Disclaimer: i do not own the teen titans and anyone or anything know to be associated in the past or present. i dont own the words to the song in bold. blah, blah, blah

It seemed the day couldn't get any more beautiful. The sun was high in the sky with not a cloud in sight. The breeze was light and refreshing. The smell of freshly mown grass filled the air around the wonderful neighborhood. Children were playing in their yards.

"I know we've been friends forever."

One in particular was having a great time. She was young. Just turned four. Her hair fell just passed her shoulders. She wore a pretty lilac colored sundress. And she was picking flowers. She had a little over a dozen in one hand as she bent down for another. As she did, she counted.

"Seventeen… twenty-four… seven… thirty-four… seventeen…"

Mind you, she didn't count correctly.

A little over twenty feet away, sat a young boy. Just a few months older than her. He hid in the bushes where he was sure he wouldn't be seen. He watched the young girl intently. As he did, he counted her flowers correctly.

She had caught his eye almost the minute he set foot out of his house. For a while he stood in his own yard, which was diagonal to hers, and watched her from afar. But that wasn't good enough. He needed a better look. So he walked across the street and into her neighbor's yard where he proceeded to crawl into the bushes separating their properties. He'd been there ever since.

There was something about her that he found fascinating. She was a typical girl in every way… except appearance. She was small for her age. And although she couldn't count, she seemed very intelligent. Her hair was a silky shade of lavender and her eyes a piercing deep purple. Her skin was so pale it looked to be gray.

He had been observing for quite a while now and decided it was time to meet. He crawled out of the bushes on to her side of the property line. For a minute the girl seemed to take no notice of him. She continued to pick her flowers.

As if a bolt of lightning struck her, she turned to face the boy with a snap. Her eyes were cold; her expression blank. She held her flowers in a relaxed hand while their eyes locked. She found herself face to face with the little boy from across the road. His ebony black hair stuck up in all directions as if he had just climbed out of bed. His eyes were a mellow shade of brown. He wore black sports pants and a red jersey type tee with sneakers.

"I'm Rob." The boy said.

She said nothing.

"I was watching you. You have nineteen flowers."

"I know." Said the girl.

"But you were counting wrong."

"I wasn't counting."

"Yes you were," Rob said. "I heard you."

"Then you're dumb. I was making a pattern."

Rob thought about it for a minute. After a few brief moments in which the young girl watched him think, he figured it out. "I get it. Sorry."

She just blinked. "What do you want?"

Rob shrugged. "Nothing. What is your name?"

"Why?"

Rob shrugged. "I was watching you from that bush." He pointed to his previous hiding spot.

"I know."

"No you didn't."

"Yes. I. Did." She insisted.

"How? I was quiet."

"I felt you."

Rob looked at her dumbly for a time. Until he decided to ask her name again. "What is your name?"

"Why?"

Rob sighed. "Why aren't girls friendly?"

Now she smiled. "Raven."

Rob glanced around for the bird.

"But now I think I'm feeling something totally new."

Raven giggled. "My name is Raven."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Rob stood at the end of her driveway. Waiting for her to come out of her house. And finally she appeared. She had a black backpack on her back and two cookies in her hand. She wore a midnight blue dress with black baby doll shoes. When she met up with him she handed him the second cookie before taking a bit of hers.

"Thanks." Rob said stuffing his into his mouth.

They began to walk the block's distance to the school and their first day of kindergarten.

Soon they found themselves standing at the edge of the playground looking at many different kids. All those from their block and so many others. Older ones too.

"And after all this time I've opened up my eyes."

"Come on." Rob said throwing his backpack on the ground and running to the swings where he met up with two other boys from their block. A little scrawny one with green hair and eyes they call Beast and a bigger dark skinned one they call Cy. Neither nickname made much sense to her.

She slid her bag off her shoulders as well and made the short distance that separated her and the boys in a slow walk. As she approached, she looked around the playground. Steadily she noted all the kids in her neighborhood.

On the jungle gym was a tall girl with fiery red hair and large green eyes. Her name was Star. With her was her friend Tara. They were always together. On the seesaws were the three mean kids from the far end of their street. Gizzy and Mammoth were the boys. Mammoth was twice as big as any other typical five-year-old. Gizzy was tiny. And their sister, Jinxy. She had bright pink hair and eyes.

"Hi Rae." Cy greeted her.

Raven smiled a little as she took a swing next to Rob.

They played there till the bell rang. Raven watched everyone jump up or off from what they were doing and run to the school building. Cy and Beast among them. Rob started his was at a slow jug towards his bag. He flipped his over his shoulders and picked up Raven's as well before continuing back to her.

Raven hadn't gotten off the swings.

"We have to go in now." Rob said.

Raven shook her head. "I don't want to. What if I don't like school?"

Rob smiled. "It'll be fun. Don't worry. I'll be there too."

Raven frowned but slid down from the swing just the same. Rob handed her her bag, which she slowly put on her back.

Rob started on his way again until he noticed Raven wasn't following. He turned to her again.

"I don't want to go, Rob. I'm going home."

"You can't go home." Rob walked back to her. "I promise it will be ok. I wont leave you all day. Alright?" He held out his hand to her.

Raven looked at it and then at him. "Promise?"

"I promise."

"Now I see you were always with me."

Raven placed her hand in his and allowed him to guide her inside. True to his word, he never left her once that day. He stayed by her side up until they went home. The next few days were the same. Eventually she got used to it and they could be separated. But they still played with each other most of the time.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

He had been looking for her a little over two hours now. She was nowhere. Her mother didn't know where she had run off. After she broke the news to her daughter, Raven fled.

"Could it be you and I, never imagined."

Rob searched all their normal hangouts. The school jungle gym. The old malt shop down off Fifth Street. Their tree house behind Rob's lake. He even asked Star and Tara if they had seen her. There was no sign of Raven anywhere.

The sun was starting to go down now. Rob wasn't worried that something would happen to her. She was a resourceful girl. But he was worried about her. She was upset. And he would not go in until he found her.

"Bird one, Bird two. Please answer me." Rob begged for the umpteenth time in the two-way radio he shared with Raven. They had bought a really nice set with their allowances over a year ago. They came in handy when one wanted to reach the other. Both sets of parents said they were too young for cell phones. So this was the next best thing.

"Raven." He called again disregarding her handle. "Please Raven. Tell me where you are."

There was no answer. Rob stood in the middle of the street and looked around him. He had checked the only places he could think of. Even those he was sure she'd never be caught dead in.

"If you stay out all night, I'm going to stay out all night looking for you. So just tell me where you are so we can at least be together."

The line was still silent. But she was listening. He felt the rushed breeze through him and could smell her shampoo. She wasn't really close, but yet she was there. So he kept talking.

"I don't know what you're going through, Rae, so I'm not going to pretend. But I'm your friend. I just want to make sure you're ok."

His vision was contorted for a brief moment. She was trying to talk to him without the radio. So he would keep trying.

"We're nine, Raven. You're too young to go through this alone. Talk to me."

"Could it be suddenly I'm falling for you."

He knew she wouldn't talk. He didn't expect her too. But she didn't need to in order to tell him where she was. They could talk an other way. He wasn't quite sure how it worked, but he didn't care.

This time the scene came through clear as day. Trees. Two large ones in particular. A small pool of water. The sunset was making it glow a sort of orange color.

Before the vision faded, Rob had broken out in a run. He had recognized the place right away. In second grade they had taken a field trip to the local green houses. The Jump Ville Greenhouse was on the edge of 40 arches of state protected woods. That same day the two of them and Beast had gone out there to explore the woods. Raven had gone there a lot in the last year or so. Rob just didn't think she would at nightfall. She wasn't really fond of the dark.

Rob ran through all the small trees and over grown grass until the floor of the woods was nothing but sticks and fallen leaves. Only then did he slow down. With a quick glance around he saw the small green light on Raven's radio flash in the distance. Again he ran until he reached her.

She had crawled into the trunk of a hollow tree. She was curled up in a fetal position, hugging her knees to her chest with her face buried.

Rob dropped to his knees in front of the opening.

"Rae."

"Could it be you were right here beside me and I never knew."

Raven looked up enough so only her eyes were visible. Again, piercing deep purple met mellow brown. Her lavender hair fell into her face. Her cheeks were tear stained and her clothing was covered in mud.

"Are you ok?" Rob asked.

Raven didn't answer.

Rob reached out and touched her hand. She was cold.

"Come out here."

Raven shook her head lightly.

But Rob pulled her out anyways. And she allowed him. He ripped his hooded sweatshirt off himself and pulled it over her head. Raven continued to push her hands through the sleeves and put the hood down.

Raven sat on her knees. Her muddy hands rested on her lap. She looked so tiny and fragile surrounded by the large trees. Her black leggings, boots and skirt were covered in dirt. Her purple hair had leaves all through it. And now his red hoodie was the only thing keeping her warm as the cool night air steadily closed in around them.

"Could it be that its true that its you."

Rob sat himself back against the hollow tree facing the two large ones she had sent him in his vision. He took her hand and guided her towards him.

Raven gave no struggle. She wasn't in any mood to argue about letting him comfort her. Something she was strongly against. She hated too much attention. And he always gave her too much as far as she was concerned.

She laid her head in his lap where she continued to snuggle up. His fingers ran through her soft hair pulling out dead leaves as they went.

"You know, your family might be changing, but I'll always be here for you. We'll still be best friends."

Raven didn't answer.

"It's true what they say, isn't it?"

He felt Raven heave a little and knew she was fighting back tears. She hated letting anyone see her weakness. Even Rob. Although he was about the only one who had seen her cry or scared ever, she still acted as though she was cold as ice around him too.

"The children do blame themselves when their parents get divorced."

He felt her nails dig into his leg. But he didn't move. Instead he bit his lip and let her take out her anger on him. Her hurt. Her feeling of betrayal. She didn't have to tell him what she was feeling. He felt it. He could see it.

Raven let her tears run freely now. Rob was here. He wouldn't let anything happen to her. She could cry as long and as hard as she like. And he would treat her no different tomorrow. That's what she liked about him. That's why she allowed him to be her friend. Since the day they met, he always treated her like a kid, not a small young girl who needed special attention.

"It's kind of funny you were always near."

He really was her best friend.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

She ran as fast as she could. She passed everyone in a blur. Pushing and shoving people as they got in her way.

When she got to his house the lights were off. The curtains pulled. But she didn't stop. She ran to his door and threw it open. She took the stairs two at a time until she was on the second floor. But she knew he wouldn't be there. Raven took the hall in a sprint dropping her bag on the way. The door all the way at the end was that leading to the attic stairs. She took those two at a time as well.

"Rob. Where are you?" She called frantically. "ROB!" She yelled as she burst into the attic. It was torn apart. Splintered wood everywhere. Glasses and mirrors were shattered all over the floor. All kinds of fabrics were shredded all over the room. "ROB!" She screamed again in a frenzy.

In the back she caught movement. She headed in that direction.

And there he was. On the floor in a heap. The white of his eyes were blood shot. He was all bruised and scratched. Dried blood was all over his face, arms and bare chest.

"But who would ever thought that we would end up here."

Raven ran to him and collapsed to her knees beside him. A tear fell down her cheek to see him in such rough shape.

"What happened?"

He didn't look to her. He kept his dazed gaze fixed straight ahead. Looking at nothing in particular.

"Please, speak. I've never lost someone. And I know they weren't my parents, but they always treated me like I was their daughter. I loved them too."

Rob blinked slowly.

"Rob, please say something." She begged placing her hand on his forearm.

The warm touch turned his eyes towards her.

"Leave me alone." He said.

She barely recognized his voice.

"No." She said stubbornly. "I wont go. You never left me when I needed you. I'm not leaving you now."

"I don't need you. Go away." Rob said quietly.

"I wont."

"And every time I needed you you've been there to pull me through."

His tired eyes turned fierce. She had never seen the hatred in his eyes before.

"Get out, Raven. I don't need you. I never needed you." He barked.

"I'm not going anywhere." She said in a little whimper.

In a quick movement he was on his feet. "I said, LEAVE!" He screamed before putting his fist through the last remaining mirror.

Raven let out a small shriek and covered her eyes.

Fresh blood was dripping from his knuckles over the dried blood from earlier. "Just leave." He said quietly.

Raven uncovered her eyes. She shook her head.

"Why do you insist on staying here?"

"Because you're my best friend and you're hurting. You do need me." Raven said as hushed as she could. She didn't want to agitate him anymore than he was.

"What I need is to be left alone. Don't you understand that?"

"Don't you understand that I'm not going anywhere?" Raven said getting to her feet.

"What's wrong with you, Rae? If you were my friend then you would go." He growled as he picked up another box and chucked it across the room. It hit the wall and exploded. The contents smashed into pieces. He went to it and kicked it repeatedly while yelling something Raven couldn't make out.

"Now it's clear I've been waiting for you."

When he finally stopped to take a breath, Raven saw the tear in his pants and blood gushing. Tears started to form in her eyes. She had never seen him like this. He was scary.

"I'm not leaving because I'm scared if I go then I'll never see you again." Raven said quietly. "You're scaring me." She whispered.

Rob turned to glance at her. "Good."

Raven let the tears fall silently to the ground as she watched him. "Please talk to me." She whispered.

"Could it be you and I, never imagined."

"You want me to talk to you?" He said in a mock chuckle as he made his way towards her. He got right in her face. "Ok. Both my parents are dead Raven. I have nothing now. Nothing. And you don't find the necessity to leave me alone to mourn in peace. I don't need you to baby-sit me, Rae. I'm a big boy now. I don't need you to hold my hand. I don't need your comfort. I don't need you." He bellowed.

Raven flinched at his tone. He was a good six inches taller than her now. At thirteen, she was still very petit but he was quite muscular. She had never been scared of him before. But there was a flash in his eyes that she had never seen. He was on the verge of going crazy.

The tears ran down her cheeks now.

"Why are you crying? Both your parents are alive. Maybe they divorced. Who cares? They're alive. But mine are gone. And I'll never see them again." He said with spite.

He turned suddenly and punched the wall to their right a few feet away. Raven heard the wood splinter. The loud thud and sudden action made her jump.

Rob went on a rampage and tore apart a few more whole items. Anything he could get his hands on was becoming shreds of torment. He went on like this for a few more minutes before he took one last swing. He put all his muscle and all his remaining strength in this one punch. His fist went through the wall into the next section of the attic.

And he stopped. Raven watched his back heave and knew he was crying.

She walked towards him slowly and cautiously. She knew no matter how mad or how hurtful he got, he would never hurt her physically. But he had truly scared her tonight. And his words did hurt. Even though she knew he didn't mean them.

When she was a few feet behind him, he spoke. "They're gone, Rae. My mom and dad are dead."

"Could it be suddenly I'm falling for you."

Raven moved to the side of him and reached out. Her hand never connected to his arm like she intended. Instead he spun around and pulled her into him. Raven wrapped her arms around his waist as he cried into her neck.

"I'm sorry, Rob. I'm so sorry." She cried with him. But she did it quietly. She wanted to comfort him this time. He needed a shoulder to lean on.

"I didn't mean what I said. I do need you. I need you so much. Don't leave me, Rae. Don't ever leave me." He sobbed.

"I wont leave you. Ever. That's what friends are for."

So there they stood. Raven struggled to calm her best friend. He was dripping with blood and sweat. A shattered room full of shattered dreams surrounded them. That was all that remained of his home.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

The gymnasium was decorated with balloons and streamers of yellow and blue. Homecoming their junior year of high school. Their team had just won so the dance was clad with their school colors.

Everyone was dressed nicely. Not formally with long dresses and tuxes. But most girls were in nice dresses and the guys were dressed 'nicely'.

Raven went with her boyfriend of six months, Roy Harper. She and Rob's date, Donna, had gone to the girls' room to 'freshen up.' And when she returned…

"I don't care who you think you are. Raven doesn't need you now. She has me. A real man." Roy hissed.

"Like it or not, Raven and I have been friends forever and we will continue to be friends whether you like it or not. You're going to have to learn to share." Rob said keeping himself calm.

Roy laughed. "Right. I see what this is. You're jealous. She and I are spending more time together and you don't like it. I'm taking your spot."

Rob shook his head. "You don't deserve her." He growled.

"Oh, and I suppose you could offer her more than I could." Roy laughed menacingly. "Wake up, ninja boy. You're lame."

"I don't have to be captain of any team to kick your ass mama's boy."

Roy's smirk faded and he stepped forward. "Really? Then lets go."

"That's it. Stop right now." Raven intervened and stood between them.

Roy smirked.

Raven turned to face Roy. "Don't underestimate him." Then she turned to Rob. "We need to talk." And she started on her way for the door into the hallway.

"Could it be you were always with me and I never knew."

Rob followed.

Once in the quiet of the hall, Raven tuned to face him with her hands on her hips. She wore a dark purple dress, a few shades off from her hair color. Her hair was up in a messy bun with many strands falling out all over. "What's gotten into you Rob? I know you don't like him, but you were always decent before."

Rob hung his head and shook it back and forth. "Sorry, Rae. I just don't like him."

"I know. But I've been with him for a while now and you've never acted like this before tonight. Do you care to explain?"

Rob sighed. "There's nothing to explain. I'm sorry. I guess I'm just tired."

Raven narrowed her eyes. "You're not telling me something."

"What makes you think that?" He said looking out the door to his left.

"Because you wont look at me. Every time you know something that you don't want to tell me, you wont look at me. So spill it."

Rob shook his head. "You don't want to know. Or better yet, I don't want to be the one to tell you."

"Could it be that it's true that it's you."

"Whatever it is, I'd rather hear it coming from you than anyone else."

Rob looked up and studied her face. "Ok. But you know you're my best friend and I'd never do anything to hurt you, right? I mean I wouldn't lie-"

"Yea, yea. I know. Skip the prep talk and get to your point. We're keeping some people waiting."

"Remember the other night I went to the library in town? (Raven nodded her head) I saw Roy walking down the street with someone. I thought it was you, so I started over to them. Needless to say I wasn't you. But I got curious as to what he was doing with someone else. So wrong as it may sound, I followed him. I… he's cheating on you Raven."

Raven's annoyed looked turned into concern. "How do you know it wasn't his sister?" She asked defensively.

"You know I know who his sister is. Besides, I don't think that's how you treat your relatives. I certainly wouldn't kiss my sister like that."

"You don't have a sister." Raven said completely avoiding the issue.

Rob could see the hurt in her face and decided to leave that one alone. "I'm sorry, Rae. I didn't want to tell you. And I couldn't just act normal around him after I saw that. I'm sorry."

Raven's hurt vanished and anger coursed through her veins. Without another word, Raven turned and headed back into the dance. Rob followed slowly after.

He saw her go directly over to Roy. Instead of joining them, Rob made his way through the crowd and found a seat not too far away where he could watch from a safe distance.

She was yelling at him. He was apparently trying to defend himself. Trying to find an alibi. Rob was thankful Raven didn't buy into any of his crap.

Before too long, she was headed for the door. Rob got to his feet and headed in the opposite direction to the back door. Once outside he broke into a job and rounded the school where he caught a glimpse of Raven heading into the woods that lined the outline of the school grounds. Rob started to run to catch up to her.

He found her sitting on a tree stump with tears running down her face.

"Cause today is the start of the rest of our lives."

"Raven."

Raven shook her head. "I don't want to hear I told you so. You were right. He was a jerk. I should have listened to you."

Rob walked towards her and pulled her to her feet. He sat on the stump and pulled her on his lap. Raven laid her head on his shoulder. "He said he loved me. And I believed him." She said through struggling to keep her tears at bay.

"He's not worth it. You can do so much better. Even Beast would have been a better choice than Roy."

Raven picked her head up. "So you're saying I have bad taste? You can pick my boyfriends better than I can?"

Rob laughed. "Well, maybe I can. I'm a guy. I know how they treat girls. And I knew he was dirt. But you were happy, so what was I supposed to do?"

Raven covered her face with her hands. "I'll just let you pick my boyfriends from now on. Deal?"

Rob chuckled.

They sat in the quiet for a few minutes.

"Remember when we were little how we used to go to the park and watch all the older kids play different games? We used to laugh at how foolish the boys would act in front of a girl. The girls would always play hard to get so the boys would chase them around the park. And how we used to say that we'd never grow up to be like that?"

Raven smiled and nodded.

"Funny how things change. We're just like they were. There's probably a little girl and a little boy hiding under the bench watching us act the same way."

Raven let herself laugh a little.

"I'm sorry I told you." Rob said a few moments later.

"I'm not. I'm glad you did. Most people wouldn't have."

"I got your back, Rae. Like always."

Raven shook her head with a grin.

After a few more minutes of content silence, Rob pushed Raven to her feet and got up himself. "Come on. Let's get home."

They started down the path.

"What about Donna?"

Rob shrugged. "She'll figure it out."

Raven smirked. "I knew she wasn't your type."

"I can see it in your eyes."

"Yea, well… at least I told you about your mistake."

Raven laughed. "Ok, Rob Grayson. I'll go home with you on one condition."

Rob turned to face her. "And what might that be? You going to make me ask daddy's permission to take his little girl out?" He teased.

"Watch it, boy wonder. Don't get too cocky."

Rob smirked.

"Take me for ice cream."

"Ah, I see the plan. I get you on a sugar high and then get you into bed. Is that how that works?"

"Actually, if that's your goal, you can just be my rebound and we can skip the ice cream all together." She said holding a straight face.

Rob shook his head with an amused smirk. "You bad, Rae."

Raven giggled and allowed Rob to guide her from the woods. Even in pain, she still had her sense of humor.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

The tapping on her window woke her from her peaceful sleep. Her eyes fluttered open as the sound came again and again. She rolled over to see a spiky haired Rob in her window.

With a groan she climbed out of bed and opened her locked window.

"Morning, birthday girl."

"I have a door."

"Yea, but that's not as fun."

"Ugh…" Raven climbed back into bed.

"You can't sleep all day." Rob said climbing in next to her.

"You said it yourself, it's my birthday. I can do whatever I want. Besides that, its only seven thirty."

Rob grinned. "Fine. Go back to sleep. But I'm staying here till you wake up."

"Whatever."

"And it's real and it's true and it's just me and you."

He watched Raven for a minute. Then he looked around her room. The same room she's had forever. The bed got a little bigger. Six years ago they painted all her furniture black and her walls dark blue. The fabrics on her bed and curtains on her window were dark purple. The metal and hardware were all weathered looking chrome. The carpet and ceiling were very dark green.

"Remember when we were six and you, me, Beast, Cy, Star and Tara camped out in Star's back yard? And you got so scared that night that you crawled into my tent?"

raven chuckled. "Yea. Star and Tara wouldn't stop telling ghost stories. When they finally did, I was too scared to sleep."

Rob nodded his head smiling. "And when we were nine I got bunk beds. You snuck in my window so you could be my first friend to sleep in them."

Raven shifted to face him but kept her eyes closed. "You were scared about falling off the top so you came down and slept on the bottom with me."

"My mother was pissed."

Raven laughed.

"After my parents died I spent almost a month sleeping here. I didn't want to be alone. And before that, when you and Roy broke up we fell asleep in the tree house. Not to mention all those times we fell asleep watching movies together. And then last week I came over late and didn't feel like going all the way home so I stayed here."

"Why are you counting all the times we slept together?"

Rob grinned. "I have no idea. Something to do I guess while you sleep."

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm not sleeping yet."

"I know it. Why?"

"Well, someone keeps talking."

"Yea. Stop talking and go to sleep."

Raven bit his leg.

"Owe… stop being so feisty. If you want me that bad all you have to do is say so."

"Right." Raven giggled. "Keep dreaming."

"Since you're not sleeping, get up and dress so we can go. I have the whole day planned."

Raven looked up to him. "I want to sleep all day."

"You cant. We have things to do. Now that you're eighteen too, we are of legal age to run away together, elope and make lots of babies. Our flight leaves at ten tonight."

Raven sighed and crawled over him and off the bed. "What should I pack?"

"Just you. We'll be in bed so much you wont have time to dress."

"Could it be that it's true that it's you."

Raven laughed as she left the room and headed towards her bathroom.

They walked the streets around noon. The spring fair was in town so that had been their first stop.

"What time were you born again?"

"You ask me this every year. And every year it's the same time. Five forty eight in the evening."

"Oh. Right. Well how about at that time we go get some ice cream. Just like every year."

"It wouldn't be my birthday without it."

the next five hours were spent doing various activities. The movies, shopping, they stopped at the lake but decided it was too cold to swim. And now it was five forty three.

"Let's go. We're going to be late." Rob said grabbing her hand and dragging her down the street.

"It's just around the corner, Rob. Its not a big deal."

"It is to me. Can't break tradition."

Raven laughed as they walked in two minutes later. They ordered. His favorite, green dragon. And her favorite, tsunami storm.

"Should we sit in our normal seat on the deck?"

"Sure." Raven said licking her ice cream.

Rob opened the door for her. She walked out and almost dropped her ice cream as thirty of their closest friends jumped out and shouted "SURPRISE!"

Raven just stood there with her mouth agape for a few breath-catching seconds. She looked around to all the smiling faces. All their friends, her parents, her new little half sister and stepfather, everyone was there. Then she turned to Rob. "You did this, didn't you?"

Rob grinned. "You give me way too much credit. why do you think it was me?"

"You're the only one who could have pulled it off. Getting both my parents here and at my exact birth time. how better to throw my off by having it some place we go every year at the same time."

"Alright, I did it. But I got you. The only thing left on today's schedule is our flight tonight."

Raven laughed and hugged him. "You really have lost your mind." She kissed his cheek. "Thank you. I really do have the best friend in the whole world."

"That's what I'm here for."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Can you pick me up from the airport?"

"Of course. What time?" Rob answered.

"Seven fifteen. Gate seven."

"I'll be there."

"Could it be you and I, never imagined."

Now he waited for her arrival. It had been one extremely long year while she was three states away at college. Now he would see his best friend for the first time since the summer after their high school graduation.

He watched all the passengers at gate seven walk out holding their carry on luggage. An old couple. A mother and her infant child. A couple teenagers returning to the area for summer vacation. And there she was. She wore shorts and a tank top with her normal black boots. Her hair had gotten longer. It fell just passed her shoulders now. she brushed the side behind her ear.

"It's about time you got here."

Raven smiled smugly. "Nice to see you too, bird boy."

Rob shook his head and embraced her.

They headed back to Raven's father's house to drop off her luggage.

"Cy's having a moon bash tonight. You feel up to going?" Rob asked from around the opened closet door where Raven was changing.

"Sure. How is he? I haven't heard from him in a while."

"Not too bad. He and Bee have been fighting a lot lately. But besides that, not too bad."

"I wish they would just get married and stop all the drama."

"You're preaching to the choir." Rob laughed.

"So how about everyone else?" Raven came out of her closet wearing a midnight blue sundress.

Rob pictured the little four year old he first met wearing one almost like that fifteen years ago. "Good. Beast and Jinxy have been on and off for a while now. but they don't have a typical dating relationship anyways."

"Oh, what kind do they have then?" She asked while attempting to put her hair in a bun.

"Uh… playmates…"

Raven grinned. "I see."

"Yea." Rob returned it. "Star and Roy have been together for almost a year. Strangely enough."

"Huh. Who would have guessed? What about Tara?"

"I really don't know. Last I heard she and the life guard that the public pool had been seeing each other. You know the one with long black hair? They call him Water boy. Or Aqua boy. Or something like that."

"Yea I know who you mean. I don't remember his name though. So what about you?"

"Me? What about me?"

They made their way to the bluffs over looking their sleepy little town. All the while, Robin avoided the conversation turning towards him. Now they sat in comfortable silence watching the sun go down and the party kids come out to play.

"Could it be suddenly that I'm falling for you."

"I was thinking, a year is too long for you to be away."

raven laughed. "I talk to you over the computer almost every night. I talk to you on the phone at least once a week. We email. I send you pictures. Its not like we don't stay in contact."

Rob grinned. "I know. Still. I like it better when you're here in person."

Raven turned to him. "Me too. You wanna help me find an apartment around town?"

"Why? You can't drive seven hundred miles twice a day for school."

Raven laughed. "I transferred. I'm going to Jump Ville University next year with the rest of you."

Rob smiled. "Good. But why do you need an apartment?"

"I don't want to live at my father's house forever."

Rob shook his head. "Did you forget that I have a big empty house all to myself?"

Raven looked to him. "You wouldn't mind?"

"I would. That's why I asked." Rob said sarcastically.

Raven pushed him.

Again they sat quietly.

"So tell me about this boyfriend."

"Oh, Wally. We broke up a few weeks ago."

"Really?" Rob asked a little surprised. "I thought things were going good for you."

"I did too. We're just too different. We used to talk about marriage and starting a family. And then it was like one day we woke up and realized… we just didn't love each other."

Rob nodded.

"I really thought he was the one. I thought my search for Mr. Right was over. I could live a happy and complete life. I guess I was wrong."

"You'll find him."

"So you say. I've looked."

"Maybe you haven't looked hard enough."

"Oh, yea? When? Where?"

"I don't know. Maybe he's right here in this town. Maybe he's across the state. Maybe across the ocean. Maybe half way around the world. Maybe right in front of you." Rob stood up and took a few steps back placing his hands in his pockets.

"Could it be you were right here beside me and I never knew it."

Raven watched the town quietly taking in his words. Then she realized what he said. She turned to look at him standing behind her watching the town. Raven stood as well.

"What did you say?"

"You'll find him. You're just not looking in the right places."

Raven watched him avoiding her gaze.

"What don't you want to tell me, Rob?" She asked softly.

He didn't answer her. He glanced to her and back to the town.

She took a step closer. He took one back.

Raven held off a giggle at his nervousness. She smiled lightly. One more step. He took one too. Finally she closed most of the gap and held him there by putting her hands on his waist and holding his tee shirt.

"What did you mean?"

Rob contemplated his thoughts for a few seconds before facing her shyly. "Rae, we'll always be best friends, right? No matter what happens, right?"

Raven nodded. "I couldn't go through a day without you."

Rob sighed. "I just meant maybe you've looked over him time and time again. Ya know? Maybe he's been right in front of you and you never saw him."

Raven held his gaze until Rob broke it and looked to his right. Raven gently turned his head to face her. "Maybe he never saw me."

Rob swallowed nervously. "Maybe he does now. Would it be too late?"

Raven was at a loss for words. She didn't know what to saw without him coming out and saying what exactly he was getting at. She had never looked at him in this light before. And then she found herself wondering why. In all respects, he was a perfect match to what she always said she wanted in a guy. And she just never saw it. They looked over each other constantly because they were friends. Subconsciously they always thought they couldn't date because of that.

This time Raven looked away with a blush in her cheeks. And this time, Rob gently guided her gaze back to his.

Slowly they leaned into one and other. Raven was nervous now too.

"Could it be that it's true that it's you."

Their lips connected. The world around them fell away. Time stood still. Rob's hands left his pockets. One held her closely on her mid back. The other ran through her hair. Raven's hands let his go of his shirt and ran up his stomach and chest and around his neck.

This is what they had been waiting for. Rob pulled back from her and they gazed into each other's eyes. He began to sweat. When she left him last august, he watched his best friend get on the plane. At some point during her year away his feeling for her became confused. He stopped longing for her to come back so they could hang out. He started longing to hold her. Be with her. Kiss her. Hold her. Never let her go. So what happened in the year? What changed?

Rob smiled. Who cares? I have her now. That's all that matters. From here and forever more, we will always be together. As best friends. And as soul mates. Today is the beginning of our life together. I can see it in your eyes.

"Could it be that it's true that it's you."

No i have not given up on Promised. should have the next chappie out this weekend.

read and review please.

-LC