La Douleur Exquise

Six

I can count on one hand how many time Harlan Cass had lost his temper. In fact, I wouldn't even need my hand because that guy is so cool that he never lets anything get to him. Except for Darcie Scott. More precisely, Darcie Scott at this moment. 

I must have missed the beginning of the argument but by the time my attention flitted back to dance studio below, Darcie and Harlan were in a huge argument. They were right up in each other's face, hand motioning wildly, and eyes narrowed as their mouths moved at breakneck speed. 

"They're arguing," Owen noted. He stood up and stepped closer to the window of the observation room, placing his hands against the glass. "We should go down and stop them. Knowing Darcie, she'll try to kill him and I can't let that happen."

Ritchie sighed. "Oh, thank God! I thought they were making out."

"Making out?" I guffawed. Like that would ever happen between Darcie and Harlan. 

"Easy mistake to make," Ritchie said. Following Owen out the door, he looked back over his shoulder at me. "Their faces were really close together. I might have jumped to conclusions. Anyway, are you going to come down?"

Against my better judgement, I nodded and followed the guys down to the dance studio. Without Harlan's expertise, it took us longer than necessary to find the room but when we finally found the right door, Owen, Ritchie and I had to do rock-paper-scissors to figure out which of us would be the first to enter the lion's den. 

"Ha!" Ritchie fist pumped the air when his rock trumped my scissors. But at least my scissors trumped Owen's paper. "Ha! Owen, you go first. While I don't condone hitting girl's, we must remember that Darcie is not a girl; she's a robot with anger problems so if she attacks, hit the bitch!"

"There will be no hitting," I shake my head at their attitude. Knowing that Owen would never go in first after Ritchie's little speech, I pulled the door of the dance studio open and took my first tentative step inside. Harlan and Darcie were still yelling at each other but I couldn't make out any of their words. I'd be amazed if they themselves knew what was being thrown around. "Hey, you two, stop it!"

Immediately, the warring pair stopped with their argument and turned to face us. Harlan glared at us before turning his gaze back on Darcie but her eyes were focused on me. They were wide and looked almost terrified, which instantly made me wonder what had transpired between them. Frowning, I tried to telepathically communicate my questions to both Darcie and Harlan, but neither entertained me with an answer. 

Thankfully, Darcie broke the uncomfortable silence as her eyes narrowed. "What are you doing here?" Her tone was full of anger and disdain, which wasn't out of the ordinary. I saw her look past me to where Owen and Ritchie were stood but she didn't seem to care about their presence. "You know what, I don't care why so don't waste your breath answering me. If you're here then I am leaving. Harlan," she turned ack to my friend. "We'll continue this later."

Harlan simply nodded but didn't speak. Instead, he watched her as she left and as soon as the door slammed behind her, he let out a word I never thought I'd ever hear Harlan Cass utter. "Fuck."