"It's one thing to be pen pals with someone you don't even know but it's another to be pen pals with Icicle Jr., Nicole!" Artemis yelled.

I only grinned before dodging a hit from Artemis. I was away in Star City for the week so my best friend picked up my mail for me. It was supposed to be easy. She was supposed to pick up the mail, water the plants, and feed Claude, my new kitten. Only I never expected for Claude to jump on Artemis when she opened the door. Artemis dropped all the mail. I also never expected for Claude to grab that particular piece of letter from the detention center or for Artemis to play tug and war with Claude. Now I'm trying to dodge Artemis who's well very pissed off. "He's a criminal! He's dangerous! He knows where you live!"

"No he just knows where my P.O. Box is." I starkly responded. Artemis was blowing this out of proportion.

"That's still dangerous, he's evil and don't you know what he does? He endangers other people's lives. He doesn't care about them; he just cares about the job. How do you know he's not playing you? Nicole he's using you!"

I only rolled my eyes and made sure to throw out the flowers he sent. "Arty, I know what it's like to be used and he's not using me."

"Are you sure? Nicky, he's using you! I read the letter! How do you know that he's not lying about his daddy issues?" Artemis argued.

There was a knock on the door. Artemis followed me while I opened the door. I sighed in relief. It was Paula. "Hey Paula!"

"I could hear your two girls from down the hall." She scolded. We both apologized for the loud argument. "Artemis, you have to go to school tomorrow. Be home in an hour, Nicole, it's good to see you." She left and I closed the door.

"School on a Saturday? I'm in shock. I thought I would never see the day Artemis Crook would show up to school on a Saturday if it wasn't for detention. Gotham Academy sure has changed you." I smirked and was glad the subject changed.

"Gotham Academy has some sort of awards ceremony tomorrow morning. I'm supposed to receive one." Artemis answered only to seem angered by the mention of Gotham Academy.

"Are you okay?" I could feel the anger radiating from Artemis.

"It's just that mom is going to be there and I'm not saying I'm-"

"Are you ashamed of your mother, Artemis?"

"NO! I just don't want her to be hurt. Gotham Academy's full of rich kids who think they know everything. I don't want mom to hear them mock her." Artemis confessed.

"Don't worry they won't! I'll be there of course!"

"What?"

"You're mom sent me an invite a few days ago while I was in Star City."

"Thanks, Nicky." Artemis hugged me before she left.

Claude rubbed against my leg holding the letter from Cameron, Icicle Jr. I opened the crumpled, torn letter to read the contents.

Dear Nicky,

I'm glad to hear from you. I'm still trying to receive my education here but right now I'm stuck reading the Great Gatsby. I don't understand shit about it. I'm only on chapter one and it sucks. I can't believe this is what I'm supposed to write a whole essay about. I hate the fact they're forcing me to finish high school. I don't need education. I only attended school to learn to write, read and do math. Everything else is bull shit. I thought that by being in Belle Reeve I would escape having to be schooled. Instead I find that I have to learn these amendments and the periodic table. I wish I wasn't the only kid here though. Before I could sleep in the middle of class, now I have to learn. They even give out homework. I don't even get a break during the weekend either. I have to write but I like writing to you. You seem to understand me. I mean you continue to write to me. Everyone else stops when I mention the word crime spree. I'm still the new kid and everyone picks on me. Dad isn't much help either. Ever since the attempt to break improve prison life was a fail, everyone has been hard on me. I don't have a roommate anymore but I like it. I don't have to deal with someone who snores or hogs all the space. However it's lonely here. I wish I could impress the old man but every time I try, I fail. I don't care sometimes but at the same time I do. The old man, I wish he was proud of me. Though I would love to have a girl too If you could send me a picture of you, it would cheer me up for sure.

Sincerely,

Icicle Jr.

I only sighed. All those things Artemis said were true but I was just in denial. Maybe I was always someone who fell for the bad boys. I was hoping to help someone but now I'm not sure if I can help anyone. The door opened and it was just Peter, my older brother, my legal guardian. "I see that Artemis found out about the letters between you and icy." He started putting the groceries away. I nodded while Claude jumped on the kitchen counter. I grabbed him before feeding him. "I know that you want to help him but not all villains can be reformed, Nicky. I talked to your therapist and she's fine if you stop writing. She says you're improving. "

"It sounds like you're telling me to stop."

"I'm not but he's capable of destruction and I don't want the past to repeat itself, okay?" He grabbed my chin and looked me in the eyes. He was right. It sounded like Alden and I didn't want to get hurt again. Claude just meowed before purring against my feet. I picked up Claude to go on a walk with him around the block.

Dinner was early since Peter had to work on some type of program and I still had to finish writing my report for literature. Jude left a few messages about what I missed while I was out of town. The most exciting thing was a fire drill and I had a few assignments to finish before Monday. I would just pick it up tomorrow. Maybe they were right. The only reason I started to talk to Cameron was to vent out all my anger towards someone who had no clue who I was. It worked but now I think I'm getting too attached. Maybe it is time.

Artemis's POV

Before heading out for patrol with GA, I stopped by Nicole's room. I saw that she was destroying the letters from Icicle Jr. Although others might think I was jealous of Nicole and Cameron, I was only looking out for her. Nicole was my best friend and I don't want her to get hurt. Cameron is just like Alden. He'll hurt her because he's a villain. They all end up hurting the innocent.