In Love With A Good Man

Chapter 3: Moved On...?

Ivy lead the way into the bank. She opened up a capsule that expanded out and created vines that lowered down from the ceiling. Harley and Ivy both rappelled down the vines, carefully sliding until they reached the floor.

"Alright, Harl. Just stay behind me. Last I hear, they spruced the security since last time." Ivy warned her before she began sneaking towards the upstairs office. Harley followed behind her and mimicked her movements.

"Copy that, Red. Quiet as a mouse, sneaky as a snake... Are snakes sneaky?" She absently wondered aloud.

"Yes. Well... I don't know. Just keep quiet!" Ivy whispered.

"Snakes eat mice, y'know. And aren't mice both sneaky and quiet? Now I'm gettin' my metaphors all twisted and crossed!"

"Harley! Shh!" Ivy put a finger to her lips and shushed her harder, "You're breaking my concentration."

"Oops! My bad, Red. Puttin' a lid on it now."

Harley and Ivy quickly scurried up the stairs. They walked up to the manager's door. Ivy tried to open it up, but it was locked.

"Locked. Hold on, let me get another capsule to bust the door open." Ivy said, starting to reach back into her belt.

"Oh don't worry, Red. I got this!" Harley said, stepping in front of her and crouching in front of the lock. She reached into her cap and pulled out a pick for the lock, "I've been tryna brush up on my lock-picking anyways!" She giggled as she started to pick the lock.

"Oh really? I guess we'll know based on whether or not the alarm goes off." Ivy teased her. Harley giggled again and continued working.

"Hey, Red, doesn't this remind ya of when we first met? You were stealing something, I was stealing a diamond. It was in a bank just like this, y'know." Harley recalled fondly.

"It was this bank, silly." Ivy chuckled.

"Was it? Oh!" Harley giggled again, unlocking the door to the office. They entered into it, and Ivy started looking to scavenge the metal she came for.

"Yes, it was," Ivy chuckled. "And of course, I remember. I'd say we've come a long way since then, but we're still here doing the same thing we were then."

"Yeah, but at least we're better friends now." Harley pointed out with a smile.

"At least something's improved since then," Ivy joked lightly. "It'll take me a little time to remove these metal plates. You should start gathering up money now so we can rush out of here when I'm done." She advised.

"Roger that, Red!" Harley did a quick salute before hurrying out of the manager's office. She rushed back downstairs towards the safe, opening up her duffel bag as she made her way inside. She started grabbing wads of money and shoving them inside.

As she continued filling up her bag with cash, her mind began to wander as she thought about what to do after this robbery was over. She wanted to celebrate somehow, but she had no one to celebrate with. Ivy wasn't the type to celebrate the way she liked to.

Normally, it would just be her and Joker finding some wild way to celebrate a crime successfully committed, but obviously that wasn't an option. Harley thought about maybe going dancing at the club again, but that wasn't quite doing it for her either.

She racked her brain trying to figure something out. However, her thoughts were interrupted by the bank alarm suddenly going off.

"Uh oh!" Harley gasped. She scooped as much money as she could frantically fit into her bag before sprinting back upstairs. She nearly crashed into Ivy on her way back up.

"Time to go!" Ivy exclaimed, quickly nudging Harley back in the other direction. Harley spun around to follow after her.

"What happened?! I know that wasn't me this time!" Harley asked.

"The feline startled me! She's here too!" Ivy quickly exclaimed.

"What?!"

"One side, ladies, let's go!"

Harley looked to her left and saw Catwoman in full gear jump past her, landing at the bottom of the stairs. Realizing what had happened, Harley quickened her pace. The three women rushed back to Ivy's vines and were pulled up onto the roof.

"Follow me! I have a hiding spot nearby!" Catwoman took charge and led the way, leaping from building to building. Harley was able to follow along okay, but Ivy was struggling more than her.

"Come on, Red! Hurry!" Harley shouted back to her.

"I'm the only non-circus-freak here! It's not as easy for me!" Ivy growled.

"Well you better figure it out quick unless you wanna get shipped to Arkham." Catwoman commented. Ivy grunted in annoyance and quickened her pace.

Once they had distanced themselves a few blocks away from the bank, Catwoman motioned for the others to stop. She hopped down onto the fire escape of the building they'd stopped on and led the other two into an abandoned apartment where they could lay low for a little while.

"Take a minute to rest. No one will find us here." She told Harley and Ivy.

"Good. My legs hurt from all that running and jumping." Ivy grumbled, pulling a chair for herself and sitting down. She stroked her heated legs to try and relax them.

"Sounds like someone shouldn't have skipped leg day, huh, Red?" Harley giggled. Ivy glared at her, making her laughter tone down and become more nervous and awkward.

"What were you doing at the bank, Selina?" Ivy asked. Selina shrugged as she sat down.

"Same reason as you two: the bank had something I needed, so I took it." She summarized in simple terms.

"Being a supervillain ain't cheap!" Harley commented with a laugh, assuming money is what Selina had stolen too.

"I guess so," Selina scoffed. "So what're you doing out here with green thumb, Quinn? The clown threw you out again?" She asked. Harley shifted in her seat and cleared her throat.

"Um...yeah."

"Mm," Selina nodded. "How long has it been?"

"About a week." Ivy answered for her.

"Still fresh, huh? So you'll be back with him in another week or two then." Selina presumed.

"No, I will not!" Harley argued through gritted teeth, "I'm totally through with the Joker! From now on, Harley Quinn's goin' solo!" She declared. However, the other girls didn't look convinced.

"Uhuh, just like last time. Face it, Harley, you're still in the cycle. You make up, break up, round and round and round." Selina described without much sympathy, brushing her nails against her chest.

"I hate to say it, Harl, but she does have a point. Things don't look any different to us." Ivy said in a softer tone. Still, their straight-shot words were upsetting to hear.

"But things are different this time!" She said defensively.

"I just don't understand what you see in that guy," Selina scoffed. "I get that there's not a lot of good guys in Gotham, but do you really have to keep yourself on a leash for that slimeball in a suit?"

"I am not going back to the Joker!" Harley shouted louder, standing up and stamping her foot with a growl. Both girls flinched, but their expressions didn't change.

"Okay, Harley. Just stay quiet. We're still hiding, remember?" Ivy reminded her. Harley, although still frustrated, took in a breath to calm herself down a bit.

"Fine...but I'm done with this, alright? I'm done with the Joker, and that's that." She reiterated.

"If you say so. For your sake, I hope you actually mean it this time." Selina commented.

"I do mean it! And as a matter of fact, I've already moved on!" Harley humphed, folding her arms and turning her nose up at Selina. Selina raised an eyebrow at her.

"Oh really?"

"Yes! I'm seeing a new guy now! So ha!" She stuck her tongue out at Selina. This new piece of information actually did surprise the other two girls.

"A new guy? You never mentioned that." Ivy said, looking up at Harley.

"Well...yeah...it's new, you know?"

"Does this 'new guy' have a name, or you just making it up?" Selina asked with a humorous chuckle.

"I'm not making it up, and he does have a name. His name is Casey." Harley folded her arms again.

"Casey...and where did you meet this 'Casey' person?" Ivy asked.

"At the club. You know what? I'm gonna call him right now and see if he wants me to come over." Harley decided, pulling her phone out to prove her point.

"Put it on speaker." Selina told her. She wanted to make sure that Harley wasn't faking this.

Harley shook her head, mimicking Selina with a sarcastic attitude as she dialed Casey's number and called him. She put the call on speaker and cleared her throat, switching her tone up.

"Hello?" Casey answered the phone.

"Hey there, cutie. It's Harley! Remember me?" She giggled.

"Yeah, of course. How're you doing, Harley? Staying with your friend, right?" He asked.

"Yep! I'm all settled in now, thanks for checking! Hey, I was wondering if I could, you know, come over to your place again tonight." She offered with a smile.

"Uhh yeah sure. I got nothing else going on." He answered with a faint chuckle.

"Great! I can be there in an hour. That work for ya?"

"Yeah, totally. Just call me when you're getting close, okay?"

"Sounds good! Can't wait to see you!" Harley giggled again and sent a kiss through the phone. Casey chuckled.

"Looking forward to it, Harley." He said before hanging up the phone.

Harley put her hands on her hips and smirked at the others; she had proved them wrong. Ivy and Selina looked at each other oddly. Harley had been telling the truth after all, but this was definitely unusual for Harley; having some random new guy in the picture.

"Alright then," Selina shrugged. "I think things are calm now. Let's get going."

So the three girls left their little hideout and went their separate ways. Selina went back to her home. Harley went back with Ivy to her place to drop off all of their things. Then Harley quickly removed her makeup, got dressed in a plain T-shirt and jeans, and fixed herself up to go see Casey.

"Ivy! You got any perfume I can use? I don't wanna smell like sweat and baby powder when I get to Casey's place." She asked.

"Yeah, I have some over here... Harl, how did you say you met this guy again?" Ivy asked as she grabbed one of her perfumes and brought it over to Harley.

"Oh, just at the club. Thanks, hun!" Harley smiled, taking it and spraying herself a few times.

"You sure it's a good idea to just throw yourself at another guy? You were crying all over my bed sheets just the other night, remember?" She reminded her.

"Well, it's like you said: I gotta break the cycle somehow! And Casey's a nice guy, very cute. You'd like him!" She said, fixing her hair.

"I highly doubt it," Ivy rolled her eyes. "Just don't be stupid, Harley. Getting with guy after guy isn't gonna make you feel better. Get yourself better and then move on." She advised. Harley said nothing in response; she just nodded silently...

Harley soon left Toxic Acres. She used the underground tunnels to get into the city. Once she was far away enough, she resurfaced and used a taxi to get the rest of the way to Casey's house. After paying for her ride in cash, she walked up to the front door.

As she approached the front door, she could hear unfamiliar music playing from inside. She swallowed and balled up her fist. She started to recall what Ivy and Selina had said to her; how doubtful they were of her. In all honesty, she wasn't entirely sure what she was doing here either.

She raised her fist up and knocked on the door. After a while, when no one came to the door, she rang the doorbell. Finally, the music stopped. Casey opened up the door. He had on a hoodie and cargo pants.

"Hey, Harley! Sorry about that. I told you to call me when you were closing in." He pointed out with a chuckle.

"Oh! Sorry, heheh, I forgot." She giggled, blushing in embarrassment.

"No, it's okay. I was ready for you, I was just working on some stuff and had my headphones in. That was the only reason." He explained.

"Ohh, I see. I'm sorry!"

"No, it's all good! You're here now, that's the important thing," He said with a smile. This made Harley smile too; some of her concerns were instantly alleviated. "Come on in." He invited, opening the door up for her more.

"Alright! Thanks!" Harley said, kissing him on the cheek before she went inside. Casey smiled and closed the door behind him...