A/N: I'm glad you guys are liking this very much.

What Artemis liked about the winter was that she got to bundle up. It was a time where things could be hidden more than they would have been in any other season, but then again...her cast sort of made that difficult, especially when she could not quite as much cover her bound fingers as much as she would like. Given the consequences, she was unwilling to go inside just to keep a few fingers warm. The most she could do was bind them with athletic tape and hope for the best. Funny how one side was neat and tightened while the other was messy and loose.

"You're being stubborn, you know that?"

"I'm being stubborn about what, exactly?" She returned neutrally as she stopped to stare at something through the window.

"You're cold...and yet you refuse to just pick a damn store and enter it like a normal girl would."

Through the glass she could see him peer at her with those crystal blue eyes with annoyance and a hint of concern. As his hair fluttered with the breeze that started to pick up, his gloved hands reached up to tighten the collar around his neck.

"Roy, you and I both know that this cast makes it difficult to try anything on, and this is where the term 'window shopping' comes into play. The cold is comforting anyway. I see no reason for you to stay if you don't want to." She didn't add that she didn't have enough money to even buy a new pair of gloves, what with having a disabled mother that just got back from jail, they had to make do with what they have.

Her eyes focused more on the beautiful window display. She didn't so much as care for the outfits the mannequins sported, but more on how the surrounding decorations went with the holiday theme. She admired how much work was put into it, how the fake snow fell over the rectangular prisms, or how red and green ribbons were chained together and hung from the ceiling, or the cut-out snowflakes were pasted to the glass. It may seem cheesy, but it warmed her up.

A breeze made her shiver unconsciously and brought her attention to her fellow archer when a black cloth came down from above, brushing and tickling her cheeks before it came to rest upon her shoulders, only after it was wrapped snugly around her neck.

"You're a fucking idiot," he muttered from behind her as he fumbled with the scarf.

Even if he didn't mean it -he was one of the few she knew for a fact that he didn't mean it wholeheartedly- it still stung. One would think that she would be immune to what people said to her, but she had only mastered on keeping a blank face as best as she could.

"You can leave if you want to..." she answered back.

He snorted, causing her to give him a side glance as he stepped up beside her, "And leave you alone to freeze your ass off. Uh, yeah, no. I'm barely fending off Ollie as it is, he will never leave me alone if he finds out I left you to turn into an icicle."

Like he would really be like that.

"What?" Roy questioned with concern laced in his tone.

Artemis was confused. What did he mean what? Her whole body turned to face him, and met the hard stare he was giving her.

"What do you mean 'like he would really be like that'?"

She blinked in surprise, was he a mind reader?

"I don't know what you're-"

He huffed and rolled his eyes in annoyance before he grabbed her good hand and pulled her around the corner and in between the buildings to give them a shadow of privacy. Without letting go, he asked her again.

"You said like he would really be like that. What does that mean?"

Shitshitshitshitshit.

Inner panic reared its ugly head inside of her again. She hadn't meant to let that slip. She thought she had just thought it, along with the rest of the numbing thoughts that sometimes popped in her mind every now and then. The world spun for a moment, her chest tightened, and an itching sensation from her hands caused her to be distracted for a moment. God, these episodes were starting to get worse.

"I," she gasped loudly, pulling her hand from his grasp and clenched her winter coat in between the binded fingers. The sound of boots thudding echoed in the alleyway as she backed up into the wall behind her and started to hyperventilate.

Through the haziness, she saw his hand rise and move towards her person. As a result she shook her head viciously, making the dizziness worsen, almost to a point where she felt like throwing up.

No, she couldn't say anything. He knew Oliver, he talked to Oliver. Oliver would find out about what she thought, felt about him, and her mentor would think her as ungrateful and leave her. She couldn't have that. She needed him.

"Fucking Christ," he swore under his breath.

Roy squatted in front of her, peered at her from below and tapped her kneecap rhythmically to get her attention. It helped a little bit, making her focus on his bare hand again.

"Artemis...what happened?"

She tried to answer him, she really did, but for some odd reason the dizziness came back with a blinding pain in her head. Her body felt warmer than it should, and the tightness in her chest got tighter, restricting her of anymore breath.

...The last thing she saw was Roy's surprised expression and his hands reaching towards her before everything turned black.

A/N: Normally I would just answer some of the questions/suggestions you guys have for this fic through a PM. But I'll just post it here as a way so that everyone can see.

The last chapter where Artemis got her cast, I understand it's a bit vague (everything is vague!), but somewhere in the next chapter, or the one after, you'll see how she got it. So don't fret, kay?

Also...this is not a collection of one-shots. More of vignettes (snippets) on the times where Artemis gets hit by her emotional roller coaster the most, but as you can tell, this fic is now finally taking off...I have somewhat of a plan for this, but I'm afraid it might take away from the prompt in the first place.

Now about the plotline, I have considered many things, and while I do appreciate the tips and such, I only add what my muse sees fit. Ie, as one reviewer suggested, Artemis being raped. Although it would add to the immense angst, I feel it would switch from one type of angst to another. It's just how my writing style goes, if I add one variable (especially one as big as this) I tend to focus on the bigger thing and neglect the other. (Plus I'm already hurting for making Artemis go through this).

The relationship between Artemis/Oliver...let's see, I've only put three encounters between the two. Which is half, I think some of you may get this and others may not, but I do not just want to write between the two of them or else it would get repetitive.

Ahem...other than those, thanks for the reviews guys! I'm in the process of writing the 8th chapter.