The dinner Skylar had with Bruce, Clark, and Lois was on Sunday. It was now Thursday and she hadn't heard from Bruce since then. The last four days were rough on her.
First, on Monday, she watched the program Gotham Gossip much to her dismay and was once again surprised to see the picture of the two of them. It was taken right after Bruce complimented her on the dress and they were looking at each other deeply with a smile.
She spent a few moments looking at the photo, something twisting in her stomach. The photo made her happy and suddenly she started looking at it all differently. Bruce had come into her life a little over a month ago and had completely changed her life.
She felt really good with him, she felt comfortable. Ever since she had started university the people around her always used her, for notes, for grades, and for their entertainment. He was the first 'friend' she had in a really long time and Skylar was so happy to have found him.
After snapping out of the zone she was in, she took out her phone and texted him. It was an attempt at a joke about the story the paparazzi ran on the two of them. As she was waiting for the reply she got up and started getting ready for the class she had.
Bruce still hasn't texted her back by the time she was done with her day and classes. She tried not thinking too much about it, it was a Monday and he must've been busy. She went back home, ate some dinner by herself while showing the new episode of a TV show she was watching until she went to bed.
The next two days went by a blur. Skylar mainly focused on her school work. She spent her free time in the library, reading or studying. She tried communicating Bruce a few times. One call and a few other texts. He did not respond.
She tried not to feel saddened by it, he had a whole other life. He ran a massive company along with parenting a teenager. He was busy. Yeah, he was busy. That must've been it.
But maybe she could drop by his office, see he was alright. Maybe he had some free time they could grab a coffee or lunch. That seemed like a good idea, she had some free time the next day around noon.
She smiled to herself with the idea. He did mention before that he always tried not to put a meeting around 12 so that he could have lunch. He was very punctual when it came to these kinds of things.
So, on Wednesday after two and a half-hour lecture on Finance Strategies, she made her way on to Wayne Enterprises. There was a bus that went there from the school so it wouldn't be very hard to get there.
Skylar took a deep breath before entering. She did not want to go through the security guy again. Of course, he wasn't there and someone else stopped her. " Ma'am, if you don't work here or have any business, I can't let you through," he said.
She took a deep breath. " I've been here before, really, you can ask the security guard who stopped me last time," she said. " Who would that be?" the guard asked seriously. She looked around, not finding him. "He's not here right now, but maybe you can call Mr.Wayne's assistant, Claire, her name was Claire,"
The guard seemed surprised she knew her name. " One minute," he said, stepping away from her and talking on the walkie-talkie. A few minutes later Claire stepped off the elevator, coming toward them.
" Thanks for letting me know Drew," she smiled at the guard before turning back to Skylar. "Miss Jones, surprising to see you," she said. " Hi, uhm, I'm sorry to bother you, the guard wouldn't let me up," she explained.
Claire gave her a smile and Skylar couldn't tell whether it was fake or not genuine. " Why are you here?" she asked her. Skylar bit her lip. " I came to see Mr.Wayne," she admitted. Claire tilted her head before replying.
" He's not at the office," she said. Skylar furrowed her brows, "Where is he then?" she asked. claire sighed, looking away and smiling at someone before turning back to her. " Look, sweety, whatever you thought that happened between you and Mr.Wayne is over, if you can't reach him it because he wants it that way, forcing yourself is not going to change anything, so my advice? Move on," she spat.
Skylar stood there, as if someone had just poured boiling water to her. Unable to say anything. She felt pressure on her chest upon hearing those words. " Please don't come here again, have a good day," Claire said before walking away.
The security guard came back with a smirk. " I'm guessing Mr.Wayne wasn't expecting you, ma'am," he snickered. Skylar looked at him in defeat. She was embarrassed, by the interaction she had with Claire, the guard.
She walked, more like ran to escape, out of the building and kept walking. Her steps were fast, wanting to get away from there as soon as possible. As she went over what Claire had said to her tears formed on her eyes.
What did it mean? What did all of it mean?
Skylar found herself in the park. People were scattered around it, jogging, sitting, enjoying the sun. She found an empty bench away from everyone and let her frustrations out. Would it end like this way, he'd just ghost her all out of a sudden?
Then her phone vibrated. She quickly took out her phone in hope that it was from Bruce. Maybe he was going to explain it, he'd say he was busy and that he'd wrongly reference one of the things Skylar always made him watch and it'd all be fine.
It was Lois. She had replied to a meme Skylar had sent her earlier. She quickly called her, she was in a dire need of someone to talk to, someone who'd probably understand.
" Hey, girl! What's up?" Lois opened up the call energetically. "Hi, are you busy?" she asked. " Am not now, what's wrong?" she immediately asked. " I don't know, I'm probably reading too much into it, but I haven't been able to reach him since dinner,"
" Hm," Lois said. "I'm sure it's fine, he told us over the weekend he had a lot to do this week," she added. Skylar sighed. "I know but he hasn't replied to any of my texts or calls. I feel like it's my fault, maybe I've done something," she rambled.
Skylar could hear Lois taking a deep breath. " Honey, I'm sure it's nothing, believe me," she said. " Does he does this often?" Skylar asked. " No, but then again we don't talk that often, we're all focused on our own things mostly,"
" This just seems so out of his character Lois, I don't know, it makes me think of our friendship over again. Was I maybe something else than a friend?" Skylar huffed. "Skylar, no! Trust me when I say this, I'm his friend, I know him, uhm, to some extent. He'll reach out, I'm sure of it, okay?"
" Okay," Skylar mumbled. " Alright, lift your spirits up, it's a good day out there, and take care of yourself. I need to go now, my boss is on my ass on this article," she said. " Okay, thanks, bye," Skylar said and ended the call.
She sat on the bench for a little while, calming herself down. Lois was right, she was being childish. Bruce wouldn't do something like that, his assistant Claire probably thought she was someone else, not his friends. Friends wouldn't do that to each other.
She got up and took the bus home. On the way she stopped at the market, grabbing some ice cream and chips to eat later while she was planning on marathoning some movies. About forty minutes later she was at home.
A couple of hours passed as Skylar watched movies. She decided to give a little break from watching so she opened the news. " Breaking news! The notorious Joker and seven other criminals have been reported to escaped Arkham Asylum after the attack that happened twenty minutes ago. It is presumed that Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, The Riddler and Catwoman," the woman said.
" Oh, fuck!" Skylar exclaimed. That was bad, very, very bad. She knew the names of these villains from the news and even though she had never been in Gotham when they were she knew they weren't good news, and all of them were free now.
The reporters went on about the attack and the escapees for a while. Even telling some of the recent crimes of them. Skylar was watching it nervously as she learned new things about them.
" But, even though these criminals are on the free, it seems like our very own Bruce Wayne seems unaffected and unbothered by all of it, given how he was spotted with a blondie just ten minutes ago, leaving presumably one his parties,"
Skylar's heart crushed as she heard it. The screen then displayed a photo of Bruce and a blonde woman, walking to his car whilst smiling at the cameras. Why did he look so happy? And more importantly, that's what he had been doing all of this time? And why Skylar got angry seeing that picture?
She turned off the TV and walked out to her balcony. She crawled to the couch that was there and started watching the sky. She needed to think and doing it under the moon and the stars seemed like a good idea.
She didn't understand what was going on. She thought she and Bruce were good, that nothing was wrong. They were friends, he had gone to so many lengths to help her. Then why was he acting like that?
Did what happened recently got to him? The talk shows talking about him and her being a couple, the way his friends teased the two of them constantly, the paparazzi. Did he get frightened by it? Did it make him uncomfortable?
Because Skylar kept telling him that she didn't want her presence to affect him or his business at all. He was the one who kept saying that it was alright. He was the one who kept pushing it.
He was the one started it all. Who offered her the money, asked her to move to Gotham, he even got her to transfer to Gotham University. He was the one who kept showing up at her doorstep, asking her to dinners and stuff. He was the one who bought her a dress. He was the one who introduced her to his friends. He was the one who asked to be friends in the first place!
So why on goddamn earth that he was ghosting her right now, ignoring her texts and calls while he was out with some girl? Had he been with her the last few days while she tried to contact him? Or was she just the one she was with today?
As questions filled up Skylar's mind she felt full of anger and disappointment. Because she couldn't understand it, any of it. Bruce was a complicated man, that part she understood for sure and Skylar was feeling like she was finally figuring him out. But no, she didn't understand this, not one bit.
And what was that, what Claire said to her. She wasn't some girl Bruce had slept with for a while then decided to get rid of. She wasn't an object, she was a person and she was Bruce's friend. At least, she thought so. And Bruce couldn't act like this, not to her.
Around 1 AM a heavy rain had started and Skylar was boiling up in anger. She was about to do something very impulsive but her logic had flown out of the window a few moments ago. She quickly grabbed her wallet and her phone, threw on a jacket and boots and rushed downstairs.
She called for a taxi and quickly got in. The streets were empty, every sensible person was in their homes in fear of the escaped criminals but Skylar was stubborn. She was gonna get to the bottom of this. " To Wayne Manor please,"
The road to the Wayne Manor took a while, it was located a bit away from the city. Skylar eyed the house in awe as they got closer. This was the first time she was coming here and she didn't think it would happen like this, but hey, desperate times.
The taxi pulled up to the big gate. " Can't get through," the driver mumbled. " Can you wait for a bit? I'll pay," Skylar muttered. The man sighed and light a cigarette. She got out of the car and walked to the gate, specifically to the intercom device. She hit the button and then crossed her arms waiting for a response.
It had started to rain even more than when she left and she was getting wet. " Who is it?" Someone with a British accent asked through the device. " Hi, hello, I don't know if you know me but it is raining, my name is Skylar Jones and I,-"
Right after she said her name the gates opened up. With a smile, Skylar rushed back inside the car and they drove in toward the building. It was as big as a castle, not that she had seen one in a real-life but it felt like it.
The taxi stopped in front of the stairs and Skylar got up. As she was nearing the end of the stairs the big doors opened up and someone dressed in a butler's uniform came out. He seemed old. " Miss Jones, welcome," the man said.
" Do you know who I am?" she asked surprised. The man nodded. " Yes, Master Wayne has mentioned you a few times," he said and Skylar looked at him. " Oh, I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Alfred Pennyworth, I'm the butler of the Wayne family," he said.
So he really did have a butler as if he was some kind of prince or king and lived in this castle-like house?
" I'm sorry to show up like this, especially at this hour, but I haven't been able to reach Mr.Wayne for some time and I was worried. Is he here?" she asked. Alfred took a moment to answer. He eyed Skylar curiously before taking a deep breath. " I'm afraid Master Wayne isn't home, would you like me to pass along a message?"
Skylar furrowed her brows. He wasn't home? He was out with that woman from the picture? Or was he home and asked Alfred to lie? Was he not even going to show his face?
" No need, sorry to bother you," Skylar spat and turned around, heading to the taxi. " Good evening Miss Jones," Alfred called after her. He watched silently as she got in the taxi and it left the driveway.
Heartbroken. That was what Skylar was feeling. Defeat. Disappointment. If Bruce things wanted it to be like this, it was going to be like this. She couldn't bear to lose one more person from her life. So she took a deep breath as a single tear finally rolled down her cheek, accepting it all.
She was done.