Story Title: "Happily (N)Ever After"
Rating: PG-13
Author: Nacata
Summary: A collection of original poetry, songfics, and short stories; some with tragic endings, some coming out like fairytales.
---
Author's Note: Hello all, I'm back again. ) Lately I haven't been too happy with my work, so I figure I need a little practice. Instead of doing two companion pieces, one with stories with happy endings, one without, I simply combined the two into one story, and now call it: Happily (N)Ever after.
This story is a bit of a downer. Starfire seems to be used as a jealous rival a lot lately, so here is an angsty Starfire piece, focusing on how she confronts the problem she has with seeing Raven and Robin together instead of ignoring it. Normally I don't really like writing things with sad endings, but strangely enough, depressing pieces come easier to me. Don't ask why, because I'm actually a very upbeat person…hm. XD
---
"Broken"
---
"It is best if you leave…" She informed the girl in front of her. "Please, I do not wish to sound degrading, but you are most certainly not wanted here." She blinked her large green eyes several times, only answered with silence.
Ruby locks of hair fell in her face, and delicate orange-tinted fingers pushed them back. Her frame was slender; desirable, yes, but not something she took particular note of. The girl she was speaking to merely stared back at her, lips pursed. Something flickered in her eyes; a twinkle of regret.
The conversation was taking place in a lightly painted pink room, with comforters on a round bed to match. A vanity was set up beside a closet, where numerous pieces of purple apparel were hung. The pink paint was supposed to attract warmth, considering the intensity of the color. However, 17-year-old Starfire wasn't sure she felt anything at all. She was numb; unable to register the growing heat seeping into her.
She fidgeted slightly in the silence, wiggling the legs of the stool beneath her. She cleared her throat, hesitating before she spoke again.
"He…he does not love you. His affections are devoted to another," She avoided eye-contact. Her throat clamped up at this, her mouth growing dry. The words sounded so cruel to her; like lashes against the skin. She couldn't believe that she was the one saying them. "And it would be unwise for you to wait for something that is not going to happen, so please…please, will you not just leave?"
A look of utter hurt greeted her eyes when she looked up and she quickly looked away again, feeling tears fighting their way forward. She cleared her throat for a second time in a vain attempt to sound composed.
She played with the hem of her skirt, winding her fingers through her hair next as she waited for some sort of miraculous response. But she knew none was coming.
"I am sorry…I did not mean to wish this misfortune upon you, but there is little I can do to resolve the problem. But I do not wish to see you hurt…I do not wish for you to experience the 'breaking of the heart' every time he is spotted with her in the hallways, or they are showing affection in the room of living." Her words grew more rapid; more forced. Her breaths grew harder and harder to draw, her body shaking more violently with every passing second.
Something else passed through the eyes of the girl before her when Starfire next looked up. It was disbelief…it was unwillingness to have faith in what she was being told.
"You are not listening!" Starfire's voice rose slightly in frustration before she pushed it back down. She had to remind herself to keep gentle when breaking such news. It was hard for her to do, but she wasn't sure how else to handle the situation. "Please! You must believe that I am telling you the truth! I would not lie to you! I would not hurt you!"
But it was too late. The female facing her had already been hurt, and deeply too. It was written in her every movement, her every breath. Every inch of her eyes told a story of betrayal and anguish. Her face was washed with despair, and her cheeks had tell-tale tear stains running down them.
Starfire wasn't used to seeing this girl cry. It was a sight so strange to her, it momentarily put her under the illusion that perhaps this was all simply a nightmare. She'd wake up any second and everything would be different, and she wouldn't have to keep telling her sole audience-member this.
She squeezed her eyes shut, lashes inter-lacing, lids sliding over green orbs. She counted to three, before slowly, painfully, she opened them. No. Nothing was different.
Again, that look of defiance seeped into the beautiful young woman before her. Koriand'r of Tamaran was losing patience.
"You do not understand!" Her hands clenched at any surface near her to steady herself. "They will be everywhere! They will do the holding of hands, and the kissing, and the embracing! They will declare their feelings of love towards one another openly, and you will be forced to listen! They will not care whether or not you are pained to see them! They will not care!" She repeated herself, voice quavering slightly.
"They will always be there! Even when you are alone, you will be able to see them! You will know that they are somewhere, thinking of one another! You will know that he is not thinking of you. That he will never think of you. You will know, and it will hurt. And there will be nothing you can do about it, for your heart will always belong to him." Starfire wrapped her arms around her stomach.
"…Please. Do not make yourself go through that." Again, silence. Her eyes flashed in another rage of frustration, "He does not love you!" She had to be blunt, it was the only way.
"You are not like her! You are not pretty! You are not intelligent! Nor are you powerful, or humorous! You do not maintain her talents! You cannot be like her so do not even try! You will never be like her!" Her voice had reached its peek. It cracked and she felt hoarse suddenly.
"You are…you are not Raven!" The last word came out as a battered cry of envy, desperation, and anger.
Her fist connected with the mirror in front of her, and the person she'd been speaking to all this time crumbled into a million pieces, scattering across the floor. The sound of shattering glass broke the tranquility of the room.
Sobs followed immediately after. She knew she couldn't have him. Robin wasn't hers anymore. She'd become familiar to the feeling of abandonment and awkwardness when around him. It was not a feeling she welcomed, but merely one she'd grown accustomed to. He didn't know how to act around her.
It was extremely frustrating to sit by and watch. She'd put on a special smile for him, and pretend to be happy. He would buy it sometimes, but most often he could tell she wasn't herself. But he'd never get it out of her; not in a million years. For Starfire had accepted the fact that she was and always would be just "the friend". She would stand by and comfort him when his heart was broken. She would help him to impress the girls he sought, and yet she would never be the one he would hold at night, nor kiss, nor speak loving words to.
"You are not Raven," She repeated. "You are not Raven!" Her fingers grasped the comforters from her bed, pulling them down to her and tearing them from her mattress. Her tiny body shook heavily with every sob she gave into. The rug beneath her, and now part of her sheets, received the splatter of tears as they ran freely down her face. Her knuckles turned white as their grip remained steadfast and tight. The blanket was being used as a stronghold for her while she cried.
The sound of her weeping; her struggle for breath and the deep, throaty sobs, was enough to soften even the strongest of people. She, like the shards of mirror scattered around her, was broken.
--
Well, there you go. It was meant to seem like a conversation between Starfire and Raven at first. But really, she's talking to herself in the mirror. I know, she seems a bit…angsty. Keep in mind though, she's 17 now, so she's matured some. I figure everyone just looses it sometimes, and this is one of those times for Star.
Hope you liked it, I'll update soon. Read and Review please! I love reviews. They make me happy! D Requests are accepted, I could use some creative inspiration.