Persistence
Her walk was quick but not rushed and her stance was unwavering.
Just like her ignorance – like her persistence at believing to be someone else.
Well, he could be just as persistent as her. She could deny being Terra all she wanted. He would find a way to convince her that she wasn't a schoolgirl – she was a Titan!
He was right behind her as he trailed after her and he noticed that it has been quite some time that she hadn't complained to him as he watched her blonde hair sway a little with each step. The young Titan didn't care if any more strange looks would be shot in his and Terra's direction as yet another group of students gave him confused looks as they were walking through the hallway.
He only kept his eyes at her.
"You can't keep following me forever," she spoke with a tiny hint of annoyance as she looked over her shoulder.
"Why not?" he retorted, not believing there would be anything stopping him in continuing to do so.
She stopped walking and they came up at a door before she pointed at it as she stared him in the eyes. "Because this is the girl's locker room."
Okay…maybe there were places where he really couldn't follow her.
Beast Boy watched her walk inside without another word and he turned away, pondering on what to do now. The first thing that came to his mind would be waiting until she'd come out herself.
But what if she just hid in there until she was sure he left.
The green boy frowned at that thought – he wasn't going to leave until she'd admit it! She could wait in there until school's over, he wouldn't move from this spot.
She would have to come out eventually.
He leaned against the wall, feeling a little tired from following her around before he let out a sigh.
Why was she acting like this? What could have possibly made her try to forget about them – about him?
His eyes narrowed as he thought of a certain encounter that could be the cause of her sudden change of personality.
It would be no surprise why Slade was so insistent that Beast Boy keep his distance to her.
The hallway was beginning to empty out and the shape-shifter watched as more and more students disappeared into their respective classrooms. And then he heard the voices of two certain girls before seeing them turning the corner and slowly walking in his direction.
What to do? What to do?
Where could he hide?
He knew if they see him again, they'd suspect that he was looking for 'Terra' again and then he'd get more than just death glares.
In his slight panic, his eyes rested on the door of the locker room and for a moment, he blanked out. He couldn't just go through with it, could he?
"Hey, have you seen her by the way?" he heard Amber's voice and he knew they'd find him if he didn't act now. The shape-shifter took a deep breath before he strode over to the door and slowly pushed it open before slipping inside as silently as possible.
Amber and Dionne's voices were muffled now and the shape-shifter breathed a sigh of relief. After making sure he wasn't in danger of getting his lights punched out, he took a look around.
He was standing in a hall – more like a room. Lockers lined one side of the wall, probably…for putting clothes inside. When he realized what the purpose of those lockers was, his heart had begun racing suddenly. Had he really…entered the girl's locker room?
He decided to leave…before he heard the shuffling of fabric. Terra was here.
He…had the chance to prove her wrong…and it wouldn't be right to just give up when he was so close, right?
No, this was wrong! He would only invade her privacy if he kept staying here.
He decided to turn away…when he heard her voice.
"Damn…"
Curiosity sparked in him as he heard her somewhat pained curse and his feet started moving on their own and he slowly turned a corner and he stopped as soon as he saw her. His eyes widened for a short moment and he was sure that his face was red with embarrassment as she had her shirt of her school uniform lifted as her other hand seemed to trace a path on her skin.
What was she doing?
She let out a sigh before her hand came to a standstill.
The changeling cocked his head a little, wondering if it was even a good idea to ponder about what she was doing…even if he was intrigued. Somehow…it felt wrong – a lot.
His eyes wandered over the rest of her body and he was awestruck by her – this girl must be Terra – even her build was just like his former teammate. He noticed that she had her free hand clenched to a fist.
Was…she in pain maybe?
That thought caused him to worry and without even thinking about the consequences of his actions, he had started approaching her.
She flinched visibly, hearing his footsteps and hurriedly let her hand drop to her side before whipping around, her hair turning with her motion. Blue eyes widened for a moment, seeing the stubborn boy from before only one step away from her. "B-Beast Boy?"
Her voice was a mix of shock and embarrassment and the shape-shifter found himself unable to look away from her face – on her lightly colored cheeks.
Terra's eyes darted to the side for a moment, feeling like she was a trophy on display before she narrowed her eyes angrily. "What…are you doing here?" she muttered annoyed.
Too bad her red face made her look only cuter.
The boy managed to avert his gaze, focusing on the wall behind her. "I'm…just checking on you," he replied and immediately his face indicated his embarrassment at his choice of words.
Way to go, idiot!
But Terra didn't seem to notice it. "I'm fine. Leave me alone."
The changeling noticed the slight strain in her voice and dared to look at her. "Are…you sure? I mean…you're not hurt?" he kept pressing on and carefully took a step closer.
Terra took a small step back, indicating that she wanted to have some space. "I told you I'm fine! Why don't you get that into your head?" she growled.
Because this had to be a lie.
He noticed that something was not right with her…and he was determined to let her know that she could trust him – with anything!
"Well…I…uh noticed that you seemed to have hurt yourself somewhere…" he mumbled a bit unsure, not liking to make it apparent that he had caught her in a rather uncomfortable moment.
"What? What makes you think that? I'm…perfectly fine," she said not as angrily anymore…and for a moment, the shape-shifter thought he had hit a button.
"I saw you…" he began and took that softening of her tone as a sign that she might have begun to have second thoughts before he took another step forward.
Her brow raised in confusion. Saw her doing what?
"I really don't get-"
She started to dismiss him before she stopped as her eyes widened he had reduced the space she had carefully created.
"…doing something on…your back," he continued and the schoolgirl felt her anger suddenly vanish seeing his hand disappear behind her back.
Wait, did he see her-?
Her thought was interrupted when she felt his gloved hand slip beneath her school uniform and she even thought of punching his lights out.
But he reached an area that was literally still sore and she flinched, a low hissing sound escaping her lips.
"Stop it."
He raised a confused brow at her, having taken notice of her flinching before he moved back down, the girl even shutting her eyes that the moment of relief from that burning sensation.
But he didn't intend to stop just yet. Before quite releasing her, he took hold of the hem of her shirt before…he pulled it upwards until just below her shoulder blades.
The girl managed to avoid getting attention as the only sound that escaped her was a mere gasp before she shot the boy in front of her a death glare. "Get out of my face," she barked and lifted her fist but it stopped in mid-air, seeing his shocked expression. He wasn't looking at her though and Terra glanced over her shoulder and saw herself in the mirror with half of her back exposed. And just where her shoulder blades ended…was a large red spot that covered almost all of her upper back.
Burn marks.
She turned away from the gruesome sight and closed her eyes as the details of the event that caused her to get this wound replayed in her mind. She was woken from her trance, feeling that pain from her past once more as a hand probed that painful spot. "C-cut it out," she hissed and luckily, the hand withdrew.
"How…how did you get this?" the shape-shifter asked confused and worried and the girl lowered her gaze.
"It's…just sunburn," she muttered in a low voice but Beast Boy wasn't buying her story.
"Please tell me the truth," he demanded pleadingly but she kept her head bowed, not wanting him to intrude any further. After she refused to tell him any more, he took hold of her hand as a sign of reassurance. "I'm just trying to help you."
Help? This was nothing she needed help with. He simply couldn't help her with that.
"If you really want to help me…then you just better leave…without turning back," she murmured before fixing a hard expression at him.
But how could he – how could he when knowing that she was suffering even more than he had thought?
"And just leave you to deal with all this pain alone?" he asked in disbelief. "I…just don't want to see you hurt anymore," he admitted and he felt hope spark within him as her eyes widened slightly.
"Beast Boy…" she started, not having expected for him to continue his pursuit of her for this long. And she was beginning to feel the effect of his efforts. But she couldn't let this go out of hand. "…I know how you feel…but-"
Her next words never left her mouth because the changeling decided to close what little gap was still separating them. The girl's eyes opened wide, shocked at that sudden and bold act and her first thought was to send him flying out of the room. But it only took another passing second for her determination to waver. The blonde-haired girl shut her eyes, having no motivation to fight any more.
He had already seen her marks – he had already seen her pain and she knew there was no way he would steer away from his belief now.
His hand started tracing little patterns on her lower back, being careful not to get on her sore spot and the girl shivered from the sensation. He parted with her for a single moment, still not stepping away from her, his hands still in contact with her as if he was afraid to lose her.
He just had to catch his breath and comprehend what had just happened. He had just kissed Terra…and the best thing was that she didn't even push him away!
Could it be that…she had realized who she was?
He didn't want to risk losing her and he was so overjoyed at what had just happened that he had already leaned into her again, stealing another kiss from her. The changeling was struck with surprise however when he felt the girl wrap around his shoulders before she rewarded him with some affection of her own. His free hand felt as if it was in the way before he let it casually land on her waist, as if offering her support but soon he found himself wanting…more.
The same hand snaked below her waist, tugging lightly on her skirt as if giving a warning signal as his other hand turned his attention to her stomach now, gradually moving higher…
The girl let her fingers run through his hair before another wave of Goosebumps passed through her. The changeling trailed across her jawline, feeling a little out of breath after that kiss he'd gotten from her and he let his fingers peek just barely beneath her skirt and his heart skipped a beat, hearing her sigh.
He decided to risk ruining it all. He wouldn't want to force her into anything after all. "Terra…" he sighed and as an answer she let out another sigh.
There was no protest, no denial! She had reacted to that name!
He tried to push his luck a little further and he looked into her eyes. "Can…can I?" he asked, a little nervous in the end.
And he felt like he could fly when seeing Terra smile at him as she leaned into him. "As long as it doesn't hurt…"
Those words were all he needed for him to show her that she'd always be loved.