Chapter 6: The Addiction begins

The day after went quickly and so did the next week and the next. Scarlett did not see The Joker again and it was having a profound effect on her.

She was a like a drug addict in withdrawal, she lost her motivation to work, she lost her smile and she felt tired constantly. She couldn't focus on anything and found herself in a zombie-like state most days. So entering the end of the second week of not seeing him, she gave up on her rehabilitation and decided like most drug addicts do, that she needed to get her fix, no matter what.

When she got in she headed straight to her room and searched for the joker card he had given her, when they had first met, she found it quickly and stared at the numbers for a moment, they were placed around the edge of the card so it was difficult to tell were the start of the number was.

She pulled her phone off the wall and kicked off her shoes as she slumped down onto her bed and stared at the numbers again. She felt like a teenager who had just got the number of the popular boy she fancied. Taking a deep breath she began to dial.

"Hello" called a very feminine voice.

"Urr, Hi. Maybe I got the wrong number who is this" said Scarlett.

"This is Louise," said the female voice on the other end.

Scarlett wasn't sure what to do, maybe this was his girlfriend. Who was she kidding he probably didn't have a girlfriend.

"I must have the wrong number," Scarlett said before she hung up and sighed before she fell back into the bed dramatically. Then looked up at the card again and sighed.

Wait! Was that a 2 or a 5 this card was so difficult to read, why couldn't he just print his number like a normal person. But he wasn't a normal person, and that was exactly the reason she needed to call him.

She picked up the phone from where she had thrown it and redialled using a 2 instead of a 5 this time.

"Hi," said the voice she had been yearning for, for two weeks now.

"Hi," she said her voice much higher than she wanted.

"Jester!" he said happily and she couldn't help the grin that came to her face, she lay back down on her stomach, her feet in the air. She truly felt like a teenager calling her crush now. Her heartbeat 100 times faster than usual and she grinned like an idiot.

"What can I do for you gorgeous?" he asked and she could hear the smile in his voice.

"I" Scarlett stuttered she wasn't sure what to say, she wasn't sure she could admit to him that she was calling because she missed him.

"I don't know, why I called," she said after a little while and her ear nearly bust with his cackling response.

"I've missed you too gorgeous," he said still laughing slightly and she blushed madly.

"I tell you what, do you fancy coming with me tomorrow around 1 to a little meeting I should probably go to," he asked and she felt like all her Christmases had come at once.

"Oh, yeah that would be amazing," she said stuttering slightly.

"Brilliant! I'll be right over and we can sort out your costume" he said before he hung up and she was unable to reply.

What the hell did he mean by costume?

Within the hour he had arrived, breaking his way into her apartment while she was watching TV, causing her to jump and him to break down into hysterics.

He placed a bag on the counter and curiously she looked inside. That's had what he had meant by costume, a set of grease paint was in the bag and they were clearly used recently and she looked up at his freshly painted face.

"Well?" he said and she smiled.

"Do you want to help me find something to wear?" she asked and he grinned.

"No Jester, this has to be your design, I'll wait here and you show me once your done." he said and she smiled nervously, she had no idea what she was doing.

She didn't know where he was taking her tomorrow but more importantly, she couldn't afford to be seen with a psychotic clown. So at least this would keep her identity unknown. At least for now. She wondered if that was why The Joker painted his face, but somehow she knew it was for another reason.

She headed off towards her bedroom.

"Don't forget this" he called after her as he threw the jester hat to her and she caught it, smiling coyly at him. She heard the TV turn on as she entered the bedroom, she snatched up the green waistcoat she had bought and decided it would be the base to her costume.

She pulled on an emerald green tank top, before almost immediately pulling it back off again and throwing it on the floor, she picked up a purple tank top, before slipping on her waistcoat. The tank top was just enough to cover her bra, she pulled at the strings of her waistcoat, and pulled them as tight as she could.

She began her search for some bottoms, quickly she found a pair of purple and white striped shorts, they were part of a Halloween costume she had never got round to wearing and had only really bought for the boots that came with it. THE BOOTS! They would be prefect, on her hands and knees she dug through the wardrobe till she found them buried under a million other pairs of shoes.

They wear bright purple PVC platform boots that came up to her knees and laced up the front. The were ridiculous but she had worn them once and they were surprisingly comfortable. She pulled on a pair of fish net stocking with a suspender belt before pulling on her boots. She pulled on a pair of purple fingerless gloves to match. She looked in the mirror and smile there was something very Joker about her outfit, or rather Jester.

She combed her hair and left the natural curl in it before she made a messy space buns on the top of her head giving her an almost mini mouse look as her natural curl twisted out of the bun. She left out her bangs before she headed back out to the living room nervously the jesters hat in hand. He was watching the TV when she entered and didn't seem to notice her.

She coughed slightly and he looked up, before he did a double take and stood up to look at her fully.

"Hello beautiful," he purred and she blushed, until he said that she felt slightly silly but now she felt almost empowered.

"One last thing is needed," he said holding out the bag with the greasepaint inside. She took the bag from him and headed to the bathroom, she pulled her hair away from her face, before taking the plunge and smearing the white paint over her face, she brushed her face with baby powder and smiled at her self in the mirror. She painted heavy black around her eyes almost mimicking the Joker but not quite as extreme and far more neat. She looked down and the red he had given her before closing the lid and searching through her make-up draw until she found the bright purple she had bought for the same Halloween and had never really worn. She applied it to just her lips, flicking it out slightly at the corners of her mouth to give her a small smile but she did not go up her cheeks as he would. She stared at her self in the mirror again, she hardly recognized herself but that was the point and she laughed.

She pulled the jesters hat onto her head and laughed again.

"Looking good Jester," said a voice and The Joker stood in the doorway of the bathroom looking at her, grinning like an idiot. She smiled widely and he approached. He stood close to her his fingers coming out to touched the fabric of her waistcoat. He made a noise close to a growl moved closer to her still, pulling an arm around her waist, and she purred. He laughed as she bent her head back and he traced her neck with his finger tips.

"I like this Jester," he said flicking a bell on her hat. She purred again and his fingers moved down her arms.

Her phone began to ring loudly and The Joker jumped away from her like he had been burnt, before he started to laugh and she grinned at him. That had been a strange but amazing moment to happen between the pair.

He walked away from her leaving her standing in the doorway of the bathroom feeling slightly overwhelmed but absolutely fabulous but now she knew she was going to crave him even more than before.