A/N: Back from a long weekend; but fulfilling nonetheless! I came back with some chapters, and I hope this will hold you over until I can update again! :)

Chapter 03 – Freak Show

His eyes fluttered open, he felt the pain in his wrists, and he felt the pain behind his eyes, the throbbing in his head making it hard for him to keep his eyes open. A stream of light hit his pale face from the open window next to him.

"You're awake," An unfamiliar voice said from next to him.

He fought to turn his head, and with as much strength as he could muster up he had finally done so. His pale blue eyes took in the rest of the room around him. Everything was white; from the walls, to the floor, to the blankets on the bed. A hospital bed.

He felt a lump in his throat as his eyes darted to the person next to him.

"Where am I?" His words were muttered, laced with sleep.

"Gloucester Hospital," The voice stated calmly, a ruffle of dark brown hair surrounded the face that was speaking.

"Why?" He tried to push himself up but felt the shooting pains in his arms.

He glanced down horror stricken seeing the white gauze wrapped around his wrists, small red spots seeping through and staring at him. A brutal slap to reality.

"You're a cutter, not suicidal…" The voice looked up at him, soft brown eyes grabbing his blue gaze.

"I'm not suicidal…" The blonde stated clearing his throat uncomfortably.

"I know that, you know that… but they don't…" A sharp chin lifted in the direction of the door.

"Who the hell are you?" He asked rudely changing the subject.

"You're roommate for the next seventy-two hours,"

"Excuse me?" His face fell; he did not want to be trapped in this bed, in this place for three days. Where the hell was his mother, or his brothers? How the hell did he get here in the first place?

"Anyone who comes to Gloucester Hospital, hell any hospital…" Reid's eyes flickered over his roommate's body and he felt his jaw clench seeing the similarly wrapped bandages around her wrists. "With these kinds of cuts," The same bandaged wrists were held up in the air for him to see. "Are put on suicide watch and have to go under evaluation before they're released…"

"I'm not suicidal…" The blonde repeated angrily.

"But you are a cutter," The unnamed roommate pointed out resting their had back in to the plush pillows.

Not wanting to answer the question, seeing as how the person already knew the answer, he decided to change the subject, "What's your name?"

"Isobel," His roommate responded.

"Reid," He replied back dully.

"I know, I talked to the boy that brought you in here for a few minutes,"

"A boy?" The blonde's eyebrow quirked up at the sound of this.

"Cute guy, about your height probably, tan, blue eyes, brown hair… adorable smile…" She looked over at him. "I think he said his name was Tyler,"

"Ty," Reid let his best friend's name roll off of his tongue.

"Friend of yours?" She asked.

Reid glanced over at her, "Yeah, best friend, actually…" His voice was low as he spoke.

"He seemed really concerned, you done this before?" She questioned.

"What is this? An interrogation?" Reid asked rudely.

Her mouth snapped shut and she narrowed her eyes over at the boy, "Just because you're pissed off at the world for some unbeknownst reason doesn't make it ok to snap at me, you asshole…" She barked at him.

Reid's scowl was replaced with a smirk, the girl lying the bed next to him wasn't as sweet and innocent as she had looked lying their, her skin pale, though it looked like it was usually kissed by the sun, her hair in disarray and a look of contempt on her face. She was a little spitfire.

He sat back in his pillows and ignored her, as she did him.

So much for trying to make friends, the girl thought rolling her eyes as she changed the channel on the TV in front of her.

An hour later, Isobel had watched as Reid drifted in and out of sleep. Several nurses and the doctor on duty had come in to check his vitals, give him a few aspirin and listened to him beg for them to let him go. He had told them he wasn't suicidal, tried to convince them that it as an accident.

They didn't give him a second glance; they had heard it all before.

Isobel smirked to herself keeping her eyes closed; only opening them every now and then to get a peek at her handsome neighbor. She couldn't resist the urge she felt to check him out. Though half of his body was submerged under the unflattering bed sheets that adorned the hospital beds, she could tell he was tall, and lean.

His blonde hair stuck to his forehead, and in to those mesmerizing blue eyes.

"Oh God Reid, are you alright?" The voice belonged to a bubbling blonde that leapt through the door and tossed herself at Reid, several other forms following in closely behind him.

Isobel smirked and shook her head; of course her gorgeous roommate would have an equally gorgeous girlfriend. She laughed at the thought, who was she kidding anyway. She had tried to befriend the guy, tried to be nice, and he was a complete ass to her. She shrugged her shoulders and watched the three guys and two girls that had come in surround his bed.

"Hey Boston," His voice cracked slightly as he forced a small smile.

"When'd you wake up?" Tyler asked his face full of concern.

"About an hour and half ago…" Reid shot him a dirty look.

"How you feeling?" The long haired guy asked his voice was low, and Isobel could tell that the five people that just walked in to the room were very close to the blonde boy.

"I feel like I got run over by a fuckin' Mack truck, how do you think Pogue?" The blonde snapped at his friend.

The longe haired boy, known as Pogue pursed his lips together as the dark haired girl next to him, put her hand on his shoulder. Another good looking one with an amazingly beautiful girlfriend, Isobel deducted. Her eyes drifted to the girl and the dark haired boy, the only unnamed subjects in the room now.

She felt nosey for listening to their conversation, but she had been trapped in this hospital bed for a week and it was killing her. She needed some kind of human contact, that wasn't from a doctor or nurse.

"You scared the hell out of us, don't do it again…" The dark haired girl reached over and smacked the tall boy on the thigh. The blonde jumped and shot her a glare.

"Jesus Kate, abuse the hospitalized…" He smirked at her.

"Reid, you don't have to pretend with us man," The dark haired boy stated his voice monotone, not showing any emotion at all.

"I'm not pretending, dude…" Reid gave him a charming smile, as he talked light heartedly with his friends.

Isobel sat back quietly as she watched them filter out, the blonde she had learned wasn't Reid's girlfriend, it as actually the dark haired, monotone friend's girlfriend, whom she learned was Caleb. From their conversation she learned that they were from Ipswich, just south of Gloucester.

After a few minutes the boy known as Tyler walked back in the room and she saw Reid's demeanor change. He snapped at his friend as soon as he made sure the others weren't around.

"Why did you bring me here Ty?" Reid barked at him.

"Reid, I found you on the ground in your room…" Tyler's voice got low as he glanced over at Isobel who let out a heavy sigh as if she were sleeping. "There was blood everywhere, you're lucky I got you here as fast as I did…"

Isobel popped an eye open to see the dark haired boy give her roommate a knowing look. She wondered what that was about; Reid glanced over and saw her looking. He growled lowly and pulled the curtain so that she couldn't see them.

"Well fuck, now I'm stuck here for seventy-two fucking hours, Ty…"

"Reid, we're all worried about you, I thought you quit…" Tyler stated clearing his throat, his voice low.

"I did, but for some reason last night… I just. I don't fucking know, I just wanted to do it…"

Tyler raked a hand through his hair, "Were you… were you trying to kill yourself?"

Reid's eyes grew wide as he looked at his best friend in shock, "No man, I wasn't trying to off myself…"

Tyler took a deep breath, "Good," He seemed relieved.

"Look man, I'm tired… I'll see you later, ok?" Reid leaned back in to his pillows. "Make sure you come and see me tomorrow, skip school or something, because I can't fucking be in here for three days without some human contact."

Tyler lifted his chin, motioning to the other side of the curtain, Reid snickered, "Please, I don't mean some suicide hotline chick…"

Isobel was still listening and she knew he was talking about her, she swallowed hard and let her fingers trail over the white gauze that was pink from the blood. It was hard not to reopen the wounds during the day, with all the moving around she was doing.

"I'll drop by tomorrow and see you, bring you some real food or something," He stated.

After a few more words between the two, she watched Mr. Blue Eyes leave. She sighed not being able to sleep. She didn't know what else she could do.

Reid cut the curtain back and shot her a look.

"What the fuck is your problem?" He asked rudely.

"Wh-"

He didn't let her finish, "You fucking have no life so you're eavesdropping on mine, real nice freak show…" Reid barked.

Isobel winced at his words; she never knew one person could be so hurtful. She stared at him for a second and cut the curtain back on her side of the room. She didn't want anything to do with that asshole, and to think she actually found him attractive; his nasty attitude just made him a -10 on her scale.

Reid sunk back in to his bed and stared at the white wall in front of him, he wanted to get the hell out of there. He couldn't. He decided. There were guards outside of the door; he had seen them when the guys had come in to check on him.

He was sure there were guards all over who wouldn't let a blonde with bandaged arms free. He glanced down at the gauze; he must have cut deeper than he thought. He used his right hand to unravel the gauze on his left.

Slowly he unwrapped his wound and let the gauze fall to the ground, the blood had seeped through, but the nurse came in and changed it about an hour ago, after he had woken up.

Blue eyes gazed upon t he large slice that adorned his wrist. He inspected it, remembered the pain he felt through the numbness of the whiskey. He had felt it sting for the first time, was that a sign?

He had cut deeper than normal; Tyler had Used to get him to the hospital so quickly so he wouldn't die.

He glanced over at the pulled curtain and felt something in his chest that he hadn't felt before. He shouldn't have been so rude to the girl next to him. He probably shouldn't have called her a suicide hotline chick, or a freak show.

If anyone was a freak show… it was him.

I have posted a character concept of Isobel in my profile. Hope you all enjoyed; REVIEW... please?!