Love Under the Hood - A Jason Todd X OC Story

Chapter 3: A Guessing Game

Steam poured from the bathroom door as Scarlett scampered into the closet to reach her robe, her body covered in goosebumps from the cool bedroom air. She tied the sash around her waist as she scanned the rack of clothes for the best outfit for her date.

Just as he promised, Jason called the week after the gala and invited her to the pub in Bristol. He was picking her up within the hour. Despite their incredible chemistry at the party, Scarlett was more nervous about their date than she wanted to admit. Although Jason saved her night at the gala from being a complete disaster, he did come across as somewhat of a lady's man.

Scarlett herself had been on many dates—most of which were terrible—but she was a novice when it came to true love and committed relationships. She only had one boyfriend in her entire life: Her high-school sweetheart, Logan. Theirs was the typical love story of a straight-laced pageant girl falling for the rebellious bad boy. Logan drew her out of her shell and made her dream about life beyond her mother's control. He was confident, brash, charming, and had rugged good looks to top it off. Not the kind of guy a good, honest girl would bring home to her controlling, white-picket-fence parents.

Clearly, she had a type.

By the time she turned eighteen, Logan had dropped out of high school a few years earlier and was working odd jobs in their hometown of Newark, New Jersey. He had gotten a tip from one of his work friends about a job at the Dixon docks in Gotham City and was looking for an apartment. Scarlett was worried about moving to a city with such a dangerous reputation, but her being head over heels in love and desperate to leave home, she agreed to it anyway.

Unfortunately, their new life in Gotham proved to be less than ideal. Even after she signed on with Steven and found modeling gigs, Scarlett barely made enough to help pay for the rat-trap apartment Logan found. The two of them were spending less time together and it got to the point where most of their conversations turned into fights where he blamed her for some aspect of their life. She justified his behavior as nothing more than stress from his miserable job that paid less than promised. However, the fantasy was finally destroyed when she came home from a waitressing shift one night to find Logan in their bed with another woman. Naturally, he had a million excuses...none of which put him at fault. He accused her of pushing him to take the job and move to Gotham so she could leave home. The worst part was that Scarlett, who was heartbroken and riddled with regret, actually allowed herself to take the blame.

That's when the insecurity really started. All her life, she had been told by her mother that being beautiful would ensure her happiness and success. Losing her boyfriend to another woman made her realize that beauty wasn't everything after all. She could be the most beautiful woman in the world and have a good heart, but it wouldn't matter. Nothing could ever keep her from being hurt by someone who claimed to love her. The thing she was convinced was her only asset was suddenly made meaningless. At that point, all she had left was her work...which only further chipped away at her self-esteem and sense of worth. She never had the chance to give herself time to heal.

And thus the reason she was nervous about this date. Her budding relationship with Jason was either an exciting step in a new direction...or her falling back into the same, unhealthy patterns. She couldn't be sure how their date would end but she willed herself to keep an open mind. She liked Jason's confidence and sarcastic sense of humor, yet the small glimpses of kindness and empathy were even more intriguing. All Scarlett wanted was to spend her life with someone trustworthy, who was there to remind her she had depths beyond her reflection. Surely, that wasn't too much for her to ask...was it?

After ten minutes of sorting through her clothes, Scarlett finally decided on a short red dress with a halter top and flowing skirt. She straightened her hair, applied a tasteful amount of makeup, and slipped on a diamond bracelet to add a touch of sparkle.