Hello everyone, here is the next chapter!

I know this is late. But I had a small writer's block on this. But here it finally is!

I hope you will enjoy this

Read and relax

When Ace got back to the unit, it was late, so he went to bed soon after. The next day, he had an appointment with the doctor, and he said how the weekend had gone. The doctor was glad it had gone fine, but also said he hadn't been alone, and that would be the biggest test, to manage his thoughts when he was alone, or not with friends or family. It would be interesting, and he would go home when this weekend came.

The day then went on, and he spent most of it in his room, and the curtains were a mix of half drawn and fully drawn close. The nurse did comment on it now and then, and he said he didn't feel like having it open today. And they said it was fine. But he should try it tomorrow. And he said he would.

When the next day came, he did his best to keep the curtains half drawn, and everyone seemed happy with that. When he was out of the room, he tried to not overthink everything. If his door was locked, or if the room would burn down. It was fine, his mind was off. It was really uncomfortable, but he did his best. The nurses seemed proud of him, which was good, made him feel better.

-x-

Marco hummed as he got a message and was glad to see it was from Ace. They hadn't had the opportunity to really visit Ace this week, and he had said it was fine. WHen he read the message, he hummed. It said that Ace was going to his home this weekend, and if he and Pops wanted to drop by on Saturday, which sounded good. He did ask Pops if he had the time, and he did, making Marco glad. He then said it was fine and they would be at his house around 3pm, to help with the preparations, as he wanted to see how Ace was and be around him. He felt he had been a bit of a bad brother lately, seeing as he had no idea Ace was struggling. He hadn't told that to anyone though.

When he passed Curiel later, he said he was going to Ace this weekend, and he seemed glad about that and said he could drop by on Sunday, to see how he was himself. Which also sounded good. He did ask Ace though, who said it was fine. They, as in him and Pops, would also drop in on Sunday as well, just to see how things were fairing. He really hoped Ace would be better.

-x-

Ace sat in his room when a nurse came, and the nurse looked at Ace with a smile. "So, you're going home for the weekend?" Ace nodded. "Yes. And I am going home home, a bit worried, but Pops and Marco will join me tomorrow, for dinner." The nurse nodded. "Sounds nice. Do you need anything right now?" Ace shook his head. "No, I don't." The nurse nodded. "Good, hope to see you out." He nodded and would try. After an hour, he took a breath, and decided to head out, before he would leave in a few hours. When he got out, he sat down in an empty chair, taking a magazine and starting to read it. But as he was reading it, he heard a couple to his left talking. He couldn't hear what they said, but he had this weird feeling it was about him.

It made him feel very uncomfortable, and felt himself looking over at them now and then. But when they suddenly laughed, Ace had had enough, and left for his room. When he got there and sat down, he felt his hands shaking, and used some time to calm down. When he was, there was a knock at his door, and he gave a come in and the nurse said the doctor was ready for him, and he went to the doctor.

When he got there, the doctor smiled at him. "Hi, are you ready to head home for the weekend?" Ace nodded. "Yes, I think I am." The doctor nodded. "Have you had any issues the last few days?" Ace gave a small sound. "I don't know why, but I feel like… people are talking about me." The doctor nodded. "Okay, in what way?" Ace sighed. "Mocking me. Like, I sat out earlier, and I was sure they were laughing at me. And then I left for my room, and my hands… were shaking." The doctor nodded. "I see. We will send some medicine with you, which also includes some extra ones if you feel your paranoia is worse than before. Don't be afraid to call." Ace nodded. "I will try. But I think, and hope, I will manage this without feeling bad." The doctor nodded. "We hope so. How was the last few days?" Ace sighed, and told how he had been, telling about his weird thoughts.

When he was done, the doctor nodded. "I see. You still have many thoughts, and maybe we need to try and give a small higher dose, or maybe another one, that can help." Ace nodded. "Okay. I am for that." The doctor nodded. "We won't do it now, but we will discuss it on Monday, and see how the weekend has been." Ace nodded, that sounded good. He then spoke a bit more, before he left and packed a bit, before he went to his car and drove home. He then did his best to be calm. He tried to have his curtains open, but found himself having them half drawn. And when the night came and it got dark, he drew them completely.

When the next day came, he opened the curtains before Pops and Marco came, so it looked like he had managed it. He did feel a bit uncomfortable, but he could deal with this he felt like. When Pops and Marco came, they were glad to see him, and asked how it was going, and he said fine. Might be a bit of a lie, but meh. They then started the chore of starting dinner, which they would have at his place, just the three of them. It would be nice.

As they had started, Marco hummed as he looked in the fridge. "Where is the milk?" Ace blinked. "Damn, I forgot that. Let me get it. Back in a few." He said, before he went out to his car and drove to the store, and got some milk. But, as he was driving home, he got a bad feeling about the car behind him when he got out on the road, feeling a bit bad as he needed to gas up to get in front and not behind, and might have cut him a bit off. It was a dark car. He was sure, and he meant sure, that that car was following him, to get him. Since he had maybe cut him off.

He felt his hands start to shake, no idea what to do, as he was soon home, just a few more minutes. Then he remembered something, Pops was at his home with Marco, them coming over for dinner and Ace had used more time at the shop than what he had believed, so they should already be at his house. He then moved to type in the number on his car screen, going to wait a couple minutes before he called, so he wouldn't be too far away. And while he waited, he kept a close eye on the car, but he couldn't see the driver as the sun was shining off his front window. Then, as he was about to hit call on his screen, the car behind him took a right turn off the road.

It had Ace blink, before he gave a breath. Why was his mind like this? Why did his mind have to be so… paranoid of everyone? Who would follow him? He was a no one. Yes, he might have felt he might have cut the person off, but even if he had, would that be enough to follow him? And there were no horn sounded, so it couldn't have been that bad. When he parked his car, he took a deep breath to calm down, his hands slightly shaking, before he walked inside the house.

When he got inside, Marco sat in the living room and gave a smile to him. "How did it go, yoi?" Ace nodded. "Fine, nothing special." Marco did frown a bit, but didn't say anything. He then walked to the kitchen, where Pops had started the food with what he could without milk. He then got the milk out of the bag and helped Pops, Marco joining in also. When they were mostly done, now it just needed to cook, they headed to the living room with Marco, and as he walked, he automatically grabbed the curtain, on his way to draw it as he walked, but Marco spoke. "Ace, no." Ace blinked, on his way to ask what was no, when he noticed he held the curtain and looked at the curtain, which he had half drawn by now. "Oh. Sorry." He honestly hadn't meant to.

He then looked at the window, seeing some neighbors out, before he looked at Marco. "Is half drawn okay?" Marco gave a small breath. "Try and have it open, while we're here at least, yoi." Ace gave a sigh, but nodded and opened the curtain before sat down, feeling a bit uncomfortable, but Marco moved a hand to his leg. "It's okay. No one will care that it is open, yoi." Ace blinked. "I care." Marco shook his head. "Beside you." Ace sighed, but Pops nodded. "No one will care, everyone has theirs open, son." Well yeah, that was true. He could see his neighbors had their curtains open. He just didn't like it. Everyone could now see inside his house. He then tried to preoccupy himself in conversation. to not think about the open curtains. But felt himself sending looks at the window, to be sure there was no one there, looking inside.

When he was done eating, he decided to take the dishes and put them in the dishwasher, which felt easier as the window in his kitchen was out in his backyard and no one was there uninvited as there was a small hill. So, he felt safe here. Or, at least safer. When he was done, he went back to the living room and sat down on his couch, Marco and Pops sitting around the table with him, and they started to speak. They didn't speak about him being admitted, which was good. He didn't know what to say right now. He felt both better and not.

When evening came, Pops and Marco left, and Ace drew the curtains. But, after an hour, him watching some TV, he heard the neighbors out, and he could instantly feel some anxiety inside himself, thinking 'what if they are spying on him', or what if they were talking about how to get inside his home. It made him feel really anxious, so he took an extra pill of those he had gotten, so he would hopefully feel less paranoid of everyone. It didn't help too much, but helped a bit. When night came, he spent a lot of it awake, listening for his neighbors, to see if they got too close or tried to get inside his house. He also needed to check his door a lot, to make sure it was locked, all doors leading up to his bedroom as well, he spent a lot of time, not sure how long.

When he did finally fall asleep, he woke up early, as he heard a sound, and he instantly checked all doors again as he woke up, making sure the main door was really locked, and yes it was. he then tried to have the curtains open, and he half managed, before he needed to close them as he felt anxious. After a bit, he did open them as he knew the others were coming over.

When they came, they had some light snacks, and while he was in the kitchen, Curiel joined him, and asked how he was really doing. It made him sigh, before he looked at Curiel. "I am a bit better, but still have some issues. They spoke about maybe giving me something else as well? But I don't know." Curiel nodded. "I don't know about everything you're going through, but hear about Abilify. That can help. Have positive experiences with it." Ace nodded and would, when he was back at the unit. The rest of the visitors' stay went fine, him looking a lot towards the window, and he had a feeling Curiel noticed this, but tried not to think of it. Then they left, Marco and Pops promising to be able to visit the coming week. Which sounded nice.

Then he left back for the unit, and when he got there, the nurses gave him smiles as he entered, before he went to his room, and settled again. A nurse did come in soon and asked how it had gone, and he did his best in saying how it had really gone. The nurse was glad to hear him having managed having the curtains somewhat open, but not with the checking of the door, that wasn't good. "Next time," started the nurse, "Try and set an alarm, maybe 5 minutes each door? So you can keep track. I've heard about a few who completely lose time awareness." And that sounds like a good idea, and would do that next time. Then the nurse left, and he spent the remainder of the day in his room.

The next day, he had an early appointment with the doctor, and headed there and said how he had been, and the doctor listened to all of it, before he nodded. "I see. So, the extra pill didn't help too much?" Ace shook his head. "Not really." The doctor hummed. "Not good." it probably wasn't. Then he remembered something, and looked at the doctor. "I just, for something extra. What about Abilify?" The doctor gave a curious look. "Where did you hear that?" Ace gave a small sound. "From my brother." The doctor nodded. "Remember how I said on Friday we would think of another medicine?" Ace nodded and the doctor continued. "That was Abilify." Ace blinked. "Oh, cool." The doctor nodded. "Yes. But, can you tell a bit more about this car you felt followed you?" Ace sighed. "Okay… when I had been at the store and there was this car behind me, and I felt… like it was following me, like I was sure of it." The doctor nodded. "Why would he follow you? What reason?" Ace sighed. "I felt like I maybe… cut him a bit off, so he was mad at me. But then he took off the road and headed away. I was about to call for help. My hands shook." The doctor nodded. "I see. Yeah, I think we will start up with Abilify. Just a small dose for now." Ace nodded and that sounded good.

They then spoke a bit more, before he went back to his room. When the evening came, he was out with Luffy, which was nice. He really liked the other. He felt okay for that day. When evening came and he went to bed, he got some sleeping medication, which he liked, and he slept fine. When the time for morning medication came, he went to the medicine room and got his tablet, which included Abilify, which he was informed about.

He then tried to sit out, and did his best. He spoke a bit with Luffy when he was out, and tried to not think of his room burning or his door being locked, or the others talking about him. He felt this day went okay. He still had a few times when his hands shook, so he left for his room at those times. Pops and Marco did come by, which was really nice, and he was glad to speak to them. He knew they were worried and he wanted to seem like things were going well.

When the next day came, and he woke up, he blinked. He felt.. nauseous. He didn't like that, and when the nurse came to say hello, he said he felt nauseous, making the nurse nod. "You just started on Abilify, that can make you nauseous." Ace blinked. "But… I started it yesterday?" The nurse nodded. "Yes, but side effects can come very early on. It should just last a day or two. Is it really bad?" Ace shook his head. "No, just a bit." The nurse nodded. "I see. If it gets worse, will you tell me?" Ace nodded, making the nurse smile. "Good."

The next two days were okay, he had issues with the curtains now and then, but it was okay. He had once even taken a trip out alone, and he had been nervous about being followed, but it all went fine, he tried to say inside his mind that it was all in his mind, no one was following him. He had once even taken a trip out with Luffy, which was nice. And while he felt less paranoid with Luffy there, he was still a bit paranoid and anxious about things. Everything from a bad people, to aliens. This also included wild animals, like bears and wolves, which there was none here, he knew it so well, but still so worried about meeting them. Luffy did seem to notice something was off, and they went back to the unit.

The next day, when the nurse came by in the morning, Ace toko the curtains away from the window, and would try and keep them open. Some hours later, Ace was still in his room and sat on his laptop, when the nurse came by, and she smiled. "I am glad to see the curtain is still not drawn." Ace blinked, before he looked at the open curtain. "Oh… I actually forgot about it." The nurse nodded. "That is actually a very good sign. Most don't notice it." Ace nodded. "Is this… because of the new medicine?" The nurse hummed. "Might be. I am just glad, this is a good sign." It probably was. And it felt… good. He managed to not think of the open curtain. That was really nice.

When he went out a bit later, he didn't think about the fact that others were out and talking amongst themselves, he didn't care. When Luffy came out, he spoke a bit with him. before he went back to his room before dinner. This felt so nice. To not be paranoid about everything. The rest of the day went fine, and the rest of the stay also went fine, him feeling so much better.

When he got released, him being discharged as the doctor said he was much better and could go home, he felt glad. He wanted to go home. When he got home, also having sent a message to Pops and Marco he was being released now, the man being happy about it and glad he was better. But when Ace stood in his living room and felt himself smile. He didn't really care about the window right now, he didn't care that the curtains were open. It made him close his eyes and take a relieved breath. This felt good. He felt so much better right now. He felt… normal. He could only hope this would last.

And that's the end of this story! I hope you enjoy it

Do know, if you want more of this, I am not against making more, either another chapter, or a One Shot in my One Shot Series, where I make One Shots for my stories if someone has an idea or I have an idea I want to write out

I hope you enjoyed, and if you want to, I do love feedback, so don't be afraid to leave a review, or send a PM!

If you also want to, I have a Twitter, my name is Azuruko, and I have a discord, my tag/username is Azuruko#5250, as well as a server (Instant invite: discord . gg / 6hzMhbR) where everyone is welcomed! Updates is also posted there, both on discord and on twitter