�How are you doing?� she asked.
�Can�t you tell? I have bags under my blood-red eyes, my hair is a mess, and I haven�t changed my clothes in three days.�
�Did her coming here upset you that much?�
�You just don�t understand. I loved her so much. I can�t stand being without her.�
�Is it that or do you just not like being alone?� He was silent. �See? You don�t need her. The sooner you come to terms with that the sooner you can get out of here. Things will be ok again. You�ll find someone else and you�ll never even think about her and how much she hurt you.�
�The thought of never thinking about her hurts even more than thinking about her.�
She ran her fingers through his hair in an attempt to fix it. Soon she realized this wasn�t going to happen and she gave up.
�I don�t like seeing you like this,� she said sadly.
�You think I do?�
�Come on, you need a shower,� she said standing up and pulling him with her.
�I don�t have the energy to do anything like that.�
�Chris, you will get the energy, because, trust me, you really need to bathe yourself.�
He smiled lightly and she hit him on the shoulder.
�I got a smile! Alright!�
�Thanks for making me happy, even for a split-second.�
�Thanks for making me feel so welcome here.�
The shower flowed steadily and Chris stood under its hot water as Crystal sat outside in the bathroom�s common area.
�So, why don�t you come in here with me?� he joked.
�Now that�s the Chris I know; always joking about things that I would never do.�
�Aww, come on. It�s part of the healing process.�
She laughed. �Heal yourself.�
He stuck his head out of the shower and smiled.
�I�m tired of healing myself. I want someone else to heal me.�
�You pervert,� she said throwing a bar of soap at him.
�You love it,� he said getting back in the shower.
She rolled her eyes. �So, what are you doing tonight?�
�Why? It�s not like I can do anything with you. We�re being watched, remember?�
�I�m planning a break out. I want to go to the pond and just watch the stars all night. I�ve wanted to do it since we got here.�
�How are you planning on doing that? There are bars over the windows and cameras outside our doors.�
�I�m not going back to my room after dinner.�
�Oh my God, you�re an evil genius.�
Crystal and Chris snuck out after dinner just as planned and ran straight to the pond that was off the property. The whole way there they giggled like little kids.
�So, if getting out was that easy, how can they call themselves an institute? If there were any seriously crazy people here, well, they�d be roaming around the city,� Chris said.
She laughed and plopped down on the ground in front of the water. He sat down next to her and kicked his legs out. She laid down on the ground and looked up at the sky as the sun was setting. He did the same.
�This is great. It�s nice to breathe free air again,� Chris said.
�No kidding. So, what do you want to do all night?� she asked turning on his side to face him.
�Stare at the stars.�
�All night?�
�Yeah.�
�Ok then,� she said turning back to the sky.
Three hours later they were still in the same spot without anyone coming to look for them. They had now tired of the stars and had resorted to skipping rocks on the water.
�Oh! Six! Beat that!� Crystal said throwing her arms in the air in victory.
With a flick of the wrist he skipped a rock ten times against the water. Her mouth dropped open.
�I�ve been letting you beat me. What? Did you think I was really that bad?�
She hit his arm and pouted.
�You�re not supposed to cheat!�
�Well I didn�t want you looking like an ass.�
�Well� Thank you; that was very sweet.�
He smiled and laid back down on the dirt. After one more try at skipping rocks she laid down in defeat.
�How are we going to sneak back in?� Chris asked.
�I figure we just walk in the front. By then they�ll realize that we were gone so� yeah. What�s the most they can do to us?� she said when Chris gave her a wary look.
He looked at her as she stared up at the sky and was surprised at how beautiful she was; odd how he had never noticed it before. Although she was usually heavily clad in black she always seemed to glow. Her smile alone had the power to brighten the whole room; she never did this often though. Tonight her blonde hair seemed to shine in the moonlight. She looked over at him and raised her eyebrow.
�What are you staring at?�
�Nothing. I was just noticing how beautiful you are.�
Even under the dim light he could see her face turn a deep shade of red. She giggled nervously and brushed a tuff of hair behind her ear. A few more minutes passed before anything else was said.
�So, uh, what are you thinking about?� he asked.
�You.�
�What about me?�
She smiled and a part of him melted. He had the strong urge to kiss her again. He slowly leaned in and she did so as well. His heart started beating faster than he had ever felt it; or at least he thought so. At the last possible second he pulled away.
�I- I�m sorry. I just can�t. I�m not ready,� he said quickly.
She became fidgety and sat up.
�No, don�t worry about it. I understand. Umm, do you just want to go back now?�
�Yeah,� he said standing up.
They walked back to the institution in silence and didn�t say anything after they were caught and escorted back to their rooms.
�So, let me get this straight. You guys were alone, in the middle of the woods, and you couldn�t even kiss her? Man, I�ve been out of the whole sex thing for a while, but damn Chris!� David said before Crystal got to breakfast the next morning.
�No kidding. I mean, if I were her, I would be seriously pissed,� Margaret said.
�I- I� Well, what was I supposed to do? I�m still a little� damaged. I don�t know if I�m ready to move on quite yet.�
�Chris,� Margaret said in an unusually motherly tone. �It�s time for you to move on. You�ve been here for almost a month.�
�You don�t understand how much I loved her. It�s a little hard for me to get over her.�
Crystal walked over with her hair pulled up in the usual ponytail and dark makeup covering her face. She was wearing black pants and an uncharacteristic white shirt. She sat down and immediately began eating. Everyone but Chris was staring at her and soon it became impossible to ignore.
�Ok, what are you all staring at?�
�Oh nothing,� Kandi said innocently.
�Don�t give me that bull shit.�
�Ok ok, Chris told us what happened last night,� Kandi said.
She looked over at Chris who was now looking at the bowl of cereal in front of him in order to avoid eye contact. She got up and took Chris� hand.
�Can we talk?�
He followed her with a sick feeling in his stomach. They walked around a corner and she stopped.
�I didn�t think you�d want to tell them about that,� she said calmly.
�Well, I just needed some advice.�
She smiled. �About what?�
�Well, I really do like you. I needed them to tell me that it�s ok to be over her.�
She leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips. He quickly responded and kissed her back. After what seemed like an eternity she pulled away and walked slyly back into the cafeteria.
The next week passed without further development in Chris� love life. He didn�t understand what went wrong. He thought she actually liked him. Not that he was helping the situation at all. Maybe he scared her away with his battered love past. Oh well. Not that he would ever be able to do anything anyway.
He walked through the hall as calmly as he could and into the men�s restroom where everyone was meeting; with the exception of Kandi. When he walked inside he found everyone standing in a circle apparently awaiting his arrival.
�Well it�s about damn time,� Margaret said.
He made his way into the circle and everyone began talking in hushed whispers.
�How are we going to go about this whole thing? We have to throw her a party. She�s turning eighteen for crying out loud,� David said.
�Since we�ve been reduced to meeting up in restrooms I�d say there�s not much we can do,� Crystal said.
�Do you think the cafeteria people would make her a cake or something?� Chris asked.
�After what Kyle did? Ha, I doubt it. I�d say the best we could do in that department would be to get whatever baked good they have out tomorrow,� Margaret said.
Kyle looked up at the mention of his name but quickly lost interest and went back to staring at the ceiling. David gave him a look of pity and shook his head sadly.
�So is that all we�re going to be able to do? Give her a damn cookie? This is bull shit. They can�t stop us from making her happy, damnit!� Crystal yelled stomping her foot on the ground.
�Keep it down. We don�t want them to know we�re in here,� Margaret said.
�Right. Sorry.�
David sighed and crossed his arms in defeat. �Is that it then? All we�re going to do is give her a lousy baked good and sing to her? If we weren�t in this God-forsaken place we could give her the male stripper that every girl turning eighteen should get.�
�I agree, but there�s nothing we can do,� Margaret said.
The door opened and another patient came inside. This signaled the end of the meeting and everyone went off in their own direction.