Chapter 1
Disclaimer: I only own my OC, Hayle.
Thanks to my awesome PT and co-writer, kurounue13!
Years Ago...
Gotham City Elementary School...
In the back of a fourth grade classroom sat little nine-year-old Hayle Cobblepot, daughter of Oswald Cobblepot.
She was in her second week of fourth grade and things were the same as they had been since kindergarten. She was alone, not talking to anyone, not having one friend even though all of the children tried to persuade her to be their friend because of her wealth and she was able to see through every one of them and turn them down quickly and easily.
As she was getting out her homework from the weekend, the door of the classroom opened and she looked up as a boy entered the room and gave the teacher a paper. Hayle looked at him, admiring him slightly. He had sandy brown hair, glasses, and a certain charm about him and Hayle couldn't help but watch him until his eyes landed on her and she quickly looked down.
"Class, we have a new student joining us. If you wouldn't mind, dear, please tell us your name." the teacher said kindly with a friendly smile.
The lanky boy with the shoulder length brown hair nervously looked around the class. "Edward...Nigma." He mumbled softly.
There were murmurs among the students and Hayle looked up at all of them as she glared at every one of them. They had done the same thing to her when she first joined the kindergarten class a few years ago.
She then turned soft eyes on the new student, who was told to pick out any available seat.
He walked, more like ran, to the very back of the class. Taking the seat by the window, just a few seats away from Hayle.
Hayle couldn't help but subtly look at him out of the corner of her eye before the class begun.
Later That Day...
Hayle and her class were now out at recess. Lunch was right after and then it would be back to class for the rest of the day. Hayle did what she always did at recess, she sat down underneath a tree as she read a new book she had gotten.
"HEY, GIVE IT BACK!" She heard a voice say soon followed by laughter. She saw the Nigma boy trying to get his book back just as he was hit in the face by a large rubber ball. His glasses snapping in half as he fell to the ground. The ball hitting him obviously wasn't a part of the plan as the bullies scattered. Leaving Edward lying on the ground with a bloodied nose.
Hayle quickly dropped her own book as she jumped up and ran over to the new boy as she knelt next to him. "Oh my gosh, come on. Let me take you to the clinic." she said as she picked up his damaged glasses in one hand and helped him sit up.
She glared at the two boys that had bullied him and she picked up his fallen book that was covered in dirt as she helped Edward stand up slowly.
"YOU BETTER HOPE YOU DON'T RUN INTO ME FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR, YOU TWO!" Hayle screamed in fury.
Edward remained silent as she took him to the nurse. His hand bloodied from holding his nose.
He couldn't help but notice how angry she was when she didn't even know him. He also noticed how much care she took into repairing his glasses as well as she could by taping them together and she dusted the dirt off of his book as the nurse tended to him.
"Alright Mr. Nigma, you are good to go. And make sure to keep the icepack on your nose." the nurse said.
Edward nodded and Hayle smiled softly as she got up and put his glasses back on his face. "That's the best I could do for your glasses, but your book didn't get any damage except for some dirt, but I got that off." she said.
"Thanks..." He said as he timidly took his book from her. "You're welcome. You know, you may want to hang around with me. You don't have to, it's just a suggestion. No one really bothers me." she said. "Who are you?" He asked just as timidly as he took his book. "I'm Hayle." she said with a soft smile. "Hayle Cobblepot."
He slowly held out his hand to her. "Edward."
She smiled as she shook his hand gently. "It's really nice to meet you, Edward. And I'm so sorry about what happened to you, but I'll make sure to tell the teacher when we get back to class." she said. "What good will it do." He said softly. "Well if you stay around me, it might do some good. I've beaten both of those boys up for trying to bully me in second grade. They learned not to come near me." she said as the two walked out of the nurse's office as they went towards the cafeteria for lunch.
"Oh, okay then." he said. Hayle smiled as she held his hand in hers. "Don't worry, as long as I'm here everything will be ok." she said. "Ok." Edward offered her a small smile.
I finally know what it's like to have a friend...I think., Hayle thought as the two walked down the hallway towards the cafeteria.
Do I have a friend?, He thought as they sat down at an empty table in the cafeteria. "Thanks again."
"You're welcome." she said with a smile before her curiosity couldn't stand the burning question in her mind. "Are we friends?" she asked as she looked at Edward. She saw him grow nervous. "Do you...do you want to be?"
"Well, friends usually have things in common. I think we have the fact that we both are used to keeping to ourselves in common, so maybe we have more. So, yes I'd love to be your friend and I'd love it if you were my friend too. I've never had any friends before." she said.
She watched as Edward blushed heavily. Hayle smiled as she blushed and twirled her hair a little, a nervous habit she always had. "Did I say something?" she asked nervously. "I've never been friends with a girl before." Edward said. "I've never been friends with a boy before." she said as she nervously giggled.
"Do you like Tapioca?" He asked as he pulled out an extra pudding cup. "My favorite." she said with a smile. As he handed it to her, their fingers brushed together.
She looked up at him with a nervous smile. His cheeks blushed heavier. Hayle smiled as she giggled softly as she nervously looked down at the pudding cup as she started to open it, but the lid was stuck as she tried to peel it off.
"Here." He said softly as he pulled it off for her. Hayle smiled. "Thank you." she said with a smile before he handed her his extra spoon as the two started to eat their lunch together. The bell soon rang and they were on their way to class.
Soon after that, the day was over and Edward and Hayle were outside as they were awaiting their rides home.
"While we're waiting, what do you wanna talk about?" she asked with a smile. Hayle never knew herself to smile so much when she was at school. "Um...what do you like to do? My hobby is riddles. I also like science." he said. "I love riddles...and jokes. Any kind of word game is my favorite hobby. And I think what I'm best at is language arts, reading and spelling mostly." she said with a smile.
"Sounds cool." he said. "Mhm." she said before a limo pulled up and she sighed as she looked down, she hated how her father showed his wealth when she just wanted to be picked up in a car like the others that didn't ride the bus.
"That's me." she said softly as she, reluctantly, stood up and gathered up her backpack.
"Bye Hayle." Edward said softly. "Bye Edward. I'll see you tomorrow. And you may want to get some new glasses, I'm sure it's not easy to see out of those." she said softly before she kissed his cheek and smiled as she shrugged her backpack on and walked to the limo before she looked back at him once more before she got into the limo and closed the door.
About ten minutes later...
Hayle arrived home as she got out of the limo and her father's employee escorted her inside of Cobblepot Manor as she took her jacket off and yelled. "Daddy! I'm home!"
"How was your day at school, princess?" He asked as she ran into his study. "Well, the fourth grade isn't very different from any other grade, but I did finally make a friend." she said with a smile as she put her backpack down to get out her homework.
"Oh you did?" he asked. "Yeah." she said with a smile. "His name is Edward. Edward Nigma." she said. "HE?" Oswald said, raising his voice a little but not loud enough to yell at his little girl.
"Yeah. He." she said with a smile, used to her daddy's over-the-top temper and attitude as she started on her homework. "He better not try anything." he said. Hayle looked up at her father as she blinked a few times. "Daddy, he's the same age as me. He's not going to hurt me." she said. "Uh huh." he said. Hayle couldn't help but roll her eyes a little before she got back to her homework.
One Month Later...
Edward and Hayle were both at recess as they were looking at his new book of riddles, puzzles, and word games. Hayle smiled as she and Edward went page-by-page solving each page in at least ten minutes.
They laughed at some of the silly ones, raised eyebrows at the weird ones. and full out face palmed at the stupid ones.
"How was that possibly supposed to be a challenging one? The clues were all obvious." Hayle said with a laugh as they passed one of the stupid ones. "Tell me about it." he said.
Hayle sighed as she rested her head on Edward's shoulder. "They should get smarter people to write these riddles, most of them are easy while the puzzles are a bit complicated, but at least they're a challenge." she said. "Who would come up with them? Most original riddles are just new versions of the older ones." he said. "Exactly." she said as she smiled up at him before the bell rang. "Time for lunch." she said with a smile as the two walked inside and went to the cafeteria.
"I brought you a sandwich today. My mom made it, it has steak slices in it." he said. "Mmm, sounds good. Thanks. I brought you some applesauce if you like it." she said as she took out two spoons and two applesauce bowls. "Thanks." He happily ate it.
Hayle smiled as she happily ate her sandwich before lunch soon ended after a comfortable conversation between the two friends. Hayle knew all about Edward's life, including his abusive father who she very much wanted one of her father's men to take out although she didn't tell him that. And Edward knew all about her life, who her father was and how she grew up and how her father spoiled her even though she was content with what she had.
"I wish I had your life. Mom not getting scared all the time...my dad would be different." he said. "I just wish you could live with me so you would be safe from him. I really don't like the way he treats you." she said, small tears forming in her eyes. "I could never imagine any father that could do that to his child."
"He doesn't hit me. Just yells." he said. "But still. He calls you those mean names sometimes." she said as the two threw out their trash and started back to the classroom. "I'm used to it." He said. Why does she care so much?, he thought.
Hayle sighed softly as the two got back into the classroom, they were sitting next to each other now that they had gotten to be friends.
"Ok everyone while there are a few minutes left before the day is over, I've got a contest for you. The winner will win twenty dollars if he or she can get this riddle," both Hayle and Edward's heads snapped up at the same time as they heard the word 'riddle'. "correct. But be prepared for it is an extremely logical riddle." Mrs. Thomas said as she passed out pieces of paper with the same riddle on it.
"Now, you can't take them home, you must return them to me before you leave so I know you've solved it fairly and didn't receive any help." she instructed before she sat back down at her desk. "You can look and try to work out the riddle until the bell rings." she said as everyone started looking down at their paper.
"Oh...this is complicated." Hayle said as she looked down at the riddle and Edward had to agree, this was definitely not from one of his books as he looked down at the paper. "At least it's finally a challenging riddle." he said and Hayle smiled. "That's very true."
Edward stared at the paper. And stared. And stared. She could see the wheels in his brain turning. But just as he almost had it all figured out, going over every possibility in his mind, the bell rang and interrupted his thought process.
"Man.." he groaned as he lost his train of thought. Hayle smiled as she and Edward got up and returned their papers. When they were out of the room, she turned to Edward. "I think I have an idea. Meet me outside of the school. They don't really lock up the school until about twelve at night. We can sneak in through the window at nine, figure out the riddle and then by the end of the week you can win." she whispered to him softly when they were sitting outside, away from everyone else. He leaned in. "You're on."
Hayle smiled, feeling a rush of excitement course through her. "Great. I'll see you at nine." she said when her limo pulled up.
"Bye Edward!" Hayle said happily as she winked at him and got into her limo. "Bye!" He waved as the limo took off.
That Night...
It took some difficulty and a lot of courage, but Hayle had finally put up a decoy in case anyone would come into her room before she snuck out of her window. She looked around the property before she quietly ran off of her family's property and ran towards the direction of the school. It was already 9:05 when she got there as she saw Edward just running up as well.
She smiled as the two caught up. After she took a breath from running she took a heavy sigh of breath before she smiled. "Ready?" she asked. "Ready captain!" He said saluting her. Hayle giggled as she smiled brightly. "Ok, let's see the classroom should be the fourth from this end." she said, pointing to the windows that were closest to them. "Let's go." He said as he took her by the hand.
Hayle looked at him as she felt a tingle go through her. She had never felt such a sensation before she smiled as she snapped herself out of it as they ran to the fourth window and snuck in. "It's really stupid how they keep these windows unlocked like this." Hayle said as she snuck through the window first with Edward's help before she helped him in.
"Tell me about it, any idiot could sneak in here." he said when he closed the window.
"No kidding. I think even those dumbbells that tried to bully you could manage to open a window...maybe." she said with a soft giggle before she turned on the light in the teacher's room after checking to make sure the coast was clear in the hall before she joined Edward, who had already gotten one of the riddle papers out as he was already thinking about it, getting back into his thought process. Hayle took a paper for herself as she sat down at the desk in the first row as she started trying to figure out the riddle.
She looked over and saw Edward staring at it just like he did before. She couldn't help but stare at him as she forgot about the riddle for a minute. She noticed, he was actually cute. She had never actually looked at him, or any boy, like this. She had never thought of any boy as cute, and she never had such a tingling sensation as he was able to give her by just holding her hand.
"I GOT IT!" He shouted happily before slapping his hands over his mouth.
"Edward!" she whisper yelled at him as she smiled before the two heard running footsteps and quickly Hayle threw her paper back at him as he put the papers back inside the desk and got the window open as Hayle turned off the lights and jumped out the window and Edward was quickly out behind her as he closed the window and the two grabbed each other's hands as they ran away from the school without being noticed as they hid behind some bushes that were near the school.
"What is it? What's the answer?" she asked in a whisper. He leaned in and whispered it into her ear. "Wow, that's amazing. How did you get the answer?" she asked with a smile. "I'm a genius." he said with a smile. "I can't disagree with that." she said with a smile. "It's probably getting late, and as much as I hate to say it, we should probably get going home but I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah." he said with a slight sadness in his voice as he walked over to his bike.
I wish he didn't have to leave., she thought before she took a chance as she ran over to him and kissed his cheek as she smiled at him.
He blushed. She...she just...COOTIES!, he thought, but really he liked it. "Um, bye Hailstorm."
Hayle smiled. "Don't worry, I got my cootie shot...wait a minute, hailstorm?" she asked with another one of those sweet smiles Edward couldn't get out of his mind. "Yeah." He said before he rode off. "See ya, Hailstorm."
"Good night, Riddles." she said with a smile as she started to walk back home, but once Edward was out of eye shot she broke off into a run when she noticed the time on her watch as she climbed back into her window as she got home and quickly shut her window, got into her night clothes and got into bed.
Just in time for her father to come in and check on her.
She closed her eyes as she faked her deep breathing of sleep, a sweet smile on her face as she "slept". She felt her father place a kiss on her head before walking back out of her room. She heard the click of the door and sighed heavily.
Hayle still felt an adrenaline rush from her night of sneaking out as she took a deep sigh before she closed her eyes. Once she got to sleep, her dreams were full of nothing but Edward Nigma.
A Few Days Later...
It was now Friday and everyone in Edward and Hayle's class had been working out the riddle and coming up with answers. But now was the day that the winner would be crowned and awarded the twenty dollar prize.
The contest was in place of recess because of a light shower of rain outside.
Edward stood in the front of the class with three other students. Hayle smiled as she watched Edward. She still felt an adrenaline rush when she was around him, and she was starting to think it would never go away.
"Alright now, these three were the only ones to correctly answer the riddle. So it's time now for one final riddle to break the tie." Mrs. Thomas announced before she asked the three students a riddle and each student answered to the best of their ability.
Hayle smiled as she knew Edward was the only one with the correct answer. She wanted so badly to just jump up and hug him and congratulate him.
Please be right, please be right., he thought as he looked at Hayle nervously. Mrs. Thomas looked over the answer before standing.
"And our winner of the contest and twenty dollars is... Mr. Edward Nigma." Mrs. Thomas said with a smile as she handed Edward a twenty dollar bill and Hayle smiled as she couldn't help but literally jump out of her seat as she ran up and hugged Edward.
Edward blushed as the class cheered, mostly because they knew Edward was Hayle's best friend. "Um...Hails, let go..." He said bashfully. Hayle smiled as the bell rang for recess. "Alright, come on." she said with a smile as she held his hand in hers as the two walked out.
They walked to lunch happily. "You know, half of this 20 is yours if you want it." Edward said. "No, Edward, I want you to keep it. You deserve it." she said with a smile as she kissed his cheek. "But it was because of you I got to figure out the right answer." he said. Hayle smiled. "Please, Edward. I want you to keep it all."
"Okay." He said softly as he stuffed the twenty dollar bill in his pocket. "Do you want to go get a soda after school?" he asked when they got into the cafeteria for lunch. "I'd love to." she said with a smile as the two sat down at their now usual table at lunch. "Great." He said as an excited smile appeared on his face. "Is there another adventure in our near future?" she asked with a giggle as the two swapped their extra treats for each other. "Maybe." He said with a smile.
After School...
Hayle had told her father's employee to go home without her and that she would be home within an hour or two because she wanted to celebrate Edward's win with him. After some hesitation and a bit of an arguement, she finally got him to leave before she rejoined Edward, who would've been riding his bike home had he not won the riddle contest today.
She ran over to him and his bike. "Hang on." he said as he put her side saddle along the middle bar. Once her arms were around his neck, he started peddling off.
She smiled as she felt that familiar tingling and rushing feeling go through her once again as she held on to Edward. She held onto him tighter as he sped down the streets.
"You know where you're going right?" she asked. "Yup!" he said happily. Hayle smiled brightly as she looked at him as she giggled. They arrived at a small corner market. He ran in and spent half of his twenty dollars before running back out and riding off with Hayle.
"Where are we going, Riddles? What are we doing?" she asked with a bright smile as she looked at him. "Just hang on." He said with a smile. Hayle smiled as she held on while Edward rode through Gotham with her.
Finally they arrived at the park. They walked alongside the bike as they hid amongst the trees.
"Why are we hiding?" she whispered to him. "Because, it's special." He said as he sat down, pulling out the soda pop, candy, chips and sandwiches he had bought for them. Hayle smiled, feeling special when he said that as she sat next to him. "Is there a reason why it's special? Besides your win in the riddle contest today." she said as she opened her soda at the same time Edward did.
"Well, we don't really hang out as friends..." He said bashfully. "Yeah, we kind of don't do we?" she asked with a smile. "We always hang out a lot closer than friends normally do." she said softly. Edward forcefully shoved some of his sandwich into his mouth, his cheeks were red hot as she stared at him.
"Did you want to say something? It looked like you wanted to say something." she said with a soft smile before she took a bite of her own sandwich. He gulped down his food heavily, it was loud enough for her to hear, but Hayle didn't say anything. All she could do was smile at him, unable to help herself.
He sat up straight, taking in a massive breath before he quickly, and rather roughly, placed a kiss to her cheek before instantly pulling back. Hayle's face couldn't have looked more surprised before her cheeks turned pink as she blushed and an adorable smile graced her face as she looked at Edward.
Oh no, she liked it., He thought nervously as he shoved more of his sandwich into his mouth.
Hayle couldn't help herself as she leaned over and kissed Edward's cheek softly before she started on her sandwich again. He stopped in mid shove, his sandwich was half in his mouth and half out as he sat there, frozen.
Hayle couldn't help the soft giggle that almost came out of her mouth before she stopped herself. He's so cute., she thought as she couldn't get the smile off of her face.
She heard another loud gulp as he swallowed what was in his mouth. "Are you alright?" she asked cautiously. He could only nod as he took a drink of his soda.
Hayle smiled and she looked at him before she turned to her food and popped a chip into her mouth.
"Um...Hails?" Edward asked. "Yeah, Riddles?" Hayle asked with a smile as she looked over at Edward. "Um..." he said before throwing a little paper into her lap. A small red heart was drawn with the words 'Be My Valentine?' written on it.
Hayle smiled as she looked at the paper before she smiled at Edward. "As long as you'll be my valentine too." she said happily as she kissed his cheek again. His entire face was now as red as the crayon he had drawn the heart in. "Will you?" she asked as she smiled at him. "Y-yes." he stuttered nervously. Hayle smiled. "Great." she said happily.
Edward slowly reached over and took her hand in his. Hayle smiled as she held his hand.
"I should get you home. My mom will be getting worried." he said. "Ok. My dad will probably have a search party out for me soon." she said with a soft laugh. "Thanks for this today, Riddles. I really liked it." she said with a smile.
"Riddles?" He asked, now noticing the nickname she had started for him. "I figured it fit you pretty well. You love riddles, and you're very good at them." she said with a smile. He looked fondly at her. "Hmmmmm...I like it." he said. Hayle smiled as the two stood up and threw their trash away before they walked back to Edward's bicycle before he rode off on his bicycle with her to take Hayle home.
One Month Later...
Hayle had walked into her classroom with a solemn look on her face as she handed her teacher a note from her father as she walked to the back of her class and sat down. Edward wasn't there yet, and she didn't see him on the way to the classroom but she just hoped that he wouldn't be absent today. Not today.
She saw Edward walking into class. His expression was withdrawn, like he hadn't slept or he was back in his mind. He sat down next to her, apparently not realizing she was there at first, and she looked at him. "Edward?" she said softly. His hands gripped his jeans as he stayed as still as a statue. She reached over as she touched his shoulder softly.
The instant she did, he flinched violently. Jerking away from her hand as he almost fell out of his seat. He all but sat in the fetal position in his chair. Thankfully, the teacher didn't notice.
"Edward, what happened?" Hayle asked immediately, fearing the worst. She saw the back of his neck. His hair had parted, and peaking out from underneath his jacket collar, was a very angry bruise.
Hayle's breath hitched as she saw the bruise and tears instantly came into her eyes. Sad and angry tears as she was dying to comfort Edward.
"Just...just leave it alone, Hails." He said softly as he pulled his jacket collar higher and making sure his hair was covering it. "I can't believe that." she said softly. "First what happened with me and now what happened to you." she said sadly. "What happened to you?" He said as he snapped out of his trance.
"Well nothing really. Not as bad as what happened to you. I didn't get hit or anything. My dad told me that he lost his fortune in a bad stock market trade that the Wayne Family won. He's only got so much money left, and he's being forced to give away our mansion to get a little more money. He's got another place up where he's making his nightclub and casino I told you about, the Iceberg Lounge. So...today's my last day of school. He's getting me a tutor and we're going to live in the back of the Iceberg Lounge." she said as her tears poured out of her eyes finally.
"What?...No. No, he can't take you away." Edward whispered as he started crying. "I begged him to let me stay in school with you, but he says it's too far and it's out of the school zone. The Lounge is going to be far away from our mansion, but still in the Diamond District. But still he wouldn't budge." she whispered as she swallowed, her tears still pouring. Edward turned away from her, burying his face into his arms, his whole world came crashing down this day.
The bell soon rang for recess and Hayle immediately put her arms around Edward, careful not to touch his bruise as she held on to him. Needing to hold on to someone.
"I'm sorry, Hailstorm." He said sorrowfully as he held her too. Each passing minute meant less time with her. "Don't be sorry. I'm the one who should be sorry and I am. I'm so sorry, Riddl-Edward." she said as she pulled away while still staying in his arms as she kissed his cheek.
"Promise we'll find each other." He said holding out his pinkie finger. "I promise. I won't leave Gotham if you don't." she said as she held on her pinkie finger. "I swear it." he said. "I swear too. We'll both stay in Gotham and one day we'll find each other, and while we're away from each other we'll still be best friends." she said with a soft smile. "And valentines."
He hugged her agan so tight he didn't want to let go. Hayle held on to him as tightly as she could. She never wanted to let go. She wanted to spend the rest of her life just like this.
"But for now, for the rest of the day, let's make sure we have the happiest last day together that we possibly can." she said.
He sighed heavily as more tears fell. He could not, and would not, ever let her know the extent of what his father had done to him. So he decided to make the last day he had with Hayle be as peaceful as they could make it before they parted ways, for what seemed right now to be forever.