Adopted by Tyler Joseph

(This is told from Marie's POV)

I wake up with a jolt and sweat beading down my face. My chest feels tight and I nearly jump out of bed when I see two girls beside me, staring.

"What's the problem, had another bad dream?"

The two girls laughed. It was Alyssa and Rose; the meanest girls on the unit. And for whatever reason, they always seemed to have a certain "liking" towards me.

"Ugh, just leave me alone." I groan.

"Fine, but I just thought I'd let you know, you're late for the open house." She laughed villainously as she walked out of my room and shut the door.

"Damn." I looked at the clock and she was right; I was twenty minutes late. I missed breakfast too. I frantically scramble around for some half-decent clothing and manage to find a shirt and black hoodie along with some black jeans and shoes. I pull my sleeves down to cover the wounds on my arms.

I study myself. My short black hair and gauges made me smile: I've always loved having boyish hair. My pale skin and thick eyebrows make my hazel eyes pop out. I've never been confident in myself, it's just that today I hate myself slightly less. But that could change in a snap, especially with those two devils here on unit. I walk out the door and head downstairs to see a room of people being greeted and sitting with other residents.

Then a hand grabs my wrist and pulls me to the side. It was our mistress.

"Where the HELL were you??" She whispered.

"I-I'm sorry, my alarm must've been shut off a-and nobody woke me u-"

Slap!

"Don't blame this on the others! It's all your fault. Get in there when your face isn't so red and help your residents connect with our guests; god knows you won't be adopted today looking like a trashbag."

I hold my hand up to my cheek as the mistress walks away. Her curly brown hair and wrinkly skin makes her look like a witch. She practically is one though, or at least she acts like it. I try to hold back tears and take a deep breath.

Walking into the room, I see all kinds of people; some tall, old, short, young, couples, single people, etc. I grab a platter of snacks to hand out to guests and offer it to them. Most of them would either say yes or no, then would continue with what they were doing. But this time, a young man struck up a conversation with me.

"What's your name?" He said.

I did a quick scan of this man to see what he would be like. He has brown curly hair, a long, small nose, he was very thin, wore skinny jeans, black shoes, a T-shirt, and had a low and calming voice. He seemed...interesting.

"Marie. Marie Crawford." I smiled the best I could. He chuckled.

"Well Marie, tell me about yourself." His warm smile gave me comfort, so I set the platter down and took a seat across from him.

"Well, I'm 14, I love music, art, and animals. I'm not very girly, I mostly just do my own thing, listening to alternative music and such."

He smiled.
"Really? That's sick! I'm actually in a band."

I chuckled.
"I know, I've heard your self titled album and vessel, your music has gotten me through a lot, but I don't know much about you. I've never been to a concert and we're not allowed to have internet here."

"That's sick, I'm glad you like my music man. So, What kinds of things do you like to do?"

"I LOVE to draw. It's been my hobby for as long as I can remember." I said, showing an authentic smile.

"Maybe sometime you could show me them, you seem really sweet. How long have you been stuck here?"

"I've been at this facility since I was twelve, an-"

My conversation was cut short with the mistress pulling me out of my chair.

"What do you think you're doing bothering this man? Aren't you supposed to be passing out snacks and helping the others?" She yelled.

"What are you doing, are you trying to get adopted??"
She said that through her gritted teeth with such coldness in her voice that tears started running down my face. I nodded.

"Ugh, go upstairs, stop being a pest."

I looked the man in eyes and could only muster up the courage to whimper a small "sorry" before I ran to the staircase.

I could hear the mistress talking to Tyler behind the door.

"I'm so sorry sir, she was just supposed to be handing out snacks, not pester you. She is very bratty and loud sometimes, I'm sorry."

I heard enough and ran upstairs.