NOTE 1: UPSETTING CONTENT. CONTAINS PANIC ATTACK SCENE.

NOTE 2: Please do the interactive parts at the end of the chapter if you can!

Weronika walked over to Amethyst, holding a water bottle in her hand.
"I thought you might want this."

Amethyst took the water bottle. "Thanks.
Um, do you want to put your sleeping bag next to mine?
We can watch movies on my phone."

Weronika smiled.
"I'd like that."

"Weronika, can you help me with something?", asked Darius.

"Uh, sure", she said.

She waved at Amethyst before walking away with Darius.

Weronika groaned as Darius pulled her into the changing rooms.
"What is it?"

"Isaac's upset.
Can you help me find out what's wrong?", he asked.

A look of concern appeared on Weronika's face.
"Of course.
Let's go."

The pair found Isaac in the Halls, gazing at the storage room he had locked himself in before.

Darius stepped closer to him, but Weronika put a hand in front of him. She gently shook her head and walked closer to Isaac.

"Hey", she said.

Isaac looked up at her, and she noticed just how red his eyes were. "Have you been crying?
What's wrong?"

Isaac shook his head.
"Nothing."

Weronika raised an eyebrow.
"That's bull cr*p and you know it. Come on, Isaac... I want to help."

Isaac's bottom lip trembled and the tears ran down his face.
"Last night... Esther was really bad.
I thought she was... I thought she was going to die."

Weronika's face softened, and she pulled Isaac into a hug.
Weronika's hugs weren't soft and gentle, they were strong and made him feel like his world wasn't crumbling around him.

He felt safe.

When they pulled away, Isaac exhaled sharply, though his breath was shaky. "I feel bad.
I should be at home with her."

"Hey", said Darius, approaching him. "Your sister would want you to have fun.
And I've met her, so don't even try to tell me otherwise."

A laugh escaped Isaac's lips.

Darius placed a hand on Isaac's shoulders.
"Actually, I have something planned but I could really use your help."

"What is it?"

A mischievous grin appeared on Darius' face.
He looked from Isaac to Weronika.

_______________________________

A horrifying shriek ripples through the Theatre room.
Before anyone could run to the scene, Amethyst stumbled out of the changing rooms.

"Amethyst, are you ok?", asked an alarmed Miss Laine.

Amethyst took quick, short breaths, her eyes opening wide as she tried to clear her blurry vision.

"I think she's having a panic attack!", exclaimed Kennedy. She rushed towards Amethyst.
"Everyone, give her some space please!"

Amethyst clunched at he chest, her eyes brimming with fear.
Her breathing became more erratic, and she grabbed hold of Kennedy's hand.

"It's ok, it's ok, I'm here.
I've got you.
Just try and focus on breathing, ok?", guided Kennedy.

Amethyst just shook her head as she inhaled more times than she was prepared for.

"Ok, no, no, Amethyst, I need you to try and breathe, ok?
Look at me. Look at me", said Kennedy.

Amethyst's eyes landed on Kennedy's and she tried to copy the blonde's breathing techniques.
Her shoulders relaxed slightly as her breathing gradually returned back to normal.

Kennedy sighed in relief.
"You did amazing, Amethyst."

"What happened?", asked Stanley.

Amethyst sighed.
"The song... it's gone."

Weronika seized Amethyst's phone, frowning when Amethyst didn't object at all.
"How could that happen?"

The group watched as Amethyst walked over to a wall.
She covered her ears and began mumbling something.

The melody sounded familiar, and Leonie's face softened.
"It's her Mum's song", she whispered.

Isaac could feel his heart shatter a little as he listened to Amethyst desperately trying to remember her Mum's song.

"Didn't you send the song to your brother?", questioned Meredith.

Amethyst just shook her head, her eyes closing.
"Not yet.
And I... I can't sleep without it."

Weronika turned to Miss Laine.
"Miss Laine?
Put on the cringiest movie you can find please.
We need a serious distraction."

Everyone huddled around Amethyst as Miss Laine played the movie. Darius wrapped an arm around her waist and Amethyst leaned her head against Weronika's shoulder.

The mood was dampened significantly by the sound of Amethyst whispering her Mum's song.

___________________________________

As the movie came to an end, everyone made their way over to their sleeping bags.

Amethyst exhaled sharply.
She crawled over to her sleeping bag, too numb to care about the pain it brought her knees.

She got into her sleeping bag and looked up at the ceiling.
"I'm so sorry, Mum", she whispered.

She closed her eyes, but she felt an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.
She tried to clear her mind, but she kept seeing her Mum in her hospital bed.

She opened her eyes quickly, her heart hammering in her chest.

Amethyst tensed up when she heard footsteps approaching her. A sleeping bag fell to the space beside her. She looked up at the face.
"Eli?"

Eli gave her a small smile.
"I can't sleep", he whispered.

Amethyst didn't know if he was telling the truth, but she just watched him as he laid down next to her.

"Do you want to play a game?", he asked.

Amethyst furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
"Aren't you going to try and sleep?"

Eli shook his head.
"Nope.
I'll probably stay awake all night."

Amethyst was further confused by this, but had an inkling that he was only doing this for her.

"So, what do you-"

"-What do you see in me, Eli?"

Eli's eyes widened.
"I'm sorry?"

"Camryn's your best friend.
Why'd you side with me over her? And Leonie?"

Eli rubbed the back of his neck.
"Uh, ha, well..."

"Are you malfunctioning?"

"It's a bit stupid."

"It probably is but I still wanna know."

Eli sighed.
"I saw your eyes."

Amethyst furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
"Huh?"

"My Dad was betrayed by someone he thought was his brother.
From a young age, he taught me a lot about body language, non-verbal tells... all those things.
But he said you can almost always tell someone's truth by looking at their eyes", he explained.

"Oh.
And... what did mine tell you?"

Eli hesitated, before exhaling softly. "That you were in a lot of pain."

Amethyst stayed quiet for a few seconds.
"Well that's hella accurate.
Eli, were you... were you only nice to me because you felt sorry for me?"

Eli shook his head.
"No!
Truthfully, I felt sorry for you at first. But I actually like the cheeky side of you.
And I like your smile.
So, every day, I challenged myself to make you smile atleast once."

A warm, tingling feeling rose in Amethyst's chest.
She hadn't felt that in a long time, but she couldn't make out what it was that she was feeling.

"Are you mad at me?"

Amethyst shook her head.
"No.
But now that I know you're secret, I'm going to make it harder for you to see me smile."

Eli chuckled at this.
"Well then I suppose I'll have to unleash my inner Darius."

"That'll only make me want to punch you."

Eli chuckled.
"Probably.
So, are you up for a game?"

Amethyst shrugged.
"I guess."

Eli screwed his face up.
"No, that's not an appropriate level of enthusiasm."

Amethyst rolled her eyes, a small smile appearing on her face.
"Fine. I'd love to."

Eli grinned.
"That's better.
How about a memory game?
We'll each add things to our imaginary shopping list.
I'll start.
I went to the shop and bought an apple."

"Healthy.
I went to the shop and bought an apple and... a necklace."

"I went to the shop and bought an apple, a necklace and... a signed picture of Derek Hough."

"The dancer?
What shops are you going in to?", joked Amethyst.
She found herself moving closer to Eli.

"Let me dream for once", he replied, a laugh escaping his lips.

Eli copied Amethyst and turned on his side, so that their faces were inches apart.
"Let's whisper so we don't wake them up."

Amethyst nodded.

"Um... ok.
Uh, I went to the shop and bought an apple, a necklace, a signed picture of Derek Hough and... a cookie decorating set."

"Cookies are the best.
Ok, I went to the shops and..."

_________________________________

Hi.

Isaac's struggling. He's in a much better place now, and it's nice to see him lean IN to the support of his friends. What has Darius got planned?

Was anyone surprised about Meredith? I know kurookensimp definitely won't be haha.

What are your thoughts on Eli this chapter? He's literally the sweetest.

Kennedy showed she's not just maternal in the 'babying your friends' sense, like she was at the start. She used her own personal experience to help Amethyst.

What are your thoughts on what happened to Amethyst this chapter?

What are your thoughts on the Amethyst and Eli bit at the end? Were you hoping to see them interact more?

What are your thoughts on this chapter?

kurookensimp

-cherrysvalanxe

CaptainHermioneSwan

The_Slytherclaw

gillioddities

DoodleYeet

starryeyedturtle