where he goes I follow {jeremiah. open.}

[jake]

with your halo slipping down
to choke you now

Jeremiah listened silently as she said her part. Though simple and sweet it delivered its message and he grinned, cracking one eye open to look at her. She hadn't called him a fanatical Jesus freak like so many others would, nor had she rejected his beliefs or called him a nutjob. She actually seemed to understand him or at least, thats what he thought. He was far too naive and trusting of others to question the genuinity of her faith. Besides, he would rather let himself believe that she really was a follower of God opposed to a convincing performer. He chose to look for the good in everyone he met and a lot of times, thats the only part of them he'd allow himself to see. It was better that way. There was, however, one exception and that exception was anyone possessed by a demon. There wasn't even a microscopic spec of good left in them anymore. They were no longer human and they needed to be eradicated for the sake of everyone around them. If the person did happen to survive one of his exorcisms then maybe, just maybe, there would be a chance that they could be saved. A very small chance.

"Amen," he finished, turning to face his fellow Christian. She was so delicate in appearance and that oversized sweater seemed to emphasize her fragility even more. He still couldn't imagine how somebody so innocent, or.. seemingly innocent and nice could end up in an environment like Lucid Manor. It must have been some mistake. There was nothing about her that screamed troubled or even hinted toward unsoundness of mind, in fact she looked well. Happy. Harmless. Like a little lamb among hungry, rabid wolves that could eat her alive. His instincts made him want to protect her, keep her safe from all the unpredictable feral beasts that prowled the hospital corridors in search of a victim. Images of Dominic Graves flashed through his head along with several other possible threats. It was a miracle she wasn't someone's prey already. "Its been a long time since somebody's actually prayed with me," he told her, thinking back to the dinner table at home, each of his family members with their heads bowed as they professed their gratitude. Well, every member of the family except for his brother Jed who always had to play the rebel. Even though Jeremiah felt like his parents left him for dead the togetherness was still something he missed. Jeremiah's eyes widened when he realized he still hadn't let go of Charlotte's hand. He released it quickly, shifting awkwardly as that slight blush resurfaced on his face.

[charlotte]

I will follow him, follow him wherever he may go.
There isn't an ocean too deep or a mountain to high it can keep, keep me away.

[/url][/size]
Her part was short and sweet and the young woman supposed that was essentially who she was as well. She had closed her eyes as she said her prayer and the young girl kept her head bowed as she said her few words and the little lady glanced over at Jeremiah when she heard him say no more but “amen”. The little lady smiled and she cheerfully looked back over at him. Much like Jeremiah, Charlotte’s problems were hidden right beneath the surface of her sweet demeanor and gleeful smile.

Charlotte wasn’t hit hard with delusions nor was she exceedingly disturbed. However, when she was provoked or when she was threatened she got dangerous. She would get obsessive and all around frightening. It was like a switch someone could hit and when she felt as though someone would be taking her most loved person from her. Charlotte loved Jeremiah already—or at least in her twisted logic she knew that they were supposed to be together. That was why Sergei hadn’t rescued her. Charlotte would of course remember Sergei and to her they had at one point been an actual couple but he was no longer important. Jeremiah was now important.

Charlotte chirped, “Amen.” When he looked at her as well she watched him and the young girl’s dark hair tumbled over her shoulder. Since she had been put into the manor her hair had started to straighten out. She wished that she had her curling iron because now she wanted to look prettier than she normally did. The girl was a small and delicate little creature and the fact that someone—especially someone as delusional as Jeremiah would want to protect her. “Well,” she started to say a bit slower. “I can eat with you more if you’d like to?” she was certain that he would want her to as now as they had both formed a rapport with each other.

When she noticed he was blushing and had taken all but forever to let go of her hand she curled her hand into a ball and her small fingers were gently placed in the palm of her hand. Charlotte moved a little closer to Jeremiah. She had meal before her and even though she was hungry she didn’t know what to eat first. “Ummm….” She murmured softly. She decided she would wait for him to eat first and then just go after what he had but on her plate.

The ballerina took the chance to do what she did best besides dancing, talking. She had always been a chatterbox and during dinner her family either spoke about her big brother Franklin or they didn’t want to talk at all. “They took away my toe shoes,” she hadn’t been wearing her shoes just a pair of socks and she wiggled her toes. She had such small feet too—Sergei had called them perfect. “But I’m sure I’ll get them back.” Charlotte obsessed over ballet. She continued to prattle on, “I mean I can’t dance without them but I mean I can but it’s a lot harder for me to do and I love to do it. But there’s not really a place to practice around here…” She blinked and mused over that. She stopped however when she became curious. “What do you like doing?”
[/blockquote][/blockquote][/font]

[jake]

with your halo slipping down
to choke you now

She wanted to eat with him again? Well that definately made Jeremiah's day. He had just made a friend who could tolerate his religious fanaticism and, in a way, she actually seemed to encourage it. "I'd.. I'd like that," he responded, somewhat surprised. "A lot." His grin faltered though when a thought struck him. There was no way a girl like Charlotte would stay a patient for very long. Sure, she'd only just checked in but he doubted she would be forced to stick around for more than a few weeks or so, if that. The doctors couldn't legally hold someone so functional and her family probably really missed her. From what he'd seen of Charlotte so far he didn't think anyone could abandon her here the way his family had him. His mother did visit him every chance she got but he had himself convinced that she didn't really care about him. If she did care, she would have told Dr. Lucid he was fine and demanded he be released immediately.

He peered down at the selection of food on his tray. Milk, an apple, a sandwich of some sort, the pudding.. He wanted to eat the pudding first but figured she'd think he was silly if he did so he picked up the sandwich and took a bite. He wasn't picky about what he ate but its tastelessness made him want to go on another one of those "holy fasts" he was so infamous for. He opened the milk and took a sip, part of him expecting it to be expiried or something. He quirked an eyebrow when she suddenly mentioned the staff taking away her shoes. Jeremiah cracked a soft smirk. "If it makes you feel better they took mine too and everything else," he told her, assuming she was talking about the same regular footwear everyone else wore. When she went on to say that she wouldn't be able to dance without them he felt kind of foolish. He blinked when she suddenly wanted to know what he liked to do. "Me? Uh.." He brought a finger to his chin and took a second to think. There were a lot of things he liked to do but as a high-profile resident of a psychiatric facility he didn't really have the privilage to do much. Only one thing came to mind. "I like to help people." He lowered the sandwich from his mouth and turned to face the girl beside him, more interested in hearing about her than prattling on about himself. "But.. you can dance?"

[charlotte]

I will follow him, follow him wherever he may go.
There isn't an ocean too deep or a mountain to high it can keep, keep me away.

[/url][/size]
He said that he would like it! That really meant that he wanted to spend his free time with her. She excitedly watched him with her almond shaped eyes and nodded, “I’d really, really, really like to.” The little ballerina nodded as she did want to spend more time with him. He had been so nice to her how could she not want to spend time with him? She knew that her family didn’t want her. Her family hated her, they hated her but she was certain that he would love her. Charlotte bat her eyes—he said that he a lot after that and she watched him frown.

She caught it immediately and the young girl frowned as well. She reached out to him and placed her small hand on his shoulder. “Are you all right? You have such a sad face,” Charlotte tilted her chin up and she slowly scooted closer to him. Ever the empathetic sweetheart she wanted to find out what made her Jeremiah sad and how she could possibly fix it.

That only lasted for so long though since she saw him look at his tray and she looked at her own but kept him in her peripheral vision. He bit into his sandwich—Charlotte had gotten chicken—just a leg and a bit of chicken breast but it was what she had been handed. Charlotte had been held up since none of the servers could help her which had left her stranded. She picked up the leg and ate some. When he reached out for his milk she in turn picked up her carton as well and drank. Milk was good for the body and she had been excited to get it, not that they hadn’t given it to her with all of her meals so far, she just enjoyed the way it tasted. She really wished that they had strawberry milk.

“Oh?” she questioned with a smile as she held onto her carton. A smile cracked across her features. “I thought maybe you liked wearing scrubs,” she could be shockingly witty if she wanted to be. Charlotte was by no means academically gifted but she was clever when it came to people and giving them what they wanted. She could easily satisfy them.

He liked to help people, “Oh.” She smiled and her thin eyebrows knit towards each other. “You could help me,” she ate some more of her chicken and the girl nodded. She was a troubled girl after all and if he was willing to help and give her attention she would happily take it. Jeremiah wanted to talk about her. He was definitely interested she was sure of it. “I’ve always danced,” she nodded. Charlotte’s eyes lit up when she talked about dancing. “Since I was three, I love ballet. My parents think it’s kind of stupid,” she shrugged. They thought she was too infatuated with it. “But I love dancing, even though I don’t have my shoes, I could still do it just not as well.” She shook her head and she ate some more of her chicken. “I love it.”[/blockquote][/blockquote][/font]

[jake]

with your halo slipping down
to choke you now

Jeremiah smiled half-heartedly when he felt Charlotte's gentle hand on his shoulder. The shift in his facial expression was subtle and he hadn't expected her to catch it, but she did, and now she was asking him if he was alright. The young man nodded, eyes temporarily diverting themselves toward the other end of the yard as he shrugged. "Its just.. I know you won't be around for much longer. There's nothing wrong with you and you're so nice." He returned his gaze to the girl sitting beside him. Such an innocent face, such a sweet saccharine voice.. These were not the traits of life-long mental patient and he knew that. He'd have to say good bye to her soon, he was almost sure of it. Hopefully it wouldn't be too soon though. "Someone like you must have a family that cares.. one that'll make sure you get out, and the doctors.. they can't keep you here if you aren't sick." Despite thinking he'd have to lose a friend he'd only just made, Jeremiah was still happy for her. He'd spent nearly four months cooped up in this institution and that was no way to live. Especially for a person who didn't belong here. He wholeheartedly believed that he wasn't supposed to a mental patient, either.

Her witty remark made him snicker. He liked wearing scrubs? Absolutely not. They signified how "sick" he supposedly was. "I'm not much for fashion but these are not my style." The clothes he'd worn in the outside world, his actual clothes - they were expensive. Despite the virtue of poverty his father invested a lot of money in making his children look "presentable." Jeremiah was modest. Clothes were just clothes to him and he could care less about how he looked but his father was all about appearances. Look perfect, act perfect, be perfect. That's what he expected from Jeremiah and every other member of the Andrews family including his wife, lest they make him and his precious church look bad.

"Sure," he said immediately. "I'd love to, anytime you ever need me." The high profile patient grinned. Helping people was probably the closest thing he had to a "normal" passion. He liked to think he was empathetic toward the everyday struggles of the inferrior mortals and maybe he really did care.. or, maybe he had only convinced himself that he cared because thats what angels were supposed to do. What Christ would have wanted him to do and it made him feel fullfilled, useful, needed. He saw himself as a freelance superhero at the service of whoever happened to need him at the time. He couldn't help them all though, not everybody. There was one person he couldn't save and that was himself even if he did choose not to aknowledge it.

He watched the way her almond eyes lit up when she talked about a passion that was hers. Ballet dancing.. it seemed so appropriate for someone like her. So fitting. He could almost picture her performing something like a pirouette. "Stupid?" His face scrunched in confusion. How could her parents think something like that was stupid? He didn't know anything about dancing but he was sure it must have taken a lot of discipline and dedication to master. Jeremiah set the milk down on his tray before taking another bite from his sandwich. "I don't see why they'd think that's.. stupid. I don't think its stupid." He paused for a moment before smiling softly. "I've never met a ballerina before."

[charlotte]

I will follow him, follow him wherever he may go.
There isn't an ocean too deep or a mountain to high it can keep, keep me away.

[/url][/size]
He smiled and she smiled. Charlotte read people easily and the young girl couldn’t help but pick up on people. The little lady kept her hand on him and she softly rubbed her hand against his shoulder. Charlotte titled her chin upwards and the girl listened to him. She couldn’t help but feel a bit sad at what he pointed out to her. She knew that she wasn’t supposed to be there. When he turned back to her she stared up at him. She wished that she had a family that cared. She wished that she had a reason to leave. Charlotte would refuse to leave. She wouldn’t leave him. She wouldn’t leave him ever.

She shook her head, “But I’m not supposed to be here.” She was supposed to be some place different. Her eyebrows knit towards each other and the girl shook her head, “I don’t belong here at all.” Charlotte wasn’t supposed to be at Lucid Manor. She was supposed to be free. The girl wasn’t sick she didn’t have absolutely any problems. She didn’t understand why he was supposed to be there. She didn’t understand why he was there at all. She was supposed to be outside and she wished he was out too.

What would it be like if the both of them were free? She withdrew her hand and she picked up her milk once more before taking a drink. She lowered the carton and giggled. “No?” She shrugged her shoulders. She bet that he looked really nice in regular clothing. Appearances in the Fujimoto family was concerned with how the others saw them. Charlotte had to look sweet and the girl couldn’t look revealing in any way shape or form. she was really certain that her big brother only had button down shirts and dark wash jeans and that was his clothes that he tended to wear when he was just relaxing. “Ah,” she smiled and the girl tugged at her sweater sleeve gently.

Eating some more at her lunch she listened to him. He said sure! She was certain that they would be very good friends. The little lady nodded and smiled when he grinned. “Yes, I think I might need you.” Charlotte knew that she would make up excuses to see him now. She was pretty certain that he would want to see her more often. The dancer moved closer to her new squeeze. The petite girl reached out to him once more and she clutched the sleeve of his scrubs and ate some more. Charlotte craved contact nearly as much as she craved attention.

Charlotte really loved dancing and she wished that she had her toe shoes. Charlotte missed dancing. The ballerina heard him say that he didn’t think she was stupid or that her dancing was stupid! She smiled widely and the girl frowned, “My parents don’t like art too much.” Her mom thought it would have been a quick passing stage and she’d move onto something “better” like being in math tournaments or something like an instrument like the violin. Jeremiah didn’t think it was stupid. She cheerfully nodded and the girl watched him smile. Charlotte smiled, “Well…Thank you.” He never met a ballerina before huh? “I’ll dance for you some time if you’d like.”
[/blockquote][/blockquote][/font]

[jake]

with your halo slipping down
to choke you now

"I know you don't," he told Charlotte after she had insisted that she didn't belong in Lucid Manor. Jeremiah's eyes met her's. "I believe you." How someone as seemingly normal as Charlotte could get committed to a high-security asylum was a mystery to him. At that very moment he felt akin to her, like he could really relate. From day one of his stay here he found himself telling people the very same thing. The only difference was that nobody ever told him what he wanted to hear, that they believed him. That he was right and he was sane and he needed to be released as soon as possible. Instead he'd get things along the lines of "yeah you do" or the ever frequent "that's what they all say." It was the most frustrating thing in the world sometimes but he wouldn't let their remarks discourage him. He wondered if maybe Charlotte would understand since she seemed to be in a similar predicament. He released a quiet sigh. "I shouldn't be here either."

Charlotte said she thought she might need him. What she didn't know was that in a way he'd need her too. Just as much as she'd need him and possibly even more. Jeremiah needed people to need him due to some weird repressed deep-seeded feeling of inadequacy. The delusions of grandeur masked this unpleasant feeling so he wouldn't have to face it, and being at the service of those in need only helped to fuel his messiah complex even more. The high profile patient grinned. The girl beside him brought herself closer and his eyes widened when she clutched the sleeve of his scrub. He couldn't help but tense up a little at first, though it wasn't out of discomfort. It was the unconcious reaction of a guy who wasn't used to being this close to a pretty girl. Especially one he'd only just met. It had been different when they held hands in prayer and when she touched his shoulder in a manner he perceived as comforting. In his former life on the outside he didn't have too many opportunities to get friendly with the ladies. School, family, and the congregation had been his biggest concerns and they kept him occupied which was what his dad had intended. He never learned how to flirt nor did he know how to pick up on flirtatious gestures unless they were obvious. Most of the girls he ever associated with were members of his father's church anyway, so they were just as chaste and naive as he was.

"You.. you will?" He hadn't expected Charlotte to offer to dance for him so when she did he found himself a little surprised. At first he didn't know how to respond and his words seemed to betray him but eventually he smiled softly and spoke. "I'd like that."

[charlotte]

I will follow him, follow him wherever he may go.
There isn't an ocean too deep or a mountain to high it can keep, keep me away.

[/url][/size]
“Oh thank goodness,” she sighed as her shoulders dropped. The young woman placed her hand over her heart and the girl sighed quietly. The young woman’s eyebrows knit towards each other and the girl looked up at him once more. “Nobody believes me, they really think that I should be here,” she shook her head and he said he believed her. Charlotte frowned softly at him and the girl realized that he shouldn’t be there either. She didn’t know she was currently sitting next to a murderer. Charlotte tucked her dark hair back and the girl’s shoulders dropped. The young girl couldn’t help but think that he should be free. He was sweet. He shouldn’t be there. She glanced up at him and the girl bit down gently on her lower lip as she nodded.

He didn’t belong there. He didn’t belong there—he was just so sweet. Charlotte shook her head as her dark almond shaped eyes watched him. “I don’t understand why I’m here,” they were afraid that she wouldn’t be stable and would possibly be dangerous. Dangerous to who? She wasn’t dangerous at all. Charlotte frowned once more and she sighed quietly as her shoulders dropped. Her eyes closed and she bit down gently on her lower lip.

Charlotte glanced up at him and the girl rubbed at her arms. Charlotte needed him. Jeremiah was just someone she had found if she had found anybody else she would need them but she honestly believed that he was the one person she would be with and would help her. She could have found Dominic first or Sid she would probably believe that they were supposed to be together. Nobody would separate her from Jeremiah—she wouldn’t let someone separate her from her other half ever again.

She felt him stiffen and the girl leaned towards him and the girl rubbed her cheek up against his arm. Charlotte didn’t know he was naïve as he was but she honestly didn’t care. She just wanted to be close to him. Charlotte closed her eyes and the girl touch was exceedingly important to her. People being close to her wasn’t something she had been used to when she was at home so she was overcompensating. Charlotte’s eyes closed and she glanced up at him once more. She wasn’t really flirting no now she was claiming. Jeremiah was her man and even though nobody else was out there besides the guards she was sending across a signal. She moved away quickly—in case anybody piped up. She smiled and went back to her lunch.

Charlotte nodded. “Yes.” She ate some more of her chicken and the girl swallowed happily. She glanced back at him. “Of course I will.” She heard him say that he’d like that and she flushed softly. “Cool,” Charlotte glanced back up at him as she bit down on her lower lip.
[/blockquote][/blockquote][/font]