In Love With A Good Man

Chapter 24: House Party (Part Two)

Harley decided to take a small step back after having that conversation with Casey about his old friends. She couldn't help but feel bad; on the one hand, she was glad that she didn't embarrass herself by going off on Casey and June thinking that he was flirting with someone else right in front of her...

But on the other hand, she still didn't like the way that the two of them were interacting with one another. Seeing the two of them talking and laughing and being close, likely in the way they've always been, only reminded her of Casey's history when it came to women and unsuccessful relationships – not to say that was his fault.

Casey was definitely not the type to spite her intentionally like Joker would, and of course she knew that, but she was still having trouble fighting off those same feelings of jealousy and anger.

"Harl, if you're so bothered by the two of them are talking, why don't you just say something to him?" Ivy asked after observing the expression with which she was watching them.

"Ah-wh-what do ya mean, Red? Psh, I'm-I'm not bothered by it at all! Why, do I look bothered by it?" Harley asked, leaning away self-consciously while pressing a finger to her chin.

"Harley, dear, just go up and say something to him." She insisted. However, Harley shook her head at this.

"I can't, Red! I just talked with him about how much his friends mean to him. I can't just barge in there and tell 'em to split. He's not even doing anything wrong. I'm the one that's being stupid feeling like this." Harley said with a huff, pouting and folding her arms.

"Your feelings are your feelings, Harley; there's nothing stupid about them. If you're bothered by what he's doing, you need to make it known. Unless you're worried he'll have a bad reaction?" Ivy wondered, raising her eyebrow a little.

"No no, Casey's a sweetheart, he wouldn't do that. I just feel like I'm overthinking it." Harley argued.

"Yes. You are. Talk to him about it!" Ivy insisted once more.

"Alright, alright, I will later! Sheesh!" Harley finally gave in, sipping her drink irritably. Ivy sat back and took a sip of her drink too.

"Honestly, Harley, I don't blame you for feeling like that. That June girl seems nice and all, but I can't say I fully trust her around Casey." She commented.

"Whattaya mean, Red?" Harley asked, looking at her.

"Well, here we are at this party. She knows you're here, and yet she's still there leaning on him and touching his arm. Unless she's an idiot, she knows what that looks like. Maybe she doesn't have those sort of intentions, but it sure seems that way.

"Casey may see her as just a best friend, but that doesn't necessarily mean that she doesn't want more. Again, it's between you and Casey to discuss, I would just say be mindful of her. It's usually the 'best friends' that you have to watch out for the most." Ivy advised.

"Got it," Harley nodded in understanding. "Thanks, Red. I don't know what I would do without you." She said to her appreciatively.

"You'd be quite a wreck, yes." Ivy teased her lightly, smiling and sipping her drink again. Harley chuckled at this.

After that conversation with Ivy, Harley decided that she would have a talk with Casey about June another time. For now, she decided to join Casey by the DJ table; she figured that'd be one way to 'mark' her territory, as it were.

"Wow, babe! All this stuff looks so technical. I'd be lost tryna figure all this out!" She said with a laugh. Casey chuckled at this.

"I owe my success to Mac. He's the one who got me into this."

"Hey, bro, I just handed you the keys. You took the wheel from there." Mac complimented him with a sideways smile.

Before Casey could reply, however, the conversation was cut short by a random guy at the party approaching their setup, "Hey, man, you take requests?" He asked Casey while dapping him up.

"Yeah, whatcha need man?" Casey asked.

"I'm tryna get this girl who likes to dance and whatever, right? This is her favorite song. Think you can fit it in?" He requested, holding out his phone so Casey could see.

Casey, Harley, Mac, and June all leaned towards the phone to see what the song was. Harley didn't really keep up with music too well, so she didn't recognize it. However, she noticed that Casey and the others all had similar reactions to it: both Mac and June looked at Casey.

"Heheh, this is actually one of my favorite songs too. She's got good taste." Casey said approvingly.

"Great, so you'll play it?"

"I've got a special mix for ya, man. I'll play it in...two songs." Casey said.

"Cool, thanks." The guy nodded and went back inside the house. Once he was gone, Mac started getting excited, hyping Casey up by grabbing him and shaking him.

"This is it, man, this is your moment!" He said to him.

"You better hurry and get your stuff ready. You still have the file?" June asked him.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it, I got it. One second." Casey said frantically. He started the next song then began frantically clicking around on his laptop, looking for what he needed.

"'Scuse me, Harley. Here's the midi, Casey." Mac said, reaching past Harley to grab a small keyboard with a USB port at the end. Harley took a step back to get out of their way and let them help Casey.

"Whoa, what's going on, guys?" Harley asked, only partially understanding what was going on.

"Casey has a special party mix of this song. It's like a live show kinda thing." June quickly explained to her.

"Yeah, but I haven't done it in like almost 2 years." Casey noted.

"But if you already have it then why are ya doing all this? Don't ya just play the song?" Harley asked.

"Well, usually, yes, but for some reason Casey likes to play live during the mix." Mac explained.

"Because some things just sound better live. Let me get this together real quick. Shut up." Casey said quickly before putting his headphones on and blocking everyone else out.

"Heheh, I really don't get it. I just like watching Casey work." Harley said to the others.

"You'll see." June said with a smile...

Finally, the time came. Casey was prepared, and whatever this song was, it was coming up next. Harley could see that Casey was oddly nervous, even though according to Mac and June, he had apparently done this before. He motioned for Harley to come over. She walked up next to him, and he handed her a pair of headphones.

"Here, you'll hear everything better this way."

"Okay, hun! Do I wear it like this or with one ear out like you do, Mr. DJ?" Harley asked, putting the headphones on and then tucking the right side back so that her ear was exposed.

"Either way's fine." He responded with a breathy laugh.

"You got this, bro!" Mac said to encourage him. Casey scoffed and him a thumbs up.

"We'll see." Harley heard Casey say under his breath before starting the song.

Harley listened closely as the song faded in and started up with a heavy beat. She nodded along to it, watching Casey as he let it play for a bit before fading into another song – one more melodic and romantic while still having a danceable beat.

Casey's left hand lowered down to his keyboard, and he played a few chords on top of the song.

It didn't take long for her to see why Casey and the others were so frantic in helping him get ready. As the song continued, Harley watched Casey's hands methodically switch from the laptop to the keyboard to his mouse to buttons on the side of the keyboard and back again.

It was all very technical, and his movements purposeful.

But what really got to Harley was watching Casey work. She had never really seen this level of focus from him before; as he rocked to the music, with all the pieces of the music falling into place, she could tell that he was really enjoying himself.

Harley put the headphones on over both ears now and held onto him, wrapping her arms around his stomach so his arms would still be free for him to work. She closed her eyes and listened to the music, allowing herself to get lost in his sound.

And for just a minute, she found herself back in the night she first met Casey in that club months ago. Things were so radically different now, but her feelings for him then had become so much stronger now. Beyond everything else, she loved that Casey made her feel safe and at ease.

As the song came to its close, Casey played a few more chords and let the song end. He wrapped other arm around Harley's shoulders. She turned his face towards her and kissed him deeply. He returned the kiss without hesitation...

Once the song was over, the party continued like normal. Casey took a break and sat with Harley by the pool, talking and relaxing all while holding her. After a few minutes, he got up to get himself and Harley another drink. He met up with Ivy inside the house.

"Hey. Pass me two more of what you're grabbing, please." He requested.

"Sure," Ivy nodded and handed them to him. "That whole DJ thing you were doing before was pretty cool, Casey. I can tell that you have a real passion for music." She complimented before sharing her observation.

"Haha thanks, yes. It's nice to get back into it. I guess I missed it more than I realized." He thought aloud while looking off to the side.

"Maybe you should consider doing it more. I know Harley seems to like it." Ivy commented with a small chuckle.

"Heheh, yeah, true. She's the best." Casey said with a happy smile. This made Ivy smile too.

"You two seem really happy together." She said sincerely.

"Yeah! It's kinda crazy to me just how well it works, you know? Her and me." He expressed.

"I think it's been a good thing for her."

"it's been a good thing for both of us. I've never really had a relationship like this before. It's so...fast moving, and yet it's not a problem. Like we get along, we work out our issues calmly; it's just good – it's all good." Casey said.

"It is. I'm very happy for you two." She said sincerely. Casey smiled appreciatively and nodded.

"Thanks, Ive. I appreciate you too. You've been a real friend to both of us." He said. Ivy tilted her head, her eyebrows raising ever so slightly.

"A friend," She repeated. "I've never had a man address me as a friend before. If they're not afraid of me, they just say pig-headed things about me or what they want to do to me."

"Ugh, people like that are the worst," Casey said with a chuckle. "I'm sorry you had to deal with that. I've never really understood all that."

"It's just the way men in Gotham are wired, it seems like." Ivy said with a shrug.

"Something in the water, maybe?" Casey joked. The two shared a little laugh over the ironic comment.

"Maybe. But thank you, Casey. You're a pretty good friend too." She said with a smile.

"Thanks. You ever need anything, just let me know. You can call me anytime." Casey said, tapping her arm with his fist as he passed by her. Ivy scoffed in amusement.

"I'll keep that in mind." She said quietly to him before he went back outside...