How Can We

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

Wally didn't say anything aloud, but there was something that felt off when he said they were friends. He considered Artemis as a friend for a while and she finally felt the same way which was progress. Now that they were friends, what was the next step?

Calling her his friend felt nice, but there was something off about it, like there was a gaping hole. Things felt better when he hugged her. He was surprised that she even agreed to the hug, he figured it was a long shot.

Wally felt her sigh into the hug, and he couldn't help but think that they fit together well. In that hug Wally had the strange urge to protect her from the world.

He kept telling himself that there plenty of reasons for that. Friends want to protect each other, and look out for each other, it was practically in the job description.

There was another possibility but Wally wouldn't let his mind wander there.

*******

Wally decided to distract his mind from those thoughts by flirting randomly with the girls in his class. It also gave him some time to practice his pick-up lines. And who knows, maybe he'll get a date out of it.

He spent the next couple of days upping his game. Artemis made fun of him constantly for his pick up lines, which just prompted him to use them on her. She would tell him to **** off and punch his arm or something.

Wally had to admit that her punches actually hurt. She sure knew how to throw a punch. He would always complain and rub his arm to soothe the pain.

"That really hurts Arty."

"Keep calling me that and you'll get a hell of a lot worse."

"Where did you even learn to punch like that?" He asked her.

"It doesn't matter. Now suck it up and stop acting like a baby I barely hit you." She scoffed and rolled her eyes at him.

"Lies."

******

Later on that day, Wally told Artemis he was going to try and contact Roy. She told him to keep it casual, but doubted he would respond. He thought he might be looking into it too much, but it seemed like she was holding something back from him.

Wally was hesitant to bring it up because they only just got out of a huge argument. Not to mention that it wasn't only his business to know everything about her investigation, if you could even call it that.

Still, Wally's curiosity got the better of him and as soon as he went home he sat in front of his computer ready to do some actual investigative work. It was a long shot but he wondered a lot about Jade, like if she was actually Roy's girlfriend. He didn't know what to expect when he searched for her online.

He certainly wasn't expecting to find anything. There were no search results for Jade Crock, it was like she didn't exist.

Wally was ashamed he couldn't find anything. The only thing giving him solstace was that Dick was working on this longer than he has and hadn't come up with anything,

One thing was for sure, he wasn't going to tell Artemis. He couldn't handle another one of her punches.

*******

Wally went the next day to see Artemis first thing in the morning once he arrived at school. She was furiously typing something on her phone.

"Hey Artemis!" She quickly locked her phone as soon as he came which was suspicious. He decided not to bring it up at the moment. He figured she would tell him when she was ready like she did about her family. Although he suspected there was a lot she was still withholding.

He wondered why he craved the truth about her so much. He wanted to know everything about her, and he was starting to suspect the real reason why. Until then, he would remain in denial.

"I have a question for you." He told her standing right next to her and leaning against the school wall.

"Shoot." She slipped her phone back in her bag and straightened out her blazer.

"Who do you think the hottest guy of our group?"

"Connor." She answered without even hesitating.

"Why don't you go out with him then?" He had no idea why he asked that. It just came out of his mouth before he could even comprehend what his words meant.

Artemis laughed right in his face. "Stop trying to get even with me for the whole Megan thing. Besides Megan and Connor are dating."

Wally threw his head back and whined. "Awww."

He recovered quickly. Bouncing back he said, "Who's the second best looking?" Wally was expecting her to say him, because how could she deny his good looks.

Artemis looked over him, dangerously close to checking him out. After a few seconds she looked him dead in the eye. "Dick."

"Oh come on!"

"As much as I would like to lie to you and boost your already inflated ego, I have better things to do."

Like texting people secretly he wanted to say but held his tongue.

"Come on class is starting soon." He changed the subject swiftly so he had time to think over what just happened. He has noticed the close and friendly behavior between Dick and Artemis. Were they dating? And why did it leave a sour taste in his mouth?

*******

In computer science Wally decided to ask Dick the burning questions on his mind. And he was way less subtle than he pictured it in his mind.

The second his black haired friend sat down Wally all but ambushed him. "Are you dating Artemis?"

"Well hello to you too Wally." His friend responded setting his bag beside him.

"Are you?"

"Would it bother you if I was?" In a very Dick-like fashion he asswered a question with one of his own. He raised an eyebrow at the slightly frazzled red head. Dick wa carefully guaging his friend's reaction.

"Of course not." Wally swallowed.

"Ok, so that is setled." Dick's answer was clear enough for Wally. He just couldn't belive none of them told him. What was with all the secret relaionships in his group?

*******

Wally was still reeling over the fact that Artemis was going out with Dick. In that case why didn't she say he was the most handsome when he asked? Why would Dick let him flirt with his girlfriend so much? It wasn't really flirting per se because that would mean Wally liked Artemis and that was not the case.

He already texted Artemis asking why she never told him. He was hurt, they were friends and if she could trust him with finding her sister she could trust him about opening up with her relationship.

He was walking to his next class when he saw Artemis and Dick. They were in a corner of the hallway, standing awfully close together arguing in hushed whispers. He took one look at them and decided he didn't want to interrupt their lovers spat.

That came out a lot harsher than he expected in his head.

Wally decided to do something about his loneliness. He was jealous, but not because Dick and Artemis were dating each other but the fact that he wasn't dating anyone. However, he knew what to do about his problem.

He pulled out his phone and dialed a number. "Hey Bette, are you still up for that raincheck?"

A/N: Just a heads up the next chapter will still focus on Wally. I want even chapters for both of them but we'll see how things go on from here. The next chapter will be a bit shorter so I can update faster. 

Anyway let me know what you thought about this chapter. And don't forget to vote, comment and share this story! I appreciate all the support you have have given this story. We are over 600 reads! That is amazing :))