Love Hurts (first in Destiny series)

7) Raven Falls

Beast Boy really hadn't wanted to leave Raven, but he had promised Terra. He wished that he hadn't proposed the idea of going out on a date. It had been one of those rare moments where they just sat together, enjoying each other's company.

One of the few times that he hadn't felt compelled to tell a joke, and she didn't make any sarcastic remarks. It had been one of the rare, serious moments that they had shared together. 

Unfortunately, Terra had come in and ruined it.

More and more Beast Boy regretted having made plans with the blonde. He had been having such a nice time with Raven. He had gotten a chance to thank her for the rose.

He shook his head, still unable to wrap his head around the fact that Raven liked him. Since the incident with Malchior, Beast Boy hadn't thought that Raven would open up her heart to anyone, least of all to him.

The Titan felt a surge of anger course through his veins. Malchior had hurt Raven badly. He had taken advantage of her loneliness, and lied to get what he wanted. By the end of the incident, he had ended up back in Raven's book, and Raven had ended up with a broken heart.

Beast Boy could vividly remember the incident. He had gone to offer his condolences to his dark team-mate. He had wanted to apologize, and not just for calling her creepy which he still regretted.

Raven rarely showed any emotion, and so her reaction to his apology had startled him. She had come out of her room, which to him was a rare occurrence in and of itself, and hugged him.

He had been so taken aback, that he had broken from her embrace. He regretted that too because Cyborg had pummeled him with the Stankball before he could say anything to her.

An overwhelming sense of guilt swept through Beast Boy. Here he was on a date with Terra, and his thoughts were completely absorbed with Raven. He glanced over at the blonde. She and Raven were so very different.

Where Terra was light, Raven was dark. That's why he and Terra got along so well, they were so similar. Terra laughed at his jokes, thought he was hilarious. That's what had attracted him to her in the first place.

He glanced over at Terra again and met her gaze. He smiled toothily at her, and the blonde's eyes sparkled happily. He was so grateful that she had decided to return to the tower. He didn't feel quite so alone anymore. Another pang of guilt passed through him as he thought of Raven.

Robin and Starfire's attraction to each other was painfully obvious to everybody, and Cyborg had his heart still set on the girl he had met when he had been sent into the past. Raven had no one. He pushed his thoughts aside. He was on a date with Terra. He should be paying attention to her.

"You're quiet," Terra observed.

"I'm not really good at this date thing dude," his response was mostly true. The Titan was also feeling guilty at his lack of attention towards his date.

"I'm not a dude," Terra grinned at him. Beast Boy mirrored the expression toothily.

"Dudette?" he suggested. Terra laughed. He loved the sound of the blonde's laughter. It made him smile. Abruptly, his sharp hearing picked up something behind him.

Beast Boy turned around quickly, and thought he saw someone duck into an alley. He hadn't even noticed that they had been walking in the city. He had been too wrapped up in his thoughts.

"What's wrong Beast Boy?" Terra asked.

"I thought I heard something," again his answer was only partially true. He turned towards her and placed his arm around her slim waist. She turned and smiled at him.

Beast Boy smiled back, and they continued on. He followed Terra's lead and smiled as they passed under a wrought-iron archway. They were going into the park.

As they walked along the dirt path, Beast Boy thought about what he had heard. He hadn't wanted to unnerve Terra, and he wasn't one hundred percent sure that he had heard or seen anything.

His hearing and sight were more acute than that of a normal person, but perhaps he was just hearing things. Abruptly, he heard a rustle behind him. He turned around, and again thought he saw someone duck behind a tree. He frowned.

"What now?" Terra asked.

"I could've sworn that I heard something," he glanced around, his face puzzled. He wondered if he was simply paranoid that Cyborg was following them with the intentions of taking pictures and using them as blackmail. Beast Boy smirked inwardly.

He wouldn't put it past Cyborg to do something like that. He scanned the nearby trees once more before turning back to the blonde. Terra did not look impressed. He gave her a sheepish smile, and they continued on.

Another rustle caused him to stop once more. He knew that he was not imagining things. Someone, or something was following them. He tried to pinpoint the location of the sound, and thought that he saw something move in one of the nearby bushes.

"What?" Terra couldn't keep the annoyance out of her voice. Beast Boy couldn't blame her, he hadn't really been paying much attention to her.

"I know I saw something," he replied. Terra put her hands on her hips and glared at him. He turned towards the bush again, but there was no further motion. He frowned and considered going to see if there really was something in the bush, but he decided not to.

It might just be a squirrel or something. He turned back to Terra again, and slipped his arm back around her waist. Her dark expression melted, and they set off again.

Beast Boy halted next to the plateau. This was the perfect lookout spot. The sun was setting, spreading pink and orange over the water. He looked over at Terra and smiled. In the light of the setting sun, she looked absolutely beautiful. He feared that this might all be a dream, and that at any moment he was going to wake up.

He gazed at the blonde again, and decided that he couldn't procrastinate any longer. He had to ask her. They had been so close before, and now he wanted the relationship that they had almost had to be a reality. Terra met his gaze, and he swallowed hard. He was just about to ask, when he was shoved to the ground.

Angrily he pushed himself up. Whoever had been following them must have been the one to shove them to the ground. His anger turned to shock as he saw Raven go flying past him. His shock turned to horror when he realized that Raven was not flying, but falling.

Her body hit the plateau and fell limply to the ground.

"Raven!" he exclaimed. She did not respond. He heard a terrible crack, and realized that the force of her body hitting the plateau had loosened some of the rocks. This still left the person responsible unaccounted for. Beast Boy turned his head slowly, and his dark green eyes widened with horror.

Towering above him was Slade. His single eye focused upon Raven. Beast Boy was so focussed upon Slade and Raven that he didn't see the smirk on Terra's lips. Nor did he notice that her blonde hair had fallen in front of her face.

If he had turned to look at the blonde, he would have also seen that her eyes and hands glowed yellow. Slade turned and looked down at Beast Boy.

"Hello dear boy," his soft voice was patronizing. "Have I interrupted something?"