Chapter 24:

*LUNA'S POV:

Walking down the hallway with Dr. Collins, I flipped through the pages of my journal and saw the respective amount of notes. "Sorry for not branching out as much yesterday. Nerves got the best of me after Jeremy's outburst."

"No need to apologize, it's completely understandable feeling that way after being exposed to one of your firsts." Dr. Collins commented. "Find some grounding once in a while, make yourself secure and then take in surroundings. Observe behaviors, comments, movements. So let's say for today, start off with Eddie and acquaintances, then slowly work your way around."

"Okay,"

"Always remember that the guards and nurses are around. They'll help you in case anything happens. By the looks of it, I'm pretty sure those boys would end up saving you in a heartbeat." she winked.

"I can save myself." I stated, making it clear.

"Good, you retaliated." she grinned. "That's what I like to hear. A powerful female who doesn't need much help. I'll be on my way now. Come back to the office when dinner is over."

Nodding and watching her turn the corner, I took a deep breath, opened the doors to the cafeteria, and scanned around the room for familiarity. I saw a few I recognized but instincts looked for Eddie. He was next in line to receive his food while Wesley and Damon were further back. I lapped around the various tables before going to sit down at the one we were at yesterday.

"Hello," I said, sitting down.

"Hey, I was looking for you." Eddie said. "Want any of this?"

I glanced at his tray. Meatloaf? Probably one of the worst meals. "Um, no thanks. I already ate. . ." I giggled.

"Oh, lucky you." he rolled his eyes, poking the mystery meat with his fork.

"Don't do that. You'll make it angry." Damon said, setting his tray down and taking his usual seat, followed by Wesley.

Two new faces appeared and sat down at the table. One boy and one girl. "Oh, hello," the girl smiled, "I'm Holly, and you are?"

"I'm Luna." I smiled back.

"That's nice. I see you found yourself a. . .lovely. . .group of boys here, huh?" she sarcastically said.

"I'll have you know that Luna is in love with me." Damon scoffed.

Eddie poked at the inside of his mouth with his tongue, glaring at Damon. Apparently it wasn't hard for Damon or Wesley to put two and two together the other day. Eddie later telling me that the secret was safe with them. Damon, however, liked to push buttons and tease, so he's been taking advantage of the secret by making comments like that.

Holly laughed. "Yeah, I'm sure she is. Sleepy pants over here is Jason."

"Hi," I heard him mumble from under his arms.

"Insomniac," Holly whispered, explaining his haggard appearance. "Well, he's making himself one because when he does sleep he gets nightmares and violently sleepwalks. We've tried everything to help. Nothing works."

Don't worry, I'm fine, Jason yawned, and the subject was changed. The table talked around for a bit like yesterday. Everyone revealed more information about themselves in a bonding-like manner, so I learned more about Damon, Wesley, and even Jason. Eddie wasn't talkative but attentive.

Twenty minutes passed, which meant I would probably have to start socializing. I excused myself and began working my way around the different tables. I'm not the best at talking with people my own age. I wasn't outgoing growing up, but I'm trying to break out of my shell. I'm hoping that I'm not too awkward starting these conversations. I warmed up a bit after talking to a few people. Some were a bit quiet and kept their answers short. Others talked your ear off. I talked to a girl with anorexia that was proudly eating some of her side dishes. She's been doing so well and I'm astounded by her progress.

I scanned around the cafeteria and found the familiar blonde haired boy I talked to the other day. He was leaning against the wall, gazing out of the window next to him. He was friendly the other day, why not talk to him again? "Cody?" I asked, hoping it was the right boy.

"Ah, hey, how you doing?" he smirked, nodding for me to come closer.

"Talking around with everyone. What are you doing?"

"Looking out the window and wishing I wasn't in this hell hole."

"Oh, come on. Don't say that." I giggled, "It can't be that bad."

"Yeah, says you. You can leave whenever you want."

"You can too if you try your best to progress with whatever you're in here for." I shrug.

"I have IED. You know, intermittent explosive disorder."

"I would've never guessed."

"Because you haven't done anything to piss me off yet."

"Let's hope I don't." I was about to say goodbye, but I heard a scream from the back of the cafeteria. A fight broke out between two girls. All the guards and nurses immediately ran to break it up. I took off to go assist, but Cody grabbed my wrist and pulled me back against the wall. He stood in front of me with his hands placed on either side of my head.

"Since people don't like to piss me off, I usually get what I want." he snickered. "You're probably scared of me because I told you I have IED. . .and that the slightest thing you do could possibly get someone put into the ICU."

"I'm not afraid." I sternly said, ducking under his arms. He grabbed me again and this time his arms kept me pressed against the wall.

"Quit moving," he gritted his teeth.

"What do you want anyway?" I asked, keeping a straight face.

"You think a little thing like you can come in here and frolic in flowers? Without getting scuffed up a bit? It's not like that, sweetheart, in the real world."

"What does this have to do with anything? I'm a girl that wants to help people like you someday. What's the problem?"

"Wanna know why I'm in here? My girlfriend didn't cooperate with me."

"Lucky her, to have you as a boyfriend." I scoffed sarcastically.

"Ah, ah. Don't judge me for something like that. I believe I've overheard some stories with you and your little schizophrenic boy toy."

"He's not even diagnosed with that, so try again some other time." I ignored him and tried to escape his grip. Looking around, I was praying that hopefully someone was seeing this. Everyone's attention was still on the fight, which had grown into a group of girls. More guards were called.

"What's wrong? Am I getting into that pretty little head of yours?"

"Cody, let me go." I demanded.

"Funny, that's what my girlfriend said. She wasn't as demanding as you. She was more along the lines of begging and pleading for me to calm down."

"Get off─"

"Did you do that? Ever beg or cry for him to stop choking you?"

"How did you-"

"It's amazing what a person will say in a therapy group."

"Cody, seriously, get off." I scolded, trying to push him away.

"No wonder you couldn't get him to stop. You're too weak. Trying to pry his hands off your throat like that?"

"Stop,"

"Or what?" he cooed.

"Or this," the all too familiar voice spoke, yanking Cody by the collar and pushing him away. Eddie lightly grabbed my arm and pulled me to the side. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." I shouted, the noise in the cafeteria getting louder. "I'm getting security. He needs help."

Over Eddie's shoulder, I saw Cody heavily breathing, almost like a bull getting ready to fight. "You shouldn't have fucking done that, Munson." he hissed, charging up to him.

I stepped in front of Eddie, "Cody, don't. This isn't going to benefit you in any way."

He grabbed my jaw with his hands and spat, "I think beating the shit out of your boyfriend will benefit me greatly, sweetheart, so fucking move." He pushed me to the side.

Eddie grabbed him by the shirt and pushed him into one of the empty tables. Cody pounced on him, sending the both of them tumbling to the floor. Eddie dodged a few punches before kicking off the fuming boy.

"Hey, Luna, are you okay?" a concerned Damon asked. "We meant to tell you to stay away from that asshole. He's a prick and thinks he can mess with everyone here."

"I'm annoyed, but I'll be right back." I stated, looking around. "Just get them to stop!"

Damon looked at the two boys and went over to grab Cody. Cody started screaming and raging even more, punching Damon right in the jaw. Damon stumbled back but quickly returned the favor, punching Cody in the lip and causing him to fall backwards onto the floor. Eddie took this as an opportunity to hold him down.

I ran over to one of the guards standing back and notified him about Cody. Dr. Collins had arrived when we got to the doors, standing in shock as she saw the mess in front of her. "What happened?!" she shrieked, looking at me.

"A group of girls broke out into a fight and that apparently got worse. Now Cody is having an episode." I answered, grabbing her arm and leading her over.

Eddie had just lost his hold on Cody when we were approaching. He lunged forward and grabbed ahold of my neck. I clutched at his wrists in an attempt to pry them off, but Cody was pissed off. "Remember this? Huh? The both of you?"

Dr. Collins quickly snatched out a sedative, piercing the needle into Cody's skin. His grip loosened, giving me an opportunity to breathe and break free.

"You fucking bitch. I'll kill you and your boyfriend!" Cody slurred, slowing his speech and movements. Dr. Collins supported his body until it touched the floor, where guards then came and took him back to his room.

"Luna, are you alright?" Dr. Collins asked with worry lacing her words. She raised my chin as I swallowed hard.

"I'm fine, it's fine. Nothing new─" I stopped mid sentence when I made eye contact with Eddie. He stood there, staring, with hurt in his eyes. My heart ached. "Hey, Eddie? Are you okay?"

"I. . .I,"

"What? What is it?"

"That's what it looked like?" he spoke softly, lips quivering with every word.

"That's what what looked like?" I asked, rubbing my neck. Fuck.

"I just watched him do what I did to you?"

"Don't think about what he said, Eddie." Dr. Collins stated, "He said that to make you upset and trigger emotions you don't want. Just erase all of it."

"Nothing new."

"What?" I asked, craving to hold him.

"You said. . .you said it was nothing new."

"Eddie, I─"

"Lunch is dismissed!" Dr. Collins announced boldly, looking around the room. "Boys, you're staying here with me so I don't lose you in the crowd. Luna, head to my office. We'll be there in a minute."

I was going to argue to stay, but I figured I'd better follow her instructions in a situation like this. I made my way around everyone and arrived at the office, throwing myself in one of the chairs. I couldn't get the look of Eddie's distressed face out of my head. The sorrow in his voice and expression of hurt had me trembling. I held back tears as I heard the door open, standing up and over to the back so Eddie and Damon could have seats.

Dr. Collins calmed herself and simply asked what had happened. We explained the crude behavior from Cody and his tactic of using the other fight as a distraction. None of the guards were aware to help me, so Eddie and Damon had to step in. She listened and agreed, stating that Cody has had far too many incidents and will be moved to the transfer wing. Eddie and Damon were to be spared since they were trying to assist the situation.

I stayed behind while she took the boys back to their rooms. Eddie didn't make eye contact with me the entire time. Was he still upset about earlier? My head was pounding and I couldn't help but release the tears that I had to hold back earlier. He wasn't the one that did the damage this time─I was. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't hear Dr. Collins enter the room again.

"Luna?"

"Oh," I sniffled, rubbing my eyes, "I didn't hear you come back in."

"Are you sure you're alright?" she asked, rubbing my back. "You took quite a beating today."

"It's not about Cody." I answered. "It's what I said afterwards."

"I'm sorry?"

"I- Eddie heard me say 'nothing new' after you asked me if I was fine after just being choked. I didn't mean to say it or mean it in that context, but just the way he looked at me after I said it? Yes, we had a situation similar to that, but it was one of his night terrors. To see Cody do the same thing already had him in shock, but that?" I explained, crying harder.

"Luna, you're going to learn that in moments where everything is everywhere, you're going to say things you don't mean. Tones are going to mask your true words and you're going to express emotions you don't want to express. A lot has happened in the last half hour and though you may not see it as this, you handled it very professionally."

"Oh, yeah, me crying in your office over my boyfriend is really professional."

Dr. Collins sighed, pulling her chair closer to mine. "This is a field where you can't let your guard down. Vulnerability and weakness are your two biggest enemies. But dear, you're still a human with natural emotions. You may be crying in my office right now and think it's unprofessional, but you didn't break down out there. Many of the other interns would've panicked and gave in to the demands of the circumstance. You, Luna, just showed me that you're one of the strongest people here."

I looked at her through blurred vision, nodding my head that I understood.

"And about Eddie, things will clear up. I could even talk to him about it if you wish." she mentioned. "Do you wanna go sit with Carly? I think you need a bit of a break."

"Okay," I said, pulling myself together.

"It's part of the job." she shrugged, rolling up her sleeves. She displayed various scars she had gotten throughout the years. "You do get used to it."...................................................A/N: OH LOOK I KEEP GETTING LUNA INTO SHIT BUT TOUGH LUCK SHE CAN DEAL WITH IT BECAUSE SHE A POWERFUL WOMAN.

Anyways, kinda have a dilemma. I've been brainstorming a lot lately and I have ideas for two other stories. My only problem is that. . . I don't know if I wanna make them fanfics or not! I kind of want to step away from fanfics and do just fictional writing, but then I'll probably lose a lot of you (!!!) and it may be difficult to get reads, votes, etc. I don't know what to do! Help me out maybe?

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