A/N: It's pissing down with rain and I have an infection meaning I'm going to the toilet five times an hour. Just went, need to go again. Boy, do I need to go again.

Slammed my fingers into the door- third time in the past four days. Got a basketball in the face and my nose is so sore it's painful to wear my glasses. What can I say, I'm having a great week.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters that are owned by Jhonen Vasquez. Because I'm not him, bless his soul. But I do own any character's you don't recognize, such as my original character.

Warning: Wow. I don't know. This contains violence and swearing… And probably some other things that I haven't thought of just yet.

Johnny was unexplainably moody the following morning. Danielle awoke to the sound of things falling about a few rooms down, and a bloodcurdling scream soon filled the house. Leaping out of her makeshift bed, she quickly changed into her new pair of jeans and T-shirt, pulled on a new pair of shoes, and shoved her school things into her backpack. Grabbing Lola, she rushed out of her room. Another scream filled the air, and Danielle let out a small cry of fear. When the screaming didn't stop, she crept slowly along the wall, her breathing short and staggered. She neared the end of the corridor soon enough, and peeked through the door into a room that the noise seemed to be coming from. Johnny was standing over a man, who seemed to be dressed in what was a bloody postal service uniform. Swallowing a wave of bile that crept up her throat and tickled the back of her mouth, the small girl let out a wail.

Spinning about on his heel, Johnny stared at her. Droplets of blood ran down his face like sweat, yet it was clearly not his own. As he took a step towards Danielle, she could clearly see the man's chest cavity slit open for all to see, his heart pumping forcefully, his lungs rising and falling with every breath. Blood was leaking all over the floor, making it both slippery and sticky to walk on. A single fly buzzed about the room, and, as if in a bad horror movie, landed upon the postman's ribcage, about to feed on his blood. Danielle could barely hold down her dinner.

She ran out of the room without a second thought, tears streaking down her face. Pelting out of the house, she skidded on the footpath, almost losing her balance. Loose coins rattled about in her backpack, change from her lunch the day before. Pushing back memories of the dying man, she finally succumbed to her tired legs and flopped on the ground, nearly a block from her new home. She didn't know how long she sat there, Lola under her arm, crying. Crying for her mother, her unknown father. Crying for her friends back in her old house, and crying from just mental exhaustion. She finally came to a sobbing and snotty end when she heard someone scuffle their shoes. Looking up, Danielle saw a small, wide-eyed boy staring down at her, possibly not much older than her.

'Are you okay?' he asked, tucking a ragged teddy bear under his arm. Danielle wiped her nose on the back of her hand, and nodded. Wordlessly, she stood up, hugging her Barbie doll. The young boy scuffled his shoes once more, before speaking. 'You live with the crazy neighbour man, don't you?'

'Who? Danielle finally asked quietly, trying to brush her hair with her fingers.

'The crazy neighbour man… He… lives next to me. I'm Todd.'

Danille remained quiet, until she realised that 'Todd' must be 'Squee'. Biting her lower lip, she nodded.

'Um, yeah I do. I'm Danielle.' She mumbled in reply. She held up her doll. 'This is Lola.'

Squee smiled at the doll, although he continued to look suspiciously at Danielle. Holding up his own stuffed bear, he introduced its name. 'This is Shmee. The scary neighbour man doesn't like him much. Are you crazy like him?'

'Er…' Danielle paused, and scratched her head. 'I don't think so. I feel kinda not-crazy at the moment.'

'Oh. Well, that's good.'

The two young children started off to school, their respective toys tucked under their arms. Danielle finally spoke once again.

'Are you crazy?'

Squee took a moment to ponder the question. 'People think I am, but I don't think I am. I feel kinda not-crazy either.'

Danielle smiled at that, and nodded. 'Good.'

There was another silence, until Squee picked up the topic again. 'What's it like to live with him?'

'Johnny? Um… It's… different.' Danielle replied uncertainly, looking over her shoulder nervously.

'How'd ya' get there? Are you his daughter?'

Danielle pursed her lips and shook her head. 'No… He… killed my Mummy.'

Squee stared white faced at her, and for a moment, Danielle thought he was about to run off. Instead, he just uttered 'oh' and left it at that.

The corpse of the postman sat in front of Johnny for a good hour, until the man decided to get up, and do something else, other than throwing random objects at it. Easing onto his feet, his limbs aching, reminding him that, although he wasn't even in his thirties, he was getting older.



Walking out of the room, he flopped down in a couch in the living room. Without switching on the television, he rested his head on the cushions, and wondered where Danielle was. Most adults would go look for their children, yet Johnny didn't bother- she seemed like a fairly reliable person, and she would most likely end up walking to school, possibly even with Squee.

His head began to ache as he rested his overly tired body on the soft seat. He hadn't slept in over a month and his insomnia was beginning to take its toll. Determined not to sleep, he jumped onto his feet, and rubbed his temples. Without meaning to, he began to think of Danielle, and her class's 'Family Day'. He knew he had to go, despite his utter hated in social events. Danielle not only wanted him to, but it was more or less expected of him to go- if he didn't, he would? The poor girl didn't even have any living relatives she knew of. She was his only means of a future, and that frightened him.

Pacing about the room, he rubbed his head. He had no idea how to raise a child. He couldn't remember his own childhood that he could draw "do's" and "don'ts" from. Within five years or so, if he could keep Danielle alive for that long, she would be in the midst of puberty, and, God forbid, she would be getting her period. Maybe even sooner than twelve. Stopping in his tracks, he looked about the room, and grabbed the phone. Dialing a number, thankful that the Reverend's voice wasn't screeching through the air like it had been the past night, he waited until the phone on the other end was answered.

'Hello?'

'Devi?' Johnny asked quickly. Devi quieted for a moment.

'What the fuck do you want?' she finally asked.

'I'm… in a it of a problem. And you're going to help me out of it' He replied curtly. It had been months since Devi and Johnny spoke, and the last time had been terrible. Devi didn't seem too pleased at her sudden burden of helping her attempted murderer, yet finally agreed.

Johnny explained how he had come to be in the situation he was in. Although it had only been five days, his whole world had been thrown upside down, inside out and generally topsy-turvy. Devi listened, surprisingly, intently, yet when he finished his tale she stayed quiet. Finally, Johnny asked whether she was still there.

'What? Yeah, I'm here. Ah… where's Danielle now?' she asked. Johnny stiffened.

'I dunno. She… ran out of the house this morning.'

'Why…?' she asked suspiciously.

'Reasons. Look, what should I do? I can't remember my own childhood so how the fuck should I know how to raise a child- a girl nonetheless.'

'So why the hell did you ring me?'

'Because you're a girl, and hopefully you have a better memory than mine!'

Devi sighed on the other end, and finally answered. 'I don't know…'

'Well, what should I do, and what shouldn't I do?'

'First off, you should know where she is most, if not all, the time. And don't yell at her, or hurt her. If you do, fuck knows what'll happen. Um… On her birthday, bake her a cake or something. God, just treat her like you would with anyone else's child!'

Johnny paused and nodded. 'Okay.' He finally replied, and hung up the phone. He looked about the room for a moment, before entering the room he had been in previously, grabbed the postman's wallet, and exited. He picked up his car keys from the crate he had placed them on, and went out to his car, off to buy a dollhouse for Danielle.

A/N: Crappy chapter from a crappy brain. I'm in a crappy mood. Review so… I can be… reviewed… full.