A Night to Remember or Forget [Open]

[Barbara Gordon]

April 26, 2013 (Friday)
Gotham City

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The air around Gotham Academy was buzzing with excitement. School was starting to creep to an end and for the upper classmen, Prom was just around the corner. The halls were littered with posters and flyers. Some counting down the days until the dance and others demanding voted. For fifteen year old Barbara Gordon, prom was just another High School experience that she would miss out on. It was a fact that she had learned to accept when she was told that she would be graduation two years in advance. While she had been given permission to go no one had asked her and so she had not made any plans.

The last bell of the day sounded and the student body flooded out of their classrooms, ready for the start of the weekend. Barbara weaved her way through the crowded halls, smiling and waving whenever her name was called out. She finally stopped at her locker, opening it and pulling out the books she would need for tonight’s homework.AP English, Calculus, and Physics. Babs mentally recited the classes as each book slid into her book bag. A sigh escaped her lips as she looked down at her the bag, which had doubled in weight, tonight was going to be another long night. She tugged out her binder in an attempt to lessen the weight.

There were times that Babs sometimes regretted her vigilante job. The long nights meant less sleep, which left her exhausted every morning as she dragged herself out of bed and got ready for school. She was also pretty sure her Dad was beginning to notice her budding caffeine addiction, some morning she would blame school work and late night study session. She lived for the weekends, the days she would finally be able to catch up on some sleep. The teenage red head looked into the mirror that hung on her locker door. Her hand went up to lightly touch the dark circles under her eyes. They were faint, only visible if one looked hard enough. She knew that with her night time hobbies they were going to get worse, which meant she would have to pick up some cover up if she didn’t want everybody finding out who she was. She hoped she would be able to get some more sleep once she was in college and living on her own. Then she would not have to worry about her Dad finding out her secret nor about having to wake up early.

Babs was still looking in the mirror when two girls stopped a few lockers down, she was able to see their reflection and was close enough to hear their conversation. Like most of the females in the junior and senior class, they were talking about their plans for prom. Barbara opened up her binder, pretending to be engrossed in her French notes. Truth be told, she did not anyone to see the disappointment in her eyes. She was the youngest senior so she hadn’t been expecting to be asked out but that didn’t mean she had not wanted it. A part of her wished she was actually going, a break from hero work would have been great. A night full of dancing would have been even better but she knew that Gotham needed her. Heroes didn’t get time off, they worked every night rain or shine. And it wasn’t as if she never had an opportunity to dress up, she’d been to her own share of Wayne fundraisers thanks to her dad. It wasn’t as if she’d regret not getting herself ready or taking pictures. She wouldn’t have to worry about dinner reservations or the limo. She didn’t have to stress like the other girls were doing at this moment. Another sigh escaped her lips, so maybe she wished she did have plans for next Saturday. Plans that did not involve punching criminals in the face while dressed as a bat.

The sound of approaching footsteps brought Barbara’s attention back to the emptying hallway. She looked up to see Jacob, a junior from her French class, walking towards her. Hope stated blossoming in her chest with every step he took, closing the gap between them. She smiled up him, in response to the crooked grin on his face. She hugged her binder to her chest, her pulse starting to quicken. Maybe she would be telling Bruce that she’d be busy next weekend."Hey Barbara...I was wondering if you..."Should she wear her hair up or down? Was there enough time to buy a new dress or would she have to use one of the gowns she already had?"Managed to catch what the French homework was?"Disappointment flooded the young girl, she did her best to hide it. She was grateful for Batman’s training.“Oh…yeah. It’s umm…to read chapters 12 and 13, then do the review at the end of each chapter.” “Thanks! You’re the best.” She forced a smile on her face as he walked away, mentally scolding herself. She should have known better, no way would a guy like him ask her out. Defeated, Babs shut her locker before closing her eyes and resting her forehead against it. “I’m such an idiot.” She spoke softly, refusing to open her eyes. She fought down the lump in her throat. She would not cry, not here and not over a stupid dance.

[Richard Grayson]

Tick. Tick. Tick. The clock on the wall was definitely doing it's job. It was working, it was keeping track of the time and young Richard Grayson was certain he could actually hear the thing ticking. It was Friday at the prestigious Gotham Academy, 2:55 P.M. to be exact about it. Every kid, even those that had the honor of attending this place lived for the weekend and though he wasn't like most kids by any stretch of the imagination, Dick couldn't wait for three o'clock either. Of course it wasn't because he was some sort of bad student, or he was the type that hated going to school and so counted down the seconds until time to go home everyday as a result. No, that wasn't the case at all. No, Dick's eagerness to leave stemmed more from the fact that he'd been out on patrol later than normal the previous night as Robin, The Boy Wonder. When you were dealing with drug dealers and gangs in Gotham City, getting up early for school the next morning wasn't something you got to stress over while bullets whizzed by your head and ten or fifteen guys tried ripping you apart at one time. Dick needed this five minutes to hurry up and get over with because he was just plain ready for some type of sleep at this point. Well, that and Bruce was supposed to be showing him a couple of new toys and he was kind of eager to see what they were.

Sitting in his last class of the day, English was proving to be a drag today. Leaned over on the table in front of him, he sighed as his teacher's rather monotonous voice just went on and on and on. He leaned back, his back resting against the back of the chair as he sighed once again, just ready to get out of there. The thought of anything else relevant to school hadn't even crossed his mind at this point. Not the upcoming prom, not homework still left to be turned in or any of it. He was just ready to go home right now. He tried to actually pay attention to what was being said by the teacher, but his mind just kept going to what kind of new gadget had Bruce gotten his hands on that they'd be using now? Maybe some cool new do it all Batarang and Birdarangs? A new motorcycle for him? Bruce had finally listened to him and gotten Lucious to hook up some jetpacks? That'd be sweet for sure. Wally would be so jealous when he showed up at Mount Justice with a jetpack. Oh he couldn't wait to see their faces.

Eventually the clock ticked and ticked, the red second hand going now as they dipped under a minute. Dick's eyes stayed glued to the wall as the clock ticked down. Five, four, three, two, one! Right on cue, the bell rang, last of the day. Before the teacher could even properly dismiss them kids were on their feet, bags scooped up from the floors and off the backs of their chairs and they were flying out of the classroom door. Dick was right in the thick of it. He'd loaded up his bag and was in the middle of the pack filing out into the hallway. As expected, the halls were flooded with excited youths. People making plans for the weekend, people deciding on things to do once they got out of the building today, some discussing next Saturday night. Dick navigated his way through the crowds as he made his way to his locker. He got held up a couple of times talking to some people. A few of the guys trying to convince him to come out with them tonight as they were going to hang at the mall for a while and probably catch a movie afterward. That was a plan that he wouldn't have minded being involved in, but unfortunately for him, he had to decline for reasons he couldn't be totally truthful about with them. Eventually he finally made it to his locker. After a quick shuffling, putting a few books in and taking a few out, the locker was closed, the bag was zipped and he was ready to roll. Now he just needed to track down his best friend.

A short walk down the long hall and Dick could see the all too familiar red hair belonging to the girl as she was standing by her locker. She was there looking at herself in the mirror. He'd have to tease her about that at some point later. He continued weaving through the crowd as she stood there in the mirror for a bit, eventually a guy approaching her. Someone from her French class if he was remembering correctly. By the time Dick finally reached her, the guy was halfway down the hall leaving already. He was just in time to hear her call herself an idiot with a weird look on her face, her eyes closed tight as well. "Hahahaha" that unmistakable laugh of his came out before anything else he could say or do to tip her off that he was there. "I didn't realize idiots had 4.0 GPAs. Good one, Babs." He casually leaned against the locker next to hers, looking at the back of her head waiting for her to turn and face him. "You ready to head home or you stressing over not answering a question in class as quickly as you wanted?" He laughed as he asked, obviously joking with her, though it was a legit question at the same time. Babs was smart, possibly the smartest person he knew, he didn't doubt for a minute that one of the things that annoyed and frustrated her was when she didn't immediately get something right that she knew she knew the answer to. That kind of thing he was aware bugged her and god forbid she got it wrong. She was something else.

[Barbara Gordon]

The last thing Barbara wanted to do was open her eyes but when the all too familiar laugh reached her eyes, she knew she had no other choice. She mentally cursed her best friend, she was used to his laugh, though it still would creep her out during the night when the two would patrol together. She had no idea how Batman put up with it. Well at least the laughter threw people off guard and it that always made patrol more entertaining. He knew how to lighten up the mood, she's give him that much.

"No" Finally Barbara opened her eyes and turned to face her best friend, rolling her eyes at him as soon as her blue orbs landed on his grinning face. She knew he was teasing her, so maybe she used to get mad at herself for that very reason but she had learned to take it easy...somewhat. " I thought something was going to happen. I got my hopes up even though I should have know better. And of course it didn't happen." She hadn't wanted to tell Dick why she was upset but it had tumbled out, a bit vaguely. She did her best to hide the catch in her voice, he didn't need to know just how upset she really was. It was time for her to put up her mask, at least until she was able to get home and sulk with a tub of ice cream. After that she'd throw her self pity out the window and move on with her life, one night of self pity would be long enough.

She pushed her thoughts about prom aside, instead focusing on the male infront of her. She was caught off guard when she realized that she was looking directly into his blue eyes. How had she missed that?! She spend almost every day and night with him, she had no idea when he had finally caught up to her."When did you grow?!" Looked him up and down, double checking his height against her own. He had definitely grown. She stared at him for a bit longer, blushing in embarrassment when she realized what she was going. So her best friend had grown a few inches, it wasn't like it was a big deal that she was able to better see the blue eyes of his that made girls melt. Not that she was one of those girls, he was her friend and she did not think of him in that way. Sure she had a tiny crush on Robin in the past but that was way before she found out who he really was. That was in the past and she was pretty sure he had something going on with some other girl.

Babs started walking towards the exit, the hall empty except for a few stragglers like themselves, waiting only long enough for Dick to move beside her. " So what plans does the great Dick Grayson have for tonight? Did the blond from PE ask you out after all?"She looked over at her him, a teasing grin on her face. She was going to make the best of this weekend and next, she didn't need prom to make her happy.

[Richard Grayson]

The grin was still plastered on Dick's face as he stood, leaned against the lockers, looking at the back of Barbara's head. Was pretty amazing that even the back of her head was beautiful. He wondered if she was aware of that? He didn't linger on the thought for long as she finally spoke up, giving him a quick 'no' and finally turning around to face him, eyes rolling as she did so. Hmmm...he wasn't sure if that was the typical amused, yet annoyed at being the butt of the joke Babs eye roll or the plain old annoyed Babs eye roll. He'd probe a little bit deeper for the answer, but he'd be sure to be careful to not do anything to really tick her off. He'd seen her angry, he didn't like it. Avoiding it was generally one of his better ideas.

He frowned, wrinkling his nose at the response that he got from her about something not happening after she'd gotten her hopes up for it to happen. "You thought the food was going to be good in the cafeteria today didn't you?" He chuckled at his own bad joke for a moment before looking at her with a more serious look on his face. "Kidding. I'll stop. Did you want to talk about what happened? I'll bet it's not all that bad," he offered, giving a weak smile as he put a comforting hand on her shoulder. He let it rest there for a moment before realizing that he might have let his hand linger there too long and pulled it away, trying not to show any awkwardness there.

Rubbing a hand on the back of his neck he looked confused for a brief second when she questioned when he grew. "Huh?" He questioned right away before he realized where she was going with that. "Oh! He laughed, standing up straight from against the locker now and walking a few steps out towards the middle of the hall, his back turned to her briefly before he faced her again. "Oh come on. Like you hadn't realized this already. We've been the same height for a while now, Babs. Or were you too busy focusing on your tech porn? Advanced processors and RAM and all that," the last part of that was said with a grin. One she'd recognize as one that was always present when he was joking with her like this. Though there was some truth to his words. Babs loved her technology. If it was computer related, sign her up. He was a decent enough hacker, but it was nothing compared to what she could do. She was kind of like a computer herself honestly.

As she started to make her way to the exit, he followed after, hands rested on the straps of his backpack over his shoulders as he moved beside her, smiling brightly as she asked him his plans for the night. "Going straight home tonight. Bruce said he had something to show me 'down in the basement' when I got home." He made sure not to speak to freely just in case some of the stragglers could hear them talking. He was excited for what was coming up possibly. At the question about the blonde in PE he looked at her with a smile. "Thee Barbara Gordon jokes? Miracles do happen," he shot back jokingly. He was really glad they had the friendship they did. He couldn't be like this with anybody else. Maybe Wally. Maybe.

[Barbara Gordon]

Babs shook her head at Dick. "It's stupid I shouldn't even worry about it. I'm busy every night anyways." She didn't want to confess to hi about Prom, that would only result in him teasing her some more. While it would be in good nature, she wasn't sure she'd be able to handle it at the moment. She smiled back at him, trying to reassure him that she was okay. A part of her was disappointed when he removed his hand from her shoulder.

She watched him straighten up, still unsure of how she had missed his growth spurt. She let out a short laugh at the mention of tech porn. She had always liked working with computers but she had taken to Bruce's tech training like a bird takes to flying, she was a natural and slowly getting better. She shrugged at him, a grin on her face. "One of us has to know how to fix the computer when you break it. You'd get into so much trouble if I wasn't around to fix things." Joking with Dick was always easy.

Barbara nodded in understanding. Bruce had a new toy down in the batcave, she was curious to find out what it was. "It's probably some new gymnastics equipment that your going to end up flinging yourself off of. We all know Alfred hates finding you hanging off the chandelier." She knew that her best friend loved his acrobatics, it was a large part of him. That didn't mean she wouldn't teas him when she could. She actually envied him, how natural he made it look. Even with her gymnastics training she could never pull off a maneuver as flawlessly as he could but that was something she would never admit to him.

" Hey!" She laughed and shouldered him lightly. She didn't joke often but that didn't mean she didn't know how. "I wasn't joking though. She was talking about asking you out when we were in the locker room. Her exact words were 'I need to ask him before someone beats me to it and takes him to prom.' Careful Dick, the desperate are coming out of their caves." She turned to face a group of giggling cheerleaders an then back at him. She had no idea if he noticed all the attention the female student body gave him nowadays. Most of them wanted a rich boyfriend and had set their eyes on him. " Let me know how prom goes." She shifted her book bag from one shoulder to the other, rolling the one that had held the weight of her school work. She looked around seeing if her dad had decided to surprise her and pick her up from school. He had not. It looked like another day on the bus for her. "Is Alfred picking you up? She knew the answer, Alfred always picked him up.

[Richard Grayson]

Now Dick was a bit on the worried side. He was beginning to wonder if maybe this had something to do with her dad? Maybe he promised her something and then had to back out of it because of work or something? He wasn't really sure, she was being surprisingly vague about the whole thing. It was surprising because the relationship that the two of them had as best friends meant no secrets. If one of them had something on their mind, it was nothing to talk to the other about it. He'd confided quite a bit to Barbara in their friendship and she had to him as well. It was just how their dynamic worked. He looked at her, features softened on his face. "Your dad again?" It was really no fun seeing her like this. She may have wanted to hide that something was really bothering her with that reassuring smile, but surely she had to know that he knew her much better than that?

As the mood was lightened with his lighthearted ribbing of her affinity for all things computer, Dick grinned at Barbara as she teased him, taunting that someone needed to know how to fix the computer when he broke it. "Hey, I'm just doing my part to keep your skills sharp. All apart of the training program," he retorted with a laugh. She was rather hilarious when she wanted to be. His crack about her tech love was on point though. He accepted the fact that she was much, much better with the tech training than he'd ever been and could ever hope to be. It was one of the things that clearly separated them as partners of Bruce. Her thing was the computers and tech, she did it at a level he just couldn't match. Meanwhile his thing was the acrobatics. It came as naturally to him as the tech stuff did to her.

Speaking of his acrobatics, his eyes lit up at the prospects of some new equipment being brought in by Bruce. He smirked as she said he'd end up flinging himself off of the new equipment and that Alfred hated finding him hanging from the chandelier. "Jealous, Babs?" He teased playfully crossing over in front of her and walking on backwards to look right at her as he went. "You should try it sometime. Practice makes perfect," he added with a laugh.

His expression changed though at the mention of the girl looking to ask him out. Instead of the playful grin he'd been sporting, his look was now something more carefree. Not really concerned all that much with the blonde. She was a cutie no doubt, but he was good either way. "Ehh, I haven't talked to her. We'll see how I feel whenever she does," he said shrugging his shoulders. He broke his stride however, stopping right in Barbara's path with a look of surprise on his face when she told him to tell her how prom was. What? "You're not going? Seriously?" Was she really going to skip out on prom? Surely even she would want to go to prom, right? Right? He finally moved aside as she started to look around, he assumed for her dad to pick her up. It wasn't a common thing for that to happen. With his job he didn't always have the time to pull away from work to pick her up. He nodded at the question if Alfred was picking him up. Opposite of her situation, it wasn't a common thing for Alfred not to pick him up from school. "Want a ride? He asked, a weak smile on his face as he did so.

[Tigress]

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MADE BY MINNIE OF BTN

[Barbara Gordon]

Babs shook her head. "Everything is fine with Dad." She knew she was starting to worry him but she didn't want to tell him she hadn't been asked out to prom. Call it pride or a stubborn streak, she just didn't want to deal with the teasing...at least not yet. A part of her knew she'd tell him sooner or later if he didn't figure it out that is.

Barbara laughed feeling light-hearted for the moment."If it's part of the training program I should let you fix your mess, don't want your skills getting rusty." She had always been good with computers; while she had always chalked it up to her memory, she knew it was more than that. She was just tech savvy and Batman's training had made her even better.Basic security systems didn't stand a chance against her. Since it came so easy to her, she spent more time practicing her acrobatics and combat skills. She felt like a beginner when she watched Dick preform. Gymnastics paled in comparison to circus acrobatics. She could only hope that she looked as graceful as he did. Not that she's ever admit to him how much she loved watching him preform.

Babs smirked at him when he asked her if she was jealous. "Jealous of getting in trouble with Alfred, never. You can keep that attention while I get to have his homemade cookies."She rolled her eyes at him for walking backwards. There was no point in telling him to be careful and besides if he somehow managed to fall over or hit something it would be a good laugh for her. She knew the chances of that were as likely as her failing any of her classes, impossible. " I think I'll practice at the gym, so I don't have to deal with leaving smudges on the crystals"She smirked at him, her blue eyes shining.

"Seriously Dick...A girl is planning on asking you out and it's going to depend on you're mood, you are such a jerk sometimes." It bothered her that she was so nonchalant about girls asking him out. then again he had Bruce as a role model when it came to dating, it could be far worse."Just don't go breaking her heart. One day your charms going to run out. She had not meant to slip up about prom. He wasn't supposed to find out until the night of, when she was dressed in body armor instead of a gown. She stopped right in time to avoid running into him. " It's just a dance Dick. And beside I have plans every night." It was the same excuse she had been giving herself all day. It still didn't seem that convincing when spoken outloud. But telling him she wasn't going because she was dateless just sounded pathetic. She side stepped around him, looking over her shoulder to make sure he was following.

She nodded at him, her red hair bobbing up and down. She knew her dad would much rather she hitch a ride with Dick and Alfred instead of the city's public transportation. She shifted her books into one arm and linked the other through Dick's." My hero." she teased him lightly, a grin on her face." Thank you through, you know how much my dad hates me being alone in the city." He didn't know how well she could take care of herself, Batgirl was the biggest secret she kept from him.

She looked around, checking that no one was around them." So are we meeting the other's this weekend? After you tell me what Bruce's surprise is. Cause you are going to tell me, right?" She was curious and wanted to know just as much as Dick did. It was also a great why to make him forget about prom or so she hoped

[Richard Grayson]

One thing that Dick had a ton of, was patience when it came to Barbara Gordon. Dick rarely got angry at Babs and a lot of that had to do with the fact that he gave her a lot of leeway. A lot more than he would give most other people actually. Right now however, he was starting to get a little annoyed by her not being up front with him. He KNEW something was bothering her and he was fairly certain that she knew that he knew that. The way their friendship worked he was certainly hoping that she would know that anyway. So when she explained that her dad was fine, he frowned, giving her a serious look. "Well come on, Babs. Obviously it's something. Are you going to tell me or am I going to have to dig around myself and you KNOW I'll find out anyway?" Yeah, she had to know that this was a promise he would most certainly keep. Right?

Her laugh did make him laugh though. She had one of those contagious laughs that when you heard it, even if you didn't hear the joke or get it, hearing and seeing her laugh brought at least a smile to your face if not a full on laugh. At her comment though, he waved her off as he laughed. "Yeah, sure, whatever. My skills will be just fine. I've gotten all the practice in I need," Yeah she was better with the computers than him, like he'd ever willingly admit that though. Not in this lifetime. Besides, it was much too much fun going back and forth like this. They both got a kick out of it.

Dick scoffed as she mentioned that she'd be enjoying Alfred's homemade cookies while he got in trouble with the Wayne family butler. He and Alfred had an understanding, he wasn't going to be getting in trou...okay yeah, he would. He and Alfred got along great, but not even he was safe from the butler's wrath when he created extra work for the man. "Sorry, those cookies are for residents of Wayne Manor only. Alfred wouldn't let you have MY cookies," Dick retorted with a grin. He knew he was full of crap with that one, but again, this way was more fun. "You don't know how to have any fun. Practice in the gym. Not like you're gonna find yourself coming across a ton of balancing bars and treadmills out in the field, Babs. Jumping off banisters and chandeliers however? Legitimate training there."

The expression on Dick's face was still causal and completely unfazed by Babs' words, even the part calling him a jerk sometimes. "What's the problem, Babs, jeez. So a girl has intentions of asking me out? N.B.D. not like it's the first time it's happened. For all I know this is one of those 'ask out Bruce Wayne's kid' things," he responded. Certainly wouldn't be the first time he got one of those either. Not to sound like an arrogant ass or anything, but it wasn't uncommon for girls to approach him simply because of the fact that he was Bruce's adopted son. Some of them didn't even know his name and knew him simply as 'that rich kid.' That didn't matter anymore though when Barbara declared prom 'just a dance.' Was she serious right now? Wait, yeah, of course she was. He frowned her, his features showing he clearly was perplexed by her statement. "Just a dance? Hello, Earth to Babs! It's prom. You don't just...NOT go to prom." He watched her step around him, shaking his head at her excuse. "You have plans? What could you possibly be doing on the biggest night of your high school years? Fiddling around with a new operating system doesn't constitute prom skipping the way I see it." He was close to ninety nine percent certain that her plans consisted exactly of that or going out on patrol in which case that'd be even worse because then she was slipping into Bruce territory. That man would miss his own presidential inauguration to go punch some nobody purse snatcher in the face.

Though she'd linked her arm through his own and teased he was still a little on the shocked side that she wasn't going to prom and actually trying to pass it off as okay. He did smile though, shaking his head afterward at her mentioning her dad hating her being alone in the city. "Well, you are the teenage daughter of the police commissioner. Lots of trouble for you to get into with that status," he laughed as he said that since they both knew full well that she was more than capable of taking care of herself. He felt sorry for whatever poor soul(s) came across her walking the streets and trying to pull something on her. It'd be a moment they'd regret the rest of their lives.

He looked at her seriously following her questions about meeting the others and whether or not he was going to tell her about Bruce's surprise. "Yes and most certainly not," he responded with an evil grin. He'd make her figure out the surprise on her own. She could show off her detective skills that way. Not that he questioned them or anything like that. Again, this way was just way more fun.