The party was too posh for her liking; expensive decorations, expensive food, expensive drinks. The wealthy knew how to look the part too; fancy dresses, dark suits, and glittering accessories. Just for the record, propriety was not up her alley (literally, Crime Alley and manners did not mix). She wanted to hurl with every standing ovation or tear off her face with every fake smile, but she had promised her mother.

She had originally objected to this whole scholarship deal (and she still did), but this opportunity had made her mother ecstatic. Artemis had always wanted a happy family. The small sacrifice of attending a well-known, private academy didn't seem like such a big price to pay. Now, at her initiation ceremony, she was having second guesses. Every person who had congratulated her had lived up to her stereotypical expectation of the rich; fakes, suck-ups, snobs. Gotham was a hot bed of crime and corruption on both ends of the spectrum. She had dirt on a lot of these big name families thanks to her dad.

She couldn't hold back the sigh that escaped her lips. Just two more hours and this whole mess would be over and done with.

"Artemis Crock?" A new voice made her cringe as she plastered a smile and turned to suffer the commendation for her luckiness once more. Expecting to see a "fat cat" she had some difficulty hiding the surprise when her eyes fell on a "fat kitten" (so to speak); the first of the few teenagers present who made an effort to talk with her; and knew her name for that matter.

The boy didn't look much older than fourteen, short, and thin. To be completely honest, his dark, black suit looked sharp, matching his sleeked-back, ebony hair. His smile seemed genuine, unlike the others she had dealt with that night; his bright, dark-blue eyes glinted mischievously. He seemed familiar, but at this party, it probably meant he was a TV actor or a "bad-boy" who frequented the gossip columns. Regardless, Artemis remained on guard; she knew very well how appearances could be deceiving.

"Congratulations on your scholarship," he said, sounding authentic…

"Thanks," she answered, feeling her cheek twitch with the strain of prolonged smiling. This had been going on for the past hour.

The boy's smiled transformed into a good natured smirk, "The smiles getting to you?" he asked knowingly.

Artemis let a long breath rasp out between her teeth, "You have no idea."

The statement only intensified the boy's smirk, "Yeah, I think I do. Richard Grayson is the name, by the way, nice to officially meet you." He offered his hand.

"And you obviously know mine," she returned the gesture. Her dad had taught her a lot of things, and learning about a person by their handshake was one of them (among other, more deadly disciplines). The Grayson boy's hand was strong and calloused – not something she would expect form a pampered rich kid – and yet he seemed comfortable with the easygoing lifestyle of the partiers.

"It took me a while to get used to the fake smiles at nothing," he said, smirk still in place, "I mean, I'm all for smiling, but you need to have a good reason. In the circus, you generally smiled cause something was funny or cool. Don't get your hopes up here; there is nothing entertaining about these guys."

Artemis actually smiled for real at his remark. Now she knew why he was familiar: the famous Richard Grayson, circus orphan, prince of Gotham. He had been adopted by Bruce Wayne when he was eight, virtually the charity case of the century. He had already been through what she was experiencing right now: the transition from the social bottom to the top.

"Glad to find a fellow cynic," she said, quiet enough that a passing partier wouldn't overhear their derogatory conversation, "Why didn't you come around sooner, as in, before I decided to throw myself off the balcony to escape this mess!"

Richard shrugged, "Bruce always has to be 'fashionably late,' with his ladies in tow. And besides, Alfred kinda had to chase me around the manor all afternoon to get me in this thing." He tugged at the collar of his tuxedo with a grimace.

It was her turn to smirk at the other's expense. So he was less comfortable than he appeared, good to know. Quite frankly, her apparel wasn't what was bothering her. Her mom had been saving up money from their support checks for the past two months to buy this dress. Paula and Artemis had hit the boutiques, searching until they had found the perfect, midnight blue dress for the occasion. It was floor length, mermaid style, which stretched over one shoulder to meet with a brooch on the front. If she wasn't mistaken, she had received quite a few double takes.

Speaking of which, Grayson had stopped smirking long enough to finally notice said garment.

"I, uh, like your dress by the way..."

Artemis took the complement with a graceful 'thank you' despite noticing how his ears turned pink for a moment. It would have been so easy to tease the boy for this, but she didn't want to lose the first friend she had made all night.

"I take is you're very excited for school to start." She let the sarcasm seep into her comment as she changed the topic.

Grayson rolled his blue eyes dramatically, "Are you kidding me?! I've been so busy this summer; I barely even noticed it was over!"

"Yours too, huh?"

Her reply was lost on the boy as he had suddenly pulled a thin, touch phone out of his pocket. He quickly glanced at the screen before scanning the room, searching for someone.

Reflexively, Artemis too peered around the ballroom for Richard's mystery messenger. Realizing she didn't really know who to look for, she turned back to where Grayson had been, only to find him…gone.

"There's always someone," she grumbled to herself, reminded of Robin's tendency to do the same thing: disappear without explaining a thing. Great, she had just lost her only friend. Artemis felt her spirit fall a little. She hadn't wanted to connect with anyone this far out of her league, but Grayson had been so open and friendly; she thought that he would be different, maybe even understood how she felt right now. Obviously not. He ditched her at the first distraction. Way to get suckered, Artemis.

Black thoughts clouded her mood until she heard a familiar voice enter her hearing range again, "… you just have to meet her. She's pretty cool…"

Artemis located the source: Richard Grayson was escorting a pretty, red-headed girl in her direction. The girl was about Grayson's age, a little taller, but had a similar, slim build. She was wearing a sequined, emerald-colored dress that came just past her knees with matching high heels that clicked as she walked.

Artemis's curiosity overcame her frustration at the boy.

"Artemis, this is Barbra Gordon. Babs, this is Artemis Crock." Grayson introduced the two girls, a sneaky grin growing on his face as if he were sharing his own personal joke.

"Nice to meet you," Barbra said warmly, shaking Artemis's hand.

"Gordon, huh," Artemis thought for a moment, "as in the…"

"Police Commissioner's daughter." Barbra interrupted, "Yeah. That's me."

Grayson grinned at his friend's annoyance.

"You must get that a lot." Artemis amended, uncharacteristically trying to smooth over her rudeness. She knew what it was like to be identified by her father; she didn't like it much either.

"Yeah, I do." Barbra rolled her eyes, dismissing the apology with an offhanded tone. Artemis was starting to like this girl. She wasn't afraid of offending people, that's for sure. She had a direct, to-the-point way of speaking (must be something she got from her dad). Gordon definitely wasn't rich-folk status either. The commissioner had political connections, not cash. If Artemis had to, she'd bet that Barbra was a scholarship student too.

"So Artemis," Barbra queried, "What were you and Dick talking about before I arrived and crashed this party?" The red-head's cocky attitude and smirk mirrored her friend's.

"Surviving parties," Artemis shrugged, "I told Dick I was going to throw myself off the roof pretty soon. How do you do it? Survive, I mean." She looked at Dick and Barbra for an answer.

A chorus of "I've got her" and "I've got him" sounded as the pair simultaneously pointed to each other.

Artemis couldn't help but laugh as they both blushed pink and say, "Obviously!"

By the end of the night, Artemis realized that she was actually having fun. She hung out with Dick and Barbra the entire time. They told her how they were 'obligated' to attend charity balls or other events, Dick with his guardian and Barbra with her father, so naturally, they stuck together. They had been friends even before they started at Gotham Academy in seventh grade (they would both be freshman this year). They talked and laughed about random, weird, and 'undignified' stuff. They included her and ignored the other teenagers casting wary glances in their direction. And when Artemis went to publicly receive her scholarship from one of the richest men in the world, Bruce Wayne, Grayson's maniac smile banished the anxiety she had been feeling.

She should have noticed how he was far too happy for her, someone he had just met.

She should have noticed there was something more familiar about Dick Grayson.

She should have seen it then, but she missed it.