So, I kinda like to share the music I listen to while i write theses so you get the feel I'm going for. I did once with this story and Anthems is totally inspired by "Anthems for a Seventeen Year Old Girl". This week's chapter has been solely influenced by the Great Gatsby soundtrack, particularly tracks 3, 4, and 11. The whole CD is worth every penny.

Three bags sat by Artemis's car as she cleared room away in her trunk. She straightened up to assess the mess she'd only made worse. Looks like the duffles would be accompanying her in the front seat. Great. Zatanna stood nearby still her pajammas looking absolutely miserable. So maybe she had dragged her out of bed a little early, but she wanted to say goodbye and all.

"Are you sure you have to go?" she yawned. Zatanna's hair was everywhere, and she looked like she had been pushed out of bed at 6 am. Too bad it was closing in on noon.

"Yeah, the sooner I get out of here, the better." She tossed a bag into the passenger seat. "Finals are over, I'm done with my job...All that's left is-"

"Wally?"

"Huh?" Artemis looked over her shoulder to see a very confused Wally heading towards her car. She turned to Zatanna and silently had the conversation she had been dreading. Yeah, I did. I know. I know. Yeah he's going to be mad, but this is my mom we're talking about. The rest of her bags were tossed in the car with what she assumed was the rest of her dignity before turning back to greet him.

"Babe, what are you doing here?" She cringed. Babe? She never used pet names, especially not outside of the bedroom.

"I was just going to ask you the same thing." He planted a quick peck on her lips. "Going somewhere?"

"Uh yeah...Zee, will you run in and make sure I got my uh...phone out of my room?" Her roommate nodded before going back in, the eye roll not going unnoticed.

"I thought we were going to catch a movie today," he said. His voice was unsteady, aware of where the conversation was going. Already he looked hurt, she hadn't even gotten to the worst part yet. She leaned against the car.

"I gotta go home for a bit."

"So you're leaving now."

"I really shouldn't put it off-"

"So you were just going to leave without telling me. I'd show up for our date and you'd be gone?" Wally didn't even look angry, just taken aback. Artemis couldn't respond. Her hands made their way to the ends of her hair pulled back in a ponytail. Green eyes searched for her own, but she couldn't face him and turned for the driver's seat.

"Oh no you don't." Wally instinctively grabbed his fleeting girlfriend by the elbow. Thoughts raced through his mind as he spun her around. She was leaving. She was leaving without saying goodbye or giving an explanation.

"Wally, let go. I need to go." Her normally bluish eyes seemed steely grey. They pleaded with him. Don't make this harder than it has to be.

"It's about your mom, isn't it? Just tell me how to help, and I'll be there."

"It's more complicated than that. If I even think of double crossing my dad, he'll go after everyone. Not even Jade's safe. That's why I have to leave. Leave all of it behind." She kissed his cheek, hovering slightly as if she didn't want to leave. In truth, he didn't want her to. His hands moved to hold her there, but she was already pulling away. "I'm sorry."

He watched her pile into the car and start the engine. She didn't even turn to look at him before taking off, simply pulling out of the parking lot and driving away. It felt like he stood there for hours, convincing himself that any minute she'd turn around and come back. Maybe jump out the car and into his arms. She'd try to apologize but he wouldn't let her. Any minute now...It was bound to happen.

Wally didn't even hear Zatanna walk up behind him. Eventually she cleared her throat causing him jump.

"Tell me everything," he demanded. She handed him one of the cans in her hands with a sympathetic smile. "Isn't a little early to be drinking? Even for you?"

"It's a long story. And I think you need this." he tried to muster a smile in response as they turned to go back into a much emptier apartment.

The ride was long and boring, but at least the road was mostly straight. Halfway through, Artemis hit the country which knocked out half her radio stations leaving only talk radio. It was for the best she guessed. She needed to think, yet there was too much floating around in her mind. Wally. Her mom. Her dad. Last night she had decided it was smartest to go straight to her mom's flat before searching out Lawrence, but the more she thought about it, the more the reverse sounded better. It wouldn't worry her mother, and her dad would be more likely to listen if he knew she went to him first.

She must have debated longer than she realized it because before she knew it, she was pulled up in front of a tiny apartment complex in south Gotham. Years ago when Paula Nguyen had moved in, the building looked like it was ready to fall over. Not much had changed in the last few years except the addition of a wheelchair ramp, but that was only because Artemis had petitioned the city. Now they were in all the residential buildings.

The front door opened to revealed a gloomy Paula. Artemis had started joking that it was her natural expression, but it honestly was, and that pained her the most. She pulled a smile on for her mother as she got out of the car.

"Hi, ma." She ran up the steps to hug her before fetching her bags. She could smell dinner on her causing her stomach to growl. "Stuffed peppers?"

"The last of the frozen ones you and your sister left me. Let's get your bags inside. It's going to rain soon."

"A true Gotham welcoming."

After the long ride, fatigue weighed Artemis down almost as much as her luggage, but she was happy to be home. Home home. Everything was exactly as she had left it. The furniture was outdated but functional and pictures of Artemis and Jade were everywhere. A picture of her mom's family could be found here and there, but she could never remember the name of her relatives.

"Your sister called," her mother mentioned as she prepared a plate for her daughter.

"Fill you in on the latest family drama?"

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to. You were given life to do great things and be happy, not take care of me." She handed Artemis her plate piled high with peppers and salad. True comfort food.

"Mom, after everything you've done for me, this is the least I can do," she murmured. Her fork slid into the soft green pepper, gathering as much of the filling as she could.

"I just want you to be safe," she heard her mother say from the kitchen. Paula wheeled back in with a plate of her own. "There will be plenty of time to talk about this after you see you father. Let's eat."

Artemis smiled as she brought the fork to her mouth. It was delicious as always, a mixture of savory ingredients. She reached for the remote and flipped the television on.

"What are we watching?"

"Golden Girls. We need a happy mother-daughter story"

"So she's going to see her dad...and work for him." Wally's beer laid untouched on the table in front of him. Zatanna drank from her's, but she had maybe drank half the can.

"From what I gather, I think both her sister and mother know what's going on. All she told me is what you know." She played with the tab on the can as she explained. Apparently Artemis saw the whole situation as more or less hopeless from what Wally could tell. She transferred out of school and even looked into apartments near her mother to make sure she was ok.

"I just don't understand why she wouldn't talk about it. She made it seem like she was ok, that she was just going to work more hours and support her mom," Wally replied.

"There's always more to her dad than what he seems. When he says he'll do this, he does that. He's been that way for years." She took a sip. "She did it to keep you out of all the mess. It sucks, but it just shows how much she likes us."

He chuckled to himself grimly. And to think I told her I loved her in my sleep. It hurt. Really, really hurt. He had assumed they could trust each other, even with something as heavy as blackmail. Ok, maybe not blackmail, but...something. He leaned back into the couch. Artemis had to be at least half way to Gotham by now, but some part of him still hoped that maybe she would come back.

But that wasn't Artemis. When she made her mind up about something, she did it. So did Wally. It was probably why they work so well together. Well, worked. He flipped his phone over in his hands, wanting call her, let her know that he still cared and that he just wanted her back with him. That's when it hit him. Slowly, he turned to Zatanna.

"Do you by any chance happen to have Mrs. Nguyen's number?"

Paula's phone rang at an unusually late hour. Not many people called her, so anything after ten o'clock was definitely a surprise. She picked up the phone, careful not to disturb her sleeping daughter.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Mrs. Nguyen? This is Wally. I'm Artemis's boyfriend."

UGGGGGGGHHHH. You probably know what's coming next. I'm like...90% certain the next chapter will be the last. I might throw in an epilogue if I can think of something to bridge this and the sequel. Yes, there will be a sequel, but I don't know how soon that will be up. I might pause from YJ to work on an FMA story I've had floating around for oh...almost 2 years? Also some one shots, etc. I'll never abandon Yj.

I have 2 requests up that I had soooo much fun working on. If you guys have something in mind, I'd love to write it, or even collab! Pairings, ideas, shoot me a message and I'll see what I can do.

One again, thank you all for reading, reviewing, everything. I hope you like you're in for what I think will be an excellent ending to what started out as complete bs haha!

[mags]