Chapter 1
"I'm just like a slinky, worthless, but fun to watch fall down the stairs"
-Unknown
March 14, 2015
Rain. The acrid, suffocating smell of blood. Drip. Drip. Lifeless bodies hung from the ceiling fan, their blood dripping from the holes in their heads and making a puddle on the once pristine carpet.
Snap
The flash from a detective's camera. GCPD Commissioner James Gordon, let out a deep, world-weary sigh.
"Gordon." A deep, guttural voice made the Commissioner jump and whirl around to face the familiar dark figure.
"Batman." The Dark Knight stepped into the apartment, his young sidekick, Robin, trailing behind him as always. Gordon briefly wondered where all these kids came from, but he shook the thought out of his head to focus once more.
"What are we looking at Gordon?" Batman growled.
Gordon once again sighed, "Lucius Vinicio, age 35 and his wife Annabelle Vinicio, age 34. The trashed apartment suggest they put up quite the fight. Approximate time of death is around 6:00 P.M. caused by a single gunshot wound to the head at very close range. Then the bodies were strapped to a ceiling fan. They were found by their next-door neighbor, Lois Connors, around 9:00 P.M. when she came over to borrow some sugar. She found them hanging here," He pointed to the suspended bodies, "Then dialed the police. According to her, the couples' young daughter, Katalina, is missing."
The Dark Knight nodded once in confirmation, "Has the whole house been checked?"
"Every room we could find."
"TT. Not every room." Gordon had almost forgotten about the kid, usually he was more vocal. Gordon raised an eyebrow at the kid's allegation, then threw his hand out in a sweeping motion, "You can look around if you want." Robin nodded once, like father like son, and moved to investigate.
If Robin's suspicions were correct, and they always were, there was a safe room behind the bookshelf in the master bedroom. (Don't ask how he knew. I, the author am not even sure. He's Batman's son.) He slowly walked up to the shelf and perused the books. There. A copy of A Tale Tell Heart by Edgar Allen Poe. He pulled the book and the shelf slid to the side. Robin looked over his shoulder to his father and Gordon, a smug smirk plastered on his face. Batman strode over to his son and opened the metal door.
The door creaked on its hinge, but slowly it gave way to a dark and semi-dusty room. In the middle of the floor, a little girl, no older than Robin, sat hugging a stuffed bunny to her chest. Tears staining her cheeks and pooling in her big, brown doe eyes. She stared wide-eyed at the two men and young boy in front of her. Batman cautiously approached her, kneeling to her height. The girl whimpered and moved back. The Dark Knight raised his gloved hand in a sign of peace, "It's okay. I'm not here to hurt you. You're safe now." The girl unfurled from her position on the floor and made her way to Batman's outstretched hand. Her palm was small and fragile in his as he took her hand and gave it a small shake, "I'm Batman. What's your name?" The child's other hand tightened its grip on the bunny's ear, "Katalina."
"Katalina. That's a pretty name. Could you come with me Katalina, I have some nice people who want to talk with you." Her eyebrows furrowed, "Mommy and Daddy told me to stay in here until they came to get me, because the bad men broke in." The girl perused the room in confusion, "Where are they?" The Great Detective shared a look with the Commissioner. Gordon stepped towards her, "Your parents…went away for a while."
Her head tilted to the side, "Went away?"
"Oh, for the love of…, your parents didn't go away they died, and they aren't coming back." Batman turned to glare at his sidekick.
"Dead?" The girl croaked. Robin rolled his eyes, "Yes, dead." Katalina started to silently cry.
"Robin!" Batman reprimanded
"What?" the Boy Wonder shrugged, "She would have found out sooner or later."
Gordon ran a hand down his face while Batman pinched the bridge of his nose. Picking up the crying child, he covered her in his cape and proceeded to carry her through the apartment. Making sure to avoid the living room. No child needed to see THAT…
October 1, 2019
The slight rustle of duvet covers as the curled-up figure unfurled. Stretching like a majestic tree leopard. Embracing the new dawn, poised and graceful ready for anything…yeah right. This is how it actually happened.
Beep.
Beep.
"Holy apple pie!" The lanky teenager yelled as she jolted awake, her feet tangling in her covers causing her to fall to the floor with a hard
THUMP
"Owwwwww." The girl groaned from on the floor. Her lower body tangled in her purple comforter.
"What was that?" A concerned, motherly voice yelled from downstairs.
The girl rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and answered, "I dropped my shirt on the floor."
A huff, "Kinda loud thump for a shirt!"
The teen smirked, "Yeah, well, I was in it!"
A snort and loud laughter. Katalina could almost picture her Aunt's mirthful expression. She almost smiled herself. Almost. The big bruise on her hip stopped her mirth from forming. With a loud, over-the-top, drawn-out sigh, she painfully made her way to her bathroom to prepare for hell. Or, as her Aunt calls it, Gotham Academy. After she showered and brushed her teeth, Katalina wrestled with her long, semi-curly/wavy flaming red hair. Then she placed it in a ponytail (ain't no one got time to mess with hair in their eyes), keeping a few strands out to frame her face. Then, she straightened her bangs and turned to complete her most daunting task; Her GA uniform. She shimmied on her to-short-to-be-a-rag pleated skirt and donned her pristine white blouse, tucking it inside her "skirt". Finally, her vest with the GA crest embroidered on the left side. Thick black-framed glasses found their home on her face, covering the splattering of freckles on the bridge of her nose. Ahhhhh, she could see again.
Katalina managed to only trip and fall once while worming her way out the door, hopping on one foot to slip on her knee-high, black sock—the other sock gripped in her teeth—, and her tie slung haphazardly around her neck. If she wasn't careful, she might strangle herself. Arriving in the kitchen, one sock done one to go, and her mouth finally free, Katalina used her elbow to tip the fruit bowl on the table and role an apple into her mouth. Now try and understand, her Aunt Janice was leaning against the kitchen doorframe, cup of coffee in one hand, and a look of fond amusement on her face.
"Need a hand, Lina?" Her Aunt asked with a chuckle.
"Nope, I've got this." Is what she really meant to say, instead it came out more like, "Ope, I gah 'is." Janice looked unsure, "M'kay, I have no clue what you just said, but I think it was something like, 'Yes, my doting Aunt, I'd love some help."
Katalina playfully narrowed her eyes, and with her last sock on, took the apple out of her mouth, "I said, 'Nope, I've got this.'"
Her guardian just nodded, "unconvinced" written all over her features. She calmly sipped her coffee then spoke, "You missed the bus by the way. It left a few minutes ago."
Her niece whirled around, "THE BUS LEFT AND YOU DIDN'T THINK TO TELL ME!"
"You said you had it under control."
"YeAh JuSt NOW NOt a few MiNuTes Ago!"
The coffee sipper just shrugged and turned to walk away, but not before calling over her shoulder a cheerful, "Love you Kitty Kat! Have a nice day at school!"
Kat let out and inhuman screech and dashed to the door, sliding into her shoes, throwing on her coat, and yanking her backpack up to her shoulder in just a few seconds. Skidding out her door and onto the sidewalk. She stuffed her face with food while dodging civilians –who threw her muffled curse words and threatening gestures as she bumped into them—and cars. Why! Was she in trouble or…oh. The laxative she put in her Aunt's boyfriend's food. She'd forgotten all about that. In her defense the dude deserved it, there was something fishy about this "Hal Jordon" character. But she didn't deserve to have this as her punishment. Everybody who knew her, knew that if Katalina Vinicio is running, you sure better start running too. As she passed a trash can, she expertly tossed her apple core in—littering is bad y'know, don't want Nightwing nagging her (you think she's kidding? She's not, he's done it before.)—then set about tying her tie, as she approached the prestigious GA.
Hi, Katalina, here, I just want to take a moment to reflect on my school. Gotham Academy was like a shining pillar in the heart of Gotham. The massive brick walls and colossal size of the building can make anyone's head spin and newbies quake in their black polished shoes just thinking about trying to converse its halls.
Along with being the top dog, where everyone who's everyone sent their snobby brats, it also gave scholarships. Which yes, as cliché as it sounds, I'm a scholarship kid. Depressing right? Want to know what's more cliché? That like every other freaking school, it had cliques. You have the rich kid snobs, the nice rich kids, the scholarship kids, the loners, the plastics, the jocks, and the rich loners (who can be jerks *Cough Wayne Cough*).
Not only was it intimidating in size, but Bruce Wayne funds the whole shebang. Ah, money, the only green that can make the world go around more than trees. (I have no idea what I said either, just go with it). I think that's all I wanted to say, so carry on. If memory serves me correctly—when does it ever though, am I right? —something very weird is about to happen. Only me right?
Katalina rushed up the brick road to the monster looming in the short distance, casting a shadow over the lush green grass where young kids were conversing. She slowed to a walk as she noticed that the GA school bus was NOT actually parked in its usual spot! Her Aunt lied to her! Well, look on the bright side, at least she wasn't late to school. She huffed and straitened her crooked tie then buttoned up her navy blazer. Lastly, she pushed her glasses up for good measure and stood off to the side of the building to wait for her best friend. As she was waiting, a limo pulled up to the school. With the way everybody's head turned, you'd think they've never seen a limo before.
Kat stared on with bored eyes as an immaculately dressed old man—he had to be older than sliced bread—stepped out of the driver's seat and opened the back-passenger door, allowing a figure to step out. Figure, because she couldn't actually see the person, BUT judging by the screaming and fainting girls—some were franticly fixing their hair, makeup, and purposely flashing more skin than allowed—it had to be, without a shadow of a doubt, Damian Wayne. She could already see him now, stepping out of his car like he owned the place, though that was, in reality very close to the truth, and striding into the building with a frown permanently etched on his face. No longer caring to see what the Wayne kid was up to, Katalina returned to waiting on the bus to arrive.
She didn't have long to wait. The GA bus pulled to a stop and Katalina kicked off the wall to casually stroll up, mentally preparing herself for the angry tirade her bestie was going to unleash upon her. Sure enough, a toe-headed girl skipped down the bus steps and up to her awaiting friend, a 1,000 mega-watt smile stretching her naturally rosy lips. Her baby blue eyes were shining with an unnatural naivety and kindness for a resident Gothamite, her attitude more resembling that of Metropolis. Instead of an angry tirade however, as Kat was expecting, her friend bounced on the tips of her toes in front of her, eagerly awaiting the explanation of why her bus buddy wasn't with her today.
"I messed with my Aunt's boyfriend, who I don't like by-the-way, and so she played a dirty trick on me. She told me the bus left, when clearly it had not." A tired expression on her face. Her bubbly blonde buddy (try saying that ten times fast) just nodded her head in understanding before speaking, "I figured it was something like that. I wasn't expecting you on the bus today after you told me he was coming over for dinner. Katnip, you are always attracting trouble."
Katalina faked offense, "Not true, I don't attract trouble," a sly mischievous smirk found home on her lips; her brown eyes glinting with mirth, "I embrace it."
Her companion, Clara Foster, rolled her eyes good naturedly, "Don't I know it."
The girls shared a laugh as they made their way inside the the big oak doors and down the shiny marble-floored hallway is Katalina's locker. Kat turned her combination and put the books in her bag. Suddenly, girls start screaming and shouting. Not again. Damian Wayne was marching down the hallway. Looking over to complain to Clara, Kat turned and opened her mouth, but soon shut it when she saw the utterly lovestruck expression on her friend's face. Oh, you've got to be kidding me. Him?Of course, they would make a cute couple. She could see the crappy romance story now.
Beautiful, bubbly, and optimistic Clara Foster befriends the rich, bad boy, diamond in the rough, Damian Wayne. As their friendship progresses, they fall in love, causing the lead female character to consult her sarcastic and single friend (Villager B, also known as Kat) for terrible relationship advice. Ultimately, Damian opens up to her and becomes a kind and generous soul. Bleh. But as Villager B (Which Katalina is very happy with, thank you very much. She has plenty of excitement in her life already. Yesterday, she ate a Hawaiian pizza; living in the fast lane here, people.), it's her duty to help Clara gain her crush. No matter how cliché it is. Bet he has a tragic past and a soft spot for animals too. Her thoughts were broken when Damian turned his head and gave a short, curt nod to Clara. Kat barely had time to catch Clara before she swooned to the floor. Grunting, Kat steadied Clara's weight and adjusted her hold to free one of her arms.
Slap!
"Huh!"
THUMP
Kat dropped her to the floor and smirked down at her, "Oops, sorry."
The blonde grumbled as she picked herself up and straightened her skirt, "Sure you are." A shrug was her only response.
As the two girls walked to class, Kat bit her lip then said, "Soooooo, you like Wayne?"
Cue the rapid 'no' head shake.
Kat looked at her bestie, unimpressed, "You look like a wet dog shaking off water, stop it. Plus, you literally just fainted in the hallway when he acknowledged your presence."
"OK, yes, I like him. Honestly, who doesn't? He's handsome and smart; I just know that he has a kind soul under all that gruff."
Katalina made a puking sound, "Ok! Ok! I get it!" She scrunched up her nose and shook her head. Then she smiled deviously at her friend. Clasping her hands together on her chest, Katalina put a lovey-dovey smile on her lips and batted her eyelashes, "His eyes are like pure cut emeralds, his hair gravity defying and black as a Gotham night. And oh, his jaw looks like it was chiseled from stone." Her hand went to her forehead as she fake swooned. Clara pushed her friend's shoulder humorously, "I do not sound like that."
She hip checked Katalina as they turned the final corner to their classroom. Kat ran ahead to open the door with an over done bow and a flourishing wave of her hand, causing the blonde to chuckle and walk into class. There were two seats left. And sadly, were not next to each other. One, was next to Wayne, while the other, was next to some girl Katalina didn't know the name of, nor did she particularly care. Obviously, the red head pushed the blonde towards the seat next to Damian then turned to head to her seat. Clara sat in her chair and turned to her friend, mouthing "I hate you"
Katalina just gave her a wolfish grin, and while walking backwards to her new seat, she made a heart with her hands then pointed to her irate/embarrassed friend, mouthing, "Love you too" then sent a wink and an air kiss for good measure. Her friend huffed and flipped her hair, turning to face forward in her seat. Kat sat next to her seat buddy with an air of satisfaction. Score one for Villager B. She turned to her chair mate to introduce herself but froze when she met the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen in her entire life (granted it hasn't been a very long life). A million oceans could never compare to their vibrant hue. Stars reflected from them and shot sparks straight into her heart and…Oh my gosh I've become William Shakespeare.
The point is, is that these were the most beautiful eyes in creation…and they didn't belong to a girl. Somehow, Katalina had miscounted her steps, and the number of empty seats, causing her to sit next to a very attractive young man. Well, she wasn't going to complain. She finally snapped out of her thoughts long enough to realize that his lips were moving. Oh crap, how long have I been staring? Panicking, Kat did the first thing she could think of—which looking back, was admittedly, very stupid—and blurted, "I'm sorry I haven't caught a word you're saying."
The boy blinked then said, "I'm Matthew Rhodes, and you are?"
"Katalina Vinicio, but you can call me Kat, or Lina, or anything really, or nothing at all, I mean it doesn't really matter. And I should probably stop talking before I scare you away shouldn't I?" Oh gosh Lina, now you've done it. He probably thinks you're a freaking weirdo. Kat groaned and buried her face in her hands. But to her utter surprise the boy just chuckled and replied with, "Your fine, I think it's kinda cute," he paused, "Katniss."
Katalina blushed five shades of red. This is gonna be great. Note the sarcasm. Kat nodded awkwardly, then turned to face the teacher. A Mr. Ralph Leachman was their history teacher. A severe, austere, and twig-like man, who had no time for children even though he was a teacher. He was creepy, though not as much as the toupee on top of his obviously bald head. Who did he think he was fooling with that rug? Certainly not her. Nor is he fooling anyone else. All hairless teachers aside, Katalina enjoyed history. The fascination of the mistakes and great conquests of those long ago. Her pen flew across her notebook paper, dutifully taking notes. Head periodically looking between the ever-filling paper and the board; only half-hearing her teacher's lecture. Which is probably why Katalina failed to hear the teacher call on her name.
"io…."
"iss Vinicio."
"Miss Vinicio!"
Katalina's head jerked to his face in surprise, eyes wide and mouth partly open. The tip of her pencil held between her teeth. "Yes, Mr. Bal…. I mean Leachman?"
Said man huffed derisively, "Miss Vinicio, it would serve you well to pay attention during class, I would so hate to not have you next year. If you don't pay attention in class your grades could very well drop, and you'd lose that precious scholarship of yours."
Kat had to refrain from growling at the man. How dare he use her scholarship to insult her! She had worked to bloody hard for that piece of paper to have it trampled upon by this dimwitted, pompous ingrate. With clinched teeth she bit back, "Yes, Mister Leachman. I apologize. What was the question, sir?"
As much as she wanted to rip into the man, she couldn't. If she did, she quite possibly, might be, expelled. That was something Katalina couldn't let happen, her Aunt, bless her heart, just didn't have the money to send her to any other school, and while she could go to Gotham City Central Highschool, Kat would rather not get shivved in the lunch line. Or taken hostage by the Joker. Or have Poison Ivy be the substitute Biology teacher no one knew was coming. Or…you get the picture. Though everything in her was screaming to give the man the thorough tongue lashing he deserved, she held her smart remarks and sucked it up.
Do it for your Aunt. Do it for your Aunt. Katalina repeated the line like a mantra. Aunt Janice doesn't deserve the headache of finding you a new school or just trying to afford it. Not after all she's done for you. With a calmer mind, Kat looked up to her teacher. Satisfied he finally had her attention, he once again sniffed, then repeated his former question, "Miss Vinicio, in what year did Caesar Augustus rise to power?"
"That is a trick question, sir. Do you mean when he first gained the throne after Julius Caesar's assassination, which would be in 44 BC, or do you mean when the power was fully relinquished to him as a divine ruler in 27 BC?"
Mr. Leachman sweat-dropped, "Um," awkward throat clearing, "Divine rule Miss Vinicio."
"Then the answer to your question would be 27 BC and just for fun his reign ended in 14 AD, when he was then succeeded by Tiberius." A fake sugary-sweet smile on her lips.
"Very Good. Now as I was saying, Caesar Augustus…."
Katalina toned him out once more. She contentedly returned to writing her notes until the end of class. The lovely RING of the bell saving her from her least favorite teacher, but sadly heralding the end of her favorite class. She leaned over her seat to deposit her books into her bookbag, then she stood. A hand on her wrist caused her to stop and turn, once again meeting the shocking blue eyes (really eyes that pretty shouldn't be legal; it's not fair for other people.) of her seat mate.
She raised an eyebrow, "Yes?"
He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, "Um…well, I'm new here and I don't really know where any of my classes are. I wanted to ask if you could show me around? Maybe? Possibly?"
She almost smiled at how cute he was. Instead, she settled for a small smirk, "Yeah, sure, follow me." She hefted her bookbag to her shoulder then nodded her head in the universal "follow me" symbol. She turns and walks out of the class not stopping to see if he followed her. As she walked over the threshold of the door, she was accosted by a mass of angry blonde.
"YOU!"
"Me?" Katalina tilted her head coyly.
Clara rolled her eyes, "Yes, you! You left me with Wayne. Do have any idea how awkward that was."
Kat opened her mouth to answer, but the other girl held up her hand, "I'll tell you how awkward, very awkward."
The red head bit her lip to keep herself from laughing at her friend's woes. Rather than respond, she inclined her head to Matthew, who was looking vastly amused by the girls' (though admittedly one-sided) conversation.
"As much as I would love to listen to your 'why-Katalina-is-an-awful-friend' speech, I volunteered to show Matthew," said boy waved at Clara, who returned the gesture, albeit a little embarrassedly, "around the school. So, if you'll excuse us…"
Katalina moved past her friend, pulling Matthew behind her, "Run!" she whisper-shouted. The two of them burst into a sprint down the halls, leaving a shocked Clara, her jaw dropped. She composed herself long enough to shout after her "best" friend, "This isn't over Katnip! We will talk about this later! That's a promise!"
The running teen girl grimaced, Yeah, I'm gonna pay for that later. Sorry not sorry.
As Kat's laughter drifted down the hall, half-mocking and half-genuine, the blonde shook her head ruefully. She loved her friend, don't get her wrong—who else would put up with her rant on which milk flavor was better: chocolate or vanilla? —but recently she'd been acting weird, well, weirder than normal. A feat in and of itself. Clara pondered—yes, pondered, she might be blonde, but she's definitely not stupid (most of the time)—the redhead's behavior while walking to class. She was hiding something, but what? As far as she knew, Katnip's aunt was in great health, and still had her job as the desk receptionist at Wayne Enterprises.
She worried her bottom lip. In all the years she had known Katalina—ever since they met at the Wayne Enterprise Building when they were twelve—they had been practically joined at the hips. Clara thought about the day she met the feisty girl who would become her best friend. Her father had been there for a deal with Bruce Wayne, Kat was there because it was a Saturday and her Aunt couldn't find a babysitter. The bored tween girls had quickly formed a partnership. They raced in the wheeled office chairs and rode the elevators up and down. Eventually garnering the attention of the security guards. They had gotten into a lot of trouble, but they had also formed an inseparable bond that would last for years.
Clara could read the redhead like an open book. Which brought her to where she was now. Though usually grumpy and broody, Kat seemed in a worse mood than normal. The only thing she could think of was the anniversary of her parents' deaths, but that was months ago. Maybe she was going through an early mid-life crisis or her monthly. Yeah. The blonde sat in her seat for class. Whatever it was, she would have to interro-*cough* persuade Katalina to tell her later. Semi-satisfied, Clara opened her Chemistry notebook to begin class.
*Time Skip
Ah lunch, every kids favorite time of the day. Katalina usually loved this time. She sat with Clara and they complained about teachers, classmates, and schoolwork. She also learned early on to arrive either as one of the first or one of the last. She found out the hard way that if she arrived in the middle of these two times, she would be swept away by the Damian Wayne fan-club. Kat would have felt sorry for the boy if he wasn't such a brat.
He took spoiled rich boy to a whole new level. Like was he raised to rule the world or something? Ha!
Anyways, back to her current predicament. Katalina had been detained by the awful and soul-wrenching realization that she had lost her bookbag in a class. She had desperately looked for the precious bag but couldn't find it anywhere. Now she had to converse the halls while actually carrying her books. Ugh. With a sigh, she pushed her way through the students packed in the hallway like sardines, carrying her books by hand. BY HAND! Kat huffed, her bangs blowing up at the action. The halls were almost impenetrable, people flooding every available inch. All to get a glimpse of ONE HUMAN BOY! Granted he was loaded. She had heard he lived in a mansion.
While the rest of Gotham starved and slaved to barely scrape by, Wayne lived in the lap of luxury. It was disgusting.
Suddenly, an elbow knocked her forward into another person, who in turn angrily pushed Kat into yet another person. This loiterer was "casually" leaning up against their locker, one foot crossed over the other. The same foot Kat tripped over, sending her reeling towards the marble floors. Her books and papers thumped and fluttered to the floor as she braced herself for her own face-to-floor impact.
It never came. Instead, the petite redhead found herself in the most cliché position. A strong arm supported her back and both of her hands were placed on her rescuer's chest. Katalina opened her brown eyes and started to thank her "knight". That screeched to a halt and died an ugly death as she noticed just who the boy was.
Wayne.
Of course it was. Acutely aware of just how close she was, Kat pushed off his chest, trying to put space between them. Quickly, she spun on her heel and proceeded to pick up her scattered school supplies. Great. Now she was going to miss lunch completely. To her utter surprise, a hand materialized in front of her face, holding some of her books.
Grudgingly Kat muttered, "Thanks."
Damian simply raised an eyebrow. All he'd been trying to do was walk to lunch without getting mobbed and had reacted on pure instinct when the girl tripped. Damian felt somehow obligated to help her pick up the scattered books. With her books safely secured in her arms the redhead turned to leave.
"You could show more gratitude. I didn't have to catch you."
Katalina turned around, mouth agape, "Excuse me?"
Damian smirked, "You heard me."
Katalina stared at Wayne with disgust. Who did this boy think he was? Fine. If he wanted to be like that. "I didn't ask you to catch me. So I'm sorry being a decent human is so hard for you." With a fake sugary smile, she turned and started pushing her way through the crowd.
Kat shrugged and elbowed her way through the throng of teens. The cacophony of the different and warring voices was giving her a headache. Shouts of 'Hey!' 'Excuse me' and 'Did you hear what happened to Daisy Jones and Michael Phillips yesterday?' echoed down the halls and found purchase inside her ears, convincing Kat that if she stayed and listened any longer, her brain cells would start dying. She growled low in her throat as she tried (read: failed) to weave around a hoard of football jocks.
Something niggling in her brain told her to look to her left.
There, like Moses parting the Red Sea, Damian calmly walked behind her through the hall of teenagers. Everyone frantically moved to the sides so as not to offend the Prince of Gotham. He easily strolled down the halls, while Kat pushed and fought her way to the cafeteria. Huh, kinda like their lives. People bow down to him because of his wealth and status, he walks through life confidently with no struggles. While she, on the other hand, couldn't even afford to buy a bag of chips from the school vending machine. Though that could be attributed to the fact that the prices were obscenely high. She got it, everyone here but her was rich. No need to rub that fact in.
Back to the matter at hand. As she was struggling—worse now that the kids were parting to make room for Wayne—a voice called out to her. Sadly, it wasn't an angel with a holy intervention, who'd save her from all her troubles. No, because the world was cruel, and apparently the devil got a kick out of torturing her, the voice belonged to the center of her problems.
"You seem to be having a hard time, Vinicio," he smirked arrogantly, "Do you require assistance?"
Ok, now he was just mocking her. She was about to tell him where he could shove his 'assistance' when she arrived at the lunchroom. Fortunately, for him or for herself Kat was unsure of, this meant Wayne would be saved from her verbal tirade. Instead of deeming him with an answer, Kat craned her neck to see over the crowd, praying that she could find her friend's familiar blonde head so she could escape the raven-haired boy. Who, by the way, was still waiting behind her. For what Kat had no clue, nor did she particularly care. As long as she got rid of his presence; preferably soon and forever.
There! Like a beacon in the cold, darkness of night, a halo floated over a head of flowing blonde locks. Wait…no. That wasn't Clara. Deciding to take Wayne's 'gracious' offer, Kat spun to face him. Whoa, he was rightbehind her. Brown clashed with deep green—that strangely seemed to glow, which was kinda creepy if she thought about it. She backed-pedaled quickly, "Ever heard of personal space? It's this little bubble that surrounds everybody and should never be broken, unless you want something to be broken. And why are you following me?"
"Do I need a reason to walk behind you?"
She didn't hesitate, "Yes."
He shrugged, "I'm just making sure you get to the cafeteria without maiming someone."
Kat rolled her eyes, "For the record, they bumped into me first," Damian raised a suspicious eyebrow. She nodded her head, "It's true, this kid bumped into me and then another shoved…and why am I explaining myself to you? The point is, is that I am not a walking hazard that you need to watch, so, yeah. You can go away now." Kat turned to walk away, her hands waving to Wayne in what could be taken as either 'good-bye' or 'go away'.Truthfully, she didn't care, provided that it got him to leave her alone.
"Katnip!" Ah, there Clara was.
The blonde grabbed her arm and hauled her to a mostly empty table. Blinking rapidly, Katalina tried to compute how on earth they arrived too their seats so quickly. Evidently, Wayne wasn't the only one who could part the proverbial 'Red Sea' of teenagers. "What was that back there, Kit Kat? Oh! Also, you left this in class." Clara tossed Kat's bookbag to ! Kat couldn't contain her little happy dance before sitting down.
Setting her books down, finally, those things were heavy, Kat opened her bag and slid the books inside while pulling out her lunch. Taking a bite of her sandwich she asked, "What was what?"
Clara curled her nose at her friend's lack of manners, "You know what. And chew with your mouth closed. Gosh I shouldn't have to tell you this! Your fifteen and you know basic manners, use them."
Katalina swallowed then grinned at the girl across from her, "Ok mom."
The blonde gave a faux offended gasp and placed a hand over her heart, "I'm wounded."
A chuckle just to the right of the two girls caused them to swivel their heads towards the noise. They blinked then looked to each other as if confirming that, yes, you see that too? Ok good I'm not crazy.
I had completely forgotten he had even existed. Whoops.
Belatedly realizing, she had, in fact, as the two were leaving their shared class, invited the handsome boy to sit with her and Clara at lunch, she sheepishly smiled at him, "Sorry Matt. I forgot you were there."
He smiled and waved off her concerns, "That's fine. Honestly, if you forgetting I'm here means you two will continue your riveting conversation, then please, by all means, forget my existence."
The two girls laughed at the blonde boy. Seemingly taking his advice, Clara grabbed Kat's arm and turned her back to face her, "Anyways. What happened with you and Damian?"
"Oh that," Kat nodded sagely, "I tripped in the hallway and he caught me. Then he just followed me here so I apparently wouldn't 'maim', his words not mine, anyone else." She took a bite of her lunch. Reaching across the table, she stole Clara's carton milk, taking a drink before placing it back on the tray. Matt simply raised an eyebrow, while Clara gasped and whacked Kat.
"Katalina Maria Vinicio! That was my milk!"
The redhead looked at the other girl innocently while batting her eyelashes, "Was it? How was I to know you didn't grab it for your very best friend?"
"Katniss has a point, Goldilocks."
Clara gave Matt an offended gasp, "Goldilocks! And you're taking her side?!"
Matt nodded.
"Ha! Thank you, Matt!"
Clara crossed her arms and playfully pouted. Taking the teasing in stride.
"I hate you both." Well, mostly.
After lunch and the final classes for the day, Kat left for her cheerleading practice. In the girls' locker room, she changed into her blue/white/silver striped tube top with long sleeves. Then she pulled on her normal short skirt (It was a dark blue on top until midthigh then it had a white strip surrounded by silver and dark blue accents. A triangle shape was cut into the skirt for mobility). Finally, Kat changed her uncomfortable knee-high socks and Mary Jane shoes for the white ankle socks and white cheerleading shoes. Frantically, she grabbed her silver and blue pom-poms and ran to the football field.
The other cheerleaders were leaning on the benches. Some popping bubble gum while others texted on their phones. From the middle of the student bleachers, Clara waved down to Kat. Clara never missed one of the redhead's practices. Always there to give her support and encouragement. Sasha Goldman, their lead cheerleader, strolled up to the group, popping out one hip and placing her hand on it.
"Alright, girls, listen up! Last practice you were all sloppy. Jenny, you tripped after landing your roundhouse; Carrie, you need to work on your handstands. And let's not forget the disaster that was the pyramid! Yikes! Because of the bottom people's sloppy stances you dropped Kat," Kat winced at the memory of dropping from the top of the pyramid, "I don't want to see that happen today." The brunette clapped her hands, "Now get to work."
The teens girls lined up to start their routine. Kat was convinced she could do it in her sleep with how much they practiced it. The preppy music started as the girls got in their stances. Kat slid left, in time with half of the other girls. The three girls in the back cartwheeled and flipped down the split middle. Once reaching the front they spread apart, joining their arms to create a base for the pyramid. Kat cupped her hand with another girl's to help launch Sasha to the middle of the pyramid. The remaining cheerleaders on the ground shook their pom-poms, waiting for me to launch off the awaiting trampoline onto the top.
Deep breaths. You've got this Kat.
From the bleachers Kat heard Clara call out, "You got this Kat! Go for it! WOO!"
Kat backed up and took a running start. Roundoff, launch, slip, land.
Wait…land?
Breathing hard. Kat landed on the top with her hands poised towards the sky.
I did it! Yes! She could hear Clara cheering in the background. As she looked towards the bleachers, she paused at the new person sitting near the top. She squinted to get a better look and realized with a gasp that it was Wayne.
What on earth is he doing here? Has he come to previous practices? Kat searched her memories but she had no recollection of him ever being here before. Weird.
Dropping into an awaiting groups arms, Kat stood and walked to the bench. Looking up to where Wayne was, she saw that he had disappeared. He was just…gone. Either Wayne had burrowed into her subconscious already or someone looked just like him. Or Damian was the Flash. The last was just ridiculous. Damian? A superhero? Ha! Yeah right. She shook her head and turned to complete the rest of her practice, putting all thoughts of the raven-haired boy out of her mind.
If only I had known just how much of a hero he actually was at the time, maybe I wouldn't be in the situation I'm in now.
A/N: Hi y'all! Sorry this is out so late, but I've been super busy and I'll try to do better!
Let me know if there are any mistakes!
Please R&R, Ryderdye ;)
