March. The long and unexpected story behind Dick's school records p.2

Gar and Vic stopped by the Secretary's window on their way into school, only because Dick was there, but when they did, Dick looked uncomfortable enough to puzzle them.

The secretary came to the window with a stack of files. "The principal corroborates your story," she told him formally. "Here are the files."

"Thanks," replied Dick, not looking very happy.

"What are those?" Victor asked, after the Secretary closed the window.

Dick hesitated. "A list of new enrolments to the school. Raven said we should look for someone new, so that's what I'm doing."

"Oh. Great," Gar said. "Quick question. Why are you being so weird about this whole mission?"

Dick frowned. "I'm not. I told you, I just feel like Blood-"

"Is using us, yeah, you said," Vic cut him off, having no patience to hear the whole spiel again. "That doesn't explain why you go and do mission stuff behind our backs."

"I was gonna tell you guys about this today," Dick argued, not looking at them. "I have to go to Bio, I'll see you at lunch, goodbye."

Gar and Vic watched him go.

Gar said, "'Least he's doing mission stuff. He's not gonna quit the Club like you said."

"Yeah. 'Least there's that," Vic replied. Then he was bent forward as Jen jumped on his shoulders from behind.

"Morning!" she sang out. "Did my handsome boyfriend catch the evil criminal yet?"

"Nope! Still working on it," Vic returned, grinning, as he swung her around and kissed her.

Then they were making out, so Gar left them to it. He spotted Kori and Raven and went to them. The girls were at Kori's locker, talking closely together when he arrived.

"…and she said it was because they'd been at the ski rink, but Vic doesn't go skiing, so even that was a lie," Raven was saying.

Kori returned a quiet, "That is what she said."

"See my problem with her is, she fucking lies," Raven said.

"What are you guys doing?" Gar asked.

"We're talking shit about Jen," Raven told him, never one to sugar coat even her own actions.

"Oh, cool," said Gar, who was generally down with whatever, and also didn't particularly like Jen.

But Kori looked conflicted and regretful at Raven's statement. "We do not mean to speak badly," she said.

Raven said, "We've just been noticing she's a chronic liar, that's all. She told Kori and I that she and Vic went to a new indoor skiing rink on the weekend that no one's heard about yet."

"But Vic hates the ice," said Gar.

"Exactly," said Raven. "I asked him and he said he hasn't gone skiing in years and doesn't plan to."

"Now that you mention it," said Gar, "there was this weird thing once. She was talking about something being on the second floor of her house, but I remember Vic said she lived in an apartment."

Raven turned to Kori. "See?"

"Some apartments have stairs within," Kori tried, weakly.

Both Raven and Gar gave her a tired look. Kori offered a grimace back at them, then looked away from their disapproving faces. She'd never been comfortable with talking badly of people behind their back, and she knew that was uncool, but she didn't see herselfchanging any time soon.

Along the course of the school day, new X's appeared, inexplicably, in the rather high ceiling of the third floor girls' bathroom. They were pink. Mr. Mod ranted about it in class in detriment of his entire History lesson. The mission became slightly more urgent.

That afternoon in the clubroom, Dick did share the files he got from the Secretary with the others. Victor found himself wondering if he would have still shared them if he and Gar hadn't caught him, and now he figured they would never know.

"So do we interview these new arrivals?" Kori asked cautiously.

The clubroom was slightly tense and quieter than normal, as if Dick's being closed off exerted a pull on everyone else.

"Yeah. We could do that," Dick said quietly, sitting with his feet up on the table. His noncommittal response seemed to communicate the opposite of what his words had expressed.

Vic was thinking of how to push him, when the door burst open.

In came a redheaded boy. His eyes scanned the room, located Dick at the table and strode to him.

"What the fuck are you doing with your life, Grayson? I know you know it's me doing that graffiti."

Dick swung his feet off the table, stood to face the boy and answered in the same tone. "I've known it was you since I saw the first stupid X, Rex."

"Then why've you been a pussy and not come confront me?" Rex demanded, hitting the table with his fists.

"And why would I do exactly what you wanted me to?" Dick returned. "If you want something from me why didn't you come confront me?"

"Fine, I'll be honest, you dick. Do one thing for me and I'll stop the graffiti shit."

"No. Go break your legs in a hole."

"Okay, great, how 'bout this? Do the thing and I won't tell everyone who you used to be."

"Blood already has my file, Rex, that ship has sailed."

"Do the students know? You with this new goody-goody image-"

"Some of these kids went with us to middle school, so I'd say yes. And guess what, nobody cares!"

Rex grabbed at the files on the table without breaking eye contact with Dick. "If you don't care, then what's this?"

Dick ripped the files from his hands. "I wanted to know for sure you were starting here. If this was really your fucked-up announcement that you're back."

"It's a fucked-up announcement that I need your help, asshole."

"You have nothing on me and I don't want to help you. You're on your own, Rex."

At this, Dick sat and crossed his arms.

Rex glowered down at him. "You owe me, though. Remember?"

The he stalked out of the clubroom, slamming the door.

Dick took a deep breath and gingerly glanced up at his friends. They were as lost and bewildered as could be expected. But he avoided their eyes and the consequences of this little scene for the time being. "Just—give me a second." He got up and left the clubroom.

Rex was waiting outside, just as he'd known he would be. He glared when Dick came out.

"Explain," said Dick. "What trouble are you in now?"

Rex shoved his hands in his pockets. "I just need to drop some money with these guys."

Dick resisted the urge to find out more about the who and the why. "And what'd you want me to do?"

"I'd just like some backup. Thought I'd ask an old friend," Rex spat.

"And I told you, we're not that anymore," said Dick, turning to the door.

"I don't trust these people, Dick." Rex's voice had taken a different tone.

Dick stopped with his hand on the knob. But he went into the clubroom anyway.

He opened the door too roughly—his friends, leaning on the other side, nearly toppled over each other as they jumped away and tried to pretend they weren't listening through the door. Dick gave Raven a disappointed look. Even you?

Dick moved back to his spot on the table, as if nothing had happened. "He's not gonna bother us anymore. And he'll stop the graffiti."

"Dick, who the hell was that?" Victor asked.

Dick sighed. "That was Alexander Red. We used to be friends… in middle school."

His friends assembled around him, communicating to him they were going to get the full story or nothing else.

Dick had no choice but to launch into it. "You know how, when we got in trouble with Blood over Gar's doodle of Mr. Mod, I had this huge record?"

"Yes!" exclaimed Gar. "Are we finally gonna hear that story!?"

Dick glared at him. "Before you guys met me, I wasn't… like now," he started. He closed his eyes. "I was… a bit of a delinquent."

Victor snorted. "I'm sorry," he said immediately. "No, really I'm sorry, but that's too good," he added, and turned around to snicker in peace.

"What do you mean, delinquent?" asked Kori. She hoped he wouldn't explain the definition, when what she wanted was clarification.

Dick thankfully got her meaning. "Means I was running around, tagging halls, breaking stuff, breaking into stuff…"

"You?" asked Raven, not being able to hold back any longer. "Really?"

"I know." Dick closed his eyes. He hoped he hadn't fallen too much in their eyes. He'd reinvented himself so hard for high school, he had no idea the cognitive dissonance his friends must be experiencing right now. And he couldn't look Kori in the eye.

"Wait, I'm confused," said Gar. "I had this idea that you were this obedient, perfect, Type-A, prize-winning prodigy when you were younger." He was a bit embarrassed—he was supposed to be the childhood friend.

"Before Rex, I kinda was," Dick responded.

Dick realized it then: he had accidentally managed to find four people who hadn't known him in his Rex era; four people whom not even rumors had touched. Gar only knew him from childhood, Victor only from primary school, and Kori and Raven hadn't even living been in the city two years ago. It could have been perfect… if Rex had never showed up.

Kori asked, "How did you become friends?"

"I was starting middle school here after moving in with my uncle," Dick said. "First day of school, a boy said I was a pansy rich boy who couldn't throw a punch if my life depended on it."

"And Rex defended you," Kori completed.

Dick frowned. "No. I could defend myself, thank you very much. I broke the boy's nose."

"So where does Rex come in?" asked Raven.

"Rex was that boy," Dick said, smiling despite himself. "We were just inseparable after that. It's weird to explain it like that, but… I think he just wouldn't have made friends with anyone who couldn't take him in a fight. We were each other's only friends."

"So… why'd you stop being friends?" asked Gar.

Dick stopped smiling. "One time we let it get too far. We were at a party one night. But we blew that off and went out to do our own thing. We stole someone's bike, and we broke into a random house just because it had a pool. We'd done it before, only this time we got caught. We got charged with breaking and entering. My uncle got me off because he is who he is, but Rex went to Juvie. That's why I was homeschooled last year." He grimaced. "That's why he says I owe him. …He's not wrong."

Gar had seen Raven and Vic exchange glances trough the story. Vic was shaking his head at Raven, who was raising her eyebrows, and they were clearly disagreeing in the silent debate. Gar thought he knew what the debate was. And he agreed with Raven.

Raven cleared her throat. "Um, you blew off a party, rode through town, and broke into a house to take a dip in the pool?" she surmised, looking at Dick intently. But he only nodded along. Raven went for broke. "Were you guys friends, or…?"

"Best friends," said Dick, with a wistful smile, oblivious to the looks.

"Alright." Raven seemed to give up. "So why aren't we helping your old best friend?"

"Because I'm not involving myself with him anymore," Dick responded. "I can't go back there. We're not helping him, and he's gonna stop with the graffiti, and that's all there's to it."

Dick's tone was so stern they didn't dare contradict him. The graffiti was a mission from faculty, but for Dick, it entailed a deeply personal issue. If only because of that, the four let it be.

At the end of the day, Dick said goodbye to his friends, left the school, and went around to the side of the school, at the opposite end from the parking lot. He turned a corner and there was Rex, leaning against a wall, just like he'd expected.

They regarded each other. Rex nodded to his left, and they both went in that direction.

"Tell me about these guys you got involved with," said Dick.

"Regular mob-like group," said Rex. "They have an office on Ashton Street. I'd done some work for them before."

"What kind of work?"

"Various stuff."

Dick stopped walking and stared at Rex.

Rex said, "I set fire to some shrubs outside a farm and vandalized a few neighborhoods to lower the cost of living."

Dick raised his eyebrows. That was a new one.

Rex shrugged. "It paid well."

"And how much did you borrow from them?"

Rex looked around, even though they were alone in a deserted parking lot. "Thirty K."

Dick stifled his shock. Rex had outdone himself. "What did you need thirty grand for?" he hissed.

Rex looked away. "Mom's medical bills rack up, Dick."

Dick's eyes softened. "How is she?"

"She's fine," Rex answered. "She's a fighter. Misses you, though."

Dick remembered the afternoons in the tiny studio apartment, the smell of Mrs. Red's cooking and her incessant jokes, where Dick had almost felt like he had a mom again. He ran a hand through his hair. "I don't see how my being there will help."

"We always got out of things when it was the two of us."

Dick refused to share that much of a rose-colored view of the past. "I don't know how we did it, though."

Rex clapped his arm, bright again. "It'll come to us. Come on."

He led Dick to a really nice motorbike.

Dick's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Where'd you get the bike?" he asked.

"Jealous?" Rex returned simply, handing him a helmet.

Rex took them to a diner. He sat with his back to the window and told Dick the office they were going to was across the street, in an alleyway between two buildings. Dick could just about make out a metal door in that alleyway, next to a dumpster.

Rex ordered them fries.

"For the record, I heard about the pink X's in the girls' bathroom?" Rex said. "That wasn't even me. I mean, why would I do pink?"

"Great, that just means you started a graffiti trend," Dick replied.

"Got your attention, though."

"Still don't get why you wanted it, though."

"I told you, I wanted backup," said Rex, annoyed. "This isn't like the guys we used to run with, Dick. This is bigger."

"We always dabbled with stuff too big for us," Dick said dismissively.

"Yeah, but we're older. It's different. They don't see us as little kids anymore. They won't mind hurting us."

Dick resented how Rex had already changed 'I' for 'we' and 'us'. He was also starting to doubt the story itself. This diner was in their old middle school neighborhood. They used to come here all the time. Maybe this was all a set-up, an excuse to reconnect. He wouldn't put it past Rex.

At the same time, Dick could tell Rex was angry Dick kept doubting him, and insulted he had to try this hard to get Dick on board.

The waitress came to leave their fries, smiling at them. "Are you two brothers?" she asked them without preamble, in a way Dick was sure she and the other staff had been arguing over whether they were.

Dick and Rex answered, "No," in unison, not breaking the glare between them.

The girl dropped it there and left the food in silence.

When she left, though, Rex's face eased into a smirk. "Haven't heard that question in a while."

They had gotten that question way too many times in their life for it to be natural. Dick had no idea why people were obsessed with whether or not they were brothers.

They didn't look alike at all. They had similar body types and that was about it. Beyond that, Rex was pale with freckles, and his hair was auburn red. Dick had black hair and an evenly tan skin. Rex's eyes went golden, hazel, green, and Dick's were always solid blue. Rex dressed primarily in black; Dick liked a pop of color here and there.

Dick perked up when Rex's expression became alarmed. Rex looked at Dick to make sure he had his attention, and then nodded almost imperceptibly towards the counter.

The man who had just entered was big and arrogant-looking. He sauntered to the cashier like he wanted to take as much space as possible. Dick took note of him and looked away.

Unfortunately, the man noticed Rex, and made his way over to their table. He spread his arms on the table and leaned down next to Rex. "This a friend of yours?" he asked, nodding towards Dick.

"Nah," Rex made out.

Dick made a point to keep eating his fries.

"You ready to come see us?" the man asked. "Hope you have the dough, kid."

"Sure, Randy," returned Rex, trying to look simply annoyed where he was also scared.

Rex only relaxed when the man left the diner.

Dick said, "So this wasn't just a way to get me back. You're really in trouble, you idiot."

Rex looked outraged Dick had actually said it. "You thought I made up this whole thing for you? Nice to know your self-esteem's healthy as ever."

"No, you're just that big of a manipulative asshole."

"You're as paranoid as your guardian now. Always seeing the worst in me."

"God, Rex, you're the reason I'm scared of having friends!" Dick snapped. "I'm always watching my step looking at who may influence me and how, because of you!"

"It's not my fault you're malleable, bird boy," Rex retorted. "You think your new friends are an upgrade? I was the only one who saw the real you, with all you could be, and you just couldn't handle that."

"I wouldn't be your friend again if you were the last person alive," Dick stated.

The waitress came back with the check. They each paid half.

"Ready?" Rex asked.

"Sure," replied Dick, and they left the diner.

Rex took them through the alleyway. They eyed the door, and Dick stopped them before they went all the way in. "Rex, wait." He made Rex face him. "You don't have the money, do you?"

Rex looked at him. His expression almost made fun of him—an 'of course I don't' grin.

Dick kicked himself or ignoring what he already knew. He pushed Rex on the chest, as if to get rid of some frustration.

"How did you burn through thirty K?" he asked, futilely.

"I went through twenty-five K, for the record," Rex clarified. "And I already told you it was the medical bills."

Dick didn't let up. "What about the bike?"

Rex looked guilty. Dick always had thought his face was too transparent for him to be such a rascal.

"I have to be able to get around!" Rex protested.

Dick hung his head. "What did you really want me to do here? That bank account I used to have…"

"I know."

"It's locked."

"I just wanted you to be there. In case things got sour."

"In case they got sour? You don't have this money, how else could it go?" Dick snapped. "What was your plan all along then?"

"For us to get out of trouble somehow, like we always did. You can use your name." Dick raised an eyebrow. "Well, your uncle's name. You know, like before. Say the magic words and get us out of trouble."

There was a strong note of disdain in his tone, which was grand for a guy who was asking him to use the very influence he was scorning.

"Breaking into the Carlton's place was your idea," Dick told him. "You know that, right?"

"And I took the fall for it. While you got to sit back in your literal mansion."

"I was trapped there for a year."

"I was in Juvie!"

"You were posting pictures of you having a blast!"

"I was lying to myself. Nice of you to keep up with my social media, though."

Dick refrained from answering that one. He knew from history this argument would get them nowhere. He balanced himself on the balls of his feet, looking around, thinking things through. This was bad, and he was moving backwards, he knew. But he couldn't help it. His mind rushed with possibilities of how to get Rex out of this; familiar machinations and a familiar need to protect him.

"Come on," he said, grabbing Rex's hand and pulling him towards the door. "We'll figure something out."

And Rex's relieved expression looked oh-so-familiar as they went inside the office together.

Soo if you had thought Dick himself was behind the red X's: I hope you don't feel cheated that Red X appeared as a whole other character? I asked who you thought the culprit was in the last chapter because I was curious to see if I had managed to mislead anyone, but I didn't actually thing I was gonna fool anyone… lol

Anyhow… I hope you enjoyed my version of Red X, and that the reveal of Dick's troubled past was satisfying!

Tajas Trijal: Thank you! As for BBxRae moments, your patience will be rewarded! (*cough* hold out for April *cough*) :)

Eris: Thank you! One day, in the future, Gar will get to know what his cards meant, but when it finally happens you guys will probably have forgotten all about this ^^