Chapter Thirty-One

DISCLAIMER: Just for you all's info, I put in a disclaimer saying that I own nothing but my two OCs because I don't want to get in trouble.

And BTW, I would HIGHLY recommend putting on the music that is playing in this chapter...it will make the story ten times better. :)

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Friday, the night of the Winter Ball, finally arrived, and I was completely torn in half. Deep down, I knew it wasn't fair to Robin that I was going as Dick's date. But Robin liked Zatanna while he was in a relationship with me, so I was just returning the favor. Wait, no. I did not like Dick Grayson. Did I?

"Nessie? You okay?" I quickly snapped out of my thoughts to find that it was Artemis who called me Nessie, not Dick. She smirked, and I blushed.

"I knew it! You SO like Grayson," she stated.

"Oh, shut up!" I muttered, and Artemis laughed. We had finally arrived at Wayne Manor, and let me tell you, it was called the party of the year for a reason. The manor had been decorated in white and blue, with a dash of gold lights here and there. My dress fit perfectly to the theme, and Artemis' did too. Hers was a glittery green, reaching to her knees, with spaghetti straps and a gold necklace to top it off. I had gotten her, with much complaining, to wear her hair down instead of up in its usual ponytail. My hair was slightly put up and curled, but nothing too fancy. "I don't know if I should be here."

"Why not?"

"I feel like I'm cheating on Robin," I stated quietly, looking at the ground. Feeling a hand on my shoulder, I looked up at Artemis.

"You and Dick aren't going out or anything. Just tell Robin that you went as friends," Artemis advised. After thinking about it, I nodded, and we walked to the door. Selena had long gone in, after driving us in what I guessed was a stolen car. There were more people than I thought there would be. But then again, I had never been to a party like this, let alone a party. Alfred opened the door, seeming to sense our presence. He smiled at us.

"I was expecting you two to show up. Miss Edwards and Ms. Crock, yes? Richard has been talking about both of you all day and night," the butler said, then let us pass him and enter the mansion. I heard the song 'Between The Raindrops' by Lifehouse playing, and was greeted by hundreds of people dressed up in elegant suits and dresses.

"As Robin often says, stay whelmed. We'll find people we know soon," Artemis reassured me. Wait, Robin didn't say whelmed...did he? I've only heard Dick say it. Interrupted out of my thoughts, I was greeted by Wally, who rushed up to us and immediately stopped when he saw Artemis.

"Artemis! What are you doing here?!" Wally exclaimed. He was in a black tuxedo, with a yellow tie that morphed into orange.

"Why don't I ask you the same question, Baywatch?" Artemis countered. Then it clicked. There was only one person Artemis called Baywatch, and that was Kid Flash. I excused myself from the bickering between them and started walking away from them, wanting to clear my head. There was nobody here that I knew, and I soon became lost in the sea of people. Stumbling to the stairs, where there were fewer people, I sat down on a step and tried to not focus on the revelation of Kid Flash. Then I saw him. At first I didn't believe it, but I knew that it was him. He was dressed in a suit and a green bow tie, matching his eyes. His hair had also been cut shorter than the rat's nest that I was used to. And he looked out of place. What was he doing here? Without even thinking about it, I got up and walked over to him.

"Jason?" I asked as I got near to him. He looked over at me, then broke out in a grin.

"Vanessa!" he cried out, and hugged me. We broke apart.

"What are you doing here? And WHERE in the world did you get the money to pay for the suit?" I queried.

"I got adopted by Bruce Wayne. I live here now," he stated, smiling.

"That's amazing! I'm so happy for you," I replied. Everything was happening tonight. Out of all the days of the year, tonight had to be the night that I was overwhelmed by truth. I saw Jason smiling and waving at someone behind me, and I turned around to find myself staring at my date. Dick gave me a huge grin.

"Wow...you look amazing!" he complimented me. I muttered a thanks, blushing, when I realized that he was wearing a tie that matched the color of my dress PERFECTLY. Fantastic. Dick seemed to notice too, and smirked. "Plus your dress is my favorite color."

"Mine too!" I blurted out without even thinking about it. Since when was my favorite color blue? Where the hell had THAT come from?

"So, I see you've met Jason," he stated, motioning to Jason talking to a boy about his age.

"Yeah...sweet kid," I stated, smiling over at him. How had Bruce Wayne known about Jason? He was just a street kid, after all. Just then, the song "I Need You" by M83 came on. Since it was a slow song, I should've known what was going to happen before it actually happened, due to everyone pairing up to dance.

"Care for a dance?" Dick looked really nervous all of a sudden as he held out his hand and smiled at me. I let out a laugh that sounded like an injured donkey in my head, then shut up and placed my hand in his. He put his hands on my waist, and I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and we swayed back and forth to the music. He seemed taller. Had he grown an inch or two? After a few beats of silence, Dick suddenly spoke.

"I'm really glad you showed up, Nessie," he smiled at me.

"I'm glad I'm here," I replied.

"Look, I know that we've only known each other for a few months now, but you're one of my best friends."

"And you mine."

"But I don't want to be best friends. I want to be more than friends, if that's okay with you," he stated, looking me directly in the eyes. I should've known this was going to happen, but shock still showed on my face. Then before I could reply, Dick put his lips to mine. I knew that I should resist, but I closed my eyes nonetheless and kissed him back. As we broke apart, I opened my eyes and saw Robin looking back at me. Gasping, I pulled away from his grasp and blinked, only to find Dick staring at me with a bewildered expression. "Nessie, I'm sorry...I didn't mean..." he stuttered.

"No. I never should've come here. I should be the one apologizing," I stated.

"What? You're not making sense. What would you have to apologize about?" I bit my lip, then sighed.

"I'm dating someone else right now," I stated, instantly regretting it. Dick's face went from confused to enraged in a matter of seconds.

"Oh, so you've just been LEADING me on, making me believe that I actually have a chance with you?!" he yelled.

"Not exactly. You don't know the whole story. I-"

"You what? You've been dating him for all the time I've known you, or something stupid like that?"

"No, it's not like-"

"Forget it. Just leave me alone," Dick muttered at me, then walked away from me and started up the stairs.

"Dick! Wait!" I cried out, running after him. He turned around, making me skid to a stop.

"I never should have trusted you," he stated, giving me a cold look and then continuing to walk off and up the stairs. Instead of following him, though, I stood still. How could something so good turn so bad in a split second? I noticed that people were staring at me.

"Sorry, but I'm not your entertainment for tonight," I spat at them, and they quickly turned away and went back to their dancing and talking. Why did I see Robin when I looked at Dick? Wait. No, it couldn't be....but the pieces started to fit together. Wally and Dick were best friends, and so were Robin and Kid Flash. Robin had told Batman about Jason, and Bruce Wayne adopted him. And Robin said that he lived with Batman. Oh my God. The two guys that I had fallen for...were the same person. And that person had just left me. 'Demons' by Imagine Dragons started playing, and I knew at that moment that I couldn't hold my demons in anymore. It was time to reveal my identity to the Boy Wonder.

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PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!!!!!!

I am EXTREMELY sorry for the, what, 2-week wait? I promise it won't happen again!

So, I come bearing good and bad news.

The good news is that there has been so much positive feedback, and new followers for this story, plus this story has almost reached 15,000 reads. Say WHAT?! Thank you all!

And the bad news...the bad news is that there is about 3-4 chapters left of this story. All good things must come to an end, I suppose. But that doesn't mean that I can't cry about it!! :(

But seriously. Thank you all SO much. All the positive reviews of this story has pushed me to write more (including a short story about the Team just being the Team and a KF/Rob/OC fanfic that I plan to write....)

Thanks again! You people rock! :)

~~The Bat has left the room~~