[ 28 ] 2014

-

"Please don't sit so far away from me."

-

Harley was able to get Calum to calm down, only after they left the beach. She led him into town where there were all kinds of shops and restaurants. The two teenagers sat outside a sandwich shop with Calum almost hyperventilating in his worries of the ocean. Harley knew there was a chance she would get in trouble for it. She hadn't asked anyone from administration for permission to leave the beach, but she certainly didn't regret it. She feared Calum would fall unconscious and never wake up if she didn't get him out of there.

Instead, she decided to call one person who could do something to get out of there as soon as possible. Paúl Medina. He worked at St. Genevieve's and since it was getting around to lunch time, she thought there wouldn't be a problem with him leaving campus to pick up two students. Paúl would have to do it. He worked for Arthur and therefore, he had to be there for Harley when she needed it.

She got her cellphone out of her pocket and searched through her contacts until she found his number. Harley put the phone to her ear with one hand while the other grabbed Calum's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. At the moment, he had his head down on the cold glass table and he was breathing hard, still soaked in his own sweat. It took a few rings before the hunter finally answered the phone. "What's up, Arlequin?" He asked her in something of a whisper. It wasn't quite lunch time yet and the teachers, as well as the students, weren't allowed to use their phones during class time. But considering it was Harley Quinn, he felt compelled to answer it.

"Paul," She said in relief when he answered her call. "I need you to do me a huge favor."

"Mhm." was all he said. He wouldn't deny the boss' daughter a favor.

Her blue eyes scanned her surroundings until she found some street signs that made her aware of their location. "We came on the beach trip with the rest of the fourth year students and Calum's having a break down. You need to come pick us up as soon as possible, please." She begged into the phone.

"I will need permission from the front office to take two students from a school trip..." He explained to her.

"Just mind control them into giving their permission." She urged him. "But please hurry."

He finally agreed. "I'll be there in fifteen minutes. Text me the address of your exact location."

Just as he had promised, it only took him a total of about fifteen minutes to get the permissions, get into his car and drive down to the beach. Harley was thankful that he had been aware in the urgency in her tone because the car ride to the beach was at least a half hour long and he had made it in half the time. She would make sure to keep that favor in mind in case he were to need her help one day. It was his job to help her, but she appreciated it nonetheless. 

Rather than taking them back to school, Paúl took them to Niall and Andrea's house. He had gotten them permission to take the rest of the day off, which Calum needed. Paúl returned to the school to watch over Dempsey, who was still being almost harrassed by her Chemistry professor. On several occasions, Paúl had been dangerously close to challenging the young science teacher to a fist fight.

Everything seemed to be getting out of control in Harley's life.

And it would only continue to get worse.

-

Though she tried to convince Calum to visit the school therapist, he continued to refuse. It was evident to her already that he had been left with a deep trauma after what had happened to him in Brisbane, and he was even too afraid to talk about it with anyone. His uncle Cole continued to live in the mansion near St. Genevieve's and he was well aware that Calum was back, but neither of them had spoken to each other. On one occasion, he had tried to pull him out of school again, but he had been denied permission to take Calum with him.

Somehow Arthur had gone through the paper work and all necessary procedures to put Calum under his legal custody. He had been able to prove that he and Calum's father Richard Caine had been step-brothers. With his money, connections, and influence, he was easily able to win over a judge who made it official. Arthur was Calum's new legal guardian, and Harley Quinn was thankful to her father for that. She was certain that he was well aware how much Calum meant to her, and she didn't want his uncle harming Calum again. Calum hadn't been too pleased with the decision because it meant that he and Harley would be almost like siblings, even though she wasn't officially Arthur's daughter and even though he and Arthur were not related at all by blood.

It was one week before the middle of March when the Quinns had a visit from the chief of the Sydney Police Department. He was a middle aged man in a navy blue uniform with a shiny golden badge on his chest. He smiled politely when Harleen opened the door. Harley and Billy had gotten home from their after school activities and Aaron was still at work.

Harley had seen the police car park on the curb in front of her house and watched from her window as he had neared the front door. Now she was peeking from the stair case, wondering what he wanted.

"May I help you, officer?" Harleen greeted the man politely.

Harley always thought her mother was more of a trophy wife than a housewife, if only going by her looks. She was tall and blonde, with big blue eyes, a great figure, and fair skin. She always dressed in high heels and elegant dresses, always did her hair each morning to perfection. And when she got back from her errands in the afternoon, she would put on an apron and do housework like any other housewife would do, but she looked completely out of place while she did it. Her mother was beautiful, and people always said Harley looked just like her. But Harley felt she was the ugly duckling version of the beautiful swan. Even though her mother was pregnant, and her belly was already showing underneath her clothes, she was still lovely and sweet as ever. 

"I'm from the Sydney Police Department and we recently found out there was a family living in this house after fifty years." He emphasized on the time that had passed since there had last been a family living there. Harley, along with Ashton, hid behind the railing on the second floor, to hear the conversation better.

"I think I know where this is going." Ashton sighed, biting down on his lower lip.

"Yes." Harleen nodded with her ever present smile. "Its such a beautiful house. My husband Aaron and I used to live in Perth with our kids, but then we had to move here for his job. We loved this house from the start."

"I don't know if you know this, but..." The police man started with an awkward cough, "a whole family was murdered in this house.

Harleen gasped in surprise. "That's terrible."

The man nodded in agreement. "The case was never solved. And now, the department holds a murder mystery tour in this house every year."

Harley looked to Ashton for confirmation. He nodded his head. "Its true. Do you know how horrendous it is to see speculated re-enactments about how my family and I may have been killed?" 

"Since the house has an owner now, the government won't let us do it without the homeowner's permission." He explained to Harleen. "If you'll grant us the permission, we'll do all the work. We'll move your belongings into a warehouse, and bring them back in after the fifteenth of March, which is when the family was murdered. We'll also pay for you all to stay in a hotel while all of this happens."

Harley's mother crinkled up her nose. The idea sounded rather interesting and possibly educational, but she wasn't sure that she wanted a bunch of people in her house to see how another family was brutally murdered. "I don't know." She told him. "I'd have to talk it over with my husband and see what he thinks about all of this. You can come back tomorrow and we'll have a response for you then."

The officer nodded, understanding, "Well, thank you for your time ma'am."

Harleen smiled and waved goodbye before closing the door.

When she turned and was ready to return to the kitchen, she spotted the two teenagers at the top of the stairs. "Harley! Ashton! Were you two spying on me?" She wondered, the smile still present on her face.

Harley coughed awkwardly. She had forgotten that her mother could actually see Ashton. "No...uh, Ashton was just leaving. We were doing some homework together and now we're done."

"I hope there was nothing too fun going on in your room, dear." Her mother warned.

Ashton went red in the face. "No, ma'am. I respect your daughter. There were a lot of boundaries being respected and plenty of homework being done." He assured her, sounding overly nervous for no reason. The mere thought of certain activities happening made him very nervous. He just wasn't the kind of boy who would do things like that, only after getting married the right way, as he had been taught by his parents.

"Stop talking." Harley muttered, nudging him.

"Right." Harleen eyed them knowingly. But of course she didn't know that Ashton was telling the truth. He was very respectful of Harley. Sometimes Harley thought he was a bit too respectful.

"We learned a whole lot about Bombay and India in general. The British ships, and the salt exports from the ports of Bombay, all that..." Ashton continued, trying to convince Harleen that they had been studying. 

Harleen quirked an eyebrow at him in confusion. "Bombay? I thought they changed the name to Mumbai." Harley's mother was similar to Cindy Hemmings, she wasn't the smartest of women. But one thing was for certain, Harleen Quinn was very good at things involving history. That was her strength. When her mother had gone off to study at a university, she got her degree in History. She had even gotten credentials to teach at a primary school, which she had done for a few years until Billy and Harley were born. Then her only job, she decided on her own, was to take care of them.

"Since when?" Ashton whispered a question to Harley.

"I don't know." Harley shrugged her shoulders. "I never knew it had any other name."

"Right, sorry." Ashton pretended to remember. "I'm just used to calling it Bombay still. Old habits."

Harleen laughed. "They changed the name back in 1995. You don't look a day over twenty years old. How could you have been accustomed to calling it Bombay?"

"My parents." He reasoned. "They call it that."

"Ashton really has to go now, mum." Harley insisted, leading him down the set of stairs. She just needed to get him out of there before her mother could suspect that he definitely wasn't from their era. There was proof enough already, seeing as though he thought the city was still called Bombay when it had apparently been changed to Mumbai before Harley was even born. It was a small detail, but it gave a lot away if one paid enough attention.

She led him to the front door and told him after giving him a quick peck on the cheek, "I'll text you." As though he were a teenager of her era. Then she closed the door.

-

Harley left her house soon after Ashton did. She wanted to avoid her mother's questions which were always the same. When are you going to get a boyfriend? Do you have anyone you like at school? Those were mostly followed by the comment, By the time I was your age, Arthur and I had already been dating for a while. Perhaps she would tell her mother about her relationship with Ashton. Harleen thought he was a living human, and it would probably get her mother's prying into her love life to simmer down.

She went across the street to Calum's house, which Niall and Andrea were renting, but he was living with them for the time being. Before she could even hit the doorbell, the front door opened to reveal three people, one of which she didn't like. And things had gotten even more tense between them since Harley had gotten her kicked off the cheerleading squad. Her other choice had been to join the book club.

Michella Barnes was practically being dragged out of the house by Niall and Andrea. "We'll give you a lift home." Andrea told the fourteen year old in a fakely sweet tone.

Niall winked at Harley as they passed her.

Andrea had heard her coming and decided to take Michella away so that she could talk to Calum. For that, Harley was thankful. Michella and Calum were still hanging out some at school, and each time she tried to talk to Calum, Michella got in her way. It was her method of getting her revenge after Harley convinced Cindy to kick her out of the squad.

Harley had a drawstring bag handing off her wrist as she made her way into Calum's house. She had a plan to help him with his fears of water. She remembered a few days prior that Niall had made a comment that they had to buy a large hard plastic pool cover and got it installed because Calum wouldn't even go near the backyard, or even the kitchen because one could see the pool from there. She hadn't even known about the house having a pool, but it was something she could use to help Calum.

She saw him sitting on the living room couch with a bunch of text books scattered on the coffee table in front of him. He was closing them and tidying up as she walked up. He turned when he saw her and a smile spread across his lips. "Hey Quinn." He greeted her with a small wave of his hand. After the weeks that had passed since he returned, he seemed to have become accustomed to the fact that Ashton and Harley were together. That didn't mean it didn't still hurt. Harley did her part by asking Ashton to give her some space whenever she went to see Calum. It was the least she could do to avoid him that pain. As always, Ashton was very understanding.

She waved back with a small smile.

Looking at the bag hanging from her wrist, he asked, "Whatcha got there?"

She brought her arm up to hold the bag in front of her face. "Swimsuit. I heard you have a pool in the back yard. When were you planning to tell me?" She eyed him playfully, trying to make light of the situation. She didn't really care about his house having a pool. What she cared about was that it was something she could use to help him with his recovery. He had been trying to get over the fear on ihs own. But sometimes one needed to face their fears head on. She was going to help him do that.

He bit down on his lip and looked away from her, returning to his task of putting things away. "You know I can't go near a large body of water like that. Not yet. Niall and Andrea have to mind control me into getting in the shower. And even that doesn't always work. This fear is stronger than you, or me, or our supernatural powers." He informed her.

"Come on, Calum." She insisted. Tossing the drawstring bag at him with the words St. Genevieve's Cheerleading on it, she added, "You'd really like this swimsuit. My mum picked it out when she thought I would be going to tons of pool parties with my new Sydney friends. I don't like it much, but she threw out all my old ones. One piece suits all thrown out."

He opened the bag and pulled out a black swimsuit. He took one look at her and suggested, "Can't you just wear it inside the house?"

Harley shook her head. "The deal is that I'll wear it if you go outside in the backyard with me. You don't even have to get in the pool today. Just go near it, and we'll do this together. I promise I won't let anything happen to you."

"Your persuasion methods are weak." Calum informed her. He added with a bitter chuckle, "Weak, like me."

But Harley noticed he was actually thinking about it. 

"When will you ever get to see me wear an atrociously exposed thing like that again, Calum?" She asked him innocently. "This could be your only chance."

"You're manipulative, you know." He finally told her with a sigh. Handing the red drawstring bag with black lettering on it, he told her, "Go put it on while I continue to think about this."

Harley grinned because she knew she had gotten her way.

-

It had taken a good fifteen minutes to convince him to even set foot past the kitchen, from where they could see the pool covered. Harley slid the glass door open and stepped onto the hot concrete outside, warmed by the afternoon sun. There was a small shed in the back with pool supplies and she found a remote with two buttons on it: one to set the pool cover and the other to have it open to reveal the water. 

Now the pool was open to them with its clear blue water, and she went to sit on one of the lounge chairs. There was another one next to it and she beckoned for Calum to sit with her.

He stood in the doorway for several minutes until she returned to his side, linking arms with him until she was able to coax him into following her outside. From the moment they set foot out of the house, his nervous panic sweats started all over again. "I know you're afraid." She told him soothingly as they took small steps toward the lounge chairs. The hot cement was burning their feet, but Calum didn't seem to care. Harley, on the other hand, balanced her weight on one foot before switching to the other, and then back again. "But there's nothing to be afraid of." She assured him.

Calum shut his eyes and took a deep breath before nodding in agreement. To him, it all seemed like the pool would overflow with water and drown him like the waves that had almost done just that back in Brisbane. But he also knew he needed to get past it, and if he had her support, he was sure he could achieve it.

They both finally made it to the lounge chairs and Harley had him sit in the one furthest from the water, but still facing it so that he could see nothing bad was going to happen. She went around to sit on the other chair while Calum kept his eyes down on the floor, avoiding the clear waters of the pool. His hands gripped the fabric of the lounge chair cushions, as if fearing that even from that distance he could fall into the pool and drown. 

"Please don't sit so far away from me." He called in a voice barely above a whisper, but it was a desperate plea.

Harley quickly left her own chair and returned to his side, sitting beside him on the limited space that the chair provided. He wouldn't look out at the water, but at least he had gone near it. Harley thought, there was at least some progress being made.

He was doing it for her.

-

another lengthy chapter, but i kinda like writing them that way now because it helps me write a bit more detailed. so we had ashton appear once again. and now we know why he and harley have put some space between each other. harley doesn't want to hurt calum, especially when he's so vulnerable with his phobia to water.

in the media section i posted a picture of the actress i chose to portray harley, andrea guasch. and that's the swimsuit her mother supposedly picked for harley. 

question of the day: do you think ashton will eventually be upset about calum and harley spending all that time together? he is a very understanding lad, but there is a point when a person reaches their limit. i would honestly be so done if i had a bf who was spending a lot of time with a girl who i knew was in love with him. even if he was with me and said he loved me, i would start having my doubts. but that's just me. comment what you think!

and thank you loads for reading! have a great weekend!

-clary xx