Disclaimer: I do not own DC characters or places. Just my own. A revision of this story is underworks so I apologize in advanced if things seem a little screwed. This first chapter has been revised and the last chapter is fairly new. I hope you all enjoy!

August 31, 2010

Gateshead Project Building 6

11:30 PM

"What's going on, Jack?" My eyes tried to keep up with his frantic pacing, watching as he stops for a second just to look out through the cracks of the small boarded window in our room. Running his fingers through his hair, he sighed and continued his pacing.

"They're going to find out…" he muttered under his breath, so quick I barely caught it.

"What? Jack, what the fuck?" 'Enough with this fucking pacing.'

I jumped up from the bed and made my way towards him as his back was to me. I grabbed his arm tightly, his muscles flexing beneath my fingertips, and pulled him around to face me. His other arm instantly shot up and he immediately had a strong grasp on my neck. He gave a light squeeze and all I could do was stare at him with wide eyes. 'What's going on?'

His eyes had gotten very dark, eyebrows mocking the twisted frown upon his face, "You have to disappear." He slightly relaxed his hold, "Pack your shit and get out of here."

I released his arm, gently bringing my fingers up to meet his on my neck. Confusion was written all over my face, "I'm not leaving you, Jack."

He stared into my eyes, his gaze rigid and cold. He relinquished his hold, gently pushing my hand away to reach towards my right temple, where a nasty scar began at the edge of my eyebrow and disappeared into my hairline. He caressed it tentatively, his head tilting to the side.

"You don't have an option, Sugar. You leave, or I leave. It's over." His hand dropped to his side and he stepped back. He took me in with his eyes, analyzing me from head to toe.

'This can't be happening right now. This has to be another one of his jokes.'

A sigh escaped his lips, "When you're ready to leave this dump - there's a duffle bag in the floor, under the bed. Start over, go to school or something. Just get the fuck out of here." With that parting statement, he reached towards me. Grabbing the back of my head firmly, he kissed me hard. Without giving me a moment to respond, he let go and shoved me back before making his way out of the abandon building.

Two years later, I still have this feeling of abandonment deep within my heart. He left me a broken mess that night and I sat there for days – waiting on his return. I didn't eat, barely slept – plagued with fear that if I left, he would return and I'll miss it. So, I sat there watching as the rats and roaches took back the space that originally was their own. After two weeks of nothing, the more rational side of me decided that it was time. I grabbed the duffle bag from where he told me it was, soon to realize it was a bag full of money. How much was it exactly? I was never sure, I'm still living off what was there.

I didn't recognize where I was, that was the first time I had left that abandoned lot since he had taken me there a year ago. All I remember was walking for what felt like miles until I found some sort of civilization, and once I did – the rest was history.

Now I'm fighting myself to live, what can be passed for, a normal life. I enrolled myself at the University with difficulty since I have no idea of what my life was before Jack. They were a little skeptical of my intentions. I found myself an apartment that I can call home deep within the Narrows, so deep that police don't even brave making their rounds here. This was the forgotten area, and this is where I settled – it felt like home.

Here, in these project buildings, did I need not worry about the societal vultures of the world. I can be myself and face my demons. Here in my broken-down apartment I sat, fiddling with the seams of the holey couch. Thinking of the man that was literally my everything and how lost he had left me.

This wasn't the first time I thought back to him, maybe the first time this month. It's like a period. I have these moments at least once a month and the pain lingers for a week at most, before it's over and I'm forced to deal with reality.

I stretched my legs out in front of me, letting my head fall onto the back of the couch. My pale blues focused on the moldy ceiling ahead of me. Observing the water damage and the peeling paint, wondering to myself why I didn't just get me something a bit classier.

'You don't deserve it.' Ah, there we go.

'Nice to hear you're still alive. Completely unwelcomed though.' I thought to myself as I watched a roach scatter across the ceiling.

'Well isn't that a pity. It's a shame that I don't give a fuck and you're stuck with me regardless.'

'Oh boy.' I sat up with a sigh and rubbed my temples hard. I stood up from the couch and carelessly made my way to the bathroom, pushing the unhinged door towards the floor – causing a loud bang to echo throughout the small apartment. The bathroom was just big enough to fit the basic needs, a – what would have been – porcelain white toilet, years of use and neglect has faded it to a nasty brown, facing towards the doorway. To the right of it, a bathtub that could have looked like it was in good condition if it wasn't for the towels shoved into the hole of the missing stopper – that has molded over the years from the previous renter and I couldn't bring myself to remove them.

To the right of the door way was my destination where a cracked porcelain sink stood, a close-to shattered mirror above it. I gripped the edges of the sink and stared at my many reflections.

'So, what's new this week? Have you decided to let me out yet?'

This voice… This voice has been with me for as long as I could remember. "Not a chance."

I don't know where it came from or who it was. Jack said it was most likely another part of me, but for some reason it scared me so much.

'Feisty today, aren't we?'

When Jack first found me three years ago, on the docks of the harbor, I was drenched by the shore. Bleeding from the right side of my head and in a fetal position talking to myself. He had told me he thought I was some looney and was just going to leave me there but then I began to really fight myself and he couldn't just walk away.

'Just go away.'

It was then that the voice had went away, whenever he was around it disappeared. I never understood why – why a man I never met before can make me feel at peace instantly. Now that he's gone, I've lost control of it. Whenever I think of him and realize I'm truly alone, it comes back and taunts me.

My grip on the sink tightens, my knuckles begin to whiten. 'But where's the fun in that? I'm feeling just as feisty today, princess. Let's play a game.'

Not only does it taunt, but I physically and mentally lose control, 'Just go away!'

'Should we play the same thing as last month? Naw, lets switch it up.'

Without realizing, my head began to shake back and forth as tears sprung into my eyes. The lack of control was so frustrating, it made me feel so weak, 'Let us get that anxiety going, huh? That's always fun.'

3:45 AM

For hours, my screams echoed throughout the building, an encouraging, "Shut the fuck up", was heard a few times from the neighbors but this wasn't something I could control. I was currently on my bathroom floor, curled up into a ball. My fingers were tangled up into the platinum blonde strands of my hair, blood trickling down. I tried to catch my breath, slight chuckles escaped instead.

'Well talk about getting off. That was the best foreplay we've had in a while, toots.' A suppressed laugh left my full, chapped lips as more tears fell down my face. 'No more, please.'

'Oh relax, you big baby. I've had my fun… for now. Ta ta!'

A sigh of relief escaped me and I felt my body loosen up instantly, arms dropping to my side as chucks of hair followed. Falling back, narrowly missing the toilet, I laid across the floor to catch my bearings. "What the fuck." I curled to my side and cried.

This was just the beginning.

Note: When I first wrote this, I introduced Jack too quickly within the next few chapters with fear that I would lose the attention of the audiecnce. But this time around I want to make sure you guys get a feel of the main character and what's to come. Trust me, there's going to be a lot of Joker in the future but I promise, the amount of twists this story is going to have will not disappoint.