Chapter Text
It was nighttime in Metropolis. At the Beecher residence, Karen and her new BFF Dinah were having a sleepover. They were listening to Up Past Eight’s newest song.
“How much you wanna bet these guys break up by the end of the year?” Dinah asked.
“Who says they’re gonna break up, Dee?” Karen asked back.
“They’re a boy band, Karen. They all break up. Sooner or later. I’m still amazed *NSYNC got back together for a Trolls movie of all things,” Dinah giggled. “I guess DreamWorks really is where dreams… work! Ha, ha! Sorry. That joke sucked, right?”
“Nope. You are a wordsmith, Dinah. And nothing is gonna change that,” Karen assured her friend. “I wonder how Rose and Casey’s date is going.”
“Katie Bobinsky probably blew it within the first 10 minutes. She and Rose are likely all broken up like *NSYNC now.”
Before Karen could respond, the lights went out and the music stopped playing.
“Karen. What happened?” Dinah asked as she turned on her phone flashlight.
“I dunno. Let me check my…” Before she could finish her reply, Karen was interrupted by an intimidating figure that stood before her. It was a tall woman in a black jumpsuit and a small blue jean jacket. She also wore white gloves and kept her black hair in a bun with a couple curls sticking out.
“Hey there, gals,” the lady greeted. “Can I ask y’all something?”
“How about we ask y’all something? Why are you breaking into my bestie’s house?! Don’t you know she’s secretly a superhero?! She’s the legendary Bumblebee!” Dinah rambled boldly and angrily as Karen tried to calm her down.
“Dinah, please. Hush! Be quiet!” Karen yelled, covering her friend’s mouth with her hand and proceeded to ask the mysterious lady, “Who are you, madam?!”
“My name shall remain unknown, but you guys can call me… The Black Swan!!!” The woman replied as she began to twirl gracefully towards the girls and with a swift swing kick, she knocked them down to one of Karen’s bedroom walls.
“What do you want from us?!” Karen asked furious.
“I need good bait. For Slade Wilson’s precious little daughter. And as two of her favorite besties, you’ll both do nicely,” the woman replied with an evil smile. With another swift kick, she knocked out both girls in no time.
The next day, Zee and Casey were in Ms. Moone’s art class, making clay sculptures.
Casey was sadly playing with her lump of clay when Zee approached her.
“I take it the date went not-so-great?” Zee asked sympathetically.
Casey didn’t make eye contact with Zee but she did answer her question. “It wasn’t a date. And yes, it didn’t end well. Yet again, I let my low self-esteem ruin everything.”
“Maybe she’ll understand,” Zee replied putting her hand on Casey’s shoulder.
“No, I just need to get over her. She deserves someone stable. I’m not even into girls! I used to have a crush on Barry Allen, for lord’s sake!”
“You wanna get over Rose?” Zee asked with disbelief.
“Totally!” Casey replied as she put the final touches on her clay sculpture. It was a girl’s head. To Zee, it looked really familiar to someone.
“Hello, girls,” Ms. Moone greeted them sweetly as she approached them to check on their work. She observed Casey’s head sculpture.
“Oh! Very impressive, Casey. You really captured Miss Wilson’s likeness with great detail and no reference!” Ms. Moone complimented. “Oh, and you gave her such a sweet smile.”
“Who’s Miss Wilson? This is my…distant cousin. She just happens to look like Rose Wilson. I don’t have a crush on Rose Wilson, Ms. Moone!! She’s too good for me” Casey shouted.
Ms. Moone was startled by Casey’s outburst, but she quickly regained her composure and repressed her urge to reprimand Casey for shouting at a teacher. “Well… that’s a shame. Because Miss Wilson seems to be fond of you, Casey.”
“Huh?” Casey asked dumbfounded.
“Yeah, she also based her art on someone’s likeness. And by someone, I mean you,” Ms. Moone replied as she pulled out a little white board.
It was a painting. A painting of Casey. She was sitting sad and alone on the floor with her arms wrapped around her knees.
Casey was shocked. Rose really created a painting of her. She painted her all alone and detached. Out of anything or anyone in the world, she painted her. Rose didn’t forget her or resent her. She didn’t think lowly of her. She felt for Casey. And maybe, she wanted to give her another chance.
So what? Even if she does want to give me another chance, what would be the point of taking it? I’d just make things awkward again.
“Wow, she’s a great artist,” Zee complimented the painting. “Also, awww. She cares about you!” Zee said, holding her hands.
“Okay. Wish I felt the same,” Casey replied grumpily. “I’m sorry I don’t find this little artwork flattering, but I really don’t want to take a chance with Rose. She is way out of my league and it’s best if I just forget all about her!”
“Casey!” Zee said loudly out of disappointment.
Casey turned around to face Zee, but something else caught her attention. Someone. It was Rose Wilson. She apparently forgot her backpack in the art room (which was such a crazy inconvenience) and came to find it and take it.
And unfortunately for Casey, she might’ve overheard something rash she said.
Rose looked crushed. She looked heartbroken, like an abandoned cat. Casey noticed a tear on her left eye. After a few seconds, the blue-haired girl frowned and walked off.
“No, Rose! Wait! I didn’t mean…” Casey tried to call for Rose, but it was too late. “I’m… sorry.”
“I thought you didn’t care about her,” Zee said sarcastically.
“I don’t.. I mean. I just didn’t mean to hurt her,” Casey stuttered. “I just.. I dunno. I guess I was scared of being with her romantically.” Casey took a deep breath and said, “I do love her. I wanna be with her, but I didn’t want to screw things up. Or risk getting hurt again. And now I’ve hurt her.”
Casey sat down on a chair and rested her chin on her hands.
Zee looked at her empathetically and reached out to her, then said, “It’s okay, Casey. I’m sorry I pushed you to ask her out. I thought you’d be happy, but if you don’t feel ready to date her, then that’s totally fine. You can take it slow. But if you wanna have any chance, you better make things right with her.”
“I just got so scared of what could happen if we became a thing,” Casey replied. “And she deserves so much better than me.”
“Casey, don’t say that about yourself. You’re one of the most extraordinary people I’ve ever met. No one’s ever had a bigger upgrade than you! You went from societal outcast to citywide hero! And I’m pretty honored to be your friend. I never thought I would ever say that about you of all people. And Rose would be happy to be with you. But you better make things right with her if you wanna save the small ounce of chance you have left,” Zee said to her conflicted friend, who had begun to feel slightly more encouraged by Zee’s words of wisdom.
“Yeah, I do,” Casey replied, knowing that she needs to apologize to Rose for her harsh words. “So… you gonna go get her?” Zee asked her.
“Yeah. I’m gonna apologize. Hopefully I’ll at least be able to fix her feelings.”
Casey ran out of the art room almost as quickly as the Flash, even though class wasn’t over yet.
“Casey, wait til class ends!” Zee called for her friend to return.
“That girl must be a real handful, Miss Zatara,” Ms. Moone said to Zee.
“Yeah, but she makes school more interesting,” Zee replied fondly.
“Rose? Rose?” Casey looked for Rose in the hallways. She decided to check the girls bathroom. And there she was. Wistfully washing her hands.
“Rose?” Casey meekly called for her attention.
The sad girl turned to face Casey, stared sternly at her and greeted her back dryly. “Hey.”
“Rose. I’m… so sorry for what I said. I don’t wanna forget you and I shouldn’t have said we’re too different to hang out. I’m sorry I made you feel I didn’t care for you.”
“It’s fine. I get it. You’ve been through a lot. It’s hard for you to maintain a friendship without your traumas influencing your words and actions,” Rose replied softly without making eye contact with Casey.
“Yeah, the thing is… I really admire you and I wanna make things right. After yesterday and just now in art class. Rose Wilson… I was wondering… if you’d like to hang out again? Like… a date. A date date?” Casey asked.
“A date date?” Rose asked.
“Yeah! It’s totally fine if you can’t! You probably got a boyfriend already…” Casey stammered.
“Casey, I’m not dating anyone. And I’m in no rush to. But I’d like to give us a shot. As friends. Let’s take things slowly. With a friend date,” Rose replied with a soft smile.
“Yeah. That’d be cool. A friend date… dating... as friends. Whether or not we actually start… you know, I’m just glad we’re all good now. I’m totally down for a friend date!” Casey replied excitedly. A little too excitedly. Rose was slightly worried. “How about a movie? I don’t have the budget for a fancy dinner.”
“Sounds cool, Case,” Rose replied happily. “See you tonight.”
Casey ran right back to the art room to tell Zee what just happened.
“Zee! Zee!” Casey yelled for Zee as she ran into the classroom.
“Casey, please! This is class time!” Ms. Moone angrily scolded Casey.
“Sorry, Moone. Zee, Zee! Rose accepted my apology! And we’re going to a movie tonight! As friends with the possibly of our friendship going into a romantic relationship in the future!” Casey yelled softly at Zee.
“Wow! You really picked yourself up, Casey! Oh, I’m so happy for you,” Zee responded excitedly to Casey and congratulated her with a hug.
“Thanks, bud. Hey, where’s Dinah? I wanna see how she’ll react to my sweet victory,” Casey asked.
“Oh, I think she and Karen are out sick today,” Zee replied.
Little did the girls know that hiding behind the curtains, was the Black Swam, silently thinking to herself.
So, Rose has a little girlfriend now, huh? How cute. How gross, yuck. Like all teenage romances, their love will end. With how insecure this brat is, she’ll totally blow it again with sweet Rosie, and I’ll be ready when she does…
The Black Swan thought to herself as she smiled as evilly and widely as the Grinch.