The Newest Wayne [COMPLETED]

Chapter 13~ Exhaustion

Well, after I picked up on finally throwing myself into my latest distraction, I was better off. I didn't have to think about the nagging thoughts and the scars of the past. Sometimes it's easier not to think at all. So that's what I did. 

I've never been a superstitious person. I mean, I loved myths and horror books, but I could never bring myself to believe wholeheartedly in the idea of some paranormal entity constantly looming overhead, ready to strike at any moment. While most people fear the dead, I fear the living. 

I fear the man who threw stones at me. I fear Mrs. Lopez and all the other abusers of the foster care system. I fear the people around the world, causing war and unneeded death. 

I guess it's just hard to fear someone who's already dead, when the living have already hurt you so much. 

I huffed as I finished brushing my hair. "Damian?" I asked weakly. 

He detected the shakiness of my voice, I knew he did. "Do you....be honest, why did you help me out, when you first met me? I mean, you weren't exactly the warm-and-fuzzy type." 

He shrugged. "I'm not sure what I saw in you, but I'm glad I saw it. The world has Scavenger, and we have Avery Carter-Wayne." 

"Remember that time Jon thought we were dating?" I laughed. 

"Yes, I remember it clearly. He doesn't think much, does he?" He cringed at the memory. 

"Your friend, not mine." 

"Your crush, not mine." 

I jolted, turning to face him. What the flaming shit? How did he know about that? That was private information. But, honestly, do we ever have privacy in the batfamily? 

The answer is no. 

"What the hell, Damian?!" My colorful eyes went wide. 

Damian chuckled for a moment. "Seriously, you think I don't see you and Kent making eyes at each other? I never saw it coming, but I saw it happening." 

"We don't 'make eyes'. Even if I was flirting with Jon, he's the son of Superman, and the only person who could ever like me like that is Ethan. Not that I'd even dream of getting with that."  I cringed at the idea of kissing Ethan. "I think I just threw up in my mouth." 

"So did I," He admitted, "and believe me, Kent is head-over-heels for you. Even his father saw it." 

"Oh great, just what I need, Mr. Overprotective-dad-who-also-happens-to-be-a-Kryptonian on my case." I groaned. 

"Oh no, Mrs. Kent loves you, you know that." He chuckled. "By the way, I made a promise that I'd set you two up. You've got a date tomorrow night, seven o'clock at Starbucks. " He said before he headed off to go to work for the day. 

------

I figured it'd be wise not to get my hopes up about Jon. I knew that I wasn't exactly girlfriend material, in most cases. Not to mention the fact that his mother is a journalist and his grandmother worked on a farm as a sort of housewife, cooking and cleaning. Clark had always been very respectful towards me, and so had Jon, neither of them ever said a single sexist remark, the two of them even walked me home one night when I didn't feel safe in Metropolis. I wasn't worried that he'd be sexist but worried that I wouldn't be 'his type'. I mean, I was a vigilante while most of the important women in his life were....well, the opposite. 

I decided not to dwell on it as I shimmied into a pair of 'nice jeans'-although Damian insisted that they just looked like regular jeans- and slide on a blouse. Six-fifty on the dot. 

I opened up the door to see Jon standing in the doorway, also dressed casually. He had taken up working on his family's farm. A farmer and a journalist, practically a replica of his parents' relationship. 

"Hey." I smiled at him. 

He ran a hand through his shaggy black hair. "Ready to go?" 

"Yeah." My smile grew wider.

Now, I had no experience with...boys, or how to get their attention. Steph and Barbara tried to drill it into me, but it never worked. I was about as awkward as a middle schooler even though I was in my 20's, with a blush dusting my cheeks. 

We got into his car, he buckled himself in and started driving. "So, any good stories in the news lately?" 

"Uh, actually, yeah th-there has been." Oh my gosh, I was totally blowing this! "There's this one story I'm working on that's really funny to me." 

"Knowing your sense of humor, it's probably something evil." He joked, but it still embarrassed me, especially because his fingertips grazed my knuckles as he drove with one hand. 

"It kind of is," I chuckled, "so there was something in the air at Mason's park, the one at the edge of Central City, that attracted tons and tons of bees. Like, swarms of them. You wouldn't believe it. I showed up to the scene to gather the facts and I literally couldn't see the sky because of the amount bees in the air. The funny part was the peoples' reaction. Mostly teens hang out at that park, as you know, so I just saw a bunch of thirteen-year-old girls go sprinting. I went near them, and I didn't realize that they had their hair all braided into each others-there were three of them, all sharing one braid- one girl tripped and they all went forward. I love my job." 

He laughed, seemingly lost for words. "Wow. That's...are they okay?" 

Always so caring. 

"Yeah, they got up and kept running."I laughed. 

"Oh geez..." He shook his head, banging on the steering wheel in a fit of laughter. "My mom had some weird ones but never like that." 

"What about the farm?" I asked. "Is everything going good over there?" 

"Yeah, we're doing well. One of the sheep got out the other night, I had to spend two hours looking for 'er." He shook his head. "Just born a few months ago, too. The damn thing was so hard to catch." 

"You and all your Kryptonian powers couldn't catch a sheep? You can move a planet but you can't catch a sheep?" 

Jon and I were already friends, so I could tease him. 

"Correct." He admitted as we pulled into the Starbucks parking lot. 

"So, what brings you to Gotham?" 

"You, you bring me to Gotham." He stated as we got out of the car, making me turn bright red. 

We got inside of the Starbucks, there was almost no line, so we ordered our coffee pretty quickly. We took a table and started to talk even more. 

"You really came here for me?" 

"Yeah. I mean, I tried flirting with you when you'd visit Metropolis but, you're dead-ass oblivious." He chuckled. 

Oh...so Damian was right. 

"Carter, he put his arm around you when we were eating dinner." 

"It was a friendly gesture! Don't blow things out of proportion." 

Okay, maybe I was oblivious. 

My eyes widened as I realized all of the gestures he'd made, right under my nose, that I still considered platonic. "I hope I didn't give the wrong impression." 

"Nah, it's fine." He chuckled. "I'm just glad you caught on." 

"Actually, Dami did," I admitted shyly, "I'm oblivious to flirting." 

"-And I'm an oblivious flirt, so it works." He chuckled. 

"So, is this our version of a love confession?" 

"Sounds like it." He laughed nervously. 

-----

"My sister has a boyfriend." Damian smiled at me. I hardly had to open the door before he noticed my lovestruck smile. 

"Yeah, she does." I grinned at him.