Well, it only took me two years to update. Do I have excuses? Not really, unless you count school being unnecessarily overwhelming. But at long last, I've returned. And this story is going to be completed, no ifs, ands, or buts. I appreciate those of you who continue to read even after so long more than I can say, and I am also beyond grateful for any new readers. Without further ado, here's the chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans, though if anyone is interested in purchasing it for me as a birthday gift... Let me know.

Claimer: Ashley is my own original character. If you're interested in using her, please ask first.

Chapter Nine

Beast Boy groaned, running a hand through his green hair. She's early! I didn't think she'd be here for another fifteen minutes. "I'll be down in a second!" he shouted. "Tell Ashley I've gotta... Take care of some business first!"

Business... He laughed bitterly to himself. Guess that's a word for it.

He raced down the hall, turning the corner with such abruptness he almost slammed into the wall. "Raven!" he yelled, almost tripping over his feet to hurry as he noticed the empath about to enter her room. "Raven, wait!"

Raven's eyes widened as she saw the shapeshifter rushing towards her. She hastily entered her room and slammed the door shut behind her.

"Raven!" Beast Boy shouted, banging his fists on her door, wondering if his subconscious was encouraging him to break it down. "Raven, listen to me!"

Raven sighed in frustration from inside her room. "Beast Boy, don't you have a date that needs to be attended to?"

"Ashley can wait. Besides, she got here early. I'm sure she didn't expect me to be ready."

"It's the mark of a true gentleman not to keep his date waiting."

"You've said yourself that I'm no gentleman," he countered. "I only want to talk to you for a minute. I can explain what I meant when I said..." He trailed off. "You know what. Then I'll be out of your hair. I won't talk to you again." The shapeshifter flinched, realizing how true his words likely were.

The door in front of him suddenly opened, and a bubble of hope formed in his chest that maybe - just maybe - Raven wasn't so mad after all.

That bubble popped as soon as he saw the seething look in her eyes.

"I think you're missing the point, Garfield," Raven growled. "I don't want to talk to you - not now, not ever. I'm not interested in hearing another one of your hundreds of excuses. Why don't you go talk to someone who actually cares?" Her grip tightened on the door. "I don't know - how about someone like Ashley."

Beast Boy stood there, frozen, as the door was slammed shut in his face.

He wasn't sure how long he stood there, either. It wasn't until Cyborg showed up that he even remembered what he was supposed to be doing.

"Yo, BB? You okay?"

Beast Boy blinked as reality seemed to crash down around him. He swallowed the lump in his throat before turning towards his friend. "Yeah. I'm fine. What's up?"

Cyborg raised an eyebrow at the shapeshifter's statement, skeptical. He had a gut feeling that something had gone down between him and Raven. "Well, your date's been waiting for you for the past ten minutes. But lucky for you, she's a nice girl and is very patient. Starfire's been entertaining her with stories from Tamaran. Even so, a normal human can only take so many of those before they lose their mind."

Beast Boy's eyes widened. "Dude. It's official. I am the worst date ever." He'd been in such a state of shock from Raven's cold response that he'd forgotten Ashley was downstairs waiting for him.

Cyborg chuckled, clapping his friend on the back. "I wouldn't say that, but I'd go ahead and get down there."

Beast Boy laughed nervously. "Right. Good point."

The two made their way downstairs to the garage. Ashley had parked inside next to the T-Car. Or rather, her chauffeur had.

Beast Boy's jaw dropped at the sight. She arranged for a limo.

Cyborg noticed his friend's shock and laughed. "You've definitely got yourself a classy girl. Raven must be a good teacher for you to have gotten someone like her."

Beast Boy glared at the robotic teen, but didn't comment.

Starfire's voice floated through the air toward them. "And the legend says that on the darkest day of the year, very bad children are kidnapped and taken away to become slaves." She giggled. "This is not truthful at all, of course. The only child ever sold into slavery was me! And that was because of my older sister, Blackfire. She -"

"And that's enough horror stories for today, Star," Cyborg said to the Tamaranean, walking up to her and putting his hand on her shoulder. "You're gonna scare the poor girl away."

"Oh, that's ridiculous." Ashley laughed. "It's all quite fascinating, actually!"

Beast Boy stared at his date, feeling almost... Underwhelmed, for some reason. "Wow. Ashley." That sounded so fake. "You look... Great."

She was wearing an almost blood red off-the-shoulder dress that had a slit going up the right side. Her long blonde hair was pulled up into a ponytail, though a few strands hung loose. Her makeup was minimal, though her lipstick matched her dress exactly.

She looked amazing, to put it in the simplest terms.

But he wasn't... Blown away. She didn't stand out from the crowd - she was another pretty face among hundreds.

"Thank you!" Ashley beamed. "You don't look too shabby yourself."

He laughed. "That may be, but you definitely outshine me."

She flipped her hair over her shoulder, attempting a gloating smirk but failing. "It's what I do best."

"Alright, you lovebirds," Cyborg said, rolling his eyes. "You have reservations for 6:15. If you stick around here any longer you'll be late. Get going."

Ashley's eyes widened. "Oh goodness, you're right!" She climbed into the car, pausing to speak to the driver before sitting down.

Beast Boy hung back. "Hey, Starfire?" he said.

"Yes?" the Tamaranean replied. "Is there something you require? Perhaps a massage to ease your 'first date' nerves?"

Beast Boy winced at the idea of Starfire giving him a massage. He'd probably have double the amount of bones by the time she was done. "I'll take a pass on the massage. I was wondering if you could do me a favor."

"Of course! Whatever do you need?"

"Just..." He sighed. "Check on Raven for me. We had a pretty bad fight and I didn't get a chance to apologize before she locked me out of her room."

Starfire nodded, placing a hand on the shapeshifter's arm. "I understand. I will do the 'checking up' on her."

Beast Boy sighed in relief, comforted by the knowledge that Raven wouldn't be alone. He wasn't abandoning her. "Thanks, Star."

"You are most welcome."

"Are you coming, Beast Boy?" Ashley giggled. "I do hope I don't have to go on this date by myself."

Beast Boy laughed. "Not a chance." With that, he climbed in the car beside her.

"I'm so happy we're able to do this," she said, beaming. "I've been looking forward to it from the moment you asked me!"

He chuckled. "Looking forward to what? The date or getting food?"

Ashley shrugged, her smile shifting to a smirk. "If I'm completely honest - a bit of both. I'm beyond excited to go out with you, BB, but a girl's gotta have her food."

"That's fair," Beast Boy said, laughing with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Excuse me, Miss Ashley?"

The girl turned her attention to the driver. "Sir?"

"Could you remind me again of the address for Golden Cuisine? I appear to have misplaced the paper you gave me earlier."

Beast Boy tuned out the conversation between the two as the topic shifted from the address of the restaurant to how the driver's family was doing. Not that he didn't care, but...

Okay, yeah. He didn't care.

He had other things to worry about.

I wonder what Raven's doing right now...

xxxxxxxxx

Raven released the breath she'd been holding as she heard footsteps moving away from her room. Finally. Her heart racing, she unsteadily moved backwards and lowered herself onto her bed. He's gone.

Nice going, Raven. Threw a little temper tantrum to scare him off, huh? I'm sure that's exactly what Rage would have done.

Raven groaned. How fitting that Love come to chew her out when she wanted to be alone more than anything.

Love sighed. Why would you yell at him like that? And tell him that you never want to see him again? And that you didn't care about him, when you actually care about him more than anything?

Raven clenched her fist. I thought honesty was the best policy, Love.

I cannot believe this, Love huffed. I am a part of you, Raven, so I can say with confidence that you are a very intelligent woman, but what you just did? What you said to Beast Boy? That was beyond stupid.

Don't talk to me like that, Raven snarled. I don't care what you think. You don't know me.

Of course I know you, Love scoffed. I am you, Raven. Whether you like it or not. You know, deep down, that what you said to Beast Boy was wrong. And not only was it wrong - it was a lie. You do care about him. If you don't understand what I'm saying -

I understand perfectly. Now get. Out.

Raven, for once in your life, listen to me.

Leave me alone, Love. I don't need you.

Raven could almost picture the emoticlone giving her that sad smile she knew so well.

Of course you don't.

Raven stared at the wall as she felt Love fade from her mind. Her head ached, as if someone had drained her body of any and all energy.

She'd been too harsh with Beast Boy. He'd been honest with her, and in response she'd let her feelings take over and blow everything out of proportion. He liked Ashley. No big deal. She knew that. She accepted it. She could live with it.

Raven groaned, falling backwards on her bed. Who was she kidding? Everyone but myself, she realized, her thoughts tinged with bitterness. Why -

There was a knock at her door.

"Who's there?" she grumbled, sitting up. "Before you answer that, I'm giving you five seconds to go away."

"Raven, I am not going away. I wish to speak with you, please."

Raven sighed. "Starfire, now is not a good time."

"Beast Boy requested that I do the 'checking up' on you. I intend to do as he wished. Please let me in."

"If you don't open the door, Raven, I get the feeling Star's going to break it down anyway."

Raven's eyes widened. "Robin?"

Robin laughed from outside the room. "Are you that surprised? Come on, Raven. Let us in."

Raven shook her head, a tiny smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "Fine." She stood, pulling on her hood before moving forward and opening the door. Immediately she was snatched up in a tight hug by a certain Tamaranean.

"It is my understanding that you and Beast Boy had some sort of horrible fight earlier!" Starfire exclaimed. "I hope you are not suffering any of the 'ill effects'!"

Robin chuckled. "Star, I'm not sure she can breathe."

Starfire released the empath. "Right. I forget."

Raven took a deep breath, trying to return oxygen to her body. Once she felt her lungs were working again, she returned her attention to her friends. "Listen," she began. "Beast Boy and I did have a little argument, but it was no big deal. A disagreement on how he should act on his date with Ashley."

Robin frowned. "Why would you be arguing about that?"

"Because," Raven said through gritted teeth, "I lost a little bet - rigged, mind you - and as a result I had to help Beast Boy 'get the girl.' In other words, he wanted my assistance in getting Ashley to date him. He claimed to be impressed with how I set up the date for the two of you and wanted something similar for himself."

"I see," Robin mused. "Well, he went to the right person." He offered the empath a small smile. "You did a great job setting up that dinner for Starfire and I."

"It was a most glorious evening," Starfire added, nodding in agreement. "But Raven, I have a feeling that the argument you had with Beast Boy was not about the date, or how he should act during it. Please tell us the truth. We only wish to help you."

Raven sighed. She should have known better than to think she could fool the greatest detective in Jump City - much less his girlfriend. "It's not a big deal."

"Maybe not to you," Robin said, crossing his arms, "but it is to us."

"And of even more importance," Starfire added, "it is a big deal to Beast Boy." She placed her hands on the empath's shoulders. "Raven, Beast Boy would not request that I check on you without reason."

"Of course he would," she muttered, shrugging the Tamaranean's hands off her shoulders. "He's Beast Boy."

"Raven, you know Beast Boy better than most of us," Robin said. "You of all people -"

"I do not," Raven interrupted, glaring at him. "What makes you think I would?"

"Well, you have spent so much time with him as of late," Starfire said, "we did the assuming that you have gotten to know each other -"

"Not even close, Starfire. Any lessons I gave him were strictly professional in nature. If the two of you can't recall, such was the case when I set up your date as well."

"If it was the 'strictly professional' as you say, Raven, then why have you hidden yourself in your room?" Starfire protested. "We are not blind. There is an issue between you and Beast Boy, and it could be helpful for you to confide in someone -"

"No thank you," Raven interrupted, her tone icy. "I can handle this nonexistent issue on my own."

The empath made the mistake of making eye contact with Robin. Although 'eye contact' wasn't the most accurate of descriptions, seeing as the teen was yet to remove his mask in front of the team.

She could feel him. His soul. He was trying to activate their emotional link - which was the exact opposite of what she needed at that moment.

"Maybe you're right," Raven begrudgingly admitted. She felt his presence slip from her mind, and she noticed a smirk tugging at his lips.

"Of course we are," Robin said. "When are we not?"

"Don't get me started."

"Fair point."

"Let us do the 'moving on,'" Starfire said. "Raven - what issue has occurred between you and Beast Boy?"

Raven sighed. Where to begin?

Well, you could start with admitting your undying love for him.

You're kidding me.

Love giggled. A little.

If you're going to be here, why don't you give me some good advice?

How about you start from the beginning?

The very beginning?

Why not? It's not as if you have anything better to do, seeing as moping around is not in the least bit beneficial.

Raven sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that day. "Beast Boy asked me to help him get Ashley to date him. I refused, so he and Cyborg created a rigged competition that I, of course, lost. Beast Boy and I had made a bet beforehand about this contest. Since he won, I had no choice but to assist him with what I thought at the time was a foolish conquest."

Robin chuckled. "I should have known you weren't helping Beast Boy out of the goodness of your heart."

"Robin!" Starfire gasped, shocked. "That is not very nice!"

"He's right, Star," Raven said, shrugging. "There's no way I would have helped Beast Boy had he not tricked me into doing it."

"So what happened after that?" Robin asked.

"I gave him his lessons," Raven replied. She paused, unsure of how to continue. "And... After a while, I guess... I started to enjoy them."

You should tell them about the truth serum event, Love added. That was a pretty significant thing.

Raven groaned internally. And have Robin lecture me about substance abuse?

Love didn't answer, but Raven had a feeling that was her way of saying 'who cares.'

"Was there any other sort of 'catalyst' event?" Robin asked. "Anything that may have brought the two of you... Closer?"

Raven didn't have to look at him to know he was smirking. "Well, since you mentioned it," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "there was one event." She crossed her arms. "One day Beast Boy kept trying to interrupt me when I was working on a potion, begging for me to give him his lesson. Somehow I managed to not strangle him."

"Always a good thing," Robin chuckled.

"I told him to stare at the wall and wait until I was done, but he got bored and decided to help me with the potion instead."

Starfire's face paled. "That must not have ended well."

Raven shrugged. "I had my concerns, too, but he seemed genuine, so I allowed him to assist. The potion was a truth serum - everything went smoothly, no mishaps." She sighed. "Beast Boy was curious about the serum. And seeing as I had two very mild ones already prepared, I asked if he wanted to experiment with them."

Robin frowned. "Raven, that probably wasn't the smartest thing to..." He trailed off as the empath glared darkly at him.

"I know all too well the negative effects of truth serums," she said, her tone frosty. "However, I also knew exactly how I prepared those serums and what potency they had. I figured it couldn't hurt and might satisfy his curiosity to a certain extent."

"Did something go wrong with the serums?" Starfire asked.

"Thankfully, no," was Raven's wry response. "We decided to ask each other three questions per each truth serum." She hesitated, not wanting to go into specifics. "We were... Very honest with each other, to say the least." Her eyes shifted between the bright green of Starfire's to the hidden ones of Robin's. "I learned a lot about him. What he believes in. And..." She trailed off. "And he learned a lot about me."

The room fell silent, and Raven wondered if she'd said too much.

If anything, you said too little.

You hush.

"Oh my goodness," Starfire murmured. "Raven has a crush on Beast Boy!"

The blood rushed to Raven's cheeks. "I most certainly do not," she sputtered. "The only emotion I've ever allowed myself to feel for that green idiot is loathing."

"Raven, there is nothing wrong at all with having 'the feelings' for Beast Boy," Starfire said, beaming. "In fact, I feel it is a most glorious occurrence -"

"Starfire, he has a girlfriend," Raven snapped. "A girlfriend who likes him very much, and he reciprocates those feelings quite strongly."

"But -"

"No 'buts,' Starfire," the empath interrupted. "I've been inside his mind. I've been inside Ashley's mind. I can tell. I know."

"That doesn't mean you can't try," Robin said. "And even if you choose not to try, you should at least talk to Beast Boy."

"He truly feels bad about arguing with you," Starfire added. "It would do the both of you much good to speak with each other."

Robin nodded in agreement. "Star's right."

Raven sighed. "Fine. I'll talk to him." She gestured to the door. "But if the two of you don't mind, I need to meditate."

Oh dear.

You should feel terrified, Love.

Believe me. I do.

"Understandable," Robin said, grabbing Starfire's hand. "We'll leave you be."

It wasn't until the click of the door shutting that Raven let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

xxxxxxxxx

"Wow," Ashley said, awestruck, as she gazed at the gold-adorned restaurant in front of her. "BB, do you think that's actual gold?"

Beast Boy took a closer look at the building. "Well," he began plainly, "I'm no expert, but... I have absolutely no idea."

Ashley snickered. "At least you're honest about it." She winked at him. "Honesty is key in a relationship."

Honesty. I'm inclined to think you struggle with that.

Beast Boy groaned. Why are you here? Can't you see that I'm on a date?

The Beast chuckled. That's exactly why I'm here. I know the thought has crossed your mind - seeing as I'm in it - that maybe, just maybe, you shouldn't be on this date right now.

Go away. I don't need your less-than-helpful advice.

At least you're not denying it.

Look, Beast Boy growled to himself, if you're gonna stick around, you'd better have something useful to say to me.

Fine, fine. I'll go. But let me say this: you left Raven all on her own. Not only that, but you choose to leave her alone after an argument and for what? To go on a date with some girl you've known for a matter of months?

He could almost see the Beast's icy glare.

Tell me, Beast Boy - how long have you known Raven?

He didn't answer. He didn't want to answer.

Tell me.

Beast Boy sighed in frustration. Three years, okay? Happy now?

No response. The Beast had gone.

"BB?"

Beast Boy turned on his heel to see a concerned Ashley.

"Are you okay?" she asked worriedly. "You didn't answer me when I called you, and your shoulders seemed to stiffen up..." She bit her lip. "Did I do something wrong?"

His eyes widened. "Nonono!" he said hastily. "You didn't do anything wrong! I'm just nervous!" He laughed awkwardly. "I don't want to screw up, or for anything bad to happen on our first date. Screw-ups are reserved for the second date at least."

Ashley giggled. "I guess you're right." She offered him her hand. "Shall we go in?"

Beast Boy hesitated for a brief second before he accepted it, nodding. "Sure."

They were greeted by a waiter at a podium inside the restaurant.

"Good evening," he said, smiling at them. "I'm afraid we are completely booked until after nine. If you are willing to wait, you may sit there." He pointed at the benches, where a few people already sat.

"That won't be necessary," Ashley replied. "We made reservations. They should be under Ashley. Ashley Keed."

The waiter frowned, peering at the list on the podium in front of him. "What time were your reservations for? I'm not seeing your name."

"6:15," Beast Boy replied. He checked his watch. 6:13. So they weren't late.

"Well, there is no 'Ashley Keed' on here, I'm afraid," the waiter said after a pause, his voice tinged with slight regret. "But if you're willing to wait, I do encourage -"

"I have a receipt right here," Ashley interrupted, fishing around in her clutch before pulling out a wrinkled piece of paper. "I made our reservation over a week ago."

The waiter studied the receipt, frowning. "That's odd. Perhaps you were left off the list." He nodded at them. "I'll go speak to my manager."

"You can't just give us a table?" Beast Boy asked, confused.

The waiter chuckled. "If only it were that easy, sir. I can't kick people out of the restaurant. Most consider that to be rude." Noticing their worried faces, he offered them a warm smile. "Don't fret. I'll take care of everything. Wait here, please."

Beast Boy watched him walk away. "What a great start to our date," he mumbled.

Ashley laughed, sitting down on a bench before pulling him down next to her. "Oh, it's not that bad. Look on the bright side - now we have more time to spend with each other!"

He managed a half-hearted laugh. "Yeah. That's true." It'll be even longer before I can get back to the Tower and apologize to Raven.

"Fingers crossed the food is good to make up for the waiting, right?"

"It is," he replied, not paying much attention to what he was saying. "Raven got me copies of the menus, so I was able to look them over. Everything looks pretty appetizing."

"Raven?" Ashley said, puzzled. "Who's - oh! She's a Titan. The one with that awesome cape, right?"

"Yep! That's Raven." Beast Boy awkwardly scratched the back of his head and vowed to not mention Raven the rest of evening. "She knew how important this date was to me, and I guess she wanted to be helpful."

"That's so sweet of her," she gushed. "BB, you should introduce me to more of your friends! Cyborg I feel like I know pretty well now, and Starfire was the nicest person I've ever met. But I'd love to meet Raven and Robin as well!" She giggled. "Any friend of yours is a friend of mine."

He tried his best to smile, but he could tell it was lackluster. "I'll, uh, see what I can do."

"Great," she beamed. "I look forward to it!" She gasped. "Maybe we all could -"

"Excuse me?"

Beast Boy turned to see that the waiter had returned.

"The manager wishes to speak with you personally about the seating issue," the waiter said. He gestured to a rather attractive woman standing behind him.

"Of course," Ashley said, standing immediately and brushing herself off. Beast Boy followed suit.

The woman stepped forward. "Hi," she said kindly. "I'm Raegan. Phillip here says there was an issue with your reservations?"

"Yes ma'am," Ashley replied. "We weren't on the list for some reason."

The waiter handed the receipt to the manager, who frowned. "That's very odd." She turned her attention back to the couple. "I assume you're Ashley Keed." Her gaze shifted to Beast Boy. "And you are, sir...?"

"Beast Boy," he said after an awkward pause. "Nice to meet you."

The manager's eyes widened. "Beast Boy? As in, Beast Boy of the Teen Titans?"

He laughed nervously. "That's me." He jumped, startled, as the woman started shaking his hand vigorously.

"Thank you so much for everything you've done for this city. Phillip!"

"Ma'am?" the waiter said.

"Get these two a table right away," she ordered. "I don't care how you do it. And their meals will be on the house - I'll cover the cost myself."

"Um," Beast Boy said tentatively, "there's really no need for that. We can -"

"I insist," the manager said with a warm smile. "It's the least I can do."

Ashley spoke before Beast Boy could. "Thank you so much, ma'am. We appreciate it."

"It's no trouble."

"Miss Ashley?" The waiter smiled at them. "A table has opened up, if the two of you would like it."

"Sounds great!" Ashley beamed.

"I'll be your server tonight," the manager said, handing them each a menu. "Phillip will take you to your seats, and I'll be there in a moment to take your orders."

"Oh, there's no rush," Ashley reassured them. "We don't have plans after this or anything." She winked at Beast Boy. "At least, not yet."

Beast Boy resisted the urge to sigh and just nodded. He knew this was supposed to be a fun night - if not the best one of his life - but for some reason he wasn't getting into it. Leaving Raven after their fight without apologizing felt so wrong. Setting things right with her had been the only thing on his mind the entire night.

"You coming, BB?"

Beast Boy realized Ashley and the waiter had started to move away. "Right," he said, clearing his throat and following them.

The waiter seated them, gave them a brief summary of the specials for that day, then took his leave.

"Wow," Ashley murmured, looking over the menu. "This is more upscale than I thought it would be." She laughed. "I should have checked out their website before we came so I'd have an idea of what to order!"

Beast Boy smiled at her. "I'm sure you can find something. Everything looks pretty awesome, am I right?" He paused. "Except for what has meat." He shuddered. "No thanks."

Ashley laughed again. "Never fear - I shall not order any meat."

"Have you decided what you'd like to get?" The manager had made her way over to their table. "Or do you need more time?"

"More time, definitely," Ashley said. "There's so many different options to choose from."

The manager nodded. "Perfectly understandable. What about a drink?"

"Hmm," Ashley mused. "I think I'd like some herbal tea."

Beast Boy froze. Were his ears tricking him? There was no way Ashley had asked for herbal tea. It was impossible. Herbal tea was... It was Raven. "What," he began, "did you say you were getting?"

He pretended that his voice hadn't gone up an octave on that last syllable.

"Iced tea?" Ashley said, confused. "Why?"

"Thought you said something else," he mumbled. "Don't worry about it."

So he was hearing things. Fantastic.

"And what would you like to drink, sir?" the manager asked.

"Water is fine," Beast Boy said. "Thanks."

The manager made a small note in her book. "I'll bring those right away."

After she left, Ashley rested her elbows on the table and placed her chin on top of her hands. "Beast Boy, are you feeling okay? You've been acting weird the whole evening." She tilted her head to one side. "I don't want to pry, of course, but you can talk to me about anything. You know that." She smiled at him, though he could see that she was upset. "At least, I hope you do."

Beast Boy nodded hastily, trying to remedy the situation. "Of course! I know I can talk to you! Definitely. Yes. But there's nothing wrong!" He grinned, giving her an awkward thumbs up. "Everything is totally fine. I just..." He frantically searched for an excuse in his mind. "I wanted this night to be perfect for you! But there was the whole issue with our reservations and stuff, and..." He shrugged, trying to laugh it off. "It's all cool now. We can enjoy the evening."

Ashley didn't look entirely convinced, but luckily the manager returned.

Beast Boy managed a quiet sigh of relief as the girl's attention was turned elsewhere.

"So what would you like to eat tonight?" the manager asked.

"I'll have a Caesar salad," Ashley said pleasantly. "BB?"

"I, uh, I'll have the same," he stammered. "And if it's possible, could I have some veggie kabobs on the side?"

"Of course you can," the manager said, jotting their orders down. "Your food will be out momentarily. Would you care for any particular appetizer?"

Beast Boy shrugged, looking at Ashley. "Do you want anything?"

"Chips and salsa," Ashley said, not making eye contact with him.

"Excellent choice." With that, the manager left.

There was a long pause. The silence seemed to stretch for an eternity. And Beast Boy knew, he knew, that he should have been trying to fix the situation with Ashley. But he couldn't stop thinking about Raven.

Raven.

Raven.

She was probably still angry at him. And she had every right to be! He'd used every lesson as an opportunity to toy with her feelings. Even after he'd learned what feelings truly meant to her - the pain they caused, and why she repressed them like she did. Even after all that... He'd kept at it.

And then, when she'd asked for a straight answer, he couldn't even give her one.

His stomach sank.

She hates me.

Ashley sighed, breaking the silence and distracting him from his thoughts. "Beast Boy, I can tell something is wrong. And it's not about the date. Please, be honest with me. I want to help you."

Beast Boy groaned, wanting to be anywhere but there. Talk about an awkward situation. "I had a fight," he said after a short pause, "with one of my friends. Before I went downstairs and met up with you for the date. It was... Kind of hurtful. For both of us. We said things to each other that we didn't mean. And the fight was my fault. I was in the wrong. I haven't had a chance to apologize to them yet - like really apologize - and it's been bothering me all evening." He offered her a weak smile. "Sorry. It's not that big of a deal. I just don't like fighting with people, you know?" He sighed. "Especially my friends."

Ashley stared at him, silent. Her blue eyes seemed to look right through him. Finally, she said, "That's not all."

"What?"

"There's something missing," she said. "Something you're not telling me. A key detail." She tucked a strand of blonde hair that had fallen out of her ponytail behind her ear. "BB, I feel like I know you pretty well, and you've talked about fights you've had with Robin and Cyborg all the time. They never got you worked up like this. So what is it?"

Beast Boy resisted the urge to scream, instead running a hand through his green hair as he tried to figure out what to say. "Can we... Can we go outside for a minute?"

"Of course," she replied, standing up before grabbing his hand and practically dragging him out the door.

They both sat down on a bench outside the restaurant.

"How about you tell me what's going on," Ashley said, "but this time - the whole story."

Beast Boy laughed nervously. "Or I could give you a brief summary?" He noticed her glare and let out a small squeak. "Or not."

So he told her everything. Every last detail he could remember. Sometimes he backtracked, and a few times he jumped forward, but he didn't stop once.

When he was done, Ashley stared at him, her mouth agape and eyes wide. Finally, she shook her head.

"I cannot believe you," she murmured.

Beast Boy flinched. "I know, I know, I'm a complete idiot, but -"

"Damn straight you're an idiot!" she interrupted. "Why on Earth are you on this date with me?! BB, you should be at the Tower comforting Raven!" She sighed. "Boys are so dense."

His mouth opened and shut like a fish. "But -"

"Nope!" Ashley said, placing a finger over his lips. "I'm stopping you there. Beast Boy, you care about Raven. You care about her more than anything, if I had to guess. It sounds like you hurt her. A lot. She clearly cares about you, too, but the longer you're with me and not with her..." She shook her head. "The greater the distance between the two of you is going to get." She stood, pulling him up from the bench with her. "Go back to the Tower and talk to her. Understand?"

Beast Boy hesitated, slightly shocked by how well that had gone. "Right." He started to pull away, then paused. "You're not... Mad at me?"

Ashley laughed. "Mad? Of course not!" She smiled at him. "I'm a romantic at heart, BB. I can tell how much she means to you. And hey - we can still be friends, right?"

He nodded, smiling a real smile for the first time that night. "Definitely!"

Ashley tapped her finger on her chin. "Before you go, there is one thing I want to do." She grabbed his collar and pulled him to her before planting a quick kiss on his lips. Laughing at his shocked expression, she said, "That's for being so extra and arranging to have all those lessons to ask me out. That was sweet."

Beast Boy felt the blood rush to his cheeks, embarrassed. "Yeah, well, I couldn't just -"

She swatted him on the head. "Enough talking! Go get your girl already!"

This time, he didn't pause before turning into a bird and starting on his way back to Titans Tower.

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I am a terrible person for stopping this chapter here after not updating for two years. On the bright side: only one chapter left! I'll try to update soon, but as per usual, no promises. (However it will not take two years this time.) I hope you enjoyed, and I hope to see you again one last time for the final chapter.