II
Jason was early to first period psychology. He had been so wrapped up in thoughts about what had transpired the night before that he hadn't fallen asleep. As a result he felt like a zombie, but he could at least take this extra time to do some research.
Jason sat on the carpet across from his classroom, pulled out his laptop and logged into the school's internet, which was made available to students for academic purposes. He figured that he was technically doing his psychology project, so if anyone looked over his shoulder or asked questions he wouldn't look suspicious.
He pulled up the search engine and his fingers hovered over the key board. Where to start?
After giving it some thought, he typed in the name of the hospital. The first articles that cropped up pertained to the fire. He skimmed a couple, and didn't find any information that Leo hadn't told him the day before. So he forged onward, and after a couple of pages, he found something like what he was looking for.
There was an interview by a Dr. Claymore, who had been a psychiatrist for Hope Mission for nearly twenty years before the fire. The interview had been largely ignored in the sea of articles describing the horrible tragedy of the fire, but to Jason, it was exactly what he was looking for.
The transcript of the interview was long, about twenty pages or so. Jason skipped some of the questions, such as background history of Dr. Claymore, and pulled up information he could actually use.
Page 10
Interviewer: With all of the rumors floating around, do you really believe any one of your own patients could have started the fire?
There was no name, but Jason inferred their statement to mean Nico. The interview was fairly recent, so by then rumors must have reached him. Then again, Jason knew he shouldn't make assumptions.
Dr. Claymore: I do not place credit in rumors. I am a man of fact. In reference to your question, however, while I am legally obligated not to talk about my patients directly, I can honestly say that none of my patients, even those I had a hard time getting through too, would never have ever committed such an act.
It was a cryptic answer, Jason realized, to keep the interviewer away from barred territory. Jason wondered if Dr. Claymore's comment about him having difficulty getting through to his patients held hidden meaning. He didn't want to look too much into his words, like some crazy English teacher, but after last night's experience, he couldn't help but wonder.
Interviewer: In that case, do you really believe that it was a gas leak that caused the hospital to go up in flames?
Dr. Claymore: That's what the so called experts tell me. I can't say I entirely believe them though. There was no evidence to suggest a gas leak, and even if there had been, there was no way a fire could have ignited with all of the safety precautions. I do not know what truly caused the fire, but I do suspect not all is as it seems, in regards to this terrible tragedy.
Interviewer: I know you said you do not place credit in rumors, but you are a psychiatrist. Surely you have heard the rumors about the hospital "ghost"?
Dr. Claymore: Yes, I have.
Interviewer: What do you make of them?
Dr. Claymore: Rumors are spread because someone believes them to be true. Most of the time they are false, and in this case, I imagine some silly teenagers went up to the remains and scared each other, and then thought to cover up their embarrassment by blaming it on a ghost.
Well, not really.
Interviewer: Well surely you have heard the descriptions of this ghost. He was a former patient of yours, was he not?
Dr. Claymore: All of the hospitals inhabitants died in the fire, ma'am. That was made perfectly clear. So there is no way Nico di Angelo would still be hanging around, and quite frankly, I am appalled that anyone would try and turn such a horrible event into something to be mocked, particularly using him.
Interviewer: Any reason as to why people would want to turn Nico di Angelo in a scapegoat?
Dr. Claymore: I have ideas and theories, but legally, I cannot share them publicly.
Interviewer: Surely you could make an exception-
Dr. Claymore: No, I've told you as much as I can. This interview is over.
Interviewer: But… Never mind. Thank you for your time, Dr. Claymore.
Jason quickly searched the name Dr. Claymore. He came up with some results in various states, but there was only one in the state of California. He worked in a nearby Children's Hospital. Jason jotted down the address in his notebook, and closed his laptop as the bell rang to signal the rush to class. He quickly packed up his things and dashed into his classroom. He was the first one there, in contrast to the fiasco of the day before.
"Jason? May speak with you for a moment?"
Jason put his bag down at his seat and made his way over to his teacher. Mrs. Darling was a kindly woman, a few inches shorter than him, with long, curly hair she had pulled back into a ponytail. She smiled up at him, adjusting her glasses.
"Is there a problem, ma'am?"
"Not at all, Jason. I simply wanted to know how your first day was."
Jason was a little surprised that she would be interested in something like that but he appreciated that she seemed to care.
"Not too bad. Made a couple of friends."
"Such as Leo and Piper?"
"Yes," Jason didn't like the way that she said that, "Why is there something wrong with them?"
"Oh no honey," she smiled and shook her head, "They're good students. They can be trouble makers, but you don't look like the type of kid to get involved in that type of riff-raff."
"No ma'am," Jason smiled back, glad for the positive tone of her voice, "I try not to get into too much trouble."
"Good," Mrs. Darling was glancing behind his head at the clock on the far side of the room. Seemingly satisfied with the time, she turned her attention back to him.
"You should sit down. The late bell is about to ring."
"Yes ma'am. It was a pleasure to talk with you."
If Mrs. Darling was happy before, she was positively glowing now, "Why thank you sweetie! I enjoyed talking with you as well."
He took his seat right before the late bell rang. Piper wasn't there yet, but he could see Leo building a helicopter out of rubber bands out of the corner of his eye. Jason wondered if the kid's hands ever stopped moving.
About halfway through the period they were split into groups again to work more on their projects. Jason pushed his desk up against Leo's, who was so intent on his work, he didn't notice him.
"Hey, Leo? Earth to Leo?"
Leo jumped and shot a rubber band point blank across the room. It smacked another student on the back of the head, and Leo froze.
"Crap. That was Clarisse wasn't it."
"Um, yes?" Jason said, taking note of his panicked expression.
"Shit. Do me a favor and pretend like nothing happened."
"You're being weird," Jason said, "But whatever." Honestly, Jason didn't even know who Clarisse was, much less why Leo was so freaked out by her.
"She isn't coming over here is she?"
Jason glanced back over at Clarisse. While she looked angry, she didn't seem to know who had hit her, "Nah man, you're good."
"Thanks man," Leo put the remaining rubber bands in his pockets, "I wish Piper was here today. I had something really cool I wanted to show her."
Jason nodded, "Yeah where is she?"
Leo rolled his eyes, "You would want to know. You know she's not interested right?"
"Sorry?"
"I saw you yesterday, staring at her. I'm telling you, you're not her type."
"I wasn't staring. And that's not why I asked."
"Really?" Leo raised his eyebrows, "Are you sure?"
Jason tried hard not to look embarrassed, "She has our paper." Which was a lie of course. Jason had it in his backpack.
"That is obviously a lie, but I'll let it slide," Leo made a show with his hands of waving aside the issue, "So did you see anything?"
"Sorry?" Jason was still caught up in trying not to blush that Leo's question stunned him.
"Last night, you went to the hospital right? So what did you see?"
Oh. Jason struggled for an answer. He had promised Nico that he wouldn't say anything about his residency at the abandoned place. Not to mention, Jason barely knew Leo. He had no idea of knowing if he could keep a secret.
"Just a lot of destroyed walls and stuff. Nothing exciting."
Leo looked disappointed, "But no ghost?"
"No ghost."
Leo groaned, "Man, now I owe Piper ten bucks."
Jason smiled at that, though he was a little annoyed that these strangers were making bets on him already, "Maybe you shouldn't have made a bet on something so silly."
"You're right. But still. You really didn't see anyone up there?"
"No," Jason assured him, "But there are things that I am curious about. I have some ideas for our project. And an idea for someone to interview."
"Oh really? Who is it?"
Jason could tell that as soon as the conversation had deviated towards schoolwork, Leo was suddenly trying very hard to look interested. Not everyone could enjoy school the way Jason did, he guessed.
"Yeah. Dr. Claymore. He used to work there."
"Okay. That's perfect then. We just need, you know, the rest of the project."
Jason shrugged, "We've got some time. Part one isn't even due for two more weeks."
"Two weeks? Then what are we doing sitting here talking about it?! We could be talking about something more exciting!"
Jason raised an eyebrow, "Like what?"
"Like, I don't know… Last night's episode of Pretty Little Liars?"
Jason tried not to laugh, "I don't even watch that show."
"Me neither," Leo actually did laugh, but stopped abruptly, looking as if something had just dawned on him, "I just got an idea."
"What?" Jason was in good spirits, despite being tired. He hardly noted the mischievous look on Leo's face.
"I don't know anything about you. And you don't know anything about me. So we should hang out!"
Jason liked that idea, "Sounds awesome! When?"
Leo tapped his desk, "Well I get off work around five. How about you come over at about 5:30?"
Jason nodded, "That'll give me some time to get some stuff done. I'm game."
"Text you the address?"
Jason scrawled down his cell phone number, which Leo pocketed with a grin, "Well would you look at that. Now I've got something to look forward too."
Jason grinned with him. In his head he was making calculations. He split up the remainder of his day into two categories, homework, and going back to the hospital.
Because he would be going back. Not just because Nico was there, but because he wanted to see what it looked like in the daylight. If he could learn more about Nico in the process, then that was even better.
Highly unlikely, but still. Jason couldn't help but hope that he could get the kid to open up to him, eventually.
After all, being up there all the time must get really lonely. Jason didn't like the idea of anyone being alone. And for good reason.
For him, being alone brought back too many bad memories.
I dunno when the next chapter will be uploaded. I'm not very good with updating, as any of my continuous readers will know. I'll do my best to make updates as regularly as possible.
I also just started another fanfic for this fandom, called Stuck in Disneyland. If you want to read something less serious, and from Nico's P.O.V. I would appreciate if you guys would read it and maybe give me some feedback?
Now, for review replies:
Maskiee: I've never actually read any creepypasta, but I'll take that as a compliment. And this is not planned to be a Jasico romance. While I do ship it a little, my intentions for this story are for a more platonic relationship. But who knows, that may change.
being queen: Thanks! I'll do my best! I've never tried anything remotely like this before, so I'm not sure if I'm going it right XD
Darklily-theGreenDayfan: I'm not sure how long it's going to be yet. As long as it takes to having everything I want to happen happen, I guess :D. I'm glad you like it! I hope I will not disappoint.
yuMeNami: *SPOILER FOR THOSE WHO DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED* Yes, he did actually kill Bianca, and his mother. That's part of the reason why he was in the hospital in the first place. You shall find out his motivations soon enough though!