Chapter 1: Heartbreak
The words still rang in his ears as he rushed outside to meet up with Robin.
But part of him also wanted to escape those words and the surrounding he found himself in.
'Things change…'
He shoved the door of Murakami High school open and was faced with bright sunshine burning down on him and suddenly he felt a sudden urge to scream all his frustration at the sun that dared to smile so warmly upon him.
But he only bit his lip, trying to focus on the matter at hand – his team was in trouble.
Morphing into a dove, Beast Boy pushed everything that had happened just a moment ago out of his mind and took off into the air.
Or at least tried to.
It didn't take him long to find the location of his friends and returned to human form in front of an abandoned building.
Dust covered the first floor as it slowly escaped from the shattered windows.
"Where's the problem?" he asked, clenching his fists as a signal that he was ready to fight.
Robin approached the shape-shifter and the changeling noticed that he sustained minor wounds. "Not here," he answered bluntly, dusting himself off.
"What do you mean?"
"You took too long with whatever you were doing and that giant metal can just got bored and took off," Cyborg joined in and Beast Boy saw that he also seemed unharmed for most of the part.
"Metal can? So…was it a robot? Or maybe an android?" he asked curiously.
"Whatever it was…it managed to take us on," Raven said this time, having come up from behind an overturned car.
"And why are you guys just standing there?" the shape-shifter complained before a hand stopped him.
"It is already too late," Starfire said, shaking her head.
"We can still catch up to it! By the looks of it, it's still around somewhere," Beast Boy persisted as he moved away from Starfire's hand.
"No, Beast Boy. It escaped in the confusion of the dust," Raven said but the shape-shifter tried to convince his team one last time.
"So what? What villain didn't we catch that tried to escape?"
"This one!" Robin said loudly, indicating that there was no argument anymore and turned towards the T-car before the others followed their leader.
Beast Boy crossed his arms, unhappy at being ignored before he reluctantly followed. He felt his anger fading as the unnatural silence filled the T-car on the way back to the tower…until Robin spoke up.
"Can I ask you something Beast Boy?"
The changeling faced the seat of the Boy Wonder and as if sensing the motion, Robin continued.
"Where were you? It's…not like you to avoid any mission," he said, turning slightly towards the young titan.
With those words, the memories from this morning came back – and with it, all the anger that resulted from it.
"I…was busy," the green boy said slowly, wishing for the silence to fill the car again.
"What could have caused you to be too busy to answer your communicator?" Robin said in a low voice, as if he wasn't sure if it was alright to ask this question.
The face of a blonde-haired girl filled his vision as the horrid words that destroyed everything they had together haunted his mind again.
Things change…things change…
"Stop it."
The raven-haired girl next to him gave an intrigued glance at the shape-shifter, hearing him growl his dislike towards his leader's nosiness.
"I have to know what caused your absence when we needed you," Robin urged on and Beast Boy found himself looking away from his leader.
"I…don't know why you think it would have made any difference," the shape-shifter mumbled under his breath.
"It might not have made a difference mission-wise but at least we know that you still got our back."
"What makes you think that I haven't?"
"I don't think that…but you seemed off lately – like something's keeping you occupied."
"I'm fine."
"You don't sound like that to me," Robin said, his voice getting slightly softer but Beast Boy didn't catch on it.
"Then you gotta get your ears checked," he retorted and Cyborg decided to come to Robin's defense.
"We're worried about you, man."
"You're worrying about nothing. I told you I'm fine," he said, his voice rising only slightly before he glanced out of the window, hoping the scenery could change his mood.
Seeing that their words wouldn't get much out of the green titan, Cyborg and Robin exchanged worried glances for a moment.
Before they managed to say something that would no doubt worsen the changeling's mood, Raven intervened.
"It just takes some time. It wouldn't be wise if you keep barging in his business."
Beast Boy glanced at her from the window-pane…but no smile formed on his lips.
No. He frowned.
Did she know what had just happened?
Did she know that their friend had been brought back from oblivion only to obliterate herself?
Did she know that Terra just moved out of his life – and that no amount of time could bring her back?
He pressed his forehead against the cool glass of the window-pane, hoping it was enough to cool his anger at least for a while.
Raven glanced at the shape-shifter in silent worry, hoping her words were not a lie.
After a few passing moments, the team arrived at the tower and had lunch, all of them eagerly devouring the strips of meat that Cyborg had prepared.
"I'm not that hungry. Cy, you can have my lunch," the changeling muttered and went to his room.
"You know tofu's not-"
The half-robot looked to Raven for support as his words were not fast enough to reach his friend's ears.
"He'll be fine. Just give him some space."
With that said, all resumed eating in silence.
Meanwhile the changeling was sprawled on his bed, his eyes staring at the ceiling.
It was strange that only some time ago he thought that he somehow got the respect he deserved – he thought he had finally gained Robin's approval.
But it seemed that even after saving most of the heroes' butts, he still had a long way to go – for Robin's and maybe even Mento's approval.
Ever since the all-out attack of the Brotherhood of Evil, he hasn't really heard anything from his team…and for a moment he wondered if their leader was too occupied to bother giving their former teammate a call.
He normally managed not to let his former team get on his mind…but after what happened today, he felt like he needed some kind of support.
So he sat up and pulled out his communicator, deciding to leave a message for Rita since she seemed the closest to him and awkwardly suggested for a meet up when things have calmed down on both their ends.
His eyes rested on the yellow device and he felt a mixture of sadness, anger and longing pull at him and he dropped the device carelessly onto his bed before getting up.
Hiding in his room wouldn't make things better and he took a deep breath, realizing he was starting to get hungry. And just as he turned away…he noticed a very familiar item on his table and stopped in his tracks.
It was the heart-shaped box he made for Terra.
The item that caused him to go on a date with her – the item that inevitably led to her betrayal and ultimately her petrification.
But what had suddenly made him boil with heated anger was the fact…that it was this item that she had dismissed with a disinterested 'it's cute' only yesterday.
He didn't realize that while the memories of yesterday replayed in his mind, he had stepped over to his table and grabbed the gift with a trembling hand.
How could she do this to him?
How could she pretend that she didn't remember anything when seeing the object that had started all they had shared?
And then her voice answered his question.
"The girl you want me to be is just a memory."
This was all there was left for him to snap – the push needed for him to let his emotions take control.
With a vicious cry he flung the damned object towards the opposite wall.
The silver box shattered the instant it hit the wall – and Beast Boy shattered with it.
"I hate you!" he screamed at the girl in his head before his eyes frantically searched his table again, pulling open drawers and flinging papers, comic books, and pencils off his table.
His eyes seemed to come to a stop, seeing that he found what he was looking for – a strip of film.
It wasn't just any strip of film, however – the beating in his chest doubled, seeing that on all photos that ran along the strip…he was displayed with a certain blonde-haired girl.
A girl that was just a memory…
And all feelings that had sparked between them at the amusement park were fake – he had loved a girl that in the end felt nothing for him.
He had been lied to – from the day she had returned after she had run away until her supposed 'memory loss.'
He snatched the strip from the table before he proceeded to rip it into shreds, strangely feeling Goosebumps run up and down his body, hearing the paper tear so easily in his almost shaking hands.
Clutching the ripped remains in his gloved hand, he proceeded to throw them out of the window, not even bothering to watch if they really dropped into the sea before his eyes locked on the last object of hatred.
He walked over to his bed and flipped over his pillow, grabbing a silver ornament before walking over to his window.
Taking a last glance at Terra's silver butterfly hairclip, he clutched it tightly, as if to crush it in his hand before swinging his arm, letting the hairclip fly out of the window – almost as if freeing a real butterfly from captivity.
Only this butterfly kept dropping into the sea.
Beast Boy clenched his teeth, imagining that girl's face hopefully for the last time. "Are you happy now?" he cried angrily.
"Beast Boy?"
The shape-shifter flinched and turned to see his team giving worried glances at him and he turned away, facing the shattered heart box on the floor.
"I'm fine," he mumbled, feeling something wet trail down his face.
But he knew he was as broken as the gift in front of him.