"What is that?" Maxine suddenly asked, peeking her head from the locket.
"That?" Dana raised a dainty brow.
"That smell . . ." Max started to check the bottom of her shoes.
"You noticed!" Blade exclaimed joyfully, joining the two girls at their lockers with Chelsea following behind her.
"Me and the whole world honey," Max twisted up her nose, "What are you wearing?"
"Perfume-Luv Doctor No. 9. The only cure for lonely nights!" Blade announced proudly, "Like it?"
"Do you want the truth or a well thought-up lie?" The black girl folded her arms.
"Max!" Chelsea exclaimed her surprise at the black girl's jadedness, "What's wrong with you today?"
"I was attacked by the perfume counter at the mall with that stench."
"Sorry to hear that." Chelsea shrugged, not sure what to say.
"I still like it. It's already curing my lonely nights." Blade said, winking at some passing jocks but the desired effect did not come.
"And wearing that scent will guarantee you all the lonely nights you ever wanted." Max stated with her all-knowing smile, shutting her locker.
Dana suppressed a laugh. Blade's mouth clamped shut with angry and Chelsea blushed deep as their pink-haired friend disappeared into the crowd.
"Dana IM me during 20th Century History, you seem to have cut Blade down about some body spray or something."
'Never one to doubt Dana when spending gossip.'
"I slept badly. I took it out on Blade because she was wearing this awful perfume being promoted by an equally awful woman. I was nearly choked to death by it when some counter girl shot it in my face at the mall the other day. Better she told you than the extravagant version given by the freshmen."
"Mall huh. . . . Slag it!"
Terry dropped his folk into the mash potatoes, followed by a string of curse words.
"What's wrong?"
"Dana!" He smacked his forehead, "I forget to get her a Valentine's Day gift."
"Oh." She dismissed it with her free hand.
"Oh? Oh!" Terry blew up at her indifference.
"Yeah, just for you but she's going to skin me alive!"
Half of lunch room looked over at the two before turning back to their own conversations.
"Keep it down!" She hissed, then spoke in her calmed tone. "Just drop by my house and pick up her present-the one you already knew to get for her and the one I was just so happening to wrap all pretty. Remember that it's antique China doll you two were looking at in the store window a month ago and you bought it because she's your Asian princess. And the white roses because she hates red since everyone else will have red."
Terry felt his jaw touch the lunch table. "You did that?"
"Yep."
"For me?"
"Why not?"
"Knew I forget?" He asked sheepishly.
"You were fighting Jokerz and handling a jewel heist, it was the least I could do."
His eyebrow arced. "Got a vid-card?"
"Only Hallmark's finest."
"You just saved my life." His hand rested over his heart, a long-held breath release.
She gave him a cattish smile. "Good." She delicately ate her 'mystery meat.'
"Now you can save me by buying me a ticket for a cruise Spring Break."
"What!"
"Wayne pays you good money. You owe me some creds. For now I'll take two hundred."
"Come on Max, two hundred . . . ."
"Price of the doll and the flowers. I had to dip into my Spring Break Getaway Fund."
She studied her nails in the sunlight.
"Or I can just tell Dana it's her early birthday gift from me leaving you to find her something since the stores will be crazy with men who also forgot gifts-"
"Shag it."
Terry reached for his wallet and forked the last of his cash over. So long leather jacket . . . .
"Oh, and I need something to wear as I enjoy the beach in St John."
"Max-" He growled, glaring in Mr. Wayne's trademark style. The remaining fifty credits fell into her hands.
"Schway." Max smiled, counting the credits, "Very schway."
The bell rung, signaling their return to classes. Max to her Advanced Biology, Terry to English. The Dark Knight watched his friend stroll off content as a cat with all of his money.
"Some days, I would prefer the criminals." He admitted to the air around him.
"Well, I got conned out of two hundred and fifty by my own best friend."
"That's nice." Bruce Wayne stared his computer, the massive commanding post that filled half of the cave, half listening to the teen's rant.
"Love you to, Mr. Wayne."
"You forget something again?"
"Max took the liberty of buying my gift for Dana to save me some face tomorrow night."
Terry grabbed his suit and threw his shirt off.
"If I would have forget it was Valentine's Day, she would kill me. If I forgot to get a gift, she would do worse."
"Sorry to hear that."
"How did you survive the women, Mr. Wayne? I mean, being Batman and all . . . ."
"Terry, a man never truly survives women. You walk around on eggshells and pray."
"That's your life changing advice to me, Mr. Wayne? Walk on eggshells and pray?"
"Man was not meant to know the ways of the female sex."
"Wow." A mixture of shock and surprise wrote on his face: Male bonding. Terry held off most of the emotion by covering up his face with the cowl. "I think we really agree of something."
A comfortable silence fell between the former Bat and his prodigy, the new Bat prepped for the night of crime. Before his protégé took off into the night, Bruce called after him:
"Take the Black Card too." He held it out. "If you're late, she better be in the nicest place in town to wait on you."
"Whoa." The boy gave a gracious smile, gingerly taking the card. "Thanks."
"And make sure she has one of the nicer limo too, it'll distract her from being too upset at your tardiness for a time."
Bruce Wayne suddenly felt his being held in a tight embrace.
"I love you man."
Bruce's seethed expression told him that the former Bat was in no mood for humor.
"Just go McGinnis."
"So, what's on?" Terry McGinnis asked his friend after the nine of clock hour.
"A rerun of The Luv Doctor."
"You watch that?"
"Not anymore." Her fingers found the remote control's "off" button.
An hour had passed since Batman dropped in from his nightly patrol. The quiet streets gave him a chance to sneak off to Max's apartment for a cool down.
"Still peeved about what happened?" Batman asked his friend about last week's "attack."
"They were tying too hard to be liked. Too . . . bouncy . . . perky . . ."
On the show, the Luv Doctor was giving advice to yet another lovesick teenager whose girlfriend was currently cheating on him.
"Ugh, does she have to have one of those annoyingly catchy on-air names?" Max called from the kitchen wearing her cartoon PJs. "Want anything?"
"A sandwich will do." The Dark Knight answered, nonchalantly sitting on living room floor, his cowl next to him watching vid-tv in his suit. They really didn't need a lot of words between them. Friendship uncomplicated life for them, each knew the other well enough to pick up on a hand gesture, the crook of a back, a shift of the eyes. The presence of each other's company without much conversation suited them just fine.
'Like we do this every day.' She thought.
The pink-haired girl though, busying herself with dinner as the raven-haired youth lounged in "business attire." The cat Isis washing its dainty paws.
"She seemed to be giving good advice."
"Maybe you should call the Doctor for a little advice about Dana." A smirk danced on her face. She missed the frown growing there as her back was turned.
"Maybe I will choose to ignore that comment."