you can't take the heat [Alex]

[Maddox Greydon]

Maddox stalked into the room and threw himself down on the bed. Thank fuck his roommate wasn't there; Maddy really wasn't in the mood to deal with the arsehole. He pulled his feet up, lay on the bed for a few moments, then rolled off it again. It was too big, too soft. The covers smothered him, stuffy and airless. Lying on the floor, head turned so he faced the darkness underneath the bed frame, he felt better. The floor was cooler; he wasn't about to sink into it.

Lying there with nothing to distract him, Maddy's thoughts turned to the class he had just come from. He'd been set extra homework, because he hadn't understood the work before that. What kind of help was that? The teacher had gone through and explained it to him, but it wasn't like he could remember it, and the words on the page were no good to him whatsoever. Prick. And he'd said Maddox's writing wasn't good enough. Well, when you're living in the slums and having to mug people to survive, shitty handwriting isn't your biggest problem. Maybe you'd realise that if you fucking THOUGHT for a second, yeah?

He was still too hot. Rolling his eyes, Maddy pushed himself into a sitting position. The window was wide open. He sighed and pulled off his t-shirt, slinging it onto the bed. Not even the motherfucking weather was good at the moment. He checked the door was shut, checked the time, and once he was satisfied that Evan wasn't going to be returning for another few hours (dickhead, Maddy's mind added at this point), lay back down, glaring ferociously into the shadows under his bed. Maybe he should try and get some sleep. He hadn't been sleeping well: the bed, with it's cloying warmth, made him feel trapped, especially when he lay under the covers. He'd woken up several times in the night, unable to move because the sheets were wrapped around him so tightly. Evan complained of the noise, but he didn't have any fucking idea what Maddy had been through, so he could just...

Maddy glared resentfully into the darkness, wondering how long he'd have to survive before this mood finally left him. He knew that it would, eventually, but these times always felt like they lasted for far too long, and he hated every minute of it. He liked being happy. It was so much more fun.

[Alex Greene]

Alex had tried to keep up with the scary looking receptionist as she took him on a tour of the school, finishing with his dorm. He was relieved when the tour was over; he hadn't processed any of it anyway, and his bag was pretty heavy. The receptionist walked off immediately, before he had a chance to enter the room, and he raised an eyebrow. Maybe she should get a job somewhere where she didn't have to work with people, 'cause she didn't seem very good at it. Lovely in front of his parents of course, really friendly and nice. Just like his old psychiatrist who he was forced to see, who he knew was Tomaso in disguise.

Picking up his heavy bag, he swung the door open and entered, stopping dead in his tracks at the person in his room. He stayed completely frozen, staring. Danny was here. Danny was his roommate? No fucking way! He watched as the boy that had raped him smiled, greeting him. And then he dropped his bag and turned, running down the corridor. Did that make him a wimp? Technically speaking. Maybe it was something that the old Alex would have done, but at the moment, he didn't care. He just wanted to not get raped. Was that too much to ask for?

He grabbed the handle of the first room he found, swinging himself inside into the darkness. Good, that meant nobody was here. Dropping to his hands and knees, Alex crawled through the darkness, bumping his head on something hard - a bed, he thought - but carried on until he reached what seemed like a safe place. Against a wall, in the corner - always the best place to hide. " Is anyone in here? " he whispered into the darkness, not sure if he wanted an answer or not. Probably not. Danny might have managed to sneak in, climbed through a secret passage or something, and be there, waiting for his chance.

[Maddox Greydon]

After a while, Maddy got up and switched off the light, closed the curtains, and lay back down. There. That was better. Lying in the gloom, he began to relax a little bit. Thank God none of his roommates were there; he'd probably have tried to kill them or something. Maddy rolled onto his back, staring resentfully at the ceiling. No fucking way was he doing that homework. He didn't get a motherfuckin' word of it, so he couldn't, right?

The door clanged open, and a figure rushed in. Before Maddy had time to react, the boy had crawled into his bed, whacked his head, and disappeared around the end. Maddy sat for a moment, frozen in a semi-upright position. Then his stomach muscles started hurting, and he pushed himself up angrily. Getting up, he stormed around the end of the bed, and snapped, "Yeah, you fuck, I'm here. What the hell are you doing here? This is my room, and new roomies don't usually introduce themselves to my bed before they do to me. So tell me who the fuck you are and what you're doing, or so help me, I'll kick ten different kinds of shit out of you." The pent up rage in him exploded out in a rush. How dare he just come in here like that? The bastard.

Maddy stormed over the the door, slammed it shut, and fumbled for the light switch. Flicking it on, he blinked hard in the harsh light. The boy was cowering down by the wall. Maddy walked back and stood over him, glaring down at him. "Well? he demanded. It occurred to him that he was possibly talking to a psychotic murderer. He kept his hostile posture, in the hope that the boy would assume he was also a psycho and not attack him.

[Alex Greene]

Alex shrieked when he heard a voice coming from the darkness. He hadn't really expected someone else to be in the room; the thought that he was alone in the darkness with a man scared him so much he didn't care about the fact that he had just shrieked. He preferred to think that he'd yelled. Sounded manlier, somehow. But fuck, Maddox sounded angry with him. He pushed himself further against the wall, scrambling backwards even though he'd gone back as far as he could, and listened as the boys footsteps crossed the room. Where was he going? To get security to come and drag him back to his own room? God, no, please. At least the kid wasn't coming towards him. He shuddered, imagining how terrifying that would be. When the light clicked on he blinked in the sudden bright, his eyes adjusting quickly and searching for the boys face.

He breathed out lightly. Thank God. Wasn't any of them. No, it was just a random boy that was mad at him... Interesting. He stayed crouched against the wall, looking up at Maddy. Automatically, he began to rake his nails up and down his arms, scratching at the barely-healed cuts he found. It was his only way of not thinking about them, those freaks that followed him about wherever he went. And this boy reminded him so much of them... Not in looks, but more in demeanor, and the position he had above Alex. He began thinking about his reply, not particularly wanting to have 'ten different kinds of shit' kicked out of him.

" I'm Alex. And I'm in here because there's a fucking rapist in my room, okay? I'm not going back. You can't make me. " He noted the other boys defensive position with some pleasure; it must mean that he thought there was something to be defensive about, which meant that he could pose a threat. Hoping very much that Maddy wasn't going to try and make him go back, he stood up slowly, disliking the close proximity that the two boys shared. It scared him to be so close to someone that could probably rape him if he was so inclined. Standing up as straight as he could, he tried to make himself look bigger, stronger, whatever. All weird macho stuff.

[Maddox Greydon]

The boy was trying to get through the wall, apparently. Maddy relaxed. He was scared of him, then. That was probably a good sign. He folded his arms and continued glaring, trying not to look too defensive. He noticed the cuts on the boy's arms, and his hand instinctively went to his own scars. Well, that was interesting. Rubbing his upper arm where the biggest scar was, he was suddenly very aware of the fact that he was half-naked in a room with the door shut and a possible psychopath. Maddox took a step back.

"Alex, I don't give a shit. I'm not making you go back to your room, I just don't want people barging in here and disturbing me, OK?" He stood up. He was a couple of inches taller than Maddy, and Maddy began to wonder if yelling had been such a good idea. The two were very close, and he wondered absently whether he was about to get raped. Probably not. Besides, didn't rape have to be unwilling? And, glancing the kid up and down, Maddy decided that probably wasn't very likely. But he really wasn't in the mood for sex right now, and- wait. So the kid was running away from rapists? He probably wasn't after sex, then. Maybe someone to take out his anger on. Maddy took another step back, trying to act relaxed. "So... A rapist, you say? That must be... scary?" He wasn't quite sure how you were supposed to act in this situation. Being nice was probably a good idea, but he didn't want to lose face. On the other hand, he didn't want to lose his face, either.

He settled for being polite, but not kind. That way, he could do that stuck-up thing that people had always done to him where they treated him politely but not nicely, and hopefully the boy would be appeased. Or at least, would leave him with the majority of his limbs intact.

[Alex Greene]

Alex watched as Maddy folded his arms, and looked at his cuts, silently comparing them to his own. The scars were varying in depth and length, and he assumed that the other boy had been self-harming for a long time. Different to him, then - he'd only started after the rape, a few weeks ago. Cutting was weird. He hated it the first time he 'tried' it, but just couldn't stop himself doing it again. And again. Eventually, the juvie had caught on, and sent him to that damned psychiatric hospital where they only let you eat with plastic knives, and even they were counted. Then, of course, they sent him to this damned psychiatric hospital, which he hated so far. All he had seen of it so far was a rude receptionist, a rapist and this weird boy that yelled at him, which was slightly scary.

There was a slight satisfaction as he watched Maddy take a step back; he liked the feeling that he'd scared someone. The kid in front of him was scared. Scared enough to step back. The same thought repeated in his head: ' I've scared someone. ' Was it bad that it gave him such a sense of pleasure? He narrowed his eyes and took on an expression of hatred, seeing how much he could scare this kid. It gave him a rush of power, something he liked. Anyway, he deserved to feel powerful. Deserved to be in control of something after what had happened to him.

He rolled his eyes as Maddy spoke. " Yeah, and you better not try it. " His voice was different to before - slightly deeper, quieter, somehow scarier. Alex knew that if he was in Maddy's position, he would have slipped away by now. He smirked at the rest of the boys sentence, noticing as he took another step back. This was alarmingly fun. Hoping he wasn't turning into a sociopath, he took another step closer. " Mmm. Fairly scary. Why are you here? " This might be a good way to get things he wanted. Scare people until they told him stuff.
That must be... scary?" He wasn't quite sure how you were supposed to act in this situation. Being nice was probably a good idea, but he didn't want to lose face. On the other hand, he didn't want to lose his face, either.

[Maddox Greydon]

He glared at Alex, raising his head slightly. He looked pleased that he'd scared him. No, wait. He wasn't scared of him. Just... apprehensive. Carelessly, he unfolded his arms and continued staring angrily at the boy opposite him, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Yeah? And why's that, then?" he asked mildly, tilting his head to one side. He wasn't going to let this bastard just walk into his own room and act like he owned the place. He knew how to fight, since he'd spent years doing it, and this kid wasn't that much taller than him. Maddy squared his shoulders and watched the boy with the ghost of a smirk.

"Me?" he shrugged airily. "Bipolar. Maddox, by the way," he added, raising a hand in a little wave. It probably- no, definitely- wasn't the smartest thing to do, but Maddy wasn't exactly renowned for being smart. He looked the boy up and down again: properly, from a distance, taking his time now. What he saw got his approval. He gave Alex a lopsided grin, and added, "So, what are you in for?" He dropped his hand to his side again, shifting his weight slightly. If it came to a fight, he decided, he wanted to be ready.

His gaze turned back to the healing cuts on Alex's arms. Depression didn't seem to fit, really, not with this kid. Then again, to look at him some days, you'd never have thought that Maddy would happily strangle certain people. Certain teachers, to be specific. But that was irrelevant now. He had to concentrate on the possible-psychopath-planning-to-kill him standing there. He met Alex's gaze squarely, wondering if he'd get in trouble for fighting if he said Alex started it. Most likely. They weren't too understand about that kind of thing here.

[Alex Greene]

Maddox, as he introduced himself as, didn't look too happy to Alex. He actually looked kind of pissed off, which made him take the scary-vibes down a bit. He was taller than the other boy, and fairly sure that he could take him if it came to it, but still. He didn't want to take any chances. For all he knew, this kid could be here because he was a murderer or something. Alex reminded himself that he was technically classed as a murderer, or at least an attempted one, which made him slightly more confident. He held his ground, watching the other boy carefully. Now, what to say back? He didn't want to come over as too cocky, and possibly get himself attacked, but he wasn't going to sound like a total wimp either. ' Because I say so ' didn't sound right, either. " I just wouldn't recommend it. "

Hmm, bipolar. Interesting. Alex wasn't sure that that in itself was enough to get someone sent to a place like this. He watched Maddy give a weird, half-wave and raised his eyebrows. Really? This guy was...nuts. Someone charges into your room, then threatens to attack you, and you wave at them? Interesting. He relaxed slightly, realizing that he wasn't likely to be murdered. Today, at least. " I'm here because... " Wait, why was he here again? Not because he got raped, although it was related to that. Post-traumatic stress disorder, and delusions of some sort. " PTSD. And Fraggle Delusions or something. " Fraggle didn't sound right. " It's not true, though. They just sent me here because I tried to stab this guy. " It was said with an airy wave of his hand. ' Oh, yes, I tried to kill the guy that brutally raped me. More tea? '


He looked around the room carefully, hoping someone wasn't going to jump out of the cupboard at him or something. As he looked, he thought he saw a foot sticking out from under the bed Maddy had been on, and dropped to his hands and knees, looking under. No, it was just a shoe. No leg attached. Standing up, he smiled, pretending that he hadn't just freaked out about a shoe, and stared, waiting for an answer. He noticed the other boy looking at his cuts and wondered if he should pull his sleeves down to cover them, but remembering that Maddy had some of his own. Awesome. Would he know where to get a knife? Was there a casual way of asking that? " So... They let you have knives, scissors, anything...sharp here? " He hoped that the hidden meaning was clear: Do they let you cut here?

[Maddox Greydon]

Maddox snorted and turned away, suddenly decided he didn't care. If the kids was really psychotic, he'd probably have killed Maddy the moment he'd been yelled at, and this guy seemed to be calming down a little. Grabbing his shirt from the bed, he pulled it on and turned to face Alex, throwing himself down on the bed. "Right, sure," he sneered. "They hand out knives and scissors free. To the kids in the loony bin." With a shrug, his tone turned milder. "I wish. They don't even let you handle books here unsupervised, in case you give yourself a paper cut." That was bullshit, Maddy was fairly sure, but he hadn't tested the theory, and it wouldn't surprise him.

Sprawled on the bed, he wondered what Alex meant by Fraggle delusions. It probably wasn't what they were actually called, but Maddy didn't have a clue, so he didn't comment. He nodded. That made sense. So, Alex was here because he'd tried to kill someone? But that was only once, right? Maddy had broken the law for a living and not been caught, he was fairly sure that outweighed one attempted murder. Picking at one of the scabs on his arms, he watched the boy from the corner of his eye. OK, so he was in a room with a (attempted) murderer, and he was lying carelessly on the bed. Ten points there, Greydon.

Stretching, he swung his legs up and lay back on the bed, still eying up Alex suspiciously. "Don't touch anything," he snapped, when Alex appeared to freak out over a shoe. Fair enough. Maddy had once mistaken a glove for a hand and spent the rest of the week locked in his bedroom- when he still had one- worrying about serial killers. Of course, he'd been about seven then. It was understandable to make that mistake, but he didn't want anyone pawing through his things, especially not someone like Alex.

[Alex Greene]

Alex raised his eyebrows as Maddy flopped down on the bed. He didn't seem to care that there was a strange male - who was bigger, and probably stronger than him - in his bedroom. While he was shirtless. He hadn't realized that the other boy was half-naked before and it make him slightly uncomfortable; he stepped away. Naked men were generally bad news. " Just wondering. So, there's no way to get knives...huh, reinforced windows or light-bulbs? " They'd had it at the psychiatric hospital he'd been in previously, although that hadn't stopped him smashing it. It was just harder, and he'd had to use a chair in the end. He snorted at the 'no books' thing, fairly sure it was bullshit. " May I ask why, exactly, you have several bookshelves, all covered with books in here? " Presumably, this guy had roommates, or he just slept in a few beds, had a tonne of clothes and was incredibly messy.
 
Would Maddox cut with him, or at least help him find a knife? Maybe. If he was bipolar, it was only a matter of biding his time until he hit a depressive spell and wanted - needed - to cut. Alex wondered how long his cycles were; they could go from months long to hours. What was his state of mind at the moment? He studied the other boy. He seemed...relaxed, which was very weird. But he'd been pissed off a minute before. Oh, what did it matter? Sitting on the floor again, he watched Maddy carefully, watching for signs that he was going to snap and try to rape him or something. " I'm not touching anything. I thought---"' ' I thought there was a rapist under your bed? Yeah, that'll win you friends, idiot. '
 
" I thought that you had, uh, some ballet shoes. But they were just...trainers. " Luckily, he didn't blush easy. " So, you're a musician? " He looked around the room; there was a guitar and a keyboard, so it was a fair guess. " I do dance. " There; see what he made of that. Most people - actually, more guys than females - tended to snort at that. Or make a comment about his sexuality, or something incredibly witty about a modern Billy Elliot. That was part of the reason he'd been raped; they'd assumed that he was gay. And he wasn't. In no way.

[Maddox Greydon]

Maddy snorted at that. The guy was a smart-arse. "Sarcasm, babe. Ever heard of it? And you can try, but I think they've anticipated people trying that one." He hadn't tried breaking the window. When he got really desperate, he just used his nails. Glancing at his hands, resting on his knees, he thought that they'd probably anticipated that as well; his newly shortened nails wouldn't be much good for anything. Maybe he should start looking into other ways of doing it, possibly with this boy's help. Scratching his head, he wrapped his arms around his knees and watched Alex watching him, wondering when one of them was going to make a move.

"Yeah, I'm a musician. If you can call it that; I don't play anything, just sing. Why would I have ballet shoes?" he was fairly certain the boy - Alex - was lying to him. He'd already figured out that he was a musician, why would he have ballet shoes? Maddy decided he didn't want to know what Alex thought he might keep under his bed. A dancer, huh? Maybe he had delusions that his ballet shoes were all over the place. Although Maddox didn't think that was enough to earn him a place here. "What kind of dance?" He was only mildly interested, but he didn't mind the boy's presence here any more, now he was certain that Alex wasn't about to jump him and try and kill/maim/rape/permanently injure him.

He pulled his legs up, rested his chin on his knees, and stared intently at Alex. He didn't seem the type to go around stabbing people, but then, most people seemed to mistake him for innocent, because he was thick. Either that, or they thought he was a complete and utter drug addict, gambler, alcoholic and sex maniac. Which, to be fair, he was.

[Alex Greene]

Alex flinched. " Don't call me that, " he muttered through gritted teeth. It reminded him of bad things. If that idiot said 'babe' again, he'd have to punch him. Or run away and hide under a bed somewhere. Trying to make his voice sound slightly less anxious, he watched Maddy carefully, hoping he wasn't going to attack him. " Right. " 'Witty. Really.' He swallowed a few times, inching back into the wall. He should probably leave... Was he likely to be raped? More likely if he went back to his dorm. Maybe he could hide in here? No; Maddy had just called him babe. He was probably gay. Which meant that he could be a threat, although he wasn't that big.

He sung? That was weird. He'd expected something cool, like guitar, or at least keyboard. Was he one of those choir boy singers? Alex snorted at the thought. He didn't exactly act that part. He didn't look it either. But he didn't exactly look like a rock singer; he'd expected dyed black hair or piercings or something for that. Maddy was just...fairly average looking, actually. If you passed him in the street, you wouldn't look twice. Well, girls might, he supposed, but he wouldn't. " What do you sing? " Crap, he was asking about the shoes. After hesitating for a minute, he answered slowly. " Um... I thought you might do ballet? Or something. "


And now he was asking about the type of dance. Well, he didn't wanna answer that. People just assumed you were gay...but there was no point hiding it. " I do ballet, " he admitted, ducking his head and blushing. Well, it might be normal here. Maybe. He hadn't been told who else was in his dance class; he hoped that he wouldn't be the only male. Surely it wasn't that weird, though, to be a male dancer?

[Maddox Greydon]

Maddy raised his eyebrows. The guy had a problem with the word 'babe'? Was he a rape victim or something? Frowning, Maddy crossed his arms across his chest and examined Alex more intensely, testing the theory against the boy who was now looking around his room derisively. It kind of fitted... Maddy tilted his head to one side and watched him, before telling himself it was none of his business. This guy was cool enough, if a little weird, and that was all Maddy wanted to know, to be honest. Heart-wrenching back stories weren't his thing. He never knew how to react.

"Oh, rock, mostly. Little bit of indie, alternative stuff, but almost all rock," he replied dismissively. "As for me doing ballet... I'll leave that to you trained dancers. I can headbang, and that's about as close as I get to dancing." Ballet? Interesting... was he gay? Maddy wondered. It would be... nice if he was, to know Maddy wasn't the only one, even if he wasn't interested. Although, Maddy realised, he hadn't had sex in ages. Or drugs, come to that. Maybe that was why he wasn't sleeping. He'd been coming slowly off the drugs. The foster family hadn't been keen on them, so he hadn't been getting them regularly, which meant the withdrawal probably wasn't going to hit him hard. But the sex... Maddy realised how frustrated he'd become since coming here. There were so few interested guys around here, he hadn't had the chance. But here...

Shrugging the thoughts away, he decided not to ask. Best to let him tell you in his own time than to push him. He was curious, though. "How long? I mean, how long have you been dancing?" he asked, with a modicum of genuine interest.

[Alex Greene]

Alex tensed nervously as he felt Maddy's eyes on him, turning his head back and meeting the others boys eyes, feeling as though he was being challenged. He narrowed his eyes slightly, before darting them back towards the door, and continuing to plan his escape route if violence randomly occurred. Depending on which direction he'd be attacked from, he'd either go over the bed, or across the room and down the gap between beds. Both ways had some flaws - like the fact that he wasn't the fastest of runners, or that the room was tiny and it wouldn't take that long for Maddox (or any other attacker) to cross it and pounce him or something.

Trying his best to remain calm, and not look as though he was planning escape routes or anything, he turned his gaze back to Maddox. " Sounds...good? " Rock music wasn't really his thing. He didn't have anything against it, except the fact that it was designed for idiots with no understanding of real music, but apart from that, he liked it. Alex smiled slightly. Headbanging; he could just imagine his teachers face if he turned up to class, announcing that he'd quit ballet and was starting that instead. She probably wouldn't be impressed. He didn't reply to the comment, instead, stood up, edging along the wall and towards the door.

He tried to act as though he wasn't slyly leaving the room. " Um, eight years, now. How long have you sung for? " There was less interest in his voice; he was more intent on leaving now, just in case Maddy tried out to be one of those bombs with a timer on - e.g. Something that was about to blow up. When he reached the middle of the room, between the beds, he began walking slowly down the aisle, trying to be subtle. In his opinion, most people that liked rock were thick enough that they wouldn't notice if he'd just wandered straight out of the room. They'd probably just carry on yapping, thinking he was still there or something.

[Maddox Greydon]

Maddy watched the boy, his eyes narrowed, as he edged towards the door. "I'm not going to attack you," he snapped loudly, folding his arms. He knew that look; he'd seen it a hundred times before, on a hundred different victims. It was the look of someone who was trapped, and who knew it. But this time, Maddy wasn't intent on mugging Alex; in fact, he quite liked the company, even if the guy was slightly insane. "Uh, ages. Since I was a little kid, really," he added in reply to Alex's question, knowing it was more of a diversion than a question born of curiosity. Oh, well. He'd answer it, all the same.

"What kind of music do you like, then?" he asked conversationally, as if his conversational partner wasn't attempted to sidle out of the room without him noticing. It upset Maddy a little, that the boy was so desperate to get away from him, but then again, he was often desperate to get away from everyone else. It probably wasn't anything personal, just nervousness. All the same, it was a little hurtful, having someone trying to sneak away for fear you were going to attack them.

He sat up straight on the bed, crossed his legs and leaned back against the wall, eying Alex calmly. The threat of a fight was pretty much gone now, it seemed, and he relaxed quite a lot, although he kept a wary eye on the boy edging to the door. It was unlikely, but Maddy still had hopes for him as a friend, or at least, as something to do - not in that way - for the next few hours. Maybe even in that way? Maddy wasn't sure, but now the thought had occurred to him, it wasn't letting go. He'd have to find out, then.