~RavensMind~
Chapter 2: Two Movies
Dropping off Robin and Raven was no problem and Terra was happy to do it, as it got her out of the tower without needing an excuse. There were a few reasons why a getaway was something she desperately needed. Between the five of them, they made enough noise to get on each other's nerves occasionally and have fun, but with the additional guests – it was more than enough, and made her feel like running. Beast Boy was the other reason. She shook her head as she drove through the city and whipped the T-car around a corner. Didn't need to keep thinking about that, it was stupid, he was stupid, but she would get over it – she hoped.
Perfect night for a movie, she thought, as she navigated the T-car through the streets toward the movie theatre. Cyborg had upgraded the car since she'd been in it last, she could tell, as she cranked the wheel and soundlessly skidded around a corner and straightening out with little effort.
She sped past a bookstore and recalled her reunion with the team, or at least one of them. She needed a book for an english class and had gone to the closest bookstore. Of course it had to be Raven's favorite bookstore, dark and filled wall to wall with full bookcases. It took forever to find the novel she needed, but once she finally snagged it - she rushed to the front to buy it. Ran smack into a stack of levitating books that floated in front of her old teammate. Terra was the one to hit the floor, as Raven's power held the books firm.
Terra may have been able to fool Beast Boy by pretending to be someone else, but Raven had sensed it was her. At first, the two said nothing, Raven just gazed down at her in surprise. Terra made to get up and accepted Raven's hand to help her rise.
"Find what you were looking for?" Raven had asked.
"Huh?" Terra had replied.
She didn't in a million years expect that as the reaction she'd receive, especially after how relentless Beast Boy had been in his attempts to get her back. Despite the few extra inches in height and longer hair, Terra noticed that Raven's appearance hadn't changed much over the last few years Raven gave Terra a small smile and asked again.
"I said, did you find what you were looking for, Terra?" Raven had asked.
"Yeah, I did. Uh, so, how are things?" Terra asked.
"Peaceful. It's more than I deserve. The old criminals are gone, frozen in time or locked away. My father and emotions can't control me anymore. A lot has happened. What about you?"
"That's awesome! I've been good, it's my last semester of senior year, so I'm kinda stressed."
"I'm happy for you and a little jealous. You get to have the normal life. Know what you'll do after graduation yet?"
"Not really, college could be cool, but I'm still figuring out what I'd study, ya know?"
"I guess so. Well, if you can't decide, or if you need some help with anything...you know where to find us."
"Like a giant T is hard to forget about?"
"You'd be surprised, I had to give directions to Kid Flash once, and he'd already been to the tower before. He ran too fast to look around and notice our tower. Embarrassing."
"I'll keep it in mind," she chuckled, "I guess Beast Boy isn't interested in getting me back?"
"Oh, he'd die if I told him I spoke to you, which is why I'm going to save it to tell him for a moment when he really pisses me off. He misses you, but accepts your decision not to come back. He ran into your brother and he gets it now."
"My brother was here?!"
"Yeah. Beast Boy wasn't the only one concerned about you, I wasn't even sure it was you until I heard about that."
"Guess I better talk to him."
"Up to you, this is your life now, and I don't want to drag you back into anything… I should go, I've kept you for too long."
"No, it's cool, I've got time. Was good to see you again, and hey, I know it...might not mean much now," Terra said slowly, "but I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for what I did and said to all of you."
"I forgave you a long time ago Terra... we all did. Some of us just want to see you come home, but I know better. You make your own choices. I'll be happy either way," Raven said.
"That means so much, but...wait, you don't care what I do?"
"No, I care a lot... but it's not my place to tell you what to do."
"So, you miss me too?"
"See you around, Terra," Raven said.
Raven had offered her a small smile and then walked off with her floating stack of books toward the cashier. Terra started after her, then stopped herself. She stood in between two bookshelves and watched as Raven paid and then left without another word or look. It had been hard not to run after her and demand an answer, but knew in her heart, Raven wouldn't give her one unless she came back to the team. Instead, she glanced down at her book, and saw the last few years of her life seep out of the cover art. She sighed and strolled to the cashier to pay. She reached for her bag and took out her wallet, but the cashier shook his head.
"Not necessary miss, your friend already paid for your book," the cashier said.
"Oh, thanks," Terra replied.
"I'm not the one you should thank."
Like she had needed the reminder. Once her senior year was over, Terra had spent the summer working, applying to colleges, and not much else. One day, she had spotted Robin and Beast Boy coming out of the video store on her way home from work. They were so...them, but different, older. Robin was taller, so was Beast Boy, just not as tall. She saw Beast Boy's eyes light up when Robin said something and the way he laughed and gestured made her heart beat in a way it hadn't in a long time. That was all it took. She yelled his name and had ran over to them from her place on the street corner, and nearly tackled Beast Boy with a hug. He might have fainted from shock if Robin hadn't been there to keep him from falling back.
"Good to see you again, Terra!" Robin said with a laugh.
"Good? Good?! It's awesome to see you again! I missed you so much!" Beast Boy exclaimed as he held onto Terra.
"I missed you guys too!" Terra said.
"How have you been?" Robin asked.
"Okay I guess, working, trying to get into college, but I'm not sure what I wanna study," she replied.
"Right, Raven said you might go to college," he said.
"WHAT!? When did Raven see Terra?" Beast Boy asked.
"It's been a few months, she ran into you at the bookstore, right?" Robin asked.
"Yeah, we talked a little," she said.
"How come she didn't tell me?" Beast Boy asked.
"I don't know, all I did was ask why she got all those books that day and she told me everything," Robin replied.
"So why didn't you tell me?!" Beast Boy asked.
"I figured Raven would have told you," Robin replied.
"Grrr, gonna talk to her when we get back. So, uh, Terra, wanna hang out?" Beast Boy asked.
"Totally, just for a bit though," Terra said.
Of course it wasn't 'for a bit' and she ended up moving back into Titans Tower a week later. Cyborg and Starfire were happy to have her back, especially Starfire, who insisted on making a special dish for Terra. It took a while for Robin to believe she was staying for good, and Raven was almost as skeptical. Terra got a chance to thank Raven for the book, and an answer. She had been missed. By everybody. The hardest part was getting in tune with her powers again, but she had the whole team's support on the matter - they weren't going to take chances, and neither was she. Meditation with Raven had done wonders, and Cyborg had made a special implant to help. She was home again.
Pulling into the theatre parking lot, Terra almost forgot why she drove over here, and what movie she wanted to see. She got out and walked in between parked cars to the multiplex. She hadn't been to a movie by herself in forever, she always went with her friends, so it was nice to get to choose what to see, when, and the snacks she wanted without debates. Even though it was kids night, the place didn't seem that crowded. When she pulled the doors open and walked inside, she was surprised to see the place was pretty empty, save for a couple small lines at the concessions counter and the ticket counter.
She got a ticket for an action movie that Beast Boy had refused to see, all because the main actor had ruined one of his favorite sci-fi trilogies in a previous role. The rest of the team went to see it, but she stayed home with him to play games instead. Of course when the others got back they were talking about it like they'd never seen anything like it before. Perfect time to see it now, though, when there was no chance he'd say anything to stop her.
While getting her popcorn and soda, she noticed that another movie the team was looking forward to would be coming out next week. Wonder if we'll be talking by then, Terra thought as she walked into the seating area in front of the big screen, thinking of her fight with Beast Boy. He had been ignoring a lot of her ideas and suggestions of things to do in favor of his own and was preventing her from doing certain things, like going to see this movie. She brought it up with him and he denied that he was doing anything like it, then shot down her idea of going to the arcade in favor of his own idea to binge watch the third season of Droid Rage. She didn't yell at him, she just stopped talking to him, and it was still pissing him off four days later.
Sighing as she plopped down into a comfy red chair, she smiled quietly to herself. This would be perfect. Just her, the movie, and sweet treats. Flying solo was her style anyway. Once in awhile, she needed to remind herself that there was more to do, and she didn't always need to do things with someone else, or the same person. The previews began to play.
Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
The sliding doors parted as Starfire walked into the living room with Silkie. The first thing she noticed was Robin's absence, the second thing she noticed was the packed couch. Cyborg, Bumblebee, Beast Boy, and Kid Flash sat passing candy between them and talking. Not wanting to make a fuss, she hovered over to the kitchen without saying anything and grabbed a plate. She grabbed a few pieces of leftover pizza and put them on the plate, while letting Silkie snack on a piece of crust. Before she could escape without being noticed, Kid Flash called out to her.
"Star! There's the hottest girl in Jump, wanna join us? We're gonna watch a movie," Kid Flash said.
"Oh, um, perhaps later friends, I am not in a pleasant mood," Starfire said.
"All the more reason to stay and watch, c'mon over, Star," Cyborg chimed in.
"Yeah, I got an awesome sci-fi movie from the video store, it's called The Droid War, humans fight off this robot army that has taken over London, there's action and some kinda love story, everything you could want!" Beast Boy explained.
"I suppose I could stay and watch the movie," Starfire said.
The movie didn't do much to distract Starfire from the argument, still playing out in her mind. She wanted to run back to her room after the opening credits finished, but Kid Flash just gave her this look, and put his arm behind her along the back of the couch. It was a friendly smile, and she returned it, but why it worked to keep her there wasn't something she understood. She could go where she wanted to, yes? So why did she feel compelled to stay? The movie wasn't interesting to her, it was another of Beast Boy's braindead space action movies. Cyborg and Bumblebee would even talk over some of the dialog and everyone could still follow the plot.
After an hour, they paused to refill popcorn and drinks in the kitchen. Better than the movies, you didn't have to worry about missing anything, she thought, but there wasn't a lot to miss with this movie. Maybe she could slip away during this intermission, they wouldn't mind. She started to stand up with Silkie when Kid Flash presented her with a full popcorn bowl and her favorite soda.
"Where do you think you're going? Gonna make me eat all this myself?" Kid Flash asked with a playful smile.
"I am not in the best of moods, I should not be 'binging' on the popcorn, it would be better if I went to my room and-," Starfire said.
"Just relax Star, how often do we all get to hang together like this?" he asked.
"Not all of us are here, though," she replied, thinking of Robin.
"It's their loss and its more fun with you here," he said, "I'll go and drag them here if it means you'll relax."
"No, that's alright," she laughed, "I suppose I'll watch the rest of the movie."
"Cool! Then when it's done, you can tell me what's making the hottest girl in the city wanna run to her room," Kid Flash said.
"We shall see," she giggled.
Resuming the movie, the group was relatively quiet, save for the sounds of popcorn being munched and soda slurped. Starfire slunk back against the couch cushions and got lost in the movie, finally shelving the trouble with Robin. It helped that Kid Flash and Beast Boy kept pointing silly bits of dialog in the movie and parodying them, getting her and the others to laugh. Toward the end of the movie, Cyborg and Bumblebee checked out, saying goodnight before they went to bed.
"Party poopers," Beast Boy said with a laugh.
"We'll keep it going," Kid Flash said, "right Star?"
"Yes, we shall!" Starfire exclaimed.
"That'll wake 'em back up," Beast Boy chuckled.
"Oh, sorry," Starfire said in a softer voice.
"It's all good," Kid Flash said.
Settling back against the couch, they continued watching the movie. Overall, the plot hadn't been great, but typical for the series. The acting had been hit and miss, but it wasn't that disappointing, Starfire knew what she had gotten herself into when the Beast Boy picked the movie.
She fed Silkie some popcorn and glanced out the large windows of the tower, the lights from the city illuminated the night, and the moon was reflected perfectly in the water below the tower. She briefly wondered what tomorrow would be like before that thought was banished by Kid Flash, who put his arm out behind her on the back of the couch again.
"Hope this means there's another sequel," Beast Boy murmured as the movie's finale played out on screen.
The war had begun, and the dark heroine finally had her hero at her side, after he had left another woman.
When the film drew to a close, Beast Boy left for his room with a massive yawn. Starfire and Kid Flash stayed to clean up, and talk. Starfire explained the issues she and Robin had been having and Kid Flash listened.
"Guess he's not ready, or he thinks you're not ready. It's weird for him since he's been an 'Earth guide" for you," Kid Flash said.
"This is how relationships work, yes? The next level comes, correct?" Starfire asked.
"Not always, Star. I think he's crazy not to, but it's a decision that you have to make together, and he doesn't want to I guess," Kid Flash replied.
"What shall I do?" Starfire asked.
"Relax. Let him figure out his own stuff and do your own thing. Who knows, maybe you'll find a cool guy to chill with in the meantime," Kid Flash said with a wink.
"Perhaps, "Starfire giggled, "I am tired though, I should go to bed."
"Yeah, I am too. Wanna chat again tomorrow?" Kid Flash asked.
"Of course! And thank you...for listening."
"Anytime Star, sweet dreams!" Kid Flash said as he got up.
"Good night," Starfire said.
Grabbing Silkie, Starfire walked to the living room doors with Kid Flash. He turned off the lights and they both left the room. They went their separate ways, Kid Flash waved to Starfire, and she let Silkie wave back for her. Starfire walked to her room, trying to decide how she should best handle things with Robin the next day. Maybe she should just let him be for a while, it's not like she had gotten anywhere by confronting him as much as she had. Besides, she could hang out with the others, especially since Kid Flash and Bumblebee were visiting for another couple of weeks. Should be fun too, she thought as she walked into her room and put Silkie down. She got ready for bed and settled under the covers, anticipating the next day.