Arigato Saz-Chan! Yes, this was originally written for you, but I am also sharing it with everyone here at fanfiction! Thanks for your review! I'm glad you decided to give me some feedback…to be honest I was a little sceptical about posting this, but…

Anyway, enough of me and my author babble (but before I go, don't you think that this was a quick update? Especially for me!) Thanks for reading my first instalment, and reviewing people! Here's the next chappy…

Chapter Two: Friendships

Everything is dark. Pitch Black. A white light flashes in the distance. Time has stopped. Life freezes, just for a moment. Smiling faces gradually fade away. A photo burning slowly in the fire. Crackling. Blackening.

7.00a.m. Ryo woke slowly, his eyes flickering around the room as he took in his surroundings. Dee's eyes watched his every move. The dark-haired teen was sat cross-legged on his bed.

"Sleep well Ryo?" He asked. Brown eyes met green, and for a while neither pair moved or spoke.

"Yes, thanks." The reply was tired but friendly. He would make an effort here, Ryo decided.

The serene quiet that made the atmosphere in the small room peaceful was shattered by a sudden rapping at the door.

"DEE-SEMPAI!" A happy voice called from outside. "Come on! Time for breakfast, you stud!"

Dee groaned and shot his room mate an irritated look. "J.J." He simply stated, before getting up to answer the door.

"Morning handsome!" A flurry of lavender blue hair toppled into Dee with great force, sending the two bodies to the floor. The shorter boy wore a big grin on his face.

"Get off me now!" Dee ordered crossly. J.J frowned but complied.

"Drake-Sempai, come on in." He told the un-noticed figure in the doorway. Ryo hadn't heard the other boy. He was tall with brown hair and deep blue eyes. He smiled shyly at Ryo, holding up his hand in a greeting-type gesture. The sandy-haired teen smiled in return. "Ooh! Who's this?" J.J suddenly turned his attention to Ryo.

"My new roomie, Ryo McLean." Dee informed the hyper-active boy.

"New roomie?" J.J's eyes widened. His hand reached out to squeeze Drake's. "Welcome to St. Maria's Clinic. I'm J.J Adams, and this gorgeous fella is Drake Parker." He announced grandly.

"Err…hi." Ryo felt the three pairs of eyes on him. Almost immediately, he flushed red with embarrassment. He didn't like attracting attention to himself – it made him nervous.

"Anyway, you guys go on ahead to the canteen, we'll catch up with you soon. We've got to get ready, so off…you…go." Dee ushered the two boys out of the room.

"Bye Dee! Bye Ryo!" J.J shouted from the hallway. Drake simply waved his goodbye.

"Sheesh. They oughta lock him up and throw away the key." Dee sighed. "At the clinic we call him 'Double H'"

"Double H?" Ryo frowned, tucking Bikky up under his bed sheets.

"Yeah. It stands for hyper-active and hypochondriac. That's why he's here."

"Well, he seems nice. And so does that other boy, Drake. Is he new too?"

"No, why?" Dee asked, pulling on a fresh new t-shirt, white with short sleeves.

"He was quiet. Is he shy too?" Ryo blushed slightly as he zipped up a pair of light-blue jeans. He was aware that Dee was watching him dress from the corner of his eye.

"Nah. But he gives a deeper meaning to the word silent. Drake's the mute I told you about yesterday. We communicate with signals and gestures. You'll learn soon enough." Dee ran a comb through his unruly hair before pulling it back into a short ponytail. "Ready?" He asked.

"Yeah." Glancing back at his bed, Ryo smiled at Bikky. 'Keep an eye on things Biks.' He thought to himself as Dee closed the door behind them.

The canteen was quite large, full of tables, chairs and machines that dispensed food items, drinks and even books.

J.J and Drake waved from a table in the bottom-right hand corner.

"Let's eat." Dee smiled picking up two trays and giving one to Ryo. "The food's not great, but we survive. Besides, even crazies have basic needs to be fulfilled." The dark-haired teen joked.

Dee chose cereal, one slice of toast and a drink of black coffee. Ryo went for a croissant and a cup of tea. He was surprised that the clinic had things such as croissants and baguettes.

As soon as the two boys had seated themselves at the table, another figure joined them.

"Morning boys!" A teenage girl grinned, sitting on the edge of the table and innocently swinging her legs.

"Hey Diana, you're eating with us today? Guess you took your meds like a good girl." Dee teased.

"Careful Dee, I can still break your arm!" The girl chuckled, suddenly getting the olive-skinned teen into a headlock.

"Scary mooch. Like you'd dare anyway, seahag." Dee escaped Diana's clutches and she pouted, sitting down in the vacant seat next to Drake.

"Hi guys." She received a smile from Drake and an attempt at hello from J.J, who had a mouth full of honey loops. Drake shook his head but remained silent, a small smile in place. "Oh, hey cutie! Fresh meat to greet! I'm Diana, or Dee-Dee if you're feeling spunky, or you're Berkie. Nice to meet you hun!" Extending out a hand that held a set of perfectly manicured nails, and a sunny smile, Diana was quite the classy teen.

"Thanks…" Ryo shook hands with her nervously. "I'm…I'm Randy McLean, but you can call me Ryo. Everyone else seems to…"

"Pleasure. Well, sorry to cut this short, but I'd better go. I had a bite to eat earlier, and now I've got a one-on-one session with Dr. T. Later!" Diana waved, tossing a lock of blonde hair behind her as she left the canteen.

"Drake!" J.J suddenly shouted, jumping to his feet and knocking Dee in the process. The boy in question blushed. Dee, having spilt black coffee on his jeans, was not impressed.

"J.J you idiot!" He yelled, furious. Ryo shied away, preferring to look down and stare at the table. "Can't you stop being so damned annoying?" Drake shrugged and gave a sign. "Don't apologise for him, man." Dee groaned, trying to soak up the mess with a napkin. "Great. I'd better change my pants. Coming Ryo?"

Drake looked from J.J to Ryo sadly. The latter gave him a sympathetic look.

"I'll see you guys later, I guess…" Ryo whispered. And with that he left to follow Dee, who had stormed ahead back to their room.

"Bye!" J.J yelled. "I'm sorry!" No one replied, but Ryo looked back and gave a small wave.

Breakfast was over.

"So you did touch my knee…" J.J grinned mischievously as he and Drake returned to the room they shared.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

"So how old are you anyway?" Dee asked, running his fingers through his hair. The jeans had been replaced by grey slacks. The pair were lounging in their room, and Dee had decided it was the perfect time for a conversation. For some reason he liked hearing the other boy speak.

"Seventeen." Ryo replied, pulling an A4 sized book from out of his bag.

"Oh, same as me. I turned seventeen last month. J.J's sixteen, Diana and Drake are eighteen, Berkley's nineteen, same as Rose. Oh, and Alicia's eighteen too."

"Huh?!" Ryo couldn't remember how old all the teenagers were. He didn't even know some of them.

"I thought you'd be younger than me. You're so skinny. You should've eaten more for breakfast, not that all of it's edible." Dee stated. Suddenly, he noticed what currently held Ryo's attention. "What are you reading?"

"Oh. Nothing…" The other boy answered, closing the book slowly, and watching the smiling faces disappear from view.

TBC…

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Phew. Oh man, I am so tired now. My whole body hurts, so I'm going to bed. What were your thoughts on this chapter? (What's with Drake? Naughty boy…!) Reviews are most welcome. See you again soon!

Byezies,

Minako Angel xxx