Author's Note: Um hi? This is my first story written on this website and to put it frankly, I'm really nervous. There are a lot of talented author's on this website and I am a little intimidated. But I guess i'll give it a shot.

I would like to thank Mushroomking98 for reading this prior to me uploading it, and for her criticism. I hope you all enjoy it and please leave a review to help me become a better author :)

Disclaimer: I own nothing except from my original character.

Chapter 1

Friday night was Poker night in the warehouse. The Joker's men got drunk, got high and betted. The Joker allowed them to do this only on Fridays. Sometimes, if he was bored, he would join them. On this particular friday, he did.
The Joker sat at the table with his tie loosened, shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows and purple coat draped on the back of his chair. A lit cigarette was placed behind his ear, which he occasionally took a drag from. A few empty beer bottles surrounded him, but the cheap booze didn't effect him. The low bass of the music filled his ears, increasing as one of the men turned it up cause it was 'their jam'.

It was when the song had ended when he heard a noise.

Creak.

Shuffle.

He yelled at his men to turn the music off, and he heard the noise again. Jaden and Tom, two of his best men, heard the noise aswell. They rose from their seats, faces contorted into a look of concentration. "Boss...I think there's somebody upstairs." Jaden suggested. The Joker gestured for the two men to investigate. They grabbed their guns and stealthily made their way upstairs, The Joker listening intently. He frowned when he heard shouting and cursing from his men, a sound of mad scrambling and fighting occured seconds after. And then silence.

Hm.

The door was thrown open, and The Joker raised his brow when he saw that Tom was bleeding from his nose and above his eye. "Oh you ain't gonna believe what we found upstairs, boss." Jaden pushed past him and the whole room raised their brows at who was dragged in from behind. A young girl was in Jaden's tight grasp. She was very skinny and pale, her long black hair a stark contrast to her complexion. She wore purple pinstriped skinny jeans and a baggy black jumper that was too large for her skinny frame. Her sneakers were once white and had obvioulsy been through a great deal of damage as they were now a dark grey colour. The Joker looked at the girls face.

She was defiently young, perhaps in her early teens. She had a cut on her lip and a few scratches here and there. A scar on her cheek caught his eye though, it was around three inches in length and looked painful. But not as painful as his. He looked into her bright green orbs and grinned when he saw that fear filled them.

"Where was she?" He asked the dark skinned man who was holding her.

"One of the spare rooms boss."

The Joker walked closer to the girl, he bent down so his face was at the same height as hers. "Are you a uh thief? Did someone send you here to find information hm?" She didn't respond, just stared at his face. He rolled his eyes before grabbing her face with his large hand, his fingers digging painfully into her cheeks earning him a small whimper. "I asked you a question, doll."

"I-I'm not a thief, and nobody sent me here to get...information." She stuttered. "So uh why were you upstairs?"

"I was looking for somewhere to hide, I didn't think they would look for me in a warehouse. I-I didn't know you were here...I didn't try to steal anything I promise!" Her voice raised a little near the end. "Who are you running from?" He asked, ignoring her yell. "The police." His brows furrowed and he removed his hand from her face. "what's an uh innocent little girl like you doing hiding from the cops?"

She stayed quiet, casting her eyes to the floor. She started to crack her knuckles. Nervous habit? He thought. "My dad was arrested...I have nowhere to live. They're gonna take me away! To a children's home!" The Joker laughed in amusement. This kid was hiding from the cops because she didn't want to go a children's home? Ha!

"What's your name sweetheart?"

"Demetria B-Berakov."

He smirked. "So you don't wanna go to the children's home?" She shook her head no. "I have an idea. If you work for me and become my special little helper, then I'll let you stay here in my humble abode, away from the cops? Sound fair?" Demetria bit her bottom lip before nodding. "Good. Jaden, take Demi to my room. Make sure she doesn't escape."

As Jaden showed the girl upstairs, Tom approached the Joker. "Why are ya keeping the kid, J?" The Joker shrugged. "I'm a little bored, she's just a little social experiment."

The truth? The Joker didn't like liars.

"You're a lucky kid."

Demetria looked up to the large man who was showing her the Joker's room and returned her gaze to the floor. After a few more steps Jaden stopped, He opened the door at the end of the corridoor and gestured for her to enter. It was clean surprisingly, except from the desk that was littered with newspapers and pens. Newspaper articles covered the walls, as did scribbles and paint. There was a door opposite the desk, most likely an ensuite. A bed was placed in the middle of the room, the purple covers a messy bundle in the middle of the bed. "Don't move, he'll be up soon." Jaden left her alone in the Clown's room, the door locked shut.

Demetria approached the desk and took a look at the newspapered walls, she noticed that there were a great deal of Batman articles aswell as some about himself. She looked through the newspapers on the desk and found that a lot had been annotated.

"I don't like people touching my things."

Demetria jumped at the voice, she turned quickly to find the Joker only a few feet away from her. "I'm sorry, I was just curious." She gave him a tiny smile which dropped quickly. The Joker gestured for the girl to sit down at his desk, she obeyed immediatley. "You know Demetria, I don't appreciate being lied to. I mean, I was very kind, I didn't kill you straight away for tresspassing. I didn't even shout. But instead of returning that kindness you uh lied."

Crack!

She had started to crack her knuckles again.

"I'm sorry."

Oh. That was unexpected. He thought she would of started begging a crying, claiming she wasn't a liar.

"Why were you up here earlier, Demi?"

"I don't have anywhere to stay...I didn't think people would have noticed me in the spare room."

"where are your parents?"

"Dead, I lived with my aunt but she hits me. I ran away so that I could be safe, obviously my plan hasn't worked out. I'm pretty sure running into you isn't what you would call safe" The Joker chuckled and she smiled smally. "well, you haven't annoyed me yet so I guess you can stay. You may sleep here tonight." He stood and started to leave the room.

"Thank you...Joker."

He looked at her and nodded before leaving the room, closing the door behind him.

This should be fun.