Harley looked up from her biology homework at the sound of a soft knock at the door. She'd gotten a head start on the chapter because Pam was running late, for once.
Then again, Harley expected this. Harley knew where Pam had spent the afternoon and she knew it likely wasn't going to be an easy conversation. Selina could be…difficult, but it was obvious that she was hurting. So Harley had decided to let them have some one on one time, even though Pam had insisted she could come if she wanted to. The invite was nice but getting some extra reps in at the gym sounded like a lot more fun since Harley wasn't sure if Selina needed a friend or a punching bag, and she really didn't feel like finding out.
Pam's smile was sort of…faint, when she opened the door, finding the redhead standing in the hallway. Something sad in her expression. Guilty, maybe.
Harley didn't want her to feel guilty. She trusted that the thing with Selina was in the past…it was, right?
She just…wished Pam had been honest about it from the beginning. Same thing Bruce wished, probably.
"How's she doin'?" Harley asked.
Pam just shrugged. "She's OK, I think. Or, she will be. This has happened before, it'll happen again."
Harley nodded, opening the door a little wider so Pam could step inside her bedroom. "I got started without'cha, sorry. I think this is startin' to make a little more sense to me now, believe it or not."
"Of course I believe it, Harley, you're very intelligent," Pam said like Harley should already know that, and the blonde blushed. Maybe Pam thought she should know, but it wasn't a compliment she was used to.
"Well…not as smart as you," Harley tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, smiling to herself.
"That's an awfully high bar," Pam teased. "I wouldn't beat yourself up over it."
Harley laughed, happy to see some of the weight lift off of Pam's shoulders. "My mom let you in?" she wondered, changing the subject.
"Yeah," Pam nodded. "She asked me to tell you that dinner's in 15 minutes. Hamburger helper I think she said?"
"Are you gonna stay?"
"I wish I could. But my mother made it a point to tell me both she and my father would be home for dinner, so I thought I'd try to struggle through some uncomfortable silence with them instead," Pam was joking. She joked now.
Harley giggled. "Sounds like a blast."
Pam stepped forward, taking Harley's hands in her own, green eyes searching. "Hey…I just wanted to say…I'm sorry. About what happened with Bruce and everything earlier. It was uncomfortable for everyone, but for you especially, I'm sure."
Harley leaned forward to give her a quick kiss on the lips. "It's OK," she smiled, resting her hand on Pam's cheek. "I'm just kinda worried about 'em, ya know?"
"Who?" Pam asked. "Bruce and Selina?"
"Yeah, I mean…I know they've only been my friends for like two seconds because we basically just met, or whatever, but…I liked hanging out with them on Halloween, that was a lot of fun. And sitting with all you guys at lunch...I think it would suck if they actually broke up over this."
Pam laughed at that. "They're not going to break up, don't worry. Not seriously, anyway."
Harley raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? Bruce seemed pretty pissed and he kinda made a scene."
Shaking her head, Pam moved to sit at the foot of Harley's bed, taking the blonde with her. "They do this at least twice a year," she explained. "Break up…get back together again…break up…get back together again. Like clockwork. I think they like the drama, or maybe just the chase, who knows. But it's been like this for as long as I can remember. My point being, they love each other. Selina will apologize and Bruce will get over it eventually."
"Is that, like, healthy?" Harley tried not to sound too judgmental.
"I wouldn't know," Pam admitted. "You're my first girlfriend, really, so I don't consider myself well-versed in the intricate dynamics of romantic relationships."
Harley chuckled. "I wish people at school would believe me when I tell them you're just a weird nerd under all that glamorous hair."
They were quiet for a moment, the two of them listening to the unmistakable sound of Henry sprinting up and down the hallway with his toy airplane in hand. It was kinda nice…bein' quiet with Pam. Made everything seem more real all of a sudden. Pamela Isley was her girlfriend. They hung out, they had the same friends, they had sex…and they talked about stuff that was hard.
"Are you OK?" Harley realized she should probably ask.
Pam blinked, turning to look at her. "Yes. Do I not…seem, OK?
"You seem…kinda…sad," Harley told her the truth.
"I'm not sad," Pam said after thinking on it for a beat.
"What are you, then? Scared?"
Pam shook her head again. "I'm sorry. I wish I could explain everything, I'm just…not feeling terribly eloquent, at the moment."
Harley kissed her on the cheek, suddenly needing to press her lips against her. I like her so much. "I was kinda wondering what was goin' on between you and Talia, though."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean when you were, like, up in her business in the hallway," Harley laughed, unsure how Pam could forget an altercation like that. "Seriously, what was going on there?"
Pam sighed. "She—I—I was…telling her she was being an asshole. Selina stuck up for me a lot growing up, so I thought I'd stick up for her this time. But I'm glad you came in when you did, you spared Talia from a truly gruesome fate."
"Uh huh, sure, yeah," Harley mocked. "My 4.0 flower girl was about to get down and dirty? I'd pay to see that."
"What? Me fight Talia?"
"You fight anyone! You don't exactly look like a brawler, Pammy, no offense."
Pamela held her head high, scoffing at the perceived slight. "Well, that's because I try to resolve issues with my words, when I can."
"Right," Harley was grinning. "Whatever you say, Isley." She closed her eyes then, resting her head against Pam's shoulder, breathing in the sweet smell of her fragrant lotion and shampoo. "I guess I'll text you with any questions on the homework, then?"
Pam nodded silently, turning to plant a kiss on Harley's forehead as her response. "I'll see you at school tomorrow."
"Are you coming to my meet after?"
"I wouldn't miss it."
/
"Hey!"
Harley jumped, spinning on her heels at the end of the hallway like she'd heard the voice of god, her body bracing, already defensive.
Selina wasn't in any hurry to join her, so it was with a deliberate stride that she caught up. "Your 2nd pass on the floor was really clean," she said, seeming to surprise Harley with the compliment.
"Uh, thanks, Selina," Harley grinned, her cheeks blushing as she adjusted her duffle bag on her shoulder, though she didn't relax just yet. "Glad you got that grip problem under control. I think this'll bump us ahead of Central City for Nationals, yeah?"
Selina nodded in affirmation, wishing Harley was just another one of her teammates. "Easily."
And Harley's smile broadened, her shyness giving way to pride. "I'm so glad I came here. I can't believe this is really my life. The team, my new friends, my girlfriend, it's nuts!"
Selina raised an eyebrow, recruiting every fiber of her being to stop herself from poking fun at Harley's unadulterated joy. "Yes, well...we, and by we I mean the Gotham Prep gymnastics program, are...grateful. That you're here. Because you're…" Just say it, come on, you can do it. "Gifted."
Blinking her ridiculously big, dopey blue eyes, Harley said, "That's—wow—that's real sweet'a you, Selina. And you're not even gonna call me Crotch Rocket or anything?"
"Don't worry, we'll—,"
"Hello, you two…" Selina was cut off when Pam approached, greeting the other two girls cautiously, like she was watching a puppy and a cat make friends and didn't want to break the spell. "Fancy seeing you two...conversing."
Ugh. Selina crossed her arms. "I'll be cordial to Crotch Rocket for as long as you continue letting her dry hump you in the back of cars, you have my word."
"Off to a great start, then," Pam rolled her eyes while Harley blushed an even brighter shade of red than she had earlier. "I was going to take Harley to dinner and thought you should come, if you'd like to," she continued with a sigh.
"Is Bruce gonna be there?" Selina asked before she could stop herself.
"Um, no," Pam answered. "He left right after you got your score, said something about needing to watch some film on Metropolis before tomorrow."
Great, so now she had Pam back, but Bruce was gone.
"He'll get over it," Harley evidently felt the need to console. "I'm sure we'll all be hanging out again in no time."
Selina glanced down at the comforting hand Harley had rested on her shoulder, narrowing her eyes at it. "I have zero interest in being your third wheel."
"I was the third wheel to you and Bruce for years, Selina, one night isn't going to—,"
"Come over to my house," Selina found herself suggesting in a rash decision she was sure she'd regret. "We can order in. Pizza, or something else suited to Harley's palate."
"Yeah, I like pizza," Harley smiled, either not understanding the dig or not caring. "I mean, I gotta call my mom first and let her know, but let's do it!"
Pam and Selina were both looking at Harley now, though Pam was clearly more charmed by her antics while Selina worried her teeth might rot out of her face. Selina wasn't exactly used to witnessing this level of unadulterated happy-go-lucky.
"Alec will have to take us, though, he dropped me off this morning," Pam was saying, though Selina waved that off, adjusting the strap of her own duffle bag (though hers was Gucci, obviously, rather than the Big 5 variety).
"We'll take mine," she passed the other two girls and they followed her out the double doors at the end of the hallway which spat them out in the parking lot.
"You barely have a back seat in that thing," Pam complained.
"Let's not act like you're unfamiliar with my back seat, Pammy," Selina chided, pressing on despite her practically being able to hear Pamela blush behind her. "But I brought the Porsche anyway, Corvette's in the shop."
"OK, hey, wait," Harley's arm was suddenly back on her shoulder, but this time it wasn't comforting, this time it was twisting her around rather forcefully until she was facing Harley, Pam on her other side, arms crossed in a pout, eyes downcast. "We need to get this out in the open, alright? I know you guys got history and I know you had sex. Now, I don't totally understand what's going on between you right now and I get I'm new to all of this, but I also really like Pam, like, a lot and Selina, I'd really like to try and be your friend because Pam loves you and I'm really not that awful once you give me a chance I don't think! I'm definitely not as cool as you but we have a lot in common, you know?" then she cleared her throat, glancing between them. "I don't really like bein' jealous, I don't do it super well, so…do I gotta be jealous or are we cool?"
"We're cool," Pam muttered, absently kicking a rock without lifting her gaze.
"Selina?" Harley prompted, still without relinquishing her grip. "Are we cool?"
"I guess, whatever," the brunette pushed her hand away, unlocking her Porsche with her key fob, the headlights blinking in the dark parking lot. "But you're sitting in the back."
"Alright, deal," Harley smiled, accepting that answer and skipping over to the car, waiting as Pam moved the passenger seat so the blonde could file in behind it.
Shaking her head, Selina got into the driver's seat, turning on the car, and—,
HEY HEY
YOU YOU
I KNOW THAT YOU LIKE ME
NO WAY NO WAY
NO, IT'S NOT A SECRET
—blasted forth from the speakers, Selina lunging immediately for the volume knob.
HEY HEY
YOU YOU
I DON'T LIKE YOUR GIRLFRIEND
The three girls sat in silence once Selina slammed her hand down on the power button, as, even at the lowest volume, there was no way Selina was recovering from this.
Pamela stared resolutely ahead out the front windshield while Selina silently cursed the instantaneous Bluetooth connection on her phone, glaring at the stereo.
It was Harley who broke the silence first, and she did it by leaning forward between the front seats, laughing, "I love that song! In a second you'll be wrapped around my finger / cuz I can / cuz I can do it better," she sang (badly), adding a shimmy in there for good measure.
Selina cleared her throat, fingers wrapping slowly around the steering wheel. "You're…also ironically over-familiar with Avril Lavigne's discography?"
"I mean, I'm not sure it's ironic," Harley laughed. "We all have our ways to get hyped for meets. I usually prefer metal, but you do you, Party Cat."
"Oh my God, I'm never going to live that down," Selina realized, putting the car into drive and pulling onto the main road.
"Not as long as we're cool," Harley grinned, sitting back and buckling her seat belt.
It was a few blocks before anyone else spoke, Pam, this time. "I saw a GSU scout in the stands tonight."
"For real?" Harley asked from the back seat, eyes wide.
"Yes, for real," Selina watched her in the rear-view mirror. "And they'd be lucky to have us. So, just…don't fall, keep your grades up, and your mom won't have to worry about paying for your shit, alright? Just like I assume she isn't paying for it now."
"How did you…?"
"I already told you we're from the same side of the tracks, Crotch Rocket. I just got out a little earlier."
Selina's mother was just placing her keys on one of the hooks in the foyer when the girls arrived, meaning that, unlike last time she'd missed a meet, she really had been help up at work.
"Hello, darling," she greeted Selina first. "And Pamela too. But no Bruce this time? And who's this one?" she asked, referring to Harley who was quietly closing the front door behind them.
Taking a breath and dropping her bag from her shoulder, Selina said, "Mom, this is Harley Quinzel, my new least terrible beam specialist," pointedly not addressing Bruce's absence. "We're ordering pizza. Is dad home?"
"In the parlor, though I'm sure he'll be going to bed soon. Pop in and say hello?" she was already walking away. "Good to meet you, Harley. And Pamela, condoms by the stairs, you know the drill," she called over her shoulder with a chuckle.
"I really hate that fucking joke," Selina gritted, her jaw clenching as she trudged up the stairs, a red-faced Pam in tow, Harley bringing up the rear.
"Oh, there really are condoms!" the blonde said almost excitedly, pointing them out.
I might actually punch her.
Selina tossed her bag to the side immediately upon entering her bedroom, kicking her shoes off to climb on her bed and stare at the ceiling. "Geraldi's or Stone Mountain?" she asked with a heavy sigh.
"I don't—I don't know either of those places," Harley said. "But I'm good with whatever, I'm not picky. Just as long as we get pepperoni. And I can pay, I've got—,"
Scoffing, Selina cut her off, "You're not paying for dinner, Oliver Twist. My 2nd car is a Porsche, chill," she then rolled over onto her stomach, grabbing her cellphone to dial Geraldi's. "Pam, you want something gross like artichokes, right?"
The redhead nodded. "And no cheese, please."
"Light cheese and I'm getting capers," Selina countered.
"And I just want—,"
"Pepperoni, I got it." Selina waited as the phone rang, watching as Harley attempted to awkwardly claim some space just inside the doorway. Rolling her eyes, Selina silently motioned her forward, indicating she should sit with her on the bed.
Harley bounced from foot to foot for a moment, eyes moving from Selina to the empty space on the queen-sized bed, like maybe this was a test or a trick. But when Selina urged her forward again mid-way through her order, Harley finally obeyed, slipping her shoes and jacket off and sitting down gingerly beside her.
"So…that was your mom, huh?" Harley said once she got off the phone. "You don't look anything like her."
"That's because I'm adopted, you—,"
"She's joking! She's joking," Pam rushed to assure her.
Oh. Selina gathered herself. "Yeah, that's my mom."
"How come she wasn't at the meet tonight?"
"How come yours wasn't?"
"She was working."
"She was working."
Pam joined them, leaning back on the pillows, fluffing them like she always did. "Incredible that there didn't seem to be a weak link tonight," she re-routed the conversation. "Even Roxy pulled her weight."
"Well, she'll never be graceful," Selina lamented with a sigh. "But she also didn't embarrass herself, so that's a first."
Harley was looking around the room, her focus removed. "Has this always been your house?"
"Since I was three."
"And your dad's into antiques?"
Selina laughed, though not altogether unkindly. "He deals in rare antiquities, yes."
"And your mom's a doctor?"
"A plastic surgeon. We've already covered this."
"Sorry," a wave of embarrassment seemed to be washing over Harley. "I was just thinking about goin' to medical school eventually, and—,"
This was evidently news to Pam, so she interrupted. "You want to be a doctor?"
"Well, a psychiatrist, maybe," Harley clarified. "I like talkin' to people and listening to them. Plus, my therapist says I've kinda got a knack for it, and if there's a chance I could get my undergrad paid for…I don't know," she shrugged. "I don't got it all mapped out yet. Just something I was thinking about."
"You see a therapist?" Selina raised an eyebrow, trying to hide either the judgment or surprise in her voice, she wasn't sure which.
Harley nodded. "Yeah, I kinda got into some trouble at Central. Well, OK, not really trouble, I just had a hard time with my dad leavin' for good and everything, so I started talkin' to somebody and that somebody got me accepted to Gotham Prep. Sort've a lame origin story in comparison to you guys."
"And does it help?" Selina asked, passing over the self-deprecation. "Talking to someone?"
Harley was earnest when she said, "Totally."
"Hm," Selina said, rolling onto her back again to look at the ceiling. "I suppose you could talk to my mom, if you want. For advice, or whatever. I can give you her work email, that's how she responds the quickest."
"That would be awesome!" Harley said, and Selina caught the relieved smile Pam let slip in response to she and Harley's civil conversation. "Thank you."
Selina shrugged like it was no big deal. "Alright. So…Bruce," she changed the subject. "We gotta game plan on this, Pam, he's—,"
"What if you guys actually took a break?" Pamela suggested. "I don't think spending time apart would be the worst thing for you."
Furrowing her brow, Selina sat up to look at her friend. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, maybe it's a blessing," Pam clarified. "Especially in the middle of gymnastics and football season, gives you two time to focus without distraction."
"Bruce isn't a distraction, Pam, he's…he's Bruce."
Pamela nodded, agreeing with that. "I know. I just think, ultimately, you know you'll get back together. You always do. So why not find a way to enjoy being apart for the time being? Look at you and I, for example, we've been attached at the hip since we were 4 years old, but we've been fighting less since…"
"Since you put your fingers in someone else's pussy?" Selina picked up where Pam trailed off. "Glad to hear you're suddenly enlightened."
"OK, I know we said we were cool, but—," Harley attempted to interject.
Pam was trying her best to keep her blush under control by rolling her eyes. "Selina, can we be civil about this, please? I'm simply trying to say that you love Bruce and Bruce loves you, but perhaps you began to take each other for granted. It's possible that spending some time away from him, in a romantic context, anyway, could inspire the heart to grow fonder."
Selina scoffed. "You did the AP Lit assigned reading, didn't you?"
"I may have…perused it," Pam admitted.
