AN: Here's the next chapter and I made it longer as promised. I want to give credit to Hushabye for the idea of how The Joker got his scars. I made a few changes to it, but all in all the idea was Hushabye's, so thank you very very much!!! Enjoy the chapter! :)

He didn't tell me about his scars that night. He didn't tell me about them the next night either. Or the next. I wanted to know, truly I did, but I didn't want to ask again. I guess I just figured that he would remember that I wanted to know and tell me when he felt I was ready to hear it and he was ready to say it. Until then though, I would just have to wait.

We still hadn't attempted anything on Commissioner Gordon which I must say was a relief to me. I think it was more because he didn't think I was ready for something like that. I needed to prove that I wasn't going to freak out every time I killed somebody. So we spend the days making plans for nightfall and discussing our views of life and society. Honestly, it was very interesting conversation and we shared a lot of the same views. Of course, that made it all the more easier for me to fall in love with the psycho. But then again, maybe I was the psycho…at least that's what I was learning from The Joker.

We were fleeing from our latest scene of destruction. Somehow we had managed to escape Batman's clutches without much difficulty. As we ran from the scene, I could hear the explosion behind us and feel the heat coming from the burning building. I slowed my pace to catch my breath. The Joker slowed as I did. He skipped over to me, scooping me up into a tight hug as he twirled me around. "You were amazing back there, sweets!!! Bummer is that no one will know that it was really only you."

I beamed from ear to ear. Somehow he always made me feel so special, even if I should feel like crap for defacing public property and injuring innocent lives. "Someday they will learn," I said planting a kiss on his forehead.

He tilted his head up and shook his head, shaking his green hair from his face. He licked his lips as a smile spread across his face. He craned his neck to allow his lips to meet mine. As soon as our lips touched, I sighed happily, completely content to stay in that moment forever. Yes, I'll admit it, I had recently decided that I couldn't deny my love for The Joker anymore and I fell hard. It seemed he really had taken a liking to me as well because he couldn't seem to resist hugging and kissing me at times.

Slowly, he lowered me to the ground. As my feet felt solid ground below them again, it was my turn to crane my neck to keep our lips attached in the deep kiss. He began to pull away, so I stood on my tiptoes. Finally, he won as he pulled his lips free from mine. I groaned as we separated. He laughed at me as I made a pouty face. He took my hand in his, "Come on, let's get back to the hideout before Bats shows up again."

"Oh, alright," I grumbled as he took off running, dragging me along behind him. He threw a look over his shoulder at me and laughed again as we made our way into the darkness.

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When we returned to my hideout, I knew that it was time to tell her. I had been debating on when I could answer her question she posed to me four nights ago. I felt that as she sat on the couch watching me expectantly that I had her exactly where I wanted her. She wasn't going to betray me. She was actually beginning to accept and agree with my theories. I felt now was the time to tell her.

I cleared me throat nervously as I walked over to the couch. "Umm…I have something to tell you," I began.

She smiled the mischievous smile of hers that I had come to love so much as she lightly patted the seat next to her on the couch. I sat down, rubbing my hands together. I was nervous and I had never been nervous before…ok, well at least not since I truly became The Joker. She reached over and took one of my hands in hers. Gently she traced her fingers over my hand. Her touch had a calming effect on me. "What is it?" she asked looking at me curiously.

"Do you really want know how I got these scars?" I asked.

Her eyes widened in shock as she stopped moving her hand on mine. I didn't know how to interpret her reaction. I thought she wanted to know…she was the one who asked after all. I stared at her, unsure of what to say or do when she slowly began to nod her head.

I sighed with relief and nodded my head too. "Well, then tonight is the night you get to know," I said.

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I couldn't believe he was about to tell me. I wanted to know so bad, but suddenly when I was on the brink of knowing, I felt weird. Like I was intruding. I studied him and I could tell that he was nervous. He looked so fragile and scared…almost human. The Joker actually has a heart. He's actually as human as I am, I thought. Thinking of that made me want to cry. Instead, I simply squeeze his hand tight with mine to encourage him to tell me his story. I was ready…

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"Uhh, well I don't really know where to begin," I said.

She smiled, "How about at the beginning?"

I shrugged and began my tale. "When I was a child…well, I guess I was about fifteen or sixteen, I was a bit of an outcast. I always kept to myself and I didn't have friends. I really didn't have people skills, so I really couldn't make friends…"

"You didn't have any friends at all? Not even one?" Mel asked, surprised.

"Nope, not a one. I was the true definition of a loner," I laughed weakly. It really wasn't funny, but I just sort of wanted to lose some of the tension. Trying to laugh at my own misery though really wasn't comforting. Damn memory lane.

She rubbed her thumb over the top of my hand as encouragement for me to continue. So I took a deep breath and did, "Since I had no friends, at that age it really bothers you. So I was depressed…a lot. Well, that didn't sit too well with my father. He was a bit different if you will. Anyways, one evening while I was moping around the house, he calls me into his den. When I enter, I notice that he's playing with his pocket knife that my grandfather gave him." I paused at that moment for dramatic effect. It worked because Melanie gasped and squeezed my hand.

I continued, "As I walked in there, frowning, my father told me to come by him. I did as I was told. As I approached, he grabbed my arm and pulled me toward him. He stuck the blade of his knife in my mouth. I know I looked terrified. As he pressed the blade sharply to my mouth, he asked, 'Why so serious?' I could smell the whiskey on his breath. I whimpered as my eyes welled up with tears."

I paused to regain myself. To think about those events still hurt. I was stronger than that now though. I cleared my throat, "So then my father begins to cut my face into this smile. But he doesn't do it all at once. He tells me, 'You're gonna learn to smile boy, and when you don't, you will pay…I will make you wear a smile on that face of yours.' He makes a small cut and then lets me go, laughing as I fall to the floor with blood running down the side of my face."

"That's horrible! But when did he do the rest?"

"Oh, he kept his word is all. You would think that having your father do what he did and threaten you as he did, that you would find a reason to be happy. But I couldn't. As my injury healed and scarred, it was even harder to make friends at school. I became the butt of a lot of jokes. And every chance my father got to carve my face, he did. He swore he wouldn't stop until I had a smile on my face and he did just that."

"How long did that take?"

"A couple months."

"So how did you turn that into what you are now?"

"Simple. When kids would pick on me at school for how I looked, I found ways to get my revenge. Eventually, I realized that I could use my unique look to my advantage. I could use it to strike fear into the hearts of those who were afraid to understand, who are to uptight. I always had different views from everyone else, I just found a better way to get my words out there. Classmates would call me 'such a joker' when I'd play pranks on those who bullied me. I sort of liked the sound of that. So I dropped out of school and took on a new appearance. I then reemerged as the one and only Clown Prince of Crime after my father paid for what he did to me."

"You have his knife…" Melanie realized. I just laughed. I was glad she figured that out on her own. She was smarter than I gave her credit for sometimes. Before I knew it, she threw herself onto me, giving me a huge hug.

"What the…" I started to say, but she cut me off.

"I just want you to know that you're not alone anymore. I am here for you and I am so sorry for what happened to you. No one deserves something like that."

I hugged her back. "Err…thanks," I responded awkwardly. Clearly I had her exactly where I needed her to be. I had expected her to want to run from me, but instead she wanted to get closer to me. Perfect, I thought as we comforted each other with hugs.