One Year Ago…

An hour later… Two hours later… Now a few hours later.

She told her that she will be back with some food and new clothes for him and herself before they leave the city together.

But this was the longest he waited for her, beside the time that he was sent away to Arkham Asylum where he wasn't allowed to see her physically.

Jerome waited for Poppy's return because he knew that the next day would be her 16th birthday. He had the motel room decorated with construction paper that Poppy made him buy last week along with markers and glitter. It took him only a few days as he stayed up most of the night while drinking coffee and eating sour gummies to help him. Sitting down on the bed while looking back at the slowly melting strawberry ice cream that had three sticks of birthday candles, Jerome gently placed it back into the freezer, before hearing his phone ringing.

Without checking the caller ID, Jerome answered it.

"Poppy?" Jerome responded with wide eyes, knowing that he was almost worried about her.

"Not quite."

It wasn't Poppy's voice on the other line.

It was Theo Galavan's voice using Poppy's phone after when Jerome checked to see that he had her phone.

"You… What do you want?" Jerome growled as he was gripping his phone.

"Relax, Jerome. I only wanted to talk. Not since you and that harlot of yours decided to run away-" Galavan explained as Jerome heard a small chime before seeing a picture message from Poppy's number.

"Jerome, help me!" Poppy's voice was heard as Jerome saw the picture of the young teenager who looked unconscious and was tied to a chair with tape across her mouth.

*SMACK!*

"Hush, you!" Theo scowled after slapping her. "She's fine for now. Even though we had to slap her a few times after she tried to fight back. So how have you been, Jerome?" He asked, as Jerome can hear Poppy crying in the background.

"You listen to me, you better not do anything else to her you perverted son of a-" Jerome started to warn Galavan, but he was interrupted.

"Oh don't worry, Jerome. She will be okay… for now. But why do we settle this? If you don't, things will get worse for Poppy than what we have done to her. If you care about her that much, I'll give you the address." Theo explained, before Poppy's cries got loud as he moved closer to her while putting the phone to her left ear.

"Jerome… I don't wanna die… Please Jerome…" Poppy cried quietly as she started coughing.

"I'm comin' to get you, don't worry, doll." Jerome responded as he reassured the sobbing teenager, while he was getting his leather jacket that was laying down on the other bed. "Where are you?" He asked after the phone was back to Galavan's ear.

"Here's the address. Don't waste my time, Jerome."

The phone call ended after the address was sent to Jerome's burner phone as he started to leave to stop Theo Galavan and save Poppy.


Present Time…

With blackout all over Gotham due to Jerome who surprised everyone as he declared that he was back from the dead, but somehow Poppy's birthday party wasn't aware of this happening since they were outside and away from the main city to notice.

Like Whoa by Aly and AJ started playing as Poppy was given a spiked punch since Liv decided to pour Joel's Patron in the red kool aid.

Poppy was checking her teal blue flip phone for anything new.

But to her surprise, there was no signal as she was receiving a few messages but due to the blackout, she wasn't able to get them.

Looking at the background of her screen saver, Poppy remembers when Jerome took this picture back at Galavan's mansion when she was still asleep. She was resting her head on Jerome's bare chest, as he was awake with one arm around her back and his signature smile staring at the camera, knowing that he had found the right person in his life.

Gently crying to herself, Poppy wipe away her tears before seeing Ruby walking to her while putting away her phone.

"Isn't this party you ever wanted?" Ruby asked as Poppy started drinking her red cup.

"Yep. This is what I want. My friends, my amigos, some other people from our class, no adults telling us right from wrong. This is life." Poppy explained over the loud music, before Liv walked towards her with a birthday gift in one hand and her red cup in the other.

"Should we worry about that horrible cult? I mean, we're probably gonna get notice by them." Liv asked.

"I'm sure we're not. They're on the other side of the city. Their little hideout is like… at the pier, I think. Remember that closed down carnival where it got dangerous when we were kids? That's where." Poppy explained, before Liv lifted up the gift bag which made the birthday girl's eyes lit up. "From Livvie, XXX… Aww, that's babe." She readed the gift tag before hugging Liv.

Poppy removed the pink tissue paper, before taking out a heart printed thong.

"Oooo, Liv, no you didn't." Ruby teased with a smirk.

"I always wanted one." Poppy responded with a smile as she held it with both hands to look at the design.

"Now, your future boyfriend will be thanking me for later." Liv replied with a smile, before Ruby noticed a few classmates who were helping out as they decided to bring out Poppy's birthday cake.

"Megaphone me…" Ruby started to say before Poppy gave the megaphone to her, as she turned it on to get everyone's attention while the music turned off. "Okay, everyone. It's time for the main event. This one is for my best friend, Poppy Canellei! She's now 17 years old and single, if anyone wants to date this sexy girl, she's all yours by one yes away." She explained as she and Liv lead Poppy towards the back of someone's pickup truck which they drove in the backyard while opening the tailgate for the 17 year old to sit down on it.

"On the count of three! One, two three!" Liv yelled, as she started to get the fireworks ready to shoot out of a few empty beer bottles.

As everyone sang happy birthday, the cake was being delivered in front of Poppy as all 17 candles were lit up. When the chocolate cake which was decorated with red, white and black was in front of her, Poppy noticed that there was something strange about the cake.

Instead of saying 'Happy 17'th Birthday, Poppy!', it had 'Happy Death Day!' in red and black but with a messy icing writing like someone had used their finger to fix it.

Her blue eyes widened as she finally realized what was going to happen.

Quickly blowing out her candles midway though the song…

*BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!*

The repeating loud shots of an assault rifle was heard as everyone was screaming in fear when they saw multiple members of Jerome's cult running towards the party goers. As everyone started getting down on their knees or covering their heads from any stray or flying bullets, the cult members were around them armed with guns and a few were holding red emergency flares sticks.

With her friends hugging the birthday girl close to her, Poppy was looking at the cult lunatics before one of them who had a red mohawk was staring down at her with his menacing brown eyes.

"Hey, no!" Poppy screamed, as she was ripped away from Ruby and Liv's grasp before being pushed onto the grass away from the huge group.

Sitting back up on her knees while the cult member aimed his rifle at her, Poppy started to hear another voice… but this one was very familiar to the 17 year old teenager as everyone was confused.

"Happy Birthday… To You. Happy Birthday, Poppy Canellei. Happy Birthday to you…"

Poppy believed that she saw a ghost.

But this was all too real to her.

She saw Jerome Valaska walking towards her after he sang that eerie and haunting version of happy birthday.

Her eyes widened in shock as her blue eyes could see that Jerome's face was stretched and stapled just like a crazed killer while he wore a white straight jacket, matching white pants and shoes.

Her wish came true.

He was really alive.

"My, my… look how beautiful you've gotten." Jerome responded after bending down to get a better look at Poppy's face.

The fire has returned back to the tiki torches after when the party goers knocked it down accidentally. Poppy, her friends and their classmates were staying down in fear, but a few were looking at the 17 year old teenager, thinking that she knew the undead mommy killer.

"You okay?" Poppy whispered as Jerome and a few of his cult lunatics were opening Poppy's presents and even starting to eat parts of the birthday cake.

"We shoulda stayed with the sleepover instead." Liv whispered back after nodding.

"Nice place you have. You rent this for the party? And no one hasn't even invited me to this wonderful shindig. That was very rude." Jerome asked as Liv hugged Ruby close to her.

"We all thought you were dead." Liv responded as she remembered Jerome from the bus incident.

"Everyone thought so. But you know, coming back and all. I've decided to visit a few friends and new enemies of mine. This place was a good start for me. Since… I can hear loud music from the city." Jerome explained as he started making a plate for himself after he grabbed a handful of cake. "Mmm… chocolate. My favorite. Or was it…" He responded as he started licking the icing off his fingers while looking at the red punch, potatoes chips, mini pretzels, pizza boxes and cold soda cans.

"Red velvet." Poppy whispered, remembering Jerome's favorite, before noticing a cult member who was holding a picture in his hand… which she turned her attention towards instead of Jerome.

Jerome noticed her wandering eyes, before turning his attention to the member.

"You… Give me." He commanded, before the cult member handed him the picture.

He started laughing hysterically as he examined the picture which happens to be him wearing clown makeup and Poppy wearing rabbit makeup at Haly's Circus on their first date.

"I have to tell you this, Poppy. This happens to be the best photoshop picture I ever saw." Jerome stated as he kept his smile on his face.

"It's not. I've keep that by my bedside, because I have such good fun memories of that night." Poppy explained quietly while she stayed calm.

"Memories, huh? What you called memories, is what I called a bad nightmare waiting to happen." Jerome scowled, before tossing it into a fire pit that one of the cult members created.

As the picture frame was up in flames, Poppy started to scream knowing that the picture of her and Jerome ment so much to her.

"What do you want, Jerome?!" Poppy asked as she stood up.

"Oh sorry… the ol' noodle is still at post thawing. The reason why I am here is because I'm here to kill you." Jerome answered after he tossed his plate at a nearby student's face while walking towards her.

"Why?" Poppy asked as she felt more hurt.

"Why? Well, it's been nagging at me ever since I woke up." Jerome explained as he pulled out a switchblade knife and aimed at Poppy. "Of all the people who betrayed me in my old life. You… as a nagging friend. Or whatever you were is a good reason to get rid of you. Imagining me slitting that pretty pink throat or maybe stabbing you to death to hear those beautiful screams will return the rush I had… Since you're the one who killed Galavan." He stated as Poppy kept her eyes on Jerome's switchblade, before looking back at him.

Small murmurs were heard from behind Poppy as they were confused. But Poppy knew it was the truth as she claimed it was self defense, while the police believed Jerome did everything to her and killed Galavan at the end.

In the end of it all, Poppy knew she had to make Jerome remember, even if it means losing her reputation and friends.

But now wasn't the time for it.

"No, you're wrong. I was more than something to you, Valeska. You have to think back. Here I believe that you were truly gone out of my life." Poppy responded as she stood up slowly, trying to avoid falling in her new shoes. "And you're here with some grand entrance. Scaring my friends and my classmates. Have your crazy goons trash my party… And I'm the birthday girl, and you've ruined it."

"Well, what can I say?" Jerome responded with a smirk, before grabbing Poppy by her neck. "I love ruining the fun, birthday doll." He whispered as Poppy could feel his warm breath, before raising the knife up, hoping to see Poppy's frightening face… but she kept a blank face.

She was clearly not phased by it knowing Jerome would never do that to her. But on the inside, she was hiding her fear.

"If you think that will scare me, it wouldn't. And beside… I never got my birthday wish." Poppy responded, as she was trying to stall for time by having her finger on her chin while looking up at the dark sky. "I want to lose my sanity." She stated as he looked back at Jerome.

"Your what?" Jerome asked while lowering the blade.

"Poppy, what are you-" Ruby started to ask as she tried to stand up, but a cult member stopped her.

"My sanity. You think I haven't noticed? Yes, I admit that you've turned off the power of all of Gotham somehow. You showed up here to kill me. My sanity and my death should mean something to you, Jerome Valaska. You should go out with a bang!" Poppy explained.

As Jerome held Poppy close to him by her neck, the tip of the blade touched Poppy's nose while her blue eyes were staring deep into his green ones.

When Jerome saw her eyes, he could tell that they were soft. But why were they? They should be scared or teary eyed like most frightened victims, just like his mother's.

"Oh, hi Jerome…"

He heard someone's voice in his mind as he saw a flash of someone's smile in front of him, causing him to blink and turned his head, knowing that his brain was still thawing.

"Jerome, are you-" Poppy started to say as she tried to touch his stretched out cheek, while Jerome's switchblade was slowly lowering down to his side and letting go of her neck, thinking he was in deep thought.

Suddenly, Jerome immediately grabbed her wrist as he kept his grip onto his blade while narrowing his green eyes at him.

"You know what? You are giving me such a good idea… So let me get this straight, dollface." Jerome responded before he decided to circle around her like a deranged animal hunting his prey. "If I make you... a weak and simple-minded girl like you lose your sanity, you want me to spare you? Nice try. But I have a better idea… I like you somehow. And I want to do something even more with you. You will come with me, if you want your friends to stay alive and well..." He explained, as Poppy knew that he saw through her trick.

"...What's the deal?" Poppy asked quietly before Jerome aimed the blade right at her nose.

"Become my queen."


A/N: Jerome looked so good in that white straight jacket! I wanted a piece of that!