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.. SO I ASK MYSELF, WHAT'S EDWARD CULLEN WANT WITH AN INNOCENT SOUL LIKE BELLA? IT'S KIND OF A MISMATCH.. RAISES ALL KINDS OF QUESTIONS
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"Are we there yet," Harley Quinn asks for what seems like the millionth time today. She wears a large grin on her face as she leans over the truck's console center.
Her cousin looks at her through the rear-view mirror and shakes her head. "We're fifteen minutes away," she answers.
Harley frowns, leans her head back and closes her eyes. A moment later she opens them again and leans in, looking at her cousin. "How about now," she asks. Bella purses her lips and shakes her head after looking at her GPS. Rolling her eyes, Harley releases a sigh and leans her head against the window. She notices the truck approaching a street nearby a 7-Eleven and points to the munchie store. "Do me a favor, Pud', skip over to that bodega over there and get me a slushy."
Confused, Bella looks at her through the rear-view mirror and furrows her eyebrows. ".. Right now," she asks. Just as confused, Edward turns his head to look at Harley.
"Please? I'm sure ya old man and lady can wait, can't they, Eddie," Harley asks, shooting the immortal vampire a bright smile. Edward glances at Bella and shrugs his shoulders. The brunette nods her head and pulls up to the 7-Eleven store. She removes her seatbelt and turns off the car. "Need a buck," Harley asks behind her. She holds up a twenty dollar bill with her middle and pointer finger.
"I got it, Harls," Bella replies. She shakes her head and climbs out of her truck.
Harley speaks again while watching the brunette disappear inside the bodega. ".. Poor, Bellsies. She just.. doesn't know who she is yet. You know.. she's searching. I was the same way when I was Pud's age. Confused and highly impressionable. But she thinks a world of you," she begins. She clicks her tongue and leans toward, staring into Edward's golden eyes. The auburn-haired vampire looks back at her and decides to stay quiet. He let's her continue. ".. So I ask myself, what's Edward Cullen want with an innocent soul like Bella? It's kind of a mismatch.. Raises all kinds of questions." She narrows her eyes, her thoughts too wild and clouded for the mind reader to catch a single word.
".. What makes you think it's a mismatch," he asks.
Harley's face breaks into a wide grin. "Well, isn't it obvious? A man such as yourself is.. designed to kill. It's not a trait you necessarily want your in-laws to know. I wanna have an idea as to what you get from rubbin' shoulders with the likes of us," Harley hints to knowing something dark and secretive.
Edward's eyes narrows in size. "..What do you mean, Harleen?"
"Come on, Eddie. Don't pee on my foot and call it damn rain. You know exactly what I mean," she replies. She narrows her eyes, skeptical of his love for Bella. "What are ya doin' to her? Hmm? Flava'ing up tha' meat before ya eat it, huh, Bats," she continues to tease him. This is when Edward comes to the realization that a psychotic criminal, whom got out of Death Row less than twenty-four hours ago, knows of the existence of vampires. Meanwhile he rethinks this, Harley cups her chin and throws a smile his way.
".. Did Bella tell-?"
"You still haven't answered my question. What are your intentions with my cousin," Harley cuts him off, her voice calm and collected. This only means one thing: Dr. Harleen Quinzel is speaking.
".. I love Bella with everything my still heart has to offer. I could never hurt her. My family and I have sworn to protect her and her family at all costs."
Harley raises her eyebrows and smiles sweetly. "Awe! Ain't that cute? You're sweet on little ol' Pud'," she exclaims. Almost immediately, her smile drops. "Here's the thing, lovaboy. Girls like her shouldn't be with boys like you," she points out.
They stare into each other's eyes for a moment.
She knits her eyebrows together, digging and scratching her way into his ego. ".. Ya got that look in your eye. The kind that says you're trouble. And I only like trouble when I'm the one causin' it," she continues. ".. Ya got a good reason why I should trust you? 'Cause I sure as hell can't see one. After all," she sensually adjusts the collar of his shirt, "your kind sure as hell doesn't mix with mine. And Bella and I, we're a two for one deal. Partners in crime. That girl is the Bonnie to my Clyde. Even when we were just babes we'd drink from the same pair of tits. She got right, I got left. So tell me, how the hell am I supposed to know you won't suck her dry the first chance ya get?"
Edward thinks about it for a moment. "..You shouldn't. Someone like me should not be trusted. But what you should trust, is the love I have for her. Isabella is someone whom I never thought I'd ever meet.. She's a wonderful person, Harleen."
"Ugh! I know she is," Harley Quinns throws her arms in the air, "Which is why I'm tryna figure out if ya tryna marry tha' girl or eat her."
Edward's eyes slightly soften. ".. Hopefully marry."
The both of them stare at one another for a moment longer before the driver door opens. Bella Swan enters her red Chevy truck while holding a plastic bag full of munchies and a blue slurpy cup.
"Aw, gee! Thanks, Pud'," Harley sweetly thanks her. She takes the cup from her hands while Bella locks in her seatbelt. Next to the brunette, Edward diverts her vision from Harley to his girlfriend.
"Of course," Bella replies. She puts the car on drive and backs up the truck. Meanwhile she makes her way through the parking lot, Harley devours her slushy in the backseat. Next to her, Edward looks out the window. He thinks maybe, just maybe, the love of his life had told Harley his, and his family's, biggest secret.
".. So what were you guys talking about," Bella casually asks.
"Oh, nothin'! Just borin' stuff. Turns out, Edward and I have lots in common, ain't that right, Batsy," she playfully asks. Edward turns his head to look at her, his eyes hard with fury. If looks could kill, she would turn to literal dust.. But of course, his harsh glares are nothing the princess of crime can't handle. Smirking like the demonic clown she is, she slowly extends her legs and sets them close to his face.
Edward averts his face and hides his clenched fists. Behind him, he hears Harley sipping on her blueberry slurpy. The entire car is silent and all that can be heard is the car's engine and Harley's slurping noises. After a moment of awkward silence, she speaks again. "Oh, my God.. That is the best damn slushy ever," she exclaims.
He ignores her while Bella glances at her through the rear-view mirror.
Harley runs her tongue across her pearly white teeth and leans in, extending her hand. She shakes the plastic cup next to his face. "Suck on that," she teases. Edward doesn't move an inch. Bella glances at them, then at the road. The truck jumps slightly, hitting a speed bump. ".. I swear, it'll make your whole body shiver," she continues.
What the hell is she playing at?
She holds the straw to his lips, wearing a playful glint in her eyes. Edward looks at her, then at Bella, who watches them interact with a hard look. "Come on.. Put cha' lips on it. I ain't got cooties.. Cross ma' heart and hope to die."
He opens his mouth to respond, but stops once Bella yanks the cup from Harley's hand. "Harley," she scolds, her hands tight in the steering wheel.
Harley defensively puts her hands up. "What? I was just testin' him! Geez! You do one bad thing and suddenly the world's out ta' get cha'," she exclaims. Pouting her lips, she leans back in her seat and folds her arms over her chest.
Moments later, in the backseat, Harley can be seen staring into a compact mirror while applying a red lipstick to her lips. Bella's and Edward's hushed whispers and their worried glances don't go unnoticed by the ex inmate. Bella Swan glances at her through the rear-view mirror, her hands still on the steering wheel. "So.. Edward told me you already knew.. him and his family are vampires. Who told you," she finally asks. Next to her, Edward Cullen casually looks out the passenger window as he waits for Harley's response.
Confused, Harley furrows her eyebrows and slowly sets down her mirror and lipstick. "..Vampires? I never said you and your family were va-," she stops and leans in to get a good look at Edward, "Wait! You guys are vampires?!"
Immediately, Bella's truck jolts to a stop. She slowly turns her head to look at her boyfriend with wide eyes. Completely frozen in his seat, Edward says nothing. They both of them share a common thought: "Did we just fucking out ourselves?" Well, maybe not in those specific words, but you know. Out of nowhere, Harley erupts with wild laughter. The two of them turn their heads to silently watch her.
"Whew! Geez! You're too easy," Harley exclaims.
Tricked by the trickster, Bella scoffs. "Harley," she exclaims. Relieved to find out Harley was just messing with them, she continues to drive her truck through the rainy town of Forks. This is the second time Harley's tricked them today. You just never know what to expect from the princess of crime and tricks.
Behind Bella and a noticeably relieved Edward, Harley continues to laugh. "Oh, my God," she breathes out. "Wow! That was real good." She wipes an imaginary tear from her eyes and grins.
"Harley, you serious need to stop doing that to us," Bella breathes out.
"Nuh-uh, Honey B. Surely won't do," Harley replies and lifts her compact mirror to touch up her lipstick. After she's finished, she sets it down and smiles. "Anyways, to answer your question, Baby Bells, Mr. J had connections all over Gotham. I know all sorts of people. I know bat people, plant people, cat people. You name it. As they say, 'I got ears left and right'. Or is it 'ears everywhere?'"
Bella glances at Edward. "Wait, what exactly did.. Mister J do, Harley?"
"Oh, ya know, romantic gangsta' stuff. He really knew how to put the 'fun' in funeral," Harley replies. She sighs and smiles. "Well, you know how it is in Gotham. You got the good guys and ya got the bad guys. And I," she leans in between the driver and passenger seat, "just so happen to be a Gemini. So I'm a little bit of both." Bella parts her lips to say something, but gets interrupted by her. "Wow! Is that it," she asks while pointing to a modern, glass home surrounded by the woods and a river nearby.
"Yeah. Yeah, this is it," Bella answers. She parks the car in front of the house and removes her seatbelt.
"Huh. So this is what your Batcave looks like. Looks real fancy. Can't promise ya I won't try an' rob somethin'," Harley sets out a warning. Before Bella and Edward can respond, she's already out the car and skipping toward the house.
Edward glances at his girlfriend and places his cold hand over hers. Bella smiles at him and releases a sigh. They both exit the truck and catch up to the blonde.
Harley sees Edward and immediately smirks. She leans into his ear. "I bet this is where ya, like, fuck some bats an' stuff, huh?" She's obviously messing with him. Edward simply ignores her and catches up to Bella, who walks ahead of them. Harley narrows her eyes and burns some mean holes into his back, while adjusting the hunting knife in her boot.
Bella and Edward wait by the door, watching Harley catch up to them. Once she's in front of them, she looks up at Edward's family mansion and smiles. ".. Looks cozy," she sarcastically mutters.
Bella smiles slightly while Edward leads her inside.
The blonde releases a sigh and crosses her arms while following them inside the large, bright house. Everything inside is white and open. Expensive furnitures and decor tastefully spread all throughout the grand foyer.
The boyfriend and girlfriend turn their heads to find a frowning Harley. "... What do you think, Harls," Bella asks for her cousin's opinion on the house.
".. Seen better," Harley shortly replies. She averts her face and impatiently taps her foot. This was a lie. The Cullen residence is absolutely beautiful to her. She just won't care to admit it.
With a frown, her cousin turns back around. Edith Piaf's "Hymne A L'amour" begins to play, sounding all throughout the house. Bella turns her head to ask Harley if she needs to use the restroom, but stops once she sees Harley swinging her hips to the catchy French music. Harley catches hers and Edward's eyes and quickly stops, folding her arms against her chest.
Edward smiles slightly and takes Bella's hand. "My mother must be waiting for you both," he tells them. Suddenly, the three of them hear a loud clanging coming from the kitchen area. He smiles and leads the two cousins up the flight of fancy stairs.
FIN