Now an Archie/Atlanta fic, I think I'll alternate back and forth like this. I love this song and highly suggest you listen to it somehow. Plus, power to the Canada! Alright Barenaked Ladies! I feel I may have made Archie and Atlanta a little OOC in order for things to fit better with the song, so sorry about that, and I'll tell everyone now that… all the other Titans are on vacation or something. Yeah they're not really present in this story -.-; But hopefully the story still works :)

Jane – Barenaked Ladies

The girl works at the store sweet Jane St. Clair
Was dazzled by her smile while I shopped there
It wasn't long before I lived with her
I sang her songs while she dyed her hair

The boy picked up his towel and slung it carelessly over his shoulder, whistling with nonchalance. He looked at the bottle in his hand.

"It's best to use the opposite colour of shampoo, so your purple mop will look… better if you use gold shampoo," his purple-shampoo using friend had told him.

Where does Neil get these ideas? he thought, turning the bottle so it sparkled slightly in the sunlight. "Shine boosters" Neil's voice came back to him. He had snickered, but didn't see the harm in using his comrade's advice just this once.

He slowed his walking slightly as he passed a room on the way to his final destination. His eyes glanced quickly past the open door to see what its occupant was doing, then did a double-take and looked closer.

"Atlanta?" he asked the back of a spiky crimson head. "Have you been up all night?"

He was worried about her health, though don't even try to tell him that one all-nighter wasn't damaging.

The person at the desk turned. "Oh hey Arch," she smiled when she saw who had addressed her. "I've just been working on this… thing. Gotta finish it soon," Atlanta answered briefly, turning back to her work.

Archie raised an eyebrow and leaned further into the room, straining to see what Atlanta was working on. When that produced no results he looked back with question at the fiery red head glowing in the lamplight before continuing on his way. She could be deviously mysterious sometimes.

Atlanta looked back down at her crowded desk. Scattered across it were various pictures, cropped and mounted, whose unwanted scenery was dejected to the left and often interrupted by a strip of similarly discarded coloured paper.

She reached for her scissors again, to cut two smiling faces from a mountainous background, but frowned slightly and put them down again, perking her ear towards the bathroom. Through the running water Atlanta could hear a faint, off-tune melody in Archie's distinct tenor. She suppressed a red-faced laugh with her hand and stood as quietly as she could, covering the project currently on her desk with an unfolded Green Alliance brochure.

Atlanta tiptoed towards the bathroom door, careful to make no noise lest Archie stop his singing – if that is what you could call it.

She knocked it once. "Really Arch, if you're going to serenade us this early in the morning at least be in tune!" she laughed through the wood.

The singing immediately stopped and she heard Archie cough indistinctly. Atlanta tried not to giggle as she snuck back to her room.

Jane, divided, but I can't decide what side I'm on
Jane decided only cowards stay, while traitors run
Jane, Jane

It was second period and Archie and Atlanta were in advanced weapons training together where, as usual, they were paired up. They had been given wooden makhairas (yes, the same thing Athena uses) to practice against each other with and, also as usual, Atlanta was close to winning.

Maybe it was due to the effort they were putting behind their attacks, or maybe neither of them had had enough sleep, but today the mood of the morning had not transferred over and their commonly friendly banter seemed much more aggressive.

"C'mon Archie, you can do better than that," Atlanta taunted as she parried one of Archie's attacks.

"Well I could do better if my morning hadn't been so rudely disturbed," he retorted, jumping over Atlanta's weapon.

"YOU were disturbed?" Atlanta scoffed. "How do you think my ears felt?"

At any other time Archie would have laughed at that comment, but at this moment he was insulted. "It's not like you've got the best voice in the world either."

"That's why I don't sing," Atlanta said, narrowing her eyes and setting her jaw angrily.

She's cute when she's angry, Archie thought, narrowly avoiding a powerful swing from Atlanta. But she's cute anyways, he reminded himself, images and memories of his red-haired friend floating into his mind. His daydreaming almost got him a makhaira in the shoulder, but he quickly spun his weapon and deflected Atlanta's blow.

Archie started to back up, wiping his brow. "Atlanta, I'm exhausted," he said, looking downwards.

Atlanta's wide legged stance was determined but her face had a look of indignation. "Only traitors run, Archie."

He could tell she was serious. Not that he was a traitor if he stopped, but that she would definitely think less of him, which was almost the same thing and just as bad.

Archie sighed and turned back, raising his weapon. This made Atlanta smirk as if she had a secret upper hand in this one-sided argument. "Cowards stay," she stated.

Archie just stopped himself from rolling his eyes in exasperation. Sometimes, though rarely, when she got annoyed Atlanta would get a strange philosophical anger that was the complete opposite of her usual. Archie had only seen her angry like this at him – mind you, he was the most common target of Atlanta's anger.

"So what do heroes do?" Archie asked, their makhairas meeting with a 'tok'.

This cued another smirk, though there was no mirth in Atlanta's eyes. "They win."

She was determined, and when she was both angry and driven anything was possible. Their weapons met again and both teens strained against the other's force. If I could get her this angry in a battle with Cronus, Archie entertained, but then dismissed the idea after thinking of the possible repercussions. To get Atlanta that mad would require something drastic, and something that could leave her with a grudge against him.

They both pushed each other away and Archie swung his makhaira above his head as Atlanta charged. He braced himself for her impact with tightly shut eyes but felt nothing until his weapon came down on a soft object. Looking down, he saw Atlanta sprawled on the ground and his makhaira resting on her back. She raised herself up to sitting and glared at him, pushing Archie's limp makhaira away from her angrily.

"You tripped me," she fumed, standing.

Archie's eyes widened. What was up with her today? "Why would I…" he began defensively, but their large teacher came up and buffeted Archie on the back before he could continue.

"Great job, Archie," he said, taking Archie's shoulder. Behind Ares, Atlanta was burning fire into his back. On more than one occasion Ares was known to favour his male students over his female, and that just increased Atlanta's frustration. "You kids are dismissed now," he added.

"Cheater," Atlanta mouthed to Archie before turning on her heel and storming away. Archie could only stare after her.

I'd bring her gold and frankincense and myrrh
She thought that I was making fun of her
She made me feel I was fourteen again
That's why she thinks it's cooler if we'd just stay friends

Archie couldn't stand it. Even though it was his most common pastime, he hated being in a large argument with Atlanta when the result was their not speaking. He hated it more when he wasn't really sure why she was angry.

Should I be really nice to her? He wondered, since Atlanta had seemed very quick to anger. But then Archie remembered the last time he had tried that.

"Are you makin' fun of me, Arch?" she had asked, shooting daggers at him. On that occasion he had restrained himself from saying "some people are so touchy" (grease reference! which I don't own) lest he get knocked out by the angry huntress. On this occasion he decided to say nothing at all and instead stay brooding in his room.

Girls, Archie thought, why do they make you feel so stupid and inferior? She's the younger one for chris'sakes.

Archie shook his head and stood up to get something to eat, suddenly hungry. Atlanta was impossible sometimes.

Jane doesn't think a man could ever be faithful
Jane isn't giving me a chance to be shameful
Jane, Jane

Atlanta wanted to punch something. Why was Archie so frustrating today? It was always only Archie who frustrated her this much, and she couldn't grasp why. And with Ares, his mentor, always on his side it didn't matter if he cheated, he still won everything somehow.

Men, Atlanta thought with disdain. Cheating men! If he cheats in a fight who knows what other situations he may cheat in, she discussed with herself, her mind slipping back to a subject she often thought of in tandem with Archie.

Atlanta suddenly snapped out of her thoughts and realized where she was. Her feet had taken her all the way back to the brownstone and in front of a certain purple-haired boy's room.

She started. Why was she here? This was the last place she wanted to be, especially because at that moment the room's occupant had opened the door and, to her annoyance, Atlanta could feel her heart beat quicken in her chest.

"Atlanta!" Archie's tone was one of surprise and confusion, with a little bit of hope to someone with a very good ear. "…Come to apologize?"

Archie immediately knew he had said exactly the wrong thing as Atlanta's expression of shocked anger could have killed him right there (with heat vision).

"How dare you, Archibald," she hissed, taking advantage of his full first name like she always did when she was angry – much like a parent with a small child.

Despite how funny Archie's full name usually sounded, in the context of Atlanta saying it he had no desire to laugh because he knew she was angry.

"After what you did you ask me that?" she yelled, though Archie had only heard the first part and almost cut her off when he asked in frustration:

"But what did I do?"

It was true, he wasn't exactly sure what he had done to make Atlanta so mad; but instead of finding out, he got the reply that every girl uses and every man dreads.

"You don't even know what you did?" Atlanta asked in disbelief. She rolled her eyes and snorted in disgust before mumbling angrily to her room, slamming her door and leaving Archie standing stunned where he was for the second time that day.

He slouched and stuffed his hands into his pockets. He wanted to feel bad for what he'd done, to apologize to Atlanta and get back on good terms, but not if he had no idea what had made her so angry.

Archie's stomach gurgled and he sighed. "I suppose there are more important things to worry about right now," he said to himself, knowing full well what a lie that was as he headed towards the kitchen.

I wrote a letter, she should have got it yesterday
That life could be better by being together
Is what I cannot explain to Jane

Archie munched a granola bar from the cupboard absentmindedly, rerunning the events of the day through his head.

Still unsure of what to do in his predicament, Archie stood up and headed back to his room. Once there he sat at his desk and stared at its messy top. Somewhere in the clutter of paper, pens and paraphernalia he found inspiration and cleared a spot on the desk for a new sheet of flat white paper.

…And now what, he wondered, the blank paper staring expectantly up at him. Archie had never written a letter before, and starting off writing one to Atlanta was not the prime choice of beginnings.

Dear Atlanta, he thought out, his pen poised to write. "No, too formal," he told himself.

Atlanta, I don't know how to put this but… Archie quickly dismissed. "Too… awkward."

Archie put down his pen and rubbed his temples. He just had to find the right words.

The girl works at the store, sweet Jane St. Clair
Was dazzled by her smile while I shoplift there
No promises as vague as heaven
No Juliana next to my Evan

Atlanta stared at her desk. The Green Alliance brochure had been tossed aside and off what it was covering, the current subject of Atlanta's scrutiny.

It was a large book whose pages were open to two new blank sheets. The paper was a textured cream and all the pages before the current ones were full of pictures of two certain heroes, with others in the background.

Atlanta flipped through the pages for the hundredth time, knowing each one as it came. There was one with the picture from when she and Archie had gotten tickets for the circus from a draw at the mall, Atlanta looking excited and Archie pulling a ridiculous "0nGz N0 WaAaY!" face behind her as they got the prize. The next page had pictures of them when the team had gone camping, Archie listening to Atlanta play guitar, and then Archie sitting in a chair trying to look cool all alone as everyone else was swimming in the nearby lake.

Atlanta huffed in frustration and a little sadness as she quickly flipped the page, wanting to erase all the memories and promises that the large book contained. All lies, she thought angrily.

Her eyes flitted to the scissors on her desk beside a large black permanent marker and her hand twitched towards them, a huge urge to destroy the book coming over her.

Jane, desired by the people at the school and work
Jane is tired, cause every man becomes a lovesick jerk
Jane, Jane

Archie's paper was still blank and he had no idea how long he had been sitting at his desk thinking. He had to think of something special, Atlanta had probably had tons of guys use who-knows-how-many lines on her. She was beautiful, anyways, and smart, talented and funny; what guy wouldn't lo… really like her a lot.

Archie sighed to the paper, and a quiet idea came to his mind. It wasn't much, but it was exactly what he wanted. He raised his pen and made a single vertical black line on the white page to begin writing his message.

--------------

Atlanta stared at the scissors. They were tempting, and they could ruin her book as easily as they had made it. She reached, but her hand skipped over the gleaming blades and rested instead on the large black marker sitting beside them.

Uncapping it, the odour of chemicals wafted up to her. Atlanta popped the cap onto the end of the marker and shifted her grip so it pointed to the first page of her book, and Archie's face in a line of pictures from a photo booth.

There was a beat. She clenched her teeth in anger, at herself, and put down the pen. Just do it, a voice in her head scolded her, her eyes avoiding the page she had been planning to deface. Why aren't you doing anything? He was such a jerk! Do you really want all those pictures there to remind you? it continued. She recapped the marker and hung her head.

"I can't do it," she answered quietly, looking back to the four pictures of Archie and her making faces to the camera. She turned the cover to close the book, and rested her hand on it. The colourful designs danced under her fingers in the lamplight as her mouth curved into a sad nostalgic smile.

Her mood was interrupted by a soft shick heard from her door, as if something had been slid under it. She turned from her desk and looked to the closed door for answers, as on the floor near it she saw an elaborately folded piece of paper.

Atlanta rose from her seat and picked up the piece of paper, unfolding it as she walked back to her desk. As she read the contents, the two small words written on the leaflet made her heart skip a beat. She kept her eyes fixed on the sheet in her left hand as she flipped anxiously to a blank page in her book and flattened the letter against the cream mounting. She smiled softly and turned off the lamp, Archie's words still glowing off the page in the darkness.

I'm sorry.

I managed to make it end fairly happily! Yay. Wow, this was a super long one but I love this song and the story was fun to write. I wrote this on my way to camp every day, so if you were on the TTC at around 8am going eastbound, that girl with blonde hair and a purple notebook was me :P I've got another song story in the works, but the problem with this format is I have to write the whole thing before I can update for you guys, so the chapters are very far apart. But hopefully they're enjoyed! Keep up the reviews, the ones for the first chapter were lovely :)