Wallace Rudolph West was one hell of an actor.

If any of his friends heard anyone say that, they'd immediately deny it and say Wally must have been the worst liar they had ever seen in their lives. But that was just it. Wally was a terrible liar. But Wally just was a mask. A mask Wallace wore whenever outside of his home to keep others from ever even coming close to the truths he hid.

Sometimes, he regretted being so good at hiding his true pain. At one point or another, the beatings had become so much that the boy just wanted to run over to Gotham, throw himself into his best friend's arms, and allow the Dark Knight to take all kinds of horrible revenge on the people that had hurt him.

But he could never bring himself to do that. He could never put himself through the emotional pain that would come from his friends finding out he was being abused. He could never be able to make himself live through the pitiful glances that would undoubtedly be sent his way from people that thought they were being completely inconspicuous. He just couldn't.

So he stayed quiet. Wallace Rudolph West put his body through hell day in and day out like clockwork from both his hero work and his normal life at home.

And he just grinned and bared it because, really, what was so bad about this? Sometimes he did deserve to be called out for being worthless and eating his parents out of house and home. Sometimes he needed to be reminded that the world would be better off without him. And sometimes he just deserved the bruises given by his father for being a complete loser.

He was Wallace Rudolph West, a teen that was hurt by his parents. And nobody knew just how great a mask could be until it cracked and fell apart.

I was aware of having two masks. They were the only reason I hadn't yet tried to do anything stupid.

The first was the one I used the most, Wally. I was Wally whenever I went out of my home and I smiled as bright as the sun to keep people from figuring out just what Wally was. He was the bright child with a short attention span that somehow always managed to get himself in trouble. And Wally was a huge hit because of his ignorance.

Then the second one was the mask I used whenever I had to lie. Wally would warp into something that was akin to a shell, with serious frown replacing his usual smile. This mask I wore whenever my aunt or uncle asked seriously if I was okay. I only really had to wear it every once in a while, whenever the cracks in Wally became apparent.

And finally, there was the real me. The once-ignorant child that was now more than painfully aware of the terrible truths this world held. There were no such thing as fairy tale endings in this world. There was no beautiful princess for me to save and there were no magical beans to get me out of my worldly problems.

I was a teenager that was wrapped around in deceit and lies, and I told them not only to my friends, but also to my family. Hell, I don't think there was anyone I didn't lie to.

But lying had just become second nature...

"Where did you get that bruise?" Robin asked as soon as he saw me walk into the Mountain with a slight limp.

With a busted lip I smiled, "I took down Cold all by myself yesterday!"

Lies were so easy to tell when compared to the truth. I mean, at first, when I still wasn't ready to lie, my throat would close up and my chest would tighten when I even thought of saying something that wasn't true. Now, though, it was the exact opposite. I would have those same symptoms when I tried to tell anyone the truth. So I just lied. Because lying was so much easier.

Sometimes I would wonder why I was stuck with this reality. Why did I- the one and only Kid Flash- have to be caught in a negligent household? Why had I been given these terrible cards to play?

But whenever I thought of that, I would bitterly remind myself of how much of a failure I was. I mean, not one mission had gone smoothly. And it was always my fault that we were caught. I would always trip over my feet or my stomach would growl and then we found ourselves fighting for our lives while the rest of my team tried to keep their annoyance with me to a minimum.

I didn't deserve any better. I deserved a father that reminded me how useless I was. And having a mother that put her and her husband's needs before my own was pretty justified in my book. I had earned this for being such a loser. I had earned the right to be abused.

Now I sat at my bedroom's desk, Chemistry homework splayed all around me as the English paper I had to write on my laptop taunted me. I had only gotten past my teacher's name before giving up.

About a day ago, Uncle Barry had told me about a teenage party the CCPD had broken up. He vividly described all of the alcohol that was confiscated and how many kids went to Juvie or back home with a huge grounding, but I didn't believe him. Why? Because I knew all of those kids. And they were already planning a party for tomorrow, Friday night.

That's when I received a text message on my phone.

It was from Mike, a guy I only spoke to whenever he wanted me to complete his science homework.

~Hey, Four Eyes. Thrs a prty tmrw. Kate md m inv u. Comin?~

His spelling was atrocious and I cringed internally as I read the message, but I couldn't help but smile softly to myself. Mike was a popular kid, the usual team captain with the blonde bombshell of a cheerleader for a girlfriend. He was bad news, but I only ever helped him with his homework. This was the first time I was ever invited to do anything with him.

Just then my phone alerted me of yet another message.

~Hey, Wall-Man, Roy and I are up for a round of CoD tomorrow. Wanna hang?~

I glared softly at the screen as I shook my head at Dick's message.

I needed a break from the lies. And I needed to relax.

~Sorry, Dick. Can't. I'm helping Kate with some homework.~ I typed quickly and sent the message to Dick, then sent my acceptance to the party to Mike.

~U jst md Kate happy Good job~

With an intake of breath, I got up from my desk and walked towards my door. From there I stuck my head into the hallway and called, "Hey, mom! Can I go study with Kate tomorrow night? We have a test on Wednesday."

"I don't give a shit what you do, kid!" My father groused back and I only smiled.

Yes, both my masks were good when around my friends. But sometimes even a master liar needed to rejoice in the truth.

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