He was Almost Absorbed by the System

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."