Gotham City: Rise of the Nerds

1

Chapter One
Old Friends, New Beginnings
Ed's P.O.V

I woke to the sound of Crane's crows,
Caaaw Caaaw Caaaw. This almost made me regret moving in with him and Jervis. I said almost. The move was beneficial for us all; The apartment was near the narrows and had a library just across the street.

"Jonathan! Shut the crows up! Some of us actually like sleep!" I yelled out as I looked at the clock. It was 10 am right on the dot, I should've already woken up.

I climbed out of my bed and stretched, opening my curtains and blinking as the sun met my face. Odd, Gotham never received this much sunlight....It was normally dark and foggy.

I changed into my daytime attire and headed down stairs. Jonathan and Jervis were already at the dining room table, chatting. There was no breakfast in sight...only a fresh pitcher of tea and three tea cups. Two of the cups were already taken. I grabbed the third cup and poured some of the tea into it.

Jervis let a small chuckle and wiggled in his seat. When I looked his way, he quickly stilled and quit chuckling. I raised an eyebrow and glanced back down at the tea cup, this time more specifically at its liquid.

"Tetch, what did you do to the tea?" I asked curiously, taking my seat.

Jervis grinned and shook his head, "Nothing, Ed! Jonathan made it! He also made bread! They both were delightful, I admit! Tasty, Tasty, all of it!"

Jonathan shot me a wink, getting up and grabbing some bread out of the fridge. He put it before me and returned to his seat, "eat up."

I cautiously took a sip of the tea, it was extremely sweet and had a slight taste of lemon to it. Not too bad. Jervis's tea was more on the bitter side, sugar wasn't his thing. He liked the taste of the tea itself.

I lifted the bread to my nose and sniffed it, it didn't smell bad. I tore a small piece off and began to chew it. I didn't understand why Jervis acted the way he did....Nothing was wrong with the items.

A few bites in, my stomach made a racket and I felt the urge to go to the bathroom. Laxatives....that's what was wrong with the bread. That's why Jervis was laughing and wiggling in his seat earlier.

"I'm gonna kill you two!" I hissed , causing the two to high five and burst into laughter. I rushed out of the apartment and down to the public restrooms. Our toilet wasn't working yet...The plumbing was bad.

The public bathrooms ended up being full. I stood in line, pacing around as my stomach continued to make noises. I could barely hold it in. A stall opened and I pushed an elder man out of my way and rushed into it.

I stayed in the stall forever. When I finally got out, I washed my hands and exited the restrooms. A group of girls stood in front of the staircase leading back up to my apartment, blocking my path.

Not wanting to be rude, I sat on a bench nearby to wait on them to move out of the way. The group consisted of three, a ginger, a brunette, and a blonde.

The ginger had porcelain skin and a petite figure, her wavy locks went to her waist and her eyes stood out. They were sky blue, with hints of green at the center.

The brunette was more on the tan side and had a curvy figure, much like Marilyn Monroe. Her hair was tied up in a perfect messy bun, and her hazel eyes lit up each time she laughed.

The blonde stood the tallest and was a bigger girl. Her eyes were brown, resembling milk chocolate. Her hair was tied in a high ponytail and swayed as she moved her head in conversation.

I must've been in a daze...When I snapped out, the three girls were giving me weird looks. Crap, I had been staring at them. I gave a friendly smile and an awkward wave before looking away. Maybe they'd just pretend that didn't happen.

I heard footsteps approaching the bench and gulped, knowing who they belonged to and why they were confronting me.

"Excuse me, Sir? Do you have staring
problems?" A feminine voice spoke, I looked up to see the blonde. Her friends remained at the staircase, watching,

"No, I'm sorry...I must've dazed off. I promise I wasn't being a creep or a weirdo." I spoke in a calm tone, although inside I was freaking out.

"Oh?" Blondie replied, glancing back at her friends before taking a step closer and joining me on the bench. She must not be aware of who I am... "Do you live here?" She questioned.

I nodded and pointed to the staircase, "um yeah, just moved in. Right up those steps is my apartment."

She looked to where I pointed, "Oh...Oh! Are we blocking your path? We can move!!"

"No-No." I responded, "I was just enjoying outside. I'm Edward, by the way."

"Adaline." She introduced herself then signaled her friends over, "This is Jasper and Annabelle."

"Jasper." The ginger smiled, her dimples shining as she did so.

"Annabelle!" The brunette greeted, confirming her friends words.

"Nice to meet you all." I spoke. The three of them joined me on the bench and began chatting with me. They were nice young ladies, each freshly twenty one. Turns out, they lived right under my shared apartment.

"Ladies, Ed." A voice spoke from behind the bench, it belonged to Jonathan.