Apparently, Marik has a membership to the Rec-Plex and is allowed to bring in one guest. This was a great relief to me, since it was only until after I agreed to "work out" with him that I realized I had absolutely no money on my person, and I didn't want to have Marik spend anything on me. I just met the guy today, after all; that would be kind of rude.

Anyways, I follow Marik through the partly crowded halls of a huge center that has three floors and all kinds of activities available. We, of course, are headed to the weight/exercise room, but I'm not really paying attention to where I'm going. I'm much more interested with the fact that barely anyone in this place was even looking at me, let alone giving me looks. It feels so nice to get away from the constant attention, but it also feels a little weird. I'm not really used to this, after all… I can't even detect anyone "sneaking" a glance at me.

I soon turn my attention to Marik when I hear him chuckle, however. "What's so funny?" I ask him, feeling a little embarrassed when I hear how defensive I sound.

"Nothing, it's just…" he looks at me with an amused grin, "you're not used to… not being looked at, aren't you?"

It takes me a minute to sort out the triple negative sentence before I respond with a hesitant, "… Yes…?"

Marik laughs. "Sorry for confusing you with my word choice," he says before looking forward again, "and people have seen worse than a limp around here. Look at that kid, for instance." He bobs his head to the left, so of course I look to see a little blonde girl with her right arm in a cast and a wheel on her left leg where a foot should be.

"Wow…" I mutter. It's not every day I see a fellow hospitalite, as I call 'em. I don't look at her for long, though, knowing how that feels, and I don't exactly pity her, either. I feel bad for her, yes (it must be horribly uncomfortable to have a wheel attached to your leg), but I also feel a sort of unusual companionship with her… we've both been through a strikingly similar trouble in our lives, something that no one else can ever understand no matter how much they may want to, no matter how sorry they feel. But I also know she, and the rest of us hopsitalites, don't want pity; we just want to be considered normal, or special in a good way, not the classic "Oh-Poor-You-You-Poor-Special-Soul" kind of way.

Why can't people understand that?

"That's Rebecca," Marik explains. "She tried following this other kid that took her favorite bear away and got her foot run over. Then, a few months later, she got her arm slammed between a door – nearly broke her elbow. The cast'll be off in about three weeks, but her foot…"

"Will always be a wheel," I finish, frowning a bit.

Marik simply nods.

"Why does she come here?" I have to ask. She looks so young; I remember being her age and not wanting to go anywhere because I was always afraid what people would think of me, walking like I do… It must be a lot worse for her. I guess this is a safer environment, but I wouldn't have even thought of coming here if Marik hadn't invited me, so how would she have found that out?

"She likes to keep active," Marik replies, a hint of approval in his voice, "but most of the kids near where she lives won't play with her because of her wheel, so she comes here for the Kid's package. The Kid's session just ended now, actually – she's probably off to find her parents."

"How did she find –?"

"Her parents signed her up; they were worried about her health. They figured sitting around all day couldn't be good for a growing child, and since all of the brats near her neighborhood were never taught common decencies, this seemed like a good solution."

I sigh. "The brats of the world cause all the pain…"

"Slap that on a T-shirt and sell it for nine fifty."

I let out a loud laugh at that and quickly cover up my mouth, blushing a bit. Wow, for someone who doesn't want attention, I certainly seem to want to attract it anyways. What kind of hypocrite am I?

Marik, the brat, is trying hard to cover up his smile. "If you look carefully, you can see a lot of others like you." He pauses before adding quickly, "Well, not like you exactly, I suppose, but you'll see a ton of people holding their arms in "weird" positions to minimize pain, and walking a little stiffly – probably sprained their ankles."

I try to look for the things he said and see that he's right; probably half of the people are holding their arms or wincing when they step on a certain foot. "Is everyone in pain here?" I ask, looking at him now.

"We work hard here," Marik says simply. "No pain, no gain, I guess. I bet a few people just think you worked really, really hard at something."

"You're not in pain…"

"I don't come here as often as I should."

I smile a little. "I think I like it here."

"Wait till you see the weight room." He looks at me with a bright smile then. "I think lifting some weights will be just what you need for a confidence boost – it'll show you what you can still do despite your appetizers."

I start laughing again and cover up my mouth again. I can't believe we already have an inside joke, and I just met him not even an hour ago.

"You should really laugh more," Marik tells me, "laughter is the best medicine."

I give him a big smile. "Thank you."

Marik laughs a little. "For what, exactly?" he asks, but I can tell it's rhetorical. I know I'm right when he continues with, "Treating you like a perfectly normal kid, taking you here, making you laugh, or giving you advice?"

"Why, everything of course," I respond. I smile down at the ground passing slowly beneath my feet before adding, "but mostly for that first one."

I feel him mess up my hair as he says, "Newsflash – you are a perfectly normal individual on the inside. Who cares if the outside's a little bruised?"

I can't help the incredibly happy smile on my face at this point, nor the warm feeling in my stomach. I don't even fix my hair, and usually I absolutely hate it when anyone touches it. Oh, great, now my eyes are watering up… but, unusually, it's because of joy instead of sorrow, this time.

Funny, I don't usually consider myself a lucky person, what with being a hospitalite and all. But… around this fellow mature brat, I feel all sorts of things I haven't felt in a long while.

The only sour note in my head right now is wondering of how long this will last… because nothing good in my life lasts forever. It never does.


A/N: HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE! :D Also, I would like to thank The Amber Raven, Zekione, and ScarletBlackberry for reviewing the last chapter. Y'all rock!

Please review if you liked this chapter or have any comments, concerns, or criticisms! :)