[IC] Love in Gotham

[Midna-Phobia]

It was a warm morning in Gotham City. The summer was coming to an end, so the air wasn’t dry or unpleasant and held the slightest chill to it, a sign of the oncoming autumn. Still she pulled at the school tie uncomfortably, gripping the strap of her bad a little tighter as she walked up to the large, very intimidating building. All around her students walked past her, happily chatting to their friends after summer break, completely oblivious to her feelings of being overwhelmed and way out of her depth. Now Summer was not a shy person, not by any measure of the word. Then again you couldn’t really be when you had to get up and perform in front of crowds every night for years of your life. As such, she was able to suppress those small butterflies of nervousness banging loudly against the walls of her stomach and offered every person she passed, and she passed a lot of people in those halls; a smile, a wave and a ‘good morning’. Needless to say this was probably an odder behaviour than if she’d simply kept quiet and not said anything to anyone and a lot of people were left confused by their encounter with her, wondering if they should have recognised her. It’s alright Summer. She assured herself as she started to notice the odd looks. It’s just like a performance. Smile and don’t let them see how much they scare you. Or how absolutely clueless she was. This place was huge and she spent a lot of that morning walking around feeling very lost and out of place. By some small miracle she managed to find her locker and put her bag inside, happy to be rid of the weight and extra bulk before taking out her schedule and trying to figure out where and what class she was actually supposed to be attending. She made it to the first class without too much drama, though this had mostly been due to good planning on her part, thinking to arrive early enough to give her the extra time she’d need in case she got lost. The school was big, but well designed, so it wasn’t that hard to find her classes as the day went on. Regardless she was more than happy when lunch rolled around and she was given a moment to just take a breath and not have to worry about being late to her next class because she was lost or being suffocated by the hoards of students.

[Vongola_Hasayo]

"You're going be to be late master Grayson." Alfred's voice echoed through the halls of the huge manor. Dick splashed some cold water on his face trying to wash away any remaining grogginess of the morning. "Be right there!" He replied, leaving the restroom and slinging his school bag over his shoulder with a slight wince. It was amazing what kind of stamina the young man had to do what he does over the course of a night and still be able to get out of bed with the few hours of sleep he gets. "Ready to go master Grayson?" Dick nodded with a smile as Alfred held the door open for him. The ride to school was quiet, Dick trying to catch up on a few more minutes of sleep on the way. Alfred peered at the young master through the rear view mirror. He sat in the back seat leaned against the door, his cheek rested upon his hand. He looked peaceful enough but Alfred knew that just like the boy's mentor his mind was never truly at rest. It was a familiar dream. Dick was back at the circus, his parents are there and they're performing. He watched the lion tamer's act, his favorite aside from his parent's. Afterward it was his turn. His first solo performance. Dick stepped into the center ring and waved to the crowd. The obstacles and equipment was all set up for him and after a deep breath he went to work. It was a 5 minute routine but to him it only lasted a few moments, moments that passed too quickly considering what was to come. Once it was over he bowed and waved to the audience jogging to meet his parents before their act. His father smiled at him with pride and his mother gave him a loving hug. Dick watched as they walked out to the ring and climbed up to their positions for the trapeze. What happened next was over in the blink of an eye. Usually the dream would end there but this time...Dick looked around and noticed someone entering the tent. They looked familiar but he couldn't quite remember them. "Master Grayson." Dick opened his eyes to see that they had pulled up to the school. "Are you feeling alright?" Alfred asked noting the young man's bewildered expression. "Yeah, everything's fine. Thanks for the ride Alfred. I'll see you at home." He smiled and stepped out of the car bag in hand. The day was going by quickly and the whole time he couldn't figure out who it was at the end of his dream. After racking his brain for a couple hours he decided to put it aside and get something to eat. Bruce does that sometimes you have to step back from a case to be able to see what you're missing. With that thought he navigated the halls of Gotham Academy towards the cafeteria.

[Midna-Phobia]

Summer walked the mostly empty halls on her own, looking out to the small grassed area centred in the middle of a courtyard in the school, the halls she walked down where covered, meaning you wouldn’t get wet if it was raining but there were no windows so a nice fresh breeze blowing through the hallway. It made Summer smile slightly and she decided she’d rather out here than in a crowded cafeteria, the fact that no one was out here was only a bonus. It wasn’t that she was antisocial, she just didn’t know any of these people, and she wasn’t sure how well she’d get on with any of them. They were just from different worlds. Even so she still actually needed to get her lunch and the girl making her way into the cafeteria. She watched the kids in line and approached quietly, taking a place and waiting in line. Now for most of the day Summer had her head down, trying not to draw attention to herself of be noticed. Now though, she felt a little more confident and actually looked around. Already she could make out the clique tables. The popular kids, the jocks, the nerds. She’d more heard about this odd social behaviour but never really had a chance to observe it before. Her eyes scanned over the large room and Summer tried to drown out the sounds of hundreds of voices all talking at once. It reminded her of the circus… so many things reminded her of the circus. Even that boy over there. Her eyes came to rest on one figure, who seemed to have just walked in and she couldn’t shake the feeling that she knew him. Unconsciously she left the line and began walking over to him, her hazel eyes fixed on that mop of black hair, completely forgetting about her place in line for lunch. At first she thought maybe she had been mistaken. Even as she got closer she still wasn’t sure. It had been so long and he looked so different after all these years. But he looked the right age; it was certainly the right city and had very similar physical characteristics. Stopping a small distance from him Summer nibbled at her lip, unsure whether to approach him or not. Eventually though she pushed the nerves aside and decided she really had nothing to lose by asking. If it wasn’t him, then it wasn’t him. If it was… then what? What if he didn’t remember? Or what if he did? What if he did but he didn’t want to be around people like her anymore? “Dick?” Before Summer fully realised what had happened she was standing before him and the words had escaped her lips. “Dick Grayson?” Oh well. Too late to turn back now.

[Vongola_Hasayo]

Dick scanned the cafeteria for a place to sit. He didn't exactly enjoy the company of the rich, privileged kids who attended the school and preferred to sit alone. It wasn't just their and their sense of entitlement. Not all of them were that way either but Dick just lived in a different world and though he tried live in this one he always found the other seeping into it. Such as now, Dick having given up his search for a seat and leaning against the wall with his phone in his hands. The detective in him couldn't ignore the the anomaly in his dream and he found himself accessing public records about the Haly's Circus. Until now thinking about the circus had only brought back memories of his parents. If he could look through some photos of the performers and employees maybe he could figure out who it was he saw. "Dick? Dick Grayson?" Before he could start his search he was approached by a girl whose eyes immediately drew his attention. He didn't think much about her knowing his name as it was a common occurrence being the top of his class. "The one and only." He said in half confident half awkward tone. As he looked at her eyes his started to widen as he took in the rest of the girl before him. A flood of memories rushed back to him and the person from his dream became clear. Aging her a couple of years in his mind he had no doubt in his mind. "Summer?" He couldn't believe his eyes. After the incident Dick never imagined he would see his childhood friend again and yet here she was standing in front of him. "I'm not hallucinating from hunger am I? It's really you?"

[Midna-Phobia]

At Dick’s response Summer’s hope faded. She could tell by the tone of his voice and the look in his eyes that he didn’t recognise her. There was no light of recognition in them as they looked at each other. Now nervous the girl nibbled at her lip nervously. What now? She had been so unsure about all this. It was him, but he didn’t remember her. Half of her was saying to apologise and leave him to himself and not bother anymore. Part of her told her to remind him of who she was. A name, a place, an age, any one of those could have triggered something in him. Then again what if he didn’t want to remember her? What if he’d blocked out off his circus days because it was too painful to think about? Her eyes cast downwards uncertainly and her foot traced shapes in the ground. She was about to speak, still unsure as to what words were going to come out of her mouth when he said a single word and her eyes shot up to him, a small gasp of surprise escaping her mouth. Instantly she smiled and nodded happily. “Yeah. I have to admit I was surprised to see you here… then again you were probably more surprised to see me. I moved to Gotham about a week ago and my mother enrolled me here. Oh my gosh it’s so good to see you again.” Unable to restrain herself the girl moved forward and gave him a gentle hug, pulling back quickly with a small blush. “Sorry, I guess I got a bit carried away… I was just really happy to see someone I know…” She pushed her hair out of her face, still unable to wipe the smile off her face. Even if he didn’t overly want to see her, she was glad to see him again after all these years.