Many thanks for the kind words. As always I am shocked by the positive feedback and ever thankful.
To Roxy-Bluff: I have no idea if I'll be posting a separate explicit sexy chappy. I'm toying with the idea, but I can barely handle sex in person like how do write? I've never even touched smut! But then again, this is my first real go at writing a fic ;D
RockyLover: Unfortunately I don't plan on having Oliver in the story. I don't want there to be too many characters, and there's no need for her to be picked up by him when he's not going to be doing to whole "BE MY NEW APPRENTICE. ESCAPE YOUR FAMILY. BE A REAL HERO" deal. She's got who she needs for this AU.
"And she hasn't talked to you in a week?" Raquel asked. She sipped from her drink as she lounged in Kal's spot in their booth at The League.
It was true. Wally and Artemis had exchanged maybe a handful of sentences since they had last been together. It had been nice, or so he thought. Nothing weird or over romanticized. Just two people having sex. Really good sex.
"Maybe you were just bad in bed," Dick offered, garnering him smack on the head from his best friend.
"Aw maybe you should tell us how he normally is." Barbara kissed him on the cheek as the table laughed. Dick leaned in to pass the kiss along to Wally, but was only swatted away.
"I don't need that picture in my mind." Conner grimaced into his beer, and Megan giggled as she ran her hand through her boyfriend's hair.
"Well you had to have done something. Girls just don't stop talking to you after sex." Dick took a sip of drink and gave his best friend a suspicious look.
"I did!"
Everyone turned to look at Raquel. She shrugged noncommittally as she poured herself another drink from the pitcher.
"Rocket, your ex was a deadbeat who didn't want to support your kid. This is a liiittle bit different," Wally said as he dug into his food. Ah delicious potato skins. Raquel only rolled her eyes as she continued pouring.
Megan gasped and the table turned their attention on her. "Oh, Wally! You didn't get her pregnant, did you?"
"I didn't get her pregnant."
"Exactly. He's too stupid to not wear a condom." Dick eyed his best friend. Wally's eyes narrowed, but he didn't make eye contact.
"She's not pregnant."
"I take that back. He is too stupid."
Wally sat his stuff down as he took his seat the following Monday next to Artemis. She had been sitting in the back of the lecture hall as opposed to the middle, where she had started sitting with Wally. Her hair provided a curtain to the outside world as she dipped her nose further into her book, The Moonstone.
"You've been avoiding me," he said in a singsong voice. He unpacked his stuff onto his small desk. "Like I actually watched you cover your face with your hair when I walked in."
"I'm not avoiding you. I've just been busy." Her eyes skimmed back and forth over the pages of her book. "I picked up a couple extra shifts at work. Need the extra cash."
He nodded slowly. He didn't doubt that she needed cash - not that she was poor or anything! But who doesn't want extra money? The only problem was now he couldn't get his conversation with his friends out of his head. Suddenly needing extra money, being uncomfortable around him...It was all too coincidental. He cracked.
"Are you pregnant?"
She finally turned to look at him, but he couldn't tell if she was just really surprised or amused. Her mouth was a gape but forming a smile. After the longest five seconds of Wally's life she finally responded, "No."
"Are you sure?" He was relieved, but you could never be too careful with these kinds of things.
"Well, I am currently taking the pill, but I also get this monthly reminder that came a couple of days ago." Artemis closed her book and stashed it in her bag. "Don't worry. You're not going to be a dad before you graduate."
Wally's hands immediately ran through his hair. Oh thank god. He didn't need a kid and he had worked himself up over nothing. That just meant one thing. She was avoiding him because of something he had done.
"Ok...then why aren't you talking to me?"
"I'm talking to you right now."
"Yeah, but you're doing that hair thing you do when you're uncomfortable."
Artemis let go of her hair and tossed it over her shoulder. Her eyes met his as she assessed him. If only he could he read minds...He hadn't even noticed that class had started. That seemed to happening more and more often when she was around. Time seemed to fade away.
"So...was I just...not a good performer then?" His voice dropped to whisper.
"No," she replied with a soft smile. "You were very good. It was nice." Her eyes flashed as she leaned into shoulder. "We can totally do it again sometime."
"As much as I love hearing that, you're still clearly upset with me. I'm your boyfriend - yes, your boyfriend. Deal with it. If I did something to weird you out I want to know."
She turned back to the front of the hall, pretending to take notes. Wally turned to do the same, defeated. They stayed like that for a few minutes before he let out an exaggerated sigh. He was such a drama queen sometimes. Really, why were they dating?
Boyfriend.
He had used the word, much to her...What's a combination of chagrin and delight? It was probably for the best. They had slept together, been seeing each other regularly for...Had it already been months? Plus he had said...the thing.
Nobody knew about the thing, not even Zee. She hadn't told her sister or her mother. Bette didn't know. Karen and Mal definitely didn't know. It was festering inside her, eating away and giving her way too much anxiety. Maybe she just needed to talk about it.
"You said something after sex that threw me off."
Maybe she was just going to blurt it out without thinking.
"What?" He had turned back to look at her, confusion clearly written on his face.
"Yeah...Just kind of slipped out I guess? You didn't even seem to notice...Started with an 'L'." Artemis was still facing forward. Talking about this was stressful enough as it is. If she didn't have to look at him, she could just end the conversation whenever she wanted, right? That's how relationships work, right?
Wally seemed to panic. "Listen, I haven't seen her since high school. We only talk on Facebook, birthdays and whatnot." He kept rambling, and Artemis had no idea what he was talking about. Another girl's name would have been ten times easier to deal with.
"What? Wally, no. Different L-word."
"L...-esbians?"
"No, but thank you, Wallace. I have now fulfilled my dream of reenacting Scott Pilgrim," she sighed. Just tell him. Just get it over with...like a band-aid. "Wally.." She looked around before finally turning back to face him. "You told me you love me."
He would have rather said Linda's name than tell her that. Maybe not, because he's said the wrong name during sex before and that did not end well. Did he love Artemis though?
Maybe.
It was way too early to tell. Usually he had already said it by now, but it wasn't like love love. Artemis had that potential to be more, but he had planned on not ruining it by doing something stupid. So much for that plan.
"I...what?"
"Ok so you were like half asleep, and I turned over to kiss you goodnight and all that shit, and then you said goodnight and did the cuddly thing and it was nice, and then you ruined it all by saying you love me." She didn't seem angry, just really annoyed. Annoyed that someone cared? She really was impossible to read sometimes.
"So I was asleep..."
"Half asleep."
"Does it count if I was sleeping?"
"Half asleep, but either way you were thinking it. It was still a thought in your brain."
She was such a girl.
"Ok, but even if I do feel that way, which I'm not saying I do-"
"That is the definition of a backhanded compliment..."
"Would it be so bad?"
Her eyes locked on to his. They swam with some mix of emotion that he couldn't make sense of. Annoyance. Anger. But then there was betrayal, sadness. Her grey-blues truly were a storm.
"Yes. I've told you that I don't want something serious, and I am definitely not a fall in love kind of girl." Her voice had risen above a whisper and people were starting to look in their direction. She threw all her belongings into her bag. Stepping over him, she told him she would call him later, leaving him stunned.
Dick was right. I am that stupid.
Artemis walked into a dark apartment when she got home from work. Things were quiet as she stumbled into her room where the lights were also off.
"You really need to get over Batman fanatics, dad. Climbing into a college girl's apartment at your age is just creepy."
She flipped on the switch to find her dad - no, Lawrence - standing near her closet. He had gotten old since she had last seen him all those years ago. How long had it been? Five years, at least. Five great years.
"You haven't lost your touch. Probably knew it was me when you opened the front door." He didn't smile. He never smiled.
"Zee never turns the lights off. Thinks it will deter predators." She turned to look at him. "Guess she was wrong."
"Predator is such a harsh word for your father."
"Father is such a nice word for the man who put my mother in a wheelchair and sent her to prison."
The two stared at one another, familiar blue eyes meeting hers. A traditional Crock family stare down. It was a real reunion. Artemis had sat down on the bed, but she wasn't going to give him the privilege of her undivided attention. He broke the silence first.
"How's your mom?"
"None of your business."
"How are you?"
"Also none of your business." Her eyes never left her phone, fingers flying over the keyboard. "I assume you're not just here to shoot the breeze. What do you want?"
"Talk about the family business." Lawrence got off the doorframe and started walking towards her.
"It's not a family business, and you're absolutely not family."
He shook his head."Harsh, but I think you're going to want to hear what I have to say."
Her "dad" sat down on the edge of her bed, but she was determined to show no fear. Her fingers stopped on the keys as she hit the final button, before returning her gaze to the man on her bed.
"What do you have to say?"
Happy Easter to you all, if you celebrate easter! If you don't, happy game of thrones day!
We now have the final piece of the plot in place, and now we begin the real climb to the zenith and then...the end! Not too sure how much more I have chappy wise, but you'll have a fair warning to the finale.
Have a great week. I love your reviews and I love your faces
-mags
