(A/N: Since I've only seen about 2 or 3 stories that talk about when Crane was in high school, I thought I'd just do one myself. I've been reading a lot of comic books online lately, so in 2019 I can tell my best friend that I've gone full nerd! Lol!
The version of Crane/Scarecrow that I'll be using in this story is from the Dark Knight Trilogy. As everyone should know, he's portrayed by Cillian Murphy. Fun Fact that a lot of people probably don't know: The reason why Dr. Crane appeared looked short in the Dark Knight Trilogy, despite that the comics and even the "Arkham" video game series have all confirmed that he's 6 feet tall, is because Cillian Murphy stands at 5'9 in height. Believe it or not, but on Murphy's IMDb page it lists that his height is 1.75 meters, which would make him 5'7 in height. To be 5'9, he would have to be at 1.79 to 1.8 meters. So, for Scarecrow's sake, I'm just gonna imagine that Murphy is taller. If you guys don't want to, that's fine too. I can't force you to imagine something that you do or don't believe in or in this case to imagine someone taller by just 3 inches.
Oops, I, uh, let myself get carried away there, sorry about that. I swear, it happens to me all the time, it's not something that I can control and it annoys everyone!
Anyway, the title of this story comes from the a line in the verse of the song "Stay" by Rihanna. The version of the song that I listen to, however, is the Jared Leto version. I just like Thirty Seconds to Mars, that's it.
Ok, I really want to get on with this so, just like I've said with multiple other stories; this will be in Third Person, unless I decide to change it to First Person.)
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It was the Autumn Solstice and the weather and the leaves clearly showed the seasonal change. The air out was very crisp and cool; a dramatic change from the boiling sun in the summer. The leaves were a very warm and comforting hue; the colors mirrored the bright colors of a campfire. The said leaves decorated the streets and sidewalks with their beautifully relaxing colors as an eddy of wind blew the fallen leaves into different areas with each new breeze.
The fall season meant sports such as football, basketball, track, and cross-country. It also meant torture for seventeen-year-old Jonathan Crane. It was almost his eighteenth birthday and he would be graduating that very year. He wasn't sure how he had survived this long as the number one bully victim at his high school.
People would often call him "Scarecrow" or "Ichabod Crane" because of his lanky appearance, pale skin, shaggy brown hair, and piercing blue eyes. His hair appeared to be lighter than it really was due to always being thrown to the dry dirt ground. His pale skin and scrawny body were due to an abusive great-grandmother, who often neglected to feed him, and a crippling fear of crows caused by said great-grandmother. But his eyes were his most distinctive feature, the sky itself would envy them.
They - his tormentors - often thought that he was spineless, but that couldn't be further from the truth; he had a terrible temper. He was often hostile towards others, due to all the criticism he gets on a daily basis.
He wasn't very muscular, in fact, he wasn't muscular in the slightest. He was most definitely more brains than brauns. He was also one of the fastest runners because of his boney legs. All of that combined gave him somewhat of an advantage, but - just like high school - it wouldn't last forever.
He woke up early as usual and got ready for the day. He decided to wear a pair of brown pants and a striped tan, dark brown, and white long sleeved shirt. He grabbed his backpack, a couple of books, and his glasses. He put on his glasses before heading downstairs; sometimes he wishes that he didn't even have his glasses, so that he didn't look as nerdy. Sadly, without his glasses, he was practically blind - he could see up to about twenty-five yards away, but anything and everything beyond that was nothing but blurriness. He knew that it would be easier for people to jump him if he couldn't see them because it would be difficult - if not impossible - for him to defend himself.
He arrived at school early, ignoring all the looks and snickering from his peers, and went straight for the library. He wanted to read his books while he still had the chance. He was about to walk around a corner that lead to the library when someone bumped into him, causing him to drop his books. The person that dumped into him had also dropped their books and some papers, too.
The person was a girl, probably in the same grade as he, with brown hair that reminded him of pecans. Her hair was rather long, as it went all the way down to her shoulder blades. Her skin was fair but not as fair as he was. Her head was down, so he couldn't tell what her face looked like or the color of her eyes. He could see a silver chain necklace with a turquoise stone surrounded by a braided bronze wire hanging from her neck. She was wearing white shorts with black leggings, red and black shoes, and a dark ash-gray jacket with a green Army pattern on both sleeves. Her jacket was zipped all the way up to her collarbones, so it was impossible to tell what she was wearing underneath. The jacket itself was much bigger than her, it was more like a blanket than a jacket; almost making him wonder if it even belonged to her.
She kneeled to the ground and began to pick up her papers and books, as well as his books. She picked up his books and reached up to give them back to him. When she did, he could see that she had brilliant icy green eyes with a fainted pale blue tint. Strands of her hair were draped over her face, as if a light breeze went through her hair and she didn't even bother to brush it back with her hand.
Her face was oval in structure but had rather sharp features. She had no blemishes, not even a beauty mark. She did have a mole on the left side of her neck, just below her jawline. She wasn't wearing any makeup, which he liked because it allowed him to see her real face.
Her legs were well-defined almost like that of a dancer or professional runner. Despite her jacket being bigger than her body, he was still able to make out her figure. He could tell she had an athletic figure, but appeared to be a bit more slim. Based on how the jacket fit her body, it lead him to conclude that she most likely had a small frame.
Overall, she was very attractive; no doubt she'll be a girl that every guy will want. He knew that a lot of the other girls will be jealous of her. He knew from experience over the years that she'll either become one of the most popular girls or at the very bottom with him.
"S-Sorry, about that," she apologized and he could tell that she was a nervous wreck.
He shrugged, "Accidents happen."
"Are you going to take the book?" she asked, her voice was slightly shaky but she kept her question solid.
"Oh, right," he took back his book, "sorry."
"'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow'?" she questioned as she stood up.
"Uh, yeah," he replied, "a lot of people make fun of me by calling me "Ichabod Crane", so I decided to read the book to learn more about Ichabod."
"Oh, I've read "Sleepy Hollow" before," she told him, "I won't spoiler it for you."
He didn't really know what else to say, so he asked her, "What books do you have?"
She handed him one of the novels she was holding, "Here, take a look."
"'The Things They Carried'?" he questioned.
"Uh, yeah, my dream is to join the military, so I read a lot of books and novels about wars, concentration camps, and other things like that," she replied.
"My dream is to study psychology," he told her.
"Wow, that's some dream. I'm Nina Leigh, by the way," she introduced herself, while extending her hand to him.
He took her hand in his and shook it, "I'm Jonathan Crane," he introduced himself.
"I'll see you around, I guess," she beamed at him and took off in the direction of the front office.
Within a week of Nina's arrival, Jonathan's assumption of her being at the very bottom of the food chain were proven to be true; she was at the very bottom with him. The only major difference being; all the jocks wanted her. None of the girls ever wanted him, though; not that he really cared.
During the first week of October, they learned that Bo Griggs and and Sherry Squires had broken up. Even though Nina had no interest in Bo Griggs, Jonathan had a massive crush on Sherry Squires for a number of years.
Jonathan waited about a week before building up the confidence to ask Sherry out to a Halloween Party. Nina had no interest in going to the party because she had to study for a massive test that was coming up in her trigonometry class.
At the party, Sherry coaxed him into going down to the basement with her. Once down there, she told him to kiss her. Just as they were about to, someone dressed as The Headless Horseman scared him half to death and he ran out of the party and out the door as fast as he possibly could. The Headless Horseman threw its pumpkin head at him, knocking him to the ground in the process just like what happened to Ichabod Crane in "Sleepy Hollow".
The person in the Horseman costume was none other than Bo Griggs! He and Sherry hadn't broken up, but had planned out a prank as a way of torment. The prank wasn't for Jonathan, however; it was actually for Nina. Little did they know, she hated parties and had no interest in Bo. When she didn't tell Bo about the party, they decided to go with Plan B: pranking Jonathan Crane.
So now, a humiliated and full of anger Jonathan Crane was walking home with the pumpkin guts still in his hair and on his face. He was also planning his revenge on the couple; they would pay for what they did to him! He would make sure of it.
"Jonathan?" he heard a familiar voice ask.
His eyes widened and he turned his head to face Nina, "Nina?! I-I thought you w-were studying?!"
"I was but I finished, so I decided to do some endurance training," she replied, then asked, "What happened to you?"
"Bo Griggs and Sherry Squires happened to me," he responded with anger very clear in his voice, almost scarring her.
She ran over to him - since she was on the sidewalk and he was walking in the middle of the deserted street - and hugged him. He was shocked at this and it was only then that he realized that she was wearing very little. She was wearing a violet sports bra, white exercise shorts, a thin black jacket, and blue running shoes with silver stripes on both sides of both shoes. He blushed darkly at the feeling of having her abdomen and her hardened nipples - due to the cold temperature and all the running she did - pressed up against him in his Halloween costume. He felt a sudden rush of heat gather around his lower torso and knew exactly what it was.
She remembered her skimpy outfit and backed off from him with slightly flushed cheeks. "S-Sorry," she apologized with a shudder.
"I-It's, i-it's okay," he assured, also with a shudder.
"Well, uh, I better get going," she pointed her thumb in the direction she had been running.
"Um, me too. I better get home and wash out all the pumpkin," he replied.
"See you on Monday," she went back to her training.
"Yeah, see you," he muttered to himself.
He looked down in between his legs, his eyes widened at the site. He did in fact have an erection. He now he two things to deal with, the pumpkin on his face and in his hair and his erection. What a night!
It was now almost Senior Prom night and almost every Senior had a date, except for two; Jonathan and Nina. Jonathan didn't want to go but had to because it was the only way for his revenge plot work. Nina had just turned eighteen less than three weeks earlier and wanted to see if she could talk to an Army recruiter.
He was walking home from school, thinking over his plan for revenge. He felt down for some reason; he couldn't explain it, but he didn't want her to go. He tried to figure out why he didn't want her leave, but couldn't.
He suddenly found himself wanting to find her, but he had no idea where she could be. He knew where she lived but she did a lot if endurance training, so he had no idea if she was even home. He decided to take a gamble and see if she was there.
He made his way to her house and anxiously knocked on her door. He had butterflies in his stomach as he patiently waited for an answer to his knock. No matter who answers, it'd still make him even more nervous.
Just a minute after he knocked, someone did answer the door. It was Nina. She was dressed in a floral blouse, black shorts, and her red and black shoes.
'Here goes nothing,' he thought, nervously.
"Hey, Jonathan," she greeted him with a warming smile, as if she somehow sensed his nervousness.
"Hello, uh, Nina," he greeted back, nervously; he was surprised that he hadn't started stuttering.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
He hesitated, "Um, Nina, I-I w-was w-wondering if yo-you wou-would," he swallowed sharply, "l-like to go to t-the P-P-Prom w-with m-me?" asked while repeatedly stuttering.
"Sure," she accepted, "why not?"
"Really?" he asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, it'll be fun. Do you want to come in?" she offered.
"No, thanks," he declined, "I still have homework to finish."
"Alright," she replied, a little confused because she knew that he usually finished his homework at school.
"Bye," he walked away from her house in a bit of a rush.
Prom night came faster than anticipated, since neither one of them had a car, they agreed to meet at the school. A red car pulled up and watched as Nina got out.
He was just in awe of her, she was gorgeous. She was wearing a burgundy gown that really helped to show off her figure. The bodice was beaded, but he wasn't sure what the design was. The tool was made of a flowy material that had some red streaks, along with the burgundy. The neckline showed only a small portion of her cleavage, which relieved him. The gown was sleeveless, which showed off her slightly toned arms. She had her hair done in curls, most of which were held back by glittery moon crescent hair barrette and a hair band that had small white flowers. She was also wearing shiny black flats; she didn't want to wear heels because she didn't want to seem taller than she really was. She had on very little makeup, which consisted of a thin layer of red lipstick, mascara, and puce eye shadow. Finally, she had diamond stud earrings and her silver chained necklace.
He was speechless, had no idea what to say, she was just so beautiful. He gulped and finally spoke, "Y-You look g-great."
She smiled, "Thanks, my sister let me borrow her dress."
While he was gawking at her, he remembered something, "Oh! I-um brought this flower for you." He held up a white daffodil.
"Awww, that's very sweet of you," she continued to smile brightly.
He handed her the daffodil and watched as she carefully placed it in her hair. She now, in his eyes, looked even more beautiful than before.
"Shall we go inside?" he asked, surprisingly without a single shudder.
"I just about to ask you the same thing, you stole my thunder," she laughed.
She placed her hand around his boney bicep and waved goodbye to her Mom as she drove away. They walked into the school gym, where the Prom was being held, and immediately got a bunch of surprised and dirty looks. Well, he was the one getting most of the dirty looks. A lot of the surprised looks were from the jocks who were checking out her body and from cheerleaders who were envious of her figure.
They ignored all the looks and just tried to have a good time. Jonathan wasn't the greatest dancer in the world, but at least he could dance. Nina was a good dancer, however, she took dance classes as a child and still practices at times.
She kept her eyes on him and he did the same. However, he was watching Bo Griggs and Sherry Squires out of the corners of his eyes. She noticed this, but decided to save her investigations for the military.
"Hey," he started, "I never asked this, but why do you want to go into the military?" he asked.
"My great-grandpa was a bomber in World War I and my grandpa did radar in World War II," she explained, "I guess it's just in my veins."
"How long do you think you'll be in the military?" he asked, again.
She shrugged, "It depends; depends on how well I do and my rank."
"Do you go to a recruiter yet?" he asked.
"I did, I'll have to leave late tonight because he wants me to be at a training area for a physical examination at six A.M. sharp," she informed.
"So, you'll have to leave early?" he questioned.
She nodded, "Unfortunately."
He felt saddened by this news, but he was somewhat grateful. With her gone, nobody would see him leave the dance; giving him all the time he needed to carry out his revenge on Bo and Sherry.
"What time are you leaving?" he asked once more.
"I have to leave the dance by eight o'clock, we'll be leaving at one in the morning, so I'll get there early," she sadly informed.
An hour and a half later, she left to go home and start packing. She wouldn't be back until late Saturday night to early Sunday morning, meaning: he had all the time he needed for his plan for revenge to work.
"Hey, Ichabod, did G.I. Jane leave to defend yourself?" a random jock mocked.
He just stood there with his head down and his fists tightly clenched, making his knuckles appear to be a ghostly white. He didn't revenge on just Bo and Sherry; he wanted revenge on all of the people who have belittled him.
He was able to leave the dance without arousing suspicion. He hid in some bushes, where he had hidden a duffle bag. In the duffle bag was a homemade scarecrow costume and a black water gun that looked identical to a police revolver.
He threw on his costume as fast as he could. It was difficult to put on, as it had realistic hay on the inside to cover his limbs and to make him look like a real scarecrow that had come to life. He put on his mask and floppy pointed scarecrow hat. He hated the mask because it itched and scratched at his neck. He only wore it to mask his identity and to strike fear.
"Come on, babe," he heard Bo speak, "let's blow this joint."
"I'm right behind ya," he heard Sherry reply.
Now was time; time to put his plan into action. He swiftly, but carefully, made his way to the tree hovering over Griggs' car; the bushes and darkness kept him out of sight from everyone. He climbed the tree as soon as he reached it and went for the lowest, but thickest, branch; so that if he fell off, he won't get any serious injuries. He reached his desired branch and patiently waited for them. He was confident that the branch was high enough and it was dark out enough so that they wouldn't see him.
They walked up to the car and got inside, not knowing of who was waiting for them. He could see that they were sitting in the front seat.
He took a deep breath as he felt the adrenaline flow through his veins. He tightly gripped his water gun and carefully stood up on the branch. He crouched down and placed his hand on the truck of the tree, as a way of keeping his balance.
After a minute, he took action and jumped down from the tree, directly on to the hood of the car. Bo gasped and Sherry screamed at the top of her lungs! He placed his gloved hand on the windshield and pointed his water gun directly at them. He watched as Bo fumbled with his key chain and shakily started the car.
He jumped up back on to the tree branch when he heard the car's engine roar. He watched with twisted glee as the car drove out of the parking lot and accelerated in the direction of the police station.
He tore off his mask and glasses and cackled as he relished the feeling of finally being the one to plant the seeds of fear in their hearts instead of his. In that moment, he knew what he wanted to do in college; he wanted to show the psychology of fear.
Later that night, he learned that a car had swerved and bumped into Griggs' car as it was speeding away from the school. The other car had caused Griggs to crash his car into a tree. As the result of the impact, Squires had gone half way through the windshield; killing her instantly. Griggs had been able to escape with his life, but was permanently paralyzed as a result of the crash.
It disappointed him that Griggs was still alive, but he felt happy knowing that neither one of them will be able to torment others as they did him. You could say that he scared her to death and him half to death and that was satisfying.
Graduation Day was only a day way, it would also be the last day that Jonathan and Nina may ever see each other. She had been his one true friend, no, more than just a friend. Despite that they had only known each other for about nine months, he felt more comfortable with her than people he known his entire life. He didn't want her to leave, but she already had her heart set on the U.S. Army.
Since they had their first class together, he knew exactly where she sat and he decided to leave something so that she'll never forget him. He knew exactly what to give her.
When he arrived in their first class that morning, he went straight for her desk, just two rows and three desks behind him, and placed his gifted on it. He covered it with a paper towel and went to the library to return the last of his books.
He pasted Nina on his way there, but avoided eye contact with her, which confused her. She walked into their first class and walked to her desk; noticing the gift that Jonathan had left her. She removed the paper towel and saw what he left.
On her desk, were two red daisies with clovenlip toadflax and forget-me-not flowers with their stems wrapped around the stems of the daisies. In between the daisies was a pure white moonflower. Surrounding the daisies were yellow and purple orchids and gardenias. She was in absolute awe that someone would leave such gorgeous flowers for her.
While wondering about who had given her the flowers, she watched as Jonathan walked in. She looked at him and, this time, he made eye contact with her. It was as if he was confirming who left her the flowers.
The very next night, everyone sat in their blue graduation robes as they waited for the principle to show up with their diplomas. Jonathan and Nina sat next to each other because they were both Honors students, two of the very few. They said nothing and tried not to look at each other.
Eventually the principle showed up, he gave a speech about the school and it's students. "We will start off with our Honors students," he announced. "First…"
"Jonathan," she whispered as the principle talked.
"Yeah?" he replied.
"Can I talk to you after the Graduation?" she asked.
"Yes," he responded, "I was going to ask you the same thing."
"Jonathan Crane," the principle announced with a smile, "come get your diploma."
He stood up and walked up on to the stage. He and the principle shook hands one last time before handing him his diploma. He went back to his chair afterwards.
"Nina Leigh," the principle announced again with the same smiled, "come get your diploma."
She stood up and walked up on to the stage. They shook hands and her diploma to her. He gave her a friendly salute, which she returned with a smile. She went back to her chair afterwards as well.
Two hours later, the Graduation was finally over, students celebrated with their families as confetti was blasted everywhere. Everyone except for Jonathan, whose only family was his great grandmother, but she didn't show up; he wasn't surprised in the slightest.
He jumped when felt someone grab his hand, he turned and looked to see who it was; he sighed and smiled when he saw that it was only Nina. She lead him through the crowd of people to the side of one of the bleachers.
"What did you want to talk about?" he asked.
"I wanted to ask you, were you the one that left those flowers on my desk?" she questioned.
He inhaled and exhaled deeply before answering, "Yes."
"Why?" she asked.
"I did it because," he paused, a rush of nervousness and sadness suddenly coursed in his veins, "I don't want you to leave."
He pulled her into a tight hug. She was surprised by this, but returned his hug nonetheless. He could feel waterfalls of tears approaching on the horizon. He didn't want her leave him, he'd be alone again. His body shook as he sobbed in their embrace.
"Hey, hey, shh, shh," she soothed while she rubbed his back gently, "it's okay, it's okay."
"It's not okay!" he suddenly sounded angry yet his voice cracked with sadness, "You've never been neglected or abused or bullied in the ways that I had my entire life!"
"No, I haven't," she continued to sooth, "but I do know what it's like to be alone. Both of my parents work long hours, my older sister is in college now, but even before she left; she was always with her friends and was always busy with her homework, my younger brother has a large social circle just like my sister, so he's never home either. My parents are going through a divorce and when it finalizes, my Dad will get full custody of my brother. It may be years before I see them again."
"Then why join the Army?" his voice rising, he looked at her with tears streaming down his cheeks, "Aren't you just doing the same thing that they did?"
"Jonathan," she squeezed his right shoulder, "you have to understand, no one will be alone, not even you."
"And why not?" he questioned, he was on the verge of having an emotional meltdown.
"My Dad has a new girlfriend, my brother has his entire group of friends, my Mom has a new boyfriend, my sister has her friends and boyfriend, and me, once I get to bootcamp; everyone in my Division, no, everyone in the Army will be my family. Everyone in the military is family, no matter the age, no matter the race, no matter what their background is," she did her best to explain.
"What about me?" he asked, his voice much calmer now.
"You won't be the only one to study psychology, you're not the only one who wants to study at Gotham University. You'll have people who will understand, you'll have teachers and instructors who will help you and who want you to succeed," she pointed out.
"I suppose you're right, I just didn't want you to forget me," he had clear sadness in his eyes.
"Is that the real reason you gave me those flowers?" she asked softly.
He sighed, "Yes, I wanted to be sure that you would never forget me."
What she did next surprised him. She placed a hand on his cheek and tilted her head upwards. She cocked her head the left slightly and closed the gap between them. He closed his eyes and kissed her back, passionately. Her hand slid down from his cheek to the base of his neck. Her hand would occasionally massage his neck and collarbone. His right hand moved to the back of her head and his left hand tightened its grip on her waist.
They pulled apart, much to the disappointment of both of them, and rested their foreheads together. They knew that they would have to separate in just a few minutes, but at that moment, all they wanted was the warmth of each other from their embrace.
They heard Nina's mother call out to her, telling her that it was time to go. They were both saddened, but there was nothing they could do about it.
"I'll never forget you, Jonathan," she whispered to him.
They shared one last quick kiss before separating from each other. She smiled and waved at him as she and her mother walked away.
"I'll never forget you, Nina," he walked away from the bleachers and out the gate.
He walked in the direction of his home, where he already had his suitcases packed. He doubted that he would ever be returning to his hometown, he didn't want to even think about all his painful memories.
By morning, he would be on the first bus to Gotham. He wasn't sure what was in store for him there but for now, he had his sights on a degree in psychology from Gotham University.
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(A/N: Holy shit! More than 5,000 words! Wow!
For those of you who are familiar with flower symbolism, then you should know what the picture and the flowers in this chapter stand for. A lot of the flowers I put in this are fairly easy to define, in my opinion.
I apologize if there are a lot of typos in this, I tried to be as careful as possible. I think a lot of my writing inspiration for this comes from "Spoon River" and "Animal Farm".
And before you guys can give me any shit, I already know and did research on the U.S. Army. I use to dream about joining the Army but thanks to my mental problems and physical disability, I can't.)