The bell rings at the Chicago High School and the trio of Dick, Jason and Roy walks out of class and Jason groans and says "I fucking hate math! Like do we need to find X! It's bullshit." Roy chuckled and says "I think you hate math because your pint sized brain can't comprehend it." Jason glares at Roy and says "You carrot head basterd." Roy glares back at Jason and says "What did you say muscle head."
Dick gets in the middle and pushes them back and he sighs and says "Y'all always fighting calm down. We can go to Ted gym and y'all can spar." Jason and Roy glare at each
other then they both huff and turn away and both mutter "Fine." They head to the cafeteria and they get their food and they sit down and start eating but Dick looks up and gets frozen seeing a girl he has never seen before.
The room seems to pause for a second.
A girl in a sleek black blazer, designer boots, and confidence that could shatter glass glides into the cafeteria like she owns it. Because, well... she probably does. Roy leans in and says "Whoa. Who's the ice queen?" Jason grunts and says "No idea. But she walks in like she's better than everyone. But she might be."
Jason looks over at Dick and he is staring and mutters "She's new." Roy raises an eyebrow and says "How do you know?" Dick still staring says "Because I'd remember someone like that."
She scans the cafeteria like it's a boardroom. Eyes land on an empty table. Before she sits, a random senior tries to pull out the chair for her with a dumb grin. Then she glares at the senior and says "Touch that chair again, and I'll break your hand."
The senior backs off. She sits. Alone. Unbothered.
Dick is still frozen. Roy waves a hand in front of his face. Then Roy says "You okay there, Romeo?" Jason smirks knowing what's happening and says "Dude's down bad and she hasn't even looked at him." Dick snaps out of it and glares at Jason and mutters "Shut up."
Roy chuckles. Jason smirks. Dick takes a breath... then stands up, tray in hand. Roy surprised says "Wait you're actually gonna talk to her?" Jason shakes his head and says "No way this ends well."
Dick shrugs and walks across the cafeteria.
He gets to her table and stands there for a second. She looks up at him like he's just another line on her to-do list. She says "Can I help you?" Dick clears his throat and says ""Saw you sitting alone. Figured you'd rather have company than admirers watching you from across the room." The girl blinks once and says "Bold. Stupid. But bold."
Dick grins and says "Name's Dick. Dick Grayson." The girl smirks and says "That's unfortunate." Dick laughs despite himself. She glances at the seat across from her. The girl rolls her eyes and says "Fine. You've got ninety seconds to impress me, Dick Grayson." Dick smirks and says "I only need sixty."
She arches an eyebrow, intrigued despite herself.
From across the cafeteria, Roy and Jason watch in disbelief. Roy says in shock "What the hell is happening right now?" Then Jason says ""Grayson's either pulling off the greatest Hail Mary in history... or getting roasted alive in slow motion."
The girl leans back with her arms folded and says "Alright, Mr. Sixty Seconds. Impress me." Dick leans back with a confident smile and says "Okay. I'll start easy. You're new here, clearly not from around Chicago." Then girl says with eyeroll "Wow. Sherlock Holmes over here."
Dick says with grin "Let me finish. You're new, but you're not nervous. That means you've moved around before probably a lot. But this? This feels permanent. So I'm guessing your family finally decided to settle down." The girl tilts her head with an intrigued look on her face and says "Not bad."
Dick continues "And judging by the outfit, boots, and that titanium phone case which, by the way, is custom-made that means you're not just rich... you're rich and seeing how you look I'm guessing your Helene Wayne."
Helene raises an eyebrow, her guard going up just slightly and says "So you Googled me."
Dick shrugs and says "Didn't have to. You're the only teenager I've ever seen get dropped off at school in a matte black Bentley with bulletproof windows."
Helene can't help it and she lets out the smallest laugh. Just a breath, but it counts then with smirk says "Alright, Grayson. You're sharper than you look." Dick with mock offense says "I'll pretend that's a compliment."
Helene leans with a soft smile leaning on her hand and says "You're funny. That's rare here. Most people either try to suck up to me, or stare like I'm made of diamonds." Dick replies "Well, to be fair, diamonds don't usually give death threats over cafeteria chairs."
Helene smirks and says "I have standards." Then Dick leans forward and says "Good so do I." They stare into each other eyes and Helene studies him for a beat. He's charming, but not fake. Confident, but not arrogant. There's something real. Something annoyingly intriguing.
Helene says softly "You're not like the others." Then Dick with a smirk says "Nope. I'm worse." Helene shakes her head and says "Well, at least you're honest."
The bell rings again. Lunch is over. She stands and grabs her tray and waves over her shoulder and says "Later Grayson." Dick watching her leave says "Count on it."
Helene pauses just before the door, glances back once but it was just enough to meet his eyes and then disappears into the hallway.
Roy and Jason are still watching from their table, jaws practically on the floor.
Roy blinking in shock says "Did he just... flirt with Chicago royalty?" Jason with a proud look says "I taught him well." Roy turns to Jason and says "Didn't your last girlfriend try to shoot you because she thought you cheated on her with your cousin." Jason looks away and says "That was not my fault. She was crazy."
Dick walks back over and grabs his bag and heads back to his next class. As Dick slung his bag over his shoulder and casually headed to his next class, he already knew the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps behind him meant trouble.
"Grayson!" Jason called out, clearly grinning. "What the hell was that back there?!"
Dick didn't turn around. "What was what?"
Jason and Roy flanked him like security detail, both of them smirking like hyenas.
Roy bumped his shoulder. "You just casually flirted with Helena Wayne like it was nothing. You realize that, right?"
"I wasn't flirting."
Jason scoffed. "You had your flirt game on full blast, bro."
Roy snorted. "Girl said, 'You're not like the others.'" He mimicked Helena voice with a dramatic sigh then mimicked Dick voice. "'I'm worst.' Bro. Be honest. Was that from a rom-com or your mom's soap opera?"
"I was being polite," Dick said, holding back a smirk.
Jason raised an eyebrow. "Nah, you were being smooth. Girl smiled at you like she forgot taxes existed."
"That's just my natural charm."
"Natural disaster maybe," Roy said. "Need I remind you of Melissa from chem class?"
Dick winced. "That was an accident."
Jason laughed. "An accident that melted her phone, man! She ghosted you so hard she transferred to another lab group."
"Better than Jason showing up to his date with Becky wearing a full tactical vest," Roy said, eyes wide with mischief.
"It was multi-pocketed utility gear," Jason growled. "Be prepared."
"You brought a grappling hook to Applebee's."
Jason pointed a finger. "And you went out with Tatiana the Track Star. Argued with her, blinked, and she sprinted out of your life mid-sentence."
Dick was already laughing. "Didn't you end up yelling at a trash can because you didn't realize she'd left?"
Roy groaned, rubbing his face. "I thought she was just tying her shoe!"
They walked through the hallway, drawing a few curious glances as they howled with laughter. Dick shook his head, grinning. "So we're all 0-for-3, huh?"
Jason folded his arms. "Speak for yourself. Helena smiled at you. Me and Roy? We're just your emotional support idiots now."
"Facts," Roy said, clapping a hand on Dick's shoulder.
"Nah," Dick said, bumping fists with both of them. "You're my idiot brothers. Big difference."
The bell rang, and they split off down different halls, still chuckling.
The school day ends and the trio walks out the front door of the school but Dick sees Helene getting in a limo and she turns and looks at Dick and winks and enters the car and the limo drives off. Jason and Roy seeing this has teasing grins on their faces.
Oh. My. God," Jason said slowly, grinning like the devil himself. "Did she just wink at you? No...don't look at me....she winked, didn't she?"
"She definitely winked," Roy confirmed, leaning in with mock seriousness. "Winked like y'all been dating in a Netflix original series. That was some main character energy, my dude."
Dick cleared his throat and started walking faster. "Let it go."
"Let it go?" Jason said, following with a loud laugh. "Let it go?! Bro, she just hit you with the 'I own a mansion and might own you next' wink!"
Roy nodded solemnly. "Rich girl wink. Dangerous stuff. That's how Disney princes lose their entire kingdoms."
"I'm not a prince."
"No," Jason agreed. "But apparently you're the next knight in rich-girl armor."
Dick groaned and shoved his hands into his hoodie pocket. "You two are impossible."
"Impossibly proud," Roy said, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "Our little Dickie's growing up. From cereal-eating dork to billionaire heartthrob material."
Jason leaned in close and said with faux-dramatic flair, "Just don't forget us when you're living in a penthouse making out with Chicago royalty."
Dick rolled his eyes but couldn't hide the smile tugging at his lips. "You two are idiots."
"Correct," Roy said. "But we're your idiots."
As the trio walked down the block toward Ted Grant's gym, the sun dipped lower, casting long shadows behind them. The city was still loud, still chaotic but between the teasing and the laughter, it didn't feel so heavy.
Dick didn't know what Helena's deal was. He didn't know why she winked at him or why it made his brain short-circuit.
But he had a feeling things were about to get a lot more complicated. And a lot more interesting.
The trio enter the boxing gym and sees an older man leaving his office and he looks up and smiles and says "My three favorite devils."
"Hey, Ted," Dick called, tossing his backpack to the side.
Jason cracked his knuckles. "You still letting punks beat each other up under your supervision?"
Ted chuckled. "Only if the punks can handle it."
Roy was already pulling off his hoodie. "Oh, we can handle it. I've been waiting all day to put muscle-head here on his ass."
Jason raised a brow. "Carrot Top wants to talk tough today, huh? Alright."
Ted waved toward the nearest ring. "Third one's clear. Don't break anything. Or anyone."
Dick hopped up onto a nearby bench, grinning as he opened a water bottle. "I'm just here for the entertainment."
Roy and Jason climbed into the ring, both shirtless, already laced up in gloves. Roy bounced on the balls of his feet, lean and springy like a coiled spring. Jason, taller and broader, rolled his shoulders back with slow confidence looking every inch the brawler.
They touched gloves briefly, and then Ding.
Roy struck first and it was lightning fast.
He snapped forward with a quick jab-jab, aiming for Jason's jaw, testing his guard. Jason blocked the first, slipped the second, then launched a powerful counter which was a short right hook that Roy just ducked under. He pivoted around Jason's side and popped him in the ribs with a slick left.
"Oof!" Jason grunted, but he grinned. "Okay, okay."
He came back hard.
Jason drove forward, closing distance with heavy footwork, using his size advantage. A powerful right-cross grazed Roy's shoulder, and Roy had to spin out, breathing fast now.
"Come on, Harper," Jason taunted, circling him. "You talked all that smack earlier!"
Roy responded with a blur of motion which was duck, sidestep, jab-jab-cross. The combo caught Jason in the shoulder and cheek, and for a split second, Roy smirked until Jason surged forward and body-checked him with controlled force.
Roy staggered back but caught himself with a backpedal, then launched a spinning backfist aimed for Jason's temple. Jason ducked it and shoved him into the corner.
"You're fighting like you skipped leg day," Jason growled.
"And you're fighting like a meathead!" Roy snapped back, pushing off the ropes and launching a flying knee aimed at Jason's side and he was clearly cheating, but Jason caught it and lifted him clean off his feet.
"Yo, rules!" Dick called from the sideline, half-laughing. "This is a boxing match, not Mortal Kombat!"
Ted smirked from the far end, arms crossed. "I said don't break anything. Didn't say they had to play nice."
Back in the ring, Roy slipped out of Jason's hold, ducked low, and sent an uppercut straight into Jason's solar plexus. Jason oofed again but came back with a powerful hook that knocked Roy's mouthguard loose.
The bell rang.
The round was over.
Both boys stepped back, sweat dripping, breathing heavy, bruises forming.
Roy spat his mouthguard onto the canvas. "You hit like a damn truck."
Jason wiped blood from his lip. "And you're slippery as hell."
They bumped gloves again, grinning.
Dick walked up to the ropes, shaking his head. "Y'all really are gonna kill each other before we ever fight real bad guys."
Ted tossed them both towels. "Better here than on the street."
Jason and Roy leaned against opposite corners, adrenaline still humming, but with mutual respect in their eyes.
"Rematch tomorrow?" Roy asked, wiping his face.
"Hell yeah," Jason said with a nod. "Unless you're scared, gingerbread."
"Oh, it's on, beefcake."
Dick just rolled his eyes. "Idiots. Both of you."
Jason's lips curled into a cocky grin.
"You've been sitting on the sidelines long enough, Grayson."
Dick raised a brow. "Let me guess. You want a round?"
Jason rolled his shoulders. "Nah. I want three. You and me. Let's see if all those fancy flips of yours mean anything when I actually hit you."
Roy, toweling off on the sidelines, let out a low whistle. "Oooh, someone's asking to get his ego humbled."
Dick stood up, cracking his neck as he stepped toward the ring. "You sure about this, Jay?"
Jason climbed back through the ropes. "Come find out."
They tapped gloves. Ding.
Dick moved first—fast and low, his footwork sharp like a dancer's. He circled Jason with rhythmic, bouncing steps, testing with light flicker jabs. Jason's eyes followed him, calm but calculating.
Jason threw the first real punch—a hard left hook. Dick ducked under it, stepped in, and clipped Jason in the ribs with a tight body shot, then slipped away before Jason could return fire.
Jason grunted. "You always gotta dance?"
"Better than standing still and getting hit like a tree," Dick said, smirking.
Jason lunged forward this time, firing off a flurry with a jab, cross, hook, body blow. Dick parried two, backflipped out of the third, then used the ropes for momentum and launched back in with a flying elbow strike but it was more parkour than boxing, but flashy and fast.
Jason caught it on his guard and shoved Dick back. "What the hell was that?!"
"Creative problem solving."
Roy clapped from outside.
Round ended.
Round 2 started and Jason came out swinging hard. Every punch had weight behind it. He was slower than Dick, but his hits thudded when they connected.
Dick slipped a heavy right, rolled under a left cross, and struck back with a fast three-piece combo to the body and chin, but Jason ate it, grinned, and charged forward.
He tackled Dick into the corner.
"Yo, this is boxing, not wrestling!" Dick grunted as Jason pressed in.
Jason pulled back, fists up. "Fine. I'll box."
And then he really started swinging.
His next cross caught Dick across the jaw and Dick stumbled. Jason followed with a brutal body shot that knocked the wind out of him.
But just as Jason reeled back for the knockout, Dick ducked, spun behind him, and landed a clean strike to the temple that sent Jason sprawling into the ropes.
Dick, panting, raised a glove. "Gotcha."
Jason spit blood, wiped his mouth, and laughed. "Okay, you're fast. Real fast."
Round 2 ended and Round 3 starts with no more trash talk. Just breathing.
Both boys moved slower now. Dick's ribs ached. Jason's cheek was swelling. But neither wanted to lose.
Dick feinted left but Jason didn't bite. He waited, studied, and when Dick lunged in again, Jason slipped the jab and planted a clean uppercut into Dick's gut.
Dick coughed hard, staggering but before Jason could finish it, Dick vaulted off the nearby corner post, flipped over Jason's head, and landed behind him.
He jabbed Jason in the back shoulder, spun him, and went for a leaping cross but Jason blocked it. Barely.
They both locked eyes.
Grunting, they fired simultaneous punches Dick's to Jason's chin, Jason's to Dick's ribs and both stumbled back.
Then they laughed.
Ted rang the bell himself this time. "That's it! Enough before one of you cracks a rib or breaks a jaw."
Jason and Dick leaned on the ropes, shoulders touching, breathing hard.
"Not bad, Grayson," Jason said between breaths. "You hit harder than you look."
"And you're faster than I thought," Dick replied, grinning.
Roy tossed them water bottles. "You're both idiots."
Jason pointed at Dick. "You're buying burgers."
Dick groaned. "Fine."
Jason smirked. "Oh and I want a rematch. No flips next time."
Dick winked. "No promises."