Ribs

Comedy Club

Trina sat at one of the many booths that littered the comedy club, it was a rather packed night which surprised her. She never fully understood why people would go out of their way to come to some dark and dirty bar just so they could watch guys tell the same sex jokes over and over again. The only reason she was even here was so she could support her boyfriend, after this, she would probably never come back to this place. Even then she wasn't sure if she should even be here, after what happened last night, she had a hard time viewing Arthur the same way as she did. In the end she merely just chalked it up to 'he had a stressful day and just needed to feel in control,' but even then, it didn't seem right.

The man currently on stage was making jokes about how sex was like buying a car, his last comment about handicapped people made her admit a small amused grin despite herself. The man thanked the audience for their time before another man, the announcer, got up on stage to call up the next act. Trina smiled when she heard the announcer speak the phrase Mrs. Fleck had told Arthur when he was just a boy, her smile was quick to turn into a frown when she heard him scoff at the phrase.

"Real professional, asshole," she scoffed under her breath.

The audience clapped as Arthur made his way onto the stage, Trina smiling as she eyed his suit, no one could ever tell her that her boyfriend didn't clean up nice.

Arthur smiled as he looked out at the audience, he exhaled shakily into the mic before starting to giggle.
"Hello, it's good to be here-"

He couldn't even fully get his sentence out before turning away and laughing into his hand. Trina stared with widened eyes, she stood up, her instinct was to run over and comfort him but she stopped herself. Arthur holding his left hand up while his right arm covered his mouth, still turned away from the audience as he signaled her to stay where she was. Trina bit her lip as she heard the crowd murmur in confusion and displayed faces of discomfort.

Arthur turned back to the audience, "I hated-"

Another burst of laughter escaped his lips as feedback echoed throughout the building.

"I hated school as a kid," Arthur gagged, stopping again to laugh.

He stopped for a second to catch his breath as he gripped his neck.

"I hate school as a kid," he laughed, "But my mother would say, 'you should enjoy it, one day you'll have to work for a living,'" he said in a mocking tone before pausing, "No I won't ma, I'm going to be a comedian!" Arthur cleared his throat as he heard only one or two people laugh, he quickly grabbed his journal. Trina winced as she saw the pictures of naked women as Arthur tore through his journal, "Here's one," he finally announced, "You know, I was just thinking the other day..."

Trina watched through gritted teeth as his performance went on, people barely laughed, most just stared in disbelief while some even walked out. He seemed happy though, he smiled big throughout the entire show and when it was over, he rushed back to Trina, wrapping his arms tightly around her.

"Did you see that, Trina?" he beamed, "They loved me!"

She winced, "They sure did, Arthur," she grabbed his hand as people stared at them, "Come on, let's get out of here."

The entire time they walked, Arthur was beaming about his performance, claiming how he'll be in the big clubs in no time with how positively the audience reacted. All Trina could do is nod and smile, not wanting to hurt his feelings about how poorly he did. She was happy to see him like this, she had seen him happy before but this, this was different. He was acting like a kid on Christmas morning if he believed he did as good as he thought he did, who was she to knock him down.

They were directly across the street from the diner Trina worked at, they both agreed to get coffee there so they could talk more without freezing to death in the cold night air of Gotham. Trina was about to cross the street when she noticed Arthur wasn't beside her, she turned around and saw him staring at a poster of a clown with razor-sharp teeth. Arthur had his mouth wide open, imitating the clown.

Trina laughed as she walked over to him, "Having fun?"

Arthur smiled back at her but didn't respond.

Trina looked back at the poster and sighed, "I don't know what to think about all this. I mean it shows a message not to ignore us but was killing three innocent men really the answer?"

"They might've been assholes," Arthur mumbled, refusing to make eye contact with her.

She laughed, "They were businessmen, of course, they were assholes, but that doesn't mean they should've died. Most they should've gotten is getting beat within an inch of their life, yeah they'd be hospitalized but they wouldn't be dead."

With that she turned and walked towards the diner, Arthur walking close behind her. Once in the diner, they took a seat on one of the booths, Trina smiling as she held onto Arthur's hand.

"I'm proud of you," she hummed, "I know things have been tough lately-"

"Trina, I'm fine," he laughed, "It was time for me to move away from that job anyways, it's time to move on to bigger and better things."

Trina sighed before kissing his hand, "Well, I'm glad you feel that way, I just worry, that's all."

Arthur smiled, "I know you do."

They stared at each other for a moment before getting interrupted.

"Hey, what can I get for you guys?"

Trina looked up and saw Sarah, she was staring at her notebook, refusing to make eye contact with either of them. Trina was silent as Arthur gave their order, guilt eating her from the inside as she thought about her last conversation with Sarah.

"I'll have that right out for you guys," she said before quickly leaving.

"Sarah, wait!" Trina shot up from the booth and ran after her, "We need to talk, look, I'm sorry for what I said-"

"It's fine Trina," Sarah mumbled, still refusing to look her in the eye, "You were right, if I'm not going to take your advice-"

"I never should've brought up your past relationships, I just-"

"It's fine Trina," Sarah said firmly, "Just go back to your date."

With that Sarah turned on her heels and walked back into the kitchen, Trina frowned before sliding back into the booth.

"What's wrong?" Arthur asked as he squeezed her hand.

"Nothing, just girl drama," Trina sighed.

"Aren't you too old to be having girl drama?" he questioned.

She laughed, "Drama never goes away Arthur, especially girl drama."

They sat at the diner for about an hour before leaving, hands tightly intertwined as they walked down the sidewalk. While the night started out rough at first it had slowly turned into one of the best dates Trina had been on for a long time. It mainly due to Arthur, his smiles and laughs always had made her heart flutter and this time was no different. She started to laugh when they walked by a Newsstand that was playing music, Arthur pulling her into a dance. His hand rested on her hip while he swayed side to side, Trina closely following his movements.

She laughed as she rested her forehead against his, her arms wrapping around his neck, "I love you, Arthur," she whispered.

"I love you too, Trina," he whispered back before pressing a kiss onto her forehead.

It was late when they reached their shared apartment building, Arthur didn't even bother to check the mail as they made their way to the elevator. Trina leaned against Arthur, her head resting on his chest as they rode the elevator in silence. When they finally reached their shared floor they got out, Trina holding his hand and pulling him towards her apartment.

He stopped suddenly, "I'm sorry Trina, I have to take care of my mom tonight," Arthur said with a frown.

Trina nodded, disappointment clear on her face, "Alright Arthur, tell her I said 'hi' alright?" she said before leaning up to kiss him on the lips, "Goodnight Arthur."

He smiled as he watched her walk off, "Goodnight Trina."