I'm super happy to start this new series, especially since I'm writing this lovely piece with my girl @DarkBeautyIsUnique.
Who also writes DamiMaps content on Ao3. (totally recommend checking her out!) But enough of that, let's get to the story.
o0o
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Damian groans, shifting beneath his covers, trying to block out the sound of his alarm clock. Trying to catch a few more hours of sleep before he starts his day.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
But quickly realize he wasn't going to get any sleep with the loud noise echoing in his once quiet room.
The teen sighed, aimlessly waving his hand out of his cover and about his nightstand.
Looking for the accursed thing that had woke him up so damn early.
His hand tapped on the flat surface of the nightstand a few times, until he felt the blocky object beneath his palm.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
He quickly snatched the clock off the stand. Pulling it under the blanket before pushing the snooze button, a bit too roughly.
He finally relaxed, he looked at the time to see it was six-thirty in the morning.
He frowned, hating the day already, before placing the clock back on his nightstand.
Rolling over and pulling his thick cover around his shoulders.
Damian knew he only had a mere hour to get ready and eat before he had to leave for school.
School.
Bah! The word left a sour taste in his mouth.
He had remembered the night his father had come to him, to inform him that he was going to be enrolled in the prestigious school.
Known as Gotham Academy. Despite being homeschooled for about a year and a half now.
Of course, he had venomously declined the idea, stating that he'd be better off being homeschooled by his butler Pennyworth.
Seeing as the man was much more competent than the most paid educators.
But his father claimed it wasn't about whether or not the ridiculous adults could guide him, more so that he needed to interact with kids his own age.
Which was another absurd subject his father would pester him about.
Damian rolled his eyes beneath his lids.
Honestly, who cares if he made friends or found a suitable spouse to house his children for the upcoming future.
He certainly didn't.
So why should anyone else concern themselves about the issue?
Apparently, it was because they cared about his wellbeing, at least that was what Cassandra had said.
It doesn't matter anymore, after some convincing from his siblings, he had agreed to go.
Of course, it wasn't up to debate. He was going whether he liked it or not.
Whatever, he internally sighed.
Flipping the covers from over his head, stretching out his stiff limbs.
He silently peered over at the partially open curtains, and in the soft white-gold light of the new day, shining through the crack.
Damian could see today was going to be an interesting one.
Although he could care less, he was already dreading getting out of bed, dragging his feet across the floor to his closet to pull out his GA uniform.
It was well pressed and clean, it still smelled like detergent.
He tossed his uniform on his bed, along with a pair of socks, and cufflinks.
He walked over to the bathroom to take a quick shower. Pennyworth won't come knocking on his door for another fifteen minutes or so.
He had time, once done with his shower, he brushed his teeth, gelled his hair back, and threw on some lotion. He stepped out of the bathroom to put his clothes on.
He was now ready to go.
Knock! Knock!
And right on cue.
Damian briskly walked over to his desk to grab his book bag, before swinging his bedroom door open to be met by his butler.
"Pennyworth," Damian greeted, walking past the gentleman and downstairs to the kitchen.
"Good to see you ready and well dressed for your big day, Master Damian."
Damian sniffed, "Of course, it's not like I have much of a choice in the matter."
Damian entered the kitchen to find it empty, save for a plate already ready at his set. It was a simple meal, toast, eggs, and a variety of fruit that he liked. Side with a glass of orange juice and an apple.
Damian didn't express his disappointment about the empty table, deciding to sit down and nibble on his toast instead.
Alfred had seemed to notice the disappointed look on the boy's face.
He then intervened, placing a Batman and Robin lunch box near the boy.
"Your father and Master Timothy had an emergency meeting, early this morning." The butler informed, placing a water bottle next to the lunch box.
"Master Dick is on his way to drop you off at school," the butler stated. "He should be here momentarily, I suggest you make sure you have everything ready before then."
Damian was slightly relaxed, but not too much for anyone to notice he was slightly nervous.
"Thak you, Pennyworth, that will be all then." Damian dismissed the man, allowing him to finish up the house chores.
Damian ate in silence, letting his brain mull over what could possibly transpire during his first day of school.
Will he make friends as Brown declared he would? Will he be liked? Bullied? Ignored? He raised a brow at that last inquiry.
Honestly, he'd preferred to be ignored. If it means he could breeze through these two years of school with little to no issue, he'd be happy.
He wasn't one for attention from strangers.
In fact, he hated it.
He still wasn't used to all the attention of these... fangirls.
He was pretty sure that's what Drake had called them.
The unwanted affection they seem to bestow upon him was utterly stressful and uncalled for.
They always brought the worst out of him. He still wasn't sure how to shake them off his tail, it seems ignoring them wasn't the answer.
That had only driven their obsession.
Damian frowned, he really hoped the students weren't celebrity crazed. Although knowing his luck, he wasn't too hopeful of the upcoming outcome.
Damian shut his eyes, trying to ease the headache that was already forming. He only had two years of high school before he graduated.
He wasn't too confident he'll survive the hurricane threatening to break him.
Just then he heard footsteps making their way toward him.
He knew who it was without having to look up, the annoying humming, along with the jingle of keys was a dead giveaway as to who was approaching him.
"Good morning little d, ready for your first day of school?" His older brother chirped, blazing one of his infamous smiles upon him.
Somehow brightening the whole room with his smile alone.
It only provided to push his mood sour, "No." Damian hissed, snatching his lunch box and water bottle, moving past his older brother towards the front door.
Dick, completely unbothered by his little brother's bitter disposition, skipped down the halls after him.
"Don't be like that, I know the first day of school can be kind of hard but we're all rooting for you!" Dick finally caught up with the boy, patting his shoulder before the two stepped outside.
Damian rolled his eyes, at his brother's optimistic outlook. It wasn't anything new, but neither was his encouragement.
Which he was greatly appreciated, of course, he'd never tell the man sitting next to him that.
Dick started up his car, hearing the engine roar to life, as he pulled out of the driveway and down the path between the gates.
Damian huffed, swiping open his phone to find text messages. He skimmed over a few that were from Drake and his father.
Wishing him a good day at school, and to break a leg with a wink face after the brief message.
Damian didn't smile, at least that's what he proclaims he wasn't doing.
"I know you don't want to hear this, but we need to go over some ground rules," Dick exclaimed, as he pulled onto the freeway.
"Please Grayson," Damian groaned. "Father and I have been over this already."
"And I'm going to make sure you didn't miss the important ones," He stated, "Now list them all for me will you?"
Damian sighed, "I am not allowed to show off my many skills, it will present suspicion."
Dick nodded. "Good, next?"
"I will avoid fights, I will behave in front of the staff, I will not instigate anything, I will be nice to others. And I will not berate my higher knowledge to the teachers, even if they are a bunch of imbeciles."
"And?"
Damian looked over towards his brother, tilting his head confused. "That is all father had required of me, what more do you want?" He asked.
Dick shook his head, smiling slightly. "And have fun, make friends, get into sports if you want. Just enjoy your high school experience, you only get this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a name for yourself."
"I have already done that." Damian folded his arms across his chest.
"Yeah but outside of nighttime stuff." Dick chortled, pulling off the freeway and onto the streets again as they near the school campus.
"Just try being a kid for once okay?"
Damian didn't respond to his request. Unsure if he could successfully accomplish the task, but all he said was to try right? That couldn't be too hard he supposed.
"Fine," Damian admits, "But don't expect me to be sociable."
"That's sort of the spirit." Dick laughed, pulling into the campus.
And to Damian's surprise, the school building was rather big. Damian has never seen anything so massive relating to an academy.
Outside of colleges, sure, but even those couldn't compare to this.
Centuries of grand design and sculpture came together in the wide avenues to form that antique.
The tall buildings were so different from one another, are so very content to reflect the beauty of each neighbor.
Each housing what he assumed were students since there were dorms built upon the campus.
Damian hummed as his eyes scoured the dark stone brick walls, reaching far as towers, representing what he would believe a castle would look like in real life.
Gotham Academy.
Quite an interesting forte.
But there was an ominous ambiance surrounding the academy. And it seemed to draw him in, much to his bewilderment.
Huh, he wondered just how far this school had reached?
"Alright," Dick called as he pulled into a parking spot, shifting the stick into the park.
"Looks like this is your stop, do you need me to come in to help look for your classes?" The older man asked gently, wondering if his little brother was overwhelmed by the massive size of the school.
He's been there once when he first enrolled in this school all those years ago. And how hard it was for him to fit in with the rest of the students.
But thankfully, Damian shook his head, grabbing the handle of his bag before stepping out of the car.
"I am not a child who needs to hold someone's hand for assistance, I will be fine."
"That a boy, I'll come pick you up at three okay!" Dick waved to the boy, as he watched Damian strut into the building.
Disappearing behind the large double doors, followed by a few other students.
Dick smiled, "He'll be fine."
-XoX-
Damian was not fine.
He stood stiff in front of his assigned locker, placing his math book down since he didn't have math until his final hour.
He didn't need to be carrying so much weight before then.
But that wasn't the issue as to why he was stiff and feeling extremely on edge.
No, he initially thought it was at first when entering the building.
But quickly found out it was something else entirely.
It was the many eyes gazing at him, that were constructing him feel self-conscious.
Which was preposterous in itself, he wasn't the type of person to get so anxious to merely staring.
But he was, and it was causing a painful twisting motion in his stomach that made him want to throw up.
Damian knew from the beginning that he was going to attract attention.
It usually came with the title of Wayne, of being a completely different ethnicity from the majority of the population, of being famously rich, of being in the public eye for over a year now.
Yeah, he had expected some stares but not to this degree.
Damian could hear the whispering and giggles from behind him already.
He bit his lower lip hard, before slamming his locker shut. Rushing down the hall avoiding the curious eyes following him like a hawk.
He'll just find his classroom and wait until the bell rings, they had at least thirteen minutes left until class started.
He'll just spend that remaining time reading or something.
Better than interacting with these fools.
As Damian practically raced down the hall, he instantly bumped into someone knocking them down.
He backtracked a little, surprised that he didn't see the person in front of him.
He peered down at the girl he had accidentally knocked over and remembered the rule to be nice to others.
He steeled himself for the inevitable screaming, before reaching his hand out for the girl.
"I apologize, I did not see you." Damian said as he noticed the girl scrambling to pick up her things. She hadn't even noticed the outstretched hand.
Damian quickly retracted it, shoving it in his pocket awkwardly.
"On no!" The girl cried, shoving the remaining items into her bag.
Damian cleared his throat, "Are you unharmed?" He asked, trying to catch her attention, but wasn't having much luck. She seemed much more absorbed in looking for something she must have dropped.
Damian frowned and was about to just leave, when he noticed something out the corner of his eyes.
It was small and crumpled, he walked over to it, as the girl continued to frantic over her missing item.
On a closer inspection, he saw it was a letter, signed to a... Maps Mizoguchi.
What an odd name, he thought as he reached down to pick up the letter.
Only to find another name on it.
"From Eric Jørgensen, your secret admir-" Damian read out loud before the little envelope was snatched out of his hand.
He looked into the girl's chocolate brown eyes, suddenly caught off guard from how intense they were glaring at him.
But now that she was up close and personal, he was able to see many details that made her up.
One of them being the many freckles littered along her delicate face.
The main reason why that was the first thing he noticed was because of how extreme she was blushing.
He's never seen anybody look so red before, she could possibly be mistaken for a tomato.
He skimmed down to her lips, which were plush pink. Turned into a deep frown, as she glared at him with her dark gazes.
Damian didn't have any more time left to study her as she took a step back. Shoving the letter into her bag with so much force, that he was sure the letter had torn.
"It's not what you think!" She snapped, before running down the hall and out of his sight.
Damian blinked owlishly.
Unsure of what just happened. Just then the whispering got louder, prompting Damian to snap out of his mini stupefaction.
And quickly scurry off to his classroom, feeling sweat trickle down his neck.
He should have known making first impressions would be sooo easy.
Damian rolled as the sarcasm hit him hard. He stomped out this weird apprehension, opting to relax.
But that wasn't going to be easy either, as her face kept flashing in his head.
He wasn't sure what he did wrong but clearly, it was something.
Now he was going to think about it all day.
Damian groaned, "What was her problem?" He muttered to himself.
-XoX-
Damian fast steps into the classroom and it beams intrepid light. He had to squint his lids, noticing the class was half-empty.
Everyone stuck to themselves and hadn't noticed him enter.
He took that as his opportunity to take whatever seat he wanted, more specifically towards the far back by the wide windows.
He settled in his seat lying his bag on his desk, signing to himself, as he slumped back.
This was stressful and class hasn't even started.
Damian whipped out his phone to check the time again, he had ten minutes left.
He checked his schedule, making sure this was the right class.
Miss, Henderson. History. He looked up at the whiteboard to see her name written at the top right corner. With a bunch of doodles surrounding it.
He nodded to himself, then looked back down to find his next class wasn't too far from this one.
Suddenly a message popped up on his screen, it was from Cass.
He opened the text and read, how is everything going?
He quickly typed his grievances but then stopped mid-paragraph. Realized he was revealing way too much for his comfort.
Perhaps he shouldn't tell her about the incident in the hallway.
He still had a reputation to uphold and telling his older sister he fumbled talking to a girl would only get him teased.
She sent him a thumbs up and texted him he was doing great. He rolled his eyes at the comment, feeling somewhat better.
But it didn't shake off the strange feeling that something big was about to happen.
The foreboding sensation that things were about to change. And he wasn't sure where it was coming from, or if it was a good or bad thing coming his way?
He didn't like it, he wanted it to go away.
But before Damian could attempt to figure out where this nervousness is coming from, his question is shortly answered as the flock of students began to enter the room.
And a familiar face pops into view.
He chokes back a groan of frustration, as the two make eye contact for the second time today.
And it's as if everything comes to a slow-motion as the air stills.
This was turning out to be one hell of a day.
Tbc.