Sedulous [1] - | J |

| Old Habits Die Hard |

"-you're fucking sick! Demented! Get out!" I exclaim, slamming my hands on my countertop as he turned with two glasses, giving me an odd look.

"I think you should just drink from the bottle. You're tense as shit." He mumbles, opening the wine and pouring himself some before sliding the bottle to me.

"What could you possible want from me at this time of night? What? Haven't you already taken enough?"

He takes a gulp of the moscato and licks his scars, moving his head to the side as he looked at me. He moves the empty glass in the air as he speaks.

"Like I said before, Ronnie...dollface, its-ah-nothing personal. 4 years ago...you need to push forward." He shrugs and finishes the liquid in his glass before sighing.

"Is that it? That's all? Bye! Get OUT!"

"You need me, sweet pea. More than ever now-"

"-God what are you inhaling? I will never need you! You're a psychopathic murderer and a newly developed stalker!"

"Ooo, triple threat." He snickers and I just smack my head.

"I'm so done fighting with you." I mumble lowly as he begins to hum.

"Nice place by the way. The dented walls and scuffed floors suit you." Joker says and sits besides me on a bar stool.

"Explain to me why you're here, at midnight. No clown get up. No backup. What's got you swimming in normalcy all of a sudden?" I ask, lifting my head and squinting at him.

He sighs and shakes his head, his hands making frantic gestures as he spoke.

"I don't need to explain anything to you-"

"-after that night at the fundraiser and now with you breaking into my house-I'd say that calls for a very detailed and lengthy explanation, Joker." I counter, crossing my arms.

He rolls his eyes and grabs the bottle, drinking a lot before slamming it back on the counter surface.

"...or should I call you Jack?" I spit before I really want to take it back.

Joker throws the bottle across the counter, making it shatter into a million bubbly pieces. His hand weaving back a mile before smacking me hard across my face, knocking me onto the dull wood floor of my apartment. Tears welled in my eyes from how much my cheek stung. I could feel the heat radiating from the hit as my hand hovered over the site. He leans down to my level, grabbing my hand away from my face as he speaks in a raspy tone.

"I'm about to be outranked by some guy who can't even breathe on his own. A little birdie told me that you came back to town because of him. To bring him down. Did it give you as much deja vu as it did for me?" He laughed and wiped a stray tear from his eye, standing up and stretching before sitting back on the stool, looking down at me with his arms crossed.

"Why would you do that to me at the fundraiser? Tell me your name and-and kiss me." I choke as my fingers graze over my cheek lightly.

"That had nothing to do with what I'm proposing now. That was some fun. I just missed ya, doll. That's all."

I stand finally, moving away from him as much as possible.

"Is that your real name?" I ask lightly, testing his patience.

"Now, now, baby. You wouldn't want to make me angry." He counters, giving a faint smirk.

"Your voice, too. Where's the voice I heard before?" I speak dangerously, my feet moving towards the mystery of a man before me.