New people coming today...who are they? :3

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¤Day 8¤

~No One's P.O.V.~

The next day, the sun barely peaked from the horizon when two people, a man and his son, got out of their car and walked towards the Fairy Institute. The man had blue hair and onyx eyes, with stubble on his chin and a blue mustache. His son had dark purple hair and blue eyes in contrast to his father, and was wearing a sleeveless vest that exposed his abdomen as well as green pants that stopped right below his knees. His mouth was buried in an orange scarf that was wrapped around his neck. His eyebrows twitched in annoyance as they got closer to the entrance. "Are we really doing this??" the boy asked irritably.

"Yes son," the man replied, "and asking me 100 times is not going to change my answer."

"BUT DAAAAAD!!" the boy protested quite loudly.

"No buts Romeo," the man said firmly, opening the door to the institute. Laki looked up from her computer screen.

"Ah, hello Macao," the lavender-haired receptionist smiled warmly. "Here with your..son right?"

"Oh no, I'm his cousin," Romeo spat sarcastically. "Of course I'm his son you purple-haired weirdo!"

"Romeo!" Macao scolded.

"Romeo Romeo Romeo!" Romeo said in a mocking tone. "Why don't you just shut up you old fart?! You're not the boss of me!"

"Yes, I am, actually," Macao gritted his teeth.

"No you're not! I'm sixteen already!"

"You're still legally under my protection."

"Yeah, well..well...well I can't wait until I'm 18 so I can get away from you!!"

"Well until then you're going to have to listen to what I say!" Macao growled, trying to hide the hurt he had felt in his words. A small tick mark formed on the side of Laki's head at the rude words the boy in front of her was spewing, but she remembered the boy's condition, and couldn't help but feel a bit bad for the two of them.

"Anger issues, right?" Laki wanted to confirm as she picked up her clipboard-attached paper that was filled with patients. Her eyes focused on the box on the paper that read Romeo Conbolt.

"No, really??" Romeo gasped, putting his hands to his mouth mockingly. "I thought I was here so that I could help my good ol' dad with his work!"

"Romeo, can you please stop with the sarcasm?" Macao sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in exhaustion. He was too old for this kind of thing.

"I'll stop when I want to stop!" Romeo snapped.

"Here, I'll show him to his room," Laki stood up from her chair and walked towards the boy. She attempted to put a hand on his shoulder, but the purple-haired boy slapped it away before it even touched him.

"Don't touch me!" he barked. "I don't want your disgusting germs on me!"

"Ah, I'm sorry," Laki said in a gentle voice. "I'll keep note of that." Romeo was taken back by the sudden change in her tone, but scoffed and looked away.

"Whatever," he grumbled, calming down a bit. Laki smiled and walked closer to Macao.

"Is he a germaphobe too?" Laki hissed into his ear when his son wasn't looking. Macao shook his head no, making Laki nod, secretly glaring at the boy when he wasn't looking.

"Well, you can go ahead and start with your nurse duties Macao," Laki said louder. "I'll take your son to his room."

Macao grinned and said, "Thanks Laki." Romeo watched his father leave, anger bubbling inside him. Work work work! It's always work for him! he mentally seethed in anger. He just upped and left me with this stranger to work! It must be more important to him than me.

"Meo...Romeo!" Said boy was snapped out of his thoughts when Laki snapped her fingers in front of him.

"Hey! Who said you could get your dirty little hands so close to my face! I'll probably have to go to a real hospital if you keep trying to touch me!" he snapped again, harshly shoving the receptionist's hand away.

"Sorry, but you were spacing out," Laki apologized, rubbing her hand.

"You keep saying sorry! What are you, a pushover?" Romeo sneered.

"No, I'm just trying to show you some kindness," she corrected, her voice turning serious. "Something you might want to cherish, because with your kind of attitude, you won't be able to make any friends, and trust me when I say you'll need someone other than your father to rely on." Romeo was stunned at her words, but then gritted his teeth as he felt anger surge through his veins.

"I don't need to rely on anyone!" he retorted. "Especially not someone as stupid as you!" Laki sighed as she watched him stomp off down the hall. She rolled her eyes and mentally counted the number of seconds before Romeo forcefully walked back.

...Which room is mine?" Romeo grumbled, his words barely heard by the lavender-haired woman.

"What happened to 'I don't need to rely on anyone!'?" Laki asked, putting air quotes around the boy's words.

"Be quiet!" he snapped. "Just show me to my room."

"Not with that attitude I will," Laki replied, crossing her arms.

"What!?" Romeo blurted out. He had never had someone he had just met refuse something he wanted before.

"You heard me," she said firmly. "You better straighten up your act before asking again, because I only have so much patience."

"Why I oughtta--!" Romeo started, but stopped himself. Annoyingly, he took a deep breath and corrected himself. "May you please show me to my room?" he asked through gritted teeth. Laki smiled.

"Much better," she said. "Follow me." She started to walk down the hall, towards the 14-18 year-olds unit. "You'll be the youngest for this place, but since you're only two years above? I think it'll be fine," Laki explained out loud.

"Whatever," Romeo rolled his eyes. He didn't really care where his room was, he just wanted to get out of here as quick as possible. As the two walked down the hallway, they encountered two girls talking, one with long blue hair and one with blonde hair.

"A-ano, Juvia forgot to say this yesterday, but is Lucy-san okay?" And by the looks of it, the conversation had just started.

"Ah, yeah!" Lucy responded, smiling. "It was all a misunderstanding and stuff so I'm okay, but thanks for asking!" Romeo's face twisted with disgust.

Ew. he thought to himself. I don't need to listen to these two girls flirting with each other. Romeo wanted to leave, but Laki grinned, seeing an opportunity.

"Hello Lucy, Juvia," Laki greeted the two of them with a warm smile. The two girls stopped their conversation and looked at the purple-haired woman.

"Oh, hey! Um..?"

"Hello, um..?"

As it turns out, neither of them knew the receptionist's name. All they really saw from her was when they were both admitted. Laki smiled anyways, however, knowing that they probably wouldn't know her name.

"My name is Laki, and this--" she pushed an unwilling Romeo forward, "--is Romeo."

"Aww!!" Lucy cooed, entranced by the 16-year-old's cuteness.

"How old do you think I am, five?!" Romeo snapped. "You don't 'aww!' at a 16 year old you pervy lesbian!"

"Hey! That's not nice," Juvia scolded, but couldn't help but feel a bit concerned. Why was a child of all people in a mental hospital? Has the world really gone that far?

"Oh please, how old do you think I am??" Romeo rolled his eyes. "Since when are people in this kind of place nice?" Juvia opened her mouth to answer, but no words came out of her mouth. She had to admit, he was right. As a result, she could only look down in shame and stay silent.

"Thought so," Romeo snorted. Now Lucy was the one who was getting angry.

"Hey, I know that this place may not have the best humanity has to offer, but that doesn't mean you have to be stereotypical!" she snapped, scolding him. "And just so you know, 'I am not a pervy lesbian', and it's not nice to call people that!" With her outburst still fresh in the air, Lucy grabbed Juvia's arm and led her to the lounge room.

"Oo, Lucy told him!" Leo laughed.

"Hime-sama seems to be quite sassy today," Virgo grinned. Lucy found it hard not to smile at the compliments, but tried her best and continued to drag a confused Juvia down the hall.

Romeo stood in place, shocked once again. There was that word again, nice. Did he really need it to survive here? He had told himself that the answer was of course not, but there was a tiny voice forming in the back of his head that thought otherwise. Laki smirked and said, "Cat got your tongue?" Romeo immediately snapped out of his thoughts and growled.

"Shut up!" he snarled for what seemed like the hundredth time only today. Laki's smirk widened, but she gestured towards a blank door.

"Here's your room," she said.

"Finally," Romeo groaned. Laki opened the door for him and he went in without hesitation. He was about to close the door so that he could at least settle in, but something inside him made him stop. He frowned, wondering why he did so. And then, he realized. "...Thank you," Romeo muttered. Laki grinned and nodded.

"A nurse will be here soon with your pills," she informed him before starting to close the door. Romeo's eyes widened.

"Wait!" he blurted out, grabbing on to her arm. Laki looked at him with a startled look.

"Yes..?" she responded, raising an eyebrow.

"Will my dad...be the one who will give me the pills?" Romeo asked quietly, his dark purple hair shadowing his blue eyes.

Laki frowned for a second, but soon replied, "I'll see what I can do." Romeo couldn't help but feel unsatisfied with that answer, but he knew, knowing his father, that she was only giving him her honest answer.

"..Thank you," he murmured, taking ahold of the door. Laki smiled sadly.

"If you need me, I'll be here okay?" she told him. Romeo nodded and silently closed the door. Silence filled the small room as Romeo just stood there. He didn't understand anything about his dad, and he wished his father would just tell him why he'd avoid him at times. His bangs were still shadowing his eyes as he gritted his teeth.

"...Stupid Dad.."

¤¤¤

A couple hours later, two more people walked into the hospital. One person was a woman with blue eyes. She had a strict expression on her face and her blue hair was tied in a bun, adding to the air of authority she had around her. The girl next to her was very different. Although she also had blue hair, it was straight and went down all the way to her waist. She was looking down on the floor, and her hands were tightly gripped the hem of her green and blue dress. "Hurry up Wendy," the woman scolded, pushing her daughter. "Walk 'faster'!"

"G-g-g-gomenasai!" the girl squeaked, sweat starting to pour down her forehead. The woman sighed and pushed her up to the reception desk, where Laki looked up from her computer screen.

"Hello! Are you here to enroll?" Laki beamed.

"Yes," the woman answered in a respectful tone. "My name is Grandeeney Marvel, and this is my daughter, Wendy Marvel. I'm admitting her for anxiety, and also for being a compulsive liar." Grandeeney forcefully pushed Wendy up to the desk so that the lavender-haired woman could see her. Wendy was practically shaking as she meekly attempted to wave hi. Laki smiled sympathetically and waved back. She couldn't help but feel sorry for this poor girl. She looked down at her board, looking for her name.

Finding it, she nodded and said, "Okay, we'll have someone escort you to your new room." She looked around the lobby, but there was no one who was free at the moment. However, as if on cue, a man with orange hair that was slicked back and black eyes walked in. He was wearing a white lab coat and his onyx eyes were focused on a sheet of paper as he strode in. "Oh, Gildarts!" Laki grinned. "Right on time!" The man flinched and looked up.

"Huh?" he blinked.

"Wendy, Mrs. Marvel," Laki stood up from her chair and stood beside the orange-haired man. "This is Gildarts Clive, a counselor here at Fairy Institute," Laki introduced the man. "And Gildarts, this is Wendy." Wendy shakily waved while Grandeeney raised an eyebrow.

"Is this the counselor for my child?" she asked.

"Uh--" Gildarts looked at his new schedule, but Laki had already memorized it by heart, since she was the one who made it.

"Uh, no," she answered for him. "He is not, but hers is a very good counselor." Grandeeney eyed the counselor with distrust.

"Well, I certainly hope he's..qualified for whoever his clients are," the woman said, skepticism evident in her voice. Gildarts smiled and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'll be honest with you, I may not be the best kind of counselor in your eyes--" he started, glancing at the uptight woman whose eyebrows were still raised, "--but I care about my patients, and you can't say that about the majority of counselors, who are just there for their paycheck, though, my paychecks are rather small.." He muttered that last part under his breath, so only Laki heard and elbowed him in the side rather harshly. "But, yeah, what matters is the care part," he wheezed, holding his stomach. Wendy cracked a smile at his words, but her mother still had her doubts. However, one glance at her daughter and her smile reminded her that she was doing this for her. She has always wondered the reasons behind her daughter's illnesses, but it was because of them she could never get a truthful answer. Even with her high standards, she wanted her daughter to be happy.

"Alright," she finally caved in. She crouched down to Wendy and kissed her forehead.

"If you ever need me, just call me," she whispered into her ear. "You remember my number."

"Y-y-y-yup!" the bluenette stammered. Grandeeney quietly sighed and stood up, dusting off her business clothes.

"Well I must get going, I've got a meeting to get to," she announced. "I expect my daughter to be greatly cared for, you understand me?"

"Of course Wendy will be, Mrs. Marvel," Laki smiled. The woman nodded and walked out of the hospital, leaving Wendy to carry her one heavy suitcase filled with all the belongings she had brought. Gildarts saw the young girl struggle to lift it.

"Here, let me take it," the counselor offered, taking the girl by surprise. Wendy jolted when his hand lightly brushed hers, but let him take it.

"C-c-c-careful, i-it's uh, k-kinda heavy," she stumbled over her words. Gildarts smirked.

"I got it," he said, lifting the bag and placing it on his shoulder without breaking a sweat. Wendy found herself stunned by his strength, and perhaps admired it for a couple seconds. However, it was short-lived when Gildarts spoke up.

"Well, are you coming then?" he asked, confused as to why she wasn't following him.

"O-oh! Uh, c-c-coming!" she stammered, looking down at the ground and quickly shuffling after him. Because she couldn't see what was in front of her, she accidentally brushed shoulders with a certain purple-haired boy. The feeling of being touched made her immediately look up, and the boy, who had been deep in thought, looked back into her brown eyes. Both of their eyes widened at the sight, and for a second, it seemed like time slowed for the both of them as they stared into each other's eyes. However, as soon as the feeling passed, Wendy went back to looking down at the ground, more flustered than she was before.

"S-s-s-sor-ry," she stuttered, quickly walking away before the boy could even utter a word. He could only sweatdrop as he watched her practically run away from her. He frowned, but then shook his head.

'Pushover,' Romeo sneered in his head, glancing back at the bluenette for one more second before continuing to walk to the cafeteria.

¤¤¤

Silence filled the mental hospital. All pills were grudgingly taken, and the only sound that could be heard was the hum of equipment that was not in use, but still left on. Every nurse, patient, and counselor either left or were peacefully sleeping. Well, all except one certain boy.

Sting turned and tossed in his bed, having trouble sleeping. It was already 5:00 in the morning, and he did manage to sleep for a few hours or so, but after waking up from yet another one of his nightmares, he was having trouble going back to sleep. Not with the images that had just flashed in his mind. Finally giving up on trying, he sat up from his bed and wiped the sweat that had formed on his forehead. "God damnit," he cursed out loud. "Why does that same nightmare keep appearing in my head?" Sighing, he waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness before letting his bare feet touch the cool floor. He searched the somehow-already-messy room for some socks and perhaps a shirt. Finding a new pair of both sprawled on the floor near his bed, he slipped them on. He then put on his sneakers and gently opened his door, not wanting to attract attention, if there was anyone watching. Shouldn't there be people patrolling since this hospital was filled with people who was probably unstable? He wasn't saying anyone he saw so far had it so bad that they needed to be monitored, but, well, they were all in here for some reason right? He 'had' heard about that girl who almost jumped.

Shaking the thoughts away from his head, he looked around for something that he could do. It took him a couple seconds, but when he saw his emo-like friend's door that had been painted with dark creepy shadows and then another door with cake decorated all over it, he realized something.

Why didn't I decorate my door? he asked himself in his head, and then he remembered: he had been chased by his growing mob of fangirls before he could even pick up a brush. He had lost them when he hid in the lounge, but totally forgot about painting his door. Well, better now then never. He slowly tiptoed his way to the art room, his shoes barely making a sound as he made his way.

It took him a couple tries, and a few minutes of frustration, but he finally got to the large art room. "I told Dad I'm good with directions," he smirked. He tried the doorknob, and found it quite surprising that it was unlocked. Huh. I would've thought they would lock places like this. Shrugging, he opened the door and walked in without a second thought.

¤Meanwhile...¤

In the lobby, Laki was trying to keep herself awake. She tiredly stared at her computer screen, wishing that the light would wake her up. She wished that she didn't have to be at work, but it was only a week since Fairy Institute opened, and that meant that patients would come at random time. Unfortunately, that meant she had to work the night shift, since there were no other receptionists. Her eyelid grew heavier and heavier as time passed, and before she knew it, her head gently fell down onto her desk and she happily accepted sleep.

Mere seconds passed, however, before the doors gently opened. Although it was quite quiet and clearly carefully opened, the sound was enough to jolt Laki awake.

"Huh, what wait wha--" she blurted, looking around. It took a couple seconds, but her eyes soon met with one crystal blue eye, from a distance.

"H-hi," the person quietly stuttered. From the sound of it, Laki guessed it was a girl.

"Hello," Laki replied softly, adjusting her glasses as she questioned why she could only see one eye. "Can you come closer so that I can see you?"

"O-oh, uh, s-sure, but um, just know that I, um, have haphephobia.." the girl warned.

The fear of being touched, Laki told herself, now understanding. "All right, I'll be sure to be careful."

"T-thank you," the girl flashed a smile, stepping into the light. Now being able to see her, not only did her pretty features make her stand out, but her black bangs covering her right eye in contrast with her bright blue eye made her face really stand out. The next thing that hit her was the many many many layers that she was wearing. It wasn't so much so that it made her look bloated, but perhaps that was because it was 5:00 am and the girl didn't think that was anyone was awake, which she'd be right. "I-I, um, my name is Jessie Celestia.." the girl introduced herself, fidgeting with the flashlight she had used to navigate in the darkness in her hand that had at least 3 layers of gloves on. In the palms of the other hand was a wheeled suitcase. "I had, uh, reserved a spot for myself I believe?" Laki nodded and searched for her clipboard. She picked it up from the side of her desk and squinted to clear the faint drowsiness blur that was still in her eyes. Her eyes traveled down until it hit black text that read Jessie Celestia. Next to her name was the word haphephobia.

"You're here," Laki said out loud to ease the girl's obvious nerves. Jessie flashed a small smile while she rubbed her arms to ease her nerves. Standing up, Laki said, "Here, I'll lead you to your room..." She trailed off, looking around as she realized that there was only one light turned on. She opened her mouth, but no words came out as she tried to find better words for something she wanted to ask. Jessie frowned, confused at to why she was the one looking nervous. Her mouth formed an O when she realized, however.

"D-do you, um, need my flashlight?" she murmured, timidly holding out her flashlight.

"If you don't mind?" Laki asked. "Because I can just..."

"Oh no no," Jessie waved. "I have like 5 layers of gloves on, so you..I-I-I mean I will be okay." Laki hesitated for a second, but carefully removed it from her fingers without touching the fabric of her glove.

"Thank you." Laki pushed the button on the flashing forward and a bright white light emitted from the tool. "Follow me." She picked up her clipboard and opened the tiny door that gave little security to her desk and quietly walked down the hallway, Jessie quietly following her from a small distance. They both tried to make their footsteps as quiet as possible, as both knew that the entire hospital was asleep, or, so they thought.

"So how will I know which room is mine?" Jessie asked quietly as they turned into the hallway with the 14-19 year-old patients.

"It will be one of the only doors with no decorations on it," Laki answered. "Since there isn't many rooms in this hallway left." Jessie nodded, but then jumped at the sound of something. At first Jessie thought it was just her paranoia when she heard tiny shuffling sounds, but she jolted to a stop when she heard another, more louder, shuffle. "U-u-u-uh, this is a newly built hospital right?" Jessie stuttered, feeling a chill go down her back.

"Yes, we just started taking patients a little more than a week ago," Laki responded. At first, she was confused at the question, but by the third time there was a noise; it was a clank of what seemed like plastic against plastic. Both girls jumped out of their skin and Laki immediately pointed the light toward the direction of the sound. She pointed it at a door, and a boy's blue eyes shined back. Laki sighed and rubbed her temples.

"Really?" Sting was on his knees, one hand on his door and a paintbrush in his other, its tip wet with blue paint. On his door was what seemed to be an unfinished painting of a beach and girls in bikinis.

"Uhh...." Sting trailed off, not sure what words will get him out of trouble. But, he knew he would get in trouble if he didn't say anything. "Heyyy, reception lady!" Sting jumped up and waved. "Whatcha, um, doing here??"

"I could ask you the same," she cocked her eyebrows and crossed her arms.

"Hey now, I asked you first," Sting countered with an arrogant smirk. It was then that he noticed the shine of something a few get behind the purple-haired woman. The gleam of the flashlight barely showed Jessie at all, and Sting could barely make out if there was something there or not. He frowned, squinting his eyes so that he could focus on the silhouette.

"What are you trying to do Sting?" Laki asked, already getting tired of this spiky-haired patient. At the sound of his name, Jessie's eyes dilated with shock.

No, nonononono, her mind screamed. No way. That's impossible. The chances of that happening is impossible. Sweat started pouring down her forehead. Of course, that's what she told herself, but in the back of her mind, she knew that he too had a mental illness. Suddenly feeling nauseous, she quickly, but still quietly, dashed away from the two. By then, her vision had grown accustomed to the dark, so it wasn't hard to find and open the first empty door she saw.

As such, when Sting looked back behind Laki, he didn't even see a trace of anything or anyone in the darkness. "Wasn't there someone behind you..?" Sting asked, baffled. He was so sure he had seen something like..a blue eye? He wasn't sure. That was when Laki remembered that she had been escorting a new patient and looked behind herself. She too was puzzled by the disappearance and started to panic. Never again will I take a night shift without coffee, she told herself.

"Sting, put all of these supplies back into the art room and go to sleep," Laki ordered, exhaustion ridden in her voice. "If not, I'll have to give you consequences for disregarding the curfew rule." Sting stiffened up. He definitely did not want to be in trouble when it's barely been a week. What would his dad think? He never thought his dad would enroll him in a mental hospital, and he didn't want to think where else he could send him.

"Y-yes ma'am!" Sting stammered. Laki nodded and went to go find Jessie. Sting sighed in relief and picked up all the equipment he had brought out. His arms full, he headed towards the art room without problem, since his eyes had long since adjusted to the void of light. ..It was, probably just your imagination/schizophrenia acting up Sting, no need to wonder about it, Sting told himself. But...can't help but feel there definitely was something there? He shook his head. Face the facts. You're schizophrenic and that's what you try to tell yourself. Sting smirked. Still won't regret seeing sexy babes everyday.