Authors Note
So here's the first chapter of my first story in my very own D.C comics world! Obviously I don't own literally anything in this except for my own characters sprinkled within, but Earth 24 is my baby and has been for quite a while, so I'm very attached lol. I hope you guys enjoy! Feel free to review or message me anything about the story :) Please note that there will be some dark themes, offensive language and death in my story.
City of Crime
1x1
The Bloody Narrows
Gotham was awake with activity. The city truly came alive at night, with the many lower class criminals crawling out from their hiding places to go about their seedy business. One such criminal named Willis Todd threw open the doors to one of the many warehouses in the docks district, looking around the massive, dimly lit open space with narrowed eyes. There were some crates sitting in the middle of the room, with several of his henchmen lifting some more out of a truck that still had the engine running. With another of his men closing the doors behind him, Willis crossed to the crates and gestured to one of his men to open it.
"I hope this is worth it boss." A young thug named Sam muttered as he approached, hugging his arms to his chest as he looked up at the darkened windows. Sam was Willis' second in command. He could see something of himself in the younger male.
"Calm down kid." Willis responded gruffly, reaching into the now opened crate and pulling out one of the bags inside. A fine white powder was the contents. "We've got more chance of aliens popping up than running into them. Get this shit packed up and stored away. And be careful! This is gunna be one hell of a payday."
Sam nodded and went about ordering the other thugs present to start removing the contents from the crates and dividing them up into portions that would go in smaller boxes to be stored. As they did, Willis pulled out his phone to find two messages waiting for him. One from his son, the other from the boss. Dismissing his child's text, Willis opened the one from his boss.
Did the product arrive safely?
Willis rolled his eyes. He could practically hear the self important tone of his bosses voice and feel their judgmental gaze on him. That kind of thing came with doing jobs for the white collar criminals of the city, all safe over in their penthouses in the Upper East Side while people like Willis did the dirty work in the places like the Narrows and the Docks.
It's here. Will be ready for distribution tmrw.
Willis shoved his phone back into his pocket and felt a shiver go through his body as the already dim lightning suddenly disappeared altogether. As the thugs around the warehouse began to yell in protest, Willis moved over to the shadow of Sam and pulled out his gun.
"Looks like the aliens decided tonights the night..." Willis muttered, placing his hand on Sams shoulder. "Take two guys and get as much product as you can out of here. I'll handle our guests."
Just as he finished speaking, a very audible scream rang out in the darkness which made Willis grit his teeth in frustration. Sam meanwhile jumped but did as he was asked, moving surprisingly quickly through the darkness to carry out his orders. Stepping carefully, Willis made his way towards the origin of the scream, gathering three of his men on the way. He almost tripped over the unconscious form of one of his men, peering through the darkness to try seeing if he could spot the attackers. As he did, the sounds of struggles and cries of pain began to ring out across the warehouse.
"Back to back." Willis ordered, with his three men immediately complying.
He could practically sense the fear of his men and could feel them shaking as well. He wanted nothing more than to yell at them or shake them up, but he knew he couldn't focus on that right now. He didn't know how many of the vigilantes were in the warehouse. It had grown silent after the last round of pained cries so Willis had to assume that the rest of his men were incapacitated. He just had to hope that Sam had made it out with the product or he was going to have a very difficult week ahead of him. Without warning, something dropped down behind him and one of his men fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Willis spun quickly, finding Robin standing there with what he knew was a smirk on the kids face.
"Hi there." Robin greeted Willis and the other two thugs cheerfully in a slightly altered voice , even going so far as to wave.
"Kill him!" Willis screamed with anger, opening fire.
Robin moved fast, just like every other one of the Bats, and dodged the bullet by moving to the side. Willis stepped backwards, hearing his other two men let out cries of alarm and the sounds of a struggle which meant there were at least two of the Bats present. He fired at Robin again but didn't get a third shot off as his gun was knocked from his grasp. Growling, Willis threw a punch at Robin which earned a chuckle from the vigilante as he stepped backwards to avoid it.
"You don't usually do this, do you?" Robin questioned, yawning mockingly.
Infuriated by the young mans audacity, Willis let out a battle cry and tried to punch him again. Robin let out a clicking sound of disapproval, stepping to the side. Willis kept this up for a minute or so but as his anger faded, he found himself becoming tired from repeatedly missing as Robin danced around his attempted strikes. Realizing it was pointless, a now heavily breathing Willis tried once more and surprisingly managed to make contact with the vigilantes jaw. Trying to capitalize on this, Willis moved in for another punch but this one was caught in Robins open gloved palm.
"Uh uh. First one was free, since I felt kind of sorry for you..." Robin trailed off, letting Willis's fist go while rubbing his jaw with his other hand. "But if you're going to punch somebody, you gotta do it right. Like this."
Willis didn't have time to react as Robins fist snapped out like lightning and struck him clear on the nose, causing him to cry out in pain as he felt his nose break under the force. Blood began to gush from his new wound and Willis growled through it, glaring at Robin.
"Well!?" He demanded. "Finish it!"
"Actually, the big guy's got some questions for you." Robin pointed behind Willis as the dim lightning suddenly turned back on.
Around the warehouse, Willis could see his men lying in varying stages of pain and unconsciousness as Robin went back to rubbing his face. Spinning on his heel, Willis felt the fear of God take him as he laid eyes upon the Batman himself, the towering man glaring at him silently.
"Maroni." Batman uttered the single word, his voice heavily altered but undoubtedly deep.
"I don't know wh-" Willis started but was cut off as Batmans fist connected with his face and he fell to the ground, his head spinning and aching at the same time.
"TALK!" The Bat demanded, reaching down to pull Willis halfway up by the collar of his shirt.
"... F-fuck you." Willis spat, blood from his nose filling his mouth as he did so. The coppery taste wasn't at all pleasant, but he did get some satisfaction from the way the Bat clenched his jaw in irritation.
The Bat stared down at him for a long minute before his expression darkened considerably. Willis found himself being thrown across the room like a rag doll, crashing into the side of the truck. As all of the air went out of his lungs, Willis slid down the truck and let out a scream of pain as one of the vigilantes Batarangs embedded itself in his left hand, then one impaled his right. Now literally pinned to the truck, Willis breathed quickly through his nose and bit down on his lip to keep himself from trembling as the Bat stepped towards him like a massive demonic executioner, flanked by his cheerful partner. The Bat leaned close to him, their noses almost touching and spoke once more.
"I know you're working for him." The Bats tone was eerily calm and quiet, which made it all the more intimidating. "Tell me what you know about his operation."
"I just... move the drugs..." Willis muttered, doing his best to keep the pain out of his voice. The Bats fist slammed into his side and he swore he heard his rib snap, letting out another scream. "I don't know nothin!"
"I believe you." Batman conceded after almost an eternity. The last thing Willis seen before everything went back was the gloved knuckles of the vigilantes fist.
Jason Todd sat at his desk at Gotham High School the following morning, head rested on his hand and a bored expression on his face as his teacher went on about something to do with Math. As a senior, he only had one year left of this before he'd be heading off to University so he knew he should probably focus a little more. But his grades were passable, certainly not bad, so there was hope one of the places he'd applied for would take him in. Preferably one of the Universities in Metropolis or Central City, far away from the cesspool he currently lived in.
As the clock ticked nearer to the end of the school day, Jason found his mind wandering. His father hadn't come home the night before, which wasn't exactly a bad thing. It meant he didn't have to face whatever abuse the patriarch of the Todd family felt like dishing out for once, but it also meant that his mother hadn't gotten her fix. So Jason had to spend most of the night dealing with her complaining about relapse, even though she had a backup stash for situations just like that. He loved his mother with all his heart and he knew that her addiction wasn't her fault, but sometimes he just wished he'd been born into a different family.
His thoughts were broken by the ending bell and Jason practically flew out of his seat, darting for the door with barely a thought given to picking up his bag. It was a Friday, which meant that it was performance night at Mooney's. The owner of the most famous club in all the Narrows wasn't too strict about people of all ages being allowed into her establishment, it was Gotham after all. However, she did ensure that kids weren't drinking or getting high on her watch. Her relaxed rules and the amazing atmosphere made Mooney's club the most popular hangout spot for the older students of Gotham High School, as well a the general population of the Narrows.
"Jason!" A voice called behind him as he raced through the halls. "Wait up!"
Jason turned and looked at the lean, dark haired figure of his best friend Cullen Row. Neither of them could remember the exact moment their friendship had begun, but they'd been inseparable for years. Whenever Jason needed to get away from his father, or if he was kicked out for the night, he always knew he'd be able to crash at Cullens. Since Cullen lived with his sister, the Row siblings had made it clear to Jason that their old couch was always available to him.
"You know that the show doesn't even start til seven right?" Cullen sighed as he caught up to Jason and they began to head towards the exit together. "You're not going to miss out on staring at Kameron for half an hour."
"I know that. I just wanted to head back to mine for a bit since the old man's not there." The thought entered Jasons mind practically as he spoke.
"Oh really?" Cullen raised an eyebrow. "He on a job or something?"
"Probably." Jason shrugged. His father could be lying in a ditch somewhere and it honestly wouldn't have affected him in the slightest.
"Mind if I tag along? Harper's shift doesn't finish til way later and I don't see the point in spending my Friday afternoon staring at a wall." Though it was spoken as a joke, there was a slight edge to Cullens tone.
Jason nodded. He knew the real reason that his friend didn't want to be alone. For years, a specific group of students had been harassing Cullen. Sometimes they just threw insults, but they mostly threw punches or worse. Jason didn't know why exactly. Cullen was awfully tight lipped on the subject and Harper always changed the topic when Jason brought it up. If rumors were to be believed, it had something to do with one of the bullies history with Cullens sister, but those were just rumors. They reached the doors to the high school and burst out into the cool Gotham weather, heading out onto the sidewalk.
It didn't take long for them to reach the building where the Todd families apartment was located, with it being thankfully closely located to the high school. They climbed several flights of stairs to reach the apartment, which was unlocked as always. They stepped in quietly, with Jason closing the door as softly as possible.
"Willis honey, is that you!?" The voice of Jasons mother came from his parents bedroom, sounding slightly off. Though off was the usual for her, so perhaps her voice just sounded normal.
"It's me mum." Jason called back, nodding for Cullen to head into his room.
"Oh..." There was a long, drawn out pause before she spoke again. "Come here darling."
Jason headed past his room and slowly pushed open the cracked door to his parents room, bracing himself for the sight within. As expected, his mother was propped up on her pillows, half covered by a sheet while the curtains were drawn keeping the light of the day from shining through. She was a pale mess for lack of better words. Her eyes fell on him and Jason did his best to ignore the telltale signs of a high written all over his mothers face, forcing himself to smile instead.
"My baby boy..." Catherine patted the bed beside her and Jason moved to sit beside her. "H-how was school?"
"Good." Jason took his mothers hand as she reached out to him, squeezing it gently. "Mr Brown thinks I have a good chance of getting into one of the Universities I've applied for."
"You've applied for Universities?" The confusion was clear in his mothers eyes, despite the fact they were glazed over.
"Yeah. You helped me pick them out last month remember?" Jason's smile threatened to drop, but he willed it to stay in place. "Gotham University, Metropolis University and Central University."
"My little Jay, all grown up." Catherines smile was small, but Jason could sense the genuine happiness behind the fog of the high. Swallowing heavily, Catherine pulled her hand away and made herself more comfortable on the bed. "I'm a little tired baby... come see me later?"
"Okay." Jason pulled the blanket over his mother and moved to the doorway, casting a final sad glance at his mother who was already snoring softly .Pulling the door almost shut, the young man headed for his own room. As he closed the door behind him, he frowned at Cullen who was sitting on his bed and looking at him with a concerned expression. "What?"
"I uh..." Cullen cleared his throat, clearly scrambling for something to say. "Is your mum okay?"
"She'll be fine." Jason replied gruffly, dropping his bag on the ground and throwing himself down on the other side of the bed. "At least Willis still isn't here."
"It's been a while since, I've been here." The Row boy changed the subject easily and Jason silently thanked him for it. "Good to see you're still so dedicated to cleanliness."
"Hey, I know where everything is." Jason smirked, brushing off his friends sarcasm. He'd never been the tidiest, but he was organized in a way that seemed unorganized to everybody else.
"Right." Cullen clicked his tongue, pulling out his phone and scrolling through absent mindedly. "So I'm guessing you want to head to Mooneys early to get a good seat?"
"You know it." Jasons stomach growled and he groaned hungrily. "We should grab some food first though. I'll go grab a shower then we can get ready to head out."
Nobody would know it by just looking at Jason, but he liked to take his time getting ready. His mother had always told him that personal hygiene was important when he was younger, so he always took long showers to handle said hygiene. About an hour later, Cullen and Jason were finally leaving the apartment building behind. Both had changed into nicer clothing, being cheap dress shirts, black jeans and their cleanest chucks. There was no real dress code at Mooneys' but Cullen always insisted that the two of them at least looked like they tried.
As usual, the pair honed in on O'Shaughnessy's fast food joint to get their greasy dietary hazard fix. Positioned in a booth, they devoured several burgers, fries and shakes between them. As he finished off his second shake, Jason got the feeling that somebody was watching him and cast a glace around the diner. His eyes fell on a pretty girl with short, silver hair. She caught his gaze and smiled at him, causing the young man to look away in both panic and shock.
"You alright man?" Cullen asked through a mouthful of burger.
"Some pretty chick just smiled right at me." Jason mumbled, doing his best not to look back.
"Well you are ruggedly handsome after all." Cullen chuckled, looking over Jasons shoulder. "You mean the one that's heading this way?"
Jasons eyes widened and he felt his heart pounding in his chest. He was never good with girls, always stumbled over his words or remained in awkward silence. It was strange, especially considering the fact he had confidence in leaps and bounds. The red head was sure that he could find some way to blame his father for the defect in his personality. He heard someone lightly clear their throat and slowly looked up at the silver haired girl.
"Sorry to bother you both. It's just, I've never tried the burgers here before and was hoping to get some suggestions." The girl's voice was soft, each word spoke carefully. Her eyes went to the pile of wrappers and half eaten food on the table and she chuckled playfully. "You guys clearly have some experience with ordering the food."
"My favorites the number four. Its really filling, especially if you double up." Cullen was the one to reply, of course. As long as Jason had known him, Cullen never had a problem socializing. His friend seemed to always be on the lookout for conversation. The girl shared a laugh with Cullen before he continued. "I'm Cullen by the way."
"Iri." The girl replied, her smile widening as she looked back to Jason. "And you are?"
"Jason." The single word came out almost hostile and he silently cursed himself.
"Nice to meet you both." Iri seemed to consider something before speaking again. "Would you guys mind if I sat with you while I order and wait for it? I'd rather not stare at the counter for five minutes."
"Feel free." Cullen nodded and Iri headed towards the counter to place her order. Once she was out of earshot, Cullen sipped his own shake while smirking at Jason. "You really need to learn how to talk to girls."
"Fuck you." Jason growled, brushing the crumbs off the front of his shirt.
"It's not hard." Cullen shook his head, smirk still in place.
"Well not all of us are smooth ladies men like you." Jason spat in response.
"Sure..." An emotion Jason couldn't place flashed across his friends face but the smile was back in the blink of an eye. "Welcome back."
"Thanks." Iri replied, sliding into the booth beside Cullen. There was a moment of somewhat awkward silence before she spoke again. "So you were both born in Gotham?"
"Born and raised." Cullen nodded. "You new to the great city of crime?"
"My mother was born here but moved away before I was born. We just arrived earlier today." Something vibrated in her bag and Iri pulled out a phone that looked more expensive than Jasons entire life. Frowning, the girl returned the cellular device to her bag.
"Something wrong?" Cullen raised an eyebrow.
"Oh you know, family drama." Iri rolled her eyes. "So what can you do for fun in a place like Gotham? I'm assume there's an intense party scene?"
"Definitely." Cullen nodded before gesturing to Jason. "We're actually heading to a club soon. Jays favorite place."
"A club huh?" Iri's eyes fell on Jason and he avoided her gaze. "Mind if I tag along?"
"Sure." Jason mumbled, taking a sip of his shake so he wouldn't have to say anything else.
"Sweetness." Iri smiled and glanced at the counter as the server called out her order. Standing up, she pressed out the wrinkles in her shirt before speaking again. "I'll just grab my food then we can head back to mine so I can freshen up."
Heading back to Iri's wasn't walking as the two boys were accustomed. Instead, the silver haired girl had led them to a dark windowed car that they had piled into the back seat of while she took the front passenger seat. The ride had been silent, with Jason catching the eye of the driver several times. Feeling completely out of place, he stared out the window and watched the buildings go by to calm his nerves. Beside him, Cullen busied himself with some game on his phone that everybody was in love with for a reason Jason would never understand. It wasn't long before they pulled up outside of the only nice hotel in the Narrows and the two boys shared a look.
"Here we go." Iri informed them and stepped out of the car, leaning her head back in to look at the driver. "Thanks Davis. I'll call on you again in a bout an hour."
"Very well." The driver nodded.
As soon as the three teenagers were standing on the sidewalk, the car pulled away and Iri led them in the front door of the hotel. They made for the elevator and Jason swore he could feel the disproving gaze of the man at the front desk but did his best to keep his eyes forward. As they stepped into the elevator, Jasons eyebrows raised as the girl hit the button for the penthouse. Just who was she?
"It's not the nicest place, but it'll do." Iri stated, her soft voice cutting through the awkward silence as the elevator began to rise.
"Oh yeah. This is definitely less than we're used to." Cullen replied, each word dripping with obvious sarcasm that made Jason smirk.
"I feel like we're going to be good friends Cullen." Iri let out a short melodic chuckle. "I don't want to sound like the cliche spoiled rich girl, but I can't help it. It's all I know."
"Your folks must be loaded. I've never seen anybody stay here. Mostly because of the increased crime rate, but likely the price too."
"Mother dear is friends with the owner." Iri shrugged.
The bell sounded their arrival to the penthouse and the doors opened into a room that made both boys mouths drop open in shock. It was a beautifully furnished lounge area, complete with a live log fire that had a fur rug sprawled in front of it and an entire wall that had been replaced by windows. As Iri led them, a women looked up from an island counter that separated the lounge area from a massive kitchen. She looked like a slightly older version of Iri, though the woman's silver hair flowed freely past her shoulders.
"Guests already darling?" The woman's voice was equally as delicate as Iri's. Clutching a glass of white wine in one slender hand, the woman stepped out from behind the counter with an accommodating smile. "Well dressed, handsome ones too."
"This is Jason and Cullen." Iri introduced them, gesturing to each young man.
"Hi." Jason said, silently kicking himself for not being more polite.
"Nice to meet you ma'am." Cullen swept in, saving Jason from his awkwardness. "Can I assume that you're Iri's sister?"
"Oh?" The woman sung with laughter, bringing a hand to cover her mouth as her grey eyes flared with amusement. "How charming. I am Iri's mother but there's no need for formality here. You may both call be Silver."
"Stop flirting with my friends." Iri rolled her eyes, holding out the bag to her mother. "Heres the food you wanted."
"Thank you dear." Setting her glass down, Silver pried open the bag and breathed in the smell of fried food. "Best burgers in all of the known world."
"I'm going out." Iri stated, gesturing for the two boys to follow as she headed towards another room.
"Okay darling." Silver smiled at the two males. "Nice to meet you boys. Look after my darling little Iri, wont you?"
"Of course we will Silver." Cullen flashed her a smile.
Jason flashed a smile of his own, glancing out the window wall as he followed the other two. He knew they were high up, but not this high. It was somewhat unnerving. What if there was an emergency? Shoving his hands in his pockets, he stepped into the other room and Iri closed the door behind him. He assumed it was Iris bedroom, judging by the gigantic bed in the center complete with the things that acted like curtains that hung from the ceiling. He could never remember the name.
Glancing around, he took note of the fact there was an en suite bathroom and also a walk in closet branching off the room and immediately felt inadequate standing however, Cullen seemed perfectly comfortable and immediately moved to sit on the bed which caused Iri to chuckle once again.
"Please, make yourself at home."
"Your bed is so soft." Cullen breathed, lying back and sighing contentedly. "Is this what wealth feels like?"
"Probably." Iri entered the closet, raising her voice as she spoke from the separate, smaller room. "What kind of club are we going to!?"
"It's pretty casual, but it's really well known!" Cullen called back, giving Jason a look. "Didn't you hear her man? Stop standing awkwardly and get comfortable."
"Yeah, right." Jason muttered, moving to sit on the bed beside his friend. He stared at the carpet, wondering how much he'd have to work in his life to be able to afford the luxury that their new companion was born into.
"How about this?" Iri's arm peeked out of the wardrobe. in her hand was a coat hanger that had a pristine white dress hanging off of it. The dress was sleeveless with a plunging back while the waist down was styled in frilled kind of way.
"Depends on the shoes you want to pair with it." Cullen replied.
"Somebody knows their fashion." Iri stated, her arm disappearing for a few seconds. The girl reappeared with a pair of red heeled shoes that had long ribbons branching off the top of them like laces. "What about these?"
"Do those lace all the way up your calves?" Cullen's eyes widened with excitement. "They are definitely the ones."
"Alright then." Iri headed for the bathroom. "Entertain yourselves while I make myself pretty."
Another hour later and the three teenagers were stepping out of the car with the tinted windows outside of Mooney's. Jason had tried to say that it might be better idea for them to just walk to the club, but Iri had insisted that her debut to Gothams nightlife needed to be memorable. As the car drove off, Jason swallowed heavily because the eyes of every person in the line outside the nightclub was on them. Early evening might be slow business everywhere else in the world, but in the Narrows the clubs were always busy. Especially during the times of the year where what little sun the city got was gone before most people had gotten to eat their dinner.
The music boomed inside as the teenagers joined the line. It moved quickly, as Mooney's always did because people were constantly being thrown out. By the time the group reached the front of the line, they'd watched at least five people getting dragged out and someone had even passed out. The bouncer eyed them all before nodding them through. Iri took the lead and neither of the boys protested. She was clearly in her element after all.
The inside of Mooney's was classier than most places. A large bar took up one wall while a line of booths took up the other. The entire center of the room was a largely occupied dance floor with a V.I.P area opposite to the door. it was a nearly completely open space, which would obviously make the job easier for the security guards sprinkled throughout the room. A small stage was located next to the bar, with a cluster of circular tables and seats in front of it. Jason glanced at his phone to look at the time, anxious about getting a good seat before Kameron went on.
"Shall I get us some drinks!?" Iri shouted at the boys over the din of the latest dubstep tune to find its way onto the charts.
"Um..." Cullen and Jason shared a glance.
"C'mon boys. Where's your sense of adventure?" Iri smirked, making a beeline for the bar.
"She's going to get us thrown out." Jason grumbled, heading towards the seating near the stage.
"I'm sure she does this all the time." Cullen reassured his friend. "Besides, if she's paying then who are we to turn down free alcohol?"
Jason conceded silently and led the other male to the seating. They were able to skirt the bodies inhabiting the Dance Floor for the most part which was a relief for Jason. He wasn't the biggest fan of enclosed spaces most of the time, including having drunk bodies closing in from all directions. Sitting down at the table closest to the stage, Jason glanced around the club.
"You think Mooney's here tonight?"
"Not sure." Cullen replied before letting out a groan. "Great..."
"Hey Row." A tall male appeared beside their table, a twisted smirk on his hard features. "Long time no see."
"We could go for longer. I wouldn't mind." Cullen remarked, rolling his eyes.
Before anybody knew what was happening, the males fist connected with Cullens face and knocked him from his chair. In a flash, Jason was at his friends side and shoved the taller male away with a glare. He locked stares with the male, not sure if he could beat him in a fight but damn sure ready to try when another voice grabbed their attention over the crowd.
"Roman!" Everybody turned to look at Kameron, the girl Jason came every week to watch perform. She was wearing a floor length dress that flowed with every step she took. Her dark skin shined as the lights of the club flared and her hair was pulled up out of her soft face in a bun atop her head. She stepped past Jason and placed a hand on the taller males chest. "Don't cause trouble tonight."
"He got smart with me." Roman protested, trying to step past her.
"Be the bigger man. For me?" Kameron tried again, placing her hand on the males cheek and pushing his face towards hers. He looked at her for a moment before the two locked lips. Jason felt his stomach plummet and tore his eyes away to help Cullen up. When he looked back, the two were breaking apart and Kameron smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry about that guys. Let me get you some ice."
"It's fine. I was about to head to the bar anyway." Cullen grumbled before storming off leaving Jason to stand awkwardly. Luckily for him, Iri appeared from nowhere with three glasses.
"Where's he off to?" She asked, handing Jason one of the glasses.
"Underage drinking? You know Mooneys rules." Roman growled.
"It's fine Roman." Kameron warned, pulling him away. "It's fine."
Jason watched them go and downed the liquid in his glass, wincing at the burn as it went. He sat back down at the table, trying to find Cullen in the crowd but failing. Frowning out of concern from his friend, he looked back to Iri who was sipping from her glass.
"What was that all about?" Iri asked.
"Not sure. That guy just hit Cullen for no reason. Seemed like they knew eachother." Jason frowned. "He looked older so he couldn't be one of the people that bullies Cullen at our school."
"People bully Cullen?" Iri's eyebrows went up in surprise.
"Yeah." Was all Jason said in reply, looking back over the crowd to try finding the face of his friend.
Cullen burst into the toilet stall, locking the flimsy door and sitting down on the toilet. Letting his face collapse into his hands, he began shaking as tears stared falling from his eyes. Not from the pain of the punch, though he knew he was going to have a black eye for the next few days. But what was another temporary injury after so many? He hated Roman with a passion, but knew that engaging with him was against Cullens best interest. It was embarrassing that Jason had to jump to his defense. After all, he'd wanted to keep his best friend out of this. The young man wasn't sure how long he cried in the stall but eventually stood up and flushed the toilet to try creating an illusion that he'd been using it like everybody else instead of having a breakdown.
Wiping the last tears from his eyes, he exited the stall and crossed to the sink. Staring in the mirror, he silently studied himself. His eye was already blackening and the red rim around his eyes made it clear he'd just been crying, alongside the puffiness. Sighing, he began to splash water on his face to create some kind of illusion, hearing the door to the room opening behind him. When he brought his face back up to look in the mirror, Cullen almost jumped out of his skin at a scarcely dressed someone leaning on the sink next to him.
"Fuck!" Cullen swore before chuckling nervously. "You can't just sneak up on people like that man."
"..." The other male stared at him silently through eyes heavily rimmed by eyeliner before running his hand through his bleached hair. "Crying in the bathroom huh? Bad breakup? Death in the family?"
"Uh... just some asshole embarrassing me in front of my friend." Cullen chuckled again, not sure why this stranger had taken the time to talk to him. Looking more closely, he could see that this guy wasn't much older than him. "It's not a big deal. Just stupid really."
"He do that?" The guy pointed to his rapidly blackening eye.
"Yeah. But like I said, not a big deal." Cullen smiled, trying to ignore the throbbing coming from his latest injury.
"Want me to have him thrown out? The boss doesn't tolerate violence in this place." Judging by his expression, the male was very serious about the question.
"N-no it's fine." Cullen shook his head before moving to step past the man. "Anyway, I should get ba-"
Cullen gasped as the male caught him by the wrist and stopped him, turning to look back at him with wide eyes. The male stared at him with serious green eyes for what seemed like an hour, before opening his mouth to say something. Letting his mouth close again, the male let Cullens wrist go and sighed.
"Look, don't let people treat you like crap okay?"
"Sure." Cullen smiled, despite the fact he had no idea why this person cared at all. "You have a good night."
The male nodded and Cullen practically ran for the door. Once outside, he let out a breath he didn't know that he'd been holding. Shaking off the encounter, he headed back for the table where his friends were and dropped down into the seat between them. Judging from the look in Jasons eyes, he was going to be explaining the whole situation later on, which meant he was going to have to come up with another lie between now and then. His friend could never know the truth of the injuries he was always acquiring. It wouldn't be the same.
"Did I miss anything?" Cullen questioned, glancing at a full glass on the table. "This mine?"
"Nope. And yes." Iri was the one to reply. Cullen could feel Jasons eyes on him as he picked up the glass and took a sip.
"Yum. This is going to be a beautiful friendship girl. I can just tell."
Around them, the music suddenly died out, to the clear frustration of many of the patrons who groaned. Jason suddenly sat up straight and Cullen rolled his eyes as all eyes went to the stage. However, instead of the usual announcer, a dark skinned female stepped onto the stage. Her dress fit her body perfectly and her short hair was styled wildly, with the tips dyed the same crimson as her dress. Stepping up to the microphone stand, the woman picked up the microphone and cleared her throat.
"Hello everybody and WELCOME to my club." The woman smiled as people applauded and cheered her, raising her free hand to silence them. Cullen couldn't help but admire the presence she had. "For those who don't know, my name is Fish Mooney and on the weekends, I like to put some of the talent in our community on display for a couple of hours. You see, I like to think that the people in the Narrows are just as talented and capable as the schmucks in the Upper East Side. Am I right!?"
Cheers came from the audience as more people from the dance floor began to gather in front of the stage. Cullen glanced around, hoping that he wouldn't see Roman again and breathed a sigh of relief when he couldn't find him. However, as his gaze swept over the bar, he spotted the male from the bathroom cleaning a glass behind the bar and immediately snapped his attention back to the stage before the male spotted him looking.
"I thought you'd agree with me. So grab one of our half price talent spotlight drinks," Another approving roar rose from the audience at this. "And settle in for our first act of the night."
As she finished speaking, Fish looked to her left where Kameron stepped up onto the stage. Several cat calls and wolf whistles came from the audience which the young female smiled at, waving to the crowd and even going to far as to blow a kiss. She stepped into a one armed hug from Fish who then turned to the audience with a knowing smile. Cullen glanced at Jason, the other male being completely enamored by Kameron as always.
"Pretty isn't she?" The audience's reaction was overwhelmingly positive. "As an added bonus, she has the voice of an angel. For your consideration, the vocal expertise of Kameron Glides!"
After Kamerons set, Jason immediately snapped back into reality. Longingly, his eyes followed the girl as she exited the staged and then narrowed with annoyance as she ran into the arms of that Roman guy. Partly out of jealousy, partly because of what he'd done to Cullen. He briefly looked at Cullen who was engaged in a conversation Iri and completely unaware of the males presence, so Jason shrugged and pulled out his phone. Seeing that there was a message alert from his mother sent during the show, he opened it with an eyebrow raised in surprise and felt a chill run down his spine as he read it.
I love you baby.
He almost dropped his phone as his hand began to shake and tightened his grip to keep that from happening. His mother never text him things like this, especially so coherently. Punctuation and all. He couldn't help but feel something was wrong and pocketed his phone slowly.
"You okay man?" Cullens voice broke him from his thoughts.
"Y-yeah." Jason muttered, his mind racing. "Look, I've gotta go. Mum wants me home."
Not hearing his friends response, Jason stood up and hurried for the door. He could hear Cullens voice behind him but didn't stop and as soon as he was out of the club he broke into a run. It wasn't too far to get back to his since he knew all the correct alleyways to cut through and by the time he burst onto his own street, his heart was racing and he was gasping for breath. Slowing to a jog, he let himself come to a full stop and breathed in greedy mouthfuls of oxygen. As he did, he tried to calm himself down. maybe she was feeling better? Come out of her haze? It was possible, but very much unlikely. His eyes snapped up as he heard a door slam and watched as his father tore down the steps outside their building.
"Hey!" Jason called, breaking into a run towards his father.
Willis Todd stopped to look at him for less than a second before hurrying into a car that had been waiting for him. Jason watched as the car sped off and immediately his worries were back. He stormed into the building and climbed the staircase frantically, taking the stairs two at a time until he was on his floor. As he reached his apartment, he felt anger seep into him since his deadbeat father had failed to close the door. Stepping inside, he frowned at the mess that awaited him. It was like someone had torn through the apartment looking for something. Was this his father?
"Mum?" Jason called but received no response.
He crept towards his parents room, seeing that door was also open. He could see his mother was in bed and felt a swell of relief. She was just resting like always.
"Mum?" Jason tried again, stepping towards her. "You awake?"
Nothing. He quickly found himself at her beside and reached down to shake her but his hand stopped in mid air. His eyes widened as he realized the room was completely silent, yet his mother wasn't moving. She wasn't snoring.
"M-mum?" His voice trembled this time, pushing through his fear and shaking her shoulder gently. "Mum wake up."
Again nothing. Realization dawned on Jason and his fingers shook violently as he placed them on her neck, searching to find a pulse. He tried this for some time before his legs fell out from underneath him and he sunk to the ground, his face buried in the bed just centimeters away from her body. His hand found its way to her and he clutched it tightly as his eyes welled with tears and Jason's angered scream tore into the mattress.
