Insanity Meets Crazy

Preston Forest Shopping Center

The Preston Forest Shopping Center is large and classy. The entrance is open and spacious, a rectangular fountain surrounded by potted trees leading up the middle of the mall, with pathways on either side for shoppers. One can easily see both floors from here and the lighting is amazing - beside the typical electric bulbs, the roof is comprised of glass allowing the sunlight to filter in.
Shops and businesses spread out here both east and west as well as to the back of the mall. Hidden away in the back corner one can find the escalator to the second story, as well as washrooms and a bank of payphones.


The mall! It is a great place to go to get stuff. Yes. It is a very important part of her day, today, so here Rose is. The mall. For something. Stuff, really. Sadly, now that she's here, she can't remember why. So she stands and looks around as if she were a lost child. This causes her to act as a roadblock to other patrons and that causes them to be quite annoyed.
A security guard begins to approach her to see what exactly is going on. Rose does notice this and begins to walk because of it. The last thing she wants is to have the cops tell her sister that she's doing something stupid. So now she's wandering around randomly, hoping that she can remember why she's even here.

Shopping - something Chloe absolutely hates to do. Especially at the Preston Forest Shopping Center. Her reason is simple. Far too many people here, too much to try and block out. Thankfully, she took her meds and the voices are all just a dull murmur in her mind now.

Slinging her purse over her shoulder, Chloe makes her way through the mall, trying to find a specific shop. A book store, really. She works in a library and has information galore at her fingertips, but in the middle of Dallas, Texas, one isn't going to be able to find oodles of books on the Templars at the public library.

Something catches her eye that's not the Book Nook. It's a girl, looking similar to one from her brother's mind the other night. "Hope! Hey, Hope!" And off she goes, trying to catch up to the girl.

Is it this store? Nope. What about this one? No. This is frustrating. Confusion and fear are evident on the young woman's face as she continues to walk. She may be good at upsetting other people but she doesn't even realize it. Today, apparently, is a very bad day for Rose.
At the end of the tunnel is a light, and that light is Chloe. It takes a moment for Rose to register that someone is calling out to someone else. Perhaps Hope is here! So Rose looks around for her sister, hopeful that she will be able to tell her what she's doing. Only she doesn't see Hope at all. She sees someone looking at her and calling her that. Maybe she is Hope? No, that can't be. Or can it?
Not knowing what to do, all Rose can do is offer a tiny wave to this strange woman. Her confusion is clear but perhaps Chloe will think it relates to other issues.

The wave just goes to further Chloe's assumption as she makes her way toward the other woman. She stops just a little ways away. Not too close as to wander into personal space, but not so far off that she can't hold a quiet conversation. "Totally rude of me to accost you like this, I know. But I think you know my brother." Beat. "Bobby, I mean. He mentioned you, and I couldn't help but be curious, since he doesn't really talk about women he meets." A big smile is given to Rose.

It slowly turns to a bit of a frown. No pink. Hairstyle different. Then again, she could be seeing the woman the way her brother sees her when she peered into his mind?

Oh, Chloe is a smart person, she is. She should trust her instincts. Rose doesn't. Could it be that she's really just Hope and has been all along.
The confusion is only made worse as Chloe explains herself. "Bobby who?" Rose has heard the name before but it doesn't come to mind at the moment. She' s having a very bad day today. "Wait, I think you're talking about my clone. My doppelganger? Or is it me?" Rose looks about in a state of panic before looking back to Chloe. "Am I my own clone? Did I make it all up?"

"Your clone? Doppelganger?" Chloe blinks at this, then tries to recall a few news articles. "Twins!" She brings her hand up to smack herself on the forehead. "You must be /Faith/," she says, not realizing that there could be something wrong with calling the other woman that. "Robert, my brother, is friends with your sister Hope. That's why I thought you were her. I'm sorry."

Then she recalls the mental issues, and her expression softens a bit. "So far as I know, your sister is real, but I haven't really met her yet."

Everyone in Dallas should know her current mental state thanks to the papers. This is part of the reason why she has such an issue with the police and other such people. Rose narrows her eyes and shakes her head. "No. Rose." She sighs deeply, her voice showing some distaste. "Excuse me. Faith Rose Tyler. But Rose. Please." Only Hope can get away with calling her Faith.
Then she has a sudden lapse in her insanity and breaks out in a fit of giggles. "Oh, right! Her boyfriend." Poor Faith has been led to believe things that may or may not exactly be true. "He's supposed to go shopping with us so I can make him carry things." The issue of possibly being two people at once seems to drop away just as suddenly as it came up.

The full name explains to Chloe why Will was calling the girl Rose last night. "Oh! I'm /so/ sorry. Rose, then. It's just the papers said Faith, so I didn't know." That gets a sheepish sort of grin, then she nods toward a nearby bench. "They're dating? That's news to me, I only just heard about her a few days ago." Beat. "Getting Bobby to go shopping with you?" She laughs. "You'll have to take pictures."

She starts to move toward the bench, motioning for the other woman to follow her. "So what are you shopping for today? I bet you're happy to not be in Green Oaks any more. It's not a very nice place, is it? I should know, I was there for a while, because I'm crazy." She taps at her head. "I hear voices, but not anymore since they gave me medication for it."

The papers. Rose sighs deeply as she hears that but doesn't really comment on it. It wouldn't be nice to be rude. Her eyes focus on the bench and remain there as she talks. "She said that she was his church date, I think. I'm sorry, I don't really remember right now. I do remember her saying that he was very cute." Slowly Rose turns back to look at Chloe, and she really looks at her. "If he's your brother, I can see where he'd be cute."
Now they're moving, and Rose does venture towards the Bench. This is why she's not supposed to go out alone on bad days. What she hears isn't helping her lack of memory so she instead sits down. Her head finds her hands and she almost starts crying. "I don't know. I don't remember." It's almost a plea for help, really, and is rather sad. "Hope said that they fixed you, made you better." Perhaps it may not be exactly what she said but Rose isn't exactly in her mind.

"Rose," Chloe asks with a bit of concern, "Do you want me to take you home?" The woman does not look at all well, though she won't press anymore than that one question. "It's okay if you don't remember, it really is." She's choosing to let the compliment and all slide, due to her concern. "They did make me better. I just take a pill or two every day, and then I'm fine." A smile offered, then she exhales a sigh.

Will is going to /kill/ her, and not in the happy-fun-way of maybe turning her into a vampire. More like in the I-haven't-murdered-anyone-for-being-so-stupid-before way.

Chloe reaches out a hand, teeth gnawing at her lip. "May I? Maybe I can help." Yes, because delving into the mind of a potentially psychotic girl in the middle of the shopping mall is the absolute best idea she's had ever.

The mall is the perfect place for someone to delve into Rose's mind. It is very public and will potentially create a scene. Rose is very good at making scenes. Rose immediately shakes her head to the offer. "No. I can't go home. I need to get something." The more she tries to remember, that harder it is and the more painful it is. She's working on another episode. "Medication is bad." That's a suddenly sharp thing to say. "Someone told me. See, I'm not sick. I'm broken. A vampire did it, but she's dead now. So I can't be fixed, not with medication."
Then Chloe is reaching out for her and is asking to help. Rose tilts her head, confused. "Are you special, too? Like Ivan?" Oh, yes. She apparently knows the guy. She looks about before looking to Chloe again. There's fear there but she just nods. "You'll see. I'm broken."

"Medication isn't bad. It helps keep the voices away." Chloe keeps being told something similar, but she likes it when the voices are gone. It's rare of her to offer to use her curse for something anyhow. Ivan is mentioned, and she touches on it for a moment. "How is Ivan special, Rose? I can't say if I'm special like he is, because I don't know what he can do." Minor fib. She's seen his powers, been under his spell. Still doesn't have a clue /what/ he is though.

"A vampire did this to you?" News to her. "Well, maybe I can at least help you remember what you need to get." Then she takes Rose's hand, and tries to push away the medication that she was so happy about taking just moments ago. Good thing she's got more pills in her purse, she has a feeling she's going to need them as she starts to delve into the other woman's mind.

Rose shakes her head at this point. "It might be good for you, but it isn't for me. I believe it. I feel different with it." The sad point is that Rose actually does know what she's talking about, or she at least is saying the right things. It's hard for people to believe a mental patient. "Ivan? He's cute." That's how he's special! "And he made my marks go away." She's meaning her bruises. They're still there, honestly, but she believes them to be gone.
That's an odd question, so Rose looks at her as if she's stupid. "Yeah. Well, that's what I'm told, anyway. I don't remember." Rose's mind is like a giant fog. Navigating it isn't easy. It's full of holes and the whole nine yards. Yet the interference of Chloe causes the fog to part. Her recent memories start to spring up, from cuddling with Ivan to her conversations with vampires. On the forefront of her mind is the reason that she is here: hamster supplies. She wants to buy presents for the furballs. Even with the fog gone, however, there are many areas of just black within her mind.

Ugh.

That is the very first thought Chloe has. How anyone could be even remotely interested in the playboy, she doesn't have a clue. But she keeps a smile plastered on her face, the most recent memories being stored away for when she talks to her brother. Though, would it really be fair of her to do that? All things considered, she herself is prone to conversations with vampires - at least a certain one.

"Oh, how cute! We need to go to the pet store. You came to find hamster stuff." That is the only pause she makes. Why? Because she keeps pushing, trying to delve into the darkness. Not that she's at all proficient with doing so, but she's experimenting, and learning about herself at the same time.

How can anyone like the playboy? He talks the talk, and Rose is a mental patient. It should be easy to figure out how she can like him. Plus? He did help her out. Chloe doesn't know all of this, though. At least she's getting answers, and that's what matters to Rose. "Oh, that's right!" Happy hamster stuff! "Do you want to come?"
If only it were just that simple, but Chloe is still pushing, still going back. She'll see glimpses of memories that have happened since Faith arrived in Dallas. If she keeps going, she'll see Faith waking up in the hospital, screaming and flailing and having no clue what is happening. Before that the most recent memory is of her in college, and with her sister, plotting a party for Tripp. The actual moment where she was attacked is black, sealed away. There are spots of it which are almost like looking at the snow on a tv station that is trying to come in. These are there due to all that she's been told recently.

"Whoa…" Okay, not as bad as Will was saying, but she /does/ have a killer headache now. Chloe releases Rose's hand quickly as though it's on fire, holds up her right index finger in a 'wait one moment' position, then digs into her purse with her left hand. She pulls out a bottle of pills, opens it, pops one between her lips and swallows without water. The bottle is then closed, dropped back in her purse, and her smile returns.

"Sure, I'll come help you find the stuff you're looking for." She doesn't add the "in case you forget again" that's on the tip of her tongue. Her eyes close briefly, and she nods. "I think, with help, I can help you. I… well I'm not sure. I've never tried to help anyone before." She taps her finger to her temple and winks. "But, I'd like to try, if you want me to. If not, that's okay too. Us crazies, we've got to stick together."

Now she's gone and made someone be in pain. This isn't something that she's exactly proud of. Good thing she doesn't know what's going on. For her part, Rose primarily doesn't understand what's happening. There's a sudden inkling that she should be thinking of some past memories. For some reason she happens upon the time she woke up in the loony bin. It's not a pleasant memory and causes her to make a bitter face. This in turn causes her to look away and nearly leave.
She'd light up at the possibility of Chloe's help with her hamster good needs but she's feeling a little blue right now. "Thank you," is all that she can muster to say. Then she's being offered some help and all Rose can do is stare. Staring is wrong but still, she can't help it. "You can make me not stupid anymore?" For a time she actually looks hopeful. "I don't want to be stupid anymore. And I don't think you're crazy."

"And I don't think you're stupid, Rose. I think something very bad happened to you, and y'all got something called repressed memories." Whether or not that's the case, it's the psychobabble that Chloe is spewing at the moment. Not that her head is not exploding with awful memories and at least thirty nearby voices. "I'm not making any promises. I have to talk to my friend Will about it, and see what he says. He knows more about this stuff than I do." Beat. "I forgot, you've met him already."

She frowns at this. "I've heard that before." So many people seem to pity her. It does get old from time to time. Then she mentions Will and Rose shifts uncomfortably. "Yeah, I met him. He can be scary." Notice the words can be. "I mean, he seemed nice in the end, but I think that I upset him somehow." It takes a minute before she tries to put things together, then she blinks. "Did he meet with you because of Green Oaks, too?"

"Uh-uh. Met him at a bookstore." Chloe smiles at her despite the frown. "Before everything with Green Oaks happened, and I'm sorry you had to go through that. I mean, I'd be sorry that /anyone/ had to go through that. Between you'n me? I would've been scared." See? She's not pitying Rose so much as having empathy for her. "I honestly don't think you upset him, either. I'm guessing he was upset at what happened to you. He doesn't think people should ever be treated like that."

It's uncomfortable, it really is. Thinking about what happened there. "It was my fault, really. I broke the rules." Rose is the type of person to try and make excuses for everyone. Unfortunately she can't make strong excuses for a place that has upset her so much. There's much debate about what to say here until finally she decides to just speak her mind. "I think he's worried about me, maybe. I mean, I don't know what was said but I think he told Ivan to take care of me." That's the impression she got, anyway.

What Rose says, sort of corroborates what Will was telling her. Chloe nods, just thankful that Ivan will hopefully be leaving /her/ alone. "There isn't any harm in people being worried about you. Means you have people that care." On a whim, she pulls out a little notepad and pen from her purse, loopily writes her name and phone number on one of the pages, and tears it out. Then she offers it to Rose. "Here. If you ever want to talk about what happened there, or I don't know, just want to get out for some girl time with someone other than your sister, you can call me, okay? I think, if your sister is anything like my brother, she's probably a bit uptight." Nosewrinkle. "Don't get me wrong. I love my brother to pieces, but sometimes it's more fun to hang out with people who aren't family."

"People are only nice to me because I'm insane. I should be thankful but it's hard. At least it makes vampires be friends with me and not want to eat me." As much as she may just be in denial, Rose is actually on to something with the way that she's thinking. The paper is accepted hesitantly yet she begins to smile. There's even the faintest of giggles offered. "I love my clone, but she doesn't trust me. She doesn't believe me when I tell her about my medication. I wouldn't trust me either, but she's the only person I can remember." The information is put somewhere very much safe so she doesn't lose it. "I'd like to hang out. Even if you can't fix me. I don't expect anyone to."

"Now, I don't think that's true at all. I'm being nice to you because I want to be, not because you've got issues." Chloe only uses the insane word when speaking of herself. "You just be careful around those vampires. Some can be really nice, but not all of them will be. Don't you let them take advantage of you. If one of them does, you let me know and I'll tell Will, okay?" Because he's got a lot of clout? At least, she assumes he does.

"I'd /love/ to hang out with you sometime. Maybe we can even go get our nails done or something." A treat she doesn't often give to herself. "Fixed or not, we'll have fun. Maybe get your hair done, and then you can surprise Ivan." Ugh. It so kills her to say that, but hey. If Rose is happy, who's she to judge? After all, it's not like she's ever even dated anyone.

Well, now, that makes her pause in her tracks. "Yeah, but it's different." How is it different? She has to think on it. "Well, you know. You kind of understand." Even if Chloe didn't, she might have a better feeling of it now that she's gone into her mind. "Oh, I'm not afraid. Just Michael said he claimed me. I know what it means, but I don't understand how he can just do that. Either way, he's supposed to protect me, even if he didn't give me his number until I met with Mister Grant." The information is there. Rose should be able to figure out what is going on, or not going on, but she just can't form it properly. Maybe some day.
There are girly things to be done? This is so odd. Rose nods, though, even if she looks skeptical. "Girly stuff." That's exactly what it is. "I think I would like that. People shouldn't like me for it, but I won't complain if they do. I hear it is really nice." Getting nails done, that is. There's a pause. "You think he'd like that? Then yeah, I'd like to do that."

"Waitaminute," Chloe says quickly. "Will explained this whole claiming thing to me last night. He said that a vampire can only claim ownership of a human with that human's permission. And it means that no other vampire will harass you, and sure, they're supposed to protect you, but you have to be willing. Did he explain that to you?" If not, she's going to have to let Will know what's going on.

"I'll make an appointment for us, if you want. You call me when you think you'll have some time, and I'll get it all set up. We can go to a day spa, and there's a boutique not far from there. We can go shopping too."

She just has to have that ability to get people into trouble. Rose blinks and nods slowly, almost as if she's clueless. "He did." The way she ends that statement should indicate that there's more coming. "Eventually. I mean, it was after he did it. I think. And after I was bitten by a different one. That's why he told me. I think." It's so confusing and she's really having issues remembering it all correctly. "But I could be wrong. I have memory issues, you know? I could have maybe forgotten."
But all that negative stuff really isn't important, because she has PLANS now. Rose quickly does the thinking on how she's going to arrange such a thing and then nods, this time with more enthusiasm. "Yeah, okay. I'll let you know. It'll be fun, and we can even go out to eat. It'll be a nice break from everything." Since she has such a hard life and all.

Why'd she have to go and make things so complicated? Chloe blinks at her as she babbles, nodding here and there. "You got bitten? I think that, if a vampire bites you when you're under another one's protection that's a bad thing." She considers briefly. "Rose? Do you want me to make sure there's not a problem with that? If you give me the other vampire's name, I can tell Will and maybe he won't get into trouble."

The serious expression on Chloe's face dissolves into a smile again. "Sure! We can do lunch out before going to the appointment. My treat." Since she's not at all sure how much money Rose will have to be spending. "But you should go and get your hamster stuff now before you forget. Those cute little critters will be happy for the treat."

Rose always makes things complicated. It's the way of the woman. "Yeah, I think you're right. They talked about it in front of me. I didn't like it because they were scaring me. I don't like it when people don't get along." She shakes her head at the offer and bites her lip. "Mister Grant's going to be very upset. He wants to talk to him about Just Michael, because he thinks he's not doing his job. I think. I don't know." Remembering hurts very much. She forgets to try and remember his name, too.
Oh, the hamsters! Rose practically jumps to her feet at the thought of it and nods firmly. "They're so cute! I need to get them something." At least she sounds like she won't forget. "Thank you very much! I'll call, I promise."

"I promise you, Mr. Grant is going to be more upset if I don't have all the information, Rose." Because, at this point, she can't /not/ tell him what she knows. Especially since he did say he wanted to keep Rose safe for the time being. "Who's not doing his job? Just Michael, or Mr. Grant? Mr. Grant can't do his job unless he knows what's going on, and he can't be everywhere at once." Though, she's really not entirely sure on that last one.

Chloe nods. "Don't forget to call. I don't get to go out a whole lot myself, so it will be nice for me to have someone to hang out with too."

"It's hard. I don't remember things well." Yes, Rose, she gets the point. This has been mentioned many times. "And he saved me. He wouldn't hurt me. I didn't feel it, I don't think." The fact that she can't really remember does bother her but she's on a path to recovery concerning it all. "Just Michael. I haven't really talked about Mister Grant much. I don't want people to know that I know him. They'll make me not go out anymore." The conversation has moved to focus completely on this vampire thing, since it's so serious. Chloe will easily be able to tell that Rose is trying to be loyal to all parties, but it is difficult due to their conflicting interests.

An image. A brief image, but it's enough. Chloe's brow furrows a little, and she puffs out a sigh. Now she knows, and she knows what she'll be doing when she leaves the mall. "It's okay that you don't remember, Rose. I'm not upset about it, see?" A forced smile, but a smile none the less. "It'll all work out, don't stress over it anymore." It'll all work out, one way or another. Chloe is not about to get into the middle of a vampire scuffle, but at the same time, it just feels wrong to think about not giving Will the information.

"You just go to the pet store, and call me whenever you want. So now both your hamsters /and/ you have something to look forward to!"

If only she knew what sort of trouble she's stirring up. Rose really should take a vacation from anything and everything related to creatures of the night. Now she has Ivan to protect her so she doesn't need any of them, right? She just nods, thankful that she's not being forced into remembering anything anymore. It's so hard sometimes. She's almost forgotten why she's standing at this point anything, so it's a good thing that Chloe reminds her. "Oh, right." Rose nods quickly, moves to attempt to give Chloe a small hug then turns and takes off. She must get to the pet store before she forgets. There will be much fun with hamster bumper balls in the coming hours.

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