Chapter 31: Fair Games

"I don't get it."

Jess's brows furrowed together as she stared at the graph notebook before her, eyes running over the math problem written in Damian's neat handwriting. The end of her pen made its way to her mouth, and then she was chewing on it in thought.

"What do you not understand?"

"Why is the first part of the sum '1'?"

"It tells you that 'k equals 0' here," he told her, pointing to the problem with his own pen. "Plug in '0' in this part of the equation, and…?"

Emerald greens watched her carefully; he could almost see the calculations in her head while she trained her concentrated gaze on the problem.

"Ohhh," Jess then said with understanding. "It's '1.'"

Quirking a brow, Damian prompted, "What would you plug in next?"

"Um, '2'?"

"And you'd get…?"

Silence, then a tentative "One-third?"

He nodded his head once. "Correct. Do that up until '5,' and you'll finish the sum."

A few minutes passed as he sat back in his chair and watched his friend scribble away at the page. They'd been doing this — getting together so he could assist her with her homework — for the first two weeks of school now. Here and there, they'd spent time in her dorm or at a coffee shop, but it seemed Jess was more comfortable being at the manor. Damian was not complaining though… certainly not. She wasn't difficult to "tutor" so to speak, although the girl did get frustrated easily, particularly when it came to precalculus and intro to physics. Luckily, those subjects were rudimentary to him, and while their time spent together might have been focused on her academic work, it was quality time nonetheless. As long as she was exercising patience, so was he.

"Okay, how about that?"

Next to him, Jess straightened up and moved the notebook towards him. One glance, and Damian was giving her a slight look of approval.

"Perfect."

"Finally," she sighed, dropping her pen on his desk and sitting back against the back of the chair. She stretched her arms upward while adding, "Just four more of these and I'm done."

"Are you staying for dinner?"

Jess lowered her arms and glanced at him, hazel irises bright. "I can if you want me to," she replied with a grin. "I mean, not like I have anywhere else to be, ya know?"

She'd been smiling more. That was a pleasant change he'd most definitely noticed, though it didn't outweigh other small things Damian had been paying attention to. At the moment, his friend was bouncing her knee under the desk, something he hadn't quite seen her do until recently. She spun that ring on her finger more frequently, even when she didn't seem to be anxious or nervous — when Damian had realized that, he knew there was something more to how she was feeling and what she appeared to let on.

Of course, it was clear Jess was in a better mood nowadays, adjusting to and becoming comfortable at Gotham Academy, her new home; she was typically excited to spend time with him or Misty (sometimes managing to get all three of them to do something together) and further explore her new, freer life.

Yet that didn't mean she was not still suffering from something such as withdrawals.

Damian had kept quiet so far, observing from his place and waiting to see if she would speak on it. Now, as he watched her cover her mouth as she yawned and moved her head side to side in order to stretch her neck, he knew she was still having trouble sleeping and that her body was exhibiting signs of stress through these new behaviors.

He opened his mouth, about to ask how she was feeling, when his eyes fell onto her neck. In her motions to stretch, the hood of her sweatshirt had shifted, revealing what appeared to be a dark mark on the skin. Immediately assuming it was a bruise, Damian's gaze narrowed and he sat up in his chair.

"What is that?"

"Huh?" She looked towards him, eyes wide.

"On your neck…" He reached out without thinking, pulling her hood further from her neck.

His fingers had grasped the material for all of one second before she yanked back, her own hand shooting up to readjust the hood. Diverting her eyes, Jess shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

Quickly, she responded, "Um, nothing."

His gaze narrowed even further.

You're hiding something from me.

Damian could tell he'd startled her; pink was ringing her cheeks now, giving him all the assurance he needed that she was nervous. Even if she'd managed to be smoother with her response and maintain eye contact rather than breaking it, the way the blood was rushing to her face betrayed her attempt to play off the mark on her neck.

"Jessica."

Was she going to lie to him again? What did she not want him to see?

It took a moment, but then Jess was glancing at him and back to the textbook in front of her, taking a deep breath. It was as if she was making a decision right then and there: she put her pen down and sat back, still not meeting his gaze.

"I've been trying to figure out how to tell you," she began slowly, fingers playing with the drawstring of her hood.

Damian waited (as patiently as he could), eyes running over her figure and reading the tension in it.

"Kade and I… we're, uh, together," Jess managed to say, hesitation heavy in her tone. "You know, official and whatnot."

The mention of the blond sent something sharp through his chest, but before he could even attempt to understand what it was, Damian then realized what was on her neck. That in itself brought about a different sensation, one that, for some reason, made his heart rate spike. A very brief, unwanted image of the way Kade had attempted to kiss her that day she'd been in his passenger seat flashed in his mind. Was he shocked that Jess had never mentioned how close they'd gotten or that she was now actually dating him?

No.

But, in reality, he couldn't blame her for being unsure of how to tell him… because, however she'd anticipated he would react, Damian knew her assumption was correct.

"I wasn't going to hide it from you," Jess was saying then, her voice quiet. "I just didn't know the best way to… break the news, I guess."

He was fully aware of the stir of negative emotions and unpleasant feelings were rising in him, but Damian was keeping them at bay. Disappointment might have been one of them — he couldn't quite tell at this point. All he knew was that he was anything but happy at this discovery, yet… a small voice in the back of his head was urging him to hear her out.

As if she could possibly have a good reason for wanting to pursue a relationship with him.

"Look, I know you're not his biggest fan, but..." She glanced down at the drawstring she was fiddling with before sighing and continuing, "I think … I think I could be pretty happy with him, you know?"

Wary, hazel eyes met sharp, green ones, though nothing changed in Damian's face. After a moment, she looked away as if she could tell he was having a difficult time coming to terms with this.

And he was. He wished he wasn't (didn't he?), but alas, there was very little that could convince him this was a good idea. The biggest reason was the fact that Kade was the common denominator when it came to Jess and her use of stardust, so of course Damian's immediate reaction was his desire to scold her. Yet she seemed to have a response for that as she went on in her reasoning.

"I also know you don't like him because of the stardust thing, but you don't have to worry about that." Jess turned to him, her knees knocking into his under the desk. "He knows that I quit and don't want to use it anymore. He's not going to use it around me or anything like that."

The tentative smile she gave almost stirred something in him, but he was too concentrated on his battling thoughts to pay attention to it. Part of him was hell-bent on convincing his friend that she was better off without someone like Kade, whether as a friend or, worse, something more... but another couldn't stand to be the reason she was upset or unhappy. Was there a possibility the blond would redeem himself in Damian's eyes and prove to be someone good for Jess?

Could he simply be holding her back and doing her more harm than good?

"Damian..."

Her gaze had softened and so did her smile. Though he'd resorted to staring at her neck where the hood still covered the bruise, he could feel her eyes on him, trying to read his face.

He did want her to be happy, didn't he?

Jess continued, "I'm not asking you to just turn around and pretend you like him. But it'd be nice if you… you know, try and support it?

"And… maybe even get to know him better? Or at least get along?"

He hadn't been quite convinced until two words that she added a moment later.

"For me?"

Damian tore his gaze from her neck, clenched jaw working as what remained of his resolve dissipated at her request. With a defeated sigh, he finally responded sharply, "Fine."

Another smile broke across her face as she leaned over from her chair to wrap her arms around him in a quick embrace. "Thanks, Dami. That means a lot."

"What does Misty think of it?"

Jess sat back down and was silent for a moment before responding, "She's worried about the stardust thing, too, but she's happy for us. I mean, it's up to me to stay off it, not him, so…"

Neither of them said anything, Damian turning her words over in his head. It was no surprise that Misty seemingly wasn't as opposed to Jess's new relationship in the same magnitude he was, but it also made sense that she'd expressed the same worries. Yet he couldn't argue with his friend that it was on her to ensure she didn't relapse and begin depending on the drug again.

On the other hand, that did not mean she couldn't be influenced and coerced as she had been before.

He cleared his throat. "Just know that if he does anything —"

"Are you really playing the 'If he hurts you, I'll hurt him' card right now?"

She regarded him with a stern look, one brow raised as she crossed her arms.

Damian matched the expression with his own (he knew his seriousness couldn't be outdone), raising his own brow in return. "Yes, I am. You wouldn't feel the same?"

Jess seemed to consider his words as she held his gaze, but then she was rolling her eyes and unfolding her arms. "I guess I would. That's what friends do, right?"

She was tossing him a sly grin and adding, "Not sure I can be very vengeful if a girl hurt you, but I would try. I guess it depends on how bad the situation is. You, on the other hand…"

"What about me?"

"Let's just say I have a strong feeling no one should piss you off."

He felt the corner of his mouth lift in a slight smirk. "Hmph."

"What, you don't agree?"

"I do."

Jess scoffed. "I don't know whether to feel safe or scared," she joked.

He felt his mouth open — "There's no need for you to be afraid of me, Jessica," he wanted to say — but then he shut it, a particular, distasteful feeling crawling under his skin. Memories and the ghost of his katana in his hands lingered, making the young man take a moment to force them away while remaining composed before his friend.

His friend… who still only knew half of him.

"Well, after all this time, I know you're not as intimidating as you look," Jess was saying, seemingly oblivious to the moment he was having. She flashed him a teasing wink before beaming.

"Mm" was all Damian said.

"I mean, there's nothing wrong with that…"

"Would you like to continue discussing my threatening demeanor or complete these last few equations before dinner?"

"Relax, Einstein. With you tutoring me, I'll breeze through these."

"Einstein was largely recognized for his contribution to theoretical physics, not mathematics."

"... Same difference."


When Jess had invited him to the fall fair that had arrived in town, he'd assumed it would only be the two of them, perhaps Misty at most. But when he'd inquired further about it later on, Damian had been disgruntled learning that not only would Misty be present, but Kade and others from their social circle would be as well. Jess had proceeded to nearly beg him to join, promising she would schedule a whole night for the two of them later in the week.

"I'll pay for your ticket in, too," she'd also offered.

He'd refused, but somehow she'd managed to do it when he wasn't looking by purchasing them ahead of time. So he certainly had no choice but to appease her and tag along — that, and the tickets were non-refundable. It was annoyingly clever on her part, he'd give her that.

"You should be used to me doing this stuff behind your back by now," she'd teased with a grin.

"I'm not quite sure I enjoy it."

"Oh, shut up. You're going to tell me you didn't like being surprised with Neo and me coming back?"

Her hazel irises had nearly sparked with challenge, and Damian had found himself trapped in a corner. You walked yourself into this one, a voice had taunted in the back of his mind.

When he hadn't answered, his friend had snorted and said, "Thought so."

Currently, he and Jess were waiting at the fair's entrance, swarms of fair goers surrounding them. The sky was a grayish shade of blue, and the ground was wet from the previous night's rainfall. Arms crossed and wearing a black jacket over a lightweight hoodie, Damian took in the scene that was a bit too social for his comfort at the moment. A ferris wheel and other tall structures were moving in the distance while food trucks had been placed closer to the entrance, the sickly sweet smells of cotton candy and donuts mixed with hot dogs and fries drifting in their direction. The air was punctuated with distant screams of people riding what were, in his humble opinion, dumb rides and shrieks of small children.

"Oh, there they are!"

Jess was waving from where she stood, and Damian followed her gaze to the group of teenagers spilling in through the gates. It wasn't hard to find Kade; he was one of the few that were the tallest in the bunch, his blond hair falling messily over his forehead. Misty was right behind him, comically small in comparison, her bright pink raincoat making her stand out. There were only two others that Damian recognized from his years at the academy, but the remaining three boys were strangers. Out of habit, his eyes were scanning them all, taking in their non-threatening demeanors and the way they laughed at something one of them had said.

"Sup, Wayne." Misty, having joined them and greeted Jess, was looking at him.

"Misty."

"I commend you for dragging him here," she said to Jess.

She caught the glare he shot her and grinned, clearly unfazed. Like Jess, she'd quickly gotten used to his facial expressions and behavior.

Chuckling, Jess shrugged. "It came with a price though."

"Yeah? What is it?"

"I haven't decided yet," Damian responded flatly, gaze straying towards Kade, who was leading his group of friends towards them. The cool, gray-blue eyes first landed on Jess before moving onto him, though nothing seemed to change in his face, which appeared unbothered.

"Yikes," was all Misty said, shaking her head.

"Tell me about it," Jess responded as she looked up at Damian to grin at him. That was when she realized his gaze was elsewhere; once she saw that Kade was approaching, a shift took place in her expression.

She closed the remaining distance and gave him a hug, the two of them exchanging smiles. And then he was kissing her forehead, making her smile widen as he walked up to Damian, who was still standing in the same place with his arms crossed.

"Nice to see you, Wayne." Kade extended a hand, Jess lingering at his side and splitting an interested gaze between the two.

It was just for a split second, but Damian hesitated… until he grasped the teen's hand and shook it. "Noor."

"You any good at these kind of carnival games?"

Shrugging, he crossed his arms again and replied bluntly, "I wouldn't mind competition if that is what you're really asking."

Jess's eyes seemed to bug out and she appeared to open her mouth, about to step in, but Kade only grinned. "Well, damn, straight to the point. Alright then, I'll take you up on that."

"Name it, and we'll do it."

He raised his brows in surprise while Jess looked on in confusion as if she was unable to comprehend what was happening. "I get to choose?"

Damian's eyes glinted. "The choice is yours and yours alone," he confirmed.

Kade held his gaze for a brief moment before nodding and grinning again. "Sounds like a plan."

He proceeded to take Jess's hand then and walk further into the fair activities, his friends trailing behind. Jess looked back at Damian, a clear questioning expression in her eyes, though he knew she would find the opportunity to ask him whatever was burning in her mind. At his side, Misty was regarding him with an intrigued gaze.

"That was bold of you," she commented while they followed behind the group.

"Well, what else were you expecting?"

She casually answered, "That you'd deck him."

Damian's eyes snapped towards her just as the teen raised her hands in innocence and quickly added, "I'm kidding! I was totally kidding."

He said nothing, weaving through bodies and looking ahead to make sure he could still see the familiar blond head. Connecting his fist to Kade's face did sound inviting, though he didn't have a clear reason to do such a thing. Yes, part of him was convinced that the young man's role in Jess turning to stardust gave more than enough justification, but now that he knew what was happening between them… it made that desire a bit more complicated. Besides his dislike towards the teen, what else could condone a single punch that would override Jess's happiness?

The list was not long.

"Jessica would not appreciate it if I did that."

"Ah, so you still don't like him," Misty mused, understanding in her tone as she continued walking beside him.

Damian considered his words carefully. He had no desire to let slip anything that would concern her or make it to Jess's ears at a later time. "There are many people I 'don't like.'"

"That's fair… but hey." She glanced up at him, a slight, impish smile on her face. "We both know why we aren't super thrilled about their relationship, right? But like you said before, it's on her to be strong and quit the dust for good. As long as Kade doesn't do something stupid and he's around to help her like we are, she just has to not relapse and use again.

"Besides, I'm pretty sure Kade is having a hard time getting his usual supply. I think GCPD is finally taking it off the streets. Guess that's a good thing, huh?"

He fought the urge to correct her, knowing very well that it was thanks to him and his father that the drug was more difficult to obtain. "If he treats her well, I suppose that's the least we can ask for."

They both fell silent for a few moments until Damian saw Jess waving them over to the booth for ride tickets. Discreetly, he said to Misty, "I am still not a fan of him calling me by my surname."

There was something condescending about it, and he somehow felt comfortable sharing the sentiment with Misty.

"Well, so do I…"

"Consider yourself having earned an exception."

"I'm honored, truly."

"You sound like Jessica."

"Not all of us are immune to being a wise-ass like her."

Misty snorted at the look Damian gave her, one that told her she was only proving his point.

"Come on, Wayne. We'd better catch up before Kade thinks you're chickening out."

"Very funny."


Some time later, the group had found its way to the variety of game booths. Jess and Misty were sharing a bag of cotton candy, speaking with one another while Damian watched Kade approach him with the corner of his mouth lifted in a sly grin. Nodding his head towards the family throwing darts at balloons lining a booth wall, he spoke up.

"How's your aim?"

Damian saw Jess approaching in the corner of his eye. "I'm a decent shot," he said smoothly to Kade.

Jess was scoffing then but her boyfriend didn't seem to notice. He was turning to her and asking with a raised brow, "See something you like up there?"

Her thoughtful, hazel-colored gaze roamed the stuffed animals and silly prizes adorning the booth, both young men watching her. Damian didn't believe his friend was one to be highly interested in childlike toys and playthings — at best, she merely enjoyed having numerous pillows from what he'd seen of her room in Central City — but it appeared that Kade was offering to win her one of them.

"The blue octopus looks really soft and squishy," she finally said, earning a determined nod and grin from the blond.

Just as he opened his mouth to speak, his eyes fell onto something past Damian, making them widen with disbelief. "Is that…?"

"That's Liv," one of his friends — Peter was his name if Damian recalled correctly — told Kade with a peculiar excitement, his gaze turned in the same direction.

"She's an old friend I haven't seen since last semester," Kade was then telling Jess, grabbing her hand. "Come on, let me introduce you."

"Uh… be right back." Jess shot Damian an apologetic look as the young man tugged her along. They appeared to be heading towards a young brunette who was standing about thirty feet away with another teenage girl, the two of them taking a selfie with the ferris wheel in the background.

Damian heard Misty's voice next to him as she announced, "Don't wanna leave you alone, but I gotta find me a drink. I remember now why I don't like this cottony stuff."

"I'll be fine."

She was gone moments later, though he wasn't alone for very long. Jess was returning now without Kade, who was apparently still engaged in conversation with the Liv girl and their friends. Her eyes darted around as she asked for Misty, and Damian informed her of her friend's whereabouts.

Simply nodding, Jess glanced back in Kade's direction and then to the teen employee who was collecting money from a couple wanting to try their hand at popping the balloons. Curious, green eyes watched her — just as Damian considered speaking up, she turned to him with an entertained gaze.

"'I'm a decent shot,' huh?"

She'd caught his use of the very statement she'd told him that day they'd crossed paths in the arcade.

"Are you really trying to compete with him just for fun or…?" Her brows raised in questioning while she gazed up at him.

Or what?

"You asked me to get along with him," he answered nonchalantly.

There was a hint of suspicion in those hazel irises yet Damian held her gaze with ease, wondering if she would dig further.

But Jess was looking him up and down then, crossing her arms. "I did," was all she said with a quick, grateful smile.

He said nothing, following the way she looked towards Kade and his friends again and glanced at her watch. He could tell she was growing a bit anxious and perhaps impatient, and part of him wanted to do something about it. If Damian had it his way, they would be leaving by now and they would watch a movie in the theater room and eating leftovers or merely playing with Neo, yet… You are here for her regardless, he heard in the back of his mind.

"I'm gonna see how much longer he'll be."

Damian watched as she headed towards Kade, weaving her fingers through his to get his attention. He'd been laughing at something his friend had said; he seemed to glance distractedly at her before responding to the question Damian had seen her ask. He watched as Kade kissed her forehead — the young man was quite affectionate, wasn't he? — then went back to chatting away as Jess left.

Inquisitive, green eyes ran over her while she stopped next to him. Huffing a sigh, she gave him a small smile and said, "He'll be another minute."

Another minute plus several more passed, the two of them still standing near the booth and killing time with talk about her classes. Damian took note of the way she glanced at her watch again and how her eyes flickered in Kade's direction before meeting the ground at her feet. Something tugged at Damian's chest then, prompting him to step forward and exchange words with the teen manning the game. Jess turned around once she realized he was no longer standing in the same spot as before, confusion furrowing her brows.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like?"

Damian gestured towards the darts laid out before him and raised a brow at her. He caught the quick glance she shot in Kade's direction, a gesture that almost irked him, but then she was at his side, reaching for one of the darts.

"I'm going to suck at this," she sighed before attempting a throw and making it bounce right off the balloon she'd aimed for.

Glaring at the remaining darts, she muttered, "Well, they definitely make them blunt on purpose, don't they?"

Expectant, hazel eyes looked up at Damian, so he picked up a dart — they did intentionally provide ones with blunt ends, yet that wasn't going to stop him — and with clear ease, sent it straight through the same balloon, popping it. Jess's mouth fell open as she stared at the spot where the deflated latex hung. Nearby, the teen employee was regarding Damian with an impressed gaze.

Jess split her dumbfounded glance between the board and the former assassin who was smirking the slightest bit. "How?" was all she said.

Wordlessly, Damian handed her a dart. He then stepped closer to her, wrapping his fingers around hers to show her how to throw it. "You need a better angle," he explained, moving her hand forward to demonstrate the appropriate throw. "Start with your palm facing upward..."

After the mini lesson, Jess was making her second attempt, and the two of them watched as she failed again. Yet while she went on to grumble about it, Damian was aware of the odd tingling sensation in his fingers that had held hers. Before he could think much more of it, the teen working the booth was asking him which of the larger stuffed animals he wanted. That was when Damian turned to Jess, nodding his head towards him so she could give an answer.

"Wait, really?" Her eyes widened in both confusion and amazement. "But you're the one who —"

"Jessica, I didn't do it so I could have a stuffed animal," he told her in a somewhat snotty tone that was accompanied by an eye roll. "You said you like the blue one, correct?"

Moments later, the blue octopus was in her embrace and nearly the size of an average pillow, its eight arms like unrealistically small and short stubs. There was a cheeky grin on her face as she thanked him, pretending to struggle with hugging him using two of the arms. Though Damian's automatic response was to roll his eyes again and not entertain her playfulness, he couldn't help the smallest of smiles at her goofy demeanor, especially as she continued whacking him lightly with the octopus arms.

"Help me name him," Jess was saying.

"Do I look like someone who names stuffed animals let alone owns any?"

"No, but that doesn't mean you can't come up with a good name." She emphasized her point with another thwack from a stuffed arm on his bicep.

"If you keep doing that, I'll be less likely to help you, and I'm already averse to the idea of naming an inanimate object."

"Sorry," she responded although the grin she gave him said otherwise. "It's just that you're funny when you're annoyed."

"Tt. And you enjoy it."

"Bingo."

The octopus arm hit him again, eliciting a glare from Damian that should've been acidic but only had Jess snickering and then childishly sticking her tongue out at him.

"You know you love me."

The glare remained on his face, but her words seemed to trigger something… somewhere, though he didn't know what or where. He was in the process of formulating a witty response in return, taking in the devilish grin she was giving him, when he heard Kade's voice from behind.

"Sorry about that. We had a lot to catch up on. You still want to play?" he asked, approaching the two of them, but then his cool gaze landed on the stuffed octopus in Jess's grip.

"Oh, it's okay. We already did," she told him. "I mean, I sucked at it, but Damian nailed it on his first try. Literally."

Her enthused eyes flickered from the blond to Damian — he could see the way the gray-blues split a glance between him and the octopus, putting two and two together. A hint of smugness snuck into the former assassin's face, who stood there casually and silently. (He was fairly confident the teen wouldn't have been able to score as well as he'd confidently boasted earlier.)

Damian was expecting any sort of negative response from the teen… yet Kade was merely grinning. "Nice going, Wayne," he said charmingly. "Probably better you than me."

"It wasn't difficult."

"Easy for you to say," Jess snorted before looking up at the blond and asking, "Where to next?"

Kade ran a hand through his hair and answered, "Well, it sounded like Misty and a couple others wanted to try their hand at some games down at the other end."

She stepped towards him then, prompting the teen to sling an arm around her shoulders as they started in the direction of their friends. Yet Jess looked back to ensure Damian was following, flashing him a smile.

"I think I could be pretty happy with him, you know?"


Since that night at Kade's, Jess had assumed that part of their relationship could include doing schoolwork together. Not that getting it done with Damian was a bad choice — it certainly wasn't, not with his unsurprising intelligence and, on the other hand, surprising patience with her. But didn't it make sense to try and do homework with her boyfriend since they shared some classes together? It seemed like something teenage couples would do.

If that didn't make her feel like a complete novice at this relationship stuff, plenty of other things did. She was still getting used to referring to him as her "boyfriend" to others and thinking of him as such. And even though she'd adjusted to his affection and the way he'd acted towards her over the summer, something about it felt different now that they were exclusive. Maybe it was simply just knowing she was his and he was hers, and it made everything that much better. The whole, new situation felt exhilarating and good all around at this point; all she could ever do nowadays was smile around him and have a good time.

That being said, the only thing that threw into their gears was, well, the very thing Jess had anticipated, and it had happened during what was supposed to be a night for homework.

"You okay?"

She'd witnessed the way Kade had dropped his pencil and rubbed at his eyes, sitting back in his chair at the desk in her small dorm.

"Yeah, I'm just losing brain power," he muttered before reaching for the energy drink next to his textbook.

"Wanna take a break?"

Sighing, Kade shook his head. "I want to get this done before I go home. My parents want to do some dumb family game night or something stupid like that."

He was rarely annoyed, and Jess had learned that whenever he was, it usually had something to do with his family. Though he was relatively close to his brother, that was because their parents were always away. Kade was accustomed to being home alone hence the frequent parties and friend gatherings. Things were a bit more difficult lately now that his older brother was back in college in another state.

"That doesn't sound too bad," she tried.

Icy eyes rolled at her. "It sounds like hell. They always act like everything is normal when they get back from their trips."

Something about the words spilling from him poked under her skin, though Jess thought little of it. She wracked her brain for something comforting to say until she saw that he was bending down to rummage around in his backpack on the floor. Whatever he retrieved sparkled in the bedroom light, making her heart jump into her throat.

"Kade…"

"Hm?"

His gaze shifted from confusion to realization, and he was quickly shoving the little baggie into his pocket. "Damn, sorry. I completely—I forgot. I just… I can't concentrate anymore."

A forgiving though hesitant smile crossed her face as she averted her gaze and battled the familiar yearning that was growing in her chest. "It's okay. Can you just… do it out in the hall? Or outside?"

"Of course," Kade said as he grabbed the energy drink and headed towards the dorm door, returning the smile. "I'll be back."

They'd discussed this. She'd told him she didn't want him to take any of the drug around her let alone mention or suggest it. It would be fine if he carried his stash like he always did as long as it never came into sight. Everything had gone smoothly so far… until now, clearly. This is just a one-off, she thought as she stared at her notebook. They were still adjusting to these circumstances, and at least he was supporting her. Mistakes were bound to happen with something like this, especially since, over the summer, they'd used stardust together often. It was a change they both had to make.

He was back within a few minutes, neither the can nor the baggie in sight. Laying down on her bed, he gestured for her to join him on the mattress. Jess complied, throwing her leg over him and hugging him. With her head on his shoulder, he wrapped his arm around her and rested his hand on her waist. She did her best to concentrate on their closeness, hoping it would help do away with the familiar, buzzing desire to take stardust. It'd been a little bit easier nowadays as long as she kept herself busy and distracted, but that never meant it didn't affect things like her hunger — half the time, she still caught herself imagining dumping the substance into her drinks or in her food.

"I'll be better about it from now on," he was saying.

"Thank you. I appreciate that."

Kade reached over with his other arm and retrieved the blue, stuffed octopus that Damian had won for her the prior weekend. He seemed to examine it before putting it down on the bed where it had been sitting. "Wayne seems… like he's warming up to me."

Jess found herself smiling a little against his shoulder. "I think so, too. It might take a while, but that's just how he is. Believe it or not, he was the same way with me when we met."

"No way," he chuckled.

"Yep. I mean, I did act kind of clumsy and weird, so that didn't help."

"You being clumsy? That's not what I've seen when you're in the ice rink."

"Well, yeah, I'm a lot more graceful on ice. But I dunno, he made me kind of nervous in the beginning."

Kade paused briefly before asking, "'Cause of the way he looks like he's always pissed or thinking hard about something?"

"Pretty much. But I've… I've learned that he's a really good and caring person and…" Jess's voice grew quieter as she stared at the wall opposite her bed. "He's just very protective of himself, which I don't blame him for. And somehow I managed to make the cut when it comes to being his friend."

Silence fell between them, making her realize this was the most they'd ever discussed her friendship with Damian. The last time they had, she'd told Kade that her friend knew of their relationship. Before that, Kade had been expressing his frustration with the tense situation between her and Damian almost two months ago. He knew that she'd asked Damian to be more open to their new relationship, and on the other hand, Kade had said he would do the same. It made breathing a bit easier when both her friend and boyfriend were in the same room, especially considering the way their first impressions had formed.

"Well, he's more than lucky to have you as a friend," Kade said softly.

She could feel his head shifting to look down at her, so she moved her own back to meet his eyes. They were slightly bloodshot now from the stardust kicking in (he'd probably taken more than usual — homework must've really irritated him), but they shone with endearment, making her gut twist with butterflies. Out of the blue, his mouth was on hers as he gently pushed her onto her back. One, warm hand traveled from her waist, briefly slipping under her shirt to touch her bare skin, up to her neck. All previous thoughts of Damian, stardust, and history homework dissipated from her mind as they were replaced by desire and heat.

A small part of her wanted to tell Kade they still had a few homework problems to finish, but that voice shrunk the longer she remained under his figure on her bed — how was she supposed to try and suggest something like that when he was tenderly biting the skin on her neck?

So maybe doing schoolwork with him wasn't quite as productive as she'd hoped.


"Neo!"

The cat completely ignored her, dashing out of the living room and into the hall. As carefully and quickly as she could, Jess dropped her plate of food onto the table and took after the animal. She nearly slid on the polished floor in her socks but regained her balance and hurried after the tail disappearing around the corner. She'd almost made it to the end of the hall when Damian stepped right in front of her from one of the doorways. Of course, that meant he'd startled her in her chase and she tried to dodge him—

Both their hands shot out, hers to keep from running into him and his to catch her, bumping into one another as she managed to stop in her tracks. Damian's brows furrowed in alarm as he looked her up and down. "Where are you going in such a hurry?"

Having grabbed his arms to steady herself, Jess released him and gestured in the direction Neo had gone. "Neo stole my hair tie," she told him breathlessly.

His eyes seemed to twinkle. "And here I thought it was a real emergency."

"It is! That's my favorite hair tie, and he's somewhere in this huge house chewing on it and probably snapping it in half."

"'Favorite hair tie'?" he echoed with a single raised brow.

"Yes. It has the perfect amount of stretch. Everything else I have is too tight or loose."

"Jessica, I'll buy you new ones—"

"Whatever you buy isn't gonna work. Just help me get it from him," Jess urged. She found herself reaching out to tug at his bare wrist, both her hands wrapped around it. "I've had it for so long. Pleeeease…"

His emerald greens stared at her for almost too long, making odd tingles rise in her forearms and shoot down to her fingers, where she was still touching him. Without saying anything, Damian simply sighed and started down the hall; Jess dropped his wrist and followed after him.

They found the cat in the kitchen, sitting atop the fridge doing exactly what Jess had dreaded: he was biting and pulling at the brown hair tie. It was stretching and snapping into the air, and that in turn just made him even more intrigued with it, his large eyes following its every movement. A minute or two of coaxing didn't result in any success, Neo ignoring every word and bait they tried to offer. Jess was considering grabbing a kitchen stool when the hair tie launched away from the cat and fell to the floor — she dove for it and snatched it up just as the animal landed silently beside her.

"That was very rude of you," Jess told him with a feigned frown, slipping the tie safely onto her wrist and snapping it to make sure it was as stretchy as necessary.

"You're ridiculous." Damian was retrieving a glass from the cabinet and heading towards the fridge.

"Hey, you just don't understand because you don't have long hair—"

"Silence," he suddenly demanded.

"Uh, now you're being rude, too?"

"Jess."

He was standing still, eyes on the kitchen doorway. Tension had overtaken his figure, and then his gaze hardened. Confused, Jess watched as he set the glass of water down and headed towards the hall, and she stood to go after him.

But Damian looked back at her, something fiery in his green irises. "Stay here," he said firmly before disappearing.

Yeah, right.

Jess crept to the doorway and poked her head into the hall, watching her friend make his way to the manor's foyer. That was when she heard faint voices — Is that what had caught his attention? — coming from there, chattering in a way that didn't particularly sound good. Stepping out, she walked steadily and quietly, straining her ears to hear what was going on. By the time she'd made it just a few yards away, she could almost clearly hear what sounded like Bruce and Damian. Jess pressed her back against the wall and listened.

"Why didn't you call?" That was Bruce.

"You really think I'd call when I can just show up?" She didn't quite recognize this voice.

"Give me one reason I shouldn't—" Damian. He sounded… heated, to say the least.

"Damian," Bruce said in what sounded like a warning tone.

A few moments of silence and then a scoff. "This is the welcome I get? Guess I shouldn't be surprised."

"It's just that this isn't great timing, Ja—"

"It's horrible timing," someone muttered. It sounded like Selina.

"Why not? I come by for the first time in a while, and you all happen to be here. Saves me the trouble of having to come back another time—"

"And you shouldn't have."

Why did Damian sound so upset? Who were they talking to?

Jess snuck closer to the foyer, trying not to bump into the standing table with photo frames and trinkets on the corner. If she could just peek around and catch a glimpse… Bruce and Selina's backs were towards her, and Damian was standing a bit of a distance away from them though Jess could see part of his face from this angle.

His face. He appeared to be fuming, that carved jaw set angrily while his gaze burned into something (or someone?) the three of them were looking at. Jess followed his gaze to who must've been their unexpected guest…

And felt her breath catch in her throat.

The dark hair with the tuft of white at the front. The sly yet mysterious blue-green eyes that gave him a peculiar youth, the tall, somewhat towering figure that almost matched Bruce's. And so came the onslaught of memories of droll remarks, a massive hangover, an unfamiliar apartment… and a red helmet.

Something brushed past Jess's legs, scaring her out of her dumbfounded state and making her jump nearly a foot in the air. Unfortunately, her hand had knocked over one of the frames on the standing table, and now all four pairs of eyes were turned onto her. Body flushing with heat and embarrassment, Jess vaguely saw Neo in the corner of her eye walking on by as if nothing had happened — at the same time, Damian's gaze narrowed at her from across the foyer.

Jason's eyes seemed to glint as they landed on her. "Alright, well, this is awkward."


Note: hey y'all, hope you enjoyed this one! (sorry, wanted to end on a bit of a cliffhanger for this update xD) it's just too fun writing witty and smart-ass bits between the two, but i hope you could tell they're having some small ~moments~ lol. aaaaand then there's jason, stirring the pot by showing up unannounced.

thank u for the reviews and all the love! more dramatic things coming to you (hopefully) soon :)