Shit! I woke up with the sun high in the sky. I was going to be late! I checked the time, the clock claiming it was 2:30pm. Fuck! I ran to the Wayne's master bedroom and into Ms Wayne's closet. I practically threw clothes around the room as I tried to find something cute but still my style. Unluckily for me, almost everything was fancy and dressy. I needed casual. I settled on some black baggy pants with a belt, matched with Mr Wayne's black waist coat, it was formal but also casual. Fancy but also easy to move in. Good enough. I grabbed my bad, the keys and threw on my grey hoodie before sprinting downstairs and shoving my shoes on.
The front door... I searched through the keys as I began to try each one in the door. A large silver key ended up being the correct one. I mentally took note as I locked the door behind me. I ran towards the fence and began the gruelling task of climbing it. My knees almost gave way halfway up, but I managed to get over without too much of a problem. Finally my feet touched the ground and I could begin towards the circus.
I sprinted down the streets of Gotham, my legs stumbling, still recovering from yesterday's climb over the fence and then today's as well. But I managed to get to the circus just in time. Haly's had just began opening the gate, waves of people entering the tent. I practically sprinted towards the caravans. I weaved my way between them, searching for the ginger haired boy from yesterday, mystery man. But instead I was met with screams from inside a trailer. Ear-piercing screeches. Shouts... from a woman. I didn't know who it was directed at, a 'failure' and 'mistake' according to the woman. Just then I heard the door handle being tried, I was still frozen in my place, but sprang to action, hiding behind the closest trailer, peeking around. He walked out... followed by the snake charmer from yesterday... she leaned into his face and whispered something to him before walking away. Leaving him alone. He looked shaken, so unlike the confident 'mystery man' from yesterday. I debated approaching before watching him turn around toward me. His eye blossomed with purples and blues, swelling to almost twice it's natural size, leaving the browns in his eyes to be hidden and clouded to an almost black colour. I couldn't stay hidden so I rushed toward him, pulling him into a hug.
"Are you okay?" was the first and main thing running through my mind, she did this to him... that woman. I could feel it.
"Yeah, yeah, I just hit my face off the corner of the table like a total dumbass" he joked, almost entirely becoming the person I met yesterday, but I wasn't buying it.
"Uh huuuuh... so who was the woman shouting?" I asked, walking alongside him, towards the exit of the field.
"Just Lila, she was just mad I hadn't cleaned my room, it's whatever" he brushed off, staring straight ahead, refusing to meet my eye.
"Wow, bit of an extreme reaction, don't ya think?" I joked, trying to lighten the mood.
"Oh, she's always one for an extreme reaction" he rolled his eyes at the thought. "So, where ya taking me?" he smiled, finally turning to me.
"I'm not sure if I can tell you Mystery Man. I might just never tell you, unless you want to trade?" I smiled back at him, mischievously.
"Alright, alright. I'll trade my name to know where we're going. But you can't laugh at me, okay?" he laughed.
"Okay, deal."
"Okay... my name... is..." He built the suspense. "Adolf." he told me solemnly. My face dropped.
"You're joking."
"I wish I was... you see why I didn't tell you now?" He dropped his head, hiding his face behind his ginger hair.
"Oh... my... god..." I was holding back laughter "I know I said I wouldn't laugh... but I'm sorry... that's terrible!" I was almost crying trying to contain myself.
"Don't laugh! I have to live with this!" He kept his face hidden, his voice breaking mid sentence.
"I'm so sorry A- Adolf!" upon saying his name out loud I burst into laughter, having to stop in the middle of the street, holding his arm for support. His shoulders were shaking now. Oh god, I'd made him cry! Nice one dumbass. Shut up. Shut up. SHUT UP! I composed myself "Shit, sorry. I didn't mean to laugh, I'm sorry" He finally turned to me. A grin was plastered on his face, silently laughing.
"Gotcha!" His laugh became loud, filling the silence, almost manical.
"Jesus you scared me there you wanker!" I pushed his shoulder, joining his laughter.
"Adolf? Do I look like an Adolf to you?" he laughed
"Well..." I reached into the mud of a garden beside me, smearing some above his lip in a Hitler moustache fashion. "THERE! Now you do!" I laughed even harder as he modelled the mud, pretending to stroke it.
"Does it suit me? I think I pull it off! I might grow a real one!" he was holding his sides, lying on the floor, laughing alongside me at his own jokes. After a minute of laughter, we calmed each other and I helped him up.
"Come on Adolf, let me show you where I'm staying" I kept hold of his hand after he was stood for a minute longer than I should've but it felt so nice. He probably thinks you're so weird now. No he doesn't.
After managing to reach the Wayne's manor without many distractions, he stood at the gate, in awe.
"You live here?!" he exclaimed, audibly gasping.
"I said stay, not live. The owners don't exactly know I'm staying here." I explained, holding my breath that he'd be okay with it.
"That is so cool, woah" he smiled, reassuring me.
"Thanks, now come on! It's even cooler inside!" I said, taking a couple steps back, preparing for a running jump.
"Wait, wait, wait, what are you doing?" he turned to me.
"Well, Adolf, I'm going to do a running jump to get over this stupid fence."
"Is there not another way in? Maybe through the gate?" he asked.
"I mean, maybe? I have the house keys but I haven't checked to see if any of them work on the gate..." I admitted
"Do that first, I don't want to spear myself on a fence if you could've unlocked the gate." he was right in fairness. So I rolled my eyes and pulled the keys out of my bag. I began putting the keys in the lock, turning them, removing them when they didn't work. There was probably 20 keys on this one chain, but after trying 15 or so, one of the keys slid into the lock and turned until I heard a click, the lock fell from the gate and into my hand... we were in. I grinned at him as he opened the gate, gesturing me to enter.
"Such a gentleman" I joked, laughing as he bowed in response.
We walked through the garden towards the front door. I grabbed the key I had marked for the front door and opened it, repeating the same gesture he had done for me, back to him.
"Such a gentlewoman" he smiled back at me before entering and gawking at the foyer. It was massive and I was yet to take it in fully. The chandelier that covered the ceiling, the oak table in the room centre, the velvet curtains on every window. It was glorious. After taking a moment to recover I turned to him.
"Wanna go try on the Wayne's clothes?" I asked him, grinning.
"Do I? Hmm let me consider..." he held a finger to his chin, faux thinking "OF COURSE I DO" he laughed.
We ran through the corridors, wide stretches of open floors. After having kicked off our shoes we slid easily along each surface, laughing at each other when the other would slip and fall. Eventually I began running through the halls, towards the Wayne's master bedroom, him following behind, laughing manically. I had almost reached the door, yelling out "WHO'S THE BEST?!?" before I fell to the floor, hands gripped my waist as my knees were burned from sliding across the floor on my knees. I yelped as I hit the floor, giggling once I was down, lying on my stomach. I began to raise myself from the floor before feeling a weight on my lower back, a hand on my neck, pulling me backwards, my back arching as I did so. Eventually my back had completely arched, my head beside Mystery man's, his face by mine as he whispered in my ear, "I'm the best."
I was left speechless. His hand still holding me in place by the neck, my mouth opening and closing trying to figure out a response appropriate. "Admit defeat" he continued.
"Never" I whispered back, turning my face to his. Inches between us now. I began using my hands to push myself up to gain some leverage, before he used his free hand to take both my wrists, holding them on the ground in front of me.
"Say it." He was even closer to me now, and I was completely incapacitated, struggling to remove my hands from his grip but he stayed completely still, unfazed. I had no clue where this confidence had come from, a complete 180 from yesterday... I liked it. Of course you do, he could piss in a bottle and force you to bathe in it and you'd think it was the pinnacle of romance. I shook my head, as much as I could, to stop the voice before quietly saying "you're the best." Avoiding looking him in the eyes, I could see his face morph into an even bigger grin.
"What was that, doll face? I didn't quite catch it"
I frowned at him, giving him the best death stare I could give in my... position.
"You heard me. I'm not repeating it." Now looking at him directly. His eyes twinkling with mischief.
"Well I can stay here all night if I have to. And I'm quite comfy as it is." He smiled as he leant further on me, my back against his chest, his face in my hair. I made an aggravated grunt before repeating, louder "you're the best." I could feel his smile in my hair as he held on for one last second.
"Good girl." He released my neck, my back relaxing and my wrists being freed. Before I could react or retaliate he'd already petted my hair like I was a dog and entered the master bedroom, leaving me huffing on the floor. You liked that. Don't try to lie to yourself. I shook my head once more before following the mystery man through to the walk in closet on the opposite end of the room.
"OI! YOU CANT JUST DO THAT!" I shouted at him while walking towards the closet.
"Can't I?" He poked his head around the corner, feigning innocence.
"No. And I honestly think you'll need to make up for it" I joked, closing the space between us so now I was directly beneath him, looking upwards.
"Oh yeah? And how do you suppose I do that?" He asked, looking between my eyes and lips. DONT DO IT GIRL, YOU KNOW YOULL REGRET IT. DO NOT KISS THE ATTRACTIVE STRANGER. I wasn't going to... jeez.
"Well..." I linked my arms over his shoulders and behind his neck. "You could start by telling me your name?" I smiled, still looking up at him through my eyelashes.
"Nice try doll but I'll pass, anything else I could do?" He smirked at me. I've got him exactly where I wanted him.
"Sorry" I said.
"Sorry? For wha-" he couldn't finish his question before I'd pulled hand on my arms, jelly-legging his knees, causing them to buckle. I dodged out of the way, behind him and assuming the same position he was in earlier. Straddling his lower back, this time holding his hands behind his back and pushing my chest into his back so my mouth was directly above his ear.
"Oops where are my manners? You were just about to tell me your name... weren't you?" I teased.
"You little minx..." I laughed at this using my free hand to lightly pull his hair towards me. "Okay, okay! Fine I'll tell you." I released his hair.
"I'm listening..." I urged him, preparing myself for another one of his jokes.
"Jerome. It's Jerome" I grabbed his hair again
"You're sure? No jokes this time." I reminded him. As he hissed at the tug.
"Yes! Yes! It's Jerome! You win, can I get up now?" He asked. I laughed and released him as he shook himself, getting back to his feet. "You're stronger than you look Miss Effie" he joked.
"I could say the same to you Mr Jerome"