"I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best."
~Marilyn Monroe

–•–•–•–

"What is the matter friend Garfield?"

"What isn't? Everything is so bad right now. I hate it. Why did he have to make her leave?"

"I do not understand it either. It seemed as if he liked her."

"And Vic! Where did that come from?! He didn't even have a reason! He just 'agreed with Dick'." He said in a mocking tone with air quotes.

"I agree. But we must not loose our heads. In a situation as serious as this it is best to keep calm." Kori says.

She seems to have calmed down a large bit. She seems neutral. Yet Raven knows she's not. She feels the emotions. They're all around her, mixed in with the air. It's almost like she absorbs them like a sponge.

Or perhaps she's the filter...

"You're right Kor. I just...I wanted to...you know? You remember what I told you right?"

"Yes. It is unfortunate things went as they did. But we cannot and could not control what happened. We can control what happens however."

"Well what are we supposed to do? We don't know where she went. And we've been walking around for a while now..."

"We have only searched the edge of the beach. We should try searching other places in town." Kori suggests.

"Maybe we should hit the park."

"Why would we hit the park? That seems mean."

"It means we should go the park."

"Oh." Raven chuckles quietly at Kori's naive and alien comment.

The two get up from the bench and head to the park. Raven leaps down from the fire escape and lands as quietly as she always does, her cloak drags on the ground as she stands up straight. Then she closes it and hovers over the ground like a beautiful apparition.

She uses the dark falling over the city as a cover to follow them in (almost) plain sight.

Garfield stuffs his hands in his pockets. They get to the park and it's dead silent. Not a bird to chirp, nor a car.

"It doesn't look like she's here either. Dammit Raven where did you go?" He clenches his fists.

"Do not worry. I am sure that we will find her. I do not think she would leave."

"You saw her face when Dick told her to go. She looked like she was about to break out in tears. Maybe she really did skip town. Not like there was anywhere for her to go."

He's not wrong. Raven thinks as she hides behind a tree. Contrary to her words earlier, she doesn't want to make their lives a living hell right now, Kori and Gar. Despite how it might look, she knows they had nothing to do with it. It was the other two. And if their feelings were false, she would have sensed it.

But there's something different with Garfield. The way he's been acting. The way he's been talking. She knows it's a feeling, but she can't exactly pick it up.

She doesn't need her powers for this though. She has a great judge of character.

He has feelings for her. That was her best guess.

Do I like him? No I can't. But...I...don't know. I can't can I? I'll blow him up if I do...right? Right? She quietly sighs and keeps listening.

"I guess you are right. But she is smart enough to know we did not want her to leave...right?"

"Yeah she is. She is." A crisp gust of wind blows through the trees and the two shiver. "Jesus it's cold. It must have dropped like 20°!" It did. Went from 70 at sunset to 50 within an hour. "I kinda wish we had grabbed some sort of jacket or something."

"So do I." Another gust of wind stronger, and therefore cooler, than the last. "Brrrr!"

Raven closes her eyes and opens them. They're glowing a brilliant white. She makes two jackets for them and they wrap around the shivering teen's shoulders.

The shock comes quickly.

"R-Raven?" Her eyes glow again from the shadow behind the tree. She makes herself known. It is probably the creepiest thing the two of them have ever seen wether they want to say it or not.

"You're welcome." She walks out into their view.

"Told you she didn't leave."

"Vic feels guilty and Dick doesn't care. I need at least some positivity. I've been listening to you. I know it wasn't your fault. I don't hate you. Dick never trusted me anyway."

"You just sounded so upset." Gar says.

"I did cry for a while." She says standing firm.

"You...did?" Kori asks.

"I didn't think I was..." she trails off and looks at the ground. Garfield gets up and walks to Raven.

"Was what Raven?"

"...was that attached to you guys. I've never been that attached to anyone other than Mikah. I just don't understand it. I've only known you for a month..."

"Raven..." Raven takes off her hood.

"Ugh... I am not living like this anymore."

"What do you mean Raven?" Gar asked her firmly. You can hear the worry in his voice although he is trying to sound tough.

"Look what I've done to all of you. You guys were fine until I came. Now you two are here and the other two are across town. You probably won't be speaking to them for a while. I've bogged your lives down with my stupid problems that you can't even fix in the first place."

"Raven what are you saying?" Kori says as she gets up and stands a few feet behind Garfield.

"I made up my mind a bit ago. I'm wiping my memory and everyone's memory of me. No more thugs. No more police. No more me. I'm doing it tomorrow, and you don't have to worry about a thing anymore and you can just go back to your lives. It'll be like it never happened." She looks at Gar straight in the eyes.

"Are you crazy? Don't do that! We'll figure something out!"

"No you won't. I've made up my mind. I've already made up my mind to do this." She grabs the sides of Gar's face and pulls him to her lips. As they connect Raven's emotions go haywire. So do Gar's. She keeps it (somewhat) brief as she starts to tear up. She breaks and then she can't even look at him. She doesn't want him to see her cry.

She pulls up her hood and turns away from them.

"Bye guys." She flies away into the darkness and disappears over the buildings.

She also leaves a dumbfounded Garfield and Kori.

"She...She's going to make us forget her..." Kori says slowly.

"I...I...heard her..."