Author's Note: Glad there was such a positive response to this :) Here's the next chapter. This chapter is loosely based on Amy Winehouse's song "You Know I'm No Good." Great song by the way, it's a shame about her passing; she was very talented in my opinion. Anyways, on with the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.

Chapter Two: You Know I'm No Good

I cheated myself

Like I knew I would.

I told you, I was trouble

You know that I'm no good.

Roy kicked an aluminum can out of his way as he paced back and forth along the street outside of his—well, now former—apartment. He kept his head, down unable to shake his bad mood.

It was appropriate that it was dark outside, since Roy felt darker than he ever had on the inside. Artemis had been the one person in his life who had truly believed that he could get clean. She had been the one to get him clean.

Sure, Ollie had sent him to rehab a few times. But that was fobbing the problem off on someone else.

Dinah had tried to talk to him, but he just wouldn't listen.

His best friends, Wally and Dick, hadn't a clue with how to deal with his addiction. It was like he had grown three heads. Sure they still treated him the same, but the way that they had looked at him… Well it hadn't helped.

But Artemis had gotten through to him.

Roy had to admit that he had hated her from the moment he first met her. As far as he was concerned she was a liar and a suspicious character. He was Ollie's goddamn adopted son; he would've known if there was ever a niece in the family. Not to mention the fact that Artemis had taken his place on the team and had basically stolen his friends.

Not to mention the fact that she was a cold-hearted bitch. Quick to anger. Stubborn. Rude. Secretive. A know it all.

And Roy had come to love her and all of those things about her. Because she was also funny, extremely smart, and caring. Not to mention beautiful.

Roy could remember a few times, early on in their slowly developing friendship, that she came to him. They were on rocky terms, only having been 'friends' for a short time, and she had walked in on him shooting up.

He remembered the way her face had lit up in surprise, before being promptly replaced with a look of disgust. She had walked out immediately, ditching out on their dinner plans with Ollie and Dinah. After that, she didn't speak to him for an entire month, and for some reason, that made him feel even emptier.

He almost missed her rude remarks and sassy attitude.

A few months later when they were on better terms, they were supposed to go to the movies together. When Artemis arrived at Roy's apartment in the city, she found him sitting on the couch in his boxers, completely loaded. He remembered the way she screamed at him that he was an idiot and that she could never be friends with such a fuck up.

She forgave him the next week when Ollie called to tell her that he had overdosed and that he was in the hospital.

Roy felt like shit sitting alone in his hospital bed. Ollie and Dinah had come by to see him, despite the fact that he hadn't wanted any witnesses to his own stupidity. After the spiteful words that Artemis had spewed at him the week before, he'd felt the need to press on with his 'disgusting habit.'

Only more fervently.

Heroin was the only thing that could make him feel whole anymore.

Roy looked up as the door to his hospital room creaked open, flooding the darkened room with the light from the hallway. It was far too late for visitors and Roy was supposed to be sleeping.

"You could've died."

"And why do you care?" Roy asked, his voice devoid of any emotion, looking away from the blonde archer.

Artemis simply shrugged. As always, her attitude was calm and collected. "I don't know to be honest. But I feel like this is partly my fault."

Roy laughed blackly. "Trust me, this—" he gestured to his hotel bed and the IV currently sticking out of his arm "—is not your fault."

"I may not be the root cause," Artemis said, taking a seat next to the bed. "But I shouldn't have left things like I did. I had no right to yell at you about what you do on your own time."

Roy was silent for a moment. "Well thanks, but you're right."

"Always am," Artemis nodded. "Which is why I'm going to make you a deal."

Roy raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing on his lips. "A deal?"

"Don't worry it's simple," Artemis told him, her blue eyes serious. "As long as you stay clean, I'll stay your friend. If not, you can kiss our Monday night football parties goodbye."

"That's easier said than done."

Artemis narrowed her eyes. "You either wanna get clean or you don't. It's simple."

"But it's not." Roy was getting frustrated. Didn't she understand? Didn't she get that once you were addicted your body needed the drug? Needed it to survive. He couldn't just go cold turkey.

"The human brain is capable of extraordinary things," Artemis said, staring at the wall. "If I had an addiction to, say, Cheetos—" Roy snorted "—and I wanted to break it. I could blink and cure myself. You can do the same if you really want to be healthy."

Roy considered this. He knew she was right, logically. But on the other hand, he wanted the heroin, needed it to keep himself happy. It was a chemical addiction.

Artemis could see the struggle written on his face. "I'll help you. I promise."

Roy looked up surprised. "You will?"

Artemis nodded. "Friends don't let friends do drugs."

Roy snorted. "You get that off a cereal box?"

Artemis stood up, heading for the door. "Nope. It's just common sense." She pulled the door open, pausing before she left. "Call me when you get out."

Roy smiled at the memory. He'd thought she was joking. But the next time she saw fresh track marks on his arms, she really let him have it. She'd torn through his entire apartment and thrown out a couple grand's worth of heroin. She'd ransacked the place completely.

Roy remembered how angry he'd been. He'd shouted and screamed in her face and she hadn't even blinked. She'd just barked at him that he was the one who had wanted her help and if he was going to be such a baby about it, then maybe she'd just leave for good.

That had shut him up. He didn't want her to leave after all. She was the only one who didn't tip toe around his feelings just because he was an addict. He hated her for it, but at the same time it was what he needed.

Soon after, though, it was getting harder and harder to go without the heroin. She'd caught him sneaking out to see his dealer several times and once she'd even stopped a deal just as he was about to get his hands on some more product. He had been so close and then she'd just snatched it away.

After going without the heroin for a month—god a whole month—he thought he might go crazy. Artemis had practically become a permanent fixture in his apartment—she had really taken the 'helping him get clean' thing to heart. She'd make him chai tea almost every day and had taken to cooking Vietnamese food for him.

They'd taken to patrolling the city together, going to the gym together, anything to take his mind off of the heroin.

And it had worked. Artemis had treated him like a normal person, hadn't supported his behavior, and made sure that Roy was accountable for his actions.

Artemis helped him clean up his life and it hadn't taken him long to realize that the girl he would've sworn left and right that he had hated, had become the most important person in his life.

And now, she wanted him gone. She wasn't the one leaving this time, he was. He'd hurt her, and in doing so, he'd hurt himself. Artemis had filled the empty void in his life that heroin had left. And he'd hurt her.

Roy turned his head back to look at the apartment. He could see the outline of her silhouette still seated facing the window. He sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets, deciding that he should probably give her some space to cool off.

If she ever cools off, he thought blackly, crossing the street.