SPITFIRE

I wanna break arrows.

I shoot the 16th arrow today, and it hit the center. For the 16th time. "Artemis, are you okay?" Wally asked. He kept on asking but I kept on telling him I was. We were in the gym alone, but Wally felt as if he needed to 'watch over me'. I pause for a moment. "I don't know." I shrug. "What do you mean?" he asks confused. As always. "I don't know. " I say again. Wally rolls his eyes. "Can you please just tell me about your dream!" he whines. I shoot another arrow. And for the 17th time it hit the center. "I don't know." "Why don't you know?" I sigh before shooting the 18th. "... You don't know me." I whisper. He heard it though. "Artemis, I know you. I've know you for almost a year now. And I also know that you don't like to show that your upset." he says. I put my bow and arrow on the holder because I was getting tired of our little talk. "You wouldn't understand if I told you." I say look at my bow and arrow. There was a moment of silence. "Is that a bad thing, or a good thing." I didn't know how to respond to his question. He just wouldn't understand. "Artemis?" He says. "I don't know Wally!" He looked offended at my tone. I always try to relax but... since what happened so many years ago. I guess I just have that imprint in my head. Especially after my little reminder. Every girl for herself. "When did you start to give a..." He interrupts my sentence. "I always gave a shit what happened to you." He says getting pissed off. But he's still standing infront of me right? "Wally can I trust you?" I ask, looking up at him. "I don't know." he says mimicking me. "I'm serious." I tell him. "... I hope you can after a year." he mumbles. All the sudden M'egan walks in. "Hi artemis, Hi wally! Hey artemis, you feeling ok?" she smiles politely. "Sorry M'egan, but were talking." Wally says crossing his arms, still looking like the color of his hair. I take a double take, because usually he rather be hitting on Megan then talking to me about trust. "Actually we talk later." I say trying to avoid him. I walk past him but he grabs my arm gently. I look at him, and try to remove his hand from my arm. "Do you trust me?" he repeats his question. "I-I" I stutter. I think about that time he saved my ass when Icicle Jr. was choking me. And that time in Byhalia when he saved me from the bomb. And that time... "Yes. I trust you." I look into his eyes seriously. He loosens his grip on my arm. "Then maybe we could talk about your dream." he suggests. And now I avoid his eyes contact again. "Wally, I trust you. I really do. But... I don't think you would understand." I say biting my lip. He shrugs. "Your goanna have to tell someone. Better get Dinah." he says about to walk off. "Wait!" I shout. I hate talking to Canary. He turn his head and looks to the side, waiting to hear my response. I can't tell him about my family. I'd get me in deeper quicksand. "GRRR!" I growl stomping my feet. "She wouldn't understand either!" He had the upper hand here. "OH MISS LANCE!" he yells. "Wally!" I shout. He gives me a smirk. "Then just tell me." he orders. "Wally I-I." I stutter again. "Di-" he shouts but I interrupt him with a tantrum. I grab my bow from its holder and storm off to my hiding place. "YOU WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND, no one does!" I yell stomping down the hall. I walk right past Dinah as she slides out of the way. "Artemis!" she shouts. I ignore her hollering and slam my door as I walk into a room. I rub my eyes and then open them. I realize this wasn't my room. This was wallys. "GRRRR!" I growl again opening the door. "Wrong room!" I yell walking to my door, opening it, and then closing it with a slam. I lock the door and then sit next to my bed. I didn't want cry. I didn't want to talk. I didn't want help. And I definitely didn't want pity. I just want to break some arrows. Break some damn arrows.

This was my secret hiding place. I look up at the vent opening. I know I'm claustrophobic, but I think I found a knew hiding place. And maybe I can get over my fear. I pull over my chair from my desk and set it under the vent. I get on the chair at try to open the vent but it wouldn't budge. I put my hands on my hips and look around the room. Then I rember, the arrows. I get off the chair for a seconds to grab my arrow holders and the arrows inside. I get on the chair again and with an arrow, I unscrew the screws. Like a screwdriver it got the vent open. Like I said in the mall. Vents were actually like a sanctuary for me. Like this one. I pull myself up like a pull up bar. I set the arrows next to me as I slump in this uncomfortable metal death trap. It brings up bad memories. Like time me and robin crawled around in here because those... things were attacking us. Oh, and wasn't it just a laugh when I THOUGHT HE WAS DEAD! But then turned out to be acting, and had time to make a smart joke. I snap an arrow in my hand and throw it down the metal crawling space. And another, and another. Every time I think of what happened to me when I was young, I just break another arrow. Like they were twigs. "This is for Jade leaving me!" I say to myself snapping an arrow in two. "And here's for my father hitting me." I say snap another one with force. "And here's to my family!" I growl. Another. "For Jinx." 'SNAP' "WALLY!" 'SNAP' "BEING ALONE!" 'Snap' I pull another one. "And finally, to being A COWARD." I yell pulling it into two pieces, but cut my hand on the arrow head in the process. I look at the blood in my palm spreading. Then I look to my wrist. What if... what if I just... I throw the blade to my left without looking and curl up into a ball. Holding my hand to my chest. I start crying again. But that's probably why I hate vents... But then again. Like I said. It's a safe, uncomfortable, metal death trap. It's like my problems were just floating away... yet I kept thinking off the recurring nightmare that they were goanna leave me. The team. Wally. Robin. M'egan. Even canary which I hated talking to. That's what I'm afraid of. Losing them. Now that I think about it... It's like dasha vu. In these vents, me and robin tried to save our friends from being killed. From losing them. And when (I thought) robin died. I thought I lost him too. I thought that I had lost, EVERYONE I held onto dearly. I felt like vents. Or just small places in general. Where places that I would never escape from. And places that I would feel so, separated from everyone. Like I would never see them again. SO the fear of claustrophobia came from the fear of loneliness. And the fear of loneliness came from... Jade leaving me. But you know what's the ironic thing is? Even after my father abused me, and the fact that I get beat up EVERYDAY for fighting on this team. I want to love. And I don't want to be alone. I don't want to be left out. But yet I don't want to be a coward. Or I don't want to talk about my feelings. Or cry. Or talk. You know what, I don't blame boys for saying girls are confusing. WE ARE. And personally I think being a coward, is being afraid. Because when I was little. I didn't fight back. I thought of myself as a coward because I used to cry. And used to get upset, and mad, and feel. That's what I thought being a coward is. But infract, being a coward is the exact opposite. Being a coward is when your afraid to feel.

I hear a knock at my door. "Artemis. Wally say we should talk." I roll my eyes at the sound of Dinah voice. Now that I think about it I don't really care about losing Canary. I try to silence my whining and sniffling. "Artemis!" she yells. I roll my eyes. "I don't really wanna talk right now." I yell. "Artemis, Either I'm breaking down this door, or your going to talk." she yells. "You know, I don't really like talking soooo...." "I can see that." she mutters. Her bugging me automatically stopped. She was talking to someone. Probably Wally. I tried to listen in but I couldn't hear anything. I look over the side of the vent. I smirk and slump back to my arrows. All of the sudden I can ear Wally's voice closer then usual. I look over the side again to see Wally smirking at me. "HOW DID YOU? WHAT!?!?" I yell. "I can walk through walls, rember." he says brushing himself off. "DINAH THID IS AN INVASION OF MY PRIVACY!" I yell. "Not if your a distressed teenager who locked herself in her room." she says from outside my door. "UGHHHH!" I whine. I look to wally who's nose was bleeding. I smirk. "Hey Baywatch, how did you get in here again?" I grin. "I vibrate my molecules through you wall, why?" I can't help but laugh. "What?" he asks confused. "Your nose, is bleeding." I barley get out. "Oh crap." he says in a cute panicky way. He wipes his freckled nose. "Artemis, are you going to come down here or make me come up there." he says with a straight face. I roll my eyes in repliance. "Alright. Up it is" A few seconds later Wally pulls himself up, like that time in the all. Still makes it look hot. He sits next to me. "Hey beautiful." I try to hide myself from blushing and punch him in the arm. He laughs. "So." he says. "If your here to give me some lecture on..." "I'm not." "Lets me guess. Your going to ask me about my dream." "No." he replies plainly. I tilt my head in confusion. "Then what are you doing?" HE smirks. "I don't know." I smile at his joke. I look in his eyes. "So." "So." he smiles. "What are you doing?" I ask again. He smirks. "Something you might reject." he says. IS HE GOING TO KISS ME? "And what's that?" I ask timidly. "This." he says leaning in and hugging me. Damit. Thought he was going to kiss me. He wrapped his arms around me and tugged my closer to him. I smile as my head was on his shoulder. "Wally?" "Yeah?" he replies. "I didn't reject that." I can feel him smiling. and I know he was nervous about hugging me but I thought it was cute. I close my eyes. I don't think I'm a coward. I think I... really like Wally. And I'm not jealous of jinx or anything but. What's mine is mine.

HEYYYYYYYYYYY ! WE HIT 1K AYE! Thankyou so much for reading. And I'll be sure to write more soon. #Spifire #OTP

-GOLF_wang

xoxoxoxo