Love Hurts Pt. 3

You sat at your desk as the lunch period started. You stared out the window for a moment before something slammed on your desk. You turned around and saw it was Terry and Tim. Tim pouted.

Tim: You never get scared, do you?

He sat on the desk next to while Terry leaned against the window.

Terry: So, things are over between you and Steph huh?

Y/N: Yeah. Turns out I couldn't give her what she wanted.

Tim: Tell me about it. Sorry things didn't work out.

You just shrugged as you snatched a tater tot from Tim's food. You popped it in your mouth as Tim and Terry fell into conversation. You stared out the window for a moment and wondered what you were going to do.

Terry: Hey space cadet.

You felt a tater tot hit your head making you turn around.

Terry: Wanna come back to earth? We were talking about our living situation.

Y/N: What about it?

Tim: It's not really cramped but, there's a lot of people living there. Most of them don't go to school which helps with day patrols but, the domestic part of it is absolutely horrible.

Y/N: Ok. And?

Terry: I don't know. You're the leader of this "team". By the way, we haven't even gone on a mission yet.

Y/N: We haven't gotten one yet. As for the living situation, I don't know what you want me to do. I already started sending people out to patrol to try and make things less busy.

Tim: It's not just that either. Everyone is getting on each other's nerves.

You rubbed your chin for a moment. There had to be some way to get everyone to work together without fighting. You then smirked.--------Arrowette: Chores?

Y/N: Yes. Chores.

You and Jason stood before everyone who looked at you like you had gone mad.

Y/N: Me and Jason created a list of things for everyone to do to pull their weight as we wait for a mission. If everyone can do their part and stop fighting for at least a week, me and Jason will come up with a reward.

Megan: Oh! What's the reward?

Jason: Worry about your chorse first.

Raven: And this is your plan to stop all of us from arguing.

Y/N: No. This is my plan to get you all to live together without trying to kill each other. On a mission, you'll need to work together. If you can't live together, we're fucked.

Everyone seemed slightly surpised at your sudden f-bomb. You just rolled your eyes.

Jason: The list is posted on the fridge. Everyone do your part.

Bart: What about you two?

Y/N: Jason is in charge of cooking meals while I'm also on the list for chores. Training will also be held in groups of 5 throughout the day. Just cause we aren't going on missions doesn't mean we can get rusty.

Arrowette, or Mia you learned, raised her hand.

Y/N: There's no debate. You all want to stay here and be a part of this team? You'll be pulling your weight. End of discussion.

Mia lowered her hand and, shivered? Was she blushing? She looked, scared.

Terry: Sounds good to me.

Artemis: I agree. We need to stop acting like kids. It's exactly what the UN wants.

Megan: Exactly. I am on board.

Everyone, some reluctantly, agreed to the idea. Not like they had a choice. You streached your arms and headed over to get started on cleaning the kitchen as per your list. You reached the kitchen but someone grabbed your arm. You turned around and saw it was Mia.

Y/N: What's up? You have a question about the list?

Mia: Not really. I was just hoping I could talk to you about something later. It's kind of personal.

Y/N: Absolutely.

Mia smiled before walking away. Seems like it was something serious. For now, you should get to cleaning.------You wiped the sweat from your brow as you looked at the spotless kitchen after three hard hours of cleaning. You truly felt accomplished.

Jason: Damn. Didn't take you as a neat freak.

Y/N: I honestly have no idea how I did this good. It was like my body was moving on it's own. Kinda like when I fight.

Jason just shrugged and went to start cooking dinner. You pulled off the yellow rubber gloves and tossed them under the sink before you washed your hands. Maybe you should go talk to Mia now. You entered the living room where you found Bart and Garfield still cleaning. To avoid any issues or possible damage, you asked Bart to not use his super speed in the building outside of training. He seemed hesitant but he agreed.

Y/N: Hey fellas.

Garfield: Hey chief. You need something?

Y/N: Just checking in. You guys did good.

Bart: We used to have to clean up the lounge in the tower after our food fights.

Y/N: Cool. Hey, you guys know where Mia is?

Garfield: She should be down in the training room with Artemis.

You nodded as a thanks and told them to keep up the good work. You entered the elevator and started to go down toward the training room. You stepped in and sure enough, the two girls were just finishing up with cleaning the mats.

Y/N: Looks good ladies.

Artemis looked up and smiled while Mia rinsed out the mop she was using.

Artemis: You know, I never liked cleaning but something about this is kinda relaxing.

You just smiled before Mia placed her mop back.

Y/N: You ready to talk?

Mia shyly nodded and lead you out of the room. You ended up on the roof where she sat on the bench you and Terry installed not too long ago. You sat next to her and looked at the sunset as the cold wind hit your skin.

Y/N: So, what's up kid?

It was weird but, you were actually one of the older people here. Jason was obviously the oldest with Helena being the second. Well, Megan was technically a couple of hundreds of years old. Terry was technically older than you and Debra was only older by a few months. Then it was you, Tim, Stephanie, Cassandra, Artemis, Lilith, etc. Mia was with the mid aged group along with Bart. Both of them were 15 while Damien and John along with the Flush Gang Kids were all 14. Garfield, Vigil, and Raven were also 16 but the rest of you were 17 or older.

Mia: I wanted to talk to you regarding a condition I have. I feel like you should know before something happens.

Y/N: A condition? Alright.

Mia played with her thumbs for a bit.

Mia: I should start from the beginning. I was a runaway. My father he, he used to abuse me.

You raised a brow. You read her file a bit and you just kinda assumed that her and Oliver were related.

Mia: Earlier, when you were telling us about the chores and everything, I got a bit scared when you raised your voice. It's stupid. I thought I was over it but you had that look in your eye.

Y/N: Sorry if I scared you. Things were just at a boiling point and I needed to be a leader.

Mia: Don't apologize. I get it. Anyway, after I ran away I met this man. I was on my own and he took me in. Gave me food and shelter. I was young and stupid and I, fell in love with him. Eventually he used that to his advantage and he...

You placed a hand on her shoulder. Your blood was boiling but you weren't going to show her that.

Mia: He had a child prostitution ring. Ollie saved me from one the clinets and took me in. It wasn't until I was 14 that I learned that I, I...

She seemed hesitant to continue.

Y/N: Take your time. I'm here.

Mia swallowed before she let out a breath.

Mia: I have HIV.

That, could be a problem. Getting injured in combat would be an issue if something happened. Even in practice.

Y/N: Are you taking something for it?

Mia nodded.

Mia: Ollie supplies me with antiretroviral drugs.

You nodded. At least there was that.

Y/N: Ok. Thank you for telling me this. I'm, sorry that all of that happened to you.

Mia: If you want me to leave so nothing happens I understand.

Y/N: Not happening. You're as much as a part of the team as the rest of us. I'm not turning away just because something out of your control happened.

Mia: Qre you going to tell the others?

You shook your head.

Y/N: It's not my place. I may have to report this to Jason just so he knows but for everyone else, that's up to you.

Mia just lowered her head but you placed a hand under her chin to make her look up.

Y/N: Keep your head up kid. Life sucks. The world sucks. Everything is fucking stupid. It's just the way things are. It's horrible but it's reality. You can't let your head drop. If you do, all that stupid shit wins. Think about it. After everything you went through, you still chose to push forward and become Arrowette. You chose to help people. So keep your head up. Don't ever let me see you drop it again. That's an order.

Mia, with tears in her eyes, smiled. She then started to laugh a bit.

Mia: Why are all your speeches so passive aggressive?

You just shrugged as you smiled.

Y/N: It's just, who I am.

You turned back to the sunset and sighed.

Mia: Can I lean on you? I'm kind of tired after cleaning.

Y/N: Go ahead. Just don't go falling for me now.

Mia giggled as she leaned on your shoulder.

Mia: No promises.

The two if you sat there for a moment. You finally realized what you just did. You were a leader. You just helped a teammate. It felt good.