#audhd Bart Allen if we're being real

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Titans Academy

Fandom: DC Comics, Titans, Arrowfam

Summary: Grant struggles to accept his new reality when Roy takes him in and enrolls him in Titans Academy. He must adjust to life at a boarding school and life with his new foster family (Roy and Lian). Can he learn to trust the people who claim to care about him? Or will he shut himself off from love altogether?

Chapters: 4/?

Characters: Grant Emerson, Roy Harper, Bart Allen, Toni Monetti, Cody Driscoll, Lian Harper, Jade Nguyen, Audrey Spears, Tommy Blake Jr.

Additional Tags: Father-Son Relationship, Boarding School AU, No Powers AU, Found Family, Second Chances, Roy Harper is a Legal Guardian, Roy Harper is a Father, POV First Person, Grant Emerson POV, Autistic Bart Allen

Chapter Four: Group Therapy I

It felt like the day went on forever, but I still had to go to group therapy. Roy practically escorted me there. I didn't know any of the kids in my group from my other classes. They went around introducing themselves and saying what grades they were in. When they got to me, I introduced myself, but I forgot to say what grade I was in. "Hey, pay attention, Daddy's boy. You forgot to say what grade you were in," the first boy teased. I hated being talked to like that. "Cody—." "Fuck you," I replied. Cody grinned. "Hey, can we bring it back?" one of the other kids suggested. "It's nice to meet you, Grant... Try not to worry too much about what Cody has going on." "Roy's not my dad... I don't know my dad. And I'm a junior," I replied. "Cool-. I mean, the junior part. Not the part about your dad," she whispered. Once the group got back on track, the guy moderating started talking about family and conflict. "My mom was cool about everything, but she worried. I gave her a lot of reasons to worry, I guess. She didn't even tell me I was going here," Cody replied, "She just dropped me off... But I guess it was good that she did." "Sounds like she was trying to avoid conflict for herself, not for you," one of the girls mentioned. Cody softened, and he shook his head. "My mom's doing her best. What's bashing her gonna do?" Cody asked. He didn't seem argumentative or cocky anymore. That all faded away with a bit of criticism of his mom. I felt a little bit sorry for the guy. "At least she did something," I replied, "My—. I guess she's not even my mom... She never tried to help. She stood back, and she'd clean everything up after the fact. All she did was try to make me forget, but it wasn't to protect me. Do you know how bad that feels?" I realized I was talking about myself, and I sank down in my seat. Cody mouthed, "Thank you." I nodded in reply, but I felt weird sharing anything about my parents in front of strangers. Another kid jumped in and started talking about how his dad turned everything into an argument, and a few other kids shared. The guy moderating explained that there's a balance to conflict. Too little battle could prove to be as detrimental as too much. "A fear of disputes can look like complacency or a lack of consideration... While too much can make you feel like your guardians are nitpicking or that they simply don't appreciate you at all," the man whispered. We closed out, and Roy met me outside. He had tears in his eyes. "You okay?" I asked. Roy nodded. "It was a brutal end to the day, but I'll make it. Group's never easy," Roy replied, "How was your first day?" "I thought I was gonna hate it at first... But it wasn't that bad—." "Thanks for today, new kid," Cody whispered. Roy glanced at me and smiled. "Cody's thanking someone?" Roy questioned. He seemed impressed. "You're free to go for the next forty-five minutes, but I want you home by nine." I nodded, and Roy left me to wander the campus. Bart ran into me and offered for me to come back to his room to read comics. I took him up on his offer, but we mostly hung out. Bart talked the whole time, but I didn't hate it. At least he seemed happy. "Hey, Bart... Who's this?" I asked as I touched one of the pictures hanging on his wall. "That's my dad. He died when I was a baby," Bart replied, "And the other pictures are of my grandpa and grandma, my cousins, Wally and Jenni, and—." "You're a twin," I interrupted accidentally. Bart tensed up. "Where's your brother?" "I don't have a brother... I have a twin," Bart replied. I didn't know what he meant by that, so I didn't say anything else. I said goodnight, and I went home. Roy lay on the couch with his eyes closed. "You're early, you know," Roy whispered. He seemed exhausted. "What'd you do?" "Why does Bart hate his twin?" I asked.

"He'll tell you when he's ready," Roy replied, "Could I hear about your day?" I sat in his chair, linking my fingers over my chest as I stared at Roy. He lay still, eyes shut, but I knew he was listening. "It was alright... Am I allowed to talk about the group?" I asked. "You can talk about yourself but no one else," Roy replied. "The day was long, but I'm glad I don't have to talk about myself anymore this week. Am I allowed to hang out this weekend?" I asked. "Yeah. If you get through tomorrow the way you did today, you can go wherever. I think Garth is going to the beach or something... Donna's going bowling with whoever's down to go... And I'm doing movie night. Saturday, though, I'm not sure what we're doing. I'll probably take some of the kids hiking. I feel like I'm forgetting something important," Roy mumbled. He pulled a blanket over himself and stretched out. "You don't have to wake up at four tomorrow... But that's not what I'm forgetting." "Roy? Are you gonna sleep there tonight?" I asked. "Not sleeping, just resting my eyes... Thursdays are my tough days. I run a group just like everyone else, and sometimes it takes a toll... But I'll be okay by tomorrow," Roy reassured me. I rolled my shoulders back and went to the kitchen. I couldn't sleep when people seemed tense, so I made Roy some tea. He had a bunch of different kinds. Some stuff I'd never even heard of. After the kettle started whistling, I picked two packets with a picture of white flowers and what I imagined was a lemon. I set the teacup on a coaster and tapped Roy's shoulder. "I don't know how you like your tea... I just thought that-." Roy sat up and took a deep breath. I thought he'd chew into me for touching his stuff, but he leaned forward, hiding his face in his hands. "Thank you, Grant. That was really thoughtful," Roy whispered. He collected himself without a tear, but I could tell it was hard. It was weird. I'd only known the guy for three days, but it seemed like he knew me way longer than that. I wondered if he knew something I didn't or if he was like that with everybody. It felt good to finally come home at the end of the day, but I worried things wouldn't stay that way. If I learned anything from my parents, things are never what they seem.