Joker's POV

My mother was a hard working lady. Once she got out the hospital she had to walk 13 miles to get to our home ,which was nothing but a run down apartment. When she got home it was eight o'clock that night. My father wasn't even home. He would often spend his nights at the bar or with some girl he met at the bar. My mother knew every thing that he was up to even the things she didn't see. Yet she was always smiling...always laughing. Never frowning or crying. She was my hero.

Since my father was basically out of the picture, my mother had to get a job to take care of the both of us. It was hard for her at first because of her lack of a degree but she found a stable job as a bartender at this pretty nice club called Taste.

At night when she worked I would stay with one of her friends she had that worked at a strip club close by the club. Her name was Abby she was nice but not as nice as my mom.

As for my father he finally managed to find a stable job. He was a certified waste manager or bettter known as your typical garbage man. Which made since cause he was a load of garbage himself.

As I got older I noticed that he never did any fatherly things for me. He didn't make bottles, didn't hold me, and he'd be damned if he changed a diaper.

That was fine though because my mother was happy doing every thing by herself. I was all she had to really live for. She had a crappy house, no good husband, ok job, no family, and no degree. But she had me.

3 years later Jack age: 3

Joker's POV

By the time I was three I started to have my own memories. Most of them consisted of my mom and I playing around the apartment. But sadly all the glitters can't be gold. I had memories of my father also.

None of them were good of course. When ever he came home he was always drunk or stoned so memories of him weren't really important.

One memory of him I remember quite well. One day like any other mom and I were playing together on the living room floor, she had just bought me my first toy.

It was a circus themed Jack in the box. She thought it would be funny for me to have one because of my name and that the little clown inside had green hair like me, but at the time I didn't know that anything was inside the box. I wasn't sure how the toy worked so my mom had to show me.

"Ok Jackie this is how the toy works." She pointed towards the red handle on the side of the box. "You slowly turn this and it will make music." She was right as she turned the handle soft happy music began to play.

Once the music began playing she started to sing along to the wordless song "dun dundun duhdundun dundun" she momentarily stopped singing and turning the handle and smiled at me. "Ok Jackie look closely at the top of the box ok" I nodded my head.

She continued to turn the handle as the song came to a close. 'duh dun dedun dunn dun' At he last note of the song the box lid sprung open and something jumped out at me! I let out a small yelp and covered my eyes startled. I wasn't expecting anything to jump out! I thought the box just played music.

My mother chuckled at my fear she thought it was cute. She gently rubbed my head running her fingers through my hair. "It's ok honey you don't have to be scared. Take a look at what came out sweetie."

He words were kind but it was her soft voice that told me every was ok. Her voice was always soo sweet and happy no matter the situation.

Trusting her words I slowly removed my hands from my eyes. I was going to face the monster that jumped from the box. With my vision clean I saw that the box revealed a clown with a white face, red smile, green eyes and wild green hair. Along with his wild features the clown let out a hackeling laugh.

"Mommy it wooks wike me!" I screamed excitedly to my mother. I stood and jumped onto my mothers lap to hug her. "Twank you for ma gift mommie." I said against her chest

She welcomed me in with open arms as she hugged me back "Aww you are soo very welcome my little Jack in the box" I giggled at the name she gave me "You are just soo cute and sweet you know that. Now go play you little cutie."

She released me from her hold as I crawled back over to my toy to try it out for my self. We sat on the floor for hours playing with the Jack in the box. Every time the little clown popped out we would burst into a fit of laughter along with the clown.

But sadly our play time was brutally interrupted once my father came home drunk. Except this time he wasn't only drunk he was high also, which was a deadly combination when it came to him.

He almost tore the door down. He came in in such a rush ,like a member of a SWAT team, he made my mother and I both jump. Once he registered we were in the room he sent us a deadly glare as he threw a beer bottle my way.

My mother snatched me up just in time before I got hit. I could hear the bottle shatter against the floor as I clung to my mother's chest. Becomeing more inraged at the fact that he missed me, my father started to say things like "I should have hit that ugly clown!" and "You should have left that monster at the hospital!" I new he never liked me. He always had soo much hatred towards me opposite to the love my mother showered me in. In his eyes I was a monster, a waste of space, and nothing even close to being his son.

My mother quickly carried me into the back room that was deemed our room and hid me in the closet with my Jack in the box away from his evil rane. She told me to stay put and play...but I was afraid. Not for myself but for her. She was all I had..the only one who loved me. If something happened to her I was all alone. Even at my age I knew being around my father meant danger.

So when I heard her leave the room I carefully came out the closet. I slowly opened the door to our room as it lead to the hall way. Causously I peeked around the corner. And at the moment I did the worry I had for my mother came true.

Right before my eyes it happened my father hit my mother across the face with the back of his hand knocking her to the floor with all the force behind it. Moments before they were in each others face argueing and curseing as they always do when he comes home. But this time ...this time he decided he wanted to hit her...and that's exactly what he did right infront of his three year old son.

The sickening smacking noise chilled me to the bone as it rung in my head over and over again on constant repeat. My mother layed on the floor in front of him holding her right cheek as tears flowed from her eyes. Her gaze slowly lifted to look at me. I saw all the hurt she felt in her eyes as she say all the pain and fear in mine. She only knew I was there because I started to scream and cry after his hand made brutal contact with her face. The culprit decided to look at me also through those burning green eyes that were also mine.

He stared at me for a few moments he didn't move towards me, he didn't try to stop my crying, he didn't even say sorry to my mother, or try to help her up. He just stared those cold, hard, red eyes at me. He had so much hatred in those eyes. Something I just had to inherit from him. The only thing we had in common was our ,bright sparkling jade,eyes.

But his were dazed with alcohol making them burn red, confused by drugs turning them cloudy, and filled to the brim with hate towards himself, my mother, and the majority towards me causing his eyes to be quite frightful.

Once I met his gaze I stopped crying and screaming as I stared back at him. There was nothing but silence between up and tension as innocent green met the identical vicious, slightly red green. Moments passed before he slowly opened his mouth deciding to speak.

"You will never be my son. You will always be a hideous monster and no one...NO ONE!" He scream "Will except you" His words hurt me deeply. I was only three years old but I was very smart for my age. I knew what those words meant and when they came out his mouth they hit me hard. I never knew why he hated me, or why he disowned me as his son.

After he said what he had to he turned and stormed out the house once again returning to the bar to indulge on his second load of alcohol for the day.

When I was sure he was gone I rushed over to my mothers side and hugged her as tightly as I could. She told me that no matter what my father said I wasn't a monster I was just a kid like anyother even though I didn't look like any other kid. She told me that I was her little Jack in the box.

That night she packed all of our things into our suit cases and we left the only place I knew as home for the first three years of my life. We went to Abby's house where we would be safe and around someone who loved us. Abby was kind of like another mom to me she loved me like my mom would. She said I could call her my aunt even though she wasn't but that was fine. She was really nice to me she couldn't beat my mom of course but she's nice.

When we got to her house my mother told Abby about what happened at our house with my father. Aunt Abby called him a bunch of names that night, she used alot of words I didn't know but when my mother covered my ears I figured that they were bad words since I didn't need to hear them.

After they talked for a little while we had dinner. When we were at home we barely ate. And when we did it was just left overs from the club. Tonight Abby made meatloaf and mashed potatoes my favorite.

Once dinner was finished it was close to my bed time so my mother gave me a nice bath with lots of bubbles like I liked. Then she stuffed me into my warm pajamas. My favorite pajamas in fact. It was a purple onezie with a green collar, yellow bow tie and green feet.

I struck a pose for my mother as I examined myself in the mirror. "I wook good mommy." My goofiness made her laugh. "yes you do look good pumpkin." She lifted me into her arms and tickled my stomach causing me to giggle. "Now lets get you tucked in buddy."

She softly tucked me in bed, but before I could fall asleep she said she had another surprise for me. She reached under the bed and pulled out a small box wrapped in purple paper with green stripes and tied with a big green bow. She handed me the box and told me to open it.

Carefully I pulled the the green ribbon untieing the bow. I was really excited to recieve two gifts in one day. With the bow gone all that was left was to lift the lid on the box. I was giggleing with soo much excitement I began to kick my feet under the covers. My Mother was laughing at how excited I was and urged me to open the box.

Once I calmed down a bit I closed my eyes and opened the lid. When I opened my eyes I took a look inside. What I saw was a small stuffed clown toy with a big red smile, green eyes, and a happy birthday hat.

I was really happy with my gift and it was all thanks to my mom. So I hugged her to show her I really appciated her gift. She knew what I liked and that was anything clown. I really like clowns their really funny and cool.

Mom took the empty box and set it on the shelf next to my Jack in the box. She tucked me back into bed and kiss me on the forhead. "Good night my sweet little jester." She turned off the lights as she left leaving me to rest.

Jack Bartholomew Napier started to drift off into dream land clutching his new toy and new friend.