St. Peter's Asylum discussion

Astrid agreed with him. "Yeah. If I tried anything, it would just start more rumors, and the cycle would probably repeat." It was horrible what the media could do.

Sam nodded slowly. He personally hated the media. Which was why he hardly ever picked up a newspaper or magazine. "Yeah."

"I've been trying so hard to keep this charade, but I'm kinda dying inside. I never do anything. I literally mean it. Anything that anyone does can have negative repercussions, so the only thing I ever really do is stare at the wall or try to study from whatever textbooks are available."

Astrid mimicked riding a skateboard. "Do you remember that I used to be really good at it? God, I really miss doing that."

"Yeah, I figured," Sam muttered. He could only imagine what it would be like to be cooped up in a place where anything could be turned against you, alone. Mentally, of course. Trapped--

Astrid's movements snapped him out of his thoughts, and a smile crept onto his face. "Yeah, I remember that. I also remember when you first tried to skateboard, and how much of a disaster that was."

((I can change it, if you'd like. I just thought it'd be funny. :3))

[LOLOLOL. Keep it. :D]

"I know. I remember. You tried showing me, but I fell sideways. I ended up falling on my hand, and I had to wear four of those stupid, little finger splints. You joked around and said that I looked a cyborg." Laughter echoed both out loud and in her mind. Astrid hadn't laughed in... well, it was too hard for her to remember the last time that she did that. Constantly worrying for herself did that to people.

[I can change it if you want.]

((It's fine))

It made him feel slightly proud to know that he made her laugh; it seemed like she hadn't done that in a while. "And then there was the time you first tried surfing with us." He liked remembering the old times when everything was normal. When they were kids, and everything was okay.

"It was so horrible that I probably scared other kids. I must have fallen off my board about one hundred times before I was even able to stay on for three minutes. I vowed to never even touch a surf-board again, and then I ended up breaking my vow a week later." By now, Astrid didn't care that she was luaghing, actualy laughing, and she started hiccupping(sp?) every few seconds. It was amazing to see the influence that he had on her.

((hiccuping*))
"I think someone deserves a gold star." Sam laughed right along with her; the memories relieved the tension and awkward of the moments before. "But then you turned out to be awesome at it. So I guessed it was worth all the life-scaring."

"If anything, it should be you who gets it. I was okay at surfing; you are phenomenal. From what I remember, you could surf better than many teens! Plus, you decided to come here, despite the possibility that you could have met someone truly insane." The memories that flashed by in her head reminded her of the lost childhood that she could have had. Maybe, she might have even gotten better than him. But, sometimes it was best to not dwell on what could have been. Though all this went through her brain, externally nothing changed. It still looked like she was still cracking up.

"Yeah, sure. But that's me. We're talking about you, and how you passed up all of our expectations," Sam pointed out, but there was no denying the faint warmth that crept onto his cheeks when she complimented him. Of course, he hadn't a clue as to what she was thinking. He thought that she was still laughing with him.

"Were your expectations as low as the ones that I had? I know that I thought that I would never, ever learn." Astrid chuckled mildly at her own remark and at seeing Sam's lightly blushing cheeks. She hadn't seen his rosy cheeks in a while.

"I think they were. Well. . . Maybe not that low," Sam replied with a joking grin. His watch beeped. He frowned down at it, and then shut off the alarm.

"I knew it! All the guys there at the beach that day must have thought the same thing: 'Wow, she sucks at surfing.' " Astrid giggled, but jumoed up slightly at hearing a soft beep in a room that wasn't very noisy.

Sam nodded. "Yeah..." He sighed quietly. "I have to go, Astrid. They only let me stay here for oh-so-long."

Slowly, Astrid untangled her legs, and rose from the floor. "I understand, Sam. You really have no idea how much this visit means to me."

"I'll try to come back tomorrow." He, too, rose from the bench. "I had fun." Was a sentence he never thought he'd say after visiting an asylum.

"Really? That'd be...ama-awesome!" The idea of having to talk to someone else again brightened her mood. "Thanks for everything, Sam." Astrid quickly hugged Sam, before she started to open the door.

Sam smiled down at her. He regretted leaving, but at least she had something to look forward to the next day. "Any time." And with that, he headed out the door.