Thor woke up with a start the next morning. He glances over at the small clock on the bedside table and saw that it was 5:30am. He groaned and glanced over at Loki's bed, seeing it empty.
Remembering what Gwen had told him, Thor shot up, looking round the room in panic.
He let out a sigh of relief when he saw Loki sat at one of the desks with the desk lamp on, bent over something and scribbling.
Thor shifted on the bed and the springs creaked. Loki's hand movements froze but he didn't look up. Thor stood up cautiously. "Loki?"
Loki didn't move.
"It's half five, why are you up?" He stepped closer, trying to be lighter on his feet but tripped over his shoes. Loki scrambled to shut the notebook in front of him and spun the chair round to glare at Thor.
"Not your problem," He spun back and stared at the dark brown leather of the notebook, tracing the faded marks in the cover with his fingertips. The book was landscape and A5 sized. Thor stood over Loki's shoulder.
"What's that?"
Loki opened one of the drawers and slipped the book inside.
"Nothing," He stood up and dodged past Thor without looking at him.
"Loki?" Thor sat on his own bed, facing Loki's.
"What?" Loki was facing the wall lying down with his back to the older boy.
"Why are you in here?"
Loki was still for a second then he sat up, cross-legged, facing Thor.
"Why are you in here?" He cocked his head to the side, studying the blonde.
Thor decided if he told him his reasons then Loki would tell Thor why he was here.
"I see things that aren't there. I kept forgetting to take my medication so my parents thought if I was in here then the staff would ensure I got the medication and the help I need to get better,"
"Why now?" Loki didn't seem fazed by Thor's condition, which was a nice change. Usually people were awkward about it, not knowing what to say. But Loki acted like it was normal which, Thor supposed, if you've spent three years in a mental institution, it was.
"My friend put her hand on my shoulder and I didn't expect it. I freaked and, my dad had taught me self-defence, I broke her arm… In three different places, then kicked her legs out so she fell on it," Thor looked down in shame.
"That's when your parents dumped you in here?" Loki asked.
Thor's head shot up. "They didn't dump me in here. They wanted me to get help; we all talked about it and decided this was best,"
"You mean they persuaded you to see it that way?"
Thor wasn't sure if he preferred it when Loki didn't talk or not.
"No…"
"Do you want to be here?"
"Well, no but-"
"Then it wasn't you choice," Loki interrupted him.
"Why are you in here?" Thor changed the subject.
Loki smirked crookedly. "I'm insane,"
"What did you do? Taylor said you've done worse than me,"
Loki dropped his chin against his chest. "Can't tell,"
"Why not?" Thor leant forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
Loki chuckled coldly. "Merrick has been trying to get me to talk about it for three years and he's gotten nowhere. He's trained for this shit, what makes you think you'll be able to get me to talk?"
Thor shrugged. "Maybe talking to someone closer to your own age will help. I'm not asking that you tell me details, just the basics,"
Loki hummed. "Let's just say… it involves fire,"
Thor blinked. "You're a pyromaniac?" He remembered that word from a TV how he used to watch.
Loki nodded. "You're smarter than you look, Odinson,"
Thor smiled for a second then it faltered. "How did you know my last name was Odinson?"
Loki tapped his nose, a mischievous glint in his eyes, then laid down and rolled onto his side away from Thor.
Thor stared at him in shock then realized he was asleep. He lay down and pulled the covers up, trying to get some rest himself but he couldn't stop thinking about the boy laying just a few feet away from him.
Morning finally came and Thor sat up, a little groggy from lack of sleep. He must have dozed off at some point though because he couldn't remember hearing Loki move but now he was back at his desk, slipping the leather notebook back into the draw he had done previously.
Before he could say anything, Taylor banged on the door to take them to breakfast.
They ate their porridge quietly at their table.
When they were done, Loki wanted to go back to their room but Taylor made him go to the rec room instead and Thor followed.
When they walked in there were three guards in the middle of the room, one holding a hysterical girl, another talking to her to try and calm her down and another trying to keep other patients away.
The girl was screaming and flailing in the man's arms, trying to escape. Taylor stepped forward to go help but then stopped and turned to look at Loki. Loki didn't even look at Taylor but walked straight past him instead. The man trying to keep other patients away went to nudge Loki's shoulder then it seemed to register who it was because he stepped aside to let him past. Loki hissed at the other guy to shut the hell up then put a hand on the girl's cheek. She carried on screaming, not noticing him, until he started talking. Thor couldn't hear what he was saying and neither could anyone else but the girl. Eventually she calmed down and smiled brightly at Loki, seeming to not notice the man still holding her back.
"Hey Loki," She grinned. Loki smiled and nodded back then went into the corner with a floor-to-ceiling bookcase and picked out one. He sat against the wall and opened the book. Thor went over to join him and so did the girl. She tried to read the book over Loki's shoulder.
Thor sat on the other side of Loki and the girl smiled at him.
"Hi, I'm Romey," She waved at him and tucked her dark brown wavy hair behind her ear.
"I'm Thor," He waved back, smiling politely.
Romey looked between Thor and Loki. "Like the Norse god?" Her brown-green eyes sparkled brightly.
Loki rolled his eyes but kept staring at the book.
"Yes," Thor grinned more.
"I love Norse mythology," She muttered. Someone from across the room shouted her and she got up and skipped away, calling behind her. "Bye Loki! Bye Thor!"
Thor waved at her and looked at Loki.
"Why did she calm down for you but not the staff?"
Loki shrugged. "She always does,"
"Why is she in here?"
"Schizophrenic. She has a voice in her head called Alayah,"
Thor nodded.
"How did you know my last name?"
Loki rolled his eyes. "I stole your file,"
"My file? How?" Thor stared at Loki and he shrugged.
"I've stolen everybody's file at some point,"
"Have you ever been caught?"
"Not once," Loki smiled proudly at Thor, his book forgotten.
"What did it say about me?"
"Thor Christopher Odinson, nineteen, your birthday is April 16th, you live in New York,"
"Wait, I told you most this,"
Loki sighed. "The friend whose arm you broke was called Sif Alexander. Also there when it happened were Hogun Asano, Fandral Dallas and Volstagg Stevenson. You thought she was one of the Dark Elves. That's what you see hallucinations of,"
Thor stared in shock and Loki smirked.
"I don't think it's fair that you know all that and I know nothing about you,"
Loki sighed but before he could say anything, Taylor came over and told Loki that he had his group session. Apparently he didn't get the option to not go.
Thor decided to stay here while Taylor escorted Loki to his session.
He talked to other patients and asked them all about Loki and what they knew about it.
"I heard he burnt his pet dog alive,"
"I heard he set fire to his school,"
"I heard he beat some bullies up with a dictionary,"
"I heard he set his family on fire,"
"I heard he's gay and his boyfriend cheated on him so he set him and the other guy on fire,"
"I heard he set his mother on fire so his dad dumped him here and disowned him,"
"I heard his parents tried to burn him and he became obsessed with fire,"
"I heard he doesn't like chocolate!"
The last one wasn't very helpful.
Most of them seemed to revolve around fire… and he said he was a pyromaniac…
Thor kept bugging Taylor for answers too. Eventually he got a little information from him.
"Let's just say, his family won't be visiting him any time soon,"
That narrowed it down.
Loki was dragged past the rec room and back to his and Thor's room, screaming.
Thor couldn't understand what Loki was screaming but it freaked everyone else out.
"He never screams," Thor jumped when he heard Romey speak from stood next to him.
"When did you get here?"
She ignored his question. "Merrick probably brought up his mom again," She shook her head. "The man never learns,"
"Do you know what happened to his mother?" Thor asked her.
"He hasn't told me but from what I can gather in group when I go, she was a lovely woman and Loki loved her lots,"
"Do you know how she died?"
Romey shook her head. "Something about the cold,"
Cold? Now Thor was confused. If she died from something to do with cold why would Loki be obsessed with fire.
Thor went back to their room, determined to find out at least one new thing about his strange roommate every day until he had him figured out. This could take a while…