'The Makings Of Evil', is a heavily triggered book. There will be abuse, manipulation and sexual abuse. This is a dark book, and not meant for the fair of heart. This is a Harley/Jerome book, but as we know it's a one sided "love" story.
Please, feel free to leave reviews, and message me with questions and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
This is also featuring a Gotham based Harley Quinn so her story has changed. Her story will be mentioned and brought attention to within the story so do not fret! You will not be left in the dark.
This starts out before the circus hits Gotham, and before Jerome kills his mother.
Jerome Veleska was an 18 year old boy, often found within his mother's trailer tending to new wounds or, counting the money he made of tips from making jokes and making people laugh. Usually his jokes here looked down upon. His jokes consisted of death and chaos and only a select few actually laughed. One of the people who laughed -in a nervous way- was Harley Quinn. Those these two never really interacted.
Harley Quinn was an easily likeable girl, with her blonde hair that always seemed to be up in long pigtails and her red and black ballerina leotard and tutu, and her ballerina slippers. She had been in the circus since she was seven years old. Only a select few people knew the reason why she was in the circus; that reason being because of an abusive father, and a dead mother from it. Harley had run away with the circus. After that night she never talked about. She never talked about when she was 'Harleen Quinzel'.
Harley made a small name for herself, since that event. Years of practice and learning from the acrobatic 'Flying Grayson' family. Harley landed herself as one of the main events, she being a tightrope walker and a contortionist of sorts. She was what people would called 'The Amazing Harlequin'. Now that she was 17 she had fans all over the globe, a fanbase of sort.
It was just after the show in Chicago, when Harley found herself standing outside the main event test, watching as Jerome was doing his 'comedic' act. She wore her costume still, her hands held in front of her hands and her finger intertwined.
"A grandson runs up to his grandfather and asks him if he can talk like a frog," Jerome started licking his lips, his mouth twitching into a smile. His eyes flashed to Harley before they once again scanned the crowd. " "Of course not," says the grandfather." Jerome used a funny voice as he spoke as though speaking as the 'Grandfather'. "A few minutes later, his granddaughter asks him the same question." Jerome made a shocked look and crossed his arms over his chest, slumping some. " "No, of course not. Why are you both asking me this?" The grandfather replies," Jerome tilted his head once again speaking in as though he was the grandfather, he looked at the kids with a smirk. "The kids then said, "Dad said that when you croak, we can go to Disneyland." " Jerome Finished the joke, some parents grabbed their kids by the shoulders and began walking them away.
Harley covered her mouth and giggled quietly. That one wasn't as morbid as most of his jokes, but it certainly was funny to her. She looked down as people looked at her, she raised her eyebrows in an amused way. A few people threw money into Jerome's 'bucket 'o' mooola', there was a few chuckles from the crowd. Jerome gave a very theatrical bow, in the direction of those who were actually appreciative of his jokes, then without further ado, turned and spanked his bottom to the ones that were walking away.
Harley widened her eyes at that. She wasn't expecting that. As people began leaving Harley stayed. "That was a good one." She chirped. Jerome paused and stopped what he was doing. He wasn't use to Harley actually staying and talking to him afterwards, he stopped smacking his bottom and turned around looking at her.
"Well, it's nice to be appreciated." He said looking as though he was sinking back into his shell. Harley knew this was an act, after all, her stage life was also a giant act. Behind the scenes she was kind of shy, maybe a little mellow, though at times her theatrical side came out. Jerome outside of his 'act', he seemed to be very introverted.
Harley raised her eyebrow and held out her hand. "The names Harley, Harley Quinn." She introduced herself. Jerome tilted his head and took her hand cautiously.
"I know?" He said slowly, of course he knew her name, she was one of the main acts, "The names, Jerome Veleska." He said and watched her shake his hand with a pleased smile, he bit his lip and took his hand back, he bent down and picked up his bucket of change and stood up to full height.
Harley let her hand fall to her side and she smiled brightly at Jerome. "Pleased ta' meetchya!" She giggled. The term, 'The circus is the only family you need.' may be true, but most people hardly knew one another names. Besides, the main event people, everyone knew who they were.
Jerome furrowed his eyebrows at her and nodded slowly. He was a little awkward around women, and that had everything to do with his mother's constant abuse. He was sure everyone in the circus knew, yet they did nothing. He didn't know what this girl was expecting from him, it made him curious as to why she suddenly chose today to talk to him. "Did someone pay you to talk to me?" He said in a dull voice as he began walking towards his and his mother's trailer. It wouldn't be the first time, someone had paid a woman to talk to him. For reasons that included robbing him blind.
Harley gasped at him and laughed following after him. "No!" She exclaimed reaching up and releasing her hair from the two pigtails allowing her blonde hair to fall down her back. "I thought your joke was funny is that wrong?" She said, her voice picking up a slight attitude. Harley was known for being happy one second, to losing her cool. Jerome gave her an unreadable look. "Anyways, I see you every night telling your jokes, and I never talk to you. It's been ten years of me being here and we've talked…?" Harley bobbed her head back and forth, as she gave mock thought. She snapped her head to look at him. "Right! None!" She said and shook her head.
"I'm use to ulterior motives, Doll." Jerome said cooly side glancing at her. He didn't appreciate her attitude. He didn't like being talked to by anyone at this cheaply run circus. Harley huffed.
"Well, I don't have ulterior motives, Jerome." She said slowly and shook her head. She ran a hand through her hair, something she would do when she was getting frustrated or stressed, this time being because this red headed ass hole was frustrating. "I was only trying to be nice." She snapped.
Jerome groaned and shook his head. He stopped his walking and turned around side stepping so he's be in front of her. "Listen to me, Harley." Jerome began, her name coming out like venom off his tongue. "There's not room for kindness in this world," He nodded and dropped the bucket, he reached up and grabbed her cheeks cupping them roughly, Harley grabbed his wrists in a nervous way. Her icy blue eyes widening to the size of saucers. "There's no kind people, this is all some glorious facade you, my dear, are hiding behind to stay away from your own personal issues." He nodded. Harley shoved his hands off her face roughly, and they both stood close to each other Jerome smiling smugly down at her, and she glaring up at him.
"I know that, Gingivitis." Harley said coldly. "And I know exactly what I did, and it was what I had to do." She said up at him. Jerome rolled his eyes into the back of his head dramatically so only the whites of his eyes could be seen before looking at her and tilting his head. "And I know from your situation...that if you could escape, if you had somewhere to go.. You would do it too." She said slowly, finally sympathy showed in her eyes. "We're similar you and I." She said.
Jerome let his eyebrows shoot up. "Don't know what you're talking about." he said and flashed his pearly whites in a smile, grabbing his bucket and turning and walking once more. Harley stared at where he had once been in her face. Her cheeks heated up with anger and she forced a smile on her face as she hurriedly walked after him.
"I'm not stupid." Harley spat as she was once again walking beside him. Jerome rolled his head on his shoulders.
"Coulda' fooled me." He said raising his eyebrows, a small slow smile falling upon his features, as he saw just how worked up he was making the young blonde. Maybe, she was amusing. She seemed to get worked up so quickly. Harley clinched her fists tightly. "I like you." He decided.
"You're an asshole." Harley said her face deadpanning. Her footsteps stopping as she watched him continue his way down to his trailer. Her face slowly flipped into a smile. "You know that though!" she yelled out to him and laughed.
Jerome gave a smirk as he kept walking, looking over his shoulder at her. He did know he could be an asshole. Hell, he was an asshole most of the time. He turned his head forward once more. He kept walking, his eyebrows knitting together. That was strange.
Jerome shook his head as he made it to his and his mother's trailer, looking at the snake, Sheba on his way in. He closed the door behind him, looking with a dull bored look as his mother was topping a man, a bottle of beer to his lips. He set the bucket down. "There ya go, ma." he said blandly. "Goooo crazy." He mumbled. He turned and laid on the couch avoiding eye contact and avoiding the direction his mother was fucking a drunken clown.
Jerome was taken by surprise as his mother threw her bottle at him, the bottle hitting his hand as he had tried to block it out of impulse. He hissed a curse to himself as he grabbed his hand and held it tightly, looking up as his mother -which mind you, only wore a bra and knickers-, who looked down at him with a scowl.
"Is it time for, 'beat up, Jerome'?" He growled, as his mother brought a fist down on his face, the clown from before moving quickly to sit on Jerome's legs. Jerome groaned as he felt blood pour from his nose. His mother must have drank a lot because she didn't show up to her performance. He tried to kick his legs, it was no use with the clown sitting on them. Of course, he was use to this, that's why he wasn't screaming for help. It's the reason he knew, to just take the beating he was dealt and not to make a sound. Eventually, Lila Veleska -his mother- would grow bored.
"You're so disrespectful!" Lila hissed grabbing his cheeks roughly, and moving to sit on his chest. Jerome was disgusted with her, she reeked of alcohol and sex.
Jerome chuckled in a dark manner. "Says the whore." He hissed through his teeth. Lila let go of his face and brought her hand down on his face in a harsh slap.
This went on for at least thirty moments, until Jerome had passed out from a few hard blows to the head. He didn't know what to do about this woman. How he hated her, that he'd pray she'd one day just not come back. During his beating his mind wandered to what Harley meant, by 'escape'. How could he 'escape' this situation..Harley had been right, he couldn't leave, had nowhere to go. What a bitch, for telling him that. He was honest though. When he told Harley he liked her..He did like Harley, he didn't know why, maybe it was her attitude.
Harley sat within her own trailer, her window open and cigarette between her red lips, one of her hands ghosting over her right cheek her top half of her body was outside the window. There was a small growing bruise from where Jerome had grabbed her cheeks. Harley pulled the cigarette from her lips and pursed her lips as she tossed it out the window. No one had laid a hand on her like that since her father. Harley brought the top half of her body back inside and she closed the window locking it.
'Well, fuck him. Lays a hand on me! How dare he?' Harley thought to herself as she walked over to her small bed. She had changed into her pajamas, her ducky slippers on her feet. She plopped down on the bed. Her hand once again taking her cheek. His words filled her head. His small 'I like you.' playing over and over again in her head. Why did she like him saying that? Maybe it was the fact she had never been with a guy before? That she had been single her whole time being at the circus?
But he got rough? He literally grabbed her cheeks, and talked down to her like she was filth. She didn't like that part. 'He is an asshole.' Harley reminded herself. 'And he knows it…' Harley turned on her side. He was rather charming. He needed a friend too, right? After all, with what he's going through...he looks as though he could use a friend.
As harley was falling asleep, she decided to take Jerome Valeska's 'I like you.' as an invitation to keep on coming back to him.
Thank you for reading my friends~ Please review!