Author's Note: A short drabble for a meme I found on DeviantArt. You took a few characters, mixed them up, put your iPod on shuffle and then wrote something about those characters inspired by the song you ended up with. Normally my drabbles are only half a page to a page long, but, this one turned into 4 pages. I didn't edit it since it's just a drabble and I wrote the first half while I was grounded on my couch with a fever, so...sorry if it's not my best. It was inspired by the song "Sixth Station" from Spirited Away and features Beast Boy, Speedy and my character Phantom. Unless you follow me on DA, you might not be completely familiar with who she is; check my account page for links and information. Thank you.
"…--dude, Casper! Wait!"
Phantom's boots almost caught on themselves as she jerked to a stop and slid a small ways on the wet surface. She grunted and turned around, flicking one foot a little. Beast Boy stood a few feet behind her, backtracked to the roof's ledge and peering over it with raised ears and widened eyes. She blinked at his expression before glancing up through the rain, then looking back to him.
"What, BB? What is it?" He looked back at her as she walked to his side, looking over his shoulder into the alley way below. He pointed and she followed his direction, eyes narrowing as they locked onto a figure slumped against one of the building walls. She looked down at the green teen again, briefly allowing a confused expression to mold across her face. "…yeah?"
BB glanced up at her, flicking his ears as the rain trickled across them. "It could be the rain messing up my nose, but…it smells like Roy."
The two stared at each other, Phantom's eyes gradually narrowing as she slowly pulled her gaze away to stare back into the alley. She remained where she was for a few more second before pulling away and starting back towards the center of the roof. "Lovely night to be sitting around in the middle of—BB? …--hey!"
The shapeshifter was already over the ledge in the form of a monkey, swinging himself down onto a fire escape. Phantom let out an annoyed huff, grinding her teeth into her tongue before jogging to the edge of the roof and also jumping over it. By the time she had reached the ground, BB had already made his way over to the figure. As she moved closer she squinted, eyeing the backpack at his side and attempting to take in the details of his face. The shadow from the hoodie made it difficult, but…that was Harper, alright. Her shoulders gradually rose but she forced them back down as questions began to flood her mind. He had been acting so…strange lately. And now here he was in the dead of night sitting in an alley during a rainstorm? He wasn't even Speedy, he was…Roy. What was going on?
She reached a spot just a foot or so behind her shorter companion, remaining silent as BB slowly squatted and hugged his legs, trying to tilt his head to see into the boy's face.
"…Roy?"
The hooded teen quickly ducked his head a bit further, lowering it more into his arms as he snugged them over his knees. Beast Boy frowned and inched a little closer, his ears drooping.
"Dude…what are you doing out here? It's all…wet and cold and stuff. You should be at home…or at least in something water-proof."
"…go away, Gar."
The response was half-hearted. Like he wanted to sound like he meant it but…didn't. Phantom's brow furrowed a little and she almost didn't catch the glance BB tossed her over his shoulder. He turned his attention back to Roy, his frown growing.
"…c'mon, Roy, really. It's freezing out here. Why aren't you--….dude." Phantom pulled her gaze off Roy again as BB broke off. The changeling was leaning forward a little more, his eyes squinted and visibly adjusting their pupils to see better in the dark of the alley. "…is…is something wrong with your eye?"
Almost immediately at the question Roy seemed to withdraw into himself, dropping his head further to try hiding his face. Phantom's eyes narrowed in an instant and she found herself also beginning to lean forward. BB let himself drop forward onto his knees and reached forward, quickly pulling away again when the other teen flinched.
"I said go away, Gar."
"Dude, I'm not going anywhere. Especially not without you. You shouldn't be out here, Roy. C'mon, at least come back to the manor with us and dry off."
Roy snorted, lifting his head enough to give BB a slight glare. Phantom quickly took advantage of the movement and swept a hand out, lightly grasping the top of his hood and pulling it back. Roy jumped slightly and reached up with a sharp 'HEY!', grabbing to move the shield back into place. But it was too late. The swollen and blackened eye on the left side of his face had already been spotted. BB gasped softly and Phantom straightened, her eyes widening a little.
"…Roy, who punched you?"
"No one pun—"
"Don't try that, Harper," Phantom took a short step forward, her eyes narrowing again. "That black eye didn't come from an amateur, they knew that they were doing. Who punched you?"
He was now looking back up at the two of them, his expression nothing but a dull glare. When he didn't answer, BB swallowed a little, sitting back on his haunches again. "Roy, please. Casper and I just want to help. We've been worried about you these past few months, dude—all of us. …c'mon, we'll get you home."
Beast Boy reached out to take his arm and stiffened when Roy jerked away. "…I can't go back there."
"What? Why?"
"…I just can't, okay? That good enough for you?"
"Dude, that's hardly even an answer—"
"It was Ollie, wasn't it?"
The two boys glanced up sharply at Phantom, BB's eyes wide and Roy's a thin glare. He slowly lowered his gaze, however, and stared down the alley…confirming her initial accusation. Beast Boy continued to stare at her in confusion, breaking his gaze only once to look back at Roy.
"B-but Ollie would ne…he wouldn't! Roy's like his--…Roy, it wasn't really…" He trailed off when the other continued to avoid eye-contact, his ears drooping to their lowest point. Phantom felt her own stomach sink a little as she continued studying Roy's face. …why would Ollie punch you? What did you do? Her eyes trailed slowly to the backpack at his side.
"…are you going to tell us why Ollie punched you, Roy?" She asked carefully, pulling her gaze back to him. "Or are you going to leave us hanging like you have with everything else?"
He looked back to her, his eyes locked in a weak glower. Her expression hardened in return. BB glanced between them, giving Phantom a steady stare and gradually turning to look at Roy again.
"…Roy, please. We're your friends, we want to help you," he said gently, his face softening as Roy's eyes slid in his direction. "…you can trust us."
There were several seconds of silence. Roy finally looked away from him again, but slowly reached to his side and shoved his backpack towards the changeling. BB stared at it for a moment before dragging it the rest of the way to him and unzipping it. Roy shrunk further against the wall and Phantom reframed from biting her lip. Something was very wrong here. There was a short, sudden gasp from Beast Boy, causing her to look down sharply. What he held in his hand caused her to gasp as well. A lone syringe and a small pack of an unmistakable black substance sat in the palm of his glove. It took the two a moment to react, both struck dumb. Finally, BB looked up, his expression crumbled and confused.
"…Roy…y…you can't be serious…"
The redhead sunk further into himself. Beast Boy let the syringe and packet fall back into the backpack, his head ducking a little. As the silence continued it only seemed to become more and more agonizing. Phantom glanced between the two, waiting for someone to say something or give some sort of answer. When none came…
"Harper, what …what were you thinking?" She asked, her tone exasperated. "That this would…help you with whatever you've been…? This is…--this is illegal, i-it's dangerous—Roy, it could kill you!"
He flinched sharply, his expression hardening as he glared off into the wall. Beast Boy glanced back at her, lightly nudging at her knee with his elbow. "Casper!"
"…that doesn't sound so bad at the moment," Roy muttered lowly. Phantom straightened and BB whipped back around to him, his eyes thinning.
"Dude, don't say th—"
"You know what, Roy?" Phan interrupted, taking a single step closer. Roy turned his head just enough to give her a side-glare. Her expression hardened as her lips drew back a bit. "If you really feel that way? …Fine. If the fact that we—all of us—have been trying to help you and figure out what's been up with you lately means nothing to you, then…--I don't…just. …Fine."
"Fine!" He shot back, his eyes flashing for a split second. "I don't need your freaking help anyway!"
"Good! Because I'm not interested!"
The two turned away from each other, Phantom growling shortly as she started back down the alley. Beast Boy quickly stood up, looking from one to the other before holding his hands up as he faced Roy. "Dude, just..—don't move, stay there, please."
Roy snorted and glared back into the wall, flinching a little as he wrapped his arms back over his knees. BB's ears drooped again, but he turned on his heels and quickly jogged down the alley, catching up to Phantom as she rounded the building corner. He yelped a little as his shoes slipped in a slick puddle, throwing an arm out to catch himself on the brick. "Casper, wait! Please! We can't just leave him out here!"
"Someone will find him after they realize he's been missing," she answered, not even glancing over her shoulder or breaking her pace. BB grunted as he straightened himself, continuing just behind the tail of her cape.
"It might be too late by then!"
"Unless he overdoses, he'll be fine. That chunk of tar was big enough to last him a few days."
"…how can you say that?"
She whipped around sharply, her eyes narrowing in a second. "Because I don't have any reason to help him, Beast Boy! He won't talk to us. Won't listen to us. Won't give us two cents of information to even let us help him through whatever the heck has been happening to him over the course of these few months—let alone shown any desire to receive help! He's been in the hospital three times, BB—THREE times, and keeps saying he doesn't remember anything! …which I don't buy at all. Obviously he doesn't want our help…I'm respecting that."
Beast Boy stopped walking, his jaw dropping a little as he watched her turn back around and continue walking down the alley. His arms hung limply at his sides and for a moment he found himself too dumbfounded to think of anything to say back. He inhaled slowly, his fingers suddenly balling themselves into loose fists.
"We've already lost Tara and Jason, Casper!"
Phantom's curt steps came to an immediate halt.
"I know you were still mad at Tara when she—" he cut off, swallowing back a break in his voice. "…--and you and Jason didn't always get along, but he obviously meant something to you 'cause you tried to help him find his mom! And you and Bruce were heart broken when you found him. …But if we leave Roy back there, he might be next! –He opened up to us, Casper—even if it wasn't much, he still showed us that! If he really didn't want our help, he wouldn't have bothered! What if this was the last time he was willing to do that? Ollie obviously isn't going to help him right now! And if we don't, then who will? … I don't want to lose another Titan…a-another friend! Especially to something as stupid as this! And I know somewhere in there—even though you guys don't really like each other--, you don't want to, either."
His words almost seemed to echo through the rain that continued to fall into the alley. Phantom found herself frozen where she stood, eyes locked on the ground. The burned images of Jason's bloodied and broken body slowly began to resurface from where she thought she had hidden them. Batman's remorseful face. That cold, surreal feeling in the pit of her stomach and the tightened clutch in her throat. She swallowed subconsciously, her own fists balling up before dropping limp. She slowly glanced over her shoulder. Beast Boy's head was ducked, his arms hugged against his chest. With the rain pouring, she couldn't tell if his eyes were watering or just red from the wind chill. Regardless, she felt herself deflate at the sight. It took a few more seconds but Phantom finally walked towards him, resting her hand on his shoulder once she reached his side. He tilted his head just enough to peek at her from the corner of his eye. She inhaled slowly, giving his shoulder a small squeeze.
"…you're right…"
His ears raised a little and he straightened, watching as she passed him and continued back down the alley and around the corner of the old building. Roy was still huddled against the wall across from the turn, his eyes half-focused on the street far ahead of him. Phantom sighed inwardly, giving her shoulders a small roll as she neared him. Even though he didn't look at her, she noticed him tense up, his fingers digging a bit more into his upper arms.
"…what do you want?"
Phantom stiffened a moment, trying to retain her reflexive urge to snap back. "Change of plans. …I may not want to help you, Harper, but…you're not getting out of this ditch on your own. You need someone to help dig you out of this."
"Tch," he snorted, side-glancing her. "Yeah? Awesome. You just seem so damn excited to 'fix' me."
Her mouth opened and she barely stopped the words from coming out. His eyes were locked on her now, probably just waiting for that determining move. She could feel Beast Boy watching them from that alley but knew she couldn't look back at him. Not now. She inhaled slowly, forcing her short temper aside and slowly lowering into a kneel so she was eye level.
"…let me put it a different way, then, Harper," she muttered lowly, trying to keep her tone from becoming too stern. "…do you want to get out of this crap and live, or do you want to die? Sorry if the lack of a third door is inconvenient for you."
He stared at her, his hardened green eyes seeming to bore into hers despite the signs of fatigue around them. She stared right back, studying his face and trying to read ahead of his answer. When no response came for nearly half a minute she slowly put out her hand. He seemed to shrink away from it at first.
"…no one else has to know, Roy," she said, her voice somehow softening. "This can be just within our circle…me, you, Gar and…one other person."
His expression immediately withdrew back into its defensive state. "…who?"
"…you'll just have to trust me when I say I know she'll help you, Roy. I know she will."
His gaze remained closed to that trust as he half-heartly glared back at her. She fought to keep hers from hardening again or showing any signs of irritation. Then, for hardly a second, it was as if something clicked. His face fell a little as his eyes traveled back to her hand and locked onto it; the mental debate became more evident on his face. She opened her hand a bit more, inching it a little closer. A few more seconds trickled by as the water pooled in her gloved palm…and then he reached out hesitantly, closing his hand over hers. She surprised herself when she caught a ghost of a smile fade over her lips and she pushed to her feet, gently guiding him with her. He cringed a little, gripping his held arm with his free hand and forcing a grunt down his throat. As he rubbed his face she glanced over her shoulder, watching Beast Boy make his way back to them. Roy briefly looked at him as well before shifting his hoodie back over his head. BB frowned a little, reaching up and gently patting his arm.
"…hang in there, dude. We're gonna get you through this…promise."
Roy flinched at the touch, rubbing at his arm before folding them. "…yeah. ….great."