Thorn looked to the man then back to Lana, "Yeah. The amazing ones were worth it. I don't have anything better to do so sometimes I binge shows. I don't think I ever caught your name. What is it?"
"Oh, right! I'm Lana," she said with a beaming smile. "And I guess I can't keep calling you an elf. What's your name?"
"I'm Thorn," she smiled back. Though it was a lot smaller than Lana's, "It's nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too." She looked around at the others, her mouth twisting. "I thought everyone here would be…I don't know. I guess I just thought everyone would be unfriendly. I'm glad I found you."
Thorn looked at the others. It was a fair assumption considering they were in a hospital asylum thing. She smiled, "To be completely honest, I thought the same. I was worried everyone would be like the nurses. They like to refer to me as 'The Vampire.' For, uh, obvious reasons."
"The Vampire, huh?" Lana shook her head, her brow puckering. "I definitely see elf. Though, with a name like Thorn, maybe comic book superhero."
Thorn nodded and smiled, "Thorn's a family name. Technically I'm Thorn the fifth or something like that. I still don't see how you see me as an elf. Can you explain it for me?"
"I don't know. Pale skin. Dark hair. The kind of waifish look. Far away, fantasy-colored eyes." Lana studied her face a bit longer. "Just too…ethereal to be a vampire. Your skin is light, but not pasty. Vampires are pasty. Elves glow."
Thorn felt a faint blush appear on her face, "Thanks. That makes sense. Though in most fantasies vampires are depicted with red eyes, but you rest your case. I'm an elf, a vampiric elf."
"I've never been a fan of vampire stories. I saw an old dracula movie once." She shrugged.
Thorn rolled her eyes and let out a groan, "The nurses here just love leaving me with nothing but vampire stories. I've read Dracula at least 10 times! And don't get me started on Twilight. It's so bad, but they keep leaving me with nothing but that."
"I'm always tired, Axel. Don't worry about it. I just mi-" Luka slumped onto the table, softly snoring. Seriously? After a few minutes, drool started coming out from the side of his mouth.
Axel nudged Luka's shoulder gently, moving his plate away from his face. A few people stared, but he waved them off in an attempt to let them know that he was alright. They must have been quite a sight. One boy in a wheelchair and a missing leg, the other falling asleep on a table.
Thorn rolled her eyes and let out a groan, "The nurses here just love leaving me with nothing but vampire stories. I've read Dracula at least 10 times! And don't get me started on Twilight. It's so bad, but they keep leaving me with nothing but that."
"Oh, you mean the sparkly vampire thing?" She laughed. "That must have been miserable. I've got some books with me if you want to borrow something better."
Luka opened his eyes, squinting. "Are they staring?" They were usually staring. Falling asleep at random times was a lot worse than you could imagine. He'd fallen asleep while he was going down the stairs once, resulting in a few broken bones and a trip to the hospital.
Thorn looked at her with big eyes, "Please. I will take anything at this point. Just not Twilight, anything but them."
"No, they aren't. It's okay," Axel answered gently, trying to assure him. He tilted his head to the side curiously and brushed a few curls out of his face. "Are you alright?"
"You poor soul! Allow yourself to get rescued by Hemmingway, Steinbeck, and Fitzgerald." Lana patted her shoulder a bit hesitantly since she wasn't sure if she was comfortable with physical contact.
"Yeah, yeah, fine." Luka pushed himself off of the table, shaking his head to wake himself up. "We're quite a pair, aren't we?"
Thorn felt the slight touch, she wondered how long it had been since someone had did that to her. She smiled, "Those are authors from the Lost Generation right?"
"Yep." Lana snickered. "There's something about depressed, alcoholic white dudes from the 20s that just fits my aesthetic."
Thorn smirked, "That liked to hold grudges against each other? And fought passive aggressively through their writing?"
"Yeah, yeah, fine." Luka pushed himself off of the table, shaking his head to wake himself up. "We're quite a pair, aren't we?"
"Yeah, we are. We aren't perfect, but no one really is perfect, right?" Axel began, his hands playing with the strings on his hoodie. "There are only people with flaws who are still worth loving." He explained, quoting John Green as he ran a hand through his hair, suddenly wishing that he had tried to fix it this morning. "Sorry, I'm being cryptic and weird."
"Fighting passive-aggressively through art is my favorite pastime," Lana snorted.
(Also this is how Lana looks if anyone's curious https://www.pinterest.com/pin/494129390349776614/)
"No, I love it." Luka looked straight into Axel's eyes and smiled. "You're perfectly imperfect." He was being cryptic and weird, but he'd do anything to see a smile on Axel's face again.
Thorn laughed, "So is my little drawing going to help with that? Or is it just for fun."