"Hey-lo!"
Arnold paused for a moment. He wanted to pour his heart out to Harley, but he couldn't force the words out. He started to breathe heavily, in a way that led him to picture Scarface rolling his eyes.
"Hello?" Harley repeated. "I'm sorry I don't speak 'loud-breathing'. Maybe one of my hyena's can translate."
"No! Harley... it's me. It's…it's Arnold."
"Oh hey Arny! Guess I'm too much fun for you to resist huh?"
"Oh uh…yeah. I guess so."
"It sounds like you're in need of some cheering up. You want me to sing a happy song for you?"
"No. Look I…I was kicked out today and I have no place to stay and…"
Arnold stopped. He wanted to say that it was her fault for giving him a box with dolls instead of guns, but he couldn't bring himself to have even the slightest aggressive tone with her. He refused to let Scarface do it for him because he already ruined one friendship for him that night. Harley also paused, much to Arnold's surprise. He thought she would invite him to stay with her in a heartbeat.
"Soooo, you really have no place to stay at all tonight?"
Arnold felt a jolt of devastation jump through his heart. Just the subtle implication that Harley might not want Arnold to stay over hurt much more than any umbrella to the face could. He tried to fight back tears.
"I…don't." Arnold lost control and began to sob on the phone.
"Well then you gotta come stay with us!" Harley shouted with an abrupt change in tone. "I'll come pick you up right now. Where are you?"
Arnold paused again. He couldn't find the right words or even the right emotions for the overwhelming shock he was just given.
"Arnold I'll search all over Gotham for you if you want."
"No, I'll go to you. You're already doing wonders for me. Thank you so much."
"You sure? I don't mind getting you."
"Of course I'm sure. Where do you live?"
"It's in the abandoned warehouse behind the Ace Chemical Plant. Just knock on the front door and I'll be sure to let you in."
As Arnold walked to the warehouse, Scarface's questions added to his emotional turmoil.
"Well I'll be damned dummy," Scarface said. "You had a good idea for a change."
"Pardon?" Arnold asked in confusion.
"I always told you I wanted to leave the bird in the dust and start our own gang. But I didn't think of using Harley to steal from the Joker. You're growing a brain right there."
"But…that's not what I wanted to do. I just need a place to stay."
"You're kidding…"
"No Scarface. I just need a place to stay for now. When Penguin cools off, I'll apologize to him and he'll let me back into his gang."
Scarface let out an uncontrollable and extended laugh.
"Jesus dummy! That whack to the head must've made you even dumber. He'll shoot your face off before you even get a chance to kiss his ass."
"I don't agree. I…he just needs to cool off and we'll make it up to him. We'll steal something else from someone else to give to him and then he'll forget all about our mistake."
"So why are we going to stay with those clowns right now? You think Penguin's gonna be happy to hear we've been crashing there?"
Arnold failed to respond. He realized he was backed into a corner.
"Wait a minute dummy. You're lying to me! You just want to crash there so you can get in Harley's pants."
Arnold still couldn't respond, partly because he didn't know if he was lying or not. He couldn't decide if he had a plan with a glaring flaw or he had a lie with one. After finally forcing words out of his mouth, Arnold said "I'm sorry dummy. I was lying. But you had a good idea. We'll steal from them and start our own gang."
"Of course we will jackass!" Scarface commanded. "Now hurry up. I'm getting cold."
Arnold's emotional turmoil only worsened as he was overcome with guilt. He never could lie to Scarface and feel good about it.
Once they arrived at the warehouse, Arnold knocked on the door. Almost immediately, Harley quickly let them in.
"Th-thank you so much," Arnold said.
"Of course Arny!" Harley replied. "You know I love having you around. So what happened? How'd you piss off the boss this time?"
"Do you mind if we go inside first?"
Arnold and Harley walked into the warehouse and she led him to one of the smaller rooms. They both sat down on bench. Harley pulled out a clipboard with a pad of paper and a pen.
"Okay Arny," she began. "What's going on with you?"
