The door opened, and his heart sank. He honestly didn't know if he was ready to hear what she was going to say. Her smile seemed fake, and Lovino's grandfather stood behind her; his eyes puffy and red.

"Lovino? Will you follow me?"

His blood went cold despite his heart pounding behind his ribs. No.. He told himself, She's just joking. I'm going home. I'm fine.

"Lovino..? I know you don't want to, but it's for your benefit."

A familiar hand reached out to him, and he slowly looked up with terror in his hazel eyes. His grandfather gently smiled, but obvious pain was behind his facade.

"I'm here, Lovi. Just take my hand."

His mind was spinning - enough to make his vision go blurry. His mind was telling him to run away and never look back, but his caretaker's loving eyes caused his body to move on its own. Trembling, the Italian took his hand and began to stand up; clinging to his grandfather for support.

Laura led them up a flight of stairs, and with each step Lovino realized he was getting further away from home. He was screaming protests in his head, but he was physically speechless. Everything seemed in slow-motion, every wall was closing in, and his body was shaking uncontrollably in absolute fear. He was led down a white-walled hallway, people walking passed in blurs, and finally he was facing a large metal door that had a lock bolted on the surface. Laura took out a key and turned it in the lock - an audible click echoing in his ears. He was dragged inside and a cold draft washed over him. He was told to sit down with his grandfather and, surprisingly, he did as he was told. The shock that he was experiencing caused him to stay frozen in his cold seat.

A new person walked over to him, his face oddly cheerful, and his hair stuck up wildly when Lovino took a closer look. The man plopped down in the seat next to him, going to shake Lovino's hand, but when he didn't respond, he awkwardly pulled away. "I'm Mathias. Lovino, right?"

He nodded, not looking him in the eye. "Alrighty. Nice to meet you! I'll be with you here, so I'm sure I'll get to know you better. Anyway, I'm here to go over some rules with you."

"Do you ever stop talking?"

"Hardly~" Mathias obliviously responded, smiling widely, "I'll try to keep things short though." Lovino watched as a book slid in his direction. It was labeled simply as "Writing Journal" and he was directed to open it to the first page.

General Rules:

- Each morning you are required to wake up at 7:30 AM

- You must maintain your personal hygiene - taking care of yourself is important (Deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrush, shampoo and a comb is available if necessary. However, razors are forbidden)

- Respect is one of the most important factors. Be respectful to both the staff and others in the unit

- Personal information (email, numbers, addresses, etc) cannot be shared whatsoever to keep your privacy and other's

Daily Schedule:

6:00 AM : Vitals are taken

7:30 AM : Wake-up

8:00 AM : Breakfast

8:40 : Psyc. Ed. Group

"What is that?"

I'll explain in a moment."

9:30 AM : Break

10:00 AM : Journaling

11:00 AM : Therapy (Music, art, etc)

12:00 PM : Lunch

12:45 PM : Psyc. Ed. Group

1:30 PM : Break

2:30 PM : Journaling

3:00 PM : Snack

3:45 PM : Psyc. Ed. Group

5:00 PM : Dinner

5:30 - 6:30 PM : Visitation

7:00 PM : Talk about visitation

7:30 PM : Psyc. Ed. Group

8:15 PM : Showers/Hygiene

9:00 PM : Bed (lights out by 9:30)

"Lovino, are you alright?"

He didn't even remember when he started crying. Tears were running down his pale face as he looked up at Mathias, expecting a critical comment, but was surprised to see him smile sympathetically.

"It's alright, I understand. It's an emotional time for you."

Lovino nodded, looking down at the droplets staining his new book. His grandfather had a hand on his knee and rubbed it soothingly, trying to be as supportive as possible.

"Oh, I forgot to mention, you can bring him clothes and his toothpaste, toothbrush, comb and things like that. Jackets and pants can't have drawstrings though. I would bring him comfy clothes."

He slightly smiled, looking first at Lovino and then at his grandfather.

"I'll let you say your goodbyes. But you'll see him at five-thirty, okay?"

Lovino knew this time would come, but how did it come so soon? He started crying even harder as he was pulled into a hug; tears dripping onto his grandfather's soft shirt. "I want t-to go home!" He wailed, clutching onto his back.

"I know you do, Lovi. You'll be home soon."

"Alright, now we'll have to give you some scrubs."

"Scrubs?"

"Temporary clothes. Everyone has to wear them their first day. I assume you're a small.."

Mathias led him to a large cabinet, unlocking it with a small key, and inside were light blue shirts and pants. They were, quite literally, made of paper and when he was handed his pair, they felt extremely itchy.

"And if you'll follow me I need to check your blood pressure, weight, height, and then I'll show you your room and let you change."

After going through the whole process of what one might do at a regular check up, he walked through the "lounge" area; eyes following him as he walked. He followed Mathias nervously into his new "room" - which only consisted of two small beds, metal cabinets bolted to the wall, and the smallest bathroom he had ever seen. It didn't even have a door. Just a slidable curtain that hardly let him have privacy. The sink was stuck in the corner, the toilet was right next to it, the mirror was warped and fading, and the shower could hardly fit the shower head let alone a person.

"Lovino? Are you going to change?"

"Are you going to fucking watch me?"

"I have to," Mathias explained, "I need to chart what's on your body."

Lovino slightly flushed at this, raising an eyebrow skeptically, but decided not to question it. He slipped off his clothes and was about to put on the scrubs when Mathias cut in.

"Hold on - turn towards me please."

"What the hell?"

"I know it's awkward, but it's protocol.."

Embarrassed and ashamed, Lovino turned, revealing the fresh slashes along his arms and legs for the first time. Some still had dried blood on his skin, and he looked away from Mathias who was writing these things down.

"You can get dressed now. When you're done, come on out and introduce yourself to the others. Don't worry, they're very nice!"

With a smile, Mathias left, and Lovino was alone once more. He silently pulled on the itchy clothes, staring at his solemn state in the mirror. He looked pathetic. Tears stained his cheeks, his wounds were out in the open for everyone to see and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it; Mathias had confiscated his other clothes.

Slowly, he walked back out to the open space that consisted of a few tables and desks, and in the middle were couches surrounded by chairs. They formed a semi-circle that faced a television. Currently, a movie was playing. Lovino hesitantly sat down in an empty chair, and instantly he was bombarded with questions from a blonde sitting across from him. He wore rimmed glasses and red, white and blue pants. He also had his legs crossed and a smile beamed on his pale face.

"Sup? What's your name?"

Lovino didn't respond. He sat quietly, looking down into his lap.

"Not much of a talker, huh?"

"Give him a break Alfred." Another voice chimed in, this one more accented and warm, "He's probably anxious."

"That's true I guess. But he could at least give us his name."

"We could introduce ourselves first.."

Someone said next to him, but Lovino didn't bother looking up until the obnoxious voice started up again.

"Good idea! I'm Alfred! I'm here because I hate myself and everyone hates me. I tried to kill myself." Lovino was shocked. How could he say that so casually? And with a smile as well?

"I'm Antonio," The warm voice said, and Lovino turned to look at him. He was tan, his hair was handsomely shaggy, and his eyes were a beautiful green, "I'm here because I'm an alcoholic, thank to self-esteem issues. Oh, I'm from Spain."

"I'm from America!"

"I figured that out on my own." Lovino hissed, and Antonio chuckled softly. He then turned towards the man sitting next to the Italian, and Lovino's gaze followed. This man had longer brown hair, and he gave the appearance that he was nervous.

"I'm Toris. I'm here because I was abused, and I tried to commit suicide... I'm from Lithuania."

Lovino nodded, looking towards the last person - a girl. Her hair was long and white, and she hugged her knees to her chest, not looking at any one of them.

"Who's that?"

"Oh," Alfred chimed in, "That's Natalia. She's here for attempted homicide and suicide."

"Ah.."

"And you?"

Lovino looked up, trying not to show much emotion like the others had done. "I-I'm Lovino. I'm here because o-of extreme anger issues, self-mutilation, and I tried t-to kill myself.."

Antonio tilted his head, giving him a soft smile of understanding, "See? You aren't any different from the rest of us. I promise we won't judge you at all."

"Yeah! Welcome to our group!"

Toris rolled his eyes, "I wouldn't call it a 'group' Alfred.. But, yeah, welcome."

The Italian blinked, looking at all of them before heaving a sigh.

"Grazie, I guess..."

Thank you for reading~!

On a side note: The process and stuff is 100% accurate; I promise.

How do I know that..?

Well, I'm sure you can figure it out...

Anywho, see you next chapter!

-Feli