"Where the Kentucky Fried FUck is she?" Bailey yelled at lunch. "I've tried to text her! I've tried to call her and she won't answer!"
"I don't know!" Logan answered. "I've tried to call her too. What about you Zach?"
"Hmm?"
"How about you? Have you heard from Clara?"
Zach avoided eye contact with them and kept eating his food.
"That's a fucking yes," Bailey concluded. "Why is she gone?"
"Ask her."
"I've tried," Bailey told him, exasperated. "If you don't tell me where she is, I'll tell the police she's missing."
Zach sighed. This wasn't getting anywhere and he wanted Clara to tell them, not him.
"She left."
"No, really? You Dip Shit, I knew that," Bailey huffed sarcastically.
"Clara told me before she left that she was leaving for a month and she had to leave to go to Vancouver. Highmore wants to see her more since he is adopting her and he wants her to live with him in Vancouver right now. She didn't want to tell you guys because she didn't want you to be mad."
"I think this is worse," Bailey said. "She could've told me."
"Bailey," Zach started, "you have anxiety. She didn't want to stress you out anymore than you are now."
"I think this made it worse," Bailey said, breathing heavily.
"Bailey, calm down. You're sending yourself into an attack."
"Just, Just," Bailey started walking off, "leave me alone."
Bailey took himself to the bathroom and sent Clara a single text.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
As Bailey sat on the restroom floor, he laughed to himself. This reminded him of one of his favorite songs, "Michael in the Bathroom".
"And I'll get replaced with a cooler version of me," Bailey whispered. "I'm just Bailey who you don't know. Bailey flyin' solo. Bailey in the bathroom by himself."
Dylan went to the bathroom to check on Bailey.
"Bailey! You in here?"
Bailey tapped the wall once and Dylan crawled under that stall. Bailey had cornered himself and was hyperventilating.
"I can't breathe," Bailey said between gasps.
"Focus on something," Dylan told him.
"I ca-can't."
Now, Dylan was freaking out.
"Do you want to see the counseler?"
"N-no."
"What can I do to help you?"
"Call Cl-Clara."
"I've tried Bailey," Dylan argued.
"Try," Bailey inhaled, "again."
Dylan called Clara again. It went to her voicemail in an instant.
"Hey, it's Clara. Who are you and how have I ruined your life?"
"Clara, damn it!" Dylan began. "Answer your fucking phone, please! Your best friend is having a panic attack on the floor of the restroom and he fucking needs you. Please, just... call me back. Bailey needs you more than anything."
*****************Meanwhile******************
"Cut!" the director called out. "Can we pull ourselves together for one second?"
It did not help that Clara was making funny gestures when nobody was looking. She had silenced her phone like everybody else.
Freddie was trying to film a scene with Paige.
Clara kept making an okay symbol and taking her other pointer finger and putting it through the hole.
Paige kept breaking first. She tried to cover up the smile but then would start laughing.
"What is so funny?" the director asked.
Clara made a cuckoo symbol with her fingers and made funny faces when the director couldn't see.
Freddie smiled.
The director turned around and saw nothing. Clara Robin-Highmore was sitting there innocently, head in the clouds.
"Okay, places guys."
They actually got through the scene this time.
Clara checked her phone and saw that she had six missed calls.
"Shit," she whispered. She checked her voicemail.
"Answer your fucking phone, please! Your best friend is having a panic attack on the floor of the restroom and he fucking needs you. Please, just... call me back. Bailey needs you more than anything."
She excused herself and called Dylan back.
"Fucking finally, Clara!" Dylan answered. "Where were you?"
"I was on set, shooting the Good Doctor."
"Why didn't you tell us, Clara?"
"I," Clara said. "I didn't want to hurt you. I mean, I left again and it made me feel like a bad friend."
"I think this made you a bad friend, Clara," Dylan told her. "We would've understood. We're excited that you have a real actual dad now since your bio dad left to get the milk, but Clara, you're not the only one that needs people. Bailey needs you. Zach needs you. Logan needs you. Hell, I need you."
Clara was crestfallen. She was the asshole here. The jerk. The bitch.
"I'm sorry, Dylan. I'm a terrible fucking person and I apologize from the bottom of my heart."
"Apology accepted, Bitch. Now, here's Bailey because he needs you right now."
Dylan handed the phone to Bailey.
"Bails?"
"I can't breathe, Clar," Bailey gasped.
"Bailey, you need to take deep breaths."
"I don't th-"
"Damn it, Bailey! Breathe in slowly and hold it."
Bailey inhaled deeply and held it. After eight seconds, Clara told him to release the breath.
"I need you to repeat, Bailey. And hand the phone to Dylan."
Bailey kept repeating the breathing exercise. He held the phone to Dylan.
"You need to ground him," Clara instructed Dylan.
"Last time I checked, I wasn't his dad."
"Not that kind of grounding," Clara rolled her eyes. "You've heard of the 5-4-3-2-1 technique, right?"
"Yeah, you sent me the Pinterest link."
"Try that with him. Or, you can try having him name some of his favorite things. That helps, too. Keep talking to him though. It lets him know you're there."
"Do his favorite things with him, Clara. I'll do the 5-4-3-2-1 technique."
Dylan handed the phone back to Bailey without hearing Clara's reply.
"Bailey, what's your favorite food?"
"Clara you know wh-"
"Answer the question."
Bailey sighed. "Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. Doesn't matter if it's edible or not. I've lived sixteen years without dying or getting salmonella so I'll be fine."
Clara laughed which made Bailey laugh. "Favorite color?"
"Barney green."
"Favorite Hobby?"
"Sleeping and kicking your ass at Mario Kart."
"That's a lie because you don't ever kick my ass at Mario Kart but okay. Favorite Mario Kart character?"
"Koopa Troopa. I'm not an idiot."
"Favorite female celebrity?"
"Gal Galdot and Ruth Connell."
"You better, Bails?"
"Yes, Clara. Please come back soon."
"I will, Bailey."
"Pinkie swear?"
"Pinkie Swear."
Clara hung up the phone.
"You need to try something else, Bailey?"
"No," Bailey stood up and rubbed his face with his shirt. "I'm okay now. Let's get to class before we have to go to ISS."
Dylan swung his arm around Bailey's shoulder. "Okay, Bailey. Okay."