A Dark Rose

~ Hello. I wrote this a while back, last year, and I wasn't really happy with it, I made some mistakes and it didn't feel detailed enough in some places so I thought I'd re-write it while I had some free time. ~

Summary - (Re-Write) "You're doing your job, I get it, but the next time I see you, I won't hesitate to hex you. I'm bad luck, Flash. You don't want to be around me any more than you have to." Jinx is bad luck. Good was never an option. Kid Flash didn't want to believe that for a single second.

Disclaimer - I don't own the characters or anything involved with the fandom.

Warning - A couple of swear words here and there. Nothing too terrible. I've rated T because I'm paranoid. (:

She found it funny that the so-called protectors of Jump City had yet to make an appearance. I mean, they were the good guys, right? And yet no one had turned up to stop what she was about to do.

Jinx found that absolutely hilarious.

The streets were clear of pedestrians as Jinx walked - taking slow, casual steps, because she was in no rush - towards Rare Medallion, a small jewelry store located between a 7-Eleven and the local bookstore. She watched the sky while she strolled, stared up at the canvas of black clouds overcasting the above, and she wondered how long it had been since she had last plotted a heist by herself. She was usually accompanied by her team - the H.I.V.E Five - but she was in no mood to be held back by her tedious, incompetent boys today. They always got caught. And even Jinx knew that the team would fall apart without her. She was both the brains and the brawns behind the group and always had been. Always would be.

She neared the store, getting closer and closer with each step, and she scanned the perimeter from left to right, even though she felt the motion fruitless. If the Teen Titans - or, God forbid, Kid Flash - were going to show up, they would have been there by now. She didn't know how they did it, but lately they had been managing to get to her before she broke into any store, got close to completing any heist, but not today. Maybe they had decided to take a day off. Jinx was slightly disappointed by that thought. Sometimes the fights that led to her encounters with the Teen Titans were the only activities that shed some excitement on her usually lacklustre existence.

Stealing was a common occurence in Jinx's prosaic life. It brought her a type of thrill that she couldn't get from anywhere -anyone- else. It gave her the sense that she was in control, that she had the power to get anything she wanted because she was not unlucky. Hapless people didn't get beautiful jewels whenever they wanted them. Hapless people got nothing but bad luck. And Jinx, dammit, was not hapless. (No. She knew exactly what she was and she always had. But sometimes, it just felt nice to believe otherwise)

As she stood before the double-doors of Rare Medallion - the paint of the doors fading and cracked; repugnant and reptilian by the lack of refurbishment - she almost found it too easy, even by her standards. There was a single, easily breakable lock that pried both doors together and supposedly kept them that way. While it may have been hard for a mere human to break such a lock, it was just a small set-back for someone like Jinx; someone built with power, so strong and pink and consuming.

Jinx rolled her eyes at the simplicity of it all. She wondered, where was the fun of the chase these days? It was almost as if the stop owners were just begging her to steal from them.

Her pale hand raised, her palm facing the lock, and in seconds a bright pink light erupted and the lock was no more. Shattered on the ground beneath her feet. And Jinx's lips pulled, twisted at a smirk, because she was successful and this was the farthest she had gotten in weeks and that exhilarated her. She pushed the doors open and walked inside like she owned the place; with as much grace as a gazelle, and as much confidence as a Queen. From the moment that her black boots hit the hard-wood flooring, she noticed the bulking security cameras at each corner. She looked from left to right and tilted her head in wonder. Each appeared to be turned off, judging from the missing red buttons at the bottom of the lens', but she still made sure to send a hex their way, because sometimes she liked to play if safe.

After she was sure that she was in the clear, Jinx began to window shop, browsing the glass cases filled with various selections of rings, brooches, bracelets, earings and necklaces; ranging from sterling silver, bronze, diamond, diamante and jewels. It would be Heaven for any other girl, but for Jinx, everything was either horrendous or dreadfully droll. She wanted something with bite. Something pretty, while still having that enthralling quality that would stand out from the rest.

And after a good minute and a half of searching, Jinx's eyes landed on something that she felt interested in. The villainess took a closer step towards the necklace she had spotted, hidden behind a wall of pure glass, laying atop a black canvas. She cocked her head to the side as she tried to get a closer look, but the cage was in her way. With a simple click of her fingers, the glass that surrounded the object shattered before her scintillating eyes.

She reached out and caressed the band with her fingertips, feeling the cold sting of the silver against her skin. She prepared to pick it up, tie it around her neck and leave, but the feeling of a secondary presence inside of the room reminded Jinx that her life was never that easy.

So close, she thought as she retracted her hand from the necklace. Without turning herself around, she pried her lips apart and prepared to speak to him. That was the strange thing about them. She didn't even need to ask who was there because she knew it was him. Or at least she wished it was. He was always more interesting than Robin and his band of superpowered friends.

"I never took you for a stalker, Flash." She spoke with a certain lilt to her voice as her face trailed to the side. She didn't turn around because she was waiting for him to answer her, to be sure that it was most definitely Kid Flash in the room with her.

It had been a while since she had seen him, heard his mischievous voice, looked into his midnight blue eyes. Weeks? Months? Jinx couldn't really recall how long it had been, but she had been waiting for this for a while and she knew that much. She also dreaded the moment when she would see him again, because he was one of them, one of those good guys who thought he could change her for the better. He thought she could do better. She didn't want that. She didn't want to do that.

There was a seemingly imperishable silence between until she heard him - it was him, right? - take a step closer to her. She could tell from the faint sound that he was near the front door, all the way at the other side of the room, and she wondered if he was fast enough to get to her before she could throw a hex or two at his face. She continued to wonder until she heard a voice that was unmistakably Kid Flash's, and she knew for sure that it was him.

"I'm just doing my job, Jinxie." His voice was as smooth and familiar as always.

She almost missed it.

Almost.

Jinx collected herself and spun around to face the so-called fastest boy alive in all of his glory, and she found herself staring - because, oh, Kid Flash was incredibly attractive, and it was hard not to notice. Her eyes scanned his customary unitard, the yellow and red costume melting against his willowy body, accentuating each muscle and making him look like a 6'3 slice of Heaven and latex. As well as the mask and the suit, Flash was also wearing a smirk that was beyond obnoxious, and Jinx felt the need to sport a smirk of her own - though her smirk looked more natural than his ever did.

"Don't call me Jinxie, okay?" She crossed her arms over her chest, even though her mind was screaming at her to just hex him and be done with it already. "Now, run along because I have work to do," She looked him up and down, intimidation dripping from each glance and each word spoken. "And honestly, I don't really feel like wasting time by chatting with the fastest pain-in-my-arse alive."

She always thought she was so funny.

For some reason, only Kid Flash agreed with that.

A low chuckle grumbled in Flash's throat as he leaned against the wall adjacent to the double-doors of the store. For a moment, neither said a word, neither so much as moved, they just stared each other down until, finally, Flash broke the muteness.

"Good one, Jinxie,"

She scowled at the nickname, her face morphing into something of a grimace because he really knew how to tear at her last nerve.

"So," Kid Flash continued as he pried his back from the wall behind him. "I was wondering if you wanted to go get a coffee or something?" He offered her one of his million-dollar smiles, his pearly white teeth gleaming against the dim darkness of the room.

Not for the first time since knowing him, Jinx thought that Kid Flash was insane. First of all, he chose to wear latex on a daily occurence. Secondly, he dared challenge her - her? - like he had the power to win. And finally, he thought that, even with her being a villainess and him being a saviour, that they had a chance together. Maybe it was just coffee, sure, but he clearly wanted more than friendly chit-chat over a cup of joe.

"Now why would I do that?" She held back a scoff at the very thought of it.

He raised one shoulder, as casually as he could, his smile still ever-present on his lips. "Just as friends?"

This time, there was no holding back her scoff. "Who said that you and I are friends, Flash?"

"We could be," He offered. "If that's what you want."

A sigh escaped from her lips as she shook her head. She prepared to list all of the reasons why they -Jinx and Kid fucking Flash- could not be friends, why they could not be lovers, why they could not be anything but mere enemies, but she couldn't find it in herself to voice that list. She was too tired for that and, frankly, his voice was soporific enough to put her to sleep.

"No."

With that, she turned herself back around, attempting to force an end to their conversation. She returned to looking at the beautiful necklace she had been eyeing before, the one with the silver that was cold to the touch - just like her - and it still captivated her even in her irritated mood. Jinx had been to many stores just like this one, all around the town, and she had never seen anything like this necklace before. Nothing.

The necklace had a long, silver figaro chain that led to a circle that was so light, so pink that it came close to matching her hair and eyes. The most mesmeric part of the necklace was the little black star that sat in the middle of the circle, symbolising the pure epitome of bad luck - so perfect for her, she knew - and she wanted it. Wanted it more than she had wanted anything.

So pretty.

"You like that, huh?" Flash's words were hot on her neck and she froze at the sensation.

She had almost forgotten just how fast that boy could move, she hadn't even heard him, felt it happen, but when she raised her head back up, he was beside her, hunched over to look at the piece of jewelry as well.

As she turned her face to look at him - look at the eyes that she hated and loved with an equal amount of passion - Jinx's scowl dissipated into a small, taunting smile - because she was going to enjoy hexing his eyebrows off if he so much as came an inch closer - and she shoved herself back until they had some distance between their bodies again, but she didn't once forget the dreadfully beautiful feeling of his chest against her shoulder and his hot breath on her always cold skin.

"Yes, I do." She had already given up from the moment that she heard his voice, but she still wished that he just hadn't shown up. She missed the necklace already, and dammit she had been so close. "Now go back to wherever it was you came from, Flash, and leave me alone."

Jinx wasted no time in turning around and marching towards the door (her earlier grace and confidence missing; replaced with something fierce and incandescent and so like her that it suited her more than her coiffure) and she didn't stop moving to so much as shoot him a last look. Although she didn't want to return home empty-handed, Jinx knew for a fact that she wouldn't be able to steal anything tonight. She knew that she could beat Flash - Oh, she knew alright. She would crush him like a fly with a flick of her wrist and she would revel in that - but even if she did get the upper hand, all it would take would be one little message on his Titan's communicator and then the Teen Titans would burst through the door and she would be out-numbered and as always, out of luck.

As soon as she had made it to the double-doors, she felt a whoosh of air brush past her, sending a chill dancing up and down her spine, and she held her breath and grabbed the last nerve she had because Kid Flash was now stood in front of her (and oh my God, why did he have to be so fucking tall? Taller than her?) At first, she thought that he was going to make sure she hadn't taken anything before he arrived, but that thought shredded when she noticed that he was simply holding the door open for her.

What a gentleman.

She hated good guys.

With a sneer that she only ever reserved for him, Jinx stepped past the tall, latex-clad boy and the cold air hit her face from the moment that she emerged into the street. She was going to go home. She was going to ignore him - damn him and his tallness and his eyes and his everything - and she would try again another day and hope that he didn't show up. She was going to go. But she didn't.

Turning around, Jinx faced him again, prepared to set the boy straight. No coffee. No friendship. No nothing. No Jinx and Kid Flash. No more.

"You're doing your job," She nodded once. "I get it, but the next time I see you, I won't hesitate to hex you." Her face softened, not for him, but for herself, because she didn't know why she was doing this or why she cared so much about sending him away. She swallowed the feelings down and carried on like she always did. "I'm bad luck, Flash. You don't want to be around me any more than you have to."

She was lying and they both knew it.

She was bad luck, yes, but even she knew that Flash had never cared about that. But for just a second, she forced herself to believe that someone like Kid Flash would never be any good with someone like her. Someone born evil and hapless and unfortunate and bad. It made sense in her head. That was enough.

Kid Flash had no words as he watched Jinx walk down the street with her arms crossed and her back to him, and his heart sank a little inside the cage of his ribs. All of the things that she had said, the way she spoke her words like she had run out of hope for herself, it made him think, think that maybe her passion wasn't in being a bad person, maybe she just didn't feel like she could ever be a good person.

She didn't feel good enough to be a good person, not when all she had was bad, bad luck and a bad reputation.

xoxo

After a twenty-minute walk from Rare Medallion, Jinx finally arrived home. She could hear the faint sounds of snoring from the moment that she entered the front door, the noises coming from the bedrooms in which the other H.I.V.E Five members slept. She sighed in relief from the realisation that the boys were already asleep - she didn't want to have to explain where she had snuck off to and why she had returned home with nothing.

As she slipped the black bands out of her hair, letting the soft pink strands cascade down her face and against her back, she involuntarily released a tired sigh from her lips, and she realised that she should probably catch some sleep as well. It had been a tiring night and she was in no mood to stay up now. After changing into something less attractive and a lot more comfortable, she headed to her bedroom at the end of the hallway, yawning again as she stretched her long arms above her head.

Kid Flash needed to get out of her head.

He was living rent-free inside of her mind and had been since their very first meeting and Jinx was sick of it. She could care less if she never saw him again. She wished it was that easy. She wished that she could stop thinking about him - stop reveling in the fact that someone thought that she could do better, that she could be good even with all of this bad inside of her.

With a hard push, she shoved her door open and stormed inside, slamming the door behind her out of frustration - because, oh my God, she was sick of returning home empty-handed. Jinx let out a sigh of enmity as she glided towards her Queen sized bed at the back of her bedroom. She didn't deserve to sleep in a bed built for a Queen. She had never felt like more of a failure.

"Another job well done, Jinx." She mumbled to herself as she collapsed onto her bed, basking in the security and warmth that it exuded onto her.

The bed sheets - dark pink and oh so cotton - cosied her skin for just a moment before she began to adjust herself, and then she felt something. She groaned in discomfort as she felt this pressure digging against her back. She immediately sat up and turned herself around to examine the source of the pain. She pulled the sheet towards her and found what had been laying on her pillows; a brown paper bag with a small, square note attached to the front.

Jinx snatched up the bag in her hands and pried it open, curious to see what in earth was hiding inside it and who had left it on her bed. At first, Jinx just came to the conclusion that Seemore had bought her something nice - he was such a suck-up. She loved it about him - and had left it there once he realised that she had gone out, but then she noticed something deep and red and beautiful; a red rose. And she knew exactly who the gift was from and it tore her apart.

Since their first meeting, Kid Flash had left her many roses. Heck, he gave her a rose before they had even officially met or spoken a word to each other. Jinx often found herself wondering why - was Flash a romantic at heart? Did he think she was special? Did he love her? - but she would never dare come out and ask him why because, honestly, she was afraid to find out.

She picked up the rose, watching for the thorns that threatened to prick her fair skin, and set it down beside her on the bed sheets. She was in the middle of wondering why Kid Flash would use a bag for only a rose when she noticed something scintillating - something so shiny and perfect and silver - sitting at the bottom of the bag. She pulled it out, slipping the figaro chain of the necklace - her necklace - around her splayed fingers.

She was mesmerised by the little familiar black star and silver band - so compelled that it took her a moment to remember that Flash had attached a note to the front of the bag. With her free hand, she snatched the note and began to read it to herself.

Jinxie,

I know you really wanted this when we were in the store, so I decided to get it for you. Oh, and I paid for it. Something you should try doing. The offer for coffee still stands, no pressure, but I can be pretty persuasive when I want to be, so you might as well just agree. I'll be outside the Java Hut at ten am tomorrow. Hope to see you there.

Kid Flash.

With slanted eyes, Jinx stared at the note long after she finished reading it. He literally didn't take no for an answer. She both hated and loved that about him. As she stared at the necklace dangling from her fingers, she felt a small, imperceptible smile twisting at her lips. The smile was gone just as soon as it had arrived, but she had felt it, she had felt the wave of something akin to relief because even Kid Flash refused to give up on her the way that she had long ago.

As her attention returned to the rose laying against her bed sheet, she once again wondered why he always gave her roses. She didn't plan on asking him (never would she waste her time trying to understand why Kid Flash did the things he did) but she knew that she would always be curious. She took a final, longing glance at the note before crumpling it up in the palm of her hand and hurling it towards the metal barred trash can at the opposite end of her room, and as always, it went in perfectly.

She picked up the rose - watching as it glistened from the faint light of her lamp; red and fragile and familiar - and she placed it on top of the oak cabinet beside her bed, along with the others that he had given her - minus the one that she had hexed out of frustration. She wasn't quite sure why she felt the need to keep them. She shouldn't have. She should have just thrown them out, burnt them, hexed them. But she knew that deep down, some part of her enjoyed the attention.

Jinx unclasped the chain of the necklace and placed it around her neck before clipping it back again. As her hands came down, she let her skin trail the star, her fingertips grazing the present and once again, she found herself smiling before she ultimately shook her head in disbelief.

"What an idiot." She muttered to herself before discarding the paper bag and laying on the bed to go to sleep, her fingers clutching the necklace as she drifted off, and even though she would never say it to him, she was thankful.

Not just for the necklace.

For everything he did.

~ Thank you all for taking the time to read, I really appreciate it, and I hope you enjoyed it! ~

Reviews are much appreciated (:

Allison