I have rewritten this chapter for more than three times now, because I did not like how it was written. The words were messy, and it just did not connect. So here is a (slightly) better version of it. :)

~

Alina stared off into space as Mrs. Norbury droned on about the world's economical crisis. She had heard about it for what seems like a hundred times already, remembering her father's late night rantings back in Valencia. Economics and Business Studies were not her weak spots.

She glanced towards her right, where Damian was sleeping peacefully two seats next to her. His head in between his crossed arms, covered by a black hoodie.

Her gaze wandered to her left, where Olivia had found herself busy sketching on her new textbook. Alina huffed, as she sank herself further into the seat. Her long brown locks covered her gaze, as she dreadfully tried to focus.

Her memories wandered to three years ago, where her private Economics teacher was explaining the same topic.

"You are a Princess, the descendant of the King of Valencia! You need to fill that empty brain of yours!" The teacher, a sad looking woman, had scolded her as soon she caught her busy writing poems.

Alina thought of the teacher as a  brainless woman, with that tight outfit of hers, and that bright red lipstick she wore everyday. And let's not forget that attitude of hers. She questioned herself, who would hire such a teacher?

That question didn't need further investigation, considering she had caught her sleeping with her brother. That memory would most likely stick in her brain forever, unlike those dancing lessons that she loathes so much.

Her eyes focused to the whiteboard once again, ignoring the flashbacks, frowning as she notices the whiteboard covered in Mrs. Norbury's distinctive scrawl.

She sighed as she opened her textbook, wishing that the class would end already.

Her nose twitched, on spur of moment, as she smelled something familiar. She stood up immediately, the sound of the table scraping against the floor loudly, earning everyone's attention.

Everyone turned their heads towards her, including Damian, whose nap was disturbed.

"Gas.. I smell gas."

Mrs. Norbury placed down her chalk, her posture straightening up as she strides towards the window.

"Dear, there is no-" And before she could utter anymore words, a thunder-like noise ringed upon the skies of Gotham. A cloud of fiery and smoke, blasted its way off the ground, near the bay, up into the air.

The whole class stood silent, shocked, looking out of the window. Two seconds later, everyone was in pure panic, some screaming, others running away.

Alina stood, in shock, looking at the thick cloud of thick, black smoke forming in the air.

Abruptly, she felt her arm being grabbed, and gasped as she felt herself being pulled away. She turned around, to find Damian, with an expression she'd never seen before.

He dragged her out of the classroom, and before she could utter anything, she was forcefully slung over his shoulder, as he turned right, and walked down the stairs.

"Where are yo-"
"I'm taking you to a secure area. The basement is the safest place right now."
"What?!"

And before she could register anything, she was in the basement, and Damian had locked the door. The only problem is, she was left alone.

"Wayne! Open this door right now!" She shouted as she banged the door, but nothing happened. Damian was already gone.

"Damian bloody Wayne! Don't you play games with me!" Still no response.

"Bloody hell!" She groaned as she kicked the metal door hopelessly. What was with that boy?

"Where does he thinks he's going?" She mumbled as she turned around, to be greeted with the dark room. She clicked the light switch placed on the wall to her right, and instantly, the basement was lit.

She held herself still, trying to calm down. A bomb just exploded, and he had the urge to lock her in the basement?!

Her eyes wandered around the medium-sized room. Unused drums, guitars, deflated basketballs, an old-looking sofa and a table full of clutter.. Nothing special in this room.

She removed her coat, unable to stand the heat of this room, and let herself down onto the sofa, defeated. She knew she was going to be stuck in here for a while.

She searched for her phone, but remembered that it was charging, back in her suite.

She stood up, walking towards the old wooden table, in the corner of the room, trying to find something that could be useful to get her out.

There was only clutter. Old books, a tennis ball, a broken pair of glasses, a pencil case.. and a TV.

It was a bit old, squared shape. Also covered in dust. And small.

To her convenience, it was already branched. She turned it on, pushing the small button.

"Does it even work? It better.." She mumbled as she pushes the buttons frantically, until one of them popped out, stumbling onto the floor.

"Oh well.." She sat down,  muttering in defeat.

To her surprise, the TV turned on, and a news channel appeared, although the signal was bad.

"An explosion just occurred by the bay, due to an anonymous person.."

Alina winces as she stared at the screen. It was a bit blurry and static. From the bits she could see, was the bay's condition. It was completely ruined.

A dozen people by the bay were armed, ready to shoot. They were thugs, wearing face masks and all. Police officers were also present, ready to fight, but seemed too cowardly to do so.

"Like always, the Batman once again is taking over of this situation, along with his sidekick Ro-" And before he could utter anything else, the TV went off.

"Oh, come on.." She groaned as she hit the top of the television multiple times, before eventually giving up.

She sat back down on the sofa, thoughts racing inside her head. An explosion. How many people were injured? How many people were killed?

And most importantly, if Damian feared for her safety, why didn't he fear for his own?

Why is he out there, while he could be perfectly safe here, with her, in this slum basement?

It would be stupid of him to face the danger. He's no superhero.

Unless..

At that moment, pieces by pieces, the puzzle was solved.

Alina stood still, mouth agape, as her heartbeat accelerated. She couldn't believe it.

For the first time in forever, Alina Vanderbilt felt like a complete dunce.

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I'm very sorry for the short and long update, I was sick this past week. I'll try to update as soon as I can.

Thank you for reading!! <3

Love,
         Sophia ⚜️