Sparks Fly [Book Two in the "Fire And Lighting" Series]

Chapter Twenty-Four- Self-Reliance

March 23, 2016. 12:04
Mount Justice.
~~Willow~~

"Willow," It was dark. I'd taken off my glasses to sleep, but I felt someone brushing the bangs out of my eyes, gently kissing my forehead. "It's time to get up."

Slowly gathering the strength, I halfheartedly threw my pillow at them. "'S too early." I moaned, sinking back under my sheets.

"Willow. It's noon." Dinah said in her no-nonsense voice. I sat up immediately.

"Oliver and I have some stuff to take care of at work today. Nightwing took Nightingale home, but Connor's going to stay with you."

The moment Dinah's footsteps faded away, I fell back into my bed.

"Willow, come on." I heard the grin in Connor's voice as his heavy, booted, footfalls made their way over to my bedside.

"Nope. Not getting up." I muttered.

That was when he snatched away the covers.

"Come on. You died last night, you need to get some strength back in your bones."

"Yeah, by sleeping." I groped for the covers in the darkness, but stopped when the rich scent of chocolate-chip cookies hit my nose.

Connor's callused hands placed my glasses in my hands, and I put them on, hungrily taking in the sight of a dozen brown-specked pastries on a plate just for me.

"M'gann, Rachel, and Gar dropped them by earlier. We missed you at training today." Connor shrugged. "Well, you and Emma."

I nodded absentmindedly, shoving one cookie in my mouth after another. "Dying makes me hungry." I muttered between bites.

Connor chuckled, "Apparently."

I grinned at his shocked face when I set the plate aside mere minutes later, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed.

"What are you doing?" He asked warily, standing up.

"Going to get changed. I feel disgusting in these." I tugged on the sleeve of the shirt I'd worn since yesterday.

"Willow, wa-"

Big mistake. My feet skid out from under me the moment I put any weight on them. I would have hit my head on the wall (ow) if Connor hadn't caught me and lifted me up.

I shook my head, "Okay, so maybe I'm not one-hundred percent back to normal, but-" Connor cut me off with a gentle kiss.

Surprised but happy, I kissed back, wrapping my arms around his neck as he lifted me off the ground for a moment.

"Get dressed. I have something for you in the living room."

He left, leaving me feeling elated.

I took the pile of clothes Dinah had left for me and studied them a bit. Purple t-shirt with dark blue jeans and a white sweater. I smiled, Dinah knew just what I liked.

I peeled off my sweaty orange jacket and felt an enormous amount of pain in my chest.

"What the-?" I happened to catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror across the room.

In short, I looked terrible. But didn't I always? My wind-blown hair was sticking up every which-way, I had dark circles under my eyes, and there was something weird under my shirt. I pulled down the collar slightly, seeing a jagged "X" scar over my heart.

"Woah." I breathed. That must have been where they took the shrapnel out.

Feeling a bit braver, I stuck out my chest, held my head high, and grinned smugly at the mirror. "See that, Lex Luthor? You can't kill me that easily!"