Give Me a Smile

He came back two days later. I was healed by then, which pleased him. When I walked over to him he grinned and spun me around, kissing my scars. “Good girl, Quinnie!” I laughed and hugged him until he put me down. “How’d it go?” I asked carefully, checking his expression.

He just smiled though. “GOOD! We, ha!, we got Clayface out, and, uh, the Wolf won’t be free for long!” He leaned close to me. “Y’see, Bat’s not happy with that dog either. I heard, hoo!, that Wolfie went a little too far with a criminal, ended up cutting his throat. And if there’s one thing Bats can’t stand, it’s killing. So, haha!, Wolf’s days are numbered. I only hope I get to Wolf before Bats does.”
“What do you need Clayface for?” He snickered and pinched my cheek. “You’ll see, Quinn!” I had to be satisfied with that answer.

Joker decided to take me out that night. I was happy to go along, knowing that with him, everything would be interesting. He took me deeper into the Narrows than I would have ever dared to go, cackling the whole time. We skirted people and busy streets, ran through alleys until he finally stopped in front of me.
I bumped into him and was reminded of the day he kidnapped me. It had turned into a good memory. This time he just slapped the back of my head. “Quinn! Don’t be so clumsy!” “Where are we going?” “We’ll be there soon.” We walked a bit farther, to a dilapidated old building overlooking a canal. He lifted me onto the roof with one easy movement, then jumped up beside me.

It was silent but for the rush of water. I lay back with my head on my arms and watched the sky. Joker threw an apple at me and bit into his own before he sat. “Look familiar, Quinnie?” “Uh, no.” “Guess you wouldn’t. This is the first place I brought you to.” I looked down at the filthy water and shuddered. “Ew.” He jumped on top of me, sneering, “What? Not good enough for ya, Quinn?”

I gulped. “No. No. It’s okay.” “Good. GOOD.” He put his head onto my shoulder. His body heat felt nice. I smiled and closed my eyes, enjoying the rare peaceful moment. “I think the Wolf is gonna die soon,” he muttered into my skin. “Cool.” “Gonna cut his throat, leave pretty marks on Wolfie’s skin, watch blood spill. Beautiful, just like your scars,” he said softly, holding my arm down and adding some new ones.
I accepted them, looking at the dim stars over his shoulder. He pushed himself off me and jumped from the roof. I bolted up and ran over, almost falling. “Joker?” He popped up suddenly and I yelped. “Scared?” he asked, eyes glittering, “Let’s go running.” “Running?” I asked cautiously, letting him take my hand and haul me to the ground. “I, ha!, wanna blow something up! Make people scream,” he said, tugging me through the dirty streets.
Joker handed me a knife, blade first. I took it anyway. “If anyone tries to grab you, stab them with this,” he ordered. I laughed. “I know how a knife works, Joker.” “Good. Come on, Quinn. We’re gonna have fun,” he hissed.

He killed someone that night. It wasn’t the first time for him, of course. And I’d seen him kill people before, that girl in my class and some of his men. It still scared me. I think the only time Joker is truly happy is when he’s destroying something.

We went into the nice part of Gotham that night. He showed me the pretty houses row by row, Bruce Wayne’s mansion up on its hill. We threw stones at statues along the river and smashed store windows. He wouldn’t let me steal anything, because he said he needed me ‘clean’. So I watched him as he swung a bat through glass cases, crushed jewelry and registers to bits but didn’t take a thing.
We’d hit four stores before someone stopped us. A security who’d escaped Joker’s notice. The name on his plastic badge read ‘Earl’. He crept over to us, holding out his hands. They were shaking. He had to be at least sixty, too old to be doing this. But too young to die. The store hadn’t even given him a gun. He stood up to Joker anyway, his mouth set steady. “I’m going to have to ask you to stop. Put the bat down,” he said sternly, eyes focused on Joker.
Joker smirked and spread his arms wide, letting the bat drop. The clatter made me and the security guard jump. “Now, just...leave. I’m not going to arrest you, just...leave. Please,” he said quickly. I wanted to leave, and let the man return to his grandchildren. Of course, the Joker couldn’t let it go. He leaped for the guard, knife in hand.
I screamed, “No!” but he killed the guard, laughing. The man gurgled and clutched at his neck as blood spurted. Joker tossed him aside and came back to me, still laughing. “You didn’t need to do that,” I told him angrily.
He looked back at me and grinned. “Yes. I did.” I bit my lip and looked over at the dead man. His eyes were wide and staring. “Quinn. Come,” Joker ordered, tugging at my sleeve. I swallowed back tears and followed him. The dead guard haunted my mind for hours.