Teen Titans Fan Fiction ❯ The Devil's Pay ❯ Recently Distressed ( Chapter 2 )

“Dick” is Rae's nickname for Rich. Otherwise he will be referred to as “Rich.”

Chapter Warning: more characters show up, and the authoress attempts to stay awake.

The Devil's Pay

Chapter Two: Recently Distressed

“Look if you're going to annoy me,” Rich turned to Raven, “then at least be helpful while you're annoying me.”

“I'm here to help,” Raven said, “How's he taking it?”

“Pitifully.”

“You suck at the whole consoling people thing.”

He glared at her. “And you just don't care.”

“Seven different people show up dead while I get to be the first to find them. And you idiots can't even do something about it.”

Rich sighed. “You know we've tried everything.”

“Forget it,” she ran a hand through her hair. “Is there anyone else you need to call?”

“Apparently Brion's gonna call her boyfriend.”

“I suppose you're going to recommend a therapist.”

A moment of silence passed between them.

Raven kicked her boot up and shoved her hands into her pockets. “So what else is there to do?”

“You should probably head home. There's not much else you can do.”

She shook her head. “I can't. There has to be something we're not doing.”

“You're not even supposed to be doing anything. Weren't you a suspect?”

She held out her arms. “Dick, look at me. Is there any chance that I could ever damage anyone in anyway possible?”

He smiled. “I have a feeling your bite's as bad as your bark.”

She shrugged. They were just leaving the mortuary; Brion was being taken care of by someone who had the ability to comfort someone. Tara was being prepared to be dissected, while Rich was going to lead Raven back to her apartment.

Rich held open the door to the outside and Raven smirked at his faux-gentleman gesture.

And then she was knocked back by a person.

She stumbled back, falling onto the floor. Rich jumped back, and the attacker landed right on top of her.

Raven blinked. All were confused as to what happened. She opened her eyes to see a young man only inches from her face, straddling her in a very uncomfortable position. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Rich cover his face, trying not to laugh.

The man did not seem to notice that he was on top of her. He merely looked at her frantically, his eyes wide, and whispered, “Do you know where she is?”

She stared at him, her wide eyes slitting into a glare, and she pushed him off.

“I assume,” she stood quickly, “you're looking for Tara.”

He nodded. “Do you know where she is?” He was becoming more frantic.

“Who are you?” Rich asked.

His gaze was still locked on Raven. “I'm Gar.”

“Garfield Logan?”

He nodded again. “Is she really…?”

Rich yanked him up. “I wouldn't suggest seeing her. Sent her brother into shock. We do need to ask some questions, though.”

“This really isn't the best time,” Gar said.

“We're still trying to figure everything out. The more information we can get, the easier it will be to solve this case.”

“Except it won't,” he jumped back, as if Rich's touch suddenly burned him, “Because these murders have been going on for a while now. And you've done nothing about it.”

Rich blinked but kept his composure. “That's why we need-”

“JUST LET ME SEE HER FUCKING BODY!”

Both jumped. A tense silence filled the space between them, and his eyes searched frenetically back and forth. Raven felt his eyes lock with hers and for a moment she kept the focus then blinked and turned away.

“Just show him the fucking body, Dick,” she whispered.

He blinked, nodded, turned.

“Follow me.”

><><><><><

Raven was waiting outside the room where they were holding the body. She could here the breakdown, and she closed her eyes, leaning her head back.

The door opened, closed.

“How's he-”

She stopped.

She was face-to-face with Gar, and he was staring past her, a dead look in his eyes.

“…How are you holding up?” she asked. It came out quiet. Much more quiet than she'd expected.

He shook his head and joined her stance against the wall. “I'm an idiot.”

She cocked her head curiously. “What do you mean?”

He shrugged and bowed his head. “Nothing. I'm just an idiot.”

She was beginning to believe him. Carefully she stepped towards him and placed a cautious hand on his shoulder.

She did not comfort people. It was a sort of fact; she did not possess the proper knowledge as to how to console a person. Her own outlook on life was far too depressing.

So why did she feel the need to comfort him?

`Human nature. We react to others emotions. It comes with the interaction of the outside world.'

Like she'd spent too much time `interacting with the outside world' in her childhood. She was bleak and depressing even then.

He closed his eyes as she touched him and brushed her off. She frowned and blinked, absolutely clueless as to what she was supposed to do.

`What do you say to someone who just saw their lover's mangled body?'

“…Are you just going to tell me you're an idiot or explain it?”

`I am a horrible, horrible person.'

He looked at her, his eyes devoid of emotion and she shivered. “Do you really want to know?”

She nodded slowly, and his voice went deadpan. “She was cheating on me.”

She blinked and bit her lip. “That's what you're worried about?”

“Unfortunately.”

She couldn't help herself.

She laughed.

He looked at her with an expression between anger and confusion.

Raven covered her mouth quickly, stifling her chuckles the best she could. “I'm sorry… It's just…”

He paused and smiled. “I guess most people don't react quite like I did.”

“Though I can honestly say that this is the first time I've seen this happen.”

He shook his head. “Whatever.”

“Hey,” she moved towards him, pulling a pen from her purse, “I'm not much of a therapist, but if you need to talk to someone…”

And before she knew what she was doing, she'd written down her phone number.

“I guess we've all been traumatized enough for today,” he sighed, “And thanks. But something tells me that detective in there isn't quite done with me yet.”

Raven sighed. “He won't make anything better.”

The day wasn't looking up much.

><><><><><

Raven threw open the door to her apartment and fell head first onto the couch, letting a muffled cry escape her lips.

“I'm such an idiot.”

It was a shared attitude.

Authoress Notes:

“Dear recently distressed,
I am sorry to inform you,
That it all came crashing down.”

A Phantom Planet song. But whatever.

Character List: Garfield Logan (Beast Boy)

…

He was the only new character to show up. We'll add a few more.

In case you were wondering, Roy's girlfriend is Cheshire. It's a canon pairing and damn cute. He's still a womanizer at heart.

Leave a review!!

Next Chapter: stuff happens, but we're not really paying attention to that. You guys just want your favorite pairings to show up.