Where It All Started

Trouble

~.: De's POV :.~

Ryan, Lukas, Aria, and I had all been having a really good time and for once, I was glad to be out and socializing instead of cooped up, afraid to leave Aria's side. Ryan and Lukas were planning on taking us to their house, and the idea of going to their place had my stomach turning with butterflies as I delicately and quietly ate my lunch while Ryan watched me eat. This is really sudden, and I'm kind of nervous... if Seth finds out that I'm hanging out with other guys- Before my mind can finish the dreaded thought, my phone vibrates in my pocket and I quickly slipped my phone out to check the screen as Aria glances confusedly at me. She's evidently picking up on my nervous attitude about being out with new people... I push the realization away as I tapped on my new message notification to see who texted me. Instantly my face pales as another text lights up my screen and I recognize the number as Seth's, my heart pounding with anxiety.
'Come outside, Princess, I've got a present for ya,'
'Don't keep me waiting.'
Nervously trembling, I lower my phone and slip it back into my pocket as Aria curiously nudges me in the side, "You okay?" She asked as I faked a smile and attempted to calm down a little despite my phone vibrating in my pocket with a call from Seth.
"Y-yeah! I'm fine," I lied, chewing at my bottom lip before swallowing the last bite of my meal that Ryan bought me, "I've gotta go though, there's something I forgot to do and it can't wait. So I can't come back to the guys' place," I explained, giving Ryan an apologetic smile which he returns warmly as he shakes his head in understanding.
"Are you serious?" Aria blurts out, raising an eyebrow at my explanation as I hurriedly get out of my seat, "But we're just about to leave-"
"It's not a problem, I promise," Ryan interrupts her, getting out of his seat and coming to my side as I start to leave the table, "I'll see you around. Text me when you can!" He pulls me into a gentle hug and I shyly return it, giggling softly in spite of my anxiety as my phone vibrates in my pocket again. You're so impatient, Seth...
"Will do, thanks for lunch," I sighed, moving my hair out of my face as I pull out of the hug, "I had a great time," Ryan chuckles softly, smiling warmly as I slipped out of his embrace before I rushed out of the restaurant and pulled out my cellphone to answer another call from Seth.
"Okay, where are you?" I instantly demanded as he picked up on the first ring, "I'm outside now," I hear him huskily chuckling on the other side of the phone line.
"Turn around, I see you," He finally replied and I whipped around as he revealed himself from the shadows behind the restaurant, "Hey, Princess~ did ya miss me?" He chuckled, grabbing my hand and pulling me toward him and placing a forced kiss to my forehead. I cringed and tried to pull away, hoping that Ryan or the others wouldn't see this encounter.
"C-can we go somewhere more private?" I stammered nervously, craning my head against his chest to look him in the eye, "My friends are in this restaurant and I don't want them to see..." Seth's face twists into a mocking smirk and he pulls me around to the back of the restaurant where he had been waiting for me.
"Good enough for ya, sweetness?" He chuckled darkly, leaning so close to me that I could smell his rich cologne on his neck, "I'm feeling generous today, so I'm gonna forgive you for ignoring my calls and text messages lately," I swallowed thickly as he starts kissing down my neck while he pins my wrists against the brick wall he has me up against, "I'll even forgive you for trying to cheat on me with that loser in there," as he says that, he starts unbuttoning my blouse and I squeak softly but he covers my mouth with a forced kiss as he plunges his tongue past my lips to swallow up my words.
"Be quiet, or I'll make this much more painful," He chuckled darkly against my lips, staring me directly in the eyes. I shrink under his gaze at the threat and he smiles in satisfaction, one of his hands going down to his belt loops. My eyes trail down toward his hips as he unbuttons his jeans and my heart jumps into my throat, anxiety piercing my stomach as I strain against the brick wall.
"Se-Seth! Pl-please-" I whimpered, trying to push him away while he slips my skirt down, "N-not here!" Seth flashes me a glare that instantly makes me regret speaking up.
"I said be quiet-" he snapped and with one fluid thrust of his hips, he forces himself into my folds which causes me to let out a pained whimper, "Does Princess like my gift?~ She should appreciate it, considering I'm probably much better at this than that loser with those stupid glasses," as he continues to humiliate Ryan, I felt a rush of adrenaline pouring through my veins and I find myself shaking even worse as he pulls out only to ram back into me viciously. Fight him off!! Why aren't you fighting him?! My conscience is screeching at me as I dig my fingernails into my palms, my head flying back against the bricks he's pinning me against. I- I can't fight him off! He's too strong- As I fight with my inner thoughts, Seth drops down, pushing his face between my legs as he spreads my thighs apart.
Don't you dare! I barely have time to process what's going on before he's suddenly flying into the wall behind him, yelping in surprise at the sheer force of being thrown. I glanced down at my hands, trembling in confusion, but as Seth angrily growls and tries to get up, I take the opportunity to rush away from him.
"S-Stay away from me!!" I stammered in a voice that sounds too loud and frightened, focusing on trying to get away from Seth as he attempts to follow after me, "I don't wanna hurt you!" He lets out a dark laugh as I find myself cornered against a dead end.
"You could never hurt me more than I'm about to hurt you, Princess," His voice sends a tremor through my heart and I brace myself for a beating when a sudden voice drags my attention away from Seth as he pressed me against the wall.
"Leave my best friend alone!" At the cry, I crane my head to the side to catch sight of Aria standing in the middle of the alleyway, her arms crossed impatiently as a breeze stirs up slightly. Seth merely chuckled under his breath, pressing closer against me and I feel his jean-covered bulge pushing against my thigh.
"Well, if it ain't the little Grayson," he laughed softly in a husky voice, "Do me a favor and buzz off." Aria glares threateningly at Seth and comes closer, the wind blowing harder around her as she approaches. What the heck is going on? The light from a nearby light pole flickers out and I yelped in surprise as I hear the cracking of the lightbulb when it shatters from the aggressive wind that seems to be coming off of Aria.
"I said... leave my friend alone," She snarled, and alarm washes over me as I realized that her eyes had turned completely white. Seth is tensed up against me and slightly shaking as Aria takes another threatening step toward him.
"F-fuck off," He snarled, but he lets me go and I scrambled out of his vicinity and approach Aria warily, "Freak! Kill somebody else, but not me," Seth hissed under his breath, aggressively shoving past Aria in an attempt to leave, but she grabs his arm and the wind picks up in speed and force, causing me to stumble.
"You're the freak, Seth," Aria snarls, getting in his face, "And if you ever hurt my friend again, I swear to god I will whoop your ass," As she threatens him, a flash of white envelops her and another rush of wind hits, throwing Seth against the brick wall beside him and knocking him out cold. In the same moment, Aria slumps forward and collapses to the ground. Yelping in surprise, I rush to her side and help her to her feet once more.
"What the heck was all that?" I demanded, leading her out of the alley as she groans softly, "AND SINCE WHEN DO YOU HAVE WIND POWERS?" Aria, pulling out her cellphone as it vibrates with an incoming call, merely waved off my concerned questions as we paused briefly for her to answer. On her screen is her brother's number as he calls her phone again, and we both anxiously exchange glances before she finally picks up.
"Aria, are you gonna be here soon? Bruce and I haven't left yet because we're waiting on you," Dick's voice comes from the speaker as Aria and I start walking out of the shadows once more.
"I'm coming, I'm coming," Aria grumbled, running a hand through her hair, "You guys can just pick me up now if you want. De and I just got done with hanging out with the boys," Dick is quiet for a minute.
"I'm not even gonna ask who the guys were," he sighs softly as Aria and I grin amusedly, "Bruce says we're gonna wait for you, but you need to hurry up." Before Aria can whine in complaint, Dick hangs up and she groans irritably.
"He's so fricking bossy," she huffed, putting her phone in her pocket as we walk back toward the direction of where the guys were still evidently parked, "I'll have the guys drive us back to the Manor since Dick and Bruce want us back ASAP," I don't bother to say anything as Ryan approaches me, a concerned gleam in his eyes.
"Are you okay? You look like you got beat up..." I nervously back away from him as he attempts to examine a scuff mark on my cheek from when my face had pressed up against the bricks, "Did someone hurt you..?" Aria watched me as I shuffled my feet and looked away from Ryan.
"I... I don't want to talk about it really..." I replied reluctantly, rubbing the back of my arm as Lukas opens the back car door for me and Aria to get in. Ryan gives me a concerned look but he doesn't press me for more answers which I'm grateful for. He just takes my hand in his and squeezes it gently.
"If you need help, just tell me. I won't push you, but I want you to know that I'm here for you and I'll do my best to protect you," At those words, Aria amusedly swoons and I blushed profusely, flashing out a hand to playfully swat her away.
"Thank you, Ryan," I nervously said before slipping into the car and putting on my seatbelt while Lukas manages to snag a kiss from Aria.
"Can you guys give us a lift back to the Manor? Bruce is waiting for us," Aria suddenly asks, once we're all in the car. Ryan and Lukas exchange a confused glance before they both nodded in response.
"Sure thing, we'll have you guys back at home in no time," Ryan responded as he secured his seatbelt around his body before starting the car engine.

***

~.: Dick's POV :.~

Acacia leans against me as I run my fingers through her hair on the living room couch, waiting for Aria to show up while Bruce and Alfred are having a conversation in the dining room.
"Think she'll show? Or is she gonna be late?" Acacia giggles, placing a hand on my thigh while tracing little circles with her fingers in my kneecap leisurely as she looks up at me with those bright blue eyes of hers. I chuckled, smirking in amusement as I shake my head before shrugging.
"Not sure," I replied, leaning toward her and kissing her on the cheek, "Is she usually late for school?"
Acacia looks thoughtful for a moment before amusedly giggling, "She's always late for school, no matter what the class is," she snickered, tossing her hair over her shoulder as I roll my eyes at her response. Why does my sister have to be such a slacker? Before I can say anything else, the door to the Manor opens and Aria leads Deanne into the dining room where Bruce and Alfred are already waiting.
"I'm home!~" She unceremoniously announces, bowing with a flourish as Deanne facepalms herself. Acacia and I smirked at each other as we approached them while Bruce scowls in disapproval at Aria.
"You're late," He gruffly sighs, but doesn't demand an explanation, instead he glances at De and raises an eyebrow. Aria latched her arms around De's shoulders, holding her close and giving Bruce puppy dog eyes.
"I'm bringing her with me, she doesn't wanna be alone, ain't that right, De?" Aria whines, then looks at Deanne, urging her to agree. She looks nervous at first but nods as I raised an eyebrow at the two of them. We're going to Mount Justice, does Aria even know that? Deanne can't just come with us- My thoughts are completely shattered as Bruce groans softly before giving in defeatedly.
"Alright, fine, let's just get going."

~.: TO BE CONTINUED :.~