Ooh, I've got a new story! Don't worry, this won't get in the way of me updating my other ones, coz the other two chapters of this one is already written! Okay, now go read!

Oh yeah! Don't own Vanessa Carlton's White Houses! Enjoy!

-

There's always that one person

That will always have your heart

You never see it coming

Coz you're blinded from the start

Know that you're that one for me

It's clear for everyone to see

Oh baby, oh

You will always be my boo

-My Boo, Usher ft. Alicia Keys

-

"I'm here." Raven murmured as she stepped foot outside the airport. She closed her eyes and inhaled the different smells of Jump City. She opened them to the many shops and establishments that inhabited the streets. It had changed; a lot too, but it was still home. Of course, the fact that this was the first time she's been here in eight years didn't change anything. There were countless things she wanted to do while she was here, but one was her top priority.

She hailed a cab, and went in foot first, putting her bag down beside her.

The driver adjusted the rearview mirror to look at her.

"Where to, miss?"

"Titans Tower Museum." She answered.

Aside from some minimal traffic, she had a pretty smooth ride, as well as a good view of the city. There were tons of restaurants and new offices that were built since she was last here, but she still recognized some of them. One simply said, "Pizza."

She almost wanted to smile as she remembered that it was the gang's favorite eat-out place.

"So, what do we get?" Cyborg asked, peering from the menu in front of his face. Then his eyes lit up, and without even waiting for a reply, "I know! This sounds good: Quintuple Beefy Bacon Burger Super Superb Supreme."

Beastboy practically erupted. "Hello? What do you mean order meat? I am meat!"

"Come on, BB. I advise you to stop making a big deal out of eating yourself and let the rest of us eat what we want. See, okay now, Rob man, any suggestions?"

"Ah, whatever you get, it must have olives and mushrooms." Robin said, fiddling with something on his communicator.

Before the boys could argue again, Starfire spoke up. "Friends, I propose for us to get a pizza with pickles, bananas, and mint frosting!"

No one really listened to her, because they all knew she still insisted on ordering those toppings even after Robin told her they don't go with pizzas.

Cyborg and Beastboy screamed at each other for awhile, until Raven, who just kept on repeating the phrase 'Can we please just order something?' got tired of it.

Eyes turning white, she levitated from her seat, with her hands glowing black from magic energy.

"Guyssss…" She hissed, her voice having the same amount of venom as she used when talking to villains, "If you want, I'll just go to the kitchen and make the pizza, and fry you for the toppings unless you make up your mind! And now! Kapeesh?"

As she floated back to her seat, Cyborg and Beastboy were cowering in fear, Starfire had a blank expression on her face, and Robin was grinning, almost gratefully.

They finally ordered a half-meat, half-vegan pizza, with extra olives and mushrooms.

"Uh, miss, we're here."

Raven was snapped back to reality by the driver's voice. She looked outside the window to come face-to-face with a "T" shaped building. She wondered how the cab got there across the bay, when she noticed a bridge connecting the city to the banks of the small island.

She turned the knob and started to get out of the taxi, absentmindedly using her powers to levitate her luggage.

"Oh yeah, how much is it?" She tapped the driver's shoulder before getting out.

The driver, who looked like he was in his early fifties, smiled, eyes twinkling behind round-rimmed spectacles.

"Well, for you miss, free of charge."

"Huh? Why?"

"You were one of the Teen Titans, weren't you?"

"Oh," She muttered, surprised. "How did you know?"

"You're Raven, right? You used your magic to make your bag float, and besides, I've been in this city all my life."

"Okay. Thank you very much."

"Don't mention it. This city owes you a lot, and I've always been waiting for a chance to thank you for saving my baby daughter before. She's in middle school now, you know?"

"Glad to hear it." Raven said, closing the door of the cab. She meant it.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

After the Titans broke up, or as the papers liked to put it, Jump City turned the Tower into a museum, dedicated to the Teen Titans. Not only did it make most of the population happy, it was also one of the city's most famous tourist spots.

As a matter of fact, right now, a long line was gathered at the foot of the Tower, armed with cameras, videocams and other recording equipment.

Of course Raven, who was wearing a long-sleeved dark purple pinstripe dress (think Alicia Keys in the My Boo video), blended right in.

"Your ticket, miss?" A man, in what seemed to be the uniform of the museum staff, asked her when it was finally her turn.

"Oh, what? A ticket?" Raven thought about using her powers and getting free entrance like with the cab ride, but decided to patronize her city instead.

"Okay. I don't have one. Where do I buy it?"

"Right here is fine, miss."

"Oh. How much?"

Raven's eyes widened. Maybe the city was making too much money by displaying her and her team mates' lives in their own old home. Oh well, what you see is what you get.

She thrust the money towards the staff member, and entered the Tower.

She skipped going with the tour guide who was showing the rest of the crowd the med-lab, the garage, etc. What she really wanted was to see was what the decorators did to the rec room and their bedrooms.

She arrived at the top floor, and as the elevator opened, she couldn't help but be a little surprised.

Everything in the rec room was posed, objects seemingly in halt from fluid motion, as if someone had stopped time. The big-screen TV had a scene from a video game, and the two joysticks were placed on the table, as if someone had left them there, next to a bottle of soda, a glass half-filled with the beverage and some popcorn in a bowl. On the sofa was an opened leather book, like someone had been reading it. Nearby was a stereo, loud rock music blasting from its speakers.

'It's just like when we were here,'She thought.

"You're going down on this game, you overgrown tin can!" Beastboy ranted, his fingers already positioned on the controls.

That one made Cyborg laugh out loud. "In your dreams, BB! I totally kicked your butt in six whole games!"

"Yeah, well, I rock at this one. Prepare for a whole lotta whoopin'!"

Beside him was Starfire, watching their games with genuine interest.

"Does anyone desire any popcorn? Raven?" She held out her bowl to the dark bird, whose only reply was a plain 'No.'

"Perhaps you would like a glassful of soda?"

Raven lowered her book to meet Starfire's eyes. "No, Starfire, I do not desire any popcorn or soda."

Understanding, Starfire went over to Robin, who was standing beside his stereo.

"Friend Robin, do you wish to partake in this soda?"

"I'll pass, Star," He said, just as a bouncy song played.

Crashed on the floor when I moved in

This little bungalow with some strange new friends

Stayed up too late, and I'm too thin

We promised each other it's till the end

Now it's--

Cringing, Robin turned off the stereo. "I hate these kind of songs. Too… happy."

He turned to Starfire. "Actually, Starfire, give me some of that soda. I'm thirsty."

And then, just to serve her memories, the same song played on the currently playing stereo.

Raven almost smiled, then a frown clouded over her face as she heard the words.

It sort of described them.

Crashed on the floor when I moved in

This little bungalow with some strange new friends

Well, she didn't exactly crash on the floor, but their first meeting was not far from the word. And they weren't really in a bungalow, more like a "T" shaped building, but the song was damn right about the 'strange new friends' part.

It was a cool night, and it was pretty breezy outside, precisely why Beastboy had his window open. None of the other Titans knew where Cyborg was taking them tonight, and Raven was no exception.

Since there was nothing else to do besides stare blankly into space, Raven sat on her usual seat in the T-car, between Beastboy and Robin, while Starfire was in the passenger seat, and Cyborg was of course, in the driver's seat.

She observed her team mates. It had been several months since the Teen Titans were born, and she had enough information to make her impressions on them.

She looked at the rearview mirror and saw Cyborg's face reflected on it. He was okay, she assumed. A bit too addicted to the techno stuff, but it does the team good. How else was he able to build the amazing vehicles for them: the T-car, the T-sub/ship, and the R-cycle, made especially for Robin. Sometimes he acted all goofy when he was with Beastboy, quiet when he was with her, he tried to be patient when he was with Starfire, and was competitive, in a good way, when he was with Robin. She thought he was more like the team's big brother, trying to be what they needed when they needed it.

Beside him sat Starfire, still dazzled by all the buttons in front of her. Even though all of them were strangers to each other before they teamed up, she was still the ultimate newcomer. Not only was she the last to join, but she was also from another planet, and very new to all the earth customs. Robin had tried to explain most of it to her, but there was little she could understand. There was another thing about her: her naivety, which made people assume that she was annoying because of her endless questions. But she's actually just trying to fit in, so she acts all friendly even though she's usually unaware of what was going on. She means well. Misunderstood, yes, that was the word for her.

A particularly cold breeze blew in the car, giving her a chill. She tilted her head to where it had come from, where Beastboy also was. She considered throwing a sarcastic remark to him, when she decided against it. Tonight he looked… happy, truly happy. Everyone considered him to be the jokester, or the goofball of the team. He was always cracking jokes, mostly bad ones, at the worst of times, and was always playing pranks, even though he knew it would piss them off. But those people don't know him. They don't know that while he seemed cheerful and giddy, those jokes were his way of forgetting about the comments of people about his appearance, his way to get attention. That's why he was happy to join the Titans; they were also different. They wouldn't laugh at him for standing out. They understood what it was like. And they did.

'We do understand.' She told herself.

"Raven?"

Raven peered at Robin curiously. "What?" Her voice was cold, and piercing, even though she didn't mean for it to.

"I heard you say something."

Raven nearly blushed, realizing she said her sentence out loud.

"I…" She breathed deeply, trying to make her voice as gentle as possible. "I didn't say anything, Robin.'

"Oh. Okay." He answered, focusing his stare out of the window as he had before.

Raven kept her gaze on him. His spiked hair blew softly because of the wind that was entering the car. She loved the way it did that. His firm chin rested on his arm that was perched on the window. She could see the side of his face, the outline of his tall nose and the masked eyes, the streak where his forehead stopped and where his hairline started. He was quite handsome, there was no denying that, and nearly all of the teen female population in this city thought so. He was constantly chased by die-hard fans and nosy reporters more than any of the other Titans. Beastboy would have loved that kind of attention, but Raven knew that Robin thought otherwise. He liked to stay out of the limelight, and preferred to be mysterious. That was what the mask was for. Well, partly. It was also for security against the villains they constantly fought. Not really for his safety, but he feared for the safety of his team. She sometimes wondered why he chose this life along with them, rather than the life of normalcy he could acquire. Unlike the rest of them, he couldbe normal, like everyone else. He was the most human; he wasn't the one who's part-robot, the one with genetically-altered DNA, the one who had demon roots, or the one from another planet. But he lost a family because of evil people, and now, it was like they were now his family and he would have given up anything not to lose one again. He would fight to protect them, wished for them to be out of harm's way, and even give his life up for them. He might act demanding, bossy and aloof sometimes, but he cared for them, more than he cared for himself, and that was all that mattered.

Raven felt the tires of the car screech, meaning that they were finally at their destination.

"Okay, y'all. We're here!" Cyborg announced cheerfully.

"Cy, where exactly is here?" Robin asked, stepping out of the car.

His eyes came into contact with a warehouse, with neon lights and loud, blaring music coming out of it. The second party of the week.

Stayed up too late, and I'm too thin

We promised each other it's till the end

Raven's eyes began to mist. They did promise each other that it's till the end, but now it seemed that promises were meant to be broken. The day when Starfire told them about Blorthog, and Rekmos, when they all thought it was a joke, and the same day when Starfire returned from the future and told them what was going to happen was still clear in her head. They thought that the day the Tamaranean described would never come, but it did. And it came too soon than what anyone would have liked.

Now it's spinning empty bottles

It's the five of us

With pretty-eyed boys girls die to trust

I can't resist the day

No I can't resist the day

Jenny screams out and it's no pose

When she dances, she goes and goes

Beer through the nose on an inside joke

I'm so excited, I haven't spoken

And she's so pretty and she's so sure

Maybe I'm more clever than a girl like her

Summer's all in bloom

Summer's ending soon

She walked around in the room, looking at pictures of the Titans the museum decorators put on the wall. They did far more outrageous things than what the song had said. Far more.

"All set?" Robin asked the team, who were crouched into their specific positions.

"Yes." They said in unison.

"Okay. Titans, go!" He barked, as if they were in the battlefield rather than just playing a prank on the pesky reporters that had been waiting for a story on their doorstep all week. Beastboy suggested the idea of the prank the first day, but it was only until today that the Titans got really irritated… and desperate.

Robin opened the door, sending the hoard of paparazzi into the Tower.

"I didn't know they got that many," Raven said under her breath.

Robin patiently smiled for all the cameras that were clicking at him.

"I'm sorry to have kept you all waiting all week long, but we finally have what you want." He flashed them a grin again, as one-hundred cameras clicked.

"A story." He brushed some imaginary dirt off his tuxedo, going over to Raven.

"Raven and I," He began, pretending to be excited. "Are in love and we will be…"

None of the reporters let him finish as they thrust their microphones at Robin's mouth.

"How will you deal with your relationship while crimefighting?"

"Do you think your relationship would get in the way of anything?"

"When did you realize that you had these feelings for each other?"

"Was Starfire jealous? Or perhaps Beastboy?"

Raven saw Robin smirk, and she thought for a second that he won't be able to maintain his performance. It all just too funny.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the press, please, quiet down and let me finish my statement. As I said, Raven and I will be…"

"…married."

The paparazzi squealed in delight, and one has to wonder how they didn't figure that out with Robin's tuxedo, Raven's bridal gown, and the fact that the entire hallway was decorated with flowers.

"How did you arrange everything?"

"When will you be married?"

"Who's your wedding planner?"

"Who will you invite?"

"Where's the venue?"

"Do you think anyone might try to ruin it?"

It was Raven who spoke next. "Oh, we will be married right here, right now." She nearly burst out laughing. These people were too gullible.

"How?"

"Who will wed you?"

Raven giggled, as if for effect. The cameras followed her every move.

"Cyborg will wed us. You see," She leaned in, as if telling them a secret. The press mimicked her.

"He's actually a priest."

The members of the press nodded, understanding.

'Wow, if stupidity were a crime, these would be public enemies one, two and one hundred.' Raven thought mischievously. That sounded like something Beastboy would say.

Robin took Raven's hand and led her in front of Cyborg, who was dressed according to his role and held a Bible.

"Robin, do you accept this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?"

Robin managed to keep a straight face by grounding his back teeth. "I do."

The paparazzi hoard cheered.

Cyborg locked eyes with Raven, and she saw that the edges of his lips were curling into a smile. He bit his lip, trying to make the laughter inside him die away.

"Raven, do you accept this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?"

Raven blushed, but no one really paid attention. Cyborg and Robin thought she was faking it, to make it seem more authentic, and the press ate it up, but the blush was genuine.

"I do." She said, amidst hoots and applause.

Cyborg winked at both of them. "I now announce you husband and wife…"

The reporters posed their cameras, anticipating capturing the kiss on tape.

"You may now…"

Some were already even snapping pictures.

"TAKE YOUR REVENGE ON THE PAPARAZZI THAT HAS BEEN DRIVING YOU UP THE WALL FOR SEVEN FREAKIN' DAYS!"

Robin, Raven, and Cyborg tore their costumes off, much to the crowd's horror. Starfire, together with Beastboy, who was currently a charging rhino, seemingly appeared out of nowhere and started to blast the press with starbolts, of course not aiming directly at them, who were panicking and scurrying away from them, like trapped bugs.

The two drove the press away, some leaving on helicopters, some by jet ski, while some tried to swim the entire distance of the Tower from the city, and at the same time getting their equipments wet.

The next day, news of the event was on.

Some of the reporters told the truth about what happened.

Some threatened to sue the Titans for abuse.

Some even said that Raven and Robin were about to get married, but just as they were about to kiss, Starfire and Beastboy, who were jealous, crashed the wedding.

Some said that they lied about saying Cyborg was a priest, because they couldn't find anything about him being part of any clergy.

And the really thick-faced ones said that they were in on the whole thing, and went along with it because the Titans told them to.

Either way, the whole team got quite a laugh out of it.

Raven shook her head, trying hard not to giggle. She remembered how they picked who was going to get married for the prank. And fate had her ending up marrying Robin. Well, not really. She left the rec room and heading for the hallway, where their renovated bedrooms were.

It's all right
And it's nice not to be so alone
But I hold on to secrets in white houses

Her room was the first one she saw. It still had the bold, capitalized 'RAVEN' in front, but the pad of numbers for the security codes was long gone. It was a museum, after all.

She couldn't believe she never tried redecorating, even though she often said stuff about trying it.

Looking around the dark interior, she realized that Beastboy was right. Halloween did come early in her room. Anyway, creepy was her thing back then, before she defeated her father.

Smiling, she walked out and came face to face with Starfire's room. The walls were pink, the bed had a canopy and it was full of stuffed animals. The museum staff must have overdone it. The tamaranian's room wasn't that… pink.

She cringed as she took in the walls and the preppy décor, trying hard not to barf. She might have left the goth act years ago, but no way was she ever gonna like the color pink!

She left hurriedly, going in instead to Beastboy's room. Now this is okay. Punk bands (from ten years ago) adorned the walls while clothes were scattered on the floor, weird toys were on the dresser, and the television was on. A cartoon. Perfect.

Next on the list was Cyborg's room. It was pretty dull, with grey walls and a bunch of techno stuff. Even the bed (was that what it was?) was just a plain old platform.

Lastly, there was Robin's room. A big sign on the door. 'Closed to the general public from Sundays to Saturdays. Sorry for the inconvenience. Normal visiting hours will be resumed shortly.'

Raven shrugged. What the heck, she was a former Titan anyway. Certainly 'the general public' did not include her. Using her powers, she phased through the door. It was dark inside, and she fumbled around for the light switch.

When the light was turned on, it seemed like the whole room was covered in newspaper. She rubbed her eyes for a moment. Oh, that's right. Not entirely the whole room. Just something like 60, or even 70 percent. She ran her hand over the clippings taped on the walls, browsing some of the articles. Most were about numerous other villains, but articles about Slade dominated. Her brow furrowed, remembering how obsessed her leader really was about the madman.

"No luck. He still won't come out." Cyborg sighed, frustrated. Starfire, Beastboy and him had tried to coax Robin out of the room, to take a night off with them, but to no avail. "He says he's too busy."

"You got that right, too busy to have fun!" Beastboy piped up, frowning.

"Well, Raven, your turn." The team said, turning their gazes on her.

"Me? Why me? If you guys tried, and failed, what makes you think I can get him out?"

"He'll listen to you." Cyborg blurted out.. "You two… you're like… two peas in a pod. Long-lost twins."

"Yeah, it's like you share the same brain!" Beastboy included.

"Yes. Presumably friends Beastboy and Cyborg are correct." Starfire said, almost sheepishly, like she was ashamed to admit it.

Raven put up her hood, to hide the tiny, even barely there blush that was creeping up her cheeks. Why was she blushing, anyway?

"Fine. Fine. Here goes…"

She took a deep breath and knocked quietly with her knuckles.

"I don't wanna go out. I have to work on the new lead." Came the agitated and impatient voice of the Boy Wonder from inside.

"Let me try to convince you anyway. You gonna open this or do I have to go in without your permission?"

There was a brief pause, and they heard several buttons being pressed, and the door opened.

"What do you want?"

"You know what we want, Robin. We want you to stop researching about Slade for at least one night to have fun. You're being such a killjoy. You're turning into me." Raven persisted.

Robin heaved a sigh. "Raven, I am you." He said, proving everyone's suspicions. "Come in." Everyone started to rush in, when Robin held up a hand.

"Guys, Raven only. You've had your chances."

Cyborg, Beastboy, and especially Starfire looked crestfallen. Raven fought the urge to smile as she entered the room.

Her eyes rested on his desk. On top of it was his laptop, a map of the city, a couple pieces of paper covered in cross marks, and a few more articles.

"Looks like you're making progress." She remarked sarcastically.

"If you're just gonna throw a few ironic comments, you better leave…"

"No. I'm sorry. But you do know I intend to succeed in my goal to get you out of this stuffy room, don't you?"

Robin crossed his arms. "Yeah, and I also intend to stop you in your goal. Raven, you out of all people should know how important this is…"

"I do know, Robin." Raven put a hand on his shoulder. "I know it's important. But it's also important for you not to get carried away. You're isolating yourself."

Robin looked at her straight in the eye. "Then you must know that I'm not doing this just for a hobby, don't you? I'm doing this for the city, for the people…

"For my team. For you guys."

"If you're really doing this for us, do remember how many days you sent us to investigate possible leads and how many hours you told us to research about Slade. Do us a favor, Robin. Do yourself a favor. Just one night out. That's all we're asking from you." She put hesitant hands to her hips.

Robin dragged long fingers through his spiked hair. "You know, if you put it that way…"

"It's all up to you to decide. We'll wait fifteen minutes for you in the rec room, if you bother to come."

Raven left without another word.

"So, what did he say?"

"Is he coming?"

"I told him we'll wait for him for a couple of minutes. If he really doesn't wanna come, we can't persuade him to."

They waited on the sofa.

"Okay, ten seconds left. Ten, nine, eight…" Beastboy chanted, itching to leave.

"Give it up, Beastboy. So, where to tonight?" A voice form the doorway interrupted.

"Robin!" Starfire rushed to hug him, while Beastboy jumped up and down. "Yahoo!"

Cyborg looked at Raven meaningfully. "Toldya so."

A door from another side of the room she didn't know existed opened, disrupting her memories. A figure came out.

"Who's there?" A deep, nearly familiar voice called out.

Raven froze. She wasn't supposed to be in here, but now she was trapped.

The figure came closer.

"I—I'm sorry, sir. I'll leave right away…" She stammered uselessly.

The figure stepped into light. It was a tall young man, in his early twenties, with long jet black hair in a low ponytail, in a long-sleeved v-neck navy blue sweater with the sleeves rolled up til the elbows and a plain skin-tight white shirt, and black denim pants. Beneath the shirt were the easy muscles of someone who was born with them. He wore black sunglasses.

"Robin?" Raven's voice came out small and shy, peering to get a better look at the now-named stranger.

Hehehe… cliffie! Now, if you ever want to see chapter two, you better

REVIEW!

And comments, suggestions, or even criticisms please! I need backup! AND JUST THIS ONCE, I'M ASKING: NO FLAMES! I'M TOO HAPPY! )