As promised, Part 2 has been posted too. The real fun starts from here.

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"If their coffee is as good as this writer makes it seem then I might just start a petition for Dora's Coffee Haunt to exist in our Gotham too. Not that it's gonna become real just due to a petition but worth a shot at least."

Apparently, Tim was in no mood to give up on the fanfics he had accidentally discovered. In fact, he was unaware that he had been put under the curse of the Coffeeverse, which meant that he would be unable to rest until he found out what happened at the end of the story. And the problem was that the series had not yet ended, there were a lot of books to go.

"I feel you, Alex, if this Vincent dude really existed, I would have kicked him to hell for you," he mumbled in a sympathetically low voice, reading about Alexander Beaumont's backstory.

Tim had added the rest of the books that were parts of that series to his library and was somehow reading the first two books side by side as most of the events were interconnected. Creating an account was super easy too as all he had to do was use a fake email ID. So what if he couldn't comment or vote on the story without confirming the account from that nonexistent email? It didn't matter because his main purpose was reading and he could do that without account verification too.

"How... What... Why... How dare she write this! I would never let Killer Croc throw me around like a frisbee! This is insulting! And all this hype about the floor mop? I still don't get why would people elevate it to such a high pedestal... Unbelievable..."

By then the rest of the family was getting accustomed to him abruptly voicing out his emotions while reading. So they were all either tuning him out or if his reaction got a little too extreme, they would go and ask him what was wrong. But ever since he had found that fanfic series, he had been holed up in his room, constantly reading the books so that he could reach the end of the story.

They had returned from patrol and Tim was in the shower room with Steph waiting outside when he abruptly asked a question, "is it weird that I totally relate with this fictional version of myself?"

Steph sighed, checking the time, "why is it weird? You were literally reading about an imaginary version of you so, of course, he's going to be relatable. And don't tell me you're reading in the shower too... I'm out here waiting for you because the other three showers aren't going to get free anytime soon."

"Oh no, I'm not reading right now, can't afford to let my phone get wet," his reply came trailing back to her, "I was just thinking out loud. Good to know there's someone who can join the conversation though."

"Just hurry up..."

"Okay, but hear me out, will you? In most fanfics that I have read till now, I do not behave as I do in real life so I had this perception that each fictional version of me would never be relatable. Boring and bland tech genius who keeps spitting facts and has no time for himself, that's how I'm usually portrayed. Yet somehow this one is kinda like me."

Steph gave up asking him to come out and pulled up a chair close enough for her to be able to hear him, "looks like you're getting invested in the story a little too much." 

"Pffft of course not," the door finally opened and Tim came out, changed into his casual clothes and as he had dried up, he started reading on his phone again. Steph stepped in before anyone else could book that shower room too, Tim's voice getting muffled as she turned on the shower.

She knew by then he must have gotten completely absorbed in the story so she wouldn't have to maintain a conversation with him anymore.

"Oooh wait, that's a good one, I'll save it for later use." 

Cass who was also in the cave knew very well that it was Tim's reaction whenever he found a mean insult on the internet so she leaned over to see, "show me." 

"Here, isn't that the perfect insult? I'm so using this one."

Hours were lapsing yet Tim was diligently finishing chapter after chapter to get to the end. As a result, his live commentary was still running without fail.

"Okay, that did not even happen. I wish it did though, I would have totally held it against Jay as blackmail. Forever."

But that commentary took a drastic turn when he got to the climax of the first and second book; Isadora Beamont's abduction by the Scarecrow.

"What the fuck? Why the fuck? Who the fuck..." 

Damian obviously couldn't bear to see someone else breaking his record of using the most swear words in a single sentence and especially not Tim so he decided to put a stop to it, "either you stop swearing or I'll throw you out with the trash." 

"Scarecrow fucking kidnapped my fictional girlfriend and you're talking about throwing me in the trash?" 

Steph's ears perked up on hearing the word girlfriend and though she had been sleepy before, she sat up, "fictional what?" 

"Sorry, darling, I love you but this Dora here is... No, put that down, I did not mean it of course! Yes, I love you and only you, I swear. Jesus Christ, Steph, not the AK-47!"

And it got somewhat worse when he got to the third book.

"Calm down, Timothy... Calm down... Calm..." A few moments later, all his self-control had evaporated and he was shouting as if the author was in front of him and he was about to kill her. "Are you shitting me? Nyssa Al Ghul? You totally spoiled the entire mood! It was all cute and lovey dovey and then you hit me in the fucking face with a fucking truck!"

By then Steph wasn't even asking him to stop reading. But that once, she did speak up, "if you hate it so much, why are you still reading it?" 

As expected, his reply was not what she wanted to hear but could hardly care less either way. 

"Because I want to know what happens next, I just can't leave it in the middle. Real climactic situation is happening and I would die from suspense if I stop reading it. Also, I have to see how this story will end." 

Thinking about when it would end, he finally checked how many more books he had to go and his eyes widened in shock.

"Holy shit, there are five more books?!?!! How much free time does this girl have to churn out five more books and that too with the last one having 100+ chapters!" However, after some incoherent mumbling, he seemed to have come to a decision. "Guess I have no option but to binge read them all as fast as I can. Goodbye sleep and adios peace of mind until I find out how the Coffee And Liquor Series ends..."

As the end of the third book neared, Timothy Drake was on an emotional outrage due to the climax and the unexpected twist of events.

"You did not just kill me! Noooooooo!!! I don't die, I never die, I'm never that lucky and I can't take this! What will happen to Dora now, huh? Why the fuck did you have to do this, you insanely evil author that I would so love to hug and kill at the same time?" 

All of them were staring at him in concern as they were standing outside his room, not daring to step closer to him in such an unstable condition. Cass was the only one who spoke up, "hug and kill both?"

Tim must have heard her as he elaborated, pacing the room as he stomped his feet and was apparently conversing with the author herself, the phone still clutched in his hand. "Hug because my real life isn't even half as eventful as what's written here. This Dora and all the other friends and family dynamics you've given me in your fanfic are loads better than what I have to deal with. And kill because would you fucking stop giving pain to all of us?" 

Richard too looked very concerned for his brother's mental state, "who is he even talking to? There's no one else in his room...?"

"I hate you so fucking much and yet I can't stop reading this story... What in the devil's name have you cursed me with?!?!?!?!?!" 

Jason pushed open the door, taking the lead from the rest of them, "I'll go check." 

"You have no idea how much I want to kill you for all the pain you've put fictional me through and yet at the same time I can't because of all the happy moments you've written, you conniving little schemer!" 

Steph mumbled, "looks like Tim has found his very own Joker..." 

"I AM NOT OBSESSED WITH HER, SHUT UP!" Tim would have shut the door in their faces but Jason had already stepped in and once he entered a room, it was impossible to make him leave until he got what he wanted.

Richard was shaking his head slightly as well, "but looks like he's totally obsessed with her writing. Maybe Tim's the Joker and this unknown author is his Batsy."

"NOT AT ALL! SHUT UP AND LET ME PROPERLY MOURN MY FICTIONAL DEATH IN PEACE!" 

However, peace and Timothy were two opposite terms that could never merge together. And instead of mourning in peace, he was being his dramatic self, as usual, making a mountain out of an ant hill.

"Why... Why... Why... When is this torture going to end... Why won't it end..." 

Jason felt somewhat bad to see him getting sentimental over a mere story, "you okay, Babybird?" 

Much to his surprise, Tim looked up at him and it was clear he was holding back tears. "No... I just died in some stupid fanfiction that I can't stop reading because of some curse and my girlfriend is going through the trauma of losing me... 

Steph got alarmed, "hello, I'm right here?" 

"Yeah not you, I meant Dora. The one in the fanfic..." 

She rolled her eyes wearily, "you've got to be kidding me..."

On the other hand, Tim almost kicked off his phone in that burst of rage and desperation, "I know, right! This author has to be kidding me. Do you even know who's responsible for my fictional death? Fucking Slade! I would rather kill myself than die due to this low-budget Cruella de Vil wannabe!"

All the rest of them tried their very best to hold in their laughter. Thinking about Slade as a Cruella De Vil wannabe was no doubt hilarious.

After some convincing from Jay that Tim was getting worked up for no reason, the younger kicked him out of the room after promising him that he would not do anything stupid and then locked the door shortly after.

But they couldn't leave after all the fiasco they had just witnessed so they camped outside his room, listening in to his remarks as he was still reading.

"Okay, but how come she did not write the scene where I die? I was kinda looking forward to reading it. All this second-hand pain without the real torture... Cruelty, no less. And not a cliffhanger again! I hate you!"

Steph was thinking about her I told you so moment for when she would see him next time and remind him that she had already predicted he would be in tears by the end of it all.

"Oh... So I hadn't died... It was all faked to take down NOWHERE... Hmmm, sounds like me. Okay, maybe I don't hate you that much, witchy author. Maybe you do have a fair idea of how my brain works though that thought in itself is a lot alarming. Just stay away from my world and Gotham specifically, you hear me?"

A few seconds passed in silence until Tim erupted again.

"So I come back after a year of staying dead and the first thing I get is a slap right in the face... Right... Now I definitely need some ice cream. No screw it, I need ten whole buckets of ice cream... This fucking hurts..."

Steph whispered to the others, "I think whoever this fanfic writer is, she somehow managed to break Tim. He's completely wrecked now." 

Damian clicked his tongue in slight annoyance as if he had seen that coming all along too, "took him long enough to go insane. I was expecting him to go down the hatch years ago."

***

Part 3 is due after my exams so tune in on the 22nd of August to read it after I get it done with. 

I really hope you enjoyed this part though and I will need you guys to pray for my exams. I will appreciate that a lot. Thank you.

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