Roy made him nervous, and Wally couldn't shake the butterflies in his stomach as he headed toward his dorm room, fishing his keys out of his bag.

"-Wal -" he heard Dick say inside. He grinned.

"The one and only -" He slipped his keys in the door and opened it. " - how'd you kno - AUGH!"

He dropped his bag and covered his eyes as Dick and some half-naked girl dived under Dick's covers. Augh, had she been at his waist?

"DUDE, why weren't your shades on the door? There's a procedure for this sort of thing!"

"Oops," apologized a flushed Dick as the girl tittered - a titter Wally recognized. He peeked out between his fingers.

"You," he said as Artemis's mussed blonde ponytail peeked out from the covers. "You're that girl in my archery class."

"Yeah," Dick answered, and Artemis laughed again.

"You knew?" Wally groaned at his friend. "How could you not tell me, dude?"

"Uh …" Dick faltered. "It didn't seem relevant?"

Wally wrinkled his nose in distaste. "Look," he said, stumbling backwards. "Just -" He tripped over his bag a little - "I'll go downstairs, and you come get me when you're uh … done."

Artemis was sniggering again as Dick regarded him through half-lidded eyes.

"I - I have to study anyway - so -," Wally fished his bags together with one hand and stumbled away.

"... well that was awkward." Wally heard Dick mumble as the redhead tried to gather his things into some sort of transportable arrangement outside the door.

Artemis sighed. "In more ways than one, hmm?"

"- what? I don't - shhh! It was uh - Please … don't."

"... no worries …"

Her voice faded as Wally booked it down the hall.

"Ugh," Wally faceplanted onto the couch across from the RA front desk in the dorm lobby. The RA was a pretty brunette senior with bright blue eyes; she smiled at Wally. He was pretty sure she was on the swim team. What was her name? It sounded like a flower.

"Hard day?" she asked.

"Eh, kind of," Wally mumbled as he dug out his white archery manual. He didn't feel like studying; he lay back and covered his face with it instead. Kinda mean, but he hoped Dick wasn't too happy with Arty. Not really that interested in having her around.

As he reviewed shooting procedure, this thoughts drifted back to Roy today and … he felt distinctly uncomfortable. And even more uncomfortable when he thought he heard the archer's voice.

Uhh …

He sat up and saw Roy coming to the dorm door with an extremely hot dark-skinned boy with bleached hair. The captain of the swim team. The two boys flowed through the door, chatting and laughing. Suddenly, Wally found himself on the floor, hiding behind the couch.

"Hey, Roy, Kaldur," the girl at the desk said.

"Hi, Tula," Roy answered. Kaldur just smiled.

In comparison to Kaldur, the usually reserved Roy seemed almost perky, smiling and play-fighting with the swimmer. The three older students were clearly good friends. Wally felt a weird sense of annoyance, and he couldn't quite put his finger on the source. That annoyed him more.

Ding.

Artemis chose that moment to walk out of the elevator. She spotted Wally on his hands and knees, peeking not-so-stealthily from around the corner of the couch.

"What the hell are you doing back here?" she snorted, strolling up behind him.

Wally popped up a little too quickly and hit his head on the overhanging arm. "Ow. What are you doing here?"

"I came to tell you that you're in the clear, hot dog," she said, looking at him like he was dumb.

"Remember? Ten minutes ago?"

"Oh. Right."

"Anyway, what on earth were you doing on the - " She cut off and craned her head as she heard the group of older kids just out of her line of sight.

"I was, uh looking for my - uh"

"Is that Roy -?" Artemis interrupted the lying redhead as she peeked past the couch.

She turned and looked back at the stuttering boy. A strange look of confusion and disbelief flashed across her face before it dissolved into one of amusement.

"Roy," she called around the corner, waving her hand.

"What are you doing?" Wally hissed.

"I'm saying hi to my friend. What are you doing?"

"Uh, looking for my..."

Roy leaned back from the desk to spot Arty and walked over.

"Arty," he said as he gave her a friendly half hug. "Wally." He nodded at the younger boy.

"Hey Roy," Wally replied, maybe a shade too brightly. "I'm just looking for my pencil."

Roy cocked his head with a confused expression. "Ok."

"So that I can study. For class tomorrow."

Roy grinned, and Wally's heartbeat picked up a notch. "Planning on passing after all? That's always nice."

"Yeah."

"So where are you and Kaldur off to?" Artemis asked.

"Oh uh, Kaldur and I are … and Tula," Roy added, almost as an afterthought, "We're just going to grab drinks at The Watchtower."

"Ooh, mind if I invite myself along?"

Roy narrowed his eyes. "It hasn't been your birthday yet this year, has it?"

Artemis cocked her hip and pulled out her wallet. "This driver's license says that it has," she smirked.

Roy chuckled and sighed. "Man, if Ollie knew what I let you get away with."

Roy turned to Wally and raised his eyebrows. "Twenty-one yet?"

The twenty-year-old redhead shrugged and shook his head, flushing. His last fake ID had gotten confiscated by a particularly mean RA. Too bad he didn't look like the more his diminutive brunette roommate. Dick had at least half-a-dozen IDs upstairs.

"- his roommate's sort of expecting him anyway," Artemis said with a pointed look.

"What?" Wally said, confused. "Since when does Dick keep tabs on me?"

"You're making me leave for no reason? Go talk to your roommate," Artemis said firmly.

Wally sent a strange look her way. "I … should study anyway, I guess."

"Too bad. Maybe next time," Roy shrugged.

Kaldur came up behind them and lay a hand on Roy's shoulder … and left it there. Wally frowned.

"Roy. I must get my wallet from my room. Can Tula and I meet you outside?" His voice was smooth and lilting; Wally wondered where he came from. It was beautiful.

Roy smiled brightly back at his friend and returned the gesture with a pat on the arm. "Sure, Kaldur."

The dark-skinned boy grinned and jogged off to his room as Roy turned back to Artemis. "Ready?"

"Sure thing. Bye, kid!" Artemis said.

"... wait, is that directed at me? You're not even older-"

"I'll wait for Kaldur," Tula interrupted from across the room. "See you soon!" Roy gave her a wave as he and Arty went out the door.

Wally sighed and collected his things. Shit. He actually had lost his pen. The runner shouldered his bag and wandered over to the RA desk, where he rifled through a pencil holder on the desk. Tula raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, beautiful, mind if I … ah, borrow one of these?" Wally folded his elbows and leaned forward, flashing his most charming smile.

"Any friend of Arty's is a friend of mine," Tula nodded.

Wally snorted. "Artemis? I wouldn't be friends with that stuck-up … er, she's not my friend."

"Really?" Tula said. "Then … you're friends with Roy? That's hard to do. Congratulations."

"Er, no. I mean, I'm just in his archery class." Wally paused. "Seems like he and Arty are real good friends though ..."

"Yeah, they go way back."

"Oh, like .. brother and sister way back? I'm just sayin' cause she was up with my roommate a while ago, and if there's something he shou -" Wally was feeling strangely protective.

"Roy and Arty?" Tula busted out laughing.

Wally shuffled, not getting the joke. "Uh, pretty silly I guess, yeah."

Tula stifled her giggles. "Well, Artemis probably wouldn't mind, but the only thing straight about Roy is his arrows."

"...oh. Huh."

"Yeah, he's left quite a few girls with broken hearts in his wake," Tula grinned.

"But not …" Wally took a stab in the dark. "Kaldur?" What am I fishing for anyway? It's none of my business.

Tula's smile became a little bittersweet. "Oh, ah, no, Roy and Kaldur aren't …"

"Tula," Kaldur's rich baritone cut in as he emerged from the hall. Smiling softly, he leaned over and planted a kiss on her cheek. "Are you ready?"

Tula leaned into the kiss and grinned.

"Sorry to steal her away," he addressed Wally. "But we are running late."

Wally shook his head. "No problem. Have fun."

Tula locked up the RA desk and slipped her arm around Kaldur's waist as they waltzed out the door. The runner waved after them and grabbed the pencil before heading up the elevator.

No, Roy and Kaldur were definitely "not."

Wally knocked firmly on the door to his room. "Hey Dick, I'm standing out here. I'm going to get my keys now. I'm putting them in the lock …" he teased.

The door swung open, and an irritated gymnast leaned into the hall. "Just come in already, idiot."

Wally grinned and tossed his bags beside his desk and grabbed a soda out of their mini-fridge. "Whatever. You weren't the one traumatized half an hour ago."

Dick loped back to his computer screen and perched on his chair, pulling his head phones over his neck.

"Wasn't I?" he laughed.

"Dude, you have to follow procedure," Wally whined. "And besides, it wasn't that so much as … Artemis? Really?"

"She's nice." Dick shrugged, half-typing away at a C++ program he was working on.

Wally snorted. "Ok, not the first term to come to mind. And to see her with you ..."

Dick swallowed and looked at Wally out of the corner of his eye. "Why, are you jealous or something?"

"Not even. I'm mean, she's hot and all, but really? I mean, kind of a suck up."

"A suck up?"

"In class. I mean, she's all buddy buddy with Roy -"

"- your archery teacher -"

"- yeah, my archery … hey how did you know that?"

Dick fidgeted, drifting back and forth in his swivel chair. "I did just … hang out with Artemis for a while."

"- anyway, he's our teacher, but not really, you know, right? He's just graduated, just a couple of years older than us, but she's all like all over him." Wally held up his hands and backpedaled. "But it's ok dude, don't worry because he's -"

"- gay?"

"- yes. What? How did you know that already?"

Dick shrugged again, tapping a pen on his desk now as he listened impatiently. "Yeah, uhm, anyway - I kinda want to -"

"Dude," Wally prattled on, "I just found out because he was downstairs -"

Dick spun away from the desk now and looked at Wally steadily. "Roy was downstairs?"

"Yeah, he asked me out for drinks - "

The gymnast was totally still now. "... your gay archery teacher asked you out for drinks?"

"Well, uh, no, not really. I mean, kind of, but actually Artemis had just invited herself along, and he was already going with Kaldur, and I was just there, so it would have been weird if they hadn't at least asked."

Wally threw his hands in the air. "It was too bad, too, because if that asshole RA hadn't confiscated my ID, I could have gone to The Watchtower."

Dick was frowning almost imperceptibly. "I thought you didn't like Artemis," he said carefully.

"Pfft, I don't, but …" Wally floundered, unsure of what Dick was getting at. "... The Watchtower is always cool, right? No matter the company."

"... Right." Dick spun around again and stared at his computer screen.

Wally sat on his bed, breathless. "Yeah, so you and Artemis? For real?"

Dick shook his head stiffly. "No."

"Oh." Wally frowned. "I'm sorry. I didn't screw it up, did I? Busting in like that -"

"It's ... not your fault," Dick said, not really looking away from the screen.

"I mean, I also didn't really mean what I said about her and Roy; I was just kind of exaggerating for comedic effect, you know?"

"No, it's not that. It's ok." Dick was speaking very evenly, carefully. "I'm not really into her."

He was taking too long to string words together while he clicked through different programs on his computer. "It's fine. She's fine, too."

Wally was used to Dick multi-tasking like no one else. Even when the brunette seemed like he was only half-listening to everything Wally said, he actually remembered every word, and Wally knew he had Dick's full attention. Usually. But something was off.

"You ok? You seem a little - upset? preoccupied? - weird. Something on your mind?"

"What?" Dick spun around again, smiling broadly, hands up and open. "Nope!"

He stood up and stretched. "I am going to hit the gym, though, Wally. You want to come?"

Wally dug out his archery handbook. "Sorry, I gotta study for the archery exam. If I don't pass it, I don't pass the class."

Dick kind of deflated. "Yeah, ok."

He pulled together his gear and slipped on some sneakers. "I can still drop it for you if you want, you know."

"Nah, I'm cool." Wally waved him off as he as plopped down on his low-setting dorm bed.

"Then good luck with that," Dick said, smiling wanly as he stepped out the door.

The test had gone fine, and Wally watched with one eye as the other students milled about after the class. He kept practicing; he still had only been able to graze the target today. It was a lot easier since he'd switched arms, but even so.

The grass was crisp and seemed unusually bright in the morning sun; the dew caught every ray and reflected brilliantly across the field. The breeze was strong but pleasant, and smelled like jasmine.

Wally shrugged away all of the distractions but one as he took his open stance: the archer in red, shades on, chatting with students just across the field. And then it was like they evaporated, and Roy was right there.

"You're still not quite getting it, are you, Wally?" he said, not unkindly.

Wally flushed. He thought that he was; he thought that he did. He felt embarrassed that he still hadn't figured it out; he felt like a disappointment.

Roy was around behind him again, inches away. "Let me show you," he murmured. "Draw back for me."

Wally did as he was told: even breathing, high elbow -

"- almost Wally," Roy said, soothingly, just beyond his ear. "Just relax a little here -"

- and this is where Roy would usually tap his drawing arm to inch it into the right, but not today - today he ran his hand gently under Wally's bicep, cupping his arm and pulling it back. Wally sucked in a breath sharply.

"I'm going to have to lean in a little to see your line of sight," he continued softly; Roy's breath fell over Wally's neck, and now past his ear, and Wally could feel the heat from Roy's jaw on his own freckled cheek. He struggled to keep his breathing even, to match the steady in-out of the archer's, but he was starting to shake.

"Don't try so hard, Wally," Roy encouraged. "The line of your arm here -" He brushed his fingers lightly all the way down the underside Wally's front arm. "- is perfect."

Goosebumps trailed after his touch until Roy wrapped his index finger and thumb around Wally's wrist by the bow. "- just stay steady here," he whispered, and tucked his chin a little farther over Wally's shoulder.

Oh God, if Wally just turned his head to the left he could kiss -

"And be sure to keep your core firm," Roy's other hand dropped Wally's bicep and ran, palm flat, down over Wally's abs; Roy's hand was so warm that it was almost like he wasn't wearing a shirt at all, and now his fingertips were brushing the waistband of his shorts - and he was totally about to lose control of his draw.

"OW!"

"Wake up."

Wally and his mattress, half-dragged off the supports of his low bed, were on the floor. He caught just a glimpse of his roommate in pajamas above him, stalking away and hopping back into his chair, chin braced on one propped-up knee.

"What the hell?"

"Sorry. Throwing things wasn't working," he said to his screen.

Wally glanced over at the rest of his bed and spotted a couple of comic books, a koosh ball, and four or five pens littering the part of mattress still on the supports.

"Sorry, I uh … was I …?" He tried not to sound nervous as the somewhat concerning elements of his dream came flooding back.

"It's fine."

"Uh are you sur - crap, what time is it? I forgot to set an alarm before I fell asleep for ...!" Wally popped up to look at the clock before popping right back down under his covers since he was … er, well, it was morning. Wally, swallowed, embarrassed. "... my test," he finished lamely.

"Don't worry, your inner monologue wouldn't let me forget," Dick said a little wearily, eyes on his computer screen.

"My inner monologue?" Wally squeaked.

"Well, let's just say I know how to tune your bow." Dick's ears turned a little pink as he realized how bad that sounded. "Honestly, it was mostly nonsense. Grapefruits and race cars."

"Oh. I'm really sorr - "

The brunette shook his head, adjusting his large, full coverage headphones. "It's ok. I still got work done. You better hurry and shower though, you're gonna be late."

"Yeah." Wally pulled his shampoo and a change of clothes out of the closet. "Uhm, thanks Dick. For being my alarm clock. Good thing you're such a nightowl."

Dick, still typing away, barked a dry laugh. "... anytime. Apparently."

Wally grinned. "Actually, just 6am Mondays, Wednesdays, Thurs will work for now, ... bro."

Wally juggled his stuff into one arm and held out a fist. The gymnast finally glanced over with a wry smile and met Wally's fist with his own.

"No worries, West. Now get going."

"See you at dinner."

Wally shut the door behind him and made his way to the showers, carefully obscuring the view of his morning wood from his friend and all the guys in their hall. He'd … have to take care of that there. Preferably without dwelling too much on the dream. As much as possible. Could his face get any redder?