Author's Note: HEY, wat's up? long time no write, eh? as i have said in previous chapters, i'm DESPERATELY sorry it took so long for me to update…first i got sick, then i had a week of standardized tests at school, and i have JUST finished final exams…but enough excuses. there's good news for me to share: IT IS NOW SUMMER! that's good for me, cuz it means no school, but also good for you if you're enjoying my story—more free time for ME more chapters in a smaller time span for YOU GUYZ. i will be gone on vacation for a while at times, but that's the beauty of laptops; mine goes where i go! o.O so yeah, i'll stop rambling on now, and let you get to the next chapter. you're personal responses to reviews are, as usual, below… .

DragonGirl: AIYYY! don't cry! i swear it gets better! well, at least a little…(smirks) i'm glad you liked it! and sorry you had to wait!

cameron: you're assumptions are may be right…but i'm not gonna tell you anymore than that! And for you and everyone else that might be a little worried: at the beginning i said this was a BBRae story, and it will remain that way, except for a couple twists and turns. (snickers) i love leading you guys on…

BolenPUCR: i would say i'm glad you feel sorry, cuz that's the reaction that i wanted from people, but it sounds wrong, if you catch my drift. o.O i'm weird…

Smileyfacedudet: you don't have to review me every chapter, i know you usually read them…i force you to at home…

TDG3RD: thanx for all the helpful hints and ideas, man, you really helped me out with the future of this fanfic. hope you have some more ideas again soon!

moonarcher: uhhh, you knda left out the website address in your review…if you read this again, though, could you please put it in another review? i'd really appreciate it!

dragoon-bane: SOMEBODY didn't read the origin story! Steve Dayton is Beast Boy's foster father, i explain their whole relationship and stuff in the first chapter, if you want to refresh your memory…

AGAIN, I'M TERRIBLY SORRY IT TOOK ME SO LONG TO UPDATE!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in the Teen Titans show or comics.

The morning at the Titan Tower was absolutely beautiful, with fluffy, pillow-like white clouds drifting slowly across the sun, giving temporary shade against the already rising temperatures. Sunlight bounced off the bay and glass windows of the Tower, making the building a huge prism. Birds flitted through the sky, bugs beginning their hot weather drone. It would've been an excellent day for the water park or the pool, even though it was only mid-March. Thoughts inside the Titan Tower were far from any swimming at all, however. The day of Beast Boy's departure had finally arrived, and it wasn't Beast Boy alone who had been dreading it.

The air inside the Tower was still as a lone shadow crept along the deserted hallways, holding a box and obviously searching for someone or something as it peered around corners, making its way towards the main room and kitchen in the tower. Every time the quiet swish of a door or the faint echoes of someone else coming down the hall sounded, the shadow would swiftly dart for cover, shooting through halls or flattening itself against the wall. It was careful never to let the box fall from its secure grasp, carrying it with purpose and meaning.

Finally the shadow made it to the doorway of the main room, the couch and humungous windows filling the opposite side in its view. Suddenly it stopped before it took a step into the room, aware of the figure sitting on the corner of the long, green couch, gazing at the book held aloft with black energy. The shadow observed the Goth girl and her book for a moment, then glided up to her until it was directly behind her. It slowly lifted the box above the girl's head…

And dropped heavily it on the couch beside her.

Raven, sighed, letting the floating book drop into her outstretched hand as she turned to face the box. "Hello, Starfire."

"Hello, friend!" Starfire exclaimed with a smile, settling herself on the other side of the box. "The preparations have been made, and the boxed gift is ready." She happily patted the box, which was wrapped, rather messily Raven noted, in white wrapping paper with party-balloon print covering it. A decorative, red and yellow gift bow was stuck in the center, and a slip of paper was taped next to the bow.

"Great," Raven said, much less enthusiastic than Starfire. Starfire didn't seem to notice, however, and looked toward Raven with eager eyes.

"Do you think he has guessed our surprise of the going away?"

Raven resisted rolling her eyes at Starfire's novice English, and tucked her book under her arm as she stood up. Remembering the slightly hurt look that had passed over Beast Boy's face when she had told him she was going to the mall with Starfire at the end of their last discussion, Raven shook her head. "No, I don't think he has."

"Joyous! Do you think he will like the boxed gift?"

The questions never seemed to stop with Starfire. "Yes, Starfire, I'm sure he'll appreciate it."

The idea of getting Beast Boy a gift before he left was Starfire's idea, so of course she was anxious about it. She had come to Raven a day or so after hearing of Beast Boy's…'resignation,' to put it nicely…and asked for the Goth's help in picking the gift out. Raven hadn't been much intrigued by the thought at first, but humored Starfire, and had been quite surprised when the ever-cheerful teen had pulled out at least two thousand dollars in cash to count for spending money. Apparently, Starfire didn't seem to have much trust in banks—with good reason, too, seeing as most of the time the Teen Titans were stopping some form of robbery, usually from a bank.

Raven glanced at the digital clock over on the kitchen oven. It was almost eleven, and Beast Boy was due to leave at eleven thirty or so. The only Titan Raven had really seen this morning was Starfire, and she suspected the rest were either in their rooms or on the roof, where the helicopter would land. She didn't know where Starfire was planning to go, or anyone else, but Raven had decided last night after a restless hour or two in bed that she would see Beast Boy off.

She started to walk across to the door that led to the rest of the Tower, Starfire getting up and picking up the box once again to follow her. "I'm going up to the roof," she told Starfire as she came up behind her.

She waited for Starfire to leave and go to her own doings, but Starfire simply beamed. "Good, I will accompany you." Starfire wasn't much of one for hints, Raven had learned, so she didn't pursue the matter. Instead, she walked out the door, Starfire in tow.

"The pilot says we're about twenty-five minutes away, now." Steve's voice sounded hollow and brash in Beast Boy's ear as he held the cell phone to his ear, dragging his suitcase to his door. Its weight had grown increasingly heavy as Beast Boy had tried to fit everything he could of his old life into it and the two boxes Cyborg had already lugged up to the storage room below the roof. The room was completely blank, all trash finally gone and furniture besides the bed buried in the depths of the Tower's basement. Beast Boy tried hard not to look at one place in the room too long anymore, images of what stuff should be there instead of the vacant spot popping into his mind if he did.

"You might want to go on to the roof if you aren't already up there," Steve continued. His voice was strained, as he was practically yelling over the roar of helicopter blades and engine. "We're going to land on the roof and stay there, the co-pilot will help you with your stuff, but the goal is to get off the Tower as soon as possible. Don't want anyone wondering what's going on."

Beast Boy sighed heavily in distress. "Oh, yeah, we wouldn't want that," he said flatly. He didn't want to sound like a brat to Steve, but he had become increasingly irritated and angry the closer the time for him to leave the Tower came. Words of sarcasm and resentment seemed to leak out of him exactly when he didn't want them to, as if his mouth belonged to an entirely different person and he couldn't control what he said at all. He felt guilty about it, too. There had been only one other time in his life when he had become as pessimistic and offensive as he was being currently, and that had been when he had been 'rescued' from the jungle after his parents' death.

Steve knew this too, and understood the behavior better than Beast Boy could himself—just the kid's way of dealing with strong feelings. Some people went off the wire and sought physical damage, while others sat by quietly but lashed out with words. So Steve had learned not to take it personally. "Hey," he said seriously now, though he was still pretty much shouting. "Don't worry. You'll get through this."

Beast Boy didn't speak for a minute, then, "I sure hope so."

"I've got the apartment all cleaned and ready to go." Steve changed the subject, and Beast Boy knew that was the signal of 'we'll talk about this later face-to-face'. Beast Boy picked up his suitcase and started out the door, listening to Steve so he wouldn't concentrate on the fact he was leaving behind the room he had spent the past like, what, four years?…of his life in. The only things that now remained with him of those four years were his memory and the Titan communicator in the pocket of his shorts. "Your old room is a little dusty, but the furniture is still there. I went out and got most of the basic school supplies the list said you'd need. They sent a letter of supplies, can you believe that? I though you were going to high school, inform me if I'm wrong—"

"What?" Beast Boy yelped, thoughts of 'Thank God the halls are empty' gone from his head. "High school!"

There was a pause on the other end of the line. "You mean…you didn't know you were going back to school?"

"No!" Beast Boy practically screeched. He hurriedly lowered his voice to a slight yell. "That failed to be mentioned by only everyone!" Great, not only did he have to worry about becoming a 'helpless victim of the enemies of Teen Titans', but he also had to worry about becoming the helpless victim of school bullying again? And he thought he had escaped that horror when he was twelve. He dropped his suitcase next to the Tower's elevator and began taking his disgust out on the button by punching it angrily.

"Sorry, I didn't know that you didn't know…but the county can't just let fourteen- and fifteen-year-olds sit around doing nothing all day, even if they were once vigilantes. It's against the law."

Beast Boy groaned just as the elevator doors glided open. He climbed in, moving his suitcase to set beside the control pad. "Can't I just be home-schooled or something?"

"Sure, if you would rather stay at home being drilled about history questions alone with a sixty-year-old lady overdue for a fashion police arrest and an Extreme Makeover: Smell Edition episode instead of having food in the fridge and friends to go to the movies and mall with."

"Okay, I'll live."

"No, I can't afford a private tutor and we'll talk about this later, the line is breaking up. See you in fifteen minutes."

"But—" the line went dead, leaving Beast Boy staring at his cell phone, perturbed. He flipped it shut and shoved it in his front pocket, watching the pieces of sunlight flash by through the railed window at the top of the shaft, the elevator rising quickly upwards to the roof. He stuck his hand in another of his pockets, feeling the comforting round shape of the Titan communicator with his fingers. He wasn't supposed to have it, but he couldn't quite let go yet.

The elevator suddenly started to slow down, giving Beast Boy a slight fluttering sensation as it came to a complete stop. He picked up his suitcase and stood ready as the bright yellow of the sun blinded him, shining through the large windows covering the walls of the huge, empty storage room he had emerged into. He climbed out of the shaft, letting his eyes adjust as the elevator closed and began to make its way back down again. A narrow, spiral metal staircase came up through the middle of the floor and led up to a trapdoor that led out to the roof of the Tower. Below was the gym, and the Titans passed through this room regularly to play volleyball, but none had really ever stopped to notice this room before. Now Beast Boy took the time, knowing with a sick feeling that this would be the last room inside the Tower he might ever see. It was a very desolate place, cobwebs in corners, packages of supplies, weapon back-ups, and any type of gear needed to clean up the inside or outside of the Titans headquarters stacked upon and among each other. There were no lamps or lights visible in the storage room, sunlight from the windows surrounding it on all four sides providing it with light during the day, and flashlights providing light during the night. The numerous boxes and crates cast long shadows on the floor, keeping the temperature bearable in the room most of the time.

"Beautiful scenery, right?"

Beast Boy jumped, swinging around to come face-to-face with Cyborg, grinning at Beast Boy's startle. Beast Boy grinned back for humor's sake, though he could really less feel like doing so. "Yeah, just a few more boxes over by the stairs and we're set."

"I do not believe it is as beautiful as you agree," came Starfire's confused, lilting voice. Beast Boy peered behind Cyborg's huge figure to see Starfire floating a few inches above the ground with a large, wrapped box in her arms. Raven was standing next to her, watching Robin, who was standing further off along the crates, talking into a walkie-talkie of some sort. Starfire continued. "But if that is the custom on this planet—"

"It was sarcasm, Starfire," Raven interrupted. She stole a quick glance at Beast Boy, then went back to watching Robin just as quickly. She hated goodbyes.

"Oh," Starfire said sheepishly, looking down at the box she held. Her face split it to a smile a second later, though, as if she was remembering something important. But before she could inform the rest of the group what she seemed so happy about, Robin sauntered, over with the walkie-talkie clutched in his fist. He came up beside Raven, gazing anywhere that wasn't at Beast Boy.

"Your ride will be here shortly," he said stiffly. He wasn't a good leader for nothing, and could tell Beast Boy still hadn't forgiven him yet as soon as Beast Boy's jaw locked and his eyes looked straight ahead, ignoring Robin's head. "About ten or nine minutes, according to the pilot."

"That's terrific." The words were bitter and biting, and Beast Boy immediately regretted saying them. He didn't want to have an episode in front of the team—it was unfair to them. He should've known Robin wouldn't care either way. He had always been the type to settle it when it needed settling.

"Look, Beast Boy, I know you're upset—"

"Yeah, I know you do. But that's not helping anything." Why was he getting into this? He shouldn't, he should keep his cool…he noticed Cyborg was inching off towards Raven and Starfire, who were moving away from Robin. They could sense something was coming, even if the two who were going to be responsible couldn't.

"You've stayed in your room since the moment you knew about this. Maybe you're not letting it help!"

There it was: the accusation. The rest of Titans had gone totally silent, always aware of the dangerously climbing tension between Beast Boy and Robin, but now infatuated by it and unable to stop it. Beast Boy had the uncanny feeling everyone's eyes were on him, waiting for his response. Without warning, Beast Boy suddenly felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders, but not in entirely in a good way. Robin had just given him the bait, and Beast Boy had never been one to let opportunities pass. So predictably, he was the first to crack.

"Let it help? Let it help? And how do I let your freaking pity help me when it's the last thing in the world I want?" Out of the corner of his eye, Beast Boy caught Raven shaking her head. He didn't pay it any attention either, instead barreling ahead. He gestured around the room they were standing in. "You knew this was my life! Is my life! You knew that ever since you first picked me up! You understood that too, don't say you didn't—but then you go and take it away from me?"

Robin flinched. "Beast Boy, we already—"

"I might've just been the comic relief for you guys, but I helped just as much as everyone else in creating the Teen Titans! Sure, I'm not a brilliant techno-dude, or, or someone who can predict where the bad guys will strike next by stupid computer data, but I sure as hell came through for this team too many times to count! You can't just throw me off! I have nothing to go to—"

"Beast Boy—"

"You know that! Why am I telling you this?" His voice was starting to rise, and to his horror, an itching wetness began to surface at the corners of his eyes. "You know what's it's like to have no life besides the one you're living now! You had no life right when you lost your parents, Robin, and I DIDN'T EITHER! I WAS CAGED, LOCKED UP LIKE A FREAK! No one wanted me. THIS GAVE ME SOMETHING WORTH LIVING FOR—"

"BEAST BOY, DON'T DO THIS TO ME!" Robin shouted, breaking into Beast Boy's ranting. "I know how it feels to have to leave what you love, but you have to face it! You'd do more bad on this team than good now!"

The sentence was a harsh smack to Beast Boy, causing him to let his suitcase fall to the ground. His fists were clenched next to his sides so hard the whites of his knuckles stood out painfully clear. "YOU don't do this to ME! And at least YOU had the comfort of making another life out of something you wanted! I'M ABOUT TO GO LIVE A NIGHTMARE OF A LIFE THAT I HATED THE FIRST TIME! You're telling me I have to be cut off from the—the only…the only friends I've ever really had, without a backward glance? And you're expecting me to take this all 'that's okay it's only my life'? And one of the few friends I thought I could depend on has to let me down like some type of one-day stand, AVOIDING ME AND HIDING BEHIND A MASK BECAUSE YOU'RE TOO AFRAID TO LET ME KNOW YOU CARE!"

Now it was Robin's turn for shock to be etched in every inch of his face, stunned into silence and hurt. Beast Boy's quiet, ragged breaths were the only sounds that echoed in the vast storage room, and an overwhelming guilt replaced the weight Beast Boy had felt he had left behind only moments before. A distant, chopped roar broke into the room then, and everyone knew the helicopter had arrived. Cyborg walked over to Beast Boy's two boxes that were at the base of the spiral staircase and loaded them into his arms, stepped onto the staircase and climbed up to the roof without a word to Robin or Beast Boy, who were still standing across from each other. Starfire glanced at the two one last time, then followed Cyborg, the wrapped box in her hands. Raven did not follow, but instead stood watching Robin and Beast Boy as the helicopter's dull roar became ever louder.

Robin seemed to finally snap back to reality, and his face hardened in seconds to his normal, blank expression—the normal expression that he only wore when he didn't want his true emotions to be seen. He held out his hand to Beast Boy, but Beast Boy had the feeling it wasn't for a hand shake. He was right.

"Your Titan communicator, please," Robin said quietly, his voice firm and almost unfeeling. Beast Boy opened his mouth angrily to say he didn't know what Robin was talking about, but Robin stopped him. "I know you have it."

Beast Boy closed his mouth into a pale, thin line, and reached into his shorts pocket, pulling out the communicator gingerly. He held it in his hand for another second, and then quickly stretched out his arm and dropped it in Robin's outstretched hand as if it had turned red-hot. Robin nodded as Beast Boy bent down to pick up his suitcase, and waited until Beast Boy had straightened up to speak again. "You might want to hurry up before you miss your ride…Garfield." Robin swallowed once, turning away and walking extremely fast to the elevator. Beast Boy resisted the urge to run after him and strangle him, his face pale and very hot at the same time. No one had called him that in a very, very long time. Robin stood with his back to Raven and Beast Boy even when the elevator doors closed tightly behind him, refusing to look either in the eye.

Raven looked questioningly at Beast Boy as Robin disappeared, right when he promptly took off towards the staircase. He ignored her as she glided behind him while he climbed up the stairs, only facing her when he had burst out of the trapdoor, slamming it down after she and his suitcase were out. She stepped out in front of him before he could run to the helicopter, which had landed on the roof and was kicking up dust as well as a strong wind that tossed and flipped Raven's hair and cape. Starfire and Cyborg were waiting a few yards off, the boxes already in the helicopter's cargo space. The wrapped box that Starfire had had was mysteriously gone.

"Please," Raven said as loudly as she could, her voice barely audible over the helicopter's roar. She was pushing her purple-hued hair out of her face with difficultly, her cape blowing wildly, showing her pale skin and figure-hugging costume underneath it. The belt of blood-red jewels flashed in the sun. Her voice also had a strange pleading note, which helped make Beast Boy shift under her unfaltering gaze. "Beast Boy, don't…don't leave us angry."

Beast Boy looked up at her navy eyes, his anger somewhat fading away. He slumped his shoulders a tad over in defeat, tired and troubled by the argument he had just had with Robin. "I'm not angry," he stated simply, not caring whether Raven had heard him or not. He raised his voice against the helicopter's noise. "Raven—"

"HEY!" Raven and Beast Boy turned to the helicopter door to see a man of average height leaning out, waving his arms. His hair was cut short, ruffling in the wind; sunglasses covered his eyes, but his mouth was wide, hinting at a huge smile that came easily, and his ears stuck out from his head almost hilariously. He was wearing a suit, indicating he had just come from work of some sort. It was Beast Boy's foster father, Steve Dayton. "COME ON!"

Beast Boy looked at Raven again, who was waiting for him to continue. A wave of misery swept over Beast Boy as easily as the nausea had swept over him the day his life had changed for the worse. "Raven," he started again. She had to lean in to hear him properly. His voice cracked and faltered as he sullenly voiced his defeat. "I'm not…Beast Boy…any more."

She stared at his back as he brushed past her, running with an arm across his face towards Steve and his new life, suitcase flapping against his legs. He was glad the harsh wind from the helicopter's blades swept away the tears before they actually touched his face. For the truth had finally hit him, and it had winded him just as he had been winded when he found out there was no reversing he matter of his 'condition'. As he had told Raven, he wasn't Beast Boy any more…he was once again Garfield Logan.

And he once again felt very alone.