Hiya, could y'all pwease look at the author's note at the very end after you finish reading?
Chapter 8: The Actor with the Messy Hair
Liam Worthing gave her a blinding smile. "I couldn't agree more. The silence you manage to find is perhaps my favorite part about large parties like this."
Allison laughed. "Woah, Hollywood, I do not know what sort of exciting parties you have been to, but this is a gala. Big difference there."
"How so?" He looked genuinely puzzled. Despite being incredibly unnerved by this situation, Allison decided to respond.
"Well," she hesitated, "large parties are normally more fun. You know, loud music and no business deals. Galas are the opposite. It is basically a time for businesses to get more money and for socialites to hear the gossip."
Liam considered what she said. "I see. I can't say I've been to many galas before."
"Well, I cannot say I have been to many parties before." She laughed before abruptly catching herself. What is she doing?
You are doing what your parents want you to do!
Liam didn't seem to notice her hesitation. Instead, he looked at the scenery before them. "You seem to know who I am?"
"I would have to be extremely uninformed to not know who you are."
"Okay, then," he laughed. "Therefore it's only fair if I know what your name is?"
Allison was about to answer him reflexively but stopped herself. Wait, why did she stop? This is so easy! She just needs to tell the guy her name, get on his good side, and then wait for them to leave town after his father does business with her family.
Her parents would be so pleased if they saw her right now.
She can almost imagine. She and Liam would walk into the ballroom together in fun conversation and 'somehow' run into his parents. He would introduce her to them and she would charm them—possibly with her good grades or flattering stories of her parents. Speaking of them, they would stumble into the conversation. Her mother would affectionately grab her hand and squeeze it, signifying the good work she has done. When they left the gala for the night, she could almost see her father turn to her. He would be proud of her and he would say that. A grin would be on his face and he would finally say the words Allison has always wanted to hear.
"I'm proud of you, Allison."
And yet, she stopped. They wouldn't be proud of her, not really. They would be proud of what she did for them. They'll only stay that way as long as she can keep doing things for them.
"My name is not truly important." Allison knew she was getting too relaxed with this kid. With that knowledge, she immediately tensed. Her shoulders straightened, her hands clasped in front of her and she allowed a neutral expression to appear on her face.
She had no idea why she was doing this. She had no idea what she was doing.
Liam's eyebrows furrowed. He had to have seen her rapid change of mood.
He probably thinks Allison hates him. One part of her is glad at that thought, but the other part is shouting in outrage.
"What if I guess?" That red carpet grin returned. It immediately lit his entire face up as if he was having the time of his life. A spark appeared in his dark, hazel eyes which matched his tan skin, but contrasted the sunny color of his hair. How he styled it was unique compared to other boys in Gotham: most boys put splatters of gel in their hair to style it perfectly, yet Liam's was completely messy with uncontrollable, curly strands of hair sticking out everywhere. It was utterly perfect.
He is really cute…
Allison quickly stopped that train of thought.
"I am unable to stop you."
Stop being so formal, Allison. Tell the poor boy your name.
Maybe it is a good thing he doesn't know her name yet? After all, Allison has a reputation. This is only an impression shared by the socialite children, but it still exists.
She never hangs out with any of the rich kids. Any sort of invitation extending out to her is strictly declined. At least, that is only the case if she gets to the invitation before her parents. But since she never talks to any of them, rumors have sprung up. Teens claim she thinks she is too good for any of them. Allison and anyone with a brain know that these kids only say these things to help their wounded pride, but the rumor still spreads. However, despite this allegedly horrible rumor, those very teens who started them would give anything to hang out with Allison. Not because they think she is a cool person or they want to be around her, but because they want to know her secrets.
Not that they ever will discover them. The secrets Allison keeps are far more important than some messy high school scandal.
She fixed the collar of her dress, suddenly wishing it covered more skin.
"Abigail Mayfield? Willow Lin?"
She didn't let it show, but she was impressed that he did his homework. She wonders if his father put pressure on him, too… No, that's not possible. This kid is far too successful as an actor to be in the same situation as her.
"Gabrielle Lopez? Barbara Gordon?"
Despite herself, Allison snorted at that last one. "I honestly feel honored that you think I'm Babs."
"Ah, so you're friends with this 'Babs?'"
Allison snapped her mouth close. Babs is one of her best friends, but anyone who knew anything about how things worked in her school would know that Babs only hangs out with a few people. She happens to be one of those few people.
He smirked. "I'll take that as a yes. You must be… Heather Lawrence."
She couldn't stop a small grin from presenting itself on her face. Heather Lawrence. He must be a tad confused by all of the gossip. Heather Lawrence is a rich girl who absolutely despises Babs. Allison supposes she is included on the list of people Heather hates because of her association with Barbara.
She's not sure if Liam would ever have guessed who Allison was. To be honest, he was getting rather close to her identity. He might have got it if they weren't interrupted by a sudden scream filled with terror from the ballroom. Following that single, haunting scream was a muddle of similar screams, shouts, and audible chaos heard from their balcony.
Liam's lively attitude was rapidly replaced with one of confusion and fear. Allison spared a glance at him before rushing to the ballroom. Her first thought was that someone invaded the gala for a robbery. However, that guess was disregarded since the screaming seemed to be on an endless loop. Any robber or villain would want to silence the crowd as soon as possible.
Her next thought was more of a hope. From eavesdropping on nearby conversations, she heard that Bruce Wayne had made a surprise visit to the gala. She isn't sure if he was actually invited (not that it would have mattered), but she has a prediction for why he came which includes two visitors from Star City. It doesn't matter, though. If Bruce is there, he hopefully will be able to get everything under control.
Her third and final thought before she entered the ballroom was the realization that Liam Worthing was running right behind her. She could only assume that he was just as curious and concerned as she was. However, she has been trained in combat while he is a civilian. Allison notes his presence just in case they encounter any sort of danger or threat.
They didn't find any immediate danger, but they found something much worse.
Chaos. Entering the ballroom, all they were greeted with was blatant and pure chaos. A mob of people rushed in every direction, desperately trying to escape the madness. There was only one main exit out of the building, however, and the efforts these people made to flee only increased the anarchy. Every single person shared the same confusion and selfish fear. Frankly, she was worried about the possibility of people being crushed due to the uncontrollable hoard. Allison examined the scene with worry but retained her composure. Her control never faltered once, not even when she caught sight of the catalyst of this pandemonium.
Unlike her, Liam was visibly distressed by what was occurring. His head swiveled, taking in the chaos. His terror was clear to see, yet he managed to notice how composed Allison was.
"How are you able to be so calm when everything is just…" His voice trembled, a stark contrast to the confident boy she was just speaking to. Now, he was only weak and scared.
Allison tore her eyes from the sight before her to observe Liam. She paused before cautiously saying, "Not everyone in Gotham is untouched by its horrors."
Ain't that the truth.
Liam looked at her in a new light and she could see the gears working inside his head as he tried to completely decipher what she meant. Allison didn't give him the time to do so. She finally spotted his parents, one of the many things she was trying to do as she analyzed every frightful face in the ballroom.
Just as he opened his mouth to speak, she quickly said, "There are your parents. You should probably go to them and get out of here. If you all go through one of the minor exits like that one, you should be able to find your way out. You know, avoid the mob."
He looked to where she was pointing and released a large breath in relief. A weight seemed to be lifted from his shoulders. He went to turn around, presumably to thank her, but Allison already vanished from his sight.
She had other people to talk to.
Finding Roy wasn't difficult. He stood off to the side, leaning against the wall and simply watching what was happening. Roy was just as composed as she was, but she could see his worry. It was a worry she shared.
Allison leaned against the wall right next to Roy, their shoulders touching. Arms crossed, she scanned the crowd with him. They were able to fade into the background since everyone was too distracted by, well, other things.
"It was only a matter of time before something like this happened."
Roy looked over at her.
Allison continued, "You know, that villain who wants him dead. Gotham Police has been keeping the threats quiet, so it really was only a matter of time before he or she decided to make the threats… louder."
Both Allison and Roy turned to examine what she was referring to. It was a sight that no matter how hard you tried to resist, you simply couldn't look away from it.
Hanging from nooses from the ceiling were robins. She knew they were real and not plastic robins, unfortunately, due to the blood smearing the bodies. A robin seemed to hang from everywhere on the ceiling. And yet, the birds weren't the worst part of this threat. In the center of the ceiling and hanging directly from the magnificent chandelier was a body. Allison isn't sure if she wants to know if that body is as real as the birds. Mimicking the deceased robins, the body was limply hanging with a noose around its neck. The only thing to make this situation somehow more terrifying was that the body was dressed as Robin.
They tried to cover this whole thing up and they are now paying the price. She just hopes news networks will not have much time to run wild before the police can calm everything down.
"This is going national, isn't it?" Roy asked. She could tell he didn't need an answer. "Do you guys have any leads?"
Sardonically, Allison laughed. "Yeah, like I would know. I just discovered these threats even existed hours ago."
"He tried to keep it from you, didn't he?"
"To protect us."
"That is absolute bull."
Allison elected not to respond. She didn't have a chance to do this earlier, but what happened tonight made everything more serious than it originally was. So, Allison mentally went through the list of all the villains and rogues in Gotham, sorting through those who could and could not be behind this. She logically began with the most infamous criminals. The fact this unknown rogue wants attention helped her to cross off a few names. And yet, any remaining names she had simply could not have done this. The majority were in a highly controlled prison whose security system was just updated by her and Dick, and any remaining hated Batman more than Robin. Of course, they could switch their tactics to go after Robin since it would hurt Batman, but Allison knows that given the chance, they would always go after Batman before Robin. It doesn't make sense.
Roy was watching Allison while she was thinking. She could tell he knew what she was doing.
"Nobody."
He looked at her in confusion.
Allison elaborated, "There is no person I can think of who is behind this. Of course, I have not been given the chance to look at any evidence so any theories I have could be completely wrong." She didn't hide the venom in her voice.
"You'll figure it out. You're the smartest eight-year-old I know."
"I'm ten, you ginger."
"See! That's what I'm talking about! How many ten-year-olds know what being a ginger is?"
"Oh, I don't know? Maybe those who are ginger?"
"Nah, I think you're being too generous."
Allison laughed, the small banter lifting her spirits. However, when her wandering eyes caught sight of Bruce and Mr. Queen conversing on the other side of the room, she frowned. Both men seemed cordial enough and showed the proper amount of panic for the situation, yet Allison could visibly see the hostility between the two.
So Bruce is angry at Mr. Queen for being in his city after all.
Roy saw the same thing she did.
"Don't go to the cave tonight."
Allison swirled towards him, ready to issue an incensed remark. Roy continued before she could. "Listen to me for once, kid. The cave is going to be crazy tonight with me and Ollie in town." He gestured towards their mentors. Allison begrudgingly realized he was right.
"Just take one night. You don't know how much sleep you'll get these next few nights."
She glared at him but mentally thought about what he said.
"Fine."
Roy, who stood resolutely with his arms crossed, said, "Allison, you aren't going to be much help with no sleep."
Her lips tilted up. "I know. I'm agreeing with you."
"Seriously, Allison, you—wait, you're agreeing with me?"
Allison shrugged. "Should I not?"
Expecting some sort of resistance, Roy looked completely surprised. "Yes! Wait, no. No! You should agree with me."
"Good, because I am."
"Good. That's good. That's… I really thought I would have to do more to convince you."
A smile appeared on her face which didn't make its way to her eyes. "Me too. But even my stubbornness has its limits."
Allison's parents are currently in the massive mob. (Unlike everyone else, however, they are trying to move with more grace. Even in the midst of chaos which would incite madness in the hearts of anyone else, her parents still retain their so-called 'class.') She has been keeping an eye on them the moment she entered the room.
She sighed. "Alright, you ginger. I know you and Mr. Queen are spending time with B tonight. Keep me updated with anything you find."
Roy gave a humorless grin. "Let's be honest, kid. By the end of the week, you're going to know more than me."
She gave a hint of a smile. She better know more than Roy by the end of the week or else her patience will run out.
With that, Allison made her way to her parents. She made sure to hold the façade of 'terrified and confused rich girl,' though she made sure to do nothing to embarrass herself. Unlike some of the other sniveling kids around her, Allison has more pride in herself.
'Next chapter will come up in a week' she said. 'Look at me being a responsible author' she said.
Well kids, I just wanna let you know that I normally keep my promises better than that.
GOOD NEWS THO! My hardest year of school (before college UGH) is OVER! Literally I almost died this year from too much overload. But it is done. And it is summer.
I was going to continue on this chapter, but then I was like, 'This is a good stopping point, I've had this part written out for months, just freaking update your story.' So yeah, I was going to have more, and now I realize I just could have updated with this part instead of waiting… GOOD NEWS THO (again), half of the next chapter is already written and the rest is planned.
Let me tell ya, it will be a doozy.
I just want to say thank you all so much for supporting this story and your kind words and staying with it even after weeks. This is a promise I will keep: this story WILL be updated more this summer. I am trying to write at least every day and I want this story to be more than halfway completed by the end of summer (this story will prob be longer than I originally thought, by the way, oh well).
If y'all have any questions at all, anything you liked, or anything you wanted to point out, there is a nice box right below that would love for you to leave a review! ;D
(And yes, reviews do help updates come in faster, crazy how it works like that lol)