2/6/16

Cursed

Chapter 8: Dinah

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or anything else I may mention.

…

I manage to put all thoughts of Leo out of my mind so I can focus on the mission at hand. Getting home should be a lot easier than taking the trip here, but I still want to keep my mind clear. I am in charge here, after all, and Headmistress says that leaders need to clear their mind of all distractions.

We walk for a while before reaching Split City. The walk doesn't take nearly as long as I remember it, which comes as a relief. My feet are starting to hurt, and we didn't eat breakfast this morning. The food in our backpacks has been tempting me all day, and there's nothing I want more than to grab my bottle of water and take a nice long drink. I'm sure my little team is thinking the same thing, so I take the map from Roy and look around for a park. I suggest the break to my team, and they happily and readily agree.

It takes us about 15 minutes to find the park. I'm disappointed that there isn't a playground, even though we're not here to play. I haven't gotten to play outside since the witch captured me, and by the disappointed looks on Jade and Roy's faces it seems to be even longer since they have. Still, we suck it up and sit down on a bench in the middle of the park, next to a lake filled with ducks.

Jade unzips one of the backpacks and wordlessly passes out our lunch. I forget all things similar to manners and immediately begin scarfing down an apple. When I finally remember what manners even are, I realize that Roy and Jade don't seem to be following them either. With a shrug, I follow their lead and messily move to a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It's nice having no adult supervision.

Unfortunately, this doesn't last long. A woman with long, shiny blonde hair starts slowly walking over to us. Drat. What will she do to us? Tell the police we're here without an adult? And then they'll find out we're with the HIVE, and if Jade and Roy's rumors are true they'll arrest us! I swallow the lump in my throat and force myself to look at her. Her eyes scan us for a moment before they eventually settle on Roy. I turn to him to see his reaction, and surprisingly enough he smiles.

"Hey Dinah!"

She smiles back at him and he gets up and throws his arms around her. She laughs and returns the action. "I missed you too, Roy," she says.

I smile at the scene, but I'm still confused as to who this woman is and what her intentions are. She could be a crazy axe murderer for all I know. Not that I couldn't defend, myself, but still.

I guess Roy and the blonde woman finally remember that we're here, so they let go of each other and Roy goes back to the bench.

"Who are your friends?" the woman asks, her eyes filled with worry. But for what? Does she distrust us?

"This is Jade and Mallory. Girls, this is my friend Dinah," Roy says. He seems a little nervous, as if he doesn't want her to be here, but from his earlier actions I would've thought he was happy to see her. It doesn't help that Roy and Jade themselves are usually pretty mysterious as it is. Can't I just have one friend who's open with me?

Dinah smiles. "It's nice to meet you."

Jade is practically beaming. "Are you the Dinah who knocked out five men in a dark alley in under a minute?" she asks, her eyes glittering with wonder.

Wait, she did what?

"Yes, but that wasn't supposed to leave the room, Roy," she says, glaring at my friend.

He shrugs, shoving his hands in his pockets. "What are you supposed to tell a pretty girl who's obsessed with the ultra-violence? That I have normal friends? I think not!"

Jade tilts her head. "You think I'm pretty?"

"Wait, you really did that?" I ask. "Wow! You must be as strong as Wonder Woman!"

"I wish," Dinah says. Her smile turns into a frown. "What are you kids doing out here by yourselves anyways? Are you lost?"

I can't help it. I panic.

"N-no, we're just, you know, we're… doing school stuff! Yeah, school stuff! We have a scavenger hunt around the city. We're just stopping to eat lunch."

And once again, the day was saved thanks to my horrible lying skills! Or the Powerpuff Girls. Whatever floats your boat.

"I see," Dinah says, but something tells me she doesn't completely buy it. "Well, I need to go. It was good to see you Roy."

"Wait!" Roy yells, digging into his backpack. "I have something for Bruce!"

Dinah nods her head. "Right, I forgot."

After digging around for a minute, he grabs an envelope and tosses his hand into the air triumphantly. He hands it to her, and she takes it from him. His hand lingers on the envelope for a moment before he finally lets go. Her eyes soften, and she wraps her arms around him again.

"Stay safe, okay?" I hear her whisper. It's faint, as if intended for his ears only, but I guess she wasn't quiet enough. Kind of like my mom when she would tell me she loved me when she was dropping me off at school. I was always so embarrassed because none of the other parents would make such a big scene. But now that they're gone and I know I'll never see them again, and even if I did they'd hate me. I can't help but miss it. Do they miss me, too? Does Felicity even remember who I am? Or am I just another face that has come into my family's lives and left without a trace?

I hold back my tears because I'm a big girl, the oldest of my friends, and I refuse to let them see me cry. Headmistress always says that a leader never lets his (or her) group see any signs of weakness from them. After all, no one wants a weak leader.

"Goodbye Dinah," Roy says quietly.

Dinah only nods her head. She brushes a tear out of her eyes and clutches the envelope before turning around and walking away. There are many things I want to know, such as how he knows Dinah and who Bruce is, but out of all the questions there's one thing I really want to know. And the more time passes, the more the question of what was in that letter will burn in the back of my mind.

….

Hi again! I'm really sorry for the amount of time it took me to update. Between the holidays, friends who live 10 hours away visiting, and getting flooded out of my house, things have been kind of hectic. Also I have to write a research paper on marine pollution for school, so most of the time I was using to write has been used to read through my books and find articles and stuff. Blah.

This was my first time writing Black Canary, to be honest. I'm pretty sure I messed up the characterization a little, but I don't think it was horrible. Still, I want to know what you think. I'm always a little shaky about working with new characters.

Anyways, thanks for the follows, favorites, and reviews!

Quote of the day!

"Lex, you're having a difficult day… hmm… if nothing else I can learn The Flash's secret identity. *takes off mask* …I have no idea who this is." –Justice League, Lex Luthor

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