Something doesn't feel right, Harley's gut was telling her, and not in a mystery-meat-in-the-cafeteria kinda way like she used to feel when she went to Central.

She'd been distracted all morning, even in Professor Gordon's AP Lit class (her favorite). And she was pretty sure she'd been avoiding Pam . . . maybe? Which would be weird, because she was super into Pam. Like, super into her.

Harley chewed on the inside of her cheek as she made her way through the line, tray in hand. Things had been going great with Pam – better than great – right up through their movie date last night, when Selina had spooked her somehow. After Pam had dashed outside, Harley looked at Selina and Bruce searchingly. Bruce had shrugged, looking as confused as Harley felt, but Selina just gestured after Pam in an offhand way and said loudly, "Come on, Bruce. We should get back to our side of town before sundown."

Outside, Pam fell into step beside her, and Harley handed over the keys wordlessly, not feeling quite ready for nighttime driving yet.

The atmosphere in the Tesla felt loaded somehow, but more tense and less sexually charged than usual. Neither girl talked much on the way home – Harley tried a joke or two about the Transformers movie, but gave up pretty quickly and sank into a reflective silence.

When they pulled into the parking lot, Pam leaned over to kiss her good night – but Harley pulled back without even meaning to and said, in a quiet voice that didn't sound like her own, "Pam . . . are you embarrassed to be seen with me?"

Pam sighed and cupped Harley's cheek with her hand, then skimmed her lips along Harley's jawbone and up under her ear until the blonde's breath hitched. "Harley," she murmured, pressing open-mouthed kisses to Harley's neck between words, "I don't think I've ever been happier."

And Harley let herself be swept into a goodnight kiss, let Pam's wind-tangled curls surround her, all the while thinking That's not what I asked.

"Harley, sweetie, will that be all for you today?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry!" Harley shook her head and grinned sheepishly at the cashier. "Yeah, guess I was daydreamin'." She handed over her money, took her change, and started to cross to the table she sometimes shared with Edward Nygma and Jonathan Crane.

On the way, her teammates Talia and Roxy gestured at her as if to say, "Um, come here?" But Harley hadn't sat with the boys in a while, and she just shrugged at the gymnasts and walked on.

Then a voice rang out from a table Harley had studiously been avoiding, just loud enough to be heard over the din without qualifying as a yell: "Crotch Rocket. Get your tight ass over here and sit by Pam before someone else snatches her up!"

Harley froze, then turned around slowly (dimly aware of the wide-eyed stares of Jonathan, Edward, Cassandra, Talia and Roxy along her route) to see Selina grinning triumphantly at her. From the same table, Bruce and Diana looked encouraging, Dick Grayson was frozen with a bite halfway to his mouth, and Pam . . . Harley braced herself for the famous Isley mask of indifference. But when her eyes met Pam's, the redhead just sort of shrugged helplessly, like Guess the cat's out of the bag now, eh?

And things started to feel right again.

/

Pam waited just inside the gymnasium, near the entrance from the locker room. It was part of the pre-meet ritual she and Selina had established years ago: they'd confer briefly prior to the meet (or tennis match), assuring whichever of them was competing of her impending victory, and then the one not competing would join Bruce among the spectators. Bruce required less consultation for his own athletic events, deciding that Selina, Pam and Diana cheering in the stands was plenty of reassurance. After each event, Pam preferred to discuss specific areas for improvement, while Selina tended to rant about other athletes' shortcomings, but their post-sporting-event conversations were a source of comfort and familiarity for both of them.

When Selina came out, Pam saw a look of – perhaps relief? – flash across her face when she spotted the redhead. "Well, if it isn't my most bestest bestie," Selina said, her tone laced with sarcasm despite the truth of the statement, leaning against the wall and facing Pam. "Come to cheer on your little girlfriend?"

"I'm here to cheer on both of you. The whole team, as a matter of fact," Pam said evenly. "I'm sure you'll perform superlatively today, as always."

"I'm not sure 'superlatively' is a word," said Selina. "But–" and here her tone felt sincere to Pam, almost vulnerable – "thank you." She paused for a moment as if there were more to say, but then tossed her hair and walked out to join the few members of her team who were already sitting along the side.

"It's the adverbial form of 'superlative,'" Pam muttered to herself.

"What is?" said Harley brightly, emerging from the locker room in her black and green outfit.

"Nothing!" Pam said, startled for some reason even though she was well aware that Harley was a member of the gymnastics team. "Hi!"

"Hi," said Harley with a little grin. It was so cute, so utterly open and guileless, that Pamela took a calculated risk and leaned in, kissing Harley on the edge of her mouth, lingering just long enough that anyone watching would know it was more than friendly. She was suddenly reminded of Selina at her tennis match.

Harley looked stunned when Pam pulled back. "For luck," Pam said with a shrug.

"Ms. Isley." Now Pam had a right to be startled, as she whirled around to see Professor Gordon sitting in her wheelchair behind them.

Harley jumped a bit too before offering an awkward. "Uhh…I think I better get going. Thanks for the—uh—luck." For a moment, it looked like she might lean in for another kiss, but she stole a look at her professor instead and then exited the scene quickly, following Selina to their team's bench.

"Would you be a dear and steer me over to the stands?" Gordon asked, the hint of a smirk playing on her lips.

"Yes!" Pam answered far too…everything. Harley, Professor Gordon and Selina and her mother-the four people that Pamela couldn't- for the life of her- maintain her usual effortless confidence in front of.

"I'm happy to see you making friends outside of your socio-economic group," the professor told her as Pam wheeled her through the gymnasium.

Bruce waved as they approached. As always, her loyal friend had saved her a seat, at the very end of the front row. "Hey, Professor," he said, his winning smile plastered onto his handsome features. "Cool of you to support the student athletes."

"We've got the best gymnastics program in the country," Gordon answered plainly as Pam parked her at the side of the bleachers, taking her seat between Bruce and her teacher. "And I get the faculty discount."

Bruce nodded in understanding and then turned his attention to Pam. "Hey, I've got some chemistry questions."

Pam rolled her eyes. "Bruce, you're good at chemistry."

Bruce snaked his arm around Pam's waist before suddenly using his impressive strength to pull her onto his lap. "Hell yeah I am."

"You are honestly such a slut," Pam said, pushing against him and placing herself firmly back in her own seat. Then she remembered they were in the presence of their teacher. Bruce seemed to have the same thought and looked nervously over at Professor Gordon… who was barely hiding a smile.

"Well, you don't seem to need any chemistry help either." Bruce joked, obviously relieved that Professor Gordon wasn't going to call his father. "Harley was all over you in that movie theater." Although his tone was lighthearted, the comment seemed pointed. This was clearly his way of broaching the subject of their awkward Sunday encounter.

Pam glanced at Professor Gordon, who was either purposefully ignoring them or genuinely interested in the warmups playing out ahead of them. "Where's Dick?" Pam asked, not quite ready to respond to Bruce's real question.

"Didn't want to come." Bruce told her.

Pam was surprised. "Why not? He loves gymnastics."

"I think you broke his heart." Bruce laughed. "He's been trying to get up the courage to ask you out since like freshman year…which reminds me, is that why you weren't really into it when we made out that one time? Because you're only into girls?"

"No." Pam crossed her arms. "I wasn't into it because you kept saying 'this is so wrong' and telling me I had a 'sick mind.' Not exactly a turn on, babe."

"In my defense…" Bruce put his hands up like he was giving her a sales pitch. "Pretty sure I was hammered."

"Very much so." Pam agreed, watching Harley go through her warm-up progressions, which reaffirmed Pam's love of leotards. "But anyway, Dick doesn't actually like me, I'm just the closest thing he could get to an age-appropriate version of Gor…" She trailed off as their teacher finally turned to them again, her brow furrowed.

"What do you think about a national championship this year, Professor?" Bruce came to Pam's (or Dick's) rescue with a quick change of subject.

"You can call me Barbara after school hours, Mr. Wayne."

"Barbara it is, then." Bruce grinned.

His smile seemed to achieve something Pamela's couldn't because Barbara returned the good-natured expression. "Well, we should have had it last year, honestly. Yes, we lost Brown, but Quinzel adds a lot of depth to the all-around, especially on beam. If Selina can keep everyone focused and they incorporate Kate's—sorry—Coach Kane's critiques, I see no reason why they wouldn't win it this year."

Bruce's grin broadened. He was obviously pleased with what Barbara had told him. "Hear that, Pammy?" He bumped his friend lightly with his shoulder. "Remember happy Selina? We could get her back! You just have to quit distracting her."

Pam set her jaw, choosing not to unpack the meaning of his comment at the moment, as it was time to stand for the National Anthem.

/

Harley couldn't believe that she was standing in this gymnasium, wearing Gotham Prep black and green. Her joining the team had bumped them up into the number one spot in the nation, and with how they were performing this evening, the ranking seemed to be very much deserved.

Cass had just finished her bar routine, scoring a 13.4 out of a possible 13.8, and though Harley wasn't exactly fond of Selina at the moment, she certainly appreciated how she cheered on her team. Cass returned to the bench wearing a rare smile and received an enthusiastic high five from Selina before the brunette stripped off her jacket and stepped up for her turn on the bars.

Harley had her own little mantras she repeated in her head as she prepared for a routine, but she was very curious as to what Selina's would be. Maybe she had mean and sort of endearing nicknames for herself too. Her approach to the bars was calm, serene, even. There wasn't a hint of nervousness in her movements or expression…but Harley did notice something. After Selina finished thoroughly chalking her hands, she patted them twice on her thighs, adjusted her wrist straps, and then looked over at the stands.

Bruce was there, and as she looked over he cupped his hands his mouth and used them like a megaphone to shout: "Kill it!"

To his left, on the edge of the bleachers, was where Pam sat. Her back was straight- posture impeccable, as per uje- but there was a nervousness in her shoulders, and her hands were clasped tightly in front of her, almost like she was praying but with eyes wide open. Selina gave her a subtle nod and Pam nodded back like she was assuring her it would all be fine.

You're not jealous, it's their thing, OK? Harley reminded herself. You and Pam have other things, like kissing or giggles or handholding. You don't need to nod at each other too.

Selina clapped her hands together one last time and then nodded to Ms. Kane's assistant coach, Thomas, who gave her a boost up onto the bar.

It only took one swing for Harley to remember why Selina Kyle was regarded as one of the five best high school gymnasts in the nation. She was just…flawless. Harley was taught that the goal of gymnastics was to make the most difficult things in the world appear simple, and Selina was achieving that with ease…until the second jump back up to the high bar. She gripped it too tightly with her right hand, making her lose momentum coming out of her turn, which is when Harley knew Selina was supposed to hold a handstand before setting her dismount in motion. Her body went past parallel and instead of simply abandoning the skill and trying for it on the next go around, she committed to it, attempting to use the strength of her core to push her body straight against her forward momentum. She did, eventually, get herself back up into the handstand position, but at that point she was already being deducted for the missed skill. Her dismount looked clean in the air, but she did a slight hop on the landing.

Harley's eyes shot quickly to the leaderboard, awaiting Selina's score. She didn't think it would be enough to damage their team score, but she was nervous anyway.

There it was: a 13.2 out of a possible 14.0. "Goddamn, piece of shit, motherfucker…" Selina mumbled beside Harley as she too studied the scoreboard. The mistake narrowed the gap between Gotham Prep and Metropolis Academy, but Gotham still had a comfortable five-tenths lead. And with beam exercise coming up, which was Harley's best rotation, she knew they could get it done…with or without a nod from Pam.

What she didn't expect was the eruption of applause after her dismount from the beam.

Harley smiled broadly, raising her arms above her head to present to the judges. The routine had felt pretty solid…but full-on applause was rare at a gymnastics meet. Then again, this was Gotham Prep. Everything seemed to be bigger and better here – why shouldn't that include the fans' enthusiasm? Harley skipped back to the bench and received a high five from all of her teammates, even Selina, although hers was more tentative. Harley was still looking at her captain when the girl's face went white, her mouth falling open slightly.

"What?" Harley turned back to the scoreboard to see a…14.8 out of a possible 15. Only a two-tenths deduction? Hell yeah! Harley couldn't be happier…that was, until she saw the real reason for Selina's expression. Harleen Quinzel had jumped her to the top of the all-around chart. She hadn't just helped her team win the meet; she'd won it herself! There were hugs and pats on the back, but the best congratulations she received was seeing Pam stand up and cheer, a beaming smile on her face. And so Harley was smiling too, so wide it hurt.

/

No… Selina couldn't believe what she was seeing. Her name…in the silver position? Second place? Second best? No! That couldn't be…The captain doesn't make mistakes! They don't succumb to the pressure, they just don't.

She dragged her eyes back over to the bleachers, embarrassed beyond belief. There was Bruce, looking just as astonished as Selina probably did. But what she needed was the nod. The one that told her it would all be fine. She knew Pam would recognize the embarrassment on her face, but-Pam was clapping. Standing. Smiling. Clapping.

/

Harley smiled to herself in the locker room as she pulled her baggy sweatshirt on over her sports bra- two things that would be easy for Pam to slip her hand under. Harley flushed slightly at the thought, and began to hurriedly lace up her sneakers, wondering briefly if Pam would care that she hadn't taken a shower.

Tough luck. Harley decided. I'm a winner.

"Eh-hem." Someone cleared their throat.

Harley looked up to find Selina standing above her. Shit. "Hey, I'm really sorry I–"

Selina raised an eyebrow. "What do you have to be sorry for?"

"I just…Sometimes it's hard competing against a teammate, ya know?" Harley tried to sound apologetic. "And your routine looked so good too, must have been a chalk problem."

"No." Selina shook her head. "It was a grip problem. I'm not going to blame an inanimate object for my failures."

"Oh, well…" Harley was surprised at Selina's honesty with herself. "And it's pretty cool that we locked up first and second place for our school."

Selina grinned. "It sure is. And finishing first…I guess you and Pam do have something in common after all."

"What's that now?" said Harley, her mind a bit scattered from the endorphins.

"I mean when I took Pam's virginity last year." Selina clarified. "I seem to remember her finishing first. Just like you!" She stalked over to the door of the locker room, then turned back, a hard smile firmly in place. "Congratulations on your win."

Then she swept out, leaving a stunned and broken Harley alone on the bench.

Harley knew who had entered the locker room before she even heard her voice. She knew the click of those heels, swore she even caught a whiff of that fancy lotion she'd gotten attached to.

"Harley? I ran into your teammates in the hallway, and they said they're going for ice cream to celebrate your victory. Rather juvenile if you ask me, but . . ." Pam's voice trailed off. Then her heels clicked faster on the tiles, and Harley felt the heat from Pam's body as she sat down right next to her on the bench. "What's wrong? Why are you sitting with your head in your hands like that? You won!"

As she shrugged Pam's arms from around her shoulders and stood, Harley laughed, broken and bitter – it couldn't have sounded less like her usual joyful bubble of laughter. She crossed her arms tight across her chest, leaned her back against the cold row of lockers and finally raised her head to look at Pam.

"It's all about winning for you, isn't it. All of you." Harley shook her head. You fucking idiot, she thought. Should have listened to Ma – she tried to warn me – turns out they're just as bad as I always knew they'd be.

Pam looked utterly confused as she tried to process Harley's outburst. "I-I don't understand," she said. "I meant you came in first – and the team won the meet – these are good things. Right?"

"I'm familiar with the term, Pam," Harley said, and she felt a little satisfaction when Pam's spine straightened at the coldness of her tone. She kept her arms crossed but straightened up from the lockers now. "You should go."

"Harley – I – what's going on?" Pam said, and she looked so lost that Harley almost broke, almost sank down into her lap and ran her hands through her hair and kissed her until everything was okay again.

Almost.

"Go, Pam," she said, now clenching and unclenching her fists. "Go meet Selina. Fucking nod at her, or take her back to your place, or whatever you two feel like doing. I don't care anymore."

A wary look crossed Pam's face. "Harley –"

"Selina is a lot of things, Pam, but at least she's not a fucking liar." Harley took a deep breath, trying to quiet the tone of her own voice as it echoed around the locker room. "I hope you had fun slumming it with me. Guess it wasn't as special as you pretended, but hey – at least you got to see how the other half lives."

She turned away, hating herself for doing this to Pam, for still wanting to run into her arms, for letting herself get fooled just like her mom did. "Keep the car," she said quietly. Besides the absence of retreating heels, Harley would have assumed Pam had left it was so quiet for a moment.

"No." Pam had evidently found her voice because her tone was firm now. Harley felt her come nearer. "Don't be petulant, Harley. Tell me plainly what's bothering you. I'm told that's how people navigate relationships."

"Oh yeah?" Harley turned around to find Pam was standing right behind her. "Were you also told not to lie? Because that's usually a deal-breaker."

Pam sighed, looking Harley straight in the eye as she took her hands. Harley wanted to push her away again, but her hands were so soft and her expression so sincere… "Can you tell me what's wrong?" Pam asked again. "Please?"

"You—you lied to me. About you and Selina. You lied, Pam." Harley's voice was small. Having Pam this close to her…she'd lost her edge.

A familiar expression was creeping into Pam's features. One Harley had seen before—the day her mom came home. It was shame. The redhead dropped the other girl's hands, looked down at her feet and swallowed. "Did Selina tell you?" She murmured.

There was a sinking feeling in the pit of Harley's stomach now, and without even thinking about it, she cupped Pam's face in her hands.

"I'm sorry." Pam whispered, still not lifting her eyes. "I didn't think you would—if you knew—I didn't think you would…"

"Want you?" Harley asked, in disbelief at the insecurity of the beautiful girl in front of her.

Pam nodded wordlessly, and Harley caved. Unapologetically. She kissed her softly, and when she pulled back, Pam's eyes were closed like she was afraid Harley would be gone when she opened them.

"Pam, I don't care about that. I don't care that you've been with another person." Harley assured her, never dropping her hands from the girl's face. "I just—look—my dad…he was a liar, and I get scared, OK?" Wait a minute. You can be mad, Harley! You have a right to be mad!

But it was too late, Pam was already wrapping her up in her arms, kissing her deeply, surrounding her completely in her scent, and Harley melted. What else could she do?

AmberZ10 author's note: Hey guys, bear with us on Selina, OK? If you've read my other stories you know there isn't much I do without an endgame or a solid justification. Trust. Thanks for reading.