Disclaimer: These characters aren't mine.

This is a bad idea, Courtney Whitmore, aka Stargirl, thought as she finished applying her makeup. What was she doing? What had she been thinking? Obviously she hadn't been thinking. What other reason did she have for mentioning the upcoming senior prom? It wasn't like she really cared about it or wanted to go. Yet, she had stuck the proverbial foot in her mouth. Worse, she had made the slip-up in front of the Justice Society of America. That had proved to be a major mistake. Most kids her age were lucky if they had one parental figure. She had her mom, her stepdad Pat, and then the entire JSA. The JSA meant well, but…this was just a really bad idea. No good could come from this night. An unfortunate slip of the tongue and now she was going to the prom. Worse, she was waiting for her date to arrive, her date having been arranged by the JSA.

Courtney loved being part of the JSA. It was so much more than she had ever thought it would be. The camaraderie was great. More importantly, even though she was only a teenager, she was considered one of the core members. She had attained a level of respect she hadn't thought possible, particularly from the older heroes. Alan and Jay had decades of experience, Michael was brilliant, Pieter was compassionate, Ted was just Ted, just like Karen was just Karen. Yet all of them would take the time to listen to her. They actually considered her opinion. It was an honor.

But with that camaraderie, with that respect, with that honor, came a flipside. They were involved in her life – both in and out of costume. Generally, it was minimal involvement. They would ask how school was going, how her family was. Nothing too exciting. Then there were the other times, the times they acted a little too parental-like. Jay had had a talk with Billy Batson, aka Captain Marvel. Jay hadn't known that Captain Marvel was really a sixteen-year-old kid. So when Captain Marvel had shown too much interest in her, Jay had talked to him...and Captain Marvel had left the JSA rather than admit his identity. Billy wasn't the only one. Jay and Alan had also talked Albert Rothstein, aka Atom Smasher. Once again, they had been worried she was getting too close. Tonight, though, they had taken the opposite approach. They had actually set her up on a date. Maybe it was different because they had selected the boy. No matter. It still seemed strange…and worrisome.

Balancing life as a daughter, sister, teenager and superhero was difficult. Overall, her family understood, even though she knew her mom worried, worried a lot. Thank God Pat was there. He understood the hero business and helped reassure her mom. Her high school social life was non-existent. There wasn't time for extracurricular activities, or at least not normal high school extracurricular activities. Weekends and summers were spent in New York at the JSA brownstone. There were even some school nights she barely managed a couple hours of sleep because some crisis had arisen. How many teenagers battled Solomon Grundy, Per Degaton or a host of other villains on a regular basis? How many teenagers hung out with superheroes? How many teenagers had traveled back in time? To the future? Or even to other dimensions?

Jay had once suggested she consider joining the Teen Titans. It would allow her to be around heroes her own age. Courtney had politely, but firmly, declined. The Star-Spangled Kid, or Stargirl as she was called, was a member of the JSA. Enough said. Besides, at the time, most of the Teen Titan heroes had been part of Young Justice. She still shivered when she thought of that group. Young Justice had formed close to the same time she had become active in the JSA. She could have gone the route of Young Justice. But they had been…unique? Or maybe it was just Impulse and Superboy that were so unique. In the end, her memories of Young Justice tainted her thoughts on the Teen Titans. She was happy and content in the JSA. They were her family.

But now – tonight – it was a Teen Titan, a former Young Justice member, that was coming to her rescue. Not that she needed to be rescued. Just because she had mentioned the prom in passing, didn't mean she had wanted to attend it. She had argued that point until she was blue in the face. Her words had fallen on deaf ears. Instead, her JSA colleagues had taken it upon themselves to ensure she attended her senior prom…going so far as to secure her a date. Bart Allen, aka Kid Flash, fka Impulse. Her life was pathetic.

Why had she ever agreed to do this? Bart was…well, truth be told, she hadn't really spent time with him since his Impulse days, and even then she had avoided him whenever possible. Now, he was her prom date. Why? Again she knew she had no one to blame except herself. Not only had she made the mistake of talking about the prom, she had also made the mistake of noting that no one had asked her to attend. She had meant it all to sound like no big deal. It truly was no big deal. Unfortunately, that wasn't how her JSA colleagues viewed it.

Courtney stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror and tried to smile, tried to find some enthusiasm for tonight. Her makeup was done. Her hair looked the best it had ever looked thanks to Jesse Quick. Jesse had stopped by earlier and styled her hair into a loose chignon with some loose tendrils curled to frame her face. She had done a fabulous job. Jesse had also had a knowing smile on her face the entire time. Ugh.

She also had to admit that she liked her dress. It was an ice blue V-neck halter, floor-length gown with an empire waist. The color accentuated the blue in her eyes. She had been surprised when her mom had agreed to buy it. The dress had no other practical purpose. She would never wear it again. Then again, maybe her mom was part of the JSA prom conspiracy. It wouldn't surprise her.

The doorbell rang. Courtney sighed. Time for the show. At least Bart was punctual. She had heard the stories about his grandpa's perpetual lateness. She grabbed her handbag and went downstairs, somewhat dismayed to see her mom and Pat surrounding Bart. "Hi, Bart," she greeted, trying to sound excited.

Her parents moved aside and her breath caught. Okay, mentally she had known Bart was older. Hell, he had been the Flash for awhile. He had even died. Yet, when Jay had mentioned Bart, she had pictured Impulse. The Bart standing in the foyer was definitely not Impulse. Of the few recent pictures she had seen, the boy standing in her house didn't even quite look like Kid Flash. Okay, he cleaned up well, really, really well. And he was wearing a tux? That was unexpected. Charcoal gray pants, jacket, vest and shirt with a charcoal gray tie highlighted with horizontal lines of a lighter gray. He looked really nice. She almost said he looked hot, but this was Bart.

"Hi, Courtney," he greeted with a smile.

"Mom, Pat, this is Bart." A belated introduction was better than no introduction she guessed. Her parents knew he was Kid Flash. They also knew Jay and the rest of the JSA was behind this date which meant the JSA vouched for Bart. Courtney assumed that was why they didn't give him the third degree. Her parents knew he was trustworthy. Ten minutes later, after "one quick picture" had turned into several, she was able to get them out the front door. At least Pat had acted somewhat normal. "Sorry about that."

Bart smiled. "No problem. You look really nice."

Courtney blushed. "Um, thanks. You do, too."

Bart looked down at himself. "You think so? I wasn't so sure. It's a lot of gray. Anyway, you should thank Tim. He sort of came up with this, which actually means Alfred came up with this."

Tim. Robin, no Red Robin, she thought. But who was Alfred? It didn't matter. She decided to give him an out. He deserved that much for at least being a good sport and showing up. "Thanks for doing this, but if you really don't want to go, you don't have to. I mean, I didn't tell everyone because I wanted to go. It just sort of came out and they jumped on it and here you are. So, if you want to leave, I completely understand." Okay, maybe she was spending too much time around Maxine.

"It's okay. Tonight'll be fun. Besides, I never went to my prom, so I can see what one's like."

Well, she had given him an out. Now, she had to break the other bad news. She doubted Jay had. "Okay, well then we need to go to New York. I…they…well, everyone's taken way too much interest in my prom. It's like they're all reliving high school."

Bart laughed. "Yeah, I know what you mean. We also need to go to Central City. Same thing." He paused. "I can take us there, but I don't want to mess up your hair or anything."

One of the many moments she had dreaded had arrived. When planning tonight, in particular in planning the trip to/from New York, Jay had insisted Bart could provide the transportation. A perk of going on a date with a speedster. That was all well and good except moving at speedster speeds would ruin any hairstyle. Luckily for her – or maybe not so luckily – a solution had been found. "Promise you won't laugh?"

"Why?"

With a sigh, Courtney opened her handbag and removed a plastic rain bonnet. She held it out for him to see. "Ma – that's Ma Hunkel – gave this to me for just this reason."

"Is that a-" Bart took the bonnet and looked at it, turning it in his hands.

"Yeah, a plastic scarf thingy that old women wear to protect their hair."

Bart laughed. "I'm sorry, but it's just…well…"

"I know." Courtney felt like an idiot. Worse, she was about to look like an idiot. She had tried to argue a regular scarf would work, but Ma had insisted that plastic was the way to go.

Bart placed the bonnet on her head, a playful smile on his lips. He carefully tied it under her chin. "Well, it's definitely a fashion statement, but it will serve the purpose."

"I swear, if you tell anyone-"

He held up in hands in mock defense. "Hey, give me a little credit. Our secret, okay?"

She nodded, returning his smile. There was something how he said "our secret." It gave her a small shiver. She pushed it from her mind. She didn't want to think about the why of that.

"So, Central City first. Then New York."

Minutes later Bart stopped outside a residential home in Central City. He set her carefully on the sidewalk. Courtney quickly whipped off the bonnet and stuffed it into her purse.

"You still look great," he said.

"Um, thanks," she replied, feeling her cheeks flush.

He took her hand and together they walked to the front door. "Jay and Joan are in New York, so this just my grandma and grandpa and Max." Bart knocked on the door.

As they waited, Courtney felt butterflies fluttering in her stomach. Why? Why was she nervous? It didn't help that Bart was holding her hand. That was just so…unexpected. It was almost as if he were treating this as a real date, not just a pity date.

The door opened revealing a small framed woman with shoulder length brown hair. "Bart! I'm glad you made it. Come in."

"Hi, Grandma," he greeted, kissing her cheek. Courtney followed Bart into the house, unconsciously gripping his hand more tightly. Her heart beat a little faster in her chest. "Everyone, this is Courtney Whitmore, Stargirl. Courtney, my grandma Iris and my grandpa Barry. You already know Max."

Courtney smiled nervously and greeted the adults. It was the first time she had seen the Flash out of costume, or rather it was the first time she was seeing this Flash out of costume. She knew and liked Wally West. As for Max, she had never quite figured him out. He seemed like he had a gruff personality. How he and Bart had ever functioned together was a mystery. Courtney was thankful Bart kept the meeting brief. Better yet, no one insisted on taking any pictures.

"Thanks," Bart said when they were back outside.

With just Bart present, she felt her nerves calm. "Yeah, well, you still have to survive the JSA."

"Piece of cake."

Courtney bit her lip to hide her smile. If only he realized he would be meeting her surrogate fathers, brothers and sisters, all of whom were overprotective. He tied the bonnet back over her hair. A short time later they stood outside the JSA brownstone. Once again, the bonnet quickly disappeared into her handbag. She couldn't wait to get rid of that thing. It was so embarrassing.

He stopped her hand from opening the door. "Wait." She looked at him in confusion. Why-? He quickly kissed her. "Okay, ready now."

Why had he just kissed her? Okay, it hadn't been much of a kiss. Just a quick peck on the lips. She hadn't even had the opportunity to kiss him back. Of course, that was assuming she would want to kiss him back. Would she? Damn, he had her all flustered. Then it clicked. That's what he wanted to happen. "Jerk," she hissed as she opened the door

"Leveling the playing field," he whispered in her ear.

Leaving the JSA proved much more challenging than her house or Central City. Had Bart not been a hero, had Bart not been an outgoing-nothing-really-fazes-him person, surviving the JSA meet and greet would have been torturous. Even though calling it a meet and greet wasn't quite right. Almost everyone had previously met Bart, whether as Impulse, Kid Flash or the Flash. If anything, the visit had been more of a don't-you-dare-think-of-hurting-Stargirl-or-we'll-hurt-you sort of meeting. Even Jay, one of Bart's mentors and former guardian, had taken that stance. Thankfully, Bart was highly respected. His Impulse years had been overshadowed by his time as Kid Flash and the Flash. For that reason, they had toned it down…a little.

"Guess it's my turn to say I'm sorry," Courtney said as they stood outside the brownstone. She quickly glanced around them to make sure Michael hadn't sent one of his T-spheres to spy on them, not that the sphere would be able to keep up with Bart. She didn't see anything, then again Obsidian was probably watching them instead.

"It wasn't that bad." He paused. "It's weird when you think about it. The JLA is basically a glorified fight club, but the Titans and JSA are family." He looked at her. "So, ready to dance?"

When she had accepted this date, she had turned down the dinner portion. Anything to avoid spending unneeded time with Bart. He hadn't seemed to care one way or the other. Now, she found herself feeling a bit disappointed. Maybe she shouldn't have been so quick to dismiss him. So far at least, the evening was turning out to be much different than she had anticipated.

Arriving at her high school, she took the plastic rain bonnet off for the last time and stuffed it into a garbage can. "Enough of that!"

Bart laughed. Reaching for her hand, they went inside. It quickly became apparent to her why she hadn't wanted to go to the dance. Most of her classmates looked at her in surprise that she had actually shown up. Courtney Whitmore at an extracurricular activity? At an extracurricular activity on a Saturday night? It was unheard of.

Having Bart, an unknown player, as her date only heightened the attention on herself. While some of her classmates introduced themselves, most just whispered. Yet another downside of life as a teenage hero was the challenge of making friends when you didn't do anything outside of school hours. She had a few classmates she considered friends, but she knew even they became frustrated with her when she would only provide vague answers about what she did over the weekend. Even if she could admit she had traveled back in time or traveled to the future, she doubted her classmates would believe her.

After several awkward minutes, Bart pulled her onto the dance floor. When the music slowed, he placed his hands lightly on her hips. "So, is it just me or is almost everyone staring at us?"

So much for hoping Bart hadn't noticed. "It's not you. I think they're surprised to see me here."

"Why?"

"How much time did you hang out with your high school friends?"

"Good point."

"And they're probably trying to figure out who you are."

"Or they are simply stunned by how pretty you look tonight, not that you aren't always pretty, but you know…" Once again she blushed. He was proving to be very good at making her feel flustered. She also noticed he stumbled a bit over his words. Maybe she wasn't the only one feeling a bit flustered. But that would only raise the question why? "So, you want to blow this place and go somewhere else where we don't feel like a specimen in a Petri dish?"

Not an analogy she would have made, but it worked. "Sure."

"Okay, but before we go, let's give them something to really talk about."

Before she could ask him what he meant, before she could identify the playful gleam in his eyes, Bart had pulled her close, one hand on her waist, the other on the back of her head, and kissed her. This time it wasn't a quick peck on the lips. When he ended the kiss, Courtney reminded herself to breath. Her heart pounded in her ears. What had just happened? Why had he… What did… Her mind struggled to make sense of it.

Bart smiled. "Let's go." Grabbing her hand, he pulled her off the dance floor, oblivious of the open-mouth stares from her classmates. Monday was going to be pure hell. If she thought the whispering and stares were bad now, it was only preview of what was to come. Still, it had been worth it, definitely worth it. Who would have thought Impulse would be a good kisser?

As soon as they were outside of the building, he scooped her into his arms and zoomed away. When he finally stopped, he set her down carefully. "Where are we?" She looked around, not recognizing any of the buildings. Numerous pedestrians filled the narrow walkways.

"River Walk in San Antonio." San Antonio? Not exactly where she would have expected him to take her. Okay, she hadn't really thought about where he would take her. Maybe back to Central City or Keystone City. Maybe back to New York. Maybe even to the Titans Tower in San Francisco. But San Antonio? Never.

He absently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, a wistful smile on his lips. "That run sort of messed up your hair."

"That bad?" she asked, self-consciously putting her hand against her hair, trying to feel how bad it must look.

He pulled her hand down. "No." Another kiss…and a shock? She looked at him in surprise. "Sorry. Hazards of kissing a speedster so soon after they run." Another kiss. This time no shock. Her mind struggled to keep up. He kept surprising her. With a smile, he took her hand and together they started to walk. "Hungry for some ice cream?"

"Sure."

Minutes later, ice cream cones in hand, they found an empty bench on which to sit. After a few licks, she decided it was time to be honest with him. "I have to admit, I wasn't too sure about tonight."

"Oh?"

"Well, I mean, it wasn't a blind date, but still we were set up by Jay."

"Yeah. And you probably were having Impulse nightmares."

"There was that," she admitted. "You've…you've really changed." Bart shrugged and ate his ice cream. "What was it like to age and become the Flash and die and all that."

He quirked an eyebrow at her, probably trying to gage if she were serious. "I saw you at the memorial service."

"What?"

"You know, my memorial service when I died. I saw you were there."

Courtney's mind raced, trying to figure out what he meant. How could he have seen her there? He was – or had been – dead. Then she understood. "You watched it? Isn't that a little morbid?"

He shrugged and took a bite of ice cream. "Maybe, but I was just curious. How many people actually have the opportunity to watch their own funeral?"

"Yeah, I suppose. It's still rather morbid though." She took a bite of her own ice cream. Her mind drifted back to that time. Bart's death had hit the Garricks hard. Jesse had been hit hard as well. "You know, most heroes were there."

"I noticed. Sort of surprised me."

"Why?"

"Courtney, I'm not an idiot. Between my own actions and Wally's comments, I wasn't viewed as the most reliable or smartest hero. Sort of makes you wonder if those same people would have shown if it was Impulse who had died…or even Kid Flash. Besides, I doubt they really came because it was me. They were memorializing the Flash. Barry, Wally…I was just a footnote."

"You sell yourself short."

"So do you."

Okay, this conversation had grown much too serious. "You still haven't answered my question. What was it like?" He told her. This Bart was so very different from the Bart she remembered. While she had seen him when he had been the Flash, it hadn't really registered that it was Bart at the time. Maybe because they had been in the middle of fighting the Sinestro Corps. Or maybe because the Flash costume so effectively disguised the person underneath.

And as much as she hated to admit it, Bart was probably right regarding his memorial service. People had attended because it was the Flash. Yes, they had announced Bart's identity, but it was the fact that he had been the Flash that made people interested. As an individual, few had known Bart. Even fewer had really known him as the Flash, not that there had been much time to get to know him. He had only been the Flash for a few weeks before he was killed. But people did remember the previous Flashes and Bart's memorial service had provided the opportunity to remember all of them.

Time seemed to stand still and yet flyby. The conversation flowed easily, probably helped by the fact they could share their alter egos with each other. There was no worry about secret identities. He talked about dying and coming back, about having Max and his grandpa return, about the changes in the Teen Titans. She talked about the changes the JSA had gone through.

She shivered.

"Cold?"

"A little."

Bart shrugged out of his jacket and put it around her shoulders. Courtney smiled inwardly when he also put his arm around her shoulders. She shifted to sit closer to him. She watched as the fingers on his free hand entwined with the fingers of her hand. This night…this date…was so different from what she had anticipated. She had never expected having such fun. She had never expected to find herself liking Bart this much.

"I should probably get you home," he said softly, after yet another kiss. The past few kisses tasted like chocolate ice cream.

Home. No, she didn't want this night to end. "What time is it?"

"Almost one."

"Yeah, I probably should go." Her parents weren't expecting her home. It was the weekend after all. The fact she had actually been in Blue Valley instead of New York was a fluke due to the prom. Yet even though her parents weren't expecting her, her JSA family was…and they were probably watching the clock. She didn't have a curfew, but she knew they would worry if she stayed out too late. "Can you take me back to New York?"

"No problem."

Before she realized it, Bart had stopped at the end of the block, gently setting her on her feet. Laughter filled his eyes as his fingers tried to smooth out her hair. "Okay, that last run really did your hair in."

"Well, between the wind and you," she said lightly. Her fingers deftly removed the pins that were holding her hair up, letting it fall down.

"Yeah, well," he pulled her close and let his hands finger her hair as he kissed her. It left her breathless. Again. It gave her a shock. Again. How many times had they kissed tonight? She had lost track. "I had a really good time," he said softly.

"Me, too." They walked to the brownstone. "Want to come in for a bit?"

"Sure."

They went to the kitchen, flipping on the lights. Bart immediately spotted the plate of Joan's cookies on the countertop. "So, would you like to go out again sometime?" Bart asked between bites.

Her heart did a small flip flop. Until he asked the question, she had realized how much she had been hoping he would. She smiled. "Yeah, I'd like that."

Bart returned the smile.

"Well, well, well, the teenagers return," Ted announced as he walked into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator and removed a bottle of beer.

Courtney inwardly sighed as Alan, Jay and Pieter also entered the kitchen. They were making no effort to hide the fact they had been waiting up for her. At least they weren't in their costumes.

"Did you two have fun?" Alan asked.

"Yeah, we did. We stayed at the dance for a bit and then went to San Antonio."

"San Antonio," Alan repeated, looking a bit more closely at the two teens.

"Give them a break, Alan, he's a speedster," Ted replied, taking a sip of beer. "Be glad he kept her in this country."

Courtney hadn't really thought about that possibility. Technically the world was at Bart's fingertips, or at least the soles of his feet.

"And Bart was a gentleman?" Jay asked.

"The perfect gentleman," she answered, unconsciously pulling her hair back. It had to look awful. She dreaded the number of snarls and tangles she would encounter when she would try brushing it. It was definitely going to be painful.

"Well, then, perhaps the perfect gentleman would care to explain the hickey on your neck," Pieter said with a grin.

Courtney froze and paled. She had forgotten about that. Actually, she hadn't forgotten about that kiss, she had just forgotten about the hickey. Could she call the hickey the result of a kiss? Was it a kiss? It had at least started out as a kiss. No matter. Her toes had curled in her shoes as his mouth had moved down her neck. Little sparks had glanced off Bart, which he claimed was the Speed Force. Bart had apologized when he saw what he had done. Courtney hadn't cared. She had just wanted him to kiss her again…which he had. While Pieter wore a grin, frowns creased the faces of the other three heroes. Bart had obviously crossed some sort of line and it wasn't good. "Bart, run!"

He did.