A/N- My first fanfiction :D
Jason's POV:
I cracked my eyelids open, only to be met by sunlight streaming through a pair of tattered and unfamiliar curtains. I jolted awake as soon as realizing that I wasn't in any room of the manor. Sitting on the rough, sheet less mattress, I surveyed the room and at the same time tried to recall last night's events. My thoughts remained muddled as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes; this was going to take a while.
So far I had assessed the fact that I couldn't have been kidnapped, for a kidnapper wouldn't have left me unchained and the room door completely ajar. The room didn't seem like something made for a hostage. A couple of T-shirts sprawled over the carpet less floor along with two empty beer bottles and a hole the size of a fist, clearly made by someone with serious anger management problems.
The casual voices and the burring of a coffee machine alerted me that I wasn't alone. I tentatively abandoned the bed, carefully stepping on the floor boards not wanting to make a sound. Only after standing up had I realized I was only wearing a thin pair of boxers. I reached for a white shirt I had seen earlier lying on the side of the bed frame. As I tugged the worn material over my head my thoughts wondered to Bruce.
He's probably worried sick
As soon as the thought crossed my mind a deep pang of sadness enveloped my chest. For some reason it felt like I hadn't seen him in a very long time. I honestly couldn't recall the last time I saw him.
Pushing my thoughts aside, deciding it was too early to deal with strange memory gaps, I quietly tiptoed outside the room. As I stealthily made my way to what seemed like the kitchen I spotted a red headed male who had his back turned towards me. He was, by the look of it, pouring himself a cup of coffee. Desperate in need of answers I quickly pounced on him. Seeing that his guard was let down, I grabbed his wrist and used it to twist his arm around his back. With my free arm I elbowed his backside, forcing his upper body onto the sturdy counter top.
"This is going to be very simple" I said trying my best to imitate Bruce's Batman voice. "I ask a question and you answer."
I craned my neck downwards; glaring to make sure he got the point. I was surprised to see annoyance written all over his face with slight anger in his emerald coloured eyes.
"What the hell Jay?" The ginger asked voicing his annoyance, clearly not intimidated by my best Batman imitation..
Not liking where this was going I tightened my grip on his wrist and pushed my elbow further into his flesh. Satisfied with the small cry of pain that escaped him, I leaned forward and asked in a voice that would make Dad proud
"Who the fuck are you?"
Turns out he was Roy, Roy Harper and after racking my brain trying to remember why that name sounded familiar, it struck me that he was one of Dick's friends. Immediately after realizing this I released him from my hold, took a step back and diligently scanned the room for my older brother. My efforts proved fruitless as I couldn't find him, though I spotted a girl staring at me with her eyes being an unnatural shade of green. She was seated on an old-looking sofa chair, her abnormally long hair shaping her sharp facial structure. And if her weird coloured eyes weren't enough her hair was a red that resembled a burning fire. Considering her both her hair and eyes, her skin was still her strangest feature. Almost as if it was glowing, her orange-ish tan radiated drawing much attention. Though for some reason it worked on her.
I glanced at her contemplating whether I should say anything, but thought better of it and turned back to Roy. Massaging his hand while muttering something about living with a lunatic Roy moved toward the freezer, probably looking for something to ice his wrist with. Not knowing what to do I jumped on to the countertop, seating myself where Roy's head had recently been almost squashed. Swinging my legs back and forth childishly, I played with my fingers while Roy rummaged through the freezer. After finding a pack of frozen peas to tend to his burning wrist, he turned to me expectantly, waiting for an explanation.
Not wanting to anger him further I stared at my fingers, pretending to seem completely engrossed in picking the dirt from underneath my nails.
"Where's Dickibird?" I asked softly, afraid that even a loud noise would trigger his attack and he'd strangle me.
Now I'm not usually this scared of people. Hell, I usually scare people, but knowing he was one of Dick's friends and noticing his apparent size I could only guess what he was capable of.
When I didn't hear him reply, I raised my head shyly, willing to admit that I thought he would kill me. After all I did almost twist his arm off.
Surprisingly he didn't look angry, only confused.
"Dick….?" He asked "You beat me up before my first cup of coffee this morning, and then you ask for Dick?"
I nodded my head enthusiastically, thanking God we were finally on the same page.
"Jason" Roy said slowly as if he was explaining to a five-year old "Dick's doing his own thing in Bludhaven."
He looked at my face, searching for any sign of recognition which I clearly did not display.
"Right" I said slowly processing what I was being told "So why am I here?"
If possible the confusion lines on Roy's forehead deepened as he tried to conjure a response to that short yet complicated question.
"Well, you see Jay-" he started but was cut off by the exotic beauty that had, up to this point, not spoken.
"You are with companions Jason" Her voice held thick traces of an accent I was unfamiliar with. "Unless you wish otherwise, in that case we shall prepare for your departure" she added the last bit solemnly almost as if she didn't want me to leave.
No, that's not possible. I've never seen this girl before in my life. Roy? Sure. This random chick? Nope and trust me I'd remember.
"Yeah…" I started, unsure and tired of feeling confused "I just wanna go home"
I broke down all the walls and let them see exactly how I felt; homesick. Tears brimmed my eyes as I thought of Bruce. Damn, I missed his and his over-protectiveness. My heart clenched tightly at the thought of Dick. The way he mussed my hair affectionately and called me his little Jaybird. I rubbed my cheeks with my fists, trying to remove any evidence of tears, when I thought of Alfred,. I could fully imagine the older man's disapproving glance for not using a tissue.
"Dude, are you crying?" Roy's disbelieving voice cut through my thoughts.
"N-No!" I struggled to keep calm, even breaths. I just wanted it all to end.
Suddenly I felt two, long orange arms wrap around my shaking frame. I visibly stiffened, I didn't like hugs from people I didn't know. I shoved the girl, rougher than necessary and scrambled to get away. Quickly running to the furthest corner in the room I cocooned myself into a tight ball, blocking the outside world as much as possible.
I was so absorbed in blocking everything out that I didn't notice Roy walk straight up to me. What I did notice was when he crouched down to my level and placed his hand over my knee.
"I'll go call Dick?" he asked more than said.
I looked at him and nodded, not trusting my voice to give him a verbal response.
Squeezing my knee in hopes of comforting me, Roy stood up and walked away. His heavy footsteps echoed in the almost barren room as his voice dropped several octaves to talk to the fire haired girl, he obviously didn't want me to hear.
My ears automatically perked up.
The muffled voices sounded harsh, almost as if they were threatening one another Loud, yet they were forcing themselves to keep quite. Tired, as if they had no idea what to do anymore.
They were arguing.
About me.
Damn.
Silently getting down on my hands and knees I crawled over to where they were standing. Expertly hiding myself behind the sofa chair that smelled suspiciously of fish I decide that I needed a visual aid. I cautiously stuck my head out, making sure I was undetected. I was completely surprised to see Roy dialing away on a cell phone so high tech that it looked very out of place in a gritty apartment like this. He must have stolen it.
Not that I was judging.
"Jason stop hiding, we know you're there"
He must be some sort of ninja spy that's undercover and steals to buy drugs that smell like fish.
Okay, maybe I was judging.
