Disclaimer: Characters are not mine :)

Throw of the Dice

Chapter Twelve

Friday – 2 days until Prom

There were eight missed calls on Dick's phone. All from Wally. Barbara had called the manor last night to check if he was okay, but since he didn't feel up for talking to anyone that had any connections to school, Alfred had assured her that he was doing okay.

Which was sort of a lie. As soon as he had been picked up from school yesterday, he seemed to have lost control over his crying. Simply the thought of Wally set him off. Thankfully, Bruce and Alfred avoided the topic as much as possible, which he appreciated, but he knew himself that they wanted answers. Dick had managed to give Bruce an idea of what he had found out yesterday, and he knew that the man was angry. Crazy angry. He was actually worrying about Wally's uncle's place in Bruce's company now; he really hoped he didn't punish Wally by making his uncle unemployed. Dick wouldn't stand for that. Wally's aunt and uncle were lovely people; they didn't deserve to suffer for what their idiot nephew did.

Sighing, Dick rolled over in his bed to check his clock. It was nine in the morning, and he wanted to do at least one workout before Alfred forced him to eat some breakfast. Bruce had told him that he could take the day off if he wanted to, and even though he didn't want his personal life disrupting his education, he could afford this day to himself. No way could he face all those people after yesterday...

God Wally, how could you embarrass me like that?

Sighing, he rubbed at his tired eyes. No, no more tears. He didn't even think he could cry anymore, which was a good thing. He pushed off the covers and headed to his walk-in wardrobe, pulling out his sweats. He really needed to hit something, several times. He pulled off his boxers and his old top that he was pretty sure had belonged to his real dad. (Which Alfred hated because it was worn and old, but Dick liked it, of course.) He got changed quickly into his sweats and pulled out a plain white top, throwing that on as well. He grabbed a spare towel so he could just shower downstairs when he was done, and a change of clothes. He could at least pretend to beat the crap out of Wally and Roy Harper.

He wasn't really sure what he was feeling at the moment. His mind was restless; one part of it was trying to think of everything else except Wally, whereas the other part was screaming questions at him that he had no answers to. He had no idea why Wally did what he did. He never knew that the red head could sink so low. Before all this, he didn't really think much of Wally; he was just a typical popular guy to him, but this was worse than your regular bullying. The other teenager had gone out of his way to hurt him. All for a stupid bet that he was now going to lose.

Well, good. Dick thought to himself. He deserved to lose.

But it seemed that his mind didn't completely agree with him. The side that kept asking questions was also asking why he wasn't answering Wally's calls, or why he wasn't giving him a chance to defend himself. He knew that Wally wouldn't stop bothering him until he did, so why did he not just get it over and done with?

Dick pulled the bedroom door opened and stepped out, while sending a look down the corridors. No sign of Alfred waiting for him to appear, which was good. He shuffled his way to the stairs, heading towards the grandfather clock which led down to the gym. As he passed Bruce's office, however, he could hear the man's voice inside. Dick paused by the door, leaning against the wall to listen in on what he was saying. He was surprised that Bruce was still around; Friday's were always the busiest day in Wayne Enterprises, so to find its boss still home was quite odd.

"Just make sure all my appointments for today are rescheduled for Monday. It's family matters, Rebecca." Bruce said into his phone, his loud voice filling the room. "If they are all that important, then they will reschedule. Alright? Thank you. Have a good day." His phone clicked off, and there was a shuffling of papers. Dick bit his lip; Bruce was taking the day off too. Probably to investigate what Wally had done to upset him. He sighed slightly, stepping back from the door. Workout first, Bruce later.

"Are you not going to come in?" Bruce asked from inside his office, making Dick freeze. He looked over at one of the numerous cameras inside the Manor, which was directly pointed at him. Oh. Biting back a sigh of frustration, Dick pushed open the door to the office, sending Bruce a tight smile.

"You don't have to take the whole day off," Dick said, sitting down on the overly large armchair that was placed in front Bruce's desk. "I'm fine, really. I know it is probably going to be a really busy day at work, they need you there more than you need to be here." Jeez, that sounded harsh. But really, what else could he say? Bruce was, at the end of the day, a businessman. His adopted son's love life shouldn't make him take the day off.

"Nonsense." Bruce answered, closing his laptop. "I will be able to complete any work that needs to be done here. And I want to spend time with you." His tone confirmed that there would be no more discussion on the matter, so Dick simply nodded.

"Well, I was thinking of heading to the cave right now." Dick said, stretching. "I'm going to try and avoid Alfred before he makes me eat some breakfast... I don't feel really hungry right now." Bruce frowned at that, but thankfully just nodded.

"He hasn't managed to grab me for breakfast yet," Bruce told him, forcing the frown off his face to smile at his son. "Shall we see how long we can escape him before he gets us?"

"Yeah," Dick chuckled, standing. "I'll meet you there?"

Bruce nodded, dialling a new number on his phone. "I won't be long; start warming up." He ordered. "I'll just call the school to let them know you won't be in today."

"Thank,." Dick murmured, shooting him a grateful look, before exiting the office. Bruce watched him go on the cameras, watching as the smile fell from Dick's face as soon as he was alone. He was still hurting, then, which wasn't a surprise. It annoyed Bruce immensely not knowing what exactly was going on in his son's life; especially as it had hurt him badly. Of course, it was something to do with Wally – it was always something to do with Wally these days. He gritted his teeth in annoyance at the thought of the red head, but he knew he had to hold his tongue when he was around Dick. Yesterday had been a bad day. He refused to have Dick in tears like that again, especially over some boy.

There was one thing he was planning to do, however, as soon as he had gotten a clear story out of Dick. He was not afraid of standing up to Wally, or his family, and he was going to make sure they knew exactly what Wally had done to get such a reaction out of Richard. He held the phone up to his ear as it began to ring, his eyes narrowed.

No one hurt his son.

o-O-o

"Wally, will you please just get up?" Barry asked, poking at the large bump that had decided to hibernate early. When he first walked into Wally's room, he hadn't expected it to be clean. It was nearly spotless, with the exception of a few clothes on the floor. His nephew had also ignored his shout that there was bacon downstairs, which meant either two things; Wally was ill or Wally was hiding. He still had to figure out what it was.

Wally muttered something, pulling the covers tighter around his form. He was awake; he had been since four AM. He had held his phone close to him all night, tapping at the screen every time it went black. He was waiting for anything; a text, a call, anything, but nothing came. It hurt as much as he had expected it too.

"Kid, come on, this is your last day of school until prom." Barry chuckled, his fingers digging into Wally's sensitive sides, making him jump. "You can survive today, and then it's weekend. Why don't we go running tomorrow, hm?" Usually, the promise of going out running together was enough to get Wally up, but today it made him pull away from his uncle even more. Frowning, Barry took his hands back, setting them uselessly in his lap. "Kiddo, is something wrong?" He asked quietly, trying to keep his tone causal.

There was a moment of silence, before Wally's head appeared out from under his covers, his eyes bright red. "I did something stupid." Wally whispered, his face scrunching up as he fought the need to cry.

Barry tried to give him his best smile, nodding at his words. "Okay. You did something stupid. Everyone does. Even," he continued, giving him a small nudge, "your perfect uncle." Barry teased, trying to get a smile out of him. He got one, but it was all cracked and forced upon Wally's face. Barry mentally sighed at that, but didn't try to fight for another one. "How about you tell me what you did, kid? So we can try to fix it."

Wally bit his lip, torn at his decision. In one aspect, gaining his uncle's advice on the matter would be great, because his uncle was always full of information to help him. But he could also get mad at him – really mad. See, Barry wasn't the type of person who would scream in your face to get their frustrations out. He would sit and talk calmly to you until the matter was resolved, which Wally preferred. But what he had done... God, he knew he deserved to be screamed at, but from Barry? Wally wasn't sure he would be able to deal with that.

"Walls?" Barry questioned, eyebrows furrowed. Wally watched him for a moment, before sighing softly. He shouldn't run away from the punishment he deserved.

So he told him everything that had happened in the past two weeks. From the bet, to the party, to his embarrassing singing invite – everything. Barry sat quietly through it all, nodding at the appropriate places, his eyes distant. Once he was done talking, Wally sat back up against his pillows, his eyes never leaving his uncle's face, watching for any reaction. A minute passed, then another, before Wall cracked.

"Uncle B? Please... say anything." Wally muttered, dropping his gaze. "Because anything you say right now can't make things any worse than it already is."

There was a sigh, then a hand on his shoulder. Wally looked up, his face miserable. This time, Barry was the one giving him the forced smile, trying to keep positive for the kid. "I'm not going to say what you did is at all okay." Barry said in a soft tone. "I'm not, because I think we can both agree that what you did was stupid and wrong. You didn't just mess with a kid here; you messed with his heart too, and Richard is a lovely boy, Walls. I haven't seen you that happy with someone in a long time. What you really should have done is told this Roy Harper that the bet was off, and that you weren't going to leave the team, no matter what. But, you've definitely inherited the stubborn West gene, because your aunt is the same."

He chuckled. "You don't like to give up, not to other people. You always strive to come out as a winner. Like here, you wanted to be with Dick and forget the bet, but forgetting it meant letting Roy win, which you couldn't do. That's just the type of person you are. And before you think it, I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but I'm not saying it's always going to be a good thing either." Barry paused for a moment. "But you seem to think everything is ruined, which it isn't either. Prom is in what, three days? Why are you wasting time trying to get Dick to understand that you're sorry by hiding in your bed? You need to see him, face to face." Barry stood up and went to his wardrobe, pulling out his blazer and tie. He held it out to Wally, smiling. "Go and get him, kid."

Wally stared up at his uncle, before pushing back to covers and rushing into the older man's arms. Not expecting the sudden force around his arms, Barry tumbled slightly, but managed to grab them both before they lost their balance. His arms went around his nephew's back, holding the kid tightly against his chest. Wally looked up at him; finally a genuine smile on his face.

"Thank you." Wally whispered. Barry smiled softly back at him.

"Don't mention it, Walls. Just fix what's happened, okay? But Wally." He pulled him away from his chest, a serious expression on his face. "Don't ever, ever, do something like this to another human being again, okay?" Wally nodded quickly, biting his lip. No way would he ever do something stupid like this again. "Let's just get you to school, kiddo. Keep your head up high and answer any questions he has truthfully, and let him decide what he wants."

Wally nodded, before cracking a grin. "Thanks, Doctor Phil."

Barry laughed, playfully smacking the back of Wally's head. "Watch it, kid!" He teased.

"Now, seriously, get ready for school." He called over his shoulder as he walked out of his room, throwing a smile over his shoulder. When his uncle left, Wally's confidence went with him. He let out a soft sigh, picking up his tie. Hiding in his bedroom wasn't going to prove anything, Barry was right about that.

Time to grow a pair and face up to your mistakes, Wallman.

He wasn't ready to face defeat yet. Not when it came to Roy Harper, but especially not when it came to Dick Grayson.

o-O-o

"Has anyone heard from Dick? Not even a text?" Artemis asked, frowning around the individual faces of their group.

Barbara sighed, shaking her head. "I didn't hear from him directly; Alfred just told me he was going to be okay, he just needed time to himself, which means he is anything but okay." She knew there was no point in trying to get in contact with her best friend at the moment. When Dick wanted to be alone, he cut off from every means of communication. "But we can't exactly demand to see him; if he wants to be alone, we need to respect that."

The whole group looked like they were against that idea, and truthfully, Barbara was too, but if she was in Dick's position? She would at least want her friends to leave her be for a while.

"I just can't believe it." M'gann murmured, sighing softly. For once, the bubbly girl seemed down. "Wally really liked him. Or at least, that was what it looked like."

"Yeah, that's exactly what it looked like. We told Dick he was trouble." Artemis snorted, crossing her arms.

"We can't blame this on Dick." Connor frowned, sending Artemis a look in annoyance. "He didn't know Wally never meant any of it."

"I'm not blaming this on him! I just wish he had listened!" Artemis snapped, glaring at Connor. "Or this would never have happened."

"It doesn't matter." Kaldur finally said; he was, as usual, the voice of reason. "What happened happened, and we must accept that, like Dick is trying to do right now. The only thing we can do to try and make the situation better is to be there for Dick when he needs us. Agreed?" The group nodded, Connor and Artemis dropping their glares for the time being.

The group sat in silence for a few minutes, trying to eat their food quickly to pass the time. It was rare of them to get snappy with each other; they did argue once in a blue moon, but it was never serious. But it was different this time, seeing as one of their own was hurt. They had all, admittedly, suspected that Wally was up to something else, but they had never expected something as bad as this. And really, they had never expected Dick to be so taken to the other teenager. They couldn't have stopped this from happening, nor could they change what had happened, like Kaldur pointed out, but they could make sure nothing like this happened ever again.

Mentally sighing, Kaldur looked over at Barbara, her eyes glued to her cell phone. He knew Dick wouldn't get in touch with her any time, or him. It hurt slightly, but he respected his friend's need for isolation. If only he had seen what was right in front of him before Wally came and ruined him, Kaldur's thoughts murmured in his head.

"Guys, lying ass hole twelve o'clock." M'gann muttered under her breath, making them all look up towards the cafeteria doors, after sending M'gann a surprised look. M'gann never swore, even when she was mad. Not only had Wally cracked Dick, Kaldur thought bitterly, he'd also broken M'gann. She had been rooting for them, after all.

Wally was a state, and that was putting it lightly. His hair was a windswept mess; clearly he had decided against brushing it this morning. His face was tight with worry and pale, making his freckles stand out more than usual. His green eyes were searching for someone, most likely Dick, and actually passed by all of their glaring eyes for a moment. They jumped back onto them a second later, and Wally seemed to jump at the glares sent his way. He swallowed thickly, before walking over to their table.

"You have got to be kidding me." Artemis hissed, her pointed nails tapping against the table in annoyance as Wally walked over. "It's like he has a damn death wish."

"I wouldn't mind granting him that wish." Connor grumbled.

Nothing else was said as Wally came to stand in front of them, tugging nervously at his tie. He looked at each of their faces, trying to find a friendly one in the glaring crowd. He coughed, pushing his hair away from his face with his hand. "Er, hi. I was hoping one of you could tell me if D-"

"Don't you dare walk up to here, pretending to be a nice and polite person!" Artemis snarled, standing up to face him. Wally shrank back, his eyes wide. "We all know what you are, West. So fuck you, and your stupid little bets, and leave Dick alone."

"Right, okay, you're mad, I get it." Wally said in an exasperated tone. "But I need you guys to get him to talk to me. He'll listen to you, and I need-"

"Seriously?" M'gann said, sending him a look of annoyance. "And say what, Wally? Can you talk to the guy who made you look like an idiot in front of the whole school? I mean... do you not understand what you have done to him?"

Wally gritted his teeth; of course he knew. "Yeah, I do, and I'm trying to fix it. But he won't answer my calls, and he didn't show up for school either. I don't know what else I can do here."

"Ever thought he maybe didn't want to hear your excuses?" Barbara cut in, crossing her arms over her chest. "He doesn't want to hear from you or see you, Wally. Get over it."

"No!" Wally snapped. "I won't just 'get over it', I..." Snapping at them wasn't going to convince them. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. "I'm not going to excuse my behaviour; I'm not going to even try to. I know what I did to him was wrong, but I swear, it wasn't about the bet, and it hasn't been for a long time." Wally admitted, clenching his fists when Artemis rolled her eyes. "I get it if you don't believe me, but I know what the truth is; I want to be with him, and I really want to take him to prom with me."

"Right. Because of the bet." Connor muttered, standing up next to Artemis. "Can we go? I'm fed up hearing this."

"Yeah, me too." Artemis snorted, reaching down to pick up her bag. "I need to go to the library anyway." M'gann stood up to follow them out, not sparing Wally another glance. That stung a lot; out of everyone in their small group, he had liked her the most. And now? She ignored him like he wasn't even there.

Barbara got up to follow them, her bag in her hand. But she paused for a moment, her eyes lingering on him. "You really screwed up, you know. He really cared about you. Are you coming, Kaldur?" She asked, turning to him.

Kaldur nodded, slowly getting up. "I am sorry, Wally, but there is nothing we can do here." He said softly, following Barbara out. Well, at least someone was being nice about it. He watched them go before sitting down at the now empty table. Fuck. He was completely alone in this. The noise of the cafeteria rang in his ears as he tried to figure out what to do next. Try to call him again? Leave him alone? No, no, no, no...

His foot nudged something under the table. He raised his eyebrow but went to check anyway – it was someone's bag. Probably Connor's, since he had been sitting in the chair that it was leaning against. He must have forgotten to grab it in his haste to get away from Wally. He sighed at the thought and reached over to grab it; he should probably hand it into the office before some idiot took off with it.

"Hey, West, where's your little group gone off to?" Roy's voice cut through the buzzing in his ear like a sharp knife, making Wally grimace. While Dick had been avoiding him, he had been avoiding Roy. But he couldn't hide from him for forever.

"Busy." Wally replied, looking up at the trio. Of course, Roy couldn't go anywhere without his back up. "Not that it matters to you."

Roy snorted at that and pulled out a chair. "Mind if I join you?" He asked, but didn't wait for a reply. Kory and Jason sat on either side of him, their eyes watching Wally in amusement. "And it looks like lover boy is missing, too. You know, thinking about it, I haven't seen him around today at all. Odd, huh?"

"Shut up." Wally snapped, glaring at the other. "What you did was completely out of line, Harper."

"You never said I couldn't." Roy shrugged, leaning back in his chair. "You should have made up the rules before we agreed to the bet."

"Whatever," Wally muttered. "I don't give a shit about your stupid bet anymore." He stood up from the table and turned away from them, anger radiating off him. The noise of the cafeteria rushed into his ears again, but it wasn't enough to block out what Roy said to his friends.

"You know, I might ask Grayson to prom." Roy joked. "I bet he would be up for a lot since he's getting over West."

He wasn't entirely sure what happened next; it was as if his body was possessed by a very angry spirit. For a moment all he saw was red before he was flying over the table, his hand finding Roy's neck and squeezing. They fell to the floor in a heap – there was a burst of pain in his ribs as he fell awkwardly to the floor, but his new found adrenaline stopped it from hurting. He landed a solid punch on Roy's jaw while the archer was still in shock at what had just happened. However, the punch seemed to knock him back into reality and soon his own fist was flying towards Wally's face. It landed before Wally could shield his face; it caught the side of his right eye, making him yell out at the sudden pain. There were stars across his vision that made him feel nauseous, but he forced the feeling into the back of his mind. Next to him, Roy was staggering up to his feet, his face thunderous. Oh no, you don't.

His leg swung out and knocked into Roy's, sending him flying back to the ground. Before Roy reached the ground, he tried to slow his fall by reaching out for something to grab on to. His hand found a chair and he pulled it over to him. It caught Wally's foot and it toppled over and bashed on Roy's nose. Instantly blood began to pour out of it, making Roy curse. He got to his feet again but reached out and took a hold of Wally's blazer, pulling him up as well.

"You're fucking dead." He snarled, pulling back his fist to strike him again. Wally spat out a "Fuck you" before head butting Roy. As soon as he did it, the stars began to dance in front of his vision again, but the hit made Roy loosen his hold on Wally's blazer. He took the opportunity to pull out of the other's grip and move away from him, giving them both room to breathe. The adrenaline was slowly leaving Wally, making all the aches and pains more apparent. Roy's shirt had splashes of red from the steady flow of blood from his nose, staining the white to crimson. A crowd had formed around them, either taking a video of the fight or cheering them on.

He met Roy's eyes; he wasn't done with him, and neither was Roy.

They ran at each other again, fists raised. The fight was a sloppy one – all the other fights Wally had witnessed had never been as messy as this one was. A hand grabbed his shoulder and the other went straight into his stomach, making Wally double over. He gasped for breath as the air whooshed out of him, leaving him feeling sick again. But with Roy so close Wally couldn't miss his own chance to strike. He pulled his arm back to but force behind his blow; his elbow dove straight forward and buried itself into Roy's groin, making the other red head yell out in pain. Wally forced him to stand up straight, glaring at Roy as he covered his groin, leaving his head wide open. He raised his fist to strike the back of Roy's head when his hand was grabbed and pulled behind his back, making his gasp; his arm felt like it was on fire.

"Let go of me!" Wally shouted, trying to pull out of the stranger's grip. Another set of hands grabbed him, making his struggles useless. He glared behind him, a stream of curses on his tongue, when he saw who it was holding them. It was Kaldur and Connor, with a concerned Zatanna behind them.

"My friend, I understand your anger, but you cannot take it out on someone else, despite what they may have done." Kaldur said, his eyes sliding over to Roy. Kory and Jason had him in a similar hold, though they were more concerned over his nose. Wally deflated; fighting wouldn't get Dick back. Nothing would get him back. Fuck, he could cry again.

"What happened here?" The Principal called out, making the crowd of students move out of the way to give him room into the circle. He took one look at Roy and Wally before barking out orders. "Right, you two, come with me now."

Oh, fuck, Wally thought as he followed him out of the cafeteria, Roy trailing behind him and holding his nose carefully. I am so dead.

o-O-o

"You will both sit in here until I can get in contact with your parents." Mr Bishop instructed, sending them both a heated glare before leaving the room, locking the door behind him.

Wonderful. He was locked in the same room as the guy he had tried to beat the shit out of. It was awkward, to say the least. And everything hurt. Since the adrenaline was gone, he felt every bruise he had collected from the fight, the worst being on his face. His right eye was nearly swollen shut, and was a deep purple. Thanks for that one, Roy.

His ribs hurt as well, not as much as before, which was a good thing. Roy wasn't faring any better, which lifted Wally's spirits slightly. The older teen was sporting a badly bruised jaw, along with a bruised nose (which had stopped bleeding, thankfully). His back was probably sore as well, since he had crashed to the ground, but he wasn't letting it show.

The silence lasted for about three minutes. Both boys were determined not to meet the other's eye – Wally glanced longingly out the window while Roy stared straight ahead of him. This room was only ever used for detentions, so the walls were covered in positive quotes and bright smiling faces.

"... This room is fucking creepy." Roy muttered, crossing his arms carefully over his chest. Wally glanced over, surprised he had spoken.

"Yeah," Wally replied. "It's the weird smiling faces. No one smiles like that."

Roy hummed in agreement, sighing softly. "It's been a rough couple of weeks."

"You're telling me." Wally snorted, turning to face Roy properly. "I have no idea how it's been hard on you, though. All you've done is sit back and make my life a lot harder than it has to be."

The archer pursed his lips at that. 'Honesty is the best policy' stated one of the quotes on the wall he was looking at. There was a picture over it of two men shaking hands, their large smiles straining in the picture.

"You know Jade?" At Wally's nod, he continued. "I found out she was three weeks pregnant." He sighed, the invisible weight that was on his shoulders falling off him. There. He had told someone. Finally he had gotten the words out – to the one guy he hated. He had yet to tell Jason or Kory; stupidly, he was scared about what they were going to say. It wasn't as if they had been irresponsible – they always used protection. Jade had told him very clearly that it was his, that she had never cheated on him, and that she was going to keep the baby. And fuck, how was he going to tell Ollie? They already barely got on, was this the final straw? Would he get kicked out for this?

Roy's life was slowly crumbling around him – he was a father and he hadn't even graduated, and so he had lashed out, needing to feel a small victory of any kind. And so the rivalry between himself and Wally had come to life.

"She's pregnant? Shit dude, is she keeping the baby?" Wally replied, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"Yeah, she wants to," Roy murmured. "Even though I asked her not too. I am nowhere near ready for a baby... fuck, I never wanted a kid in the first place."

"No kidding." Wally answered, the news sinking in. "Does your dad know?"

"Not yet. He is going to kill me." Roy admitted, pulling a face. He winced as pain shot through his face, reminding him of the earlier fight. "Damn, West, you sure pack a punch. Can't say I was expecting that."

The change of conversation was far from subtle, but Wally knew Roy was desperate to find something different to talk about. "Being honest? I've never hit anyone before," Wally said, chuckling awkwardly. "I didn't even think about it. I just... did it." Gingerly, Wally touched his eye and winced.

"Seriously?" Roy carefully smirked. "Well, you definitely caught me off guard. But your prom picture is going to look pretty shit with your eye messed up."

The thought of prom made him frown; what would Dick think of him if he saw his face in such a mess? Let's be honest here, Walls, he probably wouldn't care.

He couldn't help but wonder if Kaldur or Connor would tell Dick about the fight. It had probably gotten around the school by now, and it was on video too. He wondered what Dick would think of the fight – would he see him as a hero or an idiot? Probably an idiot, knowing Dick. The thought brought a sad smile to his face that disappeared in moments.

"I'm not going to prom." Wally said, trying to keep his tone neutral. "No point in going alone."

"Fuck." Roy said, his eyebrow raised. "Grayson really isn't going with you?"

"Well, would you go to prom after finding out the whole thing was a joke?" Wally answered with a snort. "Weren't you just laughing about the whole thing anyway?"

Roy rolled his eyes at that and bit back his sarcastic comment. "But you liked him. I mean, not just because of the bet. That was pretty obvious."

Well, there was no point in denying it. "Yeah, I really did like him." Wally sighed, rubbing his neck. "I want to take him to prom, but he won't answer my calls, his friends refuse to help me and he didn't show up for school. What else can I do?"

In a way, this was good news to Roy. His competition had been destroyed – the finishing line was clear in his sights now. Because if Richard was doing his best to avoid Wally, why should he bother to worry? But even Roy knew he was being stupid. He was going to be a father soon, fuck, he better start trying to be a better person.

"You should go to his house." Roy said. "I mean, then you can talk to him properly. He might appreciate seeing you face to face, rather than a phone call." His eyes fell on Wally's confused gaze, his eyes hardening. "Don't look at me like that. Do you want your relationship back or not?" He snapped. Jeez, what the hell did Grayson see in him? "It's a stupid bet anyway."

"If you think that, why don't you just call it off?" Wally said, trying not to look too hopeful. Roy, however, shook his head, sighing.

"You know we can't." Roy replied. "That will lead to too many questions, too many annoyed people who are betting on this themselves. I can't be bothered dealing with them. I mean, can you?" Wally could actually, if it meant getting his boyfriend back. "I am sorry, though." Roy grumbled out, looking down at his tie. "I know it doesn't help, but I am."

Maybe Roy was starting to grow up. Maybe they all were.

"Yeah well, same here," Wally said, shrugging his shoulders. "For what it's worth, you'll be a good dad, Roy."

"Yeah?" Roy said, his tone barely audible.

"Yeah." Wally confirmed. A silence fell over the two, but it was welcomed. Wally's thoughts instantly fell on Dick; he wouldn't go to his house tonight, but he would tomorrow morning. After all, he knew his aunt and uncle were going to be mad at him for starting a fight. They had never raised him to be violent, and he was ashamed at his own actions. Violence was something his biological dad did – it had ruined his life and Wally promised to himself to never act that way again.

The door opened, making them both look up. "Mr West?" The school receptionist said, sticking her head through the gap of the door. "Your mother is here." Aunt Iris instead of Uncle Barry; crap. "She's waiting for you in the Principal's office."

"Right," Wally sighed, standing up and grabbing his school bag.

"Anyone coming for me?" Roy asked, his tone bitter – he wasn't expecting Ollie to come.

"We couldn't get your father, but we managed to get Dinah Lance to come instead – she was the first on your emergency contact list." The receptionist explained. "I'll come for you when she gets here, Mr Harper." The news obviously surprised him, but he nodded at her words anyway.

He walked to the Principal's office in silence, the receptionist leading. Out of the two of them, Barry usually kept his cool better than Aunt Iris did, and with the news of him being in a fight? Yeah, she was gonna go crazy. Not that he didn't deserve it.

It was time to grow up. He wasn't the little boy he once was – and he had to start proving it. With his head held high he walked into the Principal's office, prepared to take whatever was thrown at him.

And for once in his life, Wally could see the type of person he wanted to be.

Hopefully, it was the person Dick wanted too.

o-O-o

Hi! Well done for making it to the end!

Sorry for the delay, yadadada, you guys are used to it ;) So I hope this makes up for it? And yeah, I'm sorry things still aren't happy in this story! But it will come, I promise!

So big thanks to mistressofrobins for betaing! They did an awesome job like they always do!

The title is called 'Grow Up' because it fits the theme I was going for in this chapter, e.g with Roy and Wally being civil to each other and saying sorry for the mistakes they made to each other (aka they grew up and acted like adults). At the age I'm at (and that these characters are in this story), you have to grow up, like it or not. Prom really is your final night be a kid, but after that? Welcome to the real world. [wishes to be five years old again] Also the title 'Grow Up' is based on one of my favourite songs by Paramore, you should listen to it if you haven't yet!

Um, so, not much else to say here! I would love to hear your thoughts so send me a review or a message on tumblr! I would really appreciate it :) I hope everything is good with you, and have a nice day or night,wherever you are.

Bye for now!

Krox1