College Try

Part Two

Raven had to hear the slamming of his heart. There was no way she didn't hear it, even over the grating, ear-splitting sound of Nelly's Hot in Herre.

Damian had thought he was safe from her. Raven had never been to any of the charity auctions before, and he had purposely tried to keep her away. It was one thing to have a bunch of strange, unknown freshman ogle him in his underwear, but it was something different to have Raven do it. He liked Raven, more than he liked anyone really, but he had no idea how to tell her. It was easier to keep her at a distance, easier to pretend that they were just friendly rivals, teasing and goading each other. At least that way he knew his heart would stay intact.

With a frustrated sigh, he looked out into the crowd and saw her standing there, glaring at him and him alone. Donna was missing, and out of his peripheral vision, he saw her shaking down some freshmen girls who had tucked a few precursory dollars into the waistband of his underwear when he walked by.

Raven's nostrils flared, and he saw her mouth: you're mine.

Well, fuck if that wasn't the hottest thing he'd ever seen. Damian discreetly dug his nails into his thigh, or he was pretty sure blood was going to flow to places it shouldn't have. A mixture of excitement and something like panic twisted his stomach, but he bit the inside of his cheek to keep from showing any emotion. Instead he lifted an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest.

You can't afford me.

Her face burned red and he watched her puff out her cheeks, her hand tightening around a wad of cash. Damian swallowed that knot of panic again, hoping he looked unaffected in the thin light of the room. Glancing at the bills in her hand, he realized that she might be able to afford him. Well, fuck. What in the world was he going to do if she actually won a date with him? With other girls it was easy - take them out to dinner, give them a kiss on the cheek, and run as far away as possible. Never give his phone number, never return affections.

But, Raven... was different. He liked her, and he wanted to go out on a real date with her.

Somewhere in the back of his mind he realized that the rest of his frat house was starting to go up for sale, girls hollering and screaming as Jaime paced across the stage, looking extremely uncomfortable. This was his first auction, he'd managed to weasel out of the obligation for the last two years, but Jaime couldn't avoid it this time. He sold for five hundred dollars, and looked like he was going to die of embarrassment.

Gar sold for four hundred and practically preened at his number, which was up from last year. Wally for six hundred. Garth for five hundred. Three of the new guys went for a few hundred each, and it felt like the night just crawled on. Girls kept flinging money at them, trying to win dates with boys they would never get otherwise.

And then there was Connor. Damian watched as Connor's number climbed, and he looked out at Raven to see her standing there, arms crossed over her chest, silent. Not once did she bid on Connor, which only left him. No. Nonononono... He swallowed and stepped up to the middle of the stage, his eyes never tearing away from Raven. The MC was hyping Damian up, talking about what you would get if you won a date from him.

"A 4.0 GPA, buns of steel, ladies. And-"

"A thousand dollars."

Damian watched as Raven pushed through the crowd, holding her wad of cash up above her head. She elbowed a sophomore out of the way and moved closer to him with all the grace of a prowling jungle cat. His heart dropped into his stomach as she pressed against the make-shift stage and looked up at him, eyes dark with fire. She shoved the money into his chest, and Damian scrambled to keep the bills from falling to the floor.

She clicked her tongue and glared at him. "A thousand dollars to have your sorry ass take me out to dinner, Damian Wayne."

"Ah... I mean, you have to actually bid on him, Raven..." The MC looked out at the crowd and realized no one else was trying to bid on Damian. Either they ran out of cash, or Donna had effectively eliminated the competition through more than just a few threats. The MC nodded slowly before recovering. "Okay! Going once. Going twice. SOLD! Damian Wayne, I hope you know how to handle a date with a woman like Raven Roth. May god have mercy on your soul."

Next to him, Garfield started to hum a funeral dirge.

Damian just swallowed.

Fuck.