Requested by: alkvva

Prompt: This is Me ~ Greatest Showman

Warnings: Slight swearing

Extra: I adjusted your request a bit because it fit better with the story

~*~

"(Y/n), what is the answer to the equation?"

My head snapped up. I had been too busy doodling to actually hear anything the professor had been saying for the last ten minutes. I didn't even understand why we had to take the class. This was the police academy. What would we need math for? Counting how many criminal we put behind bars?

An odometer on a squad car shows that the car has been driven a total of 735 miles during a one week period. What is the average number of miles the car was driven each day during that one week period?

"Um...The uh, the answer is A," I stuttered, flushing red as all the eyes in the room turned to me.

"Correct," sweet relief flood through me, "Can you tell me how you got that answer?"

Shit. Literally the last thing I wanted to do was speak in class again, "Well um, when you- When you calculate averages you have to divide the sum by the number of quantities. And, um, so you would uh, you would divide 735 by 7. That would give you 105, which is A."

"Good answer."

I groaned quietly and laid my head down on my desk. I could hear the class whispering. I knew I sucked at talking to the people. I had always been that way.
Even my parents were surprised when I told them I wanted to become a police officer. But there was a different energy to arresting criminals, a newfound confidence that I didn't feel anywhere else.

"Hey."

I glanced up at the kid who whispered in my ear. Dick Grayson. Bruce Wayne's adopted son. Resident hottie. Why he chose to sit next to me everyday, when every single girl in the class was dying to be near him, I didn't know. Maybe it was because I wasn't one of those girls actually. I treated him like a person instead of a piece of meat.

"Good job on that question," Dick gave me an award winning smile, "I suck at math, so I would have bombed giving that answer."

"I did bomb that answer," I grumbled, "I suck at talking in front of people."

"You aren't bad at talking to me," Dick pointed out, poking my arm with his mechanical pencil.

"You're different," I swatted his hand away, "You're a weird loner even though every girl in the class would love to sleep with you."

"Every girl? Does that include you?"

"Shut up Grayson," I laid my head back on my desk, fully intending to ignore the world around me until the stupid, pointless class was over.

Finally, after what felt like hours of never ending torture, the professor dismissed us for the door. I slung my bag over my shoulder and booked it out of the classroom. I wanted to get some training in at the gym before dark, which meant I couldn't get behind slow people in the hall.

"Hey watch it, Stutter!" Someone cried out when I bumped into them.

"S-sorry!" I winced, before continuing on. Stutter. The stupid nickname I was given. It felt offensive, not just to me, but to the people who actually had stutters out there. I talked perfectly fine in front of people I was comfortable with, just not everyone.

"I don't even understand why she's in the police academy."

"She can barely stand up for herself, how will she stand up for other people?"

Ignoring everyone's snarky remarks, I crossed the campus to enter the gym. It was a Friday, and the day was over, so it was empty. I changed into workout clothes in the locker room, and pulled on a pair of boxing gloves.

Making my way over to the punching bag, I let out an onslaught of frustration out. Every taunt and jab made its way through my body and out of my fists with a force. What I really wanted was to go through hand to hand with someone, but Dick was usually my partner and he always left school right after the bell rang.

Dick and I weren't necessarily friends. We had a mutual understanding, and that was it. He wanted to avoid the boy-crazy people in our class, and I needed a partner on research projects and during training. That led us to pair up the vast majority of the time.

The sand in the punching bag had began to shift from the force I was exerting onto it. I stepped back, wiping the sweat from my brow with the back of my upper wrist. I punched the sides of the bag a few times to move the sand back. After that, I took of my gloves and moved to the wall.

The wall was generally seen as a team exercise. Someone would lift one person over, and have the person they lifted pull them up and over. However, after going at it almost every single time I was in the gym alone, I had nearly mastered the art of getting over alone.

"Alright, okay," I swung my arms back and forth to gain momentum, "Here we go!"

I sprinted forwards, jumping up to reach the top. My fingers landed on the cool metal, sending small bouts of pain through them. I adjusted my grip, swing my body to the side so I could get one of my legs over. Once my first leg was over, I pulled the other one up as well, nearly falling off of the wall in the process. I then jumped onto the other side, a sense of pride pulsing through my tired body.

"Well, that's enough for today," I sighed, several droplets of sweat rolling down my spine, "Better to rest than to push myself."

I changed back into normal clothes in the locker room. After that I made sure I had everything I needed before I left the academy. The time change had occurred two weeks ago, and I still wasn't used to it. The sun was setting in the sky, casting a warm glow over the city of Blüdhaven.

Reaching back into the rough fabric of my bag, I tugged out a pair of headphones, plugging them into my phone. The silence was always a bit strange for me, every even. I knew I was safe, what with Nightwing on the streets. Even if he didn't come save me, I felt confident enough in my abilities to protect myself.

Flowing through the small speakers and into my ears was the Greatest Showman song This is Me. I had been obsessed with the soundtrack ever since it came out months ago. The entire idea of the characters and all of their struggles for acceptance was something I really connected with, and it made the music even more powerful.

"I am not a stranger to the dark," I hummed, taking a turn to pass through an alley. Normally it would be considered as a dumb move, but so close to the police academy, nobody would try anything, "Hide away, they say, no one will love you as you are."

I cursed quietly when I dropped my apartment key. I had been swinging it on my finger to the beat I reached over to pick it up, my voices volume raising.

"But I won't let them break me down to dust. I know that there's a place for us. For we are glorious," I finished passing through the alley, my apartment building in sight, "When the sharpest words wanna cut me down...I'm gonna send a flood gonna drown 'em out. I'm not scared to be seen, I make no apologies, this is me!"

In my peripheral vision I spotted a flash of blue and black. I glanced up, my voice faltering at the sight of Blüdhaven's protector, Nightwing. He was standing on one of the rooftops. From the distance I couldn't tell exactly where he was looking, but something in me told me his eyes were watching me, listening to me.
Not knowing what to do exactly, I held up my pointer and middle finger in a peace sign. Nightwing's chuckle echoed throughout the empty street. He held up his own hand, giving me a peace sign back. Not even a second later he was gone, off into the night.

After staring at the rooftop for another few seconds, I turned away, bounding up the steps into my building. I waved hi to the secretary, and stepped into the elevator. After I pressed my floor button I pulled out my phone and looked down at the screen. This is Me was almost over at this point, and I was holding back the urge to press the loop button. The only way I had been able to listen to the soundtrack for so long was because I didn't overplay it.

Once I got to my apartment I unlocked the door and stepped inside, unplugging my headphones from my phone. I set down my bag in front of me counter and grabbed some food from the fridge.

After eating I took a shower and moved to my bedroom. The homework we had was relatively easy and I finished it in bed. After that, I turned all of my lights off and scrolled through my phone idly. I had another early morning for classes tomorrow, so I did my best to go to bed at a good time.

~*~

"Hey, (Y/n)!"

"Huh?" I turned to the owner of who was calling me. I wasn't used to being called (Y/n) at school by people other than teachers, "Oh, hey Dick. What's up?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to hang out today? You know, we could go out for coffee after school today," he had a bright smile on his face, his head tilted slightly as if he were the most innocent human in the world.

"Oh...Oh," my cheeks flushed red when I fully processed what he asked, "Yeah, I mean- Sure. Just uh...Just tell me when and where, and I can- We can hang, I guess."

"Great! I'll text you after school!" Dick beamed, "We should probably get to the gym before we have to do laps."

~*~

"You seem kind of nervous."

"Nervous? Why would I be nervous?" I glanced out of the cafe window, "It's not like I feel like this is a date or anything. And I have little to no experience with dating because I suck at socializing."

"You do just fine talking to me," Dick hummed, taking a sip of his drink.

"You're different, you know that," I rolled my eyes. Some of my nervousness slipped away at that statement, "Why did you ask me out? I thought we were just acquaintances, partners in class and nothing outside."

"Yeah, but that was before I figured out that there was more to you that meets the eye," Dick smirked, changing his voice to sound all mysterious.

"Oh yeah?" I leaned back in my seat, chuckling, "I could say the same thing about you."

"Oh really?" Dick chuckled. It sounded kind of familiar. I had heard him laugh in class before, but something about it today just set something off.

"Yeah. Adopted son of a mysterious billionaire, moves to Blüdhaven around the same time Nightwing shows up," I leaned forward, grinning, "So tell me...Are you Nightwing?"

Dick sputtered, nearly spitting out his drink. I laughed, amused by his reaction. He let out a choked laugh as well, wiping a small amount of coffee from his chin.

"I'm just kidding," I waved my hand dismissively, not really joking, "You should have seen the look on your face though. Priceless."

"Yeah, that was...Super funny," Dick cleared his throat, "So, got any hobbies?"

"Sort of. I like singing," I shrugged, "That's sort of it. School takes up a lot of work. I'm sure you know that."

"Singing huh?" Dick reached into his bag, "I saw this the other day, well, on my way here. Maybe you'd be interested."

"You found this on the way here and thought you'd take it?" I looked over the flyer. It was for some singing contest at a bar nearby. The prize would be a chance to sign with a local label, "Thanks, but no."

"Why?" Dick whined, "You have an amazing- I mean, I'm sure you have an amazing voice. You should show it off! You'd win this, I have tons of confidence in you."

"Not gonna happen," placing some money down on the table, I slung my bag over and shoulder and picked up my cup of coffee, "I'll see you later Dick."

Only a few minutes after I left the shop my phone buzzed with a new text. I opened up the app, looking at it curiously. It was from Dick.

You should sing This is Me. Hope to see you there.

I sighed loudly, pulling out the flyer again. Saturday, at seven. I shoved the paper back in my bag, looking up at the rooftops. I knew Nightwing wouldn't be there, not before sunset. But, my ears could still hear his echoing chuckle.

"I can't believe I'm going to do this."

~*~

"Next up in our competition we have the lovely (Y/n) (L/n)!"

I stepped out onto the stage, my hands shaking like there was no tomorrow. I tugged on the bottom of my dress, staring out into the crowd. There he was, just like he said. Dick was standing in the middle, cheering and clapping louder than anyone else.

Even with my looming anxiety, I couldn't help but smile. I was doing this for him. He knew it too. Cocky son of a bitch he was would rub it in my face. Through the speakers, the tell-tale beginning notes of the song of my choice began to play.

"I am not a stranger to the dark. Hide away, they say, cause we don't want your broken parts. I've learned to be ashamed of all my scars, run away, they say, no one will love you as you are," my body was shaking so badly that my voice was shaking as well.

"Yeah! Go (Y/n)!" Dick cheered. I flushed in response, tugging some of my hair behind my ear.

"But I won't let them break me down to dust. I know that there's a place for us. For we are glorious," my voice slowly gained more confidence, "When the sharpest words wanna cut me down. I'm gonna send a flood gonna drown 'em out. I am brave, I am bruised. I am who I'm meant to be. This is me!"

The rest of the song sort of blurred together. As the confidence raised, the crowds cheering did as well, until their volume matched Dick's. After, there were calls for an encore. The clapping and hollering was deafening.

"(Y/n) (L/n) everybody!"

I stepped off of the stage and into the back. My legs were going to give up on me at any moment. Leaning against the wall, I laughed, euphoric.

"(Y/n)!" A blur barrelled into me, wrapping their arms around me for a hug, "Oh my God that was amazing!"

"Yes, I also agree," a cheery woman bounded up to me, "Susan Talbot, with the Blüdhaven Recording Studio. I'd love to have you join us. Covers or originals, you'd do amazing in the musician world."

"Thanks, but um, I'm almost done at the academy. And uh, well, being a police officer is something I really want to be- do. I want to help people."

"I understand," Susan handed me a small business card, "Think it over, and give me a call in a day or two."

"Yeah, of course. Thank you so much!"

"Why didn't you say yes?" Dick as me as soon as Susan was gone.

"How did you get back here?" I shot back, hands on my hips.

"I told them I was your boyfriend and they believed me," Dick shrugged casually, "It's not like I lied."

"Not like you lied? So you're my boyfriend now?"

"I mean yeah...If you wanna, you know, be my girlfriend," Dick lost his usual cocky personality, becoming shy and flustered.

"Alright," I leaned up to his ear, "I'm willing to work with late hours. Nightwing."

"God you're a genius," Dick mumbled, his eyes turning into literal hearts.

I chuckled, smiling brightly, "I'd recognize that laugh anywhere Grayson. Thank you, for encouraging me to do this."

"Of course (Y/n), you deserve to feel confident with yourself," Dick rubbed my arms, "You deserve it."

~*~

Two days had passed since the night in the bar. Currently, Dick was over at my apartment, trying to help me figure out what exactly I wanted to do with my life.
Our final exam at the academy was coming up, so I knew that either way I would be taking it. But whether or not I actually wanted to go into the Police field was another story.

"You need to do what your heart tells you," Dick advised.

"Do what my heart tells me? What kind of garbage advice is that?" I scoffed, laughing slightly after, "My heart is split in two. This sucks!"

"Alright, okay," Dick grabbed my hands, kissing the backs of them, "I think you know what you want to do, you're just scared to let people down. You aren't going to be letting anyone down (Y/n). Either way, we're gonna be proud of you."

"You swear?"

"I swear," Dick nodded reassuringly, "Be you. This is me, right?"

"Right," I whispered. I picked up the business card, typing the number into my phone. It rang a few times before Susan picked up, "Hello? Susan, it's (Y/n)."

"Oh (Y/n)! Lovely to hear your beautiful voice! Do you have an answer for me?"

I glanced up at Dick, who nodded excitedly. He really didn't care about my answer. Somewhere along the line, acquaintance and crush sort of blurred together. He was the only person who saw behind my nervousness. He was going to stay with me no matter what.

"Yeah, I do...I'm in."