Black Birds, Black Coffee{Teen Titans}

Darkest Coffee

                                                                                        -Robin-

                                            The thunder sounded off in the distance and the raindrops just kept falling onto Robin's car as he turned into the parking lot of an abandon looking building. Robin's car, when parked, was one of the five cars occupying the large parking lot that had seen better days when it's entire lot was overtaken by cars. Once there was a time the parking lot was so filled there would be cars parked in different places just to get into the once famous bookshop the small town had.Since the shopping center was built few even remembered the bookstore and it was close to closing forever. Robin stepped out his car, pulling his hood over his head. His dad had taken him to the bookstore every weekend as a child, but since his father's death Robin found it easier to visit the bookstore instead of talking to people or making friends.  This bookstore was how Rabin remembered his father, and didn't want to take the advice of his counseled and focus on the future, he wanted the past. He wanted his father back.

            Walking inside Robin took in the familiar smell of old books, he longed to just open every single one and devour every single word. To lose himself into each world the book would produce, to try and forget the world he was living in now. The world where he just couldn't find any happiness. Robin stepped forward to go into the horror section, that was his dad's and his favorites to read on stormy days, and began to look for one of his dad's favorites. The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe, Robin grabbed a copy and went to the coffee shop inside the bookstore. 

      There was a new girl at the counter, she had short dyed purple hair and pale skin. She looked familial to Robin, Must go to my school, he thought to himself. He put his book on a table and walked up to the familiar counter, before the girl could ask him what he wanted he spoke coldly giving her the cold treatment he'd given everyone since the death if his father. "Plain black coffee, nothing less nothing more." He said dropping the $3.50 on the counter and walked away.

      He grabbed his book and began reading in the vacant store. He didn't even notice when the girl put his coffee down and walked away, he did notice when the girl took her break at a table near him with the same book. At first he thought she was mocking him, so he began watching, only to be shown that she wasn't mocking him. He looked at her name tag, Raven, and looked back down at his book.  He tried to read again, but the girl started to creep into his mind. Some part of him wanted to talk to her, but he didn't know why. Suddenly some of his father's favorite words came floating into his brain. "You can't change the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading the last one."

    "Hey you," Robin looks at the girl hoping that he was understanding what his father was trying to tell him. She looked at him in surprise and got a bit shy, Robin ignored it, "Would you like to sit by me? It's probably be nicer then sitting by yourself." He gestured to the chair across from him and picked his book back up, "It's up to you."

   Robin went back to his book, hoping he did the right thing. He looked up and there she was, sitting across from him, nose in her book and coffee in front of her. Black coffee just like his, Robin put his book down and began to attempt a conversation. "So you like Edgar Allan Poe?" He asks, she looks at him and then slowly puts the book down.

    "Yes I do, why do you ask?" She says and Robin realizes it the first time he'd heard her voice, and he liked it, it wasn't soft but it just sounded right to him. 

    "You and I grabbed the exact same book so I got curious." Robin says for once not sounding cold and angry. "I'm Robin by the way."

      "Raven," She looks at him for a minute. "You're hiding deep sadness, and have trouble telling people. You had something happen to you and now you shut everyone you ever knew out." She says out of nowhere, and suddenly her face become flushed. "I'm sorry about that, I just kind of read people like the books," She picks up The Tell-Tale Heart to show him. "I shouldn't have said what I said."

   Robin was mad for a moment and thought about his father's words, "Actually you wouldn't mind if I told you? You're actually good at reading people because you figured me out quicker than my own family." He says shrugging. She nods her head, and Robin silently thanks his father for his words of wisdom coming back to him at a time like this. "My father passed away recently, he was in a plan crash coming home from a business trip. He use to take me here every weekend of my life and...." Robin goes on to explain everything to this girl whom he had just met. 

    Tears where shed during Robin's story and some laughs as Robin traveled down memory lane to tell Raven just about everything about his father. When finished he felt, happy and relieved. Raven sat there and took in everything he had said and absorbed it all in. It'd gotten pretty late and the bookstore would be closing soon so both Raven and Robin got up and payed for their books walking out into the rain together. 

      "Thank you for letting me blabber on and on, I actually feel alot better now." Robin says to Raven standing by his car in the rain, she just laughed and smiled.

      "It was my pleasure," She walked over to him and kissed him on the cheek. "A wise man once told me 'You can't change the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading the last one' I guess we both know who that man was." She stepped back. "Call me." She said turning around walking away towards the car she owned.

    Robin became confused and yelled into the rain that decided to fall harder, "I don't even have your number."

      "It's on your cup, plain black coffee nothing more, nothing less." She shouted back over the pounding rain getting into her car.

        Robin watched her pull out and then stepped into his own car, looking at his coffee cup. For once when he left the bookstore he didn't look back in sadness. He looked forward in joy, he was finally ready to begin his next chapter in life and he had a person he could trust to talk to.