Artemis walked into her apartment and unceremoniously dropped everything in her arms on the floor next to the door. Zatanna sat on the couch watching tv as she ate out of a Chinese takeout box. A small smile slid across her face.
"That's not the shirt you wore when you left."
"Yeah, but that is the exact position I left you in last night." She sat on the opposite end of the couch and threw her legs up onto the back, relishing in her comfy state. "Please tell me you moved at least once."
"Of course. Where do you think the food came from?" She shoved another bite in her mouth before continuing through her chewing. "I went out with Karen for a bit, but that's all boring stuff. Tell me about your night." Zatanna paused the tv and turned to face her roommate who was mid eye-roll.
"There's not much to tell. His friends are all really nice, and we drank some, and I crashed at his place. Now I'm here." Artemis had started playing the ends of her ponytail, a telltale sign that she was lying, or at least not telling the whole truth. Zatanna had caught on to the sign very early in their friendship, but she knew the best way to get around it was just to keep asking questions.
"Why are you wearing what I assume is his shirt?"
"It was comfier than what I was wearing."
"Did you sleep with him?"
"Nope."
"Did you sleep with him?"
"Nope."
"Are you guys at least dating?"
"Nope."
"What?!" It was the moment she had been dreading. Her roommate knew why she would never rush into a relationship, but sometimes Artemis wondered if she actually understood.
"Why?" Zatanna asked. She was clearly trying not overreact.
"You know why." Artemis kept her attention on the ends of hair, twirling them around her finger to create soft waves.
"But you've been out with guys since that, done all that stuff. Why's is he any different?"
Artemis flicked her hair behind her head as met her best friend's eyes. "Because he is different. I like Wally, but I've liked other guys, too. I'm not going to blindly rush in like I did before. If that means keeping him at an arm's length, I'll take that."
The two sat in silence. Zatanna stabbed her fork into her box of rice and Artemis picked at her nails. Both knew exactly to whom Artemis was referring, but neither said a word. They sat like that for a couple moments, drinking in the heavy quiet. Finally Artemis broke the silence.
"I told them about dad..." She reached over her roommate for a box of Chinese. To her surprise it was partially full, but that quickly turned to disappointment when she looked in to find cashew chicken.
"Are you trying to scare them all off?" Zatanna switched boxes, giving her friend the pepper steak she knows she was looking for. Instead of a thanks, she received a the trademark Artemis Crock glare. Zee felt herself shrink into the couch. "Sorry. I just...you remember what happened last time you told a guy. It was freakout city."
Artemis picked out the biggest piece of steak she could find and popped it in her mouth. "I didn't tell them everything. Just what he did to mom. They don't know all the glories of my messed up childhood."
Zatanna gave her a sympathetic look. Neither of them had the most heartwarming family stories, but Artemis had something straight out of a soap opera or those romance novels she hid under her bed. It had been difficult, but somehow she was surviving. She kept busy. The busier she was, the less she had to think about it.
"Oh but here's the kicker." She swallowed between words. "After I told them that, they all opened up with drama of their own. And I mean big drama, not just my boyfriend cheated on me drama. Like relatable drama."
"So...you made friends. That's...good."
Artemis face-planted into Zatanna shoulder and let out a loud groan. "I hate my life."
She patted her friend's head before laying her own on top. "So when do I get to meet him? And does he have any single friends?"
"You're not helping!"
"I'll take that as a no..."
Wally's eyes stared into the television screen. He hadn't moved in hours, his long legs stretched over the couch as he continued playing video games. His fingers flew over the controls as he fired away into oncoming foes. It was official - he was in a funk. It was rare for him to play this long, or this well. Although he hated to admit it, hearing that Artemis wasn't ready for anything serious was a buzzkill. He tried to play it off, but inside it was killing him.
"So if you're not "a thing", what are you guys doing?" Dick asked. Wally told him just about everything that had transpired after Artemis had left.
"I don't know. Seeing each other? Casually dating? What's the step between confirming your feelings and dating? She did tell me to text her later, but only if I promised not to come into work every week."
Dick laughed. "She's something. Everyone seemed to like her, though. She got Conner to talk, so naturally Megan loves her." Dick walked into his room to change. "Have you heard from Cal?"
"Just what he posts on Facebook. I think he met a girl. Really seems to like her." His eyes were glued to the tv, but his peripherals caught the faint glow of his phone lighting up.
"Awww," Dick's voice now came from the bathroom. "We're all pairing off. That's so cute." There was a pause. "We're not reaching that age are we?"
"I hope not. I can barely manage to get a girlfriend." Wally paused his game to grab his phone.
"Hey, kiddo! Your aunt says you have a girlfriend!" Wally's uncle Barry's voice was bright and energetic as he answered the phone.
"Don't you two have more important things to be worrying about than my love life?" Wally held his phone between his ear and shoulder as he continued playing video games.
"Not for the next couple of weeks, then we can start ignoring your for 18 years." Barry laughed at his own joke while Wally rolled his eyes. Classic Uncle Barry. "So tell me about her. Iris says you're smitten."
Wally paused the game and ran a hand through his hair. A sigh escaped his lips that was more content than exasperated. Just as he did with his aunt, he gushed, filling him in on what had happened since Thursday. He hesitated when he got to that morning.
"She said she wasn't ready for anything serious, though. Apparently she had some rough relationships in the past. I tried to act like it wasn't a big thing when she told me, but it's kind of a big thing." His attention was still on the game, preferring to take his emotions out on tiny animated enemies than food or his uncle. Usually Wally turned to running to clear his mind, but even that hadn't helped much.
"Sounds like you're having a better go at it than I did when I met Iris," his uncle laughed.
"Really?"
"Oh yeah. Could hardly stand to be in the same town as me nevertheless the same room. But now she's popping out a kind that I put there-"
"Gross."
"And I don't think I could be happier."
Wally paused the game once more. "Ok, so how'd you do it?"
Barry's laughter was again heard over the phone. "I was pretty unrelenting, but eventually I was there at the right time."
Wally felt his face go blank before his smacked his forehead. "You're telling me you stalked her."
"Nah, nothing like that. Think of it this way. It's not a chase, because then you'll scare her away, and you're not looking for a change of heart. It's more of a you're there for her, emotionally and whatnot, you'll be able to catch her when she falls."
Monday rolled around like any other Monday and proceeded like any other. If there was ever an example of having a case of the Mondays, Wally felt like the poster child. Much to his chagrin, he trudged into his Vietnamese class almost dreading facing Artemis. I just don't think my fragile heart can take more rejection! he half joked.
His moping was short-lived. Right in his usual seat sat Artemis, nose-first in her book. He smirked as he crossed the row over to her, casually dumping his bag on the ground as he dropped into his seat.
"You know," he mocked, "some would call this harassment."
"Hm. I don't think this even compares to your stalking habits." Her eyes never left the page, but a small smile graced her lips.
"Yeah, but I'm a cute stalker, right? So it's ok."
"Oh yeah. That's totally how that works." Sarcasm suited her so well, and he loved every bit of it.
"What are you reading?" He peered over her shoulder only to have a hand shoved into his face, pushing him away.
"Good Omens, and stop licking my hand! You're disgusting!" Wally flashed her an impossibly wide smile as her wiped her hand on his sleeve. Her laughter resonated with genuine joy despite her best efforts to appear angry. "I was going to ask it you wanted to go out again this weekend, with my friends, but after that..."
"I though you said you weren't ready to date."
"I said I wasn't ready to jump into something serious yet." Artemis closed her book and met his gaze. "Like, I'm not going to hop into bed and tell you I love you. I told you I like you. You're a weirdo, but I like you. I just need some time to get to know you, get to know this. And how do single adults get to know each other?"
"They stalk their Facebooks?" Wally smiled again as he feigned realization. "Oh! You mean dates!"
"Great. Another idiot." She rubbed her temples as she gave him a look he could only describe pittying affection.
"Just remember - you like me!"
Artemis shook her head. "This is either going to be the dumbest or best relationship, and for your sake I hope it's the latter."
Starts proofing at 9pm. Spends 3 hours completely rewriting work. Still don't like it, but it is muuuuuch better. Not a lot going on, but I think there was some decent character building, and you always need some Zatanna time.
Thanks to everyone who voted in the poll and commented on their Dibs vs Chalant feelings. I've taken every vote, opinion, personal feel, etc into consideration and I think I know how I'm going to proceed. However, if you feel the need to get your opinion out there, speak now.
More thanks to all of you who read. Chapter 6 hit a viewer high, and I am just so honored :D You're the best!
Have a great weekend!