Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OC. The Joker belongs to DC Comics.

Chapter Two:

"And, here. We. Go!"

April 1st.

Charlotte didn't find this day funny at all. As a matter of fact, she found that April Fool's Day was nothing but an excuse that people used to act like complete and utter idiots. Well, more than they would usually, anyway.

The last couple of weeks had already been pretty rough. Of course, since her run in with the Joker she had never gotten her bag back, and she'd been having weird sleeping fits since their little meeting. His face appeared everywhere she went! He was constantly on the television (no surprise there), and when she ignored that he caught control of her mind. That bloody red smile wouldn't leave her, and she constantly found herself getting fearfully lost in the image of his coal black eyes. It wasn't like Charlotte had planned on thinking about these things...she just did. Another small thing bothered her - she could nearly still feel his coat brush against her arm as she ran away. Just thinking about it made the spot on her arm burn.

Charlotte hadn't dared to tell anyone about her new problem, and just accepted the fact that she would probably never be able this was the best choice she had, it didn't stop her from feeling like she was being eaten from the inside out.

After what seemed forever, the school bell finally rang. Charlotte sighed in relief, quickly going to her locker to pick up a few things. Not only had the day been horrendously long, but now she would have to go home and complete more utterly boring work for classes she didn't even find necessary to her education. Charlotte sighed again, this time out of pure frustration. She was so done with Gotham, with high school, with all of this simple mediocrity. People in Gotham were so bland and obedient. They all stuck together in packs and turned their backs on you if you thought or acted differently from them. To Charlotte, it was as if people in Gotham enjoyed being the same as everyone else!

It wasn't like she didn't have friends here. The people were friendly enough, she supposed. Perhaps if she spoke a little more and didn't seem so "introverted" people would actually be interested in getting to know the new girl. Actually, scratch that. The moment she'd arrived in Gotham a few months prior, everyone had flocked to her and followed her around like little ducklings simply because her father was one of the new District Attorneys. There had been one before that her father had told her about - some poor sod named Harvey Dent that had gone mad and died- and now Gotham had five District Attorneys. Charlotte couldn't help but wonder that maybe if Dent was still alive, they wouldn't have even had to move here in the first place. She'd probably still be in New York right now, getting coffee with friends after school. She missed her old life more than anything. And, she wasn't introverted. People just didn't bother to see that she had an actual interest in things that the pretentious people of Gotham City couldn't give a damn about. `

Charlotte couldn't wait to be out and start fresh again. Maybe after senior year she'd move to Europe and pursue photography as an actual career -

But she didn't finish that thought, in fact she cut it off with a surprised yelp. As soon as her locker clattered open, something large and dark spilled out of it and landed at her feet. Charlotte stepped back, startled.

"What the Hell?" Her eyes narrowed. It was her rucksack! Charlotte stared at it in pure shock for a few moments before leaning down and and picking it up. She tucked two fingers underneath the shoulder strap before pausing. Something was off with it...It was way too light to be hers.

But of course it was hers! How it had gotten here however, Charlotte didn't want to know...but she knew exactly whose doing this was.

Her mind shot to the drastic options first. Was there a bomb in in here? Or maybe some type of grenade? That was that horrible man's idea of fun, wasn't it? Guns, dynamite, and bombs were immediate synonyms when it came to the...Joker. She wanted to retch at his name. Charlotte braced herself by biting her lip hard before yanking the top zipper open harshly. She paled before rage enveloped her. Did he really think this was funny?

Playing cards, hundreds of them littered the inside of her bag. From what she could see, they were all Jokers. Charlotte growled and flipped the bag over, letting the cards cascade onto the cold tiled floor of the hallway. She didn't care who looked, students were starting to make their way out of the school now anyways. Charlotte groaned in frustration, what was this supposed to prove? How had she even gotten herself into this situation!? Oh right, she had to be a damn idiot and take the fucking shortcut that was reserved for druggies, runaways, and now apparently mass-murdering psychopathic clowns!

Charlotte clenched her eyes shut and let her body go so that she was laying against the cool surface of the metal lockers. No, this wasn't it. It couldn't possibly be this simple, not with him. Charlotte glanced down at long missed bag again, and something caught her eye. The front pocket was slit open across the middle.

Perhaps...

Charlotte grabbed the bag and thrust her hand into the crevice before yanking it back sharply seconds later as a searing pain pricked her finger. Pinned to her finger with a thumbtack was a single Ace card. She detatched it slowly, wincing at the small pain in her pointer finger as she did so. A small droplet of blood sat on the surface of her fingertip, and she immediately brought it to her mouth and sucked away the coppery liquid. She hated looking at blood, and especially now. The redness reminded of that damned scarred smile. Charlotte looked down at the Ace card and wanted to scoff at her luck when she saw the messy scrawl done in black ink.

Same place, 9 PM.

Charlotte cursed as she read it for the third time, knowing that she would have to go. Not that she would want to go back into that horrible alley again, but she feared what would happen if she didn't listen. If she didn't show up...oh god, she didn't want to think about it. There was no way him of all people would have compassion for other people's lives...

He hadn't given her an option.

/

She'd had to lie to her parents about going on a nightly jog as she slipped out the door. Charlotte's parents were usually pretty tolerant when it came to staying healthy, and when she'd begged them to just let her go around for a quick thirty minute jog around the neighborhood, they weirdly obliged. Maybe it was because it was a Friday night, and they thought she should go out and at least do something for once. It wasn't their neighborhood that concerned them. Filled with government officials and politicians, Charlotte's neighborhood was extremely safe - well, as safe as you could get in Gotham. Her father had told her early on, no one could never be too safe in this city. The bad guys would do what they wanted to do at anyone's cost. Luckily for her parents, their neighborhood was patrolled by police constantly. Unluckily for Charlotte, she wouldn't be sticking to her neighborhood route. She supposed it helped that she'd been acting strangely all afternoon - the walk home had been excruciatingly nervewracking for her- getting the feeling that someone was secretly watching you in broad daylight was particularly unnerving. When she'd gotten home, Charlotte had run up the stairs after saying hello to her parents and remained there until dinner, where she didn't touch a crumb of food. She'd claimed to be sick, which looking back wasn't a lie. Charlotte could feel her empty stomach bounce up and down repeatedly with each trot of her jog.

With thoughts like these, Charlotte reached her destination quickly and stopped to gain her breath again before hesistantly entering the cavernous alley again. It wasn't wet and grimy this time. The small orange lamplights nearly burned her already heated skin and she watched for a moment as flies circled the lights hastily. They were going right into the trap, as she was about to do. Charlotte couldn't believe how stupid she was. The clown would probably kill her or kidnap her, and either way she'd be fucked. Charlotte's heart twinged, wishing she had really dragged out a goodbye to her parents. But, at least this way they wouldn't get involved. There were so many shady areas of the long alleyway that she couldn't see, and as she stepped forward, something scurried over her foot. Charlotte let out a blood curdling scream that was silenced just as soon as it began.

"Ah, so glad you could make it!" A dark voice said, sounding gleefully sarcastic. Charlotte struggled against the warm leathery hand that was clamped against her mouth. Her body wriggled in panic, but it only brought the hard body behind her closer.

"Ah, ah, ah, stop struggling," The Joker warned lowly, his voice turning into a low hush. It would've been oddly calming if Charlotte hadn't been terrified for her life. Her body went limp at his command, but she didn't stop trembling. Tears welled up in her eyes, and as the clown turned her around she prayed he couldn't see them in the harsh orange lighting.

"There we go, Doll. That's it." Joker said, smiling into her face. He liked the amount of fear in her eyes. She looked like a deer caught in the headlights, and Christ, if he had to choose his favored look of fear then that would be it. Charlotte did her best to stay silent as his face came closer. The Joker was analyzing her. They stayed that way for what seemed like ages, his gloved hand covering her mouth, their noses inches apart. When he was satisfied, the Joker spoke again.

"Now," He said, lightening the pressure on her mouth but not moving his hand, "I really trust that you won't scurry away like a little rat. Don't disappoint." He growled his last words as he released Charlotte's mouth from his grip. Joker smiled grimly, she couldn't even handle a sewer rat crawling over her foot in the dark, he wondered how she wasn't pissing herself in his presence. She was interesting looking. Pretty tall for a girl, with long slender legs and arms. He was able to scan everything about her in less than a minute, from the light blonde hair tied back in a messy ponytail, to her outfit - she'd jogged here.

Charlotte felt her cheeks redden as she watched him scan her body in one quick yet lingering glance. She hadn't chosen the best outfit - her usual leggings and running jacket did nothing to shield every shape and line of her body. Joker noticed and chuckled, only making it worse. He watched as her blue eyes turned stormy with shame or whatever other emotion she was trying to hide. Joker smirked inwardly. He knew he hadn't wasted his time. There was something there, hidden in those eyes. Something she was capable of. He could use her, and he would find his way into doing so. Truth is, she had bothered him ever since her body had been splayed against the wet concrete. There had been something off about the look in her eyes, and how fast she had darted off. Like a deer caught in the headlights.

Words went unsaid for a long moment as Joker thought about all of this, so he was terribly amused when she spoke up. Her mouth was free now after all, she might as well use it.

"Are you...Are you going to...kill me?" Charlotte's voice faltered. The Joker noted that she had a strong voice, not too feminine but certainly not manly. Still delicate. She seemed to be searching his eyes individually. Well, she was trying to. Charlotte wanted so badly to squint against the light and make out his eyes against the kohl around them. Perhaps it was better this way. If she couldn't see his eyes, he wouldn't seem as real.

The Joker paused briefly, licking his cherry colored lips as a gutteral chuckled erupted from his chest. Charlotte flinched regrettably at the sound...he was just so...demonlike. Seeing her reaction only seemed to make the laugh stronger.

"Oho. Ohoho. Aha, aha, ahehe - AHAHAH HA HA HA HA!" The laughing increased, rising and lowering in pitch and intensity until Joker erupted into peals of deep laughter. Charlotte turned her fingers into fists behind her back, her nails digging harshly into her palms. She got the feeling she really shouldn't have said that. The Joker clutched his stomach through his waistcoat before brushing away at fake tears. The giggles subsided slightly as he responded.

"Oh you. Kill you? Why would I ever do that? No. No, no, no, no no!" Joker smirked slowly, waiting for her reaction. "I wouldn't be able to do that, Char."

An alarm went off in Charlotte's head as he dragged out her nickname. No one had ever called her that except her family and close friends. How on earth did the Joker know about that name?! He had searched her bag, yes, but there was nothing in there that suggested to that nickname, and it couldn't have been on a whim or by coincidence. Nothing was ever coincidental with the Joker! Was it?

"How did you -" Charlotte stuttered before the older man cut her off.

"Ah ta ta , let's not chat too long, shall we? I have some things for you..." Joker grinned, before turning and plopping Charlotte's books into her quickly reacting arms. He had acted so quickly that Charlotte had no idea where he had even gotten her missing books from. She stared down at her books in shock. He'd made her meet him late at night for this? At this point, Charlotte didn't even need her books anymore - she didn't know what he had done to them, and she really didn't trust anything he gave her. Joker's distorted smile was replaced with threatening look as soon as he saw her reaction. His hand itched to grab her neck and squeeze until her bones popped and her eyes burst.

"Let's, ah, not forget our manners, Char." Joker growled threateningly, his mood changing instantly. Her look of fear had changed, there wasn't a trace of awe or shock, she only looked simply horrified now. And that just wouldn't do...

"Thank you," Charlotte stammered, gripping the pile of books tighter. They were beginning to slip from her sweaty palms. Joker glanced over her expression once more and clicked his tongue before looking up at the sparse, deserted looking apartments above them. He didn't have time to spend with this stupid girl, he'd seen what he wanted to see and that was that. He didn't have time to waste watching her stammer and stutter over herself, no matter how amusing it was.

Joker kept his glance upwards. "You've got about ten seconds to run, Beautiful. Unless you'd like to stay and watch the, uh, fireworks." He tongued the inside of his cheek before glancing quickly at her in passing.

Charlotte's heart quickened as panic settled in. "What -"

A thundering explosion was heard from farther up the alley, and Charlotte watched in frozen fear as smoke began to billow up from the buildings. The Joker was gone, and Charlotte began to run as she heard the frightening combination of police sirens and forceful explosions. She dropped a notebook on the way out, but she didn't dare go back. Charlotte ran farther down the street and crossed it before even daring to turn around. The sight was ghastly, copcars were blazing down the streets and pedestrians were running to and fro. She panted harshly before coughing up a fit. She leaned against a building before turning and vomiting from the acrid smell of the smoke alone. She allowed herself two more heavy breaths before running again. She had to get home now, Charlotte had never felt so unsafe in her life.

The orange glow of the streetlights blinded her as she ran, and high up on a building above all the chaos, the Joker smiled.

Confused? No worries, just keep reading and reviewing! I've got a lot in store for this story, believe me. And for those of you thinking that this will be your typical Joker/OC love story, well...you couldn't be more wrong! Read and review! x