The Story of Us - Jason Todd

Chapter 1

I have a love-hate relationship with winter, especially winter in Gotham. The cold is unbearable, the slush and ice on the ground make it difficult to walk. But watching the snowfall down on this damned city will never not be beautiful; the falling snow of winter is one of the few things that make this city bearable. I kept my head down, staring at my boots, as I walked down the street to Pauli's Diner. I look up as I walk past the bus stop. I look at a young girl sitting there, shivering. I try to ignore her and keep walking to Pauli's. But I can't. I stop a little ways away from the bus stop and turn around to walk back towards her.

"Are you all right?" I ask the girl. She jumps a bit, not expecting anyone to talk to her. She looks at me with big brown watery eyes.

"I'm fine." She is not fine. I know that look. I've had that look.

"Come on. It's cold. I'm going to Pauli's; I'll buy you some food." I watch her look around. I can tell she's thinking about my offer. Before she could say no, I walked away towards the diner. I hear her grab her bag and run towards me. We're both silent the next couple of minutes as we walk to Pauli's. I push the glass door open and walk to an empty booth. There aren't many people here; I mean, why would there be? It is well into the night. The girl sits down across from me and looks out the window.

"What's your name, kid?" I ask her as the waitress walks over.

"Gracie. And I'm not a kid." Well, someone's sensitive about being called a kid.

"Hey, Hazel. I haven't seen you around in a while. How've you been?" I looked up at the waitress and smiled. It has been a while. Too long, in fact.

"Hey, Denise. I've been good. How's your son?" Denise has been working here since I can remember. Pauli's wouldn't be Pauli's without Denise.

"He's good. He's in high school now. Want your usual?" A double bacon cheeseburger, with a side of half fries and half onion rings, with a vanilla milkshake.

"Always. What do you want?" I asked Gracie. I saw her looking at the menu and biting her lip.

"A bacon cheeseburger with fries and a chocolate milkshake, please." Denise wrote down what she wanted and walked away. I watched Gracie stare out the window, "Stop looking at me; it's creepy."

"Why were you sitting at that bus stop?" I know it's none of business, but she can't be any older than 16.

"It's none of your business." She wipes her eyes, trying not to cry as Denise comes back with our shakes.

"It's okay to cry. And it's okay to talk about what's bothering you. Especially to a stranger." She sighed. I can see her thinking, and I can practically hear her thinking. I turn my head to the right and watch the snowfall out the window.

"My parents, they just won't stop arguing. I don't think I've ever heard them not argue. And it's always over small things, never anything super important, you know. Like my dad didn't put his dishes in the dishwasher. Mom didn't have dinner ready. Or the house isn't clean. They mostly yell at me for not cleaning. And then my girlfriend and I got into an argument this morning. She didn't like the fact that I was talking to some guy that apparently liked me. Like why does it even matter? I don't even like guys. But she's also had an attitude for the past two weeks; I don't know why she won't tell me. Everything is just so god damn frustrating, and I'm just done. I need a break or something." She groaned and laid her head on the table. I giggled a little as she peeked up at me. "It's not funny. This is serious."

"I'm sorry. You're right. It's just; you remind me of myself." Denise put our food down, and Gracie lifted her head to look at me; she tilted her head slightly to the left and raised an eyebrow. I dipped a French fry in my shake and ate it. "Picture it, Sicily 1925," I said as I gestured my hands out in front of me. I watched her scrunch up her nose in confusion.