How did I get here? Beast Boy pondered as he obediently held clothes that his ginger-haired alien teammate handed to him in the middle of the local mall's Forever 21. He didn't mind going out into the public. Far from it; normally he was all up for a trip to the mall and the local pizza joint to cruise on the ladies and gawk at his dream moped. But today, he had kind of been… dragged.

The morning had started out just fine. Cyborg had pulled an all-nighter and was sleeping in, so Beast Boy had made his tofu eggs in peace. Robin was sitting with Starfire at the breakfast table indulging in the warm strawberry-orange muffins Robin had made and chatting about where the phrase "a penny for your thoughts" had come from. Beast Boy finished his cooking and joined the other two, plucking a muffin from the platter that he knew had been deliberately set for him (the vegan version of the muffins, which he appreciated Robin for making).

"How are you feeling, Beast Boy?" Robin asked without preamble, and Beast Boy sighed. It had been a week since the incident with Adonis, and he'd been recovering from the strained muscles he had endured while transforming into the Beast. Beast Boy knew the question was coming, he had just hoped it would have been after his yummy muffin.

"Better. I have a massage appointment again tomorrow, it should be my last one. It's been helping," Beast Boy said, shoveling a spoonful of his scrambled Vegan Eggs into his mouth. Starfire looked at him carefully but said nothing, picking off another piece of her muffin.

"Good. I'm glad the therapist I recommended is helping," Robin said with a grin. "We just want you to be back to fighting form, okay?"

Beast Boy nodded and opened his mouth to thank him when the door opened to reveal a floating dark sorceress already cradling a finished cup of tea. Raven noticed that all three at the table were staring at her, and she raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Good morning, dearest friend Raven!" Starfire called happily.

"Morning, Raven," Robin echoed a little more calmly.

Raven's eyes brushed over to Beast Boy as he managed to murmur, "M-Morning, Rae."

"It's Raven," she said tersely to the changeling, "and good morning." With a small pop, a nearby lightbulb shattered onto the floor. The three at the table did not hide their surprise, and Raven quickly fled into the kitchen for another batch of tea. There was a quick, slightly awkward pause before Beast Boy piped up and said, "I didn't do it."

Robin rolled his eyes playfully, and Beast Boy had expected Starfire to giggle at his joke, but she was instead staring at him carefully. It was at that point that the door opened to reveal a stretching and well-charged Cyborg. The half-robot sniffed the air and made a beeline for Robin's muffins.

"I knew I smelled something amazing!" he cheered, grabbing three of the non-vegan ones. "Hey, Raven, do you want one?" Beast Boy's ears perked to hear her answer, and he again caught Starfire studying him.

"Yes, please," Raven answered, surprising the others, "They smell great, Robin. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Robin replied, a little surprised. Cyborg shoved one into his mouth and placed his hand on Beast Boy's head.

"Hey, you wanna try out the new Halo game with me today, Beast Boy?" he asked. As soon as his sentence finished, another light popped, and this time one of the vegan muffins popped with it, getting crumbs all over Beast Boy's face and in his eggs. Startled, Robin looked over to the kitchen and saw Raven very obviously trying to hide her face.

"Sure, Cy. Did you get it already?"

"I ordered it, it should be at the GameStop in the mall. I'll get it later today," Cyborg replied, brushing off a few of the muffin crumbs that had stuck to his chest.

"Cool, man," Beast Boy replied as he picked up his empty plate and muffin and made his way into the kitchen. The tea kettle started to whistle, and Raven turned off the heat and began to pour the water into the teacup as Beast Boy snuck in behind her to put his plate in the sink. He accidentally brushed her ever so slightly and, without meaning to, he jumped away. Raven spun around to face him, the little metal tea leaf bulb in her hand forgotten.

"Sorry, Rae, I did- Raven, I didn't mean to-"

"It's all right, Beast Boy," she replied. Another pop, this time snapping one of the legs of the chair Cyborg was sitting in, and Cyborg crashed to the ground. Raven inhaled slowly, finished making her tea, then quickly teleported herself to her room. Beast Boy scratched the back of his head, mildly embarrassed that the others had seen that scene.

It had been… awkward around Raven in the past week. Ever since their heart to heart on the shore, he had purposely been avoiding her and been extra careful not to bother her. He knew she forgave him for anything that he might have possibly done while he was the Beast (even though she assured him that he had been protecting her and not attacking her) and he knew that she was safe now, but he didn't want any possibility of the Beast getting out again. The chemicals may have messed up his DNA, but his fights with Raven hadn't helped. And when he had stabilized, he felt terrible for what he had said to her, even though she had forgiven him for that too.

But even though she had forgiven him, he had not forgiven himself, so he had mostly tried to avoid seeing or touching her. He didn't want to hurt her again. He didn't ever want to come close to hurting her again. The times where contact was unavoidable - meals, trainings, and other group activities - he tried his best to give her space. He kept a close eye on her to see if she still had any lingering pain or fear, but so far he hadn't noticed anything different.

Except the popping.

Every time he was around her, something would pop. Every time she saw him, pop. Every time someone said his name around her, pop. He wasn't sure what to make of it, but it didn't make him feel better.

Beast Boy sighed and returned to his seat, muffin in hand, and saw once again that Starfire seemed to be scrutinizing him with much more focus than she normally did. After another moment of investigative stares, Starfire finally spoke up.

"Cyborg, I must go to the mall of shopping today. Would you like me to pick up your game for you?" she asked sweetly. Cyborg nodded, already on his fourth muffin, and Starfire smiled. "Glorious! Beast Boy, I would very much appreciate it if you would accompany me."

"Me?" Beast Boy mumbled through a mouthful of vegan muffin, and both Cyborg and Robin's eyebrows shot up onto their foreheads.

"Yes, you, for you are the only Beast Boy I know." Suddenly worried, she turned to Robin. "Are there more humans who can turn into animals with green complexions?" Robin smiled and shook his head, and Starfire turned her gaze confidently back to Beast Boy. She floated over to him and picked him up by the armpits, dragging him out the door with a muffin in each hand.

"Farewell, friends! We shall be back later in the day!" she called over her shoulder as she carried the protesting changeling. Robin and Cyborg just stared after her in confusion and awe.

"Well. That's a first," Cyborg said, and Robin nodded, too stunned for words.

That had been an hour ago. And while Starfire had made good on her word to pick up Cyborg's copy of Halo 2 first, Beast Boy found himself trapped under a growing pile of clothes at the Forever 21 changing rooms. Again, he had to wonder, how?