a/n: I know I shouldn't be starting another multichapter fic when I have so many other things to update, but what can I say? Inspiration struck. Please leave a review if you enjoy this or have any criticism :)

This is the Why

pt.1

The One With the Woosh

-o-

One second, she's telling Megan about her painfully boring summer; the next, she's picking her jaw up off the floor. She considers getting her eyes checked because there's no way the crisp piece of man-meat that just walked through the double doors is Wally-friggin-West. He waves, and she waves back- thoroughly convinced his 'stay at summer camp' was actually a front for Extreme Makeover: Dweeb Edition.

Before she can tell him exactly that, the first bell rings and he takes off towards the eight o'clock AP Physics class he complained about in his letters all summer. His hair wooshes as he rounds the corner. Artemis racks her brain to figure out when the hell it started doing that.

"Did you see that?" Artemis's stunned eyes snap back to Megan.

"See what?" Megan turns away from organizing her locker to look at Artemis.

"That," Artemis clarifies, waving a hand at the doorway as the second bell rings. A few kids run inside, nearly tripping over each other in their haste to get to class.

"The two-minute rush?" Megan asks, shutting her locker carefully. The pictures of her summer trip to Chicago still fall from where she taped them inside the door. She sighs, defeated.

"No, it was- the woosh-... nevermind," she grumbles, picking her backpack off the floor. "Let's just go. Wouldn't want to keep Carr waiting."

As they walk to class, Artemis struggles to shake off the strange bubbling of excitement and anxiety she felt in her chest when Wally waved at her in the hallway. It has to be a trick of the mind, or indigestion from last night's Big Belly Burger, because there is absolutely no way Wally West could have that kind of effect on her. Ever.

-o-

She's proven very wrong at lunch.

When her fingers hit the cold metal of the lunch table instead of her food, she comes to realize just what kind of an effect Wally has on her. She tears her eyes away from where he's chatting with his track friends to rejoin her own group's conversation, only to find half of them gone and the other half staring at her...staring at Wally. Shit.

"Where'd it go?" Artemis asks, quickly pointing at the spot her pistachio bag once occupied.

"I'm sorry." Karen pulls the bag out from behind her back. Instead of giving it back, she tosses it to Megan across the table. "You have eaten fifty-seven pistachios in the last five minutes. We're cutting you off."

"You were counting?" Artemis asks in disbelief.

"We couldn't look away," Megan admits, her concerned eyes glancing from Artemis to the bag. "It was like a car accident. We had to step in."

Karen nods. "I could've thrown a pebble in there and you would have eaten it. You were so zoned out."

"Yeah, zoned out," Artemis repeats, nodding quickly. 'Zoned out' is better than 'honed in on a certain redheaded track star'. She couldn't help it, really. She'd already spent half the morning trying to pinpoint the moment when Wally West, patron saint of bad pick-up lines and geekhood, became, dare-she-say, desirable to her. Sneaking glances at him throughout lunch didn't clear anything up. If anything, it made her painfully more aware of the new tan and pronounced freckles on his face. His hair kept wooshing every time he threw his head back to laugh at some (probably) immature joke. It was awful. "Thanks for not feeding me rocks. Where are Bette and Wendy?"

"Where aren't they? They're running around campus introducing themselves to everyone again. Wendy's running for homecoming coordinator this year and Bette wants to be a princess." Karen goes on to discuss the controversy surrounding the janitor and last year's vote processing, but all Artemis can think about is the fact she has history class with Wally after lunch. A copy of his schedule is bunched up at the bottom of her backpack, still right where she threw it after it fell out of his last letter. She sneaks one last glance at him from across the yard before throwing out the PG-13 thoughts that keep invading her mind whenever she looks at him.

She resolves to keep them away for the rest of the day, or at least until she can figure out why the hell they even exist.

It's easier said than done.

-o-

History goes better than expected, mostly because she expected the worst.

Ms. Lance lets them sit wherever they'd like and Wally chooses the seat directly behind her at the back of the room. For the first half of class, she's perfectly fine with the arrangement. Out of sight, out of mind. She's never been more interested in 18th century New York. Then a folded up note falls onto her desk as Wally passes by to "sharpen a pencil" and all hope of making it through class without thoughts disappears. Ms. Lance definitely sees his attempt at slight of hand, if the look she gives Artemis is anything to go by. Artemis sends her an apologetic shrug before slipping the note into her lap and hoping for mercy. Ms. Lance lets it slide and goes on with her lecture, most likely because Artemis babysat for her and Coach Oliver over the summer. Those seemingly endless hours defusing the Ticking Tantrum Bomb (also known as Sin) paid off in more ways than one.

The second Ms. Lance flips the lights off and presses play on the cheesy "Welcome Back" video the student leaders put together over summer, Artemis flips open Wally's note and smothers a smile.

'Nice to finally see you today, even if it is the back of your head. Sorry I couldn't stop and talk this morning. Of course my alarm didn't go off on the first day of school. Just my luck. Anyways, I owe you one (maybe even two). I barely avoided getting Mean Janine as my lab partner. Cross intervened, just like you said he would. I hope you'll tell me how you have all the teachers wrapped around your finger someday. On that note, Help Me! I'm begging (again)! Please tell me you have an in with the new librarian, Artemis. I forgot to return my bio book before I went to camp and now I owe like thirty dollars in late fees. Jenni would've voided them but she's gone and the new lady honestly scares me a little. Save me. P.S. Conner is my lab partner now. He was reluctant at first, but I told him it wouldn't be like Chem and he believed me... he's too trusting... that poor kid...'

Artemis moves the paper onto the desk and tucks it into the pages of her notebook. She pens her reply with unprecedented care, pretending to take notes on the reading schedule Ms. Lance has outlined on the board.

'Let's be real; you owe me at least seven by now. And keep hoping. It's a trade secret. (By the way, Ms. Lance totally saw you pass this note. You aren't stealthy. She didn't chew you out because of me. That makes eight.) As much as I'd love to have you grovel at my feet, you should know that Jesse (new librarian) is extremely nice. You should be begging her for help, not me. And try not to hurt Conner. He's too pretty, and Megan will be upset if he has a black eye in their homecoming pictures. I won't be able to save you from her. Speaking of Megan, are you going to her party next Saturday or not? RSVP-ing is a thing, you know? Don't write back. I don't think Lance will let you get away if she catches you a second time. Tell me after class. I'll let Megan know.'

Artemis reads over her words twice before scrawling a quick 'P.S. Welcome back, West' at the bottom of the paper. She folds the note back up, tucks it in her palm, and makes sure Ms. Lance is facing the board before fake-tucking a stray hair behind her ear and tossing the note onto Wally's desk behind her in one fluid motion. That's how you do it, she smiles to herself.

When the bell rings, Artemis turns around in her seat and immediately regrets it. Too close.

"Hey," Wally greets her with a bright smile and equally bright eyes. "I'm definitely going."

"Cool," is all she replies before turning back around and stuffing her notebook into her backpack. Stop it, she orders herself. It's just Wally. She stands and puts on her backpack before nodding for him to follow her out of the classroom.

"I've got Prince next. You have... Kent last right?" He asks, examining a strip of paper he had pulled from his pocket. It's the tiny copy of her schedule she sent in her last letter. "Nice."

"Yeah. I got pretty lucky," she says, smiling. "I could've gotten Hall. Or worse-"

"Snart." They say in unison, laughing as they pass by the coldest classroom on campus. One prepared student puts on a scarf as they enter the room.

"He does it on purpose, you know?" Artemis shakes her head. "He thinks that a colder environment makes you more focused on the task at hand."

Wally rolls his eyes as they turn a corner. "When I was in his class, I was more focused on keeping my fingers and toes from turning blue than on the nuances of geography."

"Ain't that the truth," Artemis says with a snort. They reach a fork in the hall and stand near the lockers to avoid blocking hall traffic. It isn't until the two-minute warning bell rings and people start speed-walking that they look at each other and sigh.

"I'll see you later?" Artemis asks. Her hopeful tone surprises herself.

"Totally," he says with a smile and a nod and Artemis feels the same bubbling excitement from the morning return with a vengeance. As he turns away to walk to class, his hair wooshes.

She takes a deep breath, strides towards Mr. Kent's sunshine-filled classroom, and asks herself the question she's been trying to answer all day.

What the hell was that?