(Danny's Point of View)
I'm in the damn hospital again.
"Danny?" Sam's timid voice came from beside me. "Yeah?" I asked annoyed. "...I'm sorry that it's come to this." She said simply. I opened my eyes.
"What do you mean?" I asked, scared. "...Tucker enrolled you in Other Ways." She whispered. My mouth dropped open. "Excuse me?" I demanded.
"...It's getting too bad, Danny. Did you know you overdosed?" She asked. I opened my mouth to counter to that, but I closed it.
"What about school?" I asked. She shrugged. "We are going to tell Lancer in the morning. He may be willing to teach you from there. I wouldn't want to jeopardize your diploma." She said. Her voice didn't sound accusing, but I took it that way.
"...Like I did?" I demanded. She looked up, eyes wide. "Danny, I'm not even saying that." She sighed. "I'm not disappointed in you, either." She added.
I raised my eyebrow. "I'm disappointed in myself, Tucker, and your parents. We all saw the signs and didn't do anything about it. Your parents were stupid enough to throw you out and-"
"Sam...shh." I quieted. She nodded. I raised my arms, desperately wanting to comfort my friend. She gladly hugged me. I squeezed her tightly against me, pulling her to lay in bed with me. "I forgive you." I whispered, smoothing her hair back as she hugged me.
"Hey dude." Tucker said from the door, a slightly smile on his face. I glared, but not as intensely as I would if I were really mad. "Other Ways?" I asked.
He sighed while nodding. "Sam wants you to get better, and I do too. I don't want to find you like that again."
Other Ways is the teenage rehabilitation center. It deals with cutters, druggies, and overall suicidal people. I fit the bill…
"Who am I going to come back to?" I asked sadly.
The other part of Other Ways that makes it so popular is that after two weeks you go home for three days...who would I come back to?
"We moved all of your stuff to Sam's house. You'll come back to us." Tucker reassured. I smiled. "That'd be nice." I admitted.
"Tucker, you do realize that it costs 600 dollars just to get into Other Ways right? Where are we going to get that kind of money?" I raised my eyebrow. Tucker scoffed.
"With your money of course." He said. I tilted my head to the side in confusion. Sam looked up at the point, from my shoulder, and stared. "What money?" I asked, confused.
"The money in your motel room? In the envelope?" Tucker said. I shook my head. "I have no idea what you are talking about." I said, going to scratch my arms. Sam slapped my hands away.
"...you don't remember robbing all of those houses?" Tucker asked. I blinked. "I did what?!" I exclaimed in sheer panic. "Woah calm down. You don't remember? Well, you've been robbing people for the past week and worked up twenty grand." Tucker grinned.
Now that he said something, I was getting snippets of alarms, middle aged dads, and Dash Baxter.
"I was…"
"You were high. That's why you don't remember. Danny you did cocaine and almost died. That is why we put you in Other Ways. We gave you too many chances to fix it on your own. Now you forced us to stop you. This is going to be really hard, so youhave to push through. You are being transported there tomorrow." Tucker explained. I nodded.
"...I'm going down to the cafeteria to grab some food." Tucker said. "Jell-O?" I asked, smiling. Tucker nodded. "You betcha." He winked, leaving the room.
"...Danny...I have to tell you something." Sam said, sitting up to meet my eyes. I looked at her, looking into her eyes to see if I could see if the news was happy or sad. Her eyes were blank.
"...When you killed yourself the second time, you sent the word goodbye to everyone except-"
"Except for my parents, yeah. I heard." I said, confused.
"-for me. You didn't just send me one word." Sam said quietly. I looked at her in confusion. "Huh?"
"Do you want to read what you sent to me?" She asked. I tried to remember what I had sent. I just remember panicking after I did send it. I shook my head. "Not now." I whispered. She nodded.
"I understand. Tell me when you do though. I can't keep this a secret forever." She said, getting up and exiting the room.
I laid down against the pillow, trying to remember what I could've possibly said. It was on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn't figure it out. I decided to get some sleep. Tomorrow...I start Other Ways.
…
"Hiya! Welcome to Other Ways! You must be Danny!" A overly cheery middle aged woman greeted. I gave a sideways glance to Sam, who was standing beside me, much to my comfort.
"Y-yeah." I stuttered. Sam snorted, quieting herself when she saw my side glare. "Well, Follow me to your room." The lady said. I groaned inwardly and followed, taking Sam's hand, lacing our fingers together to make sure she wasn't going anywhere. I saw the small smile that lit up her face when I did.
"This is your room. Here at Other Ways, you don't have to share rooms! Also, your bags were checked, and the clothes that are mandatory on weekdays are in the dressers. I am Sheila, your personal counselor. In around thirty minutes, Harris will escort you to group therapy." The lady-Sheila-waved at me before disappearing down the hallway.
"What the hell, Sam." I glared. "Woah, don't look at me. Sheila seems...nice." Sam laughed. I chuckled along with her. "I'll see you this weekend?" She offered. I nodded.
"...Please come. I don't want to do this alone." I whispered. Sam smiled, taking me into her arms. "You aren't alone, Danny. You never were." Sam whispered into my ear. I smile when she kissed my cheek and walked away. I watched her go, wishing that she'd come back and attach my lips to hers and-
Woah, what the hell dude? I shook my head away from the thoughts of Sam kissing me and decided to put on the gray sweatpants and white shirt. There were black Keds at the bottom that I slipped on as well. After I was done, I sat on the bed and played on my phone.
"Danny?" A voice called, knocking on the door. I got up, looking at the twenty year old boy in front of me. "Hi, I'm Harris. I'm your nurse. Ready for Group Therapy?" He asked. I shook my head, scowling. He laughed.
"Don't worry. Not as bad as you think." He winked.
Okay, Fenton. Don't panic. You are going to be fine. It's just therapy. In group form. Nothing to worry about.
I mean, if I really wanted to get out (which I do) I could just phase...
I'm such a goddamn idiot.
I braced myself against the wall before attempting to go intangible. A shock from my wrist made me yelp.
"Danny? You okay?" Harris turned around, eyeing me. I smiled sheepishly and nodded, curling my hand over my wrist. He turned around and I brought it to my face.
A bracelet.
I went to to take it off, but I shocked my fingers. I kept walking with Harris, angrily glaring at my wrist.
Of course they would know I would figure out that I could just leave whenever I wanted to, so they had to take that away. Figures. I sighed.
Guess I'm in this for the long run.
"Now, if you need anything, just call for me." Harris said, gently pushing me into a room with twelve other people.
"Hello Mr. Fenton! Have a seat!" A cheerful lady in the middle of the circle called. I blushed and walked forward, sitting next to a boy around my age with bleached hair and blue eyes. "Hey." He whispered.
"Hi…" I whispered back.
"Now everyone. We are going to introduce ourselves. I will choose a random person, and they will stand up, say why they are here, and who they are here for. Why don't you start, Mr. Fenton?" She said. I gulped and stood.
"...My names Danny and-"
"Hi Danny." The people greeted.
"-and I'm here because of being addicted to drugs...and I'm here for my best friends." I said awkwardly, then sat back down.
The dude next to me was named Jack.
"Hi my names Jack. Do not repeat me." People looked around awkwardly. "I'm here for my boyfriend, Hayden. That's all you have to know." Jack glared. I smiled. I liked Jack.
The remaining people were Lily, Opal, Natalie, Joshua, James, Marcus, Karson, Harley, Micah, Mitch, and Maggie. They were all here for around the same reasons. Their parents were worried about them. They committed suicide too many times before being brought here. Many of them weren't so happy about being here. The person in charge of group therapy, Dr. Kat, was eager to learn all about us.
"...Now, since this is many of your guy's first day, we are getting off early for a late lunch. If you have any questions, please contact your personal nurse or counselor." Dr. Kat smiled, giving us back over to our nurses.
"Hey Danny!" Jack called. His nurse was following close behind him. "Hey Jack." I greeted back. "How was group therapy you two?" Harris greeted. Jack shrugged at the same time as me.
"...Well Nathan," Harris said to Jack's nurse, "We can leave them to it. They are already on Step `one of the eight step solution process." Harris grinned eagerly, he and Nathan leaving us alone.
"...Step one?" I asked. Jack nodded. "Basically step one is making friends here. Step two is admitting you have a problem. Step three is getting through a week of being clean. Step four is admitting to the people you care about that you are sorry that you got that bad. Step five through eight...well you don't know about them until you get there." Jack explained.
"So...you are here for your boyfriend?" I asked, making conversation as we walked through the hallway to the cafeteria. "Yeah...Hayden means the world to me. I've lived with my uncle Nick ever since my parents, well, died. Hayden was my next door neighbor and I fell for him the first time I saw him...you ever had anyone like that?" Jack asked.
I nodded. "Stella. My ex-girlfriend. Turns out that she was only with me to fix me. I didn't know it at the time, of course." I shrugged. "What about that goth girl you came in with?" Jack asked curiously. I looked at him. "What about Sam?" I asked defensively.
"Nothing, nothing. It just seemed like you two had a thing for each other. The way that you watched her leave…" Jack trailed off, looking at me. He shrugged. "Coulda just been my imagination though." Jack said finally.
I didn't respond. We walked to the cafeteria in silence. When we got there, the room was so loud that you couldn't hear yourself think. I felt shaky and odd, and the only thing in my mind was that I needed a hit.
"...so...tell me about Hayden?" I said when we sat down with our food. Jack looked up surprised.
"What?" I asked. He smiled. "It's just, when people find out that I'm gay and in a homosexual relationship, they just leave that part out. Nobody's really asked about him." Jack said.
I grinned. "You've been hanging out with the wrong people."
Jack nodded. "True...well, Hayden and I...we don't live in Amity. Uncle Nick just thought Other Ways would help me the fastest, and that I could come home for three days every two weeks. Hayden is...well, the sweetest guy you could meet. He has brown hair and green eyes and a shitload of freckles. He gets really offended if you call him 'Freckles' though. Its my pet name, and I have permission to use it though," Jack winked, "...I don't know….I just love him."
I laughed. "I know the feeling." I stopped.
"...Tell me about Sam." Jack urged. I took a deep breath. "We've known each other since kindergarten. She was the girl in the pinkest dress playing in the mud. She hated pink, and her mother knew that but still refused to dress her in what she wanted. She was being alienated by the people she had been friends with before, so I introduced myself.
I had introduced myself as Daniel, and she had looked at me funny, saying that I didn't look like a Daniel. I looked like a Danny. The name stuck. Her mom hated me from the beginning, because I would bring her my clothes to wear, and she would change in the bathroom.
We were friends ever since, even when I introduced her to my best friend Tucker, who they had a shaky relationship with meat ever since. Sam is a vegetarian, Tucker is a meat connoisseur." I paused.
"I had...tried to kill myself. Twice. Sam found me the second time and saved my life. I hadn't been grateful till now though. She told me that I sent something to her, something that changed her feelings toward me. I don't know if it was something I sent that was good or bad though…" I trailed off. Jack looked at me.
"I had tried to kill myself too. Hayden found me, and it broke my heart to see him cry. He thought that he-"
"Wasn't good enough?" I finished. Jack nodded. "Yeah. But about the message thing...it could still be on your phone...right?" Jack asked. I nodded. "I'm afriad. I just remember panicking that I had sent it." I confessed.
"Why don't you remember sending it?" Jack asked, taking a bite out of his sandwich.
"...I had been dead for three minutes before Sam found me and got me breathing again." I admitted.
Jack's brow furrowed. "Wait how did you kill yourself?" Jack asked.
"Cutting." I shrugged.
"Dude...you should be dead! You lost blood! That isn't given back simply by breathing!" Jack exclaimed. I paled.
That's a good point. "That's a good point."
I didn't know how to explain it. "I guess I'm just lucky…" I trailed off, looking at my food. Jack sighed. "Look, sorry. Whole point of Other Ways is to get better and not talk about what we did in the past." Jack apologized. I nodded. "Don't worry about it."
"Daniel Fenton?" Someone called. I looked up and saw Mr. Lancer standing in the doorway, motioning me over. "I'll see you later." I told Jack. He nodded, taking another bite of his turkey sandwich.
"Hey Mr. Lancer." I greeted awkwardly.
"I would just like to say how proud I am that you are here." Mr. Lancer said, taking me into a empty workroom. "I will be continuing your studies until you are good enough to attend school and then come back here." He continued, pulling out some textbooks out of his backpack.
I nodded, taking a notebook and a pencil that was handed to me.
"We are starting out with History. D-Day occurred June 6, 1944. It was the Allied invasion of…"
…
(Friday)
I woke up early Friday morning to a knock on my door. "Danny! Wake up!" Harris greeted.
I groaned, throwing an extra pillow at the door. It opened and I heard a snicker. "You have a visitor. Please wake up." Harris said. I groaned again and showed no intent on getting up. "Okay...He's all yours Miss." Harris said, exiting the room.
"...Little brother!" Jazz's voice said. My head shot up. "Jazz!" I said excitedly, jumping up and hugging her tightly.
"So...why didn't you tell me you were coming here?" Jazz asked, sitting us down on my messy bed. "I was embarrassed….and at the time I hadn't wanted to go." I admitted. She nodded.
"I just wanted to let you know how proud I am of you for sucking it up and coming. I could tell you had needed help, but didn't want to force you into anything...and I apologize for letting you get this bad." Jazz said. I smiled.
"I'm getting better...you don't have to worry about me." I assured. She smiled. "...So how is school?" She asked.
I told her everything. I had gotten my grades back to A's in the past couple days, and I was assured that I would recieve a diploma. Lancer was impressed by my willingness to learn. I had gotten a 100 on a test everyone else had failed. I've been having 'classes' everyday at four, and it has been consistent.
"...hows dad?" I asked, awkwardly. She sighed. "He heard that you came here. Hes proud of you. I don't know if hes going to come here though…" Jazz admitted. I nodded.
"I have to go. I have make up work I need to do for college, but I'll see you soon." Jazz smiled, grabbing her bag and kissing me on the forehead, and exiting the room. "Jazz!" I said, suddenly.
Her head popped back into the room. "Yeah, brother?" She said worriedly. I took a deep breath. "I'm sorry I let myself get that bad. I love you." I said. She smiled and nodded. "And I love you." She said, leaving the room for good this time.
I sighed, because as soon as she left, I could feel it. Its been a couple days since I've drank or done anything, and I could feel it.
It was like every vein was screaming at me to take a hit, and it was really taking its toll on me. Lancer, I think, as noticed and as been a saint in not assigning too much homework. If I wasn't in an activity, eating food, or talking to Jack, I was sleeping.
I was trying to get over it the best that I could...but it was proving to be harder than I thought. I didn't have an activity till ten, so I took my blanket and wrapped it around my body, exiting my room to the living area. Jack was already seated on the couch, watching a movie and talking on the phone.
I yawned and came up to him, sitting on the couch next to him. "Hey dude." Jack greeted, then getting a weird look on his face. "No, Hayden. I was talking to Danny." Jack giggled.
I smiled and rubbed my eyes, feeling the tiredness setting in. Jack frowned at me, mouthing at me if I was okay. I shrugged and turned my focus on the TV. It was a Home and Garden show, which reminded me of Sam...who I missed a lot.
"Hello Danny!" Harris greeted. I sighed, annoyed. Harris never left me alone. "Don't worry, this will only take a minute. Sheila would like to have a word." Harris sighed. He hated that I didn't really like him, but I didn't care.
"Okay. I'll be right back, Jack," I leaned up next to his ear, "See ya, Freckles!" I said with a laugh before narrowly avoiding Jack's smack.
Harris led me down the hallway to Sheilas office, who was talking on the telephone excitedly. She motioned me into the door, gesturing at me to have a seat. I gulped and sat down, playing with the end of my shirt.
"Bu-bye!" Sheila said, hanging up the phone sharply and looking at me. "You've made friends. Do you have a problem?"
Wait what?
"Uh...with drugs? Yeah." I said, confused.
"You've been clean for a week, you've made friends with Mr. Overland, and you admitted to yourself and your sister that you have a problem and you are sorry for it. You are ready for step 5." She said excitedly. "We have never had a patient move as fast as you have! Now, Step five is to be in the same room as one of your vices, and spend the night and the next day there.
Don't worry if you can't handle it, we will be inviting Ms. Manson and Mr. Foley to our facility this weekend to stay near you just incase it gets to be too much."
I gulped. "Are you sure thats a good idea?" I asked timidly. She nodded, a wide grin on her face. "Oh absolutely. I have complete faith in you, Mr. Fenton. You will start this afternoon." Sheila waved me away.
Oh shit.