Chapter 14

The Date

Morgan was drenched in sweat and her muscles and joints were aching, but she kept attacking the punching bag with all she had. She was so angry still. She'd had to clench her jaw and put a mental bind on herself all day and now that she was back at the Cave and alone in the gym, she wasn't going to hold back anymore.

Grunting, she punched the bag, Esmeralda and Rachel's words ringing in her ears. She's only getting a Ferrari.

Scowling, she took a step back and aimed a kick to the side of the bag. "Only. A. Ferrari." she punctuated each word with a hit.

She closed her eyes briefly and saw the old man in front of her. The image of the cold, poor guy made her even angrier, and, seeing red, Morgan let out a feral growl as she kicked the punching bag as hard as she could. She must've accidentally put some of her powers behind the kick because the rope that held up the bag snapped, and the dead weight fell to the floor with a loud thud.

"What on earth are you doing?"

Morgan flinched when she heard Nightwing's part surprised, part disapproving voice. Looking up, she spotted him by the door. She's been expecting him for at least ten minutes now, knowing that they had some things to talk about after what had happened yesterday.

She's tried to avoid thinking too much about it all day, but it had still taken up a lot of space.

"I'm practicing." She replied shortly. Morgan looked at the bag on the ground, nudging it slightly with her foot. "Sorry about the punching bag."

"It can be replaced." He graciously decided. His masked eyes turned to her next, and he cocked his head slightly to the side. "Are you okay?"

Morgan wanted to respond with something along the lines of 'nonna' ya damn biz' but instead she sighed and sat down on the punching bag. Honestly, she was too tired and wound up to have too much of an attitude right now. Placing her head in her hands, she sighed. "I hate rich people."

"Thanks."

"Okay, not all rich people. I just hate the people at Gotham University."

"Still thanks." Nightwing replied dryly.

"Okay, not all the people at Gotham University, I just hate young, rich, spoiled kids that live off of their parents' money and don't respect it."

Nightwing hesitated for a moment before sitting down next to her on the punching bag. "What happened?"

And before Morgan could stop herself, remind her that this was Nightwing and she barely got along with him on a good day, and he was probably the last person she'd consider when talking about these kinds of things, she found herself spilling her heart out to him.

"They were just talking about this winter ball thing and how the students always got the principal a gift for it and then suddenly Rachel said that this year the students' had been cheap because they'd only raised enough money to buy her a Ferrari and Esmeralda totally agreed and I was just so disgusted by the absolute disregard the people at this place has for money." She plowed on in a single breath, "So, I kind of ran away from the school and I ended up in this small alley right next to it where this old, homeless man was sitting, shivering from the cold. And I was just hit with how unfair it was that they got to lounge around in there in their expensive leather sofas and munch on foi gras while other people right outside were cold and starving. And then I gave him my lunch and spare change and sweatshirt, but I just wish I could've done more. I wish the rich people would do more to help those that don't have anything and, oh my god, I feel like I'm burning from the inside out with this desperate need to help those that need it but I feel so helpless and insignificant, like I'll never be able to do enough."

There was a long pause after her frantic speech and Morgan felt her cheeks heat up with embarrassment. She'd just had the worst case of word vomit ever and admitted things she hadn't even properly admitted to herself yet.

In front of Nightwing!

.. Nightwing!

Eventually, he cleared his throat. "I know that this is probably not helpful at all but.. I know how you feel."

Morgan stopped staring at the ground in embarrassment and fixed her eyes on the side of his face instead.

"When I was first adopted, I was suddenly thrown into this world of upper-class people, and I was outraged by the way they so greedily spent their money. My guardian is very rich and powerful, and I knew that whatever he did would seem 'cool' to the other upper-class people, so I begged him to make charity the next big thing. But I always felt like I wasn't doing enough."

Morgan watched him intensely, intrigued by this new side of her mentor. Nightwing rarely opened up to her, so when he did, she made sure to listen extra carefully.

"Then I became Robin. And I finally had an activity I could place all of that need to change the world into. I used Robin to make the world safer for everyone else, to save lives and bring people to justice. And I use Nightwing to do the same thing."

He shifted slightly, placing his elbows on his knees. His side was facing Morgan, and because of this and the mask he was wearing, she couldn't really see any of his emotions. She'd just have to trust that he was being sincere.

"I won't lie to you," he went on, intertwining his hands in front of him. "That itch to change the world doesn't go away once it's first arrived. But becoming a hero, like we are.. it helps. Every time a mission goes right, every time you've stopped a robber on the street.. You feel better."

Morgan found that she was glad she'd decided to open up to him. He gave good advice and it seemed he was honest and real with her.

They sat in silence for another minute before Nightwing stood up again, clapping his hands together. "So. Let's fight."

Morgan smiled lopsidedly and stood up too.

Half an hour and a lot of sweat, pain and falling later, Morgan spoke up. "I get it, by the way." She ducked to avoid an attack from Nightwing and rolled away, ending up in a crouched position a few paces away. "Why you sent me down to the grotto. And I'm sorry for being such a bitch about it."

Morgan flapped her wings, using the boost to jump high in the air and land behind her mentor. Nightwing turned around and came at her again. "I probably should've told you what was down there before telling you to go. But I was angry and on a tight schedule.."

Morgan jumped backwards several paces and blocked a jab aimed at her side. Then grunted when he got in a hit on her other side because she'd left it open. "It was probably for the best. I guess I needed to accept that superheroes aren't invincible."

"Well, glad to be of service."

"And I'm sorry."

"You said that already."

Morgan leapt forward in an attempt to catch him by surprise but instead she found herself locked in his annoyingly strong grip and she struggled to get loose.

"That's not what I meant." She placed both hands on his chest and pushed, and Nightwing let go, not because she forced him to, Morgan figured, but because he knew the fight was stuck until he did.

Morgan couldn't help but think that that probably was a bit too much close proximity between them for one day anyway.

"I meant I'm sorry for your loss. It couldn't have been easy for you and Batman.. Losing a Robin, I mean."

Nightwing halted in his steps and before Morgan could stop, she'd kicked him in the stomach. He let out a grunt of surprise.

"Sorry!" She squeaked and took a step back.

"It's fine." He reassured her. He paused for a moment, his jaw clenched tight. "But let's call it a day."

Morgan nodded and wiped at her sweaty forehead.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Nightwing shortly said, heading for the exit.

Morgan flinched and, because apparently the newest trend was telling Nightwing anything and everything you felt, she called after him, "I'm sorry for bringing him up! I didn't mean to overstep any boundaries."

Morgan had lost count of how many times she'd said 'sorry' since their conversation started.

He paused with his back to her. "You didn't." he eventually assured her. "I just don't like to talk about it."

Morgan didn't stop him again when he started walking, leaving the gym. She'd never seen him practically flee a situation like that, he was the enduring type, so she figured this really was a very sore subject.

"And Morgan," He turned around and Morgan snapped her head up to look at him again. "Don't hate the rich kids. Pity them. Because one day they'll be thrown into the real world, and they won't know what hit them."

Morgan nodded, finding the energy to force through a small smirk. Nightwing left afterwards, leaving behind a very tense girl who regretted bringing up the subject of her mentor's dead friend.

Morgan groaned and rolled her eyes. Her and her big mouth. They'd almost made a bit of progress, but now she'd ruined it.

January 13th

"We need to do something fun for once." M'gann announced.

Morgan, Connor, Garfield and Cassie were sitting in the living room, each of them in various stages of boredom. Connor stood behind the couch with the usual glare on his face as he watched the news on their large TV, occasionally peeling his eyes away to watch in amazed disgust as Garfield loudly and messily consumed two bags of chips, a liter of coke, and a bar of chocolate.

The green-skinned boy's excuse was that he was having a growth spurt and needed the calories.

Cassie took up the entire couch as she lay on her back, reading a magazine, and her sprawled out position was the reason Connor chose to stand. There simply wasn't enough space on the couch for both of them.

Morgan was sitting on the floor in front of the couch, her back leaning against it, picking at a loose thread on the rug while halfheartedly paying attention to the TV.

That's how M'gann found the four of them. It was late Sunday afternoon and not a single member of the team had gone on a mission. The entire world had decided to be boring that day. Most of the others had gone home already, but Cassie had chosen to stay because she was waiting for Wonder Woman. Something about extra training, Morgan honestly wasn't sure what she'd said because she hadn't really been listening.

M'gann, upon entering the room and receiving not a single greeting from any of the four, had sighed, placed her hands on her hips in a motherly fashion, and declared that they needed to do something.

Garfield paused mid-chew and faced her. Swallowing loudly, he asked, "Like what?"

"I don't know.. Something fun."

Morgan snorted. "You guys could always help me do my homework?"

"No thank you." Cassie's voice was slow with boredom and she didn't blink or divert her gaze as she kept reading her magazine.

Connor uncrossed his arms but other than that, he didn't offer any input to their conversation.

"But you're right." Morgan agreed. "If I get any more bored, I'm afraid my face is literally gonna go so slack, it'll fall clean of my head."

"That'd be fun." Garfield helpfully remarked. "I mean, I'd certainly be entertained for the rest of the evening."

"We could go spar?" M'gann suggested, walking further into the room and sitting down on the edge of the couch, causing Cassie to bend her legs to allow the alien room. "Everyone against everyone?"

"As the only normal human, I find that idea stupid and dangerous." Morgan replied, leaning her head backwards against the couch so she could see M'gann upside-down.

"You have wings and telekinesis." M'gann pointed out. "Hardly a normal human."

"As the only one with little-to-non fighting experience, especially against superpowered beings, I find that idea stupid and dangerous." Morgan amended.

Connor rolled his eyes and finally moved, though it was only to grab the remote and turn up the sound on the TV. "I'm trying to watch here." He complained.

"Okay, so no fighting." M'gann decided, wracking her brain for something else to do. "What about going outside? We could make a campfire and roast marshmallows?"

Garfield looked eager at the thought of s'mores and Morgan almost felt bad for pointing out the flaw in M'gann's suggestion.

"Aren't you, like, allergic to fire or something?"

"Not if I stay at a safe distance." M'gann replied.

"Even so, the snow storm going on outside does kind of ruin the otherwise undoubtedly cozy idea." Morgan added.

"It's not a snow storm." M'gann protested.

Everyone fell silent as the news anchor conveniently advised the residents in Happy Harbor to stay inside as the winds outside had evolved into a regular storm.

Cassie snickered behind her magazine and one corner of Connor's mouth tilted upwards.

"So how about a game?" Cassie suddenly suggested, putting aside her magazine and sitting up. "There's a monopoly game lying around somewhere in the Cave."

"That's not a bad idea." Morgan agreed. "If we can find it."

"I thought Nightwing confiscated it after the last time we played?" Garfield wondered as he munched on another mouthful of bacon-chips.

This sounded like an interesting story, Morgan decided. "What happened?"

Garfield grimaced, M'gann laughed nervously and scratched the back of her neck. Even Connor cringed slightly. "You don't want to know." The three said in synchronization.

Morgan shifted so she was facing the couch. "Well, now I really want to know." She accused.

Garfield hopped nimbly off his perch on the couch's armrest. "Think of how a normal game of monopoly usually ends and then imagine it when it's a bunch of superpowered kids playing instead."

Morgan grimaced as she saw the image in her mind. "Okay," She let it go, "So no monopoly. How about a card game?"

"Can't." Cassie stood up. "Wonder Woman's here."

Morgan was about so ask how she knew but then remembered that the girl had all sorts of powers, super hearing probably included.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow!" She greeted cheerily and then left.

Morgan sighed. "I guess I'd better do my homework anyway.." she grumbled, standing. "I used to have all the time in the world to do my homework and now I feel like I never have the time to get any of it done."

It sounded like complaining, but it really wasn't. The reason Morgan didn't seem to have time for any homework was because she was doing something much more important. Spending time with friends and training to help protect the world some day. Surely that was more important than math equations and English essays.

Morgan barricaded herself in her room for the rest of the night to focus on her school work. The hours stretched on and in her solitude she almost felt like she was back with her mom again, like the last few months hadn't happened at all.

Thinking too much about her mom caused an ache like no other in her chest and once she felt her eyes water, she firmly pushed the thought of her mom as far from her mind as possible to focus on her work and then go to bed.

She missed her mom so, so much. She hated the way things had ended between them. Morgan had tried to accept that perhaps her mother wasn't even interested in seeing her again, but a small part of her still had hope that they'd be reconciled in some way.

It would make her life infinitely easier and far less heartbreaking if she knew her mother still loved her and that she was always welcome at her place.

January 18 th

It had taken Esmeralda fifteen minutes of begging, whining and eye-lash batting to convince Morgan to let her do her nails.

The three girls had startlingly similar schedules, including all of their free periods, which they'd taken to spend in the school's library, drinking cocoa, talking, sometimes doing homework, and reading. Currently, Morgan was watching in trepidation as Esmeralda was digging into her bag and pulling one nails polish after the other out of it.

The blonde girl had fought, tooth and nail, doing everything she could to avoid her humiliating fate, but if there was one battle she knew she'd lose, it was this one. Esmeralda had been dropping 'subtle' hints that she wanted to give Morgan a makeover before the winter ball and Morgan had finally caved, even agreeing to joining her and Rachel's sleepover the night before the ball.

"It'll be fun!" Esmeralda reassured her. "We'll go shopping for dresses and afterwards we'll go to my place. Then we'll get ready together the next day."

In the end, Morgan had weighed the pros and cons. It wasn't that she disliked Rachel and Esmeralda per se, but she could only deal with a certain doze of them at a time.

On the other hand, she had no idea what she was supposed to wear and how she was supposed to look and behave during that ball and their input and advice would be greatly appreciated. Part of her told herself that she didn't care about what she should wear or how she should behave, that she didn't care what the people at school thought of her. A larger part acknowledged that she was probably going to go to this school for four years and she didn't want to spend them in constant alienation from her fellow students.

So choosing her course of action had been easy in the end.

She'd agreed to go to their sleepover the former Friday and now, Monday, Esmeralda had showed up with a pair of black high heels that fit Morgan perfectly, as well as a few papers with color schemes.

"I usually plan this kind of thing weeks ahead but since you only agreed a few days ago.." She held up a few of the color schemes, comparing them to Morgan's complexion, hair, and eyes. "We'll have to make do."

Morgan batted the paper away moodily. "What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to figure out which colors suit you. For your dress, nails, jewelry and makeup."

Rachel nodded solemnly. "These kinds of things aren't just thrown together, you know. Fashion is a science."

"Me, for example." Esmeralda began, "I'm golden-blond and tan so golden makeup and bright red lipstick suits me best."

"And because of my darker colors," Rachel took over as she held up another color scheme, "Warm colors such as red, orange and brown suits me best – oooh that one looks promising."

"Yeah, the color fits her eyes perfectly and would really compliment her hair." Esmeralda agreed.

"What?" Morgan asked, finding herself unexpectedly into this already. "Which?"

Esmeralda laid down a piece of paper and explained the basics. "This color scheme represents the dress, this one the makeup, and this one the jewelry and nails." She pointed to each respective square clutter of colors.

Morgan looked at them. According to the paper, the girls planned for her to wear a royal blue dress with silver jewelry and smoky eyes.

"But if you didn't know what would suit me before, why did you bring me these?" Morgan held up the simple black pumps.

Esmeralda smiled slyly. "I figured you'd appreciate something simple. And also I got the feeling you'd need a few days of getting used to walking in them."

Morgan, first instinct to argue as usual, opened her mouth to protest, but closed it again when she realized that Esmeralda was spot on. "I look that hopeless, do I?" She asked, grinning sheepishly.

"Yeah, you kinda do." Rachel agreed. "But a few hours of practice and you'll walk like a pro. Don't worry."

Morgan looked at the shoes and had to admit that if she'd ever wear heels, this was the kind she'd want. "Thanks guys." She decided to voice her appreciation. "I'll take these home and walk around in them for a bit then, shall I?"

"Please do." Esmeralda agreed as she collected all the color scheme papers and stuffed them into her bag, leaving the chosen one behind. "Obviously we can't know what size and type of dress will fit you yet, but already knowing the color really narrows down the field."

"And now: your nails!" Esmeralda cheered and pulled forth a manicure set from behind her back. Rachel immediately scooted closer.

"I was thinking of the traditional white on the tips and then a blue color that matches the dress." Esmeralda told her.

Rachel frowned slightly, nodding contemplatively. "Yeah, but perhaps a silver instead of blue to match the jewelry?"

"Isn't silver nails a little tacky?" Morgan piped up. She was sitting on the other side of the small circular table, patiently awaiting her doom.

The two girls looked up at her simultaneously, not saying a word, and Morgan got the feeling she'd said something stupid.

"Gold nails would be." Esmeralda explained. "Silver's not that bad. But if it would make you uncomfortable, we can use blue instead, but with silver tips?"

"Look girls," Morgan held up her hands in silent surrender. "I know nothing about these things. I trust you're more than capable of choosing the right thing. You're more qualified than me, anyway."

Rachel shrugged and the two girls put their heads together again in deep discussion.

"Alright, so we've decided." Esmeralda announced a moment later. "White tips, blue nails aaand," she pulled out a small plastic box with beads in them. "A flat silver bead on each nail. It'll look adorable! Gimme your hands."

"Wait, you want to do them now?" Morgan questioned, sitting on her hands in protest.

"Sure, why not? The party's in a few days time." Esmeralda shrugged. "So unless you decide engage in some sort of physical labor, like, say, a fight, I think you can avoid ruining the polish. And if you do ruin it, we'll do them over the night before."

She almost felt like telling Esmeralda that Morgan engaging in a fight in the next few days was more likely than they'd think. She did have a sparring session with Nightwing later that day, and he'd promised to take her for a patrol in the city tonight.

The manicure would definitely get ruined.

"Morgan, hand over your hands." Rachel commanded.

Morgan did hand over her hands and only with a minimum of grumbling and complaining too. "Det bliver jeres egen skyld når I skal starte forfra på torsdag."1 she mumbled to herself. By now the two other girls had learned to ignore her muttered Danish.

They sat in silence for a while as the two girls started working on her hands. Rachel was filling her nails even on one hand as Esmeralda prepared the manicure set. As soon as Rachel finished, the two girls swapped places and Esmeralda started painting the nails on Morgan's left hand as Rachel began filing the nails on her right hand.

After Esmeralda had finished three of her nails, Rachel broke the silence. "Now," she adopted a devilish look that made Morgan nervous. "We just need to find you a date."

After staring at her in absolute horror for several seconds, Morgan sat up straight and shook her head vigorously. "Absolutely not."

"Aw come on!" Esmeralda begged and slung herself over the table, fixing Morgan with a wide eyed look.

"Come on guys," Morgan said almost desperately. "How on earth am I going to get a date?" She motioned around the room with her free hand, pointing out that nearly every girl there looked like a supermodel and Morgan.. did not. Given the choice between Morgan and the other girls in this place, the guys wouldn't exactly be lining up in an attempt to ask her to the ball. "And I'll never be able to build up enough courage to ask someone out myself."

Rachel looked at some point behind Morgan, her devilish look curling into an absolutely evil smirk. Raising to fingers to her mouth, she left out a loud whistle. Morgan jumped in surprise at the sudden noise.

"Yo! Darren!"

Morgan looked behind her and spotted a small group of guys standing a few tables over. One in particular was looking at Rachel, and Morgan figured he must be Darren.

Rachel waved at him to signal him closer and by now she had gained the attention of every guy in the group. Morgan spotted the blue ties around their necks and realized they were second years.

To her horror, as the five guys approached, she spotted Nightwing in the group.

"Whatareyoudoing?" Morgan rapidly hissed under her breath as she turned back to Rachel, whose smirk only widened into a friendly smile, her eyes fixed on the group approaching.

"You'll see." She muttered back.

"Whats up?" Darren asked when he finally arrived, his hands dug into his pockets in an attempt to appear casual. He was tall – not as tall as Nightwing, Morgan noted – and blonde, with a pair of soft brown eyes and a well-enough attractive face.

"You got a date for the Winter Ball?" Rachel asked sweetly. Morgan got a sinking feeling in her stomach as she watched the scene unfold. She locked eyes with Nightwing – Dick, she supposed he should be called right now – before she redirected her eyes.

Darren shrugged. "Not yet."

"Would you invite Morgan as your date?" She asked, her sweet smile widening even further.

Morgan's jaw unhinged, her eyes widening in absolute horror. She saw Dick turn his head to hide the amused smile playing at his lips and her face burned with embarrassment as she kept her own eyes trained on the table.

The entire thing was mortifying from start to finish. Darren fell silent as he studied her unabashedly, his eyes roaming from her wildly curled head to her hands – which, to Morgan's embarrassment were still being manicured by Esmeralda – to the way she'd turned her chair around, her front leaning against the backrest, legs straddling it.

He seemed to not entirely hate what he saw because he shrugged again. "Sure why not."

Dick's smile dropped, his mouth pursing in a displeased line and he looked between his friend and Morgan.

"Great!" Rachel cheered. "It's decided then. Wear this color for your tie, please." Rachel took the paper with the decided color scheme on it and ripped half of the dress color off, handing the small slip of paper to the man, who accepted. "We'll see you this Friday."

"Sure." Darren said, flashing a brief smile at Morgan, who was staring straight ahead in pure horror and didn't notice the smile at all, her neck and face burning with her blush.

Then the small group of boys shuffled away again, some of them laughing and teasing their blonde friend.

Nightwing was at the back of the group and Morgan caught his eyes for a second, her eyes scream 'help me!'. His face was unreadable as he turned around and disappeared with his friends.

"What. The hell. Was that?" Morgan finally forced out, training her stormy eyes on a smug-looking Rachel.

"Aaand, that's how you get a date." She said instead of answering. "You're welcome."

"What if I didn't want a date?" Morgan accused. "And even if I did, which I'm not saying I do, what if I didn't want that guy to be my date?"

Esmeralda giggled. "Darren's a perfectly nice guy. Don't worry about it. But I can understand if you're annoyed because you had.. someone else you wanted to go with?" Her sweet smile turned teasing, her eyebrow raised suggestively.

Morgan scoffed. "Like who?"

"Oooh," Rachel caught on, a sly smile taking over her own face. Morgan was utterly clueless and kind of scared.

"After all, he was in the same group of guys just now. You could've just as easily asked him, right Rachel?"

"Yes. Perhaps I should've asked Dick Grayson if he was interested? Would you have liked that better?"

Morgan's mouth dropped open for a second time in just as many minutes and she began spluttering as she attempted to debunk their groundless suspicions. "Are you insane? I'd go to the dance with a rotting fish than that rich boy!" Morgan said fiercely.

Perhaps too fiercely as the two girls started chortling gleefully. "You totally did! You wanted to go to the Winter Ball with Dick Grayson!" Rachel accused.

Morgan flushed, out of anger she told herself, and pulled her hands back as Esmeralda finished her last nail. "You guys are ridiculous. I don't want to date Dick Grayson. Now shut up so I can finish my math homework. That's why I'm here to begin with. Learning and stuff."

Morgan attempt edto block out their giggling and teasing as she grabbed her pencil and calculator and set to work. She was soon completely immerged in her own little world of math and science, not even registering the small talk that passed between her two only friends at Gotham Academy.

Still, occasionally, a small nagging voice would make itself known and she'd find herself contemplating something she didn't want to spare a single thought on.

Did she want to go to the ball with Nightwing? And if so, was that because he was the only boy she knew at the school or because of something else?

1: "You've only got yourselves to blame when you're gonna have to start over on thursday."

Just a heads up: I'm going to slow down on updating just a wee bit. If I keep going at this rate, I wont be able to keep up with my writing at some point and that would make my updates sporadic and slow. So expect updates every five days instead of twice a week.

Also, due to some very helpful reviews, I think I've got the hang of how college works now. Sorry for being such an idiot. I've decided that Gotham University is a private college. (Actually I've kind of thought of it as a private university from the beginning. A place for the elite to bring their kids.)

Thank you guys for helping me out!

Fun Fact: Morgan is red/green color blind and finds M'gann horribly confusing to look at sometimes.