Okay first of I just wanna say this will be set in the Suicide Squad era lol
Warning this is long. Well by my standards lol this maybe quite normal for someone else, but don't worry. All chapters won't be like this, (unlike you don't mind the length ) this is to give some background to the story.
Prologue
A platinum blonde woman with blue and pink tips on each end of her pigtails revs up her motorcycle in the distance, "Mistah J is going to really kill me this time for running behind schedule.
"Maybe he might forgive me if I deliver it with a smile? Who am I kiddin'?" She revs up her motorcycle for one last time as she speeds off leaving a trail of her roaring engine up into the glowing moonlight.
It was early into the evening on a Saturday in Gotham, with grey clouds looming over head a small apartment and trees thrashing together while the previously dense black clouds have finally made their pass. The breeze in the air was no longer harsh but continue to force the leaves off their trees onto the slick street ways and wet sidewalks.
Inside the apartment was a young college freshman named Lauren James who was an aspiring physical therapist who moved to Gotham four years ago when her family moved to the city for occupation reasons.
The brunette sat on her couch scribbling large paragraphs of notes into her journal, taking pauses to wipe a fallen tear from her dark brown eyes or to scratch out her misspelled words. Beside her was her purse and in front was the coffee table and then the television. She appeared to be dressed for the night with her pastel pink chiffon dress and her nude heels. She got caught up in her writing that it slipped her mind to do her hair so it was placed in -For the most part- a neat high bun.
Knock Knock.
She let a out a short breath as her head turned to the direction in which the sound was coming from. It caught her off guard, but it really shouldn't have.
" Ah yeah Ryan said he was going to be here at 8:40," She let out a sigh, " I guess I'll just ..." She stared hard and long at her paper as she bit her lip and squeezed her eyebrows together.
Knock Knock
"I'm coming!"
Lauren quickly folded her papers and shoved it into her purse in the midst of her personal belongings toppling onto the floor. It was just the usual go to things. Keys, phone, lipstick, license, wallet, and other nick-nacs like gum.
Knock Knock
Damn. She then bend her knees to get onto the floor and hastily shoved everything back into her purse while leaving her phone on the coffee table , closed the top of her purse, and swung it over her shoulder.
"Gimme a minute! "
Why didn't he text me—
She turned to grab her phone and noticed three unread text messages and one missed call. A chuckle escaped from her lips as she headed towards the front door.
She opened the door to see Ryan staring at her with a crossed expression on his face.
" Next time, I'm gonna just drive off ."
Although he was being persnickety it was hard to miss his prominent appearance .Ryan had a golden blonde clipper cut with rounded edges and freshly added gel to slick the hair down where it naturally laid. With masculine broad shoulders and a tall statuesque body it wasn't out of the ordinary for him to be mistaken as a celebrity especially when you looked into his bright blue marble like eyes. He complimented his appearance with a simple royal blue dress shirt, a black tie and matching slacks.
"What? No you wouldn't. You don't have that in you. You wouldn't do that to a pretty girl like me," she teased as she turned away from him just a moment to lock the door.
" You mean.. ." He raised his eyebrows and smirked.
" Don't even say it because then my next words are ' fuck you'. " She pointed at him while the too walked down a flight of stairs and into the parking lot.
"Woah.. Woah... No thanks." Ryan said as he pinched her upper arm as she glared at him, "You lucky I didn't say anything about your voi-"
Lauren planted a few playful punches into his arm before they separated into two sides of his car. The pair seemed to be having a good history to the naked eyes, however Ryan and Lauren are just really good friends, former couple. The two broke up awhile back due to an infidelity and too many secrets kept from each other. Fortunately they managed to salvage a friendship, but the secrets were never revealed so it occasionally brings the budding friendship to a halting crash.
Lauren strapped in her seat belt as Ryan placed the keys into the ignition.
"Thank you so much for inviting me to your poetry slam. I've never been to one. "Lauren said as she rolled down her windows so that the outside breeze could seep into the car.
"Neither have I, but I am real honored to be attending one like this. I can't believe my poem was chosen to be read at this charity event. "He responded.
"Ryan, you never let me read that poem of yours. Can I hear it before you go on stage? "
"I don't need to tell you anything, just wait til we get there... Okay?"
Lauren sighed in reluctance, "Fine, but you owe me. "
Ryan gave a quizzical expression before turning his eyes back at the road.
Lauren in return rolled her eyes before sticking out her tongue, "Okay I'll be quiet."
"Oh my god ... It's so beautiful ... "
Lauren let out a breath of amazement as her and Ryan took their first steps onto the parking lot of the breathtaking architecture of the Gotham City Opera House.
"Yeah it is." Ryan replied as he took her hand and guided with her towards the entrance.
Lauren was captivated by the displays of future plays and events and tugged Ryan closer to her so he could see what has captured her eyes.
"Oh Ryan, look that screen play poster reminds me of that movie we saw. Remember?"
"Are you sure you saw it with me..?" Ryan let go of Lauren's hand leaving her palms exposed from the moist engagement it was trapped in.
Lauren lands lingered, "What? Are you okay? "Her eyebrows furrowed, confused at what she just heard. She stared into his eyes intensely which forced them to soften.
"Never mind. Come on. "He nudged his head towards the double doors of the specific ballroom they would be attending. People flooded its doorways by the masses with loud chatter and the sounds of their polished shoes on its waxed floors.
A loud shutter of a spot light illuminated the stage and out from the shadows appeared a dark haired slim waist woman with a bright red cocktail dress that accentuated her hips and reached her knees. She flashed a white smile against her pink toned pale skin and grabbed the microphone situated in front of her, "Welcome to our 23rd Annual Charity Event sponsored by The Care&Share Foundation! "
She proceeded to clear her throat,"I am your host Debra Roberts bringing to you another year of light into Gotham City ! The Care & Share Foundation was created on the bases of love and nurturing the starving children that fill this world every day. And we celebrate this year by announcing we have reached the milestone of donating 7 million this year. "
Within the loud thunder of the audience clapping, a light chime ran within Lauren's purse which notified her to open its pouch to see what happened. After unlocking her screen a message displayed.
Suzan : Take pictures so me and Sabrina can see the show when we hang out next weekend. Have fun !
Lauren smiled softly, but she couldn't help but notice the burning sensation of someone beaming their eyes onto her phone. She turned it off and quickly placed it inside of her purse. Not too soon after, she turned her head to see Ryan had instantly changed his focus from her purse to the stage
"Oh, it's just a text from my friends about the show," she spoke in a low tone to not draw attention to herself from the surrounding audience.
Ryan scoffed, "Sure. Its fine, I don't care as much as I used to. Do whatever you want to do."
She spoke at a normal tone but intensified the shallow whisper, "Don't care? Ryan wh-"
Ryan abruptly stood up, "I'm gonna go practice."
Before Lauren could respond he already left his seat and headed towards the brightly displayed bathroom side. She turned her head for one second towards the stage to see if she could focus on what was being said , yet her mind was clouded by his sudden outburst she decided to follow after him. Upon arrival, she could see he was standing outside the door and had yet went inside. Unfortunately when he caught a glimpse of her, he slowly picked up his feet to walk away.
"Ryan what's up with you ? You haven't been acting like yourself and you keep on brushing off when I ask you how you're doing."
Ryan turned away to stare at something above towards the ceiling as he tucked his hands into his pocket shielding his face from hers. His left foot tapping anxiously as he slowly leaned his back against the wall.
"Say Something. I don't like when you don't respond to me. "She demanded.
"Lauren I have nothing to say to you because I am not about to let you ruin tonight for me. You always make things about yourself. "He walked completely passed her and into the male restroom.
At this point Lauren didn't care about what gender specific room she was walking in. She needed answers, "If this is about the texts or what happened earlier ..."
Ryan's face was emotionless as he lowered his torso slightly to turn on the faucet and proceed to splash some water onto his face. His face not once lifting up to see hers. In the background you could hear the host speaking towards the audience back at their seats.
"You know what, all I wanted to know is what going on with you and you keeps on hiding how you feel and saying you don't care. And I know you don't mean it. "Lauren stammered.
"I'm hiding things? Stop making yourself the victim, I've always told you how what you've done in the past has affected me. None of this would be happening if you would just been honest long ago."
"Ryan... I do want to make this right with you. "I clenched my purse..." I've meaning to do it. I really hav-"
"When Lauren? When?" Ryan interjected, "Y-You've had your chances and you should be lucky you're even my friend. You've said this hundreds of tim-
"Now we're presenting… "
Ryan stopped speaking dead in his tracks and put his focus onto the audio blasting into the bathroom ,"I gotta go. "
Lauren placed the heels of her palms into her eyes and let out a shaky exhale. The sound of her sobs echoed within the bathroom drowning out the audio of the ceremony. For that exact moment she ignored all other sounds and didn't manage to hear a bathroom stall unlock and swing open.
"Wow, it seems like everyone is going into the wrong bathroom today. What are the chances of that am I right?"
Lauren wiped away her tears with the side of her hand to see who was speaking, but her eyes widen at the sight of the person. Again the woman with the colorful pigtails has appeared, but this time sporting a red and blue varsity jacket and a candy cane colored ripped graphic t-shirt with the words " Daddy's Lil Monster" peeking through.
Her slender, fishnet stocking legs kicked a black gym bag situated in front of her so she can pass through the stall more easily and get closer to Lauren. Lauren could recognize that face being the same face plastered on the nightly news along with her psychotic partner. She's a monster alright, but then again Harley Quinn is his monster.
Lauren let out a muffled plea, " Please Go away."
Harley sucked her teeth and showed a look of pity. With a pout on her lips she spoke in a light-hearted tone, "Look cheer up, you're not the one who is gonna ruin his night."
Lauren took a step back away from her, and narrowed her watery eyes," What do you mean by that ?"
Debra Roberts continued, "Like every year, we tell our contestants to write a poem about something you love and cherish and how you felt when it entered your life. Because Care Share wants to touch the lives of every child it supports just like that person or something touched you. Our winner this year will be reading just that! I present to you Ryan Smithee!"
Ryan was welcomed by the bright spotlight and the loud cheers and clapping belted by the audience. He waited until silence swallowed the room whole and began to speak into the microphone." I thought I'd love before but since falling in love with you it's so much more."
He took a brief pause, "Our love helped me see through my tragedies...to see the world in It's beauty. You're love has awakened my soul again from the deep depression I had been in... to something intensely real that I had given up being able to feel ! This is better than the best dream! "
Ryan stopped again, only for his eyes to survey the crowd in attempts to see if Lauren has returned to take her seat, "With you I know we are going to be that winning team with your hand inside mine. I know our life will be grand!"
Just before the hands of many could get within inches of each other a snap was heard at the back of the room towards the door. The curious faces all turn around to see the commotion , even Ryan stepped down from the microphone and handed it back to the host, who herself was distracted as well.
It was the bright green that caught their eyes
It was the wide wicked grin that was seen.
"Ah, I smell a Grand Finale! Or gun powder…"
Authors Note: It's long I know, but I wanted to properly introduce the main characters! The poem at the end belongs to someone very close to me so please do not steal his work! It means a lot to me too so that's why I put it in my story!