Cole sat in his brown, creaky chair, eyes flicking around the group, silently anaylzing the bunch.
There were six other teens, all ranging in age. Four of them were girls, and there were only two other guys. He stared them down, guessing why they were here.
The girl sitting across from him had long black hair and thick eyeliner. Her hands clasped eachother as she looked down, a glare lighting up her face. She wore a Black Veil Brides band shirt and skinny jeans, matching her black converse that pointed inward. Cole guessed she was here for the same reason he was. He quickly looked away, to look at the boy sitting next to her. He was about his size in height, but he was heavily overweight. His Legend of Zelda T-Shirt stretched over his stomach, and he wore grey sweatpants. He looked uncomfortable to be here, and stared down and his running shoes, arms crossed. He's obviously here for his weight problems, the amateur analyst thought, a small knowing smirk forming as he looked at the boy next to the bigger one. Tousled hair, messy clothes, twitchy movements. Cole guessed he was here for anxiety or panic, and felt slightly nervous at the young man's jittery demeanor.
This little game continued until he paused, stopping at the girl next to him, on the right. She was a few heads shorter than he, looking forward with a bored, slightly pained expression. Her dark brown hair that reminded him in color of the real cocoa, rich and exotic, was tossed up into a loose messy bun on her head, and she wore a large pastel pink sweater that sat softly over her black-legging clad legs and hid all off her hands except her fingertips. He gazed at her, soaking up every detail of her face. Her long eyelashes, her warm brown eyes, the soft outline of her cheekbones, her lush pink lips that were almost naturally pouty. He licked his lips nervously, opening his mouth to speak when a voice sliced in, causing him to stop short.
"Hello folks! Nice to see you all here today. I'm Dr. Patterson, your therapist." An older man with white hair and silver wire frame glasses smiled. Cole grimaced slightly, gazing at him with a furrowed brow. Dr. Patterson looked sort of like an older Steve Jobs, complete with a black turtleneck and wiry frame that made appear he should be running, not aiding messed up teens. "You're all here today because all of you have problems you'd like to get off your chest. But please, introduce yourself to the group, starting with Maggy." Dr. Steve-Jobs said calmly, gesturing at the girl in the Black Veil Brides tee.
Maggy stood and stuffed her hands in her pockets, staring hard at the wall behind Cole. "Hey, I'm Magedaline, but for the love of God call me Maggy. I'm seventeen, and I'm here because I have 'Daddy issues.'" She said sarcastically, sitting back down and her jaw jumping in anger. Cole cocked an eyebrow. Big Boy stood up nervously, pufffy hands limp at his side.
"I'm Fred. I'm sixteen. I'm here for self-esteem issues about my body image." His introduction was rushed, and his pudgy cheeks were aflame with embarassment, and he sat quickly, the chair creaking under him.The twitchy kid stood up next.
"I'm Steve. Eighteen. Here for part of my drug rehab." He muttered, tousled black hair head bowed as he returned to his seat. A skittish girl with long ash blond hair stood up next, picking up a whiteboard from underneath her seat and she uncapped her Expo marker, scribbling onto it before flipping it over, holding it shakily for all of the room to read.
I'm Emily. I'm sixteen, and I'm here because of my issues with being bullied and mute.
Next was a normal looking girl Cole had paid much attention to who wore a GI Joe T-shirt and skinny jeans. "Hey, I'm Lexy. I'm sixteen. I'm here because I'm being treated for depression." She grinned breezily, but her blue eyes looked distant and pained. Cole shifted, watching her sit and distant eyes drift off, smile dissolving as she dimmed from her fake cheeriness.
Cole eagerly snapped is attention to the soft girl next to him. She took a breath and rose with a small smile, tugging at the sleeves of her sweater.
"Hey. I'm Reese, I'm seventeen, and I came here because I'm upset. I'm being treated with leukemia." She said a little bit softly, the corners of her eyes pinching slightly. Cole's eyes widened and he bit his lip, his hand tightening to a loose fist. Leukemia? That was a cancer! Jesus... He realized it was his turn, and he rose, clearing his throat.
"I'm Cole, and I'm eighteen. I'm being treated for depression, suicidal thoughts and actions." He said, his voice cracking at the word "suicidal". He glanced at Reese from the corner of his eye, and say that she was gazing at him, warm eyes mildly concerned, her brow furrowed. His cheeks were heated and he reseated, not meeting her eyes. He didn't even bother paying attention to the last girl's introduction (was her name Tina? Or Tanja?).
"How encouraging. Well, welcome all! For today's group therapy session, first everyone's going to get a nametag, and they will put a nickname on it. Let it be anything- even negative one's!" Patterson clapped, and a thin stack of sticker nametags were passed around, and eveyone received a black sharpie. Cole looked at his with a cocked eyebrow. What would he call himself? He glanced back at Reese, who looked at the nametag in her lap and bit her thumbnail in concentration. He grinned a bit before staring back at his, his hand uncapping the marker and scribbling down his nickname.
"Alright everyone, let's see!" The therapist chirped. Meggy's was hard to read because she had written so small, but it looked like Mortcian's Daughter Meg. Fred's was Fat Fred, then there was Strung-Out Steve, Franky's Girl, Loo, and Tiny Tina. Cole looked at Reese's and smiled. Ree.
"Now, please discuss why you chose this nickname." Was the next command. It was quiet at first, then the chatter began. Meg had used a BVB's song in hers. Emily called herself Franky's Girl because her mother used to sing her Frank Sinatra's "Emily", he had read. Cole turned to Reese and saw her smiling and quietly speaking to Strung-Out Steve. Awkwardly he turned away, looking at his dark jeans when he felt a tap of his shoulder. He turned to meet deliciously warm burgandy eyes gazing at him.
"Hi." She said, her voice a musical lilt that remind him of Spring.
"Hey." He replied, his voice sounding smooth and deep in comparison.
"I'm Reese. But you can call me Ree." Her lips moved upwards. The young man was mesmerized by her warmth that touched something cold and empty.
"I'm Cole. But please don't call me Co-Co," He smiled lopsidedly, revealing a little groove of a dimple as he pointed to his nametag. "My mom called me that whan I was really small, and that's the only nickname I could come up with." He internally smacked himself upside the head. He was incredibly unoriginal.
But Ree giggled softly behind her hand, and her smile finally touched her eyes. "Well, darn. I was hoping I could call you such a cute nickname." She jested gently. Cole play pouted and turned away with a little huff.
"If you do, I'll won't be your friend!" He whined nasally like little kids often do. Ree put both of her girly hands to her mouth and laughed. But then Emily tapped on Ree's shoulder , her whiteboard tucked under her arm, and then she turned and conversed with the shy, muted girl. And for the first time in a long time, Cole's chest didn't hurt when he took a breath in.
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A/N: Phew! Get used to long chapters, because I am just totally infatuated with Co-Co and Ree! They're so adorable! If you have any questions about the other characters, leave them in the comments, and I'll try and answer it.
Hugs and Kisses! -HrtsAMss
