Chapter Two
The cab dropped Kate and Rachel off a block away from the Gotham Art Museum. For once Rachel was glad she didn't own a car because there was nowhere left to park.
Rachel walked as fast as Kate's heels allowed them. Gotham in March was not a pleasant time and she was starting to wish she wore a coat.
The strip leading up to the museum was lit up with flashing lights, and news vans were parked outside. There was a giant crowd outside of the building and a red carpet was rolled down the steps. Rachel turned on her heels and glared at Kate.
"No way" was all she said. Kate sighed and put her hand son her hips.
"Please Rachel. I promise it'll be fun. And besides, they would be crazy to turn us away" she said proudly.
"You mean to say you don't even have tickets! Kate this is crazy. There's celebrities at this event. There is no way in hell were getting in" Rachel explained.
Kate's hopeful look turned to pouting.
"Can we at least try? That's why I dressed us up like this. Maybe then we 'll stand a chance" Kate asked jutting out her lower lip.
Rachel was not one to give into childish antics. If anything she agreed to go just because she didn't want to listen to Kate bitch all the way home.
"Fine, but if were turned away that's the end of this charade. Ok?" Rachel asked.
Kate squealed with excitement and grabbed Rachel's wrist.
Rachel liked seeing Kate happy. Rachel thought "maybe I'll actually enjoy myself in there."
Her positive thoughts however were silenced the moment they got close enough to the crowds. Rachel let out a muffled yelp and grabbed her head in immense pain.
Hundreds of shouting voices filled her head. It was a giant cluster of speech, feelings, and pictures. Kate stopped in her tracks and instantly became worried when she saw Rachel's face.
"Oh no, is it one of your headaches?" asked Kate.
All Rachel could do was nod.
"Just get me in there and to the closest bar" Rachel said.
Kate nodded and they began to push their way through the crowd. They managed to make it into a single file line, and it was clear that all of these people were from the wealthiest families of Gotham. The women were dripping in diamonds, and wore fur coats, and dresses that probably cost more than her college tuition. Not that Rachel cared. She would rather live in a shoebox and be free then be rich and bend to someone else's will.
Kate looked like she was on crack. Her eyes were absorbing everything and everyone. Not that Kate was greedy, but Rachel knew she wanted this lifestyle. A life of comfort and spotlight. As long as she stayed genuine and it didn't change her Rachel hoped she got what she wanted. Finally they made it to the door man. This was it.
Passes Lady's he asked smiling at both of them.
"You know what, we forgot our passes in the limo, do you think we can just forget about them" Kate asked obviously flirting with him. Rachel's stomach dropped. This was becoming ever more uncomfortable for her.
"Sorry, no passes, no entry. Now kindly step aside" he said losing his smile.
Kate began to look panicked. Rachel sighed and stepped in front of her friend.
She looked deep into the guards brown eyes and when she felt the connection, she thought "You two ladies may pass, and you look amazing tonight." She released him.
The guards face went blank and said "You two lades may pass, and you look amazing tonight."
Kate grabbed Rachel's wrist and hurried through the doors before he changed his mind.
"I can't believe that worked! I thought for sure we wouldn't get in. Are you ok?" Kate asked.
Rachel's head was pounding. The noise from being this close to so many people was still affecting her. She was surprised she could even use her abilities with all the cacophony.
"Yeah I'm fine, I just need a drink is all. You go and look around, I'm going to use the bathroom and get us some drinks" Rachel said.
Kate looked a little worried but with reassurance from Rachel she scampered off to talk to look at the art pieces that were for sale.
Keeping a mental link with Kate, Rachel rushed to the nearest bar and ordered a double whiskey and coke. She tossed back the whole drink and ordered another. The bartender surprising didn't look shocked, but she guessed plenty of rich people had their own problems.
With a slight buzz Rachel began to calm down. For some reason alcohol always suppressed her abilities.
Now that she was able to relax, Rachel set out to look for Kate.
She found her talking to a young man who was looking at a sculpture. He was extremely well dressed and too young for Kate, but it was still funny watching her try.
"Enjoying the view" asked a deep voice from behind Rachel.
She spun around to face a tall very well dressed man. As their eyes met, Deep blue meeting Bright Green, a familiar feeling went through her body. Fear. His face was perfectly sculpted, though she thought she noticed a slight scar on his right eye brow. His broad shoulders made her feel small, and it intimidated her a little. His ebony hair was well kept, and she bet it smelled just as good as he did. Rachel took a step back, for his presence was menacing as well as intoxicating. But what troubled her the most was she didn't feel him approach her. In fact, she couldn't feel his presence at all.
He continued to look at her, and that's when she remembered he had asked her a question.
"I'm just watching my friend trying to hit on a guy that is clearly too young for her" she explained. Good, she was still able to speak.
He smirked and leaned in close. Yep, his hair smelled just as good.
"That young man there is my ward. He just turned 21" The man said. Rachel sighed, and thought that she should probably go save Kate before she embarrassed herself. Besides, whoever this guy was, his mental guards were impressive. It made her nervous.
She was about to go through with her escape plan when he addressed her again.
"What is your name" he asked. Rachel faced him once more, and when their eyes met she looked away immediately. Without meeting his gaze she said "Rachel."
"No last name?" he said sarcastically.
"Not that I plan to share" she said glaring at him. He looked perplexed, and for a split second his demeanor changed. Before he was smiling and acting cocky, but now there was something else. Something that looked familiar, but she couldn't pin point it. Then curiosity got the best of her.
"What's your name" she asked him. Rachel never cared enough to speak with men. They were all the same, and because of her past she chose to stay away from them. But this one was different. For once she could not tell what he was thinking. She actually had to dig for information for the first time in her life. Perhaps she did drink too much.
"You mean to say you don't know who I am? Where are you from?" he asked suddenly looking very interested in her. Her personal bubble was starting to get a little too small for comfort.
"I believe I asked you a question" she said ignoring him.
"Bruce" he said obviously annoyed. Rachel could tell he was clenching his teeth by the way his name left his lips.
"Last name" she asked.
He smirked once more and said "not that I'm willing to share."
Rachel knew her face was turning red. Not out of embarrassment, but because this Bruce guy seriously pissed her off. Was he messing with her?
She turned to walk away from him when he reached out and grasped her wrist gently. When their skin touched her breath once again escaped her. Men did bot grab her. Ever. But this one was. And she was letting him.
"Dance with me" he commanded. His chivalric demeanor was now gone. Now he looked serious, and at that moment Rachel knew this was a man who always got what he wanted. Except this moment.
She pulled out of his grasp and put some distance between their bodies. She couldn't think with him so close.
"I don't dance" and with that she walked over to Kate.
"Come on Kate. I need to get out of here, I had too much to drink" she lied.
"But Rachel I just started talking with Dick here" she winded.
"Kate. We're leaving. Now" she commanded opening up her mind and taking over hers. She ignored "Dick" and grabbed Kate's hand.
Without hesitation or a word Kate followed Rachel out of the museum and she called for a cab.
It wasn't until they were safely in the cab did Rachel release her.
"What the hell was that about? I was only talking to him. Do you even know who that was?" she shouted.
"No and I don't care. All I know is he's the 21 year old ward of that weirdo who wouldn't leave me alone" she said viciously.
"Wait what! You were talking to Bruce Wayne! Was he nice? How was he weird?" she asked in a super excited rush.
"Kate, I like you. Truly I do. But you need to calm down. That guy was drilling me with questions, and just gave me the chills" Rachel said.
"What kind of questions" Kate asked.
Now that Rachel thought of it, he only asked her name and where she was from. Maybe he wasn't being out of line. She knew it was because she couldn't read him. And that scared her.
"Just forget it. That boy was 21 Kate" Rachel countered.
"So. He was legal, and he was fine" she said winking. Rachel rolled her eyes at her friend. All she wanted right now was a hot bath, her PJ's and her bed. For once she didn't have a desire to prowl the roof tops. She had enough for tonight. She hoped that she never saw Bruce Wayne again, whoever he was.
Bruce POV
Bruce watched as the women scrambled over to her friend and basically ran out of the museum with her friend in toe. Dick watched them go and looked at Bruce with confusion. Bruce walked over to Dick with the intention of finding out as much information on that woman he could get.
"Who was her friend" Bruce asked.
"Her name is Kate Shabenaw. She's an English Graduate student at Gotham University" Dick told him.
"Did she mention her friend at all?" Bruce asked. Something about that woman was strange. And he didn't like it. He never felt so uncanny before. Not even with Selina. It was almost as if she was analyzing his every move. But then again, so was he.
"No. she was mainly questioning me about you. Even at party's I'm living in your shadow" he joked.
"They were certainly strange. The way she just listened to her friend even though moment before she was so adamant to stay" Dick said.
"What was her friend saying to you" Dick asked Bruce. Bruce shook his head.
"Nothing, she wouldn't even tell me her last name" he said.
When Bruce first saw her, he was planning on using her as his pretend side chick so the media would follow his drunken playboy antics. She seemed perfect because he watched her guzzle two drinks in a matter of minutes. The media did love drunken women hanging on his arm. She was gorgeous, thin and a blonde, which the media also liked.
But when he had approached her, he was shocked at how beautiful she was. Unlike the other women at the museum, she wasn't with a group of friends hung over wealthy men. She wasn't dressed in fine clothing, and she was certainly the only woman in the whole place who wasn't wearing heels.
She peaked his interest, and when he looked into her eyes, the pain he was feeling, the vengeance, didn't exist for a split second. He had never seen eyes like hers before. They were the same as his. Whoever this woman was, she too was in pain.
He had to know who she was. She didn't even know who he was which surprised him. He would find out who this mystery woman was. But then what?
"Let's go Dick. I have some work I need to take care of" he said.
"Whatever you say boss. This party is kinda stale anyway. Besides, I'm sure Damian is giving poor Alfred hell" Dick chuckled.
The two men grabbed their coats and motioned for his car to be driven up.
The whole way home, while Dick chatted, Bruce couldn't get those green eyes out of his head.
I hope you guys liked this chapter. I really wanted them to meet and have a lot of tension, but at the same time I don't want them to know who the other is. Please review, it gives me encouragement to keep writing!