Welcome to Gaia! ::

Rating is just to be safe. It isn't explicit, but I know I will be using language, so that will have to suffice as a warning.

Okay, I said I would post the plot idea tonight, so I will. Hopefully it doesn't get torn apart tomorrow (Not likely, but still xD)

Zheyne was never a normal girl. She didn't get along with other people and seemed to convey no emotions. She seemingly is obsessed with the idea of death, and constantly toys with it. When she's twelve, she holds herself under the water, and that's when she meets this boy. They became best friends, and she found out that they have the same schedule, everything. She becomes a little more social, although she keeps her antisocial personality. And then, after three years, he disappears. When she asks about him, no one knows what she's talking about. Eventually, everyone believes her to be insane, and she gets sent to a mental institution. She begins lying to get out of the ward when a boy almost exactly like her old best friend appears- except, he has no clue who she is, and had never been to her town before then.
---

That is actually all I really have… sweatdrop I don't know if this plot is even going to work (especially since this is the worst I've ever done recounting it), so… Yeah. I'm open to help and concrit!

Main(ish) Characters:

Zheyne: 16 year old female. Antisocial, calm, seemingly emotionless except for her sarcasm, smartest girl at the school due to her not having a life other than school. Was considered a normal girl until talk of Vaan came up. Even to Vaan, her best friend, she is cold and uncaring, although she is slightly subconsciously protective of him. Vaan is the only person she gets along with other than Millie.

Vaan: Appears to be a 16 year old male. Talkative, outgoing, funny, probably the exact opposite of Zheyne. He stuck around Zheyne most of the time, loving to irritate her with is constant jokes. After four years, he disappears, but appears back at the ward Zheyne is at.

Derek: 8 year old in the ward. Placed in there for severe hallucinations. He's convinced that the sister he saw was real, even if no one else saw her except for him. He's much more intelligent than others his age, and is seemingly unaffected by the world around him. He keeps a cheerful nature, knowing that one day he'll find that sister, as soon as he gets out of the ward.

Chapter 1

Zheyne sat quietly, the white room of the clinic surprisingly dull, even for her. Instead of gazing around the room to see the contents, she instead stared directly in front of her, the surroundings blurring together incoherently. Nearby, her parents, Emma and Cyril Brooks, glanced at her, as if they were afraid she would run away, before a voice called them into the office to meet with the doctor about Zheyne. Emma made a move to get her unresponsive daughter, but stopped when Cyril placed his hand on her shoulder. When she looked at him, he just shook his head, motioning towards the office. Emma pursed her lips, but didn't argue as she followed him into the next room.

Inside, they faced the man at the desk, Cyril automatically sizing up his appearance. The man's blonde hair was already graying, and it looked like he was probably only in his early 40's. On the desk was a sign stating "Dr. Scott Andrews" boldly for anyone that might have problems with their vision to be able to read it with ease. When Cyril's eyes met Dr. Andrew's, the doctor held the look, even after they sat down.

"We don't know what happened," Emma blurted rapidly, not giving anyone the chance to say something first. "She had always been kind of antisocial as a child, but we had thought that it was a normal thing, being that we didn't really have another child to compare her to. She had become logical and realistic as well, so it shocked us when the prospect of her being?" she paused, unable to say the word at first, "delusional came to light."

Dr. Andrews raised his eyebrow, writing something down on his notebook. "Zheyne is… sixteen, correct?" When Emma nodded, he took that as a sign to continue, "Can you tell me how it started?" When both parents gave him a blank look, he tried again, "What first hinted at your daughter being mentally unstable?"

This time, it was Cyril who answered. "She began talking about that damn boy," he said darkly, his brow furrowing tightly in anger. When Dr. Andrews nodded at him to continue, he did so reluctantly. "No one except for her knows what she's talking about when she mentions this boy that she calls her friend, in the loosest terms possible-"

"Vaan," Emma cut him off, her eyes downcast. "She called him Vaan. When we asked her who he was, she seemed shocked, as if we knew him personally and we forgot about him. We didn't know what to tell her afterwards. She genuinely seemed to think he existed. Still does." Unconsciously, three sets of eyes drifted over to the window, looking through to see Zheyne, the way her black hair hung limply around her face and the sheer lack of emotion in those brown eyes.

After several seconds of watching her, Dr. Andrews stood up, startling the two Brooks. "I'm going to give her a few tests," He said quietly. Emma and Cyril nodded, following his action and getting out of their chairs. He paid no heed to them as he walked out of the office and over to Zheyne, standing in front of her. She made no motion to greet him, acting as if he didn't even exist.

"Zheyne." Eventually, she looked up, and it became obvious to Dr. Andrews that she hadn't been distant like the other patients; she was purposely not paying attention to anything. "I'm going to take you into the testing room for you to take some tests, alright?" He kept his voice light and pleasant, but it seemed to have no effect as she continued to stare at him.

Then she scoffed, the action so quiet it was almost unnoticeable. "Thank you for the clarification. I wasn't too certain what one would do inside a testing room." Dr. Andrews blinked at the lack of sarcasm in her tone, while he was sure it was meant to be there, but managed to keep a kind smile on his face.

"You're welcome. Sometimes, it's hard for the patients to tell what is required of them, so I always make sure to clarify it for them." His words seemed to have no effect on her, and he had to hold back a sigh. "This way, please." Motioning for her to follow him, he didn't wait to see if she came along as he made his way out of the lobby into the testing room. When her parents tried to follow, he shook his head, effectively missing the look Zheyne sent her mother- or the lack of. Zheyne's face was completely blank as she sauntered into the room, sitting down as sloppily as possible across from the doctor. Instead of checking what the papers are, she instead looked directly at Dr. Andrews as he placed a pen in front of her, lacing his hands together and placing them on the table.

She took the cue, sitting up straight and picking up the pen, filling out each paper with ease. It ended up only taking about ten minutes to finish a questionaire that was six pages long. If it hadn't been for the way her eyes darted over the paper, he would have said she was randomly filling out whatever answer she felt like, regardless of the question. Finally, she set the pen down, slouching down in her chair once more.

"Do you know why you are here, Zheyne?" He asked, the question being protocol for every person who could become a patient. Zheyne shrugged, her pale lips twitching to the side.

"What answer do you want? The honest one, or the one you want to hear?" He didn't say anything. "Okay. I am in here to be diagnosed with extreme hallucinations." Dr. Andrews raised his eyebrow.

"And how do you feel about this diagnosis? Do you believe that what you saw was real?" Despite being the number one cliche question, it was the deciding factor in whether she was fit to stay in the ward or not. Zheyne paused, and the only sign she was thinking was the way she seemed distant again, like she was remembering. It took several seconds for her to look back at him, but when she did, she nodded slowly.

"I'm… I'm not sure any more."

A quick glance at the answers on the questionaire, several more papers, a large check, and it was final; Zheyne was officially admitted into Emerald Psychiatric Ward.

--------

Water. Zheyne couldn't really say she liked it too much. She didn't dislike it either, though. She didn't really like anything in general, though, so to not dislike water was a big thing. She had to say that it did enthrall her, the way it eluded everything. You couldn't really grab it, but at the same time, it could grab you, take you, suffocate you.

That was all she could think of as her twelve year-old body was pushed around gently in the waves of the river, floating along with the rest of the water. The river was perfect today; calm, but icy cold, so cold that the incredibly hot day that was coming up would be nothing so long as she stayed in. If it wasn't for the fact that it was only eight in the morning, she would have been surprised that no one else was there.

Testing something, she pushed her left hand against the water, feeling how the water melded against her hand to propel her up. Suddenly, she noticed how when she thought she had been completely still in the water, she wasn't. Instead, her arms moved subconsciously to keep her afloat, like when a bird flew. She thought a bird didn't have to think to fly; it seemed so easy, like they could do that forever and do nothing but think. What about when the bird wanted to stop? Did they just stop… everything? Wouldn't that kill them, though?

Zheyne's brow furrowed. Would it be the same? A bird isn't the same as a human, or a fish for that matter- a bird belonged in the sky, not the water, not on land. Still, she had to figure out the answer. She hated unanswered things. They jumped out at her, mocked her.

And so, she stopped.

She found her answer quickly; she sunk, but slowly, not rapidly as she anticipated. The water didn't envelop her either. It covered her, like a blanket that you used while you were sick, suffocating, but at the same time it just felt so good. She knew she should go back to the surface, bring air back into her now burning lungs, but she couldn't bring herself to, not with how soothing the water felt, even when the burning in her lungs became a constant ache, like they would explode without more air.

A long while ago, her mom had said something about how drowning was a form of suicide when one of her mother's friends had almost drowned in a pool. Zheyne didn't see it like that. She wasn't drowning; she was going to sleep, just for a longer time. After all, sleep was good for her, right? No matter what type.

Then, above the water, she heard muffled yelling, and the water pushed in on her, as if angry for being disturbed. She didn't have any longer to see the water's reaction as a hand reached down under the blanket and grabbed hers. In a rush, everything flashed at her and she gasped for air, her throat burning when all her hungry lungs got was water.

Another surge of water, and she was above the river once more, coughing all the swallowed liquid out. Squashing the tiny amount of alarm she felt when whoever it was began swimming, she let herself be dragged to shore, sitting on the ground the second she felt it under her. The hand that had brought her up didn't let go, instead having another pat her on the back, murmuring words that Zheyne didn't understand, and she didn't care to. Two minutes passed before the coughing finally ceased and she was able to breathe once more.

"Hey, had me worried there. Are you okay?" This time, when the person talked, she could make out the words that had been so garbled. Brushing her soaked hair out of her face- only shoulder-length at the time-, she looked up, taking in the appearance of the person who dared to bother her. Wide blue eyes stared back at her, paired with limp dark blond hair. It seemed to be that when he saw her, he just dove in fully clothed, if his dark blue jeans and shirt were any indication. The boy seemed to be the same age as her, and when he noticed her finally looking up, he grinned.

"Guess you're a little okay, if you're managing to not fall down instantly," he said, taking his hand off of hers. He kept his hand on her back to stabilize her, and she pushed it away, giving him a small glare.

"I'm already on the ground, it would be kind of hard to fall further," She muttered, putting her hands on the ground and pushing up. Pain shot up her body as she gasped and fell back down instantly. Automatically, the boy swatted her on the head and forced her to lay down on the ground. Willingly she went through with the action, forcing herself to breathe steadily as she closed her eyes, feeling a sudden wave of nausea hit her.

Faintly, she heard the boy begin talking once more. "That was stupid, you just nearly drowned. Haven't you ever heard of resting before you even try to do anything during a near-death experience? Besides, you don't seem that happy to still be alive. I seriously thought that you were about to drown and that I didn't make it in time. I'm sure glad I did though!" A laugh came out of the blond and Zheyne used that time to swat blindly at him, a headache threatening to explode in her head.

"Don't you ever shut up?" She groaned, the hand she wasn't using to attack him drifting up to rest on her forehead. "Your consistent talking makes you seem so stupid. If you just quieted down for a single second, maybe you wouldn't have to bother coming to a river alone on a weekend. What, do you have no life?" Pausing to take a breath, she was happy to hear nothing but the boy's own breathing as her headache managed to stop thrumming so loudly.

The silence didn't last long though. "Feel better?" Unconsciously, Zheyne nodded and he laughed quietly, running a hand through her hair. "That's good. You're weird, you know that?" Zheyne exhaled loudly, not bothering to say anything. He snickered. "By the way, my name's Vaan. It's nice to meet you."

--------

Clack. Clack. Clack. Zheyne mentally counted each footstep the woman made as she walked towards her room. She knew it had to be a woman, the way the steps were spaced out. It wasn't someone with her pills, and she doubted that she would even go into her room- more likely than not, she didn't even work here. None of the nurses wore loud shoes, instead opting to wear other, softer types- like Crocs. It was like they had come to a mutual agreement to wear quiet shoes, although when Zheyne said something about it, all of them managed to look confused, like they had never thought of the prospect.

Just as she had thought, the footsteps quickly passed her room, and she heard a door squeak open, then shut, clicking with a more hollow noise than the rest of them. She had gone into the psych's office, probably a mother who was pretending to be concerned about their child- they couldn't be truly concerned, with those shoes. They never had been before.

Zheyne sat on her bed, then moved into a lying position, putting her hands under her head as a prop. She had already thrown the pillow to the left corner a while ago, although she knew she would have to put it back on the bed. It didn't matter to her at the time, though; why would it? She had nothing to do in this place anyways. Every one starts out at the first level, and at that level she wasn't even allowed to have her cd player, something that she would say irritated her if she had actually tried to care. It was the matter of caring, though; just like how if she bothered caring this room would annoy her to no end. White walls, a bed with white covers, and practically nothing else. Blankness suited her, but she couldn't say she enjoyed it.

More footsteps echoed down the hallway, these ones softer. Definitely one of the workers here, most likely male, the way they paused at every room. Zheyne thought that it was idiotic of them to do that; after all, everyone was at the Rec room for their free time. First levels weren't allowed to go to that either, not until they proved that they could behave during therapy- which, she hadn't been to once yet. They had a choice to go, and she declined both times they had offered this week. After being in here for an hour, she was minorly irritated at herself for saying anything. She could have just gone on without talking at that meeting, at least lied herself through it, but something just… made her talk. Either way, that had only lasted two days before she resigned herself to that ward for a while. She didn't know how long she would be there- as far as she knew, no one that was convinced they didn't have a problem ever made it out.

As she predicted, the worker opened the door, and it was a man who was checking all the rooms. He glanced around nervously, even though it was obvious that she was the only one in the room before talking. "Dr. Andrews would like to meet with you in his office. It's optional, so if you don't want to go, you don't have to, but he said he'd really appreciate it-"

"Shut up." The man flinched at the words. It couldn't have been the tone of her voice- as always, it was monotone, making it obvious that she didn't care. "I'll go."

He blinked, and his face fell into one of relief as he opened and closed his mouth- much like a fish would, Zheyne noted with disinterest. She stood up and he scuttered off, not even bothering to close the door behind him in his eagerness to get out of there. With a small snort of derision, she didn't even bother checking the room to see if she should grab anything before walking out, leaving the door open. She didn't have anything of importance in there, so that was yet another thing she didn't bother caring about.

She made her way down the hallways, not looking anyone in the eye as she walked towards the office. No one stopped her, something she noted with approval. Even if she didn't really know the way, she would make it to her destination, no problem. If she had to, she could just tell someone to direct her there; if they ignored her, then she would just wander a bit more. It was a practiced routine in her mind, so practiced that when she found herself directly outside of the office, she tried to remember if she had ended up asking anyone. After a few seconds, she decided not to bother, instead walking inside the office to sit in the chair across from Dr. Andrews.

Dr. Andrews had been writing something down when she came in, and didn't bother to stop until he was finished with what he was writing. He knew Zheyne didn't mind; even though they had only met in the office twice before, he had already worked out a bit of how she functioned, and that was one of those things he knew she wouldn't care about.

Setting the pen down, he greeted her with a nod that she didn't return before beginning. "Zheyne, I've heard that you have not been to a single therapy session. Would you explain why?"

Zheyne shrugged, shifting in the chair so that she was slouching heavily in it once more- another thing that was predictable about her. "It's been stressful, working my way into this system," she said, her face and tone giving no indication to what she was thinking. "You don't want me to overstress myself in the first week, do you?"

Dr. Andrews sighed, glancing away for a second. "Zheyne, you don't have any privileges, you have no friends, and so far, any chance of you leaving this ward is looking very slim. Doesn't that bother you at all?"

"Not really," she answered swiftly. Dr. Andrews pursed his lips, and Zheyne continued, "If it's really so important, then I'll go. Tomorrow, one o'clock, or close to that point." Without waiting to see if she was dismissed, she got up, but right outside the door she hesitated and turned her head to face him. "By the way, the femininity in your nervous actions bothers me. I, along with probably most of your staff, would greatly appreciate it if you worked on that." With that, she walked out of the office, leaving Dr. Andrews with that disturbed feeling once more as he frowned.

Pulling out another notebook, he wrote down a note to remind himself to make Zheyne an appointment with the therapist at one, if possible. He knew it would be; Dr. Forrest was always anxious to meet the new patients, and would postpone a prior engagement if he needed to. He'd let him know in a bit, most likely ask him himself instead of just sending a note with a worker. He hadn't checked in for a while anyways.

It was a good thing he had talked to Zheyne. From the way she acted, it was obvious that she hadn't been planning on going at all, but agreed to so that she didn't have to argue about it. Maybe I should accompany the two of them during the session, he mused, writing that down quickly. She did respond well enough to him, so long as he was careful with his questions. It was amazing how rapidly she could wind your words around, in a way that it was almost like talking to a Cheshire Cat.

He made a move to stand up, but then stopped as his eye caught one of files in his shelf, one that he had constantly looked at before. This time, he did stand up, but instead of going to talk to Dr. Forrest like he had first intended, he walked over to the file, pulling it out and opening it. Inside was a case he was incredibly familiar with; Jenna Agnes Hefford, a 19 year-old female diagnosed with hallucinations.

In a way, Zheyne reminded him a lot of Jenna. Their personalities were nothing alike, but Jenna's case had confused everyone who worked on it. So far, Zheyne had only confused him, but he was certain that it was going to puzzle Dr. Forrest as well. She had shown little to no signs of mental instability, despite her antisocial personality. The only sign that something was wrong was the hallucinations of a boy who she was positive that he existed when no one else had heard of them.

Dr. Andrews put the file away, unwilling to look any further. He had to start new, or else he wouldn't be able to keep his mind open. He would help her, and he would figure out what was going on. He had already failed with one case like this. He refused to do it again.

Wow. I really want to read this!

Rawr <3
I love this so far =]

Just out of curiosity, have you ever read I Never Promised You a Rose Garden?
It's a fantastic book by Joanne Greenberg. It's about a sixteen year old Schizophrenic's journey to health, in an asylum... it's amazing.
If not, you should check it out =]

Chapter 2

When Zheyne had agreed to go to therapy for the first time, she had done it because she thought that that room would be more interesting, considering that she had never seen it before and if so many people went there, it had to be nice. When she was wrong, she just gave a one-armed shrug and sat down, already feeling the tinniest bit of regret for agreeing to stay in this bland yellow room. Yellow. She hated the color yellow with a passion, especially this shade. It was the one thing she actually cared to hate.

She couldn't say she liked the doctor either. Doctor Myles Forrest was a tall but thin man, probably in his mid-twenties, hair darker than soot and green eyes that essentially seemed an almost neon color.

Zheyne attributed the eyes to the horrible wall color that he had put up.

"Why didn't you paint your room blue?" She asked, trying her best not to look at the sickly colors. Dr. Forrest blinked, surprised by abruptness the question.

"Well…" He paused before he had even started, taking several seconds to think of an answer. "Yellow is a color of happiness, but I couldn't have a brighter yellow because some of the patients in here have problems with bright colors."

"How about blue then? Blue has calming properties. I would think that a doctor like you would use that to your advantage." She didn't give him time to ask her anything before that got out of her mouth. This time, Dr. Forrest looked flustered- whether at her questions or the fact that Zheyne was saying everything in a monotone, she didn't know. Judging on the character, it was probably the first.

"Er…" Luckily, he didn't have to answer as someone knocked on the door. He sighed, obviously thankful for the interruption. "Please excuse me for a moment, Jane." Standing up, he walked over to the door quickly, opening it to reveal Dr. Andrews. He blinked again, then smiled broadly, getting out of the way for Dr. Andrews to get through. "Scott! I forgot that you were going to join in on this session! Please, sit down." Dr. Andrews nodded and took a seat behind the desk, leaving just enough room for Dr. Forrest to get in his own chair.

Once settled in, Dr. Forrest started to speak again, trying to take control of the situation instead of being lead by Zheyne once more. "So, Jane, I have not met you before, so we should have a proper introduction. My name is Dr. Forrest, and I am the therapist for this ward. It's a pleasure to meet you." He held out his hand, but withdrew it when she gave it a vacant look. Dr. Andrews opened his mouth to interject, but Dr. Forrest rushed on, "How about we start off simple, and you tell me some things you enjoy?"

Zheyne stared at him, bored. "If I told you that I killed people and used their intestines to decorate my room, what diagnosis would I get? Psychopath, sociopath, or just a murderer?" A sliver of satisfaction curled in her stomach as Dr. Forrest's face paled slightly, although, to his credit, he remained where he was. Dr. Andrews rolled his eyes, and gave Zheyne a warning look. Looking at him, then looking back to Dr. Forrest, she relented. "Fine. Nothing." When the warning look remained, she slouched further into her chair. "What? I'm serious. I enjoy doing nothing."

Dr. Forrest gazed at her, calculating her response. "Is there anything else? At all?"

Bemusement trickled into her features slightly, and she looked away, as if trying to remember something. "I…"

"What's in the box?"

"It's Monopoly! I brought it so we could both play it together! You've played Monopoly before, right?"

Her eyes slid over, so quick that they could barely tell it happened. "Monopoly. I like Monopoly."

--------

"Mom said that now that I'm thirteen, I have to do a lot more chores. I don't get it! Why can't she do it herself?" Vaan complained to Zheyne, thrusting the box in his hand on the ground. She watched him from a tree, not even listening as she glanced over the box. Vaan looked up at her, silently pleading for her to agree with him. "I mean, you're thirteen too, and I don't see you having to do chores!"

"You know, you think that you would learn by now that I would just give you a sarcastic remark and then ignore you. Doesn't take a rocket scientist." She paused. "What's in the box?"

His eyes lit up as he opened the lid up and revealed a board game with brightly colored pieces all scattered on top. "It's Monopoly! I brought it so that we could both play it together! You've played Monopoly before, right?" At Zheyne's blank look, an expression of mock-horror slid over his face as he gasped. "You horrible person! Get out of your stupid tree and come play it, now!" This time, Zheyne raised an eyebrow. "That's right, I just went there! Stupid tree, out of, now!"

With a roll of her eyes, Zheyne jumped out of the tree, landing close to Vaan on the beach ground. They never got together at their own houses; instead, they hung out at the beach together, just because they didn't want to deal with their parents bothering them. Actually, Vaan didn't want to deal with the parents; Zheyne could have cared less, and as so didn't have preference to where they hung out.

They started the game quickly, Vaan chattering on about the rules and Zheyne only half-listening as she picked at the houses. She had never been one for board games, but it made sense that Vaan would be; the eccentric kid loved anything that had to do with working with or against other people, and logically board games would be on that list.

"You know, I'm glad we ended up getting the same schedule in seventh grade," Vaan suddenly mentioned offhandedly, surprising Zheyne a little bit. She scoffed.

"I'm not. It made it so that I got stuck with you. Not to mention we had it the same this year as well. I'm beginning to suspect a conspiracy." Despite her harsh words, Vaan laughed, handing her a golden dog. She stared at it, bemused.

"It's your moving piece," Vaan explained for her. Something gold sparkled in his own hand, and when Zheyne moved to see he showed it to her, revealing a golden wheel barrel. "We both get one, and it's essentially our way of moving around the board." He set his down on the "GO" block, and she followed suit, purposely placing her dog in front of his barrel. He caught her eye and smirked, placing a pair of dice in her hand. "Roll," he said simply, beginning to sort out the money, "I'll let you go first, since you're new to this."

That was his first mistake. Throughout the entire game, Zheyne managed to roll the dice just right to get all the places that she wanted, while Vaan landed on every single one of her places. Eventually, Vaan ended up robbing the bank, but still lost the game to a complacent Zheyne.

"Man, I can't believe this!" He groaned as he handed over his last dollar. "You said you've never played this before! How could you be so good at it?" Zheyne shrugged, and he sighed. "Oh well, it was fun! I wonder if it's like that for all board games…"

It wasn't. In the end, the only game that she ever did good at was Monopoly.

--------

Two more weeks in the ward passed, with Zheyne growing more and more bored with the entire place. She had resorted to using her softpoint pen to scribble on the walls, stick figures with no actual meaning, just to get rid of the dullness. She got yelled at several times, but she got her way anyways, with no way for her to get in trouble without causing a big scene.

That changed quickly, though. She went to her appointment with Dr. Forrest, and once she got in there, she found that he had listened to her the first time she was in here, but instead of changing it to blue, it was changed to green. Also, she was right when she accounted his eyes being neonish due to the color of the room; now that it wasn't that sickly pallor, his eyes turned into a dark green that was a lot less unsettling. When she saw him look up at her, she commented, "Glad to see the change. Here I was just thinking you were daft and unable to understand. Good job."

Sitting down, she heard Dr. Forrest reply, "I think I should be honest with you. I hate the color blue."

Her lip quirked up. "So do I."

Dr. Forrest laughed. Now that he knew how Zheyne functioned, he couldn't say he really liked her, but he was a little more comfortable around her. Not to mention he actually knew that her name was said as Zane, instead of Jane- something that Dr. Andrews made sure he knew after the black-haired girl had left his room the first time. "Now, Zheyne, I've had you in this room four times, I think it's okay to delve a bit further into your problem." Watching carefully for a reaction to his wording, he was glad when there was none before he continued, "I know you were diagnosed with hallucinations, but we have yet to talk about a single one. Would you mind explaining?"

There was silence in the room for several seconds as Zheyne mulled over her choices. Talking would get her more points, and maybe work her up towards being allowed to have music once more. However, talking meant sharing the one person she thought was hers, and admitting he was a hallucination.

Only a hallucination for the time being, she decided, her choice made. She just needed time to prove them wrong. She could work with that. "Vaan. His name was Vaan." Dr. Forrest nodded eagerly, noting something down on a piece of paper.

"Yes? And what was your relationship with this boy?" He asked, his pen pausing momentarily. The question made Zheyne herself stop for a minute. What was their relationship?

"He's obviously not real. Hard to have a relationship with an imaginary person, isn't it?" Dr. Forrest sighed.

"What would your relationship with him be had he been real?"

Zheyne didn't bother thinking this time. "Annoying minion that just wouldn't go away." When Dr. Forrest was silent, she said, "I'm being honest. No matter what I said, he just could not be bothered by me." Her voice faltered for a second. "If I was into sentimental things, I would have called him my friend."

Eager to get more information, Dr. Forrest drove on, too quickly. "Why would that be? What was it about him that made you become friends?"

Zheyne shrugged, and with that, Dr. Forrest knew the conversation was over. "I'm hungry. I'm going to go beg the kitchen for food." As she got up to leave, Dr. Forrest nodded.

"How about you go to the lounge? It's about the time that everyone else goes there." Zheyne blinked, then shook her head in denial.

"Sorry, not interested in knowing the other crazies. Maybe some other time-"

"They have snacks, lots of them. The cooks make special things for just the people that go there. Are you certain you don't want to get those?" Zheyne said nothing, but he knew that he had won when she walked out the door in the direction of the lounge.

Dr. Forrest glanced over his notes, each one confirming his initial thought. This time, instead of calling Dr. Andrews to his office, he rushed out, ignoring the way his breathing became shallower and more rapid as he went into the large hallway. Damn agoraphobia… He thought, his walk becoming almost a run as he dashed towards Dr. Andrew's office. Only when he saw the door, opened it, and went inside did he calm down. Even so, he had to collapse into a chair and gasp for breath to get his heart to stop racing.

Dr. Andrews noticed him immediately, and his eyes widened as he began to stand up to help his friend. However, he hesitated as Dr. Forrest's hand waved nonchalantly at him and sat back down when he could hear Dr. Forrest's breathing slow down to a normal pace. "What are you doing here, Myles? Is something wrong?"

In response, Dr. Forrest placed his notebook on Dr. Andrews' desk, open to the page that had Zheyne's session written on it. Warily, Dr. Andrews picked it up, and both were quiet as he read his way through it. Finally, he put it back down, his face carefully blank. "I don't see why this was so important, important enough for you to run out-"

"It's happening again." Dr. Andrews didn't reply as Dr. Forrest sat up straight, looking him directly in the eyes. "It's the same as Jenna's case. Nothing to cause it as far as I know- we covered home life, there was nothing traumatic, only one hallucination, not a series of them as is popular with most disorders, and a sincere belief that they are real. Zheyne even tried to argue herself into believing otherwise, but it was obvious it wasn't what she truly thought. This could be a breakthrough!" By then, Dr. Forrest had stood up and placed both hands on Dr. Andrews' desk, his face flushed from excitement.

"Keep your mind open. Don't compare them." Dr. Forrest gaped at Dr. Andrews, shocked by the reaction to his news.

"This is serious! We have not had anyone like Jenna for years, and even then, after Jenna dis-"

Dr. Andrews cut him off. "Don't compare them. I am serious. We have to keep a clear mind if anything is going to happen with this. If we're wrong, that could mean failure in helping a patient. We can't risk that." When Dr. Forrest opened his mouth to object, Dr. Andrews continued, "That's an order."

Dr. Forrest's mouth opened again, then shut. He stood up straight, his face smoothing out into a professional blank slate. "Yes sir," He said coolly, picking up his notebook once more. "I am sorry to have disturbed you." With that, he turned around and walked out the door, his pace quickening to a run the second he was in the hallway. Dr. Andrews watched him the entire way, not looking at anything else until he disappeared completely from sight.

And again, major love from me.
Chapter 2 is great. I don't much editing needed in December xD
Fantastic.

Chapter 3

"Get your hand off of me, slime!" Zheyne held back a wince at the sheer screechiness of one of the women in the ward as she yelled at nothing in particular. This hadn't alarmed anyone else in the lounge, until one of them commented on slime being on one of the other people, a boy, who promptly asked one of the people in charge if he could go to the bathroom to wash the imaginary slime off of his arm. The lady he asked shook her head, and he started scrubbing rapidly at his arm, the skin quickly turning a bright red. Quickly, she escorted him out of the room, but not before she took his name off of the white board they had, leaving only five names behind.

Munching on a cookie, Zheyne watched from the couch, which no one had sat on in the first place. There was a TV on, but no one paid any real attention to it, instead choosing to do other things- or, actually, sit at the table playing card games at the table. Zheyne couldn't tell what exactly, but she knew better than to join in. Even if she had wanted to, she remembered how bad she was at any type of game, especially card games.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a boy run into the room. He could only have been about eight years old, with shaggy brown hair and bright blue eyes. His face was flushed as he greeted one of the nurses, a happy grin on his face. "Anna! I'm sorry I'm late! I forgot which way I was going when I tried to make my way here, and, well, I'm late." His hand drifted up to the back of his head as he laughed sheepishly, the nurse laughing along with him.

"I'm glad you made it here, don't worry about it," The nurse- Anna- said. Zheyne recognized her as one of the nurses who did the rounds at night. She was almost always there, although Zheyne never bothered to talk to her or anything of the sort. "Go Fish already started, though, so you'll have to wait a while for the next game. In the meantime, are you okay to wait?"

The boy nodded eagerly, glancing around the room. "Of course! I wouldn't want to upset Simon and Samantha-" He broke off with a small giggle as he lowered his voice. "I still think it's funny that the only two paranoid skizzo people here both have names that start with a S." His voice raised back to normal as he spun around. "Okay, Anna! Talk to you later! I'm gonna sit…" He looked around the room, and when his eyes landed on the almost empty couch, Zheyne knew that she was going to have to say goodbye to her quiet area. "There!"

True to his word, he trotted over to the couch and threw himself down next to Zheyne, automatically grabbing a cookie. Zheyne regarded him much like one would regard a rabid animal as he bit into the cookie, crumbs falling into his lap. He brushed them off absently as he swallowed and looked at Zheyne.

"You're new! What're you in here for?" He asked, taking another bite of the cookie. When Zheyne narrowed her eyes and didn't respond, he didn't seem too downcast. Instead, he swallowed the cookie, and began talking more. "I'm in here because I'm delusional. See, I have this sister. Her name's Erika, and she's really nice. She's really pretty too. Every day, she would make me a PB and J sandwich, but then, I told one of my friends about her, he told his mom, and it ended up going to my mom. Now I'm here." He swung his legs, looking away before looking back. "Now, I'm waiting for them to release me. When they let me out, I'm going to find her, and we'll live happily ever after."

At first, Zheyne wanted to tell him to go away and that she wasn't interested in his life story. However, when she opened her mouth to tell him that, what came out was actually, "I'm looking for someone too. My best friend."

The boy nodded, understanding. "I hope you find him. I bet he's really special to you." If he was going to say any more, he didn't get a chance to as he was cut off by one of the people at the table.

"Yo, kid! You wanna play, you getcha butt over here! You're gonna hafta take over for me, okay kid? I'm leavin', right now!" The boy jumped, and shoved the rest of the cookie in his mouth, chewing and swallowing quicker than Zheyne thought was possible before jumping off of the couch, turning back towards Zheyne.

"Hey, do you want to play with us? It'd be loads of fun!" Zheyne shook her head, thinking back to her games with Vaan.

"Sorry. The only game I play is Monopoly."

The boy nodded and grinned. "Okay, then I'll see you later! Nice to meet you!" With that, he rushed off to play the game, his happy voice loudly echoing through the room.

Zheyne had to admit that he was the first person she was ever nice to, and when she ate the rest of the cookie, she couldn't help but think of Vaan.

--------

"Zheynie, I have a surprise for you!" Vaan sing-songed as he ran to the beach where Zheyne was at, a broad grin on his face. In his hands he had a brown lunch bag, filled with… something. Zheyne didn't even want to guess what was inside of it.

"Quit being so gay. You'd fool even me with that act, and I've known you since you were twelve." Vaan frowned playfully, plopping down next to her in the sand.

"That's only two years, you big meanie! Don't you even want to know what's in the bag?" He asked, rustling the bag for effect. Despite the noises from inside it, Zheyne gave him a 'are you stupid' look and he sighed, opening the bag and thrusting one hand in. "Oh well, I guess I have to eat these all by myself, huh?" Tauntingly, he drew out a single chocolate chip cookie, biting into it with a look of pure euphoria on his face. Beside him, Zheyne gave him a blank stare.

"Quit having sex with the cookie and give me one." She reached for the bag still in his grasp and Vaan laughed, holding it out of her reach.

"Not so fast, princess! First, you have to answer a question!" He paused dramatically, ignoring the glare that was beginning to form on her face. "Why were you underwater when we first met?"

Zheyne blinked, all forms of the glare gone. They had never brought up the incident after becoming friends, instead forming a system of Vaan being too nice and Zheyne being too mean. Then, she shrugged. "Because I was testing something." She didn't bother saying anything that would lead away from the subject; she knew Vaan well enough to know he would hound her until she told him the truth, and it annoyed her to no end.

"Testing what?" This time, the glare came back.

"Loser. You said only one question. Give me the cookie." Another laugh erupted from Vaan as he willingly handed one over. Zheyne bit into it, then slid her eyes over to him.

"You make these?" She asked, taking a smaller, tentative bite this time. Vaan nodded, grinning.

"No." Zheyne snorted, deciding it was safe to eat it anyways as he continued, "My mom made some, and she gave me extras. She knew that I would be going off with people, so she didn't even bother asking. Isn't that awesome?" In response, Zheyne snagged another cookie, finishing off the one in her mouth. Vaan chuckled and ate one himself, chewing thoughtfully.

Vaan filled the rest of their time with conversation while Zheyne just listened in, didn't comment, just watched her companion as he went on about everything. It didn't matter that she didn't say anything; it was how they were. And with that, they were happy.

--------

As the hour progressed, it became clear that the little boy who had been talking to Zheyne was purposely throwing the game. In fact, is was impossible that he wasn't. Zheyne herself saw him guess for a card he didn't have, and when he did get a card he slid it into a different person's pile, making sure no one saw. Surprisingly, the room remained fairly quiet throughout the whole game, something that Zheyne never expected from a psyche ward.

Then, the door opened, and in came the nurse that the boy was talking to- Anna? Zheyne wondered dimly. It probably was, although she never was one for names. Just faces. In her hands, Anna held a box that Zheyne hadn't seen for a while, and when she spotted it, her eyes gleamed.

"Derek? You said you wanted to play Monopoly, right?" Anna asked quietly, slipping in next to the boy. He looked at it, then Zheyne, and grinned, taking in the way she gazed at the box.

"Yeah, I did. Thanks Anna, you're the best!" He gave her a quick hug and she laughed, returning it before giving her the box. Beside Derek, the woman next to him peered at the box suspiciously.

"We never play Monopoly, though," She said, inching away slightly. "We always play Go Fish."

"Well, Samantha," Anna said kindly, moving so that the woman could see her hands, "You want everyone to be able to play with you, right?" When Samantha nodded slowly, Anna continued, "Well, you see that girl over there?" She pointed to Zheyne, who barely noticed. "She's afraid of cards. You wouldn't want to make her too upset, would you?"

"But we always play cards," she repeated stubbornly, her arms crossing over her chest. Next to her, a man looked over, fidgeting nervously.

"Yeah, we always play cards, because we know they're safe. How do we know that that game," he pointed to the Monopoly box, "isn't going to blow up on us? Or be used to abduct us?"

Zheyne snorted as Samantha gasped. "I never thought of that, Simon! I think you just saved my life!" She turned back to Anna, her face pulled into a stubborn pout. "I refuse to play that. It's obviously dangerous, and I can't put myself or Simon in danger." She nodded knowingly, picking up another card. Anna's face stayed in the same kind smile, although Zheyne had no clue how she managed it. People like that would irritate most people Zheyne knew, maybe even herself. Eventually, Derek spoke up.

"That's okay. Zheyne and I can play alone. Isn't that right, Zheyne?" Zheyne blinked, then nodded.

"I'd much rather play with just you. I don't want to be stuck playing with people who don't even like the game." Simon and Samantha flinched, and Zheyne noted with amusement that they did so at the same exact time.

"It's not that we don't like it, we just think it's dangerous!" Simon interjected. He looked proud after he made that comment, as if he didn't talk up much. That, however, deflated when Zheyne gave another snort.

"I could probably eat one of these game pieces and it'd be safer than those cards. Do you know what those cards can be used for?" Samantha peered at her, and it was obvious that her curiosity was piqued by her fear. Zheyne had to stop a small smirk from sliding on her face when she noticed Simon doing the same. Now that she saw them together, she was positive they were twins; although Samantha's hair was much longer and her green eyes were darker, they had the same hair color and both had green eyes.

"Yeah. Some people use them for demonic rituals. You know, those used to summon the devil, demons, ghosts." Zheyne relished the look of horror on their faces as they slammed the cards down on the table at her obvious lie. Anna sent her a chastising look and opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by Samantha, who looked completely determined.

"Let's play Monopoly. Even if something bad happens, whatever comes out will eat your soul first, and we'll be safe by then," She said solemnly, Simon nodding along with her. Zheyne scoffed, amused by the concept.

"I'll gladly look forward to that day." With that, she got up and sat down next to Derek, slouching as she normally did. She noticed the snicker come out from the younger boy as he opened the box, looking up at Anna.

"Anna, would you like to play with us? It would be fun!" To Derek's disappointment, she shook her head, but smiled.

"Sorry, Derek, I have to keep an eye on the rest of the place, and don't have time to play right now. Maybe next time?" The grin returned as he nodded happily, picking out the pieces.

"Okay, Anna! I'll hold you up to that, okay?" He didn't listen for an answer as he took a moving piece and placed it in Zheyne's hand. She had to squash the feeling of nostalgia she felt when she saw the golden dog in her hand and slid her eyes over to Derek, tempted to ask him about his choice. However, she stopped when she noticed Derek was explaining the rules to the twins patiently, reassuring them that nothing bad was going to happen and none of the pieces were unlucky.

"Okay, Zheyne! You want to play first?" Zheyne glanced up at him, then back down.

"You might want to go first." She noticed Derek blink in surprise, then nod as he placed his piece down, and rolled.

This game went like the rest she had played, just as Zheyne knew it would; by the end of the hour, she had already beaten everyone except for Simon, who was incredibly nervous and refused to roll the dice, thus finishing the game. Beside her, Derek gaped at her. "How did you do that?! That was amazing!"

Zheyne gazed at him out of the corner of her eye, sorting out her money. "Vaan taught me," she said simply. "I always beat him too."

Derek nodded, the awe not yet fading from his childish features. "Wow, you must be amazing at everything else, huh?" Zheyne shook her head, ignoring the small pang she felt when she remembered her and Vaan playing the games together.

"Nope. Just Monopoly."

Zheyne never joined into any other games, but every day, after they played a single game of Go Fish, Monopoly got added into the system. Samantha and Simon said that since they played it once and nothing bad happened to them, then it must protect them, thus letting them play their card game as well, while Derek just wanted to learn why she was so good. Zheyne didn't understand it but let herself be dragged in. After all, she couldn't say she minded.