"Be careful who you become after heartbreak.

All of your monsters may suddenly show up in the mirror."

- Erin Van Vuren

Charlotte rolled to her right side in bed, feeling too lazy to open her eyes and stand up. It had been a crazy night. Well, actually the whole week had been wild. She had been staying at Cherry's and even fought on the ring. At night, Charlotte would drink until her whole body went numb. The pain from the fights would ease and so would the psychological distress.

The blonde rolled to lay on her back again, but at that moment she heard movement from her right. She opened her eyes at the same time she grabbed the gun hidden under her pillow, only to see Ed staring back at her with a smile on his lips while sitting on a chair beside her bed.

"Hello, sleepyhead," he greeted.

Charlotte sat up with a gasp. The sudden movement caused pain to erupt through her head. She lowered the gun, took her free hand to her head and squinted her eyes because of the sunlight shining through the windows. "Ow, my head".

"You're experiencing a hangover," Ed told her with a reprimanding shake of his head. "Another one, actually. You know, you probably shouldn't drink so much. You've been staying here for a week and there isn't a night I don't see you get drunk".

"The fights, the whiskey, and the vodka are the only things that make me feel better. They don't come necessarily in that order, by the way," Charlotte chuckled, remembering the times she fought while drunk. "The perks of having Bipolar disorder. You never know what you'll be into next".

Ed stared at her not knowing what to say. He had never seen her acting like that. He wanted to help, but he didn't think she wanted his or anyone's help. It wouldn't stop him from trying though. At the rate she was going, Charlotte would end up getting herself killed. She kept on fighting, but Ed asked himself for how long would that last?

"What is it to you anyway? No, wait. Why are you in my room in the first place?" She asked as she sat up straight on the bed. Ed's eyes looked down her body. She was only wearing a purple shirt Lee had given her and the sheets were no longer covering her legs. How he missed touching her silky skin. Charlotte noticed him look down her body and arched an eyebrow. "Ed, my eyes are up here," she reminded him as she pointed at her eyes.

Ed snapped out of his thoughts and looked down at the aspirins in his hands before looking into Charlotte's blue eyes. "Lee told me to give you these aspirins for your headache and she also gave you those clothes". Ed pointed at the clothes he had left on the chair by the door.

"How sweet of her," Charlotte commented and rubbed the gun against her thigh. Ed couldn't resist looking at her legs again. He jumped when Charlotte used the gun to pull his chin back up. "But couldn't she give me all that herself?"

"Uh, Lee has been busy today," Ed explained. "She... uh... she started her own court where she solves the issues of everyone".

"Why doesn't she send Grundy?" The blonde asked as she placed the gun on top of her thigh to put a strand of hair behind her ear. Ed looked down once again but managed to control himself and quickly looked back up at Charlotte as she continued. "He pulls out some arms and problems are solved".

Ed nodded in agreement. "But she wants to settle things amicably". He observed Charlotte as she leaned her pillow against the headboard and leaned her back against it. She grabbed her gun again and rested her hands on top of her thighs. Ed did his best to keep control of himself and started rambling about how his and Lee's day had gone. "Anyway, a guy came in and said that Sampson, the man who controls the south side of the Narrows, went to his store demanding protection money. Lee and I went to solve the issue, but Sampson sent his thugs to Lee's clinic and they destroyed almost everything. We met with him again and Lee showed him who really runs the Narrows now".

"Right," Charlotte nodded as she adjusted her position against the headboard. Her shirt was pulled slightly up and Ed could see her panties now. He was almost sure she was doing it on purpose just to drive him completely insane. "And I just want to stay in bed all day," Charlotte told him as she pulled her legs to her chest and brushed her fingers up and down her legs. "Who cares about Sampson? I certainly don't. My head hurts".

Ed couldn't control himself any longer. It was all too much for him and he took his hand to Charlotte's thigh. "They say there's a miraculous remedy for headaches". She froze and he moved to her bed, separated her legs and rested himself between them. She hated to admit it, but Charlotte actually enjoyed to have Ed's hands grab her hips and pull her against him.

"What are you doing, Ed?" She asked when he gently lowered her down on the bed. Ed didn't answer and leaned down to kiss her. But before he could lay his lips upon hers, Charlotte grabbed him by the neck. "I don't know what your game is here, but you better back off or I'll break your neck".

"Fine," Ed backed off much against his will and Charlotte let go of his neck. However, he still sat on the chair in front of her.

"You're not gonna leave unless I go downstairs, are you?" She asked annoyedly.

"No," he simply answered and Charlotte sighed profoundly. She stood up lazily and grabbed the clothes. However, she saw how Ed didn't make a move to leave the room. "Ed, I need to get dressed".

He nodded, but still didn't move from the chair. His head was on the moment from minutes ago when he was able to feel her underneath him once more. He didn't even process what she had just said, but when he finally did he got up quickly and made his way to the door. "Right".

Ed's actions toward Charlotte left her extremely confused. The fact she actually enjoyed his touch confused her even more. She hadn't even been able to react right away because of all the memories that rushed to her mind of all the intimate moments they shared in the past. She still had feelings for Victor Fries. He had been so good to her, but she still liked to feel Ed's hands on her again. She wondered if he was really the Riddler and was just messing with her before trying to kill her again.

That mess of thoughts was giving her a bigger headache, so she grabbed an aspirin and went downstairs to get a bottle of water from the bar after she got dressed. She had slept all day and it was already night time. People were starting to arrive at the club to see the fights.

Charlotte noticed Ed and Lee talking in the platform above the bar and walked up the stairs to join them. Ed was leaned over the railing and seemed sad about something. He caught sight of the blonde and looked down at his hands. "Sampson was right, I'm a has-been".

"No, you're not," Lee told him. "Look, I asked you to trust me with something today and you did, so I'm gonna trust you with something. I haven't been looking for a cure for your brain, Ed, because there's nothing wrong with you".

Ed looked at Lee with wide eyes. "But you sa-"

"Sure at first there was an effect from the ice," she interrupted, "but I ran all the tests. It checks out. There's nothing wrong with you, physically. Your condition is psychological. Think about it. You knew every move that Sampson was gonna make before he made it".

Ed was shocked by this new information. "You lied to me. Why?"

"Because I was afraid that if I told you the truth, you would go back to being who you were before, The Riddler," Lee explained. "And I like who you've become".

"Who's that?" Ed asked.

"Ed Nygma. The Ed that you were before," she replied. "My friend". Ed didn't even know what to say and watched Lee step beside Charlotte. "Feeling better?" Charlotte nodded and Lee smiled at her. "Good". Then she went to join everyone else downstairs.

Charlotte stepped closer to Ed, leaned against the railing and watched everyone silently. Ed looked at her from time to time, but only after a few minutes did he finally spoke. "You did this to me. Are you happy?"

Charlotte looked at him and noticed he seemed sad again. "You're lucky I asked Victor to freeze you and not Firefly to burn you extra crispy". Ed shook his head but didn't say anything. Charlotte couldn't believe she actually felt bad for him. "And didn't you heard Lee? You're all right now".

"You think I'm better?" Ed asked, wanting to know her opinion.

"I do," she told him honestly and chuckled. "You're still a pain in the ass, but then again you always were".

Ed chuckled too and stared at her with new find hope. He now believed he would be all right. Instead of staring at her awkwardly, he decided it was better to retreat to his room. He bid her goodnight and walked to his room, a smile on his lips after Charlotte wished him a goodnight too with that smile he loved so much.

He walked to the bathroom first and washed his face. He got a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He hated what he saw and wondered how Charlotte had ever liked him. At least, the Riddler wasn't there to ruin things with her again.

Ed quickly looked away from the mirror and dried his face with a clean towel. He put the towel back down and looked himself in the mirror again. He gasped in horror when he saw his darker self, the Riddler, in the mirror staring back at him.

"Hello, Ed," the Riddler greeted.

"No," he breathed out in panic. The Riddler couldn't be back. He couldn't. "No!" Ed shouted as he hit a hand against the sink.

Ed closed his eyes, hoping his darker personality would go away, but when he opened his eyes, it only got worse. The Riddler was closer to him and through the mirror, it appeared like he was right behind him.

"Miss me?" The Riddler asked as he laughed tauntingly at Ed.

His image would flick back and forth and would leave Ed dizzy. He had to cling to the sink so he wouldn't fall.

"Are you ready to get Charlotte back to us?" His dark personality asked and let out a laugh full of mischief. It left Ed scared that the Riddler would take control of his body again and would hurt Charlotte. He couldn't let that happen, not when she was starting to be his friend again.

No, he was in control and wouldn't let the Riddler hurt Charlotte even if that was the last thing he would do.

***

A/N: Oh, the Riddler is at it again! Just when Ed was working on getting Charlotte back. Oh, well, let's see how this will turn out. Love you all <3