Disclaimer: Nope, not mine. All credit goes to DC comics

Chapter 2: For Me?

A/N: This is another Beta'd chapter so hope you enjoy :]

(Beta-read by Incarnate009)

Before I knew what had happened, I had fallen asleep.

When I woke up, it was already four in the afternoon. I had slept for five hours!! I jumped out of bed and stretched for a few minutes. I only had three hours until Bruce's party, so I decided it would be a good idea if I unpacked a bit.

Although I had brought two bags with me, I didn't have many clothes, so unpacking didn't take all that long. As I looked for a place to put my clothes, I remembered that Bruce had mentioned something about a dresser in my room. It only took me a moment to locate the dresser, which had been pushed against the far wall, and put my clothes inside.

I had brought about eight pairs of pants, most of which were either leather or skinny jeans, and ten shirts. Unlike most girls, I had only brought a few pairs of shoes: a pair of converse and some Ugg boots. Since unpacking had only eaten up twenty minutes, I walked out to the kitchen to fix myself some dinner.

To be honest, I loved eating, so I needed something in my stomach at that very moment. As strange as it was, although I ate a lot, I was far from being overweight. That thought put a smile on my face as I headed to the kitchen to pig-out.

When I reached the kitchen, I opened the fridge and all the cabinets, and found exactly what I had been looking for: a box of Cheez-Itz, some Pop Tarts, Bagel Bites, and... rum. Gathering my findings in my arms, I carried it into the living room, and began to eat.

For a woman of twenty-four, I knew that I acted an awful lot like a teenager, or even a little kid. But I didn't care. I loved every minute of it. When I had nearly finished the snacks, I decided that I should probably start getting ready for Bruce's glorious party.

I hated to admit it, even to myself, but I was actually starting to get excited about this party.

I cleaned up my mess in the living room, and walked lazily back into my room. Upon entering, I set my outfit on the bed, and went to shower in the adjoining bathroom, which was nothing less than amazing. The marble floors sparkled, and the Jacuzzi tub and two-person glass shower seemed to scream my name.

Once inside the shower, I turned on the water, surprised at how quickly the walls began to steam. As I allowed the water to relax me, I let out a laugh. Everything about this place was so wonderful, and I wasn't at all used to the luxuries that now surrounded me.

After all, if I weren't in Gotham, I'd be at home working and trying to get by. I really did have a problem with always trying to help someone else with their problems before taking care of my own.

When I finished rinsing my hair, I stepped out of the shower, grabbing a towel as the cold air made contact with my skin. I walked back into my room to throw on some pajamas before getting to work on my hair. At the moment, I didn't think that my naturally straight hair would look right at a fancy party, so I dried my hair and threw some curlers in it.

While I allowed the curlers to work their magic, I grabbed my dress from the bed, and changed. To my surprise, it fit perfectly. Bruce apparently knew how to go dress shopping.

Once I had changed, I glanced at the clock. It was already five-thirty, so I started to work on my makeup. I lined my eyes with black eyeliner and put on some mascara, making sure that my eyes didn't look too dark. Once finished with my eyes, I applied a light blush to my cheeks and finished off the process with some red lipstick.

By the time I had finished, it was six o'clock and time to take out the curlers. I carefully removed the curlers one by one until my blonde hair was perfectly curled and sported a nice wave that went down to the middle of my back.

My hair was perfect: different and beautiful.

Just when I thought I was ready to go, I remembered that I needed shoes. Fortunately for me, I checked in the closet to find that Bruce had left some black stiletto heels for me. It was nice of him to go to all that trouble, but in my opinion, they looked like death traps.

The thought of Bruce shopping for women's shoes crossed my mind, and I couldn't help but laugh at the mental image as I put them on.

All that was left now was to wait. I waited, and the minutes seemed to tick by at an alarmingly slow rate that I became frustrated with after some time. Every time I looked at the clock, it seemed to move slower and slower.

After some time, I marched through my door, heading up to Bruce's penthouse. I'd had enough of waiting. The elevator ride was short and quiet, and when I made it up, a familiar face I had not seen in years greeted me.

"Good evening, Miss Mathews. How are you?" Alfred inquired.

I smiled. "I'm wonderful, Alfred. And how have you been? Bruce hasn't been too hard on you, has he?"

The butler laughed. "No, not at all. I've been quite well, thank you. And now, Miss Mathews, if you will please follow me," he said, graciously offering me his arm.

With a genuine smile, I took his arm and allowed him to lead me through a set of double doors into a large room. I took in the entirety of the surrounding area, only to glance back towards the door every few minutes.

"Master Bruce will be down at any moment," Alfred reassured me with a grin.

While awaiting Bruce's arrival, I couldn't help but engage myself in a pleasant conversation with the kindly old butler I hadn't seen in years. After a few minutes, Bruce came through the doors, looking as handsome as ever. I had never really paid much attention to my friend's appearance before, but at that moment, it just hit me like a bullet train.

His deep brown hair was smoothed back, and his eyes were… Wow. His brilliant blue eyes were nothing less than gorgeous, and I was sure that I would find myself trapped within them. The face that held those eyes was beautiful as well, and his body was just amazing.

I smirked to myself. As Batman, he must get a damn good workout.

"Hello, Alfred. Hello, Bel--" he paused, and I knew he was looking at me. "Do I know you?" he said jokingly as he made his way toward us. "People will be arriving soon, so I hope you're ready."

With that said, Alfred excused himself, and went to go wait by the elevators for arriving guests, leaving me alone with Bruce.

"You look great, B. I don't think I've ever seen you in a dress before." He examined the way the dress fit my figure, then looked back at me. He smiled, and I couldn't help but feel a little flattered.

"Thanks, Bruce. You don't look so bad yourself." If that wasn't an understatement, then I didn't know what was. The man looked beyond gorgeous. He looked like he could have been a god.

"Well, I try."

I was about to reply when, from behind the doors, I heard the elevator doors open. When Alfred opened the doors, it was as if he were giving me a perfect seat in a movie theater, and I watched in awe as some of Gotham's elite filed out into the large room.

The group that emerged was rather small, for there were two beautiful women, each with a stunning date. Both of the women appeared to be around my age, but the men were much older. They approached Bruce and myself, and I began to feel more than a little uncomfortable.

I'm really not a people person.

Bruce introduced me to the couples, and began some engaging conversation with them about the company and other monetary nonsense, so I excused myself and walked around the room. By this time, the room had started to fill up with "the many members of the high society trust-fund brigade", as Rachel and I had jokingly called them.

As I walked about, many people gave me a polite nod or greeting before continuing their conversations. And I was fine with that. After all, I didn't feel a surging need to engage myself in a formal conversation I wouldn't understand. I wasn't really one of them, and I was in no hurry to be.

About forty-five minutes into the party, as I stood by one of the large windows with my drink, I spotted the cutest little boy nestled beneath the wine table across the room. Even from such a distance, I could clearly see his bright blue eyes peeking out from beneath the mess of soft blond hair.

My initial reaction was to approach him and ask if he was lost, but I was unsure as to whether or not I would look foolish. It certainly seemed that several others had spotted the child, but they all carried about their business, as if he didn't exist.

Unbelievable, I thought bitterly. This child is lost among such a massive crowd, and nobody has the decency to help him?

After a few deep breaths, I found the strength to ignore the critical whisperings of the "trust-fund brigade" as I made my way towards the shuddering child. As I approached, he shrunk beneath the tablecloth, disappearing from sight. I knelt down, despite my discomfort, and gently lifted the tablecloth away from the frightened boy.

"Hello," I said with a smile.

The boy remained silent and began inching closer to me.

"I saw you sitting here, and wondered why you were by yourself," I laughed, trying to lighten the mood. But the boy didn't seem to hear me, for he was staring over my shoulder at the glowering group of people Bruce had introduced me to.

Without a care as to who was watching, I offered the boy my hand. "Would you like me to help you find your parents?"

He nodded silently, crawled out from beneath the table, and, with his hand in mine, followed me around the large room. After a few minutes, I felt his hand leave mine, and saw him rush through the disapproving crowd, crying, "Daddy!!"

After pushing my way through the disgruntled crowd, I was relieved to see that the boy had found his parents again.

The father, a man whose reputation was well-known, even outside of Gotham, approached me and held out his hand. "Jim Gordon," he said, before turning to look at the boy's mother. "And this is my wife, Barbara, and these two," he pulled the boy and a little girl close, "are our children."

I couldn't help but smile, for they seemed to be the perfect family. "Very nice to meet you," I said. "I'm Annabelle Mathews. I hope you'll excuse my behavior. It's been quite some time since I've been in Gotham, and I'm not very used to such gatherings."

"Oh, not at all. This is our first time attending one of Mr. Wayne's extravagant get-togethers, too," his wife said, a hint of excitement in her voice.

"Terrible, isn't it?" I joked. "Although Bruce and I are close friends, I just can't shake the feeling that I don't belong in a place like this. Especially among his high-society friends."

Jim Gordon's expression suddenly became somewhat serious. "You know Bruce Wayne?"

"Well, not as well as I used to, but --"

Thankfully, Bruce cut me off with his toast before I could utterly humiliate myself.

"Good Evening, my friends," he said as the room became quiet. "I'd like to thank you all for being here on this fine night. Now, I know many of you don't even know what this party is about, but..." Bruce paused and glanced around, looking for something… or someone. When he spotted me among the crowd, he motioned for me to stand with him.

"Now, this beautiful woman is our reason for celebration. For she is one of my oldest, and dearest friends, and I thought, 'What better way to welcome her home to Gotham than a night of pleasantries with Gotham's finest?'"

I immediately knew that all eyes were on me, and I was unable to stop the blush that now covered my face. It may not have been the most unpleasant experience of my life, but it certainly wasn't the best, either.

Bruce looked at me and raised his glass. "To my dear friend, Annabelle Mathews." He took a sip of is drink and everyone else repeated, "To Annabelle Mathews."

As the voices died down, I suddenly realized that there was someone… clapping. I glanced to Bruce, but he wasn't smiling. He was glaring straight into the heart of the crowd as people began to gasp and move away.

There, among the elite of Gotham, stood the Joker.

I felt my breath catch in my throat as he moved closer to us, with that infamous grin on his face, and simply muttered, "Hello, Beautiful."

There you have it. Please drop a review :]