You Took Me By Surprise (Joker Fanfic)

1 ~ You Took Me By Surprise

I'm (YN) and I've just moved to Gotham city. It's lonely here, but that's a good thing. It's a fresh start. Nobody gets out of their comfort zone if they don't make some kind of changes to their life.
I like my hometown, but I grew bored of it, there isn't much to do there for someone in their mid 20's. I didn't have the easiest childhood, my mother died just before my 12th birthday, and I was bullied a lot. Don't worry though; I got a lot tougher after my mother died, and nobody bullied me anymore. When something that devastating happens, it puts a lot of things into a different perspective.
Well, anyway, here I am bringing box after box into my dingy apartment (MY dingy apartment!) and I'm bringing a heavy box of plates from my car up to the stairs.
Phew! This thing is heavy, and I leave it down on the ground for a minute to recuperate. My muscles are already tired and aching from all the previous boxes, but I'm on my last one. See, my dad couldn't be here today to help me because he's away on important business in London.
I finally get the box up the stairs, I avoid the lift because it sounds like it's about to break down every time you're inside it.
Just as I get one foot in my door, I hear footsteps passing by me on the corridoor, and, out of nowhere, a painful and intense laugh bursting out into the air.
Startled, I turn around so fast that my box, still in my arms, gets hit off the door frame and thuds to the ground, accompanied by what sounds like, I crouch, open the box to peer down into it, yes, broken plates. Oh well.
The man gasps behind me, hand clamped over his mouth, and his laughing has subsided. His eyes look glassy, as if he's close to tears.
"Oh God, I'm so sorry I frightened you, see I have this condi-
"Were you laughing at me?" I narrow my eyes.
"No! No, of course not."
His voice gets small, and he looks so intimidated I feel a pang of guilt in my chest for lashing out.
He continues in his small voice, "I have this condition and well, here..." he tails off, reaching into his pocket. He hands me a little laminated card and I read it, then hand it back to him, smiling guiltily.
"Oh man, I'm sorry, uh, what's your name?" I ask gently.
"Arthur. It's okay, this kind of thing happens a lot."
"But I shouldn't have-" I close my eyes mid-sentence. This is a great start to making new friends, huh?
I reach out my hand for a handshake, "Hi Arthur, I'm (YN). It's nice to meet you".
I tell him that I'm new to the building, and it turns out he's only a few doors down from me. Poor guy even offers to buy me some new plates, but I politely decline. It doesn't look like he has much money, and he looks so thin and fragile that I wonder if he can even afford food.
I finally get into bed and look at the time on my phone: 12:15 a.m.
I have to be up at 7 for a job interview, so I better get some sleep.
But I can't sleep for ages, thoughts of my new life whirling around my head.