Protect Me From What I Want

Joker’s POV

“Will you leave us alone!?” I bellowed at Ivy who was once again, standing at my front door. She was really trying my patience and I wasn’t sure how much more of her I could take. It’s hard enough having one girl around the house, let alone two. At least Harley respects me and is loyal. Poison Ivy was different. She stood up for what she thought was right and that tended to go against whatever it was I stood up for. We were both complete opposites of each other; therefore everything she did managed to annoy me. Her mere presence was enough to make me flip. I wasn’t sure how much I was able to take of her. “What do you want?!”

“J, stop shouting!?” Harley yelled once she had appeared by my side with her hands covering her ears, since I had just shouted down them.

“I’m not shouting; I’m speaking loudly!” I protested. Ivy looked taken aback at the greeting, but still looked slightly amused nonetheless. There was a smug grin plastered across her face as she chuckled at our disposition. She had no right to laugh along and I wanted to slap her. But something deep inside of me told me not to. I’m not sure what it was, but whatever it was I didn’t like.

“Both of you stop shouting,” Ivy ordered as she took a step inside of the house without permission. “I just came around to see if everyone’s...okay.” I took notice of her examining Harley’s face thoroughly, probably searching for bruises or some sort of injury to blame on me. But, no. I’m always one step ahead and my beautiful make-up work managed to cover up any contusions, even though there were hardly any major injuries to the face. I hardly even touched the face area. “You look pretty today, Harley.”

“See,” I smiled smugly at Harley, proud of my work.

“He did it for me.”

“I see.”

The conversation somehow escalated to the point where we were once again sitting in the dining room. I hardly spoke two words during the whole conversation. I just simply glared at Ivy wishing that if I stared at her long enough and hard enough she'd spontaneously combust into raging flames of fire. It didn’t happen. Even if I did want to speak, I couldn’t. I didn’t have a chance with the two of them hardly breathing between each sentence they spoke. I felt like the third wheel and I could tell I wasn’t wanted or needed; they made it worse by the fact that they were acting oblivious to my entire presence. Unintentionally, possibly subliminally wanting some attention, I coughed loudly.

“Yes, Joker. We know you’re there. Don’t think we’ve forgotten you,” Ivy stated as she rolled her eyes. “And stop staring at me. Ever since we’ve sat down you haven’t been able to look away. Is there something bothering you?”

“You,” I replied sternly. “When are you leaving?”

“You know, J. Maybe you should get yourself some friends. It can’t be healthy to be alone with these...disturbing thoughts you have about killing me. Has it never occurred to you that you’re a very lonely man and maybe this is the main reason you do what you do. You’re just craving for attention because you don’t know how to handle a healthy friendship. Apart from Harley, no-one can stand you. And Harley only puts up with you because you’ve brainwashed and intimidated her out of thinking otherwise. Don’t you find that a little upsetting at all? I know I would. It’s a very low way to live your life, J. You should start changing your ways and I say this with good intentions and without trying to hurt your feelings. Trust me; I speak the truth so I mean it when I say that I think it’s degrading to think that a troubled, lonely guy like you can strike paralytic fear into the hearts of the most masculine of men. You should be proud, J. You really should.”

She was being cynical. Very cynical. She was trying to talk me down and influence me to think that what I did was cruel and wrong. She didn’t have to influence me to see that; I already knew it. But was wrong with that? I loved my job, so I wasn’t going to change that just because of what some dumb red-head said to me. She also called me ‘J’. Harley was the only person allowed to call me that. I could understand if me and Ivy were friends, but on no level was that true. Both of us loathed each other with a burning passion.

“I have friends,” I clarified.

“Oh, really? Like who?”

As if on cue, I saw Tommy appear in the kitchen. I panicked and considering he was the first I laid eyes upon I was picking on him. “Tommy!” I shouted catching his attention straight away. Tommy spun around startled that I was calling for him. “Tommy’s my friend. Get in here, Tommy,” I ordered. Without muttering a word, he obeyed and entered the dining room looking somewhat embarrassed yet he still looked as if he was gleaming after being known as one of my friends. It was as if the new relationship title had already gotten to his head. “Sit.” He did so with a smug grin on his face. “See, Tommy’s my friend.”

“You’ve only chose him because he’s the only one of your men whose name you can actually remember,” Ivy protested. True; but it wasn’t my fault I couldn’t remember any of my goon’s names...Amnesia. Yes, that’s the cause of it; Amnesia. Amnesia isn’t a laughing matter...

“Tommy, you’re my friend, aren’t you? Hmm?”

“I guess.”

“Get out.” His ego immediately deflated after I had ordered to go away. With his head drooped slightly he left the room. ‘I guess’ wasn’t a good enough answer for me. ‘I guess’ meant that he was uncertain and that simply wouldn’t do.

“You see. You just don’t know how to treat your so-called friends,” Ivy argued, still not having dropped the subject. I merely stared back in defeat, for now. I’d get my own back. She’d be a fool if she thought that she’d be the one to talk me down. “Where’s the bathroom around here?” Ivy asked after a moment of silence.

Harley, who had been sitting silently between the awkward situations during the minor argument, looked at me a little quizzical. “Um...J? Where is the bathroom? The only bathroom I’ve been in is the ensuite to our bedroom.”

“Don’t worry, Harls. I’ll gladly show her,” I hissed as I rose from my chair. Harley nodded suspiciously in return. Ivy indifferently arose from her chair also and began to make her way out of the dining room with me following behind.

The walk to the bathroom was silent and neither of us as much looked at each other. The bathroom that wasn’t an ensuite was on the second floor to the right at the end of the hallway. Once we had reached the door, Ivy turned around to thank me sarcastically, before I gripped her arm and shoved her into the bathroom with me following after her. Before she even attempted to emit a scream, my gloved hand found its way across her mouth. “What do you think you’re doing, hmm?” I growled at her.

“Me? I’m not doing anything. You’re the one pointing fingers sweetie,” Ivy replied once I had removed my hand. She didn’t sound panicked at all, nor did she attempt to struggle from my grip as I pinned her against the wall.

“Don’t act dumb. You’re trying to convince Harley that she doesn’t love me. You’re trying to steal her away from me; I can tell. And now you’re trying to tell me how I should live my life, trying to get to me with you subliminal little ways. Well, let me tell you that it isn’t working, Pamela.”

“Obviously it is, seeing as how worked up you’re getting now. Look at yourself. You cracking up, J. Where’s you composure? I thought you’d be better than this and I didn’t think little old me would have been able to break down the big bad clown...and so easily as well.”

In a fit of rage, I slammed her harder against the wall with a snarl. This time, I heard her whimper a pained groan, making me smile slightly in her discomfort. “I’m sorry, Pam. Am I hurting you? Maybe you should have thought of that before you started trying to mess with me. I must admit, it was amusing to hear you attempt to break me. You obviously don’t know me well enough to know that I can easily make you snap within a second. Mentally and physically,” I threatened as I tightened my grip around her arms. Her face contorted into various hurt expressions and now she was beginning to escape from my grip. I could see I was finally beginning to have a break through with this crazy chick. “You thought you could outwit me, but in reality you were only making it worse for yourself. Your teasing only built up the annoyance and now you’ve woken up the demon within me, little girl. How does it feel? I bet you want to kill me right now. You’re thinking of hurting me and murdering me in the most obscene and painful manner aren’t you? I know you are. It’s not just me who has these sick thoughts, you see. It’s natural for one to think vicious thoughts like these. Don’t you feel ashamed, Pam, for thinking these things? It’s not very ladylike is it, hmm? You hate me more so than ever now. The abhorrence within you is positively bubbling inside of you. I told you-”

Before I had a chance to finish my sentence, Ivy had gathered spit in her mouth and spat it directly in my face. The spit landed just below my right eye and I was a little taken aback by the minor attack. My face contorted with disgust as I removed my hand from her arm momentarily to wipe away the spit, along with some of my paint. “That’s cute, Pamela,” I mocked snidely, sounding a lot calmer than I had expected. No-one had ever spat in my face before and it surprised me that it was the woman who was supposed to be the most elegant of all. “I thought you were supposed to a real woman. That wasn’t womanly at all, now was it? Huh?”

“Get your hands off me,” She grumbled angrily as she attempted to fight my hands away from her.

“This is the side I like to you more. I want to see you hopeless. Are you scared, Pamela?” I jeered quietly into her ear as I brought my body closer to hers.

“Of course not.”

“I beg to differ. Your expression tells me otherwise.” For some unknown reason, a lustful desire began to grow inside of me. I held no particular interest or feelings for her at all, so the reason was beyond me. Perhaps it was the fact that she was completely at my control. Completely helpless and weak. I wanted to push her limits and see how long it would take for her to totally lose her self-control. I gripped both of her wrists with my one hand and raised them above her head. My other hand went to her waist and I felt her body convulse uncomfortably as a choked whimper erupted. My hand began sliding down her body until it reached her thigh. Violently she brought her knee up to meet my groin with pure fury. Instantly I let go of her and stumbled back slightly with a grunt. Why do girls have a tendency to aim directly where it hurts most? They have no idea how painful it is. “Stupid bitch,” I growled still holding my crotch.

“You just stay the fuck away from me, clown,” she started making me double over with laughter.

“Oh, Pamela. I’m not the one coming down to your house almost every day,” I taunted as I started towards the bathroom door.

Ivy shook her head with annoyance and revulsion. “You’re sick. You deserve to be lonely. Everything about you is absolutely repugnant to me and I don’t even care if you think the same about me as long as it hurts you.” I rolled my eyes at her attempt at an insult. Just as I was about to close the bathroom door, Ivy spoke again. “You’re just lucky Harley loves you so much.”