Closer

Chapter 3- Crossing the Line of Friendship

Teenagers were strange, a lot stranger than Beast Boy had imagined they'd be. He had never had the chance to be around 'normal' people his age, the only thing that influenced his thoughts on teenagers was t.v. He expected all the girls to be hastily dragging their jock boyfriends onto the danced like. He expected the shyer people to be on the sidelines, nervously waiting on their special someone to take them by the hand and dance them to their happily ever after. He expected quiet music and slow dancing under a disco ball. Nothing was as he expected, not even close.

The more confident people were standing in a large circle in the centre of the dance floor. Instead of dancing the jumped about, fist bumping the air and shaking about while chanting the lyrics or the beat of the quick paced song. Everyone else were standing or sitting at tables, holding their drinks or tapping at their phones. A large groups of boys passed a water bottle clearly not filled with water amongst them. He chaperone teachers shook their heads at both the behaviour of the dancing students and the seated. One could guess that they were speaking about "how different things are nowadays compared to in their day" they were most likely reminiscing about their golden years. No-one cared to notice the green boy, however plenty of the intoxicated boys had eyed up Raven, and each of them received s deadly stare from Beast Boy, clearly stating "stay away"

He didn't mean to be controlling or ruin any potential chance that Raven had with any boys, but she had gone to the dance with Beast Boy, and he wanted to be the one she left with. That and also, although he would continue to deny it, new feeling were surfacing for the empath.

"I can't believe you thought this would be fun" Raven deadpanned, back to keeping her emotions in check. She didn't know what had come over her, or why she had considered Beast Boy to be attractive, but it was over, or at least she thought.

"Hey, I've only seen these things in movies! I never thought they would turn out to be so lame!" Beast Boy pointed out, scanning his surroundings to see that nothing had changed apart from the song. His ears flattened as disappointment flooded over him, he really had thought that the dance would be fun.

Raven put her hand on Beast Boy's elbow, another rare occurrence for her, making physical contact with another person,

"Well, B-, oh wait- Garfield, it was not your fault that tonight is, as you already called it, lame." Her attempt to make the changeling feel better worked to some extent, but it was more the physical contact than the words that improved his mood.

Beast Boy nodded,

"But I could make it better Rae" He proclaimed, his eyebrow raising.

Raven shot him a questioning look, "And do you intend to do that?"

Just as Beast Boy was about to reply to her, a skinny man in a suit tapped a microphone on the stage beside the DJ,

"Good evening, Jump City Academy, I would like to thank you all for being so well behaved tonight" he glanced at the group of now drunk boys in the corner, "but it is now time for the final dances of the night, so I invite you to grab that special someone and take them up to the dance floor." As he finished speaking the lights dimmed and slower, sweeter music began to play. Most of the teenagers grabbed a partner and shuffled out to the floor.

Raven had had her eyes on the man at the microphone and turning back to Beast Boy she jolted.

Beast Boy held a green hand out to her, a cunning smile on his lips, canine tooth poking out fiercely,

"Care to dance, Rae?" He asked playfully.

Shaking her head, Raven disbelieving her own actions, she answered him

"Yes, Garfield"

He took her hand gently, leading her out to the dance floor. Keeping one hand on Raven's hand and bravely putting his other on the small of her back, he exhaled nervously. He had only ever been this close to one other person, and she was long gone.

Raven let her hand slide up to his shoulder while her other stayed grasped in his. They swayed to the music in perfect synchronisation, Raven noted how much Beast Boy had grown lately, as he was now the same height as her. His jaw had become more refined, small specks of stubble marking his neck. A want to touch is jaw came over her, but she pushed it down. She may not understand what was happening inside her head, but she was not going to donanything ludicrous without throughly thinking about it first.

"I can't believe I'm doing this." Raven spoke aloud, "you do know if you tell the others about this, you will regret ever doing so"

Bravely, Beast Boy pushed his hand at Raven's back in ever so slightly, pulling Raven closer to him. She didn't seem to mind.

"Chill Rae, this stays between us. Besides, I doubt the others would believe that you danced with me. Why exactly are you dancing with me?"

Under normal circumstances Raven would have thrown Beast Boy across the room for even considering asking her something personal. Yet, in his arms she felt safe, in control, warm and comfortable. He was like a high from a drug.

"Honestly Garfield, I'm not too sure, do you really need a reason?" She looked straight into his green eyes catching her violet ones in her reflection within his eyes.

Beast Boy shrugged,

"I was only wondering because you usually have no time for me or you're always irritated by me" he said, keeping his eyes locked with Raven's.

"It's true" Raven sighed, "you are almost always annoying and immature and irritating but tonight you seen different..." She tightened her grip on his shoulder as he drew her in closer to him, she swallowed almost nervously, "perhaps it's the new clothes you are wearing, maybe it's just because you are no longer in the tower, maybe it's because you are not trying to be anything and you are just being yourself, I don't know what it is, but tonight I find you..." she searched for the right word "Tolerable"

Her hand edged closer to his neck and Beast Boy pulled her in so she could go no closer.

There was an undeniable tension between the two. The held each other in a way that crossed the line of friendship. They stared at each other, both of their separate minds racing, the feelings that they both had for the dragon and the girl who could move earth respectively now existed once again,not for their old flames however: but for each other.

Closing his eyes Beast Boy chanced his luck and leaned into Raven.

Raven, reading Beast Boy's body language and knowing what he was planning to do, she too closed her eyes, letting herself succumb to her feelings.

They moved closer.

And closer.

And closer.

Their lips inched towards each other searching for the other set of lips.

Crash!

The loud sound caused the two to open their eyes and turn away from each other, still in each other's grasp. A young man, no older than twenty stood in the doorway, a long black trench coat flapping behind him. He had milky skin and floppy black hair.

Beast Boy instantly disliked him. He knew he was trouble. Letting go of Raven, cursing the fact that he didn't get a chance to kiss her, her readied himself for a fight, expecting Raven to do the same.

Raven stood staring blankly at the intruder.

Had she not already realised that this was the guy who had been attacking all the schools recently? With or without her, he was going to take him down.

All of the other students had fled to the back door and were scrambling out of it.

Rounding his shoulders, Beast Boy prepared to morph into a bull, but stopped himself when Raven said,

"Toby?"