Disclaimer: I don't own My Chemical Romance, I just write about them. Thanks for reading!
"You mind if I smoke?" Gerard asked idly as the taxi rumbled through the deserted New Jersey streets. He knew it would be a good half an hour before they reached the hospital, not that he minded. He just needed a smoke. The taxi driver waved his hand and Gerard lit up, rolling down his window and enjoying the warm summer breeze. He wasn't sure how to feel right now; he just felt numb. Nervous, but numb.
"So, what are you going in for?" the taxi driver asked nonchalantly. Gerard inhaled the smoke and sighed.
"They think I tried to kill myself, but I didn't. It was a mistake. I'll just go there, explain what happened then go back to what I want."
"And what do you want?" Gerard stopped. What did he want?
"To go home." He finished. The driver nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer and the rest of the drive was kept in relative silence. Finally they pulled into the hospital grounds and Gerard looked up at it in awe. The place was fucking huge! The building was built on a massive ground in a horseshoe shape and a short stocky woman stood at the entrance, seemingly waiting for me. She approached Gerard as he got out of the taxi and took his case off the driver, thanking him and motioning at Gerard to follow her with a smile. They entered into an office of sorts and she sat behind the desk. Gerard sat before her and she pulled out a file, moving to a blank page.
"Welcome to Orchid House, Mr. Way. I'm Doctor Yaw, but you can call me Wendie. I've had a call from the hospital and they've explained the case," she laughed shortly, "Don't look so worried, dear. It's not so bad here, you know." She put the file before him and asked him to sign on the dots.
"Oh, um, I won't be staying," He stated confidently, "This is a misunderstanding. I don't want to die, and I didn't try to kill myself." Wendie smiled again and sighed.
"Unfortunately, this isn't a voluntary stay, but you still have to sign. Besides, it's only a month minimum; it can't be so bad for you..." Oh, she had no idea. Did she not get the memo? Two days without drugs and withdrawals start. Gerard tried giving up once; he shuddered as he recalled the pain and cold sweats. He wasn't sure he could do that again, but defeated, he signed his name. Wendie nodded and led him up and into the juvenile ward. They walked past door after door until they came to a single door on the end.
"Okay, you'll spend your first night here, then you'll share a room with another patient for the rest of your stay." Wendie drawled as she unlocked the door and led Gerard inside. The room wasn't too bad; it seemed too big as there was only one bed and no other furniture, "Don't worry; we don't lock the doors when the rooms are occupied. There aren't any drawers seeing as you're only going to be in here for one night... Let's see..." Wendie glanced at her watch, "It's five after six, so dinner'll be in about half an hour. I'll give you a call. Is there anything I can get for you in the meantime?" Gerard thought for a second.
"Uh, could I maybe get some paper and a pen?"
"I can get you paper, by all means, but a pen is a no-no. I can get a pencil or charcoal? I recommend the charcoal; it doesn't get used as often." Gerard nodded his thanks and collapsed onto the bed. He didn't want to think about how he felt. He was hurt, he couldn't deny it, but part of him felt as though they did this because they loved him. Wendie returned with the art supplies and Gerard thanked her profusely. He set to drawing, and managed to get half way through a picture of the view from his window when the door burst open and four people came stumbling in with Wendie chasing them.
"Is this the new guy?" one asked excitedly. Wendie pushed through and looked apologetically at Gerard,
"I'm sorry... They just pushed in! Guys, leave Gerard alone, it's his first night for crying out loud!" she scolded. The others filed out but the first guy hung back.
"Will we see you at dinner?" he asked heatedly. Gerard nodded with a faint smile and the other grinned, "I'm Brendan Urie, come find us at dinner, okay?" With that, he left Gerard alone once again. He looked out of the window again at the summer sun beginning to set. The landscape looked beautiful. There was a big fountain out front that Gerard hadn't noticed before. A few patients were walking through the grounds and everything seemed peaceful. Suddenly there was a harsh knock at the door and Wendie poked her head in.
"Gerard, dinner's ready. Come eat, okay?" Gerard nodded mechanically and stood. Before he got to the door Wendie stopped him gently, "Make sure you go to dinner every day, okay? If you don't go to meals or eat, you'll lose privileges, just so you know."
Gerard entered the cafeteria to find it almost full. He got his food and looked around for a place to sit. His attention was caught by Brendan waving crazily from his table. He sat down and began to pick at his food as everyone's eyes laid on him.
"So, I'm Brendan but you know that. What's your name? What're you here for? How old are you? Are you from Jersey too?" The boy next to Brendan cleared his throat and Brendan stopped with a shy grin, "Sorry, I talk a lot."
"Yeah, I get that..." Gerard mumbled, "I'm Gerard. Nice to meet you." The other boy piped up.
"I'm Ryan Ross," he turned to Brendan with a frown, "Bren, you shouldn't just ask someone why they're here." Brendan nodded dejectedly before going back to his dinner. Gerard was just enjoying the quiet when everyone else seemed to deem it right to introduce themselves.
"I'm Pete Wentz," "I'm Patrick Stump. I'm with Pete, here." "Hey, I'm Hayley Williams!" "I'm Jimmy Eringer." "And I'm Lindsey Ballato!"
Gerard took a moment to look over the occupants of the table. Brendan was looking around everywhere, fidgeting constantly. Ryan was quiet and reserved, and ate ridiculously politely. He was the most feminine of the group. Pete's bangs covered most of his face and he looked down; he didn't even look up to introduce himself. Patrick seemed to be the most normal of the group, acting like nothing was going on. Hayley was talking animatedly with Jimmy, and Gerard noticed the round burn marks on her wrists. He thought back to his own scarred wrists, but quickly shook away the thoughts; it was a long time ago. Jimmy had huge liberty spikes in his hair and he seemed somewhat unsure of himself. Lindsey was looking down and pushing her food around slowly, a permanent frown etched into her features. At that moment, Wendie sat down next to Gerard with a smile.
"Ah, so you've all introduced yourselves, good! Good job, everyone." Hayley piped up,
"Frank isn't eating today, Wend?" Wendie sighed and shook her head.
"No... He wasn't feeling too well today. Jamia wrote and said she didn't want to hear from him again. He's been in his room ever since." The group nodded solemnly and Wendie nudged Gerard.
"Eat..." she whispered before leaving.
"Who's Frank?" Gerard asked curiously.
"Frank's another patient here. He's been here for a year, I think. No one knows what happened to him though. Apparently he used to be happy, but something happened, and now he's here..." Lindsey mumbled, standing to deposit her plate.
"He was getting better though. Shame Jamia doesn't want to talk to him anymore. But then, if she was getting better she wouldn't want anyone pulling her down, right?" Hayley mused to herself, "So, Gerard! Who're you bunking with?"
"I- uh... I dunno. I guess whoever's free..." Gerard stuffed a piece of sausage in his mouth, finding it to be surprisingly good. Hayley shuffled uncomfortably in her seat.
"Well, Frank's the only one in this ward with no partner," Hayley continued, "But you're in the one-person room tonight, aren't you?" Gerard nodded, wondering what Frank was like. If he was to spend a month in his company, he hoped Frank would be alright.
"Hey, hey! Bob's not here either! I wonder if he's sick too." Brendan wondered aloud. Pete scoffed.
"He's just sick in the fucking head." He seethed. Patrick ran his thumb over Pete's knuckles soothingly and turned toward Gerard.
"You should steer clear of Bob. He's a sociopath, like Hayley, but he's not nice like her. He tried to take Pete to his room, and... and..." Gerard didn't need to hear anymore. He just knew that Bob was bad news. Gerard looked up to see a blonde man staring at him from the corner. The man's eyes were piercing and blue and Gerard felt intimidated. He nudged Jimmy who looked over quickly.
"Who's that?" Gerard asked quietly, "He's giving me the creeps." Jimmy shuddered visibly next to him.
"That's Bob himself. Trust us and steer clear. If he tries anything, talk to Wendie, okay?" Gerard nodded, deciding he was done with eating and just wanted to retreat to his room, curl into bed and forget this day ever happened.