One last spell | Dick Grayson and Zatanna Zatara

Chapter 3: riap pu

Zatanna was having trouble keeping her mind focused today. Mr. Harrow, the teacher, was about to explain more about the graded presentation, but he hadn't started yet. She was paired with Artemis anyway—no big deal. They were supposed to present a classical book written by a woman in a contemporary way. Artemis was the best when it came to literature; she would probably want to do it all by herself. Still, the teacher was assigning the titles, and Zatanna hoped they would get Jane Eyre. It was her favorite among the options. But classical literature class was the last thing on her mind.

All she could think about was last night. Kaldur had been furious. However, what was he expecting pairing her up with Robin? Sure, it made sense for the mission, but let's just say they weren't exactly getting along since... Kaldur kept saying he didn't care about their personal drama, but they needed to start working as a team again. And it was all her fault, because she hadn't managed to stay professional—if that's what you could even call it. The whole team could've died. They'd managed to escape, not victorious, but at least alive—thanks to Robin, who saved the day by himself, didn't it suck?

Zatanna glanced to her right, where Dick sat, completely focused, taking notes. He was so perfect, wasn't he? Always paying attention, writing things down, asking smart questions—the teachers loved him. His perfection was nothing but annoying. But in a way— this massive failure from last night—wasn't it his fault too? It all happened because of his bad choices in first place. Damn. She didn't want to think about him.

Too late. Her mind was already wandering back to exactly five weeks ago. She had been sitting in the same place, and so had Dick, during the only class they shared. Normally, they weren't allowed to talk at school—Batman's rules. But that morning, Dick had slipped her a small piece of paper under the desk. Zatanna had gotten so excited, unwrapping it quickly, her heart skipping a beat.

We need to talk. Meet me at the bleachers by the football field after lunch. You look so pretty, btw.

Zatanna had smiled at the message, her cheeks heating up. She looked at him and nodded. She wasn't nervous—quite the opposite. She was looking forward to it. She wanted to know what he wanted to say, and her talk with Black Canary the day before had given her more confidence. Maybe she even had something important to confess too, because he was so important to her.

When class ended, Zatanna didn't look at Dick. She didn't want anyone to notice. Even though they were breaking the rules after lunch, she had to keep it cool. She ate with Bette and Artemis as usual and spotted Dick with Barbara Gordon, as always. Barbara was in her senior year, but the two of them seemed like best friends, always together. Dick never talked much about her, which only made Zatanna more curious.

As Dick stood up with his tray, Zatanna waited six more minutes before getting up. She told the girls she had to go to the library—so much homework. Artemis didn't look convinced, since they had almost all the same classes, but Zatanna left anyway.

Some middle school cheerleaders were practicing on one side of the field—they should have a different schedule. Dick sat on the opposite side, headphones on, scribbling something down. It took Zatanna a while to reach him, but eventually she did. The sun must've been high by now, but Gotham's usual gray sky hung heavy above them, always such a pleasant whether in this cursed city.

"Hey!" she greeted, suddenly nervous. Dick glanced at her, pulling off his headphones. She caught a few seconds of Enjoy the Silence by Depeche Mode. She loved that song.

"Hey! Sorry, I was so absorbed in it..." he said, apologetically. Zatanna peeked at his notebook—his notes looked messy, full of angles and numbers. He noticed her curiosity as he turned the music off.