The Common Room Showing 851-900 of 1,208

[Hope , I belong here more than they do.]

"Carlos Rivera." His accent flared on the name, and he grinned at the older boy. "And get the r's right. Nobody ever gets the r's right." He chuckled. "It's rolled. Like in rojo. And burro. And probably a million other words that you Americans are jealous of me being able to pronounce correctly." These were all teases, of course--just his own attempt to change the course of the dampening mood. Everyone made fun of his accent all the time, Carlos supposed it was only fair for him to return the favor every once and a while. Besides, it was a funny change of subject. Just what he needed.

[*~Silvypoo~* (Chaser of Artemis), Life's a dance, you learn as you go.]

"Well in my defense, Carlos," Domonic said as he scratched at his chin, feigning sheepishness. "I do believe that this is America we're in now, and perhaps to avoid being mocked, you should learn to better perfect your English instead of giving out mini-Spanish lessons." A large grin that showed the patient that Domonic was teasing was awarded and he tipped Carlos a wink. "Just a suggestion. Besides, not everyone is capable of rolling their r's." To prove his point, Domonic tried, and when he did so, a terrible sound like the sound of small boy's imitating machine guns. The nurse spewed saliva all over himself, and stopped, making a face. "See? Told you. Nada."

[Hope , I belong here more than they do.]

Carlos smirked and rolled his eyes. "My English? I don't need to do any work on this language of yours, my friend. It's weird, anyway." And it was, though the boy was of course playing up his contempt for laughs--he'd been raised speaking English as well as Spanish, after all, it wasn't actually difficult for him to grasp. Still, it was fun to pretend like it was. "It's not hard, really," he said to Domonic, and trilled his tongue lightly against the roof of his mouth, producing a sound that (unlike his newfound friend's) was smooth and almost musical. "Maybe you're the one who should try harder. Also, don't spit all over yourself. That's counterproductive." Another smirk, and Carlos laughed. He liked Dom, he decided. The nurse was all right.

[*~Silvypoo~* (Chaser of Artemis), Life's a dance, you learn as you go.]

Domonic shook his head, a large grin on his face still. "I have no use for Spanish, dude. If I start talking Spanish with everyone else around here, then I'll become a patient rather than helping out all the nice patients with my amazing nurse-y powers. No one is going to understand me, think I'm crazy and before I'm locked up say, 'Poor Domonic Taylor. He was a great nurse. Everyone loved him. I guess he just couldn't take handling all the patients without losing his own marbles.' " Again, it was the boy's glimmering eyes and casual body language that could have tipped off Carlos to say that Domonic was only teasing. Now, Domonic was starting to think he didn't have to worry about making his meanings clear. This patient was cool, it was one he liked. Not many other patients were trusting enough to a) even sit down and talk to a nurse in general and b) joke around with a nurse. Letter 'b' seemed like forbidden territory for many patients, no matter how forward and friendly Domonic would seem to them.

[Hope , I belong here more than they do.]

"Do what I did and buy some marbles." Carlos's smirk turned into a grin, and he opened his drawstring pouch to show Domonic his own, red and blue and green. "This way, no one can tell me, 'Carlos, you've lost your marbles.' Because I haven't. They're always on me--right here." He patted his right pocket. "It's also something about the glass--it just calms me down when I get upset, somehow--that makes me carry them around, but it's mostly the first reason. So no one can call me insane." The grin widened, and Carlos leaned forward. "Because for all you know, I'm the sanest person in the room. I could be the sanest person in the world and no one would ever know because of you nurses and your ability to bewitch the minds of the public. I'm surprised that Renaissance boy hasn't called you out on your blatant use of black magic yet, nursey."

[*~Silvypoo~* (Chaser of Artemis), Life's a dance, you learn as you go.]

Domonic paused for a moment, took a look at the marbles in the pouch. Even from his quick glance, he saw that the marbles weren't a jumbled bag of random designs and colors, like most people did. There were specific colors and amounts of each color. It was obvious to Domonic that Carlos liked his marbles a lot. "That is a genius idea," Domonic said wholeheartedly, and he meant it. It was the perfect sort of sarcastic response that while Domonic could never pull it off, he could definitely appreciate the joke. "And I'm not sure I would tag you as the most sane one here," Domonic said a few moments later. "I do, after all, have a certificate stating how awesomely sane I am." It wasn't really a certificate, but test results from the test he had had to take to volunteer at the asylum. According to the test, his marbles were as right as rain.

[Hope , I belong here more than they do.]

"Awesomely sane?" Carlos began to laugh. "Now, I wouldn't go that far, friend. Sane is boring. You not-crazy people have no idea what fun is, and I know that for a fact." He scooted a little closer to Domonic, as if about to share some secret he didn't want anyone else overhearing. "Like a couple years ago, back when I was in that other asylum"--he instinctively tensed at the mentioning of the place--"I asked a doctor if he wanted to go roof jumping with me, and he not only said no but that I couldn't do it either. He completely burst my bubble--and I wasn't even planning on hurting anyone!" The pitch of his voice had rose the slightest bit, the grin had widened--though not exactly with good cheer, this time. Now, it was more like mania. Memories were coming, and they were coming fast, making him forget what he had been about to say, filling his head with thoughts about that doctor, that insufferable stuffy old man who had sent him into confinement so many times for supposed bad behavior...Carlos tensed. And this time, he made no effort to relax. "I wasn't even going to," he repeated, as if Domonic hadn't heard. His voice had gone soft. "Just a little. I just wanted to see what would happen if I dragged him up there. He was scared of heights, you know. I just wanted...I didn't want to hurt him! Just scare him. A little."

[*~Silvypoo~* (Chaser of Artemis), Life's a dance, you learn as you go.]

Domonic had been all cheers and good spirits with the big, goofy smile on his face until he saw the look on Carlos's face. Then the smile dropped, and Domonic wasn't the fun guy who had been joking around while being threatened to be temporarily tattooed on the face with a sharpie marker. Now, Domonic was slightly tensed up, but only slightly. He was, after all, on nurse mode now, watching to see if Carlos could remain in control on his own, or if he would have to assist him. "Maybe you didn't explain it well enough to the other guy?" Domonic suggested, forcing himself to sound airy and friendly like in their earlier conversation. Now, a soft song was being sung in the back of Domonic's head and he hoped it would go away. It was the song that came to him when bad things happened. "I know a lot of doctors here can jump to conclusions, too. Maybe that's what he did."

[Hope , I belong here more than they do.]

"He didn't jump to conclusions!" Carlos sounded suddenly angry, as if the very mentioning of this idea had enraged him. Perhaps it had--Domonic hadn't know that doctor, that horrible old man, he had absolutely no idea--the boy squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth, trying to stop the thoughts while one hand struggled to widen the opening in his bag so that he could spill the marbles into his hand. "I'm telling you now, Dom. He didn't. That man--that sorry son of a bitch hated my guts. And I hated his." Memories! So many memories, a huge, rushing tidal wave of them. Faces flashed before his eyes: the angry one of his old nurse's (a stupid old cow, the beast growled in the back of his mind) the terrified ones of other patients, and then finally the doctor's...bruised. Bloody. Terrified. A small, trivial something in Carlos seemed to explode. "He deserved it!" he shouted, shooting to his feet. His left fist pounded into the socket of his right palm, over and over and over. An angry tic...or a threat? The boy himself wasn't even sure. "He did! He did! He tried to sedate me! The son of a bitch tried to stick a needle in me! Over and over and over and over and he wouldn't stop!" Carlos's eyes flashed. He was breathing hard, almost panting, and his bag of marbles had been dropped to the floor, forgotten.

[*~Silvypoo~* (Chaser of Artemis), Life's a dance, you learn as you go.]

Domonic's eyes widened slightly in shock of how quickly the situation had escalated. The song hummed loudly in his head now, and it should have distracted him, but it was the song that actually kept him from panicking and losing his cool. "Carlos, Carlos! It's okay, Carlos. You're not there anymore, you're in a better place. No one here hates you, and nobody in this room hates you. I won't let anyone sedate you, I promise." He was afraid to touch Carlos, because you never knew how they would react to touch unless you knew the patient well-- and he had just met young Carlos. "Stay with me, Carlos. I'm here, and I won't hurt you. You're safe here, so stay here with me." His voice had dropped, soothing and soft as he tried to calm the patient.

[Hope , I belong here more than they do.]

Carlos was visibly shaking as he forced his legs to bed, forced himself to sit back down. His hands came up, clutching at his head, and he began to rock slowly, back and forth, back and forth. His teeth were gritted, gritted hard, and there was an audible grinding sound as they were gnashed together. Stay, a voice repeated in his head. His mother's voice, calm and gentle and loving. Stay, mi hijito. Stay for me. And Carlos tried, fighting against the memories--which were still coming--fighting against the beast, growling and snarling and snapping at the bars of its cage. "I'm trying," he hissed, and the hands holding his head began to squeeze. "Goddamn it, I'm trying!"

[*~Silvypoo~* (Chaser of Artemis), Life's a dance, you learn as you go.]

"Good!" Domonic praised with his still soft voice. Shiny Happy People played viciously in his head still. He dropped down, just now noticing the marbles dropped on the floor. Slowly, he picked up all the marbles that had fallen and placing them in his velvet drawstring bag. "Here are your marbles, Carlos. Stay here, with me, where your marbles are, then you can have them." He sounded like he was bribing a small child, promising them a treat if they finished all of their dinner. But, if Carlos loved his marbles as much as it was said he did, then maybe he could pull out and come back to reality.

[Hope , I belong here more than they do.]

Bad idea, withholding the marbles from him--like the beast needed another reason to go completely loco. It was out of pure spite for it and pure spite only that Carlos continued to fight against the oncoming fury. Anything that the beast wanted, he would not do. Well. He would try not to do, anyway. Slowly, one shaking hand was lowered down into his pocket, and he removed one of the trusty green Jolly Ranchers always hidden there. It was hard to unwrap the candy with hands that were shaking as much as his--still, he managed, and popped it into his mouth. It did a bit to help him; not a lot, but a bit. Enough for him to trust himself to say: "Give me my marbles now, Domonic. Please."

[*~Silvypoo~* (Chaser of Artemis), Life's a dance, you learn as you go.]

Domonic handed over the pullstring bag filled with the little glass orbs. "Here you go. Are these going to help, Carlos?" Domonic asked in between the humming he didn't realize he was doing. The tube was hummed quietly at first, so Domonic didn't notice and then more loudly, calming the nurse down enough to try and keep Carlos under control. "Just breathe deeply," he instructed the patient kindly and yet firmly. "Breathe and you'll be fine. You're doing good, Carlos. Good job." He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. He was too worried for Carlos to grin all the way.

[Hope , I belong here more than they do.]

Carlos gave the boy a biting glare, the message in it painfully obvious: Shut up. I know what I'm doing. Nonetheless, he began to breathe, as deeply and calmly as he could. He managed to stop the tremors in his hands long enough to open the bag and spill some marbles into his palm, the little orbs making soft clink clink clink noises as they tumbled over each other. He rolled them in his hand, sucked on the candy, tried to keep calm. He felt the memories, the rage abate, somewhat. He felt the beast growl and swing its great head back and forth, uneasy. He was winning, but very slowly. "I'm here," he muttered. "I'm right here. Don't panic on me."

[*~Silvypoo~* (Chaser of Artemis), Life's a dance, you learn as you go.]

Domonic's grin was able to light his eyes now, worry for the patient subsiding and with that, so did the humming. "Good! Glad to have you back, Carlos." He was still wary, though. He knew that at this time, Carlos was a little bit more than weak now, especially when he wasn't completely here now. "Are you better now?" He asked his newfound friend, sitting back down on the couch now that it looked like the worst of the storm had passed. "You all here?" It didn't exactly look like it, but he could never be positive, especially with only just meeting the patient.

[Hope , I belong here more than they do.]

"Nope. But I'm never all here, so no worries." Carlos shook his head and waved a hand. He did look significantly better--the snarl had disappeared from his face and the odd rage had left his eyes--and though he was still shaking just slightly, his voice was firm as he said, "Gracias. I don't know if it was you or Mami who provided most of the help, but I don't really care. I've been loosing control a lot lately, and loosing control sucks. Thanks for sparing me from that."

[*~Silvypoo~* (Chaser of Artemis), Life's a dance, you learn as you go.]

Domonic nodded, feeling the warmth of the praise spread through him. That was one of the reasons why he was here, he wanted to help the patients to feel better. "It's kind of my job," he reminded Carlos with a small smile. "But you're welcome, anyway. Or, de nada. Whichever you prefer." Another smile, though Domonic could feel himself inspecting the patient again. Why was it he was losing control more often? He didn't want to ask now, not wit what had just happened, but he was for sure going to suggest Carlos come in and talk with him sometime soon.

[Hope , I belong here more than they do.]

Carlos snapped his fingers and shot the boy a triumphant grin. "See! There you go! You do have use for Spanish--you can talk to me!" And just like that, the beast was gone. The Hispanic boy was all smiles once again, hardly mindful of Domonic's scrutinizing glare. The beast, he thought, was unpredictable--and that was part of what made it so scary. That and the fact that it was strong. Nonetheless, he wasn't going to go willing it back by thinking about it--Carlos decided that from now on, this conversation was going to be on a don't-ask-don't-tell basis.

[*~Silvypoo~* (Chaser of Artemis), Life's a dance, you learn as you go.]

Domonic shook his head doubtfully, though his smile was still in place as he did so. "Not really, I only know the important words that I was taught by Dora the Explorer. That narrows it down to colors, 'thank you', 'please', and 'you're welcome'." Domonic found it easier to breathe now. It seemed that Carlos was feeling better and would stay that way for the duration of their conversation. Unfortunately, they couldn't talk for that much longer because his shift was coming up soon.

[Hope , I belong here more than they do.]

"What about 'chocolate'? That's on Dora. Not that I would know." Carlos grinned and tipped Domonic a wink. "After all, I don't need the show--Mami's a full-blooded Mexican." There was a pause as he looked around, watching the way the nurse relaxed while still shooting the occasional glance at the clock. "Shift soon?" he guessed. "That's okay, I don't mind. I think it might actually be better if I'm left alone for a bit anyway. Maybe I'll see you later, though--it was fun. Except for, well...you know." A sheepish smile, a little laugh. But Carlos was ready to let it go if the nurse was.

((Fade?))

[*~Silvypoo~* (Chaser of Artemis), Life's a dance, you learn as you go.]

Domonic nodded. "Sorry, I forgot about 'chocolaté'." He then gave the patient a skeptical, disbelieving expression. "Everyone loved Dora. She was the most amazing thing since Steve was on Blue's Clues. If you say you didn't watch it, you're a liar." A sigh and another quick glance at the clock. "Unfortunately, yep. It starts about now. I agree, we will have to meet up again at some point. Thankfully, you know where to find me, and I know where to find you." He dropped a quick wink before sobering up. "And as far as that, you can always come talking to me if you need to." He waved the Hispanic goodbye and walked out the door, leaving the offer out for Carlos to consider.

[*~Silvypoo~* (Chaser of Artemis), Life's a dance, you learn as you go.]

Drake walked into the common room, shaking black hair out of his eyes slowly. He was on yet another break from the infirmary. He was taking breaks more frequently, and had been thinking about letting Raven go at his assigned time until he came back earlier that morning and found the redheaded girl gone and Raven's beeper going wild. He tried to ask him what happened and again told him that he had to watch his blood pressure again, and then decided that it was best to not have the girl around anymore. Raven had laughed, he was obviously not himself, even Drake saw that. Raven had laughed at him, told him that Rosemarie would probably not be around anymore, and completely ignored his other comments. His odd behavior and the sudden beeping of the machine that wouldn't stop made Drake decide that Raven would stay in the infirmary a day longer.

Being at the infirmary nearly all the time except for a few breaks throughout the day left Drake exhausted all the time now. With what was probably his twentieth cup of poor tasting coffee, he sat down in the common room. He sipped the coffee, and grimaced at the bitter taste. But hey, it was better than nothing, plus it helped him stay up because he hadn't slept hardly at all since he had taken over Raven's care. No one else was willing to take care of him, and it left Drake fairly tired and weary. Her rubbed his eyes with one forefinger and thumb, the other had holding his paper cup of hot coffee.

[Annie, Have no fear of perfection-- you'll never reach it.]

It seemed as if the events if the day prior hadn't even happened; Morgan was skipping happily into the room with a wide smile in place. Her mind wasn't anywhere near Raven, nor had she dwelled on how strange he had been. She was simply as perky as could be.

She had expected to be alone, as it was fairly late in the evening. As an unfamiliar sound and scent filled her senses, Morgan paused. She took a seat in the familiar couch that engulfed her tiny frame, and offered a smile to the stranger. "Hello! Who are you?"

[*~Silvypoo~* (Chaser of Artemis), Life's a dance, you learn as you go.]

Drake turned his head, surprised to see the younger girl in the couch. He recognized her from earlier that morning. She had tried to se Raven, and he had advises against it due to his strange, eerie mood. Not even Drake had wanted to stay with him for long. He was glad to see the girl in one piece, of course, and offered her a smile she couldn't see. "I'm Drake Beech. I saw you this morning, remember? You talked to me in the infirmary." Another large swig followed by a face from the taste.

[Annie, Have no fear of perfection-- you'll never reach it.]

"Oh!" Well Morgan felt quite silly in the fact that she didn't recognize the nurse. It was quite obvious; her cheeks flushed and she placed her hands over her mouth. "Oh no, I'm so sorry!" Morgan giggled a little. "I remember you now! You told me I couldn't see Raven, right?" Maybe he had been right, actually, though it seemed to Morgan that she had been rather safe.

[*~Silvypoo~* (Chaser of Artemis), Life's a dance, you learn as you go.]

"It's okay," he assured her with a small smile. "I barely recognized you myself." He then nodded soberly at her. "Yes, I told you you couldn't see him, but maybe I was wrong to say that. Here you are in one piece. That's a good thing."

[Annie, Have no fear of perfection-- you'll never reach it.]

Morgan laughed a little, almost a dark little laugh. "You might have been right, though, he was pretty scary." It felt a little good for her to tell somebody about it, somebody that wouldn't mock her for being stupid or chastise her for being weak.

And then it hit her. Drake didn't know she had gone in. Her eyes went wide, and her hands flew over her lips. "Oh! I mean... I didn't..." Lies. The little girl flushed and looked down at her feet. "Sorry."

[*~Silvypoo~* (Chaser of Artemis), Life's a dance, you learn as you go.]

Drake sighed, shaking his head at the younger girl a little. Had he really expected her to listen to her? He supposed not. He was seventeen and he still did what he wanted if he had his mind set to it. It seemed that Morgan had had her mind set on seeing Raven. "It's okay, Morgan. That's not the issue, really. I'm just glad that you're okay. I's feel terrible if something happened to you. It would somewhat be my responsibility, as I was the nurse in charge. Though in the future," he warned her, fingers tapping against his coffee cup rapidly. "I think it would be best to listen to the nurses. Some of them do know what they're talking about."

[Annie, Have no fear of perfection-- you'll never reach it.]

[Fun fact: I actually forgot Morgan wasn't allowed to see him until she remembered xD]

Morgan giggled a little, and nodded. "Yeah, sorry. I'll make sure to listen next time." She offered a smile, which was quickly overshadowed by curiosity. "Why wasn't I really allowed to see him?"

[*~Silvypoo~* (Chaser of Artemis), Life's a dance, you learn as you go.]

[LOL xD]

Drake scratched at his scalp, wondering if it was best to tell the little girl or not. He shrugged, and decided it probably wouldn't hurt anything to tell her. "You know how sometimes Raven gets really mad and kind of violent?" He didn't stop to wait for an answer. "Well when I saw him before you came to see him, he was acting like he was ready to hurt someone again. I was trying to make sure he didn't hurt you."

[Annie, Have no fear of perfection-- you'll never reach it.]

[Wow I didn't realize my posts were so short. They look longer on mobile. SORRY.]

Morgan nodded, an expression of pondering entering her gaze, and she twirled a strand of hair around her index finger. "Yeah, that makes sense. He seemed kind of scary when I saw him." Morgan didn't know how else to explain the odd feeling she had gotten from Raven; the sense of anger, of malice, of... the word she wanted was sadism, but Morgan of course did not know that word. "That was very nice of you to look out for me," Morgan added on with a bright smile.

[*~Silvypoo~* (Chaser of Artemis), Life's a dance, you learn as you go.]

[I'm on mobile because i makes me feel special when I see my 'long' posts. No worries. XD]

Definitely scary, Drake agreed with a little nod and another sip of his coffee. It was growing colder now, but it had also woken the nurse up a little bit, so he couldn't really complain. "It's my job as a nurse to look out for you. You, and every other patient here, such as Raven." Because no one else has the heart to look after him, Drake thought bitterly, though it was a bitter truth, so it was appropriate. "Because I want to take care of you, Raven, and every other person here, I think I'll keep Raven in the infirmary for at least one more day. Once his strange mood settles a bit more, at least."

[Annie, Have no fear of perfection-- you'll never reach it.]

[Dude your posts in the graveyard are like holy posts I can't even believe. Also derp, I can't really think of a response. Fade?]

[*~Silvypoo~* (Chaser of Artemis), Life's a dance, you learn as you go.]

[Thank you? On mobile they definitely are. XD I'm trying to keep up with Hope. Fade.]

[*~Silvypoo~* (Chaser of Artemis), Life's a dance, you learn as you go.]

A young girl with dark brown hair and an even darker complexion was settled in the corner of the sofa, using the arm as a back rest. The couch was comfortable, but perhaps too comfortable. Juana felt like she was being eaten by the couch in its squishiness and easy ability to mold to her body. No one was around, so Juana decided it was a good time to sit back and relax. She stretched against the couch, fighting against the demanding restraints of the couch until her fingers cracked when she bent the palms out and away from her. Satisfied with her stretch, the young Hispanic girl leaned her head against the couch. She felt her guards slide down and her face was clear- not robotic clear, as forced as it was when the machine was going, but a peaceful clear her guards were down and the mask was off; Juana was herself inside and outside for a moment.

[Hope , I belong here more than they do.]

The only occupant of the common room was a boy, only slightly younger than Juana--and he, unlike her, was not resting. Rather, Carlos was on his stomach in the middle of the room, an uncompleted puzzle before him. He wore an expression of irritation; for nearly half an hour he had lain here, trying to figure out where this one particular piece went, and he had gotten absolutely nowhere in that time. Annoyed, he threw the piece down, glared in its general direction, and then looked up to see what else he could occupy himself with. His gaze caught on Juana a moment later, and the former slave offered a smile her way (though he knew she couldn't see him.) "Hola," he called out, tone friendly. "Someone looks a little better than she did yesterday."

[*~Silvypoo~* (Chaser of Artemis), Life's a dance, you learn as you go.]

Just like that, the guards were up again. That was all it took, just a voice, no matter how friendly and recognizable it was to her, her mental guards automatically shot up. Of course, all Carlos saw was a small start and then a pleasant smile, as if Juana was enthused to see him. In reality, she was a little bit nervous. She remembered this boy as the one who, no matter what she tried, could see right through her acts. "¡Ah! Hola, señor," she greeted him in a pleased, nearly excited tone. A small wave accompanied her greeting. If it had been anyone else, she would have given them a custom kiss on each cheek, but she had a feeling that Carlos could already see trough her façade, and she decided not to push her limits for today. She didn't exactly like that another person had set limits for her- even if it was on accident. She was usually the one to set limits for others. "Si," she agreed to his last comment with an enthused nod. "Uh, tuvo doler en mi cabeza ayer," she explained, clearly lying through her teeth by the distracted sound in her voice. She was still trying to figure out how to skate around this young man who saw through her like she was glass.

[Hope , I belong here more than they do.]

Carlos raised a slightly disbelieving eyebrow, but he smiled at Juana regardless. He would pretend that he believed her; for now, at least. "I don't see how that accounts for all that unease around me, but all right," he replied, and chuckled slightly. He stood and walked over, plopping down beside her on the couch--a respectable distance, of course, but nonetheless beside her. He would see how much of this amiability was an act by simply being amiable himself--it had done wonders for him yesterday, after all. Depending on how things went, he would see about bringing up yesterday's odd little conversation without being too pushy. First, however, it was time for the test. "Feel better today?" he asked, and smiled again, as friendly as ever--but he was watching her very carefully, for signs of unease. If she really felt disturbed around him, he was fairly confident that it would show now, whether she wanted it to or not. He had, after all, come and sat down without asking.

[*~Silvypoo~* (Chaser of Artemis), Life's a dance, you learn as you go.]

As normal as the gesture would have been around others, Juana knew that there was something not quite right about Carlos's intentions. He was trying to get something out of her, and she didn't like it. Still, she kept her face bright and with a wide, friendly smile. "Much," she replied, switching back to English just as quickly as she had Spanish. She had to admit, she missed having whole conversations in Spanish without someone saying 'uhhhh' or 'unmm' as they tried to remember verb endings and past tense irregular verbs. She liked being able to talk to Carlos in her native tongue when she knew he understood, and so that happiness was real and genuine. "I took some medication that the nurses gave me, and it was gone like that.." She snapped her fingers, another wide smile in place.

[Hope , I belong here more than they do.]

"Wish the medicine the doctors gave me worked half as well," Carlos said with a chuckle and a rueful little smile. He studied her for a moment, looking her up and down, finding (to his surprise) nothing too tense about her posture or strained about her smile. Perhaps it had only been his imagination earlier...but he knew what he'd saw. A flash in her eyes, like the nervousness of a doe when it is grazing and senses a predator near. It was intriguing, but also a little concerning--did he really give off that vibe now, that dangerous air of I'm-going-to-hurt you? The Hispanic boy certainly hoped that he didn't; the beast had been gaining enough ground lately. So he decided to ask, keeping his tone light: "So about yesterday, in the cafeteria. You left in a hurry, you know." A playful grin came, to keep the mood light, to let Juana know that he didn't want an interrogation. "Did I really make that much of a bad impression?"

[*~Silvypoo~* (Chaser of Artemis), Life's a dance, you learn as you go.]

And there it was. Juana had been expecting this sort of thing from the younger boy, and had been dreading it. He seemed oh so curious, still, and although he obviously had no intentions of posing a threat towards her (so far), his curiosity disturbed her. Her distrust in him, and in everyone else won over her every time. For Juana, it was more difficult to trust people than it was to not trust. This made times like these difficult for her, and frustrating for the other person. "No, no, Carlos," she said with a shake of her head, allowing a soft tone to slip into her voice, as if she felt bad for giving him such an impression. "It's not you're fault at all, it's all me. I'm messed up." A sheepish smile crossed over her full lips, though on the inside she was amused. Her words sounded like some cheesy break up line.

[Hope , I belong here more than they do.]

Carlos raised his eyebrows. "Trust issues?" he guessed, sounding amused, playing along, keeping the mood as light as he could. Juana was certainly a good actress--anything he'd been able to pick up on in the cafeteria the other day was gone. At least, it was on the outside. The boy decided to try a different tactic: perhaps he could get to the golden-eyed girl by attempting to pry open some doors. "Or has someone let you down before? Is that it? Are you afraid of getting hurt?" His tone changed, from prying to reassuring. "I'm not that kind of guy, Juana. I don't want to hurt you. I'm just trying to be friendly, you know." He just found it a little odd (and perhaps the slightest bit offensive) that she would calm up and lie as she was even though he'd done nothing wrong--though of course, he wouldn't say such a thing out loud.

[*~Silvypoo~* (Chaser of Artemis), Life's a dance, you learn as you go.]

An internal, heavy sigh came from Juana, and her shoulders slumped forward slightly. She felt bad for the poor boy in front of her, honestly she did. She figured that his feelings must be badly wounded to think that she didn't trust him- someone whom she had met yesterday. It wasn't fair to him, she knew, but she couldn't just place her trust into someone she met the day before. It was difficult for her to trust people whom she had known for years. She didn't exactly believe Carlos's words- not at all, actually. Her jaw tensed slightly, but that was all. A lot of men who you couldn't trust said similar words, but then again, the ones that you could trust did the same. Still, Juana leaned forward to place a hand on the younger boy's arm. "Carlos, amigo," her voice turned affectionate with more ease than expected. "It's okay, it's not your fault or anything like that. I know you're good. You seem very good." She had no other ways of soothing the Hispanic. She didn't think that making any empty promises would do him any good.

[Hope , I belong here more than they do.]

Carlos leaned back against the couch, tilting his head back to stare up at the ceiling. Mostly so Juana couldn't see the exasperation--and the slight hurt--in his eyes. "All right then," he said, doing what he thought was an impressively good job of sounding calm, "I get that. Maybe you have more issues with trust than I do. But if you can already tell that I don't want to hurt you, why don't you walk out on a ledge and take a chance?" He turned his head to look at her, lacing his hands behind it. "How can you expect to get anywhere if you close yourself off like this? How can you expect to get better? It doesn't work that way, Juana. Treatment can't work that way." These words had turned out to be a little more heartfelt and personal than expected; but the Hispanic couldn't help it. He hated to see people fall in on themselves, especially people like him. Especially those who had hurt like he had--like he did. He was naturally the sort who wanted to help, and not much was going to stop him from trying.

[*~Silvypoo~* (Chaser of Artemis), Life's a dance, you learn as you go.]

Juana studied him carefully, her golden gaze burning into him intently. She couldn't say that he wasn't right about everything, some of the things he'd mentioned were things that had passed through her mind multiple times in the past. Honestly, she was slightly irritated with him as well. What business did he have to tell her how to live? He didn't know many things, like the friend that she did have in the asylum, the person that she trusted here. She then thought of how long it had taken for the trust to grow and stick- how long? She couldn't keep track, but she felt so bad for him that she contemplated faking trust, but the thought was quickly pushed away. Carlos could read her eerily well for some reason, and attempting to fake trust would only hurt him more. She sat up more straight now on the couch, looking at him with soft curiosity. "Well, I can certainly try, and try hard," she suggested hopefully. And she decided she would; Carlos looked like he needed someone to trust him, and to truly trust him at that.

[Hope , I belong here more than they do.]

This brought on a smile, and a full one at that. "Bueno," Carlos told her. "Eso es bueno. Because everyone needed a friend or two in their life, and though he was not exactly short in that department, it had been a long time since he had met someone who he could open up to, instead of being the one who was encouraging the opening up. It was nice to help people, of course it was, but sometimes it was even nicer to have people help you. No one was a firmer believer in that than Carlos. "Start now," he suggested, turning back to Juana. "Tell me what was really going on in the cafeteria yesterday. Think of it as...step number one. Towards a new friend." And the smile grew larger. "I don't judge, Juana. No one really believes me when I say that, but it's true. I'm just a curious person."

[*~Silvypoo~* (Chaser of Artemis), Life's a dance, you learn as you go.]

Start with the cafeteria? Juana didn't think of anything in general that had set off her unease. Amusement flickered in her eyes for a moment. "I didn't have a problem then," she told him, amusement just lightly touching her tone. He apparently didn't realize that now she was simply just a person who was constantly on guard, no matter what was going on, or who she was talking to. "That was nothing. Honestly, if we're talking about taking risks every once in a while, then I would have considered even going to help you as a risk. You should be proud of that, even."

[Hope , I belong here more than they do.]

"I'll make you a plaque or something," Carlos said with a chuckle. He grinned at her, clearly joking--but seeming almost slightly proud of her, nonetheless. "What should I put on it? Ayudé a un extraño or something more flashy? I'm pretty much up for anything--it's boring in this place and I have nothing else to do except for get under everyone's feet and make things." Friends or art or stories, it didn't much matter to him, but he was an active boy, and he couldn't much stand sitting still for a long time with nothing to do. He supposed it was partly why he kept jokes (like this one) running for as long as he did; it gave him a chance to talk to people for a longer time, and that meant less time he had to spend sitting idle. A good thing.

[*~Silvypoo~* (Chaser of Artemis), Life's a dance, you learn as you go.]

Juana let out a low chuckle and shook her head. It was all fun and games, of course, but what would she do with a large plaque with engravings on it? "No thanks, but I sure do appreciate the offer." She smiled at him again and then glanced around the dead common room. It was just the two of them on the couch together, no one else was around. Juana had found herself in constant similar situations where hardly anyone was around. Sometimes, it could be rather boring around the asylum, especially with no one to talk to. Then again, it was most days Juana loved to be alone. "Maybe there was a fiesta we didn't get invited to," she suggested with a smirk.