"Willow, reach back there and pull me out a shirt, I don't care which one."

After handing Joey his heavy bag, Willow turned around to zip open Joker's bag, and she carefully shuffled around for a shirt as the Tahoe bounced down the highway under the nighttime, cloud-covered sky, just a mere few miles away from reaching Virginia. A few short seconds later Willow turned back around, a white t-shirt in her hands, and Joker reached back for it all while never taking his eyes off of the road. Up front, as Willow folded her hands in her lap, Joey had just put on a new shirt of his own, and he held his slightly bloodied shirt in his hands as he turned to Joker, careful not to touch any of the crimson liquid seeing as how he had just rinsed his hands and arms with a bottle of water minutes prior.

"What should I do with this?" he asked. Joker glanced to Joey before he looked back to the road, and he brought his knees up slightly to hold the wheel steady as he started to unbutton his shirt. "Just hold on to it," Joker told him, leaning forward now to slide his shirt off from his arms, and he tossed it onto the floor by Joey's feet. "I gotta make a stop somewhere. And you gotta change your pants."

In the back, Willow couldn't help but to watch as a toned, shirtless Joker started to put on the white t-shirt, and she bit her lip as she looked away, unable to help but wish he would just keep the shirt off. She grinned slightly as she watched the dark scenery go by, but after an annoyed grumble escaped past Joey's lips he opened his bag on the console next to him to take out a pair of sweat pants.

"How am I supposed to do this?" He asked as he glanced over to Joker.

"Your mother never taught you change your clothes?" Joker asked with false surprise, and he looked over to Joey with widened eyes while Willow looked back to the front.

"Man, don't bring my mother into this," Joey defended. "These pants are a pain in the ass to take off, you feel me? Besides, you can't even see the blood on them."

"We're not taking chances, Joseph," Joker said. "If it's an issue of embarrassment you're having, then trade spots with Willow."

"I'm not embarrassed," Joey mumbled sourly as he started to undo his pants. "I'm annoyed."

"Well, when you're out on the road like this, or rather on the road with me, you gotta do things you don't wanna do."

Joey was ignoring him, and as he leaned up to slide his pants off Joker glanced at Willow's smirking face through the rear view mirror, and once her eyes met his he grinned.

"Don't you wanna change too?" He asked smugly, and Willow's grin expanded as she shook her head.

"No, not really," she answered.

"And why not?"

"Because I'm not bloody," she answered, and in the front Joey rolled his eyes as he slid up the sweat pants.

The minutes passed in silence as they drove deeper into Virginia, and just when Willow noticed it was almost eight thirty they had entered a small town of sorts, and she grew slightly confused as Joker pulled into the empty parking lot of a twenty-four hour convenience store. Once he was parked, he maneuvered the seat back as far as it would go before he turned to face Willow.

"Get me a pair of pants," he instructed, and while he waited he watched as Joey picked up his pack of cigarettes. Once Willow handed them to him, he faced forward again just as Joey lit up, and he rolled the window down slightly.

"What are you getting here?" He asked.

"A few supplies," Joker answered as he switched his own pants quickly, and once he was finished he added to the collection of clothes at Joey's feet after he took the fifty dollar bill from the pocket. He didn't say anything further, and instead he opened the door to step into the cool, night air, and Joey and Willow watched as he made his way toward the building.

"Can you hand me my cigarettes?" Willow's voice broke the sudden silence, and as Joey exhaled he reached forward to hand her the pack and a lighter, and it took her mere seconds to light up before she leaned forward to tuck them into the pocket in the back of Joey's seat. The truck was still running, and as Willow rolled her window down Joey reached forward to start scanning through the radio channels.

"I am fucking tired," he said as he continued his search for a good song, and he brought his cigarette up to his lips a second after speaking. Willow didn't answer, and instead she brought her legs up on the seat to stretch out in front of her as she leaned back against the door behind Joey's seat, and she blindly lifted her cigarette up and out of the window behind her to ash it before lowering it for another drag. Joey let out a frustrated sigh as as he hit his fist against the power dial, shutting of the radio, and he leaned back in his seat, only to make a slightly disgusted and annoyed face as he tried to move his feet. The small mountain of bloodied clothes fell over, and with another annoyed sigh he placed his cigarette loosely in between his lips before he leaned over to fix it. But just before he went to lean back, a sudden gleam of light on the floor was quick to catch his eye, and he squinted through the dark to reach out blindly, his fingers touching a cold, seemingly metal object. Just as he touched it he knew what it was, and as he leaned back in his seat he studied the odd-looking weapon Joker had bestowed him with in jail before the breakout.

"What did Joker say this was again?" Joey asked as his eyes wandered over the weapon, and with raised eyebrows he turned in his seat to stare down at Willow from over the head rest. She lifted her head slightly as she lowered her cigarette from her lips, and once she saw what Joey was holding she uninterestedly looked away.

"An F...X... Jungle Dart, or something," she replied as she exhaled the smoke.

"Right, right," Joey mumbled as he turned back around, and he touched his thumb to the blade to test its sharpness. It felt like a blade, but how had Marissa managed to smuggle it in through those wet wipes? "And what did he say it was made out of?"

Willow took another drag as she swiftly moved her feet to the floor to sit up, and she leaned over enough to rest her elbows on the console in front of her, her eyebrows scrunched in the middle of her forehead as she tried to think back to what Joker had called it.

"It's called... Gregory, or something," she said. "I don't know."

"Gregory?" Joey repeated as he turned to her, and he cocked an eyebrow with a grin, a small laugh escaping past his lips a second later. "That doesn't sound right."

"Well, I don't know!" Willow said as she shook her head, and she held up her hands in defense as she leaned back in the seat. "All this knife and gun and explosive shit. It's confusing."

"Jack talks about that shit with you?" Joey asked as he looked back to her, and Willow nodded once her eyes met his.

"Yeah," she said. "I mean he tries to, and I try to understand, but... it's just confusing."

Joey was still staring at her, and he had a hard time believing that Joker actually attempted to explain his most prominent interests to her. He pictured them sitting together on a couch, Joker comically handing her weapon after weapon as he explained what it was, what it did, and how it worked. But the picture was fuzzy, as were the words he supposedly spoke to her, and he wondered why Jack would even take the time to do that. Wasn't Willow supposed to be just some hostage girl he had picked up to toy around with? Perhaps in the beginning and, Joey knew, after they had spent all that time with him at his house, this was not the case anymore, and he was curious as to where, exactly, their relationship stood.

"So," he began. "What did you guys actually do in Detroit?"

Willow sighed, and she took the final drag from her cigarette before she tossed it out of the window, and she turned to him with a shrug. "We'd just hang out during the day, he'd usually leave, be back before I went to work, I'd make dinner, and then we'd go to bed. That's about it."

"No shit," Joey said as he shook his head, nearly positive she was leaving out some torturous detail. "What else did you guys do?"

"Umm..." Willow started, unsure of where he was going with this. "Watch TV? Grocery shop, sometimes we'd-"

"Wait, wait, wait, Jack went grocery shopping with you?" Joey's eyes widened as he stared at her, and Willow immediately shook her head.

"No," she said. "I would. He'd always get like, mad when I brought up shopping though."

Joey ignored this. "So... he played nice then? The entire time you were there?"

Willow was staring at him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, when I first met you at Line, you were a fuckin' mess, you feel me?" He asked, and Willow couldn't help but to let her jaw drop slightly. "I mean you looked hot, but your eyes told a different story. You were miserable and fuckin' terrified. And the next time around you had those gnarly-ass, stitched-up scars? Bruises? The whole thing," he went on. "Jack's not exactly the most gentle, sincere guy, you dig?"

"So what exactly are you asking?" Willow pondered.

"I wanna know where you guys stand," he spoke the truth instantly. "Look at it from my perspective," he went on. "I've known Jack for almost five years now. I witness the odd fuckin'... transformation, I guess you could say, that he went through, like the night he fuckin' cut his face up? He was never a normal dude, but after that night his personality turned extreme." Joey laughed as he shook his head. "I was used to him bringing a new girl around every once and a while to his apartment room at my club, but I never saw them the night after, you feel me? I was one thousand percent positive you'd have the same fate..."

Joey didn't realize it, but during his lecture Willow had gone into a deep state of thought as she looked back on everything she had been through within the past year. She recalled the night she and Joker first had sex, and she could remember exactly how his knife had felt as it sliced through her skin on her back and shoulder; she had been so sure she was going to die that night. She remembered dreading stripping at Joey's, only to discover the true talent she had for it, and had it not been for Joker she would have never realized the enjoyment she got from dancing. She recalled all the times Joker had saved her from Loc, and she smiled slightly when she thought back to Joker's pathetic state he had been in after she had been released from Arkham, a near completely unchanged woman. She remembered how comfortable she had gotten with him when they lived at Joey's, but also, she could still remember all the times he had been rough with her. She bit her lip as she glanced down to her wrists, and she grabbed her left one tightly with her fingers, squeezing slightly, and a small jolt of pain sprang up her arm due to the current bruises on them. She cleared her throat.

"Are you still?"

Joey's eyes had fallen onto her bruised wrists during her moment of silence, and he raised them to look back in to hers. "I don't know," he said. "That's why I asked."

He finally tossed his cigarette out of the window once he turned around, leaving Willow still in a state of thought. Where did they stand? It was a question that always had lingered in the back of her mind, but now it was all she could think about. Was she still some toy of Joker's, someone he could torture and take his anger out on? Lately, every time they got intimate and even just close to each other, there was always some pain factor involved. But on the other hand, regardless... Joker had let himself fall into a routine with her. He had allowed her to completely see his human side, the part of him that wasn't constantly killing people or blowing things to smithereens. She instantly remembered the night Joker had experimented with Jonathan Crane's drugs... she had seen him in a completely broken and defenseless state. He had been one-hundred percent out of his mind, and Joker knew it. And the fact that he didn't instantly kill her that very next morning to protect what she could assume was his biggest, darkest secret? Well, that clearly meant and said a lot, didn't it?

"I don't know," she finally answered his question from moments ago. "Things are so much more different now."

"Yeah," Joey said as he nodded, and he watched as Joker started out of the store in the distance, a white, plastic bag clutched at his side. "Hey, and for the record? I don't think he's going to kill you. He treats you different. And it has been a year. I think the idea left him a while ago."

Willow watched Joker through the windshield as he neared, her eyes fixed on his tall, broad frame, his white shirt seeming to glow through the darkness, and while the majority of her knew Joey was right and agreed with him, she suddenly couldn't help but to feel a small pang of doubt.

Joker hadn't even gotten into the truck yet when Joey instantly attacked him verbally, and as he spoke Joker couldn't help but to sigh and roll his eyes as he climbed into his seat.

"Willow says this is made of Gregory. What the fuck is that?" Joey asked as he leaned over slightly, his eyes fixed on Joker's, his Jungle Dart knife in his hands. At first Joker had been completely annoyed, but Joey's question caught him totally off guard, and he paused as he stared up at his friend.

"What?" He hissed. "Gregory? It's called Grivory," he corrected, and Joey's hands immediately flew into the air in his defense.

"Hey, that's what she told me," he said quickly, and with a cocked eyebrow Joker turned to look back at Willow.

"Gregory? Really, Willow?" he asked with a grin. She smiled weakly at him, but Joker immediately detected a different emotion in her eyes, and he held the contact for a minute until Joey's voice broke his thoughts, and he watched as Willow quickly glanced away from him.

"Thanks girl, makin' me sound like a fuckin' idiot. What's Grivory?"

"It's plastic," Joker said as he turned around, putting the truck in gear after. He pushed his foot onto the gas pedal and stared out of the parking lot.

"No way," Joey said as he looked over the knife better. "So that's how you got it in there!"

"Sure is," Joker replied quickly as he turned onto the main highway. "Go through there and take out a trash bag, and put all the clothes in it," he then constructed Joey, and he quickly grabbed the bag to rummage through it.

"Lighter fluid?" Joey asked as he glanced up to Joker, his eyes squinted in confusion. "Why do you need- wait, no," he started. "Man we are not torchin' these clothes! I just bought them!"

"They're evidence, Joseph," Joker said. "Things got messy at the rest stop, and we have to get rid of it."

"I don't see why," Joey went on as he opened up the box of black garbage bags. "We're constantly on the move."

Joker rolled his eyes. "Just do as I say, please? This trip will go a lot smoother if you just listen to me, Joseph."

"Man, I fuckin' told you about that name. Five fuckin' years I've told you about callin' me that!"

"Guess I just can't learn," Joker replied as he turned to Joey with a grin, and once Joey rolled his eyes Joker glanced into the rear view mirror, expecting to see Willow holding back laughter, but instead he witnessed her leaning against the door, her eye lids low as she stared out of the window, a frown on her face. His eyebrows met in the middle with confusion, and he was unable to help but to wonder what had come over her. What had she and Joey talked about while he was gone?

–

About half an hour later, after Joker had pulled into the first, seemingly nice hotel he had seen, after Willow had checked them into the a room, and after they had all collected their bags to climb the stairs onto the second floor, the group made their way into the hotel room, Willow snapping on the light while Joker and Joey made their way inside. Joker took his time with walking to the bed nearest the window, and as he set down his bag in front of the end table Joey made a beeline directly to his bed.

"Bed," he mumbled as he dropped his bag onto the floor, and like a ton of bricks he dramatically fell face first onto the bed, his arms spread out on either side of him, and the bed bounced slightly upon the impact. Joker cocked an eyebrow as he stared at Joey's perfectly still frame, and Willow glanced to him as she made her way into the room, and without a word she stepped past Joker to set her bag down, Joker's eyes instantly following her movement.

"You taking a shower?" He asked her, suddenly reminded off the odd look her eyes had held in the truck when she had been looking at him. After grabbing out a change of clothes, she zipped up her bag and stood up to face him.

"Yeah," she said, feeling stupid over the way a slightly nervous shock had run up her spine. Why was she feeling nervous suddenly? It wasn't like Joker was suddenly going to reach out and choke her like he had the girl in the bathroom at the rest stop, and the fact that she had even considered this, she knew, was absolutely stupid. She finally raised her eyes to glance directly into his, where she did not find an evil smirk on his lips or glint of evil in his eyes, and rather she quickly noticed how intently he was looking into her own eyes, as if searching for something. His own dark blue orbs bounced back and forth between her green ones, the light reflecting from them beautifully, and just barely he could tell that odd emotion was still lingering in them. He decided to test her.

"You... okay?"

His question caught her off guard, and her eyes widened slightly as she glanced at him. "Yeah," she answered. "I'm fine."

Joker narrowed his eyes as he took a small step toward her, noticing quickly the micro-expression of slight fear that overcame her features, but just as quickly as he had seen it, it had disappeared. "You wouldn't lie to me, would you Willow dearest?"

"No," she said quickly as she shook her head. "I'm just... tired."

"Right," Joker growled slightly, and as he stepped past her he made a mental note that perhaps teaching Willow the proper way to lie would prove to be beneficial for her. But then again, her inability to lie was, oddly enough, something he enjoyed about her personality, and as Willow headed towards the bathroom he decided quickly against the idea.

Willow sighed deeply as she stepped into the shower, hating herself for lying to the Joker. It was obvious he knew she was lying, but it wasn't like she could just come out and ask him the question Joey had gotten her curious about. She tried to tell herself that it was silly to even suddenly be paranoid about anything. It had nearly been an entire year since Joker had taken her, and while that year had its more terrifying moments, it seemed as though good moments overpowered the bad. And whether or not Joker had meant to bestow rather great things to Willow, even if they came in gruesome forms, such as murdering her uncle, he had, and Willow knew that was more than any other girl before her could say. Joey had said it, he'd see Joker with some girl one night, and by the next she was gone forever. A year, she repeated to herself in her mind. That had to mean something.

Perhaps Joey had been right. The idea of Joker murdering her had long left his mind, and just wasn't an option anymore. But what Willow really wanted to know was why.Why hadn't Joker killed her off-the-bat like all the rest, and why did he let an entire year go by and allow for all that had happened between them to happen? Her quick shower neared its end, and as she shut off the water Willow feared that she would never know, and as she stepped out of the shower to grab a towel the voice in her head reminded her that perhaps there was no need to. With this situation, actions clearly spoke louder than words, and maybe that was all she needed to realize to rest assured that her life was safe. The logical side of her reminded her that Joker, really, had every reason in the world to kill her, especially at this point, given all that she knew and had seen and was capable of tattle-telling to the police. But at this point, Joker had his hooks dug so deep in her, to the point where she would never betray him, thus leaving the more emotional side of her to tell her that there were definitely underlying, strong emotions that caused him to keep her around. To her this reason made the most sense, and to her it was the reason that would help her exit the bathroom, face Joker like normal, and fall asleep next him to him, able to rest assured she'd wake up the next morning.

And fortunately her motivational spiel to herself as she got dressed had worked, and with a slightly new-found attitude she opened the bathroom door, steam billowing out from behind her, and she rounded the corner. Her eyes immediately noticed Joey tucked away in his bed, his eyes closed as he breathed deeply, and next to him on the end table sat a fresh bottle of water with a large sip-amount of liquid missing. Her eyes instantly traveled to Joker's back as he stood at the table in front of the window, and she listened as he shuffled around in the plastic bag from the convenience store. Finally, as she placed her dirty clothes on the top of her bag, Joker turned around, his eyes taking in her appearance of baggy sweat pants and a large, black crop-top t-shirt, her flat stomach clearly exposed from under it, and he turned around just as she had looked to him.

"There's a water bottle for you," he said as he reached out behind him, an unopened bottle of water in his hand, and as Willow stepped forth to take it from him she smirked when she noticed his own bottle of water on the table next to him, already opened and halfway emptied. The fact that Joker had done the kind act of buying his crew a drink when he had gone into the store caused her smirk to widen into a grin, and Willow decided right there and then if he had the intentions of killing her he would not first sustain her with a necessary ingredient for life. Her silly thought caused her grin to stretch into a full-blown, toothy smile, and after she took a sip from her water she stepped to the side to look at the profile of his face.

"Thank you," she finally said. "Can I borrow a dollar?"

"By borrow do you mean you have the full intentions of paying me back?" Joker questioned as he glanced over to her, an eyebrow raised, and he couldn't help but to grow slightly confused when Willow grinned, that odd look in her eyes suddenly gone.

"If that's big of a deal, then sure," she replied smartly, and Joker's eyebrows raised.

"How bold of you to say that," he said as he took a step closer to her, and her eyes dropped to his hand as he reached into his back pocket. "And what, may I ask, are you planning on doing with this dollar?"

"Get a snack," she replied just as Joker pulled out the bill from his pocket, and he tilted his head to the side slightly. He stared into her eyes, and just when Willow expected him to suddenly say no and deny her the money, he reached out to hook his finger in the lining of her sweatpants, and he slid the string from her black thong up slightly before he placed the dollar in between it and her hip, and he let it snap back to her body, the dollar held firmly in place. Joker smirked when she looked back to him.

"I bet you miss that," he taunted as he bounced his eyebrows, and this time a shock of excitement sprang up her spine.

"Sorta," she answered, and she grinned as she picked the dollar from the lining of her panties. Joker grinned as she turned to exit, and after she picked up the key card from the table the TV sat on, and once she closed the door, Joker couldn't help but to wonder what the hell had just happened with her. Must be a girl thing, he thought sourly to himself, and just like that the issue was dropped.

Upon returning to the hotel room, the first thing Willow noticed now was that Joker had made it onto their own bed, the only light coming from the TV and the dim lamp on the end table. As she closed and locked the door, a bag of M&M's in her hand, she could hear Joey peacefully sleeping, his breathing deep and long, and she quietly stepped past his bed in the dim light towards her and Joker's bed. Joker's eyes were sleepily focused on the current Adult Swim show, and once Willow had climbed into the bed beside him on top of the covers and propped her pillows up to lean against, he turned to her once she ripped open the package of candy. He watched as she popped an M&M into her mouth, and out of an intention that came purely out habit he reached his arm out to her, signaling that she should scoot closer to him. Willow grinned slightly as she did so, and rather than wanting to throw up over his somewhat mushy-gushy actions he always seemed to take lately, Joker decided to just be appreciative that his pet was well trained, and only did this sort of thing when asked or invited. Willow's body fit perfectly into the curved area of where his arm met his chest, and as she cuddled closer to him Joker bent his arm at the elbow to securely hold her in place.

"You want one?" Willow asked him a short second later, and upon turning his head down the first thing he saw was her wide, green eyes staring back up at him. He couldn't help but to grin, but regardless he rolled his eyes as he held out his open palm to her.

"Sure."

She placed a single green M&M onto his hand, and she watched as Joker tossed the candy into his mouth, all while never using his fingers, and when he glanced in her direction with a smug face her grin widened.

"Did you know," Joker began as he chewed. "That green M&M's make your horny?"

Willow rolled her eyes, but she could not help but to laugh. "They do not," she retorted as she popped another candy into her mouth.

"They do," Joker corrected. "Try it, eat all the green ones and see what happens. That's how I use to get girls to come home with me," he added darkly, and he grinned wickedly when Willow looked up to him with a skeptical look. "I gave them a bowl full of the green ones, and from there they were all over me."

Clearly, this was a giant joke, and Willow grinned as she shook her head. "That's bullshit," she said easily. "It's a myth, Joker. And besides, you wouldn't need green M&M's to get someone to go with you..." She paused suddenly, and she felt her face reddening as she tried to look away, but Joker had cocked an eyebrow, and he spoke up quickly before she could completely turn her head.

"And why is that?"

"Because you're so... charming, and...good looking," Willow spoke the truth, though she had tripped and stuttered over her words, but regardless Joker grinned as he stared into her eyes.

"I suppose you're not that bad either, kiddo," he replied. "You are a stripper after all."

"Ex-stripper," Willow corrected as she finally turned to the TV, and she popped another two M&M's into her mouth.

"Hey now," Joker started. "You've still got it in you. Just because you don't have a club to go to doesn't mean you don't uh, make an art form of taking your clothes off."

Willow nearly choked as she tried to hold back her laughter, and as she swallowed she glanced back up to Joker. "Are you implying something?"

"Maybe," he answered. "Maybe not," he added darkly. Willow grinned at him, but her eyes were quick to fall onto Joey's sleeping frame from behind Joker, and she stared at his resting features as the blue light from the TV flickered over him. She watched him sleep for a moment longer before Joker's voice broke the silence.

"So... Gregory?" He asked, and Willow rolled her eyes as she glanced back to the TV. "Seriously, Willow... Gregory?"

"I forgot the name!" She said loudly, only to instantly quiet back down. "It was close."

"Gregory and Grivory are two completely different things, Willow," Joker retorted with a quick laugh. "There's still work that needs to be done with you... tell me, what is this?" He reached out towards the end table to pick up the first knife he touched his fingers to, and he snapped it open in front of Willow's face. Her eyes widened momentarily, but just as quickly as they had widened they returned to their normal size and shape.

"A knife," she replied, and she glanced up to Joker when he breathed out deeply from his nose.

"Don't be cute," he told her as he leaned a little closer to her, his head slightly bowed. "Specifically."

"Umm..." Willow started, and she thought hard, remembering all of Joker's lectures as she stared at the jagged edge, the thumb hole on the blade for easy opening, and the overall small frame of the knife in total. "A dragonfly... something-"

Joker's eyebrows widened in slight astonishment. "Actually, that's pretty close," he said, and Willow's eyes slid back up to his. "It's a Clipit Dragonfly Spideredge knife. Small, concealable, and quick to use." He studied Willow's face as he told her this, but as she fixed her position on the bed his eyes had dropped down to her exposed hip, and he stared at the tattoo etched onto her skin. His tongue came out to trace the scar on his bottom lip, and his eyes met hers again. "And you know what I'd love to use this knife for?"

Willow's heart started to race as Joker touched the cold blade to her hip, and she flinched slightly at the cold steel touching her. Her body tensed slightly, and once Joker felt her body start to pull away he used the arm wrapped around her shoulders to hold her firmly in place.

"You're not cutting off my tattoo," Willow told him quietly, watching as Joker's eyes widened, and she held her breath when she felt him start to trace the outline of the tattoo lightly with the tip of the blade.

"That's awfully brave of you to tell me that. But I will," he corrected her. "It'll be easy, and once I do, I'm gonna stitch it onto Joey's head."

Willow made a face, and Joker laughed as he allowed her to finally pull away. "No," she said with widened eyes. "That's sick."

"It's funny," Joker said as he went on to picture this. "The guy better be careful."

Willow shook her head, and her body betrayed her mind by leaning closer to him again, and she looked over to Joey, searching for any sign on his face that expressed he heard what Joker had said, but he slept on, his facial expression unchanged, and Willow looked back to Joker's hand over his chest as he rotated the knife around between his fingers.

"How'd you guys get all bloody?" She asked curiously, referring back to the bodies they had left at the rest stop.

"I figured the police would be happy to find the couple smiling," Joker said as he turned to her, and Willow's eyes followed the blade's movement as Joker placed the tip of the knife at the corner of her lips "So I cut them both right here." He grinned slightly as he put the blade in her mouth, and though her heart had started to pound, Willow fought hard to keep her cool.

"Was this the knife you used for it...?" She asked slowly as she looked back into his eyes, and Joker frowned as he took the blade from her mouth.

"So what if it was?" He asked. "What would you do?"

It most likely wasn't the answer anyone else would have thought of, and it most certainty was not the answer Joker was expecting, but the first thing that popped into Willow's mind was brushing her teeth so she could go to bed, and when she expressed this to Joker he had groaned and rolled his eyes as he turned away from her, and he folded the knife before placing it back onto the end table, making a mental note to himself instill fear in Willow using the very knife she suddenly had no fear over in the near future. The day had turned into a very odd and unexpected night, and admittedly Joker had to agree that sleep did sound rather good.

Willow hopped off of the bed and started toward bathroom after she had grabbed her toothbrush, butterflies swirling around in her stomach, despite Joker's antics with the knife. She calmed her nervous thoughts down in the shower, and the near twenty minutes she had spent with Joker laying on bed had only helped her to relax more. Somewhere down the line Joker had not become a person in which she constantly feared, but rather a person she constantly wanted to be around, and it seemed as though the same transition of sorts had happened with Joker. And as she turned to glance over her shoulder in just enough time to catch Joker digging his fingers into the bag of M&M's, her lips stretched into a heartfelt smile, and just like that, she knew finally Joker really had no desire of getting rid of her...

shorter chapter than usual, i know, but rest assured things are about to get... interesting, for lack of a better word. review if you want the next chapter! I want MORE than 5, you feel me? as always, add me on facebook! (Lacey Clownqween Michele) i love meeting and talking to the people who read my stories!

have yourselves a pleasant day
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