Disclaimers: I own nothing!
For Roy Harper, it had been hard the past six months, he walked away from his team, his mentor kicked him out of the house, he was forced to get a job, start renting an apartment, and try to make ends meet. Today was important, however, Roy had finally got excepted into a small university close to where he once lived, and today was his first day. He made his way to his dorm, setting down a few of the boxes that contained items of his. He had started to set up his room and had gone through the boxes rather quickly (he didn't have much) but when he got to the last box he soon realized it was not one that he had packed. Pulling it open slowly, Roy discovered it was filled with pictures. He began to leaf through them.
"Look at this photograph
Every time I do it makes me laugh
How did our eyes get so red?
And what the hell is on Wally's head?"
The first picture he picked up was taken 2 years ago at Flash's new year's eve party. Iris had forgotten to take the flash of the camera, causing Dick, Wally, and Roy to have red eyes in the photo. Wally had some goofy hat on, or at least if you turned the picture side ways, closed your eyes, was actually there when it was taken and asked Wally what it was, you'd know it was a hat.
"And this is where I grew up
I think that Ollie fixed it up
I never knew we'd ever went without
The second floor is hard for sneaking out."
The picture to follow was of Oliver's house. Roy had just moved in when the picture was taken. Dinah had taken it. She thought it was important to remind Roy where he lived now. Though Roy did constantly try sneaking out, he was always caught, more so because his room was on the second floor, and all trees he could climb down stretched higher than that.
"And this is where I went to school
Most of the time had better things to do
Criminal record says I've broke in twice
I must have done it half a dozen times."
The next photo was taken by Oliver on Roy's first day at his new school. Though Roy didn't want his picture taken, Oliver had snapped one just as Roy turned to walk inside. And even though it was a good school, Roy had better things to do, like fighting as Speedy, or running off to Gotham and Central City to pound the crap out of who ever hurt Dick or Wally in anyway, shape, or form. And no matter what criminal records says, Roy has never broke into that hell hole, he simply put it as late night education, usually didn't get him off the hook, but still.
"I wonder if it's too late
Should I go back and try to graduate?
Life's better now than it was back then
If I was them I wouldn't let me in."
It's true, Roy never graduated high school. He wouldn't try to either, that stupid school probably wouldn't let him in anyway. That's why it was so hard to get into college and yet somehow he did.
"Oh oh oh
Oh God I
Every memory of looking out the back door
I have the photo album spread out on my dorm room floor
It's hard to say it, time to say it
Goodbye, goodbye
Every memory of walking out the front door
I found the photo of the friend that I was looking for
It's hard to say it, time to say it
Goodbye, goodbye
Goodbye..."
"Remember the old arcade?
Blew every dollar that we ever made
The cops hated us hanging out
They said somebody went and burned it down.."
Roy was now skimming a picture of 'The Underground', an old arcade he used to hang out at. It was later burned down, but when it still stood, even after Roy moved in with Oliver, he'd spend every dollar he ever made fixing bikes at that place. Though the cops hated seeing him everyday, he simply didn't care. T.U. was like a second home to him.
"We used to listen to the radio
And sing along with every song we know
We said someday we'd find out how if feels
To sing to more than just the steering wheel."
The old Honda Oliver owned stood glossed over in this scene. When Oliver was preparing to scrap the car that no longer ran, Roy had taken a picture so he could find the car when he went to rescue it that night. It was the family van, it held many memories for him, like when he and Oliver, even Dinah, Dick, or Wally, if they were with them, would sing along with the radio, joking about how they could be the next big thing. Though the saving was unsuccessful and Roy almost didn't make it out either, he still managed to recover the steering wheel, which now took it's place in his bright red pick up truck.
"Jade's the first girl I kissed
I was so nervous that I nearly missed
She's been in jail a couple of times since then
I haven't seen her since God knows when."
Jade (he couldn't quite remember her last name) was in the next photo, looking as though she wanted to be anywhere but where they were. They were at a house party, and little did either of them know, that was gonna be the night they kissed. Some idiot called spin the bottle and the game began. The bottle landed on Roy, and he just wanting to get it over with and choose the perfect person to have his first kiss (un-known to anyone at the party) he chose Jade. It was a small peck on the lips, but it meant a lot to the Roy, even if Jade didn't feel the same way. And though Roy hadn't seen her in years, he has seen Cheshire almost every night, trying to get her back in jail.
"Oh oh oh
Oh God I
Every memory of looking out the back door
I have the photo album spread out on my bedroom floor
It's hard to say it, time to say it
Goodbye, goodbye
Every memory of walking out the front door
I found the photo of the friend that I was looking for
It's hard to say it, time to say it
Goodbye, goodbye..."
"I miss that town
I miss their faces
You can't erase
You can't replace it
I miss it now
I can't believe it
So hard to stay
Too hard to leave it.."
At this point, Roy couldn't look at anymore pictures, it hurt to much. Though he was trying to start new, all the people, the town he once lived in, everything, couldn't just simply be erased. He missed it all deeply, realizing while it was hard to stay it was just as hard to leave it all.
"If I could I relive those days
I know the one thing that would never change
Every memory of looking out the back door
I have the photo album spread out on my bedroom floor
It's hard to say it, time to say it
Goodbye, goodbye
Every memory of walking out the front door
I found the photo of the friend that I was looking for
It's hard to say it, time to say it
Goodbye, goodbye
Look at this photograph
Every time I do it makes me laugh
Every time I do it makes me..."
Picking up one final picture, making it the last and decided to save the rest of the photos for when he calmed down later, Roy held it so it was eye level. The keepsake was of him and his family. His adoptive dad, mother figure, friends he came to know as brothers, their adoptive dads, who were more like uncles or third fathers to him, and their girlfriends at the time, all smiling, standing in front of a cottage where they had taken a vacation at. On the back of the photo there was a messaged scribbled in.
~Couldn't let you take off to college without your photos. Visit soon, okay? We all miss you! See you soon. With love,
Oliver, Dinah, Dick, Wally, Bruce, Barry, Iris, and Diana~
Roy bit his lip as he slid the photo into his pocket and slowly left his bed and headed for the door. He forgot to do something. He had forgotten to say goodbye before he left.