Only Talon! Dick one-shots

35. College is difficult

peachrcses requested this whilst we were talking about me going to University (all online and socially distanced of course) and I had to do it

Also, Rev Batfam was requested and Rev Batfam my child shall receive 

"Are you sure about this chum? It's okay to back out," Bruce offered. Today Dick had moved into his college dorm and instantly the billionaire had a bad feeling. The other side of the room was empty and that didn't help. What if the guy who moved in was an absolute ass to him? Dick was better at social interactions, yes but he still struggled to pick up on social cues others would immediately notice and someone with little patience would frequently blow up at him. Even if his roommate was nice, there was a whole college out there. What if he was invited to a party and someone played a prank on him he didn't get? What if he needed to work within a group that didn't like him? What if he pissed off the wrong jock?

"Bruce, I'll be okay. Everyone else got their run of college so I should too," Dick argued.

"Not everyone is-" Tim cut himself. He shot him a sympathetic look for bringing it up but Dick didn't seem to mind. He understood why there was some apprehension about him living so far from home but he couldn't help but feel optimistic. Everyone said college was the best years of their life so why couldn't he have a slice of that? The Court of Owls had long since given up on getting him back though they made the odd attempt to murder him every now and then. He thought it was their way of training new troops. 

"I'm aware. I'll be okay," he replied.

"If anyone says or does anything to you, you tell us straight away," Damian told him, Jason nodding in agreement. 

"I'll handle myself just fine. Besides, I'll probably see you on patrol every other night."

"Our point is that we don't want you to wait that long to tell us if something is happening. College isn't for everyone and you can get just as good of an education through different means," Bruce insisted.

"I promise I will. You'll be the first to know if something happens."

Dick tried to like college, he really did, but it just didn't feel like what he thought it was supposed to. His roommate was named Dennis and he was on the football team. He wasn't there much but when he was, Dick tried to make as swift of an exit possible. He always had to comment on something. It was never a nice comment either. At least Dick didn't think it was. One day he'd commented on how "only girls wear makeup" when he found the acrobat's foundation he used to cover up the yellow streaks on his skin and followed it up with "are you a fag?" to which he didn't reply. Another day he said that he didn't like it when Dick looked at him. His eyes were "fucking creepy." Luckily, the jock was running around chasing girls most of the time or going to parties so he spent his nights somewhere else. Still, it hurt. But Dick tried to look past it. This was just one person in a whole college, there had to be someone here. In classes he let people copy off his notes and gave them first drafts of assignments whenever they asked in hopes of them liking him. Their conversations never got far after they got what they wanted. The work was easy enough but he guessed it was only easy for him. He didn't like being used like he was but he thought this was how you made friends. He'd been homeschooled for a while after the whole nearly stabbing someone and he'd made friends through hero work so it wasn't exactly easy. One night he was invited to a party but he hated it. He'd tried to talk to people but they were slurring their words and didn't really make much sense. The room smelt of alcohol and sweat as well as a substance he wanted to steer far away from. He managed to push through the crowds of dancing students to the porch of the house. He sucked in a breath of fresh air and sat down on the last step. What was he thinking? He hated all of this. Dick never liked parties. He hated galas and parties were basically the same things. Actually no, he did like some parties. He liked the parties his friends threw. They always knew to play the music a touch lower so he didn't get overwhelmed like he was no. He sighed to himself and ran his hand through his hair. "What were you thinking Grayson?" he muttered. Why did he do this? Bruce was right. He should've never gone to college or at least, he shouldn't have moved here. He missed his family. He missed his friends. He missed Wally. Sure they talked every day on the phone but he wasn't able to hold him. If Wally were here now, he'd feel better. The speedster would tell an awful pun and give him a nice warm hug. He'd say fuck the party and they'd go somewhere that would give them some privacy. Dick wiped away the tears that managed to spill over. He couldn't do this. He couldn't be here. At least, he couldn't be here alone.