(Author's Note: I do not own Teen Titans, the characters, or pizza. I do however claim credit for my ideas and OCs. Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoy)
Carved Glass
.:Chapter Three:.
Broken
The smell of dirt and sea filled my head and made me dizzy as I opened my eyes and rolled onto my back. I had enough energy to block out the bond. How long I could keep it up would greatly depend. My stomach growled pitifully, but I knew well enough it didn't expect food. Well, I thought, Might as well give it a surprise. I got up and made my way out of the park, wiping dirt from my sweatshirt impatiently. I paused at the edge of the woods, looking out at the streets and people. How would I pay for food and new clothes? I needed both desperately, but I didn't have any money. I sighed, frustrated. Then my eye fell on something billowing in the breeze – a twenty dollar bill. I reached out and a little sparkling aura surrounded it, bringing it to me. I clutched it in my hand, staring with an awestruck expression on my face. I'd never held money before. I knew what it was, of course. I had been raised in a prison, not a bubble. I'd been given things to do, things to read. I understood probably more than the average teenager. But understanding and experience are two different things. This was my first experience with a bill of any kind.
I made my way to a nearby fast food restaurant, buying a good sized meal with only five dollars. I munched on my food happily as I made my way through the streets, looking for a thrift store. I'd read about thrift stores, and that was my best bet for finding clothes I could afford with the lucky bit of money that I'd collected. I found a Goodwill sitting on the corner of Parkson Walk. Fortunately for me they were having a sale. I collected a few items I liked and purchased them, then made my way to a nearby public toilet to change. I looked in the mirror and was satisfied. I'd bought black cargo pants with chains hanging off them, a purple-and-black striped shirt, and a silver belt with bird shapes on it. I'd also purchased a black jacket, but I put it in the small backpack I'd procured with my old things, knowing I wouldn't need it for now. I made my way through the streets, uncertain of what to do now. The many sights and smells were enough to entertain me for now, but what would I do when I needed to eat again? I didn't have much money left – two dollars and some change. Maybe I'd find more money, maybe not. I watched some street performers and wondered if I could do that. But what would I perform with? I didn't have nice costumes or a guitar. I sighed as I paused to sit on a bench, feeling better rested and energized than I had in a long, long time.
I continued walking soon enough, wandering down a series of alleys. I was near a pizza parlor when I heard the footsteps. I turned and saw a man walking towards me, his face shadowed. I turned around and saw two more men. Great. Just what I needed. I stopped, glaring at them with all the spite I could muster.
"Lookie here," one of the men said loudly, "We got ourselves a kitten to play with." I opened my mouth for a retort when suddenly I heard a voice overhead:
"Oh? You want a kitten to play with, huh?" I started as a huge green lion flew through the air, roaring. The men cried out many colorful profanities as they scattered. I watched them go without much expression on my face. The cowards. Of course, a lion raining down from the heavens wasn't exactly the most common occurrence I supposed. I turned and watched as the green lion morphed back into the form of a boy. Great. Him again. I turned to go, feeling as if my entire body had turned to ice.
"Hey, wait," he called. I paused and turned. "Sorry for spooking you. I thought it would be funny." He said, shrugging helplessly. I looked into his eyes and hesitated. He didn't look dangerous. He appeared to be a normal teenage boy with a mischievous grin and a cute face, despite the pointed ears and large canine tooth protruding from one lip. I relaxed. He, at least, would not know my secret.
"It was funny," I conceded, smiling a bit awkwardly – it wasn't a common gesture for me.
"Well that's good," the boy said. "Otherwise I'd have to question my sense of humor." He grinned at me widely, and I was a bit stunned by his cheerfulness. I'd never been around many people, but the ones I had met were all sour-faced or sad. I was instantly drawn in by that face that looked so optimistic and bright. Like the sun. I thought absentmindedly.
"Thanks," I said at last, "For saving me."
"No problem. That's what I do." He said, grinning. "I'm Beast Boy, by the way." I smiled slightly. Then I realized it was polite to tell him my name. But I didn't have a name. I bit my lip, thinking. I said the first thing that came to my mind.
"Leila." I murmured.
"Cool name," Beast Boy said. I shuffled my feet a bit, feeling something like nervousness but not quite. I wasn't ill at ease, just a bit jumpy. Am I feeling shy? Me? I wondered.
"Do you want to get some pizza? It'll be my treat." I looked up at Beast Boy's grinning face and couldn't help but smirk.
"Do you always flirt with girls you save?" I inquired cheekily.
"Only when their belly has been rumbling since I alighted from up there," he said, gesturing to the pizza parlor behind him. I blushed when I realized my stomach had been rumbling. I'd ceased to really notice the event, since it was so common for me.
"Oh, well… I'd hate to impose…" I murmured.
"Nonsense! You look like you could use something to eat. Although… I'd get it if you wouldn't want to eat with someone who's green." Beast Boy said, hunching his shoulders with a wry, joyless smile. I stared at him in surprise. Was he thinking that I didn't want to eat with him because he looked…? I laughed.
"It's not that," I said quickly.
"Oh. Really? It usually is." Beast Boy said, frowning.
"Do you get rejected a lot?" I asked, one eyebrow rising slightly.
"All the time," he sighed. I couldn't help but chuckle – it felt so odd to be happy, to be laughing. I hadn't laughed in so long. It made me feel… warm and… content.
"Pizza sounds good," I said at last. Somehow it didn't matter to me that Beast Boy was an enemy, that he would torture me if he knew the truth. It didn't matter, as long as I could look into his face and see the light that had long ago vanished from mine. We sat together eating pizza for maybe an hour. The time seemed to pass too quickly. Beast Boy told me about the fight with the robot. At least he didn't recognize me as the girl that had run away.
"It was odd," he was saying as I took a bite of pizza and washed it down with some fizzing soda. I smiled at the taste in my mouth. Then I turned and looked at Beast Boy curiously.
"What was odd?" I inquired.
"She seemed in a lot of pain, but she was so afraid of me she ran like a banshee was chasing her. I wonder what was wrong. Maybe it was the green." He sighed.
"Or maybe she just didn't know who you were and was scared. You do turn into animals, after all. You could transform into a cheetah and run her down. That's a scary thought. Though I'm sort of surprised you didn't." I said honestly.
"If she doesn't want anything to do with me then I guess I can understand that." Beast Boy said, shrugging. I looked at him steadily and then tapped the top of my glass in an absentminded gesture.
"Have you ever had a girlfriend?" I asked curiously. He looked away, his eyes sad.
"Yeah," he replied evenly, "Once."
"What happened?" I inquired.
"She… moved on…" He murmured. I looked at him and understood the deeper meaning behind that, if only a little. She moved on. He didn't.
"I see." I looked away, off at the buildings that towered against the sky, blocking the blue from my eyes. What would it feel like, to love but never have your love returned? It seemed like an impossibly sad thing to experience. I looked back at Beast Boy and found he was staring at me.
"What?" I asked.
"Have you ever liked someone before?" He threw my question back at me. I tilted my head to one side, considering the idea.
"No," I said, "I've never liked anyone before." It was true, in more ways than one. It was true that I'd never been in a relationship, never had a crush. It was also true I couldn't remember a single person in the whole world I would call a friend. I'd only ever had me, myself, and I.
"Oh." Beast Boy seemed to sense something beyond what I was saying, but I didn't let any sign show on my face. I looked down at my pizza and felt suddenly the impossibility of that moment. Here I was, eating like nothing was wrong, eating like I wasn't a fugitive endangering everyone around me. The thought that master could be seeing this and would hurt Beast Boy suddenly made me feel an innate sense of dread. I stood quickly.
"I've got to go," I said.
"Wait!" Beast Boy called. "Leila!" I looked over my shoulder at him, feeling as if he were tugging on my heart as the bond always had. But this tugging wasn't nearly as agonizing. It was just painful.
"Won't I ever see you again?" Beast Boy asked, and I saw that he'd felt it too. The connection, like two injured beasts understanding they needed the support of the other. I knew it would be dangerous for us both to agree to see him. I knew that it would be the selfish thing to do, putting him in the path of master's wrath. But I was too lonely to think I could separate myself from that smile, that hopeful look on his face.
"Sure," I said, "Meet me tomorrow by the fountain in the park." And with that, I turned and vanished into the crowds.
.~*.~*.~*.*~.*~.*~.
Titan's Tower rose up over Beast Boy's head as he swooped down into the window of his room. He transformed from his hawk form back into a human, looking around him at the untidy mess that was home sweet home. He felt better than he had in a long time. Talking with Leila had been like having someone understand him for the first time since Terra… Instead of looking at him and seeing weird Leila had looked and seen a person. Beast Boy thought about her pale, thin face, and her incredibly sad grey eyes. When he first saw her, she had looked at him with fear and suspicion. What had made that face look so haunted? She looked practically starved, and had eaten an entire pizza herself, though he was careful not to make her notice how much she'd eaten. When he'd asked her if she'd ever liked someone, he almost thought she wouldn't respond. She'd look so… sad and somehow angry. Beast Boy couldn't stop thinking about her, trying to figure out what she'd been through to make her so cautious. She'd talked only when he'd asked her a direct question. And when she did talk, she always did so in a quiet, subdued voice. But what a voice it was! Silky and smooth, warm and silvery, it was like none Beast Boy had ever heard before. He wondered about her. Perhaps he couldn't help but wonder. Beast Boy certainly couldn't have predicted that leaping down from the terrace of the pizza place to save a girl would end in such a confusing night of restless thought and anticipation. He would see her again. Tomorrow.
"Beast Boy, are you alright?" Cyborg stared at him as Beast Boy gazed off into the distance, thinking.
"What?" He asked, turning to his friend.
"You've been spacing out ever since you got back. Are you alright?" Cyborg demanded.
"Dude, I'm fine! I'm better than fine. Great! Fine! Everything's fine!" Beast Boy exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air as he walked around the kitchen. The other four Titans stared at him with wide eyes. Starfire turned to Raven.
"What is wrong with Beast Boy?" She asked.
"I'm not sure anything's wrong with him. That's just how he normally is." She said monotonously.
"Was that an insult!" Beast Boy demanded, turning on her.
"What if it was?" She lifted her eyebrows slightly, the only change in her expression. Beast Boy narrowed his eyes and stuck his chin out. He seemed about to say something and then a thought distracted him.
"I wonder if she likes picnics…?" He mused to himself, wandering towards the fridge. Raven glanced in surprise at Robin, who stared at Beast Boy through narrowed eyes.
"Has BB got a girlfriend?" Cyborg asked with a conspirators' grin on his face.
"I doubt it. He'd be shouting that from the sky if it were true." Raven muttered.
"I do hope he is alright." Starfire said worriedly.
"Don't worry about him, Star," Robin said, "I'm sure he's fine." She looked at him and smiled.
Beast Boy looked through the refrigerator for something he could pack for a picnic. There were some slices of cheese and ham. Sandwiches? He thought, hurrying over to the cupboard where they kept their bread. Yes! They had plenty. He scurried about, completely unaware of his friends' stares. He was too caught up in planning for the next day to give much thought to them.
"I still say he got a girlfriend," Cyborg muttered. "He hasn't even attempted to take the new gaming control from me yet."
"He does look rather preoccupied," Starfire agreed. Beast Boy looked out the window at the sea and sighed. Terra would have liked a picnic. But it wouldn't do to think of her. He knew that he'd probably never really love anyone again after that. But the look in Leila's eyes had given him a sort of hope. A hope that someone might understand and help him with the feelings he kept pent up all the time. Maybe that's why he was so desperate to find out about her. He got out the picnic basket and set it on the counter, staring at the woven fibers and thinking about the way her grey eyes had stared into him like they were seeing his soul. He sighed.
"Yep," Cyborg said, "Definitely a girlfriend."
.:~*.:/:.*~:.
The city was large, yes. She was just one small girl in a crowd of people. But he would find her. He had never failed before, at anything. His eyes slowly roved over the faces below him. He must have greatly resembled a gargoyle, he thought smugly, as he perched on the edge of a grand building. His eyes caught onto a strand of blonde hair. He frowned. The girl was walking with her friends, her blue eyes shining. Then she hesitated, looking around her as if she could sense him watching. She turned into an alleyway, her eyes wide, panicked. The boy crept forward, his cold grey eye narrowing behind his mask. The blonde girl covered her head with her hands as rocks rose up around her, flinging themselves in every direction. She turned and watched them, her face scared. He dropped to her side as the volley calmed and she sank down onto the ground, sobbing. She looked up at him, stunned.
"You have unique powers," he said, looking down at her. His voice was not as menacing as he would have liked. He'd never had the inclination to change it.
"I don't want them," the girl sighed.
"You will if you learn to control them. I can show you how to do that." He said. She looked up at him, her eyes wide.
"Really?"
"Yes. Quite easily, in fact." He replied. She looked at him, some of her bangs falling over her eye.
"What will it cost me?" She asked suspiciously. He smiled.
"Nothing but your help on a little quest of mine. You see, I'm helping a friend recover a student of his who has run away with some valuable information. If you help me find her I will teach you everything you need to know about your powers." She hesitated, seemingly undecided. Then she looked at the torn earth around her and nodded.
"Okay," she agreed.
"Excellent." He held out his hand and she accepted it.
"What's your name, by the way?" She asked him.
"You can call me Shadow," he replied, turning so that the dark side of his mask was to her.
"Oh. It's a pleasure to meet you, Shadow." She looked at him for a moment and then smiled, "My name's Terra."
Author's Note:
Oh no! That's not good! What's with Terra and getting herself into bad situations? Tut tut. Well, anyways, I hope you all liked the chapter! ^v^ Please review! I love reviews! Yay! :D
-LR
