It has been a while since I last composed any sort of fanfiction, but after watching and becoming addicted to the new Cartoon Network show Young Justice, I could not help but to pick up my pen and start writing again. Masquerade is the first one-shot within my Artemis/Wally fiction collection, and I sincerely hope that all of you will enjoy it! Please also do not hesitate to provide me with any sort of feedback; all constructive criticisms are welcomed!
Masquerade
"Love takes off masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within." –James Arthur Baldwin
It was the only way she knew how to protect herself, to prevent herself from succumbing to the turbulent emotions that are currently toying with her mind. She hides behind the façade of indifference and sarcasm, in the hopes that he would never truly understand her. Sometimes she feels capable- even confident- that she could fool him. Eventually, maybe she would be able to fool herself, to rid herself of the thought that he was more than a mere teammate, a mere friend. Maybe if she practices indifference long enough, it would eventually envelop her and become a part of her identity. Emotions are for the weak; they render people gullible and vulnerable, combined with the willingness to sacrifice anything and everything for the ones they love. She had already decided she was capable of discarding all of her emotions altogether, that the only person she could trust was herself.
Yet, despite her resolution, her heart, like a beguiling conman, continues to play tricks on her. How else could she explain the butterflies that flutter in her stomach whenever he is in close proximity, or the delicious shivers that travel down her spine whenever he utters her name? Why else would she flare up in jealousy whenever he flirts with M'gann, with muscular arms casually encircling her narrow waist as if he did not have a single care in the world? She loathed how outgoing he was, with his jabbing remarks and witty jokes and presumptuous opinions. If Artemis were a leather-bound journal locked with a key, then Wally was definitely one of those magazines sold at newsstands, its content free and available for everyone to browse through. He had nothing to hide and nothing to be afraid of, whereas Artemis preferred to remain in the shadows, her various secrets and thoughts tucked safely within the vicinity of her mind.
However, what frightened her the most was not his extroverted personality, nor his tendency to play the role of "Casanova" around attractive women. She could tolerate these traits; even toss a couple of sarcastic remarks in his direction. What she simply could not tolerate-no, absolutely hated- were moments when it seemed he could see right through her façade, her mask. His gaze, honest and unfazed, leaves her feeling vulnerable and exposed, with no other place to hide. Yet she finds it so exceedingly difficult not to stare back into his bright emerald eyes, to pull herself away from the hypnotic effect he seemed to have on her.
Since when did controlling her emotions become so damn hard? Since when was another person able to penetrate the carefully constructed walls she had built around herself, with nothing more than a simple gaze?
She had met her match with Wally West.