Artemis' perspective. (the italicized words are her dream, but also somewhat of a flashback.)
12:14 AM
It was late, but Artemis couldn't sleep. She quietly made her way to the living room, careful not to wake any of her teammates. It had been a long day for all of them.
They had a nasty run in with Sportsmaster and Cheshire. None of the members of the team knew that she was related to both of them and Artemis wanted to keep it that way.
Tired of thinking about her scumbag father and messed up sister, she sat down on the couch and turned on the television. Flipping through the channels she found nothing interesting, but finally settled on cooking show.
She made sure the sound was turned down low, it wasn't like she was really watching it anyway. Curling up on the sofa, she was finally starting to feel tired. Before she knew it, sleep over came her.
Artemis was younger, smaller, more innocent looking. She stood in the middle of the woods with her father and sister. She watched in fascination as her father showed Jade how to use a sword. He showed her how to slice, jab, and stab through the air.
"Now be real quiet, girls," he said. After a few minutes a rabbit came into few. He silently pointed to it and Jade attacked. Artemis gasped as Jade proudly smiled at her father. She had killed it. Lawrence Crock ruffled Jade's hair.
"Well done," he said. Jade smiled wider at his compliment.
He handed Artemis a bow and an arrow. "You're turn." All of a sudden a deer popped out of nowhere.
"Now, Artemis!" he whispered in her ear.
"I can't," she whispered.
"What was that?" he asked.
"I won't," she said louder.
"Excuse me? Did you just refuse?" He started to get angry with his youngest daughter. The deer scurried off.
"Now look what you've done!" he yelled. Artemis flinched. He snatched the bow away and got right up in her face.
"You are a disgrace," her father snarled. "And you will learn to kill."
"No I won't!" she screamed at him as she started to cry. He pulled his hand back and just when be was about to hit her-
She woke up in her bed and caught a red headed boy tiptoeing out of her room.
"Wally?" she said, her voice thick with sleep. "What the heck are you doing in my room?"
"I-I- I was just… um, I was just… You fell asleep on the couch and looked cold so I brought you back here. Sorry," he stuttered. His face was probably as red as his hair, but he wasn't facing her.
She yawned and shifted to be more comfortable. "Don't be," she said tiredly.
She heard him breath out loudly.
Wally was just about to leave when she stopped him again. "Hey, Wally?"
"Yeah?" he turned around to look at her now.
"Thanks." And she meant it.
When he left, she noticed herself staring at the exact spot he had been. She shook her head and wiped her face. She realised she must have been crying in her sleep.
Wally must've seen it. How embarrassing. He was never going to let her live this one down. She would get him back for it.
Though it was sweet of him to carry her back.
The next morning, Artemis was utterly surprised when Wally didn't mention their late night adventure at all. Maybe there was something different about him, but she couldn't help herself from sneaking glances at him every so often.
She was starting to notice all the little things about him, like how his hair was always a bit messy and never perfect. Or how he had so many freckles to count that it was almost cute. Or maybe how his green eyes sparkled whenever someone mentioned food.
Maybe there was something wrong with her, but she had to admit, she might be falling for him. And a little part deep inside of her hoped that maybe he was falling for her too.