Porcelain [ ᴊᴏᴋᴇʀ ]

Chapter 9: Through the Lens

(Originally published: October 2020)

(Rewritten: November 2024)

Crime & Chaos

" THROUGH THE LENS "

by house_of_gia

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Joker walked past Julie as she struggled to lift herself up.

He sat down on the couch and patted the space next to him.

"Come. Sit with me."

"No."

His smile faltered, and a flicker of annoyance crossed his face.

"What do you mean 'no'?"

"I mean, no." She curled her fists defiantly. "I'm not letting you push me around."

"Too fuckin' bad."

He lunged and grabbed her arm, yanking her onto his lap. She screamed, revolted, and tried to get out of his grasp. His warm breath brushed against her neck and she finally wrenched herself away, disgust twisting her features as she landed on the floor.

Joker laughed at her—a heaving and distraught mess of a human.

"Feisty." He purred, his eyes dancing with malevolent delight. "Tell you what, sweetheart. Sit next to me, and I promise I won't do anything... untoward."

Julie glared at him, her heart pounding against her ribs so hard she thought it might burst. Every instinct in her body screamed at her to run, to escape whatever nightmare this was, but the reality of her situation was more complicated than that. This wasn't something she could run away from. Her friends, family... they could end up in danger because of her.

Reluctantly, she inched onto the edge of the couch. As far from him as possible.

"There we go, much better," he crooned, leaning back. "See? Cooperation isn't so hard, is it?"

She kept her gaze fixed on a nail hole in the wall that hadn't been plastered over, refusing to look at him. He shuffled closer to her, so subtle she almost didn't notice it. Almost.

Looking at him suspiciously, she wondered what his next move was. Maybe if she stayed quiet and didn't move, he wouldn't do anything. Ha. Laughable.

He raised his hand, and she flinched. But instead of striking her, he pulled his leather glove off his right hand and placed the now-naked hand gently on her knee. Or, at least, what was gentle in his mind. His calloused hands felt like a cactus on her leg, raising goosebumps.

"This counts as untoward." She said quickly, about to move his hand off her knee, until she saw the warning look on his face.

His hand inched from her knee to her thigh, and Julie gasped quietly.

They looked at each other and he stopped travelling up; instead, he began rubbing her thigh up and down slowly, seemingly mesmerised by the action. It was the softest thing he had felt in a long time—even petting a cat didn't have the same effect on him.

"W-what are you doing?"

"Mind your business."

Julie tilted her head, a disbelieving look on her face. It was her business. It was her leg!