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Chapter Text

October 6th —10:23 PM

It was the common knowledge of all students attending Gotham Academy that if one was caught out after curfew you'd be sure to receive a one-way ticket to the Headmaster's office; so heaven knows why Penny gave into Charlotte's pleas with that intellect hanging over her head.

You see, Penny Chamberlin is a smart girl, not only does she have straight A's but the young woman is also the senior class president, a member of the FBLA and one of the very few students that have been formally invited by Bruce Wayne himself to attend his charity gala for education. Yes, Penny is quite intelligent (anyone would agree) and that is certainly due to Mister and Missus Chamberlin; a couple who is so certain that they know every little detail about their 'Dearest Darling Angel'. Well seeing how Penny is undergoing a secret fling with Charlotte Matthews is a clear debunker to her parent's beliefs―of course, Penny wasn't going to tell them about her and Charlotte anytime soon; nor would Penny ever get the chance to after the events that would take place this very night.

Coming back to the two girls Penny glanced about anxiously, grasping Charlotte's hand for dear life as Penny observed the various shadows cast by the dark clouds looming above them. "Lotte, are you sure―" Penny was cut off as Charlotte came to an abrupt stop; hand flying over Penny's mouth prior to gently backing her into the fogged windows of the greenhouse.

"Quiet Pen!" Charlotte hushed as the security of the academy flashed his light around.

Charlotte Matthews seemed to be just the opposite of Penny so it was safe to say Penny's parents would hardly approve of the two. Charlotte had about a C average (a thing Mister Matthews must not be happy about according to the various bruises across her arms) was suspended once for breaking into the Headmaster's office and has at least thirty tardies; and counting! Though the two may be at odds it was really Penny's kind words of encouragement that brought the two together; along with Charlotte's punch to Kathie Ryan's nose for ever daring to bully Penny into a corner. Needless to say, the two complimented each other surprisingly well as polar opposites. Unfortunately for them, Kathie Ryan is not to be trusted and both Penny and Charlotte decided to keep things on the down-low for the time being less Kathie try to rat them out to either of their parents. But let it be known that both sets of parents would find out soon enough after tonight.

Charlotte smirked down at Penny, the blonde going a shade of red under her abrasive blue eyes. Neither moved until the security was well passed the greenhouse, afterward, Charlotte pushed off of the fogged windows and smiled cheekily at Penny. "Is that a blush I see, Miss Chamberlin?" Charlotte teased, her heart-swelling when seeing Penny go even redder and hide her face behind her straight golden locks.

"Shut up!" Penny grinned much to her distaste at the action, "we're gonna get in trouble!" She complained quietly as Charlotte sat in the grass.

"Oh Pen, I made a promise to loosen you up and I intend to keep it," Charlotte crossed her legs, "now c' mere!" Penny glanced at the redhead to see her arms extended outwards, making a grabbing motion at Penny as a child would to its mother. Penny could only snort in amusement at that and soon found herself being held in Charlotte's arms; the two girls proceeding to look up at the passing clouds and far beyond them to gaze at the glistening stars. Bringing her arms around Penny's shoulders Charlotte planted a swift kiss to her forehead before resting her chin atop Penny's head. Sighing in content, Penny held Charlotte's hands and watched the passing clouds. Both of them sat there for a bit, Penny occasionally humming a soft tune while Charlotte swayed; this continued for a second more before Penny jumped up in alarm, Charlotte pulling away hastily.

"Is it the guard―" Penny shushed Charlotte, chocolate eyes darting about the shadows.

"I think...I think he might be coming!" Penny panicked, wasting no time to pull herself together and straighten out her uniform. Charlotte followed her actions. "Ah, shit!" Penny's breath picked up, "I can't be in trouble, my parents―" Charlotte seized Penny's hands.

"Aren't going to find out! You go, I'll distract him!" Penny looked up at Charlotte with round, adoring eyes.

"Are you sure―" Hushed by a peck to her lips Penny was then nudged towards the dorms.

"I'll be fine, Carlos loves me! Besides, I can't have my golden girl ruining her record." Charlotte grinned with feigned confidence but her heart-swelling once again that night as Penny's gaze softened.

"Oh alright! But you better be at breakfast Lotte!" Penny whispered, sloppily planting a kiss to Charlotte's cheek before running a beeline to the girl's dorms. Charlotte made a lazy effort into Carlos's direction after Penny disappeared behind the North Hall building.

Mentally preparing herself for definite detention, Charlotte plastered on her famed Matthews smirk and sauntered towards the light of his flashlight. "Yo Carlos! Mi amigo, guess who snuck out again!"

Charlotte rounded the corner, halting in her steps when her foot kicked the discarded flashlight across the gravel. Eyebrows knitting together, Charlotte crouched down to grab the flashlight; with further inspection, she felt a warm liquid at the tips of her fingers. Without hesitation, Charlotte shined the light onto her hand, horrified to find a thin coat of blood staining her fingers crimson. "Oh my God!" Charlotte whispered lowly, her heart rate rising as she stood up. "Carlos!" She cried as high as she dared. Charlotte turned the light to the ground; revealing a light trail of scarlet. Following without question Charlotte felt every siren in her head going off, her common sense being outweighed by fear as she continued the trail. Here she was, the trail only a few feet long as she stopped at the trimmed hedges in front of the main hall; only to notice that the landscaper's handiwork had been undone by Carlos Vega's body lying atop of them.

"Carlos!" Charlotte cried louder this time, sprinting at the man to check for any sign of life. As she pulled his limp body out of the bushes Charlotte went a ghostly pale seeing a gash in his head along with dried blood and fresh. It appeared someone had used Carlos's own flashlight against him. "Carlos! Oh my God!" Charlotte shook the man harshly and when no response seemed to be given she looked around in desperation; desperate prayers being answered when catching a glimpse of the other security guards flashlight just passed the trees out front. "Belinda!" Charlotte screamed, waving her arms as she kneeled at Carlos's side, gravel embedding itself into her shins. "Belinda!"

Belinda came running at Charlotte's panicked call, going into a full-on sprint when seeing Carlos on the gravel and Charlotte's hands covered in blood. Wasting no time Belinda crouched just on the other side of Carlos before checking him over as Charlotte began to cry. "I found him, he was in the bushes―he was―" Charlotte let out a sob as Belinda checked his pulse.

"Oh dear, he's just out cold is all!" Belinda huffed, taking off her outer jacket to cover Carlos's head. "Did you see anything hun?" Belinda pressed as Charlotte choked on her sobs.

"No! I swear! I just―" Charlotte yet again cut herself off with her hysterical blubbering.

"Honey this isn't gonna look good for you! You need to tell me what you're doing out here and think about if you heard anything! Anything at all Charlotte!" Belinda huffed as Charlotte sniffed and wailed, the woman grabbing her walkie talkie from her belt. "This is Belinda Swope! Carlos Vega has been struck across the head and is in need of immediate medical assistance outside the main hall! A student, Charlotte Matthews, is here with me and—" Belinda stopped as a sudden scream pierced the silenced veil of the night.

Charlotte's sobs ceased as chills covered her skin as her tear-stained face turned horror-stricken. "Penny!" A desperate cry from Charlotte as Belinda looked to her.

"Hold this now, apply pressure!" Belinda barked although Charlotte didn't reply, only cowering and howling uncontrollably as the flashlight fell from her hands and her mind flooded with absolute dread. "Hun! If you want me to save Penny I need you to apply pressure!" Charlotte did as asked now, applying pressure as tears blurred her vision. "Where was she heading?"

"The girl's dorm!" Charlotte choked hoarsely as she sniffled and blinked through her waterfall of tears.

With that Belinda pushed off the gravel, sprinting as fast as possible, flashlight in hand. More screams were heard, encouraging her to go faster; only these screams didn't belong to Penny anymore. Belinda rounded the corner and skidded across the loose rocks, heart falling at the sight of Penny Chamberlin's body laying atop the steps of the stairs to the girl's dorm.

The screams that were heard after Penny's were the other female student's awoken by Penny's cries; they had looked out their windows at the sound of Penny's wails only to see Penny dead at the entrance, her blood cascading down the stairs at the result of a huge animalistic gash in her throat and stomach; her insides could be seen. Belinda choked out a sob now, turning away to vomit up her dinner as the screams of other girls woke more of the girls residing in their dorms, some even coming from the other side of the dorm rooms to see what the commotion was about; all terrified as they stuck their heads out the windows and sobbed and screamed and multiple of these girls made calls to Gotham Police Department.

Belinda wiped a sleeve across her mouth, grabbing her walkie talkie again. "This―" another choked sob as she glanced at Penny, "is Belinda Swope! Carlos Vega is in need of immediate medical attention and―" Belinda walked towards the stairs with heavy footing, "and there's been a murder!" She cried, not daring to ascend the first step at the sight of crimson staining the concrete.

This night was the remembrance of the first, the first murder that would take place as the school year followed. One of these murders including Y/n Dent, another student attending the prestigious boarding school of Gotham Academy. Y/n Dent, daughter to Harvey, and Gilda Dent, daughter to Two-Face, member of the Gotham Academy Mystery Solvers, first friend to Boy Wonder and first friend to Damian Wayne.

Chapter Text

October 7th — 2:18 AM

The harsh scrape of the chair echoed in the darkened classroom, Y/n wincing at the noise before making haste to sit across from the seemingly emotionless woman. Despite the lack of expression, the woman was rather a natural beauty; she wore no makeup, had a perky nose, hard piercing emerald eyes, and full lips; her dark curled hair was being held back tightly with a barrette.

Y/n crossed her legs, rubbing harshly at them as goosebumps corrupted her skin both from the bitter cold rain of the night and the fact that a student had just been murdered on campus a few hours earlier; a student she had known.

The woman across the desk cleared her throat, pressing the green of the tape recorder and folding her hands once the satisfying clack told her their conversation would be heard. "I am Detective Nora with the Gotham Police Department—" Y/n rubbed her eyes, "—and I will be asking you questions concerning the murder of Penny Chamberlin with the permission of Gotham Academy's Headmaster Hammer and your legal guardian slash caretaker; state your name please."

Y/n shuffled in the chair, picking at her nail polish before making direct eye contact with Detective Nora. "Y/n Dent."

Detective Nora paid no mind to the way Y/n's eyes bore through her. "Miss Dent, are you aware of the events that took place tonight?" Detective Nora leaned in; she has an authoritative aura Y/n noticed, unsurprising from a detective.

Y/n shuffled again, now biting at her nail as she mumbled a few choice words. "Already suspecting me then?" Y/n looked down at the table now, not taking notice as the detective furrowed her arched brows as Y/n was too busy reading the multiple profanities and observing the poor quality drawings strewn across the desk.

"I personally do not accuse you Miss Dent—" Y/n snorted in disbelief; covering it up with a cough,"—but I've heard the rumors of a few of your classmates that you were seen fleeing the scene." Detective Nora glowered at Y/n now. Y/n glanced up at her for a moment, silently observing everything between the bags under Detective Nora's eyes to the diamond ring on her finger.

Leaning back into the uncomfortable chair, Y/n shrugged as her blunt words of truth broke the short-lived silence. "I was there after Penny was already dead. A few other students and I had been boozing it up in Terror Town—smoking a few joints too—and I had thrown up so I went back to the dorm room."

Detective Nora blinked once, twice, before gesturing as she spoke. "Please explain what Terror Town is."

"It's an old abandoned building at the back of the school; used to be the old chemistry lab before it caught fire and burned down. Some of us Gotham Academy kids like to go back there and light it up sometimes. It's called Terror Town cause a guy died in the chemical fire and his spirit haunts it or whatever—I haven't ever seen him but Wolf says he has, he's full of shit—rumors also say Rosetta Marsh killed herself there or something but I don't pay much attention to those kinds of rumors really." Y/n nicked off the remaining yellow color from her thumbnail. Nodding nonchalantly the detective continued to question.

"Who was with you during your time in Terror Town?"

Y/n chuckled a little, looking at the detective from under her eyelashes. "I'm not a snitch, soon as I tell you you'll be dragging them into this."

"I need as much information as possible Miss Dent; to ensure whatever criminal did this is detained and put behind bars for the safety of you and your friends—" Detective Nora leaned in again, "—I understand you knew Penny? I doubt you'd want anything like that to happen to your other friends so please, Miss Dent, names."

Y/n puffed out her cheeks, beginning to pick at the yellow polish of her pointer finger. After a mental argument with herself, Y/n sighed and looked to the older woman. "Wolfgang and Charlotte Matthews, Benedetta and Lorenzo Pisani, Violet Yuen, and Penny Chamberlin." Y/n's confession piqued a new interest in the detective; obvious to see as Detective Nora's eyes focused on Y/n's harshly, unwavering, and unrelenting.

"Penny had been there with you?" Detective Nora asked lowly. Y/n nodded reluctantly, arms crossing over her chest as she shifted further into the seat.

"Only a few people know that Lotte and Penny are—...were a thing. After they got together Lotte would sometimes ask Penny to sneak out with us—trying to loosen her up a bit since Penny's parents are the definition of helicopter parents and would never let her do anything with kids her own age. Course Penny only complied a few times out of the considerable amount Lotte propositioned her; last night had been Penny's fourth time out after curfew, it had been a special occasion so she wasn't as reluctant."

"What had been the occasion?"

"Wolf, Penny, and, Violet are seniors, so they're swamped with essays and applications—especially Violet and Penny, their parents are mental with that stuff—so Benny and Lotte suggested a get together to celebrate them graduating; a relaxing bonfire night with beer and weed basically. Lotte got sick so Penny offered to take her back to the dorms but we all knew that it was a ploy so they could be alone together. But after they left I was the one who really got sick and hulked all over Enzo's shoes so Benny and Violet offered to walk me back; I didn't want to ruin their fun so I walked back by myself."

Y/n went back to the drunken part of her night, after hacking up her dinner and beer all over Enzo's Wonder Woman Vans (he had painted them himself) she remembered the junior boy's cries of dramatized agony; Benny laughing hysterically at her cousin's misfortune as she folded in two. Violet and Wolf both laughed as well, Violet jumping into action first as she rubbed Y/n's back soothingly before making an offer to escort the sophomore girl to the dorm; Benny making an offer shortly after. Y/n had told them she'd be fine, feigning a sober walk until out of sight to which she then became a stumbling mess of vomit and weed. But just as she had rounded the corner a scream of bloody murder sounded and Penny—

Y/n squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, eyebrows knitting together as she refused to let the horrific images cloud her head. Literally shaking her head to rid her thoughts from running wild.

Detective Nora didn't speak, only waiting for Y/n to continue; it was a few moments of silence (as silent as it could be with the pouring rain and people yelling sounding) and the flashing of blue and red from outside the school. The media had heard about the murder from a student, determined to get any information possible which is why there was so much yelling erupting; a few reporters claimed they were there first, demanding and yelling the other reporter leave while a few others argued with the police to let them through.

Y/n had passed them when being escorted by Detective Nora and another police officer—he was currently standing outside the classroom as the interrogation took place. As Y/n had been passing a younger reporter caught sight of her. "Y/n Dent! Miss! Is it true that you're the number one suspect based on your heritage alone? Miss Dent, a few questions—" Detective Nora had cut him off with a mighty glare, stating it was an ongoing investigation and they all needed to leave before the detective was guarding Y/n against any reporter's eyes, hurrying her across campus as an uproar of police and reporters began.

"MISS DENT—"

"A WORD—"

"YOU'RE A PRIME SUSPECT—"

"IT SEEMS HARD BEING THE DAUGHTER OF A KILLER SO IS THAT WHY—" Y/n had tuned them out, thankful the rain had started to poor and hide her tears of anguish at the loss of Penny Chamberlin.

Yes, it is hard being the daughter of a killer; especially when everyone is convinced you murdered your friend.

Y/n inhaled deeply, readjusting her posture before looking at the detective. "I remember rounding the corner—" Detective Nora nodded, "—and then I heard—... I heard Penny scream and then—..." Y/n released a shaky breath, heart hammering as she dared herself to recall the details. Taking an extra deep breath Y/n wiped the sweat of her palms on her damp jeans.

"Her body just kinda fell, like in slow motion. I felt like I was stuck there, seeing things slow around me and the world breaking; Penny had just been laughing and cuddling Charlotte by the fire! But then she wasn't, then she was just...gone. I blanked out a little, I don't know if it was the weed or the alcohol mixed with adrenaline but I couldn't move, my mind was moving faster than my body was and I couldn't breathe. Penny fell—there was blood, so much blood—and the killer got spooked like they hadn't expected it to be over just like that; like they wanted her to put up more of a fight rather than just—... just sitting there and taking it." Y/n clenched her jaw, hands fisting her Han Solo t-shirt.

"I'm kind of angry that she didn't run or fight, she just...stood there! I get it okay? I get that she was scared and shocked but Penny should've just run, but then again, maybe that's what the monster had wanted...maybe she had understood that and held her ground just to spite him—her—them—whatever! Wishful thinking is a problem of mine, but I really want to believe Penny put up more of a fight; she was a great person, the next CEO of Gotham's next big company, the next loving wife and mother, the next—the next Bruce Wayne if anything! Penny Chamberlin was going to change things here...that's what she always claimed, anyway."

It was true, Penny had always boasted about how she planned to be successful, planned to fix Gotham and it's villain problem...before promptly apologizing to Y/n at the mention of villainy. Y/n had smiled at her, shrugging the comment off as Charlotte teased Penny for her inconsideration—Penny never stopped apologizing to Y/n after that, even when she accepted the apology the first time around.

A harsh wind brought Y/n out of her mind, the student shivering in her damp clothes as the aged building creaked and moaned around them. "Penny Chamberlin was my friend," Y/n looked at Detective Nora with furrowed brows, "and if you think I killed her—"

"I don't think you killed Penny, Miss Dent, but it is going to look suspicious to the media if word gets out that you had been seen at the crime scene before anyone else." The detective glanced at her wristwatch. 3:02 AM.

"We're running short on time, still plenty of other students to question," Detective Nora sighed, rubbing her eyes before glancing up at Y/n. "One more question then I'll have Officer Perkins take you back to the dorms." Y/n nodded. "Okay, after you saw Penny's death, what happened? Clearly, you ran considering my accompanying officers found you hiding in the hedge maze. Miss Dent if you're not guilty, why did you run?"

Y/n blinked once, twice, before continuing. "I fell. I was leaning on a lamp post and slipped, alerting the killer when I fell onto the gravel. The remaining booze had me a little tipsy. I looked up to see the murderer running into the dark and I got scared, so I turned tail and ran into the maze in hopes if they were looking for me I could lose them. I ended up getting real dizzy again—I threw up again—and collapsed. Funny thing is? When I heard the officer's footsteps I had thought it was the killer and I accepted my death so quickly; maybe that's what Penny had done, just accepted she was going to die? I'm not sure, really."

Detective Nora inspected Y/n, not subtly but then again Y/n didn't think she was trying to be subtle.

Accepting Y/n's tale—true or not—Detective Nora nodded. "Thank you for your cooperation, I will now question your friends who were present at Terror Town—" Y/n sighed, knowing that was the next thing to happen, "—and will ask you back if anything contradicts your side of the story and or if I have any further questions for you, goodnight Miss Dent." The detective pressed the red of the tape recorder, a click sound as the tape ceased it's spinning.

Y/n stood at the order of Detective Nora, following the woman to the classroom door before being ushered out. "Officer Perkins, please escort Miss Dent back to the dorms and exchange her presence for Wolfgang Matthews from the boy's dormitory; his younger sister Charlotte is in the girl's dorm, I'm going to need to question her again."

Officer Perkins nodded, Y/n following the man down the emptied halls and out the building as Detective Nora resided back into the classroom.

Y/n winced as they stepped down the stairs, eye-blinding flashlights, cameras, and police lights flashing every which way. At the sight of her, another uproar from the reporters sounded. Officers yelled for the reporters to stay behind the roadblocks, Officer Perkins shielding Y/n from their sight as he moved her along to the back door of the girl's dorm.

"MISS DENT—"

"Y/N DENT—"

"DID YOU KNOW THE VICTIM—"

"WHAT ARE YOUR FEELINGS ON TWO-FACE—"

"HOW DOES THE CRIME CONCERN YOU—"

The reporters continued to pester her even when the two walked out of their range. Y/n rubbed at her eyes, sighing heavily as Perkins stepped up the back stairs, waiting for Y/n to follow.

But Y/n was distracted now, eyes trained on the tall figure in his dark cowl only a few yards away as he discussed details with Commissioner Gordon, a seemingly tired old man with one hell of a beer belly and bushy white mustache; his eyes were tired and aged, seeing many battles throughout his years.

Y/n observed Batman as he listened to the Commissioner, stare unwavering and heavy seeing as the Dark Knight spared a look in her direction; the white of his mask narrowed at the sight of Y/n Dent.

"Miss Dent, please." Officer Perkins tried, descending the few stairs to nudge her a little in hurry, but Y/n stared at the Knight still, eyes flashing to the roof looming above him when catching sight of the yellow caped crusader.

The white of Robin's mask narrowed as well, an exact replica of the way Batman's eyes had narrowed; he had been observing Y/n with suspicion. Y/n blinked up at the Boy Wonder, eyes interchanging between the two heroes as the rain began pouring once again that night. With one last glimpse to Batman, Y/n Dent followed Officer Perkins up the stairs and into the dormitory building without another word.

Chapter Text

October 7th — 7:23 AM

"It is without a doubt one of the hardest days here at Gotham Academy," Headmaster Hammer's dead voice projected itself off the walls of the auditorium, the elder man's still hands resting calmly behind his back as the full student body of Gotham Academy sat in silence. "But I have plenty of faith in the students, in the staff, and in the school that we'll carry on strong..."

Benny leaned over to Y/n, eyebrows furrowed as she elbowed her slightly. "Are they really fucking Instagramming this?"

Y/n blinked, following Benny's extended finger only to see Jennifer Marie-Brown holding out her phone, camera aimed at her face rather than the stage where Hammer continued his melancholy speech. Jennifer sobbed crocodile tears, no doubt telling all her followers how upset she was about Penny Chamberlin's passing; her friend Jackie Hart leaned over now, quivering lips and dramatic gestures being made as Jennifer sniffled and patted her arm. It was when Jennifer sobbed too loudly now that Kathie Ryan smacked her upper arm with the back of her hand lightly, shushing her before slouching in the cushioned chair again and crossing her arms over her chest; Jennifer glared at Kathie, Jackie scoffing before the brunette crossed her legs and tutted.

Y/n blinked again, looking away from the girls two rows down to glance at Benny. "The only time I can actually stand Kathie Ryan," Y/n sighed, staring down at Hammer as he continued. Benny nodded, making a noise of agreement as she flipped off Jennifer (knowing full well the blonde sophomore couldn't see her).

Hammer adjusted his stance only slightly, head held high as his vacant expression remained just that―vacant. It was as if the man was unaware of anything that had happened last night, the only contradiction is that he was giving a speech based around the events of last night; which is a pretty big contradiction. Hammer had been going on for about a half-hour now, students being forced awake at exactly 6:30 AM sharp and marched to the auditorium so they didn't miss any class time at the usual 8:20 AM.

Y/n blinked as Hammer continued on, unwilling to admit how impressive it was the elder recited without a physical copy of his clearly rehearsed valedictory to Penny Chamberlin; the man was going all from memory, not an unusual thing but Y/n couldn't help but be amazed every time, especially taking in the fact that Penny had only "passed away" last night ("passed away" is the term the staff had told the students to use when referencing the murder). Nonetheless, the Headmaster only had so much time to rehearse said farewell to the senior girl.

Benny shuffled in her seat, jaw clenched as she glanced over to the senior section where some football boys were sniggering and throwing crumpled up paper at one another. Y/n noticed Benny's bubbling anger, taking her friend's hand into hers as Benny puffed out her cheeks and creased her brows. "I want to shove those things down those disrespectful shitheads throats," Benny growled lowly, slouching into her chair as Y/n patted her hand comfortingly.

"Yeah I know," Y/n whispered with a frown, "but you can't get detention again. You have to help us find the fucker who killed Penny."

Benny inhaled deeply, nostrils flaring as she readjusted herself and peered down at Hammer. "We're gonna put that fucker behind bars, just you wait for it Dent."

"Without a doubt Pisani."

Hammer gazed at the students, declaring a moment of silence as he bowed his head respectfully. Y/n watched Benny squeeze her eyes shut and bow her head. She now looked over to Charlotte Matthews (a row below them) who was hunched over, shoulders shaking as Wolfgang Matthews rubbed her back and lowered his head.

Wolfgang was a senior but he made it very clear to the staff that if they kept him away from Charlotte during this time then they had another thing coming; hence why he sat in the sophomore section now, consoling his younger sister to the best of his abilities. Y/n watched the siblings for a second, turning as whispers sounded from behind. Two rows up two students were talking rather than whispering really, the girl leaning in as the guy talked into her ear and pointed.

"Not him, her! Dent! She probably did it―"

"Shh! She's looking!"

The girl averted her eyes immediately, the boy scratching the back of his neck as he hastily pulled away and bowed his head. Y/n only blinked again, unphased by the accusation; she had been hearing all that nonsense throughout the morning in the girl's dorms.

It seems to have spread to the boy's dorms.

In quiet, Y/n turned away, finally bowing her head but not closing her eyes, only staring at her dress shoes and the ugly blue carpet beneath. After a few minutes, Hammer dismissed the moment of silence. Benny was still hunched over, Y/n sitting up and smoothing a hand over her back as the sandy-haired girl did her best to cover up the fact she was crying now.

"In honor―" Y/n watched Hammer again "―of Miss Chamberlin's unfortunate passing, a guest speaker of Gotham's elite has offered his condolences and is here to address you all," Hammer extended his arm before glancing over at the curtains covering the side of the stage, "Gotham Academy, Mister Bruce Wayne."

Just like that Bruce Wayne sauntered out, applause sounding from the crowd of students and some of the staff as he did. Bruce Wayne shook hands with Hammer before stepping up to the podium. "Good morning Gotham Academy," Bruce Wayne smiled as a few students yelled good morning back.

Benny sat up now, wiping her snot-nose with the sleeve of her blouse as she cast a confused eye at the man speaking below. "Didn't the murder happen last night? How the hell did the school get Bruce Wayne here so fast?" she sniffed.

Y/n had been wondering the same thing, which is why she was stuck on the man now and had her fists clenched. Both sophomores glanced back as someone tapped their shoulders. Theodore Whitner (or Teddy) leaned over, auburn hair falling in front of his hazel eyes momentarily before he swiped it away.

"I heard Miss Heth down at the office say that Bruce Wayne called the Academy!" Teddy whispered, nodding in the stage's direction. "Said he watched the news and just had to come on down; a load of bull if you ask me!"

Benny nodded. "Yeah, ya think?" Benny sat sideways in her chair now, arm draped over the back as she wiped her nose again and looked between Teddy and Y/n. "Who the hell just offers to show up after a murder?"

Y/n stared down at Wayne again, eyes alight with suspicion. "At a high school no less." She mumbled.

Teddy and Benny made noises of agreement before discussing the meeting times for the club; throwing in a few theories about Bruce Wayne while at it. Y/n didn't engage with them, only focusing her sight at Wayne and observing his stance as well as his expression.

Bruce Wayne wore a suit, a dark deep blue with the exception to his white dress shirt beneath, a dark blue tie poking out as well; his hair was neat and slicked back, his pale ivory skin tone contrasting. Those were the only details Y/n could see being the third row away from the stage. But his expression (from what she could see) was a sincere one; or maybe he was just a good liar? You could never be too careful with Gotham's elites, it was hard to tell who was sincere these days...especially when various elites have been associated with Gotham's worst.

Y/n recalled Sophia Starr, an elite who had once been engaged to the Penguin, of all people! Turned out to be a ploy on his part, unsurprisingly.

Or perhaps J. Pauline Spaghetti who had made her billions making―you guessed it―noodles! She had been engaged to Doctor Sonnombula before it came out that he was Sandman in disguise.

Come to think of it...a lot of Gotham's elite women get duped due to matrimony.

Y/n pursed her lips, at the thought. Or how about Harvey Dent? A Gotham elite who is now a very literal villain and one of Gotham's worst!

The maniac also happens to be my dad!

Y/n bit the inside of her cheek now, more spacing out than observing. To the majority of Gotham, it didn't matter if she was adopted into the Dent family or not, it just mattered that she was associated with Two-Face; so of course, she earned the right to be hated, although others pity her which is just as annoying in Y/n's opinion. Being a Dent wasn't all bad (if you grow desensitized to the constant fear people stared at you with) Y/n wasn't going to complain! She wasn't being moved from home to home anymore and Harvey had been a somewhat decent father at the beginning; even if he had only adopted her in hopes to keep his marriage to Gilda together.

That all went down the drain.

Gilda was a nice woman but it was made clear to young Y/n that the woman hadn't had a say in the adoption; hell, they fought about it constantly before deciding to ship Y/n off to boarding school (which she was thankful for ultimately after meeting the other Mystery Solvers).

Y/n came out of her head, noticing both Teddy and Benny had ceased talking and were now watching the elite give his share of condolences.

"The loss of such a young bright individual is disheartening," he took a breath as he glanced over various students, "especially when I had the honor to meet such a young student as brilliant as Miss Chamberlin. I met her at the annual charity gala held by her parents and never in my right mind did I expect such character from a girl―excuse me―woman, her age. Penny Chamberlin greeted me with a firm grip before saying what an inspiration I was and to look out because she was going to outdo my greatness someday." Bruce Wayne chuckled at this, a fond smile gracing his face as he peered at the staff, a few smiling as others wiped their eyes.

Crocodile tears. Y/n thought bitterly. Benny seemed to be equally disgusted as she rolled her eyes and shot a look down at the staff members.

"Miss Chamberlin will be missed deeply and her gracious smile will forever hold a place amongst Gotham Academy's walls."

Y/n spared a glance down at Charlotte Matthews again. From behind all Y/n could see was Lotte shaking as Wolf held his sister tightly. Did they think this was genuine? Or are they just as suspicious?

Y/n sighed, hands folding in her lap as Bruce Wayne continued on. "In such short notice of the sorrowful events, I along with Mayor Klass, Sophia Starr―" well speak of the devil "―would like to start building a monument to Penny Chamberlin in the Academy courtyard! But we need you all to lend a hand for the fundraisers and charity galas!" At that the students went wild, cheering and praising Bruce Wayne.

Y/n tutted a bit, Benny rolling her eyes as Teddy let out a "You've got to be kidding me!" from behind.

"What do they need a fundraiser for? They have the mayor for christ's sake, the monument wouldn't even make a dent in their bank accounts." Y/n grumbled, gears whirring in her head as she stared down at the billionaire, disgust obvious. What're you up to Bruce Wayne? Maybe he was just trying to be nice, maybe he was genuinely trying...and maybe he wasn't. Christ. Being in the stupid club has me paranoid.

Everyone quieted down, Bruce Wayne smiling his oh so charming smile before nodding in the direction of Miss Heth who stood off to the side with Mister Hargrove. "This lovely office woman―" Miss Heth burned red and giggled, the elder rolling her eyes at his charm "―will be setting up a box of suggestions in the office so, please! Feel free to recommend what you think would be best and we'll try hard to accommodate said recommendations! It can be anything really, from bake sales to art galleries! We'll take anything. With that, I leave you all to your school days and wish you the best! Don't lose faith in these hard times, alright?"

Wayne did another scan of the crowd, eyes stopping upon seeing Y/n Dent staring at him with not so subtle suspicion. His face didn't change, he was good at hiding things obviously. Wayne's charming smile didn't fade as he spoke, eyes unblinking as he continued his farewell. "Gotham Academy has a future," he narrowed his brows slightly, "don't let this get in the way."

Y/n blinked and Bruce Wayne was waving, eyes scanning the crowd again as Hammer replaced him at the podium and students began standing; some cheering and whistling while others picked up their bags and began walking up the isles.

"Suggestion box is located in the office during lunch and breakfast hours and free periods! Girls are to use the back entrance to your dorms as I mentioned beforehand. Have a wonderful day, students." Headmaster Hammer's tone remained even and vacant as he bowed and exited the stage, staff following behind him as students flooded the isles now.

Y/n stood now, bookbag slung over her shoulder as Benny shoved her way into the crowd, sticking her tongue out at her cousin Lorenzo Pisani when she elbowed him. Y/n grabbed Benny's backpack in reassurance to herself that she wouldn't lose the girl...which ended up happening as Y/n stopped dead in her tracks; Benny too distracted to notice as Enzo grabbed her into a headlock and dragged her up the stairs.

A boy standing in the back of the sophomore row caught her eye. Ignoring the grumbles of various students, Y/n stumbled as they shoved passed her, only after they realized just who she was they sprinted up the stairs, a few apologizing with a quake in their voice before making a retreat. Y/n's eyes remained unwavering as she watched the boy pick up his bag lazily and sling one strap over his shoulder.

She finally recognized him! Remembering seeing him on various news streams and on a cover of a magazine once; dark hair, olive skin, accompanied by his emerald gaze. Y/n blinked, once, twice, and jumped when Teddy shook her arm.

"Yo space cadet! You good man?" He teased. Y/n furrowed her eyebrows as the boy forced his way into the crowd, flipping off a junior girl as she complained at him. "

Since when did Damian Wayne go here?"

Teddy followed her gaze and frowned. "Huh...I'm not sure, didn't he go to the private school down in the Gotham Central?"

Y/n nodded, watching as he exited with various other students. Teddy rolled his eyes, punching her shoulder lightly. "Dude, relax! He probably got expelled or something―heard he's an asshole, wouldn't be surprised."

Teddy clicked his tongue as he readjusted his bag. "Club meeting at 4:00, cafeteria, Violet says not to be late or she'll kick your ass, Dent." With one last hard slap to Y/n's shoulder, Teddy left the auditorium.

Y/n stood alone now, a few stragglers around the auditorium but she paid them no mind, far too busy in her own head to notice them. Bruce Wayne gets here the day after Penny's death, decides that Mayor Klass, Sophia Starr and he aren't rich enough to pay for Penny's monument, and now Damian Wayne is going to Gotham Academy? What father would want their kid to go to a school where a murder just happened?

Y/n pursed her lips, gripping the strap of her bookbag before continuing up the carpeted steps and pushing open the door. Club meeting 4:00. Don't worry Penny, we're gonna find this fucker. And I'm going to find out what the hell Bruce Wayne is up to. Y/n sighed, rubbing a hand over her face as she walked down the hall.

Benny pushed off the wall beside the water fountain when spotting the girl. "Ready to go?" Benny threw an arm around Y/n's shoulders. "Did you know Damian Wayne goes here now?" Y/n glanced at Benny.

However, Benny only shrugged, blowing a bubble out of the gum Enzo must have given her. "So?"

"So what if Wayne sent him here on purpose―"

"As most parents do I would hope." Benny snorted, removing her arm from Y/n's shoulders and punching her in the arm. "Man Dent! Nosy much?"

Y/n scoffed―ignoring the stares and whispers of her peers as she and Benny passed them―and crossed her arms. "We're literally in a club called Mystery Solvers, it's practically a right of mine to be nosy!"

"You got me there! Hey!" Benny patted Y/n's arm, stopping at the bottom of the stairs and holding out her fist. "Catch you in Modern History?"

Y/n fist-bumped her, nodding slightly. "Yeah." Y/n sighed, watching Benny take the stairs two at a time. "Yeah..."

Y/n turned then, only to go slamming into what felt like a brick wall. Holding her nose and staggering, Y/n blinked away her tears. Coming face to face with the boy from earlier. The two held each other's eyes as if challenging the other to look away first. Damian Wayne glowered. "Y/n Dent?"

Y/n removed her hand from her nose, the burning fading as she readjusted her bookbag strap. "Do I know you?" I do know you, but how the fuck do you know me?

Damian blinked, his angry-looking expression unchanging as he held out his hand. "Damian Wayne." You ignored my question.

Despite the immediate sirens he gave off, Y/n knew better than to ask too many questions. Don't let him know you suspect anything. Shaking his hand, Y/n nodded in response to his name. "Y/n Dent, but you already knew that."

"Yes," Damian's hand fell back to his side. "My father knew yours, I've heard plenty of you."

"Right."

Damian nodded now, looking down at his wristwatch despite a clock being just above them next to the trophy cases. "Well, I must be going; we'll meet again Dent." That sounded like an order. Y/n smiled fakely, watching as Damian walked calmly up the stairs.

"Creep." Y/n breathed, hoisting the strap of her bag higher up on her shoulder before heading towards geometry. We're gonna find the killer Penny, I swear. And I'm not fooled Wayne, there's something going on and I'm going to find out what it is.

Chapter Text

October 7th ― 4:17 PM

"Damn you, Dent! What part of four o'clock sharp did you not understand?" Violet crossed her arms, shaking her head as Y/n made her way towards the table; Enzo currently shoving lobster down his throat, Benny making a sculpture of mashed potatoes, Teddy balancing on the back legs of his chair, and Violet, standing with an unwavering glare.

Violet Yuen, a senior who is a straight-A student, captain of the girl's soccer team, volleyball team, and swimming team, and now due to the original captain's murder, captain of the Mystery Solvers. Violet was in many ways, the most intimidating member of the Mystery Solvers as well as the nicest; tall and sturdy, yet she held soft features. Her eyes were dark but inviting, dyed pink hair that is short and precise while her accessory and makeup choices were anything but; pierced lip, nose, eyebrow, and tongue along with dark eyeliner, signature purple eyeshadow, and dark lips in the shade "blood moon" which contrasted heavily to her winter toned skin. Violet herself might as well be a walking contradiction.

Y/n pursed her lips, holding up her hands defensively. "Hey! You know what a motormouth Mrs. Bansal is, the woman asked me about my F in her class and then started showing me pictures of her daughter when she was a baby."

Y/n jumped as a girl sitting at the table next to theirs turned abruptly, eyebrows furrowed. "Sorry, my mom's weird." She apologized, Y/n knew her as Ahana Bansal, they took drama as freshman together and she was either nice enough or scared enough of Y/n that she didn't treat her like a criminal―it was hard to tell these days.

Ahana winced as one of her friends kicked her shin beneath the table, glancing back at him as he shook his head, eyes widening as Y/n raised a brow at him before avoiding eye contact and taking a long sip from his glass of orange juice. Ahana rolled her eyes and shrugged, "Sorry, they think you're scary." The guy drinking his juice choked, the other students at the table hunching over as Y/n tilted her head slightly.

While all this was happening Violet rubbed at her temples, the two Pisani children cackling quietly, Teddy only rolling his eyes and slamming his chair back down to the ground.

Y/n smirked a bit, looking at Ahana. "You don't have to keep apologizing for people."

The girl shrugged, turning to continue eating her veggie burrito as her friends stared at her as if she had lost her mind, the guy that had been choking on his drink excused himself, making haste as he caught Y/n's eye.

Y/n blinked slowly, looking over at Violet as she pinched the bridge of her nose now. "Just sit down." Without another word, Y/n rounded the table, pulled a chair out from Enzo's legs, and took the open spot next to Teddy; pulling off her book bag as Violet sat across from the four of them.

The cafeteria wasn't an ideal place to hold meetings, but the school had been cutting the Mystery Solver's budget year by year, attempting to rid the club once and for all; they had lost their clubhouse (really just an empty classroom) and a few of their members had abandoned the project in lost hope for the group; it was safe to say they were very low on members.

Penny Chamberlin was the one who had managed to use her charm and sweetness to keep the club afloat for so long―her being a member since her freshman year. With a few sweet remarks and fake tears of anguish, Penny had convinced the faculty that the club was well worth their while...which was most definitely a lie since they often spent their time trying to find out who painted a giant penis on the boy's dorms or who took who's makeup in the girl's dorm.

The Mystery Solvers were a joke no doubt, but back in the day, Y/n discovered that the previous members had solved a kidnapping while the ones before them had stopped a student from setting the school ablaze. Now, today's club is currently trying to solve a murder; from giant penises and missing makeup to murder, go figure.

"Alright, first things first―" Violet looked to Y/n "―wait. You ate dinner yet, Dent?"

Y/n raised a brow, arms crossing. "What does this have to do with anything?" No, she hadn't eaten, couldn't keep anything down after seeing Penny so...mangled. Thinking of it right now had Y/n's stomach-churning again.

Without a word, Violet slid her untouched tray of roast beef and steamed vegetables over to Y/n, casually stretching out her back and everyone unphased by Violet's motherly nature. "Anyways," Violet cracked her neck swiftly and pulled out a composition book; it read "Mystery Shit" and was littered with various stickers ranging from sports to horror films.

"Penny died around ten-thirty PM to eleven PM last night, GPD showed up at around eleven-thirty PM considering the drive from the city to the Academy."

Teddy and Enzo nodded sadly, Benny sniffling and Y/n doing her best not to throw up; the steamed broccoli smell and images of Penny's death was not helping at the moment.

"At three-o-eight AM Y/n came back from interrogation and told me that Batman and Robin were on the scene already despite the bat-signal not yet being activated," Violet pointed at Enzo. "Lorenzo came back from interrogation at five-o-two AM and said he saw an unknown man with a red hat and black hair―"

"That is literally just the landscaper you fricking moron, we've been through this." Benny huffed, elbowing Enzo harshly as the junior boy received a raised brow from Violet.

"He's weird and suspicious!" Enzo defended, looking to Y/n and Teddy for help.

Teddy nodded, "Yeah, the guy sometimes stares at the female students―probably just a fucking pervert but better safe than sorry; add em' to the list of suspects."

Enzo hooted in victory, students walking farther from their table than they had been previously. Benny rolled her eyes and crossed her arms as Enzo slouched into his chair, sticking his tongue out at Benny as Violet sighed heavily, looking back down at her time slots.

Y/n looked over lazily at Ahana as the girl waved goodbye, her friends already halfway across the cafeteria. "Bye guys!" She said with a grin, Violet exasperatingly sighing at the interruption before waving. Teddy and Enzo waved, Benny, mumbling a goodbye and Y/n nodding as Ahana turned, empty dinner trays in hand as she skipped cheerfully towards the trash cans where mountains of trays were stacking up already.

"Alright!" Violet looked back down at her list again. "At seven-thirty-five AM Bruce Wayne showed up, apparently having called the school at the news and volunteering to come down immediately―whether this is out of the goodness of his heart or a publicity stunt is yet to be discovered. As Y/n had pointed out in her text message to the group, Bruce Wayne wishes to build a monument for Penny and has asked to start a fundraiser despite already having the Mayor and Sophia Starr on board with the project to which is plenty of money to build a dedication without putting a nick in their bank accounts."

"At eight-o-four AM Y/n informed me that Damian Wayne has started attending the Academy." Violet set her book down, looking across the table. "We need a date on when Wayne started attending otherwise it will remain implied that Bruce Wayne sent his son here despite knowing of Penny's murder."

Enzo pointed finger guns at Violet. "Hacked the school system," he replied lazily. "Wayne started going here two days before Penny..." Enzo attempted to hide the waver in his voice, failing and clearing his throat as he forced a smile. "He's been here for three days total now."

Violet nodded, clicking her pen and hurriedly jotting down the information before looking to Teddy as he clicked his tongue. "So maybe Bruce Wayne showed up to keep an eye on his precious baby boy?"

"Started the fundraiser for an excuse to stay close to Damian," Benny suggested, Teddy, nodding in agreement. Y/n blinked, that sounded reasonable compared to the nonsense she had made up in her head...unless...

"What if," the group looked at Y/n now. "What if that's what Wayne wants people to believe and we're missing the bigger picture here?" Y/n rested her hand on her chin, head workshopping an idea that might be too crazy of an idea.

"Elaborate." Violet nodded.

Y/n cleared her throat, thinking hard. "So Tiny Wayne shows up, our friend dies, then Bruce Wayne comes as soon as he can, seemingly to keep an eye on his son in case of disaster but...what if it wasn't for disaster? What if it was to cover for him?"

The group pondered for a moment, Y/n furrowing her eyebrows as she thought about it. "I'm just saying guys," she leaned back into her chair, shrugging. "Isn't it a little suspicious that as soon as he shows up Penny dies?" Y/n felt a sense of sorrow wash over her again.

Penny and death had never been mentioned in a sentence together, it was unfamiliar territory that had and still continues to bequeath sorrow onto those who knew the ray of sunshine. God, I want to fucking murder whoever murdered you, Chamberlin. Y/n sat in silence as her friend's all thought through the concept of Damian Wayne being the murderer; the cafeteria growing emptier as students all shuffled out. It wasn't too crazy of an idea? Was it?

The silence ended when Violet scribbled "Damian Wayne" under the list of suspects. "Better safe than sorry," she repeated Teddy's words, the remaining members agreeing simultaneously. "Alright, we have two suspects so far although," Violet tapped her chin. "If Bruce Wayne was here the morning of the murder..."

"Maybe he was here last night?" Benny guessed.

Violet pursed her lips, Enzo agreeing with Benny. "Yeah! Rich, secretive, tech-savvy Bruce Wayne! Wouldn't be surprised if that guy could get away with murder."

Teddy raised a brow at Enzo. "Isn't he, your idol?"

Enzo shook his head. "Nah! Silas Stone is the shit! Rebuilt his son after an accident―"

"Off-topic." Violet interrupted sternly, Enzo pouting as Teddy rolled his eyes again. "But, Bruce Wayne huh? What do you two think?" Violet looked to Y/n and Benny.

Benny nodded. "It's a possibility, the least suspected are always the killers!" She seethed, eyes narrowing as she made a hand movement that was meant to represent a knife.

Violet looked at Y/n, waiting for a response. Bruce Wayne, huh? As Teddy said, wouldn't be surprised if that guy could get away with murder...who's to say he hasn't already? Inhaling deeply, Y/n debated with herself for one last second before nodding her head. Violet added him to the list.

By now, the cafeteria only had a few students left―a group of three arguing over their group assignment, a group of at least six that continued to play a game of catch the apple, four that were throwing grapes into each other's mouths, a girl reading her book and then―...Y/n watched warily as he looked at the group of Mystery Solvers with suspicion in his emerald toned eyes.

Damian Wayne.

Y/n furrowed her eyebrows as if challenging for him to walk over which in hindsight, probably not the best move to pull on a potential killer. Subtly, without moving her eyes, Y/n tapped Teddy's shin with her foot. "Wayne, watching us." She whispered.

Teddy didn't acknowledge her, only pretending to look around the giant room dully and "accidentally" making eye contact with Damian, sending a smile and wave.

Violet noticed, raising a brow and turning to look back at Damian. With a sharp intake, Violet looked to Y/n and Teddy with disbelief. "What the hell are you two doing? Stop that!" Y/n and Teddy looked away from Damian, now looking to Violet as she rubbed at her face. "Jesus, you guys are not subtle, are you?"

Teddy raised a brow. "The dude was downright staring at us with murder in his eyes."

"Maybe that's his way of saying hello?" Benny received four deadpanned looks.

"Yeah, hello I'm going to fucking murder you," Enzo added quietly, glancing over at Damian to see the sophomore standing up.

The two Pisani's watched him, Teddy and Y/n doing the same as he walked over and dumped his garbage before placing his tray onto the stacked pile, adjusting his backpack before making his way across the cafeteria and out the door.

"God! You guys all suck at being subtle." Violet groaned into her hands, sighing heavily. "We're all gonna join Penny if you don't stop being shitty detectives." She glared at the four, they all ignored her.

"Hello, I'm gonna murder you!" Enzo repeated, jutting a thumb in the direction Damian had went.

Benny huffed. "Shut up you idiot."

After a moment of silence, Violet stood and closed her composition book, pen in hand as she used it to point at Enzo. "Lorenzo, everything you can get on Chavez (the landscaper) and the two Wayne's―" Enzo nodded "―Benedetta you go with him, we stay in pairs the best we can, capiche? Y/n and Theodore, you guys keep an eye out for any suspicious activities, I'll meet you two at the crime scene after soccer practice; if you get caught by the police we're in deep shit, so don't get caught."

The four teens nodded, beginning to gather their bags and trays.

"If you feel anything wrong, you tell the group immediately, okay? False alarm or not, we're not losing another friend."

Y/n swallowed harshly as vomit made it's way up her throat. The sudden dread of how dangerous this situation really was began to occur to her. You just fucking stared down a potential killer, fucking dumbass.

"Alright guys, we stay together, we meet back here with our combined evidence at seven-thirty AM sharp; Dent if you're late again I'm going to shove you into a trash bin. I don't care if Mrs. Bansal is talking out of her ass, you shut her down and get here." With that, Violet turned on her heel and beelined out of the cafeteria.

Benny and Enzo waved goodbye to Y/n and Teddy, wishing the two good luck as the cousins dumped their trays and left. Y/n looked to Teddy, the sophomore smiling reassuringly as he tucked his hands into his pockets. "Let's go catch this fucker, Dent."

"Couldn't have said it better, Whitner." Y/n smiled up at him, the two gathering their garbage and dumping said garbage before making their way out of the dining hall. 

Chapter Text

October 8th ― 3:36 PM

There was a collective groan and various outrages amongst the drama kids as Phantom of The Opera was announced to be this school year's musical. Mister Nottingham exhales heavily through his nose. It appears he is doing breathing exercises as he clenches his fists-repeating the phrase "I am zen" until the student's went quiet.

Y/n slouches into her cushioned chair, crossing her arms and watching boredly as Nottingham closes his eyes and takes one deep breath, opening them as he releases the breath. Nottingham runs one bony hand through his unhinged curly hair, smiling too wide to be genuine. There is a crazed look to his eye as he waltzes to the edge of stage, calmly sitting down and dangling his legs over the edge, throwing his head back dramatically to rid the hair from his face. He looks down at the teens ranging from freshman to senior. He sits still for a moment before letting an abrupt giggle-like sound out, bringing his hands together in one swift clap.

Some of the freshman share confused and wary looks, the older students un-phased by the teacher's crazed mannerisms. Nottingham crosses his legs with a big grin, shrugging and nodding to himself as if he were having a mental conversation; he probably is. Y/n shifts in her seat again, resting her chin in the palm of her propped hand. Next to her Enzo huffs, slouching down until only his upper body lay on the lower part of the chair. "I miss art club."

Enzo got booted from art club for oil painting a very detailed set of boobs rather than a Bob Ross landscape; for being so intelligent Lorenzo Pisani sure did make dumbass decisions. The painting is phenomenal for what it is though and hangs proudly in his dorm room unfortunately.

Y/n doesn't spare him a glance, patiently waiting for Nottingham to continue to build on the musical production. Last year—during her freshman year—Y/n learned that Phantom of The Opera is the most repeated musical Gotham Academy puts on; heavily due to the fact that Nottingham has been teaching drama for the last seven years and is easily obsessed with the story.

Last year's show was a musical rendition of Shakespeare's Hamlet, a true shit show in all honesty. Y/n had played the extra in the back, the girl in the red gown who was cringing as the main people sang a cover of The Lumineers, Ophelia. That song has no correlation with the tragedy besides the name which makes it even worse.

"Sir!" Elliot Barnes, a senior, raises his hand. Nottingham nods at him to continue. "This will be the third time I've done that musical during school." He complained, hunching and awkwardly looking at the stage from under his lashes. "I was just wondering if we could do something more...original." Next to him Pauline Day (another senior) winces, pulling her hood further down to cover her face.

Nottingham remained emotionless, motionless, and quiet for a long minute; all students silent as they wait for the drama teacher to regain his senses. The man continues to stare at Elliot with wide round grey eyes, the senior boy growing increasingly uncomfortable.

It's only when Elliot breaks eye contact that Nottingham stands stiffly, arms swinging back and forth now as he walks the length of the stage. "Mhm! Original, you say?" He taps his haired chin, clicking his tongue. Elliot immediately slouches, hunching his shoulders up as he prepares for the inevitable rant. "Mister Barnes, tell me, what is your definition of original?"

"Well...I—"

"Originality!" Nottingham throws out his arms, turning swiftly to face the students. "Originality is a mere myth, ladies, gentlemen, and all those in between! Originality is fake. Originality is a false concept. Originality is dead. Today we not measure something by the fact it has not been done, today we measure something on how it is done."

He walks the length of the stage again, eyebrows quirked and nostrils flared; he crosses his arms and chews on his bottom lip. "Interpretation, my dear students!" He declares loudly, once again throwing his arms up. "Interpretation is about the most original concept there is! An example then!" Nottingham scans the crowd momentarily before pointing at Y/n; much to her dismay and Enzo's amusement.

"Miss Dent! What is your view on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet?" All students in the room seem to turn to look at her. Some look for a second before nervously turning away while other's seem to challenge her with their eyes. It's ridiculous.

Y/n takes a deep breath, looking nowhere in particular as she thinks about the tragedy deeper than she ever thought she would. Two teenagers in love, rivalling families, story ultimately ending in pure heartbreak. It was...stupid. It was completely and utterly stupid. They were young, dumb, and in love and that was what got them killed in the end. But what Y/n couldn't wrap her head around was the family aspect. Juliet's dad was a prick and treated her like a prize, so screw him! Juliet should've gave her dad the good old fuck you and skipped away cheerily to go neck Romeo or something (not that Romeo was any better, the douchebag). Although Juliet was thirteen so maybe her options weren't that open.

In any case the whole "killing yourself for love" ordeal was dumb in Y/n's opinion. It just blows her mind what people will do out of desperation. A real world example being: surprise adopting a child so your marriage with Gilda Dent doesn't fall apart. Harvey. Ironically him adopting her was what caused the marriage to collapse faster. Heh.

...

She should really call Gilda some time.

Y/n blinks, glancing around the room and noting the way Mister Nottingham sat unusually still, smiling his weird crazed smile that was considered normal by now. Enzo had sat up at some point, raising his eyebrows as a silent indicator to answer the fucking question Dent.

Y/n bites the inside of her cheek and scrunches up her brows as she thinks harder for a second. Romeo and Juliet. Star-crossed lovers. Dumb teenagers. Horny teenagers. Romeo is an idiot who used Juliet to get over another chick. Juliet is dramatic and dumb in general. They're both stupid for committing suicide over one another.

Y/n crosses her legs politely, clearing her throat and shrugging as if she hadn't just spent the last few minutes contemplating it all. "I think the story is dumb, really."

"Took her ten minutes to say that." Kathie Ryan says from somewhere behind. Her friend gasps in horror, shushing her hurriedly because oh my God Kathie you can't just insult Y/n Dent! Y/n ignores them. Enzo mutters under his breath as he shoots a glare in their direction. Y/n pats his arm subtly, silently asking for him to let it go. He does with a reluctant huff.

Nottingham only nodded encouragingly, doing wild gestures with his hands. "Yes yes yes! Dumb, you say? Elaborate, please." He's utterly fascinated as he crouches down onto the stage, sliding out onto his stomach and resting his bearded chin on his propped hands. Grey eyes alight with excitement. He tilts his head and waits for her response. A few students giggle at his antics but Nottingham could seem to care less.

Y/n rubs the sweat of her hands onto her skirt. "Um, they were really young to be in love, too young, I think. I mean how did they even know it was love? Supposedly they both hadn't experienced a thing like that before but it was so powerful that they wind up killing themselves after. Their brains weren't even fully developed. Also Juliet's dad? The prick can go jump off a tower. And Romeo? He sucks. The guy used Juliet to get over some other woman and because Juliet happened to be pretty enough to satisfy his standards he's suddenly spellbound by her? The whole tragedy is—..." Y/n takes a breath, furrowing her eyebrows as she realizes what a rant she just went on. About Romeo and Juliet, of all things. She feels her face grow hot, embarrassed when Enzo smirks and prods her shoulder with his pinkie.

"Go on drama geek, educate the class." He whispers teasingly. Y/n pushes his face away roughly and the asshole has the audacity to laugh.

Looking back to the stage Y/n isn't surprised to see Nottingham kicking his feet now, patiently waiting for her to continue. Enzo keeps smirking at her and Y/n resists the urge to smack it right off his face. Clearing her throat once again Y/n folds her hands into her lap. "Dumb." She finishes. "The tragedy, Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is dumb. They were two horny and young teenagers who killed themselves out of stupidity."

(It was sad at the amount of freshman who giggled at the word "horny")

Nottingham claps loudly, pushing himself up swiftly and skipping along the stage and as he gestures wildly in Y/n's direction. "Some people think that the tragedy of two star-crossed lovers is dumb! Wheras others may see it in a different light!" He scans the crowd again, eyes climbing up the rows of seats until— "Mister Wayne! Please share your opinion on the tragedy!"

Enzo chokes on his spit, whipping around as Y/n furrows her eyebrows and glances over her shoudler and up the seats. There alone sat the potential murderer, face bored as he picked at the arm chair. Enzo immediately turns back around, gripping the arms of his chair. "The fucker is following us. He's in my modern history and biology."

Y/n gives him a deadpan look. "Or he has the same classes as you. He's in my chemistry class."

Enzo sneers. "He could be tracking us! Waiting for one of us to screw up." He slits a thumb across his throat slowly. Y/n only blinks at him before flicking his forehead. The boy grumbles but shoots another look back at Damian.

"Penny's mur—" Y/n feels a lump in her throat. Enzo waits patiently, an understanding look on his face. Y/n clears her throat roughly. "This mystery has all of us paranoid, we have to keep a level-head if we plan on catching this fucker." Y/n reminds.

The two share a look before turning to watch as Damian scratches his cheek, eyebrows raised up in pure boredom as he thinks of a response for Nottingham. He couldn't have been more uninterested. "I've been told it's a romantic tragedy that values that of young love." The words seem to physically pain him as his face turns sour.

Nottingham gasps. "Brilliant! Who told you such?"

"My idiot brother." Damian huffs out.

A group of female students in the row closest to the stage begin to theorize which Wayne brother could be that romantic.

In all honesty, Y/n didn't understand the deal with the Wayne brothers. Sure, she would admit it! They were attractive to some aspect but in all reality she'd imagine them being complete rich douchebags-Damian here was sure evidence of that. Also he might be a killer which is another red flag. AND there is NO WAY that they were all adopted. They look the same! It's freaky. You're telling Y/n Dent that they all just happen to have black-hair and blue-eyes like Bruce Wayne? She's not buying it. The only exception she'd make for adoption would be Damian and apparently he's the ACTUAL biological son and he looks the least like Bruce. A future mystery for another day.

Mister Nottingham gasps, clasping his hands together and standing tip toe. "Ah! But what is your view, Mister Wayne?"

The whole class goes silent, some watch intently as a few others sit on their phones. Y/n and Enzo both keep to themselves away from the crowd; although most of the students avoided them due to Y/n's presence alone but they weren't complaining.

The two teens sit and wait for Damian to respond. He looks like he'd rather be anywhere else than here. Which is odd, isn't it? Why even come to drama if you're not prepared to talk Shakespeare? That's a given really.

Finally, Damian inhales deeply. "Personally I could care less about Shakespeare—"

Cue dramatic gasps from the few Shakespeare enthusiasts in the crowd.

"—and I find it ridiculous that these two underdeveloped teenagers would kill themselves over something as trivial as young love. It's impulsive and depressing." He says all this extremely blunt.

Mister Nottingham nods, gesturing to Y/n and Damian. "Two perspectives, class! Miss Dent says it's dumb, Mister Wayne says it's depressing. See what interpretation looks like?" He shoots a look at Elliot Barnes. The teen senior winces and looks at his shoes.

"Although I cannot ignore your use of trivial, Mister Wayne." Nottingham furrows his brows. "I should hope you were looking for a different word to describe young love?"

Damian scoffs. "I know the definition of trivial, Nottingham."

"Yes yes! Perhaps you do. But I surely hope that you are aware that young love is not meaningless. It's a beautiful thing." He smiles a genuine smile now. "I would give anything to experience my young love again—the day my husband I met in high-school was life changing."

A few students aww at this while other's groan. Y/n is physically repulsed by the sap while Enzo awws along with the others. Y/n looks at him with quirked brows. Enzo only sticks his tongue out in defense.

Damian is equally repulsed. "Right. Can we move on now?"

Nottingham sighs dreamily one more time before following up with the details of the musical.

______

4:47 PM

"Hey guys!" Benny waved wildly as Enzo and Y/n approached the bench outside the auditorium.

"We said you didn't have to wait, Benny." Y/n raises a brow as Benny shrugs, flipping upside down on the seat and holding her skirt down, kicking her legs over the back of the metal.

"Yeah I know! But I wanted to." She smiles. Y/n smiles back, sitting beside her as Enzo lazily falls on the other side of Benny.

"Damian Wayne is in drama club." Enzo cuts to the chase.

Benny's eyes widened. "He uh—" she flips upright, accidentally kicking Enzo in the head as she did. Y/n snickered, Enzo flipped her off as he lightly smacked his cousin on the arm. "—Wayne doesn't exactly fit the role of drama nerd, does he?"

Y/n crosses her arms. "And I do?" She questions defensively.

Benny and Enzo share a look before simultaneously giving Y/n a look. She mutters under her breath, embarrassed, before slouching into the bench. "I am not a drama nerd."

"You so are." Violet says aloud as her and Teddy walk up. Teddy nods, agreeing. Y/n feels her cheeks go warm.

"Anyways." Enzo clicks finger guns at the two. "Moving on from the theater nerd—" Y/n huffs. "—Damian Wayne is in drama club now." He repeats.

Violet quirks a brow as Teddy snorts loudly, cackling afterwards. They all look at him now as he laughs to himself, shoulders shaking and dimples on show. "Ha! Sorry, I'm just imagining his serious face and monotone voice on the acting team. That'd be hilarious!" Teddy giggles to himself quietly as he tries to stop laughing.

Enzo snickers. "Imagine him as Romeo or some shit!" Enzo let his face fall dead serious, voice shifting immensely. "Juliet, where are thou my bitch?" He said this with no emotion whatsoever. This set Teddy off into another small fit.

Violet rolls her eyes at the two, smirking as Benny giggled along with them. Y/n just blinks at them, doing her best to imagine stoic Damian Wayne as an actor; she couldn't. So while the other three gather in a group and start acting out exactly how they thought the scenario would play out, Violet replaces Benny on the bench. She softly elbows Y/n in greeting.

"I talked to Wolf."

Wolfgang Matthews. Y/n had last seen him yesterday comforting his younger sister, Charlotte. Wolf is one of the more popular seniors along with Violet, there's just no other way around it. Track star, B average, obnoxiously rugged, and "mysterious" as the student body refers to him; everyone except the people who actually know him.

If you know Wolf you know that he's a smartass with major daddy issues and an extremely overprotective brother complex. In fact, Charlotte told him to bug off you obnoxious dick weed before promptly shoving him away this morning. Y/n and Benny watched awkwardly from afar as Wolf tried his best not to look hurt. He had been walking Charlotte to ALL of her classes since Penny despite her obvious annoyance. She finally snapped and went off on him in the middle of the hall.

Charlotte Matthews is definitely taking this way harder than anyone else.

Y/n rubs her hands together, nervous. "Yeah? How's Lotte then?"

Violet huffs through her nose. "Her dad's pissed at her for being gay and Penny's parents are pissed at her for apparently turning their perfect daughter gay." 

You know when a volcano erupts fiery molten lava and burns everything in radius? Covering the world in angry ashes? Y/n Dent felt a very angry ugly volcano go off in her stomach. "You're fucking joking. Tell me you're joking Violet!"

Violet's silence is clear.

Y/n recoils, digusted. "Their child dies and all they care about is the fact she was gay!?"

A soft bitter laugh comes from Violet, the girl leaning into the bench and throwing her arm over the back. "World's a fucked up place Dent." She inhales softly, turning to look at Y/n with pity. "But I don't have to tell you that."

Y/n blinks at her, turning to look at the three others as they make their way over. "Yo! You guys find anything new today?" Enzo asks. Y/n shakes her head as Teddy sighs heavily.

"Nothing at all." He sits beside Y/n. "Security has been amped. They even have police officers roaming around now." Teddy says with frustration.

Y/n rubs at her forehead. "Yeah, it's been hard. I tried asking Alexis Santiago—seeing as her dorm is just above the steps—but she ran as soon as I blinked."

Benny snorts. "Ha! Idiot."

Teddy throws his head back with a groan. "We're never gonna get anything with everybody so freaked."

Y/n hunches forward as the other's nod in agreement. The girl rubs her face with both hands before glancing down at the concrete; she drags the tip of her shoe across it and shrugs. "Maybe if I—"

"No." They all interject immediately.

Y/n clenches her fists, looking at them. "Guys! If I back out then maybe people will talk, I mean almost everyone assumes that I have something to do with this so there's no way they'll tell us anything if I'm around."

Violet rolls her eyes. "And if you back out won't it look more suspicious? It would look like you're trying not to be suspected."

"But even if I stay it looks like I'm trying not to be suspected by staying close to the detectives."

"Like Dexter." Benny says.

"Not helping Ben." Replies Teddy.

Y/n heaves a heavy sigh, rubbing her face in frustration. "At least let me play it sick or something!" She looks to Violet. "Maybe you'll get some answers from people then."

Benny rubs Y/n's shoulder in comfort as Violet groans, pinching the bridge of her nose. Enzo pats Violet's shoulder after a second and the woman huffs. "Jesus Dent, fine. You'll play hooky for a bit, okay? But right after the weekend you're back on Mystery Solvers, capiche?"

Y/n nods with a soft smile, Benny sighing and resting her chin on her shoudler. "Aw man! This sucks." She whines.

Y/n snorts in amusement at this, fondly ruffling Benny's hair much to her dismay. Enzo joins in the torturing of his cousin next causing her to maneuver to bite his hand. The two begin squabbling. Teddy laughs at this, jokingly (or maybe not, who knows with Teddy) beginning to chant fight fight fight as Enzo pulls Benny into a headlock. With a short laugh Y/n turns to Violet, the young woman distracted seemingly. Following her line of sight Y/n isn't surprised to find her staring in the direction of the girl's dorm.

The girl's living area is located a little ways from the back gates, making it likely that someone with immense skill had to of snuck in to scale those spiked iron bars hence why there's now a shit ton of cops standing ground around that area. Currently the Mystery Solvers suspect the murderer to have been present the evening before Penny went off with Lotte. And if they found nothing inside the gate than that could mean the killer is outside the gate.

That was something no one wanted to be true given the thousands of Gotham residents. Their list of suspects currently included: Chavez (the perverted landscaper) Bruce Wayne (unlikely but a possibility) and Damian Wayne (an asshole who is doing his best to interact with no one and has only been attending the school for four days now)

Y/n pats Violet's shoulder in comfort as she continues to stare. "We'll catch the killer."

Violet doesn't respond, only swallowing harshly and nodding sorrow-stricken. Teddy looks over at the two while the cousins fall to the grass patch behind the bench, cackling as well as screeching in outrage at one another. Sniffing and rubbing at his stuffy nose, Teddy sits next to Y/n. "I hate to say it, but if it's not a one off killing then there's a chance the murderer will strike again."

Violet and Y/n glance at one another, Y/n rubbing her face once again. "You're not wrong Ted, let's hope we can figure this out before then."

"Although, it all depends on the balls our killer has to appear right after committing the crime. There's a shit ton of police out here." Just as Violet says this a group of cops walk by, two tipping their hats respectfully while the other three flaunt their badge as if it made a point. 

"You five best be getting back to your dorms now, alrighty? Curfew." An officer says, smiling a sweet smile before catching her partner in stride.

Ah yes! A 5:30 curfew instead of their original 8. Understandable given the circumstances but still managing to get complaints and outrages from students and parents. Gotham City is so busy shining a spotlight on the rich, heroes, and villains that Y/n forgets the right amount of idiots that live there as well. Walking the City of Crime at night? Stupid. Complaing about curfew given that there was just a murder? Idiotic. Willingly joining the Joker's ranks as a henchman? Bat-shit crazy! Y/n Dent will never understand people.

The officers leave just as Enzo yelps in pain. Violet, Y/n, and Teddy all peek over the bench to see Benny triumphing as Enzo rubs his chest. "No nipple twisting you fucker! This is exactly why I don't wrestle with you anymore!" He complains loudly.

Y/n giggles, Violet snorting, and Teddy full on laughing at Enzo's misery. Benny rolls around in the grass, hyping herself up and cheering victoriously. Enzo stands, crossing his arms and huffing.

"Oh there there Lorenzo, I'm sure your little boy nips are fine." Violet teases.

Enzo blushes a bright red. "What—I do not have little boy ni—"

Four of the Mystery Solvers freeze up as the last member happily rolls in the green, oblivious to the new tense atmosphere. Y/n watches as Damian Wayne makes his way over, seemingly bored. Benny throws herself over the back of the bench with a smile that immediately disappears when seeing Damian approach. The five now only sit as Damian stands in front of them. There's an awkward silence for a minute. Violet is the first to speak.

"Damian, right? Your dad's Bruce Wayne. I'm Violet Yuen." She says evenly, holding out her hand for formality.

He ignores her hand, instead looking between Y/n and Enzo. "You both are planning to participate in theater?"

Violet, Benny, and Teddy look to them. Y/n and Enzo share a wary look. Enzo speaks. "Well, I'm working as a stage hand."

Y/n nods, picking at her nail polish. "I'm on the actor team, usually an extra." She offers, noticing the uninterest in Damian's eyes. Why ask then, asshole? Despite Damian's dull look Y/n continues, gesturing to Teddy. "Theodore here is also in the costume department."

Teddy gives a small wave, mouth pulling into a straight line. Damian looks to him with narrowed eyes. Jesus, this guy's demeanor changes within seconds. "Oh? You weren't at the meeting." He says calmly, contradicting his expression.

Teddy raises a brow. "Oh babe, I don't do meetings." There's snark in his voice as he says this. Enzo coughs harshly, the other's knowing this is his way of covering the laugh that had just came out. Damian isn't affected by Teddy's words at all, choosing to ignore him and look back down at Y/n.

"Perhaps you three could show me the ropes? I'll be working for the stage crew." He rests with his arms folded behind his back, posture perfect. In fact, everything about Damian Wayne seems to be perfect besides his bitchy attitude and the few scars covering his exposed skin. Odd.

"Stage crew?" Enzo parrots weakly.

Damian glances at him. "Yes." He looks back to Y/n. "What say you Dent?"

Four members look to her as she meets Damian's stare head on. It may not appear in his expression or tone, but Y/n just knows that this prick is challenging her. Is it smart to challenge a potential murderer back? No, no it's not. But as one may recall Gotham City is full of fucking idiots and Y/n Dent just happens to be one of those. Without a beat Y/n smiles sweetly, folding her legs politely.

"I'd love to show you the ropes, Wayne."

The two stare off as the other's around them share varying looks of dismay and worry.