A/N: I'VE REACHED 100 REVIEWS YAY! lol Thank you all SO much who reviewed, and please continue :] They show me that people really like the story, and not just that people are reading casue they are bored. If you really like this story, please review it, and the chapters will come out quicker just like this one :] It usually takes me a week, but this week, it only took me like 4 days!! WOOT. Anyway, this is a bit shorter than my other chapters, but i think it's pretty good :] BTW, I have a few interesting twists i want to ask you about at the bottom!! lol
Disclamier: As always, i do not own any characters other than Annabelle Mathews. :[
Habit, if not resisted, soon becomes necessity.
-St. Augustine
I stood in silence, waiting for The Joker as he jumped up from the bed and bounced over to my place in the doorway. His Cheshire Cat Grin was stretched across his face as he skipped toward me, humming along the way.
" Long time no uh see." He remarked casually, sliding his tongue over his blood red lips. I smiled wearily, moving around him to the light switch on the wall. Flicking the lights on, I turned to see him directly in front of me. I couldn't stop the low gasp that escaped my lips before recovering quickly, searching through my clouded mind for something to say.
But before I could form any words, the Joker pinned me against the wall, his hands gripping my arms tightly. Leaning into my ear, the Joker's breath blew across my face holding a hint of mint and spoke.
" Hi works just fine." He said darkly into my ear before his high pitched giggle lightened the sinister mood. Letting go of my arms, he began walking around the room, analyzing everything.
" Really nice uh setup ya got here sweets. I almost-ah forgot." He mused, turning to face me. I had slowly removed myself from the wall, not from fear but fascination. Eyeing me up and down, he smacked his lips together loudly and clapped once, rushing to stand before me.
" I've been-ah thinking-" He started, but I cut him off with a laugh. Moving to step around him as I spoke.
" Ooo. The clown thinks! Ha-ha." As soon as the words left my mouth, the Jokers hand flew to my arm, grabbing tightly as the flick of his switchblade caught my ears. Stopping nervously, I stared down to his right hand where the blade lay, and the Joker's voice broke through my gaze.
" Don't-ah interrupt." The words cut through the air like glass and I instantly nodded my head, shifting my gaze slowly to meet his eyes. They were black orbs, but instantly softened as his grip slipped from my arm.
" As I was saying before I was so was so uh rudely interrupted, I have uh been thinking about the previous a-range-ment we had made, and I think it is in need of a little reworking-ah. Actually, I think we should uh just toss it out of the window." He spoke giddily, moving his hands in a figurative throwing motion by the end. His giggles brought on a round of my own, though I had no clue what was funny.
" What do you mean… by 'Toss it out the window'?" I asked after a moment's pause, not fully understanding where his mind was taking him. And after an exasperated sigh, the Joker answered.
" I mean why let you come back here, then uh take you all the way back-ah. Why not give the uh media their front page story. I can see the headline-ah now. ' Joker's hostage lives to tell her tale!' It'll give you your little uh five minutes of fame. And give me a chance to really show this city how uh bad-ah I can be."
" But where does that leave me?" I asked dejectedly. Suddenly filled with a feeling I couldn't quite place. Rejection maybe?
" That, my sweet-ah marionette, leaves you free. Do what you uh wish, but don't think I'm going anywhere. There's no denying it. You're uh different now. All. Because. Of me. How could I possibly uh leave you alone after everything I've taught you about this cruel unjust world? Why, that would be plain irresponsible of me." He spoke with pride as a smug smile slipped onto his painted face, and my face cheered up as well.
He wasn't going to leave me.
But although he wasn't going to leave me, I still felt an uneasiness lingering in the pit of my stomach at the fact that for a second I was worried he would leave me. As if him leaving me, would be a bad thing. How could it?
I'd be free, just like he said. I could live a somewhat normal life, being with my best friend Bruce, and eventually beginning to fit in with the crowd I had once found myself accustomed to being around. But I knew that was never what I had wanted, and deep down, I knew it all along.
I had been lying to myself, trying to fit myself in with the people I had learned to hate. It was really quite simple. All they cared about was money, something that, in a flash, could be easily taken away and then what? What would they do once their trust funds ran out?
They'd drop dead, that's what would happen.
I wasn't like them, I wasn't normal, and neither was he. Finally I had met someone, an equal, that could bring out everything I had been hiding away. And maybe I was hiding it all away for a good reason. Being like this, not feeling remorse, guilt, empathy, maybe that was a bad thing. Killing wasn't good, but it made me feel good and that's all that mattered.
And if the Joker were to let me go, let me free, then what would stop me from reverting to my old ways, old habits? I would continue to try and fit myself into society's box of right and wrong, closing myself off from the truth.
I would continue to hold that small false hope of righteousness for the world. Righteousness that I now knew never existed, and it never could.
People lie. People cheat. People scheme. Everyone's looking out for themselves, and they all try to hide it. Why would anyone want to be a part of that? I knew I didn't. But with the Joker gone, I wouldn't have a choice. I'd be considered crazy if I didn't follow society's strict rules, but with the Joker by my side, I had someone else who would understand.
We're all liars, no matter how hard we try to deny it.
I guess the rule is, everyone is a liar until proven honest. Lying is bad. Or so we are told constantly from birth—honesty is the best policy, the truth shall set you free, I chopped down the cherry tree, whatever. The fact is, lying is a necessity. We lie to ourselves because the truth, the truth freaking hurts. And that pain keeps us from opening our eyes, and seeing the world as it should be seen.
As one, big joke.
* * * * * *
How could she talk like this, act like this, think like this. He had to have done something to her.
There was no way she would willingly choose to revert back to her old ways, after everything she has done to leave that past behind. It just made absolutely no sense. She came to Gotham for change, and I was more than willing to help her through the hard times she was going through, after all, I loved her.
And after everything I've done for her, she decides to throw it all away on that freak!
I was pacing back and forth across my bedroom, the drapes pulled tightly across the window letting no light in. I took a swig of the brandy I had been clutching tightly in my hand, and closed my eyes as the calming liquid traveled down my throat, my mind momentarily relaxing.
Annabelle was back. My best friend was returned to me, only now, she wasn't my best friend. She was someone… else. Someone who hijacked her body and replaced her mind with their own. And the only person I could blame was the Joker.
If he hadn't taken her, brainwashed her. She'd still be mine. My best friend, the friend I may secretly care for a little too much, but none of that mattered now. What mattered was the fact that I had to do everything in my power to bring her back.
Their was a knock at the door as Alfred came in, a look of worry creasing his face.
" Master Wayne, may I have a word?" He asked, his Accent making his voice sound even more proper than it already was.
" You may." I said to him, ushering him into the room fully. He walked toward me, looking down at the ground as he walked before stopping a few feet in front of me. He gaze shifted to mine as he spoke.
" As much as I too disapprove of the decision young Annabelle has made recently, I feel that you being her best friend can't hold this against her. She needs you now more than ever, though she may not fully realize it yet. And the best way to get her to understand you, is to try to understand where she is coming from first." He spoke softly, shifting his weight slightly.
I closed my eyes tightly, pinching the bridge of my nose in anger, though it was not at Alfred, but the Girl ten feet below.
" I do understand where she's coming from Alfred. Its coming from that madman. He brainwashed her into thinking this way!" I fumed, taking another large gulp from the brandy.
" Now we both know that Annabelle's mind is too strong to be brainwashed Master Wayne. She obviously felt something similar to this before she met him. He only heightened it." He countered, and I finished off my glass, turning to the small bar to retrieve another glass full.
After filling the glass I turned to him, angry.
" So you think she already wanted to be a monster?!" I shot at him, but he was quick with his reply.
" No Master Wayne, but don't forget, she has killed before. This isn't something new to her-"
" But she didn't mean to." I interrupted, and he raised his hand to silence me.
" I know that. But there is obviously something inside her that agrees with what the Joker is saying. And maybe it's not only his way of thinking that brings her to him. Maybe she feels something between the two of them that we can't very well see."
" Can't you see that, that's all apart of his plan? He's going to bring her close, just so its that much funnier when he kills her! And she won't even try to stop him though I know that she could. She'll fall helpless for his spell." I said, my anger mixing quickly with worry and anxiousness. I had the sudden urge to scour the city for this man and bring him down. Though not kill him. Never, he doesn't deserve to go out like the smug bastard he would be if Batman brought him to his end.
" But if that happens, and you haven't pushed her away like you have been planning on doing, then you will be there to save her. All I'm trying to say is give her a chance. Let us see how things are before you rush in with the cavalry." He soft voice spoke. And I sighed in defeat. What he was saying did make sense, though I didn't want it to.
I wanted to be mad. Mad at her for being too weak to realize the fact that she's being played like a puppet. Mad at the Joker for taking my best friend away. Mad at myself for letting it all happen.
Defeated I replied. " Your Right Alfred." He smiled slightly.
" Always am Master Wayne. Always am." And with that, he excused himself from the room to prepare dinner.
I sat on my bed in silence, the pain eating its way at me, and hoping, praying that he truly was right.
Pain, it comes in all forms. The small twinge, a bit of soreness, the random pain that we live with everyday. Then there is the kind of pain you just can't ignore, a level of pain so great that it blocks out everything else, makes the rest of your world fade away until all we can think about is how much we hurt, how we manage our pain is up to us. We anaesthetize, ride it out, embrace it, ignore it, and for some of us the best way to manage pain is to just push through it.
What did everyone think? Like it? Hate it? Please review and tell me :] Please. Although i have reached 100, i still want more. Hey, Im greedy what can i say? lol
Also, i would just like people to know that i am now a Beta- Reader, and if anyone would like me to help them with their stories, i'd be glad too. Please don't hesitate to PM me ( But Still review (: )
And now i have a quesion for all of you. Although i know some of you don't want it to happen, The Joker might just develop certain feelings for our lovely Annabelle ( If he hasn't already) and i wanted to know whether or not you think i should write from his point of view at all? Please give me your opinions on the matter :] Thank you
BTW SPOILER ALERT!: I think i might just be introducing a new character into the mix! And then the claws will come out!
Reviews (: