"A huge white Victorian house perched on an over sized lot. Yellow trim. A swing on the wraparound porch."

"A bedroom, white and yellow, decorated with daisies, smelling of hair gel."

"My side of the room was a sterile mirror image—same bed, same dresser, same tiny desk, all wiped clean of personality."

"At the bottom of the stairs, the overpowering stink of lemon cleaner hit me. It smelled like Gran's house. Even Dad never seemed comfortable in his mother's immaculate house, under the glare that said you'd better not expect any birthday money if you spilled your soda on the white leather sofa. One look in this living room, though, and I breathed a sigh of relief. It was as clean as Gran's—the carpet spotless, the wood gleaming—but it had a worn, comfortable look that invited you to curl up on the sofa.

It was also painted the favored color for Lyle House—a pale yellow this time. Pillows covered the dark blue sofa and two rocking chairs."

Important: "We rose at 7:30. Ate, showered, dressed, and were in class by 9:00, where we did independent work assigned by our regular teachers, supervised by the tutor, Ms. Wang. Break at 10:30 for a snack—nutritious, of course. Back to class. Break for lunch at noon. Back to class from 1:00 until 4:30 with a twenty-​minute break at 2:30. At some point during classes—the timing would vary—we'd have our individual hour-​long therapy session with Dr. Gill; my first would be after lunch today. From 4:30 until 6:00, we had free time… kind of. In addition to classes and therapy, we had chores. A lot of chores from the looks of the list. These had to be done during our free time before and after dinner. Plus we had to squeeze in thirty minutes of physical activity every day. Then after a snack, it was off to bed at 9:00, lights-​out at 10:00."

Note: I'm changing the name to the Ebott House.

The house has three maids during the 5-day work week, one being a nutritionist and two nurses that take over for the weekends. Everything takes place in a two-story house with a fenced in backyard that you can't go outside without a code for the back door. The neighborhood surrounding the house is normal, the the house's neighbor's refuse to interact with problematic teenagers. Before breakfast, each adolescent is given a pill with no conversation that is suited for their own needs.


Enjoy your stay!

Teres stared gloomily down at her phone as she sat in the back of the taxi as it whizzed along in the hot California sun, countless condos and high end apartments flying by as people milled up and down the streets and went about their day to day businesses - however she paid them no attention. She had her head buried in her hands now, dark mahogany hair spilling through her fingers as she kept her eyes tightly shut and applied pressure to her temples. Her head felt like it was splitting open and throbbing fiercely as she grimaced and endured the pain, opening and closing her eyes as she grasped at her head with her hands again in frustration. She had been wracked with headaches since she had started her medication and found it quite difficult to focus now, finding it took more than quite a bit of effort and concentration to do so. Despite this her mind was fixed solely on their destination, on the specialised care facility Ebott House and wondering what she was going to expect or endure there. She glanced at the slightly crumpled letter that sat atop her bag beside her on the back seat of the taxi, the ‘welcome’ letter that had told her what to bring and what not to bring had thus far been her only connection to the place, despite her many frantic and fruitless internet searches.

She let her mind wander thinking about what the house would be like, what the staff would be like and of course, what the other residents would be like. ‘A safe and caring environment built specifically to help young people get back to a healthy place’ – that was what the letter had told her along with her schedule and what to expect. A small handout that had also come with the letter which confirmed a huge list of rules and guidelines, many of which would have she thought seemed obvious, but evidently not to everyone or so she assumed if they had to send them out to each ‘visitor’. Glancing at the list again she made a metal note to avoid causing any trouble, after all if they were used to dealing with kids who needed a ‘No drugs, alcohol or other unapproved substances’ rule to be reiterated along with a ‘strict three strike’ rule she was sure that she’d be the least troublesome patient to stay there by far, a thought that slightly worried her. The rest of the trip she spent moodily brooding over the unfairness of the whole situation, how ludicrous that it was that she supposedly had Dissociative identity disorder, one or more distinct alternate personalities residing within her, and the fact she was going to be forced to take countless drugs that would do who knew what to her system and treated like some kind of troublemaker.

A few hours later the taxi driver grunted something as he pulled up in front of their destination, Teres eyes going to the building she would be calling home for the next two months. Her first thought was that it actually looked like quite a nice little building, some old looking Victorian thing with large windows and a wraparound porch and at least two if not more floors. With hardly a murmur of thanks she paid the driver once he’d lugged her suitcase from the trunk to the sidewalk for her and she stood gazing up at the building as he sped away.

Moments later a woman emerged from the house, a somewhat large woman with long frizzy brown hair and a somewhat stern if not motherly face – her eyes fixed on Teres with an appraising gaze as she approached. With an internal sigh Teres smiled as happily as she could manage, though it was difficult as her head was still pounding and her hands now felt sweaty and clammy. Introductions were made swiftly and the woman showed her around Ebott House, pausing briefly to point out each area and add a bit of explanation about the rules or other things she would need to know, a few comments about the current housemates who she explained were on a day trip so she could settle in and meet them tomorrow. It was much of a blur, her head swimming - all in all her first impression of the place were much better than she thought they would be, the woman who had showed her around was one of the several maids that stayed there during the week and she had seemed nice enough. Before she knew it she had been shown each room and had been told the rules. Twice. She found herself sat up in the room that was now hers, or rather the room that she now had to share with the two other girls she had been told were currently staying at Ebott house. She kept throwing cautionary glances across the room at their possessions, hoping somehow she could gain some knowledge of what they would be like, resisting the brief urge to touch anything, instead she decided to unpack her own things and get better acquainted with her new surroundings and read through the small amount of literature she had been given to further reinforce the rules and her responsibilities whilst at the facility.

Before she knew it she was slumped across the bed with her legs hanging off one side unceremoniously and her dark mahogany hair sprawled out as she softly began to snore, snoozing as the last rays of the evening sun were coming through the window and warming her.

Erik woke up with a groan as the shrill sounds of his alarm clock woke him to the stiffness that could only come through sleeping on a mattress as thin as paper. He rose up from his bed, feeling small popping sensation across his body releasing some of his tension, slapping the alarm clock into sullen silence. His eyes wandered over the almost barren room as it came into focus- the small dresser that could only contain a small portion of his wardrobe, the feeble nightstand that wobbled every time he so much as came near it, and the small desk the scraped the top of his legs whenever he sat at it. Not a single piece of furniture in this room could come up to even his basic standards of living. Not for the first time, he felt the fires of rage boiling in his stomach and began to think of his father. It was almost part of his morning routine now. Wake up, groan, stare, stew with anger, before going about his business. His father had only ever used him as a weapon against his mother, to hurt her for some imagined deed. He had never cared about Erik, nor seen any of the extraordinary qualities that he possessed. His father denied it, but being sent here proved the truth to Erik. Erik glanced over to the latest letter from his mother and gave a quiet smile. At the very least, his mother saw the truth. Soon she would have him out of here. The thought of freedom from this hellhole almost made it bearable for a brief moment.

@Obscene Symphony With a sigh, he picked up his small basket of bathroom supplies and exited into the hallway. As he made his way to bathroom for his morning grooming, he paused by Mitchell's door. Mitchell had been making quite a lot of noise of late during the night, groaning as he went through withdrawal. Erik was unsympathetic, if he had been going through the experience itself he would've at least made sure he wasn't a nuisance though Erik knew there was no chance of him falling into the same stupid trap of addiction, he was much too intelligent for that. Still, if Mitchell was late for breakfast again, his would also be delayed. He knocked several times against the door calling out "Mitchell, time to wake up!" Satisfied that his breakfast would be on time, Erik entered the small restroom they shared. The shower was a slow process, Erik luxuriated in the heat, taking ample time to ensure that every inch of him was perfectly clean, presumably using up most of the hot water in the process. In front of the mirror, he went through his normal ritual taking extra time to make sure that his latest hairstyle was perfect. His eyes unconsciously avoided looking upon the small scar that he bore on his left forearm. He then returned to his room, picking out was of his more expensive ensembles: black slacks with a grey long sleeve button-up matched with a black silk vest. The dark colors of the outfit seemed appropriate for the pervasive atmosphere. He examined himself closely in the mirror, before smiling at his own handsome visage.

He grabbed one of the books under his bed at random then began heading downstairs to await breakfast. He could hear the sounds of some of the other residents going about their own morning rituals, no doubt trying their best to match his own exquisite style. He sat down at the breakfast table, noticing that an extra chair had been placed. He eyed it briefly before dragging it slightly closer to himself to prop up his feet. He opened the novel and let his eyes glaze over the text, impatiently waiting for the others to arrive and take note of his appearance.

"YOU ARE THE CHOSEN ONE"-a man with long gray hair that extended to his neck, shining white eyes and majestic angel wings(magnified pigeon wings) wearing white robes said to Teres with a deep authoritative voice. They were standing in the sky surrounded by pure white clouds and many other "angelic" beings went back and forth, coming from a cloud, and disappearing into the next. 2 of them were her parents which turned to look at her for a moment but then disappeared into the next cloud. "An angel has been sent to guide your path"-it added.
"You are the child of prophecy"-(make a remix with this sentence being repeated, add many epilepsy inducing effects and that's what she's been dreaming about all night)

Maddy sighed as she finished brushing her hair the requisite 50 times. She was glad that no one had disturbed hr this morning and she was ale to finish. It pissed her off when her roommate interrupted her and she had to start over. She turned and looked at the new girl that was still passed out on her bed. When they had gotten back last night and she had seen that they had a new roommate she was distraught; especially since it ooked like this one was disorganized.. The urge to move the girl onto her bed and fix her things into some semblance of order was almost overwhelming. If not foe her other roommate watching her an the fact that she had already been reprimanded for touching other people's belongings she would have done just that. Remember Maddy, count to five and breathe just like the Doctor said. Don't give into temptation. You are stronger than these urges. The new meds are helping. Just let it go. She slowly counted to five and took a deep breath. She did this three times before she was settled enough to not give in. Once she was calm she quickly did her nightly routine and got into bed.

A rustling sound from the new girl snapped Maddy out of her reverie and she jumped. Not wanting to have to interact with someone new this early, she got her shoes and slipped them on before hurrying out the door. She slowly walked towards where they ate breakfast. She both loved and hated this time of day. It was always fairly quiet before everyone woke up and she could enjoy the peace. However, once she reached the breakfast room things would be different. She would have to see and deal with the others living here and that was never much fun. While she did want to make a friend and not be alone all the time, she was just not good at letting people close to her. In the past whenever she had finally made a friend, her little quirks as she like to call them, had driven them away after a while. Plus, some of the kids here were just odd. There was Mitchell who she knew was going through withdrawals. There was Sarah, who she just did not get at all but that made her uncomfortable for some reason. Then there was Erik. He was aesthetically pleasing and always matched but hs attitude and vanity jut rubbed her wrong most of the time.

Knowing that she could no longer delay the inevitable, she walked through the door and saw the breakfast table. Well shit. He had to beat me here today of all days. Just when I was thinking that I would have a few moments of peace before everyone showed up. Just great. Maddy walked around the table and took a place as far away from everyone as she could manage. She glanced at Erik out of the corner of her eye and saw that he was kicking back, using one of the chairs as a footstool. Without thinking she blurted, "Must you do that? It is unsanitary and just rude to use someone's chair that way."

@paragloan
Erik raised an eyebrow at Maddy's admonishment somewhat disappointed at her lack of comment on the superb quality of his appearance today. Of the few residents that lived in Ebott House, Erik thought best of Maddy. While he couldn't quite recall what it was that brought her here, she seemed normal enough. She was quiet and kept to herself most of the time and he had seen her eye him a few times. In addition, he had once caught her cleaning up his room when it had apparently gotten to much for her to deal with. 'That's fine by me, if she wants to clean my room that's one less thing I have to do. But she seems rather confrontational today.' Erik kept his silent gaze on her for an internal count to five before speaking, letting his eyes take in her doll like appearance . "A much better start to this conversation," he said closing his book in his hands, "would have been 'Good morning Erik, you look nice today.' As you seem to be in a mood for an argument I want no part of, I will simply point out that there was an extra chair no one would be using, therefore it doesn't matter if it gets dirty or not since the staff tend to wipe them down regardless. Is it really such a rude thing to make myself more comfortable? After all this is our..." He took a long sarcastic sigh, "...Home. At least for the time being." He smiled at her confident that the wit and strength of his argument had impressed her enough into seeing his point.

Teres sleep was uneasy and filled with strange thoughts and feelings, tossing and turning as images of clouds and angels mingled with the booming voice of an elderly man ringing through her. Images of floating in the sky and even her parents as angelic beings assailed her mind as the words spoken in her dream repeated and reverberated in her mind.

A sudden quiet bang permeated her sleep and she slowly opened her eyes, blinking several times as she took in her surroundings once more. She was of course, still at Ebott House sprawled out and still wearing yesterday’s clothes. Her head was pounding as she looked around and it took her a few moments to compose herself.

The bang that had awakened her seemed to be the door to their room closing and as she looked around she did indeed see that one of the beds was vacant (though left pristinely so she noticed) and she guessed that she wasn’t the first to awaken. Sitting up she realised that she’d simply passed out bizarrely on her bed still fully clothed and only half unpacked and wondered uncertainly what kind of impression she’d given to her new ‘housemates’. She groaned quietly as she again massaged her temples as she recalled the odd dream that had assailed her, it had seemed so surreal and… well different from any of her other dreams, though she dismissed the thoughts after a few moments simply chalking it up to the medication she was taking.

She felt almost as tired as she’d felt last night and definitely more clammy. Grabbing a change of clothes and her towel she silently made her way to the bathroom and began to undress before briefly pausing and checking to make sure that there was no one watching or nothing out of the ordinary (after all she didn’t know any of the people here and felt better about it after she’d checked). Jumping in the shower she grimaced and jumped back out, almost slipping as she did so. The water had rapidly gone from being slightly warm to being freezing cold, in her groggy state she’d barley paused to check the temperature before hopping in and now stood dripping freezing cold water with a most unpleasant expression marring her features as she tried to decide if it was worth a cold shower just to feel cleanly again. Muttering curses under her breath she reluctantly once more moved into the cold stream and quickly began to shower.

Once she’d finished her shower routine, dried and dressed herself she quickly dumped her clothes and damp towel on her bed she made her way down the stairs for breakfast. She paused to examine the dark bags under her eyes and tried fruitlessly to rub them in the vague hope they’d improve somewhat. She wasn’t sure what to expect today, only knowing that the schedule she’d been sent said they started classes at 09:00 and then have a pretty full day of studying, counselling and of course, chores. As she sheepishly emerged into the room her eyes went to the two occupants who were currently in conversation with each other.

Her first thought was that the guy sat with his feet up was actually quite attractive and stylish, in fact he was very attractive she thought quickly averting her eyes before he could notice her lingering gaze. The girl was quite short and somewhat petite, but very pretty she thought as well, the initial impressions being not at all what she had expected. She suddenly wished that she’d spent slightly more time drying and styling her hair which was now still a slightly damp mess. They were in conversation and so she just kind of hovered towards the doorway somewhat nervously as she wondered if she should introduce herself or just sit down.

No way Sarah was going to wake from some kind of bang, the girl needed her beauty sleep. A few minutes after the two girls had left, she slipped out of bed. In only a tight tank top and short shorts, she didn't exactly look like she was staying at a mental facility, oh whoops, "home." Instead of doing things out of line with her behavior, she would do tiny things like this in order to show off her defiance.

Knowing she would probably have to wait for the shower, Sarah slipped a makeup box out of her dresser and started putting on her face wash, just using a water bottle to actually wash it off. Sarah looked back over at the new girl's bed and smiled, remembering how silly she looked with how elegantly she had fallen asleep. Poor Madeline~ The girl seemed so troubled about it, but she didn't want to get in trouble with Ms. Cambridge. That old bag could get quite snappy if she didn't get her way.

Neither the new girl nor Sarah must have noticed each other when she dropped off her clothing, all she heard was the door close behind her before she could turn around. An amused laugh slipped out of her throat as she thought of how even more troubled little Maddy would be.

Now Sarah was the kind of girl that took showers in record time. Literally only three to five minutes in the ol' thing. It was a fact that she was extravagantly proud of and no one could stop her. Well, it was mostly because of how cold the water could be after so many people using it and that Sarah liked to sleep in, but anyway...

Sarah slipped into her clothes, dropping the dirty ones into a hamper in the laundry room next door and finished brushing her hair. She swept everything but the bangs into a side ponytail and put on her 'innocent' look clothing. A purple undershirt and red cardigan, with blue capris. Sarah skipped down the stairs and looked to see that Erik, the prick had decided to put his feet up on what she could only assume would be the new girls chair. She saw said new girl looking whether to sit down or not.

As she passed her, she called to the other two, "'Morning Erik, exquisite as always. Maddy, you're always the cutest little button here, we shouldn't spend our time having spats, right?" She moved in front of the new girl and smiled, "Hi! I'm Sarah, I've been here the longest so let me know if you need anything~"

Does he seriously think that I should just ignore his uncouth behavior and be fine with it. Treating the furniture at the table that way? Relaxing is one thing but we eat here. If he wants to relax then he can go to the common room and chill in there. It is ok. Don't let him know how much he is annoying you. Don't go over and grab his feet and force them to the ground. Don't slap the grin from his face and tell him that he is being an annoying jerk. Let it go. Instead of showing any of the emotions she was really feeling, Maddy just smiled a slight smile and replied, "I suppose you are right. Good morning." She twisted her hands in her lap as she tried to handle her urges.

From the corner of her eye she saw someone hovering in the doorway. She saw that it was the new girl and her new roommate. She could tell that the girl was nervous so she smiled at her shyly. It seemed that after she was conscious, the girl was much more put together and neat. Maybe Maddy had jumped to conclusions about her. Maybe she would prove to not be as much of a hot mess as Sarah. It would make living in the same room with her much more relaxed.

She opened her mouth to say something inviting, when Sarah breezed in the doorway. She listened as Sarah greeted Erik and then spoke to her in her usual slightly rude and condescending way, before going over to the new girl and greeting her. Be careful new girl. She will chew you up and spit you out if you fall for her bullshit. She may seem nice at first, but it will quickly change when she shows her true face. She may look all sweet today but it is not true. If only I could actually say that out loud.

"Let her sit down, Sarah. The others will be here soon and if we are all not seated then we will fall behind schedule. You know we don't have that long to eat." She blushed when everyone looked at her and wished she had kept her mouth shut. She did not know what had possessed her this morning. She had been outspoken to Erik and then saying that to Sarah. It was totally out of character for her. Why could she not seem to keep her mouth shut. She started to pound her thigh with her fist in order to calm the chaos taking over her mind and settle down. She did not want this to be another trying day but unless something changed then it seemed to be the way it was heading.

Calla woke up, and immediately began screaming. She still had the IV hooked up to her, she was still on those thin little mattresses that made her bones ache in the morning. Her father was still gone. She had been dreaming of the simpler times when all she needed to worry about was pleasing him, and she had loved it. It was like floating on air in the dream, now she felt heavy. She had been regaining weighty lately, which made her want to tear out the thin, unhealthy strands of hair she had left. She was at an even ninety pounds now, and everyday she felt more energized. It was unbearable, she couldn't stand it anymore. The more energy she had the more she had to think about her poor innocent father wasting away in a dull gray prison cell. She continued to scream until the nurses came, and by then her throat was raw. "Please let me out! Please stop giving me the IV, it's torture! I'm so fat and giving me this makes me unhealthy! Please stop please!" She sobbed and smacked their hands away when they tried to help her out of bed.

Gathering herself, she wiped away the tears with a shaky hand. She went to her small wardrobe and selected an outfit while a nurse waited outside for her, she got dressed and gathered her thinning hair into her hand. She put it into an updo with a few small pieces framing her face. She had gotten to fat ever since she had come here. She remembered being heavy with the IV fluids from her incident at the hospital, and since then the same heaviness had been torturing her throughout her days here. They wouldn't relent, she tried making deals with them but they would never listen. She wanted to run away, but if she went back home her mother would send her right back. The only person who understood her was her father, and he was gone. She had to go visit him, they could build a life together. The therapist tried to tell her how wrong she was, how her father had never really loved her. Calla knew that was completely idiotic, of course her father loved her, or he wouldn't have come to her room late at night. Her heart throbbed as she remembered his caresses. The nurse knocking on the door was what knocked her out of her trance. She straightened her sweats and stepped outside, rubbing her stomach and groaning.

"Nurse, my stomach is upset. I can't eat today or I'll throw up. It's probably the IV, you really should take me off of those. Can I please go sit down in the common room? Please? I'll eat a bit of toast of you let me. You know I hate the cafeteria." She put her hands together shook them in a pleading motion. The nurse simply shook her head, "Calla lying isn't good for you. I know for a fact that the IV's aren't doing anything bad to you, you already have some new pep in your step." She took Calla's hand and gently led her towards the cafeteria, she made sure they took their time and told Calla reassuring things. "No nurse you don't understand! I'm so fat now, look at my belly it's huge! Please let me see the therapist. He'll tell you the same thing!" Calla pulled away from the nurse, but although her grip was light she still had a hard time doing so. The nurse shook her head and grabbed Calla's wrist, squeezing a little bit tighter. Calla was too exhausted to fight back, until she smelled the food. They were getting close to the dining room, and Calla froze.

"No. No no no. You can't do this to me! You can't do this to me! I won't let you!" it was the same tantrum she threw everyday. She knew what would happen, they would give her a small dose of something that would make her tired, then they would spoon feed her. That was what happened her first day. She knew not to struggle too badly, or else that would happen again. So when the Nurse gave her arm a small tug, she forced her mouth shut. She held her breath and closed her eyes, though there was a small trail of tears streaming from them. This was where they made her eat, they forced her to eat even though she begged them not to. They gave her a whole plate and a nurse was always close by so she couldn't pawn it off on another kid. She opened her eyes once, glanced at the other kids, and shut them again. One of them had their feet on the table, he was a handsome boy that Calla would have flirted with before. There were also a bunch of girls, but she didn't think any of them were very spectacular. She was standing next to one girl, and there was another girl in front of her. They were greeting each other, so the nurse had to push past them politely. She made Calla take a seat and the table next to the boy with his feet up. She took quick breaths through her mouth so she wouldn't have to smell the food as much. She fidgeted and shook, unaware of how embarrassing she must've looked.

Micheal had woken up form a great dream he had which was of himself sleeping with his former girlfriend of two years eating bacon and eggs with her before heading outside to dance in the rain, Getting out of bed and picking up the dog hand puppet form the desk beside him putting it on his hand. "Hello Danny how did you sleep last night" He asked the hand puppet in a sweet sounding voice, He had had this hand puppet for a bout a year or so that has become his new friend.

"Pretty swell i would say,How was your nap last night?" He said voicing the puppet with a happy go lucky sounding voice,"Pretty good oh we should eat something im sure your pretty hungry as am i" Micheal said happily looking around the room getting his clothes on of a white shirt and pants. This time around he put on some bunny slippers, Putting on a small vest on the dog puppet treating it like a real piece of clothing for his puppet friend.

Heading out of the room and into the cafe he avoided the other teenagers and holding the tray with his food taking a seat alone by himself,"We're going to enjoy this splendid meal because today is a great day..." The puppet said to him with Micheal making the puppet's arms rising up in the air like he was excited. Micheal started to eat his food happily once in a while putting the fork full of food smearing all over the puppet's mouth wiping the remaining food with a napkin so he would not be dirty.

(~so sorry~)

@AimeChambers @Tsar Gatto @paragloan @SunsetRoses @Eviledd1984

Erik chuckled at Maddy's response pleased that he had been able to quickly convince her of his point. "Good morning to you as well- you hair looks lovely by the way." He opened his mouth as if to say something else, yet was interested as Sarah loudly interrupted his rather pleasant conversation with a greeting and a compliment. Erik frowned for a split second before putting a smile back on his face. In the time he had spent here, he had found it difficult to get a read on Sarah and could not quite tell if she was genuinely praising him, he did after all look exquisite everyday, or if she was somehow mocking him. Sarah seemed to find delight in excessive flirting and complimenting with the others and he had been told that it made them feel uncomfortable by his therapist. This was somewhat distressing to Erik, he had never felt the least bit uncomfortable with her compliments or general flirty demeanor, and had caused him doubts. Was she complimenting him as much as the others? And if not, why not? These things worried him and always put him slightly on edge whenever she was around. She was attractive in her own way, though she very rarely put any effort into her hair, putting her below his desired standards. If Erik was to truly find love in this world, it would have be with somebody of his own caliber, someone more special and unique than all the others.

Erik looked up at the flamboyant Sarah and said in his usual tone of voice, "Good Morning Sar-" before cutting off completely. There just beyond Sarah was someone new, he gazed at her mouth slightly open before glancing at the 'extra' chair' he had put his feet on. Several different emotions flashed through Erik: surprise, pleasure, and even a sharp line of anger. 'Someone new joining us? I should have been told!' The new girl was surprisingly tall, obviously suffering from the effects of new medication (a common enough sight around here), but still was quite lovely. And there was something else, something new that he couldn't quite put a finger on... something special. Erik was felt the excitement rise in his body, first impressions were everything and now was a shining moment to capitalize on that. Realizing that he had been gazing for quite some time, mouth slightly ajar, he averted his eyes and looked away, mimicking the actions of someone embarrassed to have been caught admiring another. His mind raced, 'How, what can I do to impress her?' Then there was a moment that made Erik believe with no doubt, that fate always worked out his favor. The nurses brought in Calla, the screaming girl who had been forced to eat for the past several days. The nurses were so strict with her diet and schedule that Erik had not yet been able to talk to the girl, though he had spied a couple admiring glances from her direction. Shortly after, Michael the strange guy with the even stranger puppet walked in and sat down completely ignoring the rest of them, playing in his own world. Erik quickly dismissed him as useless as he rapidly put his plan together, but not before he saw the way he was feeding his puppet. He grabbed his napkin off the table to his lap where it could not be seen, folding it into tube shape inside the long gray sleeve of his shirt, securing it into place with his cuff button.

Contrary to his usual approach, the first thing he did to impress the new girl was to ignore her entirely. Instead, he rose from his chairs gently placing his hand against the table, glaring at the nurse attempting to force feed Calla. "Would you leave her alone? Can't you see that she doesn't want you forcing her?" He did not yell, but spoke forcefully a hint of command and concern expertly placed into his voice. "All she needs is for you to back off and be kind to her. Or is that something you nurses and doctors can't handle?" With that challenge, he grabbed the 'dirty' seat he had been resting his feet on (though why anyone would assume that his shoes were dirty was beyond him) and dragged his chair over directly next to Calla. "I'll handle the rest, you can just watch over there." He gestured to the other side of room, taking the spork away from the nurse with his other hand. Erik knew that they would do follow if somewhat reluctantly. His therapist had informed both him and his nurses that 'helping others' was a goal that he needed to work them and hand commanded the nurses to reinforce any attempt Erik did that fit into that category just like this situation. To the staff, it would appear that he was beginning to show signs of 'positive' change. To the new girl, it would show his kindness and a fierce protective instinct for those suffering, both attractive traits. And to Calla no doubt she would be grateful and would stop yelling at breakfast. No matter how Erik looked at it, he came out on top, just as he should be.

As the nurses reluctantly complied shooting direct glances to the full plate in front of the them, Erik leaned in besides Calla's ear and gently whispered, "Play along and you won't have to eat, I promise." He transferred a portion of the food onto the spork, using his hand and forearm to obscure the nurses vision of girl's mouth. He raised it to the girl's lips , before quickly sliding the food down the spork and into the makeshift napkin tube hidden in his sleeve. Outloud, he gently said, "Come on Calla, you can do this- I believe in you." That line no doubt delighted the ridiculous nurses. He waited until Calla accepted the empty spork into her mouth before quickly withdrawing, moving his hand out of the way so everyone could see the clearly empty utensil. "Fantastic Calla!" He eyed the nurses expectantly looking for pleasant surprise. "See? Just kindness- Calla can do this without you forcing her."

At last, he turned towards the new girl. He shifted his expression into one of slight embarrassment. "I'm sorry I was using your chair, I didn't expect to have a new person with us today. I thought they finally added a little comfort to this place." He flashed her one of his most charming smiles. "I am Erik, by the way. You can use my chair instead, it's clean promise." He gestured over to the seat he had previously occupied, now empty before slowly turning back to deception with Calla. A satisfied smirk crossed his face just for instant as moved.

@EurmalEye @SunsetRoses

Micheal watched what was going on with the others and the plan that Erik had put him, "Pretty swell smart plan he has doesn't he Mikey" Micheal said in the "Danny" voice. "Yeah that was pretty smart but we shouldn't get involved it might get us into trouble...don't you think" Micheal said to Danny with concern in his voice.

"No i think you should go over their and make some friends,You could have a super swell time meeting new and fantastic people!" Danny said in a happy tone of voice rising it's puppet arms."Umm are you sure...i don't think they would like me all that much.." Micheal whispered to the hand puppet making it nod it's head as to reassure him somehow.

"Okay if you think that is best for me.." Micheal looked around leaving his tray of food and taking a seat beside Calla,"What’s bigger than you, but doesn’t weigh anything?..." He said saying a good riddle that he likes to use when speaking to new people,Danny the hand puppet looked at Erik nodding his head,"Your super awesome amazing!How did you come up with your super swell idea?" Danny asked the other boy in his usual happy go lucky voice.

Teres stood and hovered like someone trying to still muster the courage to speak when a girl with very dark shining obsidian hair breezed past her into the room and chirpily spoke, first to the others and then to her. The girl’s aura was bold and springy and seemed to draw the attention of everyone in the room as did her happy flowing speech.

“Morning Erik, exquisite as always. Maddy, you're always the cutest little button here, we shouldn't spend our time having spats, right?” She moved in front of Teres and smiled, "Hi! I'm Sarah, I've been here the longest so let me know if you need anything"

A grin reactively spread to her features and as she was about to reply when the other girl, Maddy, spoke first "Let her sit down, Sarah. The others will be here soon and if we are all not seated then we will fall behind schedule. You know we don't have that long to eat."
Maddy seemed to blush as she drew attention to herself and quickly went back to her food, though Teres didn’t notice that she was soon punching herself under the table or the slight tone of confrontation that had come across from her when speaking to Sarah.

“Teres” she said introducing herself to Sarah and Maddy, but at that moment the door opened once more and one of the nurses entered guiding another girl into the room, the sounds of raised voices preceding them. Not wanting to stay in the way Teres moved into the dining room area as the pair made their way through, it becoming quite clear that the thin girl was very distraught and tearful and Teres felt herself becoming quite uncomfortable as she decided it was best to simply sit down and see what was happening.
As she was about to take a seat she watched as Erik (she was pretty sure that’s what Sarah had called him anyway) stood and went over to the nurse that had been hawkishly watching the thin girl and trying to get her to eat with a rapidly hardening expression.

"Would you leave her alone? Can't you see that she doesn't want you forcing her?" He said forcefully with a concerned tone as he stood up to the nurse. "All she needs is for you to back off and be kind to her. Or is that something you nurses and doctors can't handle?"

She watched then as he directed the nurse away and sat himself beside her, taking a few moments to whisper what she assumed was a reassurance to her before then helping her to eat. Where moments before she had been flat out refusing to taste so much of a morsel there was now an empty spork.

"Fantastic Calla!" Erik said with a glance towards the nurse who had been watching them from the side.
"See? Just kindness- Calla can do this without you forcing her."

He turned to face Teres with a somewhat embarrassed expression as he said "I'm sorry I was using your chair, I didn't expect to have a new person with us today. I thought they finally added a little comfort to this place."

He flashed her a dashing smile and added "I am Erik, by the way. You can use my chair instead, it's clean promise." He gestured over to the seat he had previously occupied.

Teres quickly sat where he had motioned as she introduced herself for the third time trying to return her best smile, thoroughly impressed at how he was composing himself. Her head was now swimming with the range of new faces and everything that was happening. She couldn’t help but guess at why each of them might be here, what kind of conditions they might have, though she did her best to push those thoughts down and to the back of her mind as she turned her attention to the food before her. Fruit, wholemeal and other such tidbits, low fat spreads and a selection of rather unappetising looking cereals were spread around the large dining table and she frowned slightly as she surveyed them and her medication was placed next to her in a small plastic cup.

“Delicious...” she said sarcastically somewhat to herself as she took the pills and swallowed them quickly and without further complaint. She mostly listened to the others, feeling still like the outsider looking in despite the fact that the others seemed far from a unified group. Her mind quickly wandered and she found herself wondering if any of them were here for trumped up reasons, if they too didn’t really suffer from whatever ailments they were being treated for like her. With the exception of maybe Calla (who had made it clear enough why she was here in the short time they had spent in the same room) and the guy who she had seen feeding and talking to his puppet in the corner, she couldn’t particularly hazard a guess at why any of them might be here. Her eyes kept going to Erik, both as he was still helping Cella and also as she just found her gaze drawn to him for some reason as she wondered why he might be here.

She would have spoken to him but the puppet guy had just moved from where he had been sat on his own to the seat beside Cella and Erik, so she instead turned her gaze over to those on the other side of her and addressed Maddy and Sarah.

“So you’re my roommates?” She asked trying to sound upbeat despite the headache that was already rapidly descending upon her and her plummeting mood as she thought again about the fact she shouldn't really be here in the first place. As she spoke she mildly stabbed at the piece of toast and banana that adorned her plate, her appetite still not much though she was slightly hungry after the long trip yesterday. She idly flicked a few crumbs of bread from her plate as she spoke, mostly an absent minded habit as she flicked her gaze back to Erik every now and then as she spoke, finding that she hoped she would catch him looking at her.

@EurmalEye

Calla opened her eyes as a pair of lips brushed against her ear. She shivered, and gazed into the eyes of Erik. She listened to him tell her that she wouldn't have to eat if she went along with his plan, and her eyes brightened. When he moved the empty spork towards her mouth she eagerly accepted. "Thank you! No one else understood that forcing me wasn't the way to do it. Thank you so so much Erik." she over exaggerated her excitement, staring pointedly at the nurses. Then she threw her arms around Erik and gave him a hug, while she was close to his ear she quietly whispered "I don't know why you're helping me, but thank you. As for now, I owe you."

She then smiled wickedly at him, and gave him a sly wink when the nurses weren't looking. She appreciated the gesture, she just didn't know what he wanted to get out of it. The boy with the hand puppet, Micheal, asked her a silly question about what was lighter than her but also bigger. Calla didn't know the answer, and she was too stressed by all the food around her to care. However, she did smile politely at the boy and shrug. "I don't know, wanna tell me what?"

@Eviledd1984

@SunsetRoses

"Your shadow of course,A good riddle am i right?" Micheal said with a big smile on his face,"Yes a very swell riddle Micheal" Danny chirped in turning it's puppet head towards her. The young boy when knew that he got the ice breaker out of the way he could introduce himself,"Hello my name is Micheal..and this is Danny" The young man said introducing him and the hand puppet.

"A amazing greetings to you Miss!" Danny chimed in his happy tone of voice now ignoring Erik and both of them taking to Calla.

@Tsar Gatto @SunsetRoses @Eviledd1984

Erik was somewhat surprised as Calla fully bought into the act, throwing her skinny arms around him with enthusiasm. He found the sensation odd, if not unpleasant like being embraced by skeleton that had swaddled itself in thin cloth. She leaned in closer and gently whispered,"I don't know why you're helping me, but thank you. As for now, I owe you."

As she pulled back she gave a grin of wicked intent and a quick wink of her eye. 'Oho... she knows how to play this game too it seems. Unfortunately for her, she is dealing with a master of the craft.' Putting on his best affable face, he laughed gently and quietly, but not so quietly that he couldn't be overheard, said, "It's fine- you don't need to thank me. Here we all support each other to get through this place and back to our lives where we belong." He placed a gentle, reassuring grip on her upper forearm, briefly looking around at all the assembled teens one by one, eyes briefly lingering on Teres. "We will all get through this." Erik reveled into the attention he must be receiving, feeling the perceived adoration of his peers wash through him pumping endorphins through his body. Even Michael seemed like he was paying some attention to the scene, a difficult feat for Erik to manage. He smiled warmly at them all in genuine happiness before turning back to Calla to resume the false feeding. However, he had only manage to deliver a few more bites to the girl, before he heard the sound of footsteps approaching. He looked around expecting to see Teres coming to speak with him only to find Michael of all people with that incredibly dumb puppet on his hand. His looked past Michael only to see Teres seeming to relax back into his seat as though she had been about to rise. Anger gnawed at his composure, growling like a rapid hound, itching to be set free causing a violent pulse at his temples.'No, no. Now is not the time for that. LATER.' He calmed down at the pretense of adjusting his chair to better help Calla, furthering his ability to block Michael's line of sight from his hands in the process.

"Your super awesome amazing! How did you come up with your super swell idea?" asked Michael, or rather the puppet. Erik, somewhat mollified by this comment, smiled glancing briefly between the boy and the puppet unsure of which one he was expected to answer to. Michael asked some bizarre riddle, Calla answering briefly, seemingly gaining the whole of his combined attentions. Still, Michael was here and that was that, Erik would need to adapt. Maybe he could find a positive way to spin it in his favor once more?

"Michael and um...Danny," he said gently and warmly, "Good Morning to you both. Sorry to interrupt you, but Calla has to finish this up before the nurses start to get impatient. Can you two finish your talk after breakfast? In the meantime, I have a puzzle of my own for you." He cleared his throat slightly taking on a less serious, playful tone, "The more you take away, the larger it becomes. Can you solve this riddle?" It was an older one he had heard in school, but had impressed him with its cleverness and he had hung onto it as a riddle worthy of him. He furtively 'fed' Calla a few more bites from her rapidly dwindling plate, before glancing back over to Teres to see if she was looking at him.

@EurmalEye

"That is quite the pickle of a riddle,Please give us a moment to consider something hahaha" Danny said with Micheal lowering his head along with the puppets speaking in hush whispers,After a few moments of the teenager speaking to the hand puppet before moving his head back up."We've come to the conclusion that the answer to...the riddle would..is..a hole" Micheal spoke up with a big smile on her face so proud of himself.

"Yes i believe that this is the answer to your super swell riddle" Danny said cheerfully the puppet's head bobbing up and down.Micheal had his body turned to face Erik now both of them facing the other teenager.

Sarah couldn't help but turn towards the doll-like girl in shock, had she jus- oh. Ohhhh, aw, little Maddy was being snappy, this was already turning out to be a great day. Her somewhat sickeningly sweet smile switched over to a real one and she sat down by Madeline, completely forgetting about the new girl. "Why of course my little buttercup, I wouldn't want to step out of line~"Erik actually seemed enamored by the new girl, which made her think she would have all of the fun messing with that little tidbit later.

Sarah didn't really notice Calla until she passed, the stupid girl was an idiot to keep fighting them. What in the fuck was her problem anyway? If the girl went ahead and actually put some meat on her bones, she'd be much prettier than the raven-haired girl herself. So Sarah didn't bother to acknowledge her, she didn't exactly want the new girl to find out about her irritating mood swings. Micheal had also come in at some point but she didn't bother to say hello.

So her name was Teres? It looked as though she was getting uncomfortable with Calla being here, that was so cute! Those big wide eyes seemed to be searching for some kind of safe spot, and obviously Sarah would oblige.

Acting all heroic, Erik got up to give Calla her own way, if it were up to her, he would have gotten a smack on the wrist for that. Why give her what she wanted when it was just going to make her worse? Sarah moved her hair out of her face and kept a 'pretty' smile on as she watched what the new girl would do. She seated herself down in Erik's chair and took her pills along with everyone else. Teres used a bit of sarcasm too, always a nice trait to have in common with someone.

Sarah looked back over at Maddy and got closer, "So what's with the bitchy commentar-" But then Teres asked about them being her roommates. She looked over and laughed, slipping an arm around Madeline's shoulders, "Yuppers, that's us! I'm really hoping we can all get along now, like three peas in a pod!" Sarah had barely touched her food, but with all the excitement, who could blame her?