AN: Oh, new chapter, I wonder what's inside...I already know..I mean I did write it.

"When the whites of your eyes come through, you'll see something new." -Other Lives

Chapter Five

Hadeel really craved to get some attention from someone, anyone, and at least she could go back to school and catch up in her classes after missing a day. A day doesn't sound like much but after her first surgery Hadeel had missed a lot of school in the past years, and she always hated the makeup work. So every year since then she had made it a point to never miss a day of school so that she was always up to date with all of her school work.

Plus there was this feeling of emptiness that came with staying home alone all day and taking her medication while carrying around a bag of disgusting urine and blood. There was no one at home during the day at her apartment, all she had were her thoughts. Not surprisingly her thoughts had been centered on Bane and the dream she had had at the hospital, he was the only person she had ever met that had called her a liar so bluntly and now he was invading her lonely thoughts.

She remembered the feeling of his strong arm holding her back when he was angry and the soft strength of the same arm when he had prevented her from eating concrete. She had never really been that close to a man before, sure they had given her hugs that she didn't care for or they tried to get close to her when she didn't want it. But this was different, she hadn't felt the need to flee or get away, and she hated to admit that he made her feel safe or comfortable.

If there was anything Hadeel didn't like it was letting people help her, or asking someone for help, feeling vulnerable was something she despised. And yet she had felt very vulnerable numerous times with him and it hadn't bothered her in the slightest, well except for maybe at the exact moment she had felt vulnerable. Usually at this point she would start to push the other person away, but with Bane, she wanted to see him even more.

When finally Hadeel went back to school on Wednesday the next week she went through her classes like she normally would, explaining to anyone who asked that she had had surgery and was in the hospital and recovering when she had been absent last Wednesday. Then she would explain that even as she was sitting there in class she had a tube in her back and that she was taking an antibiotic and many other medications every six hours or so. Her friends would frown and show bitter emotions of pain and pity for her, saying that they were happy that the surgery had gone alright and that they hoped she would get better faster. Hadeel would smile back at them and insist that she was fine and that she was used to it, for she had had the surgery twice already.

During her longer break Hadeel had to take her medication with her meal and immediately she was bombarded with questions about why she was gone and why she hadn't told anybody. At first Hadeel felt a little touched, had they cared that she had been absent?

"We were worried that maybe you had gotten sick and died," one of her friends joked with a laugh. Hadeel faltered with her feelings when she heard them laughing and joking about her suddenly falling over and biting the dust.

"I had surgery," Hadeel muttered blandly looking at them.

Watching as their eyebrows rose in shock all of them seemed a little stiff on what to say next, surely she was joking right?

"Are you serious?" One of her friends asked with a choked laugh. He must have figured that she was lying and trying to make them choke on their own words.

"Last Wednesday I was in the hospital after having surgery on my kidneys to remove a stone that had been blocking drainage. I still have a tube in my back, the bag it strapped onto my leg, that's where I was and what happened," she explained feeling bitterness on her tongue.

Shock, that was what showed on most of their faces before any of them had the nerve to speak. Hadeel merely looked away from them and out one of the larger windows in the room. She hadn't planned on telling them, but after being alone for a week she was sick of not talking to anyone about it, she wanted someone to notice that she wasn't okay with everything that had happened.

After being in school all day and dealing with everyone asking what was wrong and giving her the biggest pity party she had had in a while she sick of everything. Listening to her friends drag on about what had happened and where she had been and why she hadn't told anyone she felt about ready to burst. Had they not cared that she was gone? That she was suffering all by herself at home? Did they not think to call her and ask if she was okay?

Then there was the sour taste that Hadeel knew was the truth seeping into her skin, she hadn't told them anything about it, so it was her fault she felt like this. It was her fault that she was feeling bitter and betrayed, it had nothing to do with the way her friends acted at all, did it?

"That sucks, haven't you already had one of these?" One of her friends asked with a bit of sympathy in his voice.

"Two, the last one was two years ago, she would know that," Hadeel muttered glancing over at her friend emotionlessly. "I had the first one when I was a sophomore in high school, it kind sucks more than you think it does," she said with a small laugh.

"Don't laugh about it," a voice from another table called.

A man wearing glasses and holding a book called 'Gods of Aberdeen' turned to look at her with a bit of a sad expression on his face. Hadeel was slightly taken aback from his comment for her mother had said something similar a few days before. His voice had seemed calm and stern at the same time, something about him made Hadeel feel a little comfortable.

"Why not?" She questioned. The rest of her friends were silent as she spoke to the man, he always sat at the table full of people that played a card game and talked about nothing but the card game nonstop.

"It's not something that's funny," he commented. Sometimes depending on what Hadeel and her friends were talking about people in the card playing would comment about it and show Hadeel that they had been listening the whole time. Today wasn't any different.

"It's funny to me, and when nothing else helps or does anything, laughing is all I can do," she explained feeling overly expressive. It wasn't often that Hadeel spoke like this, with words that could actually mean something to her, things that she pulled from her heart.

Suddenly her heart twisted again, like it had been doing a lot lately, a comment on the tip of her tongue that she refused to let out Hadeel couldn't say it. But it made her realize something that made her heart stop. In most cases she laughed to keep her emotions in check and force everything she wanted to say back down her throat. She hadn't laughed so much today and so her words had broken free of the shield she put around herself.

But most of the time, she laughed a lot.

Art rolled around and Hadeel greeted her classmates shakily as they seemed to already know about her surgery, they asked her if she would need any help with anything, if she was feeling ill and needed to go home early. Biting her teeth in irritation she grinned and pretended that she was fine even though the day was really wearing down on her, after all, she had spent the majority of the days after her surgery laying around and doing nothing all day. Of course she would feel stretched trying to go back to her normal routine.

Regardless of that Hadeel made it through art and left the classroom feeling very much drained. But it did not keep her from looking for Bane; she had wanted to tell him what happened, to see if he had thought there was something wrong. Maybe say something about the dream she had had in the hospital, unless that would be too creepy, perhaps it was.

He didn't show up.

Hadeel went home feeling far more empty and lonely then when she had gone to school that morning; surely Bane had better things to do then show up at a college to talk to someone like her. Of course he had better things to do, and it was her fault wasn't it? She was the one that didn't tell him she would be gone, for all he knew she was avoiding him, even if that was not the case at all.

030

Bane didn't show up the next Monday either, or Wednesday, or the following Monday. So Hadeel went back to her routine, the tube in her back was removed, leaving her with nothing but a bandage and another dent in her back to go along with the other two. Her friends went back to talking about random stuff that didn't matter or were pointless when it came down to it. Hadeel went back to lying, the man at the card playing table went back to making comments that didn't matter and didn't bite at her heart. She went back to being sad and lonely, hoping for something more in her life like most people who are missing someone.

Hadeel couldn't help but look out the window during art class to see if Bane was walking around campus like a freshmen looking for their class. Soon he was someone that Hadeel placed in the forgotten parts of her heart, it was her fault he was there, and yet she could do nothing to pull him from it. Because he had obviously forgotten about her or perhaps he was angry, either way, she had not seen him in a long time. Perhaps if she was not who she was he would still be coming to visit her like he had before, but she was herself, and as of now, there was nothing she could do to change that.

Again she was in art class, staring out the window when her eye caught something move in the dark, looking more like the figure of a man than anything else Hadeel's eyes widened considerably.

"I'm taking my break," she said in a rush towards whoever might be listening.

Opening the door to the cold air Hadeel rushed out to find the figure, hoping that it was who she hoped it would be. Frantically looking around in the dark Hadeel huffed and frowned when she didn't see anyone until finally she saw a figure out near the parking lot, they were wearing a jacket with the hood pulled up.

Immediately Hadeel jumped to conclusions, she could already see the metal of the mask reflecting light faintly in the light of the parking lot. Pounding her feet into the pavement she ran towards the figure, hoping in her heart and in her mind that it would be Bane, that he had come to see her.

"Bane!" She called out the figure. He didn't turn at the mention of the name so Hadeel ran faster until finally she could reach out and grab the back of the jacket, so she did. The figure halted as soon as he found there was a new weight on his back.

"What?" A grumpy voice asked as they turned around. It was her friend, the one that had dropped the class for a guy. "Oh, hi Hadeel," she said cheerfully taking an earphone away from her face.

Hadeel slumped considerably and started to pant from her quick sprint towards her friend, how had she not realized that the figure was not Bane? Obviously the back was too small, her friend wasn't even as near big enough to be as strong or as muscled as Bane was, she'd gotten far too ahead of herself.

"Why are you still here?" Hadeel finally asked getting her words back. It was already around eight thirty and her art class would be over in about fifteen minutes.

"My parents always pick me up at about eight forty," she explained dully.

"But you don't even have a class," Hadeel muttered catching her breath grumpily.

"I know," she answered simply.

Hadeel felt cold for a moment, she was still here, she didn't have a class and she was alone, certainly being in art class with a friend was more fun than being alone.

"Do you not like me?" Hadeel asked her suddenly.

"What? Why would you ask me that? Of course I like you, you're my friend," she answered letting her voice sound offended by the question.

"You'd rather be alone then be in class with me and you ask me that?" Hadeel spat out bitterly. "I was excited for that class because you were taking it with me, and then you left me without even a second thought," she said raising her voice more.

"You said we were okay," her friend countered going on defensive mode.

"How could I be okay?" She said suddenly angry. "Would you feel okay if I left you without saying anything?" She asked menacingly.

"I don't know," she said with a softer voice.

"And then you said that the class was boring, am I boring to you?" Hadeel questioned letting her anger rule her words. Finally she was telling her friend how she felt, and it made her feel as if she was lifting a weight off her shoulders.

"No," her friend was starting to sound a little pitiful now.

"The thing is, you hurt me and I can't just forget that," she said letting her voice take a softer tone.

Her friend looked complacent for a little while before she finally looked at her phone unsteadily; she then murmured something about her mom being there to pick her up before shuffling away from Hadeel.

Turning away from her friend Hadeel went back to class, almost jumping out of her own skin when she saw someone standing by the door she recognized the presence the person brought about the air.

"You finally found your words little Songbird," his voice passed through her heart like a cold wind.

"I did," she said playfully. "She was starting to piss me off," she grumbled letting her face contort into an angry expression.

"I was beginning to wonder when I would finally get to see you," he mused letting his eyes light up curiously.

"You've seen me before," she mumbled looking at him strangely.

"No, this is the real you," he explained coldly making her stiffen. "That girl who smiles and lies all the time, that's not you, not really," he bit out at her when she looked away from him.

He was looking past all the walls and masks she had constructed around herself to keep everything hidden away and confined. Because when it came down to it Hadeel wasn't who she appeared to be every morning, she didn't always smile at everything, she wasn't as outgoing as everyone thought she was or as happy.

"What are talking about?" She tried to save anything that was left of her barriers. Everyone wears masks in front of certain people, some people wear masks all the time, and eventually they become the mask. Hadeel had had the mask on for so long that she became what she had created, a happy person who was someone everyone could rely on to be bright and cheerful. When really she wanted to lash out at you or tell you something that you didn't want to hear, just like she had done with her friend moments before.

"Right now, your eyes are clear and I can see all your emotions, the air of happiness and fakeness seems to have been lifted. I like you like this little Songbird, it makes me wonder how clear your voice will be tonight," he said looking down at her.

"No one likes me like this," she explained looking away from him.

This was confusing to her, for in high school there had been a set of twins that she had been really close to. They always complained about money issues and about how unfair life had been to them, like they were always the victim when it came to events that had happened in their lives. Hadeel had been very blunt and open in high school when it came to her friends; she'd always wanted to help them get stronger.

There were a few cases where she had given them some advice on how to save money, for she knew their situation and had done some research to help them out and make it easier for them. They accused her of being demeaning and critical, they didn't want her help and felt like she was attacking them personally. Hadeel had assured them that she was only trying to help, but still they insisted that since they had accused her of being mean that she was going to leave them, that she hated them as friends now. Hadeel was confused, she'd never left her friends before and insisted that she wasn't going to leave them.

Again Hadeel suggested that if they were more persistent in their job searching they would find one a lot faster, that if they worked a little harder someone would gladly hire them. Immediately they shut down and blocked her out of their hearts, Hadeel could see it in their faces even before they said anything. The next day they tore her apart for being inconsiderate and mean to them, saying that they had called her lazy and they it wasn't their fault no one wanted to hire them. By now there had been many cases when the twins had called Hadeel out on attacking them, and Hadeel was sick of it. No matter what she did or said nothing was right, all she wanted to do was help, and yet every time she tried to help them they made her feel like an awful person. They didn't care what she had to say, because no matter what, they had to be the victim. Hadeel didn't want to believe that, instead she changed herself. People liked her better when she was smiling and making jokes as opposed to when she was telling them things she didn't want to admit to themselves.

She pulled away from them and everyone else, keeping everything in so she wouldn't hurt anyone with her words anymore.

"Not even my friends liked me," she said sadly. The memory of the twins came back to her mind quickly, like a gust of wind ripping through a field.

"Then they were not your friends," he said dryly. "Class is almost over, I'll see you next Wednesday," he said turning to leave.

At first Hadeel didn't respond, she fumbled around with her phone to check the time before looking up to see that Bane was already a little ways away from her. It was Wednesday today; it meant that Bane would not be there next Monday which was okay because Hadeel had something she had to do for school that day in town.

"See you Wednesday," she shouted at him before opening the door to her class and going inside.

030

Unbeknownst to Hadeel Bane had waited near the parking lot, hiding the shadows behind some trees he stood against the wall until she would pass by on her way to her car. He hadn't been lying when he said he was curious about how her voice would sound; he was waiting for her to sing before he went back on his way.

Making his breathing as soft as he could Bane waited for her voice to waft through the air towards him as it always did, he wondered faintly how her voice would sound echoing around his hideout. Would it still sound as soft as it in the free air? Or would it change and turn into something that would keep him up at night?

At first Bane had been surprised to see someone else talking to Hadeel when he first showed up, one of her friends of course. He was even more surprised when she finally said what she had been holding in for all the time that he'd known her. It was as she was yelling at her friend and being stern with her that Bane realized the clarity of her voice and the unwavering look in her eyes. She wasn't hiding anything, nothing was being put away and concealed, this was who she really was, not some smiling girl that always had the best time of her life no matter what.

Finally a voice pulled him away from his thoughts, it was Hadeel's voice, and she had already started singing and was making her way towards the parking lot. Her voice seemed to carry farther than it usually did, just as he had thought it was clearer now, as if someone had pulled a cotton ball out of their ear and could finally hear everything the world had to offer.

"It burned wild, and crept up the mountainside, I followed your ashes into outer space," she sang a song that Bane couldn't even imagine that he knew. But somehow he felt that the song was meant for her, because her voice was so clear and open that he felt compelled to listen. "I can't look out the window; I can't look at this place. I can't look at the Stars," suddenly her voice was loud.

Bane had to stop himself from breathing for a moment to hear the fullness of her voice, he'd never heard her sing as loud as she was singing right now, and it was perfect for her.

"They make me wonder where you are. Stars, up on heaven's boulevard. And if I know you at all I know you've gone too far, and so I, I can't look at the stars," she finished her song softly and trailed off until he could hear nothing anymore.

Her voice still lingered powerfully in his head and he'd made his decision about what to do with his little Songbird. When everything happened and Gotham fell, he would take her away and protect what she was.

030

Monday came quickly, much to Hadeel's dismay. For one of her classes she had to go to the stock exchange, or whatever it was called, she didn't care because she didn't want to go, not alone anyway. Supposedly there would be other classmates there but Hadeel had her doubts, she hated going to new places alone, especially when she had to drive there. There were always those moments when she got lost while driving and gave herself a mini heart attack as she tried to find her way back to a familiar street. Her brothers laughed at her for that.

She'd only gone to one class that morning, just her math class because she was having a test; the other part of her day was spent standing in front of her teacher as he gave them instructions about what they were going to be doing if they went to the stock exchange. Hadeel only half listened since she had the project assignment sheet that had all the requirements and steps to follow anyway.

On the way to the building Hadeel clutched onto her directions and map that she had printed from the internet as if it was her lifeline, looking between the directions and the street names every minute before making a decision. It was how she always got to new places, the second time she would barely need a map and the third time she would have it memorized, but the first time, no chances were taken.

It had happened a lot during the past few days; Hadeel would start to lose herself in her thoughts when she thought about what Bane had said about her little outburst on her friend. He liked her when she was like that; at least that was what he had said. It made Hadeel a little numb to think about, because why would he like her like that if she didn't like herself at all? Her friends had never appreciated her when she was trying to help them and be blunt with them, she didn't gain anything from being her old self. Then again, what did she gain from her present self?

Fake smiles, lies, pent up anger, and emptiness. Somehow it just reminded her of how nothing she did was correct in the means of living life to the fullest, because no matter what there was something holding her back. Her friend had texted her back with a single word, Sorry, which Hadeel had accepted gratefully, feeling something heavy lift from her heart there was a new sense of accomplishment that surrounded her. She'd missed being able to bluntly talk to her friends as if she was their therapist or something, she'd missed trying to help them giving advice. Though what she had said to her friend was hardly advice it just felt right to her.

Finally finding parking she got out of her car shakily, glancing at her appearance before grabbing a smaller purse like bag from the back of her car. Her mother had insisted that she wear a dress when she went to the exchange, just to show everyone that she was a serious student and not someone who just rolled out of bed. It was a simple dark blue dress with black and white swirly designs that hugged her body and made Hadeel feel extremely uncomfortable. Add on black tights, dark blue boots borrowed from her sister, and a small but warm black jacket and you got a very nice looking college girl doing an assignment for her class.

Feeling very weird looking Hadeel made her way to the building and inside, sighing in relief when the cold left her as she entered the small warmth that the building offered. There seemed to be metal detectors and a group of employees waiting around to escort anyone out if they were needed to. A few people looked at her when she walked in, a couple guys took second glances at her, not that she noticed since she was so nervous and shy. Sure she could do many outgoing things when she was with her friends or in a group of people, but alone she was a shy girl walking around a building with people staring at her.

Going up to the desk area Hadeel took out her paper and her school ID to show to the man at the desk. The man looked young enough, certainly he was in his late twenties or something, with a kind attractive face Hadeel felt a little embarrassed to even talk to him. If her sisters were here they would grunt in satisfaction as they always did while watching a movie or walking past a hot guy in the store.

"I'm here for an assignment for my college," she said trying to sound formal. Her voice came out a little shaky and quiet instead.

"Do you have ID?" He asked kindly letting a smile dance across his face.

"Here," she said handing him her ID and the assignment paper. He nodded towards her before looking over the paper and smiling before handing it back to her; he then looked over to someone at the metal detector and gave a thumbs up.

"Go ahead, its right up the stairs," he grinned at her when she seemed slightly flustered. Hadeel didn't know what it was, but when she was alone and had to speak to people she thought were attractive she usually flushed and felt as if a wave of heat suddenly engulfed her.

"Thank you, have a nice day," she said before feeling dumb. It's not like she was working right now, she didn't have to wish everyone a nice day. The man went back to working as if she had never existed, when Hadeel noticed this her mood hardened along with her words and expressions. Going back to her old self she felt the need to go back to him and tell him to have a crappy day because he was a crappy person. Pointing out that he beard looked like an unshaven woman's leg.

Hearing her own thoughts Hadeel smirked and looked forwards to the woman controlling the metal detector, placing her bag in the basket she walked through without beeping. The woman gave the bag back before giving her a nod and looking back towards the door, and thus Hadeel had successfully made it into the building without harm!

Feeling a bit adventurous Hadeel wandered up the stairs and down a different hallway that led to the bathrooms and a meeting room of sorts. Turning a corner to a group of people talking Hadeel quickly turned around and walked back the way she had come, they wouldn't want a weird college girl to interrupt them. Walking down a small flight of stairs Hadeel walked past the sight of the front lobby again to see a man with a motorcycle helmet on walking into the building. He looked like he was ready to drive into a dirt filled arena with ramps and start doing flips and tricks off of them, but instead he was here. How boring.

Walking down the opposite hallway Hadeel stopped short when she heard the metal detector beep behind her; always curious she walked backwards and poked her head out around the corner to see the man start to remove his helmet. When he got it all the way off Hadeel gasped softly at what she saw.

It was Bane!

The moments that followed made Hadeel hold her breath and freeze up, unable to look away from what was happening she watched as Bane began to beat up the employees that came to stop him until they were all motionless on the ground. Hadeel had no words that came to mind, her mind racing with a million thoughts perhaps there was a man that wore a mask like Bane's and that was him and it wasn't Bane. But of course that was just crazy, it had to be Bane, who else would it be.

What was he doing though? Was this who he was? Really she knew nothing about him so she couldn't say anything, but she couldn't help but feel a little scared of him. It was like a movie, she hoped someone would walk out with a camera and yell at her for getting in the scene, but no, there was nothing like that. But was this really.

"Bane?" She asked letting her thought slip out of her mouth.

At the sound of his name Bane turned sharply to the direction from which he had heard it to see someone looking back at him from behind a corner. At first he took dark steps towards the person, he would just kill them simply and leave them on the ground like he had the others, but something stopped him.

How did they know his name? Why did the voice sound so familiar? Getting closer to the figure Bane recognized the face but couldn't bring himself to accept the fact of who it was. Quite quickly the face disappeared behind the corner and away from his searching eyes, but he wasn't going to let her get away now.

It was Hadeel.

When their eyes had met Hadeel was sure that he had recognized her right away, but perhaps he hadn't because the way he was walking towards her made her feel like he was coming to finish his job. He didn't know it was her, did that mean that he was going to kill her as well?

Feeling fear rush into her body Hadeel pulled her head back around the corner and slumped against the wall, hoping that he would leave her alone and go back to whatever he was doing. But what was he doing? Killing people? Hadeel felt her stomach churn at the memory of the limp bodies on the floor in front of her, how could he kill people so easily?

How did he do it? The feeling of flesh hitting flesh and breaking bones, Hadeel could barely deal with bones sticking out of peoples arms in a movie, she would definitely have nightmare from this. Why was he here? Had he followed her? It definitely seemed like it, but that couldn't be the case, it was just a coincidence. She wasn't meant to see any of this.

Hearing Bane's footsteps draw nearer Hadeel put her hands over her ears like a child trying to block out a scary part in a movie, what was he going to do with her? Closing her eyes tightly she tried to block out the images of the limp bodies, it reminded her of the blanket covered body in the hospital, and it terrified her.

She needed something strong to hold onto, someone who made her feel safe and comfortable because she wanted to forget about everything she had seen. Bane, the bodies, everything, there was only one person she could think of when it came to strong and safe, and just as she opened her eyes he was standing right in front of her.

"Little Songbird," he said without difference in his voice. No shake or waver, he spoke like he normally did as if he had merely walked up to the school on a cold dark night, as opposed to walking into a building and beating up a bunch of people.

"Bane," she whispered softly.

"When the life in your eyes wants black. Things return, you've come back." -Other lives

AN: I have to admit that sometimes I rack my brain to find the right song lyrics to put at the beginning and end of each chapter, and in turn, I'm finding a lot of new music with meaningful lyrics hidden in between the folds of the music.

So what did you think? Are you excited that something's finally happening?

Thanks for reading.