Jerome Valeska One-Shots

Polly Part 3

She screamed late at night.

She was one of the many inmates that let out all their fear and aggression and pain while everyone else was asleep. The dreams she got sometimes frightened her so bad that she would scream in all the voices she knew, one after another in an ear-shattering cacophony. She had been sane when she arrived, but she wondered if she was going crazy as time went on.

After she woke from nightmares she lied in her threadbare mattress, panting harshly as she sweated profusely. She would lie awake as others' screams echoed about her, adding more to her collection.

Before Jerome arrived she would stay awake for the remainder of the night, lying in a terrified silence as she tried to block out all the voices she heard and to stop her brain from trying to unravel them and copy them into her subconscious. That was the big downside to her gift—she couldn't really seem to turn it off. Sure, she knew how to switch between voices and use her own, but she couldn't force her brain to ignore all the fresh voices it heard, constantly processing all the new information.

But now, on the nights when she joined the other screaming voices, Jerome was there next door to pound on the wall and distract her. He would do the most ridiculous things to get her attention and keep it, singing, yelling, laughing, and sounding like a total loon just to get her mind off all the other crazy shit going on around them.

And her brain would snap to him like an eager puppy, taking in how he phrased his sentences and stressed certain vowels and consonants. Or how his laughs varied in pitch and volume depending on his mood. Or how he pronounced certain words so harshly and others he seemed to caress with his lips and tongue before letting them slip free. The way he spoke was patterned, but never quite predictable, and her brain was still trying to break it down perfectly even after all the time they spent together.

He provided a perfect distraction on those dark nights, diverting her attention to him and his actions rather than the terrified caterwauling that echoed in the halls around them. Even though she couldn't see his manic grin or perfect hair, hearing him coo to her in his low tones set her body at ease, enough that she was eventually able to fall asleep again most nights. And she would sleep peacefully until the doors grated against the cement floor as they opened in the morning. And his would be the first face she saw.

After the almost-kiss incident, she hadn't spoken in her regular voice again, despite Jerome's numerous attempts to convince her. He would charm her with that sultry voice of his only for her to throw it right back in his face. But he still didn't give up. The determined little shit just wouldn't let it go.

Which is why you think he'd be happy when she finally did speak up with it again, but maybe he was distracted by the gas flowing from Zaardon's fat mouth.

"Jerome, what's happening?" Y/N demanded, grabbing onto his uniform and clinging to it like a frightened child.

"Hush, doll face," he muttered, backing them both as far away as possible, but the gas reached them regardless. The pair hacked and coughed as they were put into a dreamless sleep, Y/N's hand finally releasing Jerome's shirt as the gas took effect.

When Y/N opened her eyes again later, she was alone in her cell, and when she cried out for Jerome, no one answered.

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She found out later that someone had busted Jerome out, along with some more of Sionis's crew. They must not have seen her as useful—too crazy to be the good kind, the malleable kind that they could use. Despite everything, she knew that Jerome was in danger, not the people of Gotham, despite all that the guards and nurses and doctors and news anchors said.

Jerome's disappearance was her breaking point.

Everyone eventually had one, and without her ginger, her rock, Y/N felt more lost than she ever had before. Now when she screamed in the night, there was no one to comfort her, so she would talk to herself in his voice just to calm down.

It never really worked. Somehow it just didn't sound the same.
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Word Count: 747
Part three as requested (apologies for the wait)! I'll be moving on to try and do some other updates now, for readers of my other books, so keep on the lookout. Sorry for recent inactivity, but it's approaching finals time, and it's already AP testing time, so I have been and will continue to be hitting the books. I love you guys! Thanks bunches for all of your patience.
Gingy