Title: Tangible Hand Holding
By: Xmarksthespot
Disclaimer: I don't own YJ
Notes: Thanks for the love! I really appreciate your feedback and I'm sorry this chapter took so long.
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Hey Wally, just wanted to write you this letter to say how much I'm going to miss you here at Central.
It was late in the evening when Wally finally let out a groan in frustration, throwing his pencil aside and leaning back in his chair. It wasn't the math problems that were giving him trouble though, but rather, the blonde behind him, sprawled across his bed with a book in hand. Now, she wasn't particularly loud whenever she flipped the pages, but the idea that there was someone else in the room was what bothered Wally the most; he just couldn't focus.
"What do I have to do to make you leave?" He asked, spinning around in his chair.
Tossing the item in her hands aside, she looked up. "You could get better books."
"I'm serious here. You can't keep hanging out here all the time. Do you realize how difficult it is to concentrate when you're always floating around?"
"If you haven't noticed, I have legs. I don't float like those stereotypical, crappy ghosts on TV."
Ghosts don't exist, ghosts don't exist…he repeated in his mind, but voiced: "Well I'm going to be studying a lot and I can't do that with you in the room. And what happens when I have friends over, and all I can focus on is trying to get you to stop touching my stuff," he said as he jumped from his seat and swiped a worn out journal from her grasp.
She snickered. "Really Baywatch, I may not have known you for long, but will you really have friends here?"
"Get out!"
.
I wish your aunt and I had some room here for you and your mom – Don and Dawn would've loved you two – but I'm pretty sure Gotham won't have crying babies at three in the morning and trust me, you'll appreciate that more.
His mother was finishing up in the kitchen by the time Wally stuck his head into the fridge, grabbing a bucket full of ice cream and shoving his face with it. Mary West always scolded him for doing that, especially when they were at his aunt's and uncle's house, but in times like this, he needed something to cool him down.
"Don't stay up too late, Wally, or you'll be late for the bus to school again," she told him.
Wally gulped down the rest of the double fudge brownie ice cream before replying, "Actually Dick offered to pick me up tomorrow, so I'm good. We have first period together, anyway."
She smiled warmly. "Oh that boy – you'll thank him again for doing all this for us, won't you?"
He bounced off of the counters and tossed his spoon into the pool of soap and water before throwing the empty container into the trash bin. "Will do, mom. Do you need any help here or is everything good?"
"S'all good, Wally."
"You took your medication?"
She nodded. "That reminds me, I left you some antacids in your backpack in case you eat yourself sick again at school – you don't want the same thing to happen at Gotham Academy's washrooms as your old school," she said with a chuckle.
"Mom!"
.
Remember to stock up the mini fridge I got you so you won't get into trouble like last time, and if you do forget, try being a little more quiet when sneaking out into the kitchen at night, so your mom won't think you're a burglar.
His room was a mess by the time he got back into it, which created an instant frown.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me! I just finished setting everything up and you had to go and ruin it!" He cried after shutting the door behind him. He waved his arms in exaggeration while he walked up to the blonde by his bookshelf.
She was reaching for another book when he grabbed hold of her wrist to stop her.
"I've only been here for two days and you're already done reading all my books?" Wally asked, flabbergasted.
She rolled her eyes. "I haven't read all of them, but you only have science fiction and non-fiction books like some nerd. Honestly, don't you have any better books?"
"Like what?" Wally questioned, reaching out for all the books on his bed and stacking them back onto his shelf, grumbling complaints so low, she couldn't hear.
She shrugged. "I don't know; how about some action, or adventure? Books with vampires or aliens or –"
"Pfft," Wally couldn't help but snicker.
"What?" The girl snapped at him.
"Why would I read books on something that doesn't exist?" He asked as a matter-of-factly.
She gave him a face. "You don't believe in vampires or aliens?"
Finally finishing his cleanup work – though his books weren't in the particular order that he wanted them to be – Wally sat back down onto his chair, eager to finish up his pre-calculus homework and head to bed. He shook his head to reply to the blonde. "There are no such things as vampires, or fairies, or aliens," he listed. "No point wasting my time with trivial things."
"You can't even open up your mind a little bit? Just enough to get me some books?" She asked, feigning innocence. "I mean, ghosts exist, so why c—"
"Whoa, whoa there!" Wally held both of his hands up, spinning around to sit in a backwards position on his chair. "Who said anything about believing in ghosts?"
The girl stared at him incredulously, unsure if he was joking or not—it was a really bad joke if he was. "Are you actually saying you don't believe in ghosts? What would I be then?"
He didn't miss a beat. "Radioactive mutation caused by –"
"You're kidding…"
"Look, there's no scientific explanation proving that ghosts exist. For all I know, you could be the product of some hallucinogenic effect made by my brain or something."
She snorted. "Baywatch, the idea of you being dropped on your head as a baby may be plausible, but I doubt your imagination is creative enough to create me."
.
And keep up with school – I hear Gotham Academy has girls in uniforms, but don't let them distract you. Remember what I always tell you, kid: staring is unhealthy.
"So I've been thinking…" The blonde said the moment Wally opened the door to his room.
"Great," Wally muttered sarcastically as he dropped his school bag onto the floor. The second day of school wasn't too bad aside from the fact that the teacher caught him and Dick talking in the middle of class and spent the rest of the period picking on the pair.
And for a kid being on scholarship—for science—he sure made a (foamy) mess in chemistry when Dick decided to do some experimenting. Okay, so he sort of encouraged the younger boy to pour in the beaker of hydrochloric acid that was certain to erupt down the funnel. Wally hoped Mr. Wayne wasn't too disappointed that within the first two days of school, he had managed to tarnish Dick's perfect reputation amongst the staff.
"So what did you spend the entire day thinking about?" Wally asked, hoping that she'll discuss some real estate plans and relocating. But the sight of the girl sitting on his bed with crossed legs, Wally knew she looked too comfortable.
"We might as well be civil with one another," she said.
The redhead sighed. "…Why does that sound like you're not planning on leaving me alone any time soon?"
The blonde frowned in annoyance. "Look, you can yell at me and threaten me all you want and you can decorate this room however you want it, but this place?" She spread out her arms. "This is the only place in the entire city that I feel most at peace with since I died. I don't know why, but don't you think you could at least let me have some sort of comfort?"
Wally didn't respond.
.
Anyway, you know how much your aunt and I are going to miss you, so call us often! – Uncle Barry
There were many carvings along the wooden framework of the desk that was left behind by the previous owners. Why there were hanged men or a bunch of foreign words, he didn't know, but there was one particular word that captured his attention—though since he and the girl had last spoken, just about anything would grab hold of his interest.
Freedom.
The word was etched onto the corner of the desk, and it made Wally rethink this entire situation. He looked over to the other 'person' in the room with her back facing him and there was an unpleasant thought that came across his mind.
The girl was caged here, in this apartment for no apparent reason. Even if Wally had to admit it—much to his displeasure—she was a…ghost, and was probably his age when she died.
If Wally were her, he'd be freaking out about leaving his mother, or not being there to watch Don and Dawn grow up and help his Aunt and Uncle with parenthood, or set up pranks with Dick. Wally didn't even want to think about the fact that the move to Gotham disrupted his learning process for getting his driver's license. He still hasn't had his first girlfriend either!
Wally wouldn't be able to move on with that many worries and regrets running through his mind. So what about her?
.
P.S. Ghosts aren't that bad, Wally. Don't ignore them.
"So…" Wally began, leaning back on his chair; it captured the girl's attention as she looked up from one of his textbooks. "What's your name? You do have a name, don't you?"
He watched her gulp, which only caused his curiousness to grow. Finally, with some hesitation, she answered.
"Of course I do, Baywatch!...It's...It's Alice."
He raised an eyebrow. "Alice?"
"Something funny?"
Wally nodded his head to the side, studying each of her facial features before admitting: "You don't look like an Alice…"
"Look like an Alice?" She honestly looked offended. "Please, Alice fits me."
Still, he disagreed. With a shake of his head, he said, "Nah, Alice is too…too…" He paused. "Feminine –too nice – it doesn't work for you."
"Whatever, Wallace."
"Hey!
And so, on that night, Wally decided he would help Alice move on to the spirit world.
.
.
.
TBC
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A/N: There's a reason why I called Artemis Alice in this fic... It's temporary, so all questions shall be answered within a few chapters. Until then, please review! :]
