Anniversary
The sun was glaring down at the inhabitants and a blonde-haired schoolgirl was just walking around the corner along with her two friends when suddenly Cinderblock came crashing through one of the stores onto the street.
The three girls cried out before jumping back, hiding behind the corner before certain heroes tried to fend off the large stone giant.
Terra gasped seeing her former friends being so close to her again and she quickly turned away.
"BB! Get your behind over here!" Cyborg called, evading a light post.
"He probably wants us to fight for him too, just because it's his birthday," Raven muttered annoyed before the shape-shifter rammed Cinderblock full-force in T-Rex form.
"That's not true! Who was the one that cleaned the tower for you guys?" he boasted when he turned back.
"And with 'whole' tower, I'm guessing you mean your room?" Raven mocked, causing the green titan to glare at her in annoyance before they just managed to evade Cinderblock's fists.
"How about we focus on our enemy first before planning Beast Boy's birthday?" Robin suggested and the others nodded in agreement before charging.
It's…Beast Boy's birthday?
This thought spun in Terra's mind like a Ferris Wheel before she dashed away.
"Hey where are you going?" Amber called after her.
"Just remembered that I gotta run some errands. See ya!" Terra waved back before turning the corner.
"What's up with her?" Dionne asked and the other shrugged her shoulders before they continued to watch the fight between the city's heroes and the stone giant.
Okay, what does someone need for a cool birthday?
Terra's brows furrowed as she thought.
"Hmm…cake, gifts, maybe some flowers…" she mumbled before a small smile appeared on her face. "Cake first," she said a bit out of breath, before turning left around the next corner and she kept running until she came to a familiar coffee shop.
She entered and quickly walked over to the counter. "I need the best pie you have."
The woman looked confused at first before she smiled and disappeared in the back room and Terra found herself tapping impatiently against the counter until she came back.
But her smile faltered, seeing that the woman had only a slice of pie on the plate. "Uh…what I meant was that I need a whole pie…and I kinda want to take it with me," Terra said a bit unsurely.
Why did making a pie take so long?
If she didn't hurry…she might miss him.
This time, Terra switched to pacing back and forth until the lady came back with her cake box and she grabbed it almost too eagerly and slammed the money on the counted before she race-walked out of the shop.
"So…I guess flowers will be next," she murmured and rushed to the closest flower shop which took her about 15 minutes of walking to get her there.
The sound of a bell marked her arrival and the florist looked up eagerly from her phone.
"Welcome!"
Terra froze when she said that word.
What kinds of flowers did Beast Boy actually like?
She held one hand to her head to remember and actually regretted really forgetting some part of him.
"Uh…do you know what kinds of flowers are good for Birthday occasions?" Terra asked, hoping that her sentence made actual sense.
"Of course! We have a large variety to choose from, ranging from-"
Ranging? Did it mean that there were more than one or two flowers to choose from?
Terra felt sorry for her wallet and knew she'll do a mistake but she did it anyways. "Can you give me one from each?" she asked, forcing a smile on her face.
"From each? You know that this will be over 20 different kinds of flowers in one bouquet, right? And some of those flowers are not exactly wallet-friendly."
Terra gave a vehement nod, determined not to ruin his special day by saving up all her money.
The florist started picking random flowers of different sizes, color, smell, and complexion before tying them up with a large red ribbon and handing it to the blonde-haired girl.
Terra pointed to the counter for the money before she waddled out of the shop, half of her vision blocked by a large leaf of one of her bigger flowers in her bouquet.
"Last but not least…the gift," she sighed, her arms starting to grow tired after a while as she walked towards her last destination.
Her eyes wandered over key chains, porcelain figures, and heart-shaped boxes in the various display cases of the shops she passed.
Heart-shaped boxes…
Terra's eyes wandered more quickly, looking for similar-looking items, remembering the heart-shaped box Beast Boy had made for her.
And for a moment, she began to miss it.
She blinked, not wanting to stop her search because of some unexpected memories before her eyes rested on a star-shaped, silver box.
Terra rushed inside. "How much is that silver star in your display case?" she asked and the young man crooked his head to find said item.
"Oh…that's 20 dollars," he replied and Terra's face fell.
20 bucks? She barely had 10 dollars left!
"Anything for 10 dollars?" she asked meekly before the man pointed.
"Yeah, that would be the key chains."
Terra felt her mood sinking, seeing that the key chains looked like they had been sprayed on with color and looked more like plastic toys…not to mention they all were of the same white skull. "Uh…thanks."
So much for a perfect Birthday…
Terra exited the shop with an audible sigh, wishing she could crawl into a hole and never come out. The girl's eyes wandered around for anything cheaper that could count as a gift.
But there simply wasn't anything!
Terra took the direction back to school, deciding to just forget about this whole Birthday thing, seeing that she couldn't even manage to get a simple present for him.
She closed her eyes, sudden tears threatening to spill and she switched to running, wanting to get away from this bad luck that seemed to chase her.
"I hate Birthdays," she mumbled, not wanting to lose control.
Why did she have to waste her time on a birthday on someone who she deemed she didn't even know?
Why did she still care about them?
Why…did she want to see him happy?
She turned the corner before she cried out in pain and tumbled backwards, the flowers scattering and the cake box falling to the ground.
Terra slowly opened her eyes and she saw that she was surrounded by different sized and colored flowers and that the cake had been almost sent flying out of the box, the brown cream smeared over the lid that had landed next to it.
Terra clenched her fists angrily, realizing that this destroyed any chance for even a normal birthday.
And she let her anger show.
"Watch where you're going!" she screamed, feeling tears welling up in her eyes before she looked up…and gasped before she scrambled to get up.
Beast Boy gave her a look that was a mix of confusion and apology and longing as he was still sprawled on the ground.
Terra closed her eyes, wishing that she was just sleeping in her room, never even having met Cinderblock today. But when she opened them…he was still gaping at her, this time standing on his feet.
The tears retreated and she fixed an annoyed expression on her face and Beast Boy's gaze shifted to his feet.
"Terra? S-sorry I bumped into you like that," he chuckled nervously. "If you want…I'll get you new flowers and cake," he mumbled, glancing at the scattered items before he turned away. "But if not…then I won't hold you back anymore. You must be running late anyway."
This was one of the things he least expected on his birthday – having one of his wishes actually come true! But a bigger wish he had was that hers would come true – even if it meant that his wouldn't.
Terra's heart sank, seeing his slumped shoulders like he had been balancing Cinderblock on them and she slowly approached him, wanting to give him at least his birthday present before she would leave him.
She gingerly placed a hand on his shoulder and he tensed for a moment before he started to turn around and she sped up the process with the aid of her hand.
Barely registering what was happening, Terra pressed her lips on his and closed her eyes, not wanting to see his expression – after all, you give gifts without expecting anything in return.
She quickly pulled away, not wanting to give him any time to respond before she turned and rushed away – just in time to hear a startled gasp.
"Terra?"
"Happy Birthday!" she called back without even turning back.
And she knew that he was smiling after her…because that gift could not be bought.
That gift came from her heart.