Teen Titans
Carved Glass
.:Chapter Four:.
Meetings
The fountain wasn't very crowded. I sat on the cool stone, dangling my feet into the water. My socks and shoes sat just behind me, and my sweatshirt was folded just beside them. I hadn't had much luck finding something to eat, but I was too excited to pay much attention to my complaining stomach. I watched the way the sunlight danced across the cool fountain water, thinking about Beast Boy and the way he always wore a smile. Except when he was talking about his girlfriend. I remembered the look of sadness in his eyes, so acute, it pained me. Somehow I was struck with the feeling that we were similar. How, I had yet to quite figure out. I knew I was doing something really stupid by meeting him. My master would definitely find me if I spent all my time with one of his mortal enemies. But how could I say no to that face? How could I deny myself that smile, that cheerful, raspy voice? It was no longer a question of desire. I needed someone to talk to. I needed company, someone I could trust. But could I trust Beast Boy? My head told me no. Master had made it clear that the Teen Titans would never trust one of his apprentices, even if she said she didn't want to serve Slade, that she'd been forced into it, tortured, abused. But her heart told her something else. Her heart told her that if she could trust any person in the whole world, Beast Boy would be the best choice.
"Leila!" My heart skipped a beat as I heard his voice behind me. I turned around quickly, a smile lighting up my face as naturally as if I did such a thing all the time. Smiling was so easy around Beast Boy – so much so I wondered how it had ever been impossible for me before.
"Beast Boy." I said, enjoying the feel of his name on my tongue. I spun around, shaking my feet a little to get the worst of the water off of them. Beast Boy was dressed in the same purple outfit he'd worn yesterday, and in his hand he held a wicker basket.
"Are you up for a picnic?" Beast Boy asked, a huge smile stretching across his face.
"Sure," I said easily. I pulled on my knee high socks, followed by my second-hand Converse shoes. As I got to my feet, Beast Boy took my hand in his.
"Let's go!" He exclaimed, leading me off. I gasped as he tugged me along, not as roughly as it would seem, but just fast enough to leave me breathless. He stopped in a open clearing, surrounded on one side by trees and on the other by the buildings of the city. He reached into the basket and pulled out a blanket, laying it down on the grass. He gestured to it with a sweep of his arms. I smiled at him and then sat down, crossing my legs and setting my hands on my ankles.
"I brought stuff for sandwiches and a couple Cokes. Do you like Coke?" He asked, holding out a can to me. I accepted it, not really knowing if I liked it.
"Uh, yeah," I said, hoping to make him happy, "Thanks." I took a sip and tried not to squint. It had a strange, rusty taste to it. But it wasn't that unpleasant. And the fizzy feel in my mouth was nice. It wasn't quite as good as the Root Beer Beast Boy had bought me at the pizza place yesterday, but I liked it in a weird way.
"So, how was your day so far?" Beast Boy asked, leaning back on the blanket with a can of soda as I rubbed some mayonnaise on my sandwich. I looked up at him, wondering if I should mention that I had slept in the park and stayed here all day, so my day had passed pretty much in anticipation of meeting him. I decided against it.
"It's been very good. How was yours?" He smiled a little.
"Cyborg – one of my friends and a fellow Titan – kept teasing me. But I don't really mind."
"Why was your friend teasing you?" I asked curiously. Beast Boy got this weird look on his face, and although it was hard to tell with his green skin, I was pretty sure he was blushing.
"Oh, um… no reason." He said sheepishly.
"So he teases you without provocation?" I asked, my eyebrows rising a little. Beast Boy looked at me, frowning. Then he laughed.
"Sometimes. But only on very special occasions," he teased, his eyes sparkling with mirth. I felt the laugh escaping my lips long before it came out. I loved the feeling, the way I had to buckle over to keep myself from crying. Beast Boy laughed with me, and I was touched by the moment. It had been too long since I laughed with someone else – in fact, I couldn't even say if I ever had. It must have happened long ago, if at all. I was suddenly terribly sad. It was weird, switching emotions so quickly. That usually didn't happen with me, but it was happening now.
"What's wrong, Leila?" Beast Boy asked, looking at me with big, honest eyes.
"It's been a… a while… since I could really laugh." I said, smiling sadly at him. It was a bittersweet feeling, being here with him at my side. The end to my loneliness was a comforting, warm thing – but it was a bit overshadowed by the realization of all the years I'd wasted, all the things I had missed in those years spent under master's thumb. And as I looked into Beast Boy's eyes, I had another realization. No matter how good he was, or how bright a light he'd become in my life in such a short time, he would abandon me if he knew the truth. He would never look at me again. My heart plummeted, and I flinched a bit when the pain in my side flared. All of this fretting was wearing on my strength. I sighed, unsure of what to do. Remaining with Beast Boy would either increase my anxiety or ease it. I couldn't say. And I didn't think I could bear to have him see me in pain from the bond. Suddenly Beast Boy took my hand, holding it firmly in his, his expression earnest.
"Well I like to hear you laugh," he said quietly. I opened my mouth to reply, but no words would come out. Finally I just closed it, smiling at him with more feeling than I'd felt in a long time. Beast Boy was slowly easing the pain from my heart, and with that burden lifted, it suddenly became easier to fight off master's hold on me.
"Beast Boy, I…"
"Hey, BB! There you are!" I froze, the blood draining from my face. I turned slightly, looking at the approaching figures. The mechanical man – Cyborg, I guessed – was walking towards us. If it had been just him, I might have stayed. But floating just behind him was the dark one. My heart stuttered in my chest and I panicked. I got up quickly, pulling my hand out of Beast Boy's.
"What's wrong, Leila?" Beast Boy asked, startled.
"I've got to go." I said quickly, only getting a few strides away before Beast Boy caught up to me, grabbing my arm. I flinched visibly, and he let go, shocked at my reaction.
"Leila…" He murmured, his eyes filled with confusion.
"I'm sorry. I'll see you around." I said, giving him a wary smile before turning and fleeing, knowing that Beast Boy's friends would probably think me strange – maybe they'd suspect me. But I had to get away. If I didn't, it'd all be over, and my time with Beast Boy would definitely end before it even began.
.~.\\*/.~.
Beast Boy watched Leila run off, his heart sinking. Why had she suddenly decided to go? As soon as Cyborg had shown up, she'd looked as if she'd seen a ghost. And when he'd touched her, she'd reacted like he was going to hurt her. Just what sort of life has she lived? Beast Boy wondered, staring at his hand. Had she been in an abusive relationship? But she'd said she'd never had a boyfriend before. Maybe she just doesn't want me asking questions about it… But then, she'd said she never liked anyone. Would she have gone out with a guy she didn't like? Or maybe he was just thinking about it wrongly. Maybe she was just afraid of the weird green kid that hadn't even known her a day but was already thinking about her in all his spare time.
"BB, what's going on?" Cyborg asked, looking from Beast Boy to where his friend had vanished.
"She said she had to go." Beast Boy replied evenly.
"She couldn't wait around to meet us? We want to see BB's girlfriend!" Beast Boy rounded on Cyborg, feeling a strange mixture of anger and frustration and sadness after seeing that terrified look on Leila's face.
"Just shut up, Cyborg! She's not my girlfriend! I barely know anything about her!" He snapped, turning his back on his friend. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Raven's expressionless face.
"Beast Boy…" She murmured, her brows coming together a little – the only sign of her concern.
"Look, I just… I need some time." He said, folding up the blanket. It's been so long since I last laughed. He stared down at Leila's half-eaten sandwich. He wondered why that was. Why hadn't she laughed? Why did her eyes look so sad? Was she in trouble? Stop it, Beast Boy, the Titan chided himself, If she needed a hero, she'd want a better one than you.
"BB…" Cyborg stared after his friend as Beast Boy picked up his basket, walking back towards Titan's Tower. Raven turned to him and shook her head.
"Just give him his space," she said.
Beast Boy sat down on the long black couch in the main living area of the Tower. He stared out of the windows, his mind drifting even as his thumb pressed against the "next channel" button on his remote. Again. And again. And again.
"Are you going to watch something or do you just need your remote fix for the day?" He started and looked up at Cyborg. His friend sat down on the couch, taking the remote from Beast Boy's hand. The pointed-eared boy stared at his friend, studying the way he leaned back against the couch, a smug smile on his face as he flipped through the channels.
"I'm sorry about teasing you, BB," Cyborg said at last, "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or anything." He turned and met Beast Boy's gaze, the expression on the human side of his face looking honestly apologetic.
"That's okay, Cyborg," Beast Boy sighed, "I was just a bit… frustrated, I guess."
"Do you have any idea why she ran off?" His friend asked. Beast Boy thought through their meeting.
"Well," he murmured, "She was fine… until she saw you and Raven coming." He looked at Cyborg thoughtfully. "Maybe you scared her."
"Oh, that hurt!" Cyborg exclaimed, wincing.
"She's a bit finicky." Beast Boy mused.
"Are you going to tell me her name, at least? I'd rather not have to refer to her as 'the girl', and 'BB's girlfriend' has been ruled out."
"Her name's Leila." Beast Boy murmured absentmindedly, his eyes on the TV screen but his thoughts far from the Tower. He couldn't help but think about the look in Leila's eyes. What about his friends had scared her? And he didn't kid himself – she had been scared. Beast Boy sighed, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. Would he see her again? The thought that she wouldn't look for him, that he had no idea where to look for her, unnerved him to no end. He sighed. Beast Boy could no longer remember why he was so determined to see her. Maybe it was the way she'd laughed, the way she smiled, the way she seemed to stare into his soul and see the true person there, not just what he was on the outside. But whatever it was, he couldn't ignore it – even if he wanted to.
"Hey, BB," Cyborg murmured, leaning over the couch to stare into Beast Boy's face.
"What?" The green boy asked without really concentrating.
"How about we go out for some doughnuts?" Beast Boy looked up. Maybe some fun would distract him. Maybe.
"Alright," he consented at last, getting to his feet with a determined look on his face. He cast one last glance out the windows at the sea before turning and walking after his friend.
.~./~./~./.~.
Terra frowned in concentration, trying to listen to Shadow's voice as she moved the two large rocks back and forth. They knocked each other and jerked suddenly, as if they were trying to escape her control. Sweat beaded her forehead as she squinted, feeling the strain of controlling and wishing she could just quit it with the powers and the "being special".
"Don't try quite so hard," Shadow's voice murmured just by her ear, his breath warm against her neck, "Just relax." He touched her shoulder, and she stiffened for a moment before doing as he said. She let her grasp relax a bit and her shoulders loosened, her sore body almost sighing in relief when she released the tension.
"There. Isn't that easier?" Shadow asked gently, playing with a strand of her hair. Terra smiled widely at him over her shoulder.
"I can do it! I can control them!" She said proudly, showing him how she could make the rocks twirl and spin, moving in sync across their small practicing space at the bottom of a deep gorge cut by an earthquake many years prior.
"Good work, Terra. You've improved greatly in the past few days." Shadow said, a smile in his voice. She looked up at him and wished she could see his face. But Shadow was as mysterious as he was a good teacher, and she didn't have the nerve to ask him why he wore that mask.
"Do you think so?" She asked hopefully.
"I know so," he replied.
"But what about you? How am I supposed to help you find the student?" She asked, her blue eyes wide and innocent, just wanting to be of use to her new friend and mentor. Shadow patted her shoulder gently, his one visible eye softening.
"You will," he said, "Don't worry. Now, let's try the next move…"
.~|~.~|~.~|~.
The dark halls of Slade's hideout were filled with the sounds of progress. Several machines were already constructing a new robot to replace the one that the Titans had destroyed. And Slade's experiments were going well. He would have plenty of fighting force soon. But all of that was not enough for him. There was one room that was empty, and that thought was like trying to swallow a very large stone. Slade had waited patiently for word from his apprentice, Shadow. But so far there had been nothing but a few assurances that he was planning his moves out. That was the trouble with Shadow. He was all plans and thinking and no action. Slade's visible eye narrowed as he stared at the large computer screen, watching the city with a very intense sort of expression, as if he wanted it all to himself and would not take no for an answer. Perhaps I was wrong to take on another apprentice? He thought, Perhaps my plan was the best after all… But the plan must not be very good if the girl was running loose on the streets. What if she contacted the Titans and told them of his plans? What little she knew of those plans anyway. But she wouldn't. He'd instilled a deep fear of them into her, and she was a timid creature by nature. She trusted no one, and that ingrained lesson would not be unlearnt anytime soon.
"You may think you have escaped the cage, my little bird," Slade said, staring at the pictures of the bustling city with open malice in his voice, "But you are far from flying off yet. Just wait. I will find you. And when I do…" He lashed out, his fist breaking one of his smaller monitoring screens. With pieces of metal and gears falling from the desecrated screen, Slade turned and made his way out of the room.
Author's Note:
Thanks for reading chapter four! Wow. So, yes. A LOT happening here XD I am sorry if you feel that the story is moving too fast. There is an explanation: 1. I do not like writing extremely long fanfics. 2. I do not have time to write extremely long fanfics. 3. I do not have the time to come up with many boring fillers to make my fanfic longer and 4. I feel that it will be more exciting this way. Haha yeah so that's about it ^w^ Don't worry, though, it will be devious, if not uberly long. I impressed myself with writing EMM (my Lion King fanfic) and having eleven chapters, so who knows how far this one will go? I WILL warn you that chapter six will cue the major plot twists (Or was it five? Eh, oh well). Anyways, hope you liked THIS chapter and are looking forward to my story regardless of how long and drawn-out I want to make it. Please comment and review and let me know how I'm doing =W= Thanks again!
-LR
