Winter Kiss

Say Goodbye, as we dance with the devil tonight, Don’t you dare look at him in the eye, As we dance with the devil tonight.
~Dance With The Devil by Breaking Benjamin~

His cold eyes penetrated my tear filled ones. The way they panned and speculated my every curve made my knees tremble in fear. This was the kind of look a lion had when it’s eagerly about to tear its prey to shreds. I only feared he might do the same to me. There was barely enough space in between us to breathe. I was scared to inhale; in case I breathed in any of his scent. His teeth were at odds. On one hand, they were perfectly aligned and without any gaps – on the other, they were stained drastically and looked as if they hadn’t met toothpaste for years. Fortunately for me, he didn’t seem to be breathing from him mouth – only his nose. I became more unnerved with every exhale. Somehow, the hot hair escaping his nostrils seemed to cling to my skin and it made me feel claustrophobic. There were blankets of hot hair coating my entire body and it was trapping me into a spider web.

Neither of us had spoken (asides from his uncomforting greeting) and I certainly didn’t want to begin speaking. Was I even allowed to speak? Maybe I was under ‘don’t speak, unless spoken to’ regulations. However, I saw no signs of The Joker beginning to speak anytime soon. As much as I didn’t want to, I had to speak to break the tension.

“What do you want from me?” I whispered shakily. It was almost inaudible, but judging by the closeness of our bodies, it’d be impossible not to hear a sound that was emitted from me.

His eyebrows lowered, as if he somehow didn’t understand the question. Slowly, his eyes rolled upwards as he searched for an answer. Don’t be fooled. I describe his actions as if he’s unsure of himself and somewhat confused. No; these actions were clearly deliberate because they were so over exaggerated. “I’d have thought it’d be quite, ah, obvious, Delilah Rivera,” he replied. “The question should be; what are you gonna do to me?”

More hot hair caressed my face from his taunting words. His voice; so cynical and dark. It was baritone with a husky drawl and could have even been considered arousing if not used in these current circumstances. However, there seemed to be a negative undertone in his voice and he over enunciated a lot of his words. My name in particular seemed to roll of his tongue in slow, torturous drawls.

With one more sudden burst of energy and determination, I began to wrestle him out of his vicelike grip. The fight was short lived as his rough, calloused hands managed to clutch my wrists almost immediately. His whole body was now pressed against mine tightly, so that I couldn’t escape. The feel of his breath so close to my neck forced me to let out a loud and feral scream. Instantaneously after, one of his hands was wrapped tightly around my throat. The scream mutated into a choked gasp until the volume eventually decreased to nothing. His thumb pressed down hard onto my throat, disallowing me from speaking, screaming or breathing. I couldn’t even beg him to stop. The only way I could remotely signify this was to clasp his wrist and attempt to force it away.

Harshly, he slammed the back of my head into the cubical wall before growling, “Don’t try and act like the damsel in distress here. Just remember that you’re not so perfect yourself. If I do recall correctly, this seems very familiar to a certain article you wrote not too long ago. Do you remember it, hmm? Of course you do. Now, if you want this to end well, I suggest you do exactly what I say,” he ordered slowly. His voice has suddenly taken a nasal, high pitched tone which I hadn’t recognised earlier. “I suggest that you keep your pretty, little face shut and stop with the screaming. Otherwise –” he stopped momentarily to pull out a switchblade from his coat pocket. It quickly flicked upwards and the blade glistened eerily in the lights. “ – I assure you, you will not like the consequences.” He carefully placed the blade at the corner of my lip and released his thumb from my throat shortly after. I immediately inhaled a huge intake of oxygen as I coughed and choked from the lack of it. I made sure not to make any harsh movements in fear of the blade cutting me in the slightest.

“So, tell me, Miss Rivera; does anyone else know about your little lie?” He asked smarmily.

I quickly shook my head from side to side. It was an obvious lie, but I was afraid that the truthful answer may lead to them being in trouble too.

“You know, Delilah, I think you’re a dishonest person. And I also think you’re, ah, lying to me right now. That’s not a very bright idea. Are you lying to me, hmm?”

I repeated the same motion with my head, still too frightened to talk. Quickly, his hand reached around to the back of my head and gripped a fist full of my hair. I couldn’t stifle the shriek of pain begging to be released after the sudden jerk of my head. “Shh-shh-shh-shh. Now what did I say about screaming?” He asked as the fingers holding the knife gently slithered down my neck. He placed the blade firmly at my throat and I instantly stopped screaming. I was even scared to gulp.

“How did you find me here?” I asked with trembling lips, finally finding the courage to raise my voice.

“I have my ways,” he replied smoothly as the hand gripping the blade moved to his pocket, whilst his other hand still had hold of my hair. Out of his pocket came the small invitation – my invitation.

“How did you get that?”

“Magic! Oh, and you’re receptionist disappearing – that was a magic trick too,” he added with a twisted, lopsided grin playing at his features.

“What did you do to her?” I stuttered, not even thoroughly sure if I wanted to hear the answer.

“A true magician never explains his tricks,” he averted cleverly. “But I can assure you, if you really want to know, I’d be happy to demonstrate how I did it. You could be the volunteer...my glamorous assistant.”

I shook my head frantically. It didn’t take a genius to know that the ‘magic trick’ wouldn’t end nicely. The lopsided grin transformed into a toothy one as he quietly chuckled through his teeth. His laugh was sinister with cruel intentions; laughing at my discomfort and disposition. The malevolence in his mocking laugh was unnerving and I wanted nothing more than to get away. My lower lip quivered uncontrollably and I pathetically began to snivel. I lowered my head to escape his gaze and also to hide the inevitable tears. Firmly he pinched either side of my face and forced my head back up to look at him in one swift motion. The abruptness of the action caught me off guard and I ended up knocking my head on the cubical wall again. “Please!” I cried. “Just let me go. What do you want me to do? I’ll do anything. Here; do you want money?” In a panicked rush, I quickly opened my clutch bag and reached for my purse. Before I had a chance to retrieve it, he gripped the clutch bag and snatched it away from me viciously. After flinging it aside, he grabbed either side of my face – his right hand still clutching the switchblade tightly.

“I have no use for your money! Did you really think that money would be the answer to all your problems? – No. No, I’m not one for bribery. I prefer the more...vengeful approach. It always proves to be most effective and is the most intelligent method, rather than becoming just another thug who’d resort to the money option. I’d like to see myself as a higher class of criminal. I must admit; my approach is much more fun – seeing the fear rise in the eyes of those who deserve it. Like you, hmm. I want you to do me a favour. I want you to let all of Gotham know the truth about your little, ah, story. I don’t want you telling anyone about this little encounter and I don’t want any cops getting involved. Hmm?”

“I can’t do that,” I refused as I shook my head. I did hesitate, admittedly. I was afraid that he’d lash out at the refusal, so I tried not to sound so confident or cocky, for lack of a better word. In all honesty, I didn’t have the guts to stand up for myself. It would have been a lost cause anyway.

“Why is that?”

“Because I’ll lose my job...my reputation. Any respect I once had. It’ll ruin everything for me.”

“Well, it’s either that or you lose your life, toots. Now which will it be? Your job or your life, hmm? Come on, come on. We haven’t got all night. I need an answer,” He pestered as he slapped my cheek mockingly. A stray tear rolled from underneath my mask and along my cheek. The droplet ran over his finger but he didn’t seem to care or notice.

“Fine; I’ll do it,” I whimpered.

“There’s a good girl,” he cheered as he shook my face from side to side. Suddenly quite annoyed, I shoved his hand away from my face and glared at him under hooded eyes. He merely whooped at my attempt to be aggressive. “Now, now, don’t be like that, toots,” he chuckled as he bent down and picked up my clutch bag. Oh, such a gentleman. I grabbed the bag off him soon after. “Do this little thing for me and I’ll be...out of your hair,” he assured slowly as he toyed with a strand of my hair. This act received another slap to the hand and a harsh glare. He grinned at me and then unlocked the cubical. I quickly hobbled over to the bathroom sink to examine my appearance. The dried tears had left clear stains running down my face.

My body instantly tensed up again, when The Joker pressed his body against mine from behind. His hands went on either side of the sink, trapping me in a small enclosure. He placed his lips near my ear and whispered, “Don’t forget to clean yourself up, toots. Oh, and you’ve got till next week to complete my favour. Unless you want me to show you my magic trick that is.” He smirked mirthfully before quickly putting his mask back on. Snickering slightly, he left the bathroom.

Soon as the door shut, I let out a large, shaky exhale which I had been refusing to let out ever since he’d pressed up against me. More tears fell as I tried to wipe them away using the toilet paper. I quickly cleaned myself up and made by way back to the hall.

I immediately tried to find Bruce, but I couldn’t seem to find him anywhere. He seemed to be engulfed in the sea of socialites, swallowed by all of the faux friendliness and gloating. However, I happened to spot The Joker disguised as a loner guest instantly. He seemed to be floating around the place. It was actually scary to think that this psychopath was openly wandering around the party without the guests being any the wiser. Without hesitation, I marched up to him beside the buffet table.

“What are you still doing here?” I whispered harshly. His neck snapped around to face me. Even though his face was covered by a mask, I knew he was grinning behind it.

“Free food,” he replied quickly. After raising his mask ever so slightly, he popped a cherry tomato into his mouth and began chewing at it.

“Can you leave, please?” I requested as I picked up a glass of champagne.

Before I was able to take a sip of the alcoholic beverage, The Joker gripped my wrist and forced me to place the glass back down. “Tell me, Deliliah,” he began as he gently clasped my hand in his. “Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?”

“What?” I asked, bewildered at his question. Without a reply, he placed his other hand on the small of my back and led me towards the centre of the room, where other people were dancing. I subtly tried to struggle away from his grip, not wanting to attract too much attention to myself. His force was far more superior for me to be able to win the fight, however. “Stop it, let me go,” I uttered under my breath.

Reluctantly I began to sway in time with the music with this monster of a man. Where was Bruce? I desperately wished I could find him or he’d find me. It was hard to tell who was who when everyone was wearing masks. “Why are you doing this to me?” I asked, anxiously wanting to be let go.

“Red is a suiting colour on you, Delilah. Red is one of my favourite colours. It can represent, love, passion, romance...blood, murder, danger.” His hand was slowly caressing my bare back roughly and his touch somehow felt as if it burnt my skin furiously.

“Ah, Delilah!” I heard a wonderful voice callout. My heard turned to see Bruce approaching closer. “There you are!”

“Bruce!” I exclaimed happily and The Joker’s grip seemed to go limp probably indicating that I was free to leave. “I couldn’t find you.”

“Well, it’s nice to see that you’re socialising. Mind if I take this dance?” He asked The Joker, blissfully unaware of his true identity.

“She’s all yours,” he grumbled in reply. He bowed and motioned with his arm to take me. Once Bruce had his arms around me, The Joker dawdled away. I watched his uneven steps, until he had completely left the building.

“Who was that?” Bruce asked curiously.

“Uh, I didn’t catch his name,” I replied smoothly.

“Oh – I thought you’d fallen down the toilet,” Bruce joked and chuckled slightly. I laughed also, a little awkwardly. I remembered Joker’s warning not to tell anyone, so I kept shut about what truly happened in there.

The rest of the night was spent frantically scanning the room every five minutes in fear that The Joker was in the room still. However, I didn’t find him. The last I saw of him was when he had stepped foot outside of the building. I could only hope that that’d be the last time I’d see him.