Joker Imagines {For Darker Tastes}

The Blood On My Hands -Part 1-

(Your POV)

Is it a bad thing, to wake up in the morning and breathe a sigh of relief when you notice it's raining? Maybe for some. For those with cancelled picnics, and a long travel on-foot to their destination. For me, rain meant that my mother wouldn't force me to go out and 'work' today. As if I could call it an actual job.

     "(Y/N)!! Get up!" The raspy sound of my mother's voice crept through the halls, like an intruder with crude intentions. The scent of cigarettes met me before she did. "Just because it's raining doesn't mean you get to be lazy all day. Get your ass up and do something useful. I'm starving."

"You said I didn't have to make runs when it's raining.."

     She sharply brought her elbow up to her face, coughing a few times into the aged skin of her arm. She looked a lot older than she actually was. "I'm not talking about that. I know you didn't pay for most of the shit you have collecting in this room. Instead of using whatever the hell you do to get stuff for yourself, why don't you do something for this family?" Her tattered house slippers shifted loudly as she turned her back to me. "Come back in this house with something useful. Or don't come back at all."

     Ah, great. The usual threat. Although I know damn well she means it every time. She'd appreciate one less mouth to feed. Pulling on my beaten up black sweatpants and hoodie, I shuffled out of my room to the front door. No breakfast today, it seems.
     If only she knew exactly how I get the things I have. Would she still send me out to do it? Heh, probably yes. Pulling the hood up over my (Y/hair color) hair, I dig into the deep side pockets of my pants for their usual contents. Mask....knife....cellphone....charger cord....gun. All here. It only took three seconds after I texted my friend Olivia, for her to text back a simple 'K 5m'.

                             ~~~~~~

     Olivia slouched over slightly in the drivers seat of her car, looking down at the pistol in her gloved hand. I don't know why she seemed so paranoid, nobody could see us through the heavily tinted windows. "This is just like any other time, Liv. Relax. We haven't even been suspected yet." She turned her attention to me, pulling on her mask at the same time. A cheaply made mask, meant to look like Twisty from American Horror Story.

"This is nothing like the other times! This place is bigger. We don't even know for sure if it's more guarded than the other places. Fuck what your mom wants, I can't go to jail. I got kids to take care of."

     "And those kids need to eat. They need clothes, diapers.. We need this money. So pull your big girl panties on and let's go." Hastily yanking on my simple all-black mask, I opened the passenger seat door and closed it behind me. We were parked in an empty lot across the street from a decent sized supermarket. Nobody ever drove out here, though. The place was bound to be almost empty, aside from the employees. With Olivia on my heels, we briskly entered the store. As usual, she would walk around the store a little bit, check out the cameras and how many customers/employees we're dealing with. Meanwhile, I'll find something to bring up to the register and 'buy'.
     I kept my hands in my hoodie pockets, looking down the aisles of food made my empty stomach grumble. Olivia looked up the aisle in my direction, holding up 1 finger. Great, only one customer. This should be easy. My fingers wrap around the nearest thing I could find, and I pick it up, bringing it with me to the register. I almost threw what turned out to be a container of wart cream down in front of the female cashier. The one customer, a tall pale skinned male stood off to the side, waiting for something it seemed.

"Uhm.. This cream will be 8 dollars. Cash or card?"

    "Eight dollars?!" The male interjected. The suddenness and volume of his voice catching me off guard. It held a slight rasp, but unlike my mother's, his sounded almost....kind of attractive. "Eight dollars for store brand wart cream, why that seems almost like...robbery."

     Shit! Is he onto us? Before I could assess the situation, I heard the click of Olivia's gun behind me. "Enough talk, funny guy. Hands up! Both of you!" The cashier, looking like she could piss herself at any second, quickly raised her hands up into the air. The male on the other hand, he back still turned to us, began to chuckle. A deep throaty chuckle, escalating until it became a shrill hysterical laugh. Something about it chilled me to the bone.

     "Wh...What the fuck? I said hands up!" Olivia stepped forward towards him, her pistol aimed straight at his head. "I'm not afraid to blow your brains all over this wall!!" Wasting no time, I walked around to the cashier and began pulling money out of the open cash register. We need to hurry up and get the fuck out of here.

     Olivia continued to shout orders at him, getting closer and closer. Her index finger flexing tightly on the trigger. The man continued to cackle wickedly, completely ignoring her. Part of me was ready to witness our first murder since starting this string of robberies. Finally, he turned around to face her and we both froze. The very first time I had ever seen his face. A moment permanently burned into my memory. He put his forehead up against the barrel of the gun, meeting her shocked expression with a malicious grin that seemed to almost literally reach ear to ear.

"You're gonna shoot me? Well? Pull the trigger."

     She could only stand there, fear and confusion frozen on her face. The man cocked his head to the side, licking his red lips before he spoke the words that would change my life forever.

"No? Then allow me. Let's start things off with a bang."