My heart thumped loudly in my chest as the gravel crunched under my red converses; I didn't dare look back at the bus, I could still feel his eyes on my back. As soon as I heard the squeaky screen door slam shut behind me, I squealed and twirled around.

Jack…Jack the Joker, huh? I couldn't get his smile outta my head. He was new, I was sure of it; I haven't seen him on the bus before today.

"Harleen? Is that you making that racket!" Grandma yelled from the living room.

"Yeah!" I yelled back, my smile instantly sliding off my face.

"Go to the Gotham General store an' get me some more cigarettes!" her gravelly voice commanded.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed a couple bills from the money jar on the table.

"My day was fine, thank you for asking," I muttered, throwing my school bag down and slipping out the door.

….

Sure, walking in alone anywhere in Gotham was usually like swimming through a school of piranhas with a bunch of bloody meat strapped to you, but not if you do it quickly and you know how to make yourself invisible. Which, thanks to high school, I was a master at.

I absentmindedly half-walked, half-skipped through the cracked parking lot of Gotham General, lost in my own little world. A sharp whistle pierced my thoughts and made me stop in my tracks. As I turned my head, I expected to see the red and white lettermen that marked the presence of the jocks.

What I saw instead, brought a smile leaping to my face. Jack was sitting on the hood of a beat up car, one leg stretched out and one bent with a pale elbow resting on it. He beckoned me to come towards him and it was only then that I was pulled out of my daze. I just then noticed the people around him on the hood, all together they looked like some sort of gang.

"This is the girl I was telling you about boys," he smiled as I got closer.

I felt myself blush a bright red and I pulled at the bottom of my skirt out of habit.

"Hi, Jack," I squeaked.

"Well hello, Harleen," he slid off the hood and stood towering over me.

His body was so close to mine, I could feel the heat emitting from him. It made my head feel li

ght and dizzy….but at the same time, he seemed to calm my nerves and make my stress fade away. He licked his lips as he looked down at me; on the bus, I didn't realize that he was a head and a half taller than me, but I had always been short.

"A girl like you shouldn't be roaming out here by yourself…there's..dangerous people out here," he said leaning down close to my face.

I found myself tilting my head up, towards his, towards his lips. He suddenly straightened up, leaving me yearning for him to be close once again.

"Boys, say hello to Harls," he turned to his crew and put an arm around my shoulder.

Some of them murmured a hey or hello, but most just grunted or rolled their eyes. Jack didn't like that.

"I said, say hello," he growled, making me jump.

Suddenly a chorus of hello's erupted from them, making me smile.

"Hi!" I chirped back.

"That's Edward, Jonathan, Bane, and Oswald," he said pointing at each one of them.

"Jack, are we gonna stick this place up or what?" Edward asked impatiently.

Stick it up? Like rob it?

"Wha-?" I started, but Jack cut me off.

"Nothing to worry your pretty little head about, Harls. Edward here doesn't know his manners…or when to keep quiet," he said tightening the grip on my shoulders, sending a glare towards Edward.

"Oh, well, I gotta go get some cigarettes for my grandma…that's the reason I came here," I said, still wary about what Edward had let slip.

My mind was screaming at me to get out of there, that Jack was nothing but trouble…but the way his rough hand slid up and down my arm lulled my heart. I leaned up against his side, not truly wanting to walk away. He saw this and laughed.

"How about a goodbye kiss?" he whispered into my ear.

I looked up at his handsome face, a smile played in his eyes as he stared hungrily down at me. He leaned down but I glanced at the rest of the guys, their stares fixated on us.

"Boys, disappear!" he commanded, not taking his eyes off of me.

They all scrambled away and I giggled at his power.

"Are they afraid of you?" I asked.

"You can say that…does that scare you?"

"Quite the opposite," I smiled and leaned against him.

He cackled and suddenly lifted me up with ease; I wrapped my legs around his waist. I ran my hands through his green tinted, scraggly hair as he pushed his lips upon mine. His powerful tongue danced through my mouth as his hands greedily traveled up my skirt. I nipped at his bottom lip, causing him to groan; He suddenly bent down, acting like he was going to drop me. I tightened my grip around his waist and whimpered with sudden fear.

He smiled into our kiss and I felt a lump rub against my crotch. This was some goodbye kiss. He finally put me down and pulled away, smiling at my spinning head and my shocked expression.

"See you later Harleen," he whispered into my ear.

"Bye, Jack the Joker," I smiled and turned around.

I knew he was watching me, so I put a little extra swing in my step. It was going great…until my foot got caught on one of the cracks in the old asphalt and I stumbled, not so gracefully, forward. My face burned with embarrassment as I heard his loud laughter behind me.

He certainly laughs a lot…I could get used to that.

- Please review! I welcome any storyline ideas, because I really sorta make it up at I go along! I shallst try to update soon!