Announcement: This story is hereby canceled. I've got book publishing, travel, and other life things to take care of. User Grenouille Laide has expressed interest in picking up the story, so they will be continuing the fic in my place. I'm putting my trust in you, so don't mess it up.

"The Valentine Club?" Megan echoed, turning to look at Wally.

He nodded excitedly and pulled her over to the bar, weaving through the people who had crowded around. They were all busy talking and watching the others on the dance floor, drawn in by the liveliness of the atmosphere. They were all dressed in evening wear; the men with their suits and the women with their dresses and headpieces, adorned with pearls or feather boas around their necks.

"This place is great, you'll see." He motioned for her to sit in one of the bar stools as he sat down on the one next to her. "Oy, Artemis! What's a guy gotta do to get some service around here?"

The bartender turned and glared at him, hand on her hip. Megan's eyes shifted from him to her and back. They obviously had some history together. She wondered if perhaps she was his girlfriend.

"Brought another plaything?" Artemis said, snatching a bottle from one of the shelves and pouring it's contents into a two glasses. She slid them across the bar, with more force than was needed, but Wally caught them easily in his hands.

"If you weren't so bitter, maybe you'd be out on the dance floor instead of stuck behind the bar," he replied as he handed Megan a glass.

Both glared at each other and Megan was sure they were going to jump at each others throats. Instead, Artemis turned around with a 'humph' and continued serving the guests. Megan looked down at her glass, wrinkling her nose at the sight of the clear liquid inside.

"What's this?" she asked, moving her glass and making the liquid slosh around.

Wally drank his in one gulp before answering. "Whiskey."

"No thanks!" She slid the glass over to him, leaning back from it as if it were the most repulsive thing she'd ever seen. "I don't drink."

"It'll loosen you up," he insists, inching the glass back to her, a wide grin on his face.

"No, I really should be going. Thanks anyway...Ah!" As she gets up to leave, he cuts in front of her and snatches her wrists, pulling her along with him to the dance floor, avoiding the moving bodies of the dancers. She suddenly finds herself within the crowd on the dance floor, in a flurry of moving feet and swaying sashes.

"Just one dance, please?" He pulled her close to him, not giving her much of a choice.

Megan bit her lip. She wasn't comfortable in this place, even if it was lively and seemingly fun. Of course that was probably the influence of her uncle speaking. Because at the same time, there was something bubbling up inside of her. It started when this strange young man first grabbed her hand and led her more and more into this underground world of illegal activity. Megan could practically hear her uncle's voice in her head, telling her to leave and not turn back. But the curiosity for this new world she encountered was slowly beginning to grow. Besides, just one dance wouldn't hurt.

"Alright," she said slowly, just as the current song the band was playing ended. "But just one."

As the band began to play a new tune, everyone kicked their feet in time with the rhythm of the music. Wally kicks his foot back and Megan's own mirrors him as they ride the upswing wave of music that begins to fill the room. At first she's hesitant and waiting for it to be over, but the more she bends her knees and stamps her feet with the music, the more that feeling slips away. A coy smile creeps onto her young face and this is how Wally knows he's gotten to her. Her foot kicks outward and she finds herself pressed just slightly closer to him as they dance. A slight blush begins to creep onto her cheeks and she tries to hide it. She cannot - however hard she may try - to hide the small laugh that escapes her lips as she's among the flurry of jumping skirts and sashes, women's and men's legs twisting from side to side, bending first one leg than the other. The atmosphere is intoxicating and if she didn't know any better, she'd say she had partaken in the whiskey she'd been served.

"Having fun?" Wally asked, having to lean in closer to be heard amongst the uproar.

"Just a little," Megan responded, still trying to hold on to that reluctance, even as it was already slipping away.

He raised an eyebrow at her response, not calling her bluff. But if she was intent on playing hard to get, he wasn't about to complain. Her facade was already slipping. Girls like her, that's how they where. Their parents always sheltered them from the wild and 'immoral' lifestyles of the modern society, but it only made matters worse when they slip up and they're suddenly among the 'wrong crowd'. Everything they were told not to touch, suddenly becomes curious and irresistible, like a child drawn to candy store.

As the music ends, the couples come to a stop, but do not move away as they normally would. The same could be said for Megan and Wally, although she did try.

"Once more?" he asked.

"I really shouldn't..." She looks up into those green eyes and it's almost hard to say no.

"Alright, alright. How about we take a break before the next one?"

She nodded and they made their way back to the bar. Artemis was still busy serving the customers as they came, moving back and forth.

"You should really loosen up. Think of this as my way of apologizing for that scare I gave you earlier," he said.

"I thought the drink was your way of apologizing."

"A two in one."

She laughs and then bites her lip again, twiddling her fingers. All that reluctance she felt earlier had slipped away, but the one thing she couldn't shake was that voice in the back of her head. The reprimanding voice of her uncle. Her resolve beings to waver and she's unsure of what to do.

"You know, I really should go. I promised my uncle I'd only go to my friend's party," she said, looking at him with guilty eyes.

Wally sighed, this one was going to be tougher than he'd expected. Why were the pretty ones always this much trouble? He racked his brain for a suitable answer to calm her down.

"We'll make a compromise," he said. "One more hour, then I take you home. Deal?"

"I guess one more hour couldn't hurt," she said, only too happy to stay and enjoy the night's festivities. But she still had to keep her dignity. "Then I go home."

"Let's go then," he said and pulled her back onto the dance floor.

She happily obliged and they fell into the familiar steps of the foxtrot, his feet moving forward while her's moved back, moving around along with the other couples. As they spun around, she found herself facing the bar and could have almost sworn Artemis was giving her a hostile look. The dancers moved in her line of vision and obstructed her view, so she passed it off as just her mind playing tricks as she focused on her dancing once more. They spent the rest of the hour this way, taking few short breaks in between, but all the while she was enjoying every minute. And at some point, she began to wonder if she would have had this much fun had she gone to her friend's party, with the same old crowd she's been around with over and over again.

"...and then BAM, he nearly gets his head blown clean off," Wally said, emphasizing the 'bam' with his hands. He had begun to recount an eventful 'run' (whatever that meant; he didn't tell and honestly she didn't want to ask.) that had occurred to him and two of his friends a couple of months ago. This was, apparently, his version of 'small talk' to pass the time as he escorted her home. Funny how they both had different versions of what constituted a normal conversation.

Megan stared at him as they walked down the street, on their way to her home. She was recoiling a bit from the gruesome details of his story. "That's...nice."

"It's a tricky business, y'see. One mistake and you're gone, just like that. But it is rather fun at times, so I can't complain," he said, adjusting his flat cap.

"And what sort of business would that be, Mr. West? I noticed you've neglected to tell me that miniscule detail." She signaled that they had arrived in front of her house and they made their way to the front door. It was a two-story construct, very charming with it's light yellow-cream color and near olive shutters. Their lawn was as well-kept as their house, with neatly trimmed grass and bushes near the porch.

"Nice house, what does your uncle do for a living?"

"Don't change the subject," she chided as they made their way up the porch steps. She squinted her eyes at him.

"Well...how about you come back tomorrow?" he invited.

"To the Valentine Club? What for?"

He nodded. "So I can show you what sort of business I partake in. And I can introduce you to the guys. Just be careful with Connor. He's got a bad temper."

"Listen Wally, I had a good time-"

"Good? Just 'good'?"

Megan rolled her eyes. "Alright, I had a great time. Honestly, I haven't had that much fun in ages. But it's just not right for a lady to be in such places. My uncle would never approve."

"Then don't tell him," Wally said, snatching up both of her hands. "It'll be our little secret."

"I could never-"

"Oh come on, we might be involved with...certain, almost insignificant, criminal activity, but we aren't kidnappers or anything. You'll be fine, plus, you'll be with me."

"That's what I'm worried about," she frowned, remembering his earlier story.

"Just come. If you don't like it, I'll bring you back. I didn't disappoint you tonight did I?"

"No." She sighed. "Alright Wally, what time?"

"Come at around noon, if I'm not around wait for me at the bar. Don't worry, Artemis will probably be there too so you won't be alone."

"Fine, but promise to bring me straight home when I ask and no more dilly-dallying like tonight."

"I promise, I promise. See ya tomorrow then." He leaned forward and pressed his lips to her cheek, much to her surprise.

He waved goodbye with his flat cap in his hand and scurried off into the night. She waved after him, wondering just what kind of friendship ties she was beginning to get herself tied in with.

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the first chapter. I promise, the next chapter will feature some new characters. I didn't want to cram everyone into this one.

As for the pairings in this fic, don't judge who's with who just yet. There's still more to come. I won't say which pairings will be presented, I'll just let you see where it goes from here. Thank you for the suggestions, but I pretty much know where this fic is going to and who's playing what role. I do appreciate the input though. Oh and no, the cast will not have powers in this fic, since it's placed in the Roaring Twenties. I could add them in, but that wouldn't feel right to me. Anyways, hope you like this chapter.

Questions, comments, critiques, you know where they go.