Wearing the Red Hood

Chapter 1

This very first chapter is dedicated to @Not_so_sweet for all the overwhelming votes I've received from her in my first book! 

Jason

I woke up to hear a lot of noise coming from the house. There was lots of shouting down the halls, and I immediately knew everyone was here for the wedding plans again. Groaning, I sat up in bed and stretched. As I did so, I looked around my old room. Everything was the same as it had been, when I came to live with Bruce. My guitar still sat in the corner, and my desk was still stacked with countless homework I never had the chance to finish. It all screamed of a different life.

Not really wanting to think about it any longer, I shuffled towards my bathroom and washed my face. After pulling on a shirt, I headed towards the smell and sound of breakfast. Once I got there, I saw everyone was already seated on the long dining table, digging into the heaping piles of food Alfred had prepared. Nobody had noticed me so far, so I leaned against the archway and watched them for a minute. Dick and Asteria were caught up in each other, per usual. Wally and Artemis were beside them, arguing.

"Babe, you're killing me here," Wally complained as Artemis took another bacon from his plate. "I think you eat more than I do nowadays."

"I'm pregnant, Wally. What do you expect," Artemis argued, glaring at her soon- to- be husband. The reason I was home in the first place was because of their wedding, which was taking place this month. Dick and Asteria were following in two months.

The rest of the gang- Connor, Megan, Roy, Jade, Kaldur and Babs- also sat around the table. Since none of them had school anymore, they were all here to help with finalizing things for the wedding. Asteria finally noticed my presence, probably sensing that I was watching. She looked up, and her grey eyes met mine. "And nobody even had to come and wake you up today," she teased as I walked towards the table to join them.

I rolled my eyes and pretended to frown. "Please, with all the noise you guys were making, I'm surprised the whole neighborhood hasn't come knocking on our door to complain."

"Uh, dude you guys live on top of a cliff. You have no neighbors," Wally pointed out, forgetting his argument with Artemis.

"Whatever," I grumbled.

Asteria gave me an amused smile, clearly able to tell that I was slightly embarrassed to be corrected by Wally. I was still trying to get used to living in the Manor again, so sue me. "Anyway," Asteria cut in and saved me. "You don't have to worry about the noise, because the others just left with Bruce to go to school."

I sighed in relief. The good thing about February, aside from the fact that winter was almost over, was the fact that the younger kids had school. Meaning from morning to late in the afternoon, we had some semblance of peace. "Great. That means I can go back to sleep after I eat," I stated, scooping some eggs onto my plate.

"Oh no you don't," Dick argued, making me look up from my food. "You have to help with the wedding plans."

"Do I look like I can contribute to wedding plans to you?" I asked, gesturing at myself. Seriously? Me, plan a wedding? Did they want the thing to end in a funeral?

They all stared at me, probably reconsidering. Taking advantage of their silence, I finally grabbed my fork and shoved some food into my mouth. My stomach rumbled happily until Dick spoke again. "You're probably right. It might ruin the aster," he finally mumbled, earning an elbow to his side from Asteria.

He gave her an innocent 'what' look. Asteria was probably concerned that he offended me. While they were busy in their little bubble, Artemis spoke up. "Well, if you don't want to help with the wedding plans, you can come with me and Asteria. We need a driver anyway."