A Thing of the Past, Chapter 4

"Well, good morning, sunshine!" Cyborg bellowed when I entered the living room.

I glared at him as I made my way over to the couch. He was too absorbed with his game against Robin to even notice. "What's so great about it?" I mumbled, plopping myself down beside him.

"The fact that it's over?" Raven asked in her monotone voice. She was sitting and reading in her usual spot. I looked at her questioningly. Without looking up, she merely pointed to a nearby window where I found that the sun was setting rather than rising.

This means that I slept away the entire day, I thought dazedly. Yet, I felt no more rested than I did when I went to bed this morning. I was started out of my reverie by a shout.

"No!" It was Robin. He jumped off the couch and began stomping around, throwing his control down in the process. He had obviously just lost against Cyborg again. Obscenities came spewing out of his mouth faster than I thought humanly possible. We all just sat by and waited for it to end like every other time. Having finally run out of things to say, Robin returned to his seat to fume silently.

"So," Cyborg asked cheerfully, focusing all his attention on me now, "when do we get to meet her?"

I stared at him blankly. "Who?" I asked, puzzled. Then I remembered: I told Robin about Terra. Kind of.

"Why, your new friend of course," Starfire exclaimed as she flew in from the kitchen with a bottle of mustard. She sat beside me and happily took a sip before continuing. "Robin has told us what he knows of her, which is really not much at all. Now, please, tell us what you know of her. What is her name? Where does she hail from? Does she enjoy mustard as much as I?"

I looked over at Robin in disbelief. I could feel the anger begin to well up inside of me. What'd he do, tell everyone the first chance he got, I thought spitefully. He looked at me out of the corner of his eyes and only shrugged his shoulders.

"What's to tell?" I said in irritation. "She's a nice girl and I like her a lot. End of discussion." I began to rise, but Cyborg pushed me back down.

"No, no, no. That's definitely not all. Why are you being so secretive about her, BB?" he inquired.

I looked around at all of them. Were they really ready to hear that Terra was back? How would they react? I suddenly had an idea.

"What if," I started slowly, "I was to tell you that she was—like—Terra?"

This could work for me, I thought happily. If they had a good reaction towards a girl like Terra, surely they would accept the real Terra back. And if the reaction was bad...let's just hope it's not bad. I stood up and turned around so that I could see them all at once.

They stared at me, their faces expressionless. Raven was still looking at her book, but she hadn't turned the page since I had entered the room. "In what way?" she asked suspiciously, finally looking up at me.

I began to pace slightly. "Well, for one, she's had a rough past. Um—she has no family, at least not that I'm aware of. She's had trouble finding a place where she feels she belongs. Uh—she has trouble making friends and keeping them. She's made some pretty bad choices in the past that she's still trying to make up for." I paused for a moment to think if I should tell them anymore. "Oh, yeah, and I like her."

The room was silent as they all took in this new information. I started to have second thoughts about this brilliant idea of mine. "Any questions?" I asked timidly.

Starfire was the first to speak. "Where is she staying?"

"I think she's staying by herself in a hotel," I guessed. I really wasn't sure. Terra and I had always made plans in advance on where and when to meet for our dates. I'd have to be sure and ask her about that the next time I saw her.

"This cannot be," Starfire cried out indignantly as she suddenly stood up. "A friend of yours staying by herself? You must go to her at once and tell her to move in with us." She stopped for a moment and her face lit up. "I will go to prepare a special meal for her in the mean time," she finished happily and started to fly away. Robin grabbed her by the boot before she could get very far.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down there a bit, Star," he said slightly cautious. "Let's not forget what happened the last time we opened our doors for a new roomie. How about we start with the basics? Like, does she have a name?"

I had thought up of something in advance. "Sara," I replied. It rhymed with Terra, so I hoped it would be easier for me to remember.

"Where's she getting the money to stay in a hotel?" Raven asked, still suspicious.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Like a said, I think that's where she's staying," I responded, slightly annoyed. "For all I know, it could be a cave. I'll have to ask her, okay?"

"Where did you meet her?" Cyborg asked, trying to change the subject.

"Down by the bay," I answered shortly. I was trying to keep my answers as simple as I could. It made me feel like I was on trial.

Robin leaned forward slightly. "Does she have any powers?" he asked seriously.

"Not that I've seen," I replied quickly. It wasn't a complete lie. I hadn't seen Terra use any of her powers since she had returned. I'd have to be sure to ask her about that, too, the next time I saw her.

"Do you like her as much as you liked Terra?" Raven asked quietly.

I stared at her blankly. I hadn't been expecting that question. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that your feelings for Terra blinded you to who she really was inside. She tricked you, she tricked all of us. By doing this, she hurt you. She hurt you greatly." Raven turned her head to face the window where the sun had just dipped below the horizon. Her voice became quieter, filled with tenderness. "I just don't want to see you hurt again."

I was taken aback. Raven didn't want to see me hurt? That would mean that she cared about me, right? I thought in bewilderment. Robin was speaking now.

"None of us want to see you hurt again," he said kindly. "That's why we're being so careful about your new girlfriend. But, if you feel that you can trust her, then we're willing to give her a chance. After all, we're all a friendly bunch." He looked at Raven skeptically. "Well, the majority of us, anyway."

"Yeah," Cyborg said merrily. "Invite her over for dinner. Let us all get a look see at this new girl. I'll even let you," he gulped, "do the cooking."

This got at least a smile out of everyone. "Well, I have a date with her tonight," I confessed. "So, I'll ask her if she's ready to meet you all. Okay?"

They all agreed and went back to their activities. That went rather well, I thought in delight as I left to prepare for my date. Let's hope it goes that well with Terra.