Falling for Grayson : birdflash

Ch24: Artemis

The time had come. Not to profess my undying love to Dick. No way. Sorry. That is a whole other can of worms. I may be one of the fastest people on the planet, but when it comes to my feeling for the Boy Wonder, I am, for better or worse, glacially slow. What it's actually time for was to have the dreaded talk with Artemis.

It's been a few months now and still things haven't gotten back to normal. It's like every time she looks at me she's reminded of my blundering mess of a break up.

I'm too embarrassed to sauce out all the details. I know you want the tea, but the tea shop is closed. All you need to know is that the words, timing—and every other possible quality of the breakup—was bad, and that Artemis, understandably, took it badly.

At first, Artemis ignored me. It was a complete overlooking of my existence, which was impressive considering how annoying I can be.

Don't get me wrong. I did give her space at first. I mean, I also needed time myself you know. It wasn't like I wanted to break up with her. She was perfect. We were perfect. And I think because of that, I had spent far too long ignoring the signs that my love for her was not a romantic kind of love.

The days that followed the breakup were some of the hardest days for me. Dick did come to comfort me, even though he didn't understand why I would break up with her. I wanted more than anything to tell him the truth, but I couldn't. I couldn't risk losing him too. Time passed and I was left alone with my feelings, alone to pretend to be happy.

* * *

It had just turned noon. Artemis would be halfway through training in the combat gym with Dick.

It probably wasn't the best time, seeing as it was right before lunch (she'd be hungry, likely hangry) and she was warmed up and combat ready-ready to beat the living daylight out of me. But I've worked up the courage now, so better now than never.

I walked a normal person pace to the combat room in a pitiful attempt to avoid the inevitable. But the plot of my life continued and I made it to the door.

The sensors opened the door before I could take a final deep breath to calm myself. Now that I'm here, I realize I haven't prepared what I was going to say! Oh god, oh god, Oh—"God. I mean, Hey!"

Inside the boxing ring, Dick and Artemis looked at me, confused. Dick broke the silence in a rather suggestive tone, "Looking for a beating?"

Ghffhbfryyhnvdesawefhmkkn... "I — uhhh, well—" My garbled thoughts finally spewed into intelligible sounds, though barely.

"You wouldn't last long anyway," he pressed further. Damn it, Dick. Stop. If I wasn't so flustered I maybe would have had my own comeback. Instead, I just had to accept defeat and move on.

"I was wondering if I could talk to you, Artemis," I finally said.

"Can't you see we're in the middle of something?" she snapped.

"Actually," Dick interrupted, "I'm feeling awfully tired all of a sudden. I think I need to lie down in the main hall with a cookie."

Artemis shot daggers from her eyes at Dick and a scrunched up face that said, stop-enabling-this-red-haired-doofus.

Dick gave a small shrug and hopped out the ring. The Boy Wonder almost skipped away, but not before putting a hand on my shoulder as he passed and whispered, "Guess I'll have to beat you later."

As if I wasn't already weak in the knees from his last comment, Dick decided to finish the job and take a figurative crowbar to my knees. Somebody get me a wheelchair. I hate how much I love him.