Revised May 11, 2003: There was a huge mistake in the story, mainly in Terry knowing about Melanie being Ten. Have fixed that and any spelling and grammar errors I could find. If ya find any more, please let me know.
He knew the second that she gave him the note exactly what it would say. He knew that what Ten gave him was Melanie's confession for Terry, her pouring her heart out why she was having Batman deliver this letter for her. Explaining why she'd have to leave again.
Even knowing all that, he couldn't bring himself to read it.
Selina Kyle. Bruce had told him the story about the woman who'd captured his heart. The woman who he'd later discovered was not only his greatest love, but also one of the greatest challenges he'd ever faced. Selina had disappeared mysteriously, never even leaving Bruce so much as a hint of where she was going. Terry suspected Bruce could have tracked her down, but there was a certain tone in his voice when he told Terry the story of their relationship. It was a tone that told the younger man that the former Dark Knight was afraid of what he'd discover if he ever contacted her.
Even if he knew what was on the note, somehow not reading it seemed to make it not true. If he never read it in her own words, in her own handwriting, he never really had to acknowledge that Melanie...that Ten had betrayed him.
"Terry?" Dana asked, pulling on his arm. "Terry, are you alright?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he responded, knowing that the note was still in his pocket. "Sorry. Just a little tired."
"Well, I don't blame you. The amount of time you spend working for that Wayne guy...ugh. One of these days I'm going to give him a piece of my mind..."
But she never would. Terry knew that. And somehow, in that second, he knew that he and Dana would never last past High School. When...if he managed to graduate, they'd be off on different paths. Dana wanted college and then a career, and then a normal, stable life with a husband who wouldn't always have to bolt in the middle of dinner. She wanted a real man, a knight in shining armor.
How would she deal with Batman, the Dark Knight?
Finally, they reached the front of the line. The bouncer held out his hand. "Creds, please?"
Terry fumbled in his pockets, searching for the card. When he finally found it, a piece of paper came with it.
"What's that?" Dana asked, somewhat suspicious.
"Um, nothing," Terry shrugged his shoulders. For a second he considered just throwing it away, just forgetting it had existed. No matter what she had wanted him to know, it could end here. He could pretend he'd never even known there was a note. Ten had given the note to Batman. He could just tell himself that Melanie had never written that note, and that Terry had never seen it.
It was tempting. But, he knew, it was wrong.
"Just a grocery list from Mr. Wayne," Terry lied to Dana. It wasn't the first time he'd done something like this before and somehow he didn't even feel bad about it anymore. Their relationship was based on lies like this one. One more didn't even matter.
Dana dragged him into the club and immediately ran into a group of girls she knew. As she was chatting away, Terry contemplated the note. He and Dana were based on lies. All lies anymore. What if reading this note would give him a chance to start something based on truth?
'But it's still based on lies,' he told himself. 'She betrayed you Terry; she led you into the Joker trap. Besides, could you ever bring yourself to tell her who you are? Is it even fair that you know who she is and she doesn't know who you are?'
'No, wait. She led Batman into the Joker trap. She had something she wanted Terry to know.'
Looking at Dana, Terry sighed. What did she even see in him anymore, he wondered. 'Would she ever understand the pain of having a double identity?'
'No,' he immediately answered his own question. The only way to understand the pain of having to be two people was to have experienced it.
The note was only thin white paper, but it felt heavier than any debris he'd ever been buried under. He unfolded it, slowly; almost afraid of what he was about to read.
"Dear Terry," it began.
"I know."
'What?" Terry's mind screamed.
"If you're reading this," the note continued, "it means you escaped from the trap I led you into. I'm sorry, Terry, I really am. But even knowing that you are who you are, I had to do what I did. And I knew you could handle what I was leading you into.
"Yes, Terry, the truth is, I know you're Batman. And knowing that, I'm sure you know what kind of pain it is to do what we both do. To be one person in front of everyone else and to be someone completely different when we have to. I think we sensed it in each other, actually. Maybe that's why I fell in love with you so fast.
"Yes, Terry, I am in love with you. But, knowing what we know about each other, it could never work. Anyone who'd done any reading or watched any movies knows that the dashing hero and the femme fatale villain never work out. It's one of the oldest clichés in the book, actually."
Terry stopped reading for a second. Was she saying what he thought she was saying?
"So, let's leave it at this. Melanie loves Terry. But Ten and Batman are enemies. So, if I ever run into Terry again, I promise I'll act like none of this ever happened, if he can ever forgive me for who I am. But if Batman ever comes near me again, I'll kill him.
"Always, Melanie."
Terry crumbled the note in his hand. "Selina Kyle," he muttered under his breath.
"What was that?" Dana asked as she sat down next to him.
"Nothing. Look, Dana, I'm sorry, I have to go."
Before he could finish, Dana cut him off. "Fine. Go. I know how it is. You're always running off for Mr. Wayne. You're always leaving me behind. You know Terry, sometimes I don't think you love me the way I love you!"
Terry paused for a second. "Well, those times? You're right. I'm sorry Dana. You deserve what you really want." Terry stood up. "Later."
"You know," Bruce had told him, "I blew more chances at happiness than I could ever count holding out on Selina Kyle to straighten herself out and come back to me. It never happened. And you know what?
"I don't regret it. Much."
Dana watched Terry walk away for the last time. Both of them knew that after this there wouldn't be another chance. And, while she didn't really know why, Dana let out a sigh of relief as she walked back out onto the dance floor.