Saturday was hectic. She woke up at 1 in the afternoon to a text from her manager telling her to meet her for a surprise photoshoot at 2, so she had to rush to eat breakfast, shower, and get across town. Then she had to sit in hair and makeup, answer questions for the article that was being done concurrently with the photoshoot for this magazine spread, and after that she had to laugh at the photographer's corny jokes that he made while trying to get her to look realistic (actually that part wasn't all that bad).
By the time they finished it was already dark out and Adri was on edge. She had parked nearly 5 blocks away, and normally that wouldn't be a problem, since she usually had a security team. But now she was off tour, living the normal life. Security guards didn't fit into that mold. Guess that meant she was walking alone.
So Adri kept a brisk pace while getting to her car, hand's in her pockets and thumb on her car's panic button. Adri wasn't stupid. She knew Gotham wasn't like the hundreds of other places she had been. Gotham took the cake when it came to homicides, muggings, rape, and crime in general.
Surprisingly, the girl managed to get to her car without trouble and had unlocked it when she felt something go whizzing past the back of her head. She whipped around, muscles tense, but she didn't see anything until she looked to the ground about 5 feet away from her and saw an oaf of a man on the ground and clearly knocked out. Looking around, she saw nothing, except for the shadow of a person on a rooftop.
Adri didn't want to linger any longer, so she jumped into her truck and drove away, trying not to run over the guy that had tried to get to her, but not really caring if she did.
That was close.
A shiver ran down her spine and she turned up the heat, driving home in silence and thoughts on her stroke of luck in being saved from whatever that man wanted to do to her.
Monday started off more relaxed. There weren't as many stares, not as many people saying hello, there wasn't even really a crowd surrounding her every step.
It was nice.
As she made her way to her Chemistry classroom, she thought about her lab partner and Friday afternoon. Damian's butler (he had a butler?) arrived about 5 minutes after he had called and the very old, very British man waved a pen light in front of her eyes, checked her for signs of a concussion, but eventually cleared her.
Adri had also managed to convince them that she really did feel fine and that she could drive home.
But now the weekend was gone and she was back in the school.
Chem came first. She wasn't exactly thrilled because she could tell the teacher hated her, but she'd have to make do. She almost ran into Damian, as they both reached the door at the same time and Adri gave him a bright smile, greeting him with a polite hello.
"Hello Adrianne. I take it no adverse symptoms from your head injury?" He inquired as they walked to their lab station.
"Nope." She grinned, popping the P, "My head's fine. Guess I've got a thick skull."
"I can tell."
It took her a second to get his little tongue-in-cheek joke.
"Hey!" Her jaw dropped at his light insult. "I do not have a thick headed." She pouted, with a frown forming on her face.
"Ok, Bonehead, you don't have a thick skull. I apologize." His words dripped with sarcasm.
"Fine, fine. What a comedian." She made a show of patronizingly clapping for him and rolling her eyes.
He frowned, but before he could think up another comeback, their teacher cleared her throat, getting the classes attention. They had a project due in three weeks that would be worth 20% of the quarter's grade. A smile tugged at Adri's lips. She was good at projects. Every song she wrote was a project. This would be a cake walk.
Mrs… What was her name? Announced that they'd also be confined to their regular lab partners for the project. A few people started to complain, but Adri was actually fine with it. Damian might act tough, but he was an OK guy. Plus he seemed smart so she hopefully wouldn't have to pull his weight.
The rest of the day went by without trouble. Adri evened managed to get some small talk out of Damian during Orchestra. Granted, it was only complaining about his brother, but she didn't even know he had a brother so she took what she could get.
As she was leaving school her phone started buzzing and the girl frowned.
Her dad was calling her.
With a sigh, Adri swiped to answer and held the device up to her ear. "Hi, Dad." She un-enthusiastically greeted.
"Hello darling, just wanted to call to ask how your first day of school was. I know how excited you were to finally go back." His smooth voice crackled through the phone.
"My first day was actually Friday. Did Mom not tell you?" The frown grew bigger on her face.
"Ahh, no. I don't think your mother and I have talked since your last concert." He faltered.
"You're not even trying to make this better are you?" She accused.
"Darling, I assure you-"
Adri cut him off before he could finish. "Forget it, Dad, call me again when you're actually interested in fixing our family instead of running away like a coward." She snarled, hanging up and getting into her car, slamming the door on her way in.
It was a couple days later when Adri and Damian made plans to start on the Chem project. They'd go to the library after school to start on research. Adri even suggested that since the library was only a couple blocks away, they should just walk. Forgetting that afterwards, she'd have to walk back to school to get her car.
Even so, after Orchestra, the two found themselves leaving the school doors together and walking at a leisurely place towards Gotham's public library.
"You know, I've noticed you don't have many friends, Dami." She commented, adding on the nickname at the end because she knew it'd annoy him.
"Tt. I have an adequate amount of friends. And don't call me that insufferable nickname. Bonehead." He ended with an emphasis on the nickname he gave her a couple classes ago.
Adri let it go. "Even so, you can always use more. So I think we should be friends." A smile tugged her lips up.
He stopped in the middle of the street, prompting several dirty looks from other pedestrians for disrupting foot traffic. "You want to be friends?" He said it as if it were a bad word.
She stopped and turned around to face him on the sidewalk. "Yes." She nodded.
"Would you care to give me a reason why?" He cocked his head to the side.
"Because you're the only person in the entire school who treats me like a human being instead of a celebrity. Now c'mon." She said, grabbing him by the arm and rejoining the rest of the people walking along the sidewalk.
"What do you mean, 'celebrity'?" He inquired.
Adri faltered. "Are you serious?"
He raised an eyebrow.
Her jaw almost dropped. "I'm a world famous popstar. "
Damian obviously didn't believe her. "Careful, Adrianne, your vanity is showing."
"No, I'm serious! That's why everybody at school mobbed me on my first day."
"Relax, Bonehead, I'm joking. I know who you are." He said, a smirk playing on his face.
Adri's disbelief deflated and she rolled her eyes. "Alright, Chuckles. They really should just name you comedian of the year."
"I'm going to be on the cover of Forbes next month, so they might as well add that on as well." He mentioned casually.
"Wait like the economics magazine?" Adri thought she had heard wrong.
He nodded.
The girl stared at him, feeling like she was missing something.
A look of understanding struck Damian. "I'm a billionaire." He said it like it was something normal. "Well, my father is a billionaire." He corrected, as if that made a difference. "I'm only a millionaire until he unfreezes the rest of my accounts when I turn eighteen."
"Wait."
"Have a seat in the back next to Mr. Wayne." Her Chem teacher had said.
"You're that Wayne? As in Wayne Enterprises?"
"You're just oblivious aren't you? How many other Waynes are there in Gotham?" Damian scoffed.
"Touche." Her face scrunched up in defeat.
"You know, for someone who only wants to be my friend because I don't treat you like royalty, you're acting awfully shocked at my financial status." He commented lightly.
"Well it's only because now it finally makes sense as to why you have a butler. I mean who has a butler anymore?" Adri giggled.
She would've walked right past the entrance to the library, too entranced in the conversation, if it had not been for Damian taking her by the elbow and pulling her through the door.
"Let's get started on that project, Adrianne."
DAMI AND ADRI HAVE CHEMISTRY TOGETHER HA
Anyways, yeah they have a chem project together.
Hope y'all enjoy this
Also I don't know if I suck at writing Damian or not.
If I do, don't tell me.
Bye
-H