Rory: Okay, I am really really sorry to take a break from TBAON, but this popped into my head and I HAD to write it down! And it was all here and stuff . . . Please forgive me!
Anyways, this is a really fluffy story. I usually don't try to write fluff, and this was supposed to be serious, but it ended up not being. So read it, please!
You've got mail.
Raven stared at her screen. It was a Saturday morning, and all was quiet at the Titans Tower. Everyone else was sleeping, so Raven had thought she'd check the message board she frequented online. She hadn't expected any mail: only the other Titans knew, and they didn't have to send her e-mail. She clicked on the tiny envelope and began to read.
To:
From:
Subject: The Fan Club
Dear Raven,
Hello. I'm the president of the online Raven sector of the Teen Titans fan club. I was wondering if I could get an interview? It's okay if you don't want to. It would be sort of nice. Please?
Sincerely yours,
G. B.
She couldn't believe her eyes. She had a fan club? There was a need for a president? Who was G. B.? Questions filled her head. She immediately hit "Reply."
YOUVEGOTMAILYOUVEGOTMAILYOUVEGOTMAILTo:
From:
Subject: RE: The Fan Club
Dear G. B.:
Of course I will answer some questions for you. Where can I meet you for the interview? Hopefully, you live in Jump City.
- Raven
Second-in-command
Teen Titans
She sent it. After a moment, she pulled up the Google search engine. She typed in a few simple words.
Teen Titans fan clubInstantly, a new page, full of results, pulled up. Raven was amazed. On the right side of the page, a few ads clamed, "Teen Titans merchandise on sale!" "Official Robin Bird-a-rang, only $19.95!" "Teen Titans action figures: Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Raven available with purchase of Titan's Tower!"
There's an official Bird-a-rang available? I didn't know that . . .
In the center of the page, there were listings for the sites. Official Teen Titans Fan Club . . . Robin's Fan Club . . . The Official Beast Boy Site . . . Starfire Fan Club Look-alike Contest . . . The list went on and on. She clicked the first link.
A blue and green page pulled up. Welcome to the Teen Titans Fan Club home page. Choose your favorite Titan. Below were, to Raven's great surprise, six pictures: A yellow R on a black background, a neon-green star on a purple background, a circle with Cy's pattern in blue, a black bird on a blue background, a black background with a green emblem that kept changing shape, and a circle outlined in yellow, filled in black, with a yellow T in the center.
Terra?!?!Ignoring the itch to find out how many fans the little traitor had, Raven clicked on the black bird, seemingly her own. A black page came up. The picture of her from the team dossier took up the left side. On the rest of the page, white text typed itself out.
It was a short bio on her. It told her home planet, her family background, and her powers. At the bottom – after scrolling down – there were several links. Join the Raven Fan Club. View Current Members. View Message Board.
You've Got Mail.
There was the envelope again.
To:
From:
Subject: Interview
Dear Raven,
Um, I would prefer not to meet you. It would be a great honor, of course, but I'd rather stay anonymous.
If you have Yahoo Instant Messenger, I'd be happy to interview you through instant messaging. If not, I'll just ask a few questions over e-mail. Would that be all right?
Sincerely,
G.B.
Raven found his request perfectly sensible. However, just to be sure . . .
YOUVEGOTMAILYOUVEGOTMAILYOUVEGOTMAIL
She clicked on the link titled View Current Members.
She found the following list:
President: G. B. View Profile
Vice President: Veronica Hallen View Profile
She clicked on the profile of G. B. What she found slightly shocked her.
Name: G. B.
Gender: Male
E-mail:
Member Since: Founding of Club
Age: 14
Location: Jump City
Favorite Titans: Raven /President/ Beast Boy /Vice President/
Relationship Predictions:
Robin/Starfire: Love
Robin/Raven: Professional
Robin/Terra: Professional
Beast Boy/Starfire: Friendship
Beast Boy/Raven: Love
Beast Boy/Terra: Friendship/Professional
Cyborg/Starfire: Professional
Cyborg/Raven: Friendship
Cyborg/Terra: None
Submitted Works:
-Inside the Mind: Raven
-Inside the Mind: Beast Boy
-Inside the Mind: Cyborg
-Proving the Robin/Star Relationship
-Theories: The Raven/Beast Boy Relationship
-Disproving the Robin/Raven Relationship
-Disproving the Cyborg/Raven Relationship
-Disproving the Beast Boy/Terra Relationship
-Disproving the Beast Boy/Starfire Relationship
-Disproving Titan Slash
-The Raven Bio
-The Beast Boy Bio
-The Cyborg Bio
-The Robin Bio
-The Starfire Bio
Submitted Art:
-The BlackBird
-Dreaming of Her
This person had a lot of stuff going for him. She was shocked to see some of his views: a relationship between her and Beast Boy? Truthfully, the thought was odd. She did like Beast Boy a lot, but did he like her? She looked at his art, The BlackBird. It stunned her.
It was Raven.
It looked beautiful. She was stretched in the air, one arm cocked, almost as though to throw a ball. The other was stretched in front of her, and black fire curled in a ball in her palm. Her cape fluttered behind her. Her hair was longer, to her shoulders, spread in an invisible wind. Raven couldn't recall ever looking like that.
Out of instinct, she pressed 'Back' and looked at the other art, Dreaming of Her. It was a different picture of her. She was sitting curled up in an armchair with a book in her hands and her hood down. She was smiling at the viewer of the picture. Again, Raven was amazed at how lovely she looked. This guy was a pretty good artist for being fourteen. He was her age, too, and he lived in Jump City.
She typed an e-mail reply.
To:
From:
Subject: Instant Messenger
G. B. –
Of course we can talk over IM. My screen name is Darktitan, if you'd like to message me first.
Raven
She pulled up her messenger list and waited. A small box popped up after a few moments.
Blkbyrd is asking permission to be your friend.
Raven pressed 'OK' and Imed him.
Darktitan: Hi. It's Raven.
Blkbyrd: Hello, Raven. I'd like to ask you a couple of questions.
Darktitan: Sure. Shoot.
Blkbyrd: How do you feel about Robin's leadership?
Darktitan: I think he does fine, even though his head DOES get a little big sometimes.
Blkbyrd: Really?
Darktitan: Yes.
Blkbyrd: Do you have special feelings for any of your male teammates?
Darktitan: That's sort of a personal question.
Blkbyrd: Oh, I'm so sorry! It was one of the questions the rest of the club wanted me to ask you! You don't have to answer that.
Darktitan: It's okay. I'll tell you if you SWEAR no to tell your club.
Blkbyrd: All right, I swear. And I never break my promises.
Darktitan: Okay. I don't have feelings for Robin in that way. You can tell them that.
Blkbyrd: I KNEW IT!
Darktitan: Knew what?
Blkbyrd: Um, nothing.
Darktitan: Now, you DON'T repeat this next part to ANYONE, do you understand?
Blkbyrd: I understand.
Blkbyrd: Really, I do.
Darktitan: Okay. I have a big crush on Beast Boy.
Blkbyrd: Really? You do?
Darktitan: I really really like him. But he doesn't like me that way.
Blkbyrd: How do you know?
Darktitan: Why, do you think Beast Boy likes me?
Blkbyrd: Yeah. I think he likes you a lot. The same way you like him.
Darktitan: I doubt it. This guy liked TERRA. She was cute, and pretty, and fluffy. I'm not.
Blkbyrd: So? I bet he likes you because you're NOT like Terra.
Darktitan: Really. And why would Mr. Jokes-a-lot like a Goth?
Blkbyrd: You have a lot in common.
Darktitan: How so?
Blkbyrd: You both have something horrible deep inside that you have to control.
Darktitan: Well, yeah, I guess.
Blkbyrd: You both have been hurt and betrayed by people who you thought loved you.
Darktitan: Umm, I guess.
Blkbyrd: You both have to control your powers really well to use them.
Darktitan: That's true.
Blkbyrd: Both of you hide your true feelings.
Darktitan: Beast Boy has to hide real feelings? How would you know this?
Blkbyrd: I'm in the Beast Boy fan club. The guy pops in on a chat room sometimes.
Darktitan: No way.
Blkbyrd: Yes way. :D
Blkbyrd: Anyways, my point is, I'm sure he likes you just as much.
Blkbyrd: Hello?
Blkbyrd: Raven?
Blkbyrd: Are you still there?
Raven had decided to view blkbyrd's webcam. She was staring in shock at what she saw. After a moment, she got up and walked to Beast Boy's room.
He was lying in bed, looking like he was asleep. She floated up to his bed and sat right next to him. His eyes opened slowly. "Oh, hi, Raven," he said.
"Hello, G. B."
His eyes went wide. "Wh – what?"
She gazed at him unblinkingly. "I said, Hello, G. B. Garfield Beast, I presume it stands for."
The green teen gulped. "Um, I have no clue what you're talking about."
"Right. Then I'll enlighten you. We were chatting this morning on instant messenger. You're G. B., the president of the Raven fan club and the vice president of the Beast Boy fan club. A little on the arrogant side, really. You've submitted about ten articles about the Titans on the official fan club site, and you've painted two pictures and posted them." She could see him sweating now. "And you e-mailed me, asking for an interview."
"I – I can explain," he stammered. "Really, Rae – "
She leaned over and hugged him. His eyes were basically popping out of his head. He hugged her back gingerly, as though he was afraid she'd bite his head off if he did anything more.
"Thank you, Beast Boy," she whispered.
His face broke into a wide smile. He squeezed her tighter. "You're welcome, Rae."
YOUVEGOTMAILYOUVEGOTMAILYOUVEGOTMAIL"Where's BB? We've got a Racebox 500 match to finish," Cy complained.
"I cannot find friend Raven," said Starfire worridly. "She is not in her room, nor on the roof, nor anywhere in the Tower. Have you seen her?"
Robin shrugged. "No, sorry, Star. Where are those two?"
YOUVEGOTMAILYOUVEGOTMAILYOUVEGOTMAIL"Think we should go in now?"
Raven and Beast Boy were sitting on the end of the dock the Titans had just put in the ocean. They had spent the whole morning talking, and now the sun was high in the sky.
Beast Boy gazed into the water lazily. He could see Rae's reflection in the glassy surface. "Do you think?"
She leaned forwards, trailing a finger in the water. "No. Let them worry."