Today had to have been the worst day of his life. There had indeed been others, but this one struck a nerve. Wally had been in his room for over an hour now just sitting on his bed, elbows resting on his knees and his eyes fixated on the floor. Who would have figured, a simple exercise could turn out so mortifying and scaring. Especially….the death of Artemis. His eyes narrowed at the thought as flashbacks of the death circled in his head. He closed his eyes tightly trying to forget, however, it was impossible. He had lost someone on his team. Someone he couldn't get off his mind. Someone he truly cared about. A girl who wasn't just a pretty girl to hit on, but someone he knew deep in his heart that he couldn't stop thinking about.
A sudden knock on the door made him jump out of his trance as he looked up.
"Hey Wally, Are you still awake? It's me, Artemis."
A lump in his throat got bigger hearing the sound of her voice. It was proof that the exercise was still just an exercise but it also established how real it was. Wally stood up gingerly, shuffling his feet towards the door. He reached out and opened it slightly to peak out.
There she was, looking up at him with those brown eyes of hers. It made his heart skip a beat for a second, visualizing her death in his mind again. He had to remain calm and not let her know that he was still upset from earlier. He was a man after all.
"H-hey…what's up? Shouldn't you be asleep?" He whispered, still peeking through the crack of the door. "Batman said to stay in our rooms, ya know?"
"Yeah, yeah I don't care. I really…I really just can't be alone right now. Can I at least talk to you for a minute?" She was trying to keep her voice down. Knowing The League, they could be watching or listening to what they were saying and doing. Wally sighed and stepped back opening the door to let her in. She rushed quickly in and leaned her back on the door to close it quietly. For a moment, she didn't move, but started down at the floor, gripping her shirt. She was trying like crazy to hold back tears so she wouldn't cause a scene or worry Wally.
The speedster walked over to his bed and sat down, leaning back on his hands, staring intently at Artemis. For a good five minutes, she stood against the door and bit her lip, gripping her shirt tighter, tearing it a little. It was hard to see her like this. He's never seen her like this, it was different. She was so tame, defenseless, and almost pathetic.
"Artemis….look…" He stood up and walked over to her and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry….I'm sorry about all that happened today. Everything felt so real…it felt like the world as we knew it was coming to an end. Especially after you…well…."
She walked passed him and sat on his bed pulling her knees to her chest. Her eyes were swelling up with tears. "I….I died…..I died so quickly. It felt so real…a part of me saw what happened to me and it makes me sick to my stomach. I just can't get it out of my mind. It keeps playing over and over again like…like a-"
"Like a bad movie. I know…believe me. The after effect wasn't really a carnival either. It's possibly the worst pain I've been through in a long time." He walked over to his bed and sat next to her. He placed his hand on her back and leaned in to make eye contact.
"I'm going to make you a promise Artemis. A promise I plan to keep, as long as I live."
The girl looked up a little as she sniffled and tried to rub some tears from her eyes, as she looked into his light green ones.
"I promise, from this day forward, I will stand by your side and let nothing happen to you. I promise, I will protect you with my life."
Artemis looked up at him with shock. She couldn't believe what he was saying. Looking into his eyes, she knew that he was being sincere and meant every word he said. Wally was truly in a rare form. His eyes looked so serious and fixated on her. She felt like she was caught in a spell. She couldn't take it anymore, as the tears came out in floods. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest, crying heavily. Wally embraced her, patting and rubbing her back as she gripped his shirt and cried as hard as she could. Her head was rushing and pounding. She hadn't cried in a long time and almost regrets doing it now.
"It's okay….everything is fine now. I'm here for you Artemis…I always will be. No matter what happens, I'll be here." Wally held her close as she started to slowly but surely calm down. She pulled herself from him and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. Her eyes went back to the floor as she took a couple of quick breaths. "I'm sorry…" she whispered. The boy shook his head and smiled a little. "A good cry is what you needed. It's nothing to be sorry about, so don't apologize okay?" Artemis nodded and moved a few stray strands of hair from her eyes. After a few minutes, Wally stood up and made his way to the door.
"Where are you going!" She asked in a panic as she stood up quickly.
"Shhh! Keep it down, will ya?" He whispered harshly. "I'm gonna go grab you some water. Stay here, I'll be right back." He walked out the door and closed it on his way out quietly. Artemis plopped back down on the bed and wrapped her arms around her midsection and stared at the door as she nervously bounced once foot on the ground in anticipation.
Wally made his way down the hall as his fist balled up in a rage. He hated seeing her like this. He wanted to find someone, anyone to blame. He couldn't blame Megan. It wasn't her fault, not at all. It could have happened to anyone. Well, at least anyone with telepathic powers anyway. He wanted to blame the league but…how could he? They obviously didn't mean to do them any harm, but still, it was indirectly their fault. Of course he would never say that to their face or at all for that matter.
He made his way to the fridge and grabbed 2 bottles of water and quietly made his way back to his room. His eyes were burning from exhaustion and just wanted to get some sleep. As he opened the door his eyes widened and he immediately blushed. Artemis was curled up, asleep on his bed.
"Whoa…okay Wally, don't panic. It's just a girl...a pretty one at that….asleep…on your bed. Be cool…" He took a deep breath and quietly closed the door behind him. He set the water bottles on the night stand and leaned over Artemis.
She was out like a light. She had probably fallen asleep as soon as he left. She looked tired as hell when she came in.
Wally was debating on whether or not to wake her up. He knew it would be rude and also didn't want to suffer her wrath. Where the heck was he supposed to sleep then? He rubbed the back of his head and sighed as he slid his arms underneath her and picked her up, moving her under the covers and slightly tucking her in.
"Guess you're sleeping on the couch buddy." He said to himself. As he turned to walk away, he heard her murmuring in her sleep.
"Please stay…Wally….please don't leave me alone…"
His heart sank hearing her plea. He then suddenly remembered the promise he gave to her. He grumbled a little, wondering about the consequences of staying the night with her. Maybe a black eye or worse, a broken leg. He shuddered at the thought and took a deep breath and sighed. He cautiously walked back over to the bed. He sat on the opposite side and lied down. He curled up in a ball with his back to her crossing his arms. He would stay for the night and if she got mad, well, it would be worth it. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep as he listened to her breathing with every intention of keeping his promise to her.