Sequel: Smile for Me
Status: Finished :)

Give Me a Smile

Freak

It was pitch dark outside, and the streets were quiet. “What time is it?” I hissed. He shrugged and kept going. We stopped at a large, blank wall. I thought he was going to lead me to yet another alleyway. Instead, he jumped up, tugging a ladder down.

The Joker bowed mockingly and gestured for me to climb. “After you, princess.” Whenever I slowed down The Joker would poke my ass with his knife. I reached the top and pulled myself onto a roof overlooking the Narrows. I wrinkled my nose with distaste. Even from above the Narrows were hideous.

Smoke clogged the skies, grime clogged the buildings, and hate clogged everything else. The Joker sat beside me. “See something you don’t like, Quinn?” “I, uh, I think the Narrows are ugly.” I admitted. He grinned at me and stood, taking my wrists. He held me over the edge, letting my feet dangle.

My breath caught in my throat and I couldn’t scream. “Look, Quinn, really LOOK around you. See the chaos, this beautiful messed up city. Can you tell that nothing works, that this place is filthy and wrong just like us? Its horror makes it beautiful,” he hissed in my ear, pulling me back onto the roof.

And suddenly, I saw what he did. Suddenly, the Narrows was beautiful. My heart was pounding, my hands shook, and blood was screaming through my veins, but it was beautiful. I’d never felt alive like this. I grinned and turned to The Joker, whose smile matched mine. “I see.” He laughed and kissed my scars, holding my head in place. Right then, it was just me and this madman. But I was happy.
♠ ♠ ♠
The Joker: Don't talk like one of them, you're not! Even if you'd like to be. To them, you're just a freak, like me. They need you right now. But when they don't, they'll cast you out, like a leper. See, their morals, their code... it's a bad joke. Dropped at the first sign of trouble. They're only as good as the world allows them to be. I'll show you, when the chips are down, these... these civilized people? They'll eat each other. See, I'm not a monster, I'm just ahead of the curve.