Chapter One Hundred and Twenty Two - Hope For Harmony

Adam had pulled a Sunday shift, but it was a short, early one. Even the demon lady knew not to put him on a late shift on a Sunday as this job was not important to the man as his weekday one. Sunday's tended to bring in a slightly older crowd, who just wanted a pint or two in the afternoon of the day before they all trudged back to work. The upper bar was closed and the dance floor covered in tables and chairs to accommodate these casual punters.

Harmony and her friends usually did not attend the club on a Sunday, they usually stuck to Thursday theme nights, Fridays or Saturdays. They enjoyed the dance scene rather than the social one. But despite this, Adam was not surprised when she appeared before him as he served at the bar.

"We've got to stop meeting like this," he joked, lightly. "Your hubby will be jealous."

"Jealous of who though?" She asked with a warm smile, delighted that the man was paying her attention. "You seemed to be quite close to Owen. I am so curious to know how that happened! Weren't you two, more than most of us in the two Factions, at each other's throats?"

"Yeah," Adam chuckled. "What would you like to drink?"

"Just a Diet Coke," she ordered. "I'm driving home after this, I just thought I'd stop in and say hi." Adam grabbed a clean glass and placed it under the pump for the soft drink.

"In answer to your earlier question," Adam told her, passing her the drink. "After Owen and you guys won the competition, we continued our... verbal spat... to one side for a while. But as we were bickering, we ended up agreeing on something. I can't even recall what it was, now! Then the fight for third place got rowdy, so we left the place to continue our conversation. One thing led to another and here we are."

"Still, the two Faction leaders dating?!" Harmony pouted, handing over a few coins in change to pay. Adam had not told Harmony this and he was sure Owen had not either. Which meant that her cousin had informed her instead. It didn't mean much in the scope of things, Charity's character, Trinity Desertflower was in his Faction and Harmony's character, Suffer the Wrath was in Owen's Faction. And the two girls were actually cousins.

"Well, I happen to be bi and Owen is gay," Adam mentioned. "And I am irresistible so..."

Harmony laughed loudly. "And conceited! What does Owen see in you?"

"So mean," Adam replied and excused himself for a minute as he served another customer. When he returned, he noticed that Harmony had barely touched her drink, but he did not say anything. "Actually..." he said as if there was something bothering him and he needed to share. "Actually, I'm not sure whether we'll stay together much longer."

Harmony could not stop the sudden rise in glee in her heart, which thumped loudly in her chest. She looked at the sadness in his eyes, but saw only herself. "Why?" She forced herself to ask, rather than what she wanted to say. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm not sure," Adam replied. "Owen seems to be pulling away from me lately, we're not talking so much, he's been so busy... well we both have. But I get the impression that Owen's 'busy' is just an excuse."

The woman's lips curved faintly, but Adam noticed and sneered inwardly. "That's a shame," she lied, softly. Of course it wasn't! She thought cheerfully. It simply meant that Charity's plan was working! Now how could she pick up the pieces of her man's wounded heart and show him how much more perfect she was for him. He would soon forget about that boy once in her arms.

"I got tickets to see a movie next Friday," he mentioned watching closely her reactions. "I hoped to reconnect with him on a date. But he said he can't make it."

"What movie?" She asked, still stirring her coke with her straw. He named a recent romantic comedy film that was doing well at the box office. "Ah that one has good reviews. He's an idiot to turn you down. I certainly wouldn't have done!"

Adam hesitated for a moment, then smiled, making her legs feel floppy despite the fact she was sitting on a barstool. "Well, would you like to go with me?" Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! She held herself back from screaming. "Ah, what am I saying! A pretty girl like you must have a boyfriend!"

Her heart sank, but she ploughed forth. "Well, yes," she replied. "But so do you."

"I do."

"So what shall we do?" She asked with a sly smile.

"Let's just not tell them," Adam suggested quietly.

*****

"So... How was your date?"  Those words were spoken the moment Adam shut the front door behind him.  He looked up at the smiling, blond youth in front of him, noting that his eyes were far from amicable.  Owen was leaning against the door, his arms crossed about his chest, attempting to look relaxed.  Adam returned his smile as he hung his door keys on the hook and took off of his coat.

"The movie was so cliché," Adam said nonchalantly.  "Boy meets girl, but is already in a relationship.  Boy can't stop thinking about girl.  There's a breakup, the girl turns out to be a lunatic, so he goes back to his ex, who actually takes him back!  So you know, the usual.  How was Francis?"

"The same," Owen replied.  "The drug doesn't seem to effect her.  Yin thinks it has something to do with her age; she is prepubescent.  That means I also don't have to worry about her dating anytime soon."

Adam smirked and leant down slightly to steal a kiss, but his lips landed upon Owen's cheek as the boy turned away.  "You know, this was your idea."

"Yes and it sucks," Owen replied.  "I don't like it."

"Baby, you will always be my one and only," Adam reassured him, pulling him into his arms.  "You know that right?  Want me to prove it to you?"  The lust was thick within his voice.

Owen nodded and wrapped his arms about Adam's neck.  "You know, if she touches you too much, I will chop off her hands and if she kisses you, I will have to kill her."

Adam grinned and stole a heated kiss, prying Owen's lips apart with his tongue before tasting the depths of his mouth.  "I wouldn't have it any other way."

*****

Adam and Harmony went out on a total of three dates in the course of the coming month.  In the meantime, Owen received several text messages from his brothers, from his sister and one from Charity herself.

The ones from his brothers could probably be counted as being from Charity herself.  There were invites for lunch, the date of a final fitting for his suit and notice of the joint stag and hen night, which would actually be an enjoyable meal at his father and stepmother's home.  Owen declined the lunch invites, called the tailor to rearrange a time for just him and sent a firm refusal for the dinner as he had to work that night.

Actually, this was not entirely false.  He was working temporarily at the same club Adam worked at, as one of the newer women employed quit without notice, he just didn't know what his shifts would be on that particular weekend.

His constant evasion was infuriating Charity and she went to his house, only to find out from the cleaners that the boy had barely been home in nearly six weeks and then it was to pack a suitcase of clothes!  The woman then demanded that Harmony use her more direct contact with the boy and his man and find out where he was.

"Have you spoken to Owen much recently," Harmony asked as she walked beside Adam after eating at the small, family restaurant.  It was not really her cup of tea, she was used to finer dining.  But as Adam wanted to pay, like a man should, she accepted his choice.  She would work on refining him once they had become more intimate with each other.

Adam frowned.  "I thought we had agreed not to bring up our respective partners when we met."

"I know," Harmony said quickly to pacify him.  "I was just asked by my cousin that is all!"

"Oh?" Adam queried.

"It's like this," Harmony told him.  "You know that Charity, my cousin is marrying his eldest brother, right?"

"Yes," Adam agreed with a nod.

"Well, she's been trying to speak with him," Harmony said.  "Some things about the wedding and reception and working in Karl's business as an intern before university?"

"Really," Adam said, interested despite himself.  That last piece of information was new to him, he wondered if Owen knew.

"Yeah, but it turns out he left his home and disappeared somewhere."  Harmony was not completely displeased when she heard of this.  She wanted him to disappear forever!  As she had been busy helping her cousin with things, she had not been to the club only returning to this town to go on the dates.  So she was unaware that Owen was working there.  If she knew she might have put two and two together and confronted Owen with a blade!

"I can't say I know much," Adam shrugged, this was because he knew pretty much everything.  "I last spoke with him by text."  This was also true, Owen wanted to know what was for dinner and did he need anything from the shops.  "He didn't say anything about his living arrangements."  He did not need to.

Harmony sighed.  "He doesn't play on the game all that much at the moment and when he does, it's at times I cannot get online!"

Adam nodded, he also knew this.  The little spy-in-training, also known as Francis would often text things to Owen like "Ugh the two ugly women are here again!"

"Let's not talk about him anymore tonight," Adam said as they reached her car.

The woman gave him a broad smile.  "You are right!  We shouldn't!"  She leaned forward to try to initiate a kiss, but inconveniently for her, his phone began to vibrate in his pocket.

"Ah sorry," he said, removing it from his pocket and glancing over the screen.

Thwarted, Harmony's smile faltered slightly.  "It's alright," she reassured him and unlocked her car.  "Oh, don't forget, it's my birthday next week!"

"How could I possibly?" You've mentioned it three times tonight alone!  Adam waved her goodbye and watched as the car drove away before returning his message-less phone back to his pocket with a sigh of relief.  "Thanks Yang."  He'd asked the little backup system to make it look like he received a text if she tried to kiss him.  He didn't really want Owen going to prison for murder and he wasn't entirely sure that Owen didn't mean what he said.

*Always happy to help!*