My mind clears at the sound of the alarm. I casually reach out my hand, trying to find the clock until I hitit, knocking it off the bedside table to crash onto the carpet. Illogical. A healthy male human your age should be getting up at 10:00 hours, not 6:00 hours. Go back to sleep Jaime Reyes.

I rub the sleep out of my eyes. I wish I could, I think bitterly as I throw the covers off me. I get up and grab a flannel shirt that was lying around. I shuffle silently into the bathroom so as to not wake the household.

Without turning on the lights I grab a cloth, soak it in cold water and wash myself quickly; my chest, arms and face. I toss it into the dirty laundry basket before brushing my teeth and going to the kitchen. Yes, you must eat Jaime Reyes. The 'meal' you ate yesterday was insufficient; your body is severely lacking in nutrients such as vitamins B12, Calcium…

"Shut up! I know!" I whisper-yell as I open the refrigerator. Por qué… I rummage to find something no one will miss…

Why? I jump at the sudden interaction. "Why, what?"

Why must you find something that "no one will miss"? You require sustenance as any non-metahuman.

Por favor… You know if I eat anything else that would be eaten by Mama or Milagro, or even… him, I'd be eating their food; food that is not mine to eat. My rummaging bears fruit as I find old enchiladas. "Hey! Are these still good?"

Analysis states—

"They're a bit old, but they should be good." A voice interrupted the scarab's inner monologue. I do a 180 and see Mama, wearing her work uniform.

"Gracias Madre" I take a bite out of one of them.

She walks over and hugs me with one arm. She kisses my cheek and goes to rummage through the fridge. I awkwardly put on my shirt, a half-eaten enchilada in my mouth. She pulls out rice and beans, a questioning gaze filling her eyes.

"Niño, why didn't you take this? You prefer rice and beans."

I shrug, "Yeah well… Wanted to get rid of leftovers." I chomp down the last of the enchiladas and lick my fingers.

Your body has the required nutrients for now. I can almost hear the scarab sigh with relief.

I roll my eyes and kiss Mama good bye before grabbing my keys and my board and leave. I drop my board and run onto it to give me a boost. I pump with my left foot and kickflip over a manhole cover.

yYy

I break and grab my board. I open the front door to the diner, "Holà, Mr. Johnson!" I wave to the old man at the cash register.

"Hey, Jaime!" He nods in my direction, before bending over behind the counter, "Y'ar needed in th'kitchen, boy!" He tosses me a grease-stained apron that I happily catch.

"Aye, aye Sir!" I push open the door to the kitchen and drop off my things in a corner, before putting on the apron and going to work with a smile.

xXx

I grab my alarm clock and toss it across my room, sending it crashing into my posters. Nine o'clock is too early to wake up on a Saturday… I curl up under my heavy bed sheets before stretching and letting out a monster yawn. I gently take the baby blue sheets and float towards the bathroom.

What was with Jaime yesterday? He was acting so weird, and Nightwing was being so… secretive. I sigh, flush the toilet and wash my hands. "Guess I should go eat breakfast, huh?" I ask my reflection before rushing out.

"Mom! Can I have some pancakes?" I walk into the kitchen, only to find that she's not there… again.

I walk over to the stove to find a note from Mom. I open up the folded piece of paper

'Sorry Honey, had an emergence call from work. Be back around 8 p.m.'

I sigh, she was supposed to go to the museum with me today.

'We'll have to go to the Museum next week end Sorry…'

I crumple up the dreaded piece of paper and throw it into the recycling bin. She promised… Oh well, I've just wanted to go to the new Museum of History for weeks, but things always come up…

"Benefits of being a hero," I mutter sarcastically while pulling out a box of Nesquik cereal. I get the others things needed for a bowl of cereal and sit down at the island.

I grab a spoonful of chocolaty goodness and stuff it into my mouth. "I guesh I could go wish someone from the Team," I say to myself, milk almost spilling out from my mouth.

I finish my bowl, toss it into the sink, and fly towards my room to get my phone. "Hmmm… who could I invite?" I wonder, tapping my chin with my finger.

Batgirl said she wasn't free today… Miss Martian and Lagoon Boy were going on a date… Impulse doesn't seem like a museum type of guy… Connor probably knows all about the stuff there and is brooding because of the happy couple… Robin would be perfect!

"Yes!" I quickly open up the texting app on my smartphone and select Rob's number. I quickly type a small greeting.

'Hey rob!'

I click send and wait. It takes a few seconds for the bar to fully load, meaning the text has been sent. It fills up and after a few moments of silence I get a reply.

'Hey cass, sup?'

'Nm, nm… Was wondering if you wanted to come to the museum with me?'

'I hesitate a bit before sending the message, but end up clicking send anyway.'

'Cant sorry gotta help my mom with chores today : ('

Sighing I type a small message saying I'm sorry and how much that sucks. But at least he's with his mom, which is more than I could say… I reread the message I don't even know how many times before clicking send and just dumping my phone onto my bed next to me while I sink into my comforter. Mom's almost never here… Why'd she have to pick a job that takes up so much of her time? "Well, I guess if she hadn't I wouldn't be here complaining and completely bored," I say to myself, twirling a strand of hair, when my phone vibrates.

'Its not that bad… but if you really want to go…'

I smile at that part, maybe he'll say he's still coming.

'you could always ask blue?'

"Wait, what?" I reread the last part of the message two or three times to make sure I did in fact read that Robin wants me to go with Jaime to the museum instead of with him. Jaime's nice, but…

'He's been acting sorta weird lately…'

'Send. I get a reply almost immediately.

'Yeah, but I trust him, even after what happened… especially after that. Sorry, but I really can't talk anymore, my mom's giving me an earful :S If you really don't wanna go with blue I guess you could always go alone?'

Nuh hun, not going alone. Blue's gonna have to do I guess…

'Hey blue.'

Send.

…

No response. He must be occupied. Might as well start homework. As I got up from my bed my phone vibrated.

'Hey. Why are you texting me?'

'Wanted to know if you wanted to hang out. New museum opened and don't wanna go alone.'

…Hello? It's been like five minutes since-

'No.'

'Why?'

'No money/time'

'I find that hard to believe.'

'M working'

yYy

Can't she just leave me alone? I'd like to rest on my break. While I'm mulling over my thoughts, the phone in my hand vibrates again indicating I had received a message.

'Really? What kind of work?'

The Wonder Girl is a source of annoyance, suggestion: annihilate-

No!

Communications with her.

Oh. I rub the back of my neck, embarrassed. I sigh and type out the message on the phone.

'Does it matter? A Diner'

'Really? Mind if I visit you, it's about lunch time? '

Alarms go off in my head. Absolutely not! I don't want her to see me like this!

Like what?

Like-THIS! Just, never mind.

'Please don't.'

'Cmon I'm asking nicely ;) U kno I could just find you cuz of the GPS in your phone :P'

I huff and pinch the space between my eyes, letting out a string of Spanish swears. I pick up my phone and glare at the fact that it's working right now. Suggestion: destroy the communication device.

Ignoring the "suggestion" I sigh through my nose and type the address of the diner. My thumb hovers above the send button. Oh what the hell, she'll just use the GPS if I don't send her the address… I click send.

xXx

I step out the Zeta beam with my phone in hand, directions on the screen. I walk away from the Zeta beam and onto the streets. Looking for a specific street name, I notice how nice this town actually is. It's like the perfect balance between small town and big city. I glance at the screen of my phone and walk in the direction of the diner.

As soon as I got the address I jumped towards my closet and got changed. Finally I'm out of that apartment! I'm basically skipping down the street towards the diner, about 15 minutes from here. I'm so happy I get to sorta-hang out with a friend. So tired of being home… alone…

I finally get to the diner and pull open the glass door. I look around and see that it has a very nice 1950's, 1960's vibe to it. I already feel as if I'm with family, not in a diner across the country.

Walking up to the counter I flash a sincere smile to the old man behind the counter. He smiles back through his thin grey beard and lifts his white cap. "C'n I help ya young ladey?"

It takes me a few moments to process the thick accent of the man, "Um, yeah… Is Jaime Reyes here?" I ask hesitantly.

He looks me up and down while rubbing his chin. Flashes a toothy grin and exits through the door behind the counter. I hear some muffled voices, and then a loud good hearted laugh from the old man. An odd groan pierces through the door and then out comes Jaime, a look of annoyance painted on his face. What's with him?

"I'd have thought you'd wear an apron or something," I crack a joke. He shoots a glare my way and walks to the front of the counter, orders two slices of apple pie and guides me to a window side table. He pulls my chair out for me, "Oh, well mannered," I joke.

He almost slumps into the chair in front of me. And takes out his phone to look at the time. Sighing he puts it back in his back pocket. He rolls up the sleeves of his plain flannel shirt and bites his bottom lip.

"You're lucky the diner's dead today," he finally says without looking my way.

I blink in surprise. "Why?"

"I've been forced to take a day off to hang out with my 'girlfriend'." And he has the cutest pout on!

I blush like mad, "B-but I'm… not your girlfriend!" I protest, stuttering like an idiot.

The old man comes up to us with two slices of apple pie, with a scoop of ice cream and two tall glasses of milk. He deposits them gently in front of Blue and I, shares a knowing look with Jaime and walks away saying "It's on the house!"

Jaime immediately started into his piece of pie as if he hadn't eaten in days. I stared for a while, before cutting a small piece with my fork and putting it in my mouth. "Whoa! This is delicious!" I nearly cried out.

"Thanks."

"What?" I blurt out in confusion.

"I made the pie, I'm the cook."

I simply nod and take another bite of my pie as he downs his glass of milk. "So, why am I lucky that the diner is dead today?" I ask to break the silence.

"Because I need the money. Badly."

"What for?"

"Just drop it."

I finish my piece of pie in silence and pretty soon we're out of the diner and walking around. He's refusing to look at me. He's looking everywhere else, but avoiding everything in my general direction, why? "Are you mad at me?"

He stops dead in his tracks, bewildered. He blinks stupidly for a few seconds and then regains his composure. He sighs, "Yeah, but I shouldn't be…"

"Oh? And why not?" I reply jokingly

"… I guess it wouldn't be fair to you," he sighs out with a tone of melancholy and something I can't quite place.

I look away awkwardly and now it's me who can't look at him. What the hell? Why'd that make me react? We continue walking in silence.

iiiIIIiii

The two teenagers had been walking around for about thirty minutes, bickering playfully about what they should do. During that time Cassie had begun to walk in front of Jaime. Whether it was out of habit or just to annoy him, the reason was unknown. After their last exchange it had taken everything in Jaime's power just to ask her what she wanted to do. She had replied with 'go to the museum' and Jaime had finally agreed.

"On condition. That it's a museum from here," he said.

"Ok, but why?" was her confused reply.

"I have a 'city membership' card that lets me go to centers and other places for free."

"So… Know any good museums?"

Jaime thought for a moment, "Well, they're all in the same neighbourhood, so we can just go and see which one we want to go to."

Cassie nodded, that was a great idea. He's more fun to hang around with than I'd expected! she happily thought as she almost started skipping for the second time that day.

Jaime had his hands in his pockets, shaking his heads at her antics. She's certainly more giddy than usual. He smirked at that realisation.

The duo arrived at an intersection and could immediately cross as the pedestrian light was on. Cassie started first, as she did for the past half hour, Jaime followed suit.

yYy

I looked at Cassie's backside; her yoga pants, grey sweatshirt and high ponytail somehow made her look really great. Hormonal reaction detected. Yeah, yeah. But I can't do anything about it. Robin's already asked me for advice on how to get Cassie to be interested in him. She deserves better than me anyways…

I glance to my left out of habit and noticed a car that was terrifyingly headed straight for Cassie. "No!" I yelled as I pushed her.