Math along with the rest of my classes just swept by in a blur all I could think about was Melanie and what she would have to say, would she talk to me about us how we left things. We didn't really talk about that when she came back in town. In the back of my mind I wondered if I really wanted that, understanding, closer maybe. For her not have the hold that she has on me now would be strange to me. The truth was I wanted to see her almost as much as I wanted to keep Dana. We agreed to meet at the arcade it was the only place that Dana didn't frequent with me and max hanging out with Chelsea was more of her thing now. I saw Mel at the entrance being awkward. She wore a coat that almost hid her from everyone but, even though she wasn't here long people still remember that they saw her on the news as one of the royal flush gang. "Hey" I said catching her attention, she looks right at me and I was quick enough to see the emotions parading across her face, relief, excitement and regret. I felt that same regret to. Regret that she was who she was at the time that we were getting to know each other. She understood my struggles at the time and I understood hers but we were on different sides of the fence then, I wonder where did she stand now? Was she good, bad or was she undecided? "Hey terry was beginning to think you might not show"

I gave her a heartfelt smile that said that I was rethinking this whole meeting. What was I doing here? I couldn't help, not like this and not get involve again, I was that much into her, I still had feelings for her, feelings that refuse to let her surfer while waiting for news of her parents, her family. "So what do you want to do?" I asked because I wanted really to be away for there, away from her, or maybe it was to be away from there with her. "Let's get a drink, talk" she suggested

"Sure why not, we could go to the park I not really feeling the arcade" she merely nodded and hid herself deeper in her coat. Did she think I was embarrassed to be seen with her or that I was hiding? But I was if I really thought about it I didn't want Dana to see me here with Mel it would be another nail in my coffin worst when said nail was an ex love interest. I thought to myself that I would quickly buy the drinks and try to get out of there as soon as I could. But luck was not on my side Dana was there buying drinks with her friends trying to laugh, not quite getting it right. She looked conflicted and I was the reason, I looked back to see that Melanie had slinked back into the shadows maybe she had see Dana too and was allowing me to greet her. She turned her face away from me so quickly that I couldn't tell what she was feeling. I wondered about going to Dana, would it end in a fight with her blurting out who I was. She saw me then her eyes were filled with pain and anger, I knew as I took those fatal steps towards her that we had hit our limit there was no coming back from this not this time if she couldn't support me in this. I walked over to a vacant booth at the back closer to the shadows Dana followed me to it. We sat there for a while not looking at each other, pain was chocking me. How could this happen, why do this have to happen, I wanted to cry, I balled my hands into fists trying not to cry. She lifted her head slowly and our death was there on her face "I'm sorry terry I can't"

"Why" I growled, it was the only word I could squeeze through clench teeth. I didn't really want this to end, did I? Even though I still had feelings for another girl did I want what I have with Dana to end?

"Because I can't watch you risk your life form something that won't change, it's not better the world wont get better if it was we wouldn't need the justice league superman or a batman, why put yourself at risk"

"Because I can, because Max wouldn't be here if I didn't, because the jocks through jerks would be hooked on some lethal steroid, because I can, because I step up" she didn't understand maybe she wouldn't understand. "Dana I am not seeking a thrill ride, you think that don't you, with all the trouble that I because my parents even after the divorce, I wanted to make a difference." I don't think I could make her understand how I can. I got up from the booth and looked into her eyes "all I see are the risk, did you know how many robins there have been? I did some checking terry every few years or so the robin changes it might look the same but if you closely you see that they are all different. How many are alive? Do you even know?"Don't you see you could die terry we could lose you?'

"Dana would you hold me back if I wanted to be a cop or a public prosecutor, don't they have the same risk? "

"But those are different"

"How, how is my doing what I do now different from what they do?" she look away anger on her face "it is not different they get up every morning and try to make Gotham better. Something's they put away the bad guys sometimes they don't but the times they make an arrest or a conviction or whatever they can rest easier that the streets were even for the night or an hour is just a bit safer"

"It not their life you are putting at risk" she hissed back at me "it's yours and when you are gone what will your family do? What will I do?"

"Dana I get you, you're scared that's fine, but you don't get me, I put myself on the line so that you, mom and mat can be safe, and I have saved our friends lives more times than they can count." I sighed and look away towards the shadows were Mel was. "I don't think this will work, not if I'm not getting your support" I walked away from her away from us and it left me feeling stripped bare.

I saw her before he did, his girlfriend, Dana I think she was hanging with her friends, or maybe tiring to. Her behavior with them seemed strained like her mind was on something else. Then she saw terry and I actually felt the tension between them something was up and I didn't know what. The strain was there, even when they walking toward the booth in the back it look like they were about to take different paths. I wondered was it because of me? Was I the reason terry and his girlfriend are at odds? It was a shameful but trilling thought. That terry could have liked me more and she found out. Was that was what they were talking about now? I wanted to know but I was afraid to step towards them to listen. I don't think that Gotham has for gotten me or what I was a part of. Terry sat facing me and though I couldn't see his face I couldn't read his lips just the emotions that crossed it. He was stressed and angry, the more I watch the more I believed that they weren't talking about me but something much more serious. "What could be wrong" I hope they would break up that he would be mine, I still had feelings for him, and it was a bad thing to think about. I thought it anyway. I was jealous of Dana she was everything that I wasn't, 'not a criminal with criminal parents' I sighed and waited. Then terry got up and walked away he looked like the world was on his shoulders. "Oh that doesn't look good" but that was what I wished for wasn't it. It didn't look so good now that he look like someone had thrown out his heart. I didn't want that to happen to him "careful what you wish for I murmured as he walked past me. Should I follow him are go home? I chose to follow him as he walked aimlessly until he stopped on the small bridge where we met a few years ago. "You're not good at tailing someone you know" he said he tried to smile but it was barely recognizable. "Wasn't trying to tail you, just wanted to see if you were alright" I said he sigh and hung his head "I just I don't know"

"If you want to be alone I could go" I didn't want to but it was about me in that moment "its ok you can stay" he replied. "What the fight about?" I asked he took a while to answer me " my boss and work, how ironic, when I met you the first time that was what we were arguing about" he was right I remembered when I was outside the dance club looking in and seeing him and Dana arguing "could be that I'm jinxed?" I said as I fumbled with the sleeve of my coat. I was prepared for him to agree with me, for him to walk away from me. but he didn't do any of that he tipped my head up so I would be looking into his eyes "no, Melanie you're not jinxed" I watched as his face got closer as I felt his warm breath on my face I knew that he was going to kiss me and he did. Sweeping me up in heat and hunger that I got almost forgot about everything, almost.

"Sweetheart aren't you going to introduced me to your boyfriend?" a voice that I recognized as my father asked terry and I pull away from each other and looked up. My father was there on his card, hovering above us. I was shocked that he and maybe my family had actively sought me out since I had been trying to get in touch with jack when I found out that he left to rejoin the group. "Don't see the point since you and mom weren't much interested in meeting him before" I said as I made space between me and Terry, if anything went down he would have a chance to get away. I kept my eyes on my father I didn't trust how he had himself in the open like that, where anyone could see him where…

"You're trying to bait the Batman aren't you?" I asked. The smirk he gave me told me that I was right he was trying to draw out the Batman. "my dear you are as quick as ever, yes I am trying to draw out the Batman but I'm also here for you." Uh oh that didn't sound too good the invitation to come back into the fold was sent to Jack alone, I was left out. Now daddy dearest is here for me? I knew I was in trouble, I prepared myself for an attack but I was worried about Terry, who despite me trying to keep the attention of my father solely on me and somehow positioned himself between me and father. He was a fighter I could see that but knowing my father the gang was somewhere around this wasn't a two on one fight. "What do you want dad?"

"revenge of course on both you and the bat, you see he might have put us in jail again, you were the one that abandon us you took jack with you and left your mother and me to rot" I knew I had broken the code, family was everything to my parents but I wasn't gonna make it pull me into the darkness that they were in. "your pissed that you went back to jail? I had my whole life turned upside down I had to try to make something of myself even with the stigma of being a criminal over my head, I had to work to find myself after you tricked me and for what to prove my loyalty? And you're pissed. I was worried that when you came back into our lives that you would brainwash jack with your bull about family and loyalty when you don't know what that means"

"Melanie, don't talk to your father that way it's disrespectful." Mother came out of the shadows behind us that proved my point we were outnumbered and outgunned I saw no way out and if Terry could fight 'I hope to god Terry can fight' that the only way we could make a break for it would be to work together.

"mother" I hissed our relationship was a close one but now it was strained worst that she got back with my father after what he did to her "aren't you a little bit hypocritical to be saying that I am wrong to say that he doesn't understand the word family?" I step closer to terry had to be able to watch his back but I wasn't close enough to be in his way when he had to move. "Melanie you are but a child. You have no idea about serious relationships, it takes hard work even to get over the bumps in the road." She was chastising me really like I was still her brat that uses to jump to every tune she piped. 'this is not good' I thought 'Mom and Dad were here chances were definitely not in our favor whatever my family planned to do too us, it was gonna get done' my mother leveled her staff us waving it slightly from side to side silently playing a game of chance in her head. She was enjoying watching us sweat about who she would choose, and then the staff landed on me and started to power up. 'So my mother was going to try and kill me just great'. I closed my eyes, and waited if I was to go out that way then so be it at least I got to see Terry one more time, I got to feel his lips on mine. I waited what seem like an eternity for the pain but it didn't come. What did come was a cry of agony but it wasn't mine, it was male and it was coming from my side. My eyes shot open, she had fried on Terry, she look satisfied "that is for aliening our daughter from us". It was finally here my punishment, my mother choose to hurt me through love, and as I watch Terry fall I knew that in my mother head my punishment was justified