Chapter 2: Suspicious Behavior

"There she is!" Commissioner Gordon smiled at me. I led Dick to him.

"Good evening, Commissioner!" I said, shaking his hand.

"And who might this young man be?"

"This is Dick Grayson, Commissioner. He's one of my classmates. Dick, Commissioner Gordon."

"Pardon my asking, Commissioner Gordon, but do you happen to have a daughter named Barbara?" Dick asked, shaking his hand.

"Why yes, Dick! Why do you ask?"

"She's a close friend of mine."

"I'll be sure to let her know you said hello. If you'll excuse me, I have other guests to entertain. Good night!"

"Good night!" We said as a goodbye. The music suddenly slowed. A lot of couples began intimately dancing. I looked at Dick and extended my hand to him. He looked at me in surprise.

"Would you dance with me, please, Dick?" I asked. He nodded and took my hand. We danced for I don't know how long before Dick went to get refreshments. While I was waiting, I talked to Bruce Wayne.

"Are you enjoying yourself, miss?" He asked.

"Oh yes, Mr. Wayne, thank you." I was glad he was bothering to talk to me.

"Am I correct in saying that you're the famous Victoria Isles?"

"Indeed you would." I smiled at him, surprised he knew who I was.

"Dick was right. You are stunning!"

"What else have you heard about me?" But before he could answer, I heard the town bell strike midnight. I gasped, not realizing how late it had gotten.

"Mr. Wayne, I do apologize, but I must leave. I have school tomorrow and can't sleep in. Good night!"

"Good night, Miss Isles!" Bruce said to my retreating figure. I found Dick and said nothing about the fact that I'd met Bruce. I just never thought of it. I was deep in thought on the car ride home. He looked at me curiously.

"Did you have a good time?" He asked. I snapped out of my stupor.

"Yeah, I did. Did you?"

"Yeah. Although I have to say that without you, it would have been a real drag. So, thanks!" He walked me to the door. I turned to him.

"Any chance we could do something like this again?" I asked, hopefully.

"Probably, yeah."

"Well then..." I kissed his cheek.

"Thanks Victoria and good night!" He said, smiling at me.

"Good night, Dick!" I smiled. The next day, I was watering my garden when Barbara came over.

"Morning, Babs!" I said, cheerfully.

"Morning, Vic!" She replied, smiling at me.

"What brings you here so early?" I asked, brushing the dirt off my hands.

"Oh, you know, just wanting to see how your date with Dick went. That's all." She said this in a cheerful voice, but I could sense that there was some hostility imbedded into her tone. I decided not to say anything about it.

"Well, what do you want to know?"

"Did you two kiss?" She said, her jealousy now quite apparent.

"No, Babs, he was a perfect gentleman." I saw the jealousy dissipate.

"Sorry about before. I just..."

"You like him, don't you?" I asked, seeing through her.

"Yes. A lot."

"If he means so much to you, I'll back off." I decided to let her have him, if she really wanted to. It was no good reason to destroy our friendship.

"What? No, no, no, no, no! I won't do that to you. I've had my chance with him and he with me. Besides, out of all the girls in our school, he picked you. He likes you, Vic, not me."

"Babs-"

"I don't want to hear it! He's liked you since the day he first laid his eyes upon you in Statistics class."

"But that was in my freshman year and I was only in that class for a semester!"

"Yet he still fell for you. Head over heels. Sometimes literally!"

"Oh, yeah. Now that you mention it, he was rather clumsy around me. I never knew why. I just thought it was a weird spasm he always had."

"I can't tell you how lucky you are to be so beautiful, Vic!"

"Babs, don't be so hard on yourself. You're beautiful too!" I felt uncomfortable with the compliments she was giving me.

"Oh, you!" She dismissed my compliment with a flick of her wrist.

"Babs, I'm not just saying this because you're like a sister to me. I'm serious. Someday you will meet a guy just like Dick. I promise."

"I know you're serious. You know the whole sister deal goes the same way?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Well, see you in class!" Barbara waved goodbye to me. I widened my eyes as I returned her wave. I'd completely forgotten what time it was and threw on a random outfit, not bothering to wash the dirt off my arms and face. I barely made it for my first hour class. Breathing heavily, I sank into my seat.

"Cutting it close there, T!" Kara whispered.

"Shut up! I had a date last night." I hissed back as the professor began her lecture. We talked more after class.