How Can We

Chapter Thirty

Wally was playing video games, more specifically Mario Kart because it is fun at any age. He was in the middle of a very intense level when his phone rang. He was tempted to let it go to voicemail, until he saw the caller ID. It was Artemis. He picked up, cradling the phone to his ear while balancing the controller in his other hand.

"Artemis, what's up?"

"Where are you right now?" He could tell something was off immediately. He hit pause and straightened up attentively.

"At home." Although that could quickly change.

"How quickly can you get to my sister's apartment?" She sounded frazzled and almost scared. It made him wonder what got her so freaked out. He shuddered thinking of the possibilities.

"Maybe 15 minutes." He said, Jade's place was still about 20 minutes away even at his best.

"Can you make it a block away from my place around the same time?" It was a tall order, but one he was positive he was going to deliver on.

"Sure, I'll try to get there quickly." He was going to do a lot more than try.

He grabbed some shoes and a jacket before racing out the door. It was rush hour and driving would take too long, so he decided to run all the way across town, all for the blonde girl who shot an arrow through his heart.

*

The second Artemis hung up on Wally, he ran out of his house while pulling out his phone and making a quick call.

"Wally."

"Dick, Artemis needs your help, she's in trouble." Wally managed to say in between breaths. He was panting pretty heavily because of the sheer intensity of his run. He was determined to the there on time, who know what it could be. Regardless she needed his help and he'd be damned if he wasn't there for her.

"Slow down Wally, I can barely hear what you're saying."

"Artemis needs our help, something happened!" Wally needed to go faster, and keep pushing. It seemed that no matter what he did, he was still too slow. It was times like that that he wished for super speed.

"What happened?"

"I'm not sure, but she sounded panicked over the phone. Something is wrong and I'm headed to her apartment now."

"Good, tell me when you get there. I'm going to call the police."

"Do you think this has to do with her dad?" Wally was tentative to ask, fearful of the result.

"It's starting to look more like that now." Dck replied grimly.

*

There were only a few times in his life that Wally was truly frightened. The first was when he almost spilled chemicals onto himself in his uncle's lab. The second was when he broke his arm as a child, but this was by far the worst.

Artemis just handed him Lian and ran off. He couldn't chase after her with a toddler in his arms. The whole reason she gave him the baby was to keep her safe and Wally didn't want to risk the young child's life by running headfirst into danger.

On the other hand, he hated it even more that Artemis would so willingly put herself in danger. He was worried for her, how could he not? By that point he figured out it had something to do with her dad, he must have shown his face again to have her this freaked out.

He wanted nothing more than to give her father a good punch in the face for all he's done.

Dick texted him that he was on his way with the police, an ETA of 2 minutes. Wally told him where to meet him, he was hoping to have him watch Lian while Wally himself went to check on Artemis, and her family.

As soon as the police arrived, they got a call from Artemis explaining the situation. Wally took that as a cue to walk in with Lian in his arms. He was touched that she trusted him with her niece. The fact that she trusted him with anything was touching, and especially something of this magnitude. If only there was time to think about it.

"Thank you Wally." She told him sincerely as she hugged Lian. Jade gave him a rare smile and scooped her daughter back into her arms. Artemis looked exhausted, both mentally and physically.

"Here, sit down." He told her. She shook her head and flat out refused. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine Wally." She told him, coming out harsher that she intended. He rolled it off of her shoulders, not taking it too seriously. Wally let her be, just for a few moments. He did squeeze her hand before walking away to help her mother.

He checked for any injuries until the ambulance arrived. They all seemed fine, just a little shaken up. Still Wally insisted on having them all checked out by an ambulance for piece of mind.

"If you don't see a paramedic I'll just keep annoying you and we both know how much of a nuisance I can be." He made a ridiculous face, trying to cheer her up with a few laughs. She took one look at him, rubbed her temples and sighed, giving in.

One day he knew his annoying tendencies would help him.

*

The police came and went as they hauled her father into the back of a squad car and took statements.

It would be expected for Artemis to be an emotional wreck, but she was stone cold, and tense. Wally thought she would be jumping for joy now that her father was gone, instead she seemed more unraveled. He wanted to help her, but this was the type of thing that required time and patience, lots of it.

Wally couldn't even dwell on the fact that she kissed his cheek, because there was too many other things going on at the same time overwhelming him. However, once the night over that was all he could think about. Day & Night constantly trying to analyze her affection.

He tried not to overthink it too much,which was hard considering he had an enormous crush on the girl. It was hard trying not to look too deeply into her actions when he desperately wanted them to show him a sign that would never come.

As much as he tried being a positive person, Artemis reciprocating his feelings for her was something he could be pessimistic about. It just wasn't going to happen.

*

"Can you stop moping around?"

"No." Wally replied.

"Well it's putting a damper on our night."

"Who even says damper anymore?" Wally mocked.

"Don't take your problems out on me. When are you going to tell Artemis?" Dick questioned growing frustrated with his friend. Wally seemed hopeless and mopey, something all of his friends have easily picked up on."

"Tell her what?" Connor chimed in, finally paying attention to the scene in front of him.

"That he likes her." Kaldur answered for him. "I don't see what you're so worried about, she clearly cared about you." Wally had to scoff at that.

"Yeah right." He muttered, unconvinced.

"Dude, take it from someone whose known Artemis for years. She's never opened up to anyone as quickly or as deeply as you have. She's never really shown affection towards another person like she does to you. You must be oblivious if you can't see it."

The stick his head in a sandbox and call it a day.

**

Wally rested his palm against the side of her face. "I desperately want to kiss you right now, but I'm going to wait until you are ready. Let it be clear that I'm fighting for you Artemis."

A/N: In case then ending was a little confusing, it's part of a future scene that will be expanded on later. It's just something new I'm trying out. 

I feel like it's been so long since I updated but it's only been a few days. As I mentioned before writer's block is really biting me in the butt so it takes e a while to come up with an idea for a chapter, and then I have to rush to write it down in 1-2 days. 

Besides all that, let me know what you guys think in the comments. Don't forget to vote, comment and share this story!