The Illusion of Happiness: A We Happy Few FanFiction

Chapter Three

Two hours into her shift she was already starting to slump in her chair. She had her left elbow on her desk and her chin propped in her hand as she skimmed through articles. She groaned and dropped her arms, planting her masked face against the desk. She sighed extremely heavily. "God, this is boring." She grumbled. "At least the Joy made this job more entertaining."
A gentle knock interrupted her.
She looked up to see Constable Banister standing in the doorway. "Duncan?!" She sat up quickly. "Please, come in!"
He entered and closed the door behind him before he stoped in front of her desk, holding a bottle of Joy before her. "You forgot this in the break room."
He watched her eyes widen slightly in fear.
"Oh no!!!" She thought. She slowly reached for it. "I..I was wondering wh..where that bottle w..went. Good thing I h..had a fe..few extra pills in my dra..drawer."
He grabbed her wrist suddenly.
"D..Duncan?!" She gasped.
He slowly and gently pulled her from her chair and forced her to lean over her desk toward him.
Startled by his actions, she was unable to prevent the trembles that soon shook her body as she looked into his eyes.
Her reaction was a clear indication that she was not on Joy.
"D..Duncan?" She asked again in a more shaky voice.
He held her gaze, his eyes looking back at her intently as if he was studying her.
She swallowed hard. "He knows! He did hear me lie, and I'm giving myself away!" She thought. "I..Is something wr..wrong?"
"When did you take your Joy last? When I met you in the break room this morning you mentioned needing to take it, yet you did not take one in my presence." He leaned slightly closer. "and you told the Director you had."
"I....I." She made a fist as she subconsciously began to tug at his grasp.
"Bianca," His voice was becoming stern, but still soft as he lowered the bottle to her desk. "You know what I'm supposed to do with people who stop taking their Joy, don't you?"
She began to tremble harder. "Please...!" She nearly choked. "I can ex..explain!! I..."
"But that's not what I want to do to you." He interrupted her as he leaned even closer. "Darling, I shall pretend I don't know but you must take it. I have no interest in harming you, but you know the others will if they find out." He pulled one of his pills out of his pocket. "Here, take one of mine. They do not affect you the way yours do."
She looked at it and raised her free hand. She was shaking almost violently and had a hard time grabbing the pill.
He lowered it to her desk before grabbing her hand. "Bianca?"
She raised her eyes to his.
She was so terrified, he could see tears forming in her eyes. He caressed her hand gently but continued to hold her other wrist. "I am not going to hurt you, all right? You must take Joy. It is in the rules. You know the consequences if you don't." He released her hand and picked up the pill, holding it towards her.
She nodded and slowly took the dark and light purple pill from his fingers.
He released her wrist and grabbed a bottle of water from her desk. "Take it!"
She looked at the pill. Not wanting to make things worse, she took off her mask before grabbing the bottle of water from his hand. She popped the pill into her mouth and chugged down the water.
"That's my girl." He whispered before a sigh escaped his lips. "Bianca, please, do not become a Downer! I could never live with myself if anything happened to you!"
She finished off the water before pulling the bottle from her lips. A drop of water dribbled down her chin.
Duncan smiled and wiped it away before gently taking her chin and raising her head.
She blinked as she raised her eyes to his and subconsciously licked her lips. Her gaze was so enticing it drove him crazy. Her eyes held so much desire when she looked at him, even right now despite her being scared.
He could feel his heart begin to race with the thoughts that flooded his mind. He lowered his eyes to her lips as his thumb suddenly brushed them. "I want to kiss you so bloody badly!" He whispered. "Your lips look so soft. I honestly cannot wait to have your beautiful, full lips pressed against mine!"
She lowered her eyes to the lips of his mask as she licked her lips again. The sneering mask was quite terrifying but, at the same time, extremely attractive. "I want to kiss more then just your lips, Duncan." She whispered seductively as she looked back up into his eyes. She raised her right hand to his mask and grabbed the chin, slowly pulling it away from his face. "I want to see you."
His heart thumped in his chest. They were completely alone in her office but he stopped her, grabbing her wrist gently. He knew if he allowed her to take off his mask then he would lose his composure, and they would probably end up doing more then just locking lips.
"I'm sorry, darling. Not here."
She smiled and nodded before letting go of his mask.
He released her wrist and fixed his mask as she lowered her hand. He was suddenly aware of how aroused he was. He cleared his throat as he adjusted his pants in the best nonchalant way possible. "I better get going before the director finds me away from my post, again."
"Okay." She replied.
As he turned away she caught a glimpse of his excitement. He was pitching a rather large tent! Her eyes widened before a blush kissed her cheeks and she looked away from him, putting her mask back on. She was soon aware of her own arousal as she looked back towards the door. He was now gone, leaving her alone in her small office. "Duncan, I want you as badly as you want me." She thought. She sighed and tossed the empty water bottle into the nearby trash before going back to work.
Within twenty minutes the nausea began to kick in. She tried to ignore it but it only got worse. She stood and made her way out of her office. Almost half way to the washrooms she gagged and covered the mouth of her mask in an attempt to prevent herself from spewing vomit everywhere. She took off at full sprint, her high heals clapping loudly on the tiled floor.
Duncan spotted her but couldn't go after her because the Director was near by, and he didn't want to risk leaving his post again.
She pushed the door to the woman's washroom open with great force, the door banging against the wall. She tossed her mask and nearly tripped into one of the stalls as she gathered her hair in the nick of time. She couldn't hold it back any longer. Her stomach clenched in pain as it all came up at once. She quickly flushed it down the toilet and leaned against the stall as she tried to calm herself, her body shaking slightly.
Thinking it had passed, she went to the sink and rinsed her mouth. The effects of Duncan's Joy were indeed different. She kept a clear head but the nausea was just as bad. She suddenly gagged and ran back into the stall where she proceeded to vomit. Tears began running down her cheeks. She coughed and straightened herself, leaning against the wall of the stall. She closed her eyes. "Ugh!" She whined. Her heart beat hard in her chest and her body continued to shake, only harder this time. She took deep breaths as she tried to calm herself. She went back to the sink and rinsed her mouth once again. This time she splashed her face with cold water before she pressed her hands to the sink and leaned against it.
Once she felt the nausea pass, she picked up her mask and placed it back on her face. She then left the restroom and slowly made her way to Arthur's office.
Stopping outside the door, she sighed as she looked up at his name. She raised a hand and glided her fingers over the golden plaque before knocking.
"Come in." He called.
She entered and closed the door behind her.
He looked up at her.
She had removed her mask. Her face was flushed and she looked sad. She leaned against the door, her hands hidden behind her back.
"What's the matter, Bianca?"
"I can't do it anymore." She stated as she neared his desk. "I kept trying from time to time but the Joy makes me feel ill. That's the main reason I stopped taking it."
"You're my little sister. It would kill me if something happen to you!" He rummaged through his desk drawer, pulling out a full bottle of Joy. "It's a side effect you have to live with. Here, you have to take it!" He held it out to her.
She backhanded the bottle from his hand. "I will not take that shit anymore!" She screamed. "I know you don't want to either!"
"Shhhh, calm down!" He whispered angrily.
"No! I want out of here!" She yelled. "You helped Percy escape! Why won't you help me?!"
"Bianca, it's far more dangerous out there than if you stay and just take your Joy. He could handle himself."
She stood straight, glaring down at him. "Are you implying I couldn't handle it because I am a woman?!"
"Don't be ridiculous! There's more to that story then you know."
"What happened to him, then?!"
"I didn't help him escape." He paused, turning his attention to the door. He could hear commotion just beyond it. "I think someone is coming."