Verbatim ▹ Keiynan Lonsdale

NINE.

Isabelle found herself nervously tapping her foot as she was escorted by stage managers to wait for Ellen's cue.  She found herself missing Keiynan's smile or his jokes, all of his little ways that managed to make her feel better that he didn't have to do. She found herself twiddling with her thumbs, her heartbeat echoing in her eardrums.

She cursed a few times under her breath to release stress, a habit she had picked up from Matt from always being around him.

"Please welcome our next guest, who is no stranger to cameras, you may know her as a beautiful model or Analise, a young archangel from Supernatural, Wedensday James from American Horror Story, or recently, Calliope Addams from Freeform's Shadowhunters, give it up for the beautiful... Isabelle Rowan!"

Isabelle released a deep breath as she walked from backstage, beginning to hear I'm Good by The Mowgli's playing. She closed her eyes and saw Keiynan's teasing smile behind her eyelids before she rocked her hips, dancing as she made her way on stage. She waved to the crowd, flashing a wide grin. Ellen laughed, finally as Isabelle stood before her and pulled her into a hug.

"Welcome, Izzy!" Ellen pulled away, and the two women took a seat on their respective chairs, the music cutting off as soon as they did. 

"Thanks for having me," Izzy chuckled.

"Thank you for being here! I know this is a little different for you, yeah?" Ellen asked. Isabelle nodded, and crossed her leg by the ankle, smoothing out her black pencil skirt, that made her bright yellow blouse pop.

"So, tell us about your transition currently to super-heroine Artemis Queen."

Izzy sat up straight, and bit nervously into her lip. "Gosh, first things first, at least I was in shape." The audience laughs, calming Izzy's nerves. "Becoming Artemis is a little more serious now than it was during my first appearance. I didn't have to work out as much. But now, being a full-time character, I have to make sure I stay in shape, keep a good diet to be able to fit into her clothes. But like anything, Artemis is a teenage, a phase of life in which I'm super familiar with, so that's a thought that's always at the back of my mind. 

"But I also have to make sure that I can come off as emotionally hardened as she is. She's been through a lot, coming from another universe where basically, everyone she knew is dead. She's coming to a world where her father is alive, and she's meeting him for the first time, with these expectations, but she's also scared to be herself. She's been trying to fulfill her father's shadow, his legacy as the Green Arrow, as well as trying to train herself with these powers she's inherited from her mother, aka the Black Canary, who in this new world has just recently died. 

"Her father, Oliver, in this world, isn't sure what to do,  considering he went from awkward bachelor to father of a teenager who he wants to be everything except the teenager he was. He's overprotective of her, and Artemis thinks she can handle herself, but she also wants her dad to accept her and love her. But he isn't sure how he should do that. The rest of Team Arrow is trying to help Oliver out with Artemis, Felicity more so, but it's a struggle for both Ollie and Artie. 

"So, it's a lot of practice for me, pushing people away and learning how to throw my tones of voice to express certain emotions. It's also a lot more dependent on body language, and not to mention the intense gymnastics, hand-to-hand combat, and archery I'm currently doing. As well as practice in some more crucial areas I've never truly had a lot of emphasis on."

Ellen nods as she speaks, "And, what are some of these crucial areas? You've got us already on the edge of our seats, so don't leave us hanging! Throw us a net!"

Izzy laughs, "Well, Artemis is going to be a romantic interest alongside her own developing plotline. As most people know, she is going to be romantically involved with Wally West, aka Kid Flash. I've had to practice and brush up on my flirting skills as well as playing hard to get. Artemis isn't the type of girl to let someone in so easily, especially when it comes to matters with her heart.  Besides that, I've had to practice my kisses."

At that, the crowd 'oohs', and Isabelle feels herself blush. "How so?" Ellen asks, leaning in closer as if the two of them were sharing a secret.

"Well, I've been learning how to tie cherry knots, as well as practicing with some of my other costars." Isabelle blushes cherry red.

"Like Keiynan for instance?" Ellen suggests, and Izzy nods. 

"Well," Ellen says, dramatically pausing, "Here, the producers of Arrow and The Flash have released a three minute promo displaying a little bit of that hard work Izzy's been putting in with Keiynan. And you, the audience will tell us if the practice is paying off."

Izzy's eyes widen as they turn to look at the screen. She instantly recognizes the scene as the one where Artemis sneaked out to see Wally, taking a train to Central City against Oliver's wishes. The lights dim as the clip begins to play.

"Artemis?" Wally hisses quietly, his eyes wide as the girl sits under his window, waving a hand. "How'd you get here?"

"I sneaked out. I couldn't sleep." Artemis says, shrugging her shoulders as she rubs her forearms through her her grey hoodie.

"So you took a train to Central City? When I could've just ran to you if you called?"

"I didn't want to push your luck, Wally." 

"Did... did you want to come in?" He asks, furrowing his brows.

"No," She said sarcastically. "I want to sit out here in the cold."

Wally smiles at this, and Artemis' lips slowly curl into a smile. "I'll be down in a second to let you in," He tells her, and shuts the window.

He suddenly pops back into frame, sliding the back door open, waving a hand to hurry the blonde inside. She ducks under his arm as he locks the door, slowly leading her back to his room. 

"Is Iris and Joe here?" Artemis asks, her voice a whisper as they enter Wally's room.

"No, they're out with Barry at Star Labs." Wally sits down on his bed, as Artemis stands awkwardly in the doorway.  He pulls her close to him, before sitting her down on his bed, and he stands, and in one blurry, quick moment, shuts the door and sits beside her.

"So, does Oliver know you're here?"

"No. Like I said, I sneaked out." Artemis smiled shyly at Wally.

"Is it worth it?" Wally asked, biting into his lip. At that, Artemis rested a hand against his face, her other hand fiddling with Wally's suddenly vibrating one. Their fingers interlocked, and Artemis quirked a brow at him, her thumb sliding down to pull his lip from in between his teeth.

"I don't know... but I'd like to find out." She told him.

"Well, let me show you I'm worth the trouble," Wally smirked, and he closed the distance between them, his free hand pulling hers that was resting on his face to over his heart, their lips closing the gap. His hand curled into her hair and Artemis inched closer as the Flash theme began to play, and the screen faded to black.

The lights came back on, and Ellen grinned widely at Izzy. "What do you think, audience? Has her practice paid off?"

The crowd burst into cheers, just as Ellen commented, "Pretty steamy if I do say so myself!"

"Well, I hope so," Izzy smiled. 

"Thank you for joining me today, Izzy, and I hope to see you and Keiynan on here together, eventually!"

"Thank you for having me," Izzy said as they stood to their feet, and hugged again, before Izzy walked across the stage, waving at the crowd, I'm Good playing again as she got to backstage, being met by her publicist. 

"Not bad, honey bun, not bad at all!"