Under the Rose

Chapter 10

What have I done?

Jinx sat on a bench outside of the library, studying the glasses in hand. A bracelet twinkled on her wrist in the sunlight, spraying rainbows onto the ground around her and the toes of a new pair of soft black shoes.

Finders keepers. What a load of bull.

She knew it was wrong and she did it anyways. And now her former elation had become an insufferable guilt.

The jacket that had seemed so soft when she first tried it on was feeling scratchy, too hot. Jinx shrugged herself out of it, still holding her glasses, and let it slide to the cold ground.

She should have just quit. "Good" hadn't really stuck before...what made her think it would have worked now?

I'm bad luck. Good was never an option for me.

She always got close to a goal and watched it slip through her fingers. It used to be the Titans who foiled her inferior plans, then it was her own stupidity that kept her out of the Brotherhood, and it was her weakness that kept her down now.

My name is Jinx and I am a villain and nothing will change that, not my meager will, not running away again, not roses, not--

--

As Wally walked the path to the library, he grinned up at the sky, feeling quite well. Hive was in jail, all had been quiet so far today, and he was on his way to hopefully bump into his dream girl.

He was startled to see her sitting on a bench. It looked like she'd been up since early that morning. She was blankly staring at her glasses in a manner that Wally did not like one bit.

It was like a look of defeat. He had a flashback to days before Jinx deserted the Titans, before he had gone on that stupid mission, taking him so far away. She'd had that same face. Suddenly the day was not so good anymore. He just wanted back her contented smiles from yesterday.

Operation Brighten Her Day has begun.

Wally sat down beside her silently and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She tensed and then slowly relaxed against him. "Hi," Wally said finally. He looked at Rose's brown eyes and wanted to smile, seeing the hint of pink that had been so well hidden. Then he saw her hands holding the glasses and gently took them, replacing the dark frames on her nose. "Just because you didn't see the waiter coming doesn't mean they're broken."

There was a glimmer of a smile. Jinx sighed and began to fiddle with the intricate bracelet on her wrist. "I just don't know why I bother."

Wally did not like the implications of the statement at all. "I would say you've been doing quite well," he offered simply. Jinx seemed surprised at his understanding tone and was silent. There was a pause, and Wally noted her shoes. As well as the rather nice jacket that was halfway sliding from the bench. And the dark jeans that seemed to be very new. He frowned.

Looking down at her again, he realized that Jinx had a frown to mirror his own.

"I don't think I agree with you, Wally," she finally replied.

This was unacceptable. Wally stood suddenly and offered out his hand. "Come on. I'm getting you out of this funk." He grabbed her jacket and, after coaxing her from her seat, replaced the item around her shoulders. She gave him a wary look.

"Where are we going?"

Somewhere awesome. "Where I go when I feel a little futile myself," Wally chuckled. He took a couple steps and turned back to her with a small grin. "Trust me." Maybe she couldn't change what she'd done before, but he wasn't going to let her just give in. Jinx was too remarkable for that.

She gave him a perplexed look and furrowed her brow. And then she took his hand and they walked on together.

--

Trust me...

Now Jinx knew there was definitely more to Wally than met the eye, and she would have investigated further, but curiosity over the destination won out.

She shrugged her arms into the jacket reluctantly and fell into step beside the redhead. "Why would you ever feel futile?" she asked. It's not like you're some sort of recovering super-villain who took a dive. Jinx frowned. A really stupid dive. Wally never answered her question.The two walked in amiable silence for the next minutes. Jinx retained the unhappy visage.

Wally finally waved a hand in front of her face. "Not more of that," he said. "They don't like frowns."

"They?" Now Jinx was really worried. She started to check the surroundings, trying to deduce where he was taking her. Straight ahead was a large brick building, covering two sides of the street with a connecting bridge running over the traffic. She turned to Wally, confused. "Why are you taking me to JCU Medical Center?"

"You'll see."

"I don't need a shrink or anything."

Wally gave her a sideways look. "...Are you sure?" She popped him in the waist with her elbow, rolling her eyes.

He just chuckled. "Come on." With that he took her hand and led her through the automatic doors to the elevator.

--

She was so confused and curious. Wally rocked back and forth on his heels in the elevator, hands in pockets, clearly enjoying watching her try to puzzle out his intention. He'd been whistling earlier, but Jinx had given him one of her best glares ever and got to revel in the sound of his little chirps dying away. They settled on hearing the elevator music.

Wally tried to give her a poke. Jinx was in the middle of slapping his hand when the car jerked to a stop.

The doors opened to a floor with bright white walls decorated with colorful bulletin boards, pictures, and drawings. Jinx studied a colorful photograph of some tropical fish and kept an ear on the conversation that Wally was having with the receptionist that greeted them.

"Hello Mr. West! We weren't expecting you today." The lady sounded happy. Wally did kind of do that to people. When he wasn't annoying them, of course.

"It's Wally, please," he replied. Jinx felt their eyes turn to her. "I just have a friend today and thought I'd come by sooner." She returned her attention to the fish drawing, feeling self-conscious about her manicured nails and soft fitted jacket.

Wally touched her hand gently. "Come on."

He led her down the hall and they entered a spacious room filled with toys and small children. Jinx paused at the doorway.

"Wally!" Several of them ran forward and jumped at the redhead's arms, giggling as he lifted them up and walked into the room surrounded by the children's smiles. For some inexplicable reason Jinx found herself ready to cry.

What was she doing here anyways?

A small hand tugged on her jeans. Jinx looked down to see a pair of big brown eyes looking up at her in wonder. Panicked, she turned to look for Wally, only to find that he had been absconded into some sort of playhouse (appropriately marked with a sign reading "Playhouse"). She turned back to the child, who held up a single broken crayon in silence.

Awkward.

Well, here goes. "Hey kid," she began meekly. She gingerly patted the girl on the head. "What's your name?"

"Audrey." Audrey stood there and kept holding the crayon.

I don't know if I like children. They certainly did not mix with bad luck too often." I'm Rose," Jinx replied. "Um...Do you like to draw?"

Audrey nodded and walked away to a table, where another girl and boy were also coloring. Jinx took one last look at her escape route and followed cautiously, taking a seat in one of the tiny plastic chairs. Her knees came higher than the table.

"She's Rose. It's a pretty name," Audrey said with childlike authority. Everything was simpler when you were young. Jinx sighed.

Three pairs of eyes watched her, inexplicably awed. She was going to murder Wally for this.

They were a little cute, she supposed.

"So what would you like to draw?" Jinx asked, grabbing a sheet of paper and a dark blue crayon.

"A bunny."

"A robot."

"Cinderella."

Jinx smiled a little bit. Maybe this wasn't so bad. "Why don't I start with the bunny?"

--

Looking out of the Playhouse door, Wally grinned, peeking between several tiny hands at Rose, who sat at the drawing table by a large window.

"Is she your girlfriend?" One little boy named Owen asked.

Wally laughed and tweaked Owen's nose. "Definitely."

"Ew."

Wally ruffled his hair. "You don't think she's pretty?"

The girl that currently sat in his lap regarded the window with a comically serious face. "I like her hair," she finally admitted with all solemnity.

One little redheaded boy sighed. "She's be-yoo-tiful." The kids all began to laugh at this statement. Wally ruffled his hair. "Swell adjective, Eric. Girls like to hear that."

Audrey stumbled through one of the tunnels of the playspace, waving a sheet of paper. "Look, Rose drew me a bunny!"

The children all oohed and ahed, and before Wally knew he was the only one there, sitting with his back slumped against the ceiling so that he could fit. The kids had all ambushed Jinx, who sat there with the most amusing expression of slight horror that Wally had ever had the pleasure of seeing.

"Rose will you draw me a dinosaur?" "No, draw another bunny." "Can I have a turtle?"

To his great surprise, she smiled. Widely. And there on her was the sun through the window.

It was dazzling. As though she felt his eyes, Jinx looked up at the playhouse and met his gaze, the smile still as grand. Wally ran a hand through his hair and returned with a somewhat sheepish smile of his own.

Operation Brighten Her Day? Accomplished.

--

Jinx accepted the cone from Wally with a nod, noting the stars beginning to come from the twilight. They had spent the entire day there. Jinx smiled to herself and took a small lick of her chocolate ice cream.

Wally glanced up at her with a small grin. "That was fun...and I guess now you know 'why you bother'?"

Jinx sighed, fingering her new bracelet again. "Maybe," she finally admitted. "Thank you for the day, Wally."

Wally didn't seem happy with this answer. "You know," he began, "I said earlier that I would go there when I myself felt ineffective in this world...I want you to understand."

Jinx laughed. "I doubt it's on the same level, Wally. You're so smart, and get along well with everyone. That's the life you're used to. It's what you've always had." She gave him a kind smile. "I'm still adjusting."

"Everybody is constantly adjusting, Rose," Wally replied, more serious than Jinx had ever seen him. "We have to. When we don't...Do you know why those kids are there? Because their parents couldn't handle that adjustment, couldn't care for them in the way they needed, and nobody else is ready to take the slack."

Jinx nodded, listening intently. "Most of the time that is the case, not always." she qualified. "But I get it. Please keep going."

"So..." Wally paused, collecting his thoughts. "What I'm trying to say is, I know that sometimes it seems hard. And you see stuff like that, or like what happened to you that night when you were jogging, or all this bad stuff in the world that happens. And it's sad that it affects futures that could be so much brighter. And I know it sometimes makes you want to run." He paused a split second. "Run away, I mean," he murmured.

Jinx absorbed that, wincing at his mention of Hive Five, wondering at his final statement. " It is sad," she finally said, looking at her toes. She tried to gather a less diplomatic answer in the silence.

"But..." Jinx snapped her head back up at Wally's voice. "But I go and I help because I have faith that other people are doing the same, trying to be better, not just for themselves, but for others. It's really just about having faith in...good, you know? And...and I have faith in you too, so even...even if you don't know why you bother, just keep bothering for me, okay?" Wally suddenly blushed. "Um...that's it. I sounded like a soapbox preacher, I know, but--"

Jinx reached her hand forward and placed a hand on the back of his neck, placing a firm kiss on his forehead. "No. Thank you. That was exactly what I had to hear."

She could do this. She wasn't alone.

My name is Jinx and I am going to be good. My name is Jinx and I have faith.

Wally was looking at her intently, the whole of his blue eyes shining with something he seemed ready to tell her. Jinx opened her mouth to ask a question that she did not know how to say.

But before there could be any words, a crowded suburban swerved through the street, its occupants singing what sounded like ABBA at the top of their lungs.

"YOU CAN DANCE! YOU CAN JIVE! HAVING THE TIME OF YOUR LIIIFE"

Wally couldn't help it. He burst into laughter. Jinx snorted and set off more giggles between the two of them.

"The most inopportune moment," Jinx gasped between laughs. "The mood's just gone."

Wally sighed. "Yeah, I'm thinking we're done for now. It's getting late anyways. I took away a whole day of working on art for you, too. Well, real art, not bunnies and racecars and...muffins." He whipped out a sheet of paper from his pocket, regarding it while comically stroking his chin. " 'Why Wally shouldn't eat too many.' Real cute." He flipped the paper around so that Jinx could admire her drawing of an incredibly pudgy Wally West once more.

"And see, if you look I even drew in the little blueberries, your favorite!"

"Hey!"

Jinx stood, gathering her trash and giggling. "This was really fun, Wally," she said sincerely. "I will go back to the hospital with you anytime."

"Really?" The smile split his face. Jinx nodded, toes tingling at being the source of a smile like that. She turned to leave.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said kindly.

Wally placed a bill on the table for the waitress and reached forward, giving Jinx a tight hug. "Happy Thanksgiving. Let me walk you to the dorm building." He kept his arm around her shoulder and they walked down the street.

--

Flash wanted to pull his hair out. She was so bothered by what he suspected to be just a petty theft, it was so remarkable the change that had occurred. He needed to tell her. He almost had. And then...ABBA. He used to (secretly) love them. But now the band would forever be considered a pest.

Now he had to muster up all that courage all over again. He hadn't quite gotten it, even when they had kissed goodnight and she paused before going up to her room. It had been easier when he was leading in to it, telling her his view on things. He'd been so ready to just blurt it. He sighed as he narrowly avoided a throng of students, burying his hands farther down in his pockets. Flash hoped that what he said got through to her. Jinx couldn't go back, simply couldn't. She'd come so far.

His cell phone rang, and Flash flipped it open. "Hello?"

"You should watch out."

Flash stopped walking, ducking into an alley. "See-More," he snarled. "How are you calling me?"

"Our leader has freed us from jail. Did you expect us to stay there forever?"

Wally punched his hand against the wall. Not good. Not good.

"But not only that...we know who you are, Mr. West. Kid Flash."

Wally paled. See-More laughed in the silence.

"So you better expect us soon. Keep an eye out." He laughed wickedly into the phone, and hung up.

Flash stared at his cell phone for the millisecond it took to process what had just happened, and then he dashed the offending item against the ground.

From his ring he shot out the red costume and spun into hero attire. Zipping off at the speed of light, he arrived outside of Jinx's dorm, where to his immense consolation all was quiet, a few room windows lit up in the night.

So she was alright. Flash breathed out with relief.

His body didn't require much sleep anyways. After he reported to Chief McMillan he could keep an eye on her. For however long he needed to.

Flash made a fist. Sooner or later they'll come out of hiding, and I'll be there to run circles around them all. This mystery was going to meet its end. Soon.

--

Okay everyone, I hope you enjoy this speedy update :D

I actually really enjoyed writing this chapter. I know it's a little on the fluffy side, but it turned out to have much more to it than I expected. I like what it became. And...I don't own ABBA. That's probably inferred...Anyways.

In case you haven't noticed, I've been quite inspired lately, lol. However...

These final chapters (there should be only around 4 left, plus epilogue!) will come in much slower. I'm leaving for school and will most certainly be much busier than I've been all summer. I wanted to get as much done before that as possible. I'll still try to crank out one more chapter tomorrow; Hopefully this writing streak will continue!

So long story short: I will finish this fic, but at a much slower pace than I've been writing lately. Just warnin' ya.

Thanks for reading!

-Silver Miracles