The Institute (Frerard)

Downtown

"Where is she?" Frank sighed. The straight-laced receptionist pointed him down the hall. Frank headed down and never looked back. The woman behind the desk wore a business suit and glasses. She didn't laugh at Frank's jokes, in fact it didn't seem like she could smile at all.

Frank stopped in front of the steel door labelled "Vlasic" and sighed again. The security guard sat outside the door punched in the numbers and the door opened. Nadia sat on the floor in the centre of the room, in front of a sketchbook. Paper, crayons and blunt pencils littered the floor around her.

"Hey Nadia," Frank started. "How are you?"

Nadia slowly raised her head and smiled. "I don't know, Frank. I've been feeling a little...psychopathic" she said casually.

Frank stiffened and Nadia laughed. She went back to her drawing and Frank walked over slowly. He sat down next to her, albeit at a distance, and looked at her artwork. She was drawing a werewolf and was sketching at Gerard-level, which in Frank's mind was beyond amazing.

"You draw really well," Frank commented, pointing to the sketchpad. "Can I see anything else?"

Nadia drew in on herself and clutched the book close, her hair flying. "No!" she hissed. "It's not finished! Don't look!"

Frank averted his eyes and Nadia calmed down. She put the sketchpad down and began drawing again, growling whenever Frank looked. Frank studied the room to pass the time. He noticed the padded floor, the single bed in the corner, the clutter of crayons by the door. The thing that stood out the most was the white. White walls, white floors, everything was the same shade of bleach white.

Frank could understand if the walls were a soft color, perhaps light blue, but he didn't understand the white. White was portrayed as a 'calming color' but only in small doses. To Frank, the white made everything seem cold and sterile. White wasn't calming at all. Quite the opposite. The walls were maybe a contribution to added madness.

"I'm done," Nadia said suddenly, breaking through Frank's thoughts. "You can look."

Frank leant over and studied Nadia's werewolf. He noticed the close attention to detail and the way it's eyes appeared to glow. If tilted the right way, the werewolf could be leaping from the page. "This is absolutely amazing, Nad." Frank told Nadia.

"Nadia," Nadia replied sharply.

"What?" Frank asked.

"You said Nad. It's Nadia. Only Nadia. You are not my friend," Nadia said coldly. "Until we are friends - if we are ever friends -, you call me Nadia."

Frank nodded. "Ah. Ok. So what do you want to do?" Frank asked, looking around.

"Take me to Fionnuala?" Nadia asked. "I want to see her."

Frank shook his head. "Not allowed," he stated. "You have to stay here."

Nadia growled low in her throat and stood suddenly. She turned on her heel and practically flew to the bed. "I HATE YOU!" she screamed, kicking out.

Frank remained sitting. "You don't hate me, do you?" he asked affectionately. Nadia growled back and Frank chuckled. "Someone's grumpy today...."

Nadia jumped up from the bed and was beside Frank in an instant, hands around his throat. "Do. Not. Mock. Me. Human," she growled. "Understood?" Frank nodded quickly as her fingers tightened.

The door banged open and the security guard barreled in, his gun out. 'where did he get that?' Frank thought vaguely, as Nadia leapt off of him. She smiled, showing all her teeth, and retreated. The guard pointed his gun at her until she was at the other side of the room and sitting.

"You ok, buddy?" the guard asked, offering Frank his hand. Frank took the hand and let himself be hauled to his feet. "I'm good." he said, looking up. The man was at least 6'2, making him tower over Frank's tiny frame.

Nodding, the guard walked out the door backwards, his eyes still on Nadia's still form. "Just...make noise if you need?" he reminded, leaving the door open. Frank nodded even though he was out of sight.

'Make noise'? Not yell. Make noise. So the guard knew there would be a situation where Frank could only make noise? Just how dangerous was Nadia?

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Fionnuala was finally out of the hospital and back at Glenside. She'd managed to get herself a fan club of sorts. They hovered around her and asked a lot of questions, mostly about Nadia.

The morning routine in the food hall was interrupted on a Wednesday morning. Two nurses walked in, either side of a new patient. He had messy black hair and eyeliner. He had a node ring and many visible tattoos.

Fionnuala recognized him and it wasn't the voices this time.

The man smirked around at everyone and waved. "I'm back!" he said, laughing manically.

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ill bring attention to the fact that on every chapter there is a gif/picture

ill watch in glee and you stumble backward in time

-steve