"What?" he asked, confused now.
"You'll die," she said, brutally truthful.
"W-what do you mean I'll die?"
She sighed, "Beast Boy. My magic...I already told you. It's out of control. There's nothing I can do."
"Of course there's something you can do! You can--"
"What?" she snapped. "Stop feeling? I've already tried that! It doesn't work. Especially around you," she added under her breath.
His eyebrows raised. "Raven, what do you mean 'Especially around me'?"
Raven scowled at the ground. Of course he'd be able to hear her. "Nothing. Leave me alone."
"No," he growled. "Quit saying that. I'm not gonna leave you alone."
"Why? Why can't you just go?"
"Because you're my friend," he said, as if it was obvious. He walked up to her, stopping when he was hardly a few inches away from her.
"We are not--"
"Rae, shut up," he said, rolling his eyes. And then, surprising her, his arms were around her.
Raven gasped, blushing profoundly under her hood. "W-w-what are you doing, Beast Boy?"
"Hugging you, obviously. Friends hug, Rae," he said, sounding exasperated. "Just thank me. It's supposed to be comforting."
"Um..." Raven couldn't speak. Her emotions were raging out of control, and all she could really focus on was his warm body embracing her. In the back of her mind, she knew she should stop it right then and there, but instead she wrapped her arms around his waist. "Thank you."
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"Azarath Metrion Zinthos," she chanted. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos."
"Raven, Beast Boy! Food!" Robin shouted from the kitchen. Raven opened her eyes, grinning slightly under her hood when she saw that Beast Boy was asleep on the floor in front of her. She leant down to wake him, but stopped when a strange voice said, Kiss him.
Her heart pounded. Kiss him? As she continued to ponder the prospect, the more the idea became inviting. She pulled her hair behind her ear, making her hood fall in the process. She closed her eyes, imagining her lips on his. And then they were.
She pulled her mouth away from his reluctantly, opening her eyes just as he was starting to wake. He groaned and stretched, fully opening his green eyes to stare into hers. "Rae? What's goin' on?"
She stood and decided to remove her robe, throwing it on her bed. "Good, you're awake. Dinner's ready." She grabbed a romance book and left Beast Boy to himself.
______________________________
He yawned, dragging himself into the kitchen. Cyborg, Star, and Robin all sat at the table eating fried chicken. There was a plate set aside for him--steamed broccoli, potatoes, and tofu--but he ignored it, searching for Raven.
"Hey, Beastie, you okay now?" Cyborg asked.
"Yeah, fine," he said absently.
"Beast Boy, are you okay?" Robin interjected, pausing to look at him.
"Yeah, fine," he repeated, looking down the hallway. "Where's Rae?"
"Friend Raven said she needed to use the restroom," Star said. Beast Boy looked at her oddly. She seemed...off. Not as happy-go-lucky.
"You okay, Starfire?" he asked.
"Fine," she replied sullenly, subtly glancing over to Robin. Beast Boy sniffed the air--yep, rejection. But Robin was the one rejected. What...?
Beast Boy shook his head, dismissing the subject. He sat at the table and began to chew mindlessly. He stared down the hallway, waiting for her.
She didn't come out for ten minutes, and he got worried. What if her magic hurt her? His heart clenched in fear. No, he told himself. She's fine. But his legs had a mind of their own; he walked down the hall stopping at the door to the bathroom.
Just as he was about to knock, he heard strange noises. He put his ear to the door, gasping quietly when he listened to a strangled, yet somehow suppressed cry. He rapped his knuckles on the door. "Rae?" he called. "Are you okay?"
"Go...away," a voice responded. It was demonic, and somehow broken, but still had a touch of Raven to it.
"Raven...?"
A growl emanated from behind the door. What was going on...? Deciding her privacy wasn't as important as her life, he flung the door open. She was on the floor, surrounded by blood.
