After I actually paid the cab driver, I listened to it speed off as I stared and the huge house in front of me. I wiped my sweaty hands on my old ripped jeans and began the long walk up their driveway. As I passed a fountain, I flinched at a low rumble of thunder; I looked up to see dark gray clouds rolling in and I sighed.
"What are you doing, Harls? You're not gonna fit in here," I whispered to myself as I came upon the door.
I raised my finger up to the doorbell, but let it drop; I paced back and forth on the front steps. The old feelings of nervousness and panic started to tighten its grip on me; I hadn't been this nervous about a guy since…since before I met Jack. I blinked back the tears that started to form in my eyes and tried to ignore the hard twist my stomach gave. What was I doing? I hated Bruce…or Jack hated Bruce.
Suddenly the door opened up and I jumped back, making me lose my balance on the steps and fall backwards. I yelped as I hit the gravelly ground and opened my eyes to a darkening sky; I groaned and propped myself up with my elbows.
"Miss Quinzel! I'm terribly sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you! Took a nasty fall, didn't you?" a gentle voiced man said, helping me up.
He brushed the gravel off my back and checked for any wounds.
"Are you alright?" he asked looking into my eyes with genuine sincerity.
I stared at him, studying his crisp white hair and formal black suit; he seemed nice enough. He stared at me expectantly, before I realized I hadn't answered his question.
"O-oh yeah I'm fine," I stammered out.
He smiled and placed one hand on my arm and the other on my shoulder blade, gently leading me inside the house.
"Seems like we're in for some stormy weather," he observed, glancing outside before shutting the door.
"Yeah. Geez, Bruce didn't tell me he lived in a castle," I murmured as I looked around the huge entry hall.
Everything was glossy and fragile looking; it seemed like I was in a museum rather than a house where people actually lived in.
"Trust me, after a while it seems like a prison," Bruce smiled from the top of the grand staircase.
As he padded down the stairs, he ran a hand through his thick dark hair, golden brown eyes locked onto my figure. He had on dark jeans and a deep blue v-neck shirt and soon he was right in front of me, looking down at me. He was almost as tall as Jack.
"I'm actually really surprised you came; I didn't think.." he grew silent, not knowing how to finish.
"He doesn't know I'm here. But I-I wanted to come," I awkwardly shifted my weight.
He smiled with his perfect white teeth, "I'm glad."
He held out a hand for me to take. I bit my lip and glanced from his hand to his face then back to the door. What was I afraid of? I placed my hand in his, feeling the warmth of his larger, smooth hand enclose around mine. He walked slowly up the stairs and through a maze of halls.
"I see you've met our butler, Alfred," he said suddenly, his voice cracking.
I smiled, he was nervous too, "Yeah, he's nice."
Bruce nodded and stopped at a door, he opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off.
"Why'd you ask me to come early? I mean, why'd you even ask me to come at all?" I stared into his eyes.
I was tired of lying guys, tired of the false hope they give me. He sighed and leaned against the door frame; he bit the inside of his cheek, mulling over something in his mind. Reminded me of when Jack was thinking of something, how he'd dart his tongue over his cracked lips.
"Well, the answer to your first question is in there," He pointed his thumb towards the closed door, "And for your second question…"
He stopped talking and cupped my face in his hands, leaning down until I was overwhelmed by the cologne wafting off his clothes and his hot minty breath was on my lips. I thought he was going to kiss me, and for a split second I thought I was going to let him, but he stopped short.
"You're the most gorgeous girl I've ever seen," He whispered in a low sexy voice.
My heart skipped a beat, I searched his eyes for any speck or glint of lying. I could find any, I could only find my own reflection in them. I blinked, I didn't know what to do, what to say; I was frozen underneath his spell. I wondered what he was thinking, why he was letting such a long paus—
He kissed me. It wasn't long, it wasn't deep; it was simple and sweet. Like the type of kiss you'd expect from an old married couple. He didn't force himself on me, he didn't take anymore than he gave. He pulled back with a small smile and slightly blushing cheeks. He opened the door for me and hung back as I examined his spacious room; it was slightly messy and the air had a twinge of sweet smelling cologne and musk. He suddenly cleared his throat and I looked back over at him.
He was holding a long, deep red dress in my size and my jaw dropped. I darted over to it and held the material in my hands; it was an incredibly soft silk that flowed through my fingers. He chuckled at my shocked expression.
"This is why I wanted you to come early; I take it you like it?"
I finally found my voice again, "Y-you got this for me? How'd you know my size?"
"Well the party is pretty formal; a few of my dad's business associates had to be invited," Something dark passed over his eyes before he continued, "So I thought you'd like this."
I smiled, not forced, not evilly, my regular old smile. I wasn't used to people doing nice things for me. I mean, it was his birthday and he gave me a gift. I didn't even give him anything, partly because I didn't have any money and I didn't think he would've wanted it stolen. At first I had thought that it was all a joke, just something for him and his rich friends to laugh about, but standing in front of him now…I don't think Bruce is a bad guy at all.
"But of course, the party isn't for a while now so you don—" he started but I suddenly jumped on him, wrapping my arms around his neck and hugging him tight.
The dress fell out of his hands as he caught me, returning the hug with his arms around my waist as my feet dangled above the ground. I pulled back and held his face in my hands.
"Thank you," I whispered.
He smiled and put me down, still keeping his hands on my waist; his eyes flickered from my eyes to my lips as he slowly leaned down. I waited for my mind to think of Jack, for the spark of doubt to stop me, but it never came. Bruce's sweet lips were on mine, softly kissing me, like he was afraid to break me. I ran my hands up his chest and over his shoulders, lightly clawing down his muscled arms; I felt his shudder slightly under my touch and I knew he was holding back. Surprisingly, he broke the kiss first and roughly let go of me. I gave a small squeak of protest, before I saw him walk briskly to the door and heard the lock click.
I smirked as he strode back over to me with long steps and quickly took me back up in his arms, easily picking me up. I gasped as he tossed me onto his bed and quickly bounced back up onto my knees, smiling.
"Come here," I curled my finger towards me, "I promise I don't bite..too much."
He breathed a chuckle and dove onto the bed from where he was standing, showing off how athletic he was. I stretched out next to him and let my eyes fall closed; I waited for the feel of his touch, wondering if it was going to be soft or greedy and rough. As the moments rolled by, I fluttered my eyes back open to find him staring at me with glossy, dark eyes. His eyes never left my face as he reached out to rub my arm; I felt his fingers circle around an old bruise from the many times Jack grabbed hold of me.
"Bruce," I finally whimpered and his ears perked up to the sound of my voice.
"I…will never hurt you," his voice was strong and I couldn't help but feel a rush of assurance.
"I know, B-man," I leaned closer to him and brushed my lips against his collarbone.
His hands smoothed down my sides to my hips, pulling me closer against him. I gasped as he rolled on top of me, feeling his weight bare down on my small frame. He placed his hand under the crook of my knee and raised my leg up towards him as he pushed his mouth onto mine. He kissed me without holding back, without boundaries, like he completely trusted me…like he loved me.
….
I placed a sweaty hand in his as we both stood on the top of the stairs, smiling over the party goers, all clad in sparkly gowns and sharp tuxedos. I saw the twinge of jealousy on every girl's make-up covered face and tried to ignore the unblinking stares from most of the guys; it was almost shocking to see most of them smiling, even if they were all fake. I was used to seeing fear or anger from everyone me and Jack..er the Joker, met. I had forgotten what it was like to seem normal.
"Here's to the birthday boy!" A man raised his glass of punch towards us.
Everyone clapped and a few football players hooted; Bruce smiled and nodded, muttering thank yous as we walked down the stairs and through the people. I recognized a few people from school, but I didn't think anyone knew who I was. I wondered that if they did remember me, would they be afraid? Was I part of the symbol of chaos and fear just as much as Jack was? I started to panic about it when we stopped in front of a group of men.
"There's my boy," the man who toasted smiled and ruffled Bruce's hair.
"He's growing too fast, Thomas," a fatter man clucked his tongue and shook his head.
"Don't I know it," Something sad passed over Thomas's eyes as he looked at his son, but he was quick to recover.
His bright eyes flickered over to me, "Is this beautiful creature at your side, the Harleen we've heard so much about?"
I felt myself blush as I politely shook his hand, "Call me Harley, everyone does."
"Harley then," he smiled a real smile and suddenly looked to his right to a woman standing a bit away.
"Martha! Darling, come here and meet Harleen! Oh I meant, Harley," he glanced back at me, "My apologizes."
Martha made eye contact with me and smiled as well as she made her way over to us. Her hair was twisted up into a bun and she had on a golden dress that caught the light as she walked. I noticed her teeth were perfectly white as she looped an arm through Thomas's crooked elbow. I greeted her and shook her dainty hand in mine before Bruce wheeled me away from them.
"So you've met my parents. When do I get to meet yours?" he joked as he took a sip of the purple punch, probably already spiked.
"Never," I said bluntly before I could stop myself.
He looked at me with an almost hurt expression before curtly nodding and returning to his punch. I opened my mouth to say I was sorry, to explain that I haven't even seen my parents in so long, I forget what they look like. But I found myself closing it. He wouldn't understand what its like to not have a family, to not have someone to give a shit... and he was the type of guy that never will.
Suddenly, a far wall exploded, billowing out dust and rubble and making the room's multiple chandeliers sway and click. Screams laced the air as people rushed away from the site and Bruce shoved me behind him while his eyes darted around for his parents. When I heard the gunshot into the air, a smile stretched across my face and before my mind could stop it, I raced against the stream of people, towards the hole in the wall. I heard Bruce try to stop me, to call me back, but my heart was beating too fast for me to turn back.
"Now, I'm looking…for a little girl named Harley," I heard his gravelly voice boom, stopping people dead in their tracks.
I started pushing through the bodies in between us, until finally I broke into the clearing in front of him. I sucked in a breath as I took him in.
His eyes were sharpened by the dark gray makeup wiped around his eyes, his pale face was now white, and he had smoothed red over his mouth and scars; just like the clown on the poster, but darker, edgier. His dark green hair fell into his face as he stared at me. His lanky frame dawned a fitted, all white tuxedo and made me wonder when he got that.
"Hhhhharley, there you are! Come to Daddy J," he held his arms out wide, pointing his sawed off shotgun into the air.
His arms were there for me. Not the girl from the mall. Me. He came all the way here for me. I felt myself leaning towards him, ignoring the terrified looks and the stilled breathing from the people surrounding me. But a strong arm pulled me back, pressing on old bruises and making me flinch.
"You're not welcome here, Joker. Get out," Bruce hissed from my side.
J smiled at this and took a wrinkled letter out of his jacket pocket; he held it up in the air triumphantly.
"But dear Brucey, this invitation says otherwise," he cackled, oh how I missed his cackle.
I tugged against him, but he held on tight, "That was meant for Harley."
"Hitting on my girl?" Joker's dark eyes lowered to the hold Bruce had on my arm and then flickered back up, "Only I get to do that."
In one quick motion he tossed the gun off to one of his thugs, causing a few gasps to erupt from the crowd, and flicked out a knife with his other hand. He was about to open his mouth when I finally found my voice again.
"What about that other girl?" I heard more spite in my voice than I had meant, but didn't lower my gaze from his.
I needed to know why. Why he flirted right in front of me like I was nothing, then the next thing I know, he's wrecking down walls for me. He paused, shifting his attention to me, and something changed in his eyes. He snapped at a thug that carried a duffle bag who wordlessly obeyed and unzipped the bag to allow the Joker to reach in. He pulled out a round mound of bloody hair and flung the object to the polished floor in front of my feet.
My jaw dropped as I saw it was a head, her head, as it rolled and flopped to a stop. The bone was snapped cleanly, but the skin and muscles were hacked at and the veins hung out like string, still emptying of blood.
"She didn't get the joke," He grumbled.
I giggled and ran to him, ripping my arm from Bruce. I flew into his awaiting arms and sobbed with relief. He grunted and made me loosen my grip around him after a moment; he smiled, glanced behind me at Bruce, and then greedily pushed his lips on mine, smearing red all over my mouth, but I didn't care. I heard Bruce growl and step forward, but Joker's thugs stopped him.
"You've got what you've came for, now please leave my home," A stern voice broke apart our kiss.
We both looked up to see Thomas Wayne by his son, hand firmly on his shoulder.
Taking a couple steps towards them, Joker sneered, "What? You mean I go through all this trouble to get dolled up for this party and I don't even get a glass of punch to show for i-t?"
Suddenly liquid splattered onto Mistah J's chest, leaving a dripping purple stain on the white material. I vaguely recognized the jock in the front row that the punch came from, from the bus I used to ride everyday. A dangerous silence fell over everyone and everything in the room as even the air grew still.
"There's your…punch," the jock's voice cracked with fear after he realized what he did.
"Aheheh you're funny, aren't you?" Puddin smiled and pulled out a small hand gun with a silencer on the end.
"Don't." Wayne stepped in front of the boy.
Joker cocked his head to the side, "Oh," he bit his lip in feign regret, "Aren't too smart are ya?"
He tensed a makeup stained finger to pull the trigger.
"Stop," I said suddenly and his head snapped to me.
"Wha-t?"
I felt Bruce's eyes on me. I couldn't let him feel what it was like growing up without a father; I couldn't take Wayne away from him. I took a hold of Joker's free hand and pleaded with my eyes.
"Can we please just leave, Puddin? I just wanna go home."
His eyes flicked from me to Bruce, then down at my dress. His tongue darted out to moisten his lips and I knew I had him.
"BOYS," he yelled and all the thugs swiveled around to face him, "Harls and I are hitting the road, but stay as long as you'd like. Cause chaos and, uh, make me proud."
His chest bounced as he laughed and shot a few more rounds into the air, wrapping an arm around my waist. As we stepped through the rumble, I felt my head fight the urge to turn back, to steal one last look at Bruce. But soon I relaxed and leaned closer to J, feeling his heat radiate off of him and seep into me.
"You know…this purple," He growled, looking down at his shirt before flashing a smile, "I like it."
I heard screams coming from the mansion behind us and more gunshots and crashes, but none of it mattered. I didn't need Bruce..i didn't need anyone except one..
The Joker. But how long was it until he didn't need me anymore?
- hi everyone. I apologize for the long hiatus from here and promise to never be gone for this long again. Thank you, everyone who stayed with me and is reading my stories and even being kind enough to review for me. A special thanks to a certain .Rena-2 for getting me back on track. And of course a huge thank you to my secret Wal-mart lover and co-writer, (; review everyone, please!