You Took Me By Surprise (Joker Fanfic)

11 ~ Chaos & the Clown King

The ear-splitting sounds of sirens. Smoke blurring this unbelievable reality of Gotham's situation, like some kind of smokey dream. Or was it a nightmare? Nothing was clear anymore. Anger, and the smell of sweat amongst the bustling crowds of clown-masked faces. Cars with cracked windows, overturned. Chaos. An occasional gunshot to be heard.
I coughed into my scarf, peering through the smoke. I had just been at one of the protests. But something had happened, and I hadn't quite grasped what...
"He shot him! That guy in the car, he shot Murray Franklin on live TV! Sent his brains everywhere!".
"He's the killer clown! He confessed it!".
I turned to look at the cop car that was driving past slowly amidst the chaos. A guy in clown makeup was peering out, a toothy grin plastered on his long red painted mouth.
My heart almost jumped out of my chest when a van collided with the cop car. Fuck.
"Is he okay? Is Joker okay??"
People were standing around looking, watching to see if this clown man was alive as two strong men reached in the window and pulled the limp body of this 'Joker' out of the vehicle's window. I was trying to gauge this situation in my head - did I hope he was alive myself? To us people, he was a bit of a hero, but also someone to be feared.
But it wasn't looking too good. They layed his body out across the front of the car, his arms spread out like Jesus on the cross. Even in this condition there was something beautiful and graceful about the way his gaudy, well-fitting suit hung close to his frail frame. His ankles and wrists were so thin. His long green hair was matted and some strands clung to the blood on his face. Something seemed...familiar about him. I walked over to get a closer look.
I had one major thought running through my mind. This Joker/ killer clown was Arthur. His frame, his hair... if I could just see him without makeup, or if he'd even open his eyes, then I'd know for sure.
Suddenly, his body jerked and blood spluttered out of his mouth onto the blue car as he coughed. I gasped, and backed away. A few people next to me were watching now.
He coughed a few more times, and turned his head to glance around at the surroundings. He laughed once to himself, somehow sounding both content and absolutely crazy.
"Are you okay dude?" Someone next to me shouted. And - I knew I was right - Arthur opened his green eyes and sat up.
By now, there was a whole crowd of protesters watching, and cheering. Arthur hadn't noticed me yet since there was so many people around. He was grinning, with blood coating his teeth.
He stood up, very slowly, looking around in pure astonishment.
He put his arms out straight, and began to dance a creepy, captivating, slow-moving dance which mostly involved moving his arms. And I couldn't stop watching. Nobody could. King of the clowns.
I felt so overwhelmed that I was nearly beginning to feel lightheaded. But still, I kept gazing upwards at him with (I couldn't help it) growing infatuation. This was Arthur, but he was flourishing. Yet his eyes were glossy and the blue triangles under his eyes were blotching, and getting dripped further down his face by the escaping tears.
And even so, he put his two index fingers into his mouth, and repainted his red mouth with the even more vibrant shiny shade of his blood.
Blood was what it took to make his smile real.
And his eyes met mine, and my heart stopped. And he winked and it felt like nothing else existed. And I grew more lightheaded but still gazed at him until his body became paler and whiter and completely white until I could see no more. And then I fainted.