[IC] Nobody Will Believe It [SporkoBug and Calle]

[SporkoBug]

Dia watched Josh as he started to walk along, reluctantly following him.
"I don't trust you." Dia uttered out loud, Josh only nodding in agreement. His lack of works irritated her, he was exactly like he was forever ago. "I don't... hate you though." She managed to say, keeping her voice quiet.

Josh glanced back to her almost with a smirk on his face.
"Oh I know." He smirked as he turned his head away, he never stopped walking. "I do not hate you either, Princess."
"Please stop calling me that." Dia said, not raising her voice, "I... don't like it."
"Very well," Josh started as he rounded a corner, "Di'rea."

---

Sara blinked as Marc gave her the tickets.
"You sure?" She looked up to Marc with a weak smile. "Thank you." She said as she turned to walk to the cash out point, looking through how much she had before she placed them down to the man behind the counter.
"How can I help?" The young teen behind the counter started, Sara looked up towards everything on the wall and pushed over her tickets.

"Can I get... The large spider plushie?" She asked, looking back down at him, "I think I should have enough?"

[Loksfjoer]

This was like his first days here: eating by himself. Benjamin looked at the other tables; some ate alone, some ate in a group. He didn't know these patients well enough to join them. He missed Ray now; they had shared all their meals since he had met her and it had become a habit quickly. Ray would probably eat at the infirmary and Dia was away to get some suitable clothes.

Back home he didn't have problems connecting with people and he had tried that the first two days, before meeting Ray. These people, or most of them at least, were mentally ill. The only one he had been able to connect with had been Simon, who had died.

---

Marc watched as Sara choose her price. A plush, that wasn't a big surprise. The kind of plush was a bit of a surprise. He hadn't met a lot of women who preferred spiders. He didn't mind though, it was good to know.

[SporkoBug]

Dia sneered towards Josh as she followed after them.
It didn't take too long for them to get to the reception. "Hello my friend Abby!" Josh started loudly, the blonde front desk worker flinching and looking up at him.
"A..Ah!" She started, fumbling with her papers to hide her cellphone, "Josh, H...How may I help?"

"I have a new nurse here, she came from the other place I came from." He said as he leaned against the counter to look into Abby's eyes, her irises slowly warping in colour to a dull grey as Josh spoke. "Can you put her in the system for me? Please darling?"
"O...Okay." Abby started, "I just need her name and gender."
"Dia." Dia answered quietly, "Dia... Stack....son." She said, her brain trying to figure out a last name.
Abby only nodded, starting to type on the computer without looking up. "Your name badge is being printed and the laundry dudes will have your uniform."

Josh turned back to Dia and offered his hand with a grin, "Shall we go then darling?"
Dia flinched as Josh smiled at her, she didn't like the way he looked at her.

---

The man handed the spider plush to Sara who smiled and handed the tickets over before she returned back to Marc with a grin.
"Okay, where to now?" She asked as she held the plushy in her arms. She looked down to the plush and grinned happily to herself, this would remind her of good memories, which was what she needed at this point.

[Loksfjoer]

"Don't forget your pills," a nurse said as she passed his table.
Benjamin almost swatted them from the table, but he refrained from doing so and just focussed on the subpar meal. Eating in this facility wasn't a treat, but everything here felt like a prison, so that was no exception.

He noticed someone of the staff feeding the catatonic woman, but he seemed less patient than Marc was when he helped her eat. Benjamin recalled the gentle way Marc helped her, but this one just wanted to get his job done. It was awful people like that were even allowed to work here.

---

"I know a good place where they sell a bratwurst baquette with sauerkraut." He started walking towards the exit of the arcade hall, glad that it had gone so well. "They have other fried meats you can choose on the baguette too, but their german sausage baguette is really the best on their menu."
He could tell Sara was happy, she had a grin on her face and a light in her eyes he would never forget.

[SporkoBug]

"Let's go." Dia started as she stepped towards the opposite way and she paused, she realized she had no idea where she was going. She let out a low growl to herself as she turned Josh again, who was staring at her with a bit of a grin. "Lead the way." She hissed to him.
Josh only grinned before he linked his arm in hers and pulled her along quickly.

Josh pulled her along quickly, down darkened corridors and through brightly lit areas. The change in light levels were starting to hurt Dia's eyes, making her feel dizzy. She wasn't used to this, it had been so long since she was alive, since she had-
"Josh stop." Dia almost yelled, Josh paused and turned to the woman, his grin slowly fading. "Can we please not take areas of no light and light? It's hurting my head."

---

Sara's smile widened at the idea of the food place before she paused.
"Do... They do other fillings?" She asked quietly, "I'm... Uh... Allergic to Cabbage." She uttered weakly. She hung her head slightly and didn't look up towards Marc out of shame or fear.

[Loksfjoer]

"Of course," Marc said. "You can ask to have one without sauerkraut or get other vegetables. If you can handle onions, they have baked onions too and those with the German sausage is a treat. They also have lettuce and tomato, and the standard things you can get on sandwiches and baguettes."
As he explained the options he led the way to where the street vendor usually parked his foodtruck.
"I will probably get a hamburger," he continued. "With the baked onion and curry ketchup. That's it."

---

Benjamin observed what was going on around him as he ate; there wasn't much else to do. He missed Dia and Ray, and even Ari. Hopefully he would see Dia later that day. Ray probably wouldn't be released until the morning. At least he could meet her from breakfast again.
"Pills, Benjamin," he heard next to him and he looked up.
"No thanks. I feel fine."
"You have to take them regularly for them to continue to work."
He picked up the cup with the pills and offered them to the nurse. "No thanks, I'm good. I won't take them."
With a disapproving frown the nurse took the pills from him and put them back on the medicine cart, after which she wrote something down. Probably another note about his refusal. Benjamin shurgged internally; he couldn't care less.

[SporkoBug]

Sara looked up towards Marc when he mentioned about other toppings, "Oh, that's good." She said with a smile, "That sounds really nice though." She said before she looked around as they got to the street vendors, the different smells and looks around the area.
"Oh wow, this place is pretty!" She said, "Thank you for bringing me out tonight." She continued with a small sigh.

---

Josh lead Dia through to the laundry, making her wait outside as he slipped inside.
Dia waited quietly, her foot tapping against the floor. God, why was it so weird for her to be... Solid? She wasn't used to it, but she didn't seem to really mind at this point.

She heard some words on the other side before slowly the door opened again. Josh stepped out slowly, the shadows seemingly gripping at him as they attempted to pull him back in the room.
Josh gave a bigger grin to Dia, it was an off-putting, almost evil smile. "All done." He said as he held out her new nurse clothes. "You're in the system, you've got your uniform. And I can pull some strings for you to stay around your lover~"

Dia's face deepened in red as she stared at Josh, moving to slap his face, unluckily with no response. "Shut up." She hissed as she took the clothes angrily. "Thank you, anyway." She said with a bit of a sneer.

[Loksfjoer]

"That's my pleasure," Marc replied and he stopped in front of the food truck. There was a couple ahead of them and their order was being prepared. When that was done the vendor turned to them and Marc ordered his hamburger first, so Sara had a moment to look at the menu and decided what she wanted to eat. When he was done, both he and the vendor looked at her to see if she had made up her mind.

---

With the main meal finished, Benjamin turned to the pudding that was placed in front of him and he ate that. Today he had realised again he didn't like eating alone; he needed the company of someone. First it had been Simon keeping him company, then Ray and her spirits. Today no-one and he didn't like it at all.

[SporkoBug]

Sara looked at the menu quietly, she listened to Marc order before she looked towards the Vendor as he looked at her.
She gulped slightly before she started to order, "Just a Salami and Ham Sandwich with iceberg lettuce, Swiss and Cheddar cheese and the spicy mayo please." She said with a bigger smile, looking to Marc with a tilt of her head.

---

Dia headed back to Rays room in order to get changed, she focused on walking there; paying no real attention to where she was going or who was around her.

Ari floated around Ray, who notioned for her to leave if she wished.
Ari hesitated before she nodded and started to float away, towards the mess hall where she thought Benjamin may be. She knew he wasn't the biggest fan of her, but she knew he would be alone.

[Loksfjoer]

The vendor prepared both orders and when he put them on the counter, Marc paid for them and bought two water bottles to go with it. After accepting the change, he took his burger and water and waited for Sara to do the same before walking over to a bench where they could sit down and eat. Maybe it wasn't a fancy restaurant, but by the looks of it Sara didn't mind. He hadn't seen her smile this much at work.

---

Benjamin was eating in silence but looked up when he thought he saw movement in his peripheral field of view. Much to his surprise he saw Ari had joined him. Maybe talking to her now was not the best idea, as he had just given his pills back with the message he didn't need them, but he appreciated her presence. He glanced around, but it looked like staff wasn't paying attention to him.
"How are you doing now?" he asked her.

[SporkoBug]

Sara thanked the Vendor as he handed over her food, she looked to it with a big smile and followed Marc to the bench.
She plonked herself down beside Marc with a happy grin on her face, one that hadn't faded in a while. She moved to open up the wrapping and chomped down into it without another word.
"Mmmm~" She hummed happily as she nodded to herself, "It tastes amazing, this is some of the best food I've ever had." She said as she moved to wipe her face with her arm before she moved to sip her water.

---

Ari moved to sit against the table as she sighed.
"Ray's doing well." She replied, not speaking about herself like the question asked. "She may be able to leave tomorrow morning. Hopefully they don't give her that medicine again. That was not fun in any way." She frowned and crossed her arms, closing her eyes and dropped her head a bit.

[Loksfjoer]

Marc ate from his food too, sometimes looking at the happy Sara. He nodded when she commented on how good the food was. "True, yes. There are restaurants who don't serve food as good as this." He finished his burger and drank from the water as he looked around. There were a few people scattered around the area, some eating, some talking.
He glanced at the plush besides Sara and instantly smiled.
"I enjoyed today," he commented.

---

Benjamin listed to Ray as he finished his pudding and nodded. "Okay," he said. "That's nice. But how are you doing?"
Had she misunderstood the question or deliberately avoided it? He wasn't overly worried about Ray; the sickbay seemed to be a decent place, although he hadn't seen much of it.
He glanced around, but the staff hadn't noticed he was talking to the air again. Thankfully. They's shove the meds down his throat if they'd see he was having 'another episode of hallucinations'.

[SporkoBug]

Sara gave a happy nod as he spoke, she took another bite of her food before she looked to the sky.
"I feel..." She started, "I feel like I can be myself around you." She continued, not looking at Marc, her eyes on the stars.
"You don't stress about my illness, you treat me as a person. Unlike Aunt Vivian you ask me for my opinions on things, and then you take them into mind." She closed her eyes and dropped her head down slowly and held back tears, "Thank you."

---

Ari blinked as he asked about her, "Me?" She asked before she cleared her throat slightly. "I... think I'm fine. That experience was not nice, it felt like I was on fire." She shuddered before she looked over to Benjamin with a tilt of her head, "I've never really been away from Dia for a while... Is she really... Corporeal? Like, does she have a real form?" She looked over to everyone else momentarily, "I've never heard of that happening..."

[Loksfjoer]

Marc listened to Sara as she talked; he wasn't sure how to respond it - wasn't it normal to treat people like people? When she dropped her head down he put his hand on top of her head. "I want to thank you too," he said. "You've been the best company I had in a while. I had fun today and I would like to take you out again some day."

---

Benjamin listened to Ari as she talked, looking at her and nodding a bit. He blinked when he felt a wave of lightheadedness come over him, but he ignored it.
"I can touch her," he said.

A frown formed as he rubbed his head. He had felt like this earlier today, when he had taken his meds to get out of confinements so he could help dia. When he realised that he grabbed the cup of his pudding as if it would evidence of what had been in it. "They put my medication in the pudding..." he muttered.
They had taken away the cup before bringing the desert; it was the only explanation as to why he felt this way now. "Damn it..."

[SporkoBug]

Sara finished her food properly and took a swig of her water. She closed her eyes for a moment before she smiled a bit more, "I would absolutely love to go out again." She said as she glanced towards Marc, "Maybe in the daytime even? If Vivian will allow it of course." She sighed.
She enjoyed the feeling of him touching her, she moved her hand to grab his and pulled it off her head. She gripped his hand gently, enjoying feeling his skin against hers.

---

Ari froze when he mentioned that they had slipped the meds into the pudding.
"You're not going to react like Ray are you?" She asked, almost in fear.
She hopped up and floated around Benjamin carefully. "You're going to be okay yeah? You can still see me? Heal me?" She asked quickly, almost freaking out.

[Loksfjoer]

Marc had a kind look in his eyes when Sara took his hand and he didn't move. It was nice to sit here like this for a moment. But it was probably time to take her back; dinner would be over at the asylum and patients had be ready for bed at a certain hour. He couldn't stop a small sigh from escaping his lips.
"We should head back," he said as he lifted her hand and kissed it.

---

"Ari, relax. The pills are to help people with hallucinations. You're not a hallucination. I'm fine, just a little light-headed."
"What was that?" a nurse said as she walked passed.
"I'm a little light-headed," Benjamin repeated. "Which is weird since I hadn't taken my pills."
"Maybe you're tired then," she told him. "You better go to your room."
"I probably will, thank you." Benjamin watched her leave. He didn't think he would get anyone to admit they were willing to force patients to take their pills. He got up and glanced to Ari before leaving, making a gentle gesture with his head to invite her to come with him. They couldn't properly talk here.

[SporkoBug]

Sara's face deepened in red when Marc kissed her hand. She felt her heartbeat speed up and she gave a lopsided smile and nodded.
"Y-yeah." She started, she was obviously flustered, it was unable to hide in her eyes, in her face.
She moved to stand up before she glanced towards Marc with a bit of a pause. "Will you tell Vivian how it went?" She asked with a tilt of her head.

---

Ari nodded and started to calm at Benjamins' words, she wasn't a hallucination, he'd still speak and see her.
"But what about the meds that they gave Ray?" She asked as she followed him, "I'm not a hallucination, why does it kick me out of her body and make her so... Icky?" She moved to put her hands to the side of her head.
She was annoyed, she hated being stuck in here, she hated the people in here.
She hated not being believed. She existed, and she could make herself seen and heard- but every time she did, it was tossed aside as a mental illness.

[Loksfjoer]

"I will," Marc promised as picked up the plush from the bench and handed it to her. "I will tell her we had a great time and that you were just like any other person. She will want to know about that." he led the way back to the car; he rather wouldn't but he had to bring her back on time. That was his responsibility after all.
"And I work the late shift tomorrow, I'll start at ten and stay until dinner."

---

"Maybe they weren't meant to cure any illnesses." Benjamin answered Ari's question. "She seemed so out of it; she didn't even recognise me or Dia. Maybe they fed her some other drugs; something dissociative or something. Some pills can induce psychosis or other mental states you really don't want. I don't know exactly what happened with her or what she got, but it wasn't anything like the stuff they fed me."
He frowned as he continued to walk. "It frightens me," he admitted. "I don't know where they can put something in, I don't even know what they will give. But I can't stop eating out of fear they might spike it."

[SporkoBug]

Sara took the plush under her arm happily, holding it carefully like you would like a tiny dog you were holding.
"Thank you." She said with a weak smile, "Will.. you tell her about the stuff I've mentioned? About being treated not as a human?" She asked, her smile wavering as fear echoed in her eyes.

"As for your late shift, I'll..." She paused and sighed, "I'll be there, I don't know if I'm technically 'working' tomorrow. Vivian has probably got some sort of appointment for me again."

---

Ari nodded. "That's why we keep her off the meds, they're not.. Good." She said with a frown. "Last time she took them, Dia couldn't talk for weeks. She was stuck in the Orb way for ages." She sighed and floated around Benjamin for a bit before she leaned against his shoulders as she floated with him.

There was a presence from her, the weight from her leaning against him wasn't too much, but it was easily there, someone was there.

[Loksfjoer]

"I will mention that people don't treat you like a person, as they should," Marc said, "but I can't do much more than that. I can't prove it and I certainly can't tell a psychiatrist to take action. She outranks me. But I will bring it up, I promise."

At least they would see each other the next day. That was nice; they didn't have to work together. But her being a patient did complicate things. Wasn't he supposed to keep a professional distance with the patients? He decided it didn't matter and he wouldn't bring that up. They hadn't walked far from the car; they soon passed the place where they had gamed and then the tea-room where he had bought that book for Sara.

---

Benjamin nodded. "I'm not an expert, really, but it sounds like they are drugging her and her mental state affects how you can function. As if she needs to be aware of you in order to have a form." At least he understood now why Dia had reacted like that; she had been in the same state as Ari.

He felt something on his shoulder and looked to the side, surprised to see Ari leaning on it. She had barely any weight, not more than a piece of clothing, but he felt her. "Ari, why aren't you going through me?" he asked.