Office (Spitfire AU)

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I figured it was about time I used that picture. Arty and Jade are two years apart, 10th and 12th grade. It made the storyline easier. Rob and Zee are also the same as as Arty and Wally.

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Wally walked into the office, waiting to talk to the vice principal. He took a seat. A few minutes later, a blonde girl walked in. Wally recognized her as Artemis Crock, the school's resident rebel. Wally instinctively scooted away when she sat down a few seats away from him. She didn't seem to notice.

She pulled a textbook out of her bag- human biology. She opened it, reading. She was chewing something, and a pink bubble followed by a small 'pop' quickly revealed what it was.

"No bubble gum in school," The secretary scolded.

"Whatcha gonna do?" Artemis asked. "Take it out of my mouth?" She glanced at Wally. "What are you in for, golden boy?"

"Oh, they just want to know if it's cool if I miss my classes tomorrow to help with a presentation in the auditorium. What's got you in here this time?"

The secretary left the room to go get some papers.

Artemis blew another bubble, answering after the pop. "I stabbed a kid with a screwdriver." She gave him a weird look. "We lead very different lives."

"That we do," Wally agreed. "Who'd you stab and why?"

"Ugh, this insufferable guy named Ronnie. Wouldn't stop flirting with me. Had to give him a piece of my mind."

"Deserved it."

"Definitely. But my mom's gonna freak, and my dad's gonna yell, and my sister will yell at us all to shut up so she can make out with her boyfriend in peace."

"Sounds very loving."

"Yeah, we definitely got the 'dysfunctional family' award in the bag. Mentally unstable mom, dad with SEVERE anger issues, one sl**ty daughter, and another who gets in some kind of fight everyday. The Adams Family has some competition for weirdest family on the block."

Wally chuckled at Artemis' comment. "Sounds exciting."

"Never a dull moment. Though sometimes I wish there was."

"I wish my life was a bit more exciting. But I'm a-ok without the family drama."

"Most people are. I'm used to it, though. It's always been one thing or another. I mean, my mom's mental state is much better than it was when I was little."

"That's good."

There was silence.

"Hey, Artemis?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to eat lunch with my friends tomorrow? I'm pretty sure my best friend Richard has an eye on your friend Zatanna."

"Richard Grayson? Ooh, Zee's had a crush on him since freshman year. I'm sure she'd LOVE to eat lunch with him."

A girl who looked like an ebony version of Artemis entered the room. She looked annoyed. There was a pink detention slip in her hand.

"What did you do, Jade?" Artemis asked her.

Jade rolled her eyes. "Mr. Hogan caught me skipping class with Roy. What did you do?"

"Stabbed this kid Ronnie with a screwdriver."

"Wow. Dad would be proud. Your temper rivals his."

Artemis rolled her eyes. Wally has noticed that this seemed to be a signature gesture for the Crock sisters.

"What's the golden boy in here for?" Jade asked.

"Oh, he snapped big time. Wanted to know if he could miss classes for a whole day to help with a project in the cafeteria tomorrow."

"Wow! How bad! Didn't know he had it in him."

"Oh, haha, very funny," Wally said sarcastically.

Jade shrugged.

"You gonna bust out of detention with me?" Artemis asked.

"Well, duh. Getting Lawrence angry is so not on my bucket list."

"Mine, either. Especially since we both got detention yesterday and he specifically said not to get it today."

"Yeah, wouldn't him to go all gun crazy on us again."

Both of them laughed. It unnerved Wally, but judging by their laughter, they were kidding.

"I think we're scaring Wally," Artemis said.

"Oh, poor baby. Can't take an abuse joke?"

"As someone who used to be abused, no," Wally replied.

Both girls' demeanors shifted.

"Sorry," Artemis said quickly.

"It's fine," Wally assured her.

Jade's phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and groaned before hitting 'ignore'.

Artemis' phone promptly rang. "Thanks for that, Jae."

"You're welcome."

"Hey, Dad... Yeah, I know that we were supposed to get home early... No, we weren't sent to the office, why would you think that?... We had study hall... Of course we're coming home now... No, we wouldn't miss training again... See you soon. Bye." She hung up before looking at Jade. "We gotta go. Dad's gonna kill us if we don't get home now."

"Let's blow this popsicle stand." Jade ripped her pink slip up before putting it discretely in the paper shredder. The Crock girls hurried to the door.

"Don't tell anyone," Artemis told Wally.

"Yeah, you went to the bathroom and we were gone when you came back," Jade added.

"Yeah, yeah," Wally agreed. But they way Artemis sounded on the phone, as if she was almost scared of her father unnerved him. It sounded too much like him when he was abused for his liking.

Jade's "joke" about their dad shooting them hadn't sounded like a joke, no matter what they'd implied. And Artemis had mentioned that he had anger issues, and she had also said that he'd kill them if they weren't home soon... it could be over exaggerating, but his gut said otherwise.

"Wallace West?" The vice principal asked.

"Yes, Uncle Barry?"

"Come in, Wally. You want to help in the cafeteria tomorrow, I assume."

"Yep."

"Ok, then you're good to go. "Where'd the Crock girls go?"

"They were gone when I came- they went home," Wally admitted.

"Why?"

"Their dad called. The thing was, they were making jokes about their dad killing them a couple of times. Now, to most that wouldn't seem to serious, but as an abused kid-"

"You think they're getting abused." He said it like a statement.

"Yeah."

Barry sighed. "I'll look into it, some of the teachers have actually been suspecting that as well. I was going to look into it a little later, but if you agree, I'll look into it before I leave today, alright?"

"Alright. Thanks, Uncle Barry."

"You're welcome, Wally."

Wally left the office, satisfied that he'd done what he could about the suspicious situation. 

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