Chapter 2

Stupid Tigress, Wally thought to himself as he slammed his alarm. He'd been up all night with a mission, and the whole time she was aggravating. First, she got into it when Roy showed up, making him feel irrelevant, when she was the one who was unneeded. Then insisted fighting with Wally about everything. Plus, she made a pass at Superboy, making everyone feel uncomfortable! By the time Wally had got home, he was fuming. He'd needed to take a long run to get rid of all that extra energy, and now he was behind for his second day of classes. It should have been an awesome mission! Roy back in the cave (and probably would have stayed and worked with them if not for Tigress), and they totally saved the day. Yeah, he'd had that whole almost drowning thing, but he got that sweet mouth-to-mouth action from Miss M. But Tigress was just the worst from the go. And he knew she was hiding something. How else could she know so much about the Shadows?

Wally jumped into the shower, wanting to wash her out of his thoughts. He growled at the thought of her mocking smile. He'd had a moment, an endless moment in speedster time, when he fell at her feet (literally), where he looked up, and he was breathless. In front of him was not a girl, but a woman. She was all smooth lines and attitude, orange and black that silhouetted her tight figure. Her cat mask hid most of her face, but those grey eyes pierced through him. And then she spoke. He wasn't Kid Flash, he wasn't Wally, he was (and he cringed in memory) the Wallman, and oooh, boy, this woman wasn't going to give him an inch.

Wally sighed as he stepped out of the shower and got dressed. Well, at least he didn't have to see her today. He needed to concentrate on this Humanities credit, get some basics done. English wasn't his best subject, but poetry? Seemed like a pretty easy bullshit class. Yawn, but he needed the easy A. Plus, there were bound to be some hot hippie chicks in the class.

Wally dressed quickly, grabbing whatever was clean. When he walked into the kitchen, Dick was standing at the island eating cereal. Wally knew that he'd been up for some time, that he had a regimented schedule long dialed into his mental clock.

Dick nodded at Wally, smirking. Wally nodded back, questioning the smirk until he noticed the clock on the oven. It was 45 minutes earlier than his own clock.

"Dude, what the hell?" Wally asked accusingly. Dick had set Wally's clock ahead before, but he thought they were past that. Clearly not.

"Sorry man, just looking out for you." Dick shrugged, not looking at all sorry. Wally groaned and pulled out a bowl of yogurt. Just because Wally almost lost his spot in his chemistry class last year due to tardiness doesn't mean he needed Dick to treat him like a baby, he grumbled to himself as he made a mix of protein powder, fruit, and granola. He knew Dick was just trying to help, but after last night, he really wanted that extra sleep.

For a minute the only sounds are Wally and Dick eating, before Dick finally cleared his throat. "Hmmmm….so…."

Wally looked up, "Sooooo…?"

"Last night was…interesting…" Wally groaned in response. Of course, Dick wanted to talk about it. Why couldn't he be more like the Bats, all silent and stoic? Instead, Dick was quick-witted and talkative, especially when it came to Wally.

"I guess. If you think dealing with an amateur stranger is 'interesting.' Man, why is she even here? Roy would have come back if she hadn't been there. Plus, she totally messed up the mission." Wally grumbled. Dick rolled his eyes.

"Dude, Roy can come back anytime he wants. Besides, she did fine."

"Whatever." Wally stood up to put his bowl in the sink, "All I know is that she's not who she says she is. She thinks she can come in here, and do whatever she wants, entitled just because she's hot and knows a bunch about the Shadows. But she better stay out of my way."

He grabbed his keys and backpack, but Dick grabbed his arm before he could leave. "So, you think she's hot?" Dick asked, grinning.

Wally jerked his arm out of Dick's grip. He glared back at Dick before running out the door, slamming it behind him.

Artemis was a front seat student. Especially in English, even poetry. But she was running late this morning thanks to last night's activities, and when she got to class, the seat space was limited. She wasn't surprised to find a pretty full class—a solid time slot, probably a lot of students think it's gonna be an easy A, but she actually cared about the class. She loved language, every form of it, and poetry? Yeah, yeah, it could be romantic, but it could also be biting. It could be sad, it could be all three at the same time. This was supposed to be her fun class, and it was full of a bunch of slackers. She glared around the room.

Finally, Artemis found a seat in the back next to a window, one of only two left. She waded through the rows of other students, promising herself that next class she would get there early. As she pulled out her notebook, her laptop, and her pens, she felt a rush of wind and a presence in the seat beside her. Artemis glanced up, once, then twice, then three times. No way. No fucking way. No no no no no fucking way. There, sitting right next to her, in her space, in her joy class, was Wally Motherfucking West, the Wallman himself.

At least he hadn't seemed to notice her yet, preoccupied with finding his own notebook and pens. While Wally started getting out his stuff, Artemis looked around desperately for another seat. This isn't happening, she thought to herself. There were no seats left in the classroom. Fuck this, she thought to herself, as she snatched up her backpack and stood up, prepared to walk out. There's got to be another class, and if there's not, oh well—no way am I staying here with him. But just then the professor walked in. There wasn't a way to get out without walking through rows of students and past the professor, so Artemis just groaned and sat down. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Wally raise his eyebrow at her, so she just kept her eyes trained to the front. If there's one thing she was not going to do, it was engage. Artemis kept her eyes firmly on the professor ahead of her and her laptop. Sometimes she felt Wally studying her, but she refused to take the bait.

What is he even doing here? Between her sister and Roy and him last night, she needed this space. So of course, he's right here. In her face, in her refuge. And why? So he could probably sleep through class and bullshit. She gritted her teeth. Whatever, this was her space. He should leave. In fact, Artemis mused, if I revealed I was Tigress, he probably would. She almost smiled at the thought, before shaking her head. Her professor was saying something about introductions, and she was missing it.

Oh no, she realized suddenly. They were supposed to introduce each other. Slowly, Artemis turned towards Wally, who was already looking at her expectedly. Well, here goes nothing.

Wally grinned at the blonde beside him. He'd been stoked that one of the last seats was beside this babe, but she'd turned out to be less than interested in him. That's cool, he thought to himself, more time for me to check her out. He tried to be subtle, but man, was it hard. She was wearing shorts and a t-shirt, just like everyone else on this warm California day, but her legs just seemed to never end . Her long blonde hair was piled on top of her head in a knot that he just wanted to pull down. Her jaw seemed tense, but it really accentuated her neck. Oh yeah, Wally could see the appeal of this poetry thing.

She turned to him slowly, glancing quickly at his face, and then down. Wally frowned, Maybe she's shy?

"Hey," he started quietly, "I'm Wally." If she was skittish, he didn't want to come on too strong.

"Artemis." She responded curtly.

Wally shifted in his seat uncomfortably. Silence stretched as they examined the questions the professor had put on the board. Finally, he gestured towards the board. "Do you want to go first?"

"Actually, you know what? We don't need to talk." Artemis replied quickly. Wally jerked back in surprise. "Why don't you just write down your answers, and I'll write down mine, and then we can just switch." Wally frowned at her.

"But we're supposed to come up with an original question for each other." He protested. She rolled her eyes at him.

"I'm sure you can come up with something." She smirked and looked him up and down. "I somehow doubt you have trouble talking about yourself." Okaaaay, not shy.

Everyone around them was chatting excitedly, laughing. But at their desks, the only sound was pen on paper. After just a few minutes, she slid her paper onto his desk. He looked up.

"Already?"

"Not everyone needs to write a novel just to introduce themselves, Wally." Jesus, what's with this girl? He tried to write quickly, adding his own question about favorite foods. He had just finished when the professor cleared her throat.

"Now," she announced, "we will introduce each other to the class." Wally slid his paper to Artemis as the first students started speaking. They already seemed to be joking and laughing with one another as Wally stared down at Artemis' almost empty sheet. Are you kidding? She'd put basically one-word answers. How am I supposed to make sense of this? Finally, it was Wally's turn, so he reluctantly stood up.

"Uh, well," he rubbed the back of his neck, "This is Artemis. No last name," he quipped, but not even a smile from her. "She's from the East. She misses snow and her mom, and uh, her favorite poet is Anne Sexton." The class looked at him expectantly, but there was really nothing else to say. Wally sat down awkwardly. Next, Artemis stood up.

"This is Wally. He likes to eat." A beat. "A lot." The rest of the class chuckled uncomfortably as she sat down. What the hell, Wally fumed. He'd written a ton about his favorite teams and colors and where he was from, but that's all she said?

And that's when he spotted it—a quick turn of her lips, like she was trying to stop a smile. Oh, okay, it's like that then? Wally thought to himself. Well, she wasn't wrong, at least. Wally could see now that she was rude, but also as a way of being tough. And he was gonna crack her.

"So," Professor Ruiz announced, "before you leave, make sure to exchange information with your partner—it's always good to have someone to get notes and study with. Creative writing can be an intimate process, so we have to start getting to know each other better." Wally watched Artemis go stiff, and he grinned to himself. He pulled his chair up close to her and saw her lean away.

"What are you doing?" she hissed. He shrugged and put his arm behind her, resting it against the back of her chair. Oh, yeah, this was gonna be fun.

"Hey beautiful, she said to get intimate."

"That is not what she said."

"Well, I'm the type to take initiative." Wally scooted closer.

"Aren't I lucky," Artemis replied dryly. She snatched back her sheet from his desk and quickly scribbled on it. Wally did the same. When she handed it back, he frowned.

"This is just your email."

"Yeah, my school email. For school." Artemis emphasized. He rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. Well, you've got my number. In case, you know," Wally grinned, "you want to make some poetry together." Artemis's head snapped in his direction, her eyes narrow. Just then, Professor Ruiz clapped to get everyone's attention to pass out the syllabus, thus ending class.

Artemis refused to look at him as she packed up, but Wally took his time watching her. She had long fingers that he just knew could move fast if they wanted to. She had calluses on some of the tips and idly, Wally wondered if she was a musician. Wally and Artemis reached the door at the same time, and he held it open for her. She still refused to look at him, but some ingrained manners must prevail, because she muttered, "Thank you," as though he'd just kicked her dog. Wally was so busy grinning that he doesn't notice his friend leaning against the wall just outside the classroom until he heard Artemis' amazed exclamation, "Dick?!"

"Dick?!" Artemis couldn't believe it, but there he was. She hadn't seen Dick since Gotham Academy, almost two years ago. Yet there was no mistaking that smirk and silky black hair. He'd just started to grow into his frame when she last saw him, and now she could see he'd not just gotten taller, but he had filled out too. Dick was wearing just a button-up, tucked into his jeans, and somehow he still looked like luxury.

"Hey, Artemis, fancy seeing you here." Artemis frowned. Why does it sound like he's not surprised?

"What are you doing here?" Artemis asked as Dick moved into a hug, which Artemis returned perfunctorily, to her own surprise. Artemis generally didn't like to be touched, but there was something so comfortable about Dick, even after all these years, that she moved back towards him without even thinking.

"I go here. You know, Stanford. Freshman year."

"Oh. Me too. But you know, a sophomore." There was a moment of silence, while Artemis tried to subtly check him out, but he looked so at ease, like he knew it was coming. No longer nerdy Dick, he was kinda, well cool. And more than a little hot, Artemis had to admit to herself. Suddenly, Artemis realized Wally was still standing behind her. She turned to the side to let him by. Instead, he just stepped between them, creating a circle, frowning.

"So, how do you two know each other?" Wally asked suspiciously.

"Oh, me and Artemis?" Dick responded cheerfully, "We're old pals."

Artemis rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, if watching Pretty Little Liars together every week makes you old pals."

Dick's grin quickly dropped off his face as Wally started to crack up. Dick turned to him defensively, "Hey, it's pretty addictive! Besides, there was legit a mystery to solve."

"Uh-huh," Wally tried to straighten up, making no attempt to keep the mocking out of his tone. Dick glowered, and Artemis felt more at ease, like the power dynamics had been restored.

"And how do you two know each other?" Artemis pointed between them. Wally slung his arm around Dick's shoulders.

"I've known Dick for years. Him and his girlfriend." Wally seemed to put special emphasis on the last word. Artemis chose to ignore him.

"Well, Dick, it seems like we have a lot to catch up on. We should hang out sometime." Artemis said it casually, since that's what you're supposed to say when you see friends from your past that you didn't expect to see ever again. She was therefore surprised when Dick didn't just agree and part ways.

Instead, he reached into his bag. "For sure. Give me your number?" Dick handed his phone over to Artemsis, and she quickly handed hers over to him automatically.

"Hey, you'll give your number to him?" Wally protested, but Artemis just gave him an even look before returning to punching in her number.

"Text me, and we'll have dinner or something." Artemis promised, handing Dick his phone back. She wasn't sure she believed it, but this new Dick was full of surprises.

"Yeah, we'll all hang out," Wally promised in return. "After all, can't leave behind his roomie, can he?" Artemis groaned internally. Perfect.