Ch. 6 Problem
"So the derivative of sine is cosine and the derivative of cosine is negative sine," my professor droned. It's a beautiful and sunny Tuesday afternoon and I'm stuck in my calculus class. Why do I even need calculus!? My eyes wandered the board, not really understanding the plethora of symbols and letters that accompanied the numbers. However, my mind wasn't completely focused on the calculus lecture… I had another problem. I have two dates this evening, at the same time, with two guys who don't really get along.
I tapped my pen on my notebook, counting down the minutes before class was over and I would be free for the day. I needed all the time I could get in order to figure out what I was going to do. But, my professor just kept going on and on about how awesome derivatives are. Luckily, one of my fellow classmates decided he had enough and pointed out that the clock in the room was ten minutes late. Disappointed, the professor finally let us free. I couldn't have run out of the lecture hall fast enough. I decided to pass by Babs' office, since I haven't had a real chance to talk with her. Besides, maybe she could give me some insight into my situation.
"Hey Babs," I cooed as I knocked on her office door. She greeted me with a smile, motioning me to sit down while she finished a call. I looked around and noticed some of the little things in her office. The small bowl of mints on her desk, the pile of computer books filled with notes and highlights, a corkboard and calendar filled with university events. Like her apartment, Babs kept everything in her office orderly.
"Okay, see you later tonight." Babs hangs up with a smile painted across her face. "Hey Steph, what's up?"
"Ehh, I'm okay. So who was that on the phone?" I inquired. It's been a while since I've seen Babs look this happy, and she's glowing right now.
"It was no one," Babs defended. Only one person ever made her smile that smile.
"Oh my God, was that Dick on the phone?!" Dick was a great guy, but things were always on the rocks when it came to his relationship with Babs. She blushed and quickly tried to change the topic.
"SO, what's up? Calc still giving you problems?"
"Yeah, but that's not the only problem I have. Say I have this friend who has two dates tonight with two boys who are complete opposites. She has history with one of them, but she finds the other one kinda mysterious. What does she do?"
Babs simply rolled her eyes. "Well, who does your friend like better?"
If I knew the answer to that question I wouldn't be asking for your help Babs.
After a half an hour of asking Babs for advice regarding my "friend", I left her office and decided it was time to head home. Today was a perfect day to walk, not a cloud in the sky. The sun felt deliciously warm on my skin. I decided to take a longer route home so I could do some window-shopping and to figure out what the heck I was going to do. Who do I like better? Babs' question reverberated across my mind. Tim and I would always have a connection, a love that would always be present in our lives. However, Jason was a wild card. I could never tell what he was thinking and what his intentions were. It was that unpredictability that made him attractive. But where would a relationship with him go? What would happen if everyone found out? Would I be forced to quit being Batgirl? Could I make the others understand that Jason wasn't a bad guy? It was those questions that would accompany anything related to Jason.
I ended up stopping in front of a glass shop that sold animal shaped ornaments. There was an ornament that caught my eye, a glass robin that was separate from the other ornaments. The glass caught the light perfectly, separating it into several smaller beams. I once heard someone compare glass to love, and I had to agree. Normally I hated glass ornaments because they could break at any moment. But there was something about this robin, something different that made me want to believe that glass wasn't so bad. That there was beauty in its fragility.
"Beautiful, aren't they?" a familiar voice breathed.
"Y'know what Jason? I'm starting to think that this whole knowing where I am thing is becoming too regular," I smirked. I didn't even need to turn around to know that Jason was returning my grin. I saw his reflection through the glass. Geez, what kind of toothpaste does he use? His teeth are sparkling!
"Well, what if I wanted to see you before our date tonight?" Oh yeah, our date. That's what I've been thinking about all day, too. Jason came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me close to him. He nuzzled his face into my neck, sending a tremor down my spine. We just stood there for a moment, disregarded by the world. It all felt so natural, his arms around me and his head fitting perfectly next to mine. I remember the last time I felt this sort of closeness. It was with Tim. I couldn't hurt him, especially after he's been so kind to me. I made my decision, but the hard part was next.
"Um, Jason. We need to talk." My voice was barely a whisper, but I could feel Jason's body stiffening at my words. I unclasped his hands and took a step forward to look him in the eye. I could tell that he wouldn't be pleased with what I was about to say. "I can't go out with you tonight."
"Why?" His answer was so soft that I had to strain my ears to hear him.
"I have another date tonight. It's with Tim, and I think I should go." I didn't want to look him in the eye. I knew that Jason had feelings for me, but I couldn't betray Tim like that, especially after I made a big deal about Lynx.
"If that's what you want," Jason said sternly. He turned around and walked away. I didn't have the heart to go after him.
The rest of my journey home was silent. There were no birds chirping and the sun suddenly felt less warm. I always felt this way after I've hurt someone. I wish I knew what Jason was thinking. I hope that he didn't hate me for choosing Tim over him. However, I couldn't let my mind obsess over Jason too long.
Tim was taking me out for dinner into the city. He said it wasn't going to be too fancy and to dress comfortably. When I got home, Mom was still asleep from last night's shift, so I tiptoed upstairs so I could get dressed. After a half hour of debating, I decided on a beige sweater, black leggings and a pair of boots. Nothing too fancy, but I thought I looked cute. I still had some time before Tim was supposed to pick me up, so I decided to curl my hair. I quickly turned my normally straight hair into a golden waterfall of curls that I was proud of. The last touch was a bit of perfume. My phone alarm went off, indicating that it was now seven.
Knock Knock Knock. Like clockwork, Tim was at my door. I grabbed my purse and skipped every second step to get to the door. However, I was not expecting what was on the other side. Tim was wearing a red dress shirt with the top two buttons undone and black slacks. His normally messy hair was combed and looked quite presentable. He looked great, and suddenly I felt a little underdressed.
"Geez boy wonder, I thought you said to be comfortable," I whistled. Tim blushed and flashed a smile.
"Well after wearing a suit all day, this is pretty comfortable." I was about to leave the house when I heard my mom wake up and call me from her room.
"Honey, are you going out with J?" Tim raised an eyebrow. Great Mom, thanks for blowing my secret.
"No Mom, I'm going out with Tim! Okayloveyouseeyoulaterbye!" I yelled as I joined Tim on the other side of the door.
"Who's J?" Tim inquired.
"Oh just some guy from my calc class, we sometimes study together," I lied. I was not going to let my mom be the reason I got caught.
"You know, I could tutor you if you really need help," Tim flirted. He grabbed my hand and interlaced his fingers with mine. The heat emanating from his hand warmed mine as we walked towards the car.
"I'll let you know if I'll need your services then," I smiled. Tim was cutest when he was playful. He's gone though so much in his life, and I always hated the fact that some days he would let his sorrow control him. I knew that he never wanted to be like Bruce, but there were some days where I couldn't tell the difference. I'm glad that tonight was a happy night.
When we got into the car, Tim rolled down the windows to let the cool evening breeze in. Luckily, Tim was driving somewhat slowly so the wind wouldn't ruin the hard work I put into curling my hair. We entered the city and ended up stopping at an Italian restaurant. Tim must have made a reservation because we were seated as soon as he gave his name. The entire restaurant gave us their undivided attention. There were whispers amongst the other patrons regarding my identity and whether or not I was worthy to be seen with Tim Wayne. We were led to a separate booth that gave us a decent amount of privacy from the rest of the world. A waiter quickly offered us water and handed us the menus.
"You look beautiful tonight," Tim confessed. I looked up from the menu to see that he was blushing. I smiled in response, extending my hand to meet his on the table giving his hand a soft squeeze.
The waiter took our orders and we filled the time with small talk about what we did during the day. Apparently Wayne Enterprises was doing great. However, Tim quickly changed the subject back to me, and I droned on and on about how much I hated calculus and didn't see the point of it. Tim would laugh often, but his eyes were always locked onto mine. It was this intimacy that I missed with him.
The eye contact was broken as our orders arrived and the table was quickly filled with pastas and bread. I quickly grabbed a roll and began dunking it into Tim's Alfredo sauce. He raised his eyebrow again, but didn't object. Later, I ended up feeding him some of my chicken Parmesan. We ate so much that when the waiter offered us the dessert menus we had to refuse.
Tim wiped his lips and stared into his lap. He only ever did that when he had something important to tell me. Once he built up his courage he took my hand in his again and spoke.
"Steph, I'm sorry that I've been such an idiot recently. I didn't realize how much I actually hurt you. I just want you to know that I've stopped seeing Lynx and that I'm ready to wait for you. No matter how long it takes. I love you."
I was baffled. I wasn't expecting Tim to confess his feelings to me. I didn't even have enough time to process what had just happened when I heard some commotion from the other room.
Crash! There was the sound of glass breaking and chairs being thrown all over the place. We exited the booth to see that there was a pillar of ice protruding from the street. Tim took my hand and we ran outside to see what was going on. Once we exited the restaurant I noticed that along with the giant ice pillars that covered several buildings there was an inferno engulfing the other side of the city.
"Freeze and Firefly? Why would they be working together?" Tim quickly brought us to the Redbird. He called Dick and Barbara to let them know of the situation. Once we got in, a compartment opened that held his Red Robin uniform. The autopilot kicked in, taking us to an abandoned alleyway where no one would notice. Tim began stripping off his clothes so he could change. I looked away, but not without sneaking a peek. Tim always had muscles, but now it looked like he should be modeling for the covers of magazines. I saw the contour of his biceps and his rippling abs. It was difficult trying not to stare. Once he placed his cowl over his head, he turned to me and told me to stay put. He then exited the car and grappled to the building.
Like hell I'm going to stay put. As soon as I knew that Tim was a far enough distance away from the car, I opened the door and made my way to the action. It was chaos; several civilians were running away from the falling debris caused by the fires. I looked around to see if there was any way for me to help without my suit. That was when I saw it. An icicle broke off and started to descend onto a little boy. I sprinted so I could push the boy out of the way; however, I ended up tripping and landed right where the icicle was about to connect.
BOOM! I saw an explosion as miniature pieces of ice rained down on me. I looked up to see Red Hood on top of a building waving at me with a bazooka over his shoulder. I knew for certain that Jason was smirking at me. I ran towards the building he was on, determined to find out why he was in the area during the attack. I took the elevator to the top of the apartment building and found the stairway that led to the roof. When I opened the door, I saw Jason causally leaning on the bricks as if he was waiting for me.
"Looks like I'm getting my date with you after all," Jason smirked. I was just guessing that he smirked though. I couldn't discern anything as long as Jason was behind his helmet, the smooth crimson mask that made up his Red Hood persona.
"Why are you here Jason?" I was in no mood for games. It was a little too convenient for Jason to be in the same area as the restaurant where Tim and I had our date. Especially since there was an attack right after.
"Whoa whoa whoa, hold it right there blondie. I'm here because the orphanage is right down the street," Jason raised his hands up in defense. That's right, the orphanage is located at this end of the city.
My ferocity towards Jason died down. I couldn't stay mad at the fact that he had something he wanted to protect. If anything, it made him seem more like us. I quickly closed the gap between us so I could stare into his helmet. I couldn't see him, but he could see me. I heard a hiss as Jason's hands went up to his face. He removed his helmet to meet my gaze with his icy blue orbs. I saw the flames behind him, but I couldn't stop staring into his eyes. He looked at me with such care and passion. At that moment I could have sworn the fires that engulfed the city all focused their intensity into those cascading blue eyes. He took a step forward to meet me, grasping my shoulders as if I was going to fly away with the wind. We stood in silence as the city was purged into chaos. I didn't even notice him pulling me closer to his body until there was virtually no space between us. His hands made their way down from my shoulders to my hips, solidifying his hold on me. Jason's lips inched closer and closer until the distance between us could be secured if one of us took in too deep a breath. I closed my eyes, ready for what was about to happen until I heard the thump of someone landing on the roof, joining us.
"Nice place for a date Brown," Damian quipped. His sword was drawn and pointed towards Jason. He released me from our embrace and walked towards Damian, drawing one of his guns in the process. The they were stuck in a deadlock, staring each other down to see who would make the first move. Thing was, I didn't want either of them to get hurt.
"Knock it off you guys." I stepped into the line of fire in an attempt to quell the conflict. My plea seemed to have an effect as Jason holstered his weapon and put his helmet back on. He grabbed the bazooka that was on the ground and leapt off of the ledge back into the inferno swept city. Damian lowered his sword when he was sure Jason was out of sight.
"You keep interesting company, Brown," Damian walked over to overlook the pandemonium unleashed. I walked up to join him, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"How'd you find me?"
"I told you that I'd be watching you. When I saw you with Todd I thought you might be in trouble," Damian admitted as he turned his head away.
"Were you worried about me, Damian?" I teased. I quickly shut up as he turned to me with a serious look on his face.
"Yes I was. You're one of the few friends I have Stephanie," Damian confessed. "I wouldn't want you to be in harm's way."
Damian's momentary sincerity completely blindsided me. I was still shocked that he used my first name. Moved by his honesty, I brought him into an embrace. To my surprise, he reciprocated the gesture. Maybe Damian isn't that bad.