Author's Note: Beware, suicide, homicide, character death, and possible sexual content will be in this story.

Feliciano hadn't meant for it to end this way. He'd always imagined he'd go peacefully in his sleep after a long, happy life. There'd be angels at the pearly gates as he entered Heaven, and he'd see everyone he loved again. They'd all be together again, they'd be happy again.

It didn't turn out that way. He was young, fifteen years old with a promising future ahead. It had not been a happy fifteen years though.

First his parents died when he was four-he didn't remember them very well. Next to go was his beloved Nanno when he was ten. Then the government took his fratello away. He had been deemed a danger to himself and others; he was sent to a hospital for those with... problems. That had been two years ago. Feliciano found it hard to hold on after that, but then the kicker came. His first love died.

His love had moved away, but they had still talked-sending letters every so often. Then the letters stopped. Feliciano had still hoped his love would return, but then he caught a glimpse of an international news feed. A horrible wreck had killed three people, mortally wounded four, and injured another five. Feliciano's love was one of the dead.

That's when he gave up. The pain was intense. He had stabbed himself in the stomach. A gaping wound that gushed out deep crimson blood that stained his entire body and his bed. Darkness consumed him.

When he opened his eyes, he didn't recognize anything. The ceiling and walls were grey, and so was the blanket he was laying under. Feliciano propped himself up groggily and looked around the room. It was small and unadorned. The only furniture was his bed and another bed identical to his own. It didn't look like anyone else was there though. A searing pain ran through his stomach as he tried to sit up completely.

Oh yeah... he thought, his mind nearly mush. I stabbed myself. It was almost hard for him to believe he was alive. It had hurt so much and there was so much blood he could've sworn he was a goner. Apparently not though. He lifted an arm to rub his eyes and jumped at the sight of an IV in his arm. It connected him to a bag with a clear liquid in it. Feliciano had no clue what was in the bag, but whatever it was, it wasn't a pain killer. If it was-it wasn't a good one.

"Are you awake?" A voice asked from across the room, causing Feliciano to jump again. He looked nervously over to the bed on the other side of the room. Sitting up in it, was a muscular, blonde boy with bright, ice blue eyes. He had a strong jaw line and brow. His bare arms were thick, and Feliciano found himself wishing he wasn't wearing the black tank top that hid the muscles that were obviously underneath. Strange.

"Ciao. I-I'm Feliciano... Please don't hurt me." He whimpered, pulling the blanket up so only his face at the eyes showed. He didn't think the handsome stranger would hurt him, but one could never be too careful.

"Ludwig." The stranger said, a thick German accent was present in his voice, "I thought you'd be begging me to take your life. That's what most of the people here want... To die." He looked over at the young Italian boy. Their eyes met and Feliciano was instantly glad that the blanket covered most of his face-his cheeks had turned bright red.

"Umm... Luddy?" Feliciano asked nervously.

"Don't call me that." Ludwig growled, "but what?"

"Um, where am I?" He had no clue what had happened to him after he passed out. Ludwig hesitated for a moment before answering.

"We're in a mental hospital. Supposedly the best in the world." He answered, "Santa Maria Mental Clinic." Ludwig sighed the name. It was constantly being mentioned in international news. The Spanish hospital was famous for rehabilitating people with mental disabilities and psychological problems.

"Oh... Someone must have found me in my room..." Feliciano dropped the blanket and looked down.

"Ja, must have. You've been here for a couple days now." Ludwig stood up out of his bed and stretched. Feliciano watched, noting how strong the other boy looked. His shirt was tight, and pants loose. The outfit looked comfortable on him. It was completely black though, definitely not in Feliciano's taste. He preferred colors.

"So, why are you here, Luddy?" Feliciano asked, trying to keep a conversation going so it wouldn't turn awkward. Ludwig glared at him as if he'd asked the not obvious question in the world.

"I told you not to call me that, but I'm in for the same thing as you."

So he's in for suicide too... Feliciano thought, becoming slightly depressed. The thought of the handsome boy trying to kill himself was depressing for some reason. The question and answer filled the room with tension. It was awkward. Exactly what Feliciano had been trying to avoid.

"So, how old are you?" He blurted out the question, wanting the awkwardness to go away.

"16, but if you want to know more about me, you can wait until the warden comes to get us-we should be having a little group meeting later." Feliciano was confused by this a little. Was this guy insane, or were there more people that he were going to meet? He hoped it was the latter. It seemed that he was going to be sharing a room with Ludwig, and Feliciano wouldn't be thrilled to have an insane roommate.

It turned out that Ludwig wasn't crazy, because half an hour later a thin man with wavy red hair came into the unadorned grey dorm room. Ludwig instantly stood up in recognition when he saw the man.

That must be the "warden" Luddy was talking about. Feliciano realized, sitting up to look at him. The man was wearing a doctor's lab coat, but not scrubs the way most medical professional did in the workplace. Instead fitted khakis and a green sweater hung on the man's form. He walked over to Feliciano and placed a hand on the boy's forehead.

"I'm glad to see that you're awake, and that you're fever is gone." He had a friendly voice and smile, "now let's take that IV out." He asked Feliciano to hold his arm out, which he did. The IV was out of his arm in seconds. Feliciano rubbed the spot where it had been, it stung slightly. The man put a band-aid over it and held a hand out to the brunette boy. "My name is Dr. Rodriguez." He introduced himself and smiled again.

"I'm Feliciano." The boy smiled and bounced in his bed.

"It's good to meet you, Feliciano, I expect Ludwig has already introduced himself?"

"Yup! Luddy introduced himself when I woke up."

"Good. Now come on you two." He walked to the door and motioned for them to follow. Ludwig followed, eager to get out of the room. Feliciano followed after him, curious as to where they were going. Probably that "little group meeting" Ludwig had been talking about.

That was exactly where Dr. Rodriguez was taking them. They were led through a few green-and-blue painted hallways that were lined with windows to a large door that was locked from the outside. An electronic keypad was the lock. Dr. Rodriguez unlocked the door with a credit-card shaped key and opened the door. Ludwig smiled slightly and waved at the 7 people who were already there. Feliciano followed him inside, nervously.

The room was painted a light turquoise and was occupied by teenage males. They varied in size, but they were all larger than Feliciano. He waved shyly at them, wishing he could sit down by Ludwig, whom he'd grown accustomed to. Unfortunately Ludwig was sitting in the corner next to a lean boy with red eyes and white hair.

"This is Feliciano." Dr. Rodriguez announced, "I know not everyone's in here, but once they do get here, please introduce yourselves." He then left the room, leaving Feliciano feeling defenseless and scared.

Then the largest of the group stood up. He had violet eyes and a large nose. His hair was a very dirty blonde, and the bottom part of his face was covered by a large scarf. The boy walked over to Feliciano. Cruelty loomed in his eyes and he radiated an aura of malice. The small Italian boy shivered and shied away. Was he planning on hurting him?