Disclaimer- I don't own YJ nor Kamelot's song "Love You To Death".
I heard this song and immediately thought of Artemis and Wally. Don't ask me why. I have no idea myself. This is going to very depressing. If you cry, don't blame me. I gave you fair warning. Oh and I don't know much about heart cancer so bare with me. I just needed Artemis to have a bad disease. (I do know that most people don't survive three to ten months after being diagnosed with heart cancer . . . Sad, isn't it?) And this is an AU so no hero stuff. They're all normal teenagers.
Note- Thoughts are in italics and the song's lyrics are in bold italics.
Note 2- Please keep in mind that I've only hinted at Spitfire (Artemis x Wally) in my YJ fanfics so this will be my first attempt to write romance. (Seeing as I haven't experienced it myself, this might be total crap. -_-) Still, I hope you all enjoy and if you hate it, please just don't review. I already know it's crap so I don't need anyone to tell me!
One-Shot
" . . . You have heart cancer."
Artemis couldn't believe her ears, the words that came into them not registering in her brain. Her mother, on the other hand, perfectly registered those words and reacted like any mother would.
"Is there anything you can do?"
Artemis' doctor face was etched with pain. " . . . I'm afraid that there's nothing we can do now. It's too late . . . I'm so sorry."
" . . . You mean . . . She's going to die?" Artemis' mother asked slowly, tears swelling.
"Yes."
"How long?" Artemis asked quietly, her voice surprising her doctor and mother.
"Ten months."
_A Week Later_
Artemis sat down in her seat, waiting for the teacher to start class. She needed something to distract her, anything to make her forget that she was dying. She needed a way to forget that soon, her seat would be empty and her classmates would miss a day of school to attend her funeral. She needed to forget that her heart was killing her and wreaking havoc on her body, causing her to feel horrible.
But even if she forgot, she would still die. She would still leave the world with nothing but an empty shell to be buried beneath the ground.
"Class," the teacher started to announce, "we have a new student from Central City. His name is Wally West. Come on in, Wally. They're not going to bite."
When they meet, she was fifteen.
Like a black rose blooming wild.
And she already knew she was gonna die.
The class laughed as the door opened to reveal a red-headed teenage boy with a red backpack slung over his left shoulder, his green eyes twinkling. Artemis felt her traitorous heart thump with a strange feeling as a blush bloomed on her cheeks. She always did like green . . . NO! She was DYING! That meant NO relationships!
"You can sit next to Artemis, Wally. I'm sure she'll be happy to help you catch up with us," the teacher said, her words making Artemis twitch.
Great. Just what I needed.
_After School_
And if her traitorous feelings weren't enough, Wally had turned out to be a pretty good guy who was a bit of a flirt but a romantic at heart. But Artemis had shoved those facts and her feelings into a bottle and locked it away. She knew that if she got in a relationship with Wally, he would get the bad end of the deal seeing as she would die in just ten months.
Wait . . . Did I just basically say that our relationship would actually last that long? Am I finally going insane?
"Hey, Artemis!" Wally called out from behind her, her groan not heard by his ears.
"Wally, stop stalking me! Don't you have to be somewhere OTHER than here?" Artemis yelled as she walked faster towards the crosswalk, hoping to lose the boy.
Wally clutched his heart mockingly. "Oh, Artemis, that hurt! Besides, the teacher told you to help me."
"Surely you can know where you live, Wally!" Artemis said desperately.
Wally grinned and shook his head. "Nope. I only have the address."
Artemis slapped her forehead, muttering how it seemed that the universe thought that heart cancer hadn't been enough of her.
"Artemis?" Wally asked, secretly nervous. He really hoped that she would help him get home even though he knew where he lived. He had something he wanted to ask her.
Artemis sighed, figuring that she should just get it over with. "Tell me the address."
Wally grinned as he told her the address. This was his chance. He would get the chance to ask out Artemis.
_Three Hours Later_
Artemis let her backpack fall to her bedroom floor as she collapsed on her bed and hugged a pillow to her chest. She couldn't believe that Wally had asked her out after she got him home. When he had asked her, her heart sped up and a light blushed had broken out on her cheeks. With the thought of refusing in mind, Artemis had opened her mouth but when she gazed into Wally's green eyes, she said yes.
That's why Artemis had run all the way home, hoping to escape her words and what it would mean later on.
Why, why, WHY did I say yes? Sure, I like him but I'm frickin' DYING! I can't . . . I can't . . .
Tears started to fall from her eyes, her heart clenching in sadness. It was finally hitting her, how she would die in just a few months from then.
I'm such an idiot . . . Why did I have to say yes? Why?
_Ten Months Later_
Artemis had never been able to answer her own question. She had just gone to sleep and woken up the next day to find Wally on her porch with a single red rose.
That had been the start of their beautiful relationship.
As the weeks went by, her days had been filled with Wally's smiles, roses and stupid jokes that she would laugh at even if they weren't funny. They had fallen so deep in love, losing their grip on time as Artemis grew weaker and weaker.
But that came to an end when they started the next school year and Artemis' doctor told her she maybe had a week left. Artemis' mind was rudely awakened and she realized that she would have to tell Wally.
That's where she is now . . . Telling him she's going to die.
_Wally's POV_
Wally couldn't believe his ears.
Artemis . . . is dying? But why? WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE HER?
"What's tomorrow without you?"
"Is this our last goodbye?"
Wally's hand tightened its grip on Artemis' left hand. "How long?"
"A week."
_A Week Later_
She got weaker every day as the autumn leaves flew by.
"Look at that tree, Wally! It's red like your hair. Maybe it's a relative."
Wally rolled his eyes. "Ha ha, Artemis. You're so funny even when you're in a wheelchair."
Artemis frowned. "It's not my fault the stupid hospital won't let me walk."
Wally sighed. "Artemis, your legs are too weak to carry your weight anymore. Of course they're going to force you into a wheelchair."
" . . . Are you saying I'm fat?"
_That Night_
Until one day she told him, "This is when I die."
"Wally," she whispered tiredly, " . . . it's time."
"No . . . Come on, Artemis! Just a little bit longer, okay? Your mom and I NEED you!" Wally whispered back desperately.
"What was the summer like for you?" She asked him with a smile.
"So how the summer for you? Too hot?" Artemis asked him gently, her heart monitor's beeping slowing.
"What's tomorrow without you?" he silently replied.
Wally forced a smile. "It was perfect . . ."
. . . Because of you.
Artemis' heart monitor beeping grew even slower, its beeping ominous.
She said, "I will always be with you. I'm the anchor of your sorrow. There's no end to what I'll do because I love you. I love you to death."
" . . . I'll always be with, Wally . . . Even when you can't see me . . ." Artemis murmured as her heart monitor flat line.
_A Month Later_
Wally was kneeling before Artemis' fresh grave, tears silently falling down his face.
" . . . You know, Artemis, I never told you something . . ."
But the sorrow went too deep.
The mountain fell too steep and the wounds would never heal.
Because the pain of the loss was more than he could feel.
" . . . I have a heart condition. My doctors told me that they weren't sure when I'd die . . . That was the day I met you and I knew instantly I had to live as long as possible to be with you. But then you told me that you were dying . . . Now I have no reason to live . . ."
Wally trailed off, letting his back rest against the willow tree next to her grave.
He said, "I will always be with you, by the anchor of my sorrow. All I know, or ever knew, is I love you . . . I love you to death."
" . . . So get ready, Artemis because we'll be seeing each other very soon . . ."
"What's tomorrow without you?"
"Is this our last goodbye?"
Wally's eyes fluttered shut, a peaceful smile forming on his face as he felt his heart slow. " . . . I love . . . you . . . Artemis . . . ."
As Wally drew his last breath, a gentle breeze blew through the tree as something had left . . .
"I will always be you. I'm the anchor of your sorrow. There's no end to what I'll do because I love you . . . ."
A/N- . . . Yeah, it sucked. This was 1,883 words long.