RELAPSE - Arthur Fleck | Joker FANFIC/LOVE STORY

Chapter 15: Boyfriend

As soon as the clock on the wall ticked to 5 o'clock, I let out a huge sigh of relief. The guys were giving me a little more grief than usual, but I made it through the day. To make things even better, it was finally pay day. I got up from my desk and quickly headed to the bathroom to change. I told Arthur last night that we were finally going to go out and do something. While I didn't mind hanging out with him at his apartment, I wanted to change it up a bit.

I walked out of the bathroom with freshly applied make-up and my hair flowing freely. I was wearing a new burgundy dress that was sleeveless, very form-fitting and stopped right above my knees. Both sides were laced up, so you could see some of my skin.

As I walked down the halls to get to the elevators, I saw Andrew, Johnny and Nicholas talking to each other. I felt a bit embarrassed about them seeing me in my outfit, so I slipped on my coat to somewhat cover myself up as I passed them.

"Looks like you have plans tonight. Can we join ya, sweets?" Johnny called out to me. Andrew and Nicholas tittered at his comment. I sharply blew air through my nose and smiled, as if to be assumed by his question, but it really just freaked me out. Johnny had a really creepy vibe to him that was hard to ignore.

Before I left Wayne Tower, I made my way to see Elizabeth so I could get my check from her. She was always in a good mood and gave me a sweet smile as she handed the check to me, "So, how are things going? It has been a while since you have called me for help."

I leaned on her desk, "Things have been pretty smooth actually."

"Martha was right. She said you were going to catch on quickly and you did."

I bit my lip and took in a deep breath, "But there is a problem, with the guys, sometimes. They say a lot of," I paused, almost wondering if I should bring up the topic at all, "inappropriate things."

Elizabeth slowly nodded her head and hummed, "That is just part of the job sometimes. Boys will be boys and there isn't much you can do about it. As long as they aren't physically harassing you, it is just best to let their words roll off you like water on a duck's back. Trust me, I have gone through that too."

I leaned in closer to her so I could whisper, my eyes wide with surprise, "Do you mean, like, with Thomas Wayne?"

Elizabeth let out a laugh, "Oh no, no. Thomas has never done anything like that. He is the best man I have ever worked for. But, I have dealt with Johnny, Andrew and Nicholas. And a lot of other guys like them. Just let me know if things get physical, okay?"

I nodded and pushed myself off of her desk, "Okay, thanks." I didn't feel like just waiting for it to get physical was the best way to go about it, but whatever. I guess I would just have to go with what she said. I said goodbye to Elizabeth and left Wayne Tower so I could cash my check at a nearby bank.

After all of that was done, I started to make my way to Ha Ha's. Even though he wasn't thrilled about the idea, I told Arthur that I would meet him there instead of at the apartment. I thought this would help us save some time. I gave Sophie my key to Arthur's apartment because she agreed to check in on Penny for us and make her dinner. Sophie didn't seem as skeptical about our relationship as she was when we had our first date, but then again, I didn't see her as much nowadays. I would stay at Arthur's pretty late almost every night and Sophie was usually asleep by the time I came in to go to bed.

As I got on the Subway to get to Ha Ha's, I thought about how great things were going. I had a job, Hal was happy with me, I didn't have to do the methadone treatments anymore, I was still living a sober life, and I was seeing a new counselor. However, my relationship with Arthur was truly the highlight of my life and it was going better than I ever thought it would and our connection was getting stronger every day. During these last couple of weeks, we spent almost all of our time together outside of work. He tried to go with me to my appointments, but he had his own counseling appointments to worry about as well, so sometimes we had to spend additional time apart.