AN: Sorry for getting this chapter updated any sooner. I just didn't have the motivation to get it done. I hope you all can understand the way this story is going. If not, I'll explain with the next update that will hopefully come sooner than this one did. Anyway, another character has been introduced, and you'll all get to meet her in the next chapter. This chapter focuses a bit more on the way that all the characters in this story interact with each other. I hope you all enjoy this chapter.
Kendall squeezed his hands together as he watched Alana sitting near to him in music therapy. He'd spent the last 15 minutes trying to think of something that would make the wide eyed girl consider being more than just his friend, but every idea coming into his head seemed impossibly stupid.
'Just give up Knight, she may be a princess, but she's not yours,' the broody blond thought mournfully to himself as he looked back to the guitar in his lap.
"Hey Kendall," a familiar male voice called him from his thoughts, the boy sat next to him and gave him a critical look with his vibrant hazel eyes.
"Oh, hi James," he sighed aimlessly strumming the strings of his guitar. "What do you want?"
"I just saw you over here brooding… again, and you've kept staring at her for the past 15 minutes," the brunette replied with a concerned look taking over his angular face, the other noticed how he was gaining more weight and the color was starting to come back to his cheeks.
But Kendall knew that he couldn't say anything about that.
"No I haven't," he denied readily his pale cheeks flushing pink contradicting his words. "Besides, why do you care?"
"I don't… I mean she's beautiful, but don't you think that you shouldn't be trying to get her from Carlos?" the taller of the two bit his lip and moved his chair away slightly, knowing that the blond was prone to violent rages at the slightest provocation.
"I'm not… at least not now," he admitted his left hand curling around the neck of the guitar tightly. "I just… wish she were mine."
"Why? I mean, I get it she's sweet and all, but that's all we know about her. The stuff on the surface, that she's told us since she's been here," James said as he and Kendall looked to the girl quietly writing and alternating to hitting a few keys on the keyboard she was sitting Indian style behind.
"So it's okay for Carlos to like her, but not me. Is that what you're saying?" the agitation was subtle but clearly heard in his voice as he narrowed his jade green eyes at the boy sitting next to him. "Is that what you're saying James?"
James backed his chair away even more from the broody boy worried that he might have set him off; he had been told by Logan earlier than he hadn't taken his medication in the past week, the nurses didn't know that and he was worrying if he should help the blond keep it that way. Kendall was dangerous especially when he really wanted to be.
"No, I-I'm just saying that you should let Carlos decide if he wants to end things with her or not," he said slowly as he watched the blond relax and look back to his guitar. "I'm just looking out for the both of you man."
"Oh…yeah I guess I should just try to swallow these feelings down then huh?" the guitar wielding boy sighed in acquiescence feeling his entire body sag when James smiled sadly at him. "This sucks."
"Lots of things suck, like getting extra food stuck on your plate when you're already weigh the same as an obese walrus," the brunette said whispering the last part to the blond.
"Ugh, I don't think walrus' can get obese James, never mind I don't want to talk about food with you," the depressive boy said with a disproving look knowing that the conversation would go to an uncomfortable place.
"Why not? No one else will," the hazel eyed boy whined immaturely causing the boy next to him to stifle a laugh.
"Can't you talk to the Jennifers about how much you hate food?" he shook his shaggy hair from his eyes as he stood up from his chair to place his guitar into its case as Gustavo their counselor announced the end of therapy.
"No, they just stare at me… and I don't like being stared at, at least not anymore," he mumbled the last part suddenly looking to his hands in his lap.
The broody boy simply frowned in response, he could relate on some level to boy currently staring at his hands as if they held all the secrets of the world. When bright hazel eyes looked up at him, for a moment Kendall felt sorrier for James than himself because in those eyes he saw all the pain, and anguish that the obsessive boy tried so hard. Yet, as quickly as he'd seen that pain it was gone as he smiled brightly and stood up from his chair clapping the paler boy on the shoulder as the boy easily made their way out of the music room.
"Man, I love the food here," Carlos chimed happily as he sat down at the group's usual table for dinner a wide grin on his face. "I just wish I could get to work in the kitchen."
"Well, why can't you?" Mercedes questioned not understanding what harm the bouncy Latino could possibly do as she sat next to Alana who was staring blankly at the table.
"He'd burn something… on purpose," Logan started his gaze moving to his food tray when her eyes looked into his.
"Oh, so you like fire?" the blond girl ventured as a feeling of uneasiness settled into her lower abdomen.
"Yeah, everyone but Aly thinks I'm weird for liking fire so much," he pouted dragging his fork through his mashed potatoes his voice somehow still cheerful while a frown barely rested on his lips. "You probably think so too."
"It shouldn't matter what I think," she replied easily with a shrug of her shoulders. "Besides, aren't we all weird?"
Carlos grinned at her brightly as he looked back to his food and stuffed large forkfuls of mashed potatoes into his mouth. Taking a moment he took a large gulp of his juice then he turned to Alana smiled sweetly at her and leaned towards her to whisper something in her ear, the two suddenly becoming very oblivious to the world around them.
'Stop leaning so close to her,' Kendall clenched his jaw as he averted his eyes from the pair to glare at the large slice of pizza on his tray.
He looked up when he James nudged him from his left side and he sighed then shook his head and started eating while James did his usual routine of separating his food by color, then by texture and size before he'd then take his plastic knife to cut his chicken in half, the quarters and finally eighths.
Mercedes watched with interest as the obsessive boy wiped the sauce from his chicken onto a napkin before putting a small piece of it into his mouth, curiosity burned the tip of her tongue like lava while he chewed the small morsel with absolute misery marring his expression. But thinking better of saying anything she looked to her own food, sticking her fork into the strawberries she'd asked for.
'She's staring at me because I'm fat… I'm so gross that she probably can't even eat…I hate her. Stupid Mercedes, why is she even here?' James mentally snarled as he glanced up from his food to give the girl a slight glare that went unnoticed. 'It's bad enough that Aly watches me, now I have to deal with her too.'
'Talk to her, she wants to be your friend,' Elektra goaded wrapping her arms around Alana's shoulders. 'But be careful, I think Jamie bear hates her guts.'
The green eyed girl flinched noticeably at the presence of the dominate persona's voice in her head. She gulped feeling a sudden chill roll over her body causing Carlos to look at her worriedly.
"Are you cold Aly?" the pyro questioned with wide brown eyes staring at her attentively moving his chair closer to her.
"Oh, uh, no I'm fine Carlos," she smiled weakly as he took hold of her right hand firmly into his left. "It's nothing."
"You say that a lot," he pouted childishly at her a slight whine in his voice. "Are you sure Aly?"
"Positive, I'm fine," she lied easily to the boy feeling a twang of guilt in her chest while he smiled brightly at her.
'It hurts to lie to him, because you love him,' Elektra whispered twirling her fingers through Alana's long hair.
"So Aly, why are you here. If you don't mind me asking that is," Mercedes set down her plastic silverware as the boys at the table looked to the petite girl with great interest.
"My dad brought me here. He'd brought me into the precinct after checking me out of school early and I don't really remember what happened afterwards. I just remember packing my stuff, while my mom told me that my dad was trying to help me," she looked at her plate and moved her hand from Carlos' and clenched them together. "He's a bit late on the helping thing."
The group sat in silence uncertain of what to say to the girl after such a long admission from her. She didn't seem to care about their lack of words, she wanted them to stop talking to her anyway and Alana knew that if she simply told them what she says she remembered, then maybe they would leave her alone. Maybe Logan would stop giving her those suspicious looks with every move she made while they were in the same room that made her skin crawl uncomfortably.
The group resettled when Carlos suddenly chirped about another patient being admitted to the Palm Woods. James and Logan both questioned the pyromaniac about the new girl who he managed to catch a glimpse of on his way to the library.
"She seemed really nice, I didn't ask her name," he shrugged taking a moment to shove another forkful of food into his mouth.
"Why?" James questioned, his eyes perplexed as he looked down to glare at the food on his plate before taking a meticulous bite of food. 'Chew 3 times, 4 times, 5. Okay now swallow. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.'
"Didn't seem important at the time," the raven haired boy shrugged while giving Alana an affectionate glance making the girl flush slightly.
'Oh how cute, Carlos doesn't think the new girl is important. He didn't even say if she was pretty or not,' Chelsee smirked perversely leaning against Alana. 'Looks like you won't have to do anything to keep his attention.'
'Would you leave her alone you stupid slut! She doesn't need your help,' Elektra hissed unexpectedly making Alana twitch inwardly and her head ache.
Putting on a small smile, she masked the pain pulsing behind her eyes; internally she signed at the reappearance of her head aches which seemed to fluctuate in their occurrences. She didn't want anyone else at the table to notice her inner turmoil, although she supposed that they were probably already clued into her mental anguish. After all, they were all mad in some way or another.
"One of the Jennifers fainted in food therapy today," James blurted while shivering at the word food giving his tray a vicious glare before sticking his fork into his small salad.
"Which one was it?" Kendall blinked slowly not particularly caring for the subject matter, but he was glad for something to keep his mind away from the green eyed girl silently eating her apple pie. 'I bet she'd taste like apples.'
"The blonde one," James replied as noticed Kendall's grip on his fork tightening. "She grabbed onto me, told me that she didn't feel good. Then she just… fell."
"Well, is she okay?" the perpetually morose blond pressed wanting to keep the conversation going. Not that he cared if he was honest with himself.
"I don't know, they got her out of the room the second she hit the ground," he shrugged mostly trying to shake the feeling of her thin clammy hand gripping his arm as her eyes looked at him through a bleary haze. "The other two Jennifers tried to go after her, but the counselors kept them in the room."
'I bet they didn't like that, those three hate being away from each other,' Elektra snickered running her fingers through Alana's hair gently. 'And it looks like someone's a bit more pouty than usual.'
"So, James…" Alana started feeling everyone's eyes at the table on her as she looked to the hazel eyed boy trying to hold onto the sudden flush of bravery she felt. "Are you going to finish your food?"
The boy's eyes nearly popped out of his head at the question feeling every implication hidden in the seemingly innocent inquiry. Gaining his composure he swallowed the sudden lump in his throat before making a reply.
"Maybe… why do you want to know?" he questioned back shifting in his seat while the other members of the table sat in silence their eyes bouncing between the two like a ball in a pin ball machine.
"Because, I don't want you to get sick," she replied sincerely, her gaze flicking down to her unfinished dessert which she took the moment to take another bite of so she could gather her thoughts as he made his own retort.
"It's not like you care," James said sharply, not intending his words to come out as coarsely as they did.
She flinched, her eyes flashing ice blue before going back to their familiar shade of green before she shrugged calmly. "Well you don't know that, it's not like you asked if I did."
"She's got you there James," Carlos chirped with a slight smirk to cut through the tense atmosphere at the table.
The tall brunette glared in response knowing that the shy girl did in fact have a point, even though he much rather not admit to it.
"I just don't want you to hurt yourself," she said finishing the last of her food and smiled at the boy encouragingly which he returned despite himself.
"I'll be fine," James shrugged trying to shake the unfamiliar warm feeling surging in his gut as he went back to finishing his food. 'When I'm perfect, I'll be more than just fine.'
Alana frowned slightly as she looked away from the obsessive boy only hoping that he still wasn't spurred to try to continue with his conquest for perfection. A larger part of her knew that the boy would do anything in his power to be perfect; even it meant that he died in the process.
'I wish I could save him… I wish I could save Carlos too,' she thought chewing her lip thoughtfully as dinner ended and they all got up to dispose of their meal trays.
'How can you try to save them, when you can't even save yourself?' Jasmine whispered in a haunting way that nearly made her drop her tray.
The green eyed girl sighed to calm herself as she set the hard plastic tray onto the conveyor belt to be washed. She wanted now more than anything to calm the storm in her head before she could even begin to calm whatever maelstrom that was raging inside the mind of the tall brunette being eyed steadily by the orderlies standing by the trash cans.
'You can't save yourself. Why bother trying to save anyone else?' Elektra scoffed crossing her arms over her chest as she quirked a brow at Alana.
"Come on Aly, let's go to the garden, its still light out," Carlos said brightly pulling her out of her murky thoughts. "Wait, do you wanna go with me? You don't have to, if you don't want to that is." He babbled with a bright pink blush staining his tan cheeks.
She giggled at his wide eyed expression feeling her entire body radiate with warmth, "Of course Carlos, I'd love to."
She twisted her fingers with his letting him lead her out the cafeteria, down the hall to the gardens; the both of them unaware of the curious stares they attracted with their bright smiles that contrasted starkly with the usual glum looks on many of the patients residing in the Palm Woods.
Thanks for reading. Hope you all enjoyed. Please leave a review with your questions, comments, concerns etc... Update for Bucket List is next. xoxo