Chapter 5: Date with Jealousy

"How about this one?" I asked Star as I modeled outfit number three for her. After telling Star of my date with Tyler, she had insisted that she help pick out my outfit. She hasn't liked one yet, and this one was no different.

"Nah," she said, scrunching up her nose and shaking her head lightly. I sighed, growing tired of all this fuss. It was only a date for heaven's sake!

I reviewed my reflection in the full length mirror. Black skinny jeans and a tight black sweater. Simple, plain, and absolutely boring.

"Do you not own any color?" Star asked, getting up from the bed and moving to examine the contents of my closet. I joined her, picking through the rack of assorted t-shirts, tees, and sweaters. About 75% of the tops were black, but there were some white shirts and quite a few dark blue and purple ones too. And, if you look hard enough, you might even be able to find a pink shirt, though it's probably buried very, very, deep in my closet. So, really, my closet isn't devoid of color, it's just mostly dark colors.

"I'm a dark person, I own dark clothes. Deal with it." I replied. Starfire rolled her eyes and continued to sift through the shirts.

"Please, repeat to me where this boy is taking you." she inquired as she pulled out a shirt to examine it more closely.

"He's picking me up at 5:30, taking me out for dinner and then a movie after." I explained, pulling at the sleeve of a dark grey sweater. To be honest, I was slightly nervous for tonight. I've been on dates before, but my experience is limited. And being on earth makes my powers even more difficult to control. I have to meditate twice a day to keep everything in check, and this is before Beast Boy has resumed his game of "irritate the Raven".

And there was this nagging thought in the back of my mind. What if Ty doesn't like me? I mean, let's face it, I'm not exactly normal. Demon child gone super hero, the loner who reads dark, creepy books. What if he's not into that? I shouldn't care; I hardly know the guy. But some small part of me feels the need to prove that someone else can like me. Maybe for myself, maybe to stir Beast Boy's feelings, maybe to show up Terra. Whatever the reason, the feeling was there, the need to know that someone can like me for who I am; someone who doesn't turn into an evil dragon.

"How about this one?" Star interrupted my thoughts as she held up a sparkly purple tank top. Definitely not my usual dress, but nothing about tonight was exactly "normal" for me. Snatching it from Star's fingers, and ignoring her excited grin, I slipped it on over a black tank top. It was cute and flattering. I pulled a black leather jacket on over it and selected a pair of black peep-toe booties. The outfit was chic and edgy, with just a hint of girly sparkle (picture on the side). A good balance of both sides of my personality.

Turning away from the mirror, I faced Starfire, waiting for her criticism. She looked me over and then at my wall of accessories. Selecting a silver, flower shaped, pendant necklace, she clasped it around my neck and then finally nodded her head in approval. "Yes," she said. "You look most beautiful for tonight."

Seeing 5:00 on my bedside alarm clock, I quickly ran a brush through already my straightened hair one last time and added one last swipe of lipgloss. Starfire had insisted that I wear makeup and I had obliged, though I made sure to keep it simple: foundation, mascara, liquid eyeliner, and just a hint of blush. And as much as I wanted to hate my appearance in the mirror, to insist that Starfire had been wrong about the sparkly shirt and the makeup, I couldn't. Because Starfire had been right, I did look beautiful.

I thanked my alien friend for her help and then grabbed my black clutch before heading out to the common room to await the arrival of my date. In the common room, the guys, including Beastboy who had been released from the medical room this morning, were watching some football movie. At the sound of the common room door opening, they all turned to see who had joined them, mouths agape at the sight of me. Goodness, all of this staring was starting to get uncomfortable.

Although, seeing Beastboy's reaction did bring about a sense of pride within me. And Terra was nowhere to be seen. This night just keeps getting better and better.

"Hey, guys," Robin greeted, shaking himself from his stupor. "Raven, you look nice for tonight." He complimented me politely.

"Thank you," I replied, just as politely, following Starfire into the kitchen. The guys, having lost interest in their movie, got up and sauntered over to join us. I noticed Beastboy's slightly enlarged eyes roaming my figure but decided to ignore it. Cyborg was also eyeing me appreciatively, but his gaze wasn't hungry, like BB's, it was the sort of way a brother or very close friend would look at you. Admiring the beauty before them and noting the luck of the guy that will get to have it.

"Yeah, your date's one lucky guy," Cyborg drawled, leaning against the island counter. "What's his name anyhow?"

I noticed Beastboy's eyes perk up slightly at the mention of my date and I suddenly became giddy at the thought of his potential jealousy. "Tyler Dawson, his dad's an influential member of the Royal Court back in Azarath." I boasted, hoping to prick Beastboy's jealousy further.

"Sounds like a fine man," Robin nodded, standing next to Starfire, an arm tucked around her waist. They do look incredibly cute together, even I have to admit that. Beastboy had come around the island to get a drink from the fridge behind me.

"Sounds like a pussy," he grumbled so low I'm pretty sure I was the only one who had heard him. The comment made me stiffen, just slightly, but I shook it away. No need to start a fight before my big date.

The others continued to press me for details: how we met, what he's like, ect. I answered them as best I could, but I soon realized that even I don't know him very well. He's funny and seems pretty nice, but beyond that, he's a complete mystery. He could be a psychopathic killer for all I know.

Okay, probably not, but considering how little I actually do know about him, it is a possibility. Although, that is what the first date is for, right? Getting to know each other? Oh, great, now I'm stressing about whether or not my date is a psychopathic killer here to kidnap and torture me.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang, cutting through our conversation and my rambling thoughts. I left the others to answer it, silently praying that he wasn't standing behind the door with an ax behind his back (which is rather foolish, considering he hasn't really given me any reason to suspect that he'd do that). As I opened the door, I saw Ty dressed in a pair of dark jeans and a grey v-neck underneath a black suit jacket. His black hair was tousled in the same sexy style it had been in the night we met and his deep green eyes shined with an enthusiastic joy that was almost infectious.

"Hey, Beautiful," he greeted me with a smile as he pulled something from behind his back (see, guess I'm not completely crazy). But instead of it being something sharp and pointy, it was soft and colorful. A small bouquet of flowers was offered to me and I accepted it with a smile.

"Thank you," I said. "Why don't you come in while I find a vase. You can meet my friends." Ty followed me inside where the others were trying their best to look inconspicuous. I could of course tell that they had been trying to listen in on us, but I let it slide.

Meeting the others near the large couch in the common room, I stopped to introduce my date. "Everyone, this is Tyler Dawson." I introduced him.

"Oh, please, call me Ty." he said with an easy smile. Robin came over first, as leader of the team.

"Good to meet you," he greeted him, shaking his hand.

"And a pleasure to meet you. I've heard a lot about your team, pretty impressive work." Ty complimented him smoothly. Robin smiled.

"Why, thank you. You know, it's all in how you work as a unit-"

"Alright, Boy-Wonder, you're a great leader. We got it." Cyborg cut Robin off. "I'm Cyborg, the mechanic behind all our operations." He reached out a hand for Ty to shake, which he did.

"Nice to meet you Cyborg. Say, is that the new scratch-resistant chrome plating on your suit?" He said, easily melting Cy into the palm of his hand. How he knew so many details about my friends was beyond me, but it was nice to see them hitting it off.

"As a matter of fact, it is. I'm surprised you noticed, most people don't." Cyborg responded, a bit surprised.

"Well, I have a certain knack for small details, I guess." Ty said modestly.

Then it was Star's turn. Before she even got to her name, however, Ty stopped her. "Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran. Please, the pleasure is all mine." He kissed her hand gracefully.

"You know of my home planet, yes?" She asked bashfully.

"Oh, yes, even visited it a time or two. Of course I haven't been there since the war but I remember it being rather lovely last I visited. Perhaps I'll have to go again." He explained in his easy drawl. I wasn't sure exactly which 'war' he had been talking about, but the compliment still affected Starfire and she broke into a wide grin.

"Oh, please do. We just love having visitors." Star exclaimed excitedly.

Beastboy came last, and this was the meeting I had most dreaded. The others were capable of being friendly with suspicious strangers, but BB was a loose canon. And after his comment in the kitchen just minutes ago, I was a little worried about what else he'd decide to say in front of my date. I could already notice the small irritated twitch in the corner of his frown.

"And you're-" Ty began, holding out his hand to the green changeling. I noticed that with Beastboy's recent growth spurt he now was almost as tall as Ty and a good three or four inches taller than me. His muscles had also bulked up a bit and his face looked just slightly rougher, almost intimidating as he met Ty's gaze. I held my breath, waiting for him to do something stupid.

"Beastboy," he said curtly as he grasped Ty's outstretched hand. Then, leaning in closer added, "the Ex."

Yeah, that would be the stupid something I had been hoping to avoid.

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So, sorry for the long delay and the short update, but I felt this was a good place to stop and I really felt like I should get something up.

Hope you guys liked it!!

Don't forget to spread the love!!

- Rain