Impractical (1)

6

"Q, repeat everything he says at the top of your lungs." Joe told him through the earpiece, a hesitant laugh escaping his lips.

"Are you serious right now?" Q asked his friends, looking directly at the camera, "We have to keep going?" He glanced back at Olivia as she braced herself against the counter.  Her vision was fading, being blocked by a shade of darkness as she panicked.

His concerns were elsewhere, but he completed the challenge. With his hand placed against her back for support, he repeated Gordon's words. He received wide eyes from the other people and a visit from Gordon Ramsey, "The whole purpose of this punishment was for them to get kicked out of the kitchen," Murr laughed, telling the camera, "But we told Gordon to have a little fun with them before forcing them to leave."

Walking over to them, every other word out of his mouth was foul. Ridiculing Olivia for being weak and insulting Q. He was screaming at them, his voice making Olivia's skin crawl as she faced the ground.

Still holding the counter, she fell to squat above the ground. Her eyes were hidden in her hand as he shouted at them. The three men behind the scenes could see that the chef started to feel guilty as Quinn stepped closer to shield her.

Forgetting about the punishment, he shouted back at Gordon Ramsay, "Dude, she's crying, give her a break!" He shouted, rubbing his hand against her upper back. He could feel her body shaking, "You don't have to be such a dick!" Quinn shouted at him, welcoming Gordon to shout more, "You're giving her a fucking panic attack, man!"

He reached down without waiting for a signal from the guys and lifted Olivia into his arms, "We're getting out of here," Quinn whispered to her ear, his heart dropping as she pulled her head into his chest to cry, "Go fuck yourself!" Quinn shouted back at the chef before rushing her down the center aisle and out of the room.

He didn't walk toward their hiding place, instead he stopped at a nearby couch and placed her down. Kneeling in front of her, he gently tried to lift her head from her hands. Moving to sit beside her, he pulled her into his chest and held her against him while she continued to cry.

She could feel her heart trying to escape from her chest. Her vision was shaded with black, only a small circle of light at the center. Her movements felt robotic, but she was stuck. She was terrified of yelling.

Quinn ran his hand over her hair and she was content against his chest. She was shaking. Her entire body was unstable as she fought to calm her breathing. She was taking sharp breaths, panicking as her vision almost completely gave out. She tried forcing herself to relax, but it only made her more anxious.

The cameras were still rolling and she was embarrassed, making her stomach turn, "Is she alright?" Her heart slightly lifted at the sound of Sal's panicked voice, but she couldn't control her emotions. He ran forward and sat beside her, instinctively pulling her away from Q. He didn't want her against him, "It's done," He said quietly to her, running his hand over her hair, "It's finished."

Her vision started to clear and she took a deep breath. She finally realized she was sweating and wondered why Sal hadn't pulled away from her in disgust. She looked at her hands, watching as the movements seemed staggered. Her stomach was twisting inside of her and she was trembling.

"Look, she survived!" Joe exclaimed as he and Murr walked toward the area.

Sal looked down at her with guilt painted across his features.  Placing his arm around her, she pulled away to sit up and wiped her tears on her hands, leaning forward to avoid the cameras pointed at her, "That was intense," Quinn said with a sigh as he stood, begging the guys, "Please, never plan anything like that again."