FOUR

Saturday came around quicker than Maps had been prepared for. The whole day of she spent questioning her decision. At 6.30pm she was just about to phone Damian to tell him she wasn't going when she heard an impatient rapping on the door.

Olive, who'd been reading on her bed, looked up Maps, who'd been pacing, with a question in her eyes. "Who's that?" she asked.

Maps shrugged and made her way to the door. She pulled it open and behind it stood a rather miserable and embarrassed looking Damian Wayne. He was dressed up as the new Superboy; he looked quite handsome to Maps whose cheeks had reddened when she saw him.

"I love your costume," Maps said a little too excitedly for her liking.

Damian looked her up and down and his embarrassment turned into a look of confused disdain. "I can't say the same about yours. Why aren't you dressed?"

Maps was at a loss for words. Olive answered for her from her bed. "You're half an hour early. You can't expect a girl to be ready half an hour earlier than you said."

"-tt-, who's that?" Damian's eyes widened just a little.

Maps opened the door wide to reveal the rest of the room and Olive sitting in it. "That's Olive, she's my best friend. And my roomie."

Olive gave a little wave to Damian but then went back to pretending to read while watching them out of the corner of her eye.

Damian's eyes twitched back and forth between the two girls for a brief moment before his lips set themselves in a false smile. "A pleasure to meet you."

Olive gave Damian a thumb up without looking up from her book.

"How long do you need to be dressed?"

Maps shrugged. "Ten minutes?"

"Great, I'll meet you in the car. It's the black limo."

Olive looked up from her book. "Why don't you wait outside the door? Then you can both walk out together."

Damian rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'll wait out here."

Maps grinned at him as she closed the door on his face.

Fifteen minutes later, after having to listen to the muffled sounds of girlish squealing and giggles through the door, it opened to reveal Maps dressed in a rather impressive Robin suit.

"What do you think?" Maps asked.

"-tt-, it could do with some work," Damian said with a smirk.

Maps' face fell. She walked through the door and slammed it behind her. "Let's just go." She powered down the corridor.

Damian followed in a stroll; he managed to look cool and unruffled while keeping up with her. He was quite a bit taller than her now so it didn't take too much effort to match her pace for him. Maps, on the other hand, was trying hard to stay ahead which wasn't working all that well.

Damian shoved his hands in his pockets. "It's the boots. Robin's are green not black.

Maps quickened her pace even more until she was almost running. "They always look black on the recordings and when I met him they looked black."

"Maybe you should get your eyes checked because when I met him they were green."

Maps stopped. It took Damian a couple of paces to realise and come to a stop himself.

"You've met Robin?"

"-tt-." Damian curled his lips into a small smile. "Many times."

"Oh, you're such a liar." Maps resumed walking but this time with a normal pace.

Damian walked beside her. "Where do you think I got that batarang I gave you from?"

Maps giggled. "I thought you were Batman. I tried forever to prove it but you were just too much shorter."

"Ha…The mask is spot on though."

"Thanks." Maps blushed. "I made it myself."

Damian nodded.

They walked in silence until they were in the car park and Maps spotted their ride. It was a black limousine with tinted windows and a personalised number plate that said 'W4YN3' on it.

Maps squealed and ran up to the car. She ran a hand over its silky surface and closed her eyes in bliss. She pinched herself to check she wasn't dreaming.

The front window rolled down and out stuck a head that Maps recognised from the Circus opening. "You must be Miss Mizoguchi, I presume?"

Maps stopped herself from fangirling. "Call me Maps. You must be Alfred."

The old man nodded. "Indeed I am, Miss Maps. I am your chauffer for this evening. I must say, I love your costume."

"Thanks."

Damian arrived at the car. He looked from Maps to Alfred in silence before opening the rear door and gesturing for Maps to hop in. Maps did just that. Damian followed and shut the door behind him.

As they were doing up their seatbelts Alfred spoke again. "I see Master Damian does have some manners. It's a pity they don't surface more often."

Damian crossed his arms and sunk into his seat. "Shut up and drive, old man. We don't pay you to talk."

Alfred chuckled and pulled off. Damian stared out the window for the whole journey. No one spoke.