Chapter 10
Klarion was getting worried. And bored
Artemis's mom had come home over an hour ago and he'd been hiding in Arty's room ever since. He could hear the woman going to bed, and decided it was time to go find the blond. After Kid Idiot had shown up and crashed his Starbucks day, Klarion had really wanted to go to the cave and punch him. But he didn't. He had, instead, came back to Artemis's house and sulked.
Artemis had told Robin about the Witch Boy. He's response? "CUTE!" Arty gave him a funny look. "You sure you're not gay?" she asked him, laughing. It was a joke from school, because he was always flirting with the girls.
Robin shrugged. "You neeever know." He said, sing-song-ee. Suddenly, a big red vortex appeared to the left of Artemis (Robin was on her right) and out popped the Witch Boy. "Klarion!" the blond yelled happily, jumping up and giving him an unexpected hug.
"There you are, Arty!" He said, before seeing Dick. "Opps, sorry" he said, stepping back, ready to go through the vortex again if need be. "It's okat," she smiled at him. "He already knows. He's gonna be my secret keeper."
Having slipped his mask back on, Robin stood up. "Klarion," He said, sounding very stern and profetional. "Bird boy," Klarion said back, mimicking the other boys tone of voice.
Both boys broke into grins and high-fived each other at the same time. "So know that we're all accomplices, anyone want to go get lattés?" Klarion asked. "It's, like, 11 o'clock at night. " Robin pointed out. "The perfect time for coffee," Artemis said, laughing.
"And so Alice, the White Rabbit, and the Black Bird all shared a secret." Artemis said in a dramatic voice, as they sat down at a table. The boys laughed, both knowing her fascination with Alice and Wonderland. "Hey, Arty, you left me starring at that poster for nearly two hours today." Klarion said. "It's pretty old,, isn't it?" He was on his third cup of coffee and I came with a side of donut. Robin said he wasn't going for hyper-endused-damage control.
"Yeah. It was actually my sister's." Artemis said, taking a huge sip of coffee. Klarion stopped with his donut ½ way to his mouth; and Robin sat quietly, waiting for her to say more. "Come on, Boy Wonder. Can't you guess?" Artemis said, causing Robin to think. "Let me see…Alice in Wonderland to the Cheshire Cat to the villain Cheshire? He asked, seeing if he was on the right track. "To Arty's sister." Klarion finished for him.
"Oh, ya." Robin said, remembering their talk about her sister. "So, no chance in me getting invited to the next family reunion?" The three started cracking up. "It's about time to get going." Artemis said, greeted by two very loud groans. "Come on, just cause this place is 24-7 doesn't mean that's how long we're gonna stay here."
Dick and Klarion finally consented. The Klarion transported the blond archer back home via vortex. Artemis dozed off that night, smiling happily at the Alice in Wonderland poster.
"You kept the poster on the wall? Why?" Cheshire said to herself from the roof across from her sister's house. Then she smiled. "I'll see you soon, little sis." She said, before stepping backwards into the shadows.