Even though I was nervous, I went with the Joker, climbing in next to him in my Toyota. He still had the keys from yesterday so I let him drive, watching him cautiously in my peripheral vision. His easy-mannered mood could change at any moment, and I had my hand resting close to the door handle, in case I needed to make a quick escape.

After a few minutes, the Joker chuckled. "No need to be so up-tight, Shadow," he said, casually. "It's not like I'm gonna bite your head off."

"Right, and instead you'll rip my head off."

The Joker burst with laughter, clearly amused by my caution. He reached over and took my hand, gripping it tightly before I could pull it away. "I won't hurt you unless you give me reason to, I promise." He turned his head, grinning at me, but I simply stared back.

His attention returned to the road, and he took a smooth turn, taking his time. The pavement disappeared, and the car vibrated. I looked out the window, realizing that we were driving on a wooden pier.

We neared the end, and the car slowed to a stop smoothly. The Joker killed the engine and settled back into his seat, turning his head to watch me.

I narrowed my eyes. "What?" I demanded.

"Who's temper is worse?" the Joker asked in reply, smirking as he opened his door. He stepped out and inhaled deeply before bending over, looking in at me. "Come out when you want," he said, "No need to hurry." He giggled and slammed the door shut.

I watched him out the window as he bounded around to the front of the car. The Joker smirked at me through the window – like he knew something I didn't – before bouncing onto the hood. I jerked forward, worried he had hurt my car, but he turned around and sat down, lying back against the glass.

I only managed three minutes before boredom drove me out of the car. As I slammed shut the door, the Clown Prince of Crime remarked, "You lasted longer than I thought you would."

I came around and noticed he had his waistcoat watch out. I crossed my arms and asked, "How long?"

"Two and a half minutes. You lasted forty seconds longer." He smirked at me, despite my deep frown, and patted the space beside him. I climbed up and settled back, placing my hands on my lap.

After a few moments of staring as the sky, I turned my head to see the Joker watching me. Even though I didn't like his stare, I kept my expression the same as I asked, "You do this often?'

"No," he replied, looking away reluctantly. "Just thought it was a good idea…" I watched him as his eyes darted about while he played with his mouth. He couldn't stop moving. He shifted his position the slightest bit every few seconds. He placed one hand behind his head, then the other. His tongue flickered over his scarred lips. His foot twitched now and then. He knew I was watching him so he avoiding meeting my gaze.

"What's bothering you?" I asked.

The Joker turned his head away from me. "Nothing's bothering me."

I smiled as I sat up, propping myself on my hands. "Liar," I said, "Like you, I know how to detect lies, and until now, you were hard to read."

"Because I never lied to you." My eyes widened. "Until now…" He slid forward until he sat on the edge of the hood, his back to me. "I'm capable of lying, but honestly, I don't do it often."

I sighed quietly as I pushed myself forward to sit beside him. "So what's on your mind?"

"Nothing," he replied, turning away.

Before I thought of what I was doing, I wrapped my arms around his neck from behind. I buried my face in his shoulder, inhaling his scent. He reached a hand back over his shoulder, stroking my hair awkwardly.

"If you never lied until now…" I murmured into his shoulder.

"Can't understand you," he told me.

I lifted my head. "Are your scar stories true?"

"You've seen the second one!"

"But not the first, and I…am reluctant to believe it's true…maybe some of it, but not all."

"You wanna see it?" he demanded, turning so violently that I had to let go and back away. His brown eyes flashed with anger, but for once, I didn't breakdown to my fear.

The Joker watched me with a look of surprise as I slid back over to him, wrapping my arms around him. As I positioned myself behind him, he sighed and said, "I really don't-ah scare you, do I?"

"No, you do," I said, leaning into his back. "I believe that to fight your fears, you have to embrace them."

"Literally?" There was amusement in his voice, and I could sense a smile on his face.

"Well, maybe literally for those I can embrace."

The Joker laughed as he grabbed my hands, tearing my hold off him and turning over to push me down on the car hood, straddling me.

"That's ah-nother thing I like about you, Shadow," the Joker said, his tongue sliding over his lower lip as he giggled.

"What?" I asked, hesitantly. The Joker was so close to me, his upper body supported by his muscle-bound forearms, his legs trapping mine, his face looming into mine.

"You're…unpredictable and…" He licked his lips again, eyes darting about like he was searching for the word. "Distracting?" He said it like a question, and I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. "I don't know…" he whispered in answer to my expression.

He brought his face closer to mine, our breath mingling as it accelerated, at least for me. My heart banged inside my chest as his hand snaked behind my neck. Our noses almost touched, we were so close. Our eyes met, brown on blue, and we came closed, our lips almost touching.

But he moved away.

The Joker drew away from me, slowly returning to his position on the edge of the hood, sliding over to be the farthest away from me. He inhaled deeply as I shifted back, leaning against the windshield with my hands clasped behind my head. I focused on returning my breathing to normal, and after a few moments, I heard the sound of cards being shuffled – one of many sounds that I liked.

"Maybe I stretched the truth," the Joker admitted, tilting his head back to look at the sky. "I don't really remember what I told you-."

"Your father was a gambler and a drinker," I supplied.

"He was!" he insisted, his tone on the edge of anger.

"I'm not doubting; I just want the truth, particularly when I've been honest with you." I wasn't looking at him, but I heard him shift as he half-turned towards me. "Your father used his money on cards and blamed you for not getting a job. He killed your mother, or at least I had that impression."

"No, I've bent the truth when I told you. I couldn't help myself." The Joker sighed, and I lowered my gaze from the sky to watch him. He looked exhausted, slumped over the way he was.

I propped myself on my elbows. "If it's too painful, you don't have to tell me," I said, softly. His hand raised to touch his left scar when I said painful. Then, he pulled off his leather glove, reaching back toward me.

Curiosity nagged at me until I reached forward and took his hand. The Joker flinched when our hands touched, and he remained stiff, as if expecting something to happen. Nothing did, and I knew why.

"You have to look at me," I coaxed gently.

The Joker tensed. "Have to?" he asked, in a painful whisper.

"Afraid so."

"Then never mind," he said, taking his hand back.

I couldn't help feeling disappointed at his lack of courage. He must have bent the truth so much that he didn't want to face me.

"I came home late, from studying," the Joker said, quietly. "Both parents were drunk and angry. My mother favored the belt when it was necessary for my punishment. She didn't like staying up waiting for me. She beat me for my lateness while my father watched, laughing at my pain." The Joker shifted uneasily, setting aside the deck of cards he was holding.

"Reason isn't something my mother understood, or my step-mother, for that matter. My real mother couldn't stand my father, and tried to gain legal custody of me. She lost and simply vanished. So my dad remained, giving me the woman who drank with him and beat his son for his own amusement," he growled angrily. Then, the Joker looked at me, and he spoke in a soft tone, his expression changing, "At least your father kept you safe from his men, even if he did the beating.

"Every time I got out of line…or somtimes I was just sitting there doing nothing. If she was in a bad mood, she'd come after me and let him watch."

The Joker leaned back, propping himself on his hands. "There's a limit to how long I could take it. She hit me one too many times. I snapped." He flinched, like he was snapping again with the memory. Scared, I reached out, both physically and with my shadow, and touched his hand. His wild emotions hit me hard, anger being the stronger.

He didn't seem to notice the contact. "I hit her once with everything I had. Before she even hit the floor, my father had me by the throat, knocking me down and slamming my head against the floor." He closed his eyes tightly against the memory, and I felt his reluctance to finish.

"He still have you the scar," I said quietly.

"With a dull kitchen knife," he whispered. I grimaced greatly, remembering how much pain it was for his second scar with a sharp razor. With a dull blade, the agony could only be greater and longer lastly.

Feeling a mere echo of his past pain, I clenched his hand tightly. The Joker jumped, jerking his head around, finally noticing that we were holding hands. He stared wide-eyed for a moment before looking up at me. Through our physical contact, I felt a rush of fresh anger that I could also see in his brown eyes.

I took my hand out of his, and in a flash, he moved, pushing me down on the hood, hovering over me. "Why did it take you so long?" he demanded, his eyes burning. "What brought my past to your attention?"

"You've told different stories to your victims," I said without thinking. I realized too late that he hadn't told me that, Dean had.

He turned his head slightly, playing with his mouth, as if waiting for me to continue. When I didn't, his eyes narrowed, and he grabbed my chin roughly. In a low growl, he asked, "Who told you?"

I opened my mouth but bit my lip before I told him. Dean hadn't meant any trouble, and it was bad enough that whenever the Joker saw us talking, he threw us a disapproving look, like we were being naughty kids. We were friends; I couldn't betray Dean.

"Shadow, answer me," the Joker demanded, his hot breath on my neck.

"The guys," I whispered weakly.

"It was Bleak."

"No, it wasn't," I protested suddenly.

The Joker's mouth curled into the infamous Glasgow smile, and then it vanished as quickly as it had come. His free hand rose abruptly, and I flinched, expecting him to hit me. Instead, he dropped it, slamming it on the car hood beside my head. He loomed into my face, bringing us so close that our noses almost touched. "Protecting him, aren't you?" he growled, his voice low, a dangerous sign.

For all the good it did me, I said, "We're just friends."

"Just. Friends?" He grabbed a handful of my hair. "So lying to me is going to pro-tect him? Is he more important than I am? The guy doesn't even know his real name!" He tightened his grip on my hair painfully. "Is it him over me?"

He was in a very dangerous mood. That was clear to me. One wrong answer and I was dead. A fifty-fifty chance of survival. This could be the moment he told me his real name so he could kill me, and fulfill his promise. He didn't care about Dean, at this point; his attention was focused on me alone. If I answered wrong, that was the end of me.

The Joker hadn't moved as those thoughts went through my head. His tongue slid over his lips quickly, showing his emotion – what it was. His scars might reveal the grin, but his mouth was a tight line. It seemed like there was no way to get him to release the tension that suffocated me.

Well, I thought of one way that didn't involve words…

Despite his grip on my hair, I pulled his hand away from my chin and lifted myself, bringing my lips to his in a kiss.

He jerked back, his shock written on his painted face, his eyes so wide that he really did look like an innocent puppy. The tension vanished with his abrupt release of his fury.

The Joker blinked at me, looking utterly stunned and confused.

I couldn't help but give a soft chuckle. "What? Is the Joker speechless? Do you lack the ability to comprehend an answer given through action? Can't figure out my response to your last question?"

The Joker couldn't speak. He tried several times, only to open his mouth and make a choking noise. Finally, he simply pushed himself away from me, jumped off the car, and walked away, halting on the edge of the pier.

I propped myself up on my elbows, feeling guilty. It didn't matter that the Joker had been on the verge of killing me mere seconds ago. I had done something he hadn't expected me to do, and my guess was that it had touched a nerve in him.

Even as the guilt passed, it hit me. As spontaneous as this "drive" had been, there was a reason behind it. The Joker and I had shared pieces of ourselves, and he wanted me to question him about his scar story. This had nothing to do with Dean, unless the Joker really wanted to know the answer to his last question.

Is it him over me?

The Joker shifted his weight by the end of the pier, turning his whole body restlessly. I sat up, combing my hair back with my fingers. What was I going to say to him? Apologize for doing that to him? That didn't seem like it would work, but it was worth a try, I decided.

After a few minutes, the Joker turned around and headed back to the Toyota. I prepared myself to give him an apology for my actions by sliding down to lean against the front bumper. The Joker didn't look up until he halted before me. I opened my mouth.

He lunged forward, clapping a hand over my mouth to stop me from speaking. "Be-sides lying, I dis-like ah-pol-ogizes," he said. He raised his white brown in a silent question of comprehension, and I nodded. Then, he removed his hand and leaned in, his scarred lips gently touching mine.

It lasted a second, and he pulled away again, his eyes shining mysteriously. "Now we're even," he exclaimed. I shook my head, and he gave me a confused look.

I just shrugged.

"We should go," the Joker said, turning away. "Who knows what those boys have been up to."

"Wait." He stopped and half-turned. I picked up his deck of cards and held them out. "Unless you want them flying everywhere…" I trailed off as he turned and sauntered back toward me. He reached for the deck, and a smirk flashed across my face. "Rare moment of your own stupidity," I said.

The Joker looked confused, until I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him. He hadn't expected this, but he caught on quickly, wrapping his arms around my waist. I kept a step ahead of him, slipping his cards into his jacket pocket before stepping away, refusing to let him embrace me.

He looked utterly confused and stunned, like the first time, and I laughed.

"In answer to your question, it's you over him, Mistah J," I said, playfully patting his head before I walked around to the passenger's door. The Joker made a strange noise, and I smirked, "C'mon, I'm in the mood to catch some naughty boys. And you don't count, clownboy," I added quickly when he straightened. I jerked my head and said, "Get in the car, or I'm driving."

The Joker moved, almost running to the driver's side. As he climbed in, I had the sudden impression to look around. When I did, I caught sight of a skinny black figure hiding between the nearest buildings. Squinting, I watched as the figure jumped onto the wall, latching to it, and then started climbing, vanishing onto the rooftop. Agile, I thought, before stepping into my Toyota.

"Don't do this to me, Joker." The whisper was painful, making my throat raw.

The Joker sauntered toward me from the shadows, halting before me and holding my face with both hands. He held his switchblade, pressing it hard against my cheek. I winced as it bit into my skin, drawing blood. His scarred lips turned into an amused grin as he watched the pain appear on my face.

"Can't take it?" he asked, giggling softly. "How do you think I feel?"

"What?" My eyes widened in surprise.

"Ohh…you've tormented me for so long. I know you enjoy it." I tried to jerk out of his grasp, but he held on, desperately. "Just keep it up and I'll-."

My eyes narrowed as I looked him directly in the eyes. "Why are you doing this?" I demanded, suddenly.

The Joker looked taken aback at my sudden outburst, his eyes widening in surprise. Before he could recover, I continued.

"I was tormenting you? I think it's been the other way around since the beginning, since you first kidnapped me!" The Joker took a step back, and I straightened, my fear modifying into pure anger. "And you're treating like this? You can't even begin to understand what I've been through without you doing this to me!"

The Joker's face changed, his surprise becoming anger of his own. He opened his mouth to speak, but I didn't give him the chance.

"It doesn't matter who you were in the past! What you were like is dead, Joker! You hear me, DEAD! My best friend no longer exists because you killed him! You bastard!" I struck him, hitting his jaw and causing him to stumble to the side. As he turned back to face me, I saw that the Joker's face had become livid, and there was blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.

I had no chance; he snapped.

The Joker threw himself at me, pressing me hard against the wall, trapping me so that I couldn't move anything. We leered at one another, both shaking with fury. My knuckles hurt from clenching my fists so hard, but I didn't relax, trembling with the little control I had. The Joker leaned his face close to mine. Being so close, I could feel his intense body heat that had risen with his anger.

"Call me…a bastard…one more time," the Joker growled, rolling his switchblade in his hand.

I glared with absolute hatred. "Bas-tard."

The Joker stabbed me, jabbing his switchblade into my gut. I gasped in pain, jerking forward into him, but he pushed me back against the wall with a hand as he stabbed me again and again, mercilessly. My cries were ripped from my throat as the Joker grabbed the back of my throat, his grip turning into a vice.

A headache emerged from nowhere, throbbing painfully and sending pulsing waves of agony throughout my body. I shrieked as the Joker stabbed me one more time, twisting the blade. An agonizing scream of bloody murder rang in my ears and continued to echo in them even when the scream had already left me.

I dropped to my knees, one arm jerking on the handcuffs, and I found myself sobbing in pain. Blood spluttered on the floor, and I clenched my stomach, feeling my lifeblood seeping through my fingers.

"No…" I looked up through blurry eyes, seeing a purple blur standing far away from me. I blinked, clearing the blur enough to see that it was a person standing there.

"Oh no, what have I done?" It wasn't me; the purple frame was speaking, but I couldn't quite remember what his name was. I saw the purple blur drop down in front of me, and I felt him grope my stomach, checking the wounds. "No, I didn't…please not this…Shadow," he pleaded, his voice breaking.

I looked up at him, blinking again and clearing my vision to see his white face, his black eyes, and his red mouth. I gave him a little smile and spoke through trembling lips. "I forgive you, Joker…I forgive you."

"You forgive me?"

At first, I thought I was dreaming, unsure of who was talking to me. I didn't know what the heck was going on. Someone's lips were on mine, but after a few seconds, I realized that the rough feel could only be from one person.

I opened my eyes, seeing only the Joker's face rather close to mine. "Hi," I said, shakily.

"For once, you weren't dreaming of that guy Jason." The Joker smirked, clearly amused as I glared at him. "What was I doing in, ah, in your dreams, Sha-dow?"

"Doing what you do best," I growled, "Punching holes in me, with your knife."

The Joker's amused expression darkened. "Killing you? Over what?" he asked, suspiciously.

"I don't know," I snapped, angrily shoving him off me. He fell back on the bed, sitting away from me as I propped myself up against the headboard. I ran my hands through my hair, grinding my teeth with irritation.

"Whoa," the Joker said, his eyes wide in the puppy expression. "You're not really this annoyed in the morning."

I gave a dry laugh. "It's not morning. Don't make me laugh." The Joker scoffed as he leaned forward. "Back off," I growled. "What is up with you being on me?"

The Joker held up his hands defensively. "Maybe now's not a good time for you," he said, calmly, "But-ah…" He reached forward and grabbed my wrists, pulling me towards him. Somehow, he managed to roll off the bed with me, landing on his feet and swooping me low, tango-style, and I had to wrap my arms around his neck for support. "Now's not-ah your time," he growled, giggling softly.

He dropped me, and I slammed my head on the floor. I groaned with pain as the Joker crouched down beside me. "Can we say 'abusive'?" I snapped.

"We can," the Joker said, licking his lips. "But we don't want to." He grabbed my wrists again and yanked me to my feet, pulling me close to him.

As he breathed on my neck, I growled, "Do you have a thing for me or something?"

He chuckled, clearly amused. "No, I don't have a thing for you, Sha-dow," he lied before planting a wet kiss on my mouth. He giggled and raced out of the room, disappearing into the hall.

My irritation became anger, and after grabbing my gun from the nightstand, I pursued him. He heard me pounding after him, and he laughed gleefully. He ducked around a corner as I fired at him, and he yelled, "I'm gonna die!" before bursting with thrilled laughter.

I growled with frustration and continued running after him, trying to shot him as he ducked and ran for his life, giggling insanely. We broke out into the main hangar of the warehouse, and the Joker raced down the metal stairs toward the ground floor. I came out onto the catwalk, stopped, took aim, and fired.

The Joker stopped in his tracks as my bullet hit the ground inches from his foot. Nothing happened for several seconds. Then, the Joker burst into a fit of laughter, doubling over with his stalled reaction to my warning shot.

"You're very…much like me," he gasped through giggles.

I grunted as I reloaded my gun, heading along the catwalk. "I don't act like a hyperactive four-year-old with bad breath."

The Joker straightened, grinning. "That's a good one," he said. "I'll have to remember it." He turned away, and then stopped, turning back. "Did you just say that I have bad breath?"

"Yeah," I said, rolling my eyes as I came down the stairs. He breathed into his glove and sniffed it, a concentrated look on his face. I shook my head as I walked around him, pulling out breath mints from my pocket and shoving them into his hand.

I leaned casually against the new car, a black van that was replacing our SUV that we had lost because of the Batman. I looked up as the Joker's guys came from the hallway I had just chased the Joker down. Five guys – Dean, Dave, Shaun, Cory, and Peter – were armed, ready for something.

"Boys, in the van," the Joker ordered. "Two middle seats, avoid them if you value your life." He popped two breath mints in his mouth and stored the container in his pocket, chewing as he came around to where I stood waiting. "Why are you looking at me like that?" he demanded, his eyes narrowed.

"Why not?" I asked in return.

He smirked, amused as he opened the side door, gesturing with his hand for me to go in first. I kept my gaze on him until I had to climb in, and I seated myself, my hard gaze returning to him as he stepped in and closed the door.

"Iceberg Lounge, Peter," the Joker said, "Won't want to be late."

"You have an appointment with the Penguin?" I asked, curiously.

"Think back two weeks ago, Shadow," he answered, as he rested his arm over the seat. "It'll come to you."

Lordlink13: Two remarks from me. One, Shadow's made the first move on the Joker, well, major move on him. Two, the dream Shadow had is a subtle hint to something later in the story. See if anyone can figure it out. Hope you liked the chapter. I honestly didn't like my first version of the Joker's first scar story, so I decided to slip in a better version with this chapter. Don't forget to review before you go! I appreciate them. They brighten my day…week…yeah! And I'm thinking of trying to respond to your reviews, one-on-one, so if you'd like to talk, I'll be willing. Ya know, suggestions, dislikes, likes, predictions, etc. whatever you want to talk about, story-related obviously, write a review and I'll respond the best I can. And don't feel pressured to reply back, I just like to be more…open-minded to others' opinions and ideas so whatever you want to say, speak your mind. If it's the harsher side of things, I'll be hurt, but I can suck it up so hit me!

And I'm just wondering, does anyone have any good – and sick – ideas for magic tricks that the Joker would perform? Review and let me know. I just can't think of any; I want particular ones that lead to someone getting hurt, but any could do.