"Time to get the fuck out, freak."

Carmen's dark eyes squinted at the sudden bright light streaming in from the hallway, illuminating the once dark padded room he had inhabited for the last forty-eight hours. Solitary confinement for another 'fight' they said, but he knew the truth. They were afraid of him, of what he knew. Even if it was something others couldn't see -- Carmen could, and that made all the difference. With a lazy grin, the lanky figure unfolded his legs and stood slowly from the cold floor, the walls covered in random, feverish sketches of symbols that seemed to pulse and shift in his vision. The orderly, a burly man with a face as rough as the concrete block walls of the halls, stepped back, his eyes flickering to the drawings before scowling at Carmen.

"Back to your room."

Carmen slowly stalked towards the door, his smile never wavering and his gaze flicking from the orderly's face to the hallway beyond. The air was stale with the scent of antiseptic and unease, his favorite cocktail. Shooting the orderly a sideways glance, Carmen mumbled, "I may be a freak, but you're just a cog in their fucked-up machine, aren't ya?" The man's growl of annoyance caused the patient to cackle almost hysterically. The laughter echoed down the stark corridor as Carmen was led back to his room, the sound bouncing off the sterile walls like a pinball.

It was the middle of the night, meaning he wouldn't have to deal with the pestering of orderlies or doctors trying to force him to eat. Carmen had always been a night owl, his mind coming alive in the quiet, and it was the only time that his fucked up version of reality seemed to make the most sense. After a few moments, they arrived in the East wing, where the orderly nodded his head towards Carmen's door.

With a mock salute and a cheshire grin, Carmen opened his door and entered the dark room... hearing the man behind him mutter something about "staying out of trouble" before the door closed. As his eyes adjusted to the dark, Carmen immediately felt a difference in the room. The air was heavier, charged with something new. He squinted towards the left side of the room and spotted the silhouette of a body in the bed across from his.

He paused, his arms hanging by his side as his eyes trailed over the unfamiliar form.

A... roommate?

After a few failed attempts at the beginning of his stay, the doctor had told Carmen he was no longer allowed to have a roommate. That he was too 'disruptive', too 'volatile'. But as Carmen's eyes adjusted to the darkness, the form of a female was all too real. This wasn't one of his 'episodes' playing tricks on him; the soft rise and fall of her chest confirmed her existence.

His heart skipped a beat, a strange mix of excitement and anxiety coiling in his stomach. Approaching the bed, his steps were silent as Carmen's fingers twitched with the urge to touch, to claim what he hadn't realized he'd been craving: human interaction that wasn't forced, wasn't just another part of the 'treatment' of Sanctum Heights.

When he was beside the bed, Carmen crouched down so his tall frame was face level with hers, studying the new resident's delicate features. She slept peacefully, something he was almost envious of. He hadn't had a good night's sleep since... well, since he could remember. The urge to reach out and run his fingertips along her jaw was intense, but he held back, his OCD whispering warnings about invading personal space. Instead, he leaned back onto his haunches, watching her with a predator's patience.

'She's real' The small voice in the back of Carmen's mind insisted, as he cocked his head slowly to the side, taking in the delicate line of her nose, the plushness of her lips, and the gentle slope of her cheek. He didn't know why, but something about her felt like... home.

Home. That was an oddity. He hadn't felt that in ages, not since... he didn't dare think about it.

Carmen carefully reached his left hand out, his fingertips grazing the very edge of the blanket that covered her, the fabric feeling foreign and yet comforting to his skin. He paused, the room feeling eerily quiet except for the faint hum of the lights outside in the hallway and the soft noises she made in her sleep.

The silence was a balm to his soul, a respite from the cacophony of his usual thoughts. Carmen felt something akin to peace wash over him; or perhaps it was just the anticipation of a new puzzle to solve.

'Touch. Yes. She needs to know I’m here.' The thought whispered through Carmen's mind, chewing his bottom lip as he made his decision. With the grace of a panther, he slid his hand under the blanket, his fingertips grazing the warm, smooth skin of her wrist. It was warm... a warmth that almost took the man's breath away. How long had it been since he had felt the warmth of another human? The sensation was intoxicating, and for a moment, Carmen was lost in the simplicity of the connection.

Then his brown eyes made contact with her now open ones, the male's grin slowly spreading across his face as he leaned closer to whisper, "Oh... hey there, mi cielito. Welcome to my little slice of hell."

Carmen waited with almost baited breath, wanting to see how this new roommate would react to his sudden presence. Would she scream, jolt awake with a start, or perhaps even smile at him? The anticipation was thrilling, a rush that his medicated existence hadn't provided in a long time.