Wait, That's What Happened? ✔️

21| Medication

Past Clyde's POV

I swung open the bathroom door. "Gah, it's so hot outside!" I splashed some water on my face to cool down and the second I turned around, I could see some blond guy curled up into a ball just sitting in front of a stall. "You good, man?"

He looked up at me for a second and I immediately recognized him. It was Micheal Dubois. "I'm such a failure."

"And why's that?" I asked.

"I'm up fourth and the first performance is almost done. I'm going to look like a wreck once it's my turn to perform."

His breathing was stuttered, he was probably having a panic attack. I used to have those before performances, but his panic attack looked bad. He looked like he was dying.

"Has this happened to you before?" I questioned.

In between breaths he muttered, "Pills. Bag. Backstage."

I got up and went backstage. After checking the name tag on five different bags, I finally found his. It was a small blue backpack and inside was a bottle of pills. On my way back to the bathroom, I read whatever was on the bottle. The side effects were listed, but I didn't have enough time to read them.

"Here, Micheal. I bought you a water bottle as well." He didn't look up at me so I sat in front of him. "Do you need me to call someone?"

"I'll be fine," he managed to say in between breaths. "My heart is beating really fast right now, sorry."

"There's no need to be sorry. You'll be fine, trust me."

He took the water bottle from my hand and downed the pill with it. It took him a few moments to calm down and he was eventually stable enough to form full sentences.

"Thanks," he began, "I feel like I've seen you before."

"I'm Clyde. Clyde Landry." I smiled.

"I'm Micheal. Micheal Dubois."

"Yeah, I know."

"What? How?"

"I mean, you're famous. Everyone here knows you."

"Oh, right. I forgot about that."

"So, you're aiming to get first place again?"

"I mean, if I don't, my parents will kill me."

This wasn't the Micheal Dubois I had seen on television. The Micheal Dubois I had seen on television was all put together and perfect. I guess not everything you see online is real. "I'm sure your parents are happy that you're so talented."

"If only it was that simple. I'm not talented unless I win gold. If I win silver or bronze, that's not talent. To them, it's just failure."

He gasped for air and put his head back down. His performance would be in about twenty minutes, he wasn't fit to perform in the condition he was in.

"I think I should get someone. You shouldn't perform, not like this at least."

"No!" He struggled to exclaim, "I need to perform—."

I let him have a moment to just relax and calm himself down. I would've gotten someone, but something stopped me. I needed to think about this from his perspective.

"Is there someone other than an adult that I can get?"

"His eyes shot up to look at me, but he quickly put his head back down. "M—."

"Take your time."

"Mar—," he struggled to say, "Mark Cr—."

"Mark Cruz?"