You Took Me By Surprise (Joker Fanfic)

15 ~ I Knew You'd Find Me

I didn't know where I was going or what I was doing but I knew it didn't matter. He would be looking for me. He would find me. I had nervous butterflies in my stomach because I was going to see him again, so I lit a cigarette to help me cope. It was dark now, and I put my hood up because I was shaking from the cold. Or was it nerves? Ugh I don't even know, I couldn't think coherently. I walked to the fountain that I had sat at with Arthur before, but this time it was much quieter around. I waited about ten minutes, thinking about what I should do next.
I just wanted to see Arthur again.
I heard someone sitting down on the opposite side of the fountain behind me, so I turned around to see who it was. But all I could see was a petite person hunched over something, with their hood up too. Could've been a man or a woman.
Then, without turning around, the person spoke from the other side of the fountain.
"Y'know, you could've chosen somewhere a bit more hidden from the public eye, there's cops looking for me all over the city".
"Arthur!!", I jumped up and ran around to his side of the fountain and hugged him. "I knew you'd find me".
He looked so worn out from everything, but still happy to see me.
He cupped my face in his hands, and stared into my eyes. I stared right back, my eyes taking in every detail of this man's face who I had missed so much. We kissed, but only for a short moment. Then he drew back, and sighed.
"What's wrong Art? What are you gonna do next?"
"I'll tell you, but we better keep on the move. I want you to come with me", he took my hand and we started walking briskly, Peeping around every street before we began to walk through them. We took shortcuts in alleyways to avoid being caught.
I knew it wouldn't make me look good if the cops caught me following Arthur, but I didn't care right now. They never did anything when they saw me in the alleyway the night they arrested Joker, but there was a lot going on and it was dark. It was weirdly exciting right now. Even hiding from cops was fun as long as I was with Arthur.
He discreetly muttered his plans to me on the way.
"I met these two guys in the asylum and became friends with them. They were in similar situations to me. They decided to collaborate after they both met each other at a group therapy class. They both were sick of society, depressed by the world and the treatment of the mentally ill. And so a few years ago they decided to murder a few people. They had their reasons for each kill, just like I did with mine. I know it's not okay. But they said they had another friend who would help them plan the murders, and he's not in jail because he was never caught out for helping. Well, he has the keys to those two guys' place since they lived together, and they said that I could get the keys from their friend and stay in their place until I sort out what I'm doing. I know it's not the best plan, but absolutely anything I could possibly do right now wouldn't be a good plan when I'm supposed to be locked up. So what do you think?"
This was a lot to take in. "I don't know Arthur, why didn't those guys try to escape with you?" I asked.
"They said we'd be too likely to draw attention to ourselves if there was three of us breaking out together. So, do you want to stay with me at this place tonight?"
I mean, how could I say no to sleeping next to Arthur? The whole situation was bizarre but nothing felt like real life anymore. "Okay", I breathed.
When we finally reached the man with the keys' place, we were so tired from walking. The man stared at us when he answered the door, one eyebrow raised. He had a ponytail, and was broad, tall and strong. "Who are you?" He asked us.
I could tell Arthur was nervous from the expression on his face, his mouth was twisted in such a way that I just knew he was trying to stifle a laugh. His eyes were watering. So I reached over and put his hood down.
"Um, do you know this man? His name is Arthur. Arthur Fleck".
The man scratched his head, but his eyes lit up after a few seconds".
"No way! Nuh uh, Arthur Fleck? The JOKER dude? I'm not gonna lie, I'm not against what you did at all man. What an uproar you've caused! And for such a small guy".
I couldn't help laughing, this guy was so much taller than Arthur.
By now, Arthur seemed to have calmed down, and so he explained about how his two friends told him he could stay at their place.
"Of course. I'm gonna let you in on a secret, little guy, because you're worthy of knowing this. I run a sort of secret organisation where I employ people to, well, take out the trash of society, if you know what I mean".
"Yes, they told me about that" Arthur replied.
"Well I wouldn't mind having you on our side. I'm good at planning things. And escapes, so you needn't worry, but obviously you don't have to since you managed to escape out of Arkham Asylum just fine. Think about it, won't you?"
The guy mentioned that his name was David, and he gave us the keys.
"It's quite a distance away from here. And you guys need to remain unseen. And you both look exhausted, so I'll drive you to Lenny and Brandon's house.
At first glance I wouldn't have thought this guy would be so nice. We were lucky.
When he dropped us off and waited til we got inside the door of the house, he waved cheerily and sped off.
"Well, that was unexpected" I said, as I waved back and then locked the door.
And then we were finally alone together, behind closed doors.