A/N: It's the second day of holidays and I'm already bored as shit. Two fics written; one on here and one on , and now I'm bothering to update this one. Plus my Internet connection is playing up- one of the reasons I want to move onto Broadband. Meh. I'm cold and hungry and there's no food or heating in my poor excuse of a house. On a lighter note, I got my hair done yesterday. Now it's short and a mix of black, blue and violet. Joy.

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 characters 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.

Hello, Danielle.

Go away, I have to do my work or the teacher will yell at me again.

Miss Franklin? Please, she's too busy with that kid who just got whacked in the head with that boy's arm.

What? Danielle lifted her head, pausing in her actions of doing her math and stared as her fellow classmate's nose bled. Well, it shouldn't matter if he's bleeding or not. I can't stop and talk to you, even if you are in my head, I have work to do. My times tables aren't going to teach themselves, and anyway, Miss Franklin has already put a cross next to my name- two more and I have eraser duty.

Ooh, scary, eraser duty. Clap, clap, clap with the erasers, so what. Anyway, I just want a chat, you know, get to know each other a lot better. You and Lola hit it off well, why not try to get to know your favourite Reverend, eh? Someone to confess your sins to.

Go away, I don't want to talk to you right now.

Then go talk to your friend, Squee. Todd. That boy in the year above you.

Danielle paused, sharpened her pencil, and glanced around the classroom. Everyone else (save the boy who got hit in the nose) was doing their work. A few were chatting to their friends, but other than the hushed whispering the class was relatively silent. Lowering her head, she stared down at her sheet of sums, realising she had completed the sheet. A sigh escaped her lips, and she placed her stationary back into her pencil case. Zipping it up, she raised her hand. It took the teacher a moment to see the girls' hand, waving back and forth slightly.

'Yes, Danielle?' came her tired response. The smaller female wriggled in her seat as a few pairs of eyes lifted up to her.

'May I please go to the bathroom?' she asked quietly. The adult nodded, and Danielle walked briskly out of the room. She paced slowly once she left the room, closing the door silently behind her, and started down the corridor.

So how do you expect me to get Todd out of class?

Stand near the door, where the teacher can't see, and motion for him to come out… Simple enough.

Looking behind her, Danielle neared the third grade classroom. And, following Reverend Meat's instructions, she scuffled close to the open door. Peeking inside whilst brushing her fringe from her eyes, she waited until she caught her friend's eye. She waved for him to come out, and almost breathed a sigh of relief when the boy raised his hand. After allowing to be excused, he rushed out.

There, happy? Danielle screamed mentally.

Very.

And then there was silence.

Danielle grabbed Squee's arm and dragged him down the corridor, the boy allowing him to be pulled along. Minutes past, and finally he spoke up.

'Where are we going?'

The girl stopped, and shrugged. 'I dunno, I just… dunno.'

Squee stared at her, a nervous look in his eyes. 'Well if you don't mind, I'd like to get back to my class…'

Danielle nodded, but grabbed the boy's arm when he tried to walk away. 'Todd…' she began slowly, concern in her eyes. The boy stopped, and nodded.

'Yes?'

She bit her lip, and stared at the wall, letting go of her friend's arm. 'Do you ever get worried that you're different?'

Hands in his pockets, Squee cocked his head before replying. 'I don't worry, I know… The kids tell me everyday that I'm different.'

'Oh…' Danielle faltered, but when Squee looked like he was about to move on, she spoke up again. 'Do you ever worry that they're right?'

At this, Squee pulled his arms around himself, eyebrows knitted together. 'Why do you ask…?'

Danielle just shrugged, not sure whether she could blurt out "oh, I'm hearing things and am worried I'm going insane". Instead, she just grabbed a very confused Squee by the arm and led him back to class.

'I'll see you this afternoon, 'kay?' she mumbled. Squee nodded, and watched as she wandered down the corridor.

Ah, worried you're losing your mind, 'ey?

Oh, Meat, go away, please!

Well, it's perfectly natural to be worried about it. Talking to voices, in and out of your head isn't a socially acceptable thing. But why do you think Squee would help?

Because Johnny isn't… Anyway, Todd's my friend. I can always try.

You spoke to Johnny about it, though. Maybe he's going to. Then again, he may be planning to kill you.

WHAT? Danielle stopped just before her classroom, face pale, mouth open. WHAT?!

Oh, shouldn't I have said that? Johnny's a wild man, he'll kill without a second thought. He may kill you.

But… he… he's been so nice to me…

Well, yes. But I only kid, he isn't planning to, or so I know. But I'd be on a look out.

Fists clenched, Danielle opened the class door, and stormed to her seat. Whatever. Now go away, I don't want to hear from you.

The phone on the other end of the line rang and rang before it was finally picked up.

'Hello?' Devi said when she picked up.

'Finally…' replied Johnny, placing a hand on his forehead- a habit he had picked up in the last few weeks. 'You said to ring, which I have, which thus leads me to the question of whether you have any plans to save Danielle's mind from insanity.'

A sigh was heard on the other end of the line as Johnny paced about on the hard wooden floor. A scream was heard from downstairs, which caused the man to lift his head to the basement door, which he was nearby.

'Look,' he heard Devi say, 'I can't make any promises. I mean, I haven't even met the girl yet. And along with that, I don't even have a degree in medicine, let alone psychology. Perhaps you should take her to a real psychologist or psychiatrist, or at least someone trained in the medical profession.'

'But with you,' Johnny replied coolly as he moved to sit down on a half-empty crate of nails, the lid balancing precariously upon it, 'well, I know you. And if you did a half-assed job, you know what the penalty would be.'

'Oh, and what would a half-assed job be?'

Johnny swung his legs back and forth, turning to peek through a gap in one of the boarded-up windows. 'Not caring about Danielle. Treating her like one of your clients, and not a real person.'

There was a strange sound from the other line, before the female replied. 'I don't have any other clients, Nny. I don't even have a job, really.'

The male paused, before replying. 'I'll bring Danielle around four o'clock. You can meet her then. Is that all right with you?'

'Sure… I guess so.'

Content with Devi's answer, he hung up the phone without a good-bye, and rested his elbows on his knees, slouching forward. An hour past with him sitting like that, when Danielle passed through the front door, and faced him.

'Johnny…?' she asked slowly, her small hand running up and down the length of her bag's strap. A moment paused, and Johnny snapped out of his trance.

'What? Oh, Danielle… What time is it?'

'I think about three twenty… Um, are you okay?'

Nodding, Johnny stood, and grabbed her by the hand. 'I want you to meet someone.' He smiled down at her, leading her to his car. 'A… friend of mine.'

'Friend?' Danielle repeated the word as she opened the car door and sat down in the seat. There was a slam as both doors were shut and she looked over at the man. 'I thought you didn't have any friends. You said so yourself.'

'Well, I want you to meet them all the same.'

Taking the answer, they drove in silence, the car bouncing unsteadily on the road. Leaning over, Danielle switched on the radio, surfing through the channels until she found one she liked. Various songs played, until there was a newsbreak.

'This is Kathleen Curtson with the three thirty news, thanks to half price washing machine deals at Washton Plus, all the best deals to pay for your meals. Mark Frietzen, convicted for assault and theft, was released from his twelve-year prison sentence early today due to good behaviour. Stan Sumick reports…'

Danielle grew rigid in her seat, eyes wide. Johnny slid his eyes over to her, brow raised.

'You okay?'

'Huh?' she glanced over, her eyes still wide. 'Um, yeah, I'm fine.'

Johnny just nodded, and pulled into a car park. 'Well, okay. We're here…'

Danielle opened the door, and slid out. 'How long will this take? I have some homework to do, and I wanna get it done.'

Locking the car doors, Johnny just motioned for Danielle to follow, which she did reluctantly. They walked up the stairs silently, and finally reached the appropriate door. Johnny knocked loudly, and, seconds later, was opened slowly.

'You're twenty minutes early.' Devi hissed, eyes narrowed.

'Which means I'm not twenty minutes late.' Johnny replied shortly, pushing the door open further. He turned to Danielle, who was slowly shutting the door behind them. 'Danielle, this is Devi. Devi, names reversed.'

Devi just gave a bitter smile, and turned to Danielle. 'Danielle, I'm Devi… Johnny has been worried about you, and your…'

'I don't like the fact you're hearing voices.' Johnny said frankly. 'And I think it'd do you good if you talked to someone…'

'Why can't I talk to you, then?' Danielle asked, looking over at Johnny.

'Because Devi is a good person.' He replied shortly through gritted teeth. 'And she's saner than me.'

'Fortunately.' Devi mumbled. 'Now, Johnny,' she began, louder, 'I think it's time you left us…'

Nodding, the man left, leaving the two females together.

'So… Danielle… take a seat.'

Danielle crossed to the sofa, sat down, and stared at the woman. They stared at each other in silence for several moments, before Danielle spoke up.

'How do you know Johnny? He's told me- several times- that he hates people. What makes you so special?'

'Well…' Devi began, crossing to sit next to the smaller girl. 'Johnny and I were friends for a while…'

'And then…?'

'Well, we had… a… misunderstanding.' Devi slowly replied, as she sat down next to Danielle.

'He tried to kill you, didn't he?' Danielle replied instantly.

'And more or less words, yes.'

'So why are you talking to him still?'

Devi sighed, and leant back in the seat. 'Danielle, it's complicated grown-up business. You'll understand when you're older. Anyway, we're supposed to be talking about you.'

The younger one groaned, and flopped back in the sofa. 'There's nothing to say. I don't want to talk about myself. I know I've got a few things floating about in my skull, and if anyone should be speaking to someone, it's Johnny. I'm fine, really.'

Devi placed a hand on her forehead, stuck as to what to do. 'I know this is hard for you to understand, but if you don't talk to someone you may end up like Johnny. And that may not seem like much, but if we don't get to the root of the problem, then turning out like him may seem oddly tempting. Now… before we go any further, why don't we get to know each other?'

Danielle stared blankly, hands folded in her lap. 'Mm…'

Devi pursed her lips, and stood up. 'Do you like to draw?'

'Yes…'

Sprinting off, the woman returned a few minutes later, some sheets of paper and a few pencils in her hands. She set them down on the coffee table, and nodded to Danielle. 'Here, why don't you draw?'

Danielle stared at the paper for a moment, before grabbing a pencil, and glanced up at Devi. 'Oh… kay.' She murmured, before beginning to draw a man. Devi sat down before the girl, and watched.

'Who's that?' she finally asked.

'Just a man.' Danielle replied quietly.

'Is it Johnny?'

'No.'

They sat in silence whilst Danielle finished her picture. When she sat down her pencil, she looked up at the woman, and shrugged.

'Now what?'

'Ah… when's your birthday?'

'June the sixth.'

'That's coming up soon. Three weeks.'

'Yup.'

'Does Johnny know?'

'No.'

'Do you plan on telling him?'

'Not really.'

'Why not?'

''Cause I just don't.'

'Oh.'

There was another silence, and Devi began to grow unsettled. Talking to Danielle was like talking to Johnny, and it was unnerving.

'Hey, Devi…' Danielle began, grabbing a pencil, and flicking it between her thumb and forefinger.

'Yes?'

'How do you know Johnny? And tell me the truth, I wanna know.'

'Well…' Devi sighed, and leaned back into the seat. 'We used to talk when I worked down at Dragon Books…'

'So how come he tried to kill you?

Devi paused, and grabbed a pencil. Taking a piece of paper, she began to sketch a picture, hand almost shaking at the mere memory. 'I don't know, Danielle. Now, can we get off the subject? I doubt Nny would like us talking about him.'

Danielle just nodded, and curled her legs under her, watching Devi sketch a picture of a cliff top at night.

A/N: Man, I hated writing this chappie. Plus, my vegemite sandwich made me stomach crook.

Just out of curiosity, what conversations do you like the best? The Nny/Danielle ones, the Nny/Devi ones, Nny/Meat, Danielle/Squee or Danielle/Meat? Just wondering.

Think I should sleep. Tired. Pfft, oh well.

I'm listening to Liza Minelli o-0