Under the Rose

Chapter 6

"I dropped my glasses."

Flash was leaning on his arms and at the tip of one of his fingers he felt the smooth plastic of the frames, but the comment did not register immediately. Wally hadn't had the chance to be so tangled up with Rose Thompson as to realize that she enticingly smelled of...well, roses. Maybe a hint of peppermint.

"Wally? They're right by your hand..."

He decided that brown eyes were his new favorite. Odd, though. She seemed to be focusing just fine without them. Aunt Iris was always looking all vague and blurry without hers.

And was Rose getting enough rest? Her eyes looked a little pink.

"Earth to Wally, give me my glasses or I kill you."

Flash snapped back to reality, and quickly grasped the black frames, settling them on her ears. Rose reached up to adjust them as he stood from their sprawled position and offered her his hand.

"Are you alright?" She took his hand and, once on her feet, studied his forehead.

I probably look so attractive right now...He lightly rubbed where the crowbar had annoyingly connected. "It's a lot better than it looks. I just ran into one of the cupboards in the kitchen at Pizza Place. Still getting used to the layout, I guess." He chuckled lightly. It still came out forced—he still felt nauseous, remembering how he let Jinx waltz out of there. And maybe also because he got bashed in the head with a crowbar, but he was KID FLASH and so head traumas were merely day-to-day things. But man, it really hurt...Rose was talking. Her hair was looking awfully pretty. Focus. Need to listen—

"Wally, are you sure you're alright? You are completely blanking out on me. Guys are acting so weird tonight," she murmured.

Flash shook his head clear. "Sorry about that."

Rose waved it off. "Well, you did just suffer severe head injury," she teased. "Those 'kitchen cabinets'—like boulders, I swear." She jumped out of the way of a poke, Flash's response to her sarcasm.

Flash grinned. 'She can ask for the truth but she'll never believe you...' A fitting song for the whole day, it seemed. Flash knew his cabinet story was a lousy cover-up anyways. Whatever. It hurt to think of something better.

"Well," he laughed, "I'm probably fired now, so it won't matter. Like you said, it's been a weird night." He gave her what he hoped was a casual, "disinterested" glance. "What did you mean by that, anyways? You had your date with Brian, right? How'd it go?" He gave her a playful raised eyebrow. "Was it wonderful?" Please please say

"Ehhhhhhh not really." Yes! Flash had figured that before he asked- if it had gone well, she wouldn't have been here.

"Why not?"

"It was just odd."

"How?"

--

Before Jinx knew, she had let loose a full tirade against the awkward and oddly concluded date, most of which probably held no interest to Wally. She had chanced a couple glances at him as she talked—partly to make sure his head was okay (she knew the signs, having dealt with plenty of injuries as Hive Five's unofficial nurse; those boys didn't know squat) and partly to see if he was actually listening. And he was. Jinx was flattered. She continued.

"--and he's so polite, you know, but then he says that we should get back before our roommates, of all people, start to worry, and he leaves even when I say I'd enjoy walking around a bit and then he randomly asks to kiss me--"

The surprised cough from beside her stopped the words. " Did you let him?"

Jinx shook her head and her dark curls bounced slightly. Wally snorted and then started chuckling. She punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Would you have kissed him?"

"Um...I don't know if I'm allowed to answer that question."

"Just come out of the closet already."

It was Wally's turn to slug Rose. She giggled. "I was only joking! I was joking!" The two paused and Wally looked down at her with his arms crossed, but laughter in his eyes betrayed him. Jinx felt the slightest twinge, and the familiar warmth of a blush wound its way to her cheeks. She looked away and they continued walking in silence.

She adjusted her glasses, glad to know that they weren't crooked from the fall. Them being the last thing she had stolen, Jinx was partial to the black frames. Kind of a small tie to her beginning. She wasn't quite ready to forget her start entirely. It reminded her of how far she'd come.

That and they covered up the pink eyes, of course.

Jinx jumped when she felt a touch on her arm. Wally pointed ahead. "Want some ice cream? I find it helps after lousy dates." Jinx wondered how anyone could be less than enamored by Wally's delight and humor. Girls could be so hard to please, even outside of the Hive Academy cliques.

She followed him to the quaint parlor, crowded with the faces of other JCU students enjoying their own late-night milkshakes. "Sounds good," she replied. He led her across the street and gallantly opened the door, guiding her through with a hand placed on the small of her back.

Jinx felt a blush coming again. Don't be all stupid. Just because he's charming...Regardless, she had to admit that sharing some ice cream with Wally was something deserving of a girly reaction.

She sat in a table by the window, watching the TV mounted on the opposite wall as she waited for Wally to buy the food. She tried her best to ignore the way some other groups of girls were watching him. She tried her best not to watch him too. It's only because he has red hair. Just a minor resemblance to a stupid crush from a LONG TIME AGO. Not for any legitimate reasons. She rubbed her hand. No...there was some foundation to this one. But she didn't have to confess to anything, not high crimes, not her old cons of the past, not her old loves, and not her new crush—

"I bought a Triple Fudge Brownie and a Moose tracks, because it's impossible to hate chocolate and I just really like the word moose."

Jinx laughed and took the chocolate. "You're too funny." After a pause, "Thanks for listening to my blather, Wally."

He took a bite of his ice cream and regarded her thoughtfully. "You shouldn't belittle your feelings like that. People do want to help."

Not where I come from, buddy.

"This from the guy who passes off a head wound like a paper cut," she retorted, motioning toward his head. " You shouldn't belittle your battle scars like that," she mimicked.

"Must you always tease?"

"I must." She took another large spoonful of ice cream. "So why are you getting fired? You mentioned earlier..."

Wally chuckled. "I ran out on my shift early. Like, two hours early. Delia's going to kill me and then make a pizza from my remains."

"Gruesome."

"Yeah. The job wasn't working out so well anyways." Here Wally got a distant look, twirling his spoon between his fingers. He met her curious gaze and smiled. "At any rate, what's done is done." He smiled and Jinx felt her heart flip in fulfillment of an excruciating cliché. She smiled quickly in return and then devoted her attention to the TV, which had interrupted the sit-com with a sudden news announcement. Wally turned to watch as well, and Jinx noticed the scowl that began to grace his features as he listened.

This is a special news bulletin that has been sent in by the Jump City police department. Rumors of the resurfacing of HIVE Five's infamous leader Jinx have been confirmed by a sighting at the Jump City Bank, where she narrowly avoided the famous Kid Flash, honorary member of our own Teen Titans. Police Chief Hal McMillan has issued a statement saying that she is in the area, is acting independently of her old compatriots, and has stolen a large sum of money from the bank just earlier this evening. If anyone has any information, they should call this number—

The ice cream turned to ashes in her mouth. Suddenly her stomach was flopping for a different reason entirely. Jinx's spoon clattered onto the ground, turning Wally's attention from the TV back to her. "Rose?"

Jinx bent down to pick up the utensil, taking deep breaths to calm her shaking hands. You are disguised and safe. It's okay. "I'm fine."

Wall didn't look fully convinced, and Jinx got up quickly to grab a new spoon, avoiding his gaze. He got up too, in a smooth motion that Jinx thought was almost quicker than typically possible, and placed a warm hand on her shoulder. "I'll get it," he said with another smile, and walked over to the counter.

Jinx was angry. She was angry because some imposter stealing money and posing as her was making her gaze flit furtively around the room, trying to see if anyone saw through the disguise. She was angry because police were stupid and so was Kid Flash, if they couldn't catch someone who wasn't even her. She was angry because the past ruined her date with Wally. "Bad luck," she mumbled. It's inescapable.

"What?" Wally had returned with an extra spoon. She pushed her ice cream towards him.

"I'm not hungry...it's bad luck that they can't catch...um, Jinx," she explained quietly. Wally scowled and pushed the ice cream back towards the center of the table.

"Lost my own appetite," he shrugged casually. "Yeah, it's a pity."

They sat there in silence. Jinx waited a beat or two, studying Wally's profile as he turned towards the window. She looked down at her watch. "I should probably head on," she murmured. Wally turned back to her and nodded, grabbing his jacket and standing. He offered her a hand. "I'll walk you to the dorm," he said with a smile. Jinx took his hand and grinned in return. Something about the way Wally bounced back from his own melancholies made her feel like the News didn't matter so much. But then again, maybe it was just the fact that his hand in hers was safe, reassuring, and warm.

--

Kinda short, and really just fluffy, but I do believe the next will be rather exciting...until then!

PS "Always a Woman To Me" is Billy Joel's

-Silver Miracles