Steal the Show •On Hold•

Chapter Fifteen

Artemis sat on Zatanna's bed. Hanging out with her best friends was fun. "How's life been treating you, girl?" Raquel asked her.

"Pretty good." Artemis lied.

"Good," Zatanna said. "I feel like we've barely gotten to see you!"

"I'm sorry about that. But concerts, meet and greets, practices, and carving out special time with Cam and other times with YJ takes up a lot of time."

"True," Bette said. "But I'd wish that you'd carve out more time with us."

"Me too."

The girls played some board games and truth or dare, and just talked, enjoying each other's company.

After a few hours, Artemis sighed. "I've gotta get back to my room, unfortunately. Then I've got that concert in two days. So, you know, I'm busy. But I'll try to see you tomorrow!"

"Ok," Bette said.

"Bye, Arty!" Zatanna said.

"Bye, girl!" Raquel called.

Artemis walked back to her hotel room. "Hey," Cam said when she opened the door.

"Hey. You want dinner?"

"Like duh, Crock!" He slapped her. "Idiot."

"I'm sorry," She whispered. She grabbed some ingredients and started making pho, Cam's favorite.

Later, as she carried the bowls to the table, Cam smacked her butt, making her almost spill the food.

"Please don't do that," She said quietly as she set the food down.

"Do what? This?" He spanked her again.

She shuddered. "Yes."

Cam rolled his eyes. "Fine." The two ate in relative silence, then went to bed.

A couple hours later, Artemis was awoken by a crash, and a cry of pain. It sounded like her mother. A man's voice loudly assured Paula that she was alright. Artemis' dad.

Artemis scrambled out of bed and ran over to her parents' room. Paula was on the floor, leaning against the wall, her legs sprawled. She had clearly been thrown into the wall like a rag doll. Lawrence kicked her and just kept doing it.

"Dad, stop it!" Artemis exclaimed.

Lawrence whirled around. "You really want to get involved in this?"

Artemis nodded.

"B****!" He shoved Artemis to the floor next to her mother.

Cam walked into the room. "What the h*** is going on in here?!"

"They're being b****es."

"Oh. In that case Artemis can sleep in here on the floor with her mother."

"Agreed. I'll sleep on the couch in your room." The men left.

Artemis sat up. "You ok, Mom?"

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"What was Dad so p***ed about?"

Paula laughed. "Apparently I wasn't cooperating enough."

"That's stupid."

"If you think that's stupid, then you'll be even more impressed by his stupidity when I tell you he's been trying to get me pregnant."

"Seriously? Aren't you too old?"

"Probably. Plus, I could barely hold a baby, ever. You and your sister were basically miracles. But he's been trying to have a son for years, and he's too stubborn to give up, even now."

"Well, I guess if he wants to be an idiot he can be an idiot."

"True." Artemis got her mom into the bed and crawled in with her. The two snuggled together. Paula soon went to sleep. Artemis decided that her dad wasn't going to be in control anymore. She'd tell Wally what was going on with Cameron and Crusher after their next concert in a couple days. She let herself fall asleep.