by reason of insanity (JOKER X READER) ❌

chapter 2: warning

here we are again, i feel the chemicals kicking in. it's getting heavy and i want to run and hide

—-

The rest of the night passed without incident, surprisingly. Joker stepped away from you, so you took the opportunity to climb back up to your own bunk, letting him have the bed you'd been sitting on. Not another word was spoken.

Morning came quickly. Despite your fear of the Joker, your exhaustion won out. You'd fallen asleep almost as soon as your head hit the pillow.

The guards came and got everyone up around 7, though you could've slept in for another two hours at least. Joker was already awake.

"You survived the night," Banks said gleefully as he unlocked your cell. "And without a single bruise, too!" He whistled, long and low. "Off to a good start, there, L/N."

"Just put the goddamn cuffs on," you grumbled, and held out your wrists. Banks secured the metal handcuffs while his partner wrestled the Joker into a straitjacket. You tried not to look in his direction. You weren't ashamed of being scared of him- in your opinion, the people who weren't definitely had some sort of death wish. To distract yourself, you muttered, "Don't know why I have to wear these things anyway," and tugged at the metal.

"'Criminally insane' ring any bells?" Banks snarks back at you. "Get moving, I don't have all day."

You trailed behind Banks as he led you and the Joker to the cafeteria. Once you got there, he let you out of your cuffs, so you took one last look over your shoulder at the Joker and slipped into the crowd of other crazies, away from his piercing gaze.

In your haste to get away, you completely missed Heather, one of your friends, standing by the nearest metal table. She grabbed your arm as you went by, tugging you back to where she was standing.

"Too good for us crazies, huh?" She grinned at you.

You gave her a smile in return and shook off her hand. "Oh, shut up, Heather. I just didn't see you."

"Sure, sure." She glanced behind her as you walked to the line for food, checking for eavesdroppers. "So, is it true?"

"Is what true?"

"Don't play dumb with me, you know damn well what. Are you bunking with the Joker, or aren't you?"

You sighed and grabbed a tray, your shoulders slumping. "Yeah. I am."

Heather looked equally terrified and like she was holding back laughter. "Only you, Y/N," she said, and it should've been a joke, but she sounded like she'd gotten a diagnosis for a terminal illness. Like the entire situation was already decided. Finished and done with.

Heather had been at Arkham longer than you- this was your ninth month. She'd been there two years, and in that time, the Joker had come and gone a couple times at least. She saw his last escape that left two people dead. She knew what he was capable of, probably more than almost anyone else in the asylum. You knew she'd be thinking about it.

"The guard he killed," she'd confessed, hands shaking and tears welling up in her brown eyes, "It was an hour before they took him away. He was mauled. He bled out right there, and I watched." Everybody knew what the Joker could do- not everyone had seen it firsthand.

"Get switched out of there," Heather said under her breath so the cafeteria workers wouldn't hear. Her eyes were wide, her expression deadly serious. She grabbed your arm, holding it in an iron grip. "Y/N, I'm serious. You can't stay in there with him, he'll kill you before the week is out."

You placed your hand over hers. "Hey, don't worry about it. I probably can't get a cell transfer- who listens to crazies? But I'll stay on his good side, I promise. It'll be fine."

"There's no such thing as his good side," she said. She wasn't looking at you anymore. "He's crazier than you or I will ever be. You can't promise me anything."

"Maybe not," you said quietly. You looked behind you, and your eyes caught a flash of bright green from over Heather's shoulder. The Joker. He was looking right at you, and for once, there wasn't a smile on his pale face.

You took a deep breath, beat down your fear, and gave him a little nod.

You didn't look away from Joker until he looked down first. Then you refocused on Heather, who had been watching the whole thing. "But I'm still gonna try," you said to her.

She shook her head. "Be careful, Y/N."

"Didn't I just say I'd do my best?" you said, taking a paper cup of pills from the last cafeteria worker on the line. Heather stayed silent, following you to your normal table in the back corner of the room. You sat down and started swallowing the pills, chasing each one with a sip of apple juice.

Still, you felt the back of your neck prickle, and you'd have bet ten dollars that you'd recaptured the Joker's attention. But you didn't turn around. No sense in exacerbating an already strained situation.

The ball was firmly in his court. What he chose to do with it was out of your hands.