Later than I had planned, but here it is. Originally this was going to be a loooooong chapter, but I think splitting it in two will just flow better. Plus this way all the chapters will be more or less the same length.
I'd like to thank you all for the wonderful reviews and support. I'm flattered beyond belief. Real talk, y'all.
To Mikeyf1115 and Roxy-Bluff: I have no idea if I'm going to touch DickxZatanna in any way. I purposely introduced Dick and Babs as having an on again/off again relationship because of comic canon and in case I decided to throw the Chalant pairing in there. That part is all up in the air. I love both pairings though, so I really can't decide!
I also have no idea if I'll be throwing in any M rated material. If I did, it wouldn't be smut. Again, up in the air.
Once again, Wally flopped face first into the couch when he got home, only this time it wasn't out of depression. He was elated, over the moon, he could run around the world if he wanted.
Dick had been already been sitting on the couch eating a late lunch when Wally practically fell on top of him. It was a miracle his lunch hadn't been sent all over the two of them, or that Wally's head hadn't actually landed in his lap. That would have been painfully awkward. Emphasis on painful.
He rubbed his hand in the mess of red hair. "Bad day, puddin'?"
Wally rolled over and quickly realized how close he was to his roommate. He scrambled upwards before finally sighing. "I had a great day."
"Aw. Tell me all about it, sweetheart," Dick replied as he continued eating. It was completely common for the two of them to use petnames as they had been for years, which sparked some pretty strange rumors for them around high school. Unfortunately for those who started them, Wally and Dick had played right into it.
"You will never guess who I ran into today." Wally hand found its way to his chin as he attempted to replay the afternoon in his mind.
"Artemis," Dick guessed, not even missing a beat.
"How'd you know?" Wally's day dream was cut short by his friend's annoyingly accurate guess.
"You only get that dreamy over a very few women. One of them was my aunt. Still weird, by the way."
Wally shrugged. "Not for me. But seriously, how cool is that? First the number, now I find out she's in my Viet Lit class."
Dick's head shot up from his plate. "Really? You've been following this chick since the semester pretty much started, and you're just now finding out she's in one of your classes? How many weeks has it been?"
Wally scowled. It's not like Vietnamese Literature was the most fascinating topic. He had been hoping for some works out of the Vietnam War era, but was sorely mistaken. Now his parents were paying for him to take a 90 minute nap every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. He grabbed a chip off his friend's plate before picking up the conversation.
"Anyways, I kind of invited her to Barbara's party tomorrow. You think she'll mind?"
"Do I think she'll mind if you bring a date? Hmmm That's going to be a tough one," he mocked, pretending to seriously ponder the question. Wally hadn't noticed that Dick had already moved to the kitchen in the span of the last two seconds. "She likes meeting new people, she likes hearing about what's-her-name-"
"Artemis,"
"Right, and there is a good chance she is going to be drunk. I say go for it."
"Good. I didn't want to impose or anything," he replied as he headed for his room.
"Yes you would!" his roommate responded. It was true. Wally liked Barbara, but he also liked annoying Barbara, and had since they met. He flopped down on his bed and opened his computer, expectations for the next night building with each passing moment.
"Now I have to warn you...they're kind of excitable. At least the girls are. And Dick. Plus the whole college party thing... Conner's quiet though. You'll like Conner."
"I've done the "whole college party thing"," Artemis assured him. She playfully hit his arm. "Actual college student, remember? I do homework and everything."
"I know. I know," Wally rubbed the back of his neck as they walked. "They're just really excited that I'm bringing a date, and one who we haven't know for the last 4 years, so-"
"Date?" Artemis asked causing Wally to stop dead in his tracks.
"I-I...I didn't say date. I said girl...I said female human."
She turned around to face him, but kept walking. "No, it's fine. Now I know whether or not to put out." She gave him a cheeky grin at his dumbfound look. "Come on, you gotta lead the way. I don't know where we're going!"
There weren't many people there when Wally and Artemis arrived, but Barbara always preferred smaller groups for her birthdays. They walked through the door and were immediately spotted by Dick whose face morphed into an impish grin. The rest of the group followed his line of vision to Wally, and all eyes fell on Artemis. Barbara was the first to greet them, running towards the door.
"Ahh! You're here and you have to be Artemis. Hi, Wally. It's so good to meet you and not have to listen to him mope. I'm Barbara, by the way. Not usually so giddy, but I mean birthday, alcohol, finally getting to meet you. Gah!" She pulled a very surprised Artemis into a tight squeeze, each sentiment emphasized by a sudden jerk or wiggle from Barbara. Artemis hardly considered herself a "people person", and was definitely not a "hugger". Her face instantly betrayed her discomfort.
The redhead let go before looking between the two. "Fracking adorable. Anyways, I'll get drinks and..." She took a dramatic pause, giving Wally a knowing grin. "The supplies. Wallace, introduce these delinquents."
Artemis remained tense from her sudden contact with Barbara. She turned to look at Wally who shrugged in response.
"I told you. Excitable. Now let's see." He pointed to the largest of them who hardly looked like he was having fun. "The big guy's Conner. The tiny thing next him is his girlfriend Megan." Megan waved excitedly from her perch on Conner's lap, the latter only nodding slightly. "This one is Raquel. Do not listen to her when she talks."
"I heard that, Baywatch!" Artemis's eyes landed on a tuff of spiky black hair sticking up from the couch as well as an extended middle finger.
"Baywatch?" Artemis turned to Wally. This sounded like a good story.
"We're not talking about that."
"I have a feeling you will be!" Raquel poked her head up above the cushions to stick her tongue out at him when she glanced at Artemis. "Ho-ly crap! She is pretty."
"Um, thank you?"
Raquel's body twisted so that she was now facing Artemis. "So you agree? You think you're really pretty?"
"Nope. Stop. Stop stop." An arm worked her way around her shoulder, and Artemis half expected it to belong to Wally. When she looked, however, she came face to face with a pair of blue eyes.
"If you let her quote Mean Girls, she'll never stop. Nice to see you again. I'm Dick by the way."
"Right. You were in the store with the Wallman the other day." Though she didn't actually know him, Artemis was thankful for at least one quasi-familiar face. She was just glad it was a small party. I don't think I could handle many more if they're all as extroverted as Wally. Just then Barbara returned, two cases of PBR in had and her iPod in her mouth.
"Are you guys ready?" she mumbled with the player in her mouth. She spat it out in her boyfriend's already extended hand as she set down the two cases.
"I can't believe we're still playing this! How long has it been?" Megan asked.
"It's only been two years for me," Raquel responded and caught the cans that were quickly thrown towards her. She tossed them over to Megan and Conner before turning to catch a few more.
Wally led Artemis over to a spot on the floor next to Megan. Artemis once again found herself in a tight squeeze. Megan attempted to apologize profusely - she was just so excited, you know, but Artemis could hardly be upset with her. Something about this girl just screamed "Let me braid your hair. We're watching Legally Blonde tonight."
"Let's see...Barbs, Dick, and I have been going for six years, so five for Megan and Conner?" Wally turned to the two for affirmation and received a noncommittal shrug from Conner.
"Someone want to let our newest recruit know what's going on?" Dick hooked up Barbara's iPod and cycled through the music.
"That would be nice..." She looked to Wally as he handed her a can.
"So Barbara, Dick, Megan, Conner, and I all met at this camp we went to in high school. Cabins, s'mores, friendship bracelets, etc. We also got to do a big service project during the stay."
"We got to help out on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition once!" Megan excitedly added.
"How did you pull that off?"
"Camp's run by the Martha Wayne Foundation," Wally replied. "Anyways, in order to make friends and get to know each other we would institute a game of Never Have I Ever each year. It's sort of become a tradition, although now that we're older we can talk about the good stuff and take a drink for everything we have done."
Artemis held back a laugh. "Like the game from ninth grade?" Before anyone could answer the all too familiar intro to "Sugar, We're Goin Down" started through the speakers. She couldn't believe it. "It's exactly like ninth grade. Doesn't it get old, though? You guys have probably heard everything a million times."
"That's the fun part." Raquel winked. "We don't tell everyone everything that happened over the year. Some stories are reserved specifically for I've Never." She took a sip of her beer. "Oh that reminds me. If it's a good story, we're going to have to insist that you share with the class."
"But if it's like super personal, we totally understand. You don't have to spill everything." Megan put her hand on Artemis's shoulder, causing her to naturally jerk in response.
"Alright, enough yammerin, put up yer dukes. Let's start." Dick sat on the couch between Raquel and Barbara and gave Artemis a playful grin. "The guest of honor way go first."
Artemis raised her fingers as she met his grin. "Right. Never have I ever...stalked someone at their place of work." Her eyes flew to Wally who was now turning a bright shade of red. "Take a drink."
Laughs and whoops rose from the others as Wally opened his can. "I'm going to get you back for this," he challenged.
Artemis accepted with a raise of her eyebrows, her smile growing larger.
Barbara shook her head. "Oh, I knew I was going to like her."
Ah yesssss! Next chapter will be where the real fun begins. I can assure you that chapter 6 won't be posted until the 26th at the earliest. Love them midterms!
Have a great rest of your week, guys :D
UPDATE: A poll has been added to my profile concerning the whole Dibs vs Chalant thing. I have a story planned out either way, but it would be nice to know what everyone thinks. Be sure to check it out. Tell your friends, tell your tumblrs, tell your moms.