"Sleep?" I squeaked. "What if someone comes back? What if they come through my window?"
"Your window is on the second floor," Jack said, raising an eyebrow. "I think you'll be fine."
"Well, they could come upstairs and not even have to go anywhere near your room. I could die and you wouldn't even know!" I honestly was scared now, although it wasn't like me. I'd always just imagined these things happening. They were never supposed to really happen, even in Gotham!
Jack scooped me up into his arms and carried me down the hall. "You're safe. He's gone. Just a dumb rookie."
I sighed and let my head rest on his shoulder. Closing my eyes, I listened to his steady breathing. In this moment, I barely remembered that this man was the Joker. When he set me down on a bed, I realized I hadn't been aware of him climbing the stairs. I opened my eyes and found myself in his black bedroom. Before I could speak, he said, "You'll sleep in here with me tonight." He put a finger to my lips. "I won't touch you, I swear. I just want you to feel safe. I know you're scared. Get comfortable. I'll be right back."
I couldn't help but feel excited, giddy, almost. The whole bed smelled like him, and was even more comfortable than my bed. That was probably because it'd been slept in, and mine had never been used. I buried myself in the covers and numerous pillows. Mmm. Jack.
The dogs jogged into the room and took up their spots. They glanced at me, but didn't totally seem to care.
Jack came in shortly after them. He kicked off his jeans and pulled back the covers. "Would you rather I slept on the floor? I will if you want me to,"
"No," I cut him off. "I want you right here." I reached over and pulled him down into the bed. "Just sleep closest to the door. If they come back, at least they'll have to go through you, first." I smiled weakly.
He smiled and pulled the covers over himself. "Good night." He lie with his back to me. I could tell he wasn't sleeping yet. A few minutes later, he rolled over to get comfortable, but found himself nose to nose with me.
Neither of us moved. I suddenly was very afraid. How was my breath? I wasn't even wearing any makeup! I tried to breathe less incase I had bad breath. Closing my eyes, I decided I'd let fate take over. I could feel him drawing closer to me. Our noses touched.
"No," Jack suddenly said, drawing back and shaking his head. "I won't. No."
"What?" I quietly asked, slightly offended that he was so taken aback at being close to me.
"You can't get involved with me like this." Jack closed his eyes and exhaled. "I'm sorry, Crystal."
"Jack," I softly said, propped myself up on my elbow, "what do you mean?
Jack shook his head and exhaled in dismay. This seemed to be a habit of his. "Crystal, sometimes, sometimes I'm not here with you. Sometimes it's the Joker. I can't risk you getting hurt. When I was the Joker and you were with me, you almost died. Twice! He told you to leave the first night you were here even tough he knew very well that those scientists would be searching the town. Crystal, I can only influence the Joker so much, and he's not a good man." He sat up in the bed. Biting his lip, he mumbled, "I don't know what's wrong with me."
I nodded. "Okay. I understand." Rolling over, I muttered, "Good night, then." The room was relatively quiet. The dogs' breathing was moderately quiet, as was Jack's. I subconsciously sighed.
"Crystal," Jack's voice came as he put his hand on my shoulder. "Please,"
"It's okay," I laughed, "I don't even know what you mean."
"Yes you do. Don't you go and try and think that I don't care about you," he said sternly.
This was the moment I realized how viciously ironic this all was. The Joker, the most hated villain in Gotham City, kidnapped me. More or less, I was forced to stay as a prisoner at his house. His alter-ego, Jack, became the main focus, and I'd found myself attracted to him. Attracted to him? Really? Yes, it must be. Bizarre, huh?
When I didn't say anything, Jack continued, still using a rather stern voice. "You know that I really do care for you. Yeah, sure, the Joker brought you here and I haven't been him for a long time, but," he stopped to think.
"You aren't the Joker, Jack, you aren't going to hurt me." I couldn't roll over. It'd be too awkward. I hated mushy moments. Hated them, hated them, hated them!
"I would never try to." His voice was softer, now. "You know that, right?"
I nodded towards the wall. "Of course. Good night."
I heard Jack sigh. "Good night." There was a hint of sadness and disappointment in his voice. Yet, he would never tell me that he'd wanted so badly to kiss me.