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

Four

Joker was both relieved and pleasantly surprised by his driving skills. Considering it was years since he'd been behind the wheel he wasn't as rusty as he feared. Initially he'd got off to a rocky start by stalling a couple of times and grinding the gears, but he soon got the hang of it again.

As they entered the district of Burnley, the streets became noticeably more dimly-lit and lined with large detached houses that looked mostly unoccupied. Shops stood vacant, business buildings closed, graffiti scrawled everywhere, and many windows had been boarded up as a result of vandalism.

It made Alice sad driving through the shady streets of the abandoned neighbourhood. Growing up, she remembered how it was once a thriving community. It's semi-rural location not too far from the coast made it an attractive holiday destination, but after the recession the tourist trade suffered and many local hotels and restaurants closed down, creating an unemployment problem, and residents had been forced to leave and seek work elsewhere. Now it looked like a ghost town.

Had it not been for the dilapidated family home Alice had come to inherit, she too would've probably relocated, especially to save herself from having to commute so far to work each day. She dreamed of one day being able to afford a quaint little apartment in Gotham Village, but her salary wouldn't cover the rent and cost of living. So instead she had to settle for what she had. A crumbling, gothic Victorian house, which was situated in the middle of nowhere.

Swinging the car into the driveway she'd indicated to, Joker stared up at the impressive structure through the side window.

"You live here?"

She nodded. "Yep."

"All by yourself?"

She nodded again.

"Don't you ever get lonely?"

"I...I guess I don't really have time to think about it. I usually get home late and I'm so tired I just want to go to bed."

Trying hard not to think about what a bore she sounded, Alice reached for the handle on the door, then hesitated. Reluctant to say goodbye, but unwilling to ask what he planned to do next. It wasn't any of her business after all, and it certainly shouldn't have been any concern to her.

Still, she owed him.

The injury on his forehead needed tending to. Ideally he should've gone to a hospital but it wasn't even a possibility. He was a wanted man now.

Perhaps she was out of her mind to trust him, but she felt compelled to repay him for his kindness.

"You know, that gash on your head looks pretty nasty." She pointed out. "Do you want to come up and let me take a look at it?"

Joker stared at her in apparent disbelief, as if he'd somehow misheard her or didn't trust his own mind. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I'm just saying that cut looks quite deep. I could clean it up for you."

His green eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Why would you want to do that?"

"Why wouldn't I?" She retorted, nonplussed. "I mean, I'm not a nurse or anything but you might even have concussion. An injury to the head can be dangerous--"

"I know all about the dangers of head trauma." He interrupted in a clipped tone, but then immediately regretted his sharpness and hastily gabbled his apologies. "I...I'm sorry I didn't mean to...that is, I shouldn't have..." His words dissolved into strained laughter, which he fought to suppress but failed.

"Hey, it's okay. You don't have to apologise."

"It's been....a rough day, you know?" He spluttered, eyes watering. "It's been a rough few days."