haired boy away from cutting me free; moving to render him helpless like me. But he wouldn’t be Robin if he wouldn’t manage to dodge the greenish arms, slicing everything that gets too close to him. Even when fighting some enormous ball of mud with a lot of arms he manages to look cool. But my gaze is torn from him pretty fast, when the injured monster curls one slick tendril around my neck, nearly crushing my windpipe.
A strangled gasp is all I manage; and apparently all Robin needs to notice. “Hold on!” Nothing else I could do, really. He is at my side in seconds, trying to get the thing off of my throat. Said creature is trying it’s best to prevent just that. While the battle between those two rages on, I start to feel a bit light - headed. Somehow I manage to wrestle one arm free, fingers clawing at the tentacle around my neck without much success. “Cyborg, I could use some help here!” The angry voice of our leader finally startles CY enough to wake him from his stupor. Readying his gun he aims at the centre of the icky mass, firing not an instant later. The tendrils go weak, slowly slipping from my body; leaving slimy trails in their wake. Holy crap, this is gross. Shuddering I grasp my hurting neck, taking in huge gulps of much needed air. Robin pushes the last offending tentacles off of himself, watching the now limp creature with distaste. A rough hand is patting my shoulder while I still try to level my breathing back to normal. “Yo, BB; you ok?” Yeah, feeling great, thanks for asking. I just got almost strangled to death by this creepy monster; not that bad at all, CY. Since my throat still hurts a lot I just nod, than turn back to Robin. “Dude, what is that?!” My voice sounds rough; also much quieter than usual; he still understands. “I have no idea.” Shaking his head he turns around, facing me and the big robot. CY shrugs apologetic. “Sorry, man! I was a bit distracted by all those tentacles.” Our leader just rolls his eyes behind his mask; now clearly annoyed with Cyborg. So for once it’s not me Robin is mad at? Wow, miracles do happen.
The next moment Starfire and Raven appear in the doorway, looking quite startled. The dark witch musters the slimy monster, clearly repulsed by the sticky goo. Star shrieks, flowing over to me. “Friend Beastboy, are you hurt?” She doesn’t seem to care about the icky slime on her fingers when she helps me up. “We heard you scream, so friend Raven suggested we look after you!” Yeah, thanks. By the time you two show up I would have been dead; but I guess it’s the good intention that matters. I offer half of a smile when she examines my neck with worry. “It’s alright, Star. I’m still alive.” While I try to convince Star that it is not necessary to take me to infirmary right away, Robin and Raven take a closer look at my attacker. The witch – girl shudders. “What kind of creature is this?” Robin just shrugs; and CY obviously doesn’t know either. I glare at the monster with distaste. “Whatever it is, it tastes like rotten lasagne.” All eyes are suddenly on me. Oh, okay. Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned that I know how it tastes. Raven opens her mouth; to say something nasty for sure; but before she can comment on it Star is already talking.
“Oh, no! Friend Beastboy, please do not tell me you did not eat the Laaguufa!” I raise an eyebrow at her. “The what?” The rest of the team doesn’t know what she is talking about, either. I can tell by the look on their faces. “The meal I brought you for dinner yesterday!” Huh? Somehow I can’t relate her meal to the incident with the monster in my shower. Unless, it- wait. Waiiit a minute. Oh, come on; this has to be a joke or something.
“No, I didn’t eat it. Left it at my desk I think.” She bites her bottom lip, looking at me with a mixture of guilt and worry. “You really shouldn’t do that! When you do not eat it, it might come back to… uhm, life.” It takes a minute before I am able to understand what she just told me. So, the meal Star cooked for me yesterday is the thing behind me that tried to kill me? What the hell. Honestly, I have no idea what I should respond to that.
Raven is much quicker in regaining her ability to speak. “So you say, what all of us ate yesterday-“ she’s gesturing towards herself, Robin and CY “- was made of this?” now she points at the dead monster; and suddenly I’m glad I didn’t eat dinner. Star offers a sheepish grin and nods; a dark aura surrounding Raven. The bulky robot next to me excuses himself, leaving the room at record speed. I swear; if he throws up in my room I’m going to kill him. Not a second after Cyborg left, Starfire is chased from my ruined bathroom by Raven. Wow, that witch is angry; Star better be quick; or she will be in more need of the infirmary then I am. But I guess I would be just as angry if someone made me eat tentacle – porn – monster - slime. Well getting eaten by said slime isn’t much better now, is it? Whatever, it’s gone, I’m breathing again, so I’m good. Being a Titan you get used to weird stuff happening in your life, believe me.
By now I’m left alone with Robin, who doesn’t look too thrilled either by knowing the contents of his latest Meal. With a tired sigh he musters his now soiled weapon. “I will never eat anything Star made again.” A raspy chuckle escapes my lips; throat still raw. I am strangely happy after this terrifying situation; but I guess that’s just because Robin came to save me. Yeah, hormones and stuff; I’m weird, so shut up.
So I guess I won’t die today, the monster is dead and I feel relatively good if you ignore the sticky stuff all over me. And all my sore muscles; I really get a daily dose of beatings lately. Together with Robin I leave the Laaguufa – covered bathroom; heading towards the medical room. Judging by his comments my neck does look rather bad, so I might as well get that fixed. By him, mind you, since Raven is busy murdering Star. And Cyborg is busy with being sick somewhere; really, what a girl. He just ate the sticky monster, I got almost killed by it. Take a guess which is worse.
Now that I take a look at myself in a mirror I have to agree with our leader. I do look like someone tried to strangle me real hard. My whole skin is covered in dark bruises, forming a nice ring around my neck. Sighing I turn away from my reflection, heading back to the main room. A thankful smile is offered to Raven when I exit the infirmary. Yes, she was done with making Starfire cry once I and Robin reached the medical room. So I was left to her lovely care while our leader wandered of to make the alien girl feel even worse. Not that the witch did much, just checked for internal damage. The bruises will fade on their own, she said. So I have to walk around like some crime – victim for the next few days; way cool story; really. Like I’m not getting enough unwanted attention already. Not to mention I didn’t get any more private check – up’s by Robin. Sucks, I’m telling you.
But things could be worse. Now after a long shower in a clean bathroom I feel much less – sticky and gross; good thing, really. Once I enter the main room I’m able to hear Robin’s angry voice, this time scolding poor Star rather than me. By now she looks like a beaten puppy, staring up at the boy wonder from the couch. Her eyes teary and lip quivering; I really do feel sorry for her. She didn’t do it on purpose, so why blame her like this? But then again, I am blamed all the time for everything. Might as well just watch the scene for a bit; I really don’t feel like defending her right now. And apparently Cyborg doesn’t either; still a light shade of green in the face. “How could you be so careless?! I’m disappointed in you, Star!” You should be able to see the look on her pretty features right now; I wouldn’t want to trade places with her.
Way too much negative energy in the room; I need something to lift my mood a bit. Rubbing my aching neck I sit down in front of the gaming station, waving at CY. “Yo, buddy. Up for a race?” His face lightens up immediately; not a second later he’s sitting next to me. “You’re on!” So for the rest of the evening we play stupid games; me losing most of them. A fuming Robin leaves the room once we start gaming, shortly after a crying Star fled from his rage. Now, if that wasn’t a lovely day. But I guess that’s what you get for being a hero and saving peoples butts everyday; getting molested by food.
Sometime around the early morning hours we both agree that we should probably head to bed now. Dragging my sore body towards my room, my mind goes back to the events of the day. First the villain, than the fight with Robin, the park and Starfire’s stupid babbling about mass murderers; finally the slime attack. I really do have a weird life, I’m telling you. I can’t wait to fall into my bed and sleep till Robin’s annoying voice wakes me up for more training. But once I enter my room those thoughts are replaced by something else; the smell of rotten lasagne. That’s right; no one cleaned my room after the fight with Mr. Mud - ball. Gross. No way in hell will I be able to sleep in this room today. Grumbling to myself I turn around and head back to the living room; dragging my blanked behind me. Might as well sleep on the couch, I guess. Back in the over – heated living room I find Cyborg already gone.
So I’m alone in here in the middle of the night the second time in a row. Groaning I slump face first onto the couch. Tonight I’m not afraid of mass murderers anymore, believe me. I learned that there are far worse things to be afraid of; like porn – tentacle – monsters made of disgusting food. Knowing my luck I will dream of it, too.
Somehow it’s gotten really dark all of a sudden. I can’t even see my own hands waving in front of my eyes. Alright, definitely scary; and I don’t think I’m on the couch any longer. The ground feels much harder, colder; more like a tiled floor. Like, in a bathroom or something. Oh, come on! You can’t be serious? A strange slithering noise suddenly fills the room, bouncing off the walls. Which, mind you, seem to be closing in on me. Impossible, but still, they are coming closer; as well as something else. I want to back up, but as soon as I try to move I find myself unable to. Something is keeping me in place, and an unseen force is slowly circling my neck; preventing me from breathing properly. Endless horrible minutes or hours or days of struggling and gasping and panic later it ends as suddenly as it had started.
Horrified to the core I sit up on the couch, thankfully still alive and in one piece. Hands grasping my blanked tightly I listen to my own irregular breathing. Holy crap, now that was scary! Seriously, why can’t I have a single peaceful nights sleep?! Someone must really hate me; a lot. I can’t keep this up, walking around like a zombie every day. Ugh; beyond annoying.
Once I managed to labour my air intake to a normal level, I get up. Yeah, no way in hell will I stay here alone; not after this dream. So I drag myself; still in the clothes I have worn all day; trough the hallways of the tower once more. I don’t really know where I’m going, but my feet seem to move on their own; in my current half – asleep – state of mind I couldn’t care less. So after a short journey in which I closed my eyes more than a couple of times, I find myself standing in front of a door. My foggy mind registers that it is not my room, but I honestly don’t mind. After two or three tries I manage to get the thing to open and close behind me. Standing inside a rather dark room I blink a couple of times; seconds from falling asleep right there. No idea where I am, honestly. Somehow I manage to make out the shadow of a large bed, happy beyond anything. Finally a decent sleeping place! Too bad it’s already occupied; but nothing a none – too – gentle shove couldn’t take care of. As soon as my face hits the comfy pillow I’m out like a light.
~~~ tbc.
Poor BB, never getting a tiny bit of peace at night.
But then again, shoving people out of their bed isn’t that nice, either.
So he probably deserves it.
Stay tuned for the next chapter and prepare for more randomness! Shad~
Fifth Problem: dealing with feelings
Problems
Fandom: Teen Titans
Pairing: BB/Rob
By: Shadako
Fifth Problem: dealing with feelings and ice cream.
I can't tell you how tired and worn out I feel right now. Actually, sleeping is supposed to make it better, not worse. But somehow not even that goes as planned. It's like I have been run over by a truck or something. With a groan I lift one heavy arm and rub my eyes. My neck is still aching like hell, I'm telling you. And I'm sore all over; again. This seems to become a habit for me lately. But the quite comfortable bed I'm currently lying in makes the whole situation a tiny bit better. I can't remember having a bed this comfy. But then again it feels very unfamiliar, and it strangely smells like one of my team mates; so it obviously isn't mine. This should probably have me worried a bit, but I honestly don't feel like thinking much right now. So I just keep my eyes closed and clutch the pillow tighter. Continue sleeping sounds like an amazing idea right now, so I do just that. Or at least try to, because I'm rudely interrupted by a very annoying voice. "Finally awake? Lovely." Said voice belongs to my pretty pissed off team leader who is walking into the room. What is he doing here? Can't I have a bit of peace and privacy for once? Grumpily I crack one eye open to glare at him, hoping that would make him disappear. It doesn't; needless to say.
"Go away, Robin. I feel worse than ever so just leave me be." My voice has thankfully returned back to normal, so the monster didn't do any damage to my vocal cords. With my eyes closed again I can still feel his scolding gaze on me but I make no move to acknowledge it. Why does he have to be such a jerk at times? I just want to sleep; isn't that understandable after the last 24 hours? Well, to me it is. But Robin apparently doesn't need any sleep. Mr. Perfect needs nothing at all it seems. After a moment of silence I hear him sigh.
"You're lucky I still have to apologize for yesterday. Otherwise I would have kicked you out of here the second you shoved me out of my own damn bed."
It takes my brain a few seconds to comprehend this information. His bed? So, currently I'm in Robin's room? Correction; Robin’s room and his bed? Well, I can't deny that I kinda like the idea, but maybe not under those circumstances. And not with him staring at me angrily. But compared to what I did he seems to be pretty calm. I'm lucky I ran off yesterday after his ridiculous little speech; probably gave him a nice guilt trip for constantly making me cry or run off. Or maybe Cy was just pissed that I wouldn't spend the afternoon gaming with him and gave Robin a piece of his mind. Whatever it was that made him want to apologize, I'm very thankful for it.
Finally opening my eyes I sit up; still in my uniform. Yeah, I never changed into something more comfortable, whatever. And let me tell you, my whole body hurts when I get up. Boy, this tentacle thing really did it for me. I feel worse than after most fights with villains. I will never, ever come close to any meal Starfire made again. Promise.
Sheepishly rubbing my neck I finally meet the boy wonders eyes. Or rather his mask, for that matter. "So, uhm… apology accepted?" I offer with a half-smile. Apparently he's in a good mood today; just shaking his head weakly and turning around. "Whatever, just get up and get some breakfast. Star is worried sick about you." So he will not kill me or kick my ass for dumping him on his bedroom floor last night? That's a good sign, isn't it? I'm fairly sure it is. So he has to like me; and he allowed me to spend the night in his room. Yeah, not really, but who cares? I did spend the night after all, even if I kind of invited myself but whatever.
Carefully stretching my sore muscles I drag my heavy body out of the room. Robin is silent while we walk; I'm still a bit behind him just in case he decides to changes his mind about being civil for once. Thankfully he doesn't. Looks like I'm off the hook for now.
The second I enter the kitchen I have Starfire attached to me, clinging to my body for dear life. And it's not a pleasant hug, I'm telling you. More like I'm-gonna-crush-every-bone-in-your- body kind of hug. But she lets go soon enough and I assure her that I'm not mad. If she agrees to clean my room, that is. Yeah, I'm a lazy bitch, I know. But can you blame me? It's her tentacle – thingy after all.
She nods happily, a huge smile on her face. "Sure, I shall attend the cleaning for you, friend Beast Boy!" After that she's off to scrape the remaining monster-goo from my bathroom walls. So I successfully found a way to avoid the cleaning. This morning just got a real lot better. And Cyborg even made some decent vegetarian breakfast for me; nice. He apologizes for not being able to help sooner, too. Looks like my team mates feel kinda bad for me, all bruised and what not. And I sure as hell won't tell them that it's not that bad. Maybe I should get almost killed more often; makes people act much nicer towards you; I'm telling you. Except Raven, of course; she looks like she couldn't care less. Yeah, I didn't think it would be any different, to be honest. She just isn't the most social witch girl. Nothing I couldn't deal with, I guess. So I just ignore her for now and sit down, ready to devour every tiny bit of my breakfast. Did I mention that I'm about to starve? No? Well, I am.
An uneventful few hours later I sit on the couch, bored again. Robin actually decided to let the little incident from this morning slip. So no scolding for me today. Which is generally a good thing. But Cyborg isn't playing games with me either and Raven is wherever, doing whatever she usually does. Star is still scrubbing slime off the tiles I guess. So, with no leader to lecture me and no robot to kick virtual butts, what's left to do, really? I still feel relatively bad, like a sack of mashed potatoes or something, and any kind of distraction from it would be nice. So, please, someone, do something goddamn interesting! Is that asking too much? Not even any villains out today? Nothing? Ugh.
The person to answer my unspoken prayer is a certain alien princess, floating into the living room. Apparently she's done with the cleaning and she looks cheery enough again. How she can recover from Robin's I'm-so-disappointed-in-you speech that fast is beyond me. For me it takes hours lately to get over his stupid jerk – mode lectures. Yeah, I guess you already noticed that when I was bawling my eyes out like some girl. Back to the topic.
The long haired girl stops in front of our leader who is currently busy with some kind of device, probably keeping track of some villain or what not. "Robin! You shall look at this!" She is waving a colorful piece of paper around, her voice high pitched. Our boy wonder turns around to face her, dropping the device on a nearby table. "What is it, Star?" I turn around, too; watching them out of the corner of my eye. Not that I'm really interested, but anything is better than sitting here.
"I found this most joyous invitation to the parlor of ice cream! Could we perhaps go there? Please!" Her big bright eyes have that begging look; you know, the one no boy can say no to. It never works when I try to do it, at least not on Robin. With Star it's a different story. Guess life isn't fair when you're not a hot chick from outer space. But I already figured that out yesterday, didn't I? So I just watch him for his reaction. First he just takes the advertisement out of Star's wildly waving hands, mildly interested.
"Actually, Star, we have to train for the-…" And there she goes; grabbing one of his hands, pouting cutely and batting her lashes. "Please?" I'm not sure if she does that on purpose or not. Poor Robin doesn't have a chance; she's using all of her girl weapons at once. And it works, I'm telling you. I just roll my eyes when he sighs and finally nods. "Yeah, okay. I guess it wouldn't hurt if we-" Again he's unable to finish his sentence because Starfire is already bouncing on her heels, squealing. Now I'm the one who is disappointed, Robin. Is it really that easy to manipulate you if it's a girl with long shiny hair and full pouting lips? Honestly; guys. All the same idiots. I somehow miss the rest of their talk because I'm busy thinking like some jealous high-school chick. I will blame the hormones for that as well. I know, not nice to blame everything on one thing. But it's not like they could fight back, haha. Wow, that joke was lame; even for me.
A hand on my shoulder pulls me out of my thoughts. "You look bored to death. Want to tag along?" That's Robin, actually asking me to go eat ice cream with him. And Star, but you can leave that detail out, if you want. I nod my agreement in record speed. "Dude, anything to get out of here!" And with that I'm up and out the room. Robin doesn't look too pleased that I'm so eager to get away from work. But I couldn't care less; I have more important stuff to worry about. Namely getting a change of clothes; something that hides the green skin and pointy ears. And the strangle marks. Yeah, definitely the strangle marks.
The walk doesn't take that long and the weather is quite decent today, so ice cream sounds like a good idea to me. After walking into the wrong direction for ten minutes I take the flyer leading to that store out of Star's hands. The rest isn't a problem anymore. She might be pretty and nice and all, but she certainly can't read even the simplest of maps. Guess even a princess from space does have some minor flaws.
So now we're sitting in a cozy little ice cream parlor somewhere in town, everything around us colored in reds and pinks. I honestly hate it. All the friendly little hearts and flowers on the walls and windows and the plush seats. But our alien princess seems to be quite pleased with the interior. I feel like puking now and then. Seriously, whoever designed this should be beaten up badly. I muster a few fake flowers with little plastic bees attached to them. The insects have giant eyes and smile stupidly. Yeah, maybe he should be beaten up badly and be forced to eat his horrible fake flowers and bees afterwards. Seriously, this place makes me a tad bit aggressive. No idea why.
My team mates seem quite content with everything. Star is busy fawning over the lovely strawberries and all the delicious frosted water, Robin listening to her with a smile. Yeah, and me? I sit on my bench, the table between me and them, staring gloomily at my ice and poking it now and then. Why did Robin have to sit next to Star, huh? They look like a damn couple now, and that's what everybody in this stupid café thinks as well. Some old granny even babbled something about `young love' when she walked by. Peachy. And I'm the third wheel on the truck, sitting on the bench opposite of them with the hood of my hoodie pulled above my head. Yeah, I take back everything I said, being stuck inside the tower isn't that bad after all. At least I don't have to watch this constant flirting there. Star really goes for it, that girl must have it bad for our leader. Nothing I didn't know by now, honestly.
With them pretty much ignoring me I just tune their voices out. It's not like I'm part of the conversation anyways. And the minutes tick by.
Still poking my frozen treat now and then I watch Robin from under my hood. He really would make the perfect boyfriend for Star, wouldn't he? Always listening to her, smiling at her like that. As much as I hate it, but I'm starting to see what all the others see. I mean, let's get real here; why would he choose me over her? I can't come up with a single reason. Well, I can read maps better than her. Wow, now he will surely want to date me so bad. It's ridiculous. I can't compete with her, in nothing. Not the kind attitude, the caring and sweet personality, nor her gorgeous looks. Certainly not with her looks. I mean, she's the alien here, and I'm the one who's green. If that isn't unfair I don't know what. Not sure when this happened, but I feel really, really down right now. And she constantly scoots closer to him, touching his arm now and then. Why, exactly, did I decide that coming along was a good idea? It wasn't. It was the farthest thing from one.
While I sit there and sulk in my bench I unconsciously listen to the random song from the radio speakers somewhere behind me. Some cheesy girl – voice; just as annoying as the rest of this stupid café.–darling, you're my best friend- Somehow I can't help but look up and watch Robin. Even if he is busy with Star and totally ignores me. –but there's a few things that you don't know about- He's chuckling at one of Star's jokes, not noticing that my gaze is locked on him. And believe me; I'm very grateful for that. –why I borrow your stuff so often- Somehow, I'm also very glad for the hood hiding my face. –I'm using your shirt as a pillow case- Maybe I should stop staring at him and instead eat my ice cream. But I guess it's totally molten by now anyways. –I wanna ruin our friendship- It's ridiculous, really, but Robin looks more than handsome like this. Even with his stupid mask. My hands still clutch the glass bowl with the molten ice in front of me for a lack of anything else to do. I must look totally stupid right now. - we should be lovers instead- I have no idea why I'm blushing right now. But my brain isn't responding with a decent answer. Actually, it's not responding at all. –I don't know how to say this- Finally releasing the bowl I lift my hands to pull the hood deeper into my face. Ready to tear my eyes away from Robin for good to stop the damn blushing. And just in that moment he looks up, smiling at me. – 'cause you're really my dearest friend-
I didn't know I was capable of getting up this fast. But I did and left the ice cream parlor in record speed. I honestly have no idea why for the love of everything I did this just now. I mean, I stared at Robin like a love sick schoolgirl and then almost ran out of the shop. What the hell is wrong with me?! A lot of things, yeah. That much is obvious. But the annoying song really wasn't helping, at all. And now I think it is stuck in my already messed up brain. And said messed up brain actually likes the idea. But it's not gonna happen; ever. He has Star; pretty, nice, caring Star. And she obviously loves him. Perfect love story, perfect couple, perfect fucking everything. And definitely no room in that fairytale for me. Well, unless you need some weird freaky monster to be the bad guy.
Burying my head in my hands I sit down on the stone steps in front of the café. I bet they think I'm retarded now. Or hit my head real hard. Or both; who knows? Why do feelings have to be so complicated? Why can't it just be simple and easy? Or at least go away after some time?! That would be nice for once; my stupid head just accepting the fact that it's not gonna happen. But no; wouldn't make it complicated enough. Why can't I just be happy for them to get along so well and get over it?! Why do I have to be so horribly jealous?!
Screw it; really. Being a teenager sucks; hard. And so do feelings. Who even came up with this crap, hm? I'd like to know so I can go back in time and kill him before he does.
Not that my rambling makes any sense. Nothing I do does, really. And that's the point of feelings, isn't it? They make you do all kinds of stupid crap and stuff. They fill your head with cotton candy and they make you act like a total idiot all the time. And hormones are even worse; because they make you blush while you act like an idiot. And they both work together to make you feel as miserable as possible after you made a blushing idiot out of yourself. And then? Then they abandon you to sit one some dumb staircase in front of a horribly colorful ice cream café! And everybody who walks by will stare at you sitting there because you look like some crying girl. Again. And I'm not even crying, damn it! Not jet. Sometimes I really hate myself for acting the way I do. And again, I will blame the hormones for it. And the feelings. Maybe I should just go back to the tower and fake sickness? Would be a decent excuse to why I left them. Or maybe they don't even notice I'm gone. They were so busy being completely engrossed in each other; probably doesn't make a difference if I'm there or not. Yeah, guess it doesn't.
"So, there's anything you'd like to talk about?" Right now I only want to sit here and be depressed, thank you for asking. Face still buried in my arms I weakly shake my head. Why does he even have to follow me? Geeze, the only time I don't want him around and he has to come after me. So much for my pretty little excuse and my plan to simply go back to the tower. And again I act like some stupid child around him; running away from my problems. Great; really. Maybe he will just leave if I ignore him? But knowing my luck…
Robin sits down next to me; sighing. And I continue to hide under my hood and stare at my knees. I don't think I want to talk to him right now. But he, being the perfect friend and leader he is, won't leave me alone to sulk. After a few minutes of silence he talks again; his voice an edge softer than usually. "Hey, wanna ditch Star and do something more fun?" I blink my eyes a couple of times; face still hidden in the fabric of my hoodie. Did I just hear him correct or am I having some weird hallucinations? "Huh?" Yeah, smart response. Congratulations, BB. He doesn't seem to mind my stupidity, just shrugs. "I'll just take that as a `yes`." And with that he's standing already, stretching his arms above his head. "Well, come on." A gloved hand is offered to me and my wrecked up mind barely manages to register the gesture. Come with him? But what happened to him and Star being the perfect little couple just a minute ago? I steal a glance back to the building behind me, feeling a bit guilty for Starfire. I want to tell him that we shouldn't just ditch her. But the more selfish part of my brain is quicker to react then my mouth and I reach for his hand.
~~~tbc.
I'm starting to feel sorry for Starfire, but don't worry, she will get over it. Probably won't even notice she's alone when she has a ton of ice cream.
I haven't figured out how I want to start the next
Chapter jet. So any ideas are greatly appreciated!
Any suggestions to where they could be going? Lemme know; the sooner I find a location I like the sooner there will be a new chapter!
The song used was “Jenny” By Studio Killers. <3
~Shad.
Sixth Problem: Revelations and misunderstandings
Problems
Fandom: Teen Titans
Pairing: Rob/BB
By: Shadako
Sixth Problem: Revelations and misunderstandings
I had never expected this afternoon to turn out to be so much fun. To my great surprise, it was; far from the super awkward situation in that stupid café a few hours ago. Yeah; I don't really want to think about it anymore. I guess I already made enough of an idiot out of myself for today. And Robin was kind enough to let it slip and not bring my strange behavior up again. Speaking about him; I honestly don't know how he does it, going out of leader – mode for so long. But somehow he manages, and he was actually quite enjoyable company today. Still is; mind you.
Currently we walk through some park, back towards the titan’s tower. We still talk about Robin's inability to kill more zombies than me. The sun is about to go down on the horizon and I feel totally content with everything for once. Yeah, a big turn in events; considering the last few days and everything that happened, but I could get used to this. Spending time with him; just talking, goofing around and all. It’s surely more fun than getting stupid lectures from him all the time. Not sure about Robin, but I guess he liked the afternoon we spent together just fine. Or at least I hope so.
With a sigh I watch the sky go red around the tall buildings of the city; all the while denying our leaders current argument on why quality is better than quantity when it comes to zombie – slaying. Yep; the day turned out great for everybody. Well, everybody but Star. You know; the friendly, kind girl I had totally forgotten about until just now. After we ditched her at that store and left her alone with her ice cream, we somehow ended up in the arcade. Not sure why, but Robin figured it was a good idea to go there. You know, to cheer me up or something; because he was tired of seeing me all depressed and what not. Dude, I'm not depressed, but whatever! I didn't like his little you-need-to-snap-out-of-it, BB- Speech at all, but he was kind of right, I think. I do feel a lot better by now. And the games actually managed to stop me from over - thinking stuff for a while. If that isn’t a great step in the right direction.
It took me a bit of convincing, but I managed to talk Robin into actually playing some games with me. I won them; hence the discussion about the zombies. I guess video games are one of the very few things he actually sucks at. Well, at least he isn't that annoyingly perfect in everything. But he obviously is when it comes to apologizing; because I'm not mad at him at all anymore. Of course he never outright said anything, but still; who cares about the things he said yesterday? Or the day before that? Not me; when he is shooting walking corpses just to cheer me up. Freaking romantic, isn't it? I guess I already told you how messed up my brain is. Honestly, he could scream at me all he wants if he makes up for it like this. But somehow I have a feeling I might be overreacting a bit; he just spent one afternoon with me. But whatever, who cares. I’m pretty easy to cheer up, anyways. Soon enough I’ll be bawling my eyes out once again about god knows what; I bet. Retarded mood swings and crap; all the suck – ish things that come from being a teenager. Tsk; can’t wait till this fucked up period of my life is over.
"-so, in the end it was me who would have made greater progress in a mission to save the world from a zombie apocalypse." Yes, he still goes on about that. No, I guess he doesn't take losing all that well. "Dude, the score says something else." I grin to myself while I walk; hands behind my head. He crosses his arms and pouts, obviously running out of arguments. And it is pissing him off, let me tell you. My grin widens even more in response.
After a moment he shakes his head, looking back over to me. "Alright; you win. This time." And he flashes me a smile while saying this that makes my knees go weak. With a blush coloring my cheeks I look down; watching my shoes while I walk. Yeah; way to ruin a conversation, BB; congratulations! I hear him sigh next to me; and after a few seconds of silence he starts talking again.
"So, there's a reason for you to act so weird around me lately?" I swallow; scratching my neck in a nervous manner. Actually, yeah, but none I would like to share right now. "N-nothing, really." The stuttering surely convinced him, really. I roll my eyes at my own stupidity and my body's inability to talk properly. Why can’t some random villain show up in moments like this? The buggers always come out of nowhere when you honestly don’t need them; like when I’m in the shower. But once you really want them to show up to get out of some super – awkward conversation? Nope; not a single one. Bet they do it on purpose…
"You know you can tell me if something bothers you, right? That's what friends are for." He's still walking next to me, his voice sounding like he talks about the weather or something. Cool and collected, like always. And me? I'm a nervous wreck; my heart beating twice as fast as usual in my chest. Maybe I should tell him? It would certainly make things easier; once he clarified to me that nothing's gonna happen; ever. Maybe that would get my brain back to working like it should? That would be a good idea, I guess. Acting like an adult for once and just talk about it. And I'm prepared for heartbreak, since I never really believed that I had a chance in the first place. So what do I have to lose?
Other than my dignity. No, scratch that; he saved me from living dinner that tried to rape me yesterday; and we watched cartoon porn the night before with me lying on his lap. Yeah; I really don't have anything to lose here. And it's not like he could just blow our friendship; with us being in the same team. I know he would never risk the titans over something stupid like my feelings for him. So, what is holding me back? Ah, right. My mouth not being able to from coherent words. That sure is a good reason.
Robin is still watching me, and the nervous flutter in my stomach isn't making things easier here. Taking a deep breath I look anywhere but him. "…well, there is something, actually…and, well- it's… complicated." Wow, now that was an awesome start. It sounds like I'm so many levels of retarded. Our leader is still looking at me; now curious as to what my stupid babbling is supposed to tell him. "Complicated? Well, what is it?" Oh my god; I feel like I'm about to pass out. Why is it suddenly so warm and uncomfortable in this stupid park?! Oh for the sake of it; just tell him already! Act like a man, not like a school girl for once!
"…you still want to hear, even if it could ruin our friendship?" The ridiculous lyrics of that dreaded song from the café are stuck in my head now; great. His calm expression doesn't change and he nods. "That's not gonna happen, BB. Now, what is it?" I start to fidget with the hem of my hoodie; must look totally stupid. At the moment I couldn't care less, honestly. He's still smiling at me; not getting how difficult this crap is for me. "I'm serious, Robin." Again he nods. "So am I. Come on, BB; what is wrong with you?" Too many things to list right now. So I just say the first thing that comes to mind; even if it sounds cheesy and dumb and what not.
"Well, there is this person… I, well-… happen to like, and…it happens to be, uhm… one of the-… titans…maybe." How is it possible to take so long to form a single sentence?! And I guess not even the green skin hides the ridiculously dark blush on my face. I still look in the opposite direction but I know Robin is watching me. Please, someone let me die right now! This is so embarrassing on so many levels. Why do some people actually want to fall for somebody? It obviously sucks! It sucks big time, this love – crap! Ugh, stop looking at me, Robin. You are not helping; at all. Calm down, stupid heart, you're not running a freaking marathon, damn it! Everything is against me right now, even my own traitorous body.
"That's the reason you left that café at record speed?" Yes. No. I don't even remember anymore. I feel so very, very sick right now. How can a simple crush on somebody do this to me? It's all kinds of horrible, let me tell you! And I just want this dreaded, awful conversation to be over with; as fast as possible, please! My palms start to sweat and I nervously rub my hands on the fabric of my hoodie. And he is still talking. Fuck.
"You just left without a word; Star was worried you were sick or something. I had to assure her I would be looking for you so she wouldn't call an ambulance." He chuckles softly while recalling the event. Yeah, isn't she just freaking perfect?! Somehow, his calm voice is really putting me off. It gets warmer here; I feel like throwing up. My hands start to shake; I'm a mess all over. And whose fault is that? His! Maybe I should just stop talking and strangle him for not getting what I want to tell him. And for talking about how kind Starfire is right now. Something, somewhere just snapped I think.
"See, that's exactly why I left, Robin!" Why do I start to almost scream at him now? What the hell is wrong with me? Must be the hormones as well. "I can't stand this anymore; watching you!" He raises a brow, obviously confused now. Probably thinks I have finally gone crazy for good. Not sure if it’s that far from the truth. "Watching me?"
My hands are balled to fists by now; knuckles turning pale under the pressure. I really, honestly can't handle love confessions all that well. "With her!" It's a good thing that it's late; so we are alone in the park. Otherwise I would have made so much of a scene right now. I shout at him like I'm his jealous girlfriend; staring at him with an angry expression. No idea why; I shouldn't be angry at him at all. Maybe I'm just mad about myself. His smile has vanished; as well as his calmness. He just stands there, staring back at me with his mouth open. A few seconds pass with no sound but my heavy breathing and my thundering heartbeat before he finally reacts somehow.
"Oh." That’s the moment when realization hits him and he gets what I just told him. And it is the exact same moment that my anger vanishes and leaves me to stand in front of him like an idiot. All the sudden energy is drained from my body; I feel more light headed and somehow numb. What happened to all the stupid adrenaline? "So… that's why? Because you have feelings for-" Robin doesn't look mad or angry or anything. Just very surprised. While he pieces together what I just admitted to him, I can feel my eyes begin to tear up. Why the hell do I feel like breaking down crying now? Seriously, give me a break, hormones. I think I can't keep this up any longer. Nor will I be able to keep myself up any longer when I stay standing here right now.
"Sorry!" I turn away from him to hide my face and the tears on my cheeks; hurriedly morphing into any random bird. He opens his mouth and reaches out for my arm before I can transform; trying to stop me. I won't stop. I know I shouldn't be running away from my problems all the time, but I just can't face him right now. So I take off into the darkening sky, leaving him alone down there shouting my name. Even as this tiny bird I can still feel the tightness of my stomach, the heavy beating of my heart, tiredness and anger at myself. It should be forbidden to have so many feelings all at once. And it certainly can't be healthy.
~~~
It has to be way past midnight by now. I skipped dinner once again, trying my best to avoid Starfire, Robin and anybody else. I swear, I’m going to starve one of those days. After my return to the tower I locked myself in my room, successfully blocking out the rest of the world. I just wanted to stop thinking. About everything; feelings, hormones, crushes, leaders. Yeah, you catch my drift. Cyborg came to my room some time ago, asking me if I everything was alright. I told him to sod off. He was not amused. But honestly, at the moment I couldn't care less. I guess its situations like this that drive people to drinking. I won't, don't worry. Just saying that I can kind of understand them a bit better now. Being in love sucks big time; even more than being a teenaged super hero changeling. I know why one would like to just block all the annoying feelings out. Or drown them in alcohol.
With a tired sigh from my still raw throat (crying too much in too short time periods and monster attacks do that for you) I lean on the railing. The night wind is soothing somehow, and watching the coast calms me as well. I always end up here on the tower's roof when I feel down. What happens a lot lately. My eyes follow a stray insect as it flutters by, down towards the shore. Yeah, this really helps to get my mind clear and relax a bit. But maybe it's just the tiredness that is finally taking over, leaving me without energy.
The soft sound of footsteps approaching the door leading to the roof rips me out of my stupor. I listen carefully, recognizing the person pretty fast. Another tired sigh and I close my eyes, still leaning on the metal bars of the railing. He has a habit of showing up when I don't want to see him, really. How did he figure out I was up here, anyways? I don't turn to meet his eyes; instead I just wait for him to approach me. Robin is much better at starting conversations then I am, after all. He leans against the metal next to me, looking up at the starlit sky. His voice has taken this softer edge he often uses on Star when he finally speaks. "You won't run off again, will you?" After a moment of silence I shake my head. I don't think I will, much too tired right now. And really, how much worse could things go, anyway? Might as well just stay and get it over with.
"Good. Listen, BB, I'm not mad at you or anything." I still refuse to look at him; even if it is dark up here, I don't want him to see how red my eyes are from crying. God, I'm such a girl. "It's not like you can just change your feelings." That's right, isn't it? I tried, believe me. It won't work, no matter how often I wished they would just disappear. For a couple of minutes we stand in silence; strangely enough it doesn't bother me. I'm really done for today, aren't I? His next words startle me a bit, but not enough to look up at him.
"I won't tell the others, alright?" That does make the whole messed up situation a little bit better; at least he is the only one who knows I made a fool out of myself like this. With another tired sigh I nod silently and he is smiling again. A gloved hand is placed on my shoulder lightly; sending a shudder down my spine.
"And you shouldn't be afraid to talk about it." Now he sounds like the concerned older brother I never had. I'm not sure if that is a comforting thought or not. My eyes are still closed, focusing on his voice and his fingers on my shoulder. At his next words however, they snap open at the speed of light. "I'm sure she will be flattered!"
Yeah. Slow down here for a moment. This whole conversation wasn't so bad until now. But somehow the last sentence came out wrong. She? Is there something about Robin I didn’t know until know? Blinking my eyes a couple of times I slowly wake from my stupor induced by the soft wind and Robin's closeness. "What?"
Not the smartest response, but the best I can come up with. My brain is still a bit slow, tired and all. So it takes me a bit to understand what he is even talking about. When I turn around to finally look at him he is flashing me a winning grin. "I'm serious, BB. Just try and talk to her." Still not sure what is even going on, so I just stare at him. Talk to her? Who is “her”?
"But, you-" My sentence remains unfinished when Robin lifts his arms in surrender, shaking his head. "Don't worry about me! There never was anything between me and Star; and it's not like I'm interested, really!" Patting me on the back like CY would after a well-played match, Robin goes on. "I won't be the jealous boyfriend or anything, promise. So you can start to act normal around me again." With that said and a soft laugh he turns to leave, winking at me before disappearing behind a closed door. My mouth is hanging open and I close it a couple of times like some fish out of water. Wait… what? What exactly did just happen?
"So he thinks… its Star I like…?"
I just admitted my feelings for Robin today. Or didn’t I? Well, I told him that I have crush on one of the titans. I also told him I can't stand to see him with her. I make a total fool out of myself and say the most embarrassing things ever. Only to have him think I want his girl? Yeah, that is the perfect end for the perfect day for little old BB. If my life isn't the peachiest fucking thing ever.
I'm not sure what exactly happened in the following twenty five minutes. Guess I just stood on the tower and stared at the door like some idiot. And considered the amount of height it would take to kill me when jumping from a roof. The tiny insect from before is back; fluttering around my head. And I could swear it’s mocking me, the little bugger.
~~~tbc.
Now if BB isn't making some amazing progress with admitting his feelings!
Too bad that Robin is successfully preventing their relationship from making progress at all.
Oh boy, this was fun to write!
Yeah, not some cheesy "OmgIloveyoutooletsmarry" kind of crap. I never liked stories where everything turned out great and happy after someone confesses their feelings. So BB will have to suffer some more, sorry guys! 3
~Shad.
