How Can We

Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

There was something off about today, Artemis could tell as soon as she woke up.

Artemis was exhausted so there was nothing new about that. What shocked her that Monday morning was that she wasn't dreading school as much as she used to, and there was no archery that day. It was truly a miracle.

She got ready for school more enthusiastic than she normally was. Her friends noticed the change immediately. I mean, how could they not, the hint of a smile on her face was a dead giveaway.

"What did you do to Wally?" Kaldur asked with worry. She scowled at him automatically.

"He's fine." Truthfully she had no idea if he was. ""And for the record I didn't do anything to him. If something did happen it must be his own damn fault."

"What happened? I thought you guys were just starting to get along." Zatanna said confused, but Artemis could see the hint of disappointment in her eyes.

"First of all, we weren't getting along. The party was a lapse in judgement on my part." It wasn't exactly a lie, but not necessarily the truth either. She had a moderate amount of fun at the party with Wally.

"Ouch Arty. That hurts right here." Wally appeared right behind her, pointing his hand at his heart.

"You'll get over it." She waved him off. "I'll see you in physics." She slung her bag over her shoulder and walked to her first class engrossed in her thoughts.

Who was she kidding? The party wasn't too bad and Wally was actually pretty fun to hang out with. Although she would be the last person to admit it outloud. She wouldn't want to stroke his ego any further.

********

"Hey." Wally greeted Artemis as he did everyday. She would always respond promptly with an eyeroll. This morning she surprised both of them by replying.

"Hey." She avoided eye contact and took out her notebook.

"I had fun at the party, you're actually not that bad." He told her.

"Ditto." Artemis kept her responses short and quick. However, Wally was persistent in striking up a conversation.

"When are you finally going to respond in more than one-word answers?" He asked a few minutes later.

"When you take a hint. When are you going to give up on this failed relationship?"She gave hims a sideways glance. "I need to pay attention in this class, can you bother someone else for now. We'll talk later." She didn't give him any chance to respond and returned to attention to the front.

He sat back in his chair and thought over her words. She wasn't as harsh as she normally was, and actually softened towards the end. Artemis did offer to talk to him after class, that was definitely progress.

"Hey Wally what did you think of the party?" The girl next to him asked. He vaguely remembered her as the one who invited him. He was blanking on the name, but it started with a C. Or was it a T?

Regardless, he flashed her a dazzling smile. "I had a lot of fun. You sure know how to throw a party." He said practically oozing with charm. She giggled and blushed turning away so he couldn't see, but he did. And so did Artemis, if you looked closely enough you could see her grip on her pen tighten.

******

Class ended fairly quick after that. Artemis waiting until Wally was finished and stood by his desk. He realized this and took even longer to put his binder back in his bag just to spite her.

"Are you done yet?" She asked annoyed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Nope." He smirked taking his time in zippering his bag.