***Chapter 9, yay! Slight smut warning but who doesn't like a little every now and again? haha Hope you enjoy! And leave me your reviews! It keeps me writing. :)***
It was fifteen minutes down to the second when the Joker stormed back into the room, finding Arella sitting on the couch, twisting her hair into a braid down her shoulder. She had changed into the black dress set out for her that was remarkably similar to the one she had been wearing the night before. When she picked it up, she had vaguely wondered if he had made a special trip out to get it. Apparently he liked it more than he cared to admit. The boots he had given her a month ago were laced tightly around her ankles and she had wrapped a loose sweater around her shoulders in case it was cold. Louie was curled up on the bed against her leg lazily, not even waking up to the open door.
The Joker raised a brow as he looked at her. He had half expected that he would have to drag her out of the shower, but there she was, still as wide eyed as he had left her. A scowl crossed his lips as he thought about her taking all his fun away tonight.
Arella quickly fastened a hair tie around the end of the braid before standing with a sigh, smoothing her hands over her dress. She was on edge. Anxious to get outside and nervous that she would do something to make him angry enough to reconsider taking her. A part of her knew that this wasn't meant to be no treat and that by the end of the night she would regret it, but it didn't matter. She would savor it while she could. It was a welcome break from the nonstop barrage of negative emotions over the past few weeks.
The Joker stalked closer to her, circling around her slowly as she remained still and silent. His eyes roamed over her body as a gloved hand reached out, trailing a slow line down her back while he stood, gauging her reaction. But aside from a small breath, she gave none.
He let out a small grunt before stopping right above the curve that led down to his favorite part of her before pulling away, disappointed.
"Let's go." He growled at her before heading out of the door.
Arella let out a small, unnoticed sigh before following. This was going to be torture but she didn't care. Maybe he would be less on edge once they got into the van.
When they got down to the loading dock, the Joker stopped suddenly at the bottom of the stairs causing her to trip into him, grabbing the back of his coat in order to remain upright. He only turned his head to look at her with a raised brow and scowl.
"Sorry." She said, quickly letting go and standing up straight, waiting for him to move again. It took a moment before he finally grabbed her arm, dragging her along behind him to a waiting van.
As well as she was trying to behave; she couldn't help the eye roll behind his back. Without a second look behind him, he pulled her towards one of two running vans, pushing her into the back. Arella barely paid him attention as she pulled herself to a seated position, looking around the van to find 4 of his men clustered into the front seats. Her eyes rested on the one she recognized from the night before. Rick she was sure his name was.
'That made sense.' She thought to herself. There was no one left alive to tell the Joker that he was there except for her.
He cast her a brief, nervous glance as well. He had probably been thinking the same thing. She was brought back to the present when she heard the Joker slam the door behind her settling on the floor near her as the van pulled off without further command.
Her eyes drifted over to him as he moved closer to her and spotted the black cloth in his hand. Of course he was going to blindfold her.
"You don't have to do that." She blurted out before she could stop herself.
She barely had time to apologize before the Joker grabbed her shoulder, digging his nails in as he turned her around to face the front of the van roughly. A short cry escaped her lips as he wrapped the cloth around her head, tying it much too tightly before pushing her onto the floor. It was a reaction she should have expected. The few times she had been with him in front of his men, he was always much more volatile. With a whimper, she tried to loosen the fabric which felt like it was cutting off her circulation but a low growl from the man above her caused her to abandon her efforts, deciding instead to curl up against the floor and force herself to relax. She was getting out after all.
It was twenty minutes before the van finally stopped and she lifted her head cautiously. Everything was pounding by now and she wasn't sure she would have lasted a minute longer.
"We're here." Came the nasally voice at the same time a hand reached down and removed the cloth.
She gave a relieved sigh, bringing her hands to her head as she waited for the blood to rush back to where it needed to be. She couldn't see where they were through the tinted windows, but for the moment, she was glad for the darkness.
"Now, he moved closer to her excitedly, gripping a knife excitedly in his hand. "Let's not forget our…con-ver-sa-tion." He placed his spare arm around her neck. "If you try to run, I'll have to come find you. And we don't want that, do we?" He shook his head as if indicating what he wanted her to say.
She only mirrored his gesture in response.
"No. That's right." He smiled, handing her the knife in his hand. "This is for you."
She took it, her mouth dropping before looking up at him. She wasn't exactly sure what he wanted her to do, but she knew she wouldn't like it. He continued though, undeterred.
"The boys and I have a few errands to run, and I know how much you were dying to get outside. So how about you go out, have some-ah….fun, and meet me at the school in fifteen minutes?"
She only stare at him, utterly confused. "I don't understand. Where are we? What school? What do you want me to do?"
He only tilted his head, looking at her with false sympathy before moving closer to the doors and opening them both.
"Whatever you have to." He sneered, grabbing her arm and pushing her out of the van with a shove onto the concrete below.
Arella cried out in pain as she landed on her knees, losing grip of the knife as it clattered a few feet in front of her. The sound of the Joker's cackling laughter forced her head to jerk up and her stomach immediately dropped.
"No." She whispered to herself, quickly scrambling to her feet. "This can't be happening."
"Don't be late, sweet cheeks!" He called after her, giggling, slamming the doors.
She quickly spun around as she saw the rear lights flash in reverse before going into drive. "No!" She screamed, running towards it. "Please don't do this!" But she didn't make it closer than a few feet before the van squealed off, leaving her only with the sound of the Joker's laughter fading in the distance and the irritating feel of exhaust assaulting her nose.
She broke down into a painful coughing fit, trying to clear her lungs of the car's dirty exhaust as tears began forming in her eyes. It took a minute before she could finally stand up straight again, taking in her surroundings for the first time in nearly a decade.
It hadn't changed much since then. Things had simply gotten even more run down which was something she couldn't have imagined to be possible when she was a child. Glancing to her left, the doors to her old apartment were barely hanging on their hinges, graffiti decorated the wood and flyers flapped in the wind. Upon closer inspection, she swore she could make out bullet holes in the wall next to her. Instantly, she knew what school he meant. Her high school was only a mile or so from her old home and she remembered having to make that tretorous journey on foot once or twice when she missed the bus. She groaned, realizing that the time limit the Joker had imposed didn't leave enough time to take the route she used to; one through populated streets that unfortunately turned the trip into a little over two miles. No, she would have to take the shortcut through a number of shady alleys whether she like it or not.
It was the middle of spring, and though the weather was nice, she suddenly felt cold. With a shudder, she rushed forward to pick up the knife she had dropped, holding it close to her chest as she began to hyperventilate, looking around the rest of the neighborhood as she tried to consider any other option. The neon sign of the strip club across the street still acted as the only light source on the dark block and the same gaggle of men hung around the front entrance, hoping to get the chance to chat up a stripper on the way out after they had lost all of their money. But tonight, all eyes were on her: the horribly out of place woman that they had just seen get kicked out of a van. The Joker's van. Everyone knew that laugh and while it had initially caused them to shrank back nervously, she was fair game now that it was out of sight.
She could see four of the men whisper to themselves as their eyes stayed on her. Probably daring each other to make a move. It was obvious, now, that if she didn't make a move, she would never make it. Looking pitiful would only make things harder for her.
With a final sniff, she used the back of her sleeve to wipe her eyes before setting her mouth into a determined frown and beginning down the nearest ally, blending into the dark.
She was going to kill the Joker when she saw him again. It didn't matter if he beat her, or starved her because of it. She was going to take the knife in her hand and lose it in his throat. Picturing herself murdering him in the most gruesome ways she could think of propelled her forward. It was her sole goal at the moment to make it out so that he would pay.
It was relatively narrow in the ally, probably no more than ten feet across with tall buildings on both sides creating a ravine. A few homeless people slept huddled against the wall, forcing her to side step around them lest she trip. Small creatures rummaged through the excessive amounts of garbage that lined the streets, but she refused to look down. She hadn't ever been a fan of rats and she knew that the ones in this neighborhood were the size of cats. What she wouldn't give to be in her own bed in her nice apartment right now.
About ten minutes in, she saw a man leaning against a wall up ahead. Her steps slowed for a moment as she stare, unsure of what she should do. But it was the only way she could go if she ever wanted to get there. She wrapped her arms tighter around herself, sliding her hands inside her cardigan to hide the knife in her hand. The man seemed to notice as soon as she did.
He eyed her up and down with a smirk. "What's wrong, baby? I don't bite." He grinned, his arms crossed in front of him as he leaned against the wall.
Arella gave a disgusted grimace. He was obviously on drugs. Probably meth judging by the sad state of his teeth. Slowly, she started forward, glaring at him the entire time. He smiled again as she got closer.
"Where ya headed? Need me to walk you there?" He said in a hungry voice. "I'd walk you anywhere." His eyes traveled down her legs again.
She didn't reply, only stared. Now she was within twenty feet of him. Her heart was pounding in her chest and her hand closed even tighter around the knife.
"Are you deaf? Don't you hear me talkin' to ya'?" The man questioned, starting to get annoyed.
Her breath only shallowed as she tried hard to remain clam.
Fifteen feet
"Well you're a rude little bitch, ain't ya?" He stood up off of the wall, standing in the middle of the alley now and blocking her way.
Her steps faltered for a moment but she continued. With each step, she could feel her anger rising the closer she got to him. She was so sick of being intimidated and taken advantage by the men of this city simply because they could. Especially the Joker, she hated him most of all for putting her in this situation. And though she couldn't take it out on him right now, she could take it out on a useless meth head who insisted on trying to intimidate a lone woman in a dark alley. As soon as she was close, she was going to make him regret blocking her way.
"Guess I'll just have to show you some manners, huh?" he continued, unaware of the danger that he was in right now.
Five feet.
Her hand began to slide the knife out of cardigan as her breathing slowed. Before she could pull it out all the way however, a voice behind her made her pause.
"Hey! Stephen! What are you doing trying to mac on our girl? You know we get first dibs in this neighborhood."
'Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me.' She thought to herself, keeping her hands hidden as she threw a brief glance over her shoulder to see three men approaching her and the drug addict. Now it was four on one. She had to do something. She wouldn't be able to take them all on.
Stephen gave a nervous laugh. "Jesus, man. How the hell am I supposed to know which ones you've already had?"
"Well she's still walkin', ain't she?" The man behind her laughed. "Maybe if you're lucky you can have her when we're done."
Finally a thought popped into her head. She may not be able to take them all on, but right now, she had an advantage. The three behind her were at least another twenty feet away and the druggie in front was blocking her way, but distracted as he conversed with the others. If she didn't make a move now she'd never get to the school in time to kill the Joker and that was more important to her than anything at the moment.
With a hysterical shriek, she pulled the knife from her sweater, reaching back before swinging it deep into his abdomen.
His eyes went wide in shock but she didn't care. She yanked the knife out angrily before continuing to swing blindly, her mouth set into a tight frown. Even in her state, she didn't want druggie blood to get into her mouth. She didn't care where it struck him. It didn't matter. She just wanted him to hit the ground. She didn't stop until his body did, falling to the ground with a thud at her feet. She glared at the lifeless form, giving him a good kick before turning to the others, breathing hard.
All three of them still stood at the twenty foot distance she had last seen them, staring at her with wide eyes. She only glared at them all with rage in eyes, daring them to take a step forward as the junkie's body served as a warning.
"Man, I told you this was a bad idea." A man on the left said to who she assumed was the leader.
The center man glanced at his friend before turning back to her, holding his hands up in defeat before backing away slowly. He took a few steps before they all turned around, beginning off.
Arella let out a slow sigh, glancing down at the body near her feet as she noticed something poking out of his pants. She paused, making out the shape before bending down. She couldn't believe her luck. Hesitating, she pulled the small pistol out of his belt loop and stood. She didn't know a lot about guns, but she could figure out how to work a safety and how to fire.
Hesitating, she looked up at the three men who were sauntering away, contemplating. She couldn't stop thinking about all the screams and pleas for help she had heard over the years in her apartment only a half mile away. About the crude comments from the men and what they planned on doing to her. She was still angry, and what she did at this point didn't seem to matter much anyway. The Joker was never going to let her go alive. And she would probably die trying to kill him. So with a determined frown, she raised the gun shakily, shutting her eyes and pulling the trigger, ignoring the surprised shouts from the men. She kept pulling until the gun finally clicked notifying her of his empty chamber. Her eyes opened slowly, two of the men had disappeared around the corner, but one was lying on the ground not far away.
For the longest time, she couldn't move, staring at the two bodies lying in the alley. It was nearly a full minute before her body began shaking and she threw the gun down, looking at it as if she had never seen it before. Adrenaline was still pumping through her veins and she used it. Used it to turn on her heels and sprint the rest of the way, still holding the knife in her hands.
She didn't stop until she came near the school, seeing the familiar purple suit sitting in the back of the van, his legs dangling over the ledge as he rested his chin on his chest. His arms resting lazily on his thighs. His lips turned upwards into a smirk when he saw appear around the corner nearly twenty yards away.
Arella came to a stop, glaring at him for a moment before letting out an angry breath, flexing her hand around the knife before storming towards him.
His eyes flicked down to the knife in her hand but his smirk remained as he watched her come closer.
"Why so serious?" he questioned innocently.
That was enough to push her over the edge, with a growl, she lunged for him, the knife raised high above her head before bringing her arm down to stab him.
He quickly moved out of the way as she stumbled forward instead, catching herself on the edge of the car before whirling around to face him, seething.
"Now, Ella. I know you're mad." He said calmly holding his hands up in defeat and ducking out of the way again as she attempted it again. An animalistic growl escaped her lips as she turned again.
"Stay still so I can fucking kill you!" She yelled at him.
"Well that wouldn't be fair." He laughed, only egging her on as she swung once more. This time, his forearm met hers, blocking the attacking and using his free hand to grab her wrist, twisting the knife behind her back and pushing her onto the ground, face down, quickly straddling her back as he wrenched the knife away from her.
She screamed angrily, trying her best to kick him or slide from under him. She didn't care which one. But he was too strong. Tossing the knife away, he grabbed both of her wrists as she struggled, lifting himself from her back and moving backwards to pull her to her knees and yanking both of their bodies back so that they were now seated, her between his legs. Tightening his grip on her wrists, he pulled her arms across her body and held her tightly against his chest much like a human straight jacket. It didn't stop her from trying to wiggle out of it, still growling and kicking angrily.
"Sh-sh-sh." He said into her ear, licking his lips as he breathed hard, waiting until she tired herself out from struggling and was mostly still. It took nearly two minutes of them sitting like that before she finally stopped tugging, breathing hard as well.
"I know you're mad…" He started again, tightening his grip as she tried to squirm out again. "Hey hey hey." He warned, waiting for her to stop once more.
"Fuck you!" She yelled at him, still pulling at her arms hysterically. "I hate you."
He chuckled lowly. "Hate me all you want, darling. But you enjoyed that."
"No. You made me do it. You did. It's your fault." She growled.
He laughed. "Me? I just told you to meet me here. Now, maybe you did have to kill our junkie friend. But those other two were all you, sweet cheeks. And I know you liked it." He growled lowly in her ear. "How's it feel knowing you can walk the streets of Gotham at night all by yourself?" He sang. "Hmm? How did it feel knowing….that because of you, those men won't hurt anyone else?"
She had finally stopped struggling, simply laying limply against him, staring up idly at the sky as the cool breeze blew across her sweaty brow and her breath returned to normal. It was a beautiful night out. She had never noticed how pretty it could be even in her neighborhood. There was always some danger to look out for, something to pay attention to that kept her focused until she got home. And now, as she sat in the middle of the street, with the man who posed the greatest danger to her yet, all she felt…
…was calm.
"Come on. Be honest with your good friend Joker." He continued, pulling her from her musings. "Did you like it?"
Hesitantly, she nodded, not taking her eyes away from the sky.
A wide grin spread across his face. "All that time spent being afraid of what they could do to you in the dark and you turned the tables in fifteen minutes." A soft giggle escaped his lips. "I'm proud of you kid."
She took a deep breath, listening to the absolute silence of the area around them before finally speaking. "How did you know?" She questioned softly.
"Did you really think I wouldn't follow you?"
She had, honestly. If she had known differently, she wouldn't have been near as terrified. But that didn't answer the question that she really wanted to know.
"No. How did you know…about everything?"
"I told you, sweet cheeks. Your apartment is an open book. You keep records of everything."
She nodded slightly, closing her eyes for a moment. She couldn't even be bothered to be angry. Not at this point. She wouldn't have expected anything else from him. If she was completely honest with herself, it was nice to be understood.
"Are you calm now?" He questioned after a long moment, finally releasing her arms and sitting away from her.
She gave a slow nod, keeping her arms wrapped around herself to fend off the chill she was feeling now.
"Come on." He stood, holding his hand out for her which was in sharp contrast to the yanking her normally did.
She ignored his hand for a moment as a realization dawned on her. She had been sitting here screaming bloody murder for the past 5 minutes and yet, not one came. No one even bothered to check or call the cops. There was nothing. It angered her, Maybe this city didn't deserve to be protected from itself. Maybe they did need someone like the Joker to remind them of all the dark sides that they tried to forget.
She turned to the Joker whose hand was still stretched out with a growing impatience. She knew that if she took his hand she was effectively turning her back on Gotham. She was choosing death over a chance to rejoin society if she ever escaped. But for once, she felt calmer than she had ever felt. Not plagued by a guilt that should have never been hers to begin with. For once, she felt alive.
'Fuck 'em.' She thought to herself before turning to the Joker who was waiting impatiently. She finally took his hand with a sigh, standing. He grinned happily, dropping her hand and leading her over to the van humming happily.
Arella stopped by the back door, waiting for him to open it before looking up to see him walk to the driver's side, pulling the door open.
The goon in the front seat stared at him wide eyed, unsure of what was going one. "Wha…what's wrong, boss?"
The Joker tilted his head, looking at him annoyed as he sucked on his cheeks. "You're in my seat." He growled, his hand itching to pull the knife from his pocket.
"Sorry boss." He jumped out without another word, running to the back of the van.
"Oh Ella." He called through the night air.
She peeked from behind the van in acknowledgement as he started to climb into the driver's seat.
He looked back at her with a smirk. "You ride in the front tonight." And with that he jumped in. The goon in the front seat needed no other cue to climb out and rush to the back. Arella, though, hesitated for a moment, looking back at the neighborhood that she would hopefully never have to see again.
"Move it!" Came a loud voice from the van to break her from her stupor.
She jumped slightly, running to the passenger side. As calm as she felt right now, the Joker still terrified her. As she shut the door behind her she looked over to the Joker who grinned at her, waving the block cloth at her.
Her lips pursed and she sighed, knowing there was no point in arguing.
"Sorry sweet cheeks." He said with a laugh, reaching over and tying it tightly around her head before speeding off recklessly down the street.
Back at the hideout, the Joker was carrying Arella over his shoulder back to the fifth floor as he hum to himself. Completely ignoring her as she lay relatively still against his back. It was all for the better. Her blindfold had been removed since the van had pulled into the garage but she found herself distracted as she thought back to the earlier events, replaying the night in her head in an attempt to test her emotions. She didn't believe the calmness of her mind at the moment and continuously tried to force herself to feel a shred of sympathy or regret. Any emotion that would make her feel the way she assumed someone should and that she hadn't completely lost her mind. But nothing came. There was no way to make it happen and eventually, she got bored with trying. She had been so distracted with replaying everything that she had barely realized that they had passed the door to her room.
Her breath hitched in her throat nervously before she propped herself up against his back, looking around confused. "Where are we going?" She questioned softly.
He continued to hum for a moment as they approached a door.
"You need a shower." He replied before heading through the door.
She glanced down at her hands, realizing how true that statement was. Her hands and arms were covered in blood for the second time in a 24 hour period and she could feel the sweat beading up in her hair. Now that he mentioned it, she felt disgusting. When she looked up, she noticed that they were back in the industrial bathroom that she hadn't seen for months. The floor had been swept and the area mostly cleaned Her heart began to quicken in realization as she looked around. He would want to watch, probably help. He did enjoy that.
"Ya nervous, sweet cheeks?" He questioned with a throaty chuckle.
Her eyes jerked to the green hair behind her before turning down to her hands which she didn't even realize were gripping the back of his jacket tightly. Her hands released the jacket as she lowered her head again, trying to relax her heartbeat, but before she could, the Joker slid her from his shoulder, setting her down on her feet in front of him, standing in front of one of the showers in the rows of shower heads in the rooms. She couldn't imagine what it was like for people who had stayed in this hospital, there was practically no privacy.
He looked her over, taking in her disheveled appearance. The one he enjoyed so much. Luckily her dress was still intact, It was one of his favorites and he had actually made one of his men pick up 3 more because he planned on making her wear it so much more often. Whenever she was blindfolded in the van, he would use the opportunity to stare at her legs and sometimes backside poking out of it. And now, as she stood there, apathetically covered in blood, he couldn't help but grin. She was so much fun.
"I do like you in blood." He said with a happy growl. "Maybe we'll just-ah…skip the shower."
Arella glanced up at him, conflicted. On the one hand, she would much rather shower in her own room, alone. But she hated the idea that it was on her now that it had been brought to her attention and all she wanted to do was get it off as soon as possible.
"s'junkie blood." She muttered before mentally rolling her eyes. Sometimes she had no idea why things came out of her mouth, but it seemed to happen often in awkward situations.
The Joker let out a loud, cackling laugh before placing gloved hands on her shoulders and spinning her around to face the shower head. "Get undressed."
She gasped slightly as her body shook nervously. Casting a side glance over her shoulder where she saw the Joker walking away across the room to the toiletries that had been left there the last time they were in the room. So he was going to wash her again.
With a sigh, she turned back around and began shed the cardigan, tossing it aside before reaching down and untying the boots, tossing them aside lazily as well before reaching around to unzip her dress.
"hmm-mmm." An ungloved hand pushed hers away. "I'll get that." He said with a grin, grabbing the zipper and pulling it down slowly, appreciating the smooth skin that appeared with each inch. He would much rather be using his knife, but there was no use ruining the dress now. When it reached the bottom, he quickly slid it off her shoulders, tossing it aside before reaching onto the surgical table. He may have wanted to preserve the dress, but her underclothes were fair game.
Arella gasped when she heard the click of the knife and spun around nervously, but the sight that greeted her was enough to draw her attention away from the knife and cross her arms over her chest in an attempt to cover herself.
"Why the hell are you naked?" She spat out accusingly before she could stop herself. She tried hard to keep her eyes on his face as she said it, a feat that was almost impossible considering she normally tried to avoid looking at him in the eye. She had never seen him without his full regalia and to see him like this, almost human aside from the greasepaint that still covered his face, was more terrifying than the outfit.
He held his arms up in front of him, the knife clenched loosely in his left hand as he gave her a confused frown. "I don't like to get my clothes wet." He said simply, lifting the knife to continue his work on her bra.
"I don't believe you." She said finally, breathing hard, taking a quick step back to feel the cold tiles against her back, unwittingly allowing her eyes to briefly flick down his body. He was thinner than she imagined, but it was probably because of the slouch he usually walked with to make himself appear larger. Even still, she could see that he was solid. Every muscle was defined by slight shadows that showed his strength. She had always maintained that he was deceptively strong, but looking at him now made her statement only half true. He was obviously strong. And she could tell that his strength came, not from pointless exercises like many of the meatheads she came across at her gym, but from hard work. From running around the city from the police, chasing mob bosses, and fighting the batman. No, his muscles looked more natural instead of artificially bulged. Scars crisscrossed his abdomen telling a story of the rough life that he led. None as bad as the ones on his face, but she could tell that he had seen his share of fights. And between his thighs, her quick assessment could tell that he wasn't the least bit aroused. Not yet at least.
He tilted his head slightly, following her eyes for a moment before smirking. "What's wrong, Ella, find something you like?"
She didn't reply, turning her head away from him, her eyes on the floor as she tightened her arms around herself. Her mind was running in a thousand places at once. For a moment, she considered making a run for it, at least back to her own room. Maybe it would make the Joker mad enough to just push her around a little before leaving. At the same time, however, she didn't want to be in the room alone. Aside from the past couple of days, she had spent nearly every day of her month here alone in that room. And she had no desire to go back to that.
The Joker's tongue darted out to lick his lips, giving an exaggerated roll of the eyes.
"It's just a shower." He said finally with an annoyed growl, he placed a hand on her shoulder again, forcing her back around and pressing her into the tiles before quickly sliding his knife under her bra and slicing the thin fabric.
With a whimper, she tried to push back against him but he held her against the wall, doing the same below. He tossed the knife aside and reached forward, turning the shower knob on before finally releasing her. She squealed, jumping backwards as they were both hit by the cold stream, trying to escape the jolting effects, but the Joker only laughed, placing his hands on both shoulders holding her still and forcing her to adjust to it.
Her arms quickly wrapped around her body as she shivered, waiting for the water to warm with nowhere to go. When the Joker was finally satisfied that she wasn't going to pull away from the water, he finally released her, letting his right hand travel up her shoulders and neck, trailing down to the tip of her braid where he carefully and silently pulled the hair tie off, beginning to unravel the braid.
"You know." He started, his voice low, leaning forward into her ear as he slowly unwraveled each loop of her, taking his time as he spoke. "I know how you feel, trying to…understand the past 24 hours. Trying desperately to figure out what's wrong with you, what changed. Why you aren't reacting the way you . ?" He gave a sympathetic frown, tugging at her hair almost gently to turn her to face him. "It's always…hard the first time, isn't it?"
Arella lowered her eyes from his, giving a slow nod. It was hard. She was dying inside wondering if she was broken beyond repair. If she ever did a chance to escape from here, would she even be able to live a normal life? People killed out of self-defense all the time and seemed okay afterwards. But she knew that her case was different. She wasn't scared when she lifted the knife to Jonathan and the junkie. She was angry.
As she smelled the scent of shampoo begin to permeate the air, she could almost hear the Joker grinning beside her as he leaned closer to her ear, guiding her head forward out of the water stream and lowering his voice to almost a whisper.
"I don't think you're crazy." He said, his shampoo filled hands reaching into the mess of hair near her scalp to pull the tangles out before beginning to massage it gently. It felt nice, she had to admit as she leaned her forehead against the tile walls as she watched the water at her feet flow from red to pink and back again.
"I think you finally understand what I've been trying to explain all along. What the...cops and politicians don't want you to."
It was quiet for a long moment as the Joker continued to massage the shampoo into her hair. She didn't bother to question what he meant, or urge him to finish. She simply stood there and enjoyed the feelings of fingers in her hair. Even when she was a teenager, she would beg her grandmother to wash her hair for her. There was nothing like the feel of a head massage from foreign fingers to relax her. She didn't even care whose fingers they were at this point.
After what felt, admittedly, far too soon, those fingers stopped moving, one hand disappearing as the other leaned her head back into the water so that she was staring up at the skylights while the shampoo began dripping from her hair. In the back of her mind, a voice was screaming at her, reminding her of who it was that was behind her this whole time, telling her that she should try to run again or at least insist on washing herself. But she didn't care. Not after the night she had. Once most of the shampoo had dripped from her hair, she heard the voice continue, detailing every emotion she had gone through tonight, putting her at ease.
"These…rules they tell you must be followed. "This…established order." She felt the sponge from last time against her stomach, a completely different scent of body wash wafting up towards her as the hand began to move across her body, drifting up her ribs slowly until it reached only centimeters from her chest before traveling back across her midsection innocently. Her eyes started to look down but the hand in her hair guided it backwards, resting it against his right shoulder, using his right hand to hold her hips in place as his left hand used the sponge to explore her body.
She avoided looking at his face which was ducked down as he spoke, paying more attention to the sponge in his hand. Instead, she kept her eyes on the ceiling, taking in his words as he toyed with traveling closer and closer to where her thighs met as he spoke. She didn't push him away. She wasn't sure she could if she tried, so instead, she kept her hands on the wall in front of her.
"They're not real." He continued finally. "And people who don't realize that…will always be helpless. Little. Victims to those who do. Like you almost were. And I was."
His hand drifted casually along her breast as he rubbed the body wash into gentle circles across one nipple before moving to the other. Suddenly, she became very aware of the pressure along her lower back. He was getting excited and she could hear it in his voice which was steadily becoming more gravelly with each sentence. The voice at the back of her mind was screaming now. But she only closed her eyes, ignoring it. She was sick of fighting. Sick of trying to pretend that she would get out of here. Her mental energy was spent and all she could do was rest against him. He had forced her to kill and now she would never be normal again.
"But in the end…it's people like us…that survive. To remind them how fragile this ….system they set up really is." His hand traveled down along her abdomen again as he leaned his lips even closer to her so that she could feel the soft, jaggedness his scars against her ear as he spoke lowly now. "That is why you killed. Why you will kill. And why you will always enjoy it."
It was with his final words that Arella felt his fingers slide inside her wet folds, rubbing gently across the nub that she hadn't even realized was swollen until now. She gasped, pulling her head away from his shoulder in surprise and bringing her left hand down to grab his wrist. But his right hand held her hips in placed as he slid a finger within her lips again, making small tortorous circles before she had a chance to protest. The feeling of his wrist flexing under her hand was almost too much to take and she let out an unwanted moan before laying her forehead against the tile wall with her eyes closed, allowing him access.
She could almost hear him grin as he revealed in the wetness that she had yet to accept was accumulating inside. It wasn't long before he shifted his hand slightly, replacing his caressing finger with a thumb and sliding that finger inside her, pulling it in and out slowly.
It was torture for her. The voice in the back of her head had since quieted to a whisper, and now all she wanted was for him to go faster. For the teasing to stop. Another moan escaped her lips as he reached even deeper, pulling her hips against him firmly to remind her of how excited he was getting, the full length of him pressing against her backside. Before sliding his right hand up to her nipples, pinching them gently as he cupped her. It surprised her how gentle he was being right now. And if she closed her eyes, she could almost forget where she was. It had been far too long since someone touched her like this, and after being forced into solitary for the last 4 weeks, it was far more welcome than it probably ever should be.
As he leaned down, catching a small patch of skin between his teeth before beginning to suck, she almost came completely undone, moving her hips to match the movement of his fingers before she could stop herself. She wanted this right now and she didn't care if he knew it. She was almost shuddering with excitement, sliding her backside against him in an attempt to force him into her.
Finally, she felt the teasing poke against her entrance. Her eyes opened, second guessing herself only briefly before she felt him slide into her, inch by inch, he gently pushed past any resistance, forcing her eyes wide as he stopped almost halfway
"Oh God. She moaned softly, squeezing her eyes shut , hearing him grunt against her neck as he paused, allowing her to stretch to fit him. But she was impatient. She wanted all of it and she wanted it now. Moving impatiently, he finally gave her what she wanted, pushing into her the rest of the way. Pushing past any resistance and giving her every inch of him until their bodies were flush against each other his hands still grasping her hips tightly.
"Fuck!" She whimpered painfully. She had only seen him when he was relaxed, but in his excied state, the pain was almost unbearable as she forced herself only her toes, her hands reaching back to grab his forearms to steady herself. Even with the pain though, her eyes shut blissfully as he stilled, waiting for her walls to adjust to him.
She felt his hand travel down to her lips again, caressing her for a long, agonizingly slow moment before pulling his head away from her neck with a happy hum.
Arella shut her eyes again as her whimpers finally began to subside the pain that was initially present turning into a twisted form of pleasure. But as she loosened her grip on his forearms, giving him a cue to continue, he gave a low chuckle, removing his teeth from her neck and leaning down to her shoulder, kissing her skin before pulling out of her and stepping back out of the water stream.
She froze, suddenly surprisingly cold as she turned behind her with a confused, begging look in her eyes. The smirk that met her was almost enough to crush her as she straightened up, wrapping her arms around herself.
He resisted the urge to laugh as he glanced at her complete bewilderment when he walked away and grabbed a towel to wrap around his midsection/ Taking his time to wrap the towel tightly around himself, he turned back around where she was still staring at him, confused and unmoving. It was almost too perfect.
"See you later, kid." He smirked before walking out of the bathroom.
Her eyes only widened in disbelief before the weight of what had just happened began to hit her. Turning back to the wall in front of her, she pressed her forehead against the tile for a long moment with a frustrated growl as she waiting for her hormones to get under control. She was hurt, and embarrassed. But most of all, she was angry. Over the past month, she had gotten used to the Joker's special brand of torture, but this was too much. He couldn't have just gotten her excited and left. No, he wanted to invade her first, to make her use the experience as a reminder of what she had allowed to happen before he left her there. She stood in the same position for nearly five minutes, unmoving before turning off the shower angrily, storming over to the stack of towels and grabbing one before carelessly wrapping it around herself and storming out of the bathroom and to her room. When she got there, she slammed the door behind her angrily, waking up Louie who had been previously passed out on the couch. Never before had she felt so humiliated and unfulfilled. Who did he think he was? Part of her considered storming to his room and making him give her what she wanted, but the idea was almost laughable. Not only did she not dare to barge into his room, but the idea of her making the Joker do anything was ridiculous. Finally, she gave up, dropping her naked body on to the bed to finish the job herself. It barely took her thirty seconds before she finally rolled over, thinking of ways to kill her captor as a way to help her sleep.