Not based off of Pinterest
I own everyone but Damian.
We all carry secrets
Burdens of knowladge we cant share
Whether it be because they asked you not to, or it's forced, or you simply don't think anyone will listen
Everyone hides something about themselves
It could be how smart we are
How weak we are
Our pasts
Our insecurities
They all are hidden from fear, that if you tell someone who you really are, they won't accept you.
So you drive the secret away, bury it deep within, hoping it becomes false
That we aren't scared
That we are strong
When we clearly aren't
-Jean Shreave
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Mackenzie Harrison is a smart girl.
Not very popular, sure. No friends. But who needs friends when they distract you from your work?
She may wear a deep purple hoodie everyday, but that doesn't stop you from seeing the bottom half of her face.
Nobody knows what the top of her face looks like in Gotham Academy.
Not even Damian Wayne.
He has tried, looked up every picture ever taken of her, but still, no such luck has passed him.
Mackenzie is a straight A+ student. Perfect grades, 100% 24/7, always the teachers per, never skips a day of school, even when sick.
The two things anyone and everyone knows about Mackenzie Harrison, is how smart and dedicated she is to school, and that her father tragically died in a car accident.
That all changed one fateful day.
Damian Wayne was minding his own business, trying to get to his next class, when he feels a body crash into him.
Damian feel to the floor, slightly scraping his hands and knees on the white tiled flooring of the academy.
"I'm so sorry!" He could hear a female voice say.
He looked up to see Mackenzie Harrison standing over him, meeting her eyes.
He was stuck in place.
Mackenzie Harrison had several cuts on her forehead, some looked old, others looked yesterday-new.
She had the most interesting ember eyes he could ever see, like fire meets forest, with the slight accents of grass green.
One eye had a dark black bruise over it. She got hit there, probably punched. Her left eyebrow looked like it was nicked in the middle.
Mackenzie met his eyes, and seconds later realized Damian Wayne was looking at the top half of her own face.
She quickly moved her focus to the side, so he couldn't see her eyes. Praying to every God, real or not, that he didn't see her whole face.
She stuck out her hand in front of him, silently cursing herself as to being this careless.
She felt a warm, scratchy hand latch onto hers and she pulled him up, and she faced him again, making sure her face couldn't be seen.
But before she could let go of his hand, Damian, curious, grabbed her sleeve of her jacket with his other hand and tugged it up slightly.
Damian, wishing his accusations were wrong for once, was greatly disappointed to see he was right.
On the small amount of skin shown, there were purple and black bruises covering her small wrist, looking like handcuffs rubbed at her skin.
He could barely make out the cuts underneath the bruises, but those were still there too, and he noticed.
Before he had any more time to satisfy his suspicions, Mackenzie tugged away her sleeve and ran away.
Mackenzie was cursing herself as she ran across the almost empty halls, tears starting to flow from her eyes.
She ran all the way outside and to the back of the school, in a dark alleyway.
She curled herself into a ball and leaned her back against a wall. She cried into her arms that wrapped around her knees.
She was like that for a few minutes before she felt a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her.
Mackenzie was shocked at the contact and looked up, only to find Damian Wayne standing over her, lending her a hand.
When he quickly got over his shock, he followed her here, to find her entire body physically shaking from both crying and fear.
Mackenzie looked up at him for a second, still making sure he couldn't see her entire face, and slowly pulled out a trembling hand.
Her hand was shaking as much as the rest of her body, although when she placed it onto a familiar hand, it stopped violently shaking.
"I won't hurt you. I just wanted to make sure you were alright. I... saw your entire face." Damian said to her.
Mackenzie started to hyperventilate, and Damian quickly rushed to say something else.
"But I won't tell anyone. I promise."
Mackenzie stayed in her position, staring into space.
There were a few minutes of silence that filled the air between the two, Mackenzie being stuck in a memory in the time.
The time her father promised he would be right back. And he never came back. He left her to her drunk and abusive mom.
"Would it be okay if you took off your hood?" Damian asked her after he was tired of the silence.
But she stayed completely still.
Damian became worried slightly and crouched down to check the pulse on her neck. It was a little above average.
He noticed the fresh tears rolling down her cheecks, off her neck, and onto the purple sleeves of her jacket.
"Mackenzie?" Damian asked.
Complete silence.
"Mackenzie?" Damian asked again.
At this Mackenzie snapped her head to face Damian, quickly wiping the tears off her face.
"Yes?" She asked, her voice cracking at the end.
"Would it be okay if you take off your hood?" Damian asked her, a calm voice seeping into his words.
Mackenzie slowly nodded her head and moved her hands ever so slightly every few seconds.
She pulled down her hood, off of her face, as slow as she could muster, her hands shaking from fear.
Fear he would laugh at her ugly face.
Fear he would leave her.
Fear he would tell the whole world what a freak she truly is.
Fear he would call the cops.
Fear that he would take her away from her mother, and her baby brother she was trying to protect.
Kaleb is only 6 years old, and she could never bear the thought of so much as a scrape on his perfect pale complexion on his body.
"Who did this?" Damian asked, letting anger into his voice.
"Please. Please don't tell anyone." She whispered, starting to cry again.
"Why?" He asked.
"Kaleb. Sh- she has rights to him." She mustered from her tears.
"Who's she? Your mother?"
Mackenzie nodded, not trusting her voice to come out right.
"Can you elaborate?" He asked.
"Kaleb is sick. If- if he runs too much, he can start coughing until his face turns purple and black. He is allergic to grass.
He can't be around so many things. We could get him medicine, but it's too expensive. Mom prefers to just keep him at home."
Mackenzie is close to breaking down.
"The only way I can be sure Kaleb isn't the way I am, is if I get perfect grades, and she takes her abuse out on me."
Damian just looks at her, eyes full of sadness. Full of anger.
"I- Kaleb is probably going to get hit because of me now. Because I skipped class. It's all my fault."
Mackenzie started to bawl her eyes out crying into her hands and sobbing like a mess.
This continues for several minutes until she feels a warm hand on her shoulder.
She looks up, crying stopped but hiccups like her hiccups are on drugs.
"I can help you." Damian tells her.
Mackenzie starts to laugh. Damian is confused as to why she's laughing.
"No you can't. You may be rich, but my mom knows people in high places. I'm stick like this."
"So does my father. And I can assure you that you will be placed in a much better place. Both you and your brother, Kaleb."
Mackenzie started crying tears of joy. She's never had someone do something so nice for her.
She throws her body into Damian, squeezing the living daylights out of him, and thanking him into his shoulder.
Please comment if you want a part 2.
Next chapter is Robin/ Timothy Drake