Chapter Text
Ring! Ring!
The last bell rang, signaling the end of the school day, pulling you from your dazed state. You grabbed your backpack and slung it over your shoulder. Kids shuffled out of the classrooms and into the hallways as you followed suit. You held onto the straps of your backpack tightly, knuckles turning white. Walking through the halls was never fun for you, you hated the feeling of people surrounding you.
Your locker came into view and you made a beeline straight for it. The lock opened once you put in the combination and jiggled it a bit, the door squeaking on its rusted hinges as you opened it. Your journal, sketchbook, and English textbook met your gaze when you peered inside. The journal was made of leather with a Celtic cross on the cover. That's where you wrote down most of your thoughts or dreams. Something someone once told you would be good for your anxiety.
Reaching in, you grabbed each item and shoved the English textbook in your backpack and held onto the sketchbook and journal. You heaved open the large double doors, jogging down the steps in a hurry. It was Friday, which meant all you wanted to do was relax and recharge. The weekend was here and it was going to consist of time spent alone on the rooftop. It was the only place you could be alone and out in the open. The view was a plus too, you could sit up there and daydream for hours, just watching the cars along the streets; along with other things.
You trekked down the sidewalk, walking your usual route home in Gotham City. Sketchbook and journal held close against your chest, you made a turn down another street and stopped abruptly. Construction workers stood in your way a few yards away, working on the sidewalk. Crap, now which way do I go? You questioned, looking around and spotting an alleyway to your left that appeared to lead to your destination. The path seemed a little ominous, but you could probably handle it. So you steeled your nerves and steered your legs down the alley.
A few rats scurried by your feet, you didn't give them a second glance and kept walking. You passed an alley adjacent to your own and heard a noise. You looked up immediately only to see a blur speeding away. Was that a person? You picked up the pace and shook off the bad thoughts. You weren't exactly scared, just a little paranoid, you did live in Gotham after all. The other side came into view and you let out a breath you didn't know you'd been holding.
It took you about five minutes to get to the front door of the building you resided in. A row of buttons with a speaker and small microphone by them sat on the wall by the door. You found your apartment number and pushed the button. "Hey, it's me" you said into the microphone to your brother who was already upstairs in the building. You got no response, but you heard the door buzz as it unlocked. Swinging the door open, you ran up the steps to the fourth floor and nearly tripped on an orange tabby cat in the hall. "Finn, why aren't you in your room with Ms. Jackson?" Finn only responded by rubbing his body along your leg with his tail wrapping around it. You walked over to the older woman's door and knocked on it.
"Oh, hello ____, can I help you dear?" She was a frail older woman that stood to be only five feet tall. She wore glasses with a chain attached to them, and had snow white hair that was cut short, looking like a cotton ball. "I just came to bring Finn back Ms. Jackson, he got out again." Finn had already ran inside before you began talking and the old woman smiled at you. "Thank you dear, you're such a kind young thing." She complimented you as you began to walk down the hall to your room. You waved at her before she closed her door, opening your own in the process.
"Hey kid." Your older brother greeted you, walking over and silently taking your backpack off, placing it by the door. You mumbled a "hey" and went to your room. Your bed was against the wall to the left of the door. There was a window parallel to the door, which led to the fire escape, where you'd go to get to the roof. You could have your much needed alone time up there, and you got quite the show too. You could see the vigilantes running along the rooftops. It was always so amazing to see them in action, you'd even sketched them out on several occasions. Although, you usually only caught them at night, which was fine by you since you couldn't sleep half the time.
You placed your sketchbook on the desk by your bed and flipped through it. You could name them all by heart, there were five of them in total that you knew of. Batman, Robin, Red Robin, Nightwing, and Red Hood. They all seemed fairly close, you could understand how most of them were, but Red Hood wasn't exactly like the rest of them. He was a vigilante that did things with a darker twist. Yet you had seen Batman talking with him before. That wasn't exactly your business, but you sure as hell were curious though.
Your mind brought you back to school and you cringed. You didn't hate school, you just thoroughly disliked it and everyone there. You sighed and looked to the bed that seemed to be calling your name, so you plopped down face first into the unmade sheets. You needed to get school off your mind before you started to mull over every little detail. You were just so exhausted and could feel the fatigue seeping in; you really needed a nap. Shimmying up to your pillow, you curled up under the blankets and breathed out a content sigh. Sleep grabbed at you and before you knew it, you were fast asleep.
11:08 p.m.
The clock read when you groggily glared at the illuminated numbers. You had slept the rest of the day away, the sky showed that it was indeed night, engulfing your room in a blanket of darkness. You inwardly cursed yourself for most likely screwing up your sleep schedule, but quickly sat up. It was night time, which meant they would be out and about anytime now. You quickly changed into something more comfortable, and left your room. Seeing your brother's room, you peered inside to see him fast asleep at his desk, the lamp was still on. You grabbed a blanket off his bed and gently placed it around him, turning off the lamp afterwards. "Goodnight" you whispered lightly and left his room, keeping the door open just a crack.
Getting back to your room, you grabbed your sketchbook and made your way to the window as per usual. You shimmied the window open and squeezed through the small opening, taking the fire escape up to the roof. Once you reached the top, you peered over the ledge. It was a thick concrete bordering that you would usually sit on, dangling your legs off the edge. Throwing your legs over it, you sat down, doing just that.
You waited for a few minutes, doodling in the sketchbook until you heard something in the wind. It appeared that Batman and Robin were jumping from rooftop to rooftop. You had no idea where they were headed until you spotted a bulky man running like a track star a few buildings away. They were only about seven buildings from you, and all you could do was watch in awe.
The man they were after might have been the one that escaped from the Gotham penitentiary. Although, it was hard to tell since you only glanced at the picture on the news. Wait, was he coming towards you? It looked like he was running straight for you, and his intentions couldn't be good. You scrambled off the ledge and dropped your sketchbook on the roof in the process. Your pencil was tightly gripped in your hand, as some form of weaponry. Robin was snapping at Batman, while said man tried to pick up speed and get to you before the criminal did.
Something like this was certainly not what you had planned. His eyes looked like those of a rabid animal when he jumped to the roof of your building. A nasty grin spread along his face as he reached for you. You were shaking, the grip you had on the pencil tightened. "C'mere little rabbit, I won't hurt'cha" he growled out, his hand nearly touching you. You had the pencil ready, and stabbed the object into his abdomen at an upward angle. His eyes widened as he looked to see the damage. The pencil hadn't gone that deep, but it had gone deep enough to hopefully cause enough pain. Except, it didn't. His grin fell into a snarl and he lunged at you.
A batarang hit his arm, stopping his movements. "If I were you, I'd step away from the kid" Batman growled out. The criminal snapped his head over to him, glaring holes through him. Robin tried to sneak up on him, but the hulking man saw him out the corner of his eye. He acted quick and grabbed you into a choke hold, not enough to cut off your airways, but enough to terrify you.
"Stay back Birdboy, wouldn't want the girl to get hurt now would we?" Robin listened to him and stopped his advances, trying to keep him from doing anything drastic. "She has nothing to do with this, just let her go" Robin appeared impatient, just wanting to take down the petty criminal already. "She stabbed me! She brought this upon herself!" He was furious, apparently pointedly at you. Well, you did stab him, but it was his own fault for coming near you.
You struggled in his grip, until you felt something thin poke your leg. You tried to peer over his arm, catching a glimpse of the pencil. An idea came to mind and you acted upon it. His yells could be heard in the night when you kicked your leg back and drove the object further into him. At the same time, his grip loosened enough for you to bite his forearm and draw blood. You looked up and saw Batman staring right at you as the man dropped you onto the roof. He seemed impressed, but it was hard to tell.
Robin jumped on him as soon as you were released and out of harms way. Batman watched Robin at work, knowing he could handle it. You observed the fight as well, watching Robin dodge the advances easily with his small frame. Batman came into your field of vision, bringing you back to reality. "You alright?" he questioned, putting his hand out to help you off the ground. "Yeah, sorry to get in your way" you mumbled quietly, taking his hand and pulling yourself up. He shook head, and reached for your fallen sketchbook. "Wrong place, wrong time, wasn't your fault..." he trailed off, eyes skimming the pages. He noticed the drawings all seemed to have the same background; rooftops. He easily put the pieces together and his eyes drifted to you.
"So you come up here a lot then, huh?" He seemed curious and amused, while you looked anywhere but him. "Um...y-yeah, clears my head" you responded with a nervous chuckle. He made a 'hmmph' and continued to gaze at your sketches. You had made a few of each of them, individually and together. "So you're the one Red Hood told me about" he mumbled more to himself. You heard him say it though and instantly grew embarrassed. Red Hood had noticed your spying, and even told Batman about it, oh man.
"Can we please stop worrying about some irrelevant little girl and take this barbaric man back where he belongs?" Batman's sidekick impatiently barked. Speaking as if you weren't even there, and did he call you little girl? If anything, he looked younger than you, and he was definitely shorter.
He had the escapee on the ground, his arms bound behind his back and legs bound as well. Robin was perched atop the man's wide shoulder, casually swinging his feet against him. You clenched your fists subconsciously and brought your gaze back to the older male in front of you. "Yeah, don't worry about an irrelevant little girl like me. Instead, worry about a stuck up, short stack, bratty, little kid." You crossed your arms and glared over at said kid. Batman was quick to step in your line of sight, blocking your view of Robin. "Alright, that's enough of-" his sentence cut short by the sound of someone coming up the fire escape. You turned and looked on in anticipation, unsure of who else would come up here besides you.
"____? What are you doin' out here?" Your brother questioned, voice thick with sleep. You audibly sighed, relieved that it was just him. He walked over to you, wearing a tank top and sweatpants, his tattoos noticeable along his arms and shoulders. He was in the military for a few years, doing a tour overseas and being deployed twice within the tour. He got his tattoos in the military and right after, when he came home. They all represented something to him, and he wanted to remember the experiences he had overseas. Even though the PTSD did that for him pretty well.
"Come on, let's get back inside before you catch a cold." He walked behind you, going in the complete opposite direction he should have been. You turned around and realized that Batman, Robin, and the criminal were gone, as if everything that just happened, never actually did. Your brother reached down and grabbed your sketchbook, plopping it down in your palms. "Sorry..." was all you could say, unsure of what to make of all of this. Had any of it even happened? "It's alright, I know how you are y/n, I just don't want you to run into any trouble somehow." Your brother was showing his protective side again, always worrying.
You both climbed through the small window, shutting and locking it once you both were inside. You sat at the foot of your bed while he lazily walked past you, giving your forehead a quick peck. He continued trudging over to his room across the hall whilst stifling a yawn. "Good night" you told him, loud enough so he could hear you. "G'night" he grumbled, quickly falling asleep in his own bed. You crawled under your blankets and laid there for a while, contemplating whether or not it was just your active imagination that created everything that had happened. Deciding to get some very much needed rest, you shut your eyes and let your dreams take over.