"go ahead and cry little girl,
nobody does it like you do"
'in which diego meets a girl with extreme anxiety in a mental asylum in the 60s.'
or
'in which diego hargreeves, the insane, falls in love with cynthia tayl...
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it had been two years and two months since the day cynthia was taken to oak valley institution for the mentally ill and quite frankly she wasn't hating it. free meals, free clothes, free bed. she hadn't really made any friends in the institution but there was a girl who'd arrived a week or two prior called lila who's accent was adored by cynthia. lila couldn't really stand the anxious girl.
but it was on that faithful day of september 1st 1963 when the hottest piece of ass walked into the common room, right as cynthia was coincidentally in a daze whilst staring at the very door he entered through. she'd read about this mystery man in the newspaper before, but she never thought she'd get to meet him. and here of all places? extraordinary.
when he was dragged begrudgingly into the room (much like cynthia two years prior) in his cute little white outfit cynthia couldn't help but stare. although it was a bit of a distant and weary stare, she was still staring. the man eyed her confusedly and she took her eye off him for a moment. the doctors dragging him in finally let go and he sighed in relief and shook them off his arms slightly. he glanced around nervously as all eyes were on him. he looked too scared to even move.
she doesn't know why she did it but cynthia decided to speak up, as she felt as though she was the sanest person in the room. "hey, my name's cynthia. you must be diego, right?" cynthia stood up and stuck her hand out for him to shake. as she did so he took this as a chance to look the girl up and down very quickly. she didn't look to be yielding any weapons and the loose threads on her linen pants were a sign of anxiousness, diego thought she might've been some type of hippie from the way she dressed. she was harmless.
everyone watched the interaction, too scared to even say a word to the person sitting next to them. diego was hesitant and continued to stare at her hand. cynthia took his hesitation as an opportunity to ogle him back. she remembered reading the newspaper article that had included his mugshot, name and place of arrest. when she first saw his mugshot she found herself appalled to be thinking of this criminal as attractive so she shut the paper and forgot about him. but now that he was in front of her she couldn't resist herself, blame her wandering eye. her totally real and existing wandering eye.
she took notice of the scar that ran down the right side of his face and made a mental note to not bring it up without being prompted. or to stare at it for prolonged periods of time. although she couldn't help but be curious. she wanted to know what had happened but would never ever have the guts to ask what had happened. maybe it would come up in conversation soon, if he shakes her fucking hand that is.
"i can guarantee you, right here and right now, that i am not even half as crazy as the lunatics in here. i'll probably keep you sane! oh, only if you want me to of course." cynthia's arm was beginning to really hurt and so she rolled her eyes and switched arms so that diego would get her point and shake her hand so as to not embarrass the girl. he didn't get her point and so she eyed him as if to say 'shake my fucking hand... handsome'
as if he read her mind, diego shook her hand and sat down in the seat next to the one cynthia was originally sitting in. she smiled slightly in triumph, turned around graciously, and moved to sit down. once she sat down she opened her mouth to speak to him in more confidentiality. without everyone's prying eyes. but the workers walked in and distributed pills to people who required them.
cynthia was included in the long list of people. diego watched her wince whilst taking her pills, she was always too shy to ask for water from the nurses, she knew she'd get it but the thought of asking the nurses for anything made her stomach churn. and so she endured the dryness in her throat all for some dopamine. typical.
one of the senior staff members then announced that everyone should make their way to the tables as it was time for arts and crafts. fucking great! cynthia believes that arts and crafts are for children. but then again this was a whole building full of adults being babied so i guess it was fitting enough.
as she stood up to make her way to the tables she motioned for diego to follow her. with a hesitant glance around the room, as if he didn't know who she was gesturing at, he stood up to follow her and sat down across from her. cynthia knew that this was the best table as you could angle yourself behind the wall and speak to your arts and crafts mate without facing repercussions. and it was right next to the window that you could look out and long for the taste of freedom again.
"so... cynthia, what brings you here?" diego had asked the girl once he sat down in the seat opposite her, cutting through her thoughts. cynthia was in the middle of grabbing paper in order to make her signature origami swan when diego asked her this. it seemed so casual, like they were old friends who had met up accidentally at the bar and wanted to catch up, not like they were patients at an institution for the mentally ill. cynthia put the powder blue paper down in front of her and thought of how to answer the question.
"it's a long story, diego. i'm not sure you'd want to know the whole thing." diego took her hint and decided to not intrude on her issues any longer. cynthia smiled gratefully as he grabbed a piece of paper and asked the slightly younger girl to teach him origami. and so with some fleeting eye contact and shy laughs, cynthia taught diego how to make an origami swan and he treasured the look on her face when he got a step right. he thought her supposed innocence and naivety was fucking adorable.
:･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧
AUTHORS NOTE... chapter one and they're already being couple goals?! wtf is that all about lol? do not fret though my dear readers for it is not that simple..... ily all! <3 :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧ jess
