The week progressed and Justin's time in Blackwing was about to come to an end. He was scheduled for treatment by Dr. Spengler within the next few days, which was the most recurring thought. It gave him a lot of worry not knowing what the kooky old doc had in store for him.
It could've been shock therapy, it could've been brain surgery, or it could even be something so surreal that he wouldn't be able to guess. Regardless, he was under a lot of stress. The feeling of uncertainty was too much. He started having an anxiety attack.
"Fuck..." he said, holding his chest.
"What ever is the matter?" Zoey said, noticing it.
"My... My anxiety. God damn! I'm having another panic attack." he shouted.
Zoey and Lillian looked at him, somewhat aware that this was a common thing for him.
"Like, take a few deep breaths or whatever." the goth said.
He tried to do that, slowing down his breathing pattern. Unfortunately, it didn't change anything.
"Fuck this shit!" he said, accepting defeat. Either Joseph takes over or my fucking anxiety does, and neither one of them is a good thing.
Lillian sat next to him, thinking it was finally time to open up to the man she had done three ways with the previous Summer.
"Like, maybe talking will help?"
Justin looked at her, thinking it was weird that Lillian Aurawell, the 18 year old angsty, spoiled, goth chick wanted to talk.
"Okay." he said, ready to have some sort of conversation with the little goth.
"Look, I guess I like, haven't told you exactly why I'm here."
No, she didn't.
"Y-Yeah." he said, still trying to tame his anxiety. "Why are you here, exactly? Did you attempt suicide again?"
"Well, sort of. Like, before I got here, I was living on the street in Daten City. I was basically couch surfing at my friends' houses. But, they only let me stay with them as long as I fucked them."
Ugh, yeah. That sounds pretty traumatizing on it's own.
"What happened?" he asked, wanting to know more of the story.
"So, like I ran out of guy friends to stay with. That's when I spoke to my friend who lived in a church. She basically took care of me while I was dealing with some pretty heavy shit, alongside being homeless."
This story interested him. It was almost like a surreal, yet awesome fanfiction he'd find online.
"What kind of heavy shit?"
She sighed, not sure if she should tell him about the entity she had faced or not.
"Like, let's just say that some creepy old fuck with a long nose decided to use my childhood friend dying as a weapon to use against me. I had a friend named Kelly that I lost during my early teen years. It's haunted me for the last five years or so. That's why I act the way I do, okay?"
"Ah," he said. "So you are depressed?"
Lillian nodded, confirming she was more than just a plain spoiled goth chick.
"I've been like this ever since Kelly drowned and I wasn't there to save her. Losing her really hit hard. But like, it doesn't haunt me as much anymore ever since Panty and Stocking helped me get rid of that asshole."
He looked at her, not aware of what she meant by that.
"Panty and Stocking?" he asked.
"Y-Yeah," she said, feeling slightly embarrassed. "Let's just say that those were the nicknames of my friends that helped me through that shit, okay? Stocking was also gay for me, so there's that."
He chuckled, thinking those were interesting nicknames for presumably other girls Lillian's age. Still, it was nice to know she had more friends after everything.
"So, were they prostitutes or something?" he asked, thinking those would be the nicknames of some prostitutes on the street.
"Fuck no!" she replied. "No, they weren't fucking prostitutes. Don't even say that."
Oh shit. Looks like YOU pissed her off.
"No, let's just say they were my guardian angels, or whatever. They helped me get through my depression before I came here."
He nodded, happy to know that she had some loyal friends on her side.
"So, do you plan on seeing them when you get out?"
The goth shrugged, knowing that it wasn't physically possible after their last encounter.
"S-Sure." she said, trying not to get into biblical territory. "Like, not only that: But my conceiver was also scheming behind my back."
He looked at the little goth, not knowing what she was referring to.
"Conceiver?" he asked, not knowing who the little goth was referring to.
"Yeah. My ex-mother. She was planning on locking me up in a house full of misfits, thinking that shit would help me. Needless to say, I cut her off as soon as I could."
Justin grinned at her, finally having something he could relate to. This is just like the Greenseed incident.
"You did the right thing by refusing to take that shit."
"Oh, I know. I know some of the shit you went through. I didn't wanna like, be another victim? Yeah."
Talking about this did ease some of the former tension they had between each other. However, Zoey looked at her, knowing it was difficult discussing all of this, as she was there to witness it first-hand.
"Hey, if you don't mind me asking: When do you girls think you're gonna discharge from here?" JD asked, bringing up another important question.
The goth, the cyber chick, and the weeb, who just came into the day room, all looked at him with slight grins on their faces.
"Like, I dunno. I heard that we'll be out by Christmas, maybe even earlier if we're lucky." Lillian said, winking in Zoey's direction.
"Yes. I feel that we should be out by December 14th earliest, or latest. We've been here for long-term treatment and our time is about to expire." the cyber chick added.
December 14h? Don't they know that's...
"Heh, okay." he said, thinking these three girls were up to something.
"Oi! If we get out, I'm gonna be there for your birthday, Senpai!" the weeb shouted.
"SUKI!" Lillian and Zoey both said, realizing she had ruined the possible surprise.
I knew it!
"Like, don't mind her, JD. She doesn't know what she's talking about. We might not be out by your birthday. When was it again? April 6th?"
He shook his head, knowing damn well what was going on. It made sense though.
"I have no idea what she's talking about." he said, brushing it off.
The weeb looked at him, thinking of someone he had introduced her to.
"How's Ms. Yumi-san been?" she asked.
Although she was saying a name that seemed rather foreign to the others, he knew exactly who she was referring to just by the first part of it.
"Aiko?" he said. "She's actually doing great nowadays."
The goth looked at him. "Who the fuck is Aiko?"
Damn it, Lillian. Do you have dementia or some shit? REMEMBER!
"Aiko's that Japanese teacher I'm friends with. Or, she USED to be a teacher. I thought you had met her on Inna De Poona last November?"
"Are you talking about that lame teacher we ate lunch with?" she asked, wanting him to confirm that this was the woman.
"Y-Yeah. The lame, SEXY-ASS teacher we ate lunch with at Tindy's Steakhouse and Pancake Paradise. Though, she's gotten a major career change ever since you last saw her."
The goth smirked at him, getting an idea as to what that meant. "Lemme guess: Camgirl?"
He nodded, having the biggest grin on his face. Damn, this angsty goth chick catches on quick.
"Yep. Ms. Allison Chainz, the naughty teacher over on HunieCam. Your old friend Abia watches her all the time. You should check her out when you get out of here."
"Like, I think I will as long as there's BDSM involved." she replied, having interest in Aiko's X-rated camshows.
David overheard what she had said, feeling very uneasy. Ugh... I can't with these people. I'm Asexual, for crying out loud.
Later that day, David had called Justin.
"Hey, Justin? You've got mail!" the nurse said, sounding like he was trying to do an impression of the AOL guy.
"Really?" he replied. David handed him a piece of paper. It was a letter from Tiffany.
"Holy shit!" he shouted, immediately reading the letter he had received from his lover.
'Dear, Justin. I know it's pretty weird getting a hand-written letter instead of a text message, but that's the hospital rules. Anyway, I heard about what's been going on. I just wanted to let you know that I'm sorry for everything you've been going through. I know I sound kind of like a broken record at this point, but I really am sorry. Howard's been keeping me updated with how you've been doing in BMH.
Still, just know that I am not mad at you. The day you tried to strangle Beckman wasn't you. I know about that weird split personality in your head. I should've thought of it sooner when I noticed your hair dyed black, even though I don't really believe in that stuff. It's a little freaky.
Anyway, I'm just happy you're doing OK, baby. Stay strong for me, okay? When you discharge, you won't immediately be coming home. I've made special arrangements, sort of like a vacation. I will be waiting for you when you come back. I wanna hug and kiss you as much as I can whenever you come home.
I love you so much, Justin. Take care of yourself and stay strong. You've got this, babe. Love, Tiffany Maye.'
He put the letter down with a huge smile on his face. Unfortunately, that was short lived when he realized a familiar weeb staring right over his shoulder, a bit too close for comfort.
"Is that from TiffTiff?"
"Ah!" he shrieked, getting startled seeing Sarah over his shoulder like that.
"Aw, sorry, Senpai. EHEHEHEH!"
THAT LAUGH AGAIN.
"Suki..." he said.
"What's the matter, Senpai?" the weeb asked.
"You shouldn't do that, okay? I was just reading the letter my girlfriend sent me and you're over here trying to ruin the mood."
"Sorry." she said, putting her hands behind her back.
He hugged her, not meaning to scold the young and innocent weeb. She was only curious.
"It's alright. Just don't do that again, okay?"
"Hai!" she said.
If I weren't still being restrained by this serum, I'd knock the rice out of this bitch!
"Hush." Justin said, quietly speaking to JK.
Regardless, they all had a bond today. At least Lillian finally opened up to him. For some reason, he could've guessed that the little goth chick had some sort of dark past, just like him. They could finally bond over something, even if it wasn't exactly positive.
But the icing on the cake was the letter he had received from Tiffany. That really made his day, even though what was coming didn't seem so pleasant.
Justin was scheduled for treatment in the next few days. He was not looking forward to it, as Dr. Spengler was a sleazy doctor who was worse than Beckman. The fact that he was being so vague about it was even worse.
