So now we know that Jason isn't really recovered, but what exactly did he do when at the treatment centre to prevent that from happening, whilst managing to trick all his doctors into thinking he was really getting better. Well you're about to find out, enjoy!

"So you ready for this?" Macy asked as she sat down at Jason's otherwise empty breakfast table.

"Yeah, I think so," the teen said with a decisive nod, directing a spoonful of Cheerios into his mouth as he spoke, dutifully chewing and using all his restraint to not spit it out where he was sat.

"Okay, just remember to be smart about it, if you start spouting all the crap on your mind and taking your medication without any complaint, then the higher ups are going to get suspicious and you can't let that happen. Be slow about it, just a little bit here and there to make it believable."

"All right," Jason said with another nod, mentally taking note of what he was being told. Macy had said he only had one real chance at this and she was right, because if his doctors figured out what he was doing, then Jason would be screwed.

They would all be suspicious and there'd be an even smaller chance of him walking away without being brainwashed, so Jason knew he had to play it smart, because he couldn't allow for that to happen.

He'd open up a bit more in therapy, then start talking to the other inpatients and spending his evenings with them instead of just his own company and only then would Jason start taking his insulin without being prompted to, hopefully that would be believable enough, because if it wasn't, the frail teen really wasn't sure what else he could do.

"You finished up here?" One of the helpers asked Jason, a pleased smile lighting up his face as he saw the empty bowl that lay in front of him.

"Yeah, I think I am Nick," he said mirroring the older man's smile to a tee as he looked at the empty cereal bowl himself, trying his best to combat the revulsion that washed over him at the sight.

"That's fantastic Jason, I'm so glad that Felicity's words yesterday had a real impact on you, it's good to see you finally making some progress."

"Well I think I've finally worked out how this place works and what to do," Jason said with an easy grin, following Nick out of the canteen and to his room so he could have a quick shower before yet another day at the clinic started, though hopefully, there wouldn't be many more to come.

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Jason continued with his deceit for a draining two and a half weeks, upping his game little by little with each day, the pleased smiles from the doctors reinforcing the fact that he was playing the game like a pro, and that he was going to leave triumphant.

But despite knowing that he was fooling everyone, knowing that he was finally beating the system, Jason couldn't help the increasing hatred he felt for the clinic. Every day was so monotonous, so intrusive on the patients part and was the very definition of hell.

Jason's room was searched nearly every other day, along with the other teenagers in his ward, just in case he had somehow managed to sneak in a blade or something else he could use to self harm with, though the nurses searches were always fruitless, because sure Jason wanted nothing more than to sneak in one of the pencil sharpeners from the crafts room, but he wasn't stupid, because if he acted on the forbidden desire to cut himself, then he'd be done for and would never escape.

If that invasion of privacy wasn't enough for the employees of Pine Lodge though, well they upped their game later on in the day, as they refused to leave the bathroom during shower times, again to make sure Jason didn't self harm with his razor that lay on the side, and to also prevent him from purging all the food he'd consumed.

Both ideas were tempting ones, because Jason was not above sticking a finger down his throat if it helped to prevent some of the damage that was wreaking havoc to his body, even if the idea hadn't crossed his mind before he had entered Pine Lodge, but Jason knew he'd never get away with it and didn't waste his time thinking about it, unlike some of the more desperate patients, who screamed and raved madly as they were physically restrained by the doctors, blood streaming down the arm they'd managed to nick.

It wasn't a pretty sight and their screams and desperate cries haunted Jason's dream as he promised himself that he'd never turn out like that, he'd never lose control like that and become a mindless beast, too lost in the horrors of his own mind, that he truly became a freak of nature.

The clinic was a hell hole for those reasons and more, but what topped all of that, what was even worse than being watched literally every second of every day, was the vast quantity of pills that were stuffed down Jason's throat every few hours.

They clogged his throat as he tried to force them down, instead of spitting them out like he so desperately wanted, and the taste burned his tongue if he wasn't quick enough with the water.

They were supposed to make him feel better emotionally, were meant to take away all his negative thoughts or least numb them down in favour of his positive ones, but all they did was make him feel numb on the whole, it was an odd sensation and Jason couldn't quite make head or tail of it, but it was like all his feelings had been put on mute, like he wasn't quite in touch with them anymore.

Despite the confusion about how the medication was making him feel and what they were doing to him, Jason knew it wasn't anything good he was experiencing, in fact it was probably the worst feeling he had ever experienced, and he had lived through a whole spectrum of emotions, so that was really saying something.

But they made him feel empty and even more worthless than he had felt before the blasted things had entered his system, they made him want to cut and tear at his skin even more than he had before, and Jason wasn't a doctor, didn't know what the full effects of the little white pills were meant to be, but he was pretty sure it wasn't meant to be this.

But the doctors told him it would take a while for the pills to settle down and start doing what they were meant to do, so Jason didn't say anything. He didn't want to draw any more attention to himself anyway, in fact that was the last thing he wanted. Because the more people he had watching him, analysing and assessing every move he made, the higher the chance would be that he'd be caught out, and Jason couldn't allow that to happen.

He was walking on a fine line, with the slightest change bound to push him over and make him fall, as the doctors realised how broken he still was under the plastic smile he let everyone see. Jason knew he had to get out there, had to get out of the damn clinic with the nosy doctors who couldn't just take no for an answer and had to know every little detail in his damn life.

It made him want to trash the place, everytime one of their patronising questions left their bloody mouths, but he couldn't do that. No, he had to paint a smile on his face and answer the question as best as he possibly could, he had to if he ever wanted to leave and go home. But it was so difficult, there was no breathing space anywhere, and it was making Jason go mad.

He could feel all the eyes on him, watching him and just waiting for him to slip up, and he was so scared that one day he would and ruin absolutely everything. Jason could feel it though, bubbling under the surface and just begging to be let out, but he had to stay strong, because if he lost control, then all his fears and thoughts would rush up to the surface and he wouldn't be able to stop himself from voicing them.

And if he voiced them, then it really would be game over and he wouldn't be deemed free at the end of his twenty eight days, hell he'd probably never be released, just left to rot in the stark white hallways, with the rest of the mindless zombies, all content to be stuffed with pills, fat and injections whenever their doctors, their controllers more like got bored and wanted to play.

But Jason saw them for what they really were, he did and he knew he had to win, he couldn't let them succeed, not when all they wanted to do was make him weak once more, the weak, fat and imperfect human being he had once been, hell he had been so disgusting back then, he probably wasn't fit to be even called a human, a beast was more fitting.

Yes, that sounded more accurate, a mindless beast, just gorging and guzzling down every scrap of food in sight with out a second thought, content with what he had thought had been life, but Jason realised now he hadn't been living back then, not really. He had been surviving, doing what was commanded of him, but without ever asking why, but he was no longer like that, like the hordes of people that populated the earth.

He had clarity now, he saw just how wrong and disgusting he had been back then and he was righting them all, determined to live life properly and be the perfect being he knew he could be if he just put a little bit of work into it.

But people didn't like that, they didn't like that he saw what the world was really about, what the higher ups in society really wanted for him, and they really didn't like the fact that he had rebelled. Jason knew he wasn't in the clinic because people had been worried for his health, how stupid did they really think he was? Words like 'could have almost fallen into cardiac arrest', 'massive strain on the heart', 'never seen a blood sugar level so high' all sailed past Jason's head as he repeated the mantra of what he was doing, was the best thing possible.

No-one cared for his health or wellbeing, no they cared that he was challenging the system and breaking social norms by not sitting on his ass and eating all day like the others around him. They sent him to Pine Lodge, because he was doing something that others would never have the guts to do in a million years, he was doing something to better himself and people didn't like that, it made them uncomfortable because they knew they'd never be strong-willed to do it themselves.

They were jealous of just how strong he really was, jealous of just how close to perfection he was (because Jason knew he had almost been there, just a couple more weeks and he would have reached it, would practically be the definition of perfection in fact), and they'd sent him away.

The people who said they loved him, vowed to always be there for him, had sent him away because they were jealous of all the progress Jason had made and couldn't deal with it, so instead of being a loving and supporting family, they'd put him in this hell hole to undo it all, so that when he returned, he'd be as brainwashed as they were, and they'd no longer feel the bottomless envy when they looked at him for being the one to no longer put up with the shit that he'd been dealt, and actually doing something about it.

But Jason wasn't going to allow that to happen, he'd worked too hard, too much blood, sweat and tears had gone into all the progress that he'd made, he wasn't going to let himself be moulded back into the person that society expected of him, no he was going to stay strong and not let this place, with all the doctors who were looking out for him and his physical and mental health defeat him.

So he was taking what he was told without question, saying what he knew they wanted to hear from him, nothing more and nothing less, and he was acting like someone who was on the road to recovery. And sure, Jason saw their pleased smiles, saw the triumphant looks they all exchanged with each other when he took his insulin injection.

He knew that on the surface it seemed like they were swallowing his lies, but he couldn't help but shake the feeling that this was all a massive trick that was being played on him, and in actual fact, the doctors didn't believe a word he was saying, but they were just humouring him until they got out the strait jacket and threw him in a cell, throwing away the key as they left.

The added stress, the extra deceit was doing nothing for him and Jason found himself in his room one Thursday evening, just a couple of weeks after his first talk with Macy, trying his best to fight off a panic attack, and scratching his arm with his blunt fingernails, wishing the pain was enough to calm him, though without the familiar sensation of his skin physically splitting from underneath his blade, well it was a poor substitute and it wasn't really doing a lot for him.

But Jason knew he needed to calm down, he couldn't have a break down, not in here, not where anyone and everyone could see him, because sure this was his room, his 'private space' but the door wasn't allowed to be closed till 9pm when people began going to bed, and regardless of that, there was always a member of staff lurking somewhere, and they checked the inhabited room every twenty minutes or so, just to make sure patients weren't getting into any trouble.

Knowing that though, only made it harder for Jason to calm himself, and only a few minutes later he found himself desperately gasping for air as his ribcage tightened around his lungs, restricting them more than should be biologically possible, the room spinning around him, the sound of his heart thundering furiously in his ears being the only thing he could hear as he scratched his arm relentlessly, the skin turning red raw in seconds.

Despite his best efforts, Jason couldn't stop the tears from streaking down his face, as he bit his lip furiously to contain the broken sobs and screams that were working through his body.

Why was he here?

Why couldn't his family just leave him be?

Why did he have to be in this hell hole, because the doctors and nurses sure as hell weren't making him any better, hell he'd be better off dead than in here. So wrapped up in his own dark thoughts, Jason jumped when he felt a pair of arms wrap around his still frail form, trying not to scream as he realised it was all over.

One of the workers had found him, they saw what a failure he was and would no doubt report it, and Jason would never get out of this place.

The gentle shushings from the other person made him still though, as Jason realised he recognised the person's voice, and not because they were one of his intrusive doctors, but because it belonged to his only friend, the only person who truly understood him and didn't stand in his way to get what he wanted, what he needed.

Like a small child, Jason desperately clung to Macy's figure, her warm perfume enveloping him and helping to calm his frantic breathing, as she went through a few breathing exercises with him, making him breath in time with her in the desperate hopes that it work, letting out a deep sigh of relief when she realised that Jason was indeed calming down.

"Sorry," he finally muttered, pulling away to lean against one of the blank walls and running his hand through his hair, grimacing as he also wiped away some sweat in turn.

Macy shrugged as she debated asking the older boy what had just happened, though her curiosity got the better of her, and within a few seconds, she had turned to fully face Jason, biting her lip as she tried to word the question correctly in her mind.

"So, you want to talk about what just happened?"

"It's nothing, I just-" Jason began, but was shortly cut off by the other patient, who after spending the day being served absolute bullshit by her counsellor, was in no mood to listen to even more of it. Especially when it was coming from someone who was supposed to be a friend.

"You want to try that again, this time with a bit of truth injected into it?"

"I don't know how long I can keep this up Mace," Jason sighed after a moment, knowing that the other teen wouldn't let him leave till he said something that was the truth. "It was okay at first, but the lies are constant, I can't even breath without taking a second glance in case someone else is watching me.

"I'm doing all of this crap to make people think I'm recovering but what if it's not working? What if they all know what I'm doing and are just letting me go along with it to humour me, and then they drop the bombshell when I think I'm finally free of this dump.

"I can't believe that any of this lot are buying it for a second, they can't be, after all they must have seen the tactics a hundred times before, and I just know I keep slipping up. It's little things at the moment, but how long till I make a huge cock up and they get me for that?"

"Jase just calm down okay," Macy soothed, taking the teen's hands in hers and squeezing them tightly, hoping the extra contact would calm him down."You're doing great and you can't lose it now. The doctors all genuinely think you've made a real turning point, they think you're recovering and if you keep this up, you'll be gone in no time.

"I heard them all talking about it earlier, they were all going on about how much progress you've made and none of them said anything about you faking it, meaning they're buying it. You've done the difficult bit now, you've convinced everyone that you're getting better and now you just need to maintain it, but you're getting out of here J, I promise you that.

"You're going to go home and see your family, your friends and even that Holly girl you keep going on about, but you need to stay with it okay? You lose it now, then none of this will have been worth it and it's just going to be even harder to get free. You think you can keep it up for a few more days?"

Jason nodded frantically at Macy's soothing words, knowing what she said had to be the truth, after all, she was the only one he could trust in this place, meaning what she said just had to be true. She didn't lie to him, she had never lied to him and she wasn't going to start now.

So taking a deep breath, Jason sagged into her outstretched arms once more, trying to calm his still racing heart as she whispered soothing nothings into his ear, sincerely hoping that she'd never have to see Jason in such a state ever again.

The older boy had quickly become her closest friend in the clinic, so to see him so distressed broke her heart, and Macy was just glad she could help out where she could. She knew what little time she had with Jason was limited, he was after all going to be leaving at the end of his stay (there was no way he wouldn't with all the progress he'd made) and it was looming ever closer, so she just had to treasure every little moment she had left, and hell, faking recovery had worked incredibly well for Jason, maybe it would for Macy too.

She was missing the outside world more and more with each passing day, and the hospital was giving her immense cabin fever. Faking a smile for one the nurses that walked past the open doorway a few minutes later, when Jason was fully calmed down and they were both sat on the bed, Macy made the resolution that she was going to get out of this hell hole well before her six months were over, it wouldn't be that hard would it?

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"After going over your progress and anaylsing it, we've deemed you well enough, both physically and mentally, to leave the clinic in five days, when you will have been here for twenty eight days and will no longer be under the Mental Health Act, Section 2," Felicity Anderson said with a small smile on her lips, not missing the pure relief that was in Jason's eyes as she told him the good news.

"Are... are you serious?" Jason exclaimed, unable to believe it had actually worked, that everyone thought he truly believed everything they preached at him, though he wasn't complaining, not in the slightest. "Oh my God, thank you so much!"

"This was all down to you Jason. We offer you a helping hand, give you the resources to keep on the right path, but you have to do the actual work and because of your pure willpower to get better, well you've truly made a remarkable recovery."

The blonde said, looking down at her notes, to make sure she didn't forget to tell Jason everything he needed to know. "Now of course your counselling sessions won't end there, you'll still be meeting with Mrs Lola Pierce at school once a week, and Doctor Mackenzie has agreed to hold sessions for you and your family too."

"Yeah of course," Jason nodded, wanting nothing more than to leave the spacious office to go and find Macy and tell her about the latest development. Jason just knew she'd be as thrilled as he was.

"Do you have any other questions?"

"No I don't think so," Jason said, shaking his head as he came up with a blank.

"Okay, well I think we've gone through everything, so you're free to go. If you ever need to talk, just come to my office and I'll be ready to listen, if not, I'll see you in a couple of days for our next session," Felicity said with a contained smile, already turning back to her compute before Jason had even properly left her office.

"Yeah of course, thank you so much!" Jason said again, grinning from ear to ear as he struggled to take in the good news. He had to find Macy now, though God knows where she'd be lurking.

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"I'm going to miss you, you know," Macy said, voice thick as she fought against the tears that were threatening to spill. Jason's final days at the clinic had passed at an alarming rate, and although he hated the place more than anywhere else in the world, Jason was sad to say goodbye to some of the friends he had made, Macy especially.

As expected, she had taken the news well, glad that Jason was getting another chance to live life, though Jason had noticed the way she had begun to pile her plate up with more food at mealtimes, maybe she was finally willing to leave the clinic and give life in the real world another go. He could only hope so.

"I'm going to miss you too Mace," he sighed, squeezing the small girl tight, trying to convey all the love he felt for her in that single action. "But you're going to get out of here soon okay, and then we can talk all the time."

"You bet I am," Macy grinned, pulling away as she spotted Sandy and a couple of doctors entering the corridor, obviously waiting for Jason. "Just remember to stay calm okay? You've pulled the wool over their eyes for this long, you don't want to slip up now."

"I won't," Jason promised solemnly, kissing Macy on the cheek before turning to leave, hugging his mum in welcome before leaving Pine Lodge, for what would hopefully be the last time.

As he endured the car ride, the only thing going through Jason's mind was his plan. He had to make everyone think he was genuinely sorry for his actions, had to man up and apologise for his actions, no matter how painful or embarrassing it was.

He had to show that he truly regretted everything he had done in the past few months, make them believe he would never do that sort of thing again. He had to work on his friendships with people outside of his family too, show the world he was re-integrating himself back into the real word and that he was recovered. The obvious choices were Holly and Ruby, and he hated himself for using the pair once more, but Jason knew it needed to be done.

He had genuinely missed the two girls during his time away and wanted nothing more than to re-spark his friendship with the both of them, after all, they knew exactly what he had gone through and hadn't backed down once, in fact, vowing to stand by him whenever they got the chance.

But that was what made them perfect for Jason, because out of everyone, they'd be more likely to excuse his 'weird' behaviour, would be less judging than the rest of his peers and that was what Jason needed. The thought of coming face to face with Holly filled him with dread though, he hadn't stopped thinking of his ex since their split and wanted nothing more than to be with her once more, though he had no idea if that was possible.

He wouldn't be surprised if she had already moved on, after all she was gorgeous and funny, and well she could get absolutely anyone she wanted, so why the hell would she settle for a nutcase like him?
Short story, she wouldn't. But that didn't stop Jason wishing, as countless daydreams of him and his dream girl ran through his head, though he never thought in a million years that they'd come true.

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If Jason had thought relentlessly lying in the clinic had been hard, well it had nothing on his life at home, nothing on how much pain and guilt his lies and deceit now caused him. He thought it would have been easier, after all, his family weren't trained experts like the people at the clinic, they wouldn't know exactly what to look out for and well, he'd already spent several months lying to them, but the second time was proving to be a lot harder.

He guessed it was just down to the differences between home and at the clinic, after all, his family weren't cold or clinical, no they were warm and caring, and Jason could see that they meant well, in their own little misguided way.

But his love for them couldn't get in the way of his journey for perfection, it couldn't and he wouldn't let it. But their constant watching was draining, and Jason already felt like snapping after less than a day in their presence.

And that was how he found himself in his room on his first evening back home, scratching his arms with his short nails, the pain enough to stop him from entering a full blown panic attack, as he tried to control his sobs, his family mere feet away from him, enjoying life and in the full belief, that he, Jason Roscoe was fully recovered, when in actual fact, he was still drowning, and if anything, was more lost than ever.

Thank you for all the lovely reviews, they mean so much.

I'm also glad that you're liking the fact that Jason still isn't recovered, as I was a little nervous about that part of the story, so that was a weight off my shoulders See you all in five days.