DC Imagines

skater boy - tim drake

He had a slight uptown Jersey accent that didn't quite match his pretty face. Or his general...aesthetic.
"You're not from around here, are you?" he prompted, his skateboard propped up beside him as he finally slowed to a halt where your bench was. So maybe you had looked a little more lost around the city than you thought you did. You scoffed, subtly glancing over the rest of him, only to size him up, of course. Not because he was at all attractive. Not with those steel blue eyes and messy black hair. Gross.
"You mean the high society side of Gotham? What gave it away?" Probably the fact that you weren't dressed like a Gossip Girl extra. He glanced over at you wordlessly for a few more seconds before tucking his skateboard under his arm and moving over to sit beside you, leaving a fair distance in between.
In fairness, he didn't look like a Gotham City rich boy. Not with his oversized sweater and those ripped jeans that didn't even look pre-ripped by purchase. Then again, that could just be an illusion. A ploy.
Then he pulled out a blunt and a lighter, glancing over at you.
"Do you care?" You raised a brow, but raised your own blunt to your lips to take a hit.
"No." The smoke curled away from your lips and his gaze lingered over the clouds as he took a puff himself.
It was a strangely serene experience that very first time, smoking with a stranger as the sky turned hues of gold and pink.
You learned a little more about him after that evening.
His name was Tim Drake and he had grown up around Gotham's fancy East Side, but he didn't really act like it. His parents were good people, but they were somewhat clueless about his "extracurricular activities" that he didn't go into particular detail about, and he claimed he totally wasn't a drug dealer. He was usually worn out when you saw him, but he'd still brighten every time you showed up, telling you stories about the craziest things that went around Gotham and in his life.
You'd see him some days with his friend, a tall guy in a black leather jacket, lots of piercings, and really messy black hair. They'd be standing around, talking and chilling with blunts in hand, doing tricks with their boards or blowing smoke in each other's faces to piss each other off. Occasionally, they'd be joined by another guy with longer messy brown hair and a crazy-looking smile, but most days he was by himself.

"Are you with anyone right now?"
It was an innocent question, one that was okay to ask now that you had known the guy for a while. And, okay - you weren't entirely sure if he and his black-haired friend were just really good friends or if their chemistry went a little deeper than friendship - and since you didn't want to assume anything or blindly go with the "and they were roommates'' theory. He actually laughed a little at that.
"Nah," he answered with an off-handed shrug. "I was, but it didn't really work out - why?"
You tried for a shrug back, playing it off.
"Nothing. Just-" He raised a brow at you and you cleared your throat. "...I saw you and your friend, and-"
When it hit him, Tim promptly burst out laughing.
"Conner?" He was laughing his ass off, half-heartedly attempting to wipe away the tears running down his face as he tried to look at you, only to start laughing again. You couldn't help but join after seeing him. "Are you talking about - tall dude? Leather jacket? With the glasses?" You nodded, still embarrassed as you rubbed the back of your neck. He managed to get somewhat of a grip on himself again and he managed to shake his head. "No, no way. We're just friends."
"Oh." You cleared your throat, still evidently embarrassed, and he grinned.
"What?"
"Nothing, I was just-" It was hard to think of an excuse without embarrassing yourself. "I didn't know, I thought maybe I should ask...?"
"It's cool," he told you quickly, still chuckling while he shook his head. His face had flushed the slightest shade of pink. "We actually get that a lot." You raised a brow and he was grinning again. "I don't get it either."
No, you could definitely understand where it was coming from.
"Right. Cool."
    He was still looking at you, pale skin turning even pinker as he cleared his throat a little.
    "I don't, um - I don't have classes on Friday." He sounded uncharacteristically shaky for a moment, rubbing the back of his neck as he fixed his gaze away from you. You had to bite back a slight smile.
    "...you don't have classes? Or you're ditching them? Again?"
    "No, not this time, I swear," he insisted with a little laugh. "Totally free. And I don't have, um - work, either."
    "Oh, that must be nice." Tim sighed at your response, looking back at you once again.
    "Yeah, it is. I don't have anything going on." You nodded slowly while he continued staring at you expectantly.
    "That's great, you could sleep in or-"
    "There's a new ice cream place that opened up downtown, I heard it's pretty good."
    "...really? I don't think I heard anything about it, is it-"
    "Do you wanna go there with me? Tomorrow?" At this point, he was actually starting to laugh a little again, despite how much redder his face had gotten. "If you want. No pressure. If you don't, that's totally cool, that's-"
    "Like a date?" Your face was about as red as his was once the realization hit you. Tim nodded again, rubbing the back of his neck.
    "Uh huh."
    "Oh." You let that sink in for another few seconds before you felt yourself smiling. "Oh. Yeah. Sure."
    The way his formerly-tense shoulders dropped in relief actually made you want to laugh. The poor boy actually looked like he was trying to breathe normally again.
    "Great," he finally said with a grin, brushing a lock of his dark hair out of his face in a motion you had come to find endearing. "That's great. We'll do it."