Note: kind of surprised i was able to update this quickly but hey, i'm not complaining, and i'm sure you guys aren't either LOL.

hope you like this one! lemme know what you think :)

"My heart feels splintered because I miss you

But when I'm with you, all of our baggage unpacks

And I don't want to lose a friend,

but if I keep my distance, I know this will end

I know that you're not trying, but you pull me in

And I can't seem to escape

No, I don't want to lose a friend"

~ Beowulf & INTRN, "Lose A Friend"

Chapter 25: With Time

2 years ago

As soon as he entered the cave, the low voices that had been chatting immediately stopped. A heavy silence sunk into the vicinity, and he knew everyone's eyes were on him as he made his way towards the display cases, eager to remove his gear. The young hero could hardly take off his gloves; his hands were shaking, and it only made him even angrier than he currently felt. With a burst of frustration, he ripped off the gloves and practically threw them on the floor.

"Damian..."

A low, rough voice spoke up behind him, sending a ringing sound through his ears. There was barely any sense of control in the emotions rolling off his body as he stood there, eyes closed while he struggled to take even breaths.

"Damian, I—"

It happened too fast.

His fist connected, hard, with the older man's face, disrupting the room's previous quiet. Jason reeled back, hand to his cheek after the impact. Somewhere, in the corner of Damian's eye, Bruce was heaving a big sigh and Dick was stepping forward in alarm. Tim was probably somewhere outside his vision, but Damian couldn't care less about the audience, not when his whole body was taken over with hot rage and animosity.

Jason straightened up, his nose bleeding underneath his gloved hand. Blue-green irises were aflame with irritation as he spat on the floor. "Alright. I guess I deserved that," he said flatly.

"You deserve so much more," Damian nearly growled between clenched teeth as he moved closer, his hand gravitating to the katana still at his waist.

"Damian," Dick warned. "Let's think about this for a second."

Ignoring him, the younger hero never removed his furious glare from his older brother, who was holding his gaze easily. "This is your fault, Todd," he spat, pointing at him. "It's because of your infuriating incompetence that this didn't go as planned. Her father is in the ICU because of you."

"I already told you what happened, you brat," Jason countered, eyes narrowing. "How the fuck was I supposed to fulfill my part of the mission when—?"

"You are a disgrace to this family, you realize that? I was counting on you, and you were useless—"

"I'm a what now?"

Fiery, green eyes sparked as Jason stepped closer. Damian's brows were knitted together in his immense glare. In a voice that was eerily calm, he went on without hesitation, "You're an absolute disgra—"

Jason threw himself at the teen, but neither of them even managed to make contact with the other. Strong arms had immediately wrapped themselves around Damian, yanking him backwards as soon as he reached for his katana. In front of him, Dick was standing in front of Jason, using his arm to push him backwards. A quick glance told him that Tim had been the one to intercept; Damian shoved him away, but even as he attempted to move towards Jason, Dick was blocking him.

Annoyance written across his features, the man leveled a gaze with the upset teen. "Damian, don't. Both of you just relax, okay?"

"Richard, he—"

"I know exactly what happened and what went wrong," Dick snapped, his blue eyes, normally kind, now alight with frustration. "I get that you're upset, but fighting isn't going to fix anything. There's nothing we can do about it now."

I can feel better by beating him senselessly. That's what I could do.

"You know..." Jason spoke up, still jeering at Damian from behind Dick's shoulder with bright blood smeared around his nose and mouth. "You ever think about how we wouldn't even be here if you hadn't told her that you're Ro—"

"Jason! That's enough." The four heads snapped towards Bruce, who'd stood from his chair and was approaching them. He was still wearing his suit except for his mask, the dark material scuffed from the night's exhausting and grueling activities. His gaze split between them all, filled with disappointment and grievance.

And then the blue eyes met Damian's, softening the slightest bit. "Damian, I know this is difficult. We should have been able to help them without anyone getting hurt."

Jaw tightening, the youngest hero ripped his gaze away and said nothing. The violent desires in him were almost too much to handle.

"I think we're all stressed and worn out. Let's call it a night and get some rest."

Eyes still trained on the floor, Damian felt Tim walking away, then Jason. A gentle hand fell onto his shoulder, followed by Dick's soft voice. "If you want me to accompany you to the hospital tomorrow, just let me know." And then he was gone, too.

He still felt his father's presence nearby, the older Wayne watching, waiting. Perhaps only a few minutes passed, maybe more, but Damian stayed in that same spot, suddenly overcome with the urge to cry. Previously, all he'd felt was pure resentment... sheer outrage towards his brother for his slip-up, but most certainly towards himself. Now, he was merely tired, exhausted and overwhelmed.

What if Jason was right? What if none of this had happened if he simply had kept the truth from her?

This is your fault, a voice whispered in the back of his mind.

"Damian."

He was nearly finished putting his suit away when his father's voice interrupted him. Not meeting his eyes, Damian said, "I'm fine, Father." Closing the display case, he turned around to find Bruce standing there, something like worry in his careful gaze.

"You don't have to pretend—"

"I'm not pretending," he retorted with a reflexive glare. "I am fine."

Not waiting for a response, Damian walked away and headed up the stairs to the manor, feeling everything except fine.

Present day

Those old, negative feelings were back again for the first time in nearly two years.

He felt them rising in his chest and spreading through his limbs as he stood there with an iron grip on the handgun still pointed between those blue-green eyes that he hadn't seen in so long. The teen couldn't even bring himself to respond to his older brother; he was too busy working to maintain control over the nostalgic pain and suffering that was coming back.

Jason certainly had aged a bit since he'd last seen him. Still in his late twenties, the former Robin's disheveled, dark hair was nearly to his ears, that characteristic white tuft of hair as prominent as ever above his forehead. He was wearing what appeared to be a newer version of his typical leather jacket with little to no signs of wear or fading; a five o'clock shadow darkened the lower half of his face, slight smile lines—perhaps frown lines instead?—sunken into both sides of his mouth. Funnily, his eyes were the one feature that hadn't seemed to have changed, still bright in terms of color yet darkened with all the things he likely wished he could unsee, years of pain and misery.

"You're not really that surprised to see me, are you?"

That slight smirk was still there though it held no ounce of humor.

Damian said nothing, never once moving from his position as he held the gun steady.

The expression faded from Jason's face, seriousness replacing it. "You wanna pull the trigger? Go ahead. Be my guest."

Heart beating faster, he watched as the older man stepped closer until the barrel was touching his forehead. His hand was clammy now, but he only tightened his grip, finger still on the trigger, refusing to show any sign of uncertainty or weakness.

"This what you came here for?" Jason asked. "Vengeance?"

Vengeance.

The word shifted something in him—Damian pressed his lips into a hard line and then lifted the gun away, spinning it effortlessly within his hand until the grip faced towards the other man. Without taking his eyes off the teen, Jason took it from him and placed it in the holster at his waist.

"You knew I was coming," Damian finally said, his voice carefully controlled.

"Sure did," Jason answered nonchalantly, moving to leave the bedroom. "Took you a while, though. Almost thought you wouldn't look for me."

After retrieving his phone from the closet floor, the former assassin followed him out to where Jason was rummaging around in his fridge. Now that the lights were on, he could see how barren and uninteresting the apartment was—typically Jason. From where he stood, there didn't seem to be a whole lot of groceries in the fridge.

"Want a beer?"

At Damian's head shake, Jason shrugged and headed towards the recliner, plopping himself down and cracking open the can with a hiss. "So what brings you to breaking in to my place, Baby Bat?" he asked after taking a long sip.

After taking a few moments to consider his words, Damian said, "You are aware of stardust and what it's doing to the city."

Jason raised a brow as he sat back in the recliner. "Yeah? I'm guessing you and the old man are already on the case. You here to find out what I know?"

Yes.

But this was not something Damian wanted to particularly say aloud. He never liked asking for help, and Jason was one of the last people he would ever turn to for assistance no matter the circumstances. Besides, he actually cared more about finding out how he and Jess had crossed paths, and that had less to do with stardust than it did with... well, however they'd met in the first place.

A lump was forming in his throat, preventing him from saying anything. The idea of bringing up Jess brought a sour taste in his mouth, one that came with bitter memories and feelings he'd worked hard to shelve away. He could already hear what his older brother would say at the idea that Damian had again found someone to care about... someone he would undoubtedly do anything to protect, just like—

"I know you're not here to say hi after all this time," Jason spoke up, gaze steady on him from across the room. "There has to be some damn good reason you're willing to go out of your way to find me when you don't want to do anything but spill my guts."

He had felt that way for a long time, hadn't he?

"And I doubt it has much to do with stardust."

Say something, you idiot.

"Father and I can take care of the stardust issue. There's no need for your involvement."

The scoff he gave was sharp, his blue-green eyes sparkling with amusement. "Very funny. What makes you think I'm going to stop what I'm doing just because you and Bruce want to keep run around playing hero?"

"Is that not what you are doing as well?" His gaze flickered to the distinctive red helmet sitting on the table nearby.

"Eh. I don't think I have to remind you that there's a difference between me and you."

"Correct: you don't have to. But it's because of that difference that you don't need to be meddling in our business. We can handle it without your interference."

Shaking his head, Jason took another long gulp from the can before setting it down. "That's what pisses me off so much about you, you know that? You have this extreme case of a superiority complex, which I'm ninety-nine percent sure is genetic. I figured maybe you'd grown out of it by now, but damn..." He let out a low whistle, settling his harsh eyes onto Damian, whose fist was clenching at his side.

"Like father, like son, hm?" he added.

Although the older man's thoughts were no surprise to Damian, they affected him more than he wanted to admit. He'd spent many of his first years in Gotham being reprimanded for his haughty behavior, and to this day, it still felt like he was unlearning that along with other undesirable parts of his personality that had never served him any good. And out of everyone in the family that had made him feel the worst about himself, it was undeniably Jason who took first place. (And then Tim in close second, though sometimes it flipped back and forth, depending on who was angering him and for what reason.)

"Jessica Fairchild," he finally said, meeting Jason's eyes. "She was part of a case we worked on earlier this summer. You tracked her down because she's using stardust while in the city on probation."

"So...?"

"I need to know how you came across her. We've been surveying her since she was apprehended." It was difficult keeping the impatience out of his voice.

"Oh, so she's another one of Bruce's basket cases."

At that, Damian didn't respond.

Jason paused then let out a heavy sigh. "I was out one night when I saw her on the street. Bunch of goons with unquestionably bad intentions were approaching her, so I took care of them. Would've taken her home, wherever that was, 'cause she was drunk out of her mind and ended up passing out, but I saw that she's from Central City, based on her ID that I found. I had no choice but to take her here," Jason explained, gesturing around the place.

Damian's eyes scanned the room, imagining the teenage girl in this very space... with Jason. To learn that she had been so irresponsible that she'd ended up in the streets, possibly kidnapped or killed in her inebriated state... As much as he wasn't going to admit it, Jess was very lucky Jason had been there. Damian's chest tightened at the thought that something else entirely would have happened if he hadn't been around.

Even worse, he also wouldn't have been there to save her either.

What am I going to do with you, Jessica?

"Is that all?"

"Well, just as I suspected, she freaked out the next morning and went all meta-human on me—I'm sure you already knew she's got these fancy powers—but she ended up leaving after making a call."

With startling realization, Damian remembered that Robinson Park was not far from here, meaning that was the day he'd picked her up and she'd been hungover for the first time. This entire time, Jason had been just down the street... She had come from this exact place, and Damian had had no idea at all.

Tension crept into his figure as he stood there, but Jason didn't seem to notice as he continued his story.

"Never saw her again after that until I caught up with her to ask about stardust. I could tell she'd been tweaking on something along with alcohol that first time, so I dug up whatever I could find on her. Did a little recon, found out she used it, and stopped to talk to her after she got another stash from that blond kid. Wasn't very happy to see me, but—"

"Blond kid?"

"Yeah, probably her little boyfriend or something. From what I could find, his name's Kade, and he's her plug, I guess. She wasn't able to give me a whole lot of info though, but... then she mentioned you."

His eyes glinted, making Damian's own gaze narrow in suspicion. "How do you mean?"

"Well, she kept saying shit about constantly running into 'masked heroes,' you know, with the plural, so I asked her who else was paying her visits. And whaddya know, she said I should bother Robin about stardust." He let out a short chuckle. "Yet you're the one who came to me instead. Weird, huh?"

With too many thoughts muddling his mind, Damian attempted to sort through them as he decided he was done there. He felt a little better having more answers than he did before, particularly concerning that day Jess had been less than receptive to his questions about her whereabouts. At least now he knew that she'd gotten herself into more trouble—it was characteristic of her, at this point—and somehow Jason had been the one to lend her help.

But now Damian also knew that Kade had entered her life a lot sooner than he'd thought.

"When was this last encounter with her?"

"Dunno. Couple weeks ago maybe? A month or so?"

With a single nod, he then said, "That's all I need to know." He made his way to the front door then, feeling the older man's gaze following him.

"Damian."

The fact that he was calling his actual name caught him off-guard. After a moment of hesitation, the teen turned to look at Jason, whose face was strangely passive.

"It's been two years."

Damian didn't respond, simply waiting for him to make a point.

"When are you going to... let it go?"

Staring at the floor as if it would give him an answer, he finally said, "When your decisions no longer cost me the ones I love."

Perhaps Jason was going to respond or didn't have anything else to say, but the young man didn't wait around to find out. He shut the door behind him and walked back to the elevator, two years' worth of resentment and hurt following Damian from the apartment and the familiar face that had dug them up from his mental grave.

He'd always wondered if, with time, the wound left behind by that fateful day would eventually heal, and he would move on. But judging by the ache in his bones that was heavy with unpleasant reminders, today was not that day.

This was either going to go well or badly… very, very badly.

Knee bouncing nervously, Jess checked her watch: it was five minutes to six in the evening… five minutes before she would see a familiar face and a shade of green that she hadn't seen in almost a week. Beside her, a hand reached out to rest on her bouncing knee, followed by a crooked grin that had her stomach doing a somersault.

"That nervous, huh?" Kade asked, gray-blue eyes examining her.

"I guess so," was all she said.

It'd seemed like an okay idea when he'd suggested it yesterday, but now the rising anxiety had her wondering if it was a horrible one instead. After briefly explaining to him the disagreement that'd taken place between her and Damian about stardust, Kade had offered that she reach out to her friend and ask him to hang out with them the next day while a group of people gathered to watch a basketball game.

"Maybe he'll see what we do isn't all that bad," the blond had said with a shrug. "And he can get off your case."

Her hesitation had been immense at first, especially considering she hadn't spoken to Damian at all since that one morning. It'd taken all but thirty minutes staring at her phone, writing and rewriting her text to him, wondering if it sounded too emotionless or too emotional, too mean or too kind, too vague or too straightforward. Not even being on stardust could help her frenzied state as she'd contemplated the best way to get him to consider her proposal. Ultimately, she'd kept it simple:

I know we're not really on the same page right now but i want to make things right. Would you be willing to hang out with me, Kade, Misty and a few other of their friends tomorrow for a basketball game?

Why? he'd written plainly.

Jess: So you can see firsthand what it is that i do with them. you probably have a lot of questions… maybe this will help?

Damian: What time?

Jess: around 6

Damian: I'll think about it.

Her heart had been beating almost painfully within her chest as she'd responded: Okay. thanks

And then, after a moment's hesitation, she'd sent him a smiley face, which wasn't unusual in their text conversations, but it'd immediately felt weird and out-of-place, making her wish she hadn't sent it. Would it make her seem ignorant to the seriousness of their ongoing tension? Was he rolling his eyes at it? Or maybe it irritated him?

"Hey."

Jolted from her thoughts, Jess saw cool, gray eyes gazing at her with interest.

Kade reached up and softly pinched her cheek between his fingers. "He's gonna show up, and it'll be fine. We're gonna have a good time, and he'll see everything is harmless and just for fun, alright?" Giving her another smile, he leaned in and gave her a heavy, exaggerated kiss on the cheek he'd pinched.

Face burning, she nodded and blew out a tense sigh. "Yeah, I hope so."

"Kade Noor!"

The two of them turned around to see Misty approaching from the kitchen, where they could hear chatter from the other teens who were diving in to the takeout food that had arrived recently. The girl was scowling, a plate with two slices of pizza in her hand.

"Where's my restock of my favorite energy drink?"

"Uh, my bad, I forgot to grab some," the blond chuckled, earning an eye-roll from her as she made her way towards one of the plastic chairs that'd been set up in the living room.

"You're an experienced host. You can't be slipping up like this."

"I said I was sorry. What more do you want from me?"

"My drink, that's what."

"Touché."

Their friendly banter faded into nonexistence as Jess stared at the game that was starting on the large flat-screen ahead of her. She didn't care for the sport and was primarily here to spend time with Kade and Misty, particularly since she was still leaving for Central City by the end of next week. At least, that seemed to be the plan—she hadn't heard from Erin since their last meeting, and with every passing day, the anticipation just seemed to intensify, making her even more dependent on the sparkling dust that sat in front of them on the living room table. Both she and Kade had already consumed a few grams, just enough to help calm her brittle nerves but not enough to make her overly hyper or too relaxed.

And being in either of those states was entirely undesirable to her when Damian could show up at any minute.

Predictably, though, she'd heard from her aunt after Erin had spoken to her. It had been an aggravating "conversation" to the say the least, one that Jess had needed to cut short by hanging up on her. Lora was one of the last people she wanted to hear from after everyone else in her life seemed to be calling her out, and she was getting sick of it. All she wanted was to know what her next steps were, what her punishment was if there would be one, and then she could get on with her life.

All the more reason to do whatever she wanted while she could, right?

The doorbell suddenly ringing had Jess snapping from her thoughts while her heart jumped in her chest at the sound. Both Kade and Misty glanced at her, making her body flood with heat.

"I'll get it," she murmured and stood from the couch, feeling their gazes on her back as she headed to the foyer. Quinn, one of the teens who was in the kitchen, was also heading to the front door.

"I've got it," Jess told her with a smile before reaching for the handle.

She could imagine how weird and awkward it'd be if anyone else there instead of her opened the door up to Damian Wayne. In fact, there was a chance all the other teens knew he was supposed to be showing up, assuming Kade or Misty had said something to them. Jess's friendship with him wasn't a secret at all—a few people here and there had asked her what it was like hanging out with him as if Damian being a social person was taboo and something to gossip about.

"Is he actually like... talkative? Or nice?" some random guy who was a friend of a friend of Kade's had asked her once.

"Um... yeah, he is," she'd answered with an awkward laugh, "to me at least."

Hand shaking slightly, she gripped the handle and readied herself with a deep breath. Then she pulled it open, seeing him standing there in all his distinctive handsomeness and ebony hair, arms crossed like usual. His emerald greens had been fixated on something near the door, but once she'd opened it, they immediately fell onto her, sending a twisting feeling into her gut.

There was something else: a shadow was on his temple, standing out against his skin like some kind of faded bruise. She wanted to point it out, but her voice seemed to catch in her throat.

A long moment of silence seemed to pass until she managed to say, "Hi."

He never removed his gaze from hers. No matter how much she tried, she couldn't look away. "I'm not here to stay."

She opened her mouth to speak but then found herself looking behind her. Everyone who'd gathered in the living room instantly looked away—obviously they'd been watching the encounter. It was only Kade and Misty who glanced in their direction again, and Jess instantly felt exposed.

Stepping outside, she shut the door behind her and looked up at Damian, who was still regarding her with a careful stare.

"Can we go somewhere more private?" he then asked.

Not responding, Jess's eyes roamed the front yard and landed on his car, which was parked along the street. It seemed to be the only viable option around, so she gestured toward it with an inquisitive look.

When she got comfortable in the passenger seat, she crossed her arms and sunk down, overcome with nervousness again. The thick tension between them, emanating from her left side, was bothersome, and she was finding it difficult to even glance in his direction. Wood and amber lingered at her nose—it sent nostalgia through her after days of not having come across it.

So he wasn't even planning on staying, was he?

"Is that a bruise?"

She glanced over now and could see that Damian wasn't looking at her; he was facing forward, gaze probably on something ahead of them.

"It's nothing."

"Oh, come on, Damian..."

Acting on an urge within her, she reached out and hovered her hand just inches from the mark—but not before glancing around the neighborhood and at the house windows to ensure no one was looking.

"Jessica, don't. I'm fine."

Offended, she furrowed her brows and paused her hand. Why was he refusing her help? "Let me—"

As soon as she moved her hand closer, his own fingers wrapped around her forearm all of a sudden, and then he was pushing her arm away, emerald greens flashing at her. "I said that I'm fine."

Hurt shot through Jess as she took her hand back and rested in her lap, turning to face out the windshield again. As much as she wanted to know why he had the bruise, all she cared about at that moment was healing it.

But he didn't want her to. Was it because they weren't... okay?

Swallowing past the lump forming in her throat, she did her best to shove aside the negative feelings that had already started in deep in her chest.

"What did you come here for if it isn't to stay?"

Instead of responding, he reached for his back pocket and retrieved a mailing envelope. He handed it to her, eliciting a raised brow from the brunette.

It was sealed with her name written legibly on the front, clearly his neat penmanship. She couldn't have guessed what it was if she'd tried, so she proceeded to open it, feeling his eyes on her. Fingers trembling, she pulled what appeared to be a single piece of paper folded inside, thick and smooth like it was expensive.

Hazel eyes running over the fancily lettering and the seal printed at the top, Jess was aware of the blood pounding in her ears. She then saw the signature scrawled at the bottom, followed by three names printed almost loudly:

Respectfully,

Bruce Thomas Wayne

Tightness tugged at her throat and chest, making it hard to breathe, and she lost hearing for a moment. Her vision blurred, and it took a few moments for her to realize it was because she was tearing up. Was this really what she thought it was?

"I've been holding on to this for a few weeks now," Damian spoke up, his voice strangely calm and almost gentle, like he didn't want to contribute to her obvious fragility. "I was waiting for the right moment to give it to you."

And this was the right moment?

She couldn't even ask; a single tear had escaped, falling from her chin to the letter of recommendation from Bruce about Gotham Academy on her behalf… along with a full-ride scholarship.

For her.

Her.

Jessica Wynn Fairchild, her stupid, juvenile delinquent name written as clear as day in the first paragraph. Her name didn't belong on something like this; it was a name that was printed on court documents... It was a name that'd been printed on milk cartons when she'd run away.

"After last weekend... I almost changed my mind."

His words sent a pang of pain through her heart. She dropped the letter into her lap, looking up and staring out of the windshield as memories of their last encounter flitted through her mind, reminding her of how agitated he'd been with her.

He almost took it back.

Because he didn't believe she deserved her second chance.

"Well then, it looks like I was wrong… Perhaps you don't deserve another chance."

God, she could barely breathe. Jess forced herself to take a deep breath and closed her eyes, wishing the sudden weight in her chest and heart would go away. She knew he was still watching her, but she couldn't bring herself to meet his gaze, not when she felt so defenseless and on the verge of breaking down. She'd managed to hold herself together all this time for the last several days, but it wouldn't have been surprising if being with him managed to be the one thing that broke the dam.

"Why?" Her voice was raspy due to the tightness still in her throat from trying not to cry.

"I didn't want to give it to you because you're throwing away your second—"

"No, why this?"

She opened her eyes and held up the letter though still not looking at him. Sniffling, Jess reached up and wiped at the wetness on her cheeks. "Why… why would you do this for me?" she clarified.

There was a pause, then: "I think you know why, Jessica."

Annoyance bit at her. "No, I don't, Damian. Why?"

He didn't answer, not even after she waited several long moments.

"Out of everything you've done for me… this is… I don't get it," she went on, flustered. This was literal money he and Bruce wanted to give her. This was… far too much. Hot frustration surged through her swiftly. "Dammit, why would you—?"

"Because I want you to stay."

His voice had risen unexpectedly, causing her to glance at him in alarm. He was still staring intensely ahead of him, jaw set stubbornly with a vein popping out of his neck due to the rigidity in his figure. Stress gripped his shoulders as they rose and fell with the breaths he was trying to take.

Stunned, Jess said nothing as she continued to watch him.

He wanted her to… stay.

And suddenly it all made sense. How willing and open he'd been to her silly list of "little things" to do in Gotham, how much time they'd been trying to spend together before she left, the way he'd seemed to open up to her after a summer of getting to know each other, that look he'd given her on the manor roof when she'd listed all the things in their friendship she'd miss… It all made sense. This was his way of finally saying what he'd never been able to actually express, wasn't it?

Exhaling sharply, Damian looked down at his steering wheel, the space between his brows wrinkling. "I… I don't want you to leave," he said slowly and carefully, like he wasn't sure he wanted to utter the words aloud.

She couldn't comprehend the situation enough to find something to respond with. Her brain was working as hard as it could to decipher the fact that he'd said such a thing when she saw him look towards her—but he wasn't looking at her; his gaze was narrowing slightly at something past Jess's head.

Kade was approaching the car, a soda can in his hand. He wore a questioning look, and Jess remembered that she'd been crying; she reached up to wipe underneath her eyes as she rolled down the window.

"Sorry for the interruption," he started, splitting a glance between the two in the car. "Just, uh, making sure things are good."

Tossing him a forced smile as she leaned a little out the window, Jess answered, "We're fine. I'll…" She glanced at Damian, who had looked away with a disinterested expression. Turning back to Kade, she continued, "I'll be back in a few minutes."

His gaze lingering on Damian as he bent down to look at him, he gave a nod. "Cool. You coming, too, Wayne?"

Green eyes that seemed to burn with something met the cool, gray eyes waiting for an answer. Maybe she was imagining it, but Jess could've sworn she felt some kind of static between the two as she sat there, watching their exchange.

"I can't stay, but thank you for the invitation."

His tone was smooth, but she knew better than to miss the sourness that tinted it. Whether the blond could detect it, too, she wasn't sure.

Kade didn't seem to notice as he waved a hand and offered a kind grin. "No worries, man. Maybe next time." Without warning, he stepped forward and planted a kiss on Jess's face—she hadn't expected it, so it landed on the corner of her mouth, but he seemed unworried by the sloppiness, walking backwards as he tossed her a wink. "Don't be too long. Pizza's getting cold."

And then he was leaving, his last minute gesture making the heat rise in her face as she avoided looking at Damian, who'd undoubtedly witnessed it.

"You know he did that in front of me on purpose," the older teen said flatly, an oddly cold smirk on his face.

Brows furrowing, Jess gave him a mild glare. "No, he didn't." Did he really think Kade was that petty?

Damian looked over at her, emerald greens sparkling like they were laughing.

"Seriously, Damian. Not everything is about you, you know."

The spark disappeared from his eyes, replaced quickly by heat. "You are incredibly naive, Jessica. That's why you're tangled up in this mess."

"Excuse me?"

He went on without a hesitation, like he'd recited the words beforehand. "You can't see that he is not good for you. He's the reason you began stardust, correct? And would I be wrong if I were to guess that it was also his idea for you to invite me to this gathering today?"

Hazel eyes narrowed at him defensively, and her heart was thumping harder with growing resentment. "What are you getting at?"

"You cannot think for yourself," Damian deadpanned, his gaze emboldened with determination. "It's what got you in trouble with the law in the first place—as you said, you got caught up with the wrong crowd. And you're doing it again."

Clenching her teeth and heart pounding, Jess glanced down at the letter still sitting in her lap and then back up at him, a newfound sense of indignation coming over her. How dare he attack her like this again?

"You've got a lot of nerve coming here and thinking you can keep talking to me like that," she responded icily. "I don't know what you were trying to accomplish, but—"

"I wanted to tell you what you needed to hear."

"And what's that?"

"The truth."

Rolling her eyes, Jess scoffed. She had the urge to get out of the car now, to pace or to just move around because she was suffocating in here. "The truth isn't supposed to be disguised as insults, Damian. I know you're trying to get me to stop using stardust, but honestly, you're just giving me more reason to use it at this point."

She knew that'd put him off. A glance in his direction showed that he was glaring at her, his brows knitted together.

"I appreciate your concern, but I can take care of myself."

"Jessica, listen to me. His brother has a history of serious drug-related offenses, and Kade himself has abusing substances for years. He's not good for you—"

"Yeah? Well, I'm beginning to think you aren't either," she countered loudly, the words spilling without restraint. She hadn't even listened to a word he'd said, focused only on how adamant he was being about Kade.

His eyes might've widened a little at her words—she didn't know nor did she care, and frankly, she couldn't tell through the cloud of aggravation surrounding her. The bitter anger was taking control now, and her grip on her emotions was slipping… fast.

Holding up Bruce's letter, she irritably added, "And that's enough to make me not want to stay."

With that, Jess threw it at him and hurriedly got out of the car, unintentionally slamming the door before storming up the driveway. A second later, something closed around her wrist—she hadn't even heard his door open or close let alone his obviously quick footsteps—and she spun around to see his fingers wrapped around it.

Darkened, green eyes drilled into her as he held her in place, and somehow, in some way, they managed to get her to pause… just for a moment. And that was all he needed.

"Jess."

The single syllable, a version of her full name that he had never spoken before, made her breath catch in her throat as they stared at each other, his hand still encircling her wrist and her body turned away. Damian's grasp was gentle despite how swiftly he'd grabbed it, almost as gentle as the look he was giving her, a stark contrast to all the glares he had been offering freely in the car. His touch was surprisingly warm, and for whatever reason, it was sending tingles up her arm.

He looked like he wanted to say more, his lips slightly parted as Jess waited… and waited.

"Do we have a problem here?"

Startled out of her skin (they'd really been in their own little world, standing there and looking at one another), she saw that Kade was standing outside the front door. Compared to earlier, that easygoing expression he usually wore was gone and replaced by taunting, gray-blue eyes and a mouth set in a hard line. Next to her, Damian didn't even spare him a glance; his gaze was still on her, something vulnerable tugging at his features, a softness she had only witnessed a few times.

Why are you looking at me like that?

"Jess…" Kade called, his voice low with a warning note in his tone.

Glancing down at the strong hand around her wrist, she slowly pulled it from her friend's grasp. As much as she didn't want to meet his eyes, she couldn't help it. A part of her had expected to see them filled with sadness or something like it at her taking her hand back; instead, she was met with a demeanor that she knew too well but caught her off-guard nonetheless. Damian's face was stoic now, hardened and stone-cold like the walls he almost always had up around him. It was like her pulling away had triggered his defense mechanism… and just like that, at the flip of a switch, he was distant again.

Distant and cold.

Wordlessly, Jess tore her eyes from his and headed towards Kade. He was still standing there, looking at Damian, as she entered the doorway, so she reached out and took his forearm to pull him inside. Her chest was heavy, so heavy, as she avoided all the eyes on her then headed to Kade's room down the hall. The blond was right behind her, and as soon as he closed the door, everything inside her broke.

She felt his arms wrap around her through her sobs, all the built-up pain and frustration spilling out from within. That look that'd been on her friend's face—no matter how hard she tried, it felt like it was printed permanently in her mind's eye, and the longer she saw it, the more it hurt.

How was it possible that someone she'd known for all of a summer had found his way so deep in her heart, enough to make her feel and hurt this way?

Note: well, quite a bit happened in this chapter, and there's still more to come lol for some reason, i always have a good time writing altercations and disagreements between characters. there's just something exciting about it—i swear i was chuckling to myself every time i read through all the mean dialogue smh. obviously some more stuff about Damian's past was revealed here, and it'll be coming up again in the future, esp. as things progress with him and Jess :P

FUN FACT: Jess's main "love language" is "quality time," meaning she likes when people close to her spend time with her, but on the other hand, she tends to show her love through "physical touch" (remember when she first gave Damian a hug and also held his hand? there are other instances of her physical gestures with him if you can remember them hehe)

as for Damian, i feel like he also likes to get quality time as well as "words of affirmation," although he shows his love through gifts or nice gestures since it's probably harder for him to be touchy and express himself with words. (like the time he got ice skates for Jess and, in this chapter, the letter from Bruce to help her get into the academy... i think we all know that deep down he can be sweet and he's just trying his best to express his love and affection! *pretend there's a heart emoji here since this site doesn't let you do emojis*)

anyway, if you have no idea what i'm talking about with love languages, i suggest you look it up! finding out which ones you connect with can really help you understand your relationships with your loved ones :) i found out that i like to give and receive words of affirmation as well as physical touch haha

thank you again for all the love, xx