I Forgot to Mention

Running on Back to You

Wally glanced at the time before shoving his phone into his pocket.  School ended nearly an hour ago, but Wally found himself still lingering at the building.  He had slipped into an open club room after the final bell rang.  It was some board game club so desperate for members that they couldn't care less who wandered in, so long as they signed their name at the door and didn't cause a ruckus.  The teacher in charge was even lying back in his chair, clearly doing a bit more than just resting his eyes.  Wally wasn't really in the mood for any games, though a few rounds of Uno and some Solitaire did help to take his mind off of everything that happened the night before.  (Besides, there wasn't much else for him to do there anyway.  For a dedicated "board game club" their supply of anything outside of basic card games was rather lacking.)  Unfortunately, he knew that he was only delaying the inevitable.

His mom had already called him that morning to berate him for attending a sleepover on a school night without her permission, unintentionally clueing him into the cover story that his dad had given.  Of course, Rudolph wasn't going to openly admit to barring Wally from coming home last night.  Wally decided to just take the lecture, as he doubted the truth would award him any better treatment.  He did still break the other rules when he used his powers inside on a school night and then chose to go out on a hero job without first finishing his homework.  His mom likely wouldn't listen past that, should Wally even attempt to get his dad to own up to his part as to why he had to spend the night with his friends. Still, she sounded almost tired with him by the end of the conversation and reminded him to be home for dinner tonight before she hung up.

At least Megan had been kind enough to make him some breakfast when he woke up...and somebody else had been smart enough to leave him some money so that he could buy an actually edible breakfast.  There was even enough left over to afford two servings of lunch at school and then some more to pocket.  Wally wasn't sure who had left him the money, only that it was in an envelope with Kid Flash written on it.  Megan and Conner denied seeing who it was that left it, but they both admitted to having gotten similar payments before. Rather regularly in fact. In Wally's opinion, it almost seemed like...an allowance? Anyway, it was just normal for them at this point.  Megan told him not to worry too much about where it came from, Conner added that he practically never does, and to just take it. Still, Wally hoped that it wasn't some kind of hidden loan situation.  It was an amount of money that made the allowance his parents give him look like a poverty wage. Not that he had even been paid anything for the past month due to his various punishments and groundings. He had a bit held back for emergency use, enough for a few trips to the vending machine, but this easily eclipsed his meager savings.

Unease coated his feelings of gratitude as Wally was left conflicted on the topic as a whole. Why would somebody just give this to him? Who would even care to question if Wally was eating enough for the day? Uncle Barry was certainly assumption that Wally had the ability to feed himself a sufficient amount, or more likely believe that his parents would be willing to assist him at any point. Good parents don't let their kids go hungry if they can help it...well, only if their kids are normal with regular appetites that aren't influenced by Meta-powers. Then, it was understandable if they didn't always provide the correct amount of food he needed. The burden of finding enough food to keep his calories high enough often fell onto Wally's shoulders.  It was his own fault that he needed to eat so much anyway, so it made sense that his parents expected him to pitch in more on that front.  Besides, if he couldn't responsibly take care of himself, then what good of a hero could he possibly be to others? 

Wally had actually forgotten his wallet at home when his dad threw him out for the night, so the surprise money was the kind of the only way he was able to eat today. Well, at least until dinner tonight. Though, Wally doubted that his family would appreciate him devouring all of the food before they could even make their plates.  Since it seemed Uncle Barry wouldn't be attending (as he was still likely tied up with Justice League business) Wally wouldn't be able to blame the sudden disappearance of the food on the other speedster. Though, his aunt would likely just end up laughing along if he tried. Wally smiled at the thought. Aunt Iris coming over tonight was the one silver lining to Wally's situation. She always had his back. And, with her there, his dad would also be determined to play nice.  He didn't like to punish Wally in front of company.  Wally could work with that.  He was sure that he'd at least be welcomed back home now, however reluctantly.  His mom made that clear enough.  He just needed to make it there in time for dinner.  Not a problem for the fastest teenager alive-