Teen Titans: The Only Way

Chapter Twelve: She's not here anymore

Disclaimer: Do ya really think they might be mine?

Charlie sat there in the darkness, not really tasting the pizza he was eating. He could tell Robin was being curt with him and he figured he knew why, his last words echoing in his head. Yeah of course they know, he thought savagely, taking another tasteless bite. I'm sure Cori was in there, weeping like there was no tomorrow and making everyone hate me for the choice I made. He paused for a moment as he chewed his food. But there might not be a tomorrow for her, some distant voice in his head shouted out. He pushed those thoughts out and got rid of the pain that was trying to creep in.

These past few hours he hadn't felt anything but the numbness that had set in some time ago; the only thought running through his mind right now was that she lied to me. Charlie finished his pizza, cleaned up, and headed down the hallway toward his room. The closer he got to Cori's room, the more his thoughts bombarded him. The realization of what had happened today finally dawned on him and he became quite morose. He suddenly stopped and found himself outside the open doorway into her room. He stepped forward to see if she was okay, an old habit he had from the very first day he met her . . .

Flashback

A 15-year-old Speedy idly walked through the halls of their complex in Metropolis as he surveyed all the rooms. It was well after midnight, but he wasn't tired. Besides, he felt like it was his personal duty as the leader to make sure everyone was all right and asleep. Well, a few of his teammates were older than him and the others he knew were fully capable of taking care of themselves, but that still left just one. This new girl Corvidia, or Cori as she said her sister used to call her long ago, had only been here for a month and she was the youngest one on the team. Cori was only twelve while most of the teenagers here were thirteen and older already; Speedy had instantly taken a liking to her ever since she helped them bust that Luthor guy with Superman and he hadn't hesitated to ask her to join Titans East immediately. She kept to herself mostly, but that didn't stop him from trying to get everything he could out of her. She was quiet, and really into meditation, but she could talk for hours if you found the right subject, like one of those horror books she was always reading.

Speedy rounded the corner and turned down the hallway that housed the only ten rooms in the East Wing, two of which were the only ones occupied. Cori had chosen the room in the middle of the hallway, directly across from the other occupant: Speedy himself. He found himself smiling a hundred-watt smile as he stood in front of her open door. She always kept it open at night, even though he said she could close it if she wanted to; he didn't care either way, but this way he could check up on her and watch her while she slept. She always looked so peaceful and beautiful, almost like a combination of a heavenly angel with the Greek goddess Aphrodite. He desperately wished that he could get the courage to ask her out; he didn't care that she was younger, to him that just made her seem all the more perfect. She was almost innocent and pure in her youth and he wanted nothing more than to claim her as his goddess, his angel.

He glanced into her bedroom and saw her lying on her back, a first edition collection of Edgar Allen Poe stories that Speedy had given her as a welcome gift strewn across her slowly moving chest. How cute, he thought, entering the room. She fell asleep reading again. He stopped at her bedside, picked up the book, walked over to her bookshelf, and placed it exactly where it was supposed to go. He went back over to her sleeping form, grabbed her covers and pulled them up over her. Then, he did something he had not the strength to do before, and he sat down next to her. He brought his hand up and pushed the stray hair away from her eyes and reveled in the way her ebony hair and pale skin glowed in the moonlight that was streaming in through her open curtains. He was so caught up in how the light was dancing across the mirror she kept on the night stand by the window that he failed to notice Cori staring back at him. He was so startled that he almost fell on the ground when she spoke.

"Speedy?" her young, yet immensely mature, voice spoke softly. "What are you doing here? Is everything all right?" Speedy pulled his hand back quickly and stood up so rushed, that he was dizzy for a second. "Oh, Cori," he said, half-whispering. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up. I was just checking to make sure everything was okay. I'll just be going now. Good night." "Wait!" Cori said quietly. "You don't have to go and didn't wake me up. I kinda knew you were here." Speedy slowly walked back over to her side and sat down next to her as she moved over to sit next to him. "Oh, you did?" he asked nervously.

"Yeah," she responded meekly, which was one trait she never let show through, ever. "In fact, I've been awake pretty much every night you come in here." Speedy visibly stiffened. "Oh, you have? Really? Well, I can explain" "No," she interrupted, placing a warm, small hand on his own. "You don't have to explain. I don't mind it; in fact, I'm glad you care enough to come by every night. I never got that back home. It's nice to know someone's out there who cares for me that much." "Really?" he questioned, turning to face her and taking both of her hands in his. "What about your family? Your sister? Didn't they do that stuff for you?"

"No," Cori answered sullenly. The little bit of emotion she let out started to shake her bookshelf, but she immediately calmed down and brought her magic back inside. "My mother couldn't really be there for us, and my father"€ well let's just say he wasn't really the type to get along with his family; I have some issues with my father." Speedy just nodded and let her continue. "And my sister? Well, we were separated when we were really young, I think we were only two or three, I thought she died a few years ago, but I really just don't know. She was my twin and so we kinda have this weird connection, but I haven't felt it in so long; I just decided it would probably be for the best if I just accepted the worst and moved on."

Speedy let her words reverberate for a moment, before he got the nerve to say something. "I'm sorry," he started, staring deep into her midnight blue orbs and losing himself. "It's terrible that your family was that way; us Titans are your family now and we care about you very much. We all do, especially me." Cori gasped as she realized what he was trying to say. Her books started to glow with her powers once more, but nothing happened. "Thank you, Speedy," she said, leaning forward to kiss his cheek. "You mean more to me than anything ever could. Thank you very much." Speedy just smiled as he leaned in a little closer. "Your welcome," he said. "And, for the record, my real name is Charlie." With that he closed the gap in between them and kissed her tenderly on her soft lips. That night they stayed up late talking about themselves and by the end of the week they had become an official couple, more in love than anyone ever thought possible.

Charlie brought himself from his reverie and wiped away the tears that threatened to spill at his first memories of Cori and her wonderful attributes. He made a few more steps toward her bed and, suddenly, somehow, he had made it next to her and was sitting down by her side once more. He lifted his hand up and tucked her in tightly, brushing back her long hair off her shoulder. He longed to lie down beside her, to hold her, to kiss her, to love her just once more; he wanted to take back everything he had said earlier, but the idea that she had lied to him for so long still burned in his heart.

Sighing deeply and letting a few tears fall, he kissed her on the cheek and sadly walked into the room he had moved into earlier; Cori hadn't woken up like he wanted her to, so he couldn't talk with her about everything that he felt. Changing quickly and then slipping into his cold and empty bed, he vowed he would get her alone tomorrow and they would talk about everything. He drifted off to sleep, plagued by the nightmares that loomed in his love's horizon, knowing full well that he may never get her back after his outburst today.

Charlie awoke the next day, rolled over to look at his clock, and nearly freaked out. It was already 12:30 and he knew that Cori was probably already training with Raven somewhere and he wouldn't get to talk with her until late tonight or tomorrow. He hopped out of bed, took a quick shower, and rushed out into the living room to try and find Cori. What he found, instead, was a very quiet scene in which Cyborg was busy fixing something on his arm at the kitchen table, BB and Terra were attempting to play cards although it kinda looked like they were just throwing them into some random pile, but it was Starfire and Aqualad that caught his eye the most; the two were sitting on the couch alone and, at first, he thought they were necking, but then he heard the unmistakable noises emitting quietly from Starfire. She was crying! Even though it was relatively quiet, he could still hear her and he could hear the condoling words coming from Aqualad as well.

Charlie took a step forward and it was then that Cyborg noticed he was even there, his red robotic eye seemed to glow with an unspoken hatred as he glared at the fellow archer. Charlie ignored the furtive death stare and took another few steps into the living room and closer to the weeping Starfire and Aqualad. "Do you need something?" Cyborg's icy voice asked, his eyes once again fixed on his arm. This sudden spurt of noise awoke Terra and BB from their trance-like game and they turned to look at the subject Cy's question was aimed at. Starfire too looked up at Charlie, eyes brimming with tears as they fell off her rosy cheeks and onto Aqualad's chest, who had also turned around to look at their visitor. Charlie couldn't find his voice for a minute, and he wasn't even sure he knew what he wanted at the moment, well, besides having Cori back, but he knew they couldn't help him with that.

"Oh," he said, uncharacteristically low. "I, um, was just coming to see what was wrong. And I was . . . I was . . . looking . . . for someone . . . " Charlie shifted his feet and glanced at the floor, not wanting to look at anyone at the moment. At first he thought everyone hated him enough to just ignore him and leave him standing there, stupefied; he started getting fidgety again and decided to turn around and leave. "There is something wrong," Cyborg said again, shutting his arm compartments and looking up at Charlie. "But I don't think it concerns you anymore . . . Besides, the person I have a feeling that you're looking for isn't here anyway; I probably wouldn't be too far off in saying that she wouldn't want to talk to you even if she was here." At the unspoken mention of Cori, Starfire once again started to cry a little more, but she sniffed hard and looked Charlie right in the eyes, begging him to stay for a moment. "Please, Friend Charlie," she began softly, earning a grunt from Cyborg at the mention of the word 'friend.' "Please do not leave just yet. Tell me, I wish to know, what is your reason for looking for Friend Cori? I thought you had initiated the breaking of the up with her . . . forever . . . "

Charlie took a deep breath and came a little closer to Star and held back his own tears that threatened to fall at the mention of his break up with Cori. "I wanted to talk with her, Star," he sighed. "A good talk, I promise. I acted rashly and I needed to mend what I broke in my haste." He paused for a second and gathered up his courage; he had a feeling that he might be shot down for what he was going to ask next. "Do you know where Cori might be Star? Maybe I could go find her and talk to her and try to fix everything." Starfire's eyes welled up with tears again, but she would not let them fall, she only looked to Aqualad, which prompted Charlie to look at everyone else's reaction as well.

Terra and Beast Boy had sat back down and were staring silently at the tabletop, Cyborg was clenching his fists and it was in that instant that he realized Robin wasn't there. "You won't be able to find her here," a voice mumbled, barely audible. Charlie strained to figure out who had spoken; a moment later he saw it was Terra as she stood up and walked over to him. She stopped right in front of him and he was grateful that he didn't see any of the hate and disgust in her eyes that he saw in Cyborg's. "She left," she started again softly. "All three of them left early this morning. She's not here anymore." Charlie's heart sank as her words hit him; She was gone! She had left and he had missed his chance to make things right, to get her back.

"W-where?" he managed to choke out. "What?" Terra asked, dumbfounded. "Where what?" He took a deep breath and rephrased his question. "Where are they?" he asked again. "Where is she? Where did she go?" Terra looked at him, giving him the impression that it didn't matter because he wouldn't be able to do anything about it anyway. "Azareth," came the deep voice from the kitchen. Charlie looked to his right, startled, as he saw Cyborg walking toward him. He thought for a moment that Cy was going to pummel him, but instead he put a hand out and motioned for him to go into another room. "Azareth?" Charlie questioned. "Why is she there?" Cy just stared at him, his hand unwavering. "Just go," he said calmly, this time pushing Charlie toward the hallway and up to the roof.

Charlie waited in silence atop the roof as he struggled inside with the information Cyborg had given him. She left? He thought, waiting for Cy to start talking again. She left for Azareth? I don't understand, why would she go there? And with Raven and Robin? For some strange reason Charlie couldn't figure it out, he felt stupid, but more than that, he felt frustrated that he couldn't figure out why they had left. "Listen," Cy finally said, ripping him out of his confusing thoughts and throwing him back into reality. "Before I answer any of your questions, you're going to answer mine first, understand?" He just nodded quickly, not wanting to anger his robotic friend any more than he had already. Cy took a deep breath and sat down on the floor of the roof and Charlie did the same, still keeping a safe distance in case he said something Cy didn't like.

"All right," Cy said, eerily calm, but sounding more like the robot-man he was friends with and not some enraged big brother or something. "To tell you the truth, I had every intention of pounding on you the second I saw you, but Cori asked me not to, so instead I'm going to do this the right, calm way." He paused for a moment. "After we all learned what had happened between you and Cori I thought you were just a total ass and I wanted nothing more to hurt you beyond belief. Needless to say I've grown quite attached to those dark girls and I regard them almost like little sisters that I need to watch over. But I didn't do anything out of consideration because I didn't have the full story from either of you, only from Robin and Raven, who heard you guys from the hallway." Charlie visibly stiffened; he hadn't known Raven had heard them fighting. He thought that Cori had simply been there when they got back and told everyone they broke up. So, if Cori didn't tell them, then where was she all day yesterday?

As if he was reading his mind, Cy began once more, "When the rest of us Titans came home we found Cori lying on the floor asleep. I carried her into her room and we never saw her the rest of the night. Robin told us at dinner that night what had happened and I even checked on Cori before I went to bed and she was still asleep; her eyes were all puffy when I put her in there earlier so I knew she had been crying something terrible. She must've needed to really let the emotions out or something; the living room was a Holy mess when we got back. I'm only telling you this because I didn't want you to think that Cori was playing the pity card or anything; she didn't even know that we knew until she got up this morning and we had ourselves a little talk after I found her outside your room at three in the morning." Again Charlie twitched as he heard where Cyborg had found Cori. "You found her outside my room?" he asked quietly, hoping his interruption wouldn't offend Cy. "At three in the morning? Why was she there? Why were you up that early?"

"I asked her the same thing," he said, chuckling. "She just said she had to see you before she left. I was just as confused as you look right about now and she explained everything that had happened this morning. I was up because I had went to bed early so my battery recharged a little earlier than I expected it to. Anyway, she said that she had a dream where her mother came to her and told her to return to Azareth at once with Raven. Cori said she was on her way to wake Raven up so they could depart. I asked her if she was coming back, if it was only temporary. She said she didn't know what was going to happen over there; she only said that her and Raven were to finish off their training in Azareth and they had to leave immediately. I followed her to Raven's room and I hated watching her and Robin nearly die as Cori told them the news. They thought they had more time." Cy paused and Charlie nodded for him to go on.

"Raven finally calmed down enough when Cori said Robin could come with them. Unfortunately, that was where I didn't take it so well. I kind of blew up and got angry that no one else could come; I mean, we were all part of the team and I was damned if two of our own were going to face this alone without everyone's support. It took a while for Cori to get me to settle down, but she finally managed to do so by promising she would send someone to bring us to Azareth after her and Raven were done with their training. Needless to say, I woke everyone up with my yelling and so Cori had to promise to take all of us. Well, I said someone needed to stay behind to keep an eye on things, so since I was still angry with you, I suggested you stay here and Aqualad agreed to as well. Cori looked hurt when I mentioned it, but she never did anything, just said that maybe it was for the best. Her, Raven, and Robin left a few minutes after that and teleported to their universe." Charlie couldn't believe his ears, he didn't want to think that he had hurt Cori so much that she didn't want anyone there to make sure she was okay before her battle. Cyborg looked at the pained expression on the archer's face and his feelings toward him softened just a bit.

"I want to make a deal with you," he said suddenly, forcing Charlie to look up at him. "Ok," Charlie said, sounding a little confused. "What is it?" "First, you need to answer my questions and then I'll offer you the deal," Cy offered. Charlie nodded and stuck out his hand to shake Cyborg's and seal the deal. "Ok," Cy started. "This morning, you said you wanted to talk with Cori; I want to know what about." Charlie gulped, he hadn't intended on discussing his grievous mistake with anyone other than Cori, but seeing as how he might never get the chance to tell her, he figured this was the only way to get his apology out.

"I was looking for Cori this morning," he began. "Because I wanted to talk with her about everything that happened yesterday. I mean seriously talk about it too; I wanted to apologize for overreacting and yelling at her and saying that"€ saying those things that I said. I was just angry at her for not telling me what she knew all along, and even then she wouldn't tell me the truth, I could tell by the way she was looking away." He took a deep breath and sighed heavily. "I love her, Cy," he continued. "I love her more than anything, and I realized last night that I didn't mean to hurt her. I don't want to lose her, I can't lose her. I don't know what I would do with myself if, after all this was over, she never knew how sorry I am and how much I love her, and she took my words to heart and left. I don't know if I could live any longer; She is my reason to live, always has been and always will be."

Cyborg sat there for several minutes trying to decide if Charlie's words were true and that he still cared for Cori, even after everything he had said yesterday. Finally, he spoke and put Charlie's suspension to rest. "You really still love her?" he asked harshly. "Yeah, man," Charlie responded. "I do. Very much." Cy just sat there and nodded, making Charlie feel like he was under an investigation. "Would you do anything to get her back?" Cy questioned again. "Anything," Charlie reassured him. "Anything?" Cy asked, looking quite mischievous. "Would you even travel to Azareth to tell her how sorry you are and how you really feel about her?" Charlie's eyes widened as he realized what Cyborg was suggesting and a smile took over his face. "Especially that," he said. With that Cyborg stood, pulling Charlie up with him, and extended his hand in friendship. Charlie shook his hand eagerly and was even surprised when Cy pulled him forward and into a giant bear hug. When he pulled back, Cy was all smiles as he patted Charlie on the back.

"If you really, truly love her that much," he said, grinning. "How can I not let you come to Azareth with us?" Charlie grinned back, "Thanks Cyborg. You don't know how much this means to me! So...when do we leave?" Cy scratched the back of his head in confusion, thinking to himself. "I don't know," he said at last. "Cori didn't even seem to know; she just said she'd send for us when her and Raven were ready." Charlie's face fell as the news hit him; that meant he might not even get to talk to Cori for weeks yet! "Oh," he managed to say, his shoulders slumping and his head falling down. "I see." He paused. "Wait, a minute. What about the tower? If I go to Azareth now, I would feel terrible about leaving Aqualad defending the tower alone. Maybe I shouldn't go after all..." Charlie started to walk back downstairs, but Cy put out a large cyber-kinetic arm and stopped him.

"Uh-uh," he said. "You love her, so you are going, no questions about it. As for the tower, we don't really need anyone here to watch it. The entire security system is linked into my body, so I'll know if someone is messing with us. I can activate the security measures from myself too, so I wouldn't worry about it. At least now Star can be happy; she was upset that Aqualad wasn't coming with us, but I guess now he can. He offered to stay here with you, which none of us wanted, but he wouldn't take no more an answer. Looks like you have a pretty loyal team back home, man." Charlie smiled, "Yeah, I guess I do. Thanks Cy, for everything. I appreciate the lengths you're going to to make sure Cori is safe and happy, Raven too; they deserve it."

The two Titans headed back downstairs, friends once again, and went to do something neither one of them had the patience for; they had to wait. Until Cori sent someone to take them to Azareth, everyone had to wait until whoever it was going to be, showed up to take them to their friends. And it was going to be one long week before their anticipation was allayed and Charlie was allowed to face his girlfriend; that was, if she would even agree to see him once he got there...

A/N: Sorry it took so long to update, College and all. Hopefully, I can start working on the next chapter for I Need Her, and then finish this one as well. Sadly, I only have a few more chapters to write for this one and then I will consider it completed. Although, there is a bright spot, for there are still quite a few chapters left in I Need Her (although I haven't really written them yet), and I am thinking of writing another story, maybe even another after that. Who knows? Just read and review and let me know how this one fared; I know it's not really exciting but I just didn't know where I wanted to go with it. More action in the next chapters, I promise.