Chapter Text
The rain pattered down the window by his room as he sat, his warm cheek cooling against the glass. The city bustled below him as the lights in his room occasionally flickered. He twitched slightly as he rubbed over the bandages on his wrists.
“Mr. Styles? Did you hear me?” A man asked, his voice soft with pity. The boy just nodded, still looking out the window. “It’s Group now, Harry.” The man said again, his voice a little less soft. Harry silently sighed, slowly standing up from his spot on the windowsill. His feet padded against the bland tile floor, the December air raising bumps on his skin from the window.
“Do you know your way, or would you like me to escort you?” The man asked, reciting his words from a well-worn script. Harry said nothing, only stepping past him and through the open door. The hallways were silent save for the occasional whispers from doctors. He stopped in front of a door he knew all too well. Silently, he entered the room, taking a seat furthest away from the door. Just like he did every day at noon. Slowly, more patients filed into the room, sitting down in their usual patterns. A woman in a long white coat sat in a larger chair, a clipboard in her hands.
“Hello, everyone. We have a new patient today, his name is Louis.” The woman gestured to a boy sitting almost directly across the circle of people from Harry, his legs crossed and back slumped in his chair. “Say hello to Louis, everyone.” The woman continued. The patients all muttered an unenthusiastic hello.
“Okay, so yesterday we covered Octavia, Bennett, Sunny, and Naira, today we are going to talk to Kira, Lennon, Cleo, and Harry. Kira, will you start?” The woman said, crossing her legs and looking up attentively at a girl with black hair and tan skin.
“Yes, Dr. Flynn,” Kira said, standing up confidently. “My name is Kira Verplanck and I have NPD, that stands for Narcissistic Personality Disorder.”
“And what does that mean for you?” Dr. Flynn asked, her voice even.
“It means I am great and that I need adoration. But only because I deserve it.” Kira said, her voice loud and carrying.
“It also means that you may have sociopathic tendencies and experience social isolation as well as an excessive need for attention and adoration. Why are you here, Kira?”
“Because I was acting out and getting into trouble so that people would notice me more.”
“And what do you want to achieve here?”
“I want to be able to be better so I can accept failures and be loved for who I naturally am.”
“Perfect, thank you, Kira.” Dr. Flynn said, turning to the next person.
Harry zoned out, staring at the new boy across the circle. It was rare that new people came in, especially ones that looked as perfectly healthy as him. Usually, the people that came had dull eyes or bodies that looked breakable. But, the boy across from him looked like any normal human being.
“Harry? It’s your turn. Would you stand up for us.” The voice of Dr. Flynn broke him from his thoughts. Harry nodded slightly and stood up, shaking his hands out a bit before raising them to his chest. The boy across the circle- Louis- watched quizzically, waiting to see what he would do. Then his hands started moving quickly, forming shapes as he moved his mouth silently. A voice from across the circle spoke. A grown woman, just behind the chairs was watching Harry intently and speaking in time with his movements. Louis slowly realized it was some sort of sign language.
“My name is Harry, I’m Selective Mute and I have PDD or Psychotic Depressive Disorder. That means I have hallucinations and delusions, usually of people or voices saying I have something wrong or telling me I’m worthless. ” The lady spoke.
“And why are you here, Harry?” Dr. Flynn said. The interpreter signed something to Harry and Harry mirrored an answer-back.
“Because I cut my wrists in a suicide attempt.”
“And what do you hope to achieve here?”
“I hope to get better enough to live a relatively normal and happy life.”
“Thank you, Harry. Group is dismissed, you may all go to lunch, I will see you all tomorrow.” Dr. Flynn said, walking to the door and holding it open as the patients all walked out and towards the cafeteria.
Harry lingered behind a few minutes before sneaking back to his room. His appetite had been lacking for the five months he’d been at the hospital. The hallways of the Psych recovery ward were lined with rooms, the doors electronically left open until 8:00 pm every night. Harry had figured out that the windowsill in his room was a blind spot on the security cameras and it was hidden when the door was open. As he walked down the bland hallways, he glanced to all the rooms, counting them just like he did every day. As the rooms went by, he spotted a boy in one, lying on his bed, staring to the ceiling. Harry stopped outside the door, tilting his head in question. He didn’t recognize the boy, but he knew that he would be caught when they did a room check at 12:45. Harry knocked on the door frame, getting the boy’s attention. The boy looked up and Harry recognized him as the new boy - Louis. Harry waved at him, taking out a pad of paper and pen from his pocket, writing quickly before flipping the pad to show it to Louis. Louis raised his eyebrow, and read it aloud.
“If you want to skip lunch, you can come to my room, there's a blind spot by the window where the patrollers won’t see.” Louis was quiet for a minute, then nodded his head and gestured for Harry to lead the way.