So next chapter is up and it is so far the shortest, sorry. I had a chance to really think this story over the last 24 hours. It will eventually go into Season 2, but the years in between will be focused on my OC and her experience during that time. I would like to thank all the readers and thank the ones that are still following this story.
Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.
Chapter Four
A little over an hour later…
Aaliyah stood outside the diner that she had been in earlier, a quick glance at her watch indicating that he was now about 10 minutes late. A groan escaped as she thought that maybe it had just been a mean trick to see if she would actually show up or something. It has happened before and the embarrassment from those times was still fresh in her mind, even if it had been quite some time since those incidents.
She sat down on the bench once again, leaning her head back on the brick wall of the diner. "I am such an idiot for coming back." She leaned forward to her bag and searched for her phone to call her mother. Lost in thought she didn't notice a figure walk up and stop in front of her.
"Hey." She looked up with a start, her wide eyes narrowed a bit when she saw who the owner of the voice was. "Mind if I sit?" She shook her head so he took the chance to take the open seat next to her.
"You're late dude." Her tone about as emotionless as when she spoke to him earlier.
"Yeah sorry about that, but I'm here now." He smiled sheepishly running a hand through his red hair. "Are you mad?"
She let out a sigh, "No, I just thought that maybe I was a fool for coming back is all." She looked at him as she gestured to the area around them.
"Huh?" he looked at her a bit confused, "You really thought I wouldn't show? Awe come on beautiful have more faith in me than that."
"Ok, well I am glad that you showed up, but…" she looked away from him trying to hide her embarrassment.
His wide smile faded, "But?" urging her on to finish what she wanted to say.
"Well, you asked my name earlier so how's about you use it instead of 'beautiful'?" she looked back at him, a faint pink hue on her cheeks.
"Oh," he cleared his throat as he spoke, "sure, sorry."
She smiled at him as he stood from his seat and extended his hand out to her. When she grabbed it he helped pull her up before turning around to walk in the opposite direction, "I just call 'em like I see 'em." He spoke over his shoulder with a smirk.
The shock took a minute to wear off before she was having to sprint a little to catch up to him. They walked the rest of the way in silence, both stealing a glance at the other. In the midst of the silence Aaliyah opted to listen to some music. She pulled out her headphones and put them in, connected them to her phone and searched her playlist for something she was in the mood for. Smiling when she stopped on one of her favorite rock bands and hitting play, the music quickly filling her mind and the silence around her.
Wally looked at her with a curious expression tapping her on the shoulder. She looked at him as he said something that she could not hear due to the music. With a quick 'sorry' she pulled one of the earbuds out, "I'm sorry, what did you say?"
"I was asking what you were listening too." He grinned.
"Oh, just one of my favorite rock bands." She went to put the earbud back in but stopped, the look on his face drawing her attention. "What?"
"Rock? Really?" He questioned in slight disbelief.
"Um, yeah. Problem?" She nodded her head slowly speaking in an accusatory tone.
"No! No problem…I just didn't take you as the type to listen to it is all." His steps slowed as he turned and started walking backwards. He placed his hands in his pockets and shrugged his shoulders.
"And what type do you see me as?" She lowered her head in a defensive manner.
"More like the soft music type, maybe something a little more…I don't know, girlie?" He looked skyward as he spoke, seeming to think about the words as he spoke. He snapped his head back down to meet her gaze when he heard laughter, actual genuine laughter. "What?"
"You couldn't be more wrong buddy." She laughed a little louder at his expression of shock, "I am definitely not into that, what you called it, girlie stuff."
"Well what are you in to then?" He turned to face forward once again but tilted his head to see the girl that walked beside him.
About this time the beach came into view and the two could hear chatter and what sounded like music playing. They must have been getting close to the others and Aaliyah felt that old nervousness slowly creeping back up.
She looked back to Wally and realized she hadn't answered his question, "Well, I do not like crowds, never really been a social butterfly."
He chuckled which made her glare at him, "Yeah, I noticed that back at the diner." He pointed behind him with his thumb. "Sorry, go on."
"Yeah, well I'd rather be at home playing video games, watching horror movies, riding my horse or riding ATVs. I like being outside but I would rather be alone, I like the peace and quiet. Listening to music is my go to when I need an escape, I just get lost in it." A far off look overtook her as she thought about being at home, listening to her music and chowing on junk food.
"Like music that much huh?" He picked up on her longing look when she spoke of her love for music. He understood that most of the time he came off as a playboy, but he did pay attention from time to time.
"I'd rather be put in the nuthouse then live without it!" She looked at him stone serious, with a slight look of horror then fell silent. A moment later the two burst out laughing.
"Hi!" At that moment Aaliyah realized that they were now standing where the others were. The girl she had seen at the diner earlier had come up to her with a big welcoming smile holding out her hand. "I'm Megan! I am so glad you came!"
Aaliyah gave her the best smile she could conjure up reaching for the older girl's hand, "Hi, I'm Aaliyah." Surprise overtook her when the girl pulled her into a tight hug then pulled back quickly with her hands on Aaliyah's upper arms. "Um, Megan?"
The older girl beamed at her, "Yes?"
"Have you ever heard of personal space? Cause you are totally invading mine right now." She replied pointedly with a hint of annoyance.
"Oh! Sorry." Megan took a quick step back. Aaliyah noticed how odd the girl moved, it was too smooth as if she just flowed back. She quickly shook the thoughts from her head thinking maybe the shock of the unexpected contact had rattled her more so than she thought.
Wally stiffened a bit at what Megan had done, of course he noticed it and saw the look Aaliyah had given her. "Hey Robin?" He started as the boy stood beside him. He looked at Robin who nodded his head in a silent understanding approaching Megan.
"Hi Aaliyah, you can call me Rob." He smiled warmly at her though he was less energetic about his introduction, probably so as not to startle the girl anymore. He looked at Megan as he stopped next to her, "Hey Megan can I see you for a sec?"
"Hmm? Oh sure." She looked at him then back to Aaliyah, "I'll be right back!" She waved as she followed Robin.
Once they were out of earshot Robin spoke up, "Hey Megan, look you need to be more careful."
Megan looked at Robin a bit confused, "Careful with what?"
"The 'step' you took away from Aaliyah, you didn't step at all. It was slight and almost completely unnoticeable but myself and Wally both saw it. I don't think Aaliyah did but let's not chance it ok?" He spoke in a lowered tone so that their guest had even less chance of hearing their conversation.
"I'm sorry, I didn't even notice I had done it." She looked down and Robin place a hand on her shoulder. Robin smiled at her before walking back over to Wally and Aaliyah, "Ok, no more slip-ups. I got this!" Megan told herself with determination.
Megan walked back to the small group with a smile, "Ok, who is hungry?" She didn't even have to ask twice as Wally sprinted passed her towards the food. Robin followed soon after which left Aaliyah and Megan, "I wanted to apologize if I came on a little strong. I was just excited about making a new friend, that's a girl."
Aaliyah mustered up her strength and smiled at the older girl, "It's ok Megan. No harm done." Megan returned the smile and turned to join the boys before they ate all the food, well before Wally ate all the food of course. After a short breather, Aaliyah started to make her way over to the others trying to show confidence in her strides. She was halted suddenly when a shadow crossed her path, her eyes followed the shadow's movement as it started to circle her. Placing a hand over her eyes to shield them from the bright sun, she looked up to see, a crow? How strange.
The bird continued to circle her, descending slightly before finally flying to a nearby tree and disappearing in the dense leaves. Her eyes lingered on the tree the bird had went in but soon refocused her attention walking the remainder of the way towards the others.
Everything started off fine until more people started making their way to the area. Aaliyah started to grow increasingly nervous, the amount of people now surrounding them made her very uncomfortable. She pushed away from the others and opted to sit on the large blanket Megan had brought instead of joining them in their game of volley ball. More people started to join and she felt like a burden to the players that were actually good at the game.
Her face burned bright red when she realized that she was now just in her swimsuit, noted that this was a beach and that was the proper attire, she felt extremely exposed. She pulled her knees to her chest and laid her chin on them, wrapping her arms loosely around her legs. Watching the game go on was interesting as she began to pin point the serious gamers and sore losers as to the ones that were just there to enjoy it.
Her bag sat about a foot away from her so she decided to buck up and reach for it so she could listen to some music. It always helped when she was stressed and this was definitely a stressful situation. Once she found her phone and plugged her headset into it she let the sound of the rock band flood her conscious mind. It was much easier to ignore the people around her now that she had a good distraction, if I can't hear them they are not there. She thought to herself.
Loosing herself in the sound of the music was bliss. She laid back on the blanket and closed her eyes letting the sweet sound carry her mind elsewhere. Only a few minutes into her blissful state she felt someone tap her on the nose. Her eyes snapped open and she abruptly sat up instinctively swinging at whoever had startled her.
The feeling of someone's hand wrapped around her fist forced her to focus on the source. "Whoa there! Relax it's just me!" Wally said quickly. He had managed to catch her fist mere inches from his face to his relief. "You ok?"
"Huh?" She looked at him before jerking her fist out of his grip and pulling the earbuds out of her ears. "Yeah I'm fine, just a little uncomfortable is all." He looked at her for a moment, remaining silent as if waiting for an explanation. She groaned and looked around the crowded beach, "I don't do well around a lot of people, remember?" She said gesturing around them.
Wally's eyebrows shot up, "Oh, right. Sorry, I kind of forgot about that. We don't usually come to this spot."
"Well, where do y'all usually go then?" A bit of frustration in her voice now at the news of this not being the usual spot.
"Um, it's a private area." He started nervously hoping that would be explanation enough.
Of course it wasn't as Aaliyah's expression fell flat, "Explain."
He scratched the back of his neck as he shifted next to her, "Well, it's kind of a place that only select people are able to get to. It's a little further from here and no one but us knows where it is." He pointed to Megan, Robin and the other guy that had yet to introduce himself.
"Oh that reminds me, total squirrel moment, but who is that other guy? He never introduced himself which is kind of rude." She point with her thumb to said boy.
"Hmm, oh that is um…that's-" he was cut off when Robin ran up to the two sitting on the blanket.
"Hey we are getting ready to leave." He looked over his shoulder, "Probably best before Superb-um before he beats someone to a pulp." He coughed and pointed to the tallest of the boys.
Aaliyah leaned to the side to look around Robin and smirked, "Well you might want to hurry it up before he makes that guy eat the volley ball." Robin spun around and blanched. He sprinted over to the taller boy and yanked the ball from him while Megan grabbed his upper arm and tried to lead him away from the idiot he was about to pummel.
Her giggle caught Wally's attention as he stared at her in disbelief, "Something funny over there?"
"Yeah," she nodded her head in the direction of the other three, "that."
"So you find violence amusing." He smirked at her as he crossed his arms.
"Well, that depends on what caused said violence. In this case the idiot, being the guy that was about to be force fed a volley ball, was on the receiving end then yes I think it's funny. Problem?" Her face held a stern look but her eyes were giving away her need to smile, or laugh, which ever one would suffice.
Wally smiled shaking his head, "The situation would be a definite in determining whether or not it was amusing."
"You two ready to go?" they both looked up to see Megan still holding onto the taller boys arm. He looked ready to smash the first thing that he could get his hands on so they stood and starting packing their things.
They walked back to the diner, Megan and the now less angry boy walking in front and Aaliyah walking between Robin and Wally.
"So same time next week?" Robin asked with a grin placing an arm around Aaliyah's shoulders.
"Who said anything about me hanging out with you next week?" She questioned rolling her shoulders so his arm would fall from its place.
"Oh come on, I'll be there again. Don't want to miss out on a chance to hang out with me do you?" This time Wally threw his arm over Aaliyah's shoulders giving a quick wink.
She huffed as she looked at him out of the corner of her eye, "Personal bubble being invaded, I am about to swing on you again." Her tone was not threatening which actually made it threatening.
Wally looked at her with wide eyes, "You wouldn't."
Her look said it all but his arm didn't move quickly enough, she grabbed his hand twisting out from under his arm and stepping back. His arm was now locked in a painful hold as she smirked, "Bubble, never invade the bubble."
"Ow!" Wally was now slightly bent at the hip as to get some relief from the surprised hold. "Ok, ok."
She released his arm and smiled at him taking a step closer. "Sorry." She rubbed his arm in a soothing manner and then smacked it.
"Ow! Now what was that for?!" He rubbed his arm taking a step back, "Out of the bubble, see." He pointed around them.
Robin chuckled behind Aaliyah, "Wow I can't believe she actually pulled that move on you."
"Sometimes I get lucky." Aaliyah shrugged her shoulders. About that time her mother drove up in the truck and yelled out of the window for her. The smile never left her face as she started walking calmly towards the truck. She glanced back to Wally who was still holding his arm, a faint pout on his face, "I'll see y'all next week."
"Really?!" Megan chirped excitedly.
Aaliyah nodded, "Yeah, why not. You guys seem cool." She shrugged again as she placed her bag into the back seat.
"You ready to go?" Her mother asked as she smiled at her.
Aaliyah nodded then stopped quickly, "Oh!" She rummaged through her bag and found a pen and piece of paper. She turned quickly and walked to Wally who was watching her with curiosity, "What? How am I going to know the plans unless you have my number?"
Wally grinned, "Awe come on you don't have to make up an excuse just to give me your number beautiful."
Aaliyah punched him lightly in his arm, "Again with the hitting? Hitting on someone doesn't mean you literally 'hit on' them you know?"
"Get over yourself lover boy." She turned quickly smirking at Robin and walked back to the truck jumping in the passenger seat. Her head held down in hopes of them not noticing her blush. Megan waved and smiled excitedly as the truck drove by and Aaliyah returned the gesture.
….
The bed felt amazing compared to the beach blanket she had been sitting on the majority of the afternoon. Placing her arms behind her head she let out a long sigh as a smile formed on her face. She thought about the events of the day and found herself anxious for the next opportunity to hang out with her new friends. Friends? Yes, friends. Her eyes began closing letting the sweet feeling of sleep overtake her tired body.
A light tapping on her bedroom window filled the room and she sat up with a groggy groan. The window was across the room which meant that she had to leave her comfortable bed to see what was causing it. Aaliyah swung her legs off the bed and rose slowly, a load yawn escaping her as she walked to the window where the consistent tapping continued.
She pulled back the curtain and nearly screamed, there on the window sill was a crow. It looked back at her with its beady eyes and whipped its head rapidly looking at her. Aaliyah studied the bird as it seemed to do the same thing to her. Leaning in closer gave her a better look at it but not well enough. She reached over and turned on the light then turned back to the crow.
With widened eyes she noticed how this crow was considerably larger than normal and its beak was a deep dark red. You are a strange looking one that's for sure. I have never seen one like you. She thought as she narrowed her eyes. Her nose was nearly touching the glass when the bird suddenly pecked hard on the glass causing her to gasp and stumble backwards.
Landing hard on her butt jarred her sleepy mind into full function as she groaned. The bird started to squawk, but it sounded more like it was laughing at her. Aaliyah jumped up off of the floor and smacked the glass successfully scaring the bird off. She looked up into the dark night sky as the bird disappeared into the darkness.
A long sigh followed as she looked down, her breath hitched in her throat when she spotted a dark silhouette standing in the yard. Standing frozen to the spot she watched with a racing heart as the figure remained motionless. She blinked quickly but just as quickly, the figure vanished. She jerked the curtains closed and ran to her bed diving into it and yanking the blankets over her head. Just as she did as a small child, she remained as such for the remainder of the night.
Please R&R. Next chapter should be up soon! :)
