Closer Than Your Shadow

Midnight To Dawn

December 12th 1:11 a.m.
Gotham
Bruce Wayne's Manor

I got lost, but I eventually found his room. At least I thought it was his room. It was clean and everything was put precisely into place. Then I saw the band posters and I knew it was his. It was a lot more personal than his apartment. The blue walls filled with sticky notes and car magazines on his desk screamed Dick Grayson. The little things he had on the shelves and a calendar covered in his scratchy handwriting was the epitome of everything I knew about him. Organized chaos.

I picked up a picture frame and studied it. He was with Barbara. Must've been prom. He was wearing a tux, and she was in a long black dress. His arm was wrapped around her, and he looked like a normal kid enjoying his prom.

I put the frame upside down so I wouldn't have to be watched by them.

I downed the rest of the scotch in my glass and sat on his bed. It was way softer than the mattress he had at the apartment, but I preferred the other one.

I laid back and desperately tried to stay awake. I don't know why; I asked to come up here to sleep.

I guess I just didn't want to wake up and be reminded that all of this was going to disappear tomorrow. I finally got the one person I never thought would be mine, only to be forced to leave his life all together. But that's what I wanted, it's the grave we dug for ourselves.

Leaving Gotham had to happen, I wasn't fucking stupid. I knew it was the right thing to do, but it fucking hurt. It hurt when I had to imagine 2 years from now. I would pretend that this never happened. That I never met Dick or fell for him. And he'd do the same. That thought hurt the worst.

I fought off every heavy blink and yawn until I had my body wrapped up in his sheets, holding his pillow for dear life as I fell asleep.

It was raining. The drops fell to the earth, but I was dry. Even with the onslaught of water coming down.

There was only grey fog around me. Nothing else.

"Claire!"

A shadowy figure was charging towards me with their hand reached out. Then the thunder came. It echoed until the ground beneath me shook.

"Help me!"

I watched them, but I couldn't do anything. I was stuck in my spot, just like I always was.

They were only a dozen feet away now, but their face was still covered in the fog.

The ground shook again but this time, I felt it rip open. I felt every grain of dirt and blade of grass tear away as the ground swallowed them whole.

I pulled and pushed against whatever force was holding me. I screamed and cried out until I was close to moving from my spot. But a hand slammed down onto my arm. There was no one there, but I still felt the small electric shocks from their fingertips as they dug into my skin.

They were stronger than me, but I was angrier.

I cursed when I ripped my arm away, and I flung myself to the smoking fissure in the dirt.

I don't know how I knew but something deep in my chest ached for him. And before I knew it the name was falling off my lips."Lenny!" I screamed.

"Claire!"

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" I cried as my voice echoed back out to me.

"It's not who you think it is! You don't know the whole story yet!"