Perfect Timing 17/? FRM (language)/FRAO overall
How did we get dragged into this?" Bruce hissed at Trent, trying to duck behind him.
"Hell if I know, last I remember you were the one who decided that we needed to broaden our social horizons." Trent shoved Bruce in front of him. "And you're taller, I get to hide."
"Obviously that was a stupid idea and you're the brains of this and you should have stopped me." Bruce yanked Trent back around. "And you're wider."
"Not all of us are sticks." Trent nudged Bruce in the ribs with an elbow. "What the hell do we do now?"
"I didn't think this out," Bruce admitted, staring across the room. He really really hadn't thought this through. Sure, fine, his mother was making noises about how it wasn't normal for him to hole up in his lab and work on machines all summer. And, okay, fine, maybe he thought it would be fun to do something other than eat pizza and mock Alfred on a Friday night. Not to mention that it was a gorgeous night and the start of summer and the start of vacation and it sounded like fun when the girl at the coffee place (and thank God his father decided to stop bitching at him about drinking coffee) came over and gave them the invite to the party. It sounded like fun and Trent shrugged and said "Hey, why not?" and here they were. Here they were surrounded by tons of people they didn't know in a place they'd never been and maybe they should just leave. He opened his mouth to suggest that when Trent rolled his eyes and cut him off.
"We're stranded remember? I distinctly recall Alfred saying something about life lessons and learning opportunities and taking the over," Trent shook his head. "We've got to stick it out for three hours at least."
"Alfred took the over?" Bruce cheered up at hearing that. "That's great!"
"I think that's because it pays out more." Trent snorted. "I can't believe your family is betting on this."
"I can." Bruce squinted a little. "I think I see Paul over there."
"Where?" Trent leaned around Bruce to look. "Holy shit, with the pink hair?"
"I think so," Bruce grinned at Trent. "We must fuck with him."
"Hell, yes." Trent grinned back. "This is going to be great." He grabbed Bruce's arm, dragging him through the room. Bruce laughed, head tipping back. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.
Bruce guzzled down water, carefully screwing the lid back on the bottle. Maybe it was paranoid, maybe it wasn't, but he'd listened when Jim sat him down a few months ago and gave him a lecture on being safe when he was out. At the time, Bruce thought it was a nice, but weird, thing to do. Now? Now he understood. He'd be the first to admit that he lived a sheltered life. That didn't mean he was naive. There were people out there who would look at all the people milling around and dancing and making out in the corners and see a hunting ground. He listened when Jim was talking to his dad when they thought he couldn't hear. He knew that evil existed and was closer than you thought. He looked around, making sure that Trent was still over there talking to the girls they ran into trying to get something to drink. He lifted his bottle in a salute and Trent gave a little wave back. Bruce smirked when Trent mouthed "help me". He shook his head mouthing "Your fault" back. He pointed in the direction of the bathroom and Trent nodded. Bruce started working his way through the crowd, starting to feel a little overwhelmed by the press of people around him. He finally slithered through, doggedly not looking at the couple he was pretty sure were well on their way to having sex right there. That was way more than he wanted to see. He took care of business, washed his hands and then headed back out. He stopped, looking around, trying not to worry when he didn't see Trent. He stretched up, trying to see over the crowd.
"Lose your friends?" Bruce glanced over. The man standing next to him gave him a knowing look. "I bet he met up with some girls and took off."
"No, he's not like that and I'm his ride anyway." Bruce returned to scanning the crowd. "I'm sure he's around."
"Yeah, you're right." The man sounded amused. "Because no one ever does anything like dumping his friends to go off with a girl."
Bruce shot the guy a glare, trying not to let it show that he was starting to worry a little. "I'm sure he's here."
"I'm sure he is." The man slung an arm around Bruce's shoulders. "You here alone then?"
Bruce tried not to tense up, looking over to take a good look at the man. Almost as tall as him, blond hair that looked badly dyed. Green eyes, mustache. And he had a look on his face that Bruce couldn't quite place. It made the hair on the back of his neck rise.
"No." He didn't realize he was going to lie until he did. "There's five of us." He pointed over to where he could see Paul's hair glowing in the lights.
"Ah, I see." The man didn't let go and Bruce felt a curl of fear go through him. "Pity."
"What?" Bruce tugged free, not liking how the man didn't want to let go. "Why a pity?"
"No reason really." The man shrugged, the corner of his mouth curling up. "I'll see you around." The man stepped away and Bruce watched as he slipped into the crowd. He wanted a moment, then started to follow him. He wasn't sure why, but there was something strange about him and Bruce couldn't hold back the urge to follow. He fell back, attempting to stay lost in the people dancing around him. The man wandered the perimeter of the room, sometimes talking to people, sometimes just watching. A chill went through him when he realized that the man was only talking to teenage boys with dark hair and dark eyes.
"Bruce, where the hell have you been?" Trent bumped his shoulder, voice raised to carry over the music.
"Shut up." Bruce didn't take his eyes of the man. "I need you to do something."
"What the hell, I'm not your manservant," Trent stopped. "Something's up."
"Maybe. I don't know, there's something strange going on." Bruce nodded with his head in direction of the man. He was involved in a deep conversation with someone, his arm around his shoulders, holding too tight. "I need you to watch him and make sure he doesn't leave."
"What?" Trent stared at him then blinked hard. "You're freaking me out."
"I'm freaking me out. I'll be right back, do not let him leave. I'll be back in a second." He started digging in his pocket for his phone, grateful for once that his mother demanded he carry one.
"What do you want me to do if he tries to go, hit him or something?" Trent called after him and Bruce shrugged.
"You'll think of something, I know you." Bruce headed for the front, trying to get somewhere that he could talk without yelling. He dialed the number from memory, hoping that he was right to call there first.
"MCU, Gordon speaking." The familiar voice filled his ear and Bruce felt a rush of relief.
"Jim, it's Bruce, I, I," he paused feeling stupid. It was going to sound stupid when he said it out loud.
"Bruce?" Jim sounded worried. "Bruce, are you alright? Is something wrong? Where are you?"
"I'm down in the warehouse district, 1341 Riverview, there's a party down here. And I think there's something wrong." He hated that his voice was shaking a little.
"What is it? Are you hurt?" Bruce could hear Jim moving around. "Do you need me to come down?"
"I'm fine, I promise but there's a guy." Bruce forced himself to stay calm while he told Jim what happened. "I'm overreacting, I know, but he really creeped me out."
"I'm on my way there. I want you to stay there and stay visible and if anyone tries to get you to leave, I want you to remember what I showed you about breaking holds. I'll be twenty minutes at the most. Bruce, you did the right thing to call me. I'll be right there." Jim hung up and Bruce snapped his phone shut, shoving it back into his pocket. He rubbed the back of his neck, then headed back in to find Trent. If Jim was coming then there was something going on and he wasn't going to leave Trent alone. His heart began to pound when he didn't see Trent at first. He started to walk around the room, not bothering to keep a low profile when he saw Trent across the room. He headed straight for him, grabbing his elbow when he got close.
"He's still talking to that other guy." Trent bit his lip, looking worried. "It's weird."
"I called Jim. He's on the way here." Bruce moved around Trent, trying to block the man from seeing him. "He said to stay here, stay visible and not leave."
"Sounds good to me," Trent replied. "You don't think it's that freak do you?"
"I don't know, maybe." Bruce tried to look over without being obvious. "Did you see anything weird?"
"No, they're talking and the freak's kept his arm around him almost the whole time." Trent frowned, thinking. "And he got them some drinks."
Bruce turned back to face Trent. "Drinks? Like bottle or what?"
"No, cups, why does it matter? Wait, you don't think he slipped him something do you?" Trent leaned around Bruce and Bruce pulled him back.
"No. I don't know. Look, I'm probably overreacting and it's nothing but he creeped me out when he talked to me." Bruce glanced over again.
"He talked to you?" Trent pulled Bruce over to him. "What the hell?"
"When I went to the bathroom, he started talking to me and then put his arm over my shoulders and wanted to know if I was alone. It was weird." They took turns watching the two of them talking. It didn't seem like the man knew he was being watched. He continued talking to the other man, pulling him closer and closer. Bruce watched, starting to worry that the other guy was starting to sway on his feet. "Fuck. Oh fuck."
"What, what?" Trent peered around Bruce. "Holy shit, that guy looks like he's going to pass out."
"Yeah, c'mon." Bruce grabbed Trent's wrist, pulling him along behind him. "Something's wrong." They made their way over, Bruce angling them so that they'd block the way to the door. The man was trying to help the other guy, who was starting to sway. Bruce moved faster, not wanting to let them get away.
"Oh hey sorry." Bruce bumped right into the man, hand on his arm. "Didn't see you there."
The man shot him a venomous look then pasted on a false smile. "Oh. Hey. I see you found your friend."
"Yeah," Trent said. "And yours looks like he's not doing well."
"He's fine, just over heated, you know how it is." The man gave them another smile, this looking even faker than the first. "I'm going to help him outside."
"I'm fine," the other man slurred. "I'm fine." His eyes weren't focused and Bruce could see a sheen of sweat over his face.
"Hey, do you need help, you don't look so good." Trent put his hands on the guy's shoulders, holding him up.
"He's fine, just got a little hot with all the people in here. We're going out to get some fresh air and he'll be fine." The man tried to grab the guy's arm again and Bruce stepped in between them.
"I think he needs an ambulance, my dad's a doctor and he looks really sick to me." Bruce made sure to keep his voice level, his skin crawling at the look on the man's face. For a moment Bruce thought the man was going to punch him, he looked so enraged.
"I didn't know that medical knowledge was genetic." The man snapped then visibly calmed himself. "Fine, you know, whatever, that's what I get for trying to be a Good Samaritan." He started to walk off and Bruce panicked, not knowing what to do.
"Yeah, you're a great citizen." Trent shot back. He looked at Bruce, then wrapped an arm around the guy's waist. "You follow, I'll get an ambulance."
Bruce gave him a grateful look, then started to follow the man. He watched as he headed for the back doors and Bruce panicked, not sure what to do. He wasn't sure how long it was until Jim got there and he wasn't going to leave, he knew that would be stupid but he couldn't let the man get away. He was starting to give serious consideration to tackling the man when he saw the man stop and turn for the bathrooms. He set up guard outside the door, relief flooding through him when he saw Jim striding towards him.
"He's in there, I'll show you when he comes out." Bruce said in a rush.
"Fine. Then I want you and Trent to go home, I called Alfred and he's probably waiting out there right now." Jim said. "Don't argue with me about this, Bruce."
Bruce opened his mouth to argue, then nodded. "Okay." He knew when he wouldn't win.
"You're not hurt?" Jim looked at him intently and Bruce flushed.
"I'm fine, Jim." Jim squeezed his shoulder. "That's him." Bruce hissed, gesturing with his chin.
"Go home, Bruce. I'll call you later." Jim turned to follow the man, jaw set. Bruce watched him for a moment then headed for the front.
"Jim?" Bruce grabbed the phone on the first ring. "Jim, what happened?"
"What would you have done if it wasn't me?" Jim sounded exhausted.
"Apologized like I've been doing. What happened?" There was no point in beating around the bush. Bruce didn't think he could hold back asking even if he tried.
"I might as well tell you, it's all over the news. You were right to call. We're pretty sure that's the guy we've been looking for about the murders." Jim said quietly. "Bruce, you probably saved that kid's life."
Bruce swallowed hard, trying to think of something, anything to say. "The other guy, he's okay?"
"He'll be fine, don't worry about that. How are you?" Jim asked.
"Me? I'm fine. Freaked out a little bit, but fine." Bruce drummed his fingers on the counter. "I'm glad I listened to you about being careful when I'm out."
"Me too. I have to talk to your father, we're going to need you to come down and give a statement. Bruce, I can't tell you how proud of you I am."
"Thanks. Are you okay? You sound awful." That startled a laugh out of Jim and Bruce smiled.
"Tired as hell but nothing some sleep won't cure. I'll try to make it up tomorrow, okay?" Jim said.
"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow hopefully. I'll get Dad. Bye, Jim." Bruce heard Jim's soft "Bye, Bruce" as he headed for his dad's office. He gave his father the phone, then ran up the stairs to his room. He had to tell Trent what happened. They'd saved some guy. Now maybe Trent would stop calling him a voyeuristic freak for watching people the way he did.