Game Day

Disclaimer- Unfortunately I do not own Young Justice. I wish I did, but I don't. I only own Dawn, other OC's, and all the awesome original plot twists. Now I know you guys don't really care about this part so I'm going to shut up now and let you get to reading. So without further ado, on with the story!

Italics- telepathic communication

Dawn's POV

I roamed around the halls of Gotham Academy looking for Artemis. Last night over the phone we decided to get to school early and meet at her locker so we could hang out before school started. I memorized the way to her locker on the second day of school and was unconsciously making my way through the maze of lockers letting my feet move on instinct and memory.

I cut around the last corner and immediately saw the familiar head of blond I'd been looking for. Artemis was leaning against the locker with her arms folded tightly across her chest.

Since we were at school super early Artemis was out of uniform because she hated it and tended to post pone putting it on until the very last-minute. She's wearing a pair of dark green skinny jeans that hug her hips just right and a black tank top. A cut off jacket that reached the middle of her stomach was draped over her shoulders and was the same color as her pants. The bottoms of her jeans were tucked into a pair of black mid calf boots.

She pushed herself off the lockers and stood up straight when she saw me walking up.

I grinned and linked my arm with hers "hey Artemis."

"Morning Dawn," she greeted as we walked to the outside courtyard.

It was one of those rare days in Gotham where the sun was full and shinning, but the temperature was nice and cool. Since we had plenty of time to kill and it was such a beautiful day we decided to go outside and enjoy the great weather. Robin stayed at the manor choosing to get some extra sleep since school started a little later than usual today.

Artemis and I walked over to the three-person bench waiting for us in the outside garden overlooking the football field. The bench was placed here to give the school a little extra decoration and provide students with a comfortable and soothing place to sit and relax. The garden is my favorite place on campus and I'm its most frequent visitor, whether that's because I have a free period, eating lunch, or just need to relax and unwind from a stressful day.

The bench is located in a small plot of land surrounded by trees and flowers that's close, but not too close, to the middle of the football field.

Even though it has a perfect view of the football field people rarely use it because of the large table on the opposite side of the field. Across the field, parallel to the small garden was a long rectangular table with an umbrella shade covering that's only inches away from the field's fence. During a game the umbrella is taken down completely so it doesn't block anyone's view, but during regular school hours and practice the umbrella can be used.

I call it 'the crazy fangirl table' because all the football players 'fangirls' rush and fight to get a seat at the table just so they can be as close to the players as possible.

With everyone crowding around on the opposite side of the field my small little garden was forgotten and unvisited, leaving it quiet and peaceful, just the way I like it.

I closed my eyes as I felt the cool breeze on my face blowing my hair behind me like waves of brown and sighed in satisfaction as the smell of fresh vegetation filled my senses. This was the ultimate reason for why I loved this spot so much.

It's extremely rare for anyone to actually smell fresh air or vegetation in Gotham City. There are certain spots around the city you can go to get a little fresh air if you knew where to look, but this was the only spot where I actually felt like I was transported out of Gotham whenever I sat in it.

The school was far enough from the sketchier parts of the city for the air to be clearer than the regular city air and with all the vegetation surrounding the small bench it smelled and felt like a miniature oasis in this huge chaotic city.

"So Artemis are you ready for the craziest day of the year" I asked once we'd finally gotten settled.

She turned to me and raised an eyebrow "what do you mean by that?"

I leaned into the bench and crossed my legs "What do you mean what do I mean? Have you forgotten what today is?"

She shook her head "I have no idea what you're talking about sooooo care to enlighten me."

I laughed and put a hand to my forehead "well I guess this is your first year but still, I'm surprised no one's told you already. Anyways, today is what we call Game Day and it's the biggest school event at GA.

Today is the day we play our biggest rivals the Metropolis daredevils, which is why school starts so late today. This game is a huge deal to both schools and it's the one game everyone looks forward to and anticipates every year. People from all over Gotham, Metropolis, and other nearby cities come in just to see this one game.

For the past 15 years Gotham Academy and Metropolis High have had the two best high school football teams in the U.S, so everyone loves to watch us play each other. This game chooses the champions of the year and determines who gets to claim the title as the best high school football team in the United States. It's such a big deal that the school actually made a school holiday for the day, hence the name Game Day. School's postponed until 11 so everyone can get extra rest to prepare for the game and classes are basically canceled.

Most teachers don't care if you attend class or not, but if you get a teacher who actually makes you go to class there's basically no point in going since they're not teaching anything. You don't learn any new material and all you do is hang out with your friends, play on your phone, or watch TV on your computer until the bell rings. Then you leave the class and if you get another teacher that wants you in class you just repeat the process so you're basically just relaxing all day.

The football players get praise and recognition all day to get them hyped up for the game. The best part of the day, however, is the celebration parade at the beginning of school. I'm not going to tell you what happens during that because I want your first parade experience to be a surprise, but trust me you'll love it.

For the last hour of the day we all go to the gym for the pep rally where the football players are individually honored and we learn what the theme for the game is. Every year we have a fan theme and that's what the students wear to the game. Last year the theme was camouflage so everyone wore camouflage or hunting gear. The year before that it was Hollywood celebrities so everyone dressed up as their favorite celebrity. Everyone participates in the theme as a way to support the school."

"So today's basically a free day because of a football game" Artemis asked making sure she understood correctly.

I nodded "Yeah that pretty much sums it up."

Artemis was just about to say something when a loud whoop originating from behind us cut her off. We turned to see David and his two best friends walking out of the gym doors and towards the football field entrance.

They seemed to be having a good time as they walked towards the field. They were laughing loudly and shoving each other as a form of playful ruff housing. Then again that's how they act whenever they're all together.

David was tossing a football in his hand not even watching as he tossed it up and down. He caught each toss with ease not missing a beat even as he continued to mess around with his friends.

Since they were going out to the field they were all out of school uniform. They didn't want to get their uniforms dirty before school even started, especially not today. David was in a pair of loose black basketball shorts, a dark blue muscle shirt that showed off his perfect six-pack, and a pair of old busted grey sneakers.

His friends were wearing similar clothing, but one had on red shoes while the other had on black sneakers. The one thing all three had in common was the large Gotham Academy Knight mascot drawn on their right biceps for everyone to see. All the football players would have that drawn on their arms today, it was tradition.

When David and his friends stepped onto the field they immediately separated from each other. David walked away from his friends while the other two positioned themselves so they were parallel to each other with about 4 people's worth of space in-between them forming a small triangle shape.

Once David was in position he brought his arm back and threw the ball in his hands to his friend on the right. The boy caught the ball as it came towards him and threw it back to David who caught it before throwing it to his other friend on the left. The three threw the ball back and forth having a little fun before school. They didn't have morning practice because of the game, but they still wanted to get a little extra something in before the big night.

I watched David as he threw the ball back and forth with his teammates like he was he was born for the role of quarterback. He threw the ball with ease and precision that most athletes trained years to master and still couldn't come close to what came to him naturally. David was a naturally talented football player and everyone knew it.

Artemis nudged me after a few minutes of watching and I turned to look at her.

She tilted her head in David's direction "Is that the guy we were talking about at the cave a couple days ago...David right?"

"Yeah that's him. And trust me when I say that by the end of the day you'll never ask me that question ever again. Before the final bell rings you'll know his name, his face, his friends, his favorite color, his favorite food, and everything else about him because that's the only thing people are going to talk about today."

"He was hot in the photo, but he's even better looking up close" she said looking him up and down.

"Oh does someone have a crush on the star athlete," I teased nudging her in the side.

She wrapped an arm around my neck and brought my head down to give me a noogie, ruffling my hair in the process. "Oh don't worry Dawn I'm not going to steal your man from you. I'd be a terrible sister if I did that" she said grinning from ear to ear.

"Artemis quit it!" I laughed untangling myself from her arms before pushing her away.

I ran my fingers through my hair to fix it as I sat up properly. The boys must've heard our laughter because they turned towards the source of the noise and realized they weren't alone like they thought.

Since we were too busy laughing and messing around with each other Artemis and I failed to notice that the boys had stopped their game of throw and catch.

They'd been throwing the ball for about 20 minutes now so it was probably time for them to stop anyways. They didn't want to burn out before the game even started, that'd be terrible for everyone.

(line)

"Hey David, whose the girl sitting next to Dawn" Alex asked.

Alex was David's best friend. The two have known each other since they were in diapers and were basically brothers. Alex was a year older than David making him 15 and a sophomore. He wasn't as muscular as David, but he was still exceptionally fit. He had rich Hershey's milk chocolate-brown hair that was short and extra curly. Most of the girls at school agree that he has the best hair out of all the boys at the school, even better than David's, and that's saying something. Whenever we're out of uniform he often wears tight short-sleeved shirts to show off his perfectly smooth, toned, and tan skin. His eyes were a bright forest green with tiny flecks of black blended in the irises.

"Isn't that the new sophomore transfer from Star City? I have English and Science with her. Her name's uh…Artemis!" Kyle said snapping his fingers when he remembered the name.

Like Alex, Kyle was one of David's closest friends. They weren't as close as Alex and David were, but he was directly below Alex in the friend department. His short sandy blonde hair fell just above his sparkling dark blue eyes. His hair always reminded me of the perfect example of sexy bed hair. It was always disheveled and wild while still managing to look like he'd meant for it to be that way. The way his hair seemed to be wild but tamed at the same time gave him what some people called the perfect sex hair look. He was paler and had little muscle compared to his other two friends, but his features suited him perfectly. He was fit, but didn't show as much muscle or bulk as Alex and David. His lack of muscle, however, made him small and lean which made him perfect for his role as the second fastest runner on the team.

"Yeah I've seen her around the school a couple of times before, but I've never actually talked to her. Maybe we should go and introduce ourselves," David insisted before heading towards the two girls. Alex and Kyle quickly followed after him.

Alex rolled his eyes as he caught up with David "Oh cut the crap man, we both know the only reason you want to go over there is so you can talk to Dawn" he said sending his friend a teasing smile.

"Shut up Alex" David grumbled before knocking his friend upside the head playfully.

Artemis and I looked up as we heard the voices getting louder and closer. We watched as they walked up to the bench and waved. Alex and Kyle were the only other football players at the school, besides David, that I could tolerate. They weren't as arrogant as their teammates and were more down to earth. I'll admit they're not the smartest people in the world, but they're definitely not the dumbest. They at least have a small ampoule of common sense.

Surprisingly Alex and I are actually good friends since we share a lot of the same classes. I'm officially a freshman, but I take some sophomore classes, which is why we have classes together. On occasion we'll hang out after school and he's one of Dick's friends as well. Ironically up until this year I've never really had a run in with David even though I hang out with Alex all the time and the two are basically brothers.

"What's up Dawn" Alex waved as he sat on the bench's armrest and gave me a side hug.

"Hey Alex how you been? I haven't seen you in a while" I stated returning his hug.

"Oh you know the usual. Coach's been working us like crazy for the past month because of tonight's game, but it'll be totally worth it when we crush the daredevils in the biggest game of the year." he boasted.

"And you better win too because I'm coming to the game and you know I hate being disappointed. Plus this is Artemis's first Game Day so you need to make a good first impression" I pointed out wrapping an arm around Artemis's shoulder.

"Well we can't disappoint our adoring fans now can we" Kyle chortled sitting on a small rock next to the bench.

I laughed, "Yeah Kyle your fan girls will go crazy if you guys don't win tonight. You'll need to hire ten bodyguards to keep them back if that happens and even that might not be enough" I said and he laughed hysterically, but didn't disagree with me.

"You're coming to the game?" David asked as he sat in the empty seat on the bench next to me. I titled my head so I was looking at him as he sat. He leaned into the back of the bench and draped an arm over the back of the bench getting comfortable.

David and I have become closer friends ever since the first day of school. He'd kept his promise and talked to Ms. Smith about taking it easier on me and surprisingly she actually listened to him. She stopped giving me excessive amounts of homework and questions during class.

While she still gives me an extra worksheet or two for homework, I wasn't complaining. The workload was exceptionally better and I had David to thank for that. We've become about as close as Alex and I are, but thankfully his fan girls haven't jumped me yet...not that they could even if they tried. I'd have them disabled and unconscious on the floor before they even get close enough to try to do something, but they don't know that so like I said before I'm surprised they haven't tried anything yet.

"You're darn right I'm coming! I wouldn't miss this game for the world so you better not disappoint. I expect a great game and another win for Gotham Academy. I was actually thinking of bringing some of my friends from my afterschool group. They're visiting for the weekend and I thought it'd be fun for them to go to a big rival football game," I said.

Artemis smiled knowing I was talking about the team. I was planning to talk to them after school and see if they'd like to come to the game. It would be a great bonding and cultural experience for the members who've never been to a game. Megan, Conner, and Kaldur are probably sick of hanging out at the cave whenever we have free time and it'd be great for them to get a little normal human teenage experiences every once in a while.

"Hey like I always say the more the merrier. Maybe after the game we can meet up and you can introduce us to your friends." Alex said before leaning down slightly.

"You got any hot single girl friends that I should know about," he asked poking me in the side insistently.

I swatted his hand away lightly "the only one who doesn't go to this school is already taken Alex, sorry" I said shrugging but wasn't sounding very sorry.

"Well then is Sasha finally available? Rumor has it she's newly single" he asked quietly and I pointed my index finger at him.

"No Alex, she's off-limits…as is Artemis. Go hunting for girls who aren't my close friends."

Alex held his hands up in surrender "hey can't hate a man for trying."

David shook his head and chuckled at Alex's shut down. "Well I'm glad you guys are coming to the game. We'll look for you in the stands before the game" David said as he stood from the bench.

"Come on guys we've got about 40 minutes before school starts and we still need to get cleaned up" David said to Alex and Kyle as they stood. Artemis and I got up from the bench as well since we needed to start heading to our lockers.

"I'll see you tonight Dawn, and it was nice to meet you Artemis" Alex said as he pulled me into a hug and gave Artemis a quick wink.

David and Kyle quickly followed Alex's lead and gave me good-bye hugs before running off to the locker rooms. Artemis and I walked back to the school and noticed that there were a lot more people roaming the halls since school was going to start soon.

Artemis wrapped an arm around my shoulder as we walked down the hall "So we're bringing the team to the game" she asked as we arrived at my locker.

"Yeah I thought it'd be fun to go to the game as a group" I said as I stuffed my bag into my locker. "Besides we all need to spend some time together doing regular teen stuff and not just hero work all the time. It'll be a good bonding experience for everyone. Megan, Conner, and Kaldur have never been to a football game before so this'll be a great human experience for them as well. Aunt Sue is already coming with her best friend Bruce and I guarantee you that Barry and Iris will come if I ask them to."

"Well I guess it does sound like fun so I'm looking forward to it. I'm going to start heading towards my locker so I'll see you at the cave later. We can all get dressed at the cave" she said before leaving.

Just as she walked out of sight Dick seemed to appear out of nowhere and stood next to me. I felt his presence nearby before Artemis left so his sudden appearance didn't surprise me.

"So the team's coming to the big game," he said, but it was more like a statement than a question.

"Hopefully, this is the one game of the year that I actually look forward to so I thought it'd be more fun if everyone was there."

"You know I've been thinking about telling the team my secret ID" he blurted out quietly so only I could hear him.

I froze and turned to him flabbergasted.

"What?!" I gapped staring at him for any indication that this was a joke.

He stared at me and his gaze was unwavering "You trust the team, I trust the team, Zaphira trusts the team, hell even Bruce trusts the team he just won't say it aloud. If I'm going to tell anyone I'd want it to be the team. Plus if their coming to the game it would be weird if some random kid who looked a lot like Robin was hanging out with you guys all night. Tonight is the perfect time to tell them, but I wanted you to be the first to know. I didn't want to get to the cave then drop this on you without some kind of warning."

To say I was shocked would be a complete and total understatement. I was frozen in place as I contemplated everything Dick said and after a minute or two he lifted his hand and snapped my mouth shut which I'd left hanging wide open from my shock. I shook my head to pull myself together and cleared my head to think of a response.

I placed both of my hands on his shoulders and stepped closer so we only about two inches apart.

"Dick if you want to tell the team your ID that's your choice and I'll gladly let you do it, but tell me the truth is this really what you want? I don't want you to rush into something without being absolutely sure you won't regret it later. If you're going to do this don't do it for the team or for me, do it for you. As your closest friend it's my job to make sure you're doing what you want to do and not because you feel obligated or pressured into doing it.

So I'll ask again, is this really what you want and only what you want? If it's because of the game we can think of something to tell the team later, but if you're sure you want to do this than so be it. But be sure you know what you're doing."

Dick was silent for a half a second before his eyes grew hard and determined "This is my choice Dawn. I want to do this for me, not for the team, not for you, not for Bruce, but for me. I've thought about it for a while and I want to do this."

"You're sure," I asked one last time.

He nodded "completely."

I nodded and smiled "then the team is in for a huge surprise tonight. It'll be fun to see their reactions."

Dick laughed, "Yeah I know I can't wait, but I think Wally's reaction is going to be the best. He'll be so surprised that I'm telling someone other than him and you that he'll probably check to make sure I'm not a clone or something."

I giggled and pulled him into a hug "I'm happy for you Dick."

I pulled away and then a question popped into my head "Wait does Bruce know about this yet."

Dick's eyes flashed hesitantly and he brought a hand to the back of his neck nervously. "Uhhhhh no not yet. I was going to tell him after school and just...wing it" he admitted sheepishly.

"You mean we're going to tell him," I corrected putting a hand on my hip.

He looked up at me confused and lifted an eyebrow as a way of telling me to continue.

"You don't really think I'd leave you to ask Bruce by yourself did you? What kind of friend do you think I am?" I asked crossing my arms teasingly. "I'm with you the entire way, from beginning to end. I'm going to be there when you ask Bruce and I'm going to be there when you tell the team. You've been there for me countless times so it's my turn to return the favor."

He smiled and I held out my fist for him to fist bump.

"Friends for life" I said holding my fist out.

He bumped his fist with mine "together until the very end" he said as we returned our arms to our sides.

Suddenly the sound of cheering and the booming bass of the band's drums filled my ears. We turned to see a group of band members playing their instruments down the hall causing everyone to holler and dance to the beat. The hall transformed into a party scene as the football team turned around the corner directly behind the band. They wore their school pants, but instead of their regular school shirts they wore their football jerseys just without the padding.

They were all yelling, hollering, whooping, shouting and jumping up and down as they went down the hall. The school mascot was close to the front of the group near David who was leading the team of cheering players. He was jumping and yelling the loudest out of everyone with Alex and Kyle right behind him getting just as loud.

I grinned and whooped as people started throwing confetti around the halls. Apparently the cheerleaders handed out bags of confetti to people as they walked into school, but Artemis and I missed it since we came in through the opposite entrance.

Robin grinned knowingly and pulled out two bags of confetti from his pocket. "I had a feeling you'd need one," he admitted as I grabbed the bag.

"Thanks Dick."

He grinned and we ran into the crowd of people holding onto our bags of confetti for dear life so they wouldn't get knocked out of our hands. We pushed our way to the front of the group and ended up beside Alex right behind David and the band.

I threw my confetti in the air and cheered as we continued down the hall. Alex and Robin wrapped their arms around my shoulders while I wrapped mine around their waists and we jumped together down the hall laughing and screaming as we did so.

For the next two hours the procession weaved its way through the entire school picking up students as we went until everyone in the school was participating in the parade celebration.

The teachers were holed up in the teacher's lounge avoiding the mass of teens crowding the halls. As the celebration continued Sasha came up and told me that the normal Game Day procedure was changed this year.

Most of the teachers were tired of going to class just to sit in their chairs all day and do nothing. This year the faculty decided to cancel all classes so they could relax in the teacher lounge, or for some not even show up for the day.

In short it was now a total free day. We'd parade through the school for 2 hours before stopping to play games and competitions that were set up in the old small gym in the back of the school. After that we'd all rally to the large gym for the pep rally and learn what the dress code theme for the game was before being dismissed early to get ready for the game.

As we paraded down the hall Dick leaned down until his lips were next to my ear so I would hear him over the screams of the student body.

"Let the games begin" he whispered as we followed the procession of jumping, screaming, and excited teens.

This was more like a filler chapter but it'll lead up to the next big chapter, which is the big game and Robin revealing his secret ID to the team.

I wish my school would do something fun like the parade of students at GA, but nooooooo we have to be extra boring. I always thought it'd be awesome to have something like this at a school so I incorporated it into the story for my personal amusement. I hope you liked it cause I know I did!

What do you think of Alex and Kyle? How will the team react to Robin's big secret? And who will win the big game? Please review and tell me what you think!