Okay sorry it took so long to update. Too caught up in my other story as usual. But I'll try to update this one more. thank you for the reviews, and please R&R and let me know if this idea is lame or not. reviews always encourage me to right now. I'm having fun writing this one too so enjoy! (the characters will be developed more soon too)

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Shirley's eyes anxiously scanned the room. Eventually she caught sight of a tall shadowy figure lingering in the corner, and she felt her blood run cold. It was about this time that her fears were confirmed. There was something else in that apartment with her and it clearly wasn't human. At least, it wasn't human in the physical sense. She jolted backwards and felt her bottom slam against her mirror desk when the figure began to move forward.

It moved about a foot and then stopped. Then it moved another foot and then stopped, as if it were toying with her. Each time it maneuvered it did so with lightening speed. Shirley anxiously reached behind herself and fumbled all around her desk, searching for some type of weapon. A normal weapon would be useless against an entity like this, so she went with her instincts and felt around for her cross necklace. She hastily grabbed it and shakily held it up in front of her, silently warning this being to keep away from her.

She only got mock laughter in response. The dark shadowy figure was apparently quite amused by this. His laughter was low and unnerving, and he was secretly quite enjoying the look of fear on this pretty young girl's face. "K-keep away! Go back to where you came from! Shoo!" Shirley stuttered nervously.

The figure was moving closer and closer, and each time it moved it changed. It was slowly morphing into the form of a man, and its facial features were coming into view. "Oh I really wish I could darling girl, but uh, for some reason I can't. And it appears to be your fault," the spirit spoke in his low eerie voice. But as he took another step forward, his full body materialized and Shirley now saw the handsome young man who she had caught a glimpse of in the mirror.

His appearance didn't match his demonic voice. His appearance, in fact, looked angelic. He was almost breathtaking. A sparkling white robe was adorned about his gangly yet well toned body, and a mop of dark blond glittering hair was hanging over his face. His face was youthful yet manly, and his chocolate eyes, though dark, still managed to sparkle brilliantly along with the rest of his overwhelming exterior.

"So tell me," he said calmly, and his entity was now lingering inches away from Shirley's face. "Why am I here? Huh?!" he suddenly roared, and Shirley felt a cold chill blowing against her face.

She instinctively gripped her cross even harder, and she flinched at the sound of his low demonic voice. "I-I don't know!" Shirley squeaked. "I should ask you what you're doing here! I haven't seen ghosts since I was a little girl! I thought I was at peace! I thought I wasn't psycho anymore! Maybe you're not even real. You can't be real. Ghosts aren't real are they?" Shirley laughed to herself nervously. "Maybe if I keep telling myself you're not real you'll go away. Yes that's right. You're just a figment of my imagination. I must be half asleep. Now I'm just gonna close my eyes and when I open them you'll be gone."

"Oh I am indeed real little girl," The abnormally handsome Joker hissed.

Shirley shut her eyes tight. "No you're not," she countered. "You're not real, you're not real," she began to chant this phrase over and over again as she kept her eyes tightly shut.

"Hey," said the Joker, but Shirley ignored him and continued to chant that he wasn't real. "Hey!" the Joker said again, more irritably. "Look at me," he hissed. She still ignored him. He growled. "LOOK AT ME!" he roared and Shirley nearly leapt five feet off of the floor. Her eyes fluttered open again and she felt another cold chill blowing against her sensitive skin. She shivered in his presence, still clutching the cross against her chest.

"Aw you look nervous," the Joker mocked mirthlessly. "What's the matter little bunny? Is it the scars?"

"What scars?"

The Joker blinked and habitually licked his celestial lips. Then his beautiful face contorted into anger and Shirley yelped as his form advanced on her. She shivered as he brushed his ghostly hand across her cheek and he watched irritably as it passed right through her face, merely leaving goose bumps on her skin. He tried grabbing her arms but of course his fingers passed right through them. He could not grab onto anything physical.

He abruptly pushed himself away from Shirley and his spirit banged about the room, causing no damage. He was furious. His beautiful scars were gone, and he was completely powerless. He let out a horrifying blood-curdling yell, and right on time with his yelling, Shirley's alarm clock went off on her clock radio and it began playing Frank Sinatra's 'I Did It My Way.'

The Joker's spirit snapped his attention over to the clock radio and glared at it disdainfully. It was now blinking and it read 12:00 am as if it had been unplugged. Instead of assuming that he had caused the alarm to go off, he was only focused on the annoying music blaring out of the radio. "Turn that off! Turn that off now! I hate Frank Sinatra!" He bellowed. His sparkling celestial form turned back to the still shivering Shirley. "I said turn it off!"

Shirley jumped. "Okay…okay," she said trying to calm him down and trotted over to the clock radio where she proceeded to turn it off. When she passed by his form, she felt that familiar cold chill again. "There, okay? See? Happy?" She turned back to the irritated spirit.

"No," the Joker said coldly, glaring at her maliciously.

"Look, what do you want from me? Are you a lost spirit looking for the light?" Shirley pointed to the ceiling. "Well it can't be hard to find. Isn't that where you're supposed to be right now? Look if you're really some kind of confused ghost..."

"I am not a ghost!" The Joker yelled, nearly making Shirley keel over again. His spirit advanced on her once more with lightening speed. Shirley had to remind herself that this entity apparently couldn't physically harm her. She found herself backing up and sitting on her bed as the spirit hovered over her. "Not yet anyway," Said the Joker. "My body is still alive. And I want it back. But instead I'm stuck here with you. And I can't seem to pull myself away. Why is that hmm? You said you've seen uh…ghosts before? What are you some kind of little witch? Huh?!"

"What? No!" Shirley snapped. "That's ridiculous. There's no such...wait. What do you mean your body's still alive? Who the heck are you anyway?"

The Joker glared at her in bewilderment. She really didn't know who he was. Well as soon as he told her his story, he could only assume that she'd be even more frightened.

**

After the Joker had told Shirley his story, how he was the infamous Joker and the like, Shirley could almost faint. Of course she knew who he was. He was the most feared man in Gotham, and the most famous other than the masked vigilante known as Batman. And this morning, as Shirley turned on her small dumpy television, it was soon evident that the Joker was the main topic of the Good Morning Gotham news hour.

"Hello, I'm Bill Butler with good morning Gotham," the bald man with glasses spoke on T.V. Shirley watched with fixated interest as the Joker's disgruntled spirit hovered over her shoulder, squinting at the small television set.

"Christ doll. Living in a flat the size of a closet? Okay I can handle that. But couldn't you have gotten a better T.V? This things probably older than you are and the picture is even blurry to me and I don't even have physical eyes anymore!" The Joker spat.

Shirley turned to him and glared at him touchily. "Well sorry, but this is all I could afford."

The Joker chuckled at that. "Afford? You know you don't really need money to…"

"Shh," Shirley quieted him as she watched the news.

"We now take you live to the recently rebuilt Gotham general where the Joker's body is apparently in a coma. Picketers have been gathered around outside of the hospital all morning, apparently furious that the doctors refuse to unplug his feeding tube."

The screen flashed to a reporter who was at the scene live, interviewing picketers in the street outside of Gotham General. They were all holding signs that said things such as 'Murderers Must Be Murdered!' and 'No Mercy Shown for the Wicked!' and 'Let The Clown Meet His Maker!'

"He's a terrorist is what he is," a male picketer spoke to the interviewer on the street.

"I say let the Batman unplug him himself. He has our permission!" Another guy yelled.

"I think those pussy liberals have gone too far," another man grunted. "Why waste tax payers money to keep a mass murderer alive?"

"Think of the children!" A woman wailed.

Shirley could feel the Joker's anger. She felt an uncanny feeling swirling in the pit of her stomach. He lingered behind her, scowling at the people on T.V with all the malice that any mortal could possess.

On the other side of the pro death picketers another group had formed. "I say if we let him die we're no better than he is," a rather fruity looking man told the reporter.

"Don't kill for me!" A hippy woman spoke to the interviewer. The peace protest group all carried signs that read 'We Can't Play God,' and 'Killing A Criminal Is Still Murder.'

"Gotta love liberals," the Joker chuckled evilly.

The television showed a mug shot of the Joker, all decked out in his makeup, gruesome scars and all, and flashing a toothy grin.

"My god," Shirley breathed. "If you didn't tell me who you were, I'd have never guessed in a million years," she could almost shiver at the looks of his mug shot alone.

"Dammit," the Joker grumbled when he saw his wonderfully gorgeous (if he did say so himself) painted mug on screen. "I need my body back. I need it back now," he growled. He ran his fingers through his perfectly soft hair. "Hey…hey kid," Shirley turned and looked up at the sparkling eyed Joker who looked nothing like his fearsome mug shot. "What do I look like anyway? I can't goddamn see myself in a mirror. Am I at least…somewhat intimidating?"

"Well your voice definitely is," said Shirley. "But if you want my complete blunt answer…and I'm probably going to kick myself for saying this but…you're really actually quite um…handsome," the Joker glared down at her, and licked his perfect lips. "Um, gorgeous actually. Like…overwhelmingly man pretty. I mean I can't believe you're the same person as…"

"Man pretty?" The Joker scoffed. "I've turned into a goddamn pixie!"

"Hey I'm just being honest," said Shirley. "If it's any consolation, your personality kind of lowers your looks a little bit."

The Joker raised an eyebrow. "Quite a feisty comment. Wouldn't have expected that out of some little girl who seems so weak and fragile. If I was in my physical body, I could probably snap you with one arm. Like glass," he hissed.

"And one thing's for sure," Bill Butler spoke on T.V. "We can all sleep a little more soundly knowing that this madman is off the streets. Back to you Lola."

After that, the old television set started getting fuzzy. Shirley growled and slapped the top of it then messed with its antenna. "Fricken shitty ass television set!"

The Joker gasped mockingly. "Wouldn't have pegged you for someone that cursed either," he teased.

"Yeah well. This damn thing is..." The picture came back into view, and the news showed the time on the screen. It was now 7:35 am. "Crap! I gotta get ready for work!" She quickly turned off the television and trotted towards her closet. She was so wrapped up by the thought of having the Joker's ghost in her apartment, that she had completely lost track of time. She didn't know how, but somehow an hour had already flown by.

The Joker watched her as she fumbled through her closet looking for an outfit she was going to wear that day. "Wait a minute," the Joker growled. "What about me? Why in the hell am I here? Tell me!" he yelled.

"How in the hell am I supposed to know?" Shirley snapped back, now more concerned with catching her bus rather than worrying about this lost soul. "Do I look like God to you?" She turned back to her closet and pulled out a black shirt, then threw open her drawer and pulled out a pair of blue jeans.

"Well you must know something," the Joker growled. "You are psychic or something aren't you?" He was now floating on the other side of the room and he could feel her magnetic pull getting stronger the farther he pulled away from her.

"I'd rather not be," said Shirley, as she frantically pulled out some socks. She hesitated for a moment before she pulled out a pair of white cotton panties, and quickly gathered them up with the rest of her selected clothing.

The Joker's sharp celestial orbs noticed her cotton panties. "White and cotton?" He chuckled. "How cute. You're a little virgin aintchya?"

Shirley gasped at the incredibly rude ghost and huffed. "That's none of your business!" she snapped. She gathered up her clothes in her arms and headed for the bathroom, and then halted. She turned back to the spirit. "Look, I don't know why you're hear. But as you have said, your body is clearly alive…somehow. Maybe this is just an out of body experience. But I don't know how to help you. All I know is your spirit is obviously in limbo and you're either going to have to go into the light, or go back to your body."

"Well, well, well," said the Joker. "Thank you little Miss obvious. Ya think of that all by yourself didya?" he glared at her with a sarcastic scowl on his face. "I've tried to go back to my body. Believe me I've tried. And I've failed. And now I'm stuck here with you. Because every time I try to leave, some invisible force keeps yanking me right back. So what do you suggest we do here hmm?"

"Well," said Shirley. She eyed the cross necklace on her mirror desk and an idea entered her head. The Joker noticed that her blue eyes were fixated on that cross. "We could try to summons the light here and.."

"No!" The Joker said dangerously. "No, no, no, no. You try to do that little one and I'll make sure you summons an army of demons instead of you know who. Not that I think it'll work anyway, but I'd be rather upset. Him and I aren't on the best of terms, and I go where I please. I am my own God ya see," The Joker hissed.

"Okay, okay," said Shirley. "Why don't you try leaving this place again then? Maybe if you concentrate hard enough you can. That's our only other option. Other than that I'm clueless."

The Joker glared at her for a moment, his handsome face still set in a bitter grimace. Skeptically, he decided to try and pull further away from her again. He backed away, further and further. Shirley watched his brilliant form with interest as he completely slipped through her wall.

He passed in between the walls of the apartments and found himself in Shirley's neighbor's home. He floated through the kitchen and passed right through an elderly woman who was happily humming a tune and cooking on the stove. Her husband was sitting on their couch in the living room, watching the morning news on T.V. The Joker watched them, and it was obvious they couldn't see him.

The woman laid food out on the table. "George come and eat breakfast," she called to her husband. He didn't hear her. "George come and eat breakfast!" She yelled again. Even though the Joker was a spirit, he could have sworn his ears were ringing at the woman's loud voice.

"I'm comin' I'm comin'!" The old man grunted back and had a hard time getting out of his couch. He scuttled over towards the table and passed right through the Joker's entity. He stopped for a moment, and felt a chill run up his spine. "Ethel, is it nippy in here to you?" He asked his wife whilst rubbing his arms.

"No," said the woman. "You're just getting old. Now come and eat," she motioned for him to sit at the table with her.

The Joker rolled his spiritual eyes and tried traveling farther. It was only when he reached the end of the old couple's apartment that he could go no further. He felt that magnetic force suddenly take hold again and he was yanked back through the apartment, and through the conjoined walls. He could hear a whooshing sound as he was being pulled and the force didn't stop pulling him until he was right back in Shirley's apartment, inches away from her form. It felt like he was connected to a rubber band, and the more he tried to stretch it, the harder it pulled him back.

The Joker just casually glared down at Shirley with an 'I told you so' expression on his face. He crossed his arms irritably.

"Didn't work huh?" Asked Shirley who merely stood there holding her bunched up clothing.

"Of course not," said the Joker nonchalantly. "God damn it," he huffed.

"Alright, I wish I knew what else to do but um…I really have to take a shower now and get ready for work. So uh, I trust you'll stay out here? Please?" Shirley begged with her eyes.

The Joker's glistening lips curled into a mischievous smirk. "Oh sure, sure."

"I mean it," said Shirley. "I don't need some perverted…ghost, spirit, whatever you are, watching me while I shower. So please, let me have some privacy?"

"And uh…what are you gonna do if I don't give it to ya?" asked the Joker.

"If you start to spy on me with everything I do such as…taking a shower, going to the bathroom or any other personal moments, I'll march down to that hospital and unplug you myself!" Shirley growled.

The Joker chuckled. "How cute. Sure doll face, you just try it," he spoke to her as if she were a child. "And even if you could get passed the entrance, I doubt I'd be going anywhere anyway. Then you'd be sure that I'd be stuck here with you forever because I'd then have no body to go back to. Boy kiddo. I didn't know you liked me that much," he snickered.

"Uhg," Shirley grumbled. "Alright look," she put her hand on her forehead. "If you promise to give me some privacy then…well…I promise that as soon as I get out of work today, I'll try to figure out how to help you okay?"

The Joker hovered thoughtfully for a moment, smiling impishly at her. "Hmmm," He mused. "Alright. I suppose," he chuckled.

Shirley looked at him for a moment, not fully trusting him. "Okay then," With one final suspicious glance at the Joker, she walked into her bathroom and shut the door behind her, locking it on the other side. The Joker chuckled at the sound of her locking the door, knowing full well it was useless.

In her tiny little bathroom, Shirley put her clothes on her towel rack, and then hastily took off her nightgown. She was now standing there topless with only her panties on. It wasn't long before she felt a familiar foreboding presence pass through her door. She now felt goose bumps forming on her skin. The Joker laughed uncannily and ran a finger up her exposed back. Being already more sensitive than the average human, Shirley suddenly felt like an ice cube was being scraped up her spine.

She gasped and quickly twirled around, covering her breasts with her nightgown. "Joker!" she roared. "Please! I'm begging you! I have to get ready for work!"

The Joker chuckled, his deep voice echoing in Shirley's ears and his unnaturally handsome features stretching into a long hearty grin. "Awww, is the widdle bunny shy?" he snickered. "Sorry doll. I'm already bored enough as it is and this seems to be the only thing that I can amuse myself with right now."

Shirley huffed and growled. "Alright, alright look," she sighed heavily, still clutching her nightgown over her chest. "What if I found someone that could help you? A spiritual advisor of sorts. Someone who knows all about this…afterlife stuff. Maybe better than I do. Then will you please let me have my privacy?"

The Joker pondered for a moment. "It isn't the psychic friend's network is it?"

"No," Shirley laughed nervously. "Please. In case you can't tell I'm more um, psychic than they are apparently."

"Alright then, who?" The Joker growled.

"I'll tell you after you let me take my shower," said Shirley, begging him with her eyes again.

"Hmmm," the Joker tabbed his ghostly chiseled chin. "Alright. But you better not be bull shitting meee," he spoke in a sing-song voice.

Shirley frantically shook her head. "Alright. Take a shower then. Better hurry or you'll be late for work," the Joker sniggered.

Shirley grumbled under her breath and hopped into her small shower than yanked the curtain closed. She tossed her nightgown over the curtain along with her panties, and hurriedly turned the water on, just wanting to get in and out, knowing full well a creepy and perverted man spirit was just on the other side of her drape.

The Joker habitually licked his lips once more, eying the shadow of her figure through the thin curtain. All he'd have to do was float forward a few inches and he'd be right next to a naked little vixen. Perhaps he could find things to amuse himself with while he was stuck in this pre-dic-a-ment.

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I'm such a dork lol. Anyway R&R :)