Another chapter.
o0o
The drive home had been painful, it was much too quiet for his liking.
It made the anxiety in his gut grow with each passing stoplight. He'd prefer to get this lecture over with and take a nap.
Perhaps a long bath while he's at it, he needed the downtime.
Damian tapped his foot against the floor, as they pulled up to the manor.
The looming presence the mansion brought had made him physically ill.
It felt like he was approaching his downfall in the worst form of punishment.
It was ridiculous to feel this way, he's done nothing wrong. He'll make his peace and stand his ground.
It was all he could do in the face of chastising. If not, he'll ask Grayson for assistance against his father to help make the situation feel less intimidating.
Father had always been weak when it came to his eldest brother.
Once the butler pulled up to the driveway, Damian instantly got out of the car and raced towards the front door.
Luckily he didn't see his father's car in sight but neither had he seen Grayson's.
Damian flew into the front door and scoured the area. Once he saw that it was safe, he decided to book it upstairs to his room.
But was immediately caught by a pair of hands out of nowhere tugging him into a hug.
"What the- unhand me!" Damian shouted as he fought against his captor.
"Hello little brother," Damian heard the sweet feminine voice of a woman whisper in his ear as the hold only grew tighter.
He stopped resisting once he knew who it was and realized resisting was futile.
"Cassandra," he said with restrained irritation.
He wasn't necessarily upset or irritated with her exactly, in fact, he would often enjoy her surprise hugs from time to time.
Of course, he'd never admit that out loud but Grayson had gotten him hooked on affection. It was bound to happen. But he was in a rush to hibernate in his room until school started again.
"Release me, I must do my homework." He lied and knew she saw right through him but that didn't stop him from trying.
Cass shook her head no against his hair and held him even closer cutting off circulation in his arms.
"How was school?" She asked, ignoring his previous demand.
"Adequate," he replied quickly. "Now let me go!" He squirmed harder, attempting to escape but it was soon evident why she was holding onto him so tightly.
Especially when his father had emerged from the kitchen with a look of tiredness.
Bruce looked over to her two children with a coffee in hand and smiled. "Thank you, Cass, I figured he'd try to hide the minute he got home."
Cass nodded sweetly, finally releasing her hold on her brother, ignoring the look of betrayal Damian shot her way. She then kissed her baby brother's head and skipped away as if she had done nothing wrong.
Damian nearly hissed at her but was cut off by his father's hand placed on his shoulder. Damian stiffened and looked up at the man with horror in his eyes. Bruce quirked a brow and jolted his head down the hall.
"Why don't we talk in the library?"
Damian knew his fate had been sealed. There was no running from it, he gave in to his defeat and silently walked toward the library with dignity. The two walked briskly to the double doors of the library to find Jason lounging on the couch with a red cover, reading a book.
The second eldest boy looked up from his book with a raised brow. "Did the demon get kicked out already? And I thought you'd last long shrimp."
Damian reached for his sword hidden in his waistband but was promptly stopped by Bruce with a complacent smile. "Jaylad now is not the time."
"When is it ever," the oldest said as he rolled his eyes. "Find somewhere else to talk, I'm comfortable."
Damian took that chance to cut in and address his father. "How about we not talk, father, if you wish to know how my day went I will happily inform you that it went well. I hadn't threatened the teachers with bodily harm and had been cordial to the students the entire time."
Jason snickered behind his book. "Wow, I guess the kid can play nice for once." Jason joked with a snort, flipping a page in his book.
Damian was so close to throwing a knife at the man if he didn't shut up soon. The teen took a deep breath to calm his agitation and spoke. "I am tired and wish to sleep, I have homework to do and wish to not dally on it."
Bruce nodded understandingly, which surprised Damian exponentially. He had expected a lecture about... wait what was he getting lectured on exactly?
Outside of the incident in the dorm, there was nothing for the instructors to report to his father.
And that Aunt Harriet lady had no idea who he was... so how would she be able to report him?
Unless that girl told but she wouldn't have done that after everything they've been through already.
He had informed Pennyworth of the trouble he got in with a teacher, but the old man must have seen through his lie once he saw the girl.
Is this what the conversation was about? The girl.
Damian began to panic, he wasn't ready to reveal her just yet! The whole plan would go up in flames if that were the case.
Or did they already see through his plan and were reprimanding him for it? Damian was about to defend himself but was cut off by a low chuckle.
Bruce looked at his youngest son, peculiarly. "I just wanted to know how your first day went, I was half expecting a phone call during work but was happily surprised to get none."
Damian blinked, then sniffed. "You have such little faith in my father."
"No, I was just worried you'd have a hard time adjusting." Bruce patted Damian's shoulder with a soft smile. "I'm proud to see you trying Damian and I'm glad to hear you're doing well on your first day."
"Of course, I had promised to attempt." Damian's heart rate had decreased some, thankfully he wasn't in any actual trouble.
But the notion that he could be was ludicrous and yet he found himself fearful of being thought.
Just when he thought this day couldn't get any more stressful.
Bruce nodded approvingly. "I hope tomorrow will be the same, I was supposed to meet your teachers this weekend for a parent and teacher meeting."
"Why?" Damian asked. "That sounds like an utter waste of time."
Plus he didn't want his father near the campus where he could possibly get word of his affairs with the girl.
She will be nowhere near prepared by the end of the week to meet his father. And judging by today's episode, there was no way people were going to keep their mouths shut.
He'll need to think about this issue, perhaps they shouldn't announce their coupling until after the teacher-parent meeting.
That way the teachers won't go around saying things that weren't true or any of their business.
"It is to check in and see how you're managing on your first week, I know it can be a little scary at first-"
"Father you are patronizing me!" Damian snapped, seethingly. "I am not some sniveling child that needs twenty-four supervision and check-ups, I can manage a measly week in school."
"It's important Damian, those vaulters down at cps won't give us any leeway." Bruce gripped at the mere thought. "They always seem to want to do their job when it isn't needed but never in families or areas that are important."
"Preach brother!" Jason called from the couch.
"Regardless, it'd be nice to visit my old school."
Damian frowned. "Father, you can take a trip down memory lane on your own time, besides, don't you think it's a little too early to be checking in within the first week of schooling."
"Not with you it isn't."
"-tt-"
Bruce ran his hand through Damian hair, messing up the well-combed back curls.
Which earned a swat at his hand and a dignifying yelp from the youngest. "Do your homework, dinner should be soon, then head straight for bed afterward."
"What about patrol?" Damian asked incredulously.
Bruce looked at his youngest with a questioning brow raised. "You thought there be patrol on a school night?"
Damian nearly blushed embarrassed but then held himself together. "Then who will patrol with you tonight?"
Jason clicked his tongue, waving his hand in the air, all without taking his eyes off his book. "That'll be me squirt, try not to miss us while we're gone." He winked at Damian before returning to his book once again.
"This is unfair!" Damian shouted. He was about to continue his rant when a kiss was planted on his forehead by his father.
Damian nearly combusted on the spot as his face turned a cherry red.
"Get some rest son, I'll see you tomorrow," Bruce said before truing his attention to his second eldest. "I'll need to finish up some paperwork, I'll call you when it's time."
"Sure thing old man," Jason called, still uninterested in their conversation.
With that, Bruce turned on his heel and left the library, closing the door with a soft click.
Leaving Damian speechless as he was left standing flabbergasted in the library. He felt heat trickling down his body that he couldn't stop, and he frowned.
He was truly getting soft.
"What's wrong twerp, getting flustered by daddy?" Jason mocked with a cooing sound. That was the last straw before Damian pounced on his brother with his sword in hand.
-XoX-
Damian finally collapsed into bed, he was absolutely drained.
He knew from the very beginning this school lifestyle simply wasn't for him and he'd regret ever attending Gotham Academy. But he never knew the extent of how bad it would be.
He wondered if this day would had play out the same or not if he made different choices.
Damian twisted his head to the side, he thought back to today's events and looked towards his phone in reflection.
He then pondered on whether or not texting her would be a good idea, it was maybe thirty minutes until he eventually came to a conclusion.
He slowly reached for his phone and looked for her number. Then titled her Id name 'Stupid Girl' because he refused to call her Maps.
What an idiotic nickname, it sounded like a three-year-old gave her that name.
He then texted a simple, This is Damian, before quickly shutting off his phone. He didn't want to get a barrage of text messages sent his way.
All Damian wanted to do was get some well-deserved sleep, until he had to face tomorrow's challenges.
But a ding echoed in his room, disturbing the peace and quiet. He was essentially going to ignore it opting to go to sleep.
Besides, he knew who it was and didn't feel like conversing with her right now.
But it might be an emergency if she was texting back so quickly.
He had told her that she was only allowed to contact him if it was important.
Damian groaned, picking his phone up and reading the text.
Then deeply frowned.
He wasn't sure what to make of it. It read that she might be in big trouble, and need to talk later at the oak tree tomorrow morning.
Which indicated that this was serious but not life-threatening serious.
So, he'll let this one pass this time.
Damian then stripped out of his shirt, before folding himself in his blankets and falling fast asleep.
-XoX-
Maps were not having a very good morning.
She was sitting at her regular table eating a small bowl of cereal with a banana, chewing away absentmindedly. There was a serious problem and she had no idea how to fix it. Today she had wanted to introduce her mates to Damian and maybe get them on board with their little scheme.
At least that was the goal, but she was second-guessing that idea.
Maps weren't sure how they would take the news and if they'd be supportive or not. This was a rushed decision and it wouldn't look well for Eric either. They'll defiantly have a bad opinion of him and Maps were trying to avoid that at all cost.
The only other option is to keep this fake relationship a secret even from her friends. She'll still get them acquainted with each other but she'll need to make sure her new boyfriend doesn't say anything incriminating.
G*d forbid they end up not liking Damian either.
Let's not forget her brother, speaking of that.
Maps pulled out her phone to text Damian, they seriously needed to talk and she couldn't wait much longer. She honestly thought he'd be here by now, it was only fifteen minutes before class started.
Where are you?
She waited for a few minutes before a ding sounded off, she looked down to read.
Running late.
"Ugh!" Maps shoved her phone in her pocket and discarded the rest of her uneaten banana and marched toward the oak tree they were supposed to meet. Hopefully, she won't run into Eric along the way, she wouldn't know what to say to him.
Although she had a feeling he has been avoiding her for a while. In fact, she hasn't seen him since the whole confession incident. Maps was a little worried but if it was really serious he'd reach out to her like he always does.
Even so, she frankly hopes he's given up on her and this whole charade could end. She never knew faking a relationship would require so much work.
"Hey?" A voice called from behind.
Maps turned around to find a girl with long brown hair, she looked around her height and was very pretty. But that was the only thing she noticed, from the way she was fidgeting she was nervous.
Maps peered around her to find two other girls, who looked to be nervous as well. Maps blinked, then said, "Hey! Do you need something?" Smiling cheerfully at the girls.
"Um no, I mean yes!" The brunet spoke up, then shifted more. "I had a question."
"Alright, shot?"
"Um are you... by any chance..." The brunette trailed off as a tinted blush surfaced on her cheeks. Maps waited patiently for the girl to get the words out. Watching her two friends encouraged her with low whispers 'go on!' and 'hurry up!'.
The brunette girl then took a deep breath and finally spoke, "Are you by any chance dating Damian Wayne?" She shouted with her eyes shut tight.
Maps were taken aback by the question and had to think for a minute.
After what felt like an hour, Maps nodded slowly. "Yeah, I am."
The girls all had mixed expressions at her answer and none of them were exactly positive. It put Maps in such an awkward position. The four girls stood in uncomfortable silence in the hall, unsure of what to say or do next.
Maps were about to leave seeing as there was nothing left the girl wanted to talk about. But one of her background friends spoke up in an angry tone saying. "That doesn't make any sense! Wayne has much better taste than you. Why would he want to date a scrawny girl like you."
"I-" Maps began.
"Yeah," another girl spoke up and took a step forward, feeling confident. "I never heard of you before until now, what makes you so special."
"What do you mean-"
"At least, tell us if you two are a new or older couple." The brunette also took a rather large step closer. The three girls began to crowd Maps as they continue to question and berate her with backhanded insults.
"Hey!" Maps screamed, shutting the three babbling girls up. "Listen, you girls seem to be having a hard time accepting this but it's the truth. So I'm going to leave... and you guys can have a great day!"
Maps said her peace and walked away with a quick step. Not wanting to be in their presence a second longer. Once she was out of earshot, she took a deep breath and placed a hand over her chest.
Who knew a conversation with Damian's fan girls could get that tense? If they reacted this badly to the news, she wondered how the rest of his fan girls were handling this.
Maps pitied the man's, future mate.
Maps took another deep breath and then exhaled. "That was a doozy," she said to herself, shaking off the weird nerves she felt in her body.
She had never been confronted like that before, of course, she's never fake-dated a celebrity before either. Maps really had her work cut out for herself, the things she does for her friends.
At last, the power of friendship must prevail. Maps waved dramatically as she continued her walk toward the oak tree.
She wondered if Damian was already there waiting for her or if had he just gone to class instead.
She won't know until she gets there, so she should probably start running.
Maps didn't want to be late for class either, who knows what Mrs. Henderson will do if they didn't make it on time.
Maps shuddered at the thought, quickening her pace.
-XoX-
Maps waited impatiently by the large oak tree, pacing nervously.
She looked at her phone to check the time. It's been five minutes since she last texted Damian.
Where could he be? It shouldn't take him this long to find her.
Maps bit at her nails, as anxiety began to eat at her alive. Class was going to start and it was going to take her a hot minute to get there.
If he wasn't here in the next minute she was leaving.
Just as that thought came to mind, the rustling of leaves emoted from behind her.
Maps turned around expecting it to be Eric only to find it was Damian.
She let out a little sigh, before jogging over to the boy. "What took you so long?" She asked once she was inches away from him.
The boy grumbled and averted his gaze.
"My alarm didn't sound off," Damian mumbled, shifting the strap over his shoulder. "But that's not important, what was so crucial that you needed to converse with me in the woods?"
"My brother," Maps answered simply.
"Your what?"
Maps groaned, tugging at her hair. "My brother, he sort of caught us yesterday. He totally had gotten the wrong idea and thought I was dating behind his back, now he wants to meet you."
"Are you serious?" Damian deadpanned.
"Dead serious, he wasn't too pleased," Maps said with a shake of her head. "He said he wanted to meet you after school today on the tennis court."
Damian let out a frustrated sigh. "Fine, but I won't stay more than ten minutes."
Maps nodded, "I'll let him know you have a tight schedule."
"Is that all you wanted to tell me?"
"No, but we don't have much time to talk." Maps said taking his elbow and marching her way back to campus. "Thanks to your alarm not going off, we're defiantly going to be late for our first period."
"Unhand me, I can walk on my own," Damian demanded, but she hadn't listened.
Instead, she picked up her pace. "You know I was confronted by a few of your fan girls earlier, they also didn't seem happy that we were dating."
"-tt-" Damian clicked, "As if I care what they think."
"You should care, Damian! Think about how this could affect your potential mate," Maps informed him sternly.
"Luckily, I'm just built differently, so it doesn't bother me as much. But what if this affects your future girlfriend or boyfriend, things like that could be really stressful."
"I wouldn't associate myself with someone who couldn't handle pressure." He answered simply, with his nose held high.
They eventually enter the main building, making their way to their classroom. It was then that Maps removed her hand from his arm, in favor of walking alongside him. "Still, maybe you should set boundaries."
Damian rolled his eyes, exaggerated. "Yes, because setting boundaries would solve my problem with these delinquents."
Maps shrugged her shoulders. "You never know."
"Please if I thought that would have worked I would have set it a long time ago," Damian replied with a sneer. "Just ignore them, they'll eventually leave you alone."
"I highly doubt that," Maps said knowing just how far people are willing to go for attention. "Let's worry about that later if it ever gets out of hand. The most concerning one is my brother, he could be a little overprotective at times."
Maps shook her head, with a small frown. "And maybe a little overbearing,"
Damian took note of that but didn't necessarily trouble himself with the concept. Whatever challenge he faces he'll tackle it with ease. "I can handle him, he shouldn't be too challenging."
"Well see," she said ominously. "By the way have you checked out any clubs?"
"Why ask?" He quirked a suspicious glance toward her.
"I was thinking maybe we could join the D&D club!" She exclaimed loudly.
Damian scoffed. "I would rather choke on corn seeds," he stated with a frown.
Maps chuckled, shaking her head. "Oh come on, it could be exciting, plus none of my other friends want to join."
Now that she thought about it. "Speaking of which, I totally need to introduce you to them."
"I don't think that is necessary-"
"It totally is," she cut him off knowing what he was about to say. "Let's meet at lunch later on today and we can all get antiquated with each other." Maps smiled up at him, nudging her elbow into his side.
Damian grimaced, not from the rude elbow to the gut but from the idea of meeting her friends.
If they were remotely as crazy as her or as obnoxious, then he'd be in for a major headache.
"Hey, don't look so stressed," she stated, patting his shoulder. "It'll be fine, I'm right here if you need me." She attempted to reassure him but it somehow made his anxiety worst.
He could appreciate that she was at least trying to alleviate the situation. But frankly, he just couldn't wait to get the day over with.
The two continued their journey down the hall and made it to class just in time before the final bell rang.
They both took their respective seats next to each other and pulled out their notebooks and other necessities for class.
It wasn't long before the teacher came in telling the class to quiet down. Class was eventful for the better half of the stay until the teacher had given everyone reading time.
In other words, it meant they were free to talk among themselves while the teacher made a long phone call to her husband.
Damian could care less what they did during class, seeing as he was well-versed in all subjects.
But it was a little annoying how'd this sad excuse of a teacher could take up valuable time to have a personal phone call in the middle of class.
He assumed the other students wouldn't agree, since they'd get time to enjoy themselves without the premise of school work.
Thankfully there are only ten minutes left of class.
But unoccupied students typically were a recipe for disaster.
Especially for him, since as soon as the teacher left the classroom, a few of the students got up and quickly surrounded him.
And by a few, he meant the entirety of the students in class.
They all seemed to be somewhat unhinged in their blatant staring. It was making him very uneasy. But he wasn't the only one suffering from the attention.
He glanced toward Maps to find her equally uncomfortable with the situation they were both thrown in.
Maps looked down at her lap, squirming restlessly.
"What?" Damian snapped, feeling like a cornered animal.
The students looked at one another, then after a moment of more silence, one of the guys spoke up. "Are the rumors true?" He asked without further explanation.
Damian sighed, "If you are referring to my... relationship status, then yes it's true." He then looked up to glare at everyone making a strange face at the news. "Now will you leave-"
Damian was immediately cut off by a barrage of questions thrown their way, in just a span of just a few seconds. The couple was immediately overwhelmed by the onslaught.
"When did this happen, you just started school yesterday?" One student asked.
"I've known Maps since first year and have never seen her in a relationship before." One girl stated, with her arms crossed and a raised eyebrow.
"Are you lying?" Someone else spoke up.
Another student barged his way forward. "Is she bribing you to be her boyfriend? Because if so I have way more money!"
"You two don't act like a couple?" Someone from the back stated.
"How long have you two been dating?" A girl from Maps' left asked.
"You guys are definitely not a cute couple." Another student scoffed, earning a few nods at her statement.
Damian was now feeling the effects of the pit rising at each ridiculous question. Who were these people to speak to him in such a way?
They weren't important. Rather they were leeches that had nothing better to do with their time than butt into other people's business.
He was starting to see green and was having a difficult time stopping the rage from swelling. He was one second away from attacking the nearest person.
When he felt a hand touch his own, he looked up to find Maps with a strained expression.
"Let's get out of here." She said not even giving him a second to process her words before she's dragging him out of his seat and through the crowd of angry students.
Damian had barely a second to grab his bag before they left the room hand in hand.
They heard cries of distress from a few of the students as the two ran down the hall as quickly as possible.
The couple had made it far enough away from their classmates and outside to the courtyard.
Once they eventually stopped running.
Damian slipped his hand free from her grasp and jog a few feet away, dropping his backpack and hunching over his knees.
He slowly shut his eyes and took deep breaths. Counting from ten backward, he hadn't realized how fast his racing heart was beating out of his chest.
His blood pumped hard and hot.
His breath was still by the time he eventually calmed down. But he found himself holding his breath instead.
He couldn't breathe! Damian heard footsteps approach him slowly and cautiously.
"Damian, are you alright?"
Her voice was soft against his ears. He didn't answer back but when he felt a warm hand run down his back it greatly soothed him in a strangely comforting way.
It was nice.
"I'm sorry what happened back there, I didn't expect them to-"
"It's not your fault." He quickly stated, not wanting her to think this was her fault.
At least not completely her fault, there was still blame in her court.
But it'd be unfair to put that on her when she had never planned for those hooligans to assault them so aggressively.
Damian took another deep breath and released it. "I'm fine, I just need a moment."
Maps nodded, giving him a moment to recollect himself all without taking her hand off his back.
Which he appreciated, but wasn't remotely comfortable relaying that bit of information out loud.
After a moment, Damian finally straightened and readjusted his clothes, picking up his backpack.
The two looked at each other with a silent gazes. Before he could open his mouth the bell rang signaling class was over.
Damian sighed, feeling exhausted. "Let's never talk about this, ever."
"Damian-"
"You need to promise me, you'll forget this ever happened."
The two stared at each other, both with mixed emotions.
"I... I promise." Maps will let this little incident go with Damian.
But she defiantly wasn't going to let it slide with the others.
Maps were going to have a talk with everyone in that class, warnings were apparently needed.
She was going to figure a way out where everyone can respect Damian's boundaries and if they won't, then they'll have to pay the price for any further actions.
Maps weren't the type to let bullies hurt her friends.
Maps huffed, placing her fist on her hips. "Alright," she was going to offer to walk him back to class but thought better of it.
He was probably feeling embarrassed from his earlier nervous breakdown.
Which was interesting, to say the least, because Maps was pretty sure she saw his eyes glowing there for a second.
Of course, she could have imagined it, but it was a strange phenomenon.
And strange things happen here often, it just had to be a possibility.
Maps will put a pin in this for later.
"Shall you escort me to my next class dear boyfriend?" Maps lifted her hand in the air for him to take as if she were royalty waiting to be ushered to the ballroom.
"What, why should I?" He asked, but there was no bite but instead curiosity behind his words.
Maps rolled her eyes at his obliviousness. "Because it is now your sole duty as my fake boyfriend." Maps linked her arm with his as she put on an easy smile.
Maps were sort of expecting him to shove her off of him but were extremely surprised to see him allowing physical touch with him.
She took this as a good sign.
Her smile grew wider from that revelation.
Maps continued, as they made their way back to the large building. "And if you want... maybe we could have a quiet lunch too. I don't think you're ready to handle the formidable foes, known as my friends."
Damian was about to retort that statement, but if he was being honest, he was utterly drained.
He had only enough left for the remainder of the day and whatever her brother might have in store.
Damian relented and sighed. "Yes, I think that might be wise."
The smaller girl smiled tenderly. "Cool, then we can spend all our time talking about D&D and how we can get enrolled!" Maps jumped as she grew excited at the idea.
Damian deadpanned.
Tbc.