"I think this one is the last" Artemis says to herself, as she puts the last box down. She looks around her new apartment and smiles to herself. All those extra hours she has been through were totally worth it… and of course, with the help of her father's money she made it and managed to buy this apartment. Not that she liked accepting his dirty money… not at all!
She promised herself that she would give him back every penny that came out from his pocket. She's not like him… she's not like her family…
She shakes her head to clear it from these thoughts. She's by herself now! She can finally forget about everything she has been through till now.
"Alright Artemis… let's start unpacking!" she says with motivation, starting to rummage through boxes.
-xxx-
"Hello Megan!" Megan Morse says, slapping her forehead slightly "You're forgetting the eggs!" she walks up to the fridge and opens it, looking carefully for the eggs. She lets out a victorious 'Aha!' once she finds them.
"Well… let's see…" she wonders aloud, looking at the recipe "I'm going to need six eggs" she says, picking up one egg carefully and banging it slightly against the bowl's mouth, pouring its content inside the bowl. She does the same for the remaining ones and starts stirring the dough inside the bowl. She hums to herself while stirring but it's interrupted by the sound of the phone ringing. She stops what she's doing and cleans her hands in her apron, walking to the phone. She picks it up and clicks the answer button.
"Hello?" she asks.
"Megan? Is that you?" the person from the other side of the line speaks.
"Oh! Hey Zatanna!" she says happily at her friend.
"Hey M'gann… so, I was wondering… what are you doing?" she says suddenly, making Megan giggle and roll her eyes "I'm making a cake for my uncle and I'll be making dinner after… you know, as a way of thanking him for letting me stay here during college… or at least till I found a house of my own. Why? I'm pretty sure you didn't call me just to ask about that…" Megan said, suspicion evident in her voice.
"Yeah… I was just calling to see if you'd like to hang out later or something like that… we could go to a club or a café…" she finally says and Megan giggles again.
"Of course Zatanna! I just don't understand why you were so nervous asking for it… is there something wrong with it?"
"Oh no! I was just… you know… thinking we could go to that club… the one out of town and near the woods…"
Megan gasps "Why that one? You know I had such a strange feeling when we went there the first time, one year ago" she says.
"Megan, pleaaaase? Just this time?" Zatanna pleads her friend. Megan sighs again and shakes her head, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips "Okay, we'll go"
"YES! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'll pick you up at nine?"
"Okay, see you later" Megan says.
"See you later, and thanks again Megan!"
"You're welcome Zatanna" Megan finally says, ending the call. Sighing she walks to the table and starts stirring the dough again.
-xxx-
"Ugh! I'm so tired!" Artemis says, throwing herself on the couch. She places her arm over her face and closes her eyes "I just want to fall in bed and sleep till tomorrow's afternoon" she hears her phone beep, signaling a new message. She takes it from her pocket and puts it in front of her eyes.
Hey Artemis, just to remember you that you work today between 8p.m. and 1a.m. See you later.
"Oh my god!" she jumps from the couch and looks at the clock, signaling 7p.m. "I almost forgot! I have got to take a shower, I reek!" she makes her way to the bathroom and turns on the water. She undresses herself and gets in.
Once she finishes, she wraps a towel around her body and walks to her 'new' bedroom, searching through the closet where she had already put her clothes on. She chooses to dress a pair of dark jeans with a green tank top and a pair of sneakers. She makes her way to the kitchen and opens her fridge. She sighs "I have to go to the grocery shop, but I don't have time right now… I guess I'll just stop by a café and buy something to eat on the way"
She walks into the living room and puts her phone in her jeans pocket. She picks up her purse and her keys and walks out to her car, locking the door behind her. This is going to be a tough night she thinks to herself.
She gets on her car and starts it, driving all the way through town until she finds a café where she decides to stop. She gets out of the car and closes it. She walks to the café and enters it, making a little bell attached to the door ring. She looks around and wrinkles her nose a little. This place is so dark and has just a few tables here and there. Everything inside is wood: the tables, the chairs, the walls and the floor, making it crack loudly when she takes her first step towards the counter. The only light inside the café is the one above the counter. The woman behind it looks up from a magazine she was reading and eyes Artemis a little "May I help you?" she asks. Artemis walks over to her quickly and nods "Yes. I would like to buy a sandwich and an orange juice, please" the woman nods and rushes through the kitchen doors. She leans against the counter while she waits and starts eyeing the café again until she hears a loud gasp. She jumps a little and turns towards the sound and there, sitting in a table in one of the darker corners of the café is a small old woman with a bunch of tarot cards and wide eyes "You can't go! You can't go today!" she says to Artemis who raises an inquisitive eyebrow.
"What? Go where?" she asks.
"To the place you're going right now…" the eyes of the woman get cloudy and she stares at Artemis, who feels a chill running up her spine.
"The place you're about to go, is going to change your life forever" the woman starts and Artemis can almost swear her voice is deeper and darker, much like the voice of… evil? She gulps a little "It's time for decisions, it's now or never. Don't do something you'll regret, you cannot turn back time, whatever you'll decide right now, is going to affect your whole life. Think with your mind, think with your soul, either you're going to God or the Devil will smash it all" the woman finishes and takes a deep breath. She gasps loudly again and shakes her head vigorously.
" Uh…" she looks at Artemis with curious eyes "Who are you?"
Artemis' eyes widen. She has got to be kidding. Artemis was going to answer but the kitchen doors opened loudly and the woman from before walked out with Artemis' order in her hand.
"Mother" she says and looks at the table where the tarot cards are laying, untouched by the old woman now standing next to Artemis. The woman who came out from the kitchen places the sandwich and the juice on the counter and comes rushing to her mother "Please tell me you are not playing with the tarot cards again. You're going to scare this girl away, just like you did with all my other costumers" the older woman looks at her daughter and shakes her head "Everything I say is the truth, I'm warning these people, they need to listen to what I say!" she then turns to Artemis "What did I say to you? What was it?!" she demands. Artemis opens and closes her mouth several times but no sound comes out of it.
"Mother, please. Leave this girl alone" the other woman says and starts guiding her mother to a flight of stairs that Artemis supposed must be directed to the house above the café.
"Everything he said was true! You need to listen to him, he knows what he's saying. Watch your steps young lady, you're in a lot of danger! Listen to his advice and think carefully about what you're going to do next, that is going to certainly change your life as he said-" before she could say anything more, her daughter managed to walk the woman into a room and closed the door behind them.
Artemis just keeps staring wide-eyed at the top of the stairs. She just can't believe what just happened… okay this was so creepy…
She looks at the counter and spots the sandwich and juice. She just wants to grab them and run away from this place as fast as she can, but then she remembers she still has to pay, so she sits in one table, waiting patiently for the waitress, looking at her clock once in a while. She tries her best to not think about this weird encounter, but it's too difficult, it was too strange and creepy. 'What did she mean by all of that? I cannot fail work on my first day, I would totally be fired!' She sighs. 'Okay Artemis, it was nothing, probably some crazy old woman with a bunch of tarot cards and things that rime to say' she thinks, laughing to herself.
Finally, to her relief, the waitress comes down 10 minutes later.
"I am so sorry miss, I don't know what has gotten into her… she just… sometimes she… uh, it's complicated" the waitress says. Artemis raises her hand and shakes her head "It's fine, don't worry. I just waited to pay. How much is it?" she says, picking up her wallet from her purse.
"Oh, no! What kind of person would I be if I let you pay after you having to deal with this. Please, it's on the house" the woman says and Artemis shakes her head.
"No way! I want to pay, it was nothing really. Now please, tell me how it is before I just give you a different amount" Artemis pleads, seeing that she had to get to work within 15 minutes. The woman sighs and tells Artemis the price. Artemis pays and picks up her things "Thank you" she says, turning around and walking towards the door.
"I'm the one who should thank you, and once again, I'm so sorry for what happened" she apologizes.
"It's okay" Artemis replies not turning around. But there's one thing that makes her stop in her tracks, frozen there. A shiver runs down her spine and she runs as fast as she can to her car, starting it and getting away from that place as fast as she can.
She… she heard… heard someone; more precisely a deep, terrifying male voice when she was walking to the door that said "Watch what you're doing"
Artemis doesn't regret many things in her life, but going to that café is certainly one of the things she does.
-xxx-
"Where is it?" Zatanna asks herself while she rummages through a drawer.
"Aha! Finally found ya!" she says, holding up the lip gloss she was looking for. She walks to the mirror and applies it on her lips, popping them after. She picks up her purse and car keys and walks out of her room, closing the door behind her.
"Raquel! Hurry up, I still need to pick up M'gann!" Zatanna shouted out to her friend. Raquel comes rushing out of her room "I'm here, I'm here!" she says, adjusting her leather jacket on her shoulders while walking up to her friend. Zatanna looks at the clock and pushes Raquel out of their apartment door "C'mon, let's go!" she locks the door and they both enter Zatanna's car. Zatanna starts it and drives off to Megan's uncle house.
-xxx-
"Wow, I totally forgot how beautiful this place was… despite the bad feeling I had…" Megan said, looking around.
"Yeah… See, I told ya!" Zatanna said, beaming proudly. Megan chuckles and rolls her eyes.
"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Raquel said, grabbing her friends' hands and dragging them into the club. Upon entering the club they could see everything: the two big rails of stairs, one at each of their sides; the dance floor that started at the end of the stairs; the smoke zone located near the right rail of stairs; the tables that were between the two rails of stairs; the bar in the far end of the room and of course all the people enjoying the night. The music was really loud and a lot of them were dancing on the dance floor.
"I'm thirsty" Zatanna stats "Let's get something to drink!" she descends the stairs and passes through the amount of people in the smoking area, the other two girls following her close behind. She finally arrives the bar and sits down in one of the chairs.
"Hello, may I get you something to drink?" someone behind her asks. She swirls in her chair and is faced by a blonde girl with grey eyes. Zatanna smiles and nods her head "Yeah, totally! I think I'll get tequila sour please" she looks at her two friends now sitting on the chairs on her sides "What about you guys? Want something to drink?" she asks.
"Yeah, I would like a 7up please" Megan says, smiling at the waitress.
"I'll take a beer please" Raquel says and the waitress nods, turning around. Raquel starts eying her while she busies around preparing their drinks. When she returns to where they are and gives them their drinks, Raquel decides to ask "Are you new here?"
The waitress looks up suddenly and eyes Raquel suspiciously, but decides to answer "Hum… yeah, why?"
"Oh, nothing, is just that I come here a lot of times and had never seen you before. All the staff knows me here. I'm Raquel, you can start getting used to me, because you'll see me a lot of times" Raquel says, winking "After all, what better place to watch some handsome guys than this nice club?" she smirks and the other three girls laugh.
"I'm Artemis, it's nice to meet you" the waitress responds, and Raquel smiles, hoping to have earned the girl's trust.
"I'm Zatanna and this is Megan" Zatanna introduces them, pointing to herself and then at Megan, who smiles kindly.
"It's a pleasure to meet you" Megan says, earning a smile from Artemis "If you don't mind if I ask… how old are you? You seem so young…"
"I don't mind it. I'm actually nineteen, going to start college in a few weeks. I had to get a job to earn some money…" Artemis says and Megan smiles brightly.
"Are you going to be on Happy Harbor's College?" Megan asks excitedly.
"Yes, I will… why?" Artemis asks back.
"Because we're going there this year too!" Zatanna says, completing Megan's reasoning.
"No way, are you serious?" Artemis said with wide eyes, not believing it.
"Yeah, totally!" Raquel said, laughing loudly "This is like destiny or something"
A shiver runs down Artemis' spine as she recalls the encounter she had about two hours ago with that woman, who said that she should watch her steps…
She shakes her head to clear it from these thoughts, she must not believe that. She feels her throat go dry and gulps a little. When she's about to answer Raquel, she spots from the corner of her eye a guy walking to the bar and sitting about six chairs away from them.
"I've got to go attend that guy over there, be right back!" Artemis says and walks away from the girls.
"Goodnight, may I get you something?" Artemis asks once she stops in front of the guy. He looks up and smiles at her. She raises an eyebrow. It's dark inside of the club and he's using a pair of aviators? Weird.
"Yeah, actually you can. I would like a beer please" he says and Artemis nods, walking to the fridge and retrieving a beer from it. She cracks it open and walks back to the guy and hands him the beer.
"Anything else?" she asks.
"Hum… I was wondering… if you… well, you know the raven-haired girl over there" he says, pointing to Zatanna with his head "I'd like to pay her another… well, whatever she's drinking or wants to drink" he says. Artemis smirks "Of course" she says. She walks to the group of girls who're laughing loudly and leans against the counter.
"Hey Zatanna?" she calls and Zatanna looks at her "Yeah?" she asks.
"What do you want to drink?" Artemis asks.
"Hum… why, I don't want anything else…"
"C'mon, courtesy of the guy over there" Artemis says, winking at her while pointing at the guy sitting away from them. Zatanna blushes and Raquel wiggles her eyebrows at her "Oooohh, he's cute! Go for it Zee!"
"Well… since he's offering it, I think I'll have another one of this" she says, pointing at her now empty glass of tequila sour. Artemis nods and goes prepare Zatanna's drink. When she comes back to the girls, they're evaluating the guy who offered the drink.
"I don't know… why is he using those aviators when it's already so dark in here?" says Megan.
"Because he has swag M'gann! I think it looks really hot" Raquel replies back.
"Yeah, he is hot" says Zatanna, eyeing the guy up and down. Artemis rolls her eyes at them and places Zatanna's drink down in front of her.
"What do you think Artemis?" Megan asks, looking at her.
"Hum… yeah, he's cute" says Artemis, shrugging a little.
"'He's cute'? That's all you have to say about this hottie?" Raquel asks with a raised eyebrow. Artemis shrugs again "Yeah, that's it"
"See? Even Artemis hasn't that much to say. You're the only one who keeps talking so greatly about him. We don't even know who he is!" Megan reasons.
"Yeah, exactly, and that's why Zee is going to ask him his number!" Raquel says, pulling Zatanna out of her chair.
"Wait, what?" Zatanna hasn't time to ask anything more, since Raquel pushed her towards the chair where the guy is sitting on.
"Hum… hi" she says awkwardly, getting the guy's attention. He looks at her and smiles "Hi" he replies.
"Uh… thanks… I mean, for the drink" she says, pointing towards the girls. He nods "You're welcome… want to take a seat?" he asks. She nods and sits down next to him.
"So, what's your name?" he asks.
"Zatanna. Yours?"
"My name is Richard Grayson, but everyone calls me Dick" he says, shrugging a little. Zatanna laughs a little at this.
"Why Dick?" she asks curiously.
"Honestly, I don't remember anymore" Zatanna laughs at this "I guess the name just stuck"
"Well girls, our mission is accomplished" Raquel says, beaming proudly. Megan and Artemis laugh at this.
"Yeah, let's hope that she gets his number" Artemis says and looks around the bar when she spots three guys in a table near the stairs, looking over at the guy and Zatanna, the three of them laughing and pointing at them. She narrows her eyes.
"Uh… is everything alright Artemis?" Megan asks.
"Okay, I don't really like to accuse anyone of anything, but those guys look really suspicious to me" she says, pointing discretely at them. The other two girls look and see the same thing Artemis did.
"Oh, no they aren't! Let's get this story straight!" Raquel says, getting up from her seat quickly.
"Raquel, I don't think you should-" Megan starts but Raquel only holds a hand up to silence her. Artemis could see that there was no way they were going to change her mind, so she decided to tag along "Wait a second, I'm just going to tell Lindsay I'll take my break now"
Artemis runs to the employees room and straightens her clothes "Lindsay, can I take my break now please?" she asks. Lindsay looks up from the magazine she was reading and smiles at Artemis "Of course Artemis, just don't take long okay, I'll take your place while you have your break" she says, closing the magazine and getting up from the couch.
"Thank you Lindsay" Artemis says, already running out of the room and to the girls "I'm here"
"Awesome, let's go" Raquel says, striding over to the guys with a furious face. They stop laughing suddenly and look at the fuming female "May I ask what is it that you find so funny about those two?" she asks, pointing to her friend and the guy she's with.
"Wow! There's no need to freak out babe! We're just… looking" one of the guys says chuckling a little. Artemis eyes the guy. He has vibrant red hair, his face has a few freckles here and there, but what stuns her the most are his eyes… an emerald green color.
Raquel grabs his shirt collar and looks him in the eyes "You better not speak to me like that!" she says. Artemis was about to intervene but another guy had already gotten up and pulled her away from the guy.
"Let me go!" says Raquel and the guy who grabbed her let go of her.
"I apologize for that and for my friend's behavior" the guy says. He has dark skin and blond hair in a buzz cut. Raquel blushes furiously, realizing how she was behaving.
"I'm so sorry for my behavior too" she says "I just saw you staring and laughing at my friend and the guy who's with her… I guess I just entered 'defensive mode', you know… Anyways, I'm Raquel, this is Artemis and Megan" she says, pointing at the other two girls who wave at the guys.
"It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Kaldur'ahm but you can call me Kaldur. This is Wally West" he says, pointing to the red-haired "And this is Conner Kent" he says, pointing to the guy who has been quiet since their arrival. He has jet black hair with beautiful blue eyes. He nods at them and Artemis sees Megan blushing furiously and chuckles slightly. She nods her head at the guy too and goes back to listening to Raquel and Kaldur's conversation.
"He is our friend too, Dick Grayson. Actually, he had an eye on your friend since your arrival and we made a bet so that he would find the courage to go offer her a drink and indeed it worked" said Kaldur. Raquel and Kaldur kept chatting and Artemis eventually got bored, so she turned to Megan, who was standing there, looking timidly to the ground. Artemis elbows her slightly and she looks up. Artemis winks and whispers "Go for it M'gann". This only made Megan blush even more. Artemis looked at her clock and sighed.
"I've got to go… stay with Raquel and talk to him" she says, whispering the last part.
"No, I'll go with you" Megan says, walking to her.
"No way, you stay here and see if you pull yourself together, if you're both shy, you'll never talk in your life. You can do it Megan" Artemis says, waving at her as she walks away.
She goes to the counter again and warns Lindsay that she's back, so that the girl could go back to what she was doing. She attends a few more clients until she sees the guy -Wally was his name? – sitting in one of the bar chairs. She sighs and walks over to him.
"May I get you something?" she asks him. He smiles at her.
"'Course beautiful, I'll have a beer please" he says and Artemis glares at him.
"Don't… call me that" she growls.
"Maybe Arty is better? Or maybe goddess since your name is Artemis like the goddess of the moon and hunt" he winks at her.
"Oh, don't say! I didn't know that, it's not like almost everyone tells me that when they know my name" she says.
"Okay, so Arty it is!" he states.
"I never said you could actually call me that!"
"You never said I couldn't either!" he says back. She growls and turns away, walking to the fridge and getting his beer. She walks back to him and places the beer in front of him. She starts to walk away but is stopped by his voice "Hey, Arty, I think you forgot to open the beer!" he says. Artemis stops in her tracks and breaths in deeply. She turns around slowly with a fake smile on her face.
"Yes, of course I did" she says, picking up the beer and opening it "There Baywatch, is there something else I can do for you?" she asks sweetly. It's his time to growl at her nickname for him "Oh, no Arty, I'm fine thank you" he says. They growl at each other and she stomps away.
-xxx-
Finally, it's time for her to go home! Raquel, Zatanna and Megan left about half hour go and she was dying to go home.
She says her goodbyes to everyone and climbs the stairs, walking outside the club. She starts walking to her car, thinking about the night's events. She had never been as outgoing with people as she had been with the three girls she met. She talked so easily and freely with them, it was like they had already known each other for years. She smiles at herself, they were all so nice and funny. Zatanna had exchanged numbers with Dick and they spent all night talking with each other. Megan had the courage to talk to Conner and even if they two hadn't talked much since Conner isn't a very talkative person, they still exchanged numbers, the same for Raquel and Kaldur. Resuming, everyone got each other's numbers, even her.
A cool breeze washes past her and she shivers slightly. Ugh, why did I park my car so far away from the club… walking in the middle of all these trees can be intimidating she thinks to herself.
She stops in her tracks when she hears the sound of branches cracking. Her heart drops and she starts walking faster, trying to reach her car. When she finally arrives she realizes she had been running to get there. She unlocks her car and gets in, locking all doors. Even inside of the car she seems to listen footsteps walking in the direction of her car. She starts it quickly and drives off, trying to get home as fast as she can. Then she remembers it again… and because of what happened the words haunt her while she makes the rest of her journey home and even in her sleep.
.
You can't go! You can't go today!
.
The place you're about to go, is going to change your life forever.
It's time for decisions, it's now or never.
Don't do something you'll regret, you cannot turn back time,
Whatever you'll decide right now, is going to affect your whole life.
Think with your mind, think with your soul,
either you're going to God or the Devil will smash it all
.
Watch your steps young lady, you're in a lot of danger!
A/N: Hello, this is my first fan fiction for 'Young Justice' and I'm really excited about it :)
Please, give me your thoughts by reviewing or PM me :D
Thank you so much for reading and have a great weekend.