Ok, so this is my first story ever. I'm writing this because I felt...compelled (?) to do this; also because it was fun! What the whole little series is about is that it's the back story to Gotham's Joker (Jack Napier), and how he came to be known by that name. I choose the name Jack Napier because it really is the only known alias of The Joker in the DC comic world. So, I hope whom ever reads this is entertained! Oh, and please feel free to give me any constructive criticism. I'd greatly appreciate it. This chapter is basically an intro to the rest of the story, so that's why it's a little short.

I'll just give a breif story as to why I started writing this. I always love to make up little stories when ever i lesten to music. Lately I've been obsessed with the new movie, The Dark Knight. I started to set up a playlist in my iTunes library of songs I think would match with The Joker. Eventually, I came up with this! So with each chapter, I will list the songs in the playlist that inspired me.

I do not own anything related to the Batman world.

Chapter Playlist: "No One Knows Who I am", Jekyll and Hyde

"August's Rhapsody", August Rush

"Girl", The Beatles

"I want you to know that I really do hate you right now." At this very moment my so called friend is sticking little black needles, aka: bobby pins, through my hair, her ears deaf to my cries of pain. She merely rolls her eyes at me and continues sticking me like a voodoo doll.

"I do, Chelsey. I really hate, detest, and LOATHE you!" I try to yank my head away but she grabs my hair and pulls my head back into place, again deaf to my pathetic yelps. Closing my eyes, I try to picture my happy place, which was very difficult to imagine with the constant throbbing of my scalp. "Ow! For Pete's sakes, what in the world are you doing to me?!" I open my eyes, hoping to find some remorse in her face, but all I can see is that cheeky smirk of hers. I try to adjust my stiff sitting posture on the hard wooden chair; Lord knows how long I've been in it. Heaving a deep, defeated sigh, I try to focus my attention to something other than Chelsey working on my hair. My eyes slowly lift up from the floor to look at myself in the mirror. Well, she has done a pretty good job with my makeup, I'll give her that. The eye shadow has a nice smoky effect, bringing out the green in my hazel eyes. And the shade on my lips isn't bad either, it contrasts nicely to my pale skin; what is that shade anyways? A neutral reddish, kind of burgundy … oh who cares. Yes, all in all I look nice; that is until you look at my auburn hair. It's naturally curly, and therefore almost impossible to deal with. From what I could tell, Chelsey is trying to put it up into some sort of fancy up-do that would have worked on a girl with sleeker hair, not coarse and frizzy like mine. Girls with straight hair just don't understand how to do deal with people burdened with curly hair like me.

I look back up to Chelsey's reflection in the mirror only to see her looking frustrated at my mass of hair.

"What? What's wrong?" My voice goes up an octave, an annoying habit that happens when I get stressed.

"Maeve, I give up. I have fought the good fight, but I have bitterly lost!" She throws her hands up in the air, pretending to surrender to my follicles.

"No! You can't leave me looking like this!" Again, the high voice.

"I'm sorry, but your hair is just impossible! You just have to deal with it."

"The hell I am! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be in this situation in the first place! But nooo, you have to set me up on a blind date; and not telling me until two hours before I'm supposed to meet this guy!"

God, do they have medication to control the way you speak? Mental note: Once I brutally murder Chelsey, look into medicine for high, squeaky voices.

"I wanted to surprise you! And besides, you need to get out of this dorm room. You spend most of your days in here locked up doing nothing except reading, or drawing, or watching movies. You need a life; a guy to keep you occupied. Also, I've already told you that you won't be alone tonight; it's a group date! Vinnie and I will be there so the situation will be less awkward."

"Oh, less awkward. Thanks very much." Giving her one last nasty look, I push myself out of the little wooden chair and begin ripping out the bobby pins from my hair, not even bothering to listen to Chelsey's protests. Once they are all out, I ruffle my hair quickly with my fingers and then take a step back to look at the damage.

"You know, Maeve, I think it looks better down like that. Guess we just wasted an hour, huh?" She laughs a little, and I can't help but smile with her even though I am beyond freaking out. When was the last time I had a date, or a boyfriend for that matter? Too long, that's for sure.

"Alright darling, you look gorgeous. And we finished just in time too! It's time to go meet the boys." Before I can try to talk her into letting me stay in the dorm room that night, she grabs my hand and drags me out the door.

While waiting in the dark parking lot by my car for the guys to show up (of course they were late), I am asking Chelsey as much as I could about my date. But she insists on not telling me anything, even his name. She wants me to find out everything for myself, so we'd have things to talk about. Great, now I'm even more on edge because I have no clue what I'm going to be getting myself into. Jerk.

Giving up on finding anything out about my mysterious date, I look up into the night sky, a natural beauty I've always admired. Someday I'd like to be in an area completely absent of any electrical lights, that way I could actually see the full beauty of the night sky. And the moon! Tonight it looks so unreal. It's completely full, and it almost seems so close I could just reach out and grab it out of the crisp night sky. While observing the moon, I see that it is that strange orange color, something I hardly ever see.

Hmmm, maybe it's a good omen for tonight?

My eyes slowly scan the surrounding scenery bathed in the eerie glow of the moon, and I happily notice that I feel much more relaxed. But then suddenly out of the moonlight I see what I've been dreading, yet also slightly anticipating all night. I can make out the silhouettes of two figures walking towards us. The taller I can tell was Vinnie wearing the old jacket he always wears along with a polo shirt, jeans, and sneakers. So nice to see him dress up. And then there he is, walking just behind Vinnie, his face shadowed. I can feel my breathing quicken, my palms grow sweaty. What were they thinking? This guy will never go for someone like me, whoever he is! As they get closer, I can see him more clearly; or at least the details of his clothing. He wears a Navy blue striped sweater, his sleeves pushed up to his elbows followed by his black jeans and a pair of expensive looking black shoes. His wavy dirty blonde hair that just came a few inches above his shoulders is pulled back into a half ponytail. He passes under a street lamp, and I finally get a glimpse at his face. Oh God, he's so handsome! From his strong jaw, defined cheek bones, to his prominent chin; every bit is breath taking. Yes, he truly is the most attractive man I've ever laid eyes on.

I could see Chelsey watching me from the corner of her eyes, a slight smile in place. They men finally make it over to us, Vinnie pulling Chelsey into a tight hug. Releasing her, he waves a hello over to me.

I don't notice, my eyes are glues to my shoes.

With a bit of strain in her tone, Chelsey says, "It's about time you boys made it! We need to get going, or else the place will get packed." Why doesn't Chelsey's voice get squeaky when she's stressed?

Where are we going anyways? Oh yeah, another "surprise" for me to find out.

Vinnie laughs a little and playfully shakes Chelsey. "Chill, we have plenty of time, sweetie! Besides, we need to introduce these two lucky people before we go."

Oh, nice. Way to embarrass me even more, Vinnie.

But then I hear him chuckle slightly, and my eyes instantly zoom to the source.

Before Vinnie can even begin the introductions, my breath-taking date holds out his hand to me, a dazzling wide grin in place. "Hey there, it's nice to meet you. My name's Jack Napier."