Chapter 28: Shattered
EleXir pulled off her mask slowly. She then held the dreaded object at her side and dropped it to the ground. It was as if the mask was falling in slow motion. Not only was the mask falling, but so were all the shitty memories along with it. But most importantly, EleXir was falling with it.
The mask fell with a loud crack and she knew it had broken a little. but she could care less. Her face was hard to make out in the darkness but she moved forward so that the moonlight shone on her face, clear and bright. They knew exactly who it was.
At first, everyone just stared in complete and utter shock at her. But then, Roy began making his way towards her, his mouth agape. She didn't bother to wipe away the tears because she knew they'd come right back.
"No...Jade..." Roy whispered.
"I'm so sorry." Jade chocked out for everyone to hear, especially Roy. Her green eyes glistened with tears that were threatening to spill over at any moment.
"This can't be..." Karen said as she stepped forward. "Tell me you haven't really betrayed us."
"You're supposed to be our friend!" Jenny screamed with tears rushing down her eyes. Wally held his girlfriend back and she clutched his arm. She pushed him back and ran up to Jade so they were face to face. "I can't believe you!" Jenny screamed, "You're a backstabbing liar! How could you!?" At this point, the pink haired girl had hot tears running down her face and Wally rushed to her in less than a second. He pulled her back and Jade sobbed harder.
"Please, please just hear me out! I-
"No excuses Jade." Richard said sternly, his voice boomed and it made Jade jump.
"But I can explain. Please!-
"How could you!?" Roy had dropped his bow and his voice was full of hate. Jade flinched and was now full on crying. He'd never yelled at her like this before. "I trusted you! We all did! How could you...especially with Slade!?"
"That's just it! I didn't want to. He forced me to work with him! You got to believe me." She stepped forward and took one of Roy's hands. He snatched it back and she stared disbelievingly at her own hand.
"You're a traitor, a liar, and you don't deserve our friendship." Roy's words stung like a million little needles poking into your skin.
She looked up to see Roy walking away to join the rest of the team. They all stood together, some teary eyed, some actually crying, and others held a look of pure disgust. Jade had never felt so bad in her life.
"Please! Just wait!" Jade pleaded rushing towards them but Rachel held out her hand and formed a wall to block her.
"You're no longer a Titan, you're no longer one of us, You're no longer our friend, Jade." Richard said and looked at Rachel. "Take us home."
And just like that, they were gone. Leaving a cold, sobbing Jade behind, sad, angry, and all alone.
TT
It had been a couple of weeks since the incident with Jade. It was now the middle of April and school would be ending soon. Everyone was thankful for the warm, sunny weather that has been brought to them and today, on a Sunday morning, Roy decided to go for a walk at the JC park's walking track.
He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jacket. He was still pretty heartbroken over Jade and none of them had talked to her since then. He could tell she was miserable but he barely cared. She betrayed them. And for who? Slade.
He walked over to the swing set at the park. He sat in one a gently swayed back and forth. Memories of the times him and Jade came here came rushing back.
"Higher!" Jade yelled as Roy pushed her. "You're not pushing hard enough!"
Roy pushed harder and soon, Jade was practically flying in the air. "Happy now?" He yelled to her. Her swing slowed down a bit and she jumped out.
Jade walked over to Roy and kissed him. "I'm happy."
He smiled and kissed her back. Then surprisingly he threw her over his shoulder and began to run around with her.
"AHHHH! Roy! Hahaha," she laughed uncontrollably. "Eep! Put me down!"
"I don't think so!" He began to run towards the fountain in the middle of JC park.
Jade figured out where this was going and started to tickle Roy. He began to spaz out and laugh. Soon, they were both laughing.
Roy set her down and brushed back her hair, "Promise me something Jade."
"Anything." She replied and she tangled her fingers in his hair.
"Promise me we'll always be best friends no matter what."
She stared at him and smiled. "I promise Roy."
'I promise Roy.' Her words rang throughout his head and he smiled a small smile at the memory. He felt a tear run down his cheek and saw it splash onto his hands.
He'd never been so depressed in his life. He loved Jade still, but he was so hurt it was hard to look at her. She was his first love and his first actual relationship. He knew they were still so young but it's crazy how someone who broke your heart could leave you with so many great memories.
He let the tears flow freely and then he heard a swing move beside him. He turned his head and saw a girl who looked to be about their age. She had dark brown hair that was wavy and reached down to her mid back. Her blue eyes were the color of a clear blue ocean and she had a few freckles scattered across her nose.
"Hey, are you okay?" The girl asked when she saw Roy crying.
His face flushed red of embarrassment. He nodded his head and said, "Yeah..my uh..dog died."
She stared at him and started to laugh lightly. He looked at her in surprise. She shook her head and then said, "Sorry, I don't mean to laugh. But that was a cheesy lie." She continued to laugh and Roy blinked a few times.
He then started to laugh a little. It seemed like its been years since he's smiled. "Sorry...it's just this girl..." He looked down solemnly again and his smile quickly vanished.
The girl stopped laughing and looked out into the distance. "Oh," she commented and it sounded like a small whisper. "I'm sorry..."
"It's okay..."
They sat there in silence and he looked at her again. She was cute. And she had a cute little voice too. She also looked familiar for some odd reason. But he's never seen her around here before. He held out his hand and said, "I'm Roy Harper."
She shook his hand and smiled. "Katherine Mailey. But you can call me Kat."
He half smiled and replied, "Nice to meet you, Kat."
TT
Roy and Kat sat at the pizza parlor eating some pepperoni pizza. He felt that it was strange he was out with a girl he just met about an hour ago but he also felt a little happy that his mind was off of Jade for a bit.
In the one hour that he's gotten to know Kat, he came to conclusion that she was a pretty cool girl. She was homeschooled which is why he's never seen her around before and she enjoyed the outdoors a lot. Her parents were always busy so she usually got to go out often.
"So how come you for go to public school?" Roy asked as he gnawed on some crust.
She sipped her drink and waited a few seconds. "Well...it's complicated."
He gave her a questionable look. "How?"
"Well...okay promise you won't freak?"
"Yes."
She sighed and looked up at him. He raised an eyebrow in confusion an she said, "My parents don't want me to feel..suffocated around a bunch of teens." Roy blinked and was still confused so she continued, "It's because I have a lot of fans...Roy, I'm famous."
He nearly chocked on his drink. As he got to thinking, he realized she was famous and that's why she looked so familiar. Katherine Mailey, from the TV show, Spin. Spin was a comedy about a boy who always had bad luck But somehow seemed to end the day with a happy played one of the main characters known as Heaven and was also The main guy's crush/best friend. It was a pretty popular TV show.
"Holy crap!" Roy yelled, "You're Heaven!"
She shushed him and noticed a few people stare. "Yeah! And I'd like to keep a low profile!"
He cringed and said, "Sorry." Then he added, "What the heck are you doing in Jump City?"
"I'm on vacation." She replied and ate some more pizza. "I go back to LA at the end if May."
For some reason, Roy got a little sad when he heard this. "Oh...well it's pretty cool you're here out of all places...why are you at Jump City anyway?"
She laughed and said, "My mom's family lives here."
"Ohhh. Makes sense." Roy glanced at his phone and noticed it was almost time for training practice. He really didn't want to go though.
"Well I got to get going..."
Kat frowned and took out her phone. "Can I get your number? Maybe we can hang out again. Today was fun."
Roy felt honored to be putting his number in Katherine Mailey's phone. As he did so, his mind wondered to Jade again. For some odd reason he felt as if he was cheating on her...but they weren't even together.
"Thanks," Kat smiled and got up. Her driver was outside waiting for her. "I had fun today, I'll text you okay?"
Roy got up and stuffed his hands in his athletic shorts. "Sure. Bye, Kat." She smiled at him and waved goodbye. Just before she walked out she turned around and said, "Please don't tell anyone you met me today. Word spreads fast."
He smiled and walked up to her and held the door open. "I won't, I understand."
"Okay, thanks Roy." She smiled one last time and left. He watched her leaving figure and felt better about today. He'd not only me Kat Mailey, a famous actress, but he also made a new friend.
TT
Jade walked down the sidewalk of her neighborhood. She had her arms crossed due to the slightly breezy weather. She didn't bother to put on a jacket since she had a long sleeved white shirt with a pink scarf and blue jeans. But she kind of regretted it right now.
Her thoughts seemed to always lead back to her not having any friends. She had never been so depressed and sad in her life. She just wanted them to listen, to hear her out. But no one, not even Kori who was the sweetest girl ever, would listen.
As she came to the end of the street she started to cry. "Ugh, stop crying!" She wiped away the tears and forced herself to be strong.
Jade decided to head home and sulk in her room. Nothing would make her feel better. The only thing she wanted was her friends back, to be a part of the team, and she wanted Roy back.
Thinking this, she now understood they way he felt when they broke up. She had broken up with him because he'd changed and he felt betrayed. That's exactly why, at this point in time, she had no friends.
When she approached her house she took out her house key from the brown satchel she'd had hanging on her shoulder. Sticking the key in the hole, she pushed the red door open only to meet the eyes of a familiar redhead.
"Hi." Kori stood up from where she was sitting on the leather couch. "I..your mom let me in." She said.
Jade shut the door and stuck some hair behind her ear. "No, no it's totally fine...I, uh...do you want anything to drink?" Jade replied trying to be as nice as possible.
Kori moved around the couch and held her hands together in front of her. "Actually, I wanted to talk."
Jade felt a wave of hope wash over her. She immediately said, "Sure any thing. Lets...sit down?"
Kori nodded and her and Jade made there way to the dining room where they sat at. After they were situated, it was quiet. Silence engulfed the two teens and it was sort of awkward. After a few minutes passed by, Kori finally said, "I want to know why. Why did you betray us?"
Jade's eyes filled with sorrow and she looked down. "I only did it to protect you guys." She barely spoke above a whisper. She didn't care if her mom heard, her mom knew everything.
"Protect us from what?" Kori asked whiled placing a hand on top of Jade's shoulder.
"From Slade. Kori, he is a cruel, cruel man. And you have no idea what he's capable of."
"What was his threat?"
"He told me if I didn't do what he said he would take you all down one by one in some way of harm." She started to speak a little louder. When she looked up she noticed Kori's fearful expression.
"Why didn't you just tell us?" She asked. Her voice was faltering slightly.
"I was too scared...he would've found out somehow." Realization dawned on the Asian beauty that she'd disobeyed Slade and she quickly said. "Now that I quit on him, who knows what his next move is. For all I know, he could possibly even..."
Kori shook her head, knowing exactly what Jade was thinking. Death.
"No," Kori started as she looked Jade in the eyes. "He won't. I promise...I understand Jade."
Jade looked up with fresh tears in her eyes. She sniffed and said, "You do?"
Kori smiled and nodded. "Yes. I probably would've done the same thing if I was in your place. Although, Richard would've found out sooner or later and not only would he have been heartbroken but he would've killed Slade." She laughed at her own statement.
Jade laughed and wiped the tears away, "So do you forgive me?"
Kori nodded, "Yes I do. I miss my Jade."
Jade laughed and tears of happiness came running down her rosy cheeks. "Thank God. I've been so lonely. If only the others.." Her voice trailed off.
"I know...I'll help you out." Kori said and stood up.
Jade looked up curiously. "What do you mean? None of them will even look at me.."
"I know...we'll think of something okay? None of them even know I'm here right now." She shrugged as if it weren't a big deal.
Jade nodded and hugged Kori tightly. She was lucky to have someone like her. "Thank you so much Kor." She sniffed and Kori smiled as she hugged her back.
"Anytime."
TT
"She betrayed you, Slade." Red X said. "And you're just gonna let we go!?" He slammed his fists on the table in front of him.
Slade walked up to the table slowly with his hands behind his back. Behind him were frozen images of all the teen Titans. Even the ones outside of Jump City.
"In time, my boy, we will get our revenge."
Red X growled and looked at the screens that held Kori's perfect face. In one of them, she was walking home from school in a cute sundress. Her hair was curly and the sun was shining down on her face. It made her look like an angel.
"Leave Kori out of whatever your planning." Red X said in a stern voice.
Slade laughed and looked at the screen that held Kori's perfect image, "You silly boy. Can't you see she'll never like you? She's in love with Richard Grayson."
Red X clenched his fists and turned his back on Slade. "I don't care. I care about her."
"Don't get too attached. Soon, she will be nothing to you."
Red X started to walk out of the door. He turned back around and held his mask in one hand. "Kind of like you are now."
And he walked out.
Slade chuckled and looked back at the screen. "You have no idea what I'm capable of."
