© Ellie Goodson 2016

Chapter Nine-Caught in the breakout

~Arabella Jones~

An intense staring competition had developed between the Joker and I, a test to see who would look away first. I sat back in my chair, blinking but not breaking eye contact. "Come on, Joker. Ivy's been acting weird, Scarecrow tells me that I'm going to be fun soon, I've had a mystery visit from Catwoman warning me to be careful and I always trust my instincts, and they're telling me to run as far away as possible right now."

"So why don't you?" The clown replied, leaning closer to me. "Why not run? Why stay, Doll?"

"I need answers." I replied simply, and that was when I chose to look away, I looked towards my pocket as I pulled out my paper and pen.

I flipped to a clean page and clicked the pen. I pushed the paper and pen towards the Joker. "You can write it, and destroy the evidence. Or you can tell me, and trust that I can keep the information for my ears only. Either way, you're going to tell me what's going on." I crossed my arms loosely over my chest, raising my eyebrows at the clown. "Either way, I'm not going anywhere until I have answers, because it's driving me crazy."

The clown ruffled his green hair, licking over his lips as he dropped his hands onto the desk. "Doc, you're going to be sat there for a while." He got up from his seat, and carefully walked behind me, he looked ready to pounce at any second. That should've made me run screaming out of the glass cell but I loved exotic way too much for my own good.

I was able to be more relaxed around him, less like a piece of unmovable rock. The simile made me chuckle a little to myself. "You laugh a lot, always chuckling to yourself." The Joker noted with his head tilted slightly to the side. "I like that."

"You're not the only one." I replied, no meaning to my words, I just wanted to say them.

He placed his hands gently around my neck, bending down so that his lips were millimetres from my cheek. "Remember the last time this happened, doll?" I could feel his warm breath against my cheek, and a shiver ran down my spine. I nodded my head, with too much force which allowed him to know that he was beginning to scare me. I never knew how he was going to act when I walked into our sessions.

He switched his hands with his thumbs, trailing each one up my neck so softly I felt like insects were crawling over my skin. His thumbs stopped on my jaw, and he tugged it towards him. Both hands now clutched at my jaw, holding me in place. My heart was beating so hard that he could probably hear it himself. What was he doing? "I can feel your pulse, doll, you're scared aren't you?"

A shiver ran through my body, causing my teeth to chatter and whole body to shake violently. I was too petrified for words, my throat had swollen up so that I could hardly breathe, and my chest was heaving. He dropped my jaw, and my hand flew to where he had been clenching at it so that I could gently soothe the sore marks. I couldn't figure out why he was acting the way he was. I mean, did he even know anything? Was he angry, sad, happy or just...teasing? I couldn't understand and so, along with fear and anxiety, frustration came along and made all my emotions worse.

I felt my whole body tremble, I really didn't deal with being frustrated all that well. "You know what?" I shouted, hands slamming down on the desk so hard the stung painfully afterwards. That caught the Joker's attention, his eyes scanned from my hands all the way up to my pissed off face. "All I wanted was an answer! I just wanted to know if something was going to happen in Arkham or not and if so, what it is! You know why? So I can sleep at night! So I can stop feeling so frustrated and just...breathe! Why, why can't I have that? Why does everyone stop me from having that? What, is, you're, problem? Have I done anything to make all the people I treat or have seen want to tease me with stupid riddles and lies and secrets?"

I finished blowing off steam with a scream held back in my throat so that my voice was hoarse and sore. My chest heaved and I continued to glare at the clown, hands still stuck on the desk, still sat on the seat and eyes dramatically wide. God only knew how much of a psychotic psychiatrist I looked like then. The Joker took a seat opposite me, his face completely unreadable.

"You've got...anger. A temper. Raw, boiling steam." He told me in a low voice, and in reply I shot him a look that said 'I know that, it's pretty obvious you dumb ass.'

He put his hands up in surrender, eyebrows raised and an amused smile playing at his lips. "Look, Doc, obviously you're a little...annoyed-"

"A little? A little? I have barely slept for days, weeks, I don't even know! I can't remember the last time I slept well or what it even felt like! I just keep thinking and it's killing me! I feel like I'm going crazy!"

"You remember when you told me that everyone was already crazy?"

"Crazier then! Is there a point to this?"

The Joker shook his head a little, tongue sliding over his bottom lip. "I'm just stating how...well I never thought you could freak out like this. When we first met, I thought you were in control, sane, boring...everything I hate. And the more I've seen you, the more I've known you, the more I've been intrigued. The more I've liked. Because you're so crazy, but there's a method and an understanding to that crazy."

"I am not crazy. I am exhausted. I am frustrated. I am far from crazy at the moment."

"You're also in denial."

My fists clenched automatically, and I took in a deep breath through my nose. I had an awful temper, and I really didn't want to be pushed to my limit by the Joker, and then reach my limit in front of the Joker. "You look really angry Doll. You know how I can help?"

"How?"

"Close your eyes."

Before I could reply, or close my eyes, I heard multiple grunts, groans and moans from outside the cell. I turned around and saw all the guards falling to the floor, clutching different parts of their body as they fell into deep unconsciousness. "What the hell?" I shouted, getting up from my seat. But someone caught my wrist and yanked me back down.

I turned to the clown in front of me, a mixture of fear, rage and confusion running through my system. "Jack." I warned through gritted teeth. His eyes slitted then, jaw clinching as his grip tightened.

"I warned you not to call me Jack." My face twisted into confusion, but before I could ask anything the Joker hands gripped my head and slammed it into the solid oak desk.

It was so hard, so forceful, that my vision blurred instantly as a low groan left my mouth. Everything was rapidly going dark but before I fell into deep unconsciousness, I felt arms wrap around me and pick me up. "Sorry, doll but I couldn't have you running away now could I?" And then everything went pure, pitch black leaving me wondering what the Clown Prince of Crime had meant.