It didn't take Jinx long to notice a distinction between the rich people and the other group present at the gala, which Jinx artfully referred to as the "stinking-rich people".The rich people seemed more likely to dance and opted to follow the gala's masquerade theme –the people she saw currently waltzing on the floor were a mixture of surgeons, lawyers, and political figures. Jinx turned away from these people; they were rich, yes, but Jinx didn't have the bottom of the wealthy barrel in mind when she carefully cultivated her party-crashing plan.
Instead, Jinx weaved her way towards the outskirts of the crowd, clutching her purse as she made her way towards the more well-known benefactors.
She looked at the possible prey in her immediate vicinity, all of whom were very promising.
There was Lawrence Foster, a well-known philanthropist whose pants pocket had the outline of what was, by all means, most likely a very fat wallet.
To her immediate left was Heidi Jones, a hollywood actress with Red Diamond earrings that piqued Jinx's interest, even though she wasn't a fan of the color.
And then there were the creme de la creme of the wealthy–like Bruce Wayne, who had a gem-encrusted watch gleaming on his wrist that probably cost more than Jinx's whole headquarters.
These were the stinking rich people–the ones who had so much money they couldn't possibly know what to do with it. They were also the ones who didn't dance or wear masks as if they hadn't gotten the memo that the event would be a masquerade gala.
"Heaven forbid something as cheap as a mask covers their wealthy botox faces," Jinx muttered. "Or that they scuff their $8,000 shoes while dancing," Jinx added in afterthought.
In Jinx's book, rich people were only good for two things: cruddy reality tv shows and helping thieves like her make fast cash.
She mulled over her choices for a mere moment before a smile alighted on her lips. Go big or go home, she thought as she made her way towards Bruce Wayne.
She was five paces away from "accidentally" brushing into Bruce Wayne and walking away several million dollars richer when her wrist was grabbed from behind and she was whirled around.
"Trust me," the stranger said, a grin on his face as if his words were shared a joke between the two of them. "You do not want to do that."
Her fingertips were ever so slightly tingling pink, just on the cusp of hexing the offending fellow away from her, when realization began to dawn. The only difference lay in the fact that his usually yellow mask had been exchanged for a black one. From the cocky grin to the red hair and the blue eyes, Jinx realized in silent horror the guy wasn't a stranger, but instead the last person she had hoped to see.
The last time she had seen Kid Flash was over a month ago when she had done what no self-respecting villainess would dare do with a goody-two-shoes hero: She had kissed him. While the moment their lips touched had been fleeting, the feelings of confliction she was left with plagued her for days.
She had felt something–some of those stupid, cliche, tiny sparks the bubbly main character in a teen movie felt when they locked lips with their equally one-dimensional love interest.
Jinx was many things–cold, heartless, and short, to name a few–but a one dimensional bubbly YA novel star was not one of them, and she'd be damned before she let Kid Flash turn her into one of the girls dumb enough to fall head over heels for a concept as fictional as love.
Before she could barrage Kid Flash with questions about how he had found her or why he was so determined to ruin her life, he cut her off.
"We should dance," he said, offering her a hand and smirking as if he already knew she'd say yes to such a hellish idea.
Jinx opened her mouth to say not only no, but also hell no, heck no, and no (which was just no in her Spanish accent), but slowly shut it after realizing that appeasing his request was the preferred scenario out of all her options. Hexing him cold would alert the security guards and result in her being carried to Gotham's jail, and ignoring him to continue her heist would just result in the annoying redhead whisking her off to the middle of Jump City at the speed of sound, leaving her empty-handed and utterly annoyed.
His smug expression practically said that he knew her options were limited, and she cursed inwardly at the one choice she presently had.
"Fine," Jinx said, accepting his hand. "One dance."
She barely had time to get the words out of her mouth before he was dragging her towards the floor.
"I hope you're better with dancing than you are with pick up lines," Jinx said as they assumed waltz position, with Kid Flash's hand resting lightly on her waist. The ungloved hand stood as a reminder that neither of them was in uniform; this was the closest she'd been to seeing a glimpse of the speedster outside of his trademark getup, and the feeling the whole situation brought was an unwelcome kind of surrealness.
"I like to think that I'm equally gifted in both areas," Kid Flash said matter-of-factly, and instead of suppressing her eye roll Jinx furtherly dramatized it and added a sigh.
He chuckled at her theatrics, blue eyes twinkling behind the mask as they moved to the tune.
"I knew you were a stalker and all," Jinx said, "But finding me here, several hundred miles away from Jump City with both a glamour and a mask on is a new level–even for you."
"I was obligated to come. I didn't know you'd be here," Kid Flash admitted, "I was only tipped off when one of the attendees mysteriously "lost" her sapphire bracelet."
"Imagine my surprise," Kid Flash said, "when I noticed a familiar figure slipping a bracelet into her bag. After that, I figured you'd go for the richest guy in the room."
Jinx tilted her head, blinking in mock innocence. "For all you know I could have been planning to rob the old guy next to him."
"Nah," Kid Flash said, waving the idea away. "You'd never settle. You're more of a "go big or go home" kinda girl."
Jinx stiffened at the use of that particular phrase, one that echoed her own thoughts earlier.
"You say that with the surety of someone who knows me," Jinx said, narrowing her eyes. "Unfriendly reminder that you don't."
"I'd like to though," Kid Flash said softly as the music in the background faded out into silence.
"Then it's too bad for you that our one dance is up," Jinx said, moving to pull away before Kid Flash halted her.
"I know you've been avoiding me since our kiss," Kid Flash said, "But you can't honestly tell me that you felt nothing."
"I felt nothing," Jinx said in a monotone.
"I said honestly."
"I honestly felt nothing," Jinx said in a voice just as monotonous as the first.
Kid Flash sighed through his nose in an uncharacteristic show of irritation, all the while maintaining eye contact with Jinx before she finally looked away.
"Fine," Jinx said, crossing her arms. "Let's say hypothetically that I felt something. Even if I did, we couldn't be together. My team finding out about you would ruin my standing as a villain and everything I've ever worked for, and your team finding out about me would ruin not only your reputation, but also the reputation of the Teen Titans and your mentor. Do you know how stupid we would we have to be to put all that at risk for a bout of teenage infatuation?"
Kid Flash tapped his foot, surprising Jinx by being overcome by a full thirty seconds of pensive silence–surely that had to be a record of some sort for him.
"You're right," he said at last.
"I am?" Jinx asked, incredulous at the turn this talk was taking.
He nodded. "You couldn't be caught dating Kid Flash, so you shouldn't."
"Instead," Kid Flash said, removing the mask from his face. "You should date me: Wally."
Jinx prides herself on her ability to react quickly. This means she's never disadvantaged, even in an ambush, and she is always ready to quickly deliver a snappy remark to put anyone who challenged her in their place.
As Jinx looked at the now bare face of Kid Flash and took in the splash of freckles usually covered by his mask and the fact that he had told her what was probably his real name, she didn't react quickly, however. Quite honestly, Jinx wasn't sure if her freezing in place was considered a reaction or a complete lack thereof.
"Jinx," Kid Flash–or Wally–said, waving a hand in front of her face. "You're staring."
She blinked, coming back to her senses. "Oh sorry, that's just my knee-jerk reaction to heroes entrusting their real names with me."
He grinned. "So how does lunch with Wally at the restaurant on 22nd street tomorrow sound?"
Jinx's mind was flooded with good, valid reasons to say no––they were polar opposites and, in the end, costume or not, he was still a hero. But after one look at the hopefulness in his blue eyes, Jinx realized that she couldn't possibly turn him down.
"Fine," Jinx said, a small smile finding its way to her face as she removed her masquerade mask.
"Just know that Linda," she said, gesturing pointedly towards herself and her civilian glamour. "Isn't paying for the food."