Alexis had only been here a day and she was already done with this place. She had yet to meet anyone who was worth her time, and these dweebs would not leave her alone. Sure, she was sitting at their table, but that didn't give them the right to talk to her.

Chemistry had been a waste of her time; she'd already taken it at her previous school and the lessons were beneath her at this point. She wanted into that AP Bio class, but that would require a conversation with the principal, who she already wasn't a fan of.

Alexis wasn't big into authority figures. She was fine with following directions, but it had to be for a cause. A greater calling. She wasn't about to try and fit herself in any of the boxes these insignificant people had constructed, just wasn't her brand.

She also didn't mind being in charge herself, but she needed the lay of the land first, didn't have the patience to figure out the social hierarchy for herself, so…with a sigh…she tuned back into whatever this Eddie dork was babbling on about.

"Who should I introduce myself to if I want to get out of this corner of the cafeteria?" Alexis asked, interrupting him.

Eddie stopped, frowning at that, the other boy—Jon—raising an eyebrow at her. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, who has the influence around here?"

"Oh!" Understanding came suddenly. "I get it, you want the social cheat codes. Well, you came to the right man," Eddie was grinning. "You want the whole spiel? Or—,"

Alexis was growing impatient. "Just answer my question."

"Alright, alright," Eddie held his hands out in front of him like he was shielding himself. "Everyone has their own sort of popularity within their distinct groups, but if you're looking for the real influence peddlers…" he nodded towards a table in the center of the cafeteria. "You'll find them with the varsity jocks."

Ugh, how basic. Varsity jocks weren't really Alexis' crowd.

"That's Bruce Wayne," Jon spoke up, indicating the dark haired, square jawed boy at the head of the table. "Varsity quarterback, naturally. And Dick Grayson, his sidekick—plays runningback." Dick had a darker complexion than Bruce, his hair more tousled than styled.

"And Diana Prince," Eddie took over, subtly nodding at the exceptionally tall and well-built girl sitting beside Bruce. Her blue eyes sparkled as she spoke, a warmth in her features that Alexis could already tell she wasn't going to get along with. "But if it's a position in the royal court you're after…you'll have to take it up with them."

Eyes narrowing, Alexis scanned the rest of the table, her eyes falling on the three girls that took up the remaining seats.

"Pam Isley has the most diverse resume," Eddie revealed.

"Which one is she?" Alexis wondered.

"The one who looks like she was grown in a lab by a horny scientist."

"They all kind of—," Alexis started to say…before she watched the redhead run a hand through her glamorous curls, shaking them out, aided by a wind that had to be coming from somewhere. Ah.

"Top ranked tennis player in the state and the most awarded junior scientist on the east coast," Jon said.

"A goddess amongst mortals," Eddie added some color to the description. "We used to think she and her majesty herself, Selina Kyle, played the frenemy game for competition's sake, but recently found out the truth was far more compelling."

"Selina Kyle?"

Eddie nodded gravely, taking all of this very seriously. Both he and Jon were now staring at the brunette with the pixie cut that sat at the opposite head of the table as Bruce Wayne did, her eyes only occasionally wavering from him. "Head bitch in charge," he whispered, like he was afraid she might hear him.

And yes, Alexis could tell Eddie's assessment was correct. This Selina girl was in charge, and from her body language it seemed she ruled her kingdom with an iron fist.

"And we can't forget Harley Quinzel," Eddie said with a little laugh. "Newly minted plastic."

Tearing her attention from Selina, Alexis observed the blonde sitting beside Pam, her hair done up into whimsical pigtails, head tipped back in a loud laugh. Her teeth were very white and very straight, her tailored uniform button-down—rolled up to her elbows—showing off all the evidence of her varsity athlete status.

"She's from Central like you," Eddie explained. "Sat with us at the beginning of the year…but then she stole Pam from Selina…after Pam stole Selina from Bruce."

Alexis raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Break that down for me."

"Bruce and Selina were basically our on-again, off-again, default prom king and queen since like 8th grade," Jon told her. "Pam Isley was their 3rd wheel, pulled the unattainable mean-girl thing for years…then, a few weeks ago, it's revealed to us in this very cafeteria that Pam and Selina weren't just drunkenly kissing at parties, but hooking up behind closed doors. This realization came only days after Selina outed Pam and Harley. That week was such a whirlwind."

"So Bruce yells at Pam, dumps Selina, and is maybe hooking up with Talia al Ghul of the cool Asians?" Eddie picked up where Jon left off. "And in a twist none of us could have predicted, Selina has since taken Harley under her wing."

"Huh…" Alexis leaned back in her chair, internalizing all that information. "Sounds messy."

"And we're loving every moment of it," Eddie grinned, popping the last potato chip into his mouth.

"I should introduce myself," Alexis decided, standing now, adjusting the purple tights she wore under her plaid uniform skirt.

"Don't be lured in by their siren song!" Eddie warned, shooting to his feet as well. "We can't lose anyone else!"

"Oh, I was never planning on sitting with you nerds," Alexis laughed. "Nice try, though. And thanks for all the info." With that, she left them, slinging her backpack over one shoulder and leaving what was left of her lunch for the janitor to clean up. As she approached the table, she noticed Pam holding Harley's hand as the blonde relayed some story that Dick evidently found comical. "Hi," she greeted Selina specifically. The brunette responded by giving her an incredulous look over, starting from her shoes and moving upwards until she was looking her in the eye.

"Hi?" Selina answered, glancing briefly over at Pam who was now wearing the same expression. "Can we help you?"

"You're Selina Kyle, right?" Alexis asked, standing her ground. "I'm Alexis, I'm new here."

"Uh, good to know," Selina laughed. "Do you want to join the gymnastics team or fuck one of my friends?"

"No, I—,"

"Then we're not taking applications for…" Selina trailed off, biting her lip and squinting one eye, thinking. "Damn it. I can't think of a punchline."

"The burnouts might have more to offer you," Pam smiled at her like she was being legitimately helpful and not a massive bitch.

"But welcome to Gotham Prep!" Harley added, giving her a double thumbs up.

The bell rung to signal the end of lunch before Alexis could respond, so instead she just stood there, looking like an idiot while everyone gathered their things for their next class.

The next voice she heard was a boy's. "You look a little lost, Dollface."

Alexis turned to find a boy with green hair standing behind her, his dark eyes betraying the depth his cocky smirk attempted to hide. "I wouldn't say lost…"

"Well, I found you anyway. You can call me 'J'."

/

Pamela was one match away from the finals. This match, and she was endlessly grateful to be without distraction for the moment.

For the most part, she no longer felt she needed to play peacekeeper between her best friend and her girlfriend. Harley and Selina had found some version of common ground, and their relationship was evolving. They were establishing their own rapport, realizing the things they had in common… and those they didn't…

Harley was now thriving in this environment, with her new clothes and social connections, competing for the highest ranked high school gymnastics team in the nation…it seemed Harley finally felt she fit somewhere, and that somewhere was with Pam.

She'd taken her driving test the week prior, meaning she got to drive around legally in her red convertible…and when Pam sat in the passenger seat, wind in her hair, hand held in Harley's free one, she'd occasionally think this was how it was supposed to feel. Being 17.

Light, airy…life felt easy in those moments, and Pam was happy.

Not that there weren't still complications. Of course they were. Bruce and Selina were both still heartbroken. Friends again, but in that way that left a lot of things unsaid. And Talia was hanging around more. Pam honestly didn't know if she and Bruce were actually sleeping together, but her presence made Selina irritable. Although, she was working on that, with Pam's help, naturally. Pam had told Selina that Bruce would probably appreciate her handling the situation with maturity, taking the high road. And that wasn't untrue.

…though it was a bit self-serving.

Pam still wasn't interested in being outed to her family, that fear ever present whenever Talia was around, or she and Harley were in public together. That's one of the many reasons it was so nice that Selina was appearing to make a genuine effort with Harley. It was easier to avoid suspicion being in a group of three.

When Pam was finished with her warmups, she glanced into the stands to find her friends were already there, sitting in a group near the front row. Harley was wearing Pam's letterman's jacket, a sight that never failed to make Pam blush. Her fashion instincts were coming along, seemed she'd finally learned to take Selina's criticism as constructive.

Selina was wearing sunglasses, despite the day being windy and overcast, her expression unreadable, although she did offer a smirk and a nod when she noticed Pam was looking. Harley noticed too, sending a big wave and a face splitting grin Pam's way.

She was at her bench, stripping her windbreaker off just before the match was set to start when she noticed someone else in the stands, sitting two rows above her friends. Professor Woodrue. Come to think of it, she didn't think he'd missed a match this season. Huh.

He smiled at her when she caught his eye, even giving a little wave which Pam returned—the wave and the smile—because the teacher of her favorite subject was evidently a fan of her tennis prowess, and that was a wonderful compliment.

How odd, she thought, returning to the task at hand.

/

"—so we have to take those halters out of rotation," Selina was saying. "I misjudged your traps, that's my fault. But I like your collar bone, so you can keep the spaghetti straps."

Harley laughed at her; attention somewhat removed. "You like my collar bone?"

"Yeah, don't make it weird."

"Well, I like your collar bone too," Harley was still smiling, watching Pam take her windbreaker off and stuff it into her bag, tightening her ponytail one last time before things got underway. She was about to grab her racket, but paused for a moment, looking in their direction again and giving a restrained smile and a little wave to someone who must have been sitting above them.

Curious, Harley and Selina turned in unison to look.

"Seriously?" Harley gritted; her jaw tight.

"What?" Selina asked, not exactly sure what she was looking for. "Who is it?"

"Professor Woodrue," Harley muttered in a low voice Selina hadn't heard before. "He gives off the worst vibes ever."

And then Selina recognized him. "AP Bio, right? Thought he was Pam's favorite."

"That's the problem. He's such a creep."

Bruce was turned around too now, the three of them openly staring. "What's Professor Woodrue doing here?" he asked.

"You guys haven't noticed?" Harley seemed surprised. "He's always at her matches. Usually lurks over there by the fence," she nodded towards the spot. "And he's always trying to talk to her afterwards, or get her to stay late after class…"

"Meaning he's either a massive tennis fan, or—,"

"Yeah, that's not gonna work," Selina decided, standing up. "Hey! Professor!" she got his attention and he turned his oily smile on her now. Fuck, Harley's right, those are not good vibes. "Do you know who I am?"

Woodrue chuckled. "Of course I do, Ms. Kyle. And hello, Harley," he smiled at the blonde next.

"Good, my reputation proceeds me. So, what are you doing here?"

He attempted to make his answer sound casual. "I played tennis in college, I'm a big fan of the sport, and Ms. Isley here is ranked first in the state."

Selina could feel Harley's nervous energy beside her, but she didn't plan on letting him off the hook. "Listen, we all come to see Pam in a short skirt too, the difference being, we're legally allowed to."

"I'm—I'm not sure what you mean," his posture grew rigid, expression losing whatever semblance of friendliness it'd held before.

"Sure you do," Selina challenged him. "And you're barking up the wrong tree, I already got her origin story covered. So how about you run along and traumatize some other bespectacled, overly ambitious, hyper-intelligent, secretly insecure headcase. This one wears contacts." And with that, she plopped back down in her seat beside Harley, who was watching her with a certain awe.

"If he doesn't leave by the 2nd set, I'll say something," Bruce assured them.

"If he doesn't leave by the 2nd serve, I'll carry him out myself," Diana countered.