Always and Forever

"Hello"

"Dude I don't know why we have to do all the clean up! Don't they have services for this kind of thing?" Beast boy whined. Three Teen Titians were reluctantly cleaning up the streets of Jump city after their run in with the thing.
"And who let Robin name the monster? The Thing is so unoriginal."
"Can you stop whining and get to work! I have a large supreme pizza waiting for me at the tower." Cyborg said day dreaming as he put his hand on his stomach.
"And I doubt any name you picked would be savory for a massacre Beast Boy." Raven remarked as she used her magic to lift buildings back into place.
Beast boy leaned against his broom laughing to himself as he racked through all the potential names in his head.
Raven moved her magic energy onto the broom, lifting it up to smack him in the back of the head then brush him into an alley way that was full of the goop. Beast Boy mumbled to himself, starting up the vacuum pack weighing heavily on his back. Beast boy grabbed the hose from behind his back and began to clean. He didn't understand why Robin insisted they help with clean up. They had just saved the city after all. Something about how he liked to finish what he started. Beast Boy was pretty sure Robin just liked torturing him.
He saw a bit of slime in the corner writhe and jiggle. Some of it was still alive. Without Starfire's star bolts all he could was quickly stick his vacuum hose up to the lump and watch as it got sucked into his tank.
Something got stuck on the tip of the hose, Beast boy observed it looked like a small journal. He turned off the hose, making sure none of the other sticky substance was moving when he picked it up from the ground.
It was a small book, barely bigger than his hand. The cover seemed completely devoid of the black gloop from the thing. It had a small reflective oval gem on it, it almost reminded Beast Boy of a mirror. He was unable to pull away from his reflection in the gem.
He undid the delicate leather latch to see only three words scribbled on the yellow pages.
"Hello Beast Boy."

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Robin was facing the window of Teen Titian's Tower with the book resting open in his hands. He was locked in a deep concentration on the two words present.
"Hello Robin."
Each time one of the members of the group picked up the book, the words at the end of hello would shift to be their name. It confirmed every suspicion Robin had about being watched, about someone being there.
"I told you I don't know dude! It was just there, and every time it went near the creepy slime stuff it came back to life!" Beast Boy said loudly as the other Teen Titian's interrogated him.
"I haven't seen anything like that ." Raven remarked. If anyone would know anything about the magic book it would be her. Robin new that, and so he knew this was something that they had never faced before.
"We don't have books like that on my planet, or really any planet I have seen." Starfire chimed.
"No, it's nothing any of us have seen." Robin threw the book down on the coffee table in the middle of where they were standing in the living room.
In the middle of all of them, the book would shift rapidly name to name as if it couldn't decide who to try and talk to first. Then it stopped.
"Hello Starfire." Everyone turned to look at Starfire who was stuck staring at the book. At her name. At the one the book has chosen. A feeling of dread feel over the room even though there was no real way to tell that it meant something was wrong. The journal itself simply was wrong.
Robin felt his heart drop. Starfire kneeled down on the floor near the edge of the coffee table.
The page then began to fill with "Hello Starfire" rapidly. Each sentence had different handwriting than the rest, some so messy you couldn't read it or some so perfect it was almost disturbing.
"It wants to me to write in it." Starfire said quietly.
"Oh write in the mysterious book, that's totally a good idea." Raven replied sarcastically.
Robin had to agree, jumping into things like this had never done them well. They needed a plan, one that didn't involve Starfire possibly signing her soul away to a mysterious journal.
Robin picked the book off the table, and slammed it shut. Starfire looked at him, no glared at him.
"Raven, do you think you could try and do more research on it?" Robin requested.
Raven sighed and took the book out of his hands. She walked silently out of the room.
Robin looked at Star again. Her face seemed to relax but there was a hint of fogginess in her eyes. That look hardly quote left since The Thing attacked but now it seemed intense. It burned even. He must of been seeing things, it didn't make any sense he thought.
Starfire slowly got up from the floor, she seemed confused. Like everything around her become suddenly unfamiliar all at once. She quickly shook her head, settling into a more natural state. She was still dazed but herself at least.
"Starfire?" Robin questioned gently.
"Oh Robin, how long have you been standing there?" Starfire was quiet, disturbingly so.
"I never left Star." Robin muttered worriedly.
"How did I leave bed? I never left."
The weakness that had overtaken her after The Thing attack come back again. She feel to her knees, green sparks admitting themselves from her body.
Robin slowly kneeled down next to her, carefully placing a hand on her exposed back. He felt a small jolt of electricity but it wasn't enough to hurt him. It wasn't enough to make him pull away.
"All I saw was darkness Robin, I was so alone. I was so alone." She didn't have her usual alien grammar mistakes littered through her words. It was like she wasn't even saying the words herself, they just flowed from her with no consent.
"I know Star." It was all he could manage to say.
"I told you that you wouldn't be alone remember?"
"I know, but I can't believe you." Starfire hugged her arms, the green sparks growing more intense with each feeling she felt.
"I was so alone."
Robin sighed, getting to his feet and racking his brain on what to do. What to say, what to think. He had never felt more useless.
Robin then bent down, pulling Starfire up. He put his hands on her shoulders, he still found it strange the alien girl was now a few inches shorter than him.
"Go back to bed Star."
"I don't want to be alone!" She then screamed, her boosting voice rattling throughout the tower.
Robin was left stuck in his tracks for a moment as subtle tears streamed down her pale cheeks.
"I don't want to be alone."
"Star-" He began, but he was quickly interrupted by the girl slamming her face into his chest. She wrapped her arms tightly around his him, her back heaving with the heavy sobs muffled within their embrace.
He slowly returned the gesture, putting a hand around her shoulder. He wandered what she saw when she touched the book, what she saw in the thing. He knew enough to know now wasn't the right time to ask, so he just held her.
"I'm here for you."
They stayed like that for a long time until Robin eventually lead her up to the roof, where she could look up at the stars. It's where she always went when she was upset, it was the only thing he could think of.
She sniffled occasionally, hugging her knees closer to her chest. Robin was leaning back on his hands, one hand resting behind her. Their shoulders brushed against each other lightly every so often in the silence, legs dangling off the edge of the tower as the ocean around them splashed onto the shore.
They had hardly said a word to each other but they didn't really need too. They simply looked up with each other at the glimmering lights.
"Thank you Robin." She murmured, each word drawn out and slow in a tired slur.
"You don't have to thank me Star." He responded in a equally as hushed tone.
"I wish too."
"Alright, you are welcome." He playfully bumped his shoulder with hers and looked back up at the sky.
"The book of messages spoke to me. It said it was red to be alone. It told me I be would alone, it told me all sorts of horrible things Robin but I wanted to talk to it. Does that make me a bad friend?" She asked innocently.
"No Star. It's magic, who knows what it's capable of. Don't blame yourself." He set a hand on her shoulder facing her. He knew for the sake of his job he should be asking her all sorts of questions.
"Being a hero comes first." Batman said in his brain. He quickly shut him down, focusing entirely on Starfire.
She yawned widely, her exhaustion quickly catching up with her. She leaned her head on his shoulder, her breathing becoming slower as she drifted off to sleep.
He smiled to himself, and allowed himself that moment underneath the stars for longer than he probably should have.
Eventually, he carefully lifted her up. He placed her gently in her bed, making sure she was tucked in safely in her sheets. He stared at her for a moment. Realizing all to fast as he felt comfort knowing she was at peace in her sleep, and a pang of sadness without her there. Realizing all too fast Batman was right.
He trained harder that night than he ever had before.