The Tears of a Clown (an Arthur Fleck/Joker love story)

Two

"I'm not going to hurt you."

The statement reached Alice's ears, though it took several furious heartbeats to process the words, her brain having become paralysed with fear.

Instinctively she had lowered her gaze, and was clutching onto the door so tight that her knuckles glowed white. Sensing movement, she stiffened and forced herself to look up.

He was standing in the centre of the room, raising his arms in a gesture of mock-surrender. "What is it? What's bothering you? You don't have to be afraid of me."

"I'm....afraid of clowns." She admitted, still rooted to the spot.

A sudden shrill burst of laughter made her jump, amplifying her terror. It was maniacal and out of control, lasting longer than what seemed natural, and it was deeply disturbing.

In spite of herself, Alice couldn't refrain from staring, unable -- or perhaps unwilling -- to take her eyes off him. Thinking passed the fear her brain regained some function. Ordinarily she would've found it hurtful someone laughing at her expense -- hell he was blatantly laughing in her face -- which was offensive, finding her phobia funny.
But suddenly she was able to recall the way in which Arthur Fleck had laughed uncontrollably during his standup routine, and realised that perhaps he wasn't intentionally being cruel.

There was also something about the laughter, as bizarre as it was, that seemed reassuringly familiar. Undoubtedly his painted face added a certain eeriness, but in that moment the laugh was the only thing serving as a reminder that this was indeed the genteel, unassuming man she had seen previously on the video clip.
Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that she'd heard it somewhere before prior to the clip being aired.

Eventually the laughter died down, but by now he was clutching his chest, looking decidedly pained, and if she wasn't mistaken, even a little embarrassed.

"Are.....are you okay?" She ventured, still lingering at the periphery of the threshold.

He looked a little stunned but nodded yes, and when he managed to speak his voice was noticeably raspier than it had been before.

"Sorry...I....I have a condition." Regaining his composure, he took a deep, calming breath and his striking green eyes met her timid brown ones. "Why would you be afraid of clowns?" He asked incredulously, as if he found the concept unbelievable and quite idiotic. "Is it because of what's been said in the news?"

Alice shook her head. "No. Well, that hasn't exactly helped. But I've always been scared of clowns. I don't know why."

"Are you scared of me?"

Taken aback by the question, she took a moment to think about it rationally. This was Arthur Fleck in clown makeup. That's all. Nothing to be afraid of.

"No." She replied, voice wavering slightly.

"Are you sure?" He persisted, seemingly unconvinced. "I could wash this off if you like, and prove to you that it's just me?"

For some reason the absurdity of the situation made her give a nervous laugh of her own. He seemed so genuinely earnest, willing to wash his face to assuage her fears. And the offer suggested she actually knew him personally, rather than having just seen him on video.

"It's fine....really. I....I'm over it." She insisted breezily, feigning bravery when in actual fact she was still quite shaken, her nerves more than just a little frayed.

Suddenly she remembered Sandy's instructions, and used the opening to address the matter of his makeup. It was easy to see now why Gene had reservations about it and voiced his concerns to Murray.