A/N: Hey guys! So sorry this is late! I really need to set reminders for myself or something. xD Anyway, Enjoy! I don't own Batman or any related characters, but I'd love if I did! :D See you at the bottom!

The city was pactfull off lights, vendors, commercial items, no first time visitor would be bored here. Jillian smiled, keeping up with her every direction so as not to lose her sense of navigation. For about five minutes, she was just walking alongside every other passerby, feeling like some tourist. Suddenly a small black flash passed her feet and she moved aside so as not to trip. A puppy! Jillian thought as her eyes widened. Wait, a puppy?! In a street like this?!

Jillian's instinct was to take off towards it. So she did. Jill ran swiftly, dodging the barrage of people heading in her direction, slid in between at some of the heavier crowds, all while she kept an eye on the small runt. She had just about reached it but the intelligent canine turned the corner into an open alley, crossing the block. Jillian huffed tiredly and took off also, nearly skidding into the wall in front of her. After stumbling a few times and regaining her balance, Jill swiped at the dog just in time before they reached the road. Jillian's breath was fast and tired as she looked at the speeding cars in front of her. "Why you little-" She frowned, pursed her lips and turned the pup so it would look at her only to find a larger-than-the-puppy bratwurst sausage in its mouth. The runt lowered its ears and wagged its tail. She studied it's black, medium-short, shaggy coat and nicked right ear. Jill just blinked, "Adorable puppy!" She squeaked and hugged it, earning a small, muffled protective growl.

The puppy then began to squirm in her hands and Jillian huffed at its persistence. And without a single warning or expectation, the runt dropped the sausage, barked and kicked at Jill and slipped right out of her grasp during the time of surprise. It quickly scooped up the sausage and took off yet again. "Darn it!" She shouted, already exhausted but her mind and heart unable to just let it run like that, now knowing it had food and that other dogs may want it. So she yet again took off after the small pup.

This time it seemed that the pup learned a few things, making its way through more curves and was now heading towards a small park. Jillian followed the puppy toward the recreational nature reserve, and as the dog ran, Jill did not pay attention to her surroundings. It seemed like the pup didn't either. While avoiding one person it bumped into another and fell on its bottom. The male who the runt had bumped into looked down at the small creature and tilted his head. He bent down and picked it up.

"Is this yours?" He asked.

Jillian's head rose to see it wasn't a stranger but an... acquaintance.

"Jillian?" He continued his question, realising that he knew her.

"Hi, Avery..." Jill said, a bit uncomfortable. "And uh, no...he's not mine. At least I think it's a he..." She finished.

"Oh. Well, whose is..." He checked. "He?" Jillian shrugged, and gestured vaguely around herself. "I've no idea. He was just running around and I followed him," She pursed her lips and shrugged once more. "So you're a dog person?" He asked and smiled. Jillian paused and then nodded acceptingly, "More towards it, I guess," She shrugged.

Avery smiled, "Same here! See we already have things in common," He chuckled, ready to go into a conversation, but before he could speak someone had called out from behind them, "You flirting again, Avery?"

It was a rather tall adolescent male with chestnut colored spiked hair and hazel-green eyes. Jillian looked up and froze, looking right at him.

Dude! She thought, tearing her eyes away from him so that she wouldn't end up staring- despite how much she wanted to. That is one pretty guy! She just barely kept the smile from her face as her gaze returned to Avery. Jillian raised an eyebrow, questioning him. "Are you flirting with me?" She teased, simply because she could.

Avery smirked. "Of course babe," He said this casually. Jillian blinked then laughed, "Sorry Avery, I'm not in the mood for bait," She spoke and raised a playful eyebrow.

Avery pouted and he poked her nose, "But I wants," He spoke.

Jill flicked his hand away, "Nope, you no gets!"

Jillian suddenly looked around herself. Crap. Where am I? She mentally face palmed. Drat! Now I'm lost. Great job, smart one! She rebuked herself. Her lips twitched in annoyance at her own stupidity. Avery smirked once more, mistaking the meaning of her lip-twitch.

"I gets what I wants," He replied smartly. Jillian was about to argue, then thought better of it, consoling herself with a simple shake of the head.

The dog peed while Avery was holding him. Good boy! She thought.

"You gets what you deserves," she retorted with a smirk of her own. Avery looked disgusted. "Aw, gross!" He complained. He handed the dog to the boy who was standing behind him. "You take him, Danny!" The boy who had been called Danny reluctantly took the dog that had been thrust into his arms. "Wait wha-? D'aww!" He said, staring directly into the dog's big, adorable brown eyes. "He's sho cute!" Danny cooed, pressing the dog's face against his own.

Avery raised an eyebrow, and huffed slightly at his strange reaction. Jillian smiled but Avery once again took her attention off of Danny and back to him. He regained that smooth act and tilted his head, "I'll walk you home if you'd like, I've lived here all my life so I know just about any place in Gotham," He chuckled. Jillian frowned, unsure about this situation given to her. Seemed not only did she get distracted chasing the pup, but she had spent approximately an hour or so to find, re-find, and catch him. She was about to decline, but then she stopped herself. He knows his way around Gotham. You don't. Do you want to get lost...er? More lost? There. That's it. More lost. Jillian blinked, and grudgingly accepted his offer. "Uh...sure. I...I guess."

Avery looked at her expectantly.

"Oh! Oh yeah. I live at Wayne Manor. Don't have an address for ya, though." She said, mentally facepalming at her own stupidity. If he's going to walk you home idiot, he's going to need to know where you live! Which, admittedly, was a bit more information than Jill wanted to give him.

"You're a Wayne?" This came from Danny, who suddenly stopped petting the puppy and looked intently at her. Jill's heart leapt into her throat.

"Kind of...I- I'm adopted." She stammered, not ashamed, just a bit flustered. Danny nodded slowly, looking back down at the dog. Avery turned to her and grabbed her arm. "C'mon babe," he smirked.

Her head tilted and lowered ever so slightly, and she almost instantly regretted the decision to let Avery walk her home. This is going to be pure torture, Jill complained inwardly.

Jillian sighed and walked about a step behind him, slightly in a trudge. Avery noticed this and looked behind her. He smiled softly and slowed down to her pace, swaying slightly with her steps. Jill blinked and looked at him strangely.

"So the Wayne Manor... impressive. How'd you end up there?"

"Grandma died." She simply stated.

Avery stiffened and scratched the back of his head, "Oh sorry," He paused, "If it makes things better, I'm not all that well off when it comes to family," He began.

Jillian tilted her head, "How so- if you don't mind my asking?"

"Issues with parents. They got a little too deep in over their heads and-"

Out of nowhere, a beanbag chair whizzed past their heads, Jillian instinctively ducked, and Avery quickly followed suit...but not quick enough. The comfy chair had hit the side of his head, not too badly, but it still hurt.

"Ouch!" He complained, rubbing his temple. Jillian tried and failed to contain her laughter. She snorted out her amusement and Avery playfully glared at her.

"Catch that chair!" A random and distant voice yelled from somewhere behind them. This time-if only just this once- Avery and Jill's faces were identically skeptical. "What the heck?" Jillian said, more confused than a second grader in a calculus class.

"...I have no idea," Avery responded, shaking his head and sounding equally befuddled. There was silence between them for about a second, followed by a burst of laughter.

Conversation stemmed from that strange occurrence, leaving behind the previous angsty topic.

"Who in their right mind would throw a beanbag chair?"

"Who said anyone threw it? It could have been flying."

"Since when has there been flying bean bag chairs? OH MY GOD. If there was I would be all over that."

"Bean bag chairs are epic. No doubt about it."

"Heck yeah!"

By the time they'd both realized, the manor was close and Avery blinked in surprise at the view. "Bigger than I remembered," He murmured in awe at the mansion.

Jillian smiled knowingly at him. "Yeah. I got lost in there a few times," She admitted, chuckling at her failure. Avery smirked as they passed through the tall gates and onto the small walkway.

Jill finally reached the door to the manor and looked at Avery- who had followed her- awkwardly. Avery paused and looked right back at her. As if by mental command, his flirty gaze returned. He looked right at her and Jill tilted her head, confused. He took a step closer and smiled, "This was really fun, Jillian," He spoke and let out a small laugh. Jill attempted to take a step back but he took her hand and she stared at him with wide eyes. "I'm glad we got to know each other a little more," he moved his hand to her chin and Jill's eye twitched. "Yeah, I'm really glad..." He mused on, his head gently moving closer capturing Jill in the midst of his teal eyes.

Their heads were about a foot away before the door opened in an inaudible flash, revealing two males, one short and the other towering in comparison. They were dark silhouettes, their eyes glinting white and fiery. Two knuckles cracked in unison from each and by the time Avery and Jill knew it, lover-boy was sent flying backwards by both of their fists. Jill yelped and looked right at him, unsure what had happened. "Stay away from her, punk!" Bruce and Dick shouted then, coming from the darkened room with their fists still clenched. Jillian bit her lip as Avery's eyes widened and he stumbled backward. She tried her hardest, but she couldn't help the smile slowly spreading across her face. Jill had no idea why she was grinning like an idiot, but she knew she'd better stop before she was confronted by a hoard of questions from Bruce and Dick. Her lips twitched in a vain attempt to quash the smile. The fear was plain on Avery's face as he stumbled off, almost running through the gate with a very subtle and quick wave to Jill. She nodded ever so slightly, a little quirk of her fingers in a semi-wave back to him.

Bruce followed Avery with his eyes, glaring. He turned his gaze to Jillian, the glare softening, but still obviously there.

"Care to explain?" He queried.

Jillian tensed and her shoulders gave a small jolt. Her head slowly turned towards Bruce and she gave him a sheepish smile.

"Heh. Uh, well, funny story..." She trailed off, glancing quickly up at him, then lowering her gaze after accidentally making eye contact. "Uh, yeah. Well, uhm. That kid's Avery- He's in my chorus class- and uh, well, uhm... there was this puppy, and then a beanbag chair went whoosh, and then, uh. Yeah," She rambled, not really thinking her words through.

There was a slight pause while all three of them processed what she had said. That made no sense, Jillian mentally face palmed. Holy crud. What the heck? How did I even say that? Diarrhea of the mouth, much? Jill scolded herself and squeezed her eyes shut, cursing herself and her habits of being an imbecile.

Bruce raised an eyebrow at her answer, further questioning her. Jillian heaved a deep sigh and responded, "To be completely honest, I have no idea what was going on..." she looked up at him once more, widening her eyes to show that she was, in fact, telling the truth. Dick had still been glaring at the spot where Avery had vanished from, then suddenly looked at Jill. "He didn't hurt you, did he?" She very nearly smiled at her little brother, for she could plainly see him bristling at Avery. "No, he didn't," Jill replied, slightly ducking her head. Bruce's lips tightened momentarily, then he put a large hand on her shoulder, and jerked his head toward the manor. "C'mon, let's go inside," he said.

He sounds...protective. She almost smiled. I like it, she thought, a shadow of a smile passing across her face. She followed Bruce and Dick inside, slightly shrinking into herself.

It had been an hour until things settled down from awkwardly-silent to good-enough-silent. Jillian, sitting quietly in her bed with all the lights off and curtains closed so that she was free from distraction, managed to wrap her mind around what had happened after a load of reruns and frustrated grunts. She finally decided to get off her bed and get the laptop from her desk. Tina had to know... she was that little part of sanity Jill needed to piece together a puzzle.

Jill reached over to the desk, and logged onto her laptop, entering the long-but obvious- password. Eight "dodo"'s followed by "Catman". She inwardly sang as she typed, the repetitive song playing in her mind. She clicked on the Skype logo, and waited impatiently for the program to load. When it was finally up, she immediately texted Tina.

Skype. NOW.

Jillian bounced her leg impatiently, and didn't have to wait very long for a call from Tina. She accepted. Jill didn't even wait for the picture to correct itself.

"OH. MY. GOD! YOUWON'TBELIEVEWHATJUSTHAPPENED!" She blurted out in a whisper-yell.

Tina stared at the screen, and blinked a couple of times. "...What?"

"OH MY GOD! Just, oh my God! I...I can't even-! Like, really!" Jillian began to spaz out, per her normal excited behavior. She buried her face in her hands, ran her hands through her hair, and stared wide eyed right into the built in camera.

"Jilleh? Are you breathing? JILL. Calm down!" Tina laughed. "What happened?"

"Okay, so, like, remember I mentioned Avery? Yeah, well, he like, okay, so I was like, just exploring in Gotham and like...Okay, well there was this puppy, and I almost tripped, and like I followed it cuz I thought that it was going into the street, and I caught it, then it got away again, and like, it ran to a park, and it bumped into Avery, and then there was this cute guy behind him, and anyway, so like, the dog peed on him-Avery, not the cute guy- and then like me and Avery started talking and then I realized I was lost, and then he offered to walk me home, and then like I was all like, 'uh, sure, I guess' and then we started walking back and then OMIGOD it was so weird this beanbag chair like flew right by us! and anyway we got home and...and...Gah! I can't!" Jillian-once again-began to blush.

Tina stared at the screen, processing what Jill had said and then finally sent in a delayed, "What, what?! Jillian spit it out!"

Jillian bit her lip, her face flushing a deeper shade of red. "I...I can't!" Jill ran her hand across her face.

"Niu! Tell me! WHAT?!" Tina yelled into the camera, gesturing wildly around herself.

Jill looked torn, one part of her so badly wanting to burst out and tell her friend, the other far too shy. She bit her lip once more. "Okay... well...okay so we walked to the front door...okay and like, he had followed me, and I was all like 'huh?' and he was like 'I had a good time blah blah blah' and then I went to back up and he like grabbed my hand keeping me there, right, and then he like looked straight into my soul I swear, and then he said something else and moved his hand to my chin and I almost like, died! Okay, so yeah he started leaning in and like I swear I was going to like, have a heart attack or something, and then Bruce and Dick opened the door and they like punched him and he like flew backward and then they were all like 'stay away from her!' and I was all like 'ohmiGod!' well I was thinking that, I didn't actually say it, and then...yeah," She finished, gulping in air.

Tina stared at her screen, wide-eyed. She paused and opened her mouth, nothing coming out. Finally after about a minute of silence and pointed to her camera accusingly, "Cheater!" She called out.

Jillian gasped. "How dare you! Wait, what? How am I a cheater?" She tilted her head, and her eyes narrowed.

Tina stuck out her lip in a pout, "Eli was all goo goo eyed for you, remember our talk? And now here you are, not much later, already falling for a guy!" She spoke, roughly but childishly at the same time.

Jillian was taken aback. "Hey! That is so not my fault! Okay, so first, I'm Not falling for Avery. Secondly, Eli never showed any such signs when I was back home. He had a chance long before I moved!" She became indignant, trying vainly to defend herself.

Tina drew herself up in front of the camera. "It is too your fault! When-"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"IS NOT!"

"IS TOO!"

"WHAT ARE WE EVEN ARGUING ABOUT?!"

"I HAVE NO IDEA!"

"..."

"..."

The friends paused, both looking blankly into the screens. After a short pause, Jillian began to snicker. Tina followed up with a cackle. Soon, the girls were laughing to the point of tears and severe stomach aches.

When the laughter died down, Jill shook her head. "So. What's new with you?" She asked, tilting her head with a grin.

"Well...break is coming up this week. No big plans for it though," Tina shrugged looking indifferent.

"Aww! Lucky!" Jillian complained. "We don't have break till...till...I don't even know!" Her shoulders slumped dejectedly.

"Ha! Sucks for you!" Tina teased, and began chuckling.

"Jillian!" Bruce's voice called from below. She got distracted and looked down at the floor. "Yes?" She responded, furrowing her brow.

"C'mon! Dinner's ready!" Dick's voice echoed through the house. Jill's eyes widened. "Oh, gotta go. Text you later! Bye!" She said quickly, bidding her best friend farewell and signing off.

She sped off of her bed, rushed to the washroom and cleaned her hands, then took the stairs three at a time.

A/N: Hello, again! I hope you liked! Not exactly action pact, but this story is still only beginning- those interested are in for a LONG ride. Anyway, stay tuned for the next chapter, same bat-time (hopefully) same bat-channel!