When the Skeletons Rattle in Their Cages

[Ashley Benson]

Contrary to popular belief Ashley didn't mind venturing out into the world.  While she did spend a great deal of her time hidden away in the apartment she shared with Ellen Banks, Ashley liked being outside, especially during winter.  Everything seemed so quiet and peaceful with the freshly fallen powder on the ground.  It gave the entire city such a clean, almost fresh look.  The snow hanging among the empty branches of the trees made certain areas look as though they were pulled directly out of an art or photography book.  She loved this time of year and it showed in her brilliant, blue eyes as she stepped into the bookstore.

Ashley offered the clerk at the counter a polite smile before ducking down the familiar shelves.  The literary content of books were rarely the aspect of them Ashley latched onto so much as it was the peaceful solitude she found within the pages she longed for.  A book was merely a way to keep her mind focused on a level she rarely experienced.  There was that and also the simple fact that people who tended to flock to places like this were rarely the loud, boisterous type.  She preferred quiet, bookish people as they were more often than not intellectual or creative.  She may have not found herself in either of those categories but that didn't stop Ashley from appreciating them.

"Hey, Patch."  Ashley said as the nearby movement pulled her from the book in front of her.  She'd made a selection of a book, paid for it and made her way up to the cafe where she planned to spend an hour or so nibbling on a cookie or two and drinking hot chocolate.  Ellen would be getting off work in a couple hours and she wanted to get home to make dinner before it got too late.  A smile seemed to leak into her eyes as they gleamed at the sight of the young man.  "How's it going?"  She asked, her tone, as always, soft and a touch subdued.  "Do you have time to sit?"  Her head tilted in curiosity.  "There's a hot chocolate in it for you."  She said, smiling brightly at the offer.

[Patch Adams]

With the regular crowd beginning to fill the cafe, Patch had been called out from the back room downstairs to help out upstairs. Nothing too heavy, just slinging drinks and cleaning tables, both of which were happening at a pretty slow pace.

He was wiping a table that had just cleared when he heard his name called out by a familiar face. Turning to give his regular customer a wide smile, Patch threw the rag over his shoulder and walked over to Ashley.

The dark haired girl always seemed to somehow sit well with Patch. It was a strange feeling that he wasn't even sure was pleasant or not. It just felt right. Like something in him recognised something in her.

Which was why he always had time to spare for her.

"Hey Ash. Always have time for my favourite customer." He slid into the chair opposite her and chuckled at her offer. "I'd be flattered if I didn't already get it for free." He responded before looking down at her book. "Oh did your order come in already? What is it this time?"

[Ashley Benson]

Ashley smiled lightly. Even something as small as casually being referred to as a favorite anything was met with a certain sense of modest disbelief. Patch had been the rare person who never seemed to be all that worried about who she was beneath the veneer of normalcy she struggled to maintain. Perhaps it was merely him taking the employee/customer relationship to the next level and excelling at his job or maybe he just didn't feel the need to pry into her personal life. Either way Ashley found it a welcome reprieve from so many of the other interactions she had with people who only seemed to want to talk about her and Ellen. Having someone who did little more than smile to her and let her idly chat about the say meant more to her than Patch could possibly imagine.

"It's the thought that counts, right?" Ashley said, her eyes gleaming brightly as Patch changed coursed and moved closer. As always she displayed just a hint of hesitation whenever questioned about her selection of special ordered books. She feared the titles would ultimately raise suspicions that she wasn't merely interested in the common topic of the literary works but Patch had yet to show any signs that it mattered. She placed a weathered book mark between the pages and held it up, turning the cover toward Patch so he could see the title 'Recovered, Not Cured' printed across the top. "How's the 'backstage' work?" She asked, quickly shifting the conversation back to Patch. She enjoyed hearing him talk about even the most mundane of things. It made her feel normal if only for a few minutes.

[Patch Adams]

"Always what counts." He nodded with a teasing grin. It was always a welcome change, having customers who actually thought of the people serving them instead of being mean and unpleasant. And Ashley was as sweet as they come. Even if part of his darkness welcomed her like brethren.

The title of the book wasn't familiar but by the cover of it, it looked to be her usual bio docu non-fiction as always. It never occurred to him that it was such an odd choice for someone who seemed so spirited and so damn young to be reading such literature but he never questioned it of her.

As always, the cafe is what is pulling most of the financial weight. Although your contributions are highly welcomed." He grinned. "Oh, I wanted to let you know. One of the authors of your books is coming down here for a book signing. I could get you a front row seat if you'd like." He offered.

[Ashley Benson]

Ashley didn't often start up conversations with strangers (or anyone, for that matter) and even when she was spoken to, in most cases she simply answered to be polite and quickly put distance between herself and whoever was addressing her. For some reason Patch had been different. He'd approached her first as she was perusing the bookshelves and she hadn't felt the instant need to shrink away. He didn't come off as threatening or judgmental. He also hadn't approached her with the intent to learn more about Ellen or the true nature of their relationship. He, for all intents and purposes was an outsider, something Ashley found appealing in a conversation partner.

Reaching out, Ashley nervously fidgeted with the cover of the book that was sitting on the table in front of her. She opened the book, adjusted the bookmark she'd placed within the pages, straightening out the gold string attached to it, then closed the book again. This was a normal routine for Ashley. She didn't move with a manic energy, but rather with the deliberate motions of someone attempting to keep her focus on the here and now. Her brow furrowed and slowly her eyes lifted from the book to regard Patch with a curious expression. Her lips parted to speak though no words escaped at first. It took some effort for her to finally push out anything coherent. "W-what?" She stammered, eyes wide. "H-here?" She glanced away as what seemed like the entire gambit of the emotional spectrum flashed across her face. "You can do that?"

[Patch Adams]

Patch wasn't an insightful person and though he is observant at times, he was never one to think deeper than what was on the surface. Most of what he did was deliberate but he rarely put thought into it. Seeing Ashley's more solemn, quiet approach to things had him curious as to what went on underneath.

The surprised look on her face made him smile affectionately before nodding. "Well, yeah. I mean...this is my store after all. Practically my store but we don't have to discuss semantics. Either way, I'd be more than happy to arrange the seating for you. We haven't set a proper date yet but as soon as we do, you'll be the first to know. How about that?" He smiled.

[Ashley Benson]

"Oh, yeah. Right." Ashley nodded sheepishly, offering a shrug at Patch's simple, a matter of fact reply. Whether it was any sort of problem or big effort on Patch's part was irrelevant. That he was willing to do anything for her at all was more than surprising and she couldn't help but show it in the gleam in her eyes.

"Yes!" She answered. Even when it was obvious Ashley was excited and enthused there was a certain subdued nature to her. She exhaled slowly and settled back into her seat, the energy that came from Patch's unexpected offer seemingly draining out of her by the second until she was quickly back to the same calm, quiet young woman Patch had gotten used to seeing. Even though her eyes did carry a faintly brighter gleam. "I don't know how I could thank you." She said. "That would be great."

[Patch Adams]

Patch was unsurprisingly a mellow person. No one would say otherwise about that. Being a giving person, however, wasn't exactly his defining feature. That was mostly reserved for people he considered a friend. And Ashley was, as far as he was concerned, a friend. They hadn't been friends for a long time but something about Ashley made Patch gravitate easily towards her. So this wasn't so much a favour as it was just extending an invitation to something she so happened to be interested in.

Nodding with conviction, Patch waved his hand dismissively at the thank you. "Don't even worry about it. I just happened to remember you ordering his books a lot." He grinned at her. "What does he write about that fascinates you so much?"

[Ashley Benson]

Regardless of the reasons behind it seemingly random acts of kindness weren't commonplace for someone like Ashley. She may have fallen back into her tepid, reserved demeanor but her heart still soared with excitement. Even though the author in question hadn't penned a series of novels chronicling the political turmoil of a fantasy land ravaged by war or of a young wizard learning going through the trials and tribulations of growing up in a fantastic world, Ashley was eager to meet him for her own reasons.

She offered a faint shrug in response as she debated how much she could, or should, divulge. Her brow furrowed, her lips parted to speak and no words escaped. She brought a hand up to brush the dark hair from the sides of her face before taking a deep breath and finally working up the courage to answer. "He writes mostly memoirs that talk of his life." She said vaguely, even though she knew it would take Patch all of ten seconds to look into the books and find out exactly what it was that made this man's life interesting enough to warrant multiple books. "He... overcame a lot in his life." Ashley frowned. She wasn't helping her situation in the slightest. "He has schizophrenia and... it's just fascinating how he's been able to cope and succeed, you know?"

[Patch Adams]

When it came to the human psyche, Patch's neurons didn't fire up all that fast. He wasn't dumb, he was just a little slow on the uptake. But from what Ashley offered, Patch was starting to form his opinions, ones he wasn't entirely sure he should be.

In his experience, when people were fascinated by something, it meant there was a certain connection they made with their fascination. It might not be a personal connection but there was something that made them drawn to the fascination. Like his fascination with Ashley. It stemmed from that...aura about her that he was attracted to. He was still not entirely certain why that was. She wasn't exactly the type of person he was usually attracted to. Personality wise anyway. She was beautiful, no doubt about that but her quiet contemplative demeanour wasn't exactly what got him going. So he really didn't understand the hold she had on him.

"I see. And you...connect with his ability to cope and succeed with an illness like that?"

[Ashley Benson]

Ashley stared at Patch for a long moment in what could only be described as a nearly stunned silence. The way Patch had carefully worded the question caused something in her mind to glitch and she struggled to come up with a proper response that wasn't too vague yet refrained from divulging too much information about herself. Her lips parted and she went to speak but the words never fully formed and she snapped her mouth shut while she tried to figure out what to say and give replying another go.

"I think we all could learn something from someone who overcame such personal diversity." Ashley finally managed to say. She was even silently proud of herself that she'd figured out a truthful response that still kept her personal thoughts on the matter safely tucked away inside. She smiled then and shook her head. "I'm sorry. I just never really gave much thought into why his story resonates with me like that. It just does."

[Patch Adams]

Ashley's silence sort of made Patch's assumptions come to the forefront and it almost made him regret asking. What if it had made Ashley uncomfortable? And what if he had struck a nerve? He obviously didn't mean to, obviously.

But she did respond and the smile on her face eased his worries for a bit. He wasn't going to push, since it didn't look like she was willing to say any more than she already had.

"I guess some things just do. So, I'll text you when we've done the confirmations." He nodded.

[Ashley Benson]

Ashley was almost relieved when Patch largely left her response alone. It had been a lie, of course. She knew why the story, and others of its ilk, resonated with her. That there had been so many others who were stricken with the same or similar maladies and managed to find success through treatment and simple human will was fascinating. She'd been told her condition was different as the causes were unique but she, nonetheless, found a great deal of strength in knowing it wasn't a deaths sentence.

"That would be great." She said, her brilliant blue eyes gleaming enthusiastically. Even thoughts of her condition couldn't bring down Ashley's spirits. Unbeknownst to Patch but his small gesture had, indeed, struck a chord. She went to speak again but a soft beeping from the pocket of her jacket silenced her. With a furrowed brow she withdrew her phone and swiped a finger across the screen. "I'd love to stay and talk more." She said honestly, sighing as she pocketed her phone and went to gather her book and coffee. "But I have to get home for class in a half hour."

[Patch Adams]

Her enthusiasm caught on and Patch was excited for her to meet the author of the books she obviously found a connection with. He nodded and smiled before tilting his head slightly when she took her phone out.

He stood up when she started gathering her things and nodded. "Oh absolutely. Thanks so much for stopping by. It's been a pleasure, as always." He reached out to squeeze her arm.

He didn't want to let her go but of course he had to. And the moment she left the bookstore, the excitement he had felt not two seconds ago fell flat and he felt a little empty. He frowned slightly before tending to a customer, a huge grin already on his face.