Dick Grayson lay in his new bed on his back with his eyes shut tightly, too afraid to open them even a little bit. Not exactly how he had intended to spend his first night in the manor.

He had seen the girl in the mirror, and Mr Wayne knew he had seen her. He sent Dick straight to bed after the whole ordeal even though it was only 9 oclock. Being a circus performer, Dick was usually still somersaulting through the air, so the sudden stillness so early made him a little jittery.

Bruce let Dick eat dinner in his room under the circumstances he ate it quickly and didn't leave the room, but it was only for that night. He hadn't touched any of the food but instead crawled into his new bed. He found it impossible to get comfortable or warm, but he didn't dare toss or turn.

The boy began to nod off hours later, having forced himself into a comfortable position. He moved his leg down, brought his other one up, shifted his hip oh so slightly, tried desperately not to make the springs creak. He believed he had done it, which is when he began to nod off, when the air in the room became noticeably thinner.

Dick tried to control his breathing; in, out, slowly, steadily, carefully. A sound could be heard in the room, a sound like a bird's sharp beak pecking at his window. Dick stiffened up in his bed focusing on not reacting noticeably to whatever it was. It could be a bird, but it could be something else.

A second bird joined in on the tapping, but Dick refused to react, although he was terrified. Eventually, a third bird joined in, each hitting the glass one right after the other in a 'ta- ta- tap' sequence.

Finally, a fourth tapping source could be heard, and Dick finally recognised it not to be a bird, but a hand, someones fingers tapping on the glass as one would in a display of boredom. The sound was stiff, not echoing inside the room as it would have done if it were coming from outside.

The sound continued for some time before it moved around the room slowly. It went from the window along the wall, along the second wall opposite from Dick's bed, and to the wall the door was on. There was tapping on the heavy wood, but Dick still refused to look at it, or let it know he heard it.

There was a sudden deafening silence, a pause where Dick considered opening his eyes. A minute passed by with nothing happening, then two minutes. Then three, and ten, and twenty. Dick started thinking it was safe for him to open his eyes, almost did it, until the door creaked open wide, and slammed shut.

Dick spasmed and hoped whatever had come in his room hadn't seen the movement. He could hear his heart beat, could hear and feel the pulsing in his skull. There was a rush of adrenaline, wasted on staying still.

He let himself relax more, could feel the tension beginning to leave his muscles, tried not to react when he heard heavy breathing from at least three sources around his bed. Whatever was in his room, however many there were, they were all positioned around him, staring at him while he tried to sleep.

Dick refused to open his eyes, even when the sun was shining through his window. His heart hadn't stopped beating hard throughout the night, leaving him with a pain in his chest. The cold had persisted on Dick, even though the heating was on all night and there was no reason at all to be cold.

Alfred knocked on Dick's door and entered the room making the boy jump suddenly, but he still didn't open his eyes or sit up.

"Master Dick? It's me."

Dick still didn't move from where he was. Alfred Could see that Dick was drenched in sweat, and he could smell urine. He touched Dick's shoulder and the boy flinched.

"Come now Richard." said Alfred touching the younger's face tenderly. "They can't touch you if you haven't seen them."

"How do I know they don't think I saw them and are pretending to be you?" blurted out Dick before he could stop himself.

"Because I haven't thrown you out the window or even possessed you. Now get out of what you're wearing so I can change these sheets" demanded Alfred as he ripped the sheets off Dick's cold body.

Dick brought his legs up and curled into a ball. He was shivering, but Alfred didn't have time for that at the moment. For the time being, there were more important matters to attend to.

The butler took some slacks, a shirt, and a sweater vest to Dick's bathroom and placed a large fluffy towel next to the pile.

"Please have a shower soon Richard, we have lots to do today" said Alfred poking his head around Dick's door.

Dick finally sat up. He needed a shower. He needed a shower in the creepy bathroom where he saw that girl.

Dick went light headed for a moment, the absense of sleep contributing to it, before he finally remembered where he was, and what had happened. He suddenly went cold again. He got up from the bed and put his back against the wall so he could see every inch of his room.

He studied his surroundings, looking for any hint that they had been there, that he wasn't crazy. He left the window until last.

Dick saw, even from a distance, fingerprints in the centre of the window. A set of four that created a trail. Where the window meets the wall and all along the wall were nail marks where fingernails had dug into it, creating a trail all the way to the door. Dick had missed them on his first scan of the room, not really knowing what he was looking for then.

Dick shifted along the wall, exiting through the door quickly. He walked down the hall filled with tension, afraid that anything could jump out at him at any moment.

He stood outside the bathroom door, stalling himself from going into the first place he had been 'haunted'.

He didn't know how long he stood there accumulating all of his courage before he finally opened the door wide, an eerie squeak from the hinges.

From his place at the door, he could see the side of the cabinet, the side of what had let him see his first ghost. He stared at it for some time, before removing his sweat drenched shirt and throwing it over the mirror. He didn't want to see it again.

The water was blissful on Dick's skin, giving him the warmth he so desperately needed. Now he kept his eyes opened at every moment, even when some soap went in them, so that he could be prepared to run if anything happened.

Dick was used to short showers, so he was out after a mere 5 minutes. He wrapped the towel around his bare waist before stepping onto the bath mat. He stood there for a moment completely aware of all the space between himself and the wall behind him, then jumped suddenly at a sound above him; a thump as if something heavy had been dropped.

As far as Dick was aware, he was on the top floor, so whatever had made that sound must have been in the attic, but Mr Pennyworth and Mr Wayne didn't have any business up there... Did they?

The sound happened again, making a shiver run down the boy's spine. He moved faster to get his clothes on and ran out the door and down the stairs, finding Alfred and Bruce sharing a silent breakfast at the dining table.

"There's something in the attic" exclaimed Dick with a shaking voice.

"It's probably just a bat." murmered Bruce, glaring at Dick from his place.

"It was too loud! It sounded like something being dropped-"

"It was nothing Dick" yelled Bruce, standing up and towering over the child. Dick jumped at the sudden aggression, not too sure where it was coming from.

There was a pause, where Dick seemed like he was about to cry, or faint, or do something, but was too shellshocked to do it. He had never been yelled at like that...

Bruce grunted and stood from his place. "Your sweater's backwards" said Bruce before he left the room. Dick watched him go and averted his eyes from the place Bruce had been, to his feet. There was a moment when Dick just stood there unsure of what do do with himself, but soon enough he took off his sweater and turned it to put it on the right way. He didn't look at Alfred, but the older man never took his eyes off Dick.