Chapter Four
"You're familiar with psychiatry, aren't you?" The Joker was sitting opposite Harleen gazing at his fingers on the table as they tapped tunelessly, his hand fixed in place by the loop for his cuffs. His tongue was sliding over the twisted contours of the corner of his mouth as she spoke, his eye's not betraying any interest in her words if indeed there was any. It had been two day's since her disastrous first session with him, and during that time she had managed to compose herself, examining all of her previous work on him as well as all his old psychiatrist's reports in order to prepare a few poignant questions for the next session. Harleen had no intention of losing control like that again. She would remain professional and get to the heart of this man.
"Who me?" Said the Joker, feigning confusion, his eyes widening and his mouth slightly open. "Is that what this is? Ooops..." He bared his teeth in an awkward smile, scrunching his eye's up into tiny points. But Harleen wasn't going to let him get to her.
"In fact you're more than familiar with it, you have an acute understanding of its inner procedures; how we obtain a diagnosis, how we interpret different information, all of it." His eyes blinked up to hers and his upper lip curled into a snarl. When he spoke his voice dripped with condescension.
"How'd you figure out that one Harley?" She gingerly pushed the previous doctor's files across the table to him, not wanting to get within his reach.
"Each time you'd get a new doctor you would tell them different stories about your childhood. Each time the doctor would come to a different diagnosis. I've read the stories you told. They all lent themselves perfectly towards different diagnoses. All this time you've been messing with every doctor you've had. Not that I feel any sympathy for them, if they'd taken the time to read each other's work this wouldn't have fooled them." The Joker seemed to like this, jumping up out of his seat and laughing loudly, his hands pulling on the chains around his wrists.
"He he HEE! Oh you're a keeper!" He said, pointing at her and grinning. Harleen had noticed that when he was excited that he shook his head back and forth slightly as he spoke. He settled back into his seat before speaking again. "So, d'you think I'm gonna to tell you the truth? That I'm going to reveal the dark enigma that I am?" His every word was mocking and harsh, but she managed to keep calm throughout his onslaught of unpredictable mood changes and actions.
"I don't care about where you came from Joker; I don't expect that you'll ever tell me the truth about that. What I want to talk about is why you do what you do. Your 'games' with the people of this city."
"Let's talk about you instead," he said, pointing at her, his expression suddenly intense, "and your 'games' with Doctor Benowitz. Why d'you think you invent people to be all the time, Harley?" He caught her off guard with this question, and with his startling insight into her mind.
"We haven't discussed...what makes you think I do that all of the time?" He blinked irritably at this.
"Oh come on doc, we both know that kind of crutch ain't something you can keep to the high holidays." She was losing control of the situation and her nerves again. She couldn't let him control her.
"Stop trying to distract me and answer my questio-"
"I am now shut up and answer mine! You'll see..." He said slyly, his demented grin betraying nothing of his plan. His hands were flat on the table and he seemed terribly still. Harleen decided to play along, unable to argue with him any longer and curious as to what his point would be.
"Ok. ...I create personalities to give me a leg up in social situations that I would be inadequate at dealing with myself."
"DON'T LIE TO ME!" The Joker roared suddenly, raising his hands and slamming them down on the table. His yellow teeth were bared in a vicious snarl and for a moment she imagined him ripping his chains off and tearing her apart like a wild animal. Then, suddenly he was calm again, his voice becoming sweet and informative. "Harley, we both know you do it because you love the power it gives you over people. By changing who you are when you meet people, you're free to manipulate them as you see fit." He edged his face closer to hers. "And don't you just love satisfying that impulse."
"What impulse?" Harleen whispered, unable to take her eyes off his.
"To control." He said darkly, his eyes boring into her head, his mouth fixed in a sadistic grin. "It isn't hard. Y'know, there are so many ways to control someone. There's your way, there's-" A high pitched beeping sound cut him off; Harleen's watch. Their session was over. Unable to even attempt to hide her relief, she picked up her forms and rushed to the door.
"Hey Harley, don't you wanna know the best way?" Said the Joker from behind her. He was smiling politely now, no menace present. He didn't need to scare her, he had already won. Humor him and then get out, she thought to herself.
"Ok, what?" Strangely, he pointed at her when he spoke.
"D'you remember when I talked about how people cling to order to make them feel safe?"
"Mmm?"
"Tear down their lives, and you become the only order left."
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"Sounds like you've met the first man who knows how to push your buttons." Said Jamie in wonder. It was the day before her next appointment with the Joker and Harleen was at Jamie's apartment eating pasta with him. She was splayed across his couch, her shoes kicked out onto the floor. It had been a long time since she had visited him here, and little had changed. It was still far cleaner that her apartment.
"Has Kaylee moved in?" She asked, noting the short blue strapless dress hanging from the hook on his bedroom door.
"Not just yet, Harley." He said smiling.
"Oh so that's yours? ...Nice taste!" He laughed at this, moving to sit on the arm of the couch.
"Kaylee left it here the other night."
"Really?" Asked Harleen, confused. "What did she go home in?" He slapped her feet playfully and laughed again.
"She wasn't wearing it! It's for tonight, she didn't want to forget it." He said, referring to the club he and Kaylee had planned on visiting this evening.
"She's trying to control you." Harleen muttered while fiddling with her nails.
"What?"
"It's her way of making sure you don't forget her or cancel. While you're thinking about someone they have control over you." Jamie frowned at this.
"Kaylee isn't that type of person."
"Of course she is. Meek little thing like her has no other way of getting what she wants. It's very passive aggressive." She muttered, still picking at her nails causally.
"Harleen, stop psychoanalyzing my girlfriend, you're going to ruin her for me!"
"Oh, am I?" She said grinning cheekily up at him. He didn't look happy. "Alright, alright! Sheesh...so anyway, tell me about this club you're going to?"
"What, The Blue Night? You've been there before Harley, not a lot has changed." He said still a little shaken by her analysis of Kaylee.
"It's been so long since I've been there..." She said thoughtfully, "or anywhere for that matter...apart for Arkham. The Joker's become all that I can think about. Maybe I'll join you tonight." Harleen liked the idea of spending an evening out, away from the stresses of her work at Arkham and far, far away from the Joker. Jamie however, didn't seem as keen on the idea.
"Oh no please don't Harley, this is my night with Kaylee to make up for cutting our last night short. It has to be right..." He seemed quite anxious to make Kaylee happy this time, and it irritated her. It had been so long since she had felt like going out and here he was denying it to her. Not now, or ever would she let him or anyone deny her what she wanted. But for now she'd play along.
"Fine...Anyway Kaylee'll be getting here soon so I'll give you some time to get ready." She said, mentally preparing herself to lift her feet from the couch.
"You can wait until she gets here to go if you like, I know you needed some time with real people after the Joker." He said, heading into his bedroom to get changed. These words tickled Harleen's anger slightly; she had developed a grudging respect for the Joker in her time with him and it upset her to hear him mocked by someone as unqualified as Jamie.
"He's more real than anyone I've ever met." She muttered coldly as she finally summoned the will to lift herself from the couch and put her shoes on.
"What was that Harley?" Asked Jamie, opening his door to hear her more clearly, only to discover that his apartment was empty. "Harley?"
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Harleen was out of the apartment as quickly and silently as she could move, not wanting to waste time on goodbyes. She didn't have time to waste; she had to rush home to her apartment and decide on an outfit that she would not be recognized in, and then she had to get to The Blue Night. She could have gone to any of the nightclubs in Gotham, but The Blue Night was the only one that mattered to her right now for the sole reason that Jamie had tried to stop her from going. She had been left feeling uncertain and weak by the Joker twice in three days, there was not chance in hell that she was going to let Jamie or Kaylee have any control over what she chose to do.
"Oh Harleen, hey!" Harleen froze just inside the front door of the apartment, recognizing the insecure and over-nurtured squeak of Kaylee's voice behind her. At least that's how she sounded to her.
"Kaylee!" She cheered falsely, turning around and seeing Kaylee waiting by the door to the elevator.
"Yep, it's me. So, you're a stair person huh? I never take the stairs. I should, it would help me lose weight. Then maybe I could look more like you." She said, smiling across the room while attempting to make small talk. Obsessed with making people happy maybe, Harleen thought to herself, product of deep seated insecurity. She stopped herself before going any further, she didn't have time to develop a full psychoanalysis now. She didn't have time to chat either, and so she simply smiled in agreement at Kaylee's last statement, happy to re-enforce her insecurities before rushing outside.
"Oh and Kaylee," she started, stopping halfway through the door, an idea occurring to her "I like your dress, the one you had hanging in Jamie's bedroom. Have you been to the club before?" Kaylee looked uncomfortable with the idea of Harleen being in Jamie's bedroom, but being an insecure woman she didn't say anything about it.
"No...to be honest I don't really like to go to these sorts of places." Too social for you, thought Harleen. She stepped towards Kaylee as she responded.
"Oh I love them! I'd join you two if I could. Nothing better to help me get through all this stress the Joker's been giving me" She said slyly.
"Really...why aren't you coming with us then?"
"Oh Jamie wanted to make this your night. It's really fine, distracting myself shouldn't be that hard with my imagination." Harleen tapped her forehead cheerfully as she spoke.
"Oh no, you have to come! I'm not going to be the reason for your continued stress." Said Kaylee, so eager that she seemed to be tilting forwards on her feet.
"No no it's fine, you enjoy your night! Besides, Jamie didn't want me there."
"Don't be silly you're his best friend, he should be doing what's best for you as well as me! Come up with me and I'll have a word with him ok?" Checkmate, thought Harleen with glee.
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Trees zipped by the window of Jamie's car as he, Kaylee and Harleen all headed to the club. He had wanted this night to make up for his disappointing date the previous week but Harleen had once again intervened, somehow convincing Kaylee to invite her to come alone. Harley always gets what she wants, he thought to himself. He even had to drive her to her apartment and wait while she went upstairs to change into what she was wearing now; a dress that looked like a short red skirt just long enough to cover her upper thighs with a piece of fabric that covered one side of her chest, looped around her neck and covered the other half, ridiculously high, in Jamie's mind, red high heels, shiny black stockings and a large red bracelet. It easily upstaged Kaylee's outfit, who he could tell wasn't feeling too good about herself. Harleen seemed to enjoy that. It was times like these that he couldn't stand Harleen. She wasn't a bad person at heart, but there were times when her selfishness became too much to handle. He felt a little bad though, he could tell just how much the Joker had rattled her; she was never this selfish and oppositional usually, as if she were trying to compensate for the weakness she felt during her time with the Joker.
The club was fairly packed when they finally arrived, with people milling wildly around the bar and dance floor; an almost deafeningly high pitched dance beat failing to drown out the sound of so many people.
"I'll take care of myself from here on out, let you two enjoy your evening." Said Harleen, flashing a brilliant smile. They had only just entered and she was already turning heads, male and female. "If you need me Jamie, I'll be around." With that she blended into the crowd of people on the dance floor and vanished from sight.
"Will she be alright?" Asked Kaylee, who was hanging onto Jamie's arm for dear life as the crowd moved around them, looking very out of place.
"Yeah she should be, I'll check on her later just to make sure she's hasn't picked a fight with anyone."
"What?" Kaylee sounded alarmed at this thought, obviously having been thinking of Harleen as a sweet person until this point.
"It's happens. She knows a fair bit of self-defense stuff and she's got a lot of strength from her gymnastics so she can take care of herself. Still...she can be impulsive and a little self-destructive when she's in a bad mood, so I'll keep an eye on her tonight." Kaylee looked awestruck, although Jamie couldn't quite be sure why. Putting has arm around her waist he led her through the crowd and towards the bar for a drink. The crowd was rowdy and loud, the sounds of enjoyment blaring at them as they passed. Kaylee and he sat at the bar and drank for a while, enjoying each other's company.
The first event in the evening occurred not long after they had arrived. Jamie and Kaylee were still sitting at the bar sharing stories. Harleen had long since slipped Jamie's mind as he listened to Kaylee's stories about her family. He was happy listening, he had the impression that Kaylee wasn't used to people listening to what she had to say. It made him smile seeing just how much she enjoyed his attention. Then, as he reached across the bar to grasp his drink, he noticed Harleen sitting four stools down and all his focus on Kaylee was dropped. She was sipping a cocktail while talking to the biggest, meanest looking man Jamie had ever seen; he had three eyebrow piercings and a nose ring which made him look even more like a bull, a short Mohawk, and tattoos covering his arms. She was giggling at almost everything he said, running her fingers through her hair and tapping her fingers on the bar has he spoke.
"Oh no you don't..." Said Jamie under his breath, cutting off Kaylee mid-speech.
"What is it?" She said, looking her shoulder to see what he was looking at. "Jesus who's that with Harleen..?"
"Trouble. I'll be right back. I'm sorry about this." Jamie stood up and pushed his way down to Harleen and the bull man. He didn't like leaving Kaylee alone in this place, he knew she wasn't comfortable, but he couldn't let Harleen play this game.
"Oh no sweetie I can't say I've ever been! You better show me some time though..." Jamie heard her say as he approached her. She was speaking in a strong southern accent for some reason. Part of 'the game' he supposed. He reached out and touched her on the shoulder from behind, causing her to jump and spin on her seat to face him.
"Harley, come spend some time with me and Kaylee." Harleen grinned and winked before responding, her back still to the man she was speaking with.
"Beggin' your pardon? I don't think I know you sweetie..."
"Yes you do, maybe you should stop playing this game now and come with me? Please, don't be difficult." Said Jamie as he gave her arm a light tug, trying to get her out of her seat and away from this scary man. She didn't seem ready to stop playing her game just yet.
"Hey hands off! Now I don't know who you and your friend are but I'm talkin' with Todd here right now!" The hulking man, now known as Todd, stood up at this point and took a step towards Jamie. He was almost a full head taller that Jamie and twice as wide.
"Yeah, she's talking with me." He said in a gravelly voice, putting one huge hand on Jamie's chest and pushing him backwards. "You're gonna leave her alone now!"
"Harley I-" began Jamie, before he was quickly interrupted by Todd who shoved him hard into a pair of young men who had stopped to watch what they hoped was an impending fight. "Ok, fine suit yourself!" Said Jamie, however he stopped short when he realized Harleen had vanished from behind Todd. Seems like she'd had her fun. He quickly picked himself up and disappeared into the crowd before Todd had time to realize Harleen had disappeared.
The second event occurred an hour later into the evening. They were returning to the bar after Jamie had managed to convince Kaylee to join him on the dance floor for a short while. She had been a little awkward at first but she soon forgot that and ended up enjoying herself, which made Jamie feel far better about the evening so far. He hadn't seen Harleen since the Todd incident, and thankfully Todd hadn't seen him. He and Kaylee were laughing about the number of times she had managed to fall over while they danced as he bought her another drink.
"Oh quiet you, you were great out there!" Said Jamie grinning across at her. She was sipping her drink and gigging at him as he spoke. It was good to see her like this, she always seemed so nervous. "Hey, will you be alright here for a sec? I've got to use the toilet." Kaylee nodded a waved him away while sipping her drink, smiling over at him. She's so beautiful when she's feeling confident, thought Jamie as he smiled back.
Arriving back a couple of minutes later, he slipped into the seat next to Kaylee again and tapped her shoulder to get her attention.
"Hey!" He called over the noise of the music and crowd, "So, did any men try to pick you up?"
"In two minutes, nothing!" She said, grinning. "Although I did run into Harleen while you were gone!"
"Harley? Really, what did she do?" He said, pursing his lips and struggling to keep his spirits high.
"Oh nothing really, she seemed pretty drunk! She just came over and cheered and we drank." She said, motioning to her empty glass. Thank god, thought Jamie, and thank you Harley, for not doing something to ruin this evening. However as the evening progressed Kaylee began to act strangely.
"Hey Jamie...Jamie? JAMIE?" She yelled at him before bursting out in giggles, something which struck Jamie as strange seeing as he was looking right at her.
"Yes? ...is everything ok?" He asked, smiling curiously, "You haven't had that much to drink, you know. You're probably getting a bit over excited." She wasn't listening though, she had jumped up out of her seat and started dancing at the bar with a level of confidence she had never displayed before. "Kaylee, if you want to dance we can head over to the dance floor ok?" Jamie was starting to get a bit worried; this was a weird reaction to alcohol.
"Pfft! The dance floor is so FAR FAR…away." She said, the volume of her voice changing randomly.
"Maybe you should sit down Kaylee, I think you may be a bit too drunk."
"I don't want to sit!" She yelled excitedly, "I want to…I want to SPIN!" And she began to turn in circles as fast as she could while cheering happily. Jamie caught her arm and stopped her before she started to feel sick, at which point she suddenly became focused on her drink, picking it up and waving it around in front of his face. "Look Jamie! Look…at the colours…it's so BLUE!" She said in awe to her clear drink, before promptly dropping her glass onto the floor, where it thankfully didn't smash, and trying to rush off into the crowd. Jamie caught her by the arm before she got too far however, and he promptly sat her down again. He had realized what was going on here; Harleen had drugged Kaylee.
"I can't believe that nasty bitch." He muttered under his breath as he watched his intoxicated girlfriend staring at her fingers, giggling incessantly. It was almost too much to handle for Jamie to think that his best friend had willingly drugged his girlfriend without the slightest care for the consequences, or for that matter their friendship.
"Jamie! Jamie their so pretty!" She said as she picked at her nails which were painted blue for the occasion. "Look at them…he he they're so so good! I'm so happy that they're there and mine and no one can make me give them away! Jamie they're the best…Jamie…I don't feel good about this."
"What don't you feel good about Kaylee? Your nails?" Asked Jamie, exasperated and wondering what to do.
"My nails are pretty…no Jamie I feel! Don't feel good…I'm hurting it hurts Jamie…I feel sick and hurting!" She was clutching her stomach and groaning in pain as she spoke. Oh no, thought Jamie, she's having a bad reaction to whatever the hell Harley gave her.
"Ok, you're coming with me now." He said, putting her arm over his shoulder and leading her towards the exit. Kaylee had stopped speaking and seemed entirely focused on making dying animal noises as loudly as she could. The moment she was outside Kaylee fell onto all fours and began to throw up while Jamie stroked her back. They were in a grimy alley and it looked like it had been used for this purpose by more than a few other patrons tonight.
"Oh hey you two! He he I want fresh air!" Said a high pitched Brooklyn accent from behind Jamie. He turned angrily, knowing that voice all too well. Harleen stood, leaning against the wall with a huge grin on her face while she giggled and snorted with laughter. Her hair was a complete mess and she had somehow lost her shoes. "Oh hey is Kaylee ok? So much fun in there! Wow…its dark out here…grim and…melon. Melon! Ha ha! …I mean…melancholy. Ha see! I am still a real word person even though I'm completely high!" This was about as much as Jamie could take, Harleen didn't seem to care in the slightest about what was going on around her and Kaylee was still retching on the ground.
"What the hell Harley?! I mean really what the hell did you do this for!? I just wanted a nice, fun evening with Kaylee to make up for ditching her last week to come take care of you! What the hell did you give her?!" Harleen giggled and grinned up at him innocently.
"I don't know…some stupid guy gave them to me and I thought 'hey, Kaylee is really really uptight and nervous with crowds, I'll do that gal a favor and get her high on whatever this is! I don't know why you're upset? I feel SO GOOD!"
"Does she look like she feels good!?" Yelled Jamie, pointing at Kaylee's slumped form as he spoke. Harleen looked down at her and giggled.
"She's just a barrel of fun ain't she Jamie?"
"You're never coming out with us again Harleen, and from now on you are not allowed anywhere near Kaylee!" Yelled Jamie, his temper finally blowing. Harleen stopping giggling suddenly and fixed her eyes on his coldly.
"You don't get to tell me what to do Jamie. If you try and stop me from doing what I want I'll hurt her even more!" Screamed Harleen, her acid voice echoing down the alleyway. Kaylee had stopped vomiting and was curled up against the wall whimpering like a kicked dog.
"You'll do what? Did you actually just threaten my girlfriend!? Jesus Harley what the hell did the Joker do to you in two freaking sessions to make you this CRAZY!?" Yelled Jamie, his anger boiling over as he screamed vitriol at her. Harleen's expression grew even more furious at the mention of the Joker, her nostrils flaring and her teeth bared as she swung her arm, slapping Jamie in the face as hard as she could muster in her inebriated state. It was still hard enough to knock him down, falling to the ground next to Kaylee, who didn't seem aware of what was going on around her.
"What the hell Harley..?" He muttered as he put his hand to his face. Harleen bent down, almost falling over in the process, and stared into Jamie's eyes. Her expression had changed in a strange way; her eyelids were half closed and her lips were curled into a hateful snarl. When she spoke it wasn't in her accent, it was in a cold nasal tone that was surprisingly low for Harleen, who had a naturally high voice.
"Y'wanna know a general rule?" She growled, "People take themselves too seriously." And with that she turned on her heels and wondered off down the alleyway, leaving Jamie alone next to his whimpering, broken girlfriend.
