Messy, Messy Biz

The Hive: Welcome back, my worker bees.


She ascended the golden encrusted staircase, all eyes on her and a beautiful white gown. Her family watched her with proud eyes, her brother showcasing a beaming smile, and her sister shedding a small tear along with her weeping mother.

Her eyes locked on her father's, both jade eyes meeting their match, he nodded to her in silence. The girl continued to look around at the other crowd members, none of their faces recognizable, and she couldn't find her uncle anywhere.

She got to the end of the stairs, meeting her suitor who held out an elbow for her to grab. Her eyes cast over his halo-like appearance, dark hair neatly kept, white tailored suit, and a charming smile. Though what mesmerized her most were the blue-sapphire-like eyes, crystal pools she could easily swim in and get lost in. The crowd opened up to them as they walked to the dance floor, he opened his hand out to her and laid a light kiss on her knuckles.

A slight sigh escaped her lips as his hands made their way to curves of her waist, and they began to sway across the floor to light, memorable tune. She didn't focus on the movement of their feet or the crowd watching in awe, instead, she focused on him and his eyes. He smiled at her again, and she soaked in every inch of his attention. Towards the end of the song, he dipped her to the ground, his arms still holding her; she closed her eyes to relish the moment.

When she opened them, however, the boy's appearance changed. He didn't have the dark, luscious hair, instead, it was replaced with a scraggly brown crew cut, his tailored suit replaced with a black leather jacket, and dark pants, his eyes weren't mesmerizing blue but instead a cold-steel black iris that nearly swallowed her whole.

She tried to scream, to shout, although no one seemed to care, around her were copies of black silhouettes smirking back at her, red eyes glowing.

The boy let out a small growl to her, she whimpered in fear. He inched closer to her, pulling her tighter to him and clawing at her white, now torn dress. He opened his mouth and let the words drip from his mouth like burning acid. "We meet again, princess"


Kory let out a scream as she woke from her nightmare, her face already covered in sweat and tears beginning to fall down her face. She held the covers close to her, as she shook in fear, not noticing the booming footsteps approaching her door "Kory, Kory what's wrong?" Galfore opened the door frantically with a frightened look on her face.

Kory got out of her bed and grabbed a hold of him in a tight hug; silently sobbing. He looked down at the scared girl, and laid a comforting hand on her back "It's happening again isn't it?" He asked, though she never responded, only continuing to cry, answering his question.


Men in greasy outfits whooped and hollered at the scantily clad woman before them. Her emerald eyes hid behind a scarlet red mask, the rest of her face is etched as a beautiful siren under the plum red light: plump lips, button nose, golden blonde hair, and a tattoo below her ear where only her suitors were allowed to touch.

The women around her wore similar outfits, masks on, and lingerie out, all of them there to earn their keep. One of the greasy men grabbed the waitress' arm and whispered something in her ear, his hot breath nearly making her vomit. Though she held her composure cause she knew the boss would have her head if she acted out of character or even flinched.

The emerald-eyed woman finished her act onstage where the man hungrily clapped as she took her final bow and blew a kiss to the crowd, some fighting to be the apple of her eye for the night. She made her way backstage, taking her mask off as she walked to the back where her dressing room was. "Good luck following an act like that ladies, they were practically pawing at me by the end of my set," she said, one of the other ladies she referred to rolled their eyes continuing to apply the last bits of mascara.

"Please, that's only cause the booze boss has them on makes em' into horn dogs. You ain't special no way, Betsy" Betsy squinted at the woman, her lips turning into a snarl "Screw you Dina, you're just mad cause Boss put you with Baby tonight," Dina fluffed her brown curls and perked up her purple bra. "You forget..the men love Baby—" "—Can you stop calling me Baby, I have a name" a monotone voice called out. The two women turned to where the voice of 'Baby' came from; she was currently finishing the last of her homework in her dressing area.

Her black hair pushed to the side, dark smoky eye makeup, concealer to hide the bruises, and a less clad purple ensemble of lingerie to match her partner's. "Sorry there Ba-Raven, we call you that just cause you're the youngest out of us all. You know just starting back college and shit-" Right.

College. Rachel thought to herself, thinking back to when her dad forced her into the business, making her get a fake i.d. for her to shake her ass for his clientele. He made her go by a stage name: The Raven, something for people to remember her by when she hit the stage. At the start, she met the other girls, and they were a bit older than her fake age: 22-24 in the age range.

Dina and Betsy were the oldest of the group, both of them 26 in age yet with the products and drugs they took, sometimes they were mistaken for 21-year-olds. They acted more like the older sisters of the group, with their experience they were always watching out for the others and protecting them against the sleaziest of men.

Though they still slept with her dad, no doubt. Nobody knew she was still a minor, though in this industry she doubted they'd care. If she even hinted at being a minor to one of the customers, word would get out, and next thing she knows another bruise would be added on her face. Another bruise to cover up with concealer and start all over again. Maybe if she told them— "I think it's cool that you wanna be something other than what we do, " Betsy added, Rachel briefly looked up from her book "I've met tons of girls who were just like you, ended up getting a nice job, decent husbands, hell some are even popping' babies out,"

"I'm definitely not ready for all that just yet," "I know, I know but it can't hurt to plan your future now before you end up like us-stuck." Dina nodded in agreement. A knock rapped at the door, everyone's heads turned to the door "We're dressed, not like it matters anyway," Betsy called out. A scraggily looking man came in, obviously on some sort of drug; Rachel knew him, he was one of her father's "henchmen", always lurking around to peek a glimpse at the women in the dressing room and keep an eye on Rachel.

The man shakily pushed up his huge glasses, etching out a smile at the women before him. Both looked in disgust, "Ugh, get out of here skeez," Dina barked, the man retracted a bit before turning to Rachel, he nodded his head to the office door. Rachel rolled her eyes, closing her books and grabbing a robe off one of the hangers before heading out the door. "Don't be gone too long Raven, we're on in 10!" She heard Dina yell.


Rachel opened the door quietly to the office, seeing a big office chair with its back turned to it. "Sit" her father's voice boomed. She quickly shut the door and took a seat on his messy office couch. The office couch was decorated with underwear: pink and red thongs, push-up bras, and coke stains over the cushions.

He continued to stare at the blinded window with squinted eyes, "He just snorted a line," Rachel thought to herself. "Great," "I've got an important client coming to see you tonight—" "Me? Why me—" "I didn't ask for any questions," that retort instantly closed her mouth. He licked at his lips and wiped his nose. "I still want you to perform tonight, however, he specifically requested a room for just the two of you after your show is done" her breath hitched. "Big leagues, big bucks kid.

Don't mess this shit up for me—" "—Pimping out your 16-year-old daughter, father? Couldn't find someone young—" He got up from his chair in one swoop, stomping toward her, fists clenched. She closed her eyes waiting for the blow, though it never came. "I'm not gonna hit you on account of you performing tonight, I need that face to stay pretty. Don't want people getting suspicious," "I'm not gonna sleep with him—" "—You'll do whatever he tells you to, I don't give a shit what you want. We made a deal," A single tear slipped from her eyes, her mouth letting out a small gasp. He wiped it off her face, and smirked down at her, "You're damaged goods," Trigon turned away from her, pulling out a fat cigar and lighting it.

More tears fell down her face as the smoke filled the room. "Fix your makeup, Raven. We wouldn't want that pretty face of yours ruined now would we?" She got up from the couch wiping away her stray tears and heading out of the devils' lair.


Dick tied up his shoelaces as Wally and Vic were in yet another heated conversation with each other. "No way, Brady's a better quarterback than Wilson. Everyone knows that—" "—Nah bro, Wilson's got some of the best yards, receptions in the league. Brady can't top that," They were all currently in the hallway waiting for the girls to get out of their classes so they could walk to the next period.

"Dick, please tell this idiot that Brady is better than Wilson—" "Tell this dumbass Wilson's better," Dick rolled his eyes at this mindless debate, another moment listening to these two and he was sure to lose it. Wally caught wind of Dick's annoyed face, "Eh, we'll talk about it at lunch later. What's on your mind boss?" He shrugged. "I'm just not in the mood for a football debate right now, I've got other things to think about—"

"—Like a certain redhead?" Wally winked at him, he rolled his eyes "No, I'm not thinking about that," he blushed, "Bruce hasn't really spoken to me since the gala incident and when he does, it's usually through Alfred or Jason," "Maybe he's waiting on an apology," "I'm not apologizing for putting an end to his stupid business transaction between him and the law enforcement. He's known since it started that I didn't want to do it," "Was it so bad though?" Vic asked, Dick, snapped his head as if he didn't hear him correctly and needed clarification.

"What?" "I mean, you really didn't have to do anything but be Babs arm candy for like two years. You could still see other people and hang out with your friends. The only time you hung out with her is during dinners and events," He rolled his eyes, "You didn't know what it was like though, the dinners were endless, mindless small talk, and the events were the same. Take pictures, lay a kiss here and there, make sure to be the perfect son for Bruce. I never had room to be me, you know?" Vic shrugged. "Yeah, but Babs is hot—" "—Who's hot?" Bee and Jinx came up to the lockers with curious looks, Vic's eyes got big as saucers "Y-you are, honey bee."

"Damn right I am," she kissed his cheek, he silently thanked the person above. Wally puckered his lips to Jinx who rolled her eyes in disgust, "Keep dreaming," Trust me, I will," "Ew," she pushed him away from her, earning a couple of laughs from the group. "Ready for next period?" Bee let out a groan, "No, I'm pretty sure Mr. Simon has it out for me," "Bee he does not—"

"—Uh-huh. The other day when I was taking my test, I looked up at the clock and all I saw was Mr. Simon shooting daggers at me," "He was probably seeing if you were trying to cheat—" "—Well, I don't cheat. So he can get off my ass, thanks" They laughed and continued to walk to Mr. Simon's class. "Has anyone noticed what's up with Kory lately?" Dick's head perked up at the mention of Kory's name. "What about her?" Vic asked, putting his arm around Bee and pulling her closer, she snuggled in reply.

"I swear today in homeroom, her whole demeanor was…off." "Off how?" "Bee you know what I'm talking about right?" Bee nodded, "Yeah, the girl definitely looked as if she hasn't been sleeping and when we tried to ask her what's wrong, she immediately shut it down," "Maybe she's been stressed about a test or something—" "—Nah, we don't think so. After the gala, she's been acting a bit on edge. I hope everything's okay," Vic rubbed his beloved arms.

"She'll come to us when she's ready, we shouldn't pry," Dick stopped in his tracks and opened his phone, the group turned around "You coming bro?" Wally asked, Dick, nodded to them. "I'll see you guys in a bit, gotta text Jason about something," they looked at each other then shrugged it off and continued on. "Meet me in the courtyard" he sent the text and put his phone back, running after his group of friends before the bell caught him.

"My my, my new favorite slow-burn couple is taking a detour during school and going out for lunch, wonder if that'll bring the two closer or further apart? And what does Daddy Bruce has to say about this?" - The Hive


Gar sat in the library with the same bored expression on his face that he always wielded when working on one of the school computers. "Ugh, this stinks. They blocked all the fun games," he pouted to himself while the other students continued to work on their assignments.

"Um, Mr. F-Fredricksburg?" The teacher let out a groan before turning around to meet Gar with an annoyed expression, "Yes Mr. Logan?" "Can I please go to the bathroom? I forgot to pee this morning—" "—Just go Mr. Logan," he sighed as Gar quickly got up and ran to the restroom, not hearing Mr. Fredricksburg say "I don't get paid enough for this,". He quickly headed to the bathroom, holding himself, and trying not to do his bathroom dance. A few minutes later, he let out a sigh of relief and began to head back to his dreaded class when he heard a small cry coming from behind a couple of shells.

He looked around as to whether or not if he should go check on what the sound was coming from, though he did have to get back to class, then again…class could wait. Gar walked behind each of the shelves the sniffling getting louder, was it someone crying, he thought to himself before coming face to face with a red-faced Rachel

. She wiped at her nose with her worn-out black cardigan and pushed a strand of her black bob behind her red ear. "Rachel?" Gar whispered, she looked up with a shocked face. "G-gar? W-hat are you—leave me alone," she bit her lip and pulled her knees closer to her body, the body unbeknownst to Gar that was covered in bruises from the last night, courtesy of her him.

"What's wrong?" He took a seat near her, his eyes looking her over in concern. "I said l-leave me alone," She choked out, "Please talk to me Rachel, I'm here for you—" he silently reached out a hand to touch her wrist, when he came in contact with it, his eyes landed on a purplish bruise and red scar; a gasp accidentally slipped from his mouth. Rachel pulled back with a slight hiss, anger replacing her sadness.

"I said to leave me alone Garfield, now!" Her voice deepened, scaring him back a bit. She pulled the cardigan sleeve over her wrist and turned away from him "Rachel, d-did you do this to yourself?" She didn't say anything and instead pulled out a book from her backpack, trying to make the freckled boy go away. He sighed to himself before getting up and walking away, though he took one last look at Rachel.

She let out a small hiccup, focusing her eyes on the book in front of her. His eyes fell, walking away from her with a heart filled with concern and fright, not noticing her look back up with teary violet eyes. Rachel lifted the shirt up slightly to see the dark red bruise forming on her side, the pain rippling through her as if it's still a fresh wound. She pulled the shirt back down, sniffing back her tears, and beginning to read the page before her.


Kory waited by the courtyard corridor waiting patiently for Dick to show, though more and more people passed by, and there was yet to be a sign of him. She looked down at her watch, five minutes had already passed by. "Where is he?" A black shadow passed by her, she froze. "No he can't be here," she thought to herself, her legs suddenly turning to stone-like posture.

"He can't be, he can't be" her heart clattered against her rib cage, she refused to look behind her or around, he could be watching her. She felt a small tap on her shoulder, making her jump and let out a small shriek. "Kory, Kory it's me." She opened her eyes to see Dick looking at her with concern.

"You alright?" Kory nodded frantically, "Fine, fine. You just scared me a bit, I was afraid you weren't going to show." He let out a small chuckle, putting her a bit at ease. "I'd never stand you up Kory, I was running behind cause I was helping Bee out with something," She nodded in understanding, "So, what is it you wish to talk to me about? Is the rest of the group joining us? I brought my lunch in case we were to enjoy eating outside—"

"Woah, Woah Kory breath. It'll just be us hanging out today, and we won't be eating here," "Then where will we eat?" "I'm thinking Japanese off campus?" Dick smirked, "Won't we get into trouble?" He acted as if he brushed off her question "Nah, sophomores and up are allowed to go off campus for lunch, as long as it's logged into the system,"

"I've never heard about that during new student orientation—" "—Just got added this year," he took her hand and smiled "Come on, this place has some of the best sushi. You gotta try," He pulled her along with him as they ran towards Dick's car, both sporting genuine smiles and blushes on their faces as they did so.


Dick watched Kory lift the dragon roll in fascination, she poked at it with her chopstick and observed it as if it was an experiment pulled freshly out of the kitchen. "This dragon roll…it's not made from a real dragon is it?" He let out a hearty chuckle, causing Kory to flinch back. "No no, the roll is made to make it look kind of like a Dragon though. Avocado, Shrimp Tempura, Eel, and cucumber," He grabbed one off her plate and popped it in his mouth, "See? No fire-breathing here," She observed it once more, picking up one of her own pieces and inspecting it thoroughly.

"Hmm.." He hears her quietly hum before taking a pinch off with her teeth and swallowing. "Well?" He saw her eyes get slightly bigger, and a smile grow on her lips. "This is…delicious!" She popped the piece in her mouth, before popping another in and another after that. Dick reached out to grab her hands from continuing "Kory, don't ingest it all in one go, it'll hurt your stomach. Trust me," she blinked at hearing his words, then shifted her eyes down to their clasped hands. Dick copied her motion and saw how he was holding her.

His fingers were touching the tips of hers and looked as if they wanted to grasp more. Quickly he pulled away and cleared his throat, Kory placing her hands to play with her curly tendrils. He grabbed another piece off the nearly empty plate and flicked it in his mouth, "They don't have sushi places in Tamaran?" Dick asked before swallowing, Kory shook her head. "No, Tamaran is very strict when it comes to foreign foods," "So no burger places? Pancake houses—"

"No Japanese restaurants, we're not very keen to sharing with other countries," "Huh, what about clothes or cars?" She thought to herself for a moment, putting a finger to her lips. "We make our own clothes usually, and we don't have cars; the island is small enough to travel on foot, bike, or by cart," "This is such a foreign place, I-I've never heard of any place like this—" "We also try to stay away from the press," She interjected, Dick scratched the back of his neck. A place no one has heard of, the press is kept out, and other countries aren't allowed to trade with them; either this country was super weird or super-intelligent, he thought to himself.

Either way, it piqued his curiosity to see how Kory and her uncle lived before moving to America. "Can I get you, kids, anything else?" Their waitress grinned, he rose his eyebrow to Kory in which she shyly shook her head. "We'll take a fried ice cream, thanks" she nodded to them then headed to the kitchen. Kory looked at him in curiosity, "You'll love this too, and before the end of the school year you'll have tried so many different cuisines," She blushed slightly, "I-I wish to thank you for taking me to lunch this evening. Not many people have treated me with such kindness as you or your friends.

Kindness usually comes with some sort of..catch as your people refer to," He poked his tongue by his cheek, suddenly remembering why he took Kory to lunch in the first place, quickly he shrugged it off, "Not always, some people are genuinely kind figures," they both shared a smile, the waitress came out with the bowl of fried ice cream and put it between the two. "Enjoy!" Dick smirked as he grabbed one of the spoons off the table and handed it to Kory, she accepted eagerly.

"Okay, on the count of three, we both dive in and take a bite. 1….2….3!" They scooped off a piece of their own and shoved it in their mouths, moaning in satisfaction. "This is delicious…how do they come up with this?" He playfully shrugged before scooping himself another piece of the fried ice cream, letting the spoon linger a bit in his mouth. Dick took a glance at Kory who was staring down at her phone with an unrecognizable expression, "Everything alright Kory?" "Hmm? Fine, fine! I'm just l-looking at the time that's all," he reached out and grabbed her hand, this time letting her touch linger. "Kory, everyone's been concerned about you lately.

You're not seeming like yourself—" "—I've been doing a lot of homework and helping Galfore with his catering business," He sighed, "I thought that maybe if I took you out of school you'd open up a bit more, to me—" She snatched her hand away, "You only invited me to lunch to-to pick at my brain?" "Also to talk and stuff—" "Here I thought that this was some sort of…." She looked up at him with wide jade green orbs, searching for something from him.

He looked back with the same concern, "Sort of what…?" Kory shook her head, "Never mind, why do you want to know so badly?" Kory began to gather her things, "I-We're just concerned that's all Kory—" "—Don't be. You said it yourself that I shouldn't get close to you people, well this is me moving out of the way," She pulled her backpack on her shoulder and began to head for the door.

"Kory wait!" Dick pulled out a 20 dollar bill and slapped it on the table, preceding to head after the angry redhead. "Kory…Kory?" She was no longer stomping away, instead stopped dead in her tracks. He was about to ask her what was wrong, though instead, he followed where her eye line was geared towards. Stood before them was a fuming Bruce Wayne. "Shit," he cursed under his breath.

The Hive: Uh-oh looks like our dashing boy wonder was caught in another compromising position, wonder how he's gonna untangle himself out this time…


Bee patted at her nose trying to cover up the shine, her phone continuing to buzz in her pocket. "Ugh, this better be an emergency," she took her phone out only to see messages from an unknown number. She clicked on the first notification box, the message before her reading: I've got a special surprise for you!, the next saying: "it's getting wrapped up at the front office as we speak, hurry!, the last message: "Consider it a back to school gift,". Bee knew that the unknown number came from one source, The Hive. He, She or They were messing with her, and she refused to give in to the temptation, she thought to herself.

"Still…I'm just a bit curious," Bee closed her makeup compact and walked out of the restroom, her heart picking up pace as each step before the other, heading towards the front office. What could it be, what could it be she kept asking herself. "Positive thoughts Bee, maybe it's not as bad as I think," she said to herself, holding her backpack close to her body.

There were very few people in the halls due to class happening and Bee happened to go to the restroom during 6th-period math. Some took glances at her anxious face, others paid no mind and continued on with their actions, leaving her to herself in the cold, long hallway. She suddenly stopped, her feet were faced in front of the office, and her eyes were looking straight ahead.

Bee took in a breath, closing her eyes for one moment then prying them back open and unlatching the office door. Inside was Ms. Edith talking to another student who had their back turned to Bee, she took a look around the office desk, seeing if any of the items on the desk ready for pickup were familiar to her. A pair of gym clothes, no. A lunch kit, not likely. Homework folder for Dr. Light's class, she never took Dr. Light so that was out of the question.

A hard slam hit her in the shoulder, causing her to fall to the ground. "Ouch!" she hissed, the person quickly dropped their things and put his hand out to help her. "I-I'm sorry, my trumpet case sometimes knocks down anybody in its path and—" her heart dropped, she recognized that voice from anywhere.

"It can't be…" She shakily looked up at the person, his breath hitching as their eyes met, confirming her suspicions. "Bee?" "Herald?" They both said at the same time, PING! her phone rang, she took it out of her pocket and saw a notification from the same unknown number saying "Surprise!"

"Surprise Bee, when you don't get me what I want, I have to step in and take action. So now you're stuck with an old flame, how long is it gonna be before you extinguish it?" - The Hive.


Rachel pulled at her cardigan again as she continued to write her doctor's note for gym class. Tears streamed down her face and onto the paper, wetting the ink. "Rachel Roth needs to be excused from gym class for (3) weeks due to a traumatic wrist injury.

Any strenuous activity involving the said injury could cause stress and possible permanent damage. Contact Dr. Windsor for further information, thank you" she scribbled down the signature before stuffing it in her bag and heading to the gymnasium.

As she walked, under her clothes the bruises from the previous night felt as if they were burning holes in her flesh. They throbbed incredulously, making her wince each time she stepped. She brushed back a piece of her hair, remembering how he did the exact same thing, only as if he was getting ready to….

"I heard they call you 'The Raven', pretty name for a pretty girl like you," he whispered huskily in her ear, the drops of his spit splattering on her crawling flesh.

She didn't let a word slip from her lips, only swallowing down her lunch that was trying to come up. He pushed back a strand of her hair and took a sniff. Rachel lifted her hand slightly, bumping his creeping hand away from her, a mistake on her part. The vile piece of shit quickly retaliated by swatting a strong smack to her face, plastering a red mark on her alabaster skin. "Try me bitch, I dare ya" she bit her tongue from letting out a sarcastic comment and instead just nodded.

Her flesh still crawled from the fingers that roamed on different parts of her body, evading and treating it as if she was just a prop for his pleasure. Sadly, that's exactly as she was: for this man and her father. "Make daddy proud," is what she outta have etched on her forehead, she thought to herself as she continued down the hall. Her eyes roamed from the floor to her bandaged wrist that covered her purplish bruise, another reminder.

Rachel held the tears back as he slowly looked her up and down, walking around her and soaking her stiff form. She folded her arms over her lingerie-covered chest, "I-I'm a minor," suddenly he stopped, she let out a thankful breath to whoever was watching her from above. "What?" His voice lowered, nearly similar to a rabid growl. "M-my boss didn't tell you…I-i'm 15—" he took a stronghold of her wrist, pulling her close; earning a hiss to slip out of her mouth and her eyes to close shut from fear. He took a long look at her this time, observing her with squinted eyes.

"Prove it bitch", he challenged, squeezing her wrist harder to the point she almost let out a yelp, instead she gulped. "M-my schoolbag is in the dressing room, it has my current school I.d. I can prove it to you with that—" he shook his head and let go of aching wrist. "Tell your boss the deal is off, no better yet I'll tell em'" her heart suddenly dropped. Once her father got word of the supposed client backing out of the deal, he'll choke her, literally and figuratively, she thought.

"W-wait please, I-I'll do whatever you want. D-don't tell him, please." She reached out to the man who was already a foot out the door, he grabbed a hold of her body and threw her against the wall. "I'm not gonna do some sick deal that's gonna get me 20 to life, now go home. Kid." He spat at her before slamming the door behind him. Rachel stared at the door, her face aghast, and heart-pounding through her ears.

She opened the door to see a class of fully dressed freshman and sophomore girls running a couple of laps, laughing and talking; wishing to be as happy and carefree as them. Her gym teacher was on the other side of the gym writing on her clipboard and playing with her whistle, not noticing Rachel approaching her.

She was a rather muscular, tanned woman, with an average height, and grayish blonde hair pulled back under a baseball cap to show off her crow's feet that decorated her eyes. I'm surprised she hasn't used her check to try botox like the rest of these vain teachers, Rachel thought to herself. "Miss Gretchen," she hoarsely spoke, the coach looked up from her clipboard to see Rachel looking at her with dark circles under her eyes and a drained expression.

She already knew what this was about, the coach rolled her eyes and scribbled on her clipboard. "Wanna tell me why you aren't dressed again, Roth?" Rachel held up her wrapped wrist, "I sprained it this past weekend from uh—riding horses," Coach Gretchen took in the teen's gothic appearance, same scraggly black cardigan with an emo band t-shirt, dark worn jeans, and black, torn up shoes.

"You ride horses?" Rachel hesitantly nodded, the coach rolled her eyes again and held out her hand. "Note?" Rachel put the note in her hand, snatched it, and took a glance at it. "Whatever, sit on the bleachers, and do homework or something," she nodded again, mentally congratulating herself for getting out of a sticky situation.


Kory pushed herself up against the window, watching the trees zoom by, ignoring Dick's puppy dog pout and Bruce Wayne's death glare. She knew both of them were looking at her, their eyes nearly burned holes into her skin. Bruce cleared his throat before snapping his head in Dick's direction.

"Why did I get a call about you ditching school during your lunch period, with her. " He seethed out that last part, making her skin crawl. She heard him sigh, "Her name is Kory—" "Don't turn away from the question Dick, Mr. Wilson called me during a meeting today informing me about your truancy, and of course I see that you had to bring a girl to the mix," She imagined he rolled his eyes under his sunglasses and Bruce's eyes squinting harder.

"We weren't doing anything Bruce, just grabbing a bite. We were gonna head back before lunch was over. A bunch of students does it—" "You're not like those kids Dick! When are you gonna learn that," Kory felt Dick stiffen as Bruce's voice rose and she wanted to turn around, grab his hand? Though she didn't, instead she let out a small sigh, hoping the two wouldn't hear her. "I just wanted to blow off some steam," he sighed, in the corner of her eye, she could see Bruce slide a hand down his face.

"So take a walk, not a truancy record. What about you?" Kory could feel Bruce acknowledging her, her heart skipped a beat and her face began to heat up. She hesitantly turned away from the window, and let out a shaky breath "I-I—" "—I'm tired you girls throwing yourselves at my son and convince him to get you a free lunch and ride somewhere, maybe even a mention on page six," She couldn't believe what she was hearing, Bruce was comparing her to one of the former flings Dick used to have and she wasn't anything like them.

They wore some of the shortest skirts she's ever seen in her entire life, their tops were low enough to show the outlines of their bras, makeup basically smeared and caked onto their fake tans. Yet she was being compared to them? Most of her clothes were hand-me-downs from her sister or she found in Tamaran, she never wore an ounce of makeup and she never pigmented her skin. She opened her mouth to say something but Dick beat her to the punch. "Don't talk to her like that, it was my idea, not hers," Bruce squinted his eyes at her again, his glare lingering a bit longer than before as if he was observing her.

"Bruce," Dick warned. He turned his head away from her, gearing his eyes back towards Dick. "We'll discuss the rest of this as well as your punishment at home," they pulled up to the front entrance of the school where Principal Wilson was standing there waiting for them. Kory couldn't get out of the car fast enough as she basically plunged herself out, "Kory wait—" she heard Dick say though she kept walking until Principal Wilson put a hand up to her and ordered her to stop.

Dick was about to follow after her, but Bruce grabbed a hold of his arm. He turned to see his steel glazed face staring him down, "That girl is trouble Dick, stay away from her—" "—You can't force me to stop hanging out with someone—" "—I'm serious Dick, something is off about that girl,". Dick snatched his arm away from him and slid out of the limo, he fixed his jacket and shades before turning around and saying "You don't know a damn thing about her," he slammed the car door and walked over to an embarrassed Kory; who was currently holding her elbow and looking away from him.

He watched as the limo drove off, not noticing that Principal Wilson was staring them down. "I had the pleasure of speaking with your uncle earlier Miss Anders and he had informed me that he'll talk with you when you get home," Kory bit her lip from letting out a whine or sigh, she didn't want to get into any more trouble.

Dick took notice "Sir, it's not Kory's fault…I was the one who convinced her to ditch lunch, please don't blame her—" "—It doesn't matter she still went with you and for that, you both have lunch detention for a week. Mr. Grayson, your coach will deal with you later Now escort yourselves back to class," he cleared his throat and turned around with his hands behind his back heading to his office. "Kory I—" "NOW!" Principal Wilson bellowed causing the two to jump and follow behind.


Bruce typed in a number on his phone and listened as the phone rang, he heard someone pick up. "Hello?" They said. "I need your help on getting information from someone," the person chuckled darkly. "Who's the lucky guy—" "—girl," "That's new, a possible infatuation?" He checked his watch, "No, this is girl is far too young for me. It's someone my son is infatuated with actually," "What's her name?" "Kory Anders."

The Hive: Looks like Kory better watch out for Daddy Bruce, he's got a few tricks up his sleeve and it seems like you have a couple of secrets up yours. Be Careful Kory, the closer you get to the Boy Wonder, the more secrets Bruce is bound to find. What's a poor girl like you to do? Fess up or shut up?


comicgeek16: Hey you all here's the next chapter! Please review, and follow I'd really appreciate it and I know I haven't updated in a bit I've been so busy with my last semester in college so I don't have as much time as I thought to work on the chapter. I'm hoping once I get my schedule down packed I can update more cause I really like this story and hope you guys do too! It's not a long chapter, but it's a interesting one! See you soon! XOXO