AN: Ok, so here's the next chapter finally! Sorry it's taken so long to update...been busy, busy, busy. Enjoy for now and I'll do my best to get another chapter up later in the week. And as always, please review :)
"You wouldn't do that," I said, trying to keep my voice steady.
"That's exactly where you are wrong, my dear, I'm a man of my word," he said as he took that final step to fill the gap between us. "So I'll say it again, what's it gonna be?"
I paused a minute. I didn't want him to think he could just scare me into doing what he wanted, but I also didn't want to push him into doing it. I didn't want to be labeled a freak for the rest of my life nor did I want a pity party because The Joker had touched me. So I decided to remain silent and I just stared into his maniac eyes and attempted to look as brave as I could.
He was getting impatient. He grabbed my face and forced the blade into my mouth, holding it tight to the corner of my right cheek. I faltered then; I started to cry and I knew I had a panicked look on my face. I wanted to scream but I couldn't, my voice was totally gone. I looked at him, warm tears streaming down my face, pleading with a look for him not to do it. He surveyed me another minute, and then took the knife out of my mouth and stepped back. "That's exactly what I thought," he said with a smile. "Go ahead and pour it, you want to you know," he said forcing the can of gasoline into my hands, cackling like the seriously screwed up clown he was.
I hung my head in defeat as I poured the gasoline around the building, warm tears still rolling down my face. Why me? How did I always seem to get myself into these super weird situations? When I got done pouring the gas, I threw the can at The Joker. I missed by like three feet, but still. I yelled, "You can take me home now!"
He half skipped over to me and put his arm around me. I tried to shrug it off, but he didn't take the hint. "Aww, come on, Mels, you did a nice job. Don't you want to watch the fireworks?"
"You're crazy," I said.
He spun me around and got within two inches of my face. "No I'm not," he growled angrily.
I pulled away. "Well, then what do you call it? Because to me, this is insanity," I said as I waved my arms at the mess of explosives behind me.
"This? This is just an experiment. Designed by a man who's simply ahead of the curve."
"My point exactly. This is insanity and you are out of your freakin' mind!"
He slammed me against the wall. "I AM NOT CRAZY!!" he screamed. Then he grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the warehouse. He threw a lit match over his shoulder as we exited.
Once outside, he turned to me and said, "You wouldn't understand. I am not crazy or insane or a maniac or any other creative phrasing you can come up with for that. And if you keep calling me that, I will carve your face, you can count on that one, sweets."
I didn't say a word. I just nodded once. He seemed to take that as my understanding because he immediately broke out into gleeful laughter. I assumed it was because of the explosion that was just beginning. Must turn him on or something. But then he turned to me, laughing, "You're so damn cute when you're annoyed."
What the hell?! Where did that come from? I thought. Instead of expressing that, I glared at him and said, "Can I go home now?"
"Aww, sure, sweets. Such a killjoy though," he said as he turned back to watching his handiwork, still laughing like a maniac. I took the opportunity to make my escape and headed home.
I slept horribly that night. I kept having awful nightmares about The Joker. Ones where he carved my face and others where he forced me to marry him. Finally, when I just couldn't take the dreams anymore, I got up and started getting ready for my first day of school at Gotham High.
It was about 6:00 a.m. when I headed out to the kitchen to grab breakfast before heading to school. Naturally, my dad was already up, watching the news. If he couldn't analyze The Joker by actually seeing the man one-on-one, he would at least try to gain an understanding from his tactics by watching the news. As I poured my cereal, I looked at the TV. They were showing the scenes of destruction to that abandoned warehouse and the school next door. I tried to make a joke from that, "Guess those kids are glad they don't have school now," I said.
My dad paused and looked at me. He definitely didn't look happy. Actually, he looked pretty frustrated. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that," I said, turning back to my cereal. Dad turned back to the television. I tried to ignore what was being said, but the silence between me and my dad made that all too difficult.
"We know for sure that this is the work of The Joker as Joker playing cards were found partially burned around the area after the explosion. It is likely to assume that he had help this time. Police still do not have any leads on who that may include, but urges the citizens of Gotham to keep their eyes peeled for any suspicious behavior and report any information they may have about the latest attack to them," the reporter said. I froze in mid-bite and just stared at the reporter.
Oh my gosh, what if someone saw me with him last night? Or worse, what if they saw me leaving the site? My mind was racing that I didn't even realize that I had begun to cry until my dad came over and wrapped his arms around me, "It's ok, Mel, just calm down. Those people will get the help they need. And the police will catch him yet…it's only a matter of time before he makes a mistake. You'll see, everything will be okay."
My dad's words made me quit crying. Boy, does he have the wrong idea about why I'm upset or what? I just nodded; this was not the time to try to explain it to him. I wiped my eyes and gave him a hug. Then he said, "You should probably be heading to school, huh? Don't want to be late." I nodded and went to grab my book bag. "Have a good day!" He called to me as I headed out the door.
So I survived my first day of school. And it was pretty much just school. You know, go to the usual classes: history, math, English, science, and all that jazz. And naturally, being my first day, get lost on the way to just about every class. Thus, labeling me the "new kid" and be subjected to the extreme helpfulness of some of the strangest guys on campus as well as eating lunch alone. But really, the alone stuff doesn't bother me, I don't really fit in here, I can already tell that much, so alone is just fine. Either way, love it or hate it (and I was leaning toward hating it), I was thrilled when the bell rang and I sprinted out of that school. As I left the school grounds, headed for home, I did a little dance of freedom down the street, a huge smile on my face…until I saw him.
There he was standing about three feet away, waiting for me. I knew he was there for me. He stood staring at me with a huge smile on his face, but it wasn't that creepy smile, it was one that actually looked like he was happy to see me. He didn't look dangerous and deranged at that moment. For a split second, I had the urge to run into his arms and embrace him. I fought that urge by turning on my heel and bolting in the opposite direction.
I couldn't help but look over my shoulder to see if he was following me. But he wasn't. He was just standing there, watching, looking slightly amused. That's when my foot collided with something else sending me crashing to the ground. I closed my eyes and tried to catch my fall, but someone's hands grabbed me to keep me from hitting the sidewalk.
He helped me to my feet, but I tried to fight him as irrational panic washed over me thinking it was The Joker come to my "rescue." Then I saw his face. It was Bruce Wayne. When I realized how foolish I must seem, I started crying. He wrapped his arms around me, giving me a much needed hug. "What's wrong?" He asked, his voice full of concern.
"Nothing," I said, pulling free of his embrace. Then I looked over my shoulder. The Joker is still standing there, watching me. He's laughing himself silly and when he realized I was watching him, he waved.
Bruce peered over the top of my head and spotted him too, "I see you've met Gotham's notorious criminal." I didn't respond, but noticed that The Joker's smile had faded as soon as he spotted Bruce, and he disappeared down an alley instantly.
"Would you like me to take you home?" he asked.
"No, that's ok, I can manage," I replied.
"You sure? It's no trouble at all."
"Really, he's gone so I'm fine. Thank you though," I said as I headed back down the street towards home. I could feel Bruce's eyes watching me leave, at least until I turned the corner and he couldn't see me anymore.
Bruce turned away as she rounded the corner. Why is The Joker so interested in her? Only one way to find out, he thought as he headed to Wayne Mansion and its secrets below.