Straight Jacket Romance -15-

Before Alice and I could really react Tony and Alan had entered the room. Tony grabbed Alice throwing him against his bed as Alan administered a shot. I went to help Alice but Gail stuck my arm with a needle too. I never made it to the floor even as I instantly felt my body calm. Tony had caught me before I had fallen. And now Alan was holding Alice as well.

"Get them both straight jackets and give them a few hours in the quiet room. We'll see if they have another episode like this." Gaul spoke looking directly to Alice, despite her orders going to Tony and Alan.

She was threatening Alice to have nothing to do with me. If he pushed me out of his life than things could return to normal for him. She was giving him a lesson and hoping it would be enough to scare him into being loyal to her again. Alice just sneered, it seemed answer enough cause Gail turned her head and marched out of the room, head held high. She came back in with two menacing looking jackets. They had buckles and leather restraints. It terrified me but I couldn't fight back. I was already feeling so tired.

Alice and I couldn't fight back well enough to prevent them from putting the jackets on. The jacket slid around me and was buckled into place before I even had a chance to shift my shoulders. It was tight, restricting and I knew I would not be able to wiggle my way out but I tried sleepily to do so. After that it was easy for us to be carried off. I watched as Tony lifted Alice over his shoulder who was still thrashing as if trying to get out but couldn't. I struggled once in a while but every time I tried to fight back I felt more tired after wards. It took all my energy to try and break out of the constricting material.

"I hope you two will calm down by then!" Gail spat out as we were carried off.

We went down the long hallway to a back corner of the asylum I had never seen before. A door was opened and Alice and I were dropped on the floor. Alan and Tony slammed the door shut and I looked around. The room was white and padded but not at all like a bed. It was a bit hard and consuming. Every time I moved I felt like I would be swallowed alive. The padding was worn, old and dirty. It wasn't all that soft either. This was not the way I pictured this room being.

I glanced over to Alice who had worked himself onto his knees while I had surveyed this new room. He was resting his weight on his heels looking over to me silently. I struggled to get myself up, rolling a but but finally managed to make it to my knees as well.

"Alice..." I winced doing my best to get to him with little movements.

The moment I was near him I put my head against his shoulder feeling defeat. The drugs were coursing through my veins, stripping me of energy. I was getting tired. I was giving up.

"It's gonna be okay Emilie." He assured me but his breathing was slow.

He sounded tired, his voice much softer than normal. And then out of nowhere he let out a small laugh as if finding something funny. I lifted my head to look him in the eyes.

"You're laughing..." I was so confused.

This did not seem like a time to laugh. Not even slightly. Maybe Alice had finally snapped? I knew I was ready to.

"My nose itches." Alice confessed to me with a smile.

I started laughing the moment I heard his reasoning. Out of all the things currently happening to us, his concern was an itchy nose. And what worst time for that to happen when our arms were bound.

"Well what can I do?" For a moment I forgot about everything.

Forget the evil head nurse that hated me without reason, the restrains that kept us bound and the quiet room in which we were locked away. It was comical the way I cared about something as simple as his itchy nose.

"Rub your nose against mine." Alice suggested moving his nose a bit as if to try and itch it himself, which only made him look like a bunny rabbit and didn't really aid him in any way.

I brought my nose to his, rubbing gently. Despite the reasoning behind the move being an itch the act felt rather intimate. It reminded me Eskimo kisses. And I nuzzled him again with smile.

"Is that good?" I questioned pulling back slight, ready to nuzzle him again to help.

Alice looked at me and smiled. He leaned tilting his head as he kissed me softly.

"It's perfect, Emilie." He brushed the tip of his nose lightly against mine again.

I was feeling so tired now. My body submitting fully to the drugs. If they put us on strong stuff just to help us sleep normally I didn't want to think about how these new drugs would render me useless. My eyes started to drift shut against my will. I wanted to tell Alice before I lost all consciousness that I cared for him. I needed him to know, encase something happened and I didn't get a chance to see him again.

"Alice, I think I'm really falling for you." I confessed to him.

Sure, it was probably a bit soon to feel this way but I did. What did it matter any way? When you were in a place like this, emotions came on strong. And I felt something deep for Alice. He would never judge me anyway, I felt safe telling him. He gave me a tired smile.

"I'm falling for you too." He assured me leaning to me again.

Our lips became interlocked, our kiss passionate and rushed. I struggled in my straight jacket to pull my arms free. I wanted to hold Alice, to bury my fingers deep in his long black hair but I couldn't. He was right there in front of me but entirely out of my reach. It was unfair to be withheld from him in such a way. But seeming to know we could not go further we parted, our breath shallow. He seemed to be as turned on as I had become from the kiss but any efforts were useless. I put my head back against his shoulder with a sigh.

"I don't want to fall asleep Alice but I'm so tired." I complained to him.

I wanted to stay in this perfect insane moment. I wanted to be all alone in this padded room away from the world with only his company. I wanted to break out of this restrain and hold Alice close. I wanted to feel his body against mine but I couldn't even catch a full breath.

"Stay awake Emilie. Nothing can harm you if you're awake and here with me." Alice looked desperate.

I could see he was fighting sleep himself. He seemed exhausted but unwilling to give in easily. Alice was a fighter. He was stronger than his body led on, despite a lean frame he was tough.

"Stay awake with me Em. I'm here for you." Alice kissed me again.

It was as if he was trying to keep my mind off how tired I was but no matter how much energy his kiss sparked in me I couldn't do it. I let my body drop against the floor away from him. I landed against my shoulder uncomfortably pushing all my weight onto it.

"I'm too tired." I said softly.

Alice let himself fall beside me, seeming more in control in his free-fall than I had been in mine. We were facing one another, on our sides. The straight jackets pulled at our bodies, restraining us from any intimacy. The medication was pumping into our systems, rendering us unable to move and sleep grabbed at us unforgiving.

"Alice, please be here when I wake." I felt my eyes swell with tears.

I was scared that when I shut my eyes they would take him away. I needed Alice. I didn't want to wake up to an empty padded room. I couldn't continue on getting better without him. He gave me hope in a sometimes depressing world. I felt the tear slid down my cheek. My blinks were becoming longer.

"Don't cry." Alice came closer.

He put his forehead against mine. Our eyes stayed locked.

"I'll be here. Okay? I'll always be here for you." He tilted his head back a little to press his lips to my forehead.

I closed my eyes, giving up.

"Me too." I got out in a rather slurred tone.

I didn't hear Alice's response. Everything just faded in a blur of mumbling and darkness. The medication had won.