Map of your head (chapter 1)
Title: Map of your head
Fandom: U-KISS
Characters & Pairings: Elvin, Xander, OFC, other possible episodic characters.
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Romance, Fluff, Humor, Drama
Summary: "Because the language confuses, like computers refuse to understand how I'm feeling today."
Eli is new to this world. Kevin makes him feel like home.
Disclaimer: The title belongs to English rock-band Muse, as well as the lyrics, extracted from their 2002 album entitled ”Hullabaloo”. I am in no way, shape or form affiliated with the named group, or any characters presented in this writing. No copyright infringement intended.
Day one.
The first thing Eli had noticed when he walked through the double, wooden door were the white walls. A white so dull and disturbing, that it looked like it had been there for too long, with almost no sunshine. It gave him an eerie feeling, like the bricks inside were trying to discharge a voiceless, high-pitched howl of despair towards everyone passing by, but failed each time to do so. It was impossible to feel alone in such a place. Or not watched, for that matter. As he was pacing along the almost inanimate hallways, memories came flashing through his head, making him feel like he was being hit by a wave of blurry images and scattered sounds. He liked the fact that there were scribbles strewed on the entire surface of the walls, though. No matter where he looked, symbols, letters and endless rows of numbers were scattered everywhere, sometimes covering large portions of concrete, other times so tiny he had to come really close to decipher the texts. In only a few seconds he spotted the words ‘marble’, ‘away’, a drawing of a sun, another messy one of what he assumed was a child playing, and many nines and zeros. Many of them were shaky, disproportioned or left unfinished, but just their mere presence was enough to give the whole place a completely different aspect. It felt less abandoned.
‘You like them, don’t you?’, a voice suddenly asked, awakening Eli from his contemplative mood. He quickly turned around, only to face a rather unusual looking girl, with short, disheveled, blond hair, eyes like coal and dressed in a long, white dress, with green stripes. He noticed that she wasn’t wearing any shoes, or socks, but that didn’t seem to bother her.
‘I guess…’ Eli replied, wondering why on Earth would anybody walk around like this, or if he should be even talking to her.
‘We make them’, she added, visibly proud. ‘We used to draw on paper, but it’s too small and limited. Besides, you’d be surprised at how many paper cuts the nurses have to deal with. Walls are much nicer, don’t you agree? And they’re so pretty.’ she said with a fast, confident tone, that made her look almost imposing.
Eli stood there, stiff, watching her in amazement, not knowing what to reply with, or how to react. He stared at the wall again, and didn’t see anything but soaked concrete - the odd girl was, without any doubt, seeing something completely out of the ordinary, since the thrilled expression of her face kept on growing. He was under the impression, for a brief moment, the her smile would soon reach her ears, then keep on expanding, until it reached the ceiling.
After that, Eli didn’t know how long he sat in silence, with the girl next to him still watching the drawings on the walls, not even establishing eye contact. He stared at the plants in the corner, the broken light-bulb above him, the empty reception desk, his own image reflected by the floor, his shoes, her empty feet, the plants again, and the neon-green ‘Exit’ sign. He had already figured by then that the girl must be a patient, probably lost, who was trying to find her way back.
‘You know’, she suddenly spoke, ‘you’ll have loads of competition here. I hope you came prepared.’
‘You make it sound like some sort of action movie’, Eli mumbled, thinking of a way to get rid of her and find a staff member. She just laughed.
‘When someone like you is the strongest, he stagnates. But when he is carrying his existence among others more powerful than him, he is forced to evolve. You won’t deteriorate by lack of action, though. Or decline. At least, not here.’
‘Because I’ll have competition?’, he asked, swiftly interested.
‘The best you’ll ever get’ she said, sounding genuinely excited about it.
The girl continued smiling, then started to head for the elevator, without saying anything else. Eli watched her pacing slowly, reaching for a large, red button, then patiently waiting, while the whole building made a screeching, metal noise. There was no panel that could indicate the level that the elevator was arriving from, but by the sound of it, Eli assumed it was at least the third one, if not higher. By the time the entire structure was creating an uproar impossible to stand, the two large doors had already opened, only to reveal a pint-sized cubicle, capable of storing not more than two persons at a time.
‘You coming, or what?’ she asked, stepping inside the tiny space and pressing what seemed to be a very faded ‘2’.
Eli rushed for the elevator, just in time before the doors shut, creating another graceless noise. As much as he hated being touched by a stranger, he was now being pressed to this erratic nut, in a dusty nook that offered almost no light, having to struggle for air. He began praying for the ride to be soon over, albeit he wasn’t addressing to anyone in particular. He mentally said a short ‘Thanks’ after the dreadful compartment stopped moving and daylight hit him again. As he started walking behind the girl, his attention was immediately brought to the end of the corridor, which he couldn’t even spot. Maybe it was because of the bright light, stretching to him from every direction, but the hallway seemed endless. He tried narrowing his eyes, but obtained the same result.
‘You’ll soon get used to it, you’ll see.’ she said out of the blue, without bothering to turn around. Eli didn’t know if she was referring to the elevator or the new job.
‘Where is everybody?’ he asked, looking around and trying to spot an employee.
‘In their rooms, of course, silly.’ the girl laughed, as if Eli had just said one of the most prodigious absurdities known to man.
‘I mean the people working here. You have nurses and doctors. And as far as I know, they don’t just vanish into thin air.’
‘Lunch break. Cafeteria.’ she replied, far less enthusiastic than before. ‘You’ll have fun here, just wait and see. As long as you don’t bother Alec. At times, he gets severely possessive about his belongings, usually consisting in paperclips and empty plastic bottles. And never approach Kim, she like poking the others a bit too much. If you do, however, protect your stomach. You can’t really blame them, though. What else is there to do, when all you get in these cubbyholes are ten inches of light, eight feet of dampness and, if you’re lucky, five feet of stupidity? That would be, of course, your roommate. And Sue may ask you to help her plant a tree. Say no. She plants trees everyday - pencil trees, napkin trees, toilet paper trees… ’
Eli suddenly stopped, causing the girl to follow his action.
‘I don’t get it, what are you doing here? You’re not like them, are you?’ he asked.
‘They say I am’ she answered, not seeming bothered by the question.
‘They?’
‘The doctors. The nurses. My family. But just because someone says something, doesn’t make it true. I am not weird, I just am. If you cut me open, I’ll bleed like everybody else. In the end, it’s all perspective, isn’t it?’ she smiled.
After his feeling of oddity had reached a summit, Eli’s mood fluctuated strikingly in the opposite direction, drowning him in empathy and pity. Triggered by her words, memories were slowly coming back, something he wasn’t keen on experiencing again. For some reason, he didn’t feel like showing any emotion, though, so instead of saying a soothing word, he just erased any trace of an affecting ordeal off his face, and nodded understandingly.
‘Are you always this serious?’ she asked, tilting her head to the side.
‘No’ Eli replied shortly. ‘I can give a decent simulation of it, however.’
‘Noted. Go and find nurse Bess. She usually stalks upon residents on the fifth floor. She’s a better mentor than I am. If you ever need to talk to somebody, I’ll be either here, or in my room, which is at the end of the hallway. And remember, have patience. You’ll get used to it, sooner or later.’ And with that, the girl wandered off, before Eli had a chance to ask about her name.
He still didn’t know if she was referring to the job or not.
Fandom: U-KISS
Characters & Pairings: Elvin, Xander, OFC, other possible episodic characters.
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Romance, Fluff, Humor, Drama
Summary: "Because the language confuses, like computers refuse to understand how I'm feeling today."
Eli is new to this world. Kevin makes him feel like home.
Disclaimer: The title belongs to English rock-band Muse, as well as the lyrics, extracted from their 2002 album entitled ”Hullabaloo”. I am in no way, shape or form affiliated with the named group, or any characters presented in this writing. No copyright infringement intended.
Day one.
The first thing Eli had noticed when he walked through the double, wooden door were the white walls. A white so dull and disturbing, that it looked like it had been there for too long, with almost no sunshine. It gave him an eerie feeling, like the bricks inside were trying to discharge a voiceless, high-pitched howl of despair towards everyone passing by, but failed each time to do so. It was impossible to feel alone in such a place. Or not watched, for that matter. As he was pacing along the almost inanimate hallways, memories came flashing through his head, making him feel like he was being hit by a wave of blurry images and scattered sounds. He liked the fact that there were scribbles strewed on the entire surface of the walls, though. No matter where he looked, symbols, letters and endless rows of numbers were scattered everywhere, sometimes covering large portions of concrete, other times so tiny he had to come really close to decipher the texts. In only a few seconds he spotted the words ‘marble’, ‘away’, a drawing of a sun, another messy one of what he assumed was a child playing, and many nines and zeros. Many of them were shaky, disproportioned or left unfinished, but just their mere presence was enough to give the whole place a completely different aspect. It felt less abandoned.
‘You like them, don’t you?’, a voice suddenly asked, awakening Eli from his contemplative mood. He quickly turned around, only to face a rather unusual looking girl, with short, disheveled, blond hair, eyes like coal and dressed in a long, white dress, with green stripes. He noticed that she wasn’t wearing any shoes, or socks, but that didn’t seem to bother her.
‘I guess…’ Eli replied, wondering why on Earth would anybody walk around like this, or if he should be even talking to her.
‘We make them’, she added, visibly proud. ‘We used to draw on paper, but it’s too small and limited. Besides, you’d be surprised at how many paper cuts the nurses have to deal with. Walls are much nicer, don’t you agree? And they’re so pretty.’ she said with a fast, confident tone, that made her look almost imposing.
Eli stood there, stiff, watching her in amazement, not knowing what to reply with, or how to react. He stared at the wall again, and didn’t see anything but soaked concrete - the odd girl was, without any doubt, seeing something completely out of the ordinary, since the thrilled expression of her face kept on growing. He was under the impression, for a brief moment, the her smile would soon reach her ears, then keep on expanding, until it reached the ceiling.
After that, Eli didn’t know how long he sat in silence, with the girl next to him still watching the drawings on the walls, not even establishing eye contact. He stared at the plants in the corner, the broken light-bulb above him, the empty reception desk, his own image reflected by the floor, his shoes, her empty feet, the plants again, and the neon-green ‘Exit’ sign. He had already figured by then that the girl must be a patient, probably lost, who was trying to find her way back.
‘You know’, she suddenly spoke, ‘you’ll have loads of competition here. I hope you came prepared.’
‘You make it sound like some sort of action movie’, Eli mumbled, thinking of a way to get rid of her and find a staff member. She just laughed.
‘When someone like you is the strongest, he stagnates. But when he is carrying his existence among others more powerful than him, he is forced to evolve. You won’t deteriorate by lack of action, though. Or decline. At least, not here.’
‘Because I’ll have competition?’, he asked, swiftly interested.
‘The best you’ll ever get’ she said, sounding genuinely excited about it.
The girl continued smiling, then started to head for the elevator, without saying anything else. Eli watched her pacing slowly, reaching for a large, red button, then patiently waiting, while the whole building made a screeching, metal noise. There was no panel that could indicate the level that the elevator was arriving from, but by the sound of it, Eli assumed it was at least the third one, if not higher. By the time the entire structure was creating an uproar impossible to stand, the two large doors had already opened, only to reveal a pint-sized cubicle, capable of storing not more than two persons at a time.
‘You coming, or what?’ she asked, stepping inside the tiny space and pressing what seemed to be a very faded ‘2’.
Eli rushed for the elevator, just in time before the doors shut, creating another graceless noise. As much as he hated being touched by a stranger, he was now being pressed to this erratic nut, in a dusty nook that offered almost no light, having to struggle for air. He began praying for the ride to be soon over, albeit he wasn’t addressing to anyone in particular. He mentally said a short ‘Thanks’ after the dreadful compartment stopped moving and daylight hit him again. As he started walking behind the girl, his attention was immediately brought to the end of the corridor, which he couldn’t even spot. Maybe it was because of the bright light, stretching to him from every direction, but the hallway seemed endless. He tried narrowing his eyes, but obtained the same result.
‘You’ll soon get used to it, you’ll see.’ she said out of the blue, without bothering to turn around. Eli didn’t know if she was referring to the elevator or the new job.
‘Where is everybody?’ he asked, looking around and trying to spot an employee.
‘In their rooms, of course, silly.’ the girl laughed, as if Eli had just said one of the most prodigious absurdities known to man.
‘I mean the people working here. You have nurses and doctors. And as far as I know, they don’t just vanish into thin air.’
‘Lunch break. Cafeteria.’ she replied, far less enthusiastic than before. ‘You’ll have fun here, just wait and see. As long as you don’t bother Alec. At times, he gets severely possessive about his belongings, usually consisting in paperclips and empty plastic bottles. And never approach Kim, she like poking the others a bit too much. If you do, however, protect your stomach. You can’t really blame them, though. What else is there to do, when all you get in these cubbyholes are ten inches of light, eight feet of dampness and, if you’re lucky, five feet of stupidity? That would be, of course, your roommate. And Sue may ask you to help her plant a tree. Say no. She plants trees everyday - pencil trees, napkin trees, toilet paper trees… ’
Eli suddenly stopped, causing the girl to follow his action.
‘I don’t get it, what are you doing here? You’re not like them, are you?’ he asked.
‘They say I am’ she answered, not seeming bothered by the question.
‘They?’
‘The doctors. The nurses. My family. But just because someone says something, doesn’t make it true. I am not weird, I just am. If you cut me open, I’ll bleed like everybody else. In the end, it’s all perspective, isn’t it?’ she smiled.
After his feeling of oddity had reached a summit, Eli’s mood fluctuated strikingly in the opposite direction, drowning him in empathy and pity. Triggered by her words, memories were slowly coming back, something he wasn’t keen on experiencing again. For some reason, he didn’t feel like showing any emotion, though, so instead of saying a soothing word, he just erased any trace of an affecting ordeal off his face, and nodded understandingly.
‘Are you always this serious?’ she asked, tilting her head to the side.
‘No’ Eli replied shortly. ‘I can give a decent simulation of it, however.’
‘Noted. Go and find nurse Bess. She usually stalks upon residents on the fifth floor. She’s a better mentor than I am. If you ever need to talk to somebody, I’ll be either here, or in my room, which is at the end of the hallway. And remember, have patience. You’ll get used to it, sooner or later.’ And with that, the girl wandered off, before Eli had a chance to ask about her name.
He still didn’t know if she was referring to the job or not.