*The Joker's Point of View*
Trust, should be at the root of every good relationship. I trusted Harley to keep Catrina and her family locked up tight, but look at what happened. They all escaped. All of them. I had just gotten Catrina back, and now where was she? With that shoestring billionaire! I saw them walking together downtown, laughing and smiling. Why can't she do that with me? I tried to make her smile, but all she does is scream and cry, beg, plead, for me to let her go. Why? Why can't I make her happy like he can? Can't she be more like Harley, succumb to my every need, smile and laugh at my jokes, or enjoy my company? I watched Catrina and Bruce from a distance, run down the street laughing. She linked her arm in his and the fire in my stomach flared. That's not fair! Why can't she cling to me like that? I huffed an angry puff of cigarette smoke out of my lungs, attempting to calm my nerves. I only smoked when I was as stressed, as I was now. I was making a plan, for Catrina to fall in love with me. Actual love, but nothing was working. It seemed like, I had missed my chance to grab her. I put out the cigarette in the building side next to me and turned to walk down to the bar on the corner. I was carrying my satchel, with my purple suit coat, and dress clothes inside. The make-up was stuffed in there too, making the bag bulge. I had a trick up my sleeve. Time for action, but first to have a shot or two to loosen up.
***
Buzzed, and dressed like my alter ego, I shot up the bar and the block surrounding it. People screamed, ran and panicked. I laughed, and had a ball. I jumped for joy when the cops showed up, I shot at them too. I threw a grenade or two in their direction and slipped into an alley.
Oh it was fun, causing mayhem in the streets. Too bad it never lasts long, because of the cops, and or Batman. I need to fix that problem. All in good time, all in good time. I walked confidently down the alley. Then, I saw her. Harley. I stopped dead in my tracks.
"Hey there, puddin'." She cooed provocatively, she was wearing her makeup and tight red jeans.
"You got some new clothes." I noticed, she looked down and smiled.
"Got them off this chick I mugged, and these cool boots!" She giggled, sticking her foot in my stomach. I hurled over and grunted. "You left me alone in that house!" She screamed, kicking her foot in my chin. "She got away because of you!" She screamed, "I wanted her dead by tonight, and now she's free!"
"I wanted her too! You're the one who let her get away!" I yelled back, pulling out my knife. The anger boiling in my chest. She smiled mischievously and laughed, throwing her head back.
"You think this is a game?"
"Everything is a game with you Harley."
"Nothing, is ever a game. Mista' J." She seethed, approaching me. "We need to find a new angle, get a perspective." She started, "We killed her best friend, captured her brother, captured her family and we got her, twice. Nothing has worked."
"So? Your point?"
"What is all this leading up to? Death? No, no, I say we let this play out. We've messed with her enough. Let's leave her think about her life a little. Let our mindset sink in, and ruin her brain. If anything, this will ruin her family and she'll just be caught in the middle of it." She said, laughing. I then saw her picture, ruining the perfect family would be perfection. Ruining Catrina's perfect family, would be even better. Maybe then, she will feel a sliver of the pain she caused me. This will help me move on from her. If I ever can.
*Catrina Scott's Point of View*
"Just take the damn plate, Dean." Mom ordered, Dean refused increasing her anger. "Dean! Take the plate into the dining room!"
"No!"
"Fine! Go without dinner then! Go to your room!" She demanded. "Cat!" She yelled, I stood up from the couch and entered the kitchen. Moms blonde hair was frizzy, I could see the wrinkles in her still fairly young looking skin they seemed deeper. "Help me with dinner?" She begged.
"Sure. Just you and me then?"
"Unless your father shows up." She said bitterly. I helped her set the table and we sat, just the two of us for dinner. We talked about our day, and about the week ahead. Mom was stressed, and extremely overexpanded. Her job was undergoing cuts and she was in the orange zone. (50/50 chance of her getting laid off) She, as of now is being expected to take on the work of three people, and more work will be waiting for her on Monday morning. Dad's work schedule has been so unbalanced that I haven't seen him since the night at the hotel.
"Do you think, that I could go see Bruce?" I asked, she shrugged.
"I don't see why not. Dean's going over to a friends house tomorrow, and I'm going to be working all weekend. Who knows what your Dad is going to be doing." She said taking another bite. She shook her head and we ate the rest of dinner in silence.
***
"Hello?" Bruce asked, answering the phone.
"Hey Bruce, it's Cat."
"Oh! Hey, Cat. I was meaning to call you. I needed to ask you something, anyway."
"Yeah? Well you go first." I said, a smile was on my face, I was happy to hear his voice.
"No, I want to listen to you talk first." He said, I turned red and rested my head on my hand. I was laying on my stomach, on the top of my bed. The Christmas lights that dangled over my bed were illuminated and twinkling. The books that surrounded my room were still, and silent.
"Okay, I was just wondering if you wanted to hang out at your place tomorrow?" I asked, fiddling with the blanket that I was laying on.
"Well, that's perfect. I was going to ask you to attend a fundraiser tomorrow night."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I forgot about it until just before you called me." He paused, "So, what do you say? I'll pick you up around ten in the morning, then we can chill all day. Just make sure you bring a change of clothes."
"How fancy?" I asked,
"I have to wear a tux, because I have to speak. But, if you have an evening dress, gown, accouterment, whatever you want to call it."
"Well, the last fancy evening dress I wore, is kind of torn up. Cause, we were being pursued by a clown." I laughed, then I cringed with the memory.
"Oh, how could I forget?" He said, laughing. I cringed again and laughed too. "I can buy you something."
"I have my own money."
"My treat."
"Okay." I said, smiling again as the memories in my mind disappeared.
"It will be a surprise, what size do you wear?" He asked.
"Twelve."
"Okay, well it's getting late and I'm exhausted. I'll see you tomorrow at ten." He said.
"Okay, goodnight Bruce." I said, hanging up the phone. My heart sank in my chest, I wanted to see him in the flesh. I wanted to hug him, and I wanted to kiss him.
***
*Ding Dong*
I lifted my head from the pillow.
*Ding Dong*
I squinted in the bright morning light.
"Wha?"
*Ding Dong*
I looked at the clock. 10:14 am.
"Shit." I sprang out of bed and sprinted through the house to the front door. I grabbed the knob and yanked the door open. Bruce's smile welcomed me, his brown hair styled, and his maroon scarf wrapped around his neck. His hands hung at his sides of his black coat. His nose was red, and so were his cheeks. "I'm so sorry, I must have slept in." I said, reaching for his arm. The cold air nipped at my bare toes, Bruce took me in and frowned.
"Oh," He said, as I pulled him inside and closed the door quickly behind me. He looked me up and down with a perplexed look on his face. "Catrina, you do realize that you're only wearing a t shirt and spandex?" I looked down, and sure enough, I was only wearing a collage t shirt and black spandex. I turned scarlet red and looked down at my toes.
"I'll go change." I said quickly, turning and running back to my room. I knew that he was watching me ascend the stairs, staring at my ass. I vanished into my room and threw on jeans and a new shirt. I could hear Bruce slowly trailing up the stairs, I grabbed my purse and exited my room before anyone had a chance to storm in. I looked down the hallway and saw Bruce right next to the entrance of my bedroom. "Sorry, you missed the show." I teased, he chuckled and took my hand.
"Come on, or we're going to be late." He said, dragging me down the hallway.
"I thought it didn't start until like, ten."
"It doesn't,"
"Then, what's your hurry?" I asked, he slowed down on the stairs.
"Nothing I guess, I wanted to bring you to Queens house before the party."
"Queen?" I asked, as we went down the stairs.
"Oliver Queen?"
"I dont know him." I said, Bruce shrugged. Bruce stood by the door, waiting for me to get my coat and scarf. I walked nearer to Bruce and we exited the house, I yelled a goodbye behind me. Hoping that Mom wasn't too involved with her work to hear me.
"He lives on the other side of town, it's going to take a while to get there."
"How long do you think?"
"Two hours?" He suggested.
"That's a long time." I said mid-yawn.
"Not with me, I can make it an adventure."
"I have never heard such an innuendo." I said, laughing. Bruce opened the passenger side of his car and helped me inside. The car smelled of pepper, and aftershave. He ran around the front of the car and hopped inside, he started the car and pulled out. Fresh snow blanketed the ground, the third snow of the year. He started driving, it was boring, I saw what I saw everyday on the drive home.
"We have to stop at my place, and pick something up. If you want, Alfred can make us some snacks." He said, turning onto the highway.
"Sure." I said, looking over at him. His car was an old Ford, it was blue and bent up, on the outside. On the inside there was a bench seat, and a decked out stereo system. "You've upgraded."
"Yeah, I did. It was easy, didn't take that long." He said, I had the desire to be closer to him. I suddenly loved the fact that he took a leap back in time with the bench chair. I unbuckled my seatbelt, "What are you doing! Put your seatbelt back on!" I slid closer to Bruce, and buckled another seat belt across my waist.
"I did."
"Don't do that, I don't want to risk getting in a crash." He scolded, I rubbed his thigh and he continued to drive on that bright morning.
"Don't worry so much Bruce, you're a great driver." I said, resting my head on his shoulder.
"Yeah, I just-"
"Worry too much." I finished his sentence.
"Yeah. That's what I do." He said, turning his head and kissing my hair. He sighed and continued to drive. I relaxed next to him, feeling safe and warm. After stopping at his mansion, and grabbing a snack for the ride we drove two hours away from Gotham City. The countryside was beautiful in the noontime sun, the roads were clear, and boring otherwise. Bruce filled me in on who this Oliver Queen was, he was throwing this fund raiser at his mansion, and invited us (him) earlier than the rest of the guests.
Oliver Queen's house was bigger than Bruce's if you can imagine. It looked dark and gloomy against the white snow. Bruce sped down the driveway, and parked as close as he could to the front doors. He pounded on the front doors, moments later a butler answered the door and welcomed us inside. Bruce's fingers were entwined with mine, and I was on a mental high. The butler took our coats and called for Oliver. A guy, dressed in a purple bathrobe came running down the hallway. His blonde hair dripping wet, and his feet leaving a trail behind him.
"Bruce! You're early! And you brought a chick." He said, his eyes landing on me. "You should have called, I have company." He said, Bruce let go of my hand and put his arm around my shoulders.
"Hi, Ollie. Yeah, this is Catrina Scott." He said, gesturing to me. "Catrina, this is Ollie Queen."
"Hello, Ollie. Nice to meet you." I said holding out my hand, he shook it looking me up and down.
"Likewise." He said, winking. I'm pretty sure I blushed, but my cheeks were already red from the outside, so he couldn't tell. Bruce and I wandered around the palace, while Oliver went and got him and his company dressed.
"Does he always have girls over?" I asked, Bruce shrugged.
"I dont know, I don't see him too often, only when he wants something."
"What do you think he wants? Anything he wants, he can buy."
"That's the thing, I don't think you can buy what he wants." Oliver walked through the archway with a beautiful blonde on his arm. She smiled brightly and stuck out her hand.
"Hi, I'm Karen." I froze, Karen. The face flashed before me, her dead body limp in that chair.
"Hi, I'm Catrina." I said perkily, taking her outstretched hand and shaking it firmly. My mind turned into soup, and my legs felt like jelly. I stepped back, tripped over the rug and fell into Bruce, he caught me and pulled me up.
"You okay?" He asked, I nodded. We stood apart from each other, he looked at me worried. I stared at Karen, with wide eyes. She looked me up and down, sizing me up.
"Well, why don't we all watch a movie." She suggested.
***
To get ready for this fundraiser, I had to shower, put on make-up, and a dress, with heels to seal the deal. I was dressed in an eggplant colored evening gown with a plunging neckline and a flowy bottom. My smokey eyes, done by the fabulous Karen, along with the hair. I had apologized for my reaction when I met her, she didn't make a big deal about it.
"Bruce is going to want to eat you, dear."
"You think?" I asked, she grabbed my hands and pulled me up from my seat.
"I know." She said, she looked in the mirror and fixed her own make-up. "Let's go, we have to leave if we want to get there on time."
"Where is it?" I asked
"A few miles down the road." She said waving towards the window.
"Catrina? Karen? You guys ready?" Ollie asked, through the bathroom door.
"Yeah."
"Okay, let's go then." He said hastily.
"You can't rush beauty, Oliver." She said opening the door and walking out. I followed her and saw Oliver in a tux, I saw Bruce down the hallway, dressed the same way. He looked at me as if I were the moon, like I was some genuine thing that you only get to marvel at for a few moments in your lifetime.
"Stunning, I knew that would be a good color on you." He said, wrapping his arm around my waist. He pulled me close, I put my hand on his solid chest and patted it. "I just want to eat you." He whispered in my ear, I giggled and kissed his cheek. Oliver and Karen were all dressed in their fancy coats, Bruce went to the other room and grabbed our coats.
"This is going to be a great night." Oliver said, opening the door wide and stepping into the cold afternoon.
"Let's hope." Bruce said, the limousine pulled around the drive and welcomed us inside. It was still cold, but it was warmer than the whistling wind.
"Who's all going to be here?" Karen asked Oliver on the way to the fund raiser.
"You, me, Bruce, Catrina, Adrian Veidt," Bruce let out a sigh. "Lex Luthor," Bruce sighed again, I could tell he was becoming annoyed, "Charles Xavier, Norman Osborn, Reed Richards,"
"Oh, good God!" Bruce hissed,
"Donald Blake, Wilson Fisk, and..." Oliver paused, thinking.
"Don't say another word, I know who you're going to say."
"T-"
"Don't say it."
To-"
"Don't say it."
"Tony."
"Stark?" I asked, Oliver nodded, Bruce groaned. "What's wrong with Tony Stark? He did all that-"
"Freaking bastard is a rain on my parade."
"He and Bruce have been competing ever since Bruce took over the company." Oliver explained
"He and I have been competing since birth." Bruce said grumpily.
"Oh," I said.
"You said Lex is coming?" Bruce asked, Oliver nodded.
"Yeah, let's hope he doesn't bring all those bright ideas." Oliver whined, rolling his eyes.
"If all these people cause you so much stress, why choose to throw a fundraiser?" I asked, Oliver shrugged.
"Most of the things we talk about are business transactions, and bragging about what is going on with our lives."
***
Rich people, are one-hundred percent snobs. All they talk about is money. Money, money, money. All they seem to care about is money. I should write a poem about this.
Money
Money is love
Money is life
Money buys me toys
Money buys me happiness
Money gets me what I want
Money shuts up the right people
Money makes me confident
I can be a bastard, because I have more money than you
Ha Ha Ha
I have a lot of money
Here, have some money
"I'll pay you to have sex with me" -Direct quote from some old bald guy
"Uh, I'll pass." I said awkwardly, turning away from him. He scoffed away, and started talking to a very buff man with long blonde hair. I gripped my water glass in my hand, and walked around the silent auction. The baskets were filled to the brim with items, they all looked appealing and very pretty. But I didn't need anything, I glanced behind me and saw Bruce chatting with a young man with dark hair. He laughed, half heartedly. I turned back to the baskets and inspected them more. I was bored, oh so bored. I was tempted just to write my name down on every single sheet, just to see how much I could up the bids. Plus, it would give me something to do other than wander the tables, looking for a decent conversation that doesn't start with 'I have money, how about you?'
"You bored too?" Asked a person behind me. I whipped around and my glass spilled all over the white tux shirt of a very attractive person.
"Oh my God! I'm so sorry!" I said, backing into the table and spilling the remainder of my drink down my plunging neckline. "Oh, shit." I whispered as the cold water soaked my dress.
"Oh, wow. I'm sorry, didn't mean for that to happen."
"Ahaha, that's funny." I said wiping my hands on my dress, I set my glass down on the table behind me.
"Hi, I'm Hal. I'm actually not rich, so don't tell anyone." He whispered out of the corner of his mouth. He had bright blue eyes and bleach blonde hair that was shaggy yet combed.
"Hi, Hal. I'm Catrina, I came here with Bruce." I said, pointing over to him, "He's the one with the fake smile and forced laughter."
"Like many of the moneybags in attendance." he said airily looking around the room. "So, you rich too? Or did Bruce buy you that dress?"
"Second option."
"Thank God! I was worried." He said, he struck up conversation about the baskets that he found interesting.
"I like that purple one, with those crazy lights and stuff." I said pointing to a basket that we were passing. In a story, it's hard to stretch out time without readers getting bored, so I'll tell you that we talked until the start of dinner. Which was about an hour. Hal and I talked for about an hour, before we were all called to dinner.
"Where were you?" Bruce asked, whispering in my ear as he pulled out my chair.
"I was being social, don't worry." I said sitting in my chair.
"Good, and I wasn't worried." He sat in his seat next to me while Oliver and Karen joined us along with Tony Stark and his date, who I never caught the name of. Another couple sat with us, Charles Xavier and his date Raven. They continued to chatter, I felt so out of place in all this money. I mean, my family was okay in the eyes of money, but not this well off. We couldn't drop everything that we were doing and take a holiday to China, or Germany on any given day. We didn't own fourteen houses in various locations around the world. Bruce looked over at me and placed a hand on my thigh. "You all right?" He asked, I nodded and took another sip of my water. My eyes wandered around the crowded room, I found Hal and watched him for a bit. He was laughing, he looked around and found my eyes. He rolled them dramatically and mouthed,
"Oh my God!" I snickered and turned back around to the table. Karen leaned over to me,
"I hate it when all they talk about it money." She hissed, I nodded.
"Dinner is served." Said the announcer, as a dozen or so waiters and waitresses waltzed into the room and set steaming plates of salmon and potatoes in front of us. We had all ready eaten our salads, and the soup. I picked at the potatoes, and ate the salmon. It was good food, I wasn't complaining at all. After a round of drinks and entertainment, we finished the main course around eleven o'clock.
I am a person that likes her sleep. I am not one to stay awake long after nine. I yawned and got out of my seat again, going towards the baskets.
"Is there anything that you like?" Bruce asked, walking closely next to me. His breath sent shivers down my back, the good kind of shivers that I wouldn't mind feeling other places.
"I like this one." I said, touching a basket with a few books and blankets stuffed inside. "And I like this." I said, picking up the massive ice cream themed basket that advertised twelve quarts of specialty ice cream being reserved in the freezer of the hotel.
"Ok, I'll get both." He said, writing down his name and bumping the price up ten dollars on both.
"You don't-"
"My treat." He said, holding his hand to stop me from protesting more. I felt guilty that he was spending money on me. I knew for him it wasn't a big deal, but for me it was. I didn't mind being treated, but I don't want to be treated all the time. I sighed, he put his hand around my waist and pulled me close to his body. "I like having someone to spoil." He said, giving me a small half hug. As much as I liked Bruce, I felt bad. We walked around the tables, I left Bruce when he got stuck talking to Adrian Veidt about business. I was starting to get annoyed with all this, business talk.
*Ding Ding*
The dinner bell rang again, and the second course was served. I sat next to Bruce again, and he seemed nervous and uncomfortable.
"Are you okay?" I asked, Bruce took a deep breath and nodded.
"Yeah, it's just time for me to speak." He said, standing up and walking past the abundance of full tables to the front of the hall. He walked on stage and tapped the microphone, getting a large amount of feedback from the speakers. He cleared his throat and wrung his hands together.
"Hello, and welcome!" He started, "On behalf of Wayne Enterprises, and Queen Industries, I welcome you to Una Nota Bella. A fundraiser for the Gotham Conservatory of Music. We have had the pleasure of having many performers here tonight." He raised his right hand, gesturing to the back corner table filled with singers and performers. "I am supposed to make a speech, about how music is amazing and such. But I am going to read you a poem instead, because the pain will be quick and I can make a lesser fool of myself." He paused, people chuckled and waited for him to start. He took a calming breath and started to speak, meeting the eyes of many people in the room.
"Music is for-
The improvement of life,
Enjoyment of time,
The healing of hearts,
And our minds.
With pounding drums,
And whispering voices.
Those calming cappellas,
They bind us, glue us.
All these broken pieces.
We may be-
Shattered and destroyed,
But Music brings us back.
It helps us Remember,
It helps us Forget.
Beats as soft as feathers
Or harder than Rocks
We see through blind eyes
True Beauty, true Feelings
We can see-
All the hurt, and hate
All the love, and all the kindness.
I see, the healing, and the happiness
I see, the good, and the gladness"
He stared out over the crowd that started clapping, he stepped aside to the podium and took a small bow. People clapped for him as he stepped behind the stand again. "With that, I am overjoyed to introduce the Gotham Youth Symphony." He said, welcoming the violin, viola, and cello players inside. They set up quickly and helped the bass players get situated with those massive instruments. Bruce exited the stage, and snapped his fingers, he went back to the mic and shooed away the director for another moment. "There will be dancing after dinner, also." He said, and finally left the stage. He weaved his way through the tables, stopping here and there to speak to other friends of his. Once he returned to the table, I stared at him in awe.
"What?" He asked, turning red.
"Nothing." I stopped, not taking my eyes off of the poet in front of me. "I just didn't know you wrote poetry."
"Oh, that? That was from a school assignment last year in English." He said, waving his hand dismissively. He sat back down, and seized my hand. "I don't like poetry, it's too, gloomy for me."
"Oh," I said, he squeezed my hand and we ate dinner while listening to various pieces that the orchestra played for us. It was very enjoyable and pleasing to listen to. They played until dessert was served, then a choir sang, and some individual artists were presented. All of them very talented and very skinny. I got the chance to speak to some of them after they were done. But soon, they left. For the hours were turning late and the food had gotten cold. After bidding on more items, and dancing until I had blisters all over my feet. I looked at the clock, I was hit with shock when it struck one.
"I'm going to claim our winnings." Bruce said, loudly over the singer. I nodded and he led me off of the dance floor. I stood, and waited for him to return to me.
"Catrina?" Asked a voice behind me. I turned around and saw Hal, who I hadn't seen for much of the evening stood behind me.
"Oh, hey. You taking off?" I asked, he yawned and nodded.
"Yeah, it was nice to meet you though. Maybe we'll see each other around?" He asked, holding out his hand.
"Yeah, maybe." I said, taking his hand and shaking it firmly. He smiled, and left the banquet. Bruce returned, an even bigger smile on his face.
"I got everything you wanted." He said taking my hand and spinning me back onto the dance floor. We danced for another hour, it was like dancing in a dream. As I became more and more exhausted, my brain became more and more foggy. Soon, I had to think hard about the words in the song just to hear the music. A slow song came on, I clung to Bruce, resting my head on his chest. He wrapped an arm around me and our hands were entwined. We swayed in one place to the music. I sighed deeply, fighting with myself to keep my eyes open.
"Let's get back, it's really late and you're falling asleep on me." Bruce whispered, walking me off the dance floor. We made our way to get our coats and then exited the hall. We walked down the slope towards the ramp that lead to the parking garage where we to meet our cab ride back to Gotham. I stumbled down the ramp, leaning on the wall. "Come 'ere." He said, reaching for me. He grabbed my waist and pulled me close, he bent down and put his forearm to my knees and lifted me up. I rested my head on his shoulder as he walked us down the ramp to the doors. He smoothly opened the doors and walked us out.
"Bruce?" I asked, drowsily.
"Yeah?" He whispered,
"Thank you." I said, quietly.
"You're welcome, love."
I fell asleep, then. In his arms. It was two thirty in the morning, and I was asleep in his big strong arms. I think- I think, that I more than like him. I think, I love him.