What Sleeps in Shadows

Chapter Eighteen

I need to talk to you.

Raven sighed and stared down at her phone for just a moment, keeping her expression blank before setting it to the side. It had only been a week since they had talked outside and finally aired everything that was building between them, but Raven wasn't entirely sure if she was ready to forgive Damian entirely. Sometimes he could be a real jerk, and he was just going to have to wait until after she finished this report. He couldn't keep ordering her around like this.

Her phone buzzed again and Raven glanced at the screen.

Now.

It's urgent.

She groaned and lifted her eyes to the ceiling, weighing the consequences of giving into him. He couldn't keep pushing her around like this, but then again, she kept caving to him too. Maybe she just needed to establish better boundaries. Or maybe he needed to learn to give her space.

"I need to go."

Miguel looked up from their study session notes, and narrowed his eyes. There was a long moment before his lips pulled back in a teasing smile. "Booty call?"

Raven gritted her teeth, but chose not to glorify that with a return statement. Gar and Miguel would never let her live it down if she did. She ignored Miguel's soft chuckles and began packing up her things in her bag.

Gar elbowed Miguel in the side as Karen rolled her eyes, turning to sniff at him. "Look, if Raven says they're not dating, then they're not dating. And, even if they were dating, I don't see how it's any of your business anyway."

"Damian Wayne dating anybody is the gossip of the century, and if you can't see that... well, then I'm just disappointed. Even if it is just a rumor, and might not be true, it's still pretty shocking. And look, the only class they have together is Spanish, and..." Miguel waved around their small homework circle. "And he's not here with us, studying. So, that only leads to one conclusion... booty call. Because who else would you drop all of your obligations for and rush out of the library for? Ah, right... a booty call."

Raven rolled her eyes and zipped up her bag, choosing to ignore Miguel again. If she gave him anything else to talk about, he might implode. "I will be back later. This shouldn't take long."

Hopefully, she added silently.

Raven bundled up in her wool coat and walked outside, ignoring the soft chatter between her friends. When she finally got to the student parking lot, she saw Damian standing by his car and staring at his phone, this thumb flicking over the screen. He glanced up at her, and there was a flash of darkness behind his stare, like there was something weighing heavily on his soul. Their gaze hung between them like a lead weight, and she felt a rush of nervousness and fear push at her. Damian was... upset. Something was making him anxious, and that definitely wasn't a good sign.

Raven stepped up to him, cautious. "Damian?"

He looked relieved to see her, and he the tension in his shoulders seemed to dissipate. He tilted his head to the car. "Get in. I don't want to talk around campus."

Raven opened the car door and waited until they were off campus before trying to understand what Damian wanted to talk to her about. His fingers wrapped tightly around the steering wheel, and he drove them to a spot behind a convenience store, somewhere down a sidestreet outside of the quaint downtown area. It was as far from campus they could go without it seemed suspicious or raising questions.

Damian took a deep breath and let it out slowly, his head leaning back against the seat. It felt like the air around him was crackling with pent-up energy, and Raven half expected him to explode the way he had the last time they ran away from campus to have one of their talks. She could feel emotions war inside him, each one vying for attention, but to his credit, Damian stayed surprisingly calm. He ran a hand down his face, taking another slow breath before turning to face her.