"Harley, c'mon, there's a party at the frat house tonight and I wanna pick up a cute guy, but you gotta come with me! I need a wingwoman!" whined Julia. "And you've cooped yourself up in here for weeks! You need to get out there and enjoy the social aspects of college!"
Harley sighed, staring out the window of her dorm room. She supposed Julia was right, but she was anything but enthusiastic about going out. Distracting herself was probably for her own good, but it seemed almost impossible to do that when her every thought kept drifting back to Jack, and how much she missed him.
She had thought about just heading over to his apartment some weekend and confessing her feelings to him, but she was afraid of his girlfriend being there. And besides, he couldn't have any interest in a girl like her when he was already dating a real woman. She imagined herself telling Jack that she loved him, and his girlfriend laughing coldly at her. "You don't even know what that is, little girl!" she would laugh. "And you don't know how to please a man like Jack! He wouldn't even kiss you, because you're just a child! And he needs a real woman to make him happy."
She forced her thoughts away from the image of them devouring each other's mouths and turned to her roommate. "Yeah…ok," she said. "I'll go…get ready."
"You wanna tell me what's bothering you, Harley?" asked Julia as she headed for her closet.
"It's nothing," said Harley, rifling through her clothes to try to find something nice. "Just feeling a little…homesick, I guess."
"I dunno why," said Julia. "Being away from your parents is great! Nobody telling you what to do, or telling you what you shouldn't do. It's so nice to finally be free!"
"Well, my parents and I have always got along," replied Harley. "And I never really wanted to do anything they wouldn't have wanted me to do…except…"
She trailed off. "Yeah?" pressed Julia.
Harley sighed. "Y'know Jack?" she asked.
"Oh yeah, that guy your Dad picked up off the street!" laughed Julia. "Only comfortable around a buncha dirty cars, and couldn't hold an intelligent conversation if his life depended on it! What about him?"
"Uh…nothing," said Harley, hastily. "You're right, he's…uh…nothing special."
Julia stared at her. "Oh my God…you like him! That's sick, Harley! He's like almost as old as your Dad…"
"I know it's sick!" she snapped. "And wrong, but…I just can't stop thinking about him."
Julia shook her head. "Maybe it's some kinda weird attraction to lower class guys. Y'know, the way successful women sometimes like to have affairs with their gardeners or pool boys. People who are way below their league, because it makes them feel powerful. Maybe if you thought you could attract an older, working guy, it'd be like a huge powertrip for you."
"Maybe," said Harley, although she didn't think that was it. "Although I don't think of Jack as being below my league, or even from a different class. We grew up in the same circumstances…"
"Yeah, but you're a college girl now, and he never even went to school!" laughed Julia. "He's just a mechanic, and you're gonna be a doctor! He's way, way below your league. Believe me, Harley, college guys are so much better. We're gonna find you a nice, clean, charming guy tonight who's gonna make you forget all about that filthy old man, trust me."
Harley nodded, but she didn't believe her for an instant. None of the boys in her high school had appealed to her because of Jack, and she couldn't imagine her feelings would suddenly change in college.
But she had a forced smile on her face as she and Julia arrived at the frat house for the party. Harley didn't understand why Julia even needed a wingwoman, since she was straight on the first guy she saw, leaving Harley alone. She sighed, heading for the corner and trying not to be too noticeable, and wondering how long she had to stay before she could leave without it appearing rude.
"Hi," said a young man, approaching her.
"Hi," she said.
"Can I get you a drink?" he asked.
"I don't…uh…drink," said Harley, slowly. "I'm only nineteen, so not old enough…y'know."
The boy laughed. "Wow, are you being serious? You're at a frat party and you don't drink?"
"My roommate dragged me here," retorted Harley. "Believe me, I was just about to sneak out."
"Are you always this goody goody?" asked the boy, smiling at her.
"Do you have a problem with people who follow the rules?" asked Harley.
"No, just not used to it, I guess!" laughed the boy. He held out his hand. "Bruce Wayne."
"Harleen Quinzel," she said, shaking his hand.
"That's a pretty name," he said. "So I gather from your age that you're still new to college. Liking it so far?"
"I guess," said Harley, shrugging. "It's different from high school, more interesting, but…I guess I'm still a little homesick."
"Where are you from?" asked Bruce.
"Here in Gotham," she said. "But the other side of the city. I moved outta my folks' place and…I really miss 'em a lot. Along with…some friends of mine…"
She trailed off, trying not to think about Jack. "What about you? Are you enjoying college?" she asked.
"Oh, I don't go to college," said Bruce, smiling. "My friend Harvey Dent just invited me along to this party – he's the one over there playing tongue hockey with your friend."
"Oh," said Harley, glancing over at where Julia was making out with an attractive guy. "So what do you do?"
"I've been traveling, actually," said Bruce. "Just got back home to Gotham after touring the world."
"That must have cost a bundle," said Harley.
"Oh, well, I'm rich," said Bruce, shrugging. "I inherited my parents' fortune after they were killed."
"Wait…Bruce Wayne as in Wayne Enterprises?" asked Harley, making the connection suddenly.
"Yep, that's me!" he said, smiling.
"Oh," repeated Harley, shocked. "I'm…sorry about your parents. That must be a rough thing to have to deal with."
"Yeah," agreed Bruce. "It was a long time ago now. And I've found ways of dealing with it."
"Like what?" asked Harley.
He shrugged. "Just…ways. Y'know. Harvey, when you get a chance, come over here and meet Harley!" called Bruce, turning around.
"You're right, Bruce, she is the hotter friend," said Harvey, as he left Julia to go get some drinks. He held out his hand to Harley. "Harvey Dent."
"Harleen Quinzel," said Harley. "Nice to meet you. I guess I'll be seeing a lot of you around with Julia?"
"Maybe," he said, grinning. "But this is a party, and you can't blame a guy for having fun. Plus I need something to cheer me up after today – did I tell you, Bruce, that bastard Crane failed my paper! Just because I may have borrowed a few paragraphs from the internet…"
"Apparently Harvey has this nightmare psychology professor," explained Bruce, rolling his eyes. "Who doesn't understand that some guys have better things to do with their time in college than sit in a library all the time."
"I like Professor Crane," said Harley. "And he's given me A's on all my assignments so far."
"Yeah? What kinda favors did you do for him in exchange?" asked Harvey, grinning.
"I don't like the tone of that question," snapped Harley. "I just studied the material and worked hard…"
"I bet you did, sweetheart!" laughed Harvey. "C'mon, Bruce, is this good girl act for real?"
"Apparently so," said Bruce, smiling at Harley. "I like it, actually. Makes a nice change from the kinda girls you usually find at frat parties."
"No complaints here – I prefer 'em easy!" chuckled Harvey, taking his drinks and heading back to Julia. "See ya around, Miss Goody Two Shoes!"
"You'll have to forgive him," said Bruce, smiling apologetically. "He's normally a charmer, but he's been drinking, and he can be pretty unpleasant when his guard is lowered. It's like there's this whole other side to him…"
"Yeah…no problem," said Harley, shrugging. "Well, I'll just be going now, since Julia seems to be occupied…"
"Can I walk you back to your dorm?" offered Bruce. "I hear college campuses can be pretty unsafe, and I'd hate for anything to happen to you."
"Oh. Yeah, thanks," said Harley. Bruce offered her his arm and they left the party, heading back across campus.
"So are you…thinking of getting a job now?" asked Harley. "Now that you're done traveling and back in Gotham, I mean."
"Sort of," agreed Bruce. "I'm gonna take up a hobby, anyway."
"What kinda hobby?" asked Harley.
"Volunteer work," said Bruce. "In law enforcement."
"Oh. That sounds really interesting," said Harley.
"What about you? What do you wanna be when you graduate?" he asked.
"A psychiatrist," replied Harley. "Maybe get a job at Arkham Asylum or something."
"So you wanna stay in Gotham?" he asked.
"Yeah," she said, shrugging. "Gotham's my home. And there are people in it who…I just couldn't bear to leave," she murmured, thinking of Jack again.
"Well, maybe I'll see you around again, then," said Bruce.
"Maybe," agreed Harley as they reached her dorm. "Well, thanks for walking me back, Bruce…"
She was cut off as he kissed her tenderly. Harley had never been kissed before, and truthfully this wasn't the man she wanted to be kissed by, but she decided to embrace the experience, just so Julia would stop nagging her, and just so she could say she'd kissed a boy. She didn't know what the big deal was anyway, she thought, as Bruce kissed her – it wasn't even that great. She was glad now that Jack hadn't given her her first kiss, because she would have hated to be disappointed by him.
He drew away slowly. "Give me a call sometime," he said, slipping a card into her hand. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Bruce," she said, watching him leave. Then she sighed, entering her room. "Well, I don't know why Julia's so obsessed with kissing boys," she muttered. "It's nice, but it ain't that nice."
She climbed back onto her bed, reaching under her pillow and slipping out the faded and creased picture of Jack that she kept there. "Maybe you're better at it than Bruce, huh, puddin'?" she whispered, using her private pet name for him. "But I guess I'll never know." She kissed the photo and replaced it under her pillow. "Goodnight, Jack," she whispered. "I love you."