The Project •On Hold•

⚡️ Chapter Ten ⚡️

Wally paced around the hallway.

"Wally, don't be so anxious! Your dad will never know, I promise," Mary assured him.

"If you say so, Ma," Wally replied, running a hand through his hair. He took a drink of water.

"So, one of these girls is your crush, right?"

Wally spit the mouthful of water out. "Oh, uh, ummm... no."

Mary laughed. "Wally, I don't think you can make that lie any less obvious. Her name is Artemis, right?"

Wally sighed. "Yeah. But she clearly doesn't like me back. She doesn't even seem to like me very much friends."

Mary sighed. "That's possible, but don't rule it out. She's had it tough recently, from what you've said. She needs time to trust people. Besides, your depression might be getting to your head. Don't rule out hope before you've given it a reason to be ruled out." She kissed the top of Wally's head.

"Thanks, Mom." The doorbell rang. Wally ran over and opened the door, revealing Megan, Raquel, and Artemis. "Hey, guys!"

"Hey!" Megan said it cheerfully, Raquel and Artemis did not. Something seemed off with Artemis, but Wally couldn't place it. Then he realized it. She was using regular crutches, like, broken leg/ankle/foot crutches, not the ones she usually used. She was also in shorts and wasn't wearing a prosthetic.

"Wow, Arty. You-"

"Look like a hot mess, yeah. My stupid prosthesis was getting on my last nerve so I was like, screw it, I'm not wearing it. I mean, you can't even see the actual leg, sooo, why wear a stupid fake one if it hurts? And those crutches are harder to use without a prosthesis, and I felt lazy. And it's too hot for jeans outside of school."

Wally laughed. That sounded like Artemis.

Soon, everyone had arrived and Mary brought out a plate piled high with cookies.

The teens dug in. "So, Wally, family?" Dick asked.

"My mom is absolutely amazing. She's stubborn and strong, and I love her so much. I'm undoubtedly a Mommy's boy."

That got some laughs.

"My dad, on the other hand, isn't so great. We don't get along, there's a lot of fighting." Wally was actually revealing his life in a non-obvious way. He always felt bad about lying, and this was telling the truth and making it obvious- if someone picked up on it. As he glanced around to see if anyone thought anything of his use of the word fighting instead of arguing, they said nothing. He did, however, fail to notice the flicker of recognition to the phrase cross Artemis' face. "He works a lot, though, so it's ok."

"Well, A) I'm sorry," Zatanna said. "B) These cookies are delicious. THANKS MRS. WEST!"

"You're welcome!" Mary called back.

They talked, and slowly everyone started leaving. Finally, it was only Artemis and Raquel. Raquel went to the bathroom. Suddenly, Artemis grabbed Wally's arm, yanking him into a hallway, pinning him to the wall by his wrists.

"What the hell, Artemis?!"

"What the hell, Wally!" She pulled on of her hands off of him, balling it into a fist. Without thinking, Wally immediately flinched. "That's what I thought," Artemis muttered, a tings of regret in her voice. "Why didn't you say anything?!"

"Anything about what?"

"Don't play innocent with me, West! You're not the only one who has been abused!"

Wally's eyes widened. "How- oh- WAIT, YOU WERE ABUSED??"

"Yell a little louder. Then maybe they'll be able to here you in Indonesia, not just the rest of the world."

Wally rolled his eyes.

"And duh, West. Remember when I said how my legs got so jacked up? That accident happened cuz my dad was drunk. He then went on to hate me because of my disability. When I was five, he tied a rope around my leg- the one that was backwards- tightly enough that it cut off all the blood flow. There was no choice but to amputate it. My dad passed it of as an accident, saying my blanket got tangled around my leg while I was thrashing in my sleep.

He's done other, horrible, unspeakable things. I hate him. But one thing that I should've done is report him. He was gone for business all of the time, and I should've used that to report him. But I didn't, because I was scared. I was scared that he would find out, and that he'd kill me. But the truth is, I was just paranoid. And he was relying on that. So let me tell you: report. Him. I know it's scary, terrifying even, but you gotta. It'll work out fine, you'll be ok, I promise. Just. Report. Him."

"Why do you care so much?"

"Because you're my- friend. I don't want you getting hurt."

Wally sighed. "Just friends." He didn't realize that he said it aloud.

"Only if that's what you want us to be."

Wally looked up at her in shock. She pressed her lips against his. His instincts kicked in, and he kissed her in return. It deepened, getting more passionate. Their hands slid up each other's shirts. Wally tugged on hers, clearly asking if it was ok to remove it. Just as she was about to nod, a yell interrupted them.

"ARTEMIS?! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?! WE GOT PLACES TO BE!"

"Shit, Rocky. Why'd you have to ruin it?" The blonde muttered. She looked at Wally. The two disheveled teens straightened themselves out.

"Want me to take you two home?" Wally asked.

"Only if you report your dad."

Fear coursed through Wally. But he gulped and nodded. "Deal."

Soon the girls had been dropped off, and Wally was sitting on his bed. He opened his contacts, and clicked on 'Uncle Barry 🐆'. He pressed the call button.

"Hey, Wall-man! What's up?"

"There's something that I need to tell you."