Titangirl here, introducing the next oneshot in my repertoire. I hope you enjoy.

The Day of the Martyr by Titangirl797

Disclaimer: I do not own DC Comics, Dashboard Confessional, or anything else I mention, except maybe the random workings of my own mind. I do own those, right?

There are days when absolutely everything turns out perfectly, probably against the laws of nature. But still, they occur. They are days when the sun is shining, there's a good movie out, and the little kids don't bother you when you take a walk in the park after lunch.

It was not one of those days.

Now, don't get me wrong: it was one of those days, for about fifty percent of the world population. But for the other fifty percent, this specific day is a living hell.

February 14th. The day that celebrates a Catholic martyr in a predominately Protestant world. The day that promotes the sending of ready-to-wilt flower, candies, and, in this precise case, incredibly stupid singing cards.

Even now I can see you sleep.

I can see you dream.

I can see you fly.

And I can always find you agai –

The red and pink card was slammed shut, the offending music being cut off. The cheesy words were cut off by a purple-haired, amethyst-eyed oddity, a scowling girl who glared at the card as if it had done her a great personal wrong. "Hell no," she growled, throwing the card in the trashcan, where it proceeded to explode in an amazing display of colored smoke, glitter, and macaroni art. The girl did not notice.

"I hate those damn things," she muttered to herself, taking her seat upon the couch. The others – her friends, she thought bitterly – had left that for her, hoping to get her into the spirit of the day. As if she needed another materialistic holiday – the winter ones were enough.

In all honesty, she was rather put out by this day. Not that she would tell a soul, but she was a tad jealous of her friends, her fellow heroes.

Robin and Starfire were made for each other. Maybe it had taken them a while – four years or so – but they were not just as aware of this fact as the rest of the human (and Tamaranian, and Kryptonian, and Thanagarian…) race was.

Cyborg and Bumble Bee – now that was an odd pair. Cute, but odd. They were always arguing with each other, playful banter that made the scowling girl's heart ache in ways she thought it couldn't/

And Beast Boy had gone out several hours earlier, in search of some "fine ladies" who "wanted some of that". She shuddered at the thought and prayed to whatever deity would listen that Beast Boy should not get a girl – she remembered what happened after Terra. He was a teensy bit clingy.

A knock on the door tore her out of her reverie, forcing her to move from the comfortable sofa. Hoping that whoever it was would just leave, she made her way to the kitchen, setting her tea pot on the stove to boil. She then walked – slowly – to the front hall and the front door. Answering was the hardest part.

She opened the door to see…no one. There was no one on the island, except for herself. She glanced down, wary of some villainous plot, and noted a box lying on the stone in front of her. A small box that was addressed to…her? She picked it up, noticing the scrawl on the front; the handwriting looked familiar, but she couldn't place it. She closed the door and sat in one of the nearby chairs. She carefully – boringly, Beast Boy would say – unwrapped the brown parcel. When she saw the telltale red of a horrid gift, she almost threw it out right then. She didn't really know what stopped her from doing it – she assumed that it was her curiosity. Something about it intrigued her; she wanted to know why she recognized the damn handwriting.

She removed the lid from the box and almost gasped: someone had sent her a box of bonbons!

It was a little known fact, but she had an intense addiction to chocolate, maybe because they didn't have it in Azarath. It was her one binge, and she binged greedily. For someone to know her well enough to send her favorite chocolate…well, it was appreciated.

She found a letter, tucked on the side of the box. Unfolding it, she found the same untidy scrawl that had frustrated her so only moments before.

Raven –

Heard you have a bit of a sweet tooth.

Enjoy.

Love, Speedy

Speedy, the narcissistic son of a bitch, had sent her a box of chocolate. Maybe there was a glimmer of someone who wasn't a fake in that heartless shell of a pretty boy. But, still, it begged the question: what the hell? Was the apocalypse coming?

Shaking off her surprise, she made her way back to the common room, hearing her tea whistle. She mused over the bonbons from Speedy as she made her tea, unfocused. She did not need to watch what she was doing; she had years of practice. She made her way to her room, chocolates under one arm and the tea mug in her hand. She hit the elevator button with her powers, not feeling up to taking the stairs. When she reached the fourth floor, she let the new lock system scan her palm – the one not holding the tea, of course – and it verified that it was truly her, not Clayface in disguise.

She entered her boudoir – it was cold and dark, the way she preferred it. Her friends, accustomed to sunlight and happy decorations, did not understand. Well, Robin did, at least. But none of them – with the obvious exception of Beast Boy – ever bothered her about it. Thrusting out her free hand, she magically lit the seven candles placed strategically around the room.

And then she saw it, just lying on her dark swathed bed – a rose, tied gently with a small length of black silk. A note was taped to the stem. She picked up the beautiful flower first, the strong scent potent in her closed room. Then she removed the note, delicately.

The same scrawl. Speedy again? Was he stalking her or something? She instinctively looked toward the dark curtained window and chuckled to herself. She was becoming more paranoid by the day.

Raven –

Being alone sucks, especially on a day like today.

Trust me, I know.

So, want to go out tonight, just me and you?

Think on it.

Speedy.

Did she want to go? Something had roared inside her, telling her to go, telling her to cast aside all inhibitions. She chose to ignore this for a moment and focus on the logic. This boy, whom she had barely spoken to before, whom she had written off as an arrogant idiot, was sending her sweet notes and perfect gifts, all chosen to her tastes. She had to smile; Speedy, the womanizing Speedy, was attempting to court her. One of the candles snuffed out. Damn! She needed control.

But…Trigon was gone, vanished, trapped in some parallel dimension. She was free to do as she liked. And she decided, impulsively, to follow that new emotion and see where it led. She wasn't usually one for new things – the same tea and daily rituals proved that – but something seemed different. Speedy was affecting her in ways she hadn't known of before, when she had the casual fling with the goth boy, or the small crush on Aqualad.

Damn the consequences, she thought. If she was going to go out, she'd go out with a bang!

She was going out with Speedy, and damn it all to hell if she wasn't excited.

Wrote this in my science class today, so sorry if it is not up to par. I just felt like I really needed to post something…finally. So, enjoy. I'm considering a part two, kind of a "Raven and Speedy go on a date!" kind of thing, which I actually have a few ideas for. Oh, and did you like how during this entire story, I managed to not say the name of the holiday, which I refuse to utter now, because I don't want to break my streak?

Review! - Titangirl797