Artemis {ON HOLD}

Chapter 6

Artemis POV

I wake up to the sound of knocking on my door. I'm sweating and breathing hard, so I assume I had another nightmare I can't remember. "Yeah, who's there?" I shout, not wanted to get up.

"It's Tyler." Came his soft voice from the other side of the door. "I heard you scream and I j-just wanted to make sure you were o-ok." Even when its just him talking to me, he still stutters. I wonder what talent he possesses to belong on this team.

I sigh. "Yeah I'm fine, I guess. You can come in if you want. I don't think I'm going to get anymore sleep." I check the clock. Its 5 am.

The door slowly opens and Tyler pokes his head in, cautiously.

I roll my eyes. "You don't have to be afraid of me. I'm not gonna stick you with an arrow, I promise." I say, still partly asleep.

My words are enough to make Tyler slip into my room and shut the door behind him. Anyone else I would've suspected bad intentions for coming into my room this early, but Tyler is so utterly innocent and docile that I don't think too much about him. He takes a seat at my desk chair after turning on the light.

"Why did you scream?" Tyler asks carefully, yet concerned. He has calmed down enough to get the stutter out of his voice, but he's still a bit tense.

I sigh. "I had a nightmare of some sort, I suppose. I can't remember it whatsoever, but it terrified me." I mentally scold myself for looking weak in front of someone who I barely know. I need to be strong in front of my new team otherwise they won't see me as a good asset to the team and I want to stay here as long as possible to gather information. And I don't want to feel weak even if I'm the only one who notices. I need to remain strong and confident no matter what. Weakness means failure. And I will not fail.

Tyler offers me a small smile. "It's ok. You'll get through it." He doesn't offer me sympathy, which suprises me. But I'm more grateful for his words than I would've been for sympathy. He doesn't treat me like a kicked puppy because of my circumstances.

I smile at him. "Thanks dude. You know for a nerd-looking guy, you're pretty chill." I point out.

Tyler blushes. " T-thanks."

We sit in silence for a while before Tyler speaks up. "C-can I ask you something?" He sounds nervous.

I look at him curiously. "Shoot."

He take deep breath. "Why did you make m-me and Will k-kiss?" He manages.

I shrug. "Because it seemed like a good dare."

"Oh." Tyler's voice is small, and he sounds disappointed.

"Why do you ask?" I have a suspicion as to why, but I want to hear him say it.

Tyler turns bright red. "N-no reason."

I arch an eyebrow. "Lying to me? That's a bad idea, Ty."

Tyler lets out a frustrated sigh. "Fine. It's just that, I can't stop thinking about it. I-I mean, I knew I was gay, b-but I never say W-Will that way, you know? B-but now...." He looks at me, forlornly.