up we go; open

[roycie]

A silver car rolled up to the Barnes & Noble and came to an abrupt stop at the sidewalk curb, just narrowly avoiding a pedestrian who seemed to have had the intention of safely crossing the street. Royce rolled her eyes and sent her older brother a look of unparalleled annoyance before undoing her seatbelt and pushing the car door open roughly. Her brother had to be one the the most dangerous things on wheels in all of Gotham City, 2nd only to the Batman's ride. She slammed the door behind her and came to a stop, sensing there was something her older sibling had to say before finally cutting her loose. Royce turned to look over her shoulder hesitantly as he cleared his throat to speak.

"Be careful, alright? I'll be back in an hour or so to pick you up. I'll give you a ring on your cell!" her brother shouted above the noise of honking cars from behind him before speeding out of the parking lot like the road maniac he was. Yeah... whatever, she thought with a sniff, both irritated and embarrassed by the scene he'd made of reminding her just how young she was. What's the worse that could happen? I get a paper cut? Things would have been just as safe if she'd taken the bus like any other car-less teen, but he'd insisted so she'd reluctantly accepted the lift. Eager to escape the strange looks she was getting, Royce grumpily entered the book store and made her way over to the fiction section without so much as returning one curious stare.

She came to a stop in front of a long row of bookcases, they were so tall that there were ladders provided for employees if they needed to reach the topmost parts. Scanning the authors & book titles alphabetically, Royce came to the conclusion that she'd be needing something from the second highest shelf. Looking left and right, she didn't notice any workers hanging around just waiting to volunteer their assistance. Royce sighed heavily, indifferent to the idea of having to hunt one down for such a simple task. It wasn't as if she couldn't do such a basic task on her own. [white]"Up we go, then"[/white] she said as she reached out to grab the sides of the ladder and all but hopped onto it, even skipping a few steps as she climbed it with confidence.

[harvey]

Harvey had just robbed a bank, and was on the run. As soon as he left the bank, he could hear a frantic women on the phone speaking to the police. The coin said she would live. So all he could do was kick the phone away from her ear, and run off with half as much money as he was supposed to get. And why would Two-Face want to rob a bank anyway since he has a job? The answer is simple. He missed it. Dent missed the rush he used to get when he did those things only a few months ago. So, he might have relapsed from going straight. But it was just one little bank. And its not like he would go back for seconds. He wasn't that stupid.

As he was running, he noticed the Barnes and Nobles and smirked. It was the perfect place to hide out from the cops. Even though it was full of people, and probably half the people there would recognize him. Or atleast they would recognize half of him. Harvey pushed the door in and looked around. It was a lot more crowded than it normally was, probably because of the stupid holiday season. He took off towards the back of the store. Yep, people were looking at him now. Dent ignored them and kept running. Maybe they will think he was in a hurry to buy the latest James Patterson book, or whatever.

He stopped by a shelf of books, near where a girl was on the ladder. Harvey was extremely tempted to just lightly push the ladder, but didn't. It would cause too much attention to himself. So, he stood there for a little bit. Two-Face looked at the girl again, and realized she looked familiar. Maybe she went to South, or maybe he robbed a bank that she was in. He really wanted to bite his tongue, but the words came out before he had the chance. "Do I know you?"

[roycie]

(Sorry about the late reply. My internet was down this past week and we weren't able to get it fixed until just yesterday.)

Royce reached out for the desired book as a voice rose up from below, causing her to turn her head and look down. Gah...bad idea![/i] the girl thought as her vision went blurry and her mind reeled. The ladder hadn't seemed quite so tall from the ground but now that she was atop it she was having a hard time keeping her composure. How stupid was it for her to attempt this anyway? She knew better than anyone how bad she was with heights, or at least at the thought of falling from them. Her eyes searched Harvey's face, widening slightly as they reached the part that looked as if it had been melted off. Her mind searched for a name to attach to that very one-of-a-kind face. Dent, a voice in the back of her head offered up, Gotham's former DA. The one who went crazy after his... Royce nodded solemnly at the man and gripped the side of the ladder tightly as she worked up the nerve to move.

She took a deep breath and tried to use the man's presence as an anchoring point to stable ground as she carefully grabbed the book and took one slow step after another back down the ladder. Her knees shook a little bit and she was sure the man would take that as an indication that she was frightened of him. No doubt he was used to that sort of reaction. Royce's jaw tightened resolutely and she hopped off the ladder with renewed spirit. [white]"I suppose you might. I'm in your class."[/white] She turned around to face him and smiled brightly, as if daring him to call her a coward for her less than graceful manner of climbing down the ladder. Her eyes reflected a hint of youthful arrogance as they searched his for some sort of recognition. Would he able to assign a name to her face?

It was difficult to say. Politics wasn't her best class but she wasn't terrible with it either. It was always the so-so students who seemed to fade into the background easiest, lost in a sea of adolescent ignorance. [white]"Royce Fleming"[/white], she added to her previous statement but decided not to extend her hand for what she thought would be a ridiculously formal handshake. There was just no need for it, really, and he didn't look like he was one for small talk or forced politeness anyway. She fixed him with a curious expression and her eyes darted from his face to his hands, visibly noticing the fact that he didn't appear to be carrying a book on him. [white]"You look a little out of place here"[/white], she stated honestly. But then again, she very much doubted that it was anything new to him. One of the many drawbacks of having half of your face blown off, the girl assumed.

[harvey]

[blockuote]

Harvey couldn't help but smirk, she was scared and he knew it. Thats the one thing he loved about committing crimes, everyone always recognizes him, and they always have the same look of fear on their faces. Dent watched her climb down the ladder. "I knew it," He said, peering towards the front of the store. He still had time, the police hadn't come yet. Barnes & Noble was extremely convienent if you happened to be a criminal, because there is a front entrance and a back entrance. Harvey surveyed the area, it would barely take no effort to take off towards the exit.

"Well, Royce, I suppose you all ready know who I am," He replied and held his hand out for a handshake. Even though Harvey is a villian, it didn't mean he couldn't be polite. Ever since he was District Attorney he had always shook someones hand as he met them, it was another bad habit of his. He had a lot of bad habits. Dent laughed at her comment. "I stick out everywhere I go, I'm used to it by now.

[/blockquote]

[roycie]

Royce stared uneasily at Harvey's hand as he held it out for what she presumed was a handshake. Well honestly! What the heck else would it be? she thought and extended her own hand to shake his. It lasted a whopping three seconds before she quickly withdrew her limb. Physical contact had always made her rather uneasy and even the most mundane and routine interactions sent her into a slight panic. Even a handshake was a bit too intimate, just barely within her control, and so she was always sure to break them off first. Doing so helped her feel as if she were still able to manage the situation, though she knew deep down that this was a rather trivial thing and probably didn't matter much to anyone else.

She was surprised at the fact that he'd laughed at her comment, mostly due to the fact that if their roles had been reversed she was almost one hundred percent certain that she'd have received it as an insult. What an interesting man, she thought, He seems to know exactly who and what he is to this world. An admirable trait, really. Truthfully, she envied him for it. Regardless of how she looked and pretended to feel, things were very much (and had always been) the opposite for her. Something had always been wrong with her and she feared this would never change, regardless of what school she attended.

[white]"We all do. In our own ways."[/white] the girl responded casually, as if it were the most natural thing in the world for her to utter. [white]"Especially at South High..."[/white] she added quietly, her eyes wandering away from his and scanning the area around them as if she were expecting someone to be listening in on their conversation. [white]"It's pretty obvious, even if nobody wants to say it. The kids at South... we're the ones that don't fit in anywhere else."[/white] She scoffed and shrugged her shoulders. [white]"And believe me. I've tried."[/white]

[harvey]

Harvey nodded, finally one student who actually made sense. Just as he was about the answer, the cops had burst into the front of the store. "Shit!" He said and then ducked down behind a nearby bookshelf. "I have to get out of here. Right now, so I guess I will see you in my class." Dent whispered to Royce rather quickly. He began to quietly move behind the few rows of bookshelves, towards the back entrance.

Dent wasn't ready to get locked back up at Arkham. He had the worst possible time there, unlike the Joker, who thought it was all a joke. They took away his coin. How could those phsychiatrists do that? If they were so smart then they would know that he couldn't do anything without it. Harvey peered over to see where the cops were in the store. They were about halfway near where he was, and they seemed to be checking every inch of the store for traces of him. He rolled his eyes. If he were head of the Gotham police he would have people split up, not stay in a group. But that was Gordon for you. Dent smirked and stepped out of the back entrance. He took off towards the direction of South High School because it was only around the street. Plus, he was safe there.