Always His Chapter Four

I woke up the next morning with a painted and scarred face staring down at me. I screamed upon opening my eyes, only to hear a demented giggle from the Joker. I pulled the blankets up over my face.
"God, what do you want?" I asked, my voice muffled by the comforter. He chuckled and grabbed the blankets, yanking them down.
"You weren't supposed to tell, dear," He said, grabbing my chin and pulling my face towards his. He leaned down so that his face was inches from mine. I could see his yellow teeth stark against his white face, and for a brief moment I thought he was going to kiss me. My eyes were wide and I didn't breath for what seemed like an eternity. Finally he sighed and let go of my face, pulling away.
"But since you have, this game will be getting slightly more interesting. Gordon knows, so Batman is bound to know, which means I have to act fast," He said, a slight growl in his voice, as he ran his fingers through his wavy green hair and turned away. After a few more moments of silence, he suddenly turned back to me.
"Do you still have the cards?" He asked, raising one eyebrow inquisitively. I stammered and tried desperately to remember what happened to the two cards he had left with me.
"I, um, I - I think that, um, I still have one of them… the other one I gave to Gordon," I said, biting my lip and hoping that was the right answer. He giggled and clapped his hands childishly.
"Ooh, this is absolutely perfect!" He exclaimed, a real smile added to the one of scars on his face. It was humorous, charming, and terrifying all at the same time. I shuddered as I watched him. He saw my reaction and laughed, loud and long. I put my head down, my hair spreading out like walls on either side of my face, and resisted the urge to cover my ears. All of a sudden the Joker reached out and grabbed a handful of my hair, yanking my face upwards. I yelped and looked at him; he giggled, both smiles still wide on his face.
"Do you mind?!" I demanded crossly, urgently clawing at his hands. He giggled again.
"No, I don't, actually," He responded, reaching into his pocket and digging for a moment before he pulled out a knife. My eyes grew wide and I inhaled sharply, beginning to struggle even more furiously. He giggled again and held the knife to my cheek. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the blade glisten in the soft light of the morning. The light danced onto my face and spilled across the walls; a sight that would have been beautiful if not for the ominous pretense.
"Sh, sh, sh, sh," He crooned, agonizingly slowly sliding his hand down from my hair to the small of my back.
"What the hell are you doing?" I demanded, feeling the blade pressing into my skin. J chuckled softly, a wide grin spread from the corner of one length of scar to the next. He carefully studied my face, then his own face changed to that of mock disappointment. He clicked his tongue at me, scolding.
"Ari, sugar, how many times do I have to tell you not to fight me?" He teased. I whimpered softly, desperately clawing at his gloved hand. He giggled loudly and let go of me suddenly. I fell back to the mattress, the side of the blade scraping against my cheek. I glared at his and rubbed the mark the blade had left. He laughed at me harshly and slipped his knife back into the pocket of his purple jacket. I carefully studied his outfit for the first time, sitting up on the bed.
"Purple always was your favorite color," I said thoughtfully.
"One of the things we had in common." My voice took on a absentminded tone and I relaxed almost entirely. He chuckled softly and sat on the edge of the bed facing me.
"Exactly. And purple goes well with green, don't you think?" He asked, smirking. I smiled at him.
"It makes a statement, for sure," I agreed. I reached a hand out towards his face.
"The red is a bit out of place, though," I said softly, brushing my fingers across the rough, uneven scar tissue around his mouth. He caught my hand and pressed my fingers hard into the spot.
"I will admit, the three don't go together very well, but it sure stands out against the white," He said, almost as though he wasn't sure which emotion to react with. I jerked my hand out of his grip and wiped the lipstick from my fingers on the sheets.
"Red against white… red against White… " I said, eyes distant and voice barely audible. J glared at me and stood, walking to the door of my bedroom.
"Arianna, you might as well forget about Melvin. He no longer exists," He snarled, back turned to me. I turned around on the bed, eyes retaining the pensive look.
"I loved him, and you killed him. You know I'll never forgive you for that, J," I said softly, sadly. He remained unmoving.
"You will eventually," He said decidedly; this conversation was over now, and he was leaving. I nodded slowly and swallowed. I slowly stood from the bed and walked behind him, putting my hands on his shoulders. He stiffened under my grasp and I sighed softly. He shrugged my hands off and I took a step backwards. The light from outside lessened for a moment; it fit the mood perfectly. Without another word, J began quickly walking from my bedroom down the stairs, finally exiting the house, slamming the door behind him.