"You don't have to come, you know that right?"

"Nonsense, you need moral support. Besides, what am I supposed to be doing anyway? Apparently I have no life."

"Gee, and here I thought you were here for me."

"That too. I'm also bored."

"I feel so loved."

"Seriously, why is it a requirement to wear clothes practically painted on?" Dick complained, watching the older kids in the gym stretch with something akin to horror on his face. "I mean, how do they even move?" He cocked his head to the side dramatically, as if trying to figure out how the girls in skimpy little leotards could possibly complete their gymnastics routines in such attire.

"I think that's the point: minimal fabric to infringe on technique." Barbara rolled her eyes. She had on a leotard too, but she coupled it with some leggings for a bit more modesty (not to mention the fact the top of the leotard actually completely covered the upper half of her body—something the older girls had found optional).

Dick gave her a look. "If a shirt affects your technique, you're not good enough at it." He said with some mock wisdom seeping into his voice.

Barbara frowned suspiciously at him while she stretched. "And what have you worn while doing those acrobatics of yours? Which, I still haven't seen you do." She accused him slightly.

He sniffed. "What I do isn't competition stuff; it's purely for entertainment purposes. All the flashy, useless stuff, you know? But still, I'll admit I've worn some pretty weird costumes to match, and not once did what I was wearing affect what I could do. That just doesn't make sense to me."

She pursed her lips together as she considered that. "Well then. Maybe they just want the excuse to wear extremely tight and slutty clothes. Ever consider that?" She smirked and he returned it with a chuckle.

"That would make more sense… I'll keep that in mind before I continue to judge." He snickered.

She rolled her eyes at him, but couldn't help but notice his arguments didn't quite meet his eyes. She had a feeling he really didn't care what they were wearing (and not only because she was 92% sure as a ex-circus performer he'd worn way worse in the past and just didn't seem like the type of guy to care what others thought) but was merely talking to talk.

And she was thankful for it. Her nerves had been eating away at her all day as she mentally prepared to try out for the gymnastics team. She'd come a few times after school to see what they were like, and truth be told she was nervous. Not that she doubted her skill, but everyone here seemed to know each other already, and they all seemed to be very comfortable in their routine. Even if she made it, she didn't know if they'd been all that welcoming to the new girl.

The only thing that made those fears calm some was that Dick had expressed interest in coming to practices some times. The gym was open to all students after school, but only the gymnastics team actually used this area of it to train. Dick didn't have to be on the team to train with them, and even if no one accepted Barbara with open arms, at least he'd be there to keep her company when he could. Gymnastics was a pretty individualized sport anyway: it was all about personal bests and individual performance unless you did a team routine or something. Even the days he wasn't here, she figured she could deal with a few hours working alone to practice.

"Stop freaking." Dick broke into her thoughts, and she realized she'd been stretching the same leg for the past five minutes as she zoned out. "You'll do great, and they'll love you." He said simply.

She wanted to say some witty remark to distract from the seriousness of the situation, but when she turned and opened her mouth to speak, he gripped her shoulders and continued her turn until she was facing away from him again. He shoved her lightly forward and she stumbled, suddenly on the floor where everyone was coming together, a tall blonde girl with a clipboard in her hands looking like she was getting ready to address them all.

She gulped and took a deep steadying breath, feeling slightly better as she felt Dick's amused smile watching on from the sidelines.