The Devil In I

4.) Totally (not) Fine

Weeks went by, and both of Darren Drake's lives had taken a turn for the worse. Both as a high school student, and as a vigilante.

By day, Darren had gone practically silent while at school, barely talking to his three friends, even Jason and Kate, unless absolutely necessary to get something done.

The pair had easily figured out during this time that something was going on with Darren and Felicia. But any time they asked either of them what was wrong, all they'd get in response is "I'm fine."

Neither would stay in one place for long if the other were to arrive, they'd just continue to hover beside the existing group for a few minutes, before making up a basic excuse to leave the area, and poorly disguising their discomfort with the situation.

Darren was next to impossible to talk to at this point, given his aforementioned short temper as of late. Felicia wasn't much better for answers, just saying whatever would end the discussion as quickly as possible, dismissing any apparent issues with her supposed best friend.

Meanwhile by night, the criminal underground of Hell's Kitchen was receiving a much more aggressive beating lately with their resident Devil showing much less restraint, and resorting to pummeling his targets unconscious, sometimes after breaking one or more bones too.

This was exactly what he'd been doing when Jason Queen had dropped into an alley on his friend and partner, relentlessly battering a mugger in the face, which was already every color between black and blue.

"You think you got him yet?", Jason asked sarcastically, making the red-clad vigilante pause and look over his shoulder. "Not now, Arrow... I'm not in the mood.", Darren replied, making a point of using his hero name since they were out in the open.

In the lull in violence, Daredevil looked down at his victim's face, bruised and bloody, and noticeably unconscious. He just grumbled irritably, and dropped the limp body back to the ground. "Great, another one of these lowlifes that I can't get answers out of...", he said, glaring off into the night air.

"More to my point, questioning might go better if you'd let me help you, and maybe we get something out of them before you lose your temper.", Green Arrow insisted, looking at him seriously, "Seems especially useful as of late, too...", the archer added under his breath.

"What's that supposed to mean?", Daredevil snapped. "You know what it means.", Arrow started, but stopped to follow the retreating fighter up the nearby fire escape.

"Felicia. That's what this is all about.", he continued once they were on the building's roof. "Every other day about this with you...", Daredevil said as he shook his head. "I wouldn't have to badger you about it so bad if you weren't being such a dick lately.", Arrow fired back.

Daredevil whipped around, now glaring at the other vigilante. "Sorry I'm not up to your standard as of late, rich boy. Just dealing with some shit lately. Sure, a small part of it might be about her, but other than that, I'm fine. What's it to you anyways?", he said venomously, getting a slight rise out of the green-hooded hero.

"Because she and you are both my friends, and it's been either uncomfortable, unsettling, or downright depressing to be in the same room as either of you lately.", Arrow answered. "So, if you want me to ease up on the 'worrying-about-you' thing, then maybe consider sharing with the rest of the class?"

The crimson-masked ninja just glared for a few more seconds, before sighing irritably, and relaxing his posture slightly. "Fine...", he replied.

"This whole thing with her family getting bailed out out of nowhere reeks. It's too convenient, the timing is suspicious as hell... and I can't make a full, honest effort to convince Felicia that it might not be legit without letting slip how and why I think that. And it especially sucks when any point I make against it makes me sound like a shit friend...", he vented, a little surprised with how easily that had come out, maybe he had been needing to talk about some of this a little...