Crushed Cigarettes | J. Todd ✔

[22]

"Cotton candy?"

He had brought her to Central Square and right then the two were standing in front of a cotton candy vendor while Jay had paid for two cotton candies.

"Yes," he handed her the candy stick, ignoring the surprised look on her face, "try it."

"What do you think I am? Four?"

"One's age doesn't define the need to eat candy," he replied, "seriously, Lydia, it should be illegal to say no to candy. I can bet you'll like the taste."

"You've made enough bets for today," she took a bite tentatively, letting the sugary substance dissolve in her mouth.

She didn't say anything further but sank her teeth in the wispy sugar again and Jay's smile widened to see that she liked the taste but wasn't going to admit it.

"See, it's good."

"Too sweet," she remarked but deep down, the sugary sweetness was quite like a guilty pleasure.

She didn't remember the last time she had eaten candies. Back when she lived on the streets with her group of friends, survival and getting something fulfilling to eat had been the first priority. She had had no time nor money to waste on luxuries as candy.

"I see the look on your face, Lydia. You clearly like it but won't tell me because you want to win the bet," he chuckled seeing the reminiscent expression on her face, "how about we revoke the bet now?"

She was shaken out of her thoughts, "revoke the bet, why? Do you finally realize you're going to lose?"

"No," his eyes focused on her and the smile hadn't faltered from his face, "but this bet is making you act like you're having a terrible time and that hurts my feelings."

"Oh shut up..."

Jay sighed dramatically, "and there goes my heart shattering into a million little pieces."

"Stop being a dramatic little ass," she shoved him and he laughed at that, "right now all your antics are only making you lose the bet."

"How about we revoke the bet but you still get your end of the bargain?" He offered and it took her by surprise.

"Wait, what?"

"The whole reason you agreed to go on a date with me and continue this bet was that you were certain I would lose. And then I would have to do anything you ask me to, right?"

She was about to admit that another of his terrible quality was being an accurate guesser but she bit it off as she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of being right. "Yeah, so?"

"So I forfeit. Tell me what you want me to do and I will do it nevertheless."

"For now, I want you to shut up."

He made a gesture of sealing his lips and actually went silent. Lydia didn't speak further either as the two simply walked by the pavement, finishing their cotton candies.

Lydia was thinking that there definitely had to be a reason Jason was behaving so differently with her. She was quite sure that he didn't know about the Two Face ordeal because she had asked neal not to tell anyone else other than the Bat vigilantes.

So it was a bit strange that he had showed up right when she needed cheering up and was doing his best to make her day better.

Either he somehow knew or it was just a perfect coincidence.

But Lydia Wright didn't believe in coincidences. She didn't believe in destiny nor fate. Or perhaps she did, but only envisioned them as harbingers of doom.

"Lydia..." 

His voice startled her but she resumed walking, keeping her gaze ahead as she only hummed in reply to let him know that she was listening.

"Doesn't your brain hurt from overexerting? You've been thinking a lot today and as your friend, I'm genuinely concerned for the stress that would be putting you in."

"What?" She snapped out of her thoughts and glared at him, "what did you just say?"

"Ah there you are," he smiled, "I thought I had lost you to your thoughts which was quite an unusual thing for me."

She stabbed his shoulder with the cotton candy stick and chased after him saying, "just you wait till I get a hold of you, Todd!"

"Run run, as fast as you can. You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man."

"I sure will make a cake out of you and throw you at a window, you hear me!"

***

She looked up at the alarm that had gone off and left the report files she was viewing about the missing people over that month. Something terrible had happened as she saw a squad line up shortly after.

Having a guess at an explosion in the city square or some such public place, Barbara too left her cubicle, coming out to find either Richard or her father from who she could ask what exactly was going on.

She spotted Jim Gordon soon enough and his face was drained of color indicating that whatever calamity had struck was more than just alarming. Probably worse than a mere explosion.

"Dad, what happened?"

"The Joker has broken out of Arkham," Jim spoke up in a low voice, as if unsure of saying it out loud either, "and not just today but it has been a month since he has been out in the open. He left a decoy in his place."

The words rang in her head and she could only focus on the fact that the Joker had been free for a whole month and that was roughly the same time when all those sinister disappearances started.

"And where are you sending this squad right now?" She asked watching the cops that were ready to leave the building and though Richard wasn't with them, she knew he would be joining the team at the given location by himself.

Commissioner Gordon shook his head, worry dripping from each feature of his, "Joker left an exhibit in the sewers. Batman had been the first to check it out and now I am sending this squad for clearing up."

An exhibit could only mean a spectacle of corpses littered to gain Batman's attention. That was kind of Joker's thing, he loved making a huge spectacle each time he was out of Arkham.

And every time it happened, things went horribly wrong for all of them, putting many innocent lives at stake and threatening each citizen's safety drastically. Deep down, even Barbara didn't get why Batman hadn't put an end to the Joker once and for all. He could not be detained in Arkham, he caused havoc and murders in his wake and yet still he was alive just because Batman had a no-killing rule.

All of it at the time being seemed completely absurd.

"I am going along with them," she spoke decisively, "I have a few things I need to clarify and that can't be done if I don't go and see for myself."

His worried face turned towards her going even paler, "but Barbara, that's not your line of work... It can be dangerous."

"I know. I suspected something like this would happen. That's why me and Richard had asked you to reopen the missing people reports," she elaborated, "all those people started vanishing within this month and I have a feeling it's connected to Joker's escapade."

Jim nodded realizing that she was right, "fine. Richard is already there, he will tell you about it in detail. After that go straight home, I don't think I will be coming back tonight though."

"Yeah I'll manage," she went back to her cubicle, quickly packing up and then joined the squad on their way out. There were a lot of questions whirling in her head and the answer lay only in the sewers where the Joker had left his first exhibit.

But Barbara had a dreadful feeling gnawing at her heart because deep down she knew that exhibit would be just the beginning and it wasn't going to be the last they would see of Joker's insanity.

For as long as the maniac lived, he was only going to cause death and destruction.

***