They were partially through the first scene of Act three.
Eren approached Ymir angrily,
"Romeo, the hate I bear thee can afford no better term than this,--thou art a villain."
Ymir shook her head and looked softly at Eren,
"Tybalt, the reason that I have to love thee doth much excuse the appertaining rage to such a greeting: villain am I none; Therefore farewell; I see thou know'st me not."
Eren shoved Ymir lightly,
"Boy, this shall not excuse the injuries that thou hast done me; therefore turn and draw."
Ymir took a step back,
"I do protest, I never injured thee, but love thee better than thou canst devise, till thou shalt know the reason of my love: and so, good Capulet,--which name I tender as dearly as my own,--be satisfied."
Reiner came between Ymir and Eren his sword drawn,
"O calm, dishonourable, vile submission! Alla stoccata carries it away. Tybalt, you rat-catcher, will you walk?"
Eren put his hand on his sword, "What wouldst thou have with me?"
Reiner stepped forward towards Eren,
"Good king of cats, nothing but one of your nine lives; that I mean to make bold withal, and as you shall use me hereafter, drybeat the rest of the eight. Will you pluck your sword out of his pitcher by the ears? make haste, lest mine be about your ears ere it be out."
Eren drew his sword, "I am for you."
Ymir stood next to them and in a pleading voice spoke, "Gentle Mercutio, put thy rapier up."
Reiner put his sword up, "Come, sir, your passado!"
Reiner and Eren mocked a fight and very convincingly. Their practice really had paid off.
Ymir went to Bertholdt,
"Draw, Benvolio; beat down their weapons. Gentlemen, for shame, forbear this outrage! Tybalt, Mercutio, the prince expressly hath forbidden bandying in Verona streets: Hold, Tybalt! good Mercutio!" Ymir moved to stand between Eren and Reiner, as Eren made the killing blow
Reiner fell,
"I am hurt. A plague o' both your houses! I am sped. Is he gone, and hath nothing?"
Bertholdt rushed over and knelt down besides his friend, "What, art thou hurt?"
Reiner held his side and propped himself up on his elbow,
"Ay, ay, a scratch, a scratch; marry, 'tis enough. Where is my page? Go, villain, fetch a surgeon."
Ymir knelt beside Bertholdt, "Courage, man; the hurt cannot be much."
Reiner shook his head and scowled at Ymir,
"No, 'tis not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church-door; but 'tis enough,'twill serve: ask for me to-morrow, and you shall find me a grave man. I am peppered, I warrant, for this world. A plague o' both your houses! 'Zounds, a dog, a rat, a mouse, a cat, to scratch a man to death! a braggart, a rogue, a villain, that fights by the book of arithmetic! Why the devil came you between us? I was hurt under your arm."
Ymir spoke quietly, "I thought all for the best."
Reiner raised his voice,
"Help me into some house, Benvolio, Or I shall faint. A plague o' both your houses! They have made worms' meat of me: I have it, and soundly too: your houses!"
Bertholdt nodded, a sad look in his eyes as he began to help his friend up. Reiner held to the taller male as the lights went down and a spotlight focused on Ymir while the other two walked off stage,
"This gentleman, the prince's near ally, my very friend, hath got his mortal hurt in my behalf; my reputation stain'd with Tybalt's slander,--Tybalt, that an hour hath been my kinsman! O sweet Juliet, thy beauty hath made me effeminate and in my temper soften'd valour's steel!"
Just then, Bertholdt rushed back on the stage. "O Romeo, Romeo! Brave Mercutio's-"
Before he could continue, he suddenly tripped over Reiner's sword which was still laying on the ground.
Ymir's arms shot out and she caught Berthold and looked down at him slightly shocked, "Finish your line..." She whispered as quietly as she could to him.
A few seconds of silence washed over Bertholdt, his face was entirely red. He had to keep saying his lines, but he just couldn't. Finally, after a few more seconds, he continued his line.
"....Brave M-Mercutio's dead. That gallant spirit h-hath aspired the clouds, W-Which too untimely here d-did scorn the earth."
Ymir was patient with Bertholdt as he recited his line. She gently helped him to a standing position before saying her line,
"This day's black fate on more days doth depend; This but begins the woe, others must end."
Bertholdt still had that fearful look on his face as he pointed off stage to where Eren had left,
"H-Here comes the furious Tybalt back again!"
Ymir turned to face Eren's entrance and scowled,
"Alive, in triumph! and Mercutio slain! Away to heaven, respective lenity, and fire-eyed fury be my conduct now! Now, Tybalt, take the villain back again, that late thou gavest me; for Mercutio's soul is but a little way above our heads, Staying for thine to keep him company: Either thou, or I, or both, must go with him."
Eren went toe to toe with Ymir, but the intimidating look he was going for did not work,
"Thou, wretched boy, that didst consort him here, shalt with him hence."
Ymir put her hand on her sword and shoved Eren with her shoulder,
"This shall determine that."
The two fought. After the few moments of fighting, Eren fell to the ground.
Bertholdt, even though feeling as if he was going to die himself, rushed over to Ymir and grabbed her shoulders. Tears began forming in his eyes, his lip was slightly quivering as he spoke,
"R-Romeo, away, be gone! The citizens are up, and Tybalt slain. S-Stand not amazed: the prince will doom thee death, If thou art taken: hence, be gone, away!"
Ymir started off stage, "O, I am fortune's fool!"
Bertholdt practically screamed to Ymir, his voice cracking a bit. "Why dost thou stay?!"
Ymir exited and the scene continued.
----------
Bertholdt, as he continued his scene on stage, felt his heart beating rapidly inside his chest. So much so that it felt as if it could pop right out of his chest. He delivered his lines with a bit of stammer. Yet, he tried to keep his cool. Thankfully, the scene concluded and the lights went out. Bertholdt made his way backstage and stood there for a few seconds. Tears welled up in his eyes once again as he sprinted out into the hallway, making a b-line for the bathroom.
Once Reiner had gotten up from the floor after his death he noticed that something was off about Bertholdt. He gave the boy a few seconds before following him into the bathroom, "Hey, Bertholdt?"
The tall boy was sitting on the floor by the sinks, breathing unevenly. His knees were brought up to his chest, his hands tugging at his hair. He was rocking back and forth slowly. "O-Oh god...Oh god!" He choked out a sob as his breathing became faster.
Reiner sat on the floor beside his friend, "What's wrong?" He asked softly attempting to get himself in Bertholdt's line of sight.
Bertholdt's eyes were squeezed shut, tears were rolling down his cheeks. "I-I screwed up!" He sobbed. "I-I messed up the scene and nearly forgot all my lines!" As he spoke, he had begun hyperventilating. The boy was having a panic attack.
"Hey, look at me." Reiner placed a hand on his friend's shoulder softly, "You did not screw up. You got your lines out, the scene went on. You didn't mess up."
"But I did screw up, I did!" Bertholdt cried, tugging tighter at his hair. "I messed up my final scene! Just watch, I'm going to get laughed at because of it!"
"If people wanted to laugh they would have when it happened, and I didn't hear a single laugh during that scene." Reiner assured, "Nobody is going to laugh at you. I promise, and if anyone does, you know I'll be there to knock 'em out!" He grinned lightly at Bertholdt.
The v-fringed male sniffled gently as he finally looked up at his best friend. His emerald greens were red from crying. His breathing was still uneven, breathing faster than normal. How he wanted to give Reiner a smile and thank him, but it wasn't that easy: especially during an anxiety attack. He tried to speak, but the only thing to come out were sobs.
Reiner shifted to sit in front of Bertholdt, "Breathe with me buddy." He took a steady inhale encouraging Bertl to do the same.
Bertholdt nodded, stifling his sobs. He then breathed in slowly and deeply through his nose, which sounded very congested from his crying.
"Now exhale." Reiner let his breath out through his mouth steadily.
The taller male followed, exhaling slowly, letting all the air out from his mouth as well.
"Good!" Reiner smiled at him, "Listen to me Bertholdt. You have been doing an amazing job. You might be the best actor out there." He put his hand on Bertholdt's arm, "You're my best friend and I wouldn't lie to you about that. Now c'mon." The boy opened his arms waiting for him to be comfortable with a hug.
Bertholdt gave his best friend a tearful smile. He nearly tackled Reiner as he wrapped his long arms around him. The boy held on to his childhood friend tightly, a few sobs escaping his lips once more. "T-Thank you Reiner."
Reiner put his arms around Bertholdt and gave a light squeeze. "Don't worry about it Bertholdt. Everybody is loving your performance."
"Y-You really think so?" He asked, attempting to stifle his sobs again.
Reiner nodded and leaned up to grab some paper towels, holding them out to Bertholdt with a soft smile. "I really think so. You've put so much work into this, and it's really paying off."
Bertholdt took the paper towels and blew his nose into one of them. Once he was done, he looked up at his best friend with tear streaks still on his face. His quivering lips formed another smile. "Thanks Reiner...." He sniffled, wiping tears away with the sleeve of his shirt. "You're the best. You really are."
Reiner smiled brightly and stood up offering his hand to his friend, "Nah, you're the best man."
Bertholdt took his childhood friend's hand, the smile getting wider. A faint blush appeared on his cheeks. Personally, the lad didn't think he was that great, due to his low self-esteem.Yet, if Reiner thought he was great, then maybe he could be.
Reiner pulled Bertholdt to his feet, "There, feel better?" He asked.
Bertholdt nodded, "Y-Yeah, much better. Thanks again Reiner."
"No need to thank me man. I'm just doing what I have to to make my best friend feel better, because I care about you dude." Reiner put his hand on Bertl's back and walked with him out of the bathroom.
Once Reiner and Bertholdt entered the cafeteria Ymir was changing and she glanced at Bertholdt. She gave him a small smile and a thumbs up.
Bertholdt blinked a few times in surprise, before returning that same gentle smile of his back to Ymir. As he and Reiner went to one of the tables and began to talk, thoughts raced through Bertholdt's mind. He was really grateful that she had caught him. Otherwise, it would've been much worse. Eventually, he was going to have to thank her. He just didn't know when.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fun fact: I actually cried when we did the Reiner and Bertholdt scene. They are such good friends. Reiner really cares about his best friend and it physically hurts me. </3
Also, Bertholdt is just a precious bean. Protect him.