He was impulsive, a wildly inconsistent anarchist. One minute he's kissing you, the next he's got his hands around your neck, ready to squeeze the lights from your eyes. Where are you meant to stand with him? He's a man with his own set of values, not conforming to any category, not part of any group, not on anyone's list. Not part of the plan. How to you reason with someone whose reality is so twisted that nothing makes sense, there are no rules and the truth is just a blur?

Anna spluttered, her hands trying to slap the water away in an overwhelming sense of confusion, like being plunged in an ice bath from a nice long sleep.

"Morning Sunshine!" The Joker took the taps aim away from her face for a moment to give her a sly little grin. Alarm bells rang in her ears as she gulped for air, adrenaline pumping through her veins as she tried to run, willing to do anything to escape. But as instinct kicked in, so did panic, her feet slipped on the wet floor, sliding underneath his.
The Joker made no attempt to catch her, laughing as she fell. Not pausing to admire the view from under his legs, she backed immediately away, rushing to get up but slipping again on the soaking ground.
The Joker looked up to the ceiling, sucking on his bottom lip before aiming the water at her again.

She swung a leg up to kick him but he slapped it away playfully, always amused by her persistence, despite how feeble it was. He was still pointing the flow of water at her, the freezing cold hitting her right in the chest, suffocating her. So she kicked the hose instead, catching it at an angle so that it was yanked from the Jokers grip and fell to the floor, clinking off the tiles.

This was her window of opportunity. In the Jokers momentary surprise and disapproval she rushed to her feet and to the door, the only door. There was still hope... She slammed her body against it, her hands grasping the door knob, twisting her grip feverishly to turn it.

But it didn't turn. It was jammed into place, rigid and solid. She rattled it a few times, thinking that maybe it was her wet hands slipping. It was locked. Anna took in a staggered breath of disappointment and horror.

"No, come on-" Pushing and pulling it once or twice more before giving a frustrated cry and placing her forehead against the door, looking down at her own shaking hands as that sinking feeling settled in. She didn't even know why she was surprised it was locked, the Joker must have done it as soon as she'd walked in. He knew what he was going to do, he knew that she would run. Watching her fight was entertaining and fun, like one big joke.

Her hands slid off the doorknob, one running up to readjust the strap on her dress. She closed her eyes, not wanting to face what was happening, somehow searching to find peace in this nightmare. And the Joker began to clap slowly behind her, the harsh sound making her face scrunch up in frustration.

"Con-grat-ul-ations-ahhhh..." He drawled his words out, "Miss Hart makes yet another typical victim move. So predictable, its so obvious how this night is going to play out-"

Her fist banged against the door, surprising both herself and the Joker at her boldness.

"No need to be so aggressive..." He mocked her from behind, "You're so angry... but not at me..." The Joker commented casually, not bothered to pick up the hose which was still spewing water onto the tiles, "You're angry at yourself-"

"I am not angry at myself!" Anna exclaimed, shooting around to face his satisfied little smirk.
He was unbuttoning the top button of his shirt as she turned and reacted by shifting his head ever so slightly to side. And with a little smile, tugged at his tie to loosen it.
Anna jabbed a furious finger at him, "This is all your fault."

"My fault!" The Joker looked around him in surprise as if to check if she was blaming someone else, "Me?!"

"Yes you," Anna narrowed her eyes, "its your fault I'm in this mess!"
"What?" The Joker held his hands to his heart, "Oh, well I'm sorry about your dress, the water did mess it-"
She interrupted his antic, "You dragged me into your..." She scrunched up her nose, struggling to find the right word, "...chaos, and, and now... I'm a wanted criminal-"
The Joker gave her a look of interest, as if this came as news.
"-Jeremy is dead, and I'm stuck in a locked room with you, trying to force yourself onto me just after you tell me you've murdered my boyfriend." She gave him her filthiest look, "It is all your fault."

The Joker seemed to be considering what she had said, "Okay, hm, well...", raising a finger and then putting it down again, "Let's say... hypothetically-" Anna scoffed, but he continued, "-That you're right. I kill people. So it is my 'fault' your boyfriend is.. ahh, dead. It's my fault a lot of people are dead, Pumpkin." He held his hands up in defense, "Ya got me! I, I'll confess to that!"

Anna met his laugh with a stone cold glare, only making his smile more prominent, "And as for dragging you into this, eh ehmm, 'chaos-ahh'. I suppose I can take partial credit for that aspect of your life... But, ahh... you know-" The Joker took a step and scooped up Anna's discarded cardigan, "-you know what I can't take the blame for? Hm?" He waved it in front of her, "Your feelings."

"Of what?" Anna retorted immediately, "Disgust?"

"Fact of the matter is-" The Joker made no reply to her comment, taking a moment to admire the fabric, "-you're still alive because I want you to be. And I want you alive because you're entertaining, I, I mean-" He ignored her livid glare, "-I'm a fun guy, but I get, ah, bored easily. Especially with people... " The Joker let his gaze slip momentarily down her body as he cleared his throat, "But you, while you're... ahh, attractive and, semi-intelligent... like I've said before, there have been others like you."

"Like you," He flicked a hand nonchalantly referring to her physical resemblance, "But not like you-" He shook his head, "-because we have a nice little, what is that french phrase? For that thing? The I don't know ahh, what?"

"Je ne sais quoi?" Anna muttered unconsciously and the Joker clapped his hands, "Thattsss the one-ahh. We've got that, like a misunderstood cocktail of emotions, tension and-" He scrunched his hands into fists, "-urges. And I'm not finished with it yet, I don't want to rip that apart just yet."

Anna opened her mouth but he cut across her, "If I wasn't right, if there was nothing between-" He pointed between them, giving her a dead pan look in the face, "-us. You'd have been dead within an hour after I got to know a boring little bank intern with a pretty face."

"Well," Anna pursed her lips while he tossed her cardigan over his shoulder, "that is quite-" Her cheeks flushed red with distaste, "-a theory you've got there." The Joker gave her what was meant to be a genuine appreciative smile, as if unaware of the sarcasm dripping from her voice, "But you forgot to take into account that even if we do have some sort of, or any sort of 'thing' going on. That doesn't mean you can just abuse-" The Joker made a shocked face, mouthing the word back at her, "-me!"

"That's a strong word." The Joker began to undo the buttons of his waistcoat.
"What else would you call it?!" Anna asked frantically, trying to ignore what he was doing, "You're holding me captive! You physically abused me! How could you expect me to want to sleep with you after you confessed to murdering my friend?!"

"And if I hadn't?" He looked up from his unbuttoning, catching Anna staring at him in desperation.
She remained still, the answer haunting her, "It doesn't matter now."

"Oh well-ahh!" He held his hands out, "I just couldn't help it you know! I wanted to see what you'd do, your reaction to things always surprises me. And ya didn't disappoint! I loved the whole 'too shocked to speak' thing. I could tell everything from your facial expressions, and you read like a book Anna, don't know if you knew that-"

He flicked a piece of dirt of his shoulder as he strode towards her, "-And I mean, honestly, I feel bad-"

"No you don't." Anna put her hands behind her back, her dripping hair falling onto her shoulders as she lent her head back against the door.
"-I don't want to make you do anything you don't want to do-" He walked to stand beside her but she looked ahead.

He mimicked her stature at first but then turned to face her, leaning on his side, "You okay Pumpkin? You seem nervous?"

"And you-" Anna turned, looking him right in the eye, "-have obviously never heard of personal space."
He just cracked a smile, switching his gaze from one of her eyes to the next, "Well, the last thing I'd want to do is make you uncomfortable-" She heard the sound of the switchblade before she felt it press against her torso, "Abdomen. Possibly blood loss, probably infection." He said matter-of-factually, "Two days."

"Your knowledge of the human anatomy is fascinating." She said harshly which he met with a gritty laugh.
He removed the blade, allowing Anna to relax but only momentarily as he dragged it upwards, lodging it under her left rib, "Aorta. Major blood vessel puncture." The Joker pushed it further against her, forcing her back against the wall, "Minutes, or seconds. Depending on how, ahh, deep."

Anna made a face trying to shrink away from the blade, but he put more pressure on it to hold her still. He propped an elbow onto the wall and lent his head against it, humming lowly.
After a moment of silence he took his elbow away, reaching to push a soaking piece of Anna's hair out of her face. Anna raised an arm to push it away but the knife sliced through the material of her dress, slitting a shallow cut into her skin. "I told youuu-" The Joker slammed her arm against the wall as she grimaced, clenching her jaw muscles through the pain, "If we're going to get on, you need to start doing what I tell you."

"Fuck you, you-" She winced as she knife still pressed against the would, "-worthless piece of scum."
"Ah, ha haaa..." The Joker grinned, eyes glued to her face, "You can do better than that."
"Is this what you do?" She breathed, "When you can't get a girl to like you? Hm?"

He laughed, pushing away from the wall and in front of her as she continued, "Do you like pretending that someone likes you?" He pushed the piece of her hair behind her ear, listening to every word, "Mmmm, thats it-ahhh...-"

"Craving any hint of affection, no matter what it takes."

"Is that all you've got, hm? C'mon," He squeezes her wrist, tilting his chin up, "Come onnn ahh..."

"You're a worthless criminal-" She went on, the words flowing effortlessly off her lips, "-a desperate little nobody. A low life clown-"

The Joker nodded, wordlessly urging her on, "Mmm-hmmm..."

Anna smiled darkly, realizing she was enjoying this, "A crazy luna-"

A hand lunged for her throat, the other slotting the knife into her mouth. She screamed, her hands grasping onto his arm gripping her neck. Anna closed her eyes as she felt the knife press against the inside of her cheek, her feet kicking underneath her.

"You see, you know me so well." The Joker said lowly, readjusting the knife to find the right angle, "The irony is you didn't know just what would tick me off." His fingers squeezed against her windpipe, nearly cutting off her air supply, "Funny how these things work isn't it?"
He looked down at her fingers, piercing into his skin, "Funny how we get to know people and then they make a mistake, Hm?" The Joker sighed, "Its been a real pleasure Anna. You really are somethin' special, and I wish you the best in life, I- I really do. I just want you to know, that its you, not me."

"Any last words?" She dug her nails deeper into his skin as a response, "Hm? Whats that?" He placed his ear close to her mouth, "Last words? Make it quick, I have things to do."

He took the knife from her mouth, removed his hand from her throat and replaced it with the blade, readying to slice. Anna opened her eyes, coughing and breathing heavily, "You-" She said with a rasp before trying to catch her breath.
"Well that was a groundbreaking last word." The Joker nodded, "See you on the flip side!"

And then Anna did something unprecedented. She laughed, her smile not something she shared often with the Joker, who seemed to make her frown or cry whenever they encountered each other. An infectious little sound, beautiful and light, not wounded by how it made her look. It was the only thing stopping him from sinking that knife into her soft skin before she spoke;

"You wont kill me." She let go of his hand, staring into his dark eyes to what should have been his soul. He was expecting her to cry and beg or scream. He was momentarily put off by her short laugh, not confused but curious, even though he was trying to hide it.
The Joker narrowed his eyes, inching his head sideways and then shaking it like shaking off an odd thought, he readied the knife again and Anna gripped onto his knife hand, "You won't kill me-"

"Your theory is a little flawed." The knife pressed against her skin and Anna spoke quickly, "-because..."
The Joker paused, annoyed that she was interrupting his handy work, "What? Why wouldn't I kill you?"

"You wont kill me-" She began again and he rolled his eyes, looking back to the knife. She couldn't move her head because it lay lodged between the wall and the blade, but her hands were free. She dropped them from the Jokers arm and blindly slipped them down, one resting softly on the belt of his trousers.

His facial expression went from angry to blank, eyes shifting down and then back up. He was almost cautious, fighting between two urges; to cut her pretty little neck open or to see what she was going to do.

"-because you just can't let me go." The belt slid out from the buckle smoothly and the Jokers mouth curved into a one sided smirk, "Anna-aahh... What happened? You change your mind when you realized what you're missing? I have that kind of effect on people-"

"Are you going to take that knife away from my neck-" She said lowly, hands sitting still on the belt, "-or are we going to do what we should have done months ago."

The Joker winced, annoyed that he had interrupted her but even more annoyed that he was considering her proposition. He moved his mouth around, thinking about it, "Ya see, here's the thing-" He tapped the knife off her skin playfully, watching her blue eyes focusing on his, "-I really, really want to kill you."

"No you don't." She said softly but he snarled with irritation, "Trust me Pumpkin, I do."
"If you wanted to kill me, I'd be dead-"

"I don't kill for fun you know-" Although Anna highly doubted it, he continued, "-It's a messy business, ya gotta choose your timing. You're not dead-"
"Because of what?" She felt the knife push further along with the Jokers patience, "Because you didn't want me dead due to timing? Now look whose lying to themselves?" Anna felt the danger in going on but what did it matter at this point, she was right, "Why don't you just admit you wont kill me because you're obsessed with me?"

It was his turn to laugh now, "You've got spunk kid." He crooned, engrossed in the way she was staring at him.

"That's what kept you coming back, wanting more and more," Anna felt him lean into her, "if you were right about this 'thing' between us, then you cant kill me-"
"No?" The Joker liked it when she talked, normally it was him who ranted while were quiet, too fearful to speak up.
"-you wont do it." Anna heard him express a mixture between a groan and a snarl as she her hands on his belt crept under his shirt, "Because you'd regret it as soon as your little boy-scouts pocket knife-"

"Fine." He snapped the knife away and grabbed her by the neck, his grip digging into her as he shoved her violently away from the wall.
Anna stumbled into the table behind her, cradling her neck. That was sore, she rubbed where his hand had been, annoyed.

"Don't tell me you're having second thoughts," He turned, rolling his shoulders as they cracked, "You can take the knife if you want, I'd be happy to oblige..-"
She narrowed her eyes, bringing her hand down off her neck and letting it slide down her chest as her head dropped back to push her hair off her shoulders, "Maybe you should stop talking."

The Joker stabbed the blade into the table beside her, roping a hand behind her neck tugging her head back forcefully by her hair, "You're out of your league Anna and you know it-"
"Don't you mean I'm out of your league?" She smiled up at him. Her back arched, a leg snaking around his body, "I'm joking, you're very handsome. You have a charming smil-"

He pulled her by the hair, flipping her body over. Her back was against his chest as his arms slid down her stomach and under her pelvic bones, "I like it when you talk like that, you remind me of another funny girl I knoww.."
"Do I?" She tried to turn her head to look at him but he jerked her body to face forward and she stared at the grim kitchen, "Well I don't know how I feel about that, I hear she's a freak like you."

His mouth brushed off her neck, his laugh rippling on her skin. The Joker pulled the soaking material of her dress up while edging his head forward and sideways to meet hers. His hands slid up onto her stomach as Anna brought her lips to his. But instead of kissing her he dragged his teeth along the edge of her mouth, running his hands along her rib-cage.
"A freak?" He muttered into her cheek and she opened her eyes to look up to his face, mouthing the word like he so often did, "Freeakkk."

The Jokers hand grabbed her face, gripping onto her cheeks. He tightened his hold on her jaw as he turned her around, pushing Anna onto the table, "You're so funny!" He grinned wildly before she frowned, "Shut up.", Anna grabbed his tie, pulling him in and kissing him. It was a wet, hot mess of kiss, full of anger and frustration and the cocktail of emotions the Joker had described earlier. He pushed her legs open roughly, taking back the control.

He had made her forget all the things she hated about him, or maybe it was all those things fueling that feeling inside her as he slid her underwear down her slender legs. He wasn't the man she hated, but the man she loved to hate.


Enjoy and sorry for the delay xo