A Thing of the Past, Chapter 3
When did life become so complicated, I thought to myself as I snuck through the tower, trying to make as little noise as possible. It was four o'clock in the morning and I was just returning from a date with Terra. Ever since she had returned a week ago, I had been doing nothing but lying and sneaking around so the others wouldn't find out about her. I didn't like it, but I didn't think that the others would accept her back. They would never understand.
I had just reached the hallway that led to my room when I let out the breath I was not aware I had been holding. I made it. I was feeling pretty good so I let down my guard and started to hum softly. That was my mistake.
"Where have you been?" snapped a voice from the living room.
I jumped slightly, having not expected anyone to be up this late. I turned around and slowly made my way into the room. I could make out a spiky-haired figure sitting on the couch in the darkened room, staring straight ahead at an equally darkened television. He rose and began to saunter over to where I stood, turning on the light on his way. I decided to lie.
"Hey, Robin, what are you doing up this late? I just had to use the bathroom. I guess I'll be going now. See you at breakfast." I said this all hurriedly and turned to make a hasty retreat.
"No," he said. There was an eerie stillness and determination in his face. "We need to talk."
I turned back, feeling slightly nervous. My hands began to shake, so I hid them behind my back, looking anywhere but at him. "What do you want to talk about?" I asked innocently.
"I think you know," he said seriously.
I kept my mouth shut and my face blank. I had to be strong, for Terra. Robin couldn't know about her, not yet. I shrugged my shoulders. "Nope," I said simply.
He sighed as a look of sadness appeared on his face. "Look, Beast Boy, you're my friend. I know that you've been going through a difficult time with Terra's passing, we all have. But you were the closest to her so I know that it hit you the hardest. For about a year now you've been depressed, hardly eating, rarely sleeping—"
"Are you going somewhere with this?" I interrupted impatiently. I didn't know what he was up to and at the moment I didn't care. "I would like to get back to sleep—you know, what normal people do during the night?"
"How can you go back to sleep? You were never there in the first place." His words came out in a sharp hiss and he began to walk around me. "I know this because you're still wearing you're uniform."
Damn detective, I thought bitterly. "I fell asleep in it," I countered hastily.
"If you fell asleep in it, it would be wrinkled and your hair would be messed up," he countered easily.
I looked down at myself. He was right, my clothes did still look relatively nice. "I don't move very much when I sleep," I said weakly.
He stopped in front of me, crossing his arms over his chest. I could tell that he was unconvinced. "Beast Boy, I've seen you sleep. You roll more often than a pair of dice in Las Vegas." He shook his head slightly. "I respect your privacy, but as the leader of this team, I have to be aware of what's going on with my teammates. Now, about a week ago, you started lying to us like this to cover up for your sneaking out. You know that you're free to come and go as you please. So just what have you been doing?"
"I can't tell you," I said softly.
He opened his mouth but shut it quickly. It was as if he had wanted to say something but thought better of it. I began to leave, figuring he was done. I was wrong.
"It's not drugs, is it?" he blurted out.
I stopped in mid-step. My mouth literally dropped open. "What did you say?" I whispered calmly, having not turned around yet.
He sighed loudly and I could hear him start to move around. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't want to have to ask, but you didn't leave me much of a choice," he said quickly. "It's not just the lying and sneaking around. You've been acting strangely—"
"So you think I'm on drugs?" I interrupted indignantly. I couldn't face him, not yet. I was outraged. I wanted to yell and scream at him. I wanted to hit him so badly. If I didn't look at him, I could at least keep my voice calm.
"I didn't want to," he replied quietly. "Since you won't tell me what's going on, I had to go by what I saw. You've been lying and sneaking around. You hardly eat anything. You never want to hang out with us anymore. When you are around us, you're off in your own world, not even paying attention to what's going on around you. Cyborg and I have beaten your video game scores so much that your name no longer appears on the top ten lists, but you don't care anymore. Now tell me, does this not sound like drug use?"
I stood there, stunned, as I thought about what he had said. He had a point, it did look really bad for me. My anger was replaced with remorse. Because I had been keeping Terra a secret, I was losing my friends' trust. If I kept this up, I may even lose their friendships. I had to tell him the truth, or some of it, at least.
"I've been seeing someone," I said as I turned around and faced him. "We've been doing stuff now for about a week. Legal stuff. She's really nice and I like her—a lot. I wanted her to meet you all, but she doesn't feel ready yet. That's why I've been acting so strangely lately. I'm sorry."
Robin stood there, staring at me blankly. I guess I must have surprised him. I hadn't exactly lied to him, I tried to convince myself silently, only left out some of the more minor details. Like whom the girl was.
We stood there for another moment before he finally smirked. "I should have known," he said playfully. "Another girl, huh?"
I returned his smile. "It's like I keep telling you guys," I replied smugly. "I'm a babe magnet."
He chuckled and rolled his eyes at me. "Just don't let it happen again," he said lightly. He gave me a small pat on the shoulder as he walked by, making his way to his room.
I stood there for a moment before releasing a sigh of relief. Turning off the light, I tiredly made my way to my room where I slept the day away.