A/N: I'd like to dedicate this chapter to my best friend & editor FLgurl ! She has always been so supportive of me with everything I write, and she is the reason I even decided to publish this story in the first place! She convinced me to go out of my comfort zone & share this story with you guys. She's the first person to read every chapter and she makes sure its good-to-go before I publish! Thank you for being the absolute best, girl. I love you to death and I appreciate you more than you know!

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"Do you want to know why I use a knife? Guns are too quick. You can't savor all the... little emotions. In... you see, in their last moments, people show you who they really are. So in a way, I knew your friends better than you ever did. Would you like to know which of them were cowards?"
—Heath Ledger

|•|•|•|

"That'll be two dollars and eight cents."

Jackson thrust his hand into his front pocket, fishing out the old matted wallet as he pried it open with his slender fingers, retrieving a five and handing it to the woman.

"Keep the change." He grinned. The blonde's expression brightened as she took the bill from his grasp, a blush creeping onto her cheeks as she pocketed the change.

"Thanks." She mused, handing him his finished coffee as he nodded curtly.

Just as he put the straw to his lips, his phone vibrated against his leg, the coffee spilling from the side of his mouth as he awkwardly answered the phone.

"Baby?" Livy cooed, Jackson's lips tugging into a smirk as he balanced the phone between his shoulder and ear, prying the cafe door open as he accidentally bumped shoulders with a lanky woman with a brunette bob.

"Hey, Livy. Everything okay?" Jackson wondered, the tone of his girlfriend's voice posing a bit of concern for him as he took a single sip from his iced coffee.

"Not exactly. Can you come over?" She requested. "Please?"

"Olivia, what's going on?" His voice darkened, halting in his steps as an uneasy feeling settled in his belly. Something was dreadfully wrong.

"N-Nothing. I'll tell you when you get here." She stammered, and the line suddenly went dead.

Jackson's heartbeat accelerated in his chest, his eyes focusing on the blank screen of his phone as he snapped it shut, sighing heavily before finishing off his drink and tossing the empty plastic in the waste bin.

What could possibly be wrong with Olivia?

He found himself outside of the familiar walnut tinted door, a bouquet of roses held tightly in his clutch as his heart thumped thickly in his throat. He'd been seeing Olivia Edison for eleven glorious months, and he was absolutely smitten with her. Ever since Ember left the orphanage, Olivia was the best thing to ever happen to him.

His knuckles collided with the wilting wood, his breath catching in his throat the moment the door swung open.

"Jackson." Livy breathed, a sympathetic expression plastered on her face as she chewed roughly on her bottom lip.

"What's going on, Liv?" He whispered, her blue gaze meeting the mess of flowers that sat in his clutch.

"You brought me flowers?" She blatantly ignored his question, his eyebrows furrowing in slight annoyance.

"Olivia Jane," Jackson pried, his once sparkling brown eyes darkening as he shoved past her, walking through the front door as she let out a yelp. "Tell me what's going on."

"Please don't be angry, Jackson." She began as he set the flowers down on the wooden table that hugged the entryway wall, several framed photos of Olivia and her brother sliding noisily across the wood, one of them toppling over completely. His heart was beating so rapidly that he feared it may explode in his chest.

"Fuck, Liv. Spit it out before I die of a fucking heartattack."

"I'm pregnant." Livy trembled, her fingers laced tightly together as she fiddled her thumbs anxiously.

Jackson's face fell, his hands darting upwards to tug at the thick curls that clung to his head as words escaped him completely.

"Pregnant?" He gasped, the feeling in his legs dissipating as he struggled to remain standing. "A-And it's m-mine?"

"Yes, baby. Remember that night on the sofa six weeks ago? In front of the fireplace?" Livy explained, her hands darting outwards to capture his, preventing him from pulling his overgrown dark brown locks completely from his skull.

Jackson's eyes widened, his jaw falling agape as he clearly remembered that rather sensual night with his dearest Olivia, the night where he definitely did not use a condom.

"I'm going to be a dad." He gloated, a genuine smile tugging at his lips as Livy nodded briskly.

"A what?" A thick voice erupted from behind the couple, Livy's heart instantly plummeting at the sound.

"Oh, hi Daddy!" She stammered, but the damage had been done. Olivia's drunken father, Charlie, had heard everything.

"So you're telling me," Charlie began, an empty bottle of vodka held tightly between his beefy fingers as he slowly approached the teenagers. "This little shit knocked up my seventeen year old daughter?"

"Daddy—" Livy shook, but Charlie only laughed, the bottle slipping through his fingers as it collided with the wooden floor, bursting into a million tiny shards at their feet.

"Don't daddy me, Olivia. Don't tell me it's fucking true... that this fucking runt planted a little bastard inside of you."

Jackson quaked in his boots. He knew quite well of Charlie Edison. He was consistently drunk, violent, and absolutely unmannerly.

"Sir—" The lanky boy began, but was unable to finish his sentence.

Charlie reached out, his fingers circling around his daughters neck as he forcefully shoved her against the drywall, her eyes flying open in shock as she loudly gasped.

"Stop it!" Jackson scolded, Charlie's gaze darkening as he released his hold on his daughter, a series of sputters emerging from her lips as she struggled to catch her breath.

"She needs to be punished for her actions, pretty boy." The man mocked, his breath fanning over the boys face. It smelt thickly of vodka and stale cigarettes. Jackson couldn't help but visibly grimace at the smell, his limbs buzzing as he desperately tried to compose himself.

"She's only human, sir. It's just human instinct, what happened between us. Plus, you'll have a little grandbaby to drink with in twenty-one years." Jackson nervously spat, his hands trembling as he rambled on.

"Ahh, we've got a bit of a joker over here," Charlie mocked, his non-existant neck burrowing further into his turtleneck shirt as he cleared his throat. "Sorry kid, but your jokes are just plain bad. Now, fuck off, so I can beat the shit out of the sorry excuse for a daughter behind you."

"No!" Jackson exclaimed, thrusting his hands into the air to block the thick man from advancing upon Olivia, who lay motionless on the ground, her dainty fingers still massaging the bruised skin on her neck.

"Please don't hurt her. If you need to hurt someone, hurt me. Please. Not her, not the baby. I deserve the punishment, I'm the one who did this to her."

Livy's jaw dropped at her boyfriends statement. Was he actually going to take the fall for her?

"Jackson, please don't do this. He's very violent-"

"HA!" Charlie roared, his sausage-like fingers instantly claiming the collar of Jackson's navy blue v-neck, the boys breath hitching in his throat at the sudden contact. "Olivia Jane, you haven't even seen the worst I can do."

"Sir, could we maybe discuss this matter when you're a bit more—er—sober?" He innocently wondered. His question was answered when the bloodshot eyed man lifted his feet cleanly from the floor, his hold tightening on Jackson's collar as a yelp escaped Livy's lips.

"Dad! Stop it!"

"Maybe you'll learn not to stick your little dick in places that it doesn't belong." Charlie growled, releasing his hold on the boy as he messily tumbled to the floor, his knees giving out as he collided with the wood, his hands breaking his fall.

"Jackson," Livy whispered, crawling quickly towards her boyfriend as her hands darting outwards, claiming the smoothness of his biceps as she squeezing reassuringly.

An additional yell escaped her tiny frame when she witnessed her fathers boot come into contact below Jackson's belt, a vociferous cry escaping his paling lips as he doubled over in pain, his palms clutching tightly onto his groin as he groaned heavily in pain.

"I oughta castrate your ass for what you've done to my baby girl!" Charlie shouted, swinging his leg back once more before smashing it against the boys groin, colliding with his hands and knuckles as he failed to protect himself from further damage.

"Stop it! Stop! You've hurt him enough!" Livy cried, but her father only mockingly laughed, delivering an additional kick to Jackson's ribcage as he trembled in pain, a pool of metallic blood filling his mouth as he hastily spat it onto the floor.

Tears clouded his vision, the pain in his groin was so severe that he feared he may actually vomit all over himself.

The couple failed to notice Charlie's abrupt absence, their main focus surrounding the agonizing pain that Jackson was currently in.

"I can't fucking breathe." He admitted, Livy's lips pulling into a tight frown as she wrapped her arms around his quivering frame.

"C'mon. I'll get you some ice." She whispered, slowly standing to her feet as she gently pulled the boy to his, a whine escaping his trembling lips as he wobbled next to her, the discomfort growing with every step.

The Edison's kitchen hugged the front entryway, sitting only three or so yards from the front door.

Livy helped Jackson sit at the bar, his hands immediately darting outward to cup his genitals as he struggled to sit on the wooden stool, flashes of immense pain covering his features as he winced with every breath. The growing pain in his slowly bruising ribcage momentarily distracted him from the searing pain inflicted upon his privates.

Just as Livy pried open the freezer door in search of a frozen bag of peas, a grubby set of fingers tangled into Jackson's unbrushed curls, yanking roughly before pushing his head forcefully forward, causing it to roughly collide with the counter.

"Dad!" Livy gasped, the bag of vegetables slipping through her fingers and colliding with the tile floor, the plastic ripping open to spill dozens of frozen green peas all over the floor.

Jackson groaned in agony, his hand darting upwards to caress the growing pump on his head and uncovering his waist once again.

Charlie raised an eyebrow, snatching the opportunity to inflict further pain on the boy where it truly counted. He gripped onto the kids long hair once more, yanking him backwards as he tumbled to the floor, the back of his head coming into contact with the tile as a fresh batch of tears streamed down his cheeks.

Jackson wasn't weak, not even in the slightest. He could handle a punch or two every once in awhile, but the pain he currently felt, both emotionally and physically, was almost too much to bear.

"Mr. Edison," he choked, blood pooling into his mouth once again as he mindlessly spat it onto the floor. "I've learned my lesson. I've had enough."

"I don't think you have, kiddo." Charlie grumbled, sinking down onto the floor to hover over the shaking boy, Jackson's left hand clutching his head while the right clutched tightly onto his bruised balls.

"Do you know what I want from this? I want you to learn your lesson. The only way you can truly do that, is if I prevent an atrocity like this from ever occurring again." The man seethed, his rank breath causing the boy to nearly vomit in disgust.

Charlie pulled his arm back, swinging it quickly forward as it came into contact once more with Jackson's bloodied knuckles, the pain electrifying his senses as a laugh fell from his lips.

In no way was this event even remotely funny. In fact, Jackson wasn't entirely sure why a laugh had even escaped his mouth. It was as if his fall had knocked a few screws loose in his brain.

"You think this is funny?" Charlie seethed, his pupils dialating so much so that the color in his eyes had dissipated completely, replaced only by a sea of red and black.

"N-No sir-" Jackson stammered, his laughter immediately ceasing as he lay defeated on the cold floor, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he struggled to maintain his breathing.

"You know... you've got quite a handsome face, kiddo."

Jackson's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, the immense pain finally subsiding in his lower region as he wondered where this could possibly go.

"It would be quite a shame if someone ruined that pretty face of yours. Then you'll never get a girl ever again."

Charlie's lips pulled into a sinister smile, a whimper escaping Jackson as he feared the absolute worst.

What was he going to do to him?

The man was on top of him, his face dangerously close to his as Jackson cowered into the floor.

He watched intently as Charlie shoved his meaty hand into his front pocket, retracting a sleek black pocket knife and clicking open the blade with ease.

Jackson's eyes widened, his head shaking violently back and forth as he cowered beneath the man.

"Fuck," he yelped. "Please don't-"

Charlie only scoffed, his fingers curling into a tight fist before swinging it downward on the boys face, knocking him out cold as he stilled beneath him on the floor.

Livy screamed in protest as she watched her father bring the knife to her boyfriends face.

|•|•|•|

"Michelle! Michelle, please open up!" Livy cried, her knuckles rapping the soft pink door repeatedly as she glanced around the neighborhood.

Jackson lay unconscious at her feet, bleeding profusely from his cheeks as Livy shrieked in a mixture of fear and disgust. Finally, Livy's neighbor Michelle opened the door.

Michelle was a very kind woman in her mid-forties who'd spend nights working at the hospital. Her hair was long and stringy, light brown in color with several strands of gray. Her eyes were brown, sunken into her head from lack of sleep as they widened at the sight of the bleeding boy on the floor.

"Holy shit, Olivia! What happened? Bring him inside." She panicked, swinging the door widely opened as she assisted the teenage girl in carrying the limp boy inside.

A strand of pain-ridden moans slipped from his lips, which were smeared in bright red blood. The sight of him alone made Livy's stomach churn.

"M-My dad." She stammered, heaving Jackson up onto the decorative quilt in Michelle's guest room. "T-The blood'll ruin your quilt—"

"My quilt is the last thing I'm worried about right now, sweetie. Stay with him, I'm going to go get some morphine and stuff to clean up his face."

Michelle scurried from the room, leaving Livy to a stirring Jackson as he sighed in discomfort.

Her hands darted upwards to cup his face, his blood oozing between her fingers as she loudly sobbed above him. There was so much blood... she couldn't even tell the extent of the injury with all the blood in the way.

"Stay with me, Jackson. Please don't leave me. Michelle and I are going to get you better." Livy cried, running her hand through his matted, blood-filled dark curls as she kneeled beside the small bed.

Michelle returned swiftly, a bag of clear liquid in her clutch as she pushed a metal pole into the room for it to hang from.

"Jesus, Michelle. Do you steal all this shit from the hospital?" Livy gaped.

Michelle did not reply. Instead, she quickly positioned the pole on the opposite side of the bed, hanging a clear bag of liquid from the chain as she connected it to a needle.

Livy winced at the sight of the woman quickly wiping Jackson's left inner arm down with an antiseptic wipe, her tongue wetting her lips as she breathed rather loudly.

"I know how you are with needles. Close your eyes." The woman instructed.

Livy obliged, squeezing her eyelids shut tightly until she saw stars, her fingers tangled in Jackson's mop of curls as Michelle sighed.

"Okay, it's in."

The clear fluid began to dribble from the bag, flowing into Jackson's vein from the IV as Michelle began to gather several alcohol wipes.

"I'm going to try and clean the blood off of his face so I can see what I need to stitch up." She explained, plopping onto the bed as she angled herself above the unconscious boy.

Livy's heart hammered in her chest, her eyes wide as she closely observed Michelle's actions.

Her fingers daintily poked at his skin, careful not to add any pressure as she slowly rid his flesh of the blood.

"Jesus." Michelle rasped, clearing most of the blood from his left cheek as her jaw fell open.

"How bad is it?" Livy cried, too afraid to see for herself as she turned her head away.

"It-it's not good, sweet pea. This cut is very deep and jagged, I need to stitch it immediately before it starts bleeding again. Go wait in the living room, okay? I don't want you to see this." Michelle instructed.

Livy froze, her knees locked in place at the side of the bed.

"Go, Olivia. He's in good hands, I promise." She pressed, waving her hand towards the door.

Livy gulped, nodding curtly before shakily standing to her feet and exiting the room, loud cries tumbling from her lips at the situation.

|•|•|•|

"When will he wake up?"

"When he is ready to." Michelle said, taking a seat at the foot of the guest bed.

Jackson lay motionless on top of the quilt, his shirt stained red with blood as his chest slowly raised and fell. A set of bright blue stitches held the gashes in his cheeks together, covered up by a set of white bandages so that Livy didn't have to see them.

"So, are you going to tell me what happened?" Michelle pried, bringing the mug of steaming tea to her lips as she took a small sip.

Livy exhaled rather loudly, pacing around the room as she avoided Michelle's glare.

Michelle was quite the fan of music, and it was evident in this room alone. The walls were lined with black vinyl treble and bass clefs, as well as framed sheet music of her favorite pieces. From what she'd told Livy, she's been playing the piano for thirty-seven years.

"Please don't be angry with me, Michelle." Livy sighed, finally taking a seat across the room on an old wicker rocking chair.

"I'm your neighbor, Olivia, not your mother." Michelle pressed, her penciled eyebrows knitting together.

"I'm pregnant." Livy revealed, her hands growing clammy with sweat as she bounced her leg anxiously.

Michelle sucked in a breath, glancing in the mutilated boys direction as her expression fell. "And he's the daddy?"

"Yes." Livy breathed.
"My dad overheard me breaking the news to Jackson."

"How old is he?"

"My age. He'll be eighteen in five months. We've been seeing each other a month shy of a year."

Jackson began to stir against Michelle's back, her breath hitching in her throat at the sudden movement as low groans emerged from his lips.

The morphine still steadily dripped through Jackson's IV, soothing the extreme pain that coursed through his body.

"Liv?" His throaty voice called, his hands slowly raising to his face to feel the source of the pain.

"Oh my god, Jackson!" Livy shrieked, falling against the side of the bed as her hand immediately found its way to his hair.

Jackson's eyelids slowly fluttered open, squeezing shut again quickly before finally reopening and focusing on the scene before him. He was suddenly aware of the needle in his arm, a cooling sensation coursing through his arm as he shivered.

"Does it hurt? Are you in pain?" Livy stammered, her thumb grazing over the bandaged side of his left cheek as he winced.

"A little." He rasped, his bloodshot eyes trailing downward towards the woman who sat at his feet. "Whose that?"

Michelle stood, circling the bed to claim the empty side as she kneeled beside him.

"Hello, Jackson. My name is Michelle. I'm Olivia's neighbor, and a nurse. I'm going to get you all healed up, okay?" The woman cooed.

Jackson whined slightly, the pain in his groin suddenly hitting him like a boulder as his hands darted downward to cradle himself.

"Fuck," he groaned, his voice still raspy and dry. "They hurt."

Michelle raised an eyebrow.
"Did he hurt you down there?"

"I-I don't r-remember—" Jackson stuttered. "I just remember Liv's dad hurting me. What did he do to my face?"

Both Livy and Michelle's hearts stopped.

"Jackson—" Livy cried, her hand caressing through his greasy curls as a look of concern assumed his features.

"Please tell me." He begged, his IV ridden arm raising to caress Livy's face, his thumb tracing circles on her jaw as he wiped away her fallen tears.

"He cut your face." She whispered.
"I'm so sorry, baby. I'm going to love you no matter what."

Jackson knit his eyebrows together, desperately trying to envision the damage inflicted on his face.

What kind of cuts did he have?

"Do you remember what I told you?" She added.

"I'm going to be a dad." Jackson breathed, his lips curling upwards into a smile before halting suddenly in place, the sudden movement in his cheeks causing him to howl in pain.

"Jackson, relax. Just try not to move your face too much, you don't want to rip the stitches." Michelle lightly scolded, readjusting the shifted bandage on his cheek.

Thick tears flooded Jackson's sight, his chest heaving as he choked back sobs.

"It's okay, baby. Michelle's going to take care of you. I'm going to come visit you when I can... I don't want my dad to find out you're staying here." Livy rambled.

"Olivia, let Jackson get some rest. You can come visit tomorrow." Michelle pressed, her fingers tangled in Jackson's hair as she rubbed his head soothingly.

"Okay. I love you, Jackson. I'll see you later." She whispered, carefully pressing a petite kiss to his unmoving lips before quickly scurrying from the room.

|•|•|•|

three months later

Jackson stood in the bathroom, the familiar white bandages covering his disfigured cheeks as his chest heaved painfully.

Michelle had taken better care of him in the past three months than Evelyn had in the past fourteen years. Evelyn probably hadn't even realized his absence. He was a nobody at the orphanage, a freak. Ever since Ember left, nobody paid him any mind. It was as if he didn't even exist.

At Michelle's house, he existed. He mattered.

According to the middle-aged woman, he was like a son to her. Although he'd only known her for three solid months, he felt the same way. She had her own son up until two years ago. He died in a car accident at seventeen, and her husband left her for another woman to cope with the pain of losing his child. It seemed that Michelle and Jackson both had rather shitty lives, maybe that's why they bonded so well.

Michelle sat perched up against the closed bathroom door, her back resting against the cool wood as she awaited Jackson's reaction to his gashes.

He would be seeing his face for the first time today since the incident.

His palms rest firmly on the counter, the skin in his hands creasing from the edge of the counter as he struggled to breathe.

Jackson's fingers slowly creeped up to his face, his thumb peeling the tape from his face at an agonizingly slow pace as he chewed unceremoniously on his bottom lip, which had a two nasty scars imprinted into the skin. Those cuts were the only ones that Michelle hadn't covered, and he feared that it was the least ugly of them both. They reminded Jackson of a wishbone, hugging the center of his lip as it curled towards the right and into the bandage.

The bandage slowly lifted from his right cheek, draping against his index finger as he slowly pried it from his face.

Michelle had removed the stitches only recently, and the pink, damaged skin began to peek through as the bandage lowered even further.

His heart thudded painfully in his ribcage when the tip of a hideous laceration came into view. It curled slightly in the direction of his nose, instead of pointing upwards like he'd imagined. The skin at the very tip of the cut bunched slightly at the sides, hugging the bright red skin as he scoffed at the sight.

The bandage toppled to the floor, his hands shaking turbulently as they raised to the bandage on the left side of his face.

His chestnut brown eyes avoided the hideous deformity on his right cheek, his breath shallow as he took the second bandage between his fingers and began to pull it downward.

A horrified gasp escaped his lips when the bandage fell to the floor, his eyes widening at the reflection in the mirror.

His left cheek was far worse than his right.

The skin was choppy and raised, bunching up against a bright red laceration on his skin. This scar didn't travel as far up his face as the right one did, but it was by far the most hideous of them both.

His fingers lightly traced the ghastly bumps on his skin, his jaw dropping at the sight and feeling of the skin as a horrified cry fell from his mouth.

Michelle winced at his muffled cries through the door, tears falling from her eyes as a strand of profanities slipped from Jackson's lips inside the bathroom.

She opened her mouth to speak, but the sound of glass shattering caused the words to freeze in her throat.

Jackson sat against the tub when she entered, his hands tugging at his dark curls as he slouched on the floor, sobbing profusely as blood trickled from his knuckles.

Michelle's eyes widened at the abundance of glass that littered the floor, the vast mirror that once hugged the wall lay in shambles all over the sink, counter and tile as Jackson cowered on the ground.

"Jackson." Michelle cooed, avoiding the shards of glass as she fell to her knees before him, her hands claiming his wrists as she tugged his hands from his curls.

"I'm fucking hideous, Michelle." He sobbed, burying his face into her chest as he balled his hands into fists.

"You are not hideous, Jackson!" The woman scolded, cupping his face carefully with her hands as she tugged him from her chest.

His eyes met hers, bloodshot and swollen as he crumbled beneath her. Michelle's heart plummeted at the sight of him, her eyes trailing over the gashes that mutilated his face as she sighed.

"You are an amazing young man, Jackson. You're handsome, you're funny, and most importantly, you are a good man. You're going to be an amazing father to your daughter."

His daughter.

Jackson's heart fluttered at her words. She was right... he was going to be the best dad he could possibly be to his baby girl.

"T-Thank you, Michelle." He squeaked, wrapping his lanky arms around her torso as he sniffled. "You're the only person whose actually taken care of me. My parents didn't want me... the mother of the orphanage barely knew that I even existed..."

"Shhh," Michelle cooed, running a hand through the boys curls as he held her close. "I'm here for you, I'll always be here for you. I think of you as my son."

Jackson lifted his head from her chest, his bottom lip quivering as his eyes bore into hers.

"I love you, Mom."

|•|•|•|

Michelle trudged up the steps of Evelyn's Orphanage, her purse clutched tightly to her chest as she hastily knocked.

The sound of children gleefully screaming on the other side of the door made her stomach churn. If all goes well, Jackson would legally be hers within the next hour.

A woman pried open the door moments after Michelle had rang the doorbell. Her lips were painted bright purple, and her hair was pulled away from her face in a tight bun.

"Hello, can I help you?" Evelyn greeted, folding her hands as Michelle shifted her weight from each foot.

"Hi, my name is Michelle. We spoke on the phone?" She squeaked, her hands beginning to sweat.

"Oh!" Evelyn chirped. "That's right! Come on in!"

Michelle kept her head low as she followed Evelyn to the nearby office inside the obscenely large home.

This is where Jackson grew up.

"Take a seat, please." Evelyn smiled, outstretching her arm in the direction of a carob tinted plush chair in front of her unkempt desk.

"Would you like to take a look at the children's portfolios?"

"I actually know who I want to adopt already, Miss." Michelle explained, fiddling with the zipper on her purse as she fidgeted in her seat.

"Oh! Who?" Evelyn raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, Jackson." Michelle confidently spoke.

"Jackson turns of-age in two months. There's no point in adopting him." Evelyn bluntly stated.

"Miss, if you will, I'd still like to adopt him. I want to be his legal guardian, his actual mother. I adore the boy with all of my heart and I want to give him a home." Michelle rambled.

"You adore him? How do you know him?" Evelyn pried.

"He's dating my neighbors daughter, I see him all the time. He's a lovely boy, I'd really love if you could do this for me, Evelyn." Michelle begged.

"Very well. Although, full disclosure does require me to inform you of any medical issues pertaining to the child you are adopting. Jackson has mentioned to me that he sometimes hears—voices—in his head. He refuses to see a psychiatrist, but I'm sure you may be able to convince him otherwise. He's always been a bit, well, odd." Evelyn explained, retrieving Jackson's file from the desk as she handed over a mess of paperwork for Michelle to fill out.

"He's not odd in the least bit. He's actually a very kind and outgoing boy." Michelle impatiently countered, scribbling her information on the paperwork as she avoided Evelyn's prying gaze.

Evelyn raised an eyebrow.

"Are we talking about the same Jackson? The kid who wears the paper plane necklace every single day?"

She noticed that necklace too?

Michelle still hadn't asked him about the paper plane, but it was evident that it truly meant something to him if he wore it every single day growing up.

"Yes, the very same one." Michelle gloated.

"Alright then." Evelyn said, taking the paperwork from Michelle's grasp as she placed it in Jackson's folder. "It was a pleasure to meet you, er, I actually don't think I caught your last name?"

"Napier. Mrs. Napier."

|•|•|•|

A/N: Originally I was going to include so much more in this chapter, but I decided to split it up because I didn't want this to be 100 pages lol.

ANYWAYS, what do you guys think?! Was this chapter okay?! Also, this chapter is based in 1995, because the present time in the story is based in 2008.

Coming soon: Jackson's transformation into the legendary Joker...