Megan POV
I sighed contently with my outfit. I was wearing a nice black peplum dress, purple platform heels, and a black clutch. My makeup and hair was done to perfection.
There was a knock at my door.
"Come in" I answered.
Artemis entered wearing her favorite pair of sweats. "Hey Megan" she said.
"Hi. Why are you in sweats?" I asked frowning.
"I just came to apologize for what I said earlier today" she replied.
I just stared at her. I stopped being mad a while ago actually.
I was never one to hold a grudge. Artemis knew that. She was always one that needed to apologize for closure.
"It's alright," I quickly dismissed. "Now why aren't you ready?" I asked.
"Because you were going to help me..." she started.
I smiled. "Of course I was come on" I said walking out of my room.
Artemis walked passed Barbara's door.
"Barbs hurry up!" she said.
Zatanna POV
"Okay aaaanddddd done!" I said.
I turned to face Raquel.
"You look great!" she exclaimed.
I smiled.
I was wearing a white peplum shirt, black leather mini skirt, and my favorite pair of black Christian Louboutin heels.
Raquel had done my makeup and hair.
"Alright. My hair is now curled" Raquel said getting up.
I gasped.
"Raquel you look perfect!" I said.
She gave me a big smile.
"Thank you" she replied.
She had on a black, white and red color block dress, red heels and matched or all with a black bow purse.
"Great now let's go!" I said.
"I thought Dick was coming" she said.
"No, we decided to meet each other there" I replied.
With that we headed off.
Bette POV
I walked to the front of the building they were holding the ball in. Barbara texted saying they were in. Before walking in, I was stopped.
"Name!" he barked.
"Bette Kane" I replied.
He looked through his clipboard scanning the list for my name before speaking.
"You may go in" he said.
I walked passed him and into the room. I noticed a lot of people were already there. I took out my phone and quickly dialed Barbara.
"Where are you guys?" I asked.
"Right behind you"
I turned around to see Megan, Artemis and Barbara standing behind me.
"So you ready to mingle?" I asked wiggling my eyebrows.
"I'm ready to go look for Richard" Barbara said.
"Come on Artemis, lets go look for people while they search" Megan said before dragging the frowning Artemis away.
"I think you should stop" I stated calmly.
"Stop what?" Barbara asked.
"Trying to hit on a man that isn't available" I replied, stressing the word avaliable.
I'm one for flirting but this guy was already in a relationship. Why ruin that for you own needs? That's just selfish.
"I'm not going to do anything. I just want to talk to him" she said not looking me in the eye.
"Sure. Have fun with him and his GIRLFRIEND" I replied sarcastically.
Artemis POV
"How about we go get some food instead or something?" I suggested.
"Not until I casually run into Conner Kent" she replied.
Just then a woman with black hair turned around. She looked familiar.
"Did you say you're looking for Conner Kent?" she asked.
Megan nodded.
"I know him" the woman said a smile spreading across her face.
"You're not his girlfriend are you?" Megan asked fear evident in her voice.
The woman laughed.
"No I already have one. I'm Zatanna Zatara" she introduced.
"Now I remember you! You work at Wayne Industries" I remarked.
"Yes I do. And you guys came to interview us" Zatanna replied.
Megan's and I nodded.
"Now I remember! You were kissing Richard Grayson! And then-"
"Yup, you kissed him" I interrupted.
Zatanna gave us a weird look.
"Alright let's go" she said slowly as she started to walk off.
Soon we had come to three men.
Megan stopped us.
"I changed my mind. Artemis lets go find Barbara and Bette" Megan said.
"Too late" I said dragging her along.
"Hey guys" Zatanna said.
One of the guys places his arm around her waist.
I was guessing he was Richard.
"Hey...you're Artemis"
I turned to the source of the voice to see no other than Wallace West.
"And you were the pain in my ass yesterday" I replied sarcastically.
Richard chuckled. Wallace rolled his eyes but said nothing and instead turned to Megan.
"Hello there. You must be Megan right?" he asked her.
Wow.
I never noticed how husky his voice was. Not that it changes my opinion on him in anyway.
"Um...yeah...how did you know that?" she asked awkwardly.
"Conner here told me" Wallace replied flashing a smiled.
I had to control myself from gagging. Megan wasn't interested. Not only because I knew she was into Conner but because her facial expression said it all.
I looked around not really caring what was going on in the circle I was in at the moment. I actually wanted to leave but instead I was stuck here because I didn't want Megan to be mad at me. Again. And I was sure she wouldn't forgive me as quickly this time around.
"Right Artemis?" Megan asked.
"Um…what?"
Barbara POV
"Have you seen him yet?" I asked Bette.
She sighed annoyed with my constant question.
"Yes. He's' right over there with Artemis, Megan, a couple of other people and HIS GIRLFRIEND" she said obviously emphasizing the word girlfriend.
I rolled my eyes and started to drag her over to them.
"Artemis, Megan! We have been looking all over for you!" I said once we had reached them.
Both Artemis and Megan had given me the 'are you serious' look, which I ignored. No shame.
"Oh really?" Artemis asked faking shock.
"Yes, anyways…" I asked.
"Megan would you like to dance?" a redheaded man asked Megan.
"Well…" she started.
"Don't be shy, come on let's go" he said pulling her away from the group.
"Thank you guys for the good review in your magazine by the way" Richard said flashing his thousand dollar smile.
He was so sweet.
"We give what the company deserves" Artemis stated.
"I didn't get your names?" Richard's girlfriend said.
"I'm Artemis, that's Bette and Barbara and that girl that went away with Wallace is Megan" Artemis replied.
"I'm Zatanna, that's Conner and this is my boyfriend Dick but you guys most likely know him as Richard" Zatanna said with a smile.
I tried to hide my frown when she said boyfriend. But I had to be civil of course.
"Dick? How do you get Dick from Richard?" Better asked.
"It's because he's a total dickhead!" Conner said teasingly.
Dick frowned. "No. No it's not. Don't believe a word this guy says."
Everyone laughed.
"So how long have you two known each other?" I asked Zatanna.
I might as well learn some things.
"For a very long time actually. Maybe around three years?" Dick answered.
Three years.
I can't compete with that. I haven't even known him for a week!
Artemis POV
I walked away with Conner and Bette once Barbara started asking questions about Dick's love life. We were just chatting about random things when Megan and Wallace walked over to us.
"How was your dance?" I asked.
"It was nice…" Megan said with a small smile on her face.
I knew she was just being polite.
I held back any rude noises. Dancing with Wallace was probably the farthest thing from nice.
"Would you like to dance Conner?" Megan asked shyly.
"Sure Megan" he said giving her a polite smile.
They walked hand in hand to the middle of the room where everyone else was dancing.
"Hottie alert! I'll catch you guys later" Bette exclaimed before speed walking over to some guy across the room.
Just great. The last thing I wanted was to be alone with Wallace.
"Would you like to-"
"No" I said.
"But I haven't even asked the question yet!" he complained.
"Okay, ask away" I said.
"Would you like to dance?" he asked.
"No, Wallace" I said again.
He frowned.
"You're such a party pooper. And don't call me Wallace it makes me sound old. Call me Wally" he said.
"A twenty-five year old man with the vocabulary and nickname of an elementary schooler. That's so attractive" I said sarcastically.
Ignoring my remark, he continued to try to persuade me to dance.
"Come on. It'll be fun" he nudged.
"Not with you" I shot back.
He took my hand and practically dragged me onto the dance floor. I would've kicked him in the balls or something, but I remembered my uncle telling me to 'have fun'.
And just my luck almost all the songs being played were slow and classical, perfect for ballroom dancing. I placed my arms around his broad shoulders and he wrapped his arms around my waist.
He moved in circles in silence for a while and I admit it wasn't bad. He also smelled amazing.
"So do you have any hobbies besides work?" he asked.
Although I couldn't see his face and could hear the smirk in his voice.
"I do archery and a bit karate" I answered.
"Karate! I've always wanted to learn! Maybe you could teach me sometime" he said.
"Like that'll ever happen" I replied with a smile tugging at my lips.
"I run. So I'm pretty fast, fast enough to dodge any attacks from you anyways" he teased.
"I bet that you're the clumsiest dork in this room" I said as I looked at his face.
"And I know that you're wrong" he said exposing his pearly white teeth.
I smirked at him. "Come on" I said pulling away from him and walking off the dance floor.
Zatanna POV
I smiled as I saw Raquel with some tall, dark and handsome guy. I hadn't seen her with a guy in a really long time and I was happy for her. I took a sip of my sangria(1) and tried to listen to the conversation between Dick and Barbara. She was asking many questions that I knew the answers to and I was just getting bored.
I looked over at Raquel and the mystery man again to see that they were laughing about something.
"So Barbara how old are you?" I asked returning back to the conversation.
"Twenty one" she replied.
"So you can drink? Do you have a favorite drink?" I asked.
"Actually yeah I love margaritas(2). What about you guys?" she replied.
I held up my drink. "Gotta love them sangrias" I said with a smile.
"I love a good Manhattan dry(3). I'm a classic man" Dick said with a smile, puffing out his chest.
I rolled my eyes. And again Barbara was back to asking more questions.
I sighed, wondering what her friends were doing. And if they could possibly come take her away.
Raquel POV
I laughed yet again.
This man was amazing. He was funny, smart and not too hard on the eyes either.
"So Kaldur, what do you do for a living?" I asked.
"Well I'm actually a marine biologist, a molecular biologist to be exact. I study microorganisms in the water" he replied.
"Do you get to dive?" I asked excitedly.
"Not much but every once in a while I get to. But I am a pretty good swimmer" he said.
I smiled. "That's seems amazing. Sounds a lot more fun than being in an office all day" I said.
I wasn't lying either. I wonder how deep they were allowed to go for those jobs.
"What about you?" he asked.
"I'm the executive marketing officer at Wayne Industries. I'm in charge of sales management and stuff like that...it's not as exciting as your job..." I replied.
He smiled. "I was wondering if you would like to go out sometime?" he asked.
I was shocked. I hadn't been asked out in...a really long time. And Kaldur was basically my dream guy. Now all I had to do is open my mouth and say yes.
But I was stuck there. The one time when I need to speak and I can't.
There was an extremely long moment of silence.
"Raquel...?" Kaldur said.
"Yes! Um...I mean yes, I'd love to" I blurted out.
It was a blessing that no one could see me blush.
Artemis POV
"Are you going to try to kill me?" Wally asked.
I frowned. "No you idiot! I just needed some fresh air" I stated with an eye roll.
He smiled. "I was just kidding. No need to get all grumpy" he said.
We walked in silence. It wasn't a bad silence, it was nice and comfortable.
"So what's your favorite drink?" I asked.
"Seriously?" he asked.
I couldn't help it. This was my go to question to try to keep a conversation going.
"I guess it would be a dry martini(4). I'm a simple guy" he answered.
"What about you?" he asked.
"Bullet martini(5)" I replied quickly.
"Sour just like you" I heard him mumble.
I hit him.
"Please, no touching the merchandise" he stated smugly.
"Why? It's already damaged" I countered.
"Ouch Arty that hurt" he said placing his hands over his heart.
"Don't call me that" I growled.
He didn't respond. Instead he smirked-he smirked an evil smirk to be exact.
"Wally...what-AHHHH!"
A second later I was soaked and sitting in a fountain.
"What the hell?!" I yelled.
I glared as I watched him laugh himself onto the floor.
"I hate you so fucking much right now" I barked over his laughter.
He wheezed a couple of times. "Alright. S-sorry. That what really very extremely funny" he said with a huge grin.
"Just help me up" I said grumpily.
He held out his hand and I grabbed it using all my might to pull him into the water.
This time I laughed.
"You're right it's hilarious!" I wheezed.
He splashed water in my face.
"Okay that's it. Tomorrow I'm going to fight you" I said.
"Really? Are you going to use your karate?" he mocked.
"Yes" I stated before pushed down into the fountain again.
Megan POV
"So Conner. Do you have a girlfriend?" I blurted.
"Don't get me wrong Megan you're a very nice girl but-"
"No! No, not for me! I'm just making conversation" I said quickly.
"In that case...no" he replied.
I nodded.
"I don't have one either-I don't have a boyfriend not girlfriend-I don't have a girlfriend either-not that it matters anyways" I babbled.
I downed all of my pear martini(6) in one gulp.
"Oh look I'm out of martini. I'll go get some more" I said before speed walking to the direction of the bar.
I could feel my face burning. If something else would have happened to me I would probably set off the smoke alarm.
I really needed Artemis, or Barbs or-Bette!
I spotted her with some guy.
"Excuse me, I need her for a second!" I interrupted pulling her away.
"What is it?" she asked.
"I don't know how to talk to Conner," I admitted. "Please help me" I begged.
Bette sighed deeply. "Alright" she said before turning to the guy she was with.
"Come on Louis we're going to help out my friend with her guy problems" she said.
I slightly nudged her.
"Been there" I heard him mumbled and smiled slightly.
"Wait! I told him I'm was going to get a drink" I said.
I grabbed the closest drink on the bar and we quickly walked back over to Conner.
"Sorry it took so long. A lot of people were there. But here are two of my friends. Bette and Louis" I introduced.
"He's cute" Louis whispered.
"Back off" I countered back.
"Anyways, nice to meet you" Bette said.
It was getting really hot...or maybe I was just nervous. I took a gulp of the unknown drink before spitting it out...all of Conner.
"Are you okay?" Bette asked.
By the look on her face she was experiencing some serious second-hand embarrassment.
"This drink tastes awful" I croaked.
Damn it, I'm such an embarrassment.
Bette took a sip of it.
"I think it's mint...mint something, I forgot" she said.
Louis took the drink from her hand and took a sip.
"It's...mint julep(7)" he said before he continued to drink, quietly watching as everything happened.
"Are you okay?" I asked Conner.
"Yeah, I'll just go to my car I have an extra shirt in there" he said before walking away.
I sat down and grabbed a napkin and wiping my face.
"God, that was so embarrassing" I said.
Bette and Louis sat.
"It's okay, it's probably already forgiven" Bette said sympathetically.
"He just makes me so nervous! And I barely know anything about the guy!" I said exasperatedly.
"It's okay. There will be other chances with other fish in the sea" Louis said.
"But I wanted that fish!" I whined.
I was drawing a lot of attention to myself but I didn't care anymore.
"Can someone get me a red death(8)?" I asked.
Here are the drinks that were in this chapter!
Sangria (1) - Sangria normally consists of wine, chopped fruit, a sweetener, and a small amount of added brandy.
Margarita (2) - Margarita consists of tequila mixed with Cointreau or similar orange-flavored liqueur and lime or lemon juice.
Manhattan Dry (3) - A Manhattan is a cocktail made with whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters.
Original Dry Martini (4) - A "dry martini" uses less dry vermouth than normal, perhaps a dash or lace of the glass.
Bullet Martini (5) - A drink that consists of dry gin, sambuca, lemon juice and lemon zest.
Peach Martini (6) - Consists of peach vodka, grapefruit juice and lime juice.
Mint Julep (7) - A drink consisting of bourbon, crushed ice, sugar, and fresh mint.
Red Death (8) - Consists of amaretto, grenadine, orange juice, vodka, triple sec, peach schnapps and gin.