STAR CITY

December 22, 00:19 PST

The door swung open before Conner could even knock. Dinah threw her arms around him without hesitation, nearly knocking him over in the process.

"Thank God you're okay," she whispered, burying her head in the crook of his neck. "I was worried sick about you."

Conner instantly felt a pang of guilt, but it ebbed away as her soothing flowery aroma filled his nostrils. "Sorry," he murmured. "I fell asleep in the park." He desperately hoped she wouldn't bring up their conversation from last night. Enduring it once had been uncomfortable enough.

The hug lingered for a while before Dinah abruptly pulled away, embarrassed that she had practically tackled him. "Well, um, it's getting really late – or early, I suppose, since it's already past midnight – so we'd better hit the sheets. Er, I mean, hit the sheets separately, 'cause we're obviously not sharing a bed or anything." She let out a nervous chuckle and had to bite her lip to stop her babbling. "So anyway, uh…goodnight."

Before Conner could get another word out, Dinah had already sprinted to her room and closed the door behind her.

He furrowed his brow in disbelief. Women could be such strange creatures sometimes.

GOTHAM CITY

December 22, 14:05 EST

Artemis reluctantly started up Word on her computer. She had a ten-page U.S. History paper to complete.

It originally had been due last Friday, but Team duties had kept her extremely busy as of late – hence her current situation. Artemis knew she shouldn't have been complaining, though; she was lucky that Mrs. Carlson had been kind enough to give her an extension. Everyone else had already turned in their papers before the break.

Her assigned topic was Henry Ward Beecher, and she didn't have the slightest idea of how to begin the paper. Mrs. Carlson had specified that they were supposed to start with a "hook," not mundane facts like date and place of birth. Maybe reading some essays about Henry Ward Beecher would help. Artemis created a new tab in her browser and was about to do a search when she decided to check her email first. Hey, a little procrastination couldn't hurt, right?

Having signed in to Gmail, she was surprised to find a new message from Wally. Hmm, that's strange. That was the first time he had ever emailed her. Clicking on the message, she felt oddly anxious.

Yo Arty, hope you've got 50 bucks in your piggy bank cuz SB and Canary hooked up. He told me himself. Ask him if you don't believe me. Anyway, thanks for the dough! Peace out.

Artemis scowled. Wally had to be lying. He just had to. In fact, she would prove him wrong by calling Superboy right now.

She grabbed the flip-phone from her nightstand and dialed Conner's number. He picked up on the first ring.

"Hello?"

Deciding that the direct approach was the best approach, Artemis plunged right in. "Did you hook up with Black Canary?"

"Hook up?"

She inwardly groaned. This was going to be awkward. "You know…like…are you guys together?"

"No. Dinah's at work right now. I'm at her apartment."

"That's not what I meant." Artemis rolled her eyes in frustration. "I mean, are you guys…dating?"

STAR CITY

December 22, 11:18 PST

"I mean, are you guys…dating?"

The words I wish were on the tip of Conner's tongue. "No," he replied gruffly. First Wally, and now Artemis. Why did they care about his relationship with Dinah so much?

"Yes!" he heard Artemis cheer triumphantly.

"Why does that make you so happy?" Conner grumbled.

"Uh…because, well, you and Canary are just…wrong for each other. She's just a lot older than you, that's all."

"Well, I'm not giving up," he declared stubbornly.

There was a pause. "What do you mean by that?"

"It means I'm not giving up on Dinah and me. I'm gonna do everything it takes to get her to see we can make it work as a couple."

"Damn it, Conner! You just have to make my life miserable."

Then the line went dead.

On the surface, dinner was an uneventful affair. They both tried to stick to boring, commonplace topics.

She asked him how his day went.

He said it went fine. He then asked her how her day went.

She said it was good. She then remarked that it was unusually cold outside today.

He said he didn't know because he hadn't gone outside today.

She asked if he was bored staying home by himself.

He said no.

She asked what he liked to do in his free time.

He said that he enjoyed fixing stuff.

She said, "Oh."

He asked what she liked to do in her free time.

She said that she enjoyed reading mystery books, although juggling JLA work and her day job didn't leave much free time.

He said, "Oh."

Indeed, dinner was uneventful on the surface. But both heroes were suffering from inner turmoil.

How do I tell her that I love her? Conner wondered, as he chewed a piece of spinach. Do I just say, "I love you"? Should I say anything else? Should I make some sort of grand gesture? I guess I could say, "I love you," and then give her the necklace. That way, if she likes the necklace, she's less likely to reject me. Okay, now you're just being an idiot. If she loves you back, she'll say yes, with or without the necklace. And if she doesn't love you, she'd reject you even if you bought her an island. Why does this have to be so hard? I wonder what Superman would do if he were in my position…. No, don't think about him. Stop it. Just stop! Think about something else. Think about basketball or Alaska or socks or TV. Just don't. Think. About. Superman.

Damn, the way Conner's temple throbs when he chews is pretty sexy, Dinah mused absentmindedly. Did I really just think that? For Christ's sake, get a grip, Dinah. You were the one who told him you guys couldn't be together, so quit ogling him. Ugh, this is torture. Why does he have to be so sweet and cute and good-looking? Why couldn't he be cloned from the DNA of someone ugly, like John Travolta or Adam Sandler or Russell Brand? Gosh, I feel like we're in that scene from The Little Mermaid where Ariel and Eric are on that boat and the crab – I think Sebastian was his name – is singing "Kiss the Girl." Though I guess in this case, I'm Eric and Conner is Ariel, since I'm the one who's hesitant about kissing him. Maybe we could star in our own music video – "Kiss the Boy." Huh. It's an interesting idea. Great, now my mind is rambling.

Dinah's comm link suddenly went off, interrupting her thoughts. She tapped the miniscule device in her ear.

"Batman to Black Canary. Meet me in the main hall at Mount Justice. There's something we should discuss."

"I'll be there ASAP," Dinah replied. She gave Conner an apologetic look. "Sorry, I've gotta go. See you later."

Conner watched her go. He let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding, feeling somewhat relieved.

MOUNT JUSTICE

December 22, 22: 16 EST

"Recognize Black Canary 13," the Computer announced as Dinah entered the main hall.

Batman was already there.

"So what did you want to talk about?" she queried.

"Superboy," he curtly replied.

Dinah stopped in her tracks. Had he somehow found out about their…not-exactly-platonic relationship? She wouldn't have put it past him; he was Batman, after all. Oh, don't be silly, she scolded herself. How could he possibly know?

"What about Conner?" She tried to maintain a neutral tone, but her voice came out slightly more high-pitched than usual.

Bruce regarded her suspiciously, but didn't comment on her strange behavior. "I just wanted to see how he's been holding up since Clark…rejected him."

Dinah visibly relaxed. "Oh, that. Right." She cleared her throat. "Conner seems to be doing fine, actually."

"How so?"

"I just think he's accepted the fact that Clark will need a lot more time to come to terms with their relationship. Though honestly, we don't talk much about Superman together."

Bruce nodded. "It's understandably a sore subject for Conner. But you don't think he's angry?"

"Not anymore."

"Good. That's the last thing we need. An angry Superboy would be bad for the Team's morale. Anyway, I'll keep trying to get through to Clark."

Dinah snorted. "Good luck with that. Kryptonians are awfully stubborn."