"Goodnight." Tessa murmurs, slipping tiredly into her bed. Jessamine mumbles something sleepily into her pillow, already almost passed out from exhaustion. Closing her eyes, Tessa tries to let herself fall asleep, but no matter how tired she seems to be, being at the ward for a week hasn't changed her picky sleeping habits. It is always hot or always cold and it just didn't feel right.

Theresa. Did you miss me?

Sucking in a sharp breath, Tessa pulls the covers to her bed over her head, her hands shaking. "Go away." She whispers furiously, trying to not wake Jessamine. Peeking out, she sees Holly on the other side of the room, staring maliciously at her. "Go away."

Theresa. Did you miss me?

"Please, please, please just leave me alone." Tessa blinks, jumping when a pair of semi translucent eyes stare into hers. Holly grins, pressing her hand against Tessa's throat so hard, she swears it is real. "Not today. Just leave me alone."

You're useless and you're a freak. Holly snarls, her face close to Tessa's. The voices and murmurs in Tessa's thoughts overpower her own, drowning out all sense of safety and stability. Quivering, Tessa stares up at Holly, her heart racing. The others here know you're a freak. They know you're crazy. They know you hear the voices. Now, say you missed me, Theresa darling.

"Jessamine..." Tessa calls out softly, her breath caught in her throat. "Jessamine!"

"What?" Jessamine groans, rolling over. Holly vanishes. Opening one eye, Jessamine squints at her in the darkness. "What is it? You've been talking in your sleep, you know."

"...Never mind." Tessa says, trying to keep the fear from her voice. "It was nothing."

~~ooo~~

Jem downs his pills with his water, vowing to himself that today, he will go to the music room. Maybe he can play his violin there in peace. Grabbing his violin case, he opens the door, making his way down the stark, white hallway. Arriving to the music room, he opens it, keeping his head down so no one would strike up a conversation with him. He takes the violin out of its case and sees it down on the floor, placing his bow carefully on the strings.

"It's a fancy seeing you here." A voice says just as he is about to play. Jem jumps, causing the bow to slip and shudder across the strings and produce a very loud, very offensive screech. Looking up, Jem sighes. Why is it that almost everywhere he goes, that particular boy is always there? Will smirks, raising an eyebrow. "How are you liking the view from there?" He says, gesturing to himself.

Turning away, Jem grimaces, not knowing what to say. "I didn't know you played piano."

"I play a bit. I mostly do guitar."

Jem smiles inwardly. "Liar."

"What?"

"You look much more comfortable on a piano than you do a guitar. You look like a pianist." Jem surprises himself with his bold remark. He looks over his shoulder and gives Will an honest and nonjudgmental stare. "Music just so happens to be my forte."

"Yeah. You would have thought that hearing you play almost every damned hour of my life would have indicated to me that you liked music." Will snorts, placing his hands on the piano keys. He plays well, Jem commends Will mentally, listening to Will as his fingers move across the keys. But it sounds empty. Closing his eyes and listening to the melody, Jem lets his bow slide across the recently rosined strings. Though it is a spontaneous violinist accompaniment on Jem's part, it comes naturally to him as he listens closer to the dialogue, giving the piano a story.

It is one of the few times Will is silent, his blue eyes studying the keys in concentration as the cords resonate through the piano and into the room. He becomes vaguely aware that Jem has joined him on the violin; it sounds almost practiced. It is true that he played guitar, but it is also true what Jem had said about his first and better instrument being the piano.

Jem stops playing suddenly, his violin still pressed into his throat. Looking up at Jem, Will lifts his hands from the keys, confused. "Why did you stop?"

"You didn't need me anymore. It wasn't empty." Jem's mouth curves up into a bow, his eyes light. "You're talented."

"I know." Will says instinctively before catching himself. He turns to Jem, a genuine smile starting to form on his face. "Thank you."

"That was very pretty." Tessa says happily, walking into the room. She sits down in an empty chair near them, crossing her legs and pulling them up. "Do you come here often?"

"I don't really...but I should." Will gives Tessa a sideways glance, grinning. "After all, 'If music be the food of love, play on.'"

"Twelfth Night, by Shakespeare. Are we really going to do this again?"

"We could."

She glances in amusement at Will for a brief moment, then turns to Jem with a friendly smile. "That was beautiful. Do you play often?"

Jem flushes. He isn't sure why but there is something about her..."Yes. I'm sure Will knows that quite well."

"How long have you been practicing that?"

Closing the fall board on the piano, Will shrugs. "A week or so."

"Just today." Jem says shyly.

"Today?" Tessa asks, impressed. "Are you serious?"

"I assure you it was all improvisational." Jem murmurs, lowering his violin to his side.

"That was brilliant." Glancing at her watch, Tessa stands up, grimacing. "I have to go. Jessamine wants to show me something. I have no idea what it could be. She's quite crazy. 'What you are to do without me I cannot imagine.'"

"I see what you did there!" Will calls out after her as she left. "George Bernard Shaw, Pygmalion!"