He's my best friend, he deserves to be happy.

✘✘✘

My eyes fluttered open with coldness hugging my entire body. I tried to get up when panic weighted my chest, realizing I have been completely unabled to move.

I raised my head, studying the enviroment that surrounded me. I furrowed my eyebrows, wondering why the fuck couldn't I move, speak nor see. "Brandy!" an excited voice whispered, his warm hand intertwining our fingers. "Brandy!" he repeated, tightening the grip. "God, what have they done to you?"

"Who- who is there?" I finally managed to say, barely making a sound.

"Brandy, it's me, Willie," the voice said in relief, softly pressing his lips against my hand. I felt a huge rock lifting from my chest, comfort overwhelming my body as flashes of previous events finally made a comeback. A whimper escaped my mouth as my body started twitching. "Brandy, calm down-"

"Willie, I can't move! I can't see!" I screamed in panic, trying to open my eyes and figure out what was happening.

"Brandy, calm down," he told me quietly, rubbing my hand. "Breathe and focus on my voice. Think of a place where you'd feel safe and imagine that you're there right now."

I did exactly as he told me, following his voice and visualizing the only place I have ever felt safe at - Jesus' arms. I thought of his smile and laugh, his bright blue eyes and soft, pink lips. His scent and muscles that used to embrace me with perfection. I thought of his jokes and his gestures, small but effective. Gestures that made me fall in love with him.

"Is Emrys here?" I asked him when I finally calmed down, remembering he was in the lab with me.

"No, he's still down there," Willie's voice was distant and grip loose, almost like he was insecure of something. "Listen, you have to stay quiet and not make any noise or they will come back for you for the second round which is something you wouldn't be able to survive. What you just experienced was a shock therapy, something Blue uses to punish or change us. You can't move because he chained you to the walls for the bigger effect, which only increases the trauma your muscles and brain had suffered."

"How long was I gone?" I asked him, trying to move arms that were raised above my head. There was no success, though, I simply couldn't move.

"You came back half an hour ago and I've been trying to wake you up since," he told me, still holding my hand. "You scared the living shit out of me, Brandy."

His words made my stomach twirl into knots, wondering how could Blue do this to underage kids? What is going on inside his head when he's sending us down there to be tortured by some psychopathic Doctor? Does he think we will actually change?

"What about my eyes?" I asked him, worried I may never be able to see again.

"Your sight should come back soon enough," he chuckled, drawing circles on my palm with a thumb.

"How do you know so much about this? Have they done it to you, too?" I asked him, the feeling of his touch being too enjoyable than it should have been.

He sighed, his warm breath bouncing off my skin. "Yeah, I've been through shock therapy multiple times and as you can see, I'm still dead gorgeous," he joked, his genuine laugh replacing the coldness I felt earlier.

"You're so egoistic," I chuckled, the chains chiming when I spoke. "What have you done to end up in the East Wing?" I asked him seriously, changing the subject.

"I was brought in here twice, actually," he told me, his voice low and discreet.

"You escaped, too?" I gasped, realizing we might have a chance of doing that again. We might have a chance of being free.

"No, Brandy, you are the only person who's ever done that," he said it like it was obvious. "No, I did something illegal when I was eleven years old and was sentenced to two years. When I got out, I was thirteen and had an entire year in the freedom before I decided to fuck it all up again. Blue's son Conan brought me in when he was still an Officer."

"So they have been keeping you in the East Wing for three years?" I asked him in shock.

"Yeah, they'd let us out to play when inspection came, which was only once a year. Except that, we had to go to school, so that was extra time when we got to leave our cells."

"Hey, Willie," I gasped and gripped his hand as my eyes started opening. The first thing I saw was his grinning face, but then I felt these chains weighting on me. "I can see you!" I laughed, touching his face with the hand he has been holding for the past half an hour.

"I told you it would come back," he smiled and winked. "You just have to believe me more often and-"

He was cut off by a loud slam, indicating the guards were back with Emrys. I straightened my back and leaned against a wall behind me, trying to take a look at what condition they've brought him in.

"Holy shit," I whispered under my breath, looking at guards who threw him in the cell, locking his wrists and ankles the same way as they did with mine. His temples were bloody from the amount of voltage they shocked us with and his body was limp. His leg had clean bandage around it again, which meant that Doctor wasn't of no use after all. His eyes were closed, though, as he murmured something in his chin.

"Em, can you hear me?" I whispered, trying to reach him with my hand when I remembered I was chained. "Emrys!"

"Just..." he whispered, swinging his head left and right. "Tell Samara I love her..." he trailed off, his body finally calming down to a peaceful sleep.

I stared at him for a while, trying to figure out the meaning behind his words. Samara? Who is that? Does he have a girlfriend, maybe a sister?

"You should get some sleep and you two can talk in the morning," Willie told me and I nodded, realizing it was probably for the best.

"Good night," I whispered, trying to find a way to be comfortable in this position, which I doubt will even be possible. My limbs were stiff and my head hurt like someone ran me over with a bus.

There was no way I will be able to fall asleep.

✘✘✘

"Brandy! Brandy, are you okay?!"

"Emrys, shut your trap."

"Holy shit, she's dead! Shit, shit shit, she's fucking dead!"

"Emrys, I swear to God, if you don't shut the fuck up, I'll-"

"Brandy Walters is fucking dead! She's not moving!"

"Are you fucking dumb?! She's asleep, you moron!"

"Quickly, check her pulse! Willie, stop rolling your fucking eyes at me, she's not fucking breathing!"

"She was okay yesterday, what the fuck is your problem?!"

"Your stupid ass face is my problem, you fucking idiot! My best friend is dying, do something!"

"She's not dying!"

"Yes, she is!"

"She's asleep!"

"William, she's not fucking breathing!"

"My name is not William, you stupid fuck!"

"Shh, William, no one cares."

"If you call me that one more time, I'll fuck you up so bad, you won't be able to recognize yourself."

"William, William, dear William. Do you really want to make me your enemy? Have you heard what I can do?"

"Do I look like I fucking care?"

"Well, congratulations, now I officially hate you."

"You are a child, Chadwick, and children don't know how to fight."

"Ask me if I give a shit, I'll gladly respond with a middle finger."

I opened my eyes with two heads towering over me, their faces behind the bars while glaring at each other. They let out a series of curses, moving away from me as I straightened my back.

"What's going on?" I asked them, beaming rays of sun blinding me. I yawned as Emrys and Willie mutely stared at me.

"Holy shit, Brandy, you scared me. Don't ever do that again," Emrys sighed in relief, trying to blow a strand of loose hair from his eye.

"What? Sleep?" I chuckled, staring at his mutilated face. His eyes were bloodshot red and hair messy, his temples now coloured in dark shades of purple.

He chuckled, opening his eyes and nudging his head to me. "Yeah, it would be nice if you don't sleep. Has anyone ever told you how fucking dead you look when you sleep?" he joked, his eyes radiating with the same joy I'm used to seeing.

"I think you're just paranoid," I told him, trying to forget the events from last night that repeatedly flashed before my eyes.

"Could be," he shrugged.

I frowned, looking at him. "Hey, do you remember anything from when you came in last night?" I asked him, still confused by his unconscious words.

"No, why?" he furrowed his eyebrows, looking at me with curiosity. "Wait, did I switch again?"

"No, you mentioned a girl, her name was Samara," I told him and his eyes immediately widened, his cheeks flushing red. "You told me to tell her that you lo-"

"No!" he cut me off as embarrassment painted his rather confident face. "You- uh, she-" he closed his eyes with annoyance and took few deep breaths, looking at me again. "Please, don't tell anyone about it."

"Well, it's your lucky day because I heard it all," Willie smirked, which made him groan and smash his face against the bars.

"You mind telling me who that is?" I asked him gently, trying not to force him into anything. We both needed to rest and I can't risk him switching again because of my irrational behaviour.

"Well, there's this girl that I've been in love with since I was a little kid and she- well, she doesn't know it," he explained quietly, closing his eyes. "I haven't seen her in years, but I could never forget her beautiful face. I still remember her voice, laugh, smile and enchanting lavander scent."

I pouted, looking at him with compassion. I felt truly sorry for Emrys, his life was just so fucked up and it didn't seem to get any better. I felt the need to help him, even though I had no possible way of doing that. We were locked up and had no way of escaping, but I needed to do something.

He's my best friend, he deserves to be happy.

"Let me hear it from the beginning," I smiled, reassuring him it's okay to share it with me.

I would never tell anyone.

✘✘✘