Artemis slid into her seat just after the bell rang. Mr. Chavers gave her a stern look.
"Miss Crock, please try to make it on time tomorrow." He said monotonously.
She nodded her head slightly, masking her irritation well. Mr. Chavers was the oldest teacher in Gotham Academy, hands down. He bored everyone out of their minds and acted like his classes were incompetent six year olds, which annoyed the hell out of her. Sometimes she had trouble resisting the urge to bang her head against her desk, or maybe even going straight up to him and delivering the worst injury of his life.
The only thing that stopped her from doing that though, was her lab partner, Dick Grayson, ward of gazillionaire Bruce Wayne, also known as Robin, the Boy Wonder. She had only known him for a month or two, but he was really starting to grow on her no matter how annoying he was. Dick also had the amazing ability to successfully distract her from pounding the the teacher's face into the wall. Like he was right now.
The troll-ish boy smirked. "Yes, Miss Crock, you juvenile delinquent, you."
'Miss Crock' smacked him upside the head, causing some of the delicately gelled hair at the back of his head to get ruffled. He pouted.
"Arty! My glorious hair was so fantastical! Why did you have to ruin its beauty?" He moaned, an anguished look on his face. Dick even managed a few crocodile tears.
Artemis rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, Wonder Bread. Cry me a-"
"Alright class, settle down. Today we will be doing some chemistry. I'll tell you what to do first, then you'll gather your supplies. So you add the-"
Artemis tuned him out, slightly miffed because he had told them this yesterday and god, it was really annoying her.
Once Mr. Chavers was done and had instructed the class to grab their supplies, she, along with a few other people got up to retrieve their tubes and protective goggles at the back of the room.
Meanwhile, Dick was getting the hydrogen peroxide at the front, next to Mr. Chavers. As he walked back, he nearly spilled the fluid on the ground, due to someone bumping into him.
They set both items down at their table while they were putting on the goggles. Artemis snorted when she saw Dick; with his huge ears and slicked back hair, he looked ridiculous.
He had mock hurt in his voice when he said that she didn't look so good either.
Now as they looked around, everyone else was starting their experiments. So the duo grabbed for the chemical as one, and ended up with entwined fingers around the container. A slight blush dusted both their faces as they stared at each other. They frantically let go in unison, and stared at each other like awkward turtles.
"Um, you can pour it in," Dick offered, breaking the silence. "I can get the other stuff anyway."
"Yeah, you go do that." Artemis replied, rubbing the back of her neck. "I guess I'll just, um, pour it in."
And as he walked away, the archer looked after him, wondering what that spark she felt when they touched hands was. After contemplating this for a moment, she grabbed the hydrogen peroxide and dumped it in.
'What was that?' He mused. 'We're just friends, nothing more. We've only known each other for a few months. I do not like her.'
From the second that last thought formed he knew he was lying to himself.
Dick walked back and sharply tapped Artemis on the back, making her spin around to become face to head with him, also startling him. He dropped the bottle, but snatched it in midair just in time.
"Oh, sorry." Artemis breathed.
"S'fine, Arty." Again, they began to act like awkward turtles.
"..."
"..."
"I'll just add the fluoride and we'll be done."
As he moved to pour it in, she realized much too late that the chemical was yellow, not clear. That only meant one thing. It wasn't fluoride. Alarm bells rang in her head as she gaped, desperately reaching out a hand to grab his arm before it was blown off or something.
The unidentified liquid mixed in with the hydrogen peroxide, and she braced for impact. But instead of an explosion, she was met with a face full of a toothpaste-like substance.
The... 'stuff' covered her entire face, part of her shirt, and it was stuck in her hair. Not her hair.
Fists balled and were about to lash out at an extremely annoying bird... until she saw him.
He was encased head to toe in the... 'stuff' that she now recognized as the elephant toothpaste experiment.
She stifled a laugh, but lost it as he struggled to stand up, and promptly slipped.
Mr. Chavers looked about ready to blow a fuse, waiting for an explanation.
Artemis helped Dick up, still giggling.
"Oh man, Dick, that was hilarious!"
He examined Artemis, slightly smirking. "You should see yourself."
She crossed her arms, flicking some of it onto his hair, grin still prominent on her face.
They appeared to be oblivious to the class until they heard a loud, "Ahem." Their heads turned, grins fading as they caught sight of the cross teacher. "You two. With me. Now."
After a brutal session with the guidance counselors, they prepared to walk to their lockers, just in time for the final bell. Students came streaming out of their classes like their lives depended on it.
"Well, I guess I'll see you soon, Arty!" Her heart swelled in happiness when he implied that he was coming to the Cave later.
"Yeah, I'll see you soon."
And as he walked off, she realized that she liked him. She hadn't felt love in such a long time, and it felt pretty good.
Then she looked to her watch and realized that her locker was on the other side of school.
And she had a bus to catch.
It was going to leave.
In one minute.
"Crap!"
