A/N: Greetings! Here's the next chapter. I like it, therefore you should too (: Btw, im sorry ahead of time for the mistakes in grammar for this chapter. Im too tired to look this over again. Anyway, thanks to all the reviews. I love them, but i feel people don't read this story as much anymore :/ Please show me otherwise by leaving a review. Also, im leaving in a week for Florida, and if you want another chapter within like 3 weeks, reviews will definitely make that happen :)
Disclaimer: Only own Annabelle, and a certain other mischeivious character.
It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters in the end.
-Ursula K. Le Guin
I woke to the sound of clanking pots, swearing, and laughter.
At first, I didn't know what to think, but recognition quickly dawned on me. I sprung out of bed stealthily, sneaking over to the door and opening it almost inaudibly. Glancing around the corner, I caught sight of a very frustrated Joker, shuffling around my kitchen, a graffitied apron hanging from his shoulders.
' Laughter is the best Medicine' It read, chocolate being shrewdly scribbled out and replaced with laughter. The snicker that left my lips was completely involuntary. His head snapped up, brown orbs meeting green ones, and his smile widened.
" Ah. Good uh, morning." He drawled as I entered the living room, watching him through the breakfast window.
The closer I got, the more potent the smell of burning food became, and worry swiftly overcame me. If I were to burn down the building the first day I was back, Bruce would definitely not be happy.
As if triggered by my thoughts, smoke filled the room, and The Joker cursed loudly. Spinning, he grabbed the burning pan off the stove, growling loudly, and slammed it into the sink. I flew to the window, pulling it open.
I was back within seconds, walking cautiously into the kitchen. The Joker had his shoulders hunched and his knuckles were a starch white as he gripped the counter forcefully. His eyes were squeezed shut as I came up next to him. Carefully, I placed my hand over his tense fingers, hoping he wouldn't push me away. Not now.
She Joker's grip on the counter loosened almost automatically, and his eyelids fluttered open in surprise. He watched me intently, and I just smiled, turning my attention to the burned pans in front of me.
That look in his eyes, the way he instantly relaxed, it scared me. No one had ever looked at me the way he just did.
" Um." I began awkwardly, trying to break the silence. " You didn't have to do this you know." I stuttered nervously, motioning towards the burnt pan in the sink. He seemed to have broke from a trance, blinking furiously, before he shrugged.
" I was uh, hungry." He said nonchalantly. I laughed lightly.
" I could have made something-"
" That would have been impolite. Waking you for uh my selfish nec-ess-it-ies." He stated, turning to lean against the counter. His arms crossed over his chest and he shook his head wildly, his hair falling over his eyes.
" I never would have pegged you for the type to care about manners." I teased, turning my body to face him. He looked down to the ground for a moment before looking back up to me, pushing himself off the counter.
" Only with you." He breathed as he breezed by me, walking into the living room. I didn't say a word, didn't make a sound, I could barely even breath. That was the closest he had ever come to saying he felt any kind of feeling toward me. And for the Joker, that really meant something.
" Soooooooo. Do you have any plans-ah for the day?" He asked as if the words he had just spoken were normal, and they were. But not for the Joker.
Walking out into the living room, I watched as the Joker gazed out the window, splattered with rain drops from the previous night. His eyes stayed on the window as I spoke.
" Did you have something in mind?"
He giggled and turned to face me, but mid turn, his attention fell onto the television, the news being on. The volume was on low, so low I hadn't even heard it, but he must have. He stepped to the T.V. turned it up, and crouched down in front of it, watching it with great interest. I myself hadn't found much interest in it until now.
" … The body found along the Gotham Interstate Highway was identified as Randy Shewman. He was traveling to the city on a Business trip when he was ambushed and killed. The only evidence left at the scene was a red rose. This leads us to believe it could be the work of the same person involved in a dozen other murders throughout the state. At this point, there are no other suspects. Gotham Police Department are doing their best to go on what little they have… In other news, The Joker has made his presence know once again, as if we ever forgot him.."
I watched the news intently, but I suddenly became very confused. Obviously this killer was nothing compared to the Joker, so why did he care so much. The Newscast ended and the Joker slowly rose, his smile twitching slightly before disappearing behind his tongue.
" Of uh course I have something in mind." He said, his eyes drifting from me to the screen. He was chewing at his scars, trying to hide his nervousness, but of course I saw it. But I still tried to pretend everything was fine, knowing full well that I knew nothing.
" Would you like to share?" I asked, taking a step forward. He took one last glance at the screen before turning to me, rolling his eyes up to the ceiling and smacking his lips together. He rocked back on his heals as he spoke.
" Why don't we go for a ride-ah."
As those words left his mouth, I felt a sense of disappointment fill me. After everything we had done together, this is what he could come up with. Maybe I was making him out to be more than he actually was.
" Alright," I said slowly, " Let me just call and tell Bruce-"
" No!" He seethed, flying forward to grasp both my arms. His eyes were dark and malevolent as he glared down at me, but they softened bit by bit. " Don't bother with him. Besides, isn't it a little early to be uh calling Gotham's playboy?" He began, and my lips curved into a smirk. If I didn't know any better, I would say the Joker is feeling a bit jealous.
But I looked to the clock none the less, and he was right. It was only nine in the morning.
" Okay.. Just let me get dressed." I said, maneuvering out of his grasp. He snickered as I flew to my room.
Once inside, I pulled all my drawers open roughly, upset that I couldn't find anything remotely decent. It was now that I wished I had taken the time to buy more clothes than the few I did own.
After much deciding, I took out a pair of black leather pants and a red halter top and hurriedly put them on. Moving to the middle of the room, i caught sight of t Black Pea Coat the Joker had given me days before. I smiled and slid my arms into the soft sleeves. Once the warmth surrounded me, I glanced in the mirror. And I thought I looked as good as I could get at this point, with the limited time I had, and skipped to the Joker's side. He was twirling his switchblade around, deep in thought, an when he realized I had fiished, he looked up, shoving the knife back into his purple coat.
" Are we ready-ah?" He asked, and I scoffed rolling my eyes.
" You tell me." I shot back, sarcastically. His giggles echoed throughout the room as he swung his arm over my shoulder.
" Oh you kill me, ya know that? But not uh literally. No, if that were true-ah I'd be thor-ough-ly upset." He went on, leading me to the bedroom. Unaware of his actions I walked along side.
We stopped at my window, and as he removed his arm from my shoulder, he began humming loudly. The window flew open noiselessly, and I had a bad feeling about how exactly we were getting to the car.
I mean, I'm just like every other girl. In the way that we tend to like to walk down the stairs in the building instead of scaling the outside.
" Uh. Why exactly are you opening that window? I thought we were going for a ride." I said, and I already knew the answer before I asked the question. I just needed to hear it come from him. As if it would solidify my fears.
" Oh dear Annabelle. So naïve. He he. I can't very well-ah walk down through the building. Someone would uh see me. At least this way, we're less-ah noticeable." He reasoned, staring up at me with his head cocked to the side, and with him looking at me like that, how could I say no?
I didn't say a word, but he took that as a yes as he climber out onto the fire escape. I hesitantly looked out at the Joker, waiting for me to follow. I shook my head.
" You know, I changed my mind. Go on without me. I'll be fine here." I said, wrapping my arms around myself as I stepped back. The Joker huffed loudly but held out his hand, gesturing for me to take it.
" Im not-ah going to let you fall, ya hear me? And besides, that's not even the uh least bit funny." He spoke, and their was something about his voice that sounded sincere. I wanted to believe him, trust him, so I slowly grabbed his gloved hand tightly, climbing out of the window.
" See. It's not so bad." He soothed, as he let go of my hand and began climbing down the ladder. He reached the platform below and looked up to me, shielding his eyes from the sun. He had his arms outstretched and his smile impossibly wide as he waited for me to descend.
I got down, ready to climb down the ladder but I stopped, catching his gaze with mine. "You're not going to let me fall, right?" I asked one last time, and he shook his head before speaking.
" You uh have nothing to worry about when you're with me darling. Nothing."
And with that, I let go of my fear, and climbed down the rest of the way, both surprised and upset when we finally reached the ground.
" That actually was fun Mister J." I giggled, following him over to the Escalade. We both jumped in, laughing at out previous journey down Wayne Towers. This must be what I felt like when Bruce went flying through Gotham at night. Or at least, the closest thing to it.
The Joker drummed his fingers against the steering wheel as we sped down the twisting alleyways of Gotham City, and before long, his right hand landed on the back of my seat. I smiled in satisfaction.
" How many people have you killed?" I blurted out unexpectedly, and his laughter stopped. His hand slid down the seat until it rested on my inner leg, his eyes on me.
" Ya know." He began, tightening his grip on my leg. " They could put me in a helicopter and fly me up into the air and line up the bodies head to toe on the ground in delightful geometric patterns like an endless June Taylor dance routine — and it would never be enough… No, I don't keep count. But they do. And I love them for it." He giggled, giving my thigh one more squeeze before placing it back behind the chair. I giggled once, my laugh lacking the amusement his held, and turned my attention to the city flying by.
" I know I'm probably not going to get an answer, but where exactly is this car headed?" I asked, turning to him slowly, and asking as nicely as possibly. Though I knew that if the Joker didn't want me to know, I wouldn't.
" Annabelle. I'm hurt. Of course you can know where this car is uh going-ah. Its going to uh meet an old friend." He spoke between giggles, and that was exactly the kind of response I had been expecting.
The Joker began humming again, and in the distance I caught sight of the newly restored MCU. Panic washed over me as the thought of the Joker loaded with bullets and splattered with blood, lying lifeless on the street ran through my mind. I shuddered at the thought.
" Maybe we should, um, take this left right here." I stated, sitting upright and pointing toward the road just before the MCU. The escalade slowed, but didn't turn. Instead, it came to a gradual halt just outside the doors.
" What are you doing?" I whispered angrily at him, his face fell into a mocking frown.
" I'm not doing anything… but you, my dear Marionette, are-ah."
The Joker leaned over me, his face hovering inches above mine, before his lips crashed against my own. The kiss was passionate and hungry as his tongue took control, and my hands entangled themselves in his green curls. His right hand grabbed a hold of my waist as the other wandered to the window of the car. I was getting lost in the kiss as I heard the door open, and felt myself falling from the car. The loud bang echoed throughout my head, and sent searing pain throughout my entire body.
The Joker watched me from the car, giggling and waving as he blew me a mocking kiss. The door shut as he took off down the road, leaving my lying right outside the MCU.
So I did the only thing I could do. I walked right in.
* * *
You know where he'll be. He may be able to fool everyone else, but not you. He's the master manipulator, the king of schemers, the prince of plans. He's everything he pretends not to be, and you know exactly how to break him, even more so than before.
Your out for revenge, and not the good kind. You won't enjoy what you know you have to do, but like you said, you have to do it. There's no going back now. He jumped ship, leaving you chained to the mast, and now its your job to drown him in the water he thought could save him. The water that shielded him for so long.
Your fingers twitch in anticipation as you grip the steering wheel tightly. You see him, that smug smile carved into his face brightly accentuated with his red lipstick. You want to jump out now, see him, hug him, kiss him, and eventually kill him, but you also know its not time. You have to wait for the opportune moment.
So you sit their, watching him from afar, hating him with every ounce of your being, but at the same time, every thing about him makes your stomach fill with butterflies, butterflies you so wish you could slaughter. So you snuggle farther into the Black Pea Coat you were given, the only thing that reminds you of the man you learned to hate.
There's a no man's land between love and hate. Between passion and obsession -- where it's easy to lose all sense of reality -- and in doing so, lose yourself. Somewhere in that emotional minefield... Shannon Summers wanders
There's another chapter for ya, and if you like where this is going, please drop me a review. Im hooked on 'em.
Now down to business.
Im am in a pickle. There is going to be a very sexual scene coming up, only i don't know how to write it without sounding stupid. So i was wondering if there was anyone out there who would like to help me with it? Please? I'm stuck cause this story can't continue like this. The Jokers getting Blue Balls! hahaha anyway please PM or review if you can help, or just review. I need them, especially if you want a new chapter before i leave.
Adieu.
