sanctuary || d. wayne

FIVE

KING'S APARTMENT
SEPTEMBER 21st
15:12 p.m.

The large window had finally been fixed. Noelle could finally paint beside it after school again like she always does. Every school day, she's got at least an hour and a half to do whatever until her brother gets back from tutoring. Her dad usually gets back maybe half an hour after Leo's return, but at least two before Andrea.

Noelle unlocks the door to her apartment, letting out a small sigh of relief as she enters the apartment of tranquility for the next hour or so. It felt nice to be back after a long day of school.

Two more days, she reminds herself, and then the weekend.

"You were supposed to be back three minutes ago," a somewhat familiar voice chimes.

Noelle lets out a loud yelp at the sound of the voice before looking up at the strangely dressed boy standing beside her couch.

"Holy hell," she gasps, noting the circled R on his chest. Robin, the vigilante sidekick, stands impatiently beside her couch with arms crossed over his chest. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"You got out of school twelve minutes ago," he continues, the mask narrowing with his eyes, "it takes you nine minutes to walk from there to here. You're three minutes late."

Noelle stares at Robin with wide eyes and a gaped mouth. "What the hell?"

"You questioning everything only wastes time," he points out before taking a seat on the couch. He crosses his leg before leaning back.

Noelle scoffs. "Hold on one second, you are in my apartment. Robin or not, you do not tell me what to do in my apartment." He raises a brow, making the mask shift with the facial movement. "Now, why are you here?"

He lets out a sigh, not bothering to point out the numerous ways he could prove his authority before pulling out a small folded pink note from his utility belt. Noelle can feel her cheeks burn at the sight of the note she left only a few nights ago, but she manages to keep a straight face.

"You got my note."

"It was hard to miss."

"Yet you're back after five days," Noelle points out, "rather than one." She gives a small frown. "Did something happen?"

Robin scoffs before shaking his head. "If something happened, I certainly wouldn't tell you about it."

Noelle narrows her eyes at him, not liking the unnecessary attitude he's giving. "How did you get in?"

"Your apartment building has poor security. I entered through a bedroom window on the West side." He notices the concerned look on her face. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"People usually get scared when someone breaks into their house," Noelle remarks, "hence why I gave you my number."

Robin scoffs. "And have you track me? I don't think so."

"If I wanted to find out your 'secret identity' or whatever, I would've taken the mask off while you were unconscious," Noelle points out before sliding her backpack off her shoulders. She stands in front of him as he leans back against the couch. "I'm not a jerk, believe it or not. That and I think it'd be cool if you trusted me." She pauses for a few seconds. "How'd you know how long it'd take for me to get here?"

"I ran a background check on you three nights ago," he admits, "after having your window fixed, of course." He gives a small nod toward the fixed window. "Other than an incident in 2006, your entire family is clean." Noelle frowns, but says nothing about it. That must be her parents' business, not hers. "You were adopted when you were two, your academic records show your slightly above average and you haven't gotten in any trouble other than your lack of attendance at least once a week at Gotham High. Your drug tests are always clean and you've proven to be a responsible sixteen-year-old."