Hi! sorry for not updating sooner; been super busy. Well, here's chapter 2! Enjoy!

P.S., reviews are welcome!

Chapter 2: Wayne Manor

She was falling, falling, maybe off the side of the apartment building. The tension in her stomach rose and knotted; she'd hit ground any minute. Fly, fly!

Vanessa sat up fast. Her phone was ringing and it was nearly ten thirty. She cleared her throat.

“Hello?”

“Good morning, Miss Chambers, this is Bruce Wayne-” She dropped the phone suddenly and scrambled to pick it up again.

“Oh,” she said breathlessly. “Good morning to you too, Mr. Wayne.”

“Please, call me Bruce.”

“Please, call me Vanessa.” She heard him laugh.

“Alright, Vanessa,” he said casually. “I hope I didn't wake you.”

“What? No, no of course you didn't. So...”

“So, I was hoping that if you weren't doing anything today, maybe you could drop by Wayne Manor.”

She let a small sigh escape her mouth. “Mr. Way-, Bruce, I'm sorry, but I-”

“It's not a date, I mean, if that's what you were thinking...”

“Oh. Alright.”

“I have this old piano, and it's very out of tune. I figure that you know of tuning?”

“Yes, I have knowledge of tuning pianos. What time am I expected?” She knew he smiled at that.

“How's two?”

“Fine.”

“Good. I was hoping to have some company around. My butler is away on holiday, and I could use a chat.”

“Sounds good. See you soon.” She clicked the phone onto the receiver softly.

Vanessa marched down Main Street like she had all the poise and glamour of Gotham's top runway models. Her black hair, falling neatly past her shoulders, was curled and flowing perfectly in the breeze. The fact that she was wearing three inched heeled stiletto boots over her black nylons made her walk all the more noticeable. Businessmen glanced as she walked past Wayne Towers and construction workers from across the street hollered and whistled. She bay them no attention though; she was always professional, and everyone in Gotham knew it.

Wayne Manor was palace-sized. Vanessa had to take a cab to get there because of it's country setting. She drove up on a dirt road, admiring the flowers on the trees and gawking out the window, trying to catch a glimpse at the roof of the mansion. The taxi stopped abruptly. Vanessa stepped out of the cab with her heart racing. Sure, she didn't like Bruce Wayne, but what was he to think of her? She hoped to make a good impression. She used a large door knocker that hung on the polished mahogany and waited. Turning around again, she examined the buds on the trees with fascination.

“Hi!”

Vanessa wheeled around. “Oh! Hi, hello. Just admiring the tree buds.”

“The tree buds?” asked Bruce as he stepped back to let her inside.

“Well, I wanted to be a botanist,” she said walking in, “before I became a saxophonist. Plants fascinate me, and...”

The room was huge. The ceilings towered over Vanessa feet and feet above her. There were large columns made of while marble, matching the floors. The décor was of velvet ruby reds and scarlets and golds, clashing nicely with the blindingly white walls. She heard Bruce laugh behind her while she gazed at the ballroom. “Nice, isn't it?” All Vanessa could do was nod, even though he wouldn't be able to see it. She was utterly speechless.

Bruce took her hand and showed her more glorious rooms around his giant house before inviting her to one of his sitting rooms for tea before tuning the piano. Vanessa walked in expecting to see a concert grand piano, perfectly polished and never been played, but she was greeted with an old wooden upright, it's 'white' keys already turned a creamy yellow. It wasn't dusty, like she had anticipated. She presumed that with an uglier piano, not something Bruce would pay for, that he would not have played it. Its exterior had stains and it looked to be nearly seventy years old, but it looked to have been played.

She pulled out the bench, eying Bruce as he made to fetch tea off the tray in an alcove of the room. “Do you play, Mr. Wayne?” He looked back at her, a mock angry look spreading onto his face. She smiled at him. “Bruce?” He matched her expression.

“A little,” he said, turning back around, pouring tea. “My mother, she used to play. She taught me, maybe twenty songs...” At that, Vanessa played Canon in D softly.

“I remember about half of them,” said Bruce. He smiled when he saw that Vanessa could look back at him while still playing. “And where have you learned?”

“I learned piano for a year. My teacher had an accident, and he was never the same. My knowledge is limited,” she spoke softly. “I only used it to help me play the sax by learning chords and things.” The piano was silent before Vanessa made a lovely A Major chord to finish her line.

“So,” said Vanessa, taking a sip of her tea. “You've lived here all your life then?”

“Yes. What about you? Are you new to Gotham?”

“As a matter of fact, I am,” she said. “I'm originally from Delaware, but I lived in London for twelve years after I was born.”

“So that's where your charming accent is from.” Vanessa blushed. She still held a little of her British accent, despite trying to hide it sometimes.

“I suppose,” she said laughing. “And then I lived in Verona for six years-”

“Verona, you mean in Italy?” Vanessa nodded, her eyes meeting Bruce's past the brim of her teacup.

“Wow, I'd do anything to go to Italy. And where next?”

“New York City for two years at Julliard. And then I came here.” Bruce looked surprised. “Why?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “Just looking for something new.”

“You seem like a very exciting person, why look for something new?”

She breathed out through her nose rather noisily, but not purposely. “I just...I just don't think I've quite found myself yet.” Bruce nodded with understanding in his eyes. “I think there's something in me, I know, I sound quite strange! But there's something in me that wants to come out. I want to do good in this world, and I think that music is my only way to do it. But it's not, I can feel it. Does that make sense at all?”

Bruce grinned, breaking their gaze on each other. “I think it can make sense.”