* earning my halo -- OPEN

[chloe]

Chloe hadn’t missed this place while she was gone But now that she was home she was kind of glad she came back. Everything was so familiar even now, six years later. She loved being able to go and visit her mother and father and her siblings. She loved having Kassi in her life again. And being able to see her nephew. Everything was perfect. Apart from the fact that she was lonely. Really lonely. She had moved back almost nine months ago to attempt to settle down but now she was realizing just how much she wanted to be loved. Chloe had never been the one to feel lost without a man. In fact she was the opposite, she didn’t need one to be happy. But now it was like her biological clock was ticking. She wanted to get married. She wanted kids. The whole nine yards. She had her money and her house but nothing else. Not the things she really wanted. She even had a nice car. But none of that could make up for what she was missing. She wanted to have a family of her own. Something to make her career worth while. She had worked so hard to be successful so that she could provide for a family that didn’t yet exist. She had faith that when the time was right it would happen though. It was just always harder with Christmas right around the corner.

When Christmas was nearing she always took more time to volunteer. She had thought about volunteering at the regular hospital right outside of town until she had passed the asylum one day. It looked so dark and un-cheery. She had called them a couple days ago and asked if she could get a list of things people in there wanted for Christmas. They had gotten the list then told her they weren’t sure it would work because a lot of the stuff was really expensive. Money was no object with her. So now as she pulled into the parking lot, her trunk was full of all kinds of things. Of course she had had to follow guidelines when shopping. Certain things weren’t allowed. Some people had wanted books, some wanted radios, some wanted new make-up, new clothes. She had purchased everything on the list. When she brought it all to the front desk, the staff members invited her to spend a day hanging out. Some of them felt like she was an amazing person. Her mother had told her that nobody ever did anything like that for the asylum. She felt good as she was escorted through the building and shown the different places. She made up her mind that this is where her money would go from now on. One thing that surprised her was how friendly some of the patients were. Some even introduced themselves to her.

She smiled when they brought her to the girls floor. Some of the more girly girls were lined up in the hall arguing about make up. One of them knew who she was. Probably had seen her in Seventeen. She had done an article for them about back to school make up only a couple months ago. She smiled and said hi to them. Some begged her to do their make up, but she told them next time. Since she fully intended to come back and visit. She had been told that Mallory’s friend Aidan was in here but she hadn’t seen him yet. The tour finished back at the front desk about an hour later. She asked the ladies if she could hang around for a while and so she did. She felt good being here. Like she had done something special. Something important. Without giving to others, Chloe felt useless. She felt like she had no purpose if she didn’t share her wealth with others. In LA, she was the one who would take in homeless people and help them get on their feet. She’d always had a kind heart. She’d always been a giver. Her theory was that the more she gave, the happier she’d be. As long as she had something to give she’d be willing to give it up.

Chloe entered the living room, a smile on her face. She was a sunny person. Always in a good mood. She wondered if she should maybe dull the sunshine bit down a bit while here. Some of the patients seemed to be a little bit edgy, possibly bothered by it. A good ten people were in the room. The younger ones excited about the gifts under the tree that had just been put there. She smiled. One blonde girl was extra bubbly. She seemed to be about fifteen or sixteen but she acted much younger. Chloe couldn’t help but smile at her excitement. Some of the older adults didn’t look as enthusiastic about the presents. But she figured even if they didn’t appreciate it, it still made her feel good to try. She took a seat in one of the empty chairs and watched the younger patients laugh and joke and shake the boxes, trying to guess what was in them. Anticipation would get to them. Christmas wasn’t for another two weeks. She wondered if she should have brought them later on in the month. She shook that thought. If she hadn’t gotten out of her house today she would have gone nuts. The house was beautiful but she had been spending way too much time inside it. She was becoming a hermit. She had had Aleks over a couple weekends, which made her happy. He filled her house with the sounds she wished were there every day. The little kid screams and the sound of little feet. She loved her nephew to death. She wasn’t sure Kassi knew how much she loved that little boy. She had been watching him for her while she worked. Thrilled to have time with him. Kassi worked at the local bar as a bartender. Chloe usually went on Saturday nights to hang out with Kassi and have some fun.

Chloe took a moment to look around again, surveying the patients closest to her. Some smiled like she did as they watched the younger ones. Some just looked bored and others looked positively pissed off. She didn’t even try to picture herself in their shoes. She had no clue what they were going through. But she hoped that they at least had a somewhat okay Christmas. She knew it must be tough for some of them. Hell, she wouldn’t be able to survive in a place like this. In her mind, all of these people were a whole lot stronger than her. She admired them for that. She looked down at the visitor sticker stuck to her chest. The edges were peeling off so she pressed them back down. She wondered if any of the patients would be bothered by her being there. She just wanted to spend some time with them. Get to observe the people she had bought gifts for. She could have easily dropped the presents and left but she wanted to be around the people in here. Learn about them. She wanted to come back and make good on the promise she had made to the girl upstairs too. She would come back later on in the week and do her make up for her. Even cut her hair if she wanted. It might have sounded strange but she felt so content just sitting there.

[NIXON KENNEDY]

Nixon hadn't really been looking forward to going in to work today of all days. His first day off in two weeks and he had an emergency call in. He had never hated work as much as he hated it right now. He had planned to finish moving into the place he had bought months ago. He hadn't really had a chance to get his house settled, and his furniture aranged perfectly. The only he had really organized was his bedroom. He had the bed up and his closet was filled with his uniforms and his nice clothes. He had been too busy to set more than that and his dresser with his television on it. He just wished he had asked someone to move in with him, he knew if he had then he would at least have his kitchen and living room set up. He wondered briefly if he should just ask someone at work if they needed a place to stay for a few months. He hoped the day wouldn't turn out too bad. He hadn't gotten much rest the night before and it was driving him nuts that they had asked him of all people in, and not the others. He was the only one to ever pull over time, and his bosses were lucky that he didn't have a family or he would tell them to fuck off.

He sighed, christmas was getting closer and he wasn't looking forward to it. He loathed the holiday, he never had anyone to spend it with, cause he never wanted to go home. He loved his parents and siblings very much, but being the middle child to seventeen, wasn't all it was cracked up to be. It was what helped push him to be a counselor, his own problems being bi polar. He didn't mind counseling a patient as long as he could actually get to know them. It was the one thing he hated about helping out the other counselors, cause he had no idea about any of their patients prior to meeting them. He sighed as he entered the living room. There was only so much he could do for patients that he was unfamiliar with. His patients were close to him, almost like his own family. He looked up as he entered and watched all the little kids on the floor, and he smiled to himself. He walked over to the chairs and sat down, next to a pretty brunette he didn't remember ever seeing before. "Hello, I am counselor Kennedy." He said, turning and holding his hand out to her, his clipboard across his knees.

[chloe]

Chloe was lost in her mind. Full of that feeling she got whenever she helped someone. It wasn't happiness. Happiness was a temporary feeling that was caused by something we deemed exciting. This wasn't something she just deemed exciting. This was something that touched peoples hearts. Even if they didn't want to admit it. This was joy. Joy was a completely different emotion. Or at least she thought so. Not everyone was always as cheerful and bright as Chloe. She was far from pessimistic. Normal optimists were said to see the cup as half full. Well Chloe was the type who saw the cup as overflowing all the time. She was sure people found it annoying but that was just who she was. She couldn't count how many times people had taken her kindness for granted. In fact, she'd been used, manipulated and abused by so many people in her lifetime. But she still kept her chin up and continued to look at the bright side. Someone had to be hopeful in a world full of miserable people. Chloe was determined to be that person. Nothing could bring her down.

She smiled as one of the staff members sat down next to her. He was fairly thin and looked like he could be a patient here. But she guessed that looks couldn't completely describe a person. She giggled a bit at the way he introduced himself. The other counselors she had met today had just introduced themselves to her by their first name. He sounded more like he worked at a summer camp than an asylum. "Well, hello. I'm Chloe Vayne. Uhm, I bought all those presents for the patients. I figured enough people pay attention to the kids in other hospitals. Not enough to these ones."

[/color] She drew her attention back to the younger kids who were still excited about the presents. They were telling Christmas stories and stuff now. She was glad she could inspire some Christmas spirit in a place where there really wasn't much.

She turned to face the counselor again. "So Mr. Kennedy, do you have a first name? Or is Kennedy your first name?"[/color] She doubted Kennedy was his first name. When used as a first name, Kennedy was usually a girls name.But she figured she'd ask anyways. Chloe was very friendly and sometimes people found her to be a bit invasive. But she was sure that this counselor was kind enough. She could tell just by the way her carried himself. The nice smile on his face. His gentle eyes. She had a knack for knowing when someone was friendly enough to be open with. Most people were nervous when they met someone new, not Chloe. She was always confident. Even when people didn't take her so kindly.[/blockquote][/blockquote]

*the whole time i was trying to type this, khaos was trying to steal my red starbursts....not any other color, just the red ones.*