A nine-year old blonde girl sat happily on a park bench staring at nothing in particular and everything at the same time. She looked over at the playground were lots of kids we're playing with each other yet some of them had met seconds ago, their parents watching from the benches close by. Normally she would've been saddened by the sight of a father picking up his son or daughter but she had decided that she was going to forget all about her less-than-loving father and everyone else who hurt her. Yes she had trust issues but who could blame her?

At the jungle gym dangling upside down was a redheaded boy, his aunt Iris watching him from a bench taking pictures now and then while her boyfriend Barry went to get ice creams. He stayed upside down for quite some time and he liked being right there but he started getting dizzy so he untangled himself and let himself fall to the ground, landing perfectly on his feet. He looked around for his aunt's boyfriend, he really wanted ice cream, and ended up spotting a lone girl sitting on a bench who looked like she was his same age. He frowned when he saw her because normally a kid would run at the playground not stay seated and stare blankly at nothing.

He made a quick check to see if his aunt was watching and sure enough she was but at that moment her phone rang and she answered, getting completely distracted from watching her nephew for a moment. He took the opportunity and dashed over to the girl. He loved running it reminded him of the flash, his favorite superhero. He had told his aunt once that he would be the flash someday and she smiled at him warmly and turned to look at her boyfriend who had a triumphant look on his face. The girl noticed him running towards her and frowned in confusion. When he reached her, he smiled at and she giggled a bit since one of his teeth was missing and she thought he looked funny with the empty space it left.

"Hi" said the boy cheerfully. "I'm Wally."

The little girl didn't answer. She was too shocked. Maybe he was confused. She thought that if she kept silent maybe he'd walk away. He didn't. His big sparkling emerald eyes piercing into her gray ones, with a wide smile that was starting to scare her and since she was the only one sitting alone in a bench she didn't had much option but to answer. "Hi…" She started then remembered she had to say her name. "I'm Artemis."

"Hey Artemis!" he said cheerfully. An awkward silence followed until he began searching for something in his pocket. The girl eyed him curiously. "Why you sitting here alone?" He said still searching for something in his pocket. She found it strange that a random kid would come to talk to her just because she was sitting alone. Suddenly she became defensive but at the same time was intrigued by the guy. She had all the right to be alone! Why did he had to come and remember her she couldn't be so careless like the other kids at the park, that she didn't had a perfect family like he probably had.

He waved his hand across her face annoyingly. "Hey earth to Artemis! I'm still here!" he said smiling. "What!" She burst suddenly scared by him. "Wow, easy there I was wondering why you were spacing out." He said snickering slightly.

Her mouth parted about to respond but he cut her off when he exclaimed "Aha!"

He pulled out the object he was searching for.

"Chocolate!" He said smirking at her. "Never go out without it." 'Well that explains why he was swinging like a monkey a while ago' Artemis thought to herself.

"Want some?" he said extending his arm towards her. She nodded grabbing the piece of chocolate from his hand. She began chewing thinking how sweet this Wally kid was to come talk to a stranger and give her chocolate.

As Artemis munched on the sweet snack given to her, Wally studied her. He watched, as her long blonde hair seemed to glimmer in the sunlight and how her eyes shined as she tasted the chocolate. Wally admitted to himself he thought she was pretty and probably didn't have cooties like all the other girls, after all she wasn't wearing dresses or skirts or ribbons or girly colors like all the other girls so he figured she wasn't like them. Instead she wore a green shirt, brown shorts and sneakers. She definitely didn't have cooties.

"Wanna go play?" he asked her. He watched as a frown came upon her face but then turned into a small smile and nodded. He flashed her another smile, grabbed her hand and they took off running. They reached the playground and went directly to the jungle gym. They grabbed the tubes and propped themselves up, each tangling themselves in their own space but never far from each other. Wally liked playing with Artemis, she didn't get tired easily as some of the other kids, and she was just as energetic as he was. One boy stopped playing all of the sudden and stood there watching them play together. Wally recognized him, he lived near his house. His name was Hunter.

"Wally? What are you doing? She has cooties!" yelled Hunter. Wally was about to tell the boy to go away but Artemis beat him to it.

"Shut up!" she yelled and Hunter walked away to play with the other kids. Wally smiled, he was sure now that she probably was the coolest girl he had ever met.

Wally realized he wanted to stay with this girl, just as they were, playing around, defending each other, out running one another, eating chocolate below a warm sunny day on green fresh grass, he was sure he could even hear birds tweeting afar.

"Wally say goodbye to your little friend!" Yelled aunt Iris who was already walking away with her boyfriend beside her. He woke up from his sweet dreamland and watched the blonde beside him as he smiled "Guess it's goodbye." he said sadly.

"Yeah." she said disappointed. Actually she wasn't that disappointed. She was expecting this to happen, but not so soon, not now when they had begun to play and she had started to like this boy. "I will see you soon I promise." he said softly.

'Lie' she thought. He wasn't going to see her soon, perhaps never, and if he did he probably wouldn't recognize her.

Still she responded, "I will wait then." she said forcing her the corners lips upward so he wouldn't feel bad for her. "Bye." he said. "Bye." she responded. They kept saying goodbye until Barry yelled again for Wally to hurry. "Okay Wally I think you should leave now." She said to him.

She was walking beside him now and she took notice of the little things she didn't when he approached earlier. How his wild red hair looked like fire and his bright smile seemed to comfort and calm everyone around him. He was taller than she was and a good runner too. But what she was more interested in were his eyes. They were innocent but strong. She found herself replaying the moment when he gave her the chocolate. He was generous and he stood out from everyone for it. He was a hero to her now. And he was gone. She saw the dark red car speed away from the park; she waved at the kid seated in the back seat with one hand pressed against the window and was waving with the other. She laughed. "It was worth meeting you Wally."

SIX YEARS LATER

The day that Artemis joined the team Robin found a new friend, Megan found a sister, Aqualad and Superboy found a teammate that would later become their friend but Wally found his girl. The girl he had met at the playground years ago, the one that had been so different from the other girls and he found her interesting because of that. He hadn't realized it at first though she did seemed familiar. It was the same for her. The moment she walked in she and took a look at her teammates she had found something familiar in the redheaded hero.

She admitted to herself that Conner had mesmerized her at first but it faded away as soon as her eyes landed on the green eyed boy. Batman introduced her and Wally swore that when he heard her name his heart stopped. Was it her? Was it really her? He studied her just like he had studied the girl from the playground and his knees almost gave out. The same long shinny blonde hair, the same shining eyes and the same aura about her. Megan shrieked and hugged her, proclaiming her as her 'earth sister'. Wally had to remind himself he had to move and tell her who he was. Would she remember him? As he stared at her lost in thought he didn't realize that she was staring right back at him.

She wanted to make sure it was him. The team introduced themselves to her but she kept waiting for him. Finally he moved. He walked over to her in a daze, all the while struggling to keep himself standing and not fall. When he did reach her, she gasped. His eyes were the same emerald green that she had been caught up in the day he gave her chocolate. When he heard her gasp he smiled, the same smile he had given her that day except this time he had all his teeth and he repeated the first words he had said to her.

"Hi" he said, the smile never fading. "I'm Wally"

She flashed him a smile of her own remembering the day she had met him for the first time. Honestly she couldn't believe they had found each other. She remembered exactly what her line was "Hi, I'm Artemis"

"Hey Artemis" this time he said it softly because it wasn't meant for the others to listen. It was meant just for her.