A/N: Hi again! Thank you all for all the response I got for this story. 51 followers. I don't deserve you guys :)

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Chapter 11

Wally was late. Though it wasn't really a surprise since the fastest kid on earth was always late.

M'gann had made the food, and the frosted cakes now sat temptingly on the coffee table whilst the team had set up the drinks and presents. Artemis snickered when Robin's hands were slapped away by the Martian with a disapproving look on her face.

"Hope he gets here okay, it's freezing,"Zatanna said as she joined them in the room, pulling a beanie onto her head.

Robin had been sulking, but laughed when he appeared next to her suddenly. "You would think there would be better heating in here than the Batcave."

The Boy Wonder took off his hoodie to offer the raven-haired magician, and Artemis couldn't help but smirk at the younger girl.

Zatanna shook her head apologetically at Robin and thanked him, before shooting Artemis an 'oh no you don't' look. With a suspiciously innocent smile on her face, she started towards the blonde archer. "Is Wally on his way?"

Artemis watched her warily and lifted an eyebrow at the younger girl. "How would I know?"

"You guys have been texting each other a lot recently," Zatanna said with her eyebrows pinched together in confusion and her blue eyes wide.

"Zatanna's got a point, you guys have been awfully friendly to each other recently," Robin smirked behind Zatanna's shoulder.

Artemis wanted to retort with something along the lines of 'look who's talking' as she narrowed her eyes at the two of them, but mentally groaned when another decided to join their conversation.

"What's this about texting and Wally?" The Flash's voice asked as he joined in on their little circle.

Artemis replied with a brisk "nothing" whilst the other two sniggered.

"We were just noticing that Artemis and Wally have been getting along real fine recently," Zatanna answered with a wink.

"Oh. Oh," Flash blinked at her, before a small grin started creepily growing on his face.

The blonde archer scowled. "Don't look at me like that- especially you, Flash sir. You should know out of all people what an idiot Wally is."

Barry's laughter reverberated off the walls as he shook his head at her, with the usual exceptional sparkle in his eye, the one that made Artemis feel like she was missing the punch line of some joke or maybe she was the punch line. It ticked her off, and she clenched her jaw as she crossed her arms to glare at her so-called friends.

"Just be safe," the Flash winked before disappearing from sight, which had been fortunate for him since Artemis' jaw had dropped and her fists had clenched to her sides.

Robin and Zatanna were still laughing too hard, and Artemis rounded on them, her eyes glinting as her hair around her seemed to spark with her growing fury.

"That was so embarrassing and uncalled for!"

"Oh please, Artemis. You two practically breathe off each other's tension," Zatanna rolled her eyes.

"Zee means sexu-" Robin started but Artemis yelled out loud to cut off his sentence.

"I know what it means, Rob."

She was about to tell them to shove off, but M'gann appeared next to her, blocking her exit. "Are we talking about Wally and Artemis? Because I completely agree, and I even told Artemis how well suited they were. Do you remember?"

The archer ground her teeth together as she glared at the Martian menacingly, her eyes turning a dark grey under the fluorescent lights.

M'gann caught the look on her face and blushed prettily before slapping her forehead. "Hello, M'gann! It was meant to be a secret."

Artemis growled. "No, it isn't a secret because there isn't anything to hide because there is nothing between us and if you guys even mention-"

"Recognised. Kid Flash. B03," the computer announced and Artemis shot them a dark glare as M'gann turned off the lights.

"Surprise!" Everyone shouted when Wally entered the room.

"What?" Wally exclaimed loudly. "Oh, you guys, you shouldn't have."

"Right, not like you've been hinting for days or anything," Robin chuckled, moving forward to give Wally a manly handshake.

The others followed, giving him pats on the back and birthday wishes whilst Artemis stood near the kitchen counter, watching the scene. Even Zatanna gave Wally a birthday pat on the shoulder, but the archer was still fuming about earlier although she wasn't sure why since the idea of Wally had long since been repugnant to her.

Maybe it was because she knew it would never happen because she wasn't deserving of someone like him. Wally was a good guy, he really was. And he didn't need someone like Artemis- not as much as she realised she'd needed him.

As if he could sense her stare, the speedster looked up expectantly, and the fact that she was there for his birthday made him grin broadly. He smiled at her a tad more enthusiastically than normal, and though he received a smile from the archer in return, he also caught his uncle's attention- and awkwardly, Robin's as well.

The Boy Wonder raised an eyebrow at him with a teasing quirk of his lips, and Wally swore under his breath as he averted his eyes to the Martian girl.

"We made two cakes," M'gann announced and Wally looked down at the two frosted cakes in front of him eagerly.

"Awesome, what'll you guys eat?" He joked, but M'gann took him seriously.

"We'll split the cupcake. Now, make a wish!"

Wally took a glance around the room before blowing out his candles. Artemis was standing the furthest away with a smile of her lips and her grey eyes shining softly underneath the lights as she watched him, and though the sight of her made his heart palpitate, Wally caught the slight wink his uncle sent his way and turned to the martian immediately. "Way ahead of you," he answered, before blowing out the candles.

It was a common scene to see Wally flirt with M'gann, but Artemis somehow felt unsuitably irked by the sight as she forced a laugh to join in with the others. She knew the martian wasn't interested at all, but it still didn't stop her from turning around to hide her frown when she overheard their conversation.

It's Wally, she remind herself. Get over it. The archer whipped around on her heels and marched towards Zatanna, who -although was different from her usual friends- always seemed to be perfect company whenever Artemis was in one of these moods. But the archer's steps faltered when she saw the distraught expression on the younger girl's face as she stared at the cold walls of the cave, despite the warm ambiance of the people around her. Artemis grimaced and stopped in her tracks, crossing her arms to survey the room, making sure to ignore the whispering coming from the speedster and the martian girl.

If she had been M'gann, maybe she could've comforted Zatanna, or maybe Conner would've liked her. Maybe even Wally.

With a mental groan, Artemis narrowed her eyes into slits and rested her back against the wall with a sigh. At the age of sixteen, Artemis was trained expertly with a bow, had survived most of her life with her overbearing father, had somehow been able to join the only team of young vigilantes, but she couldn't even send a birthday text to a boy who inhaled his food.

For years Artemis had met a lot of people, including her parents, and although her mother was back she never really was there, not like how the archer remembered it to be when she'd been five, and her sister and father had long left her behind. But even though they'd started on the edge of a rocky cliff, Wally was always there.

And as repulsive his eating habits were, Artemis watched him from the corner of her eyes. Perhaps it wouldn't work out, or maybe she wasn't his type at all, but for some reason the archer felt the overwhelming urge return the favour. She would try, and Robin's words echoed in her mind: Get traught, she reminded herself before walking towards the latter and Zatanna with an idea in mind.

The team had dispersed when Batman's announcement had ended, but Wally turned back to the lounge when he noticed his phone wasn't in his pocket. The room had emptied out with everyone changing into their uniform, and Wally stood in the kitchen, looking for the red and yellow insignia of a lightning bolt that was his phone cover.

The smell of daisies had somehow merged in with the smell of strawberry icing, and Wally took a big gulp of air before warmth rushed to his face when he realised why it seemed so familiar to him. Sure, he had been surprised when he found out M'gann and Conner were dating, but it had been Artemis' close proximity that threw him off guard. He'd only been stuffing his face with another piece of cake when she suddenly approached him and put a hand on his shoulder; the closest she'd gotten since their awkward hug a week ago.

He remembered the strand of her hair tickling the back of his neck as he froze in mid-chew, and glancing at her mouth when it came too close to him, and Wally shook his head as he caught sight of his phone.

It was on the counter, and Wally had grabbed it and shoved it into his back pockets when he realised there was another phone forgotten not far away. There was an arrowhead keychain hanging from it, and Wally's curiosity peaked when he realised whose it was.

With a quick glance around the room, Wally picked up the phone and slid his finger across the screen.

For someone so mysterious and full of secrets, Artemis' phone was surprisingly not, and though Wally had been expecting to have to guess a passcode, her screen unlocked immediately and the page she had left open made his eyes widen.

He felt the familiar whirl of elation flutter in his gut, and a broad grin stretched his lips as he stared at the screen.

To: Wallaby the Hero

Even though I know it was you who changed your contact name, it's technically your birthday in five minutes so I'll let you pretend it's true for today. Happy birthday, Wall-man.

Wally laughed, before pressing 'send' even though the archer would kill him once she found out. Then he replied using his own phone.

I knew you'd come around someday.

And Wally was right. After the team (sans the annoying speedster) had managed to stop the ice fortresses, Artemis had taken her phone after their briefing session and almost dropped it when she read his reply. With a scowl, she typed as aggressively as she could.

Wallace West, you're dead meat.