This had been the cruellest he'd ever been, to say the least.

To push away somebody he once cared about did not go as intended for Clark. So instead of seeking personal space, he got more space than he intended. Now Max was truly hurt by what he said, and she hadn't even been at Blackwell for not even two days and she wanted to leave. She felt as if returning was a big mistake, that she should've just stayed away.

Shortly after the bell for first break, Clark headed for the boys toilets for isolation.

He burst in and approached the middle sink and ran the cold tap, cupping the water into his hands and splashed his face. His breathing quickened as he looked up at his reflection and distinguished his blue hair and the exhaustion behind his eyes.

"Get ahold of yourself, Price. Snap out of it! I should probably go and apologise," Clark mumbled to himself. "I've got to be nicer. I hurt her feelings. But she hurt mine. I can't hold a grudge against her forever. I mean, it's not like I still have feelings for her. I don't. I totally don't. I'm still in love with Rachel. Not Max. Not... oh God. Not Max freakin' Caulfield."

Clark groaned obnoxiously loud and grabbed ahold of his hair and pulled on it out of frustration.

Thoughts ran through his mind regarding something he'd seen just a couple days ago. He'd been going about his own business coming heading out of the cafeteria to head back to his dorm for the rest of the afternoon when he caught sight of Nathan Prescott acting suspiciously around the campus grounds. At the time, Clark took it upon himself to snoop on Nathan where he stumbled upon a controversial sight.

Nathan had conducted a secret meet-up with his sister, Chloe.

At the time, Clark was unable to catch on to what they were discussing due to not having enough cover to conceal his presence eavesdropping on them, but all he could do was make out that it could've been a possible drug-deal. However, when he attempted to leaned over around the corner more to get a better view of the items being exchanged, Clark almost lost his balance and stepped on a twig, instantly snapping it beneath his foot. So without wasting another second, Clark fled with the intent to confront his sister later that afternoon.

But she never showed up at home.

She never answered his calls.

She refused to answer his texts.

Clark knew his sister and he knew something was very wrong.

Nobody could've been aware of the disturbance inside the boy's toilets. Clark had still lingered in there when he reached for his phone and made another futile attempt at contacting his sister. He put the phone on speaker and placed it on the sink and listened to it ring.

Ring, ring...

Ring, ring...

Ring, ring...

Ring, ring...

Ring, ring...

Ring, ring...

Ring, ring...

Ring, ring...

Ring, ring...

Ring, ring...

Ring, ring...

Ring, ring...

Ring, ring...

On the thirteenth ring, Clark gave up and ended the call.

It vexed him unfathomably that his sister went completely dark on him. All he wanted to know was whether she was safe or not.

But one thing that he could not get off his mind was seeing Nathan Prescott with his sister.

He always hated Nathan for what he'd done to others, and now Clark could only fear the worst as to what ill harm could have befallen his sister. He'd already lost his father, his best friend abandoned him, his mother chose to spend more time with her boyfriend than he or his own sister, his girlfriend left him for her own pursuit and now he potentially lost his sister.

Clark gripped the edges of the sink and bowed his head, his eyes squeezed shut in an attempt to suppress the flood of emotions that hit him so suddenly that tears swelled in his eyes. Those tears turned into sobs as the strength in his knees turned to jelly and he'd completely lost balance and collapsed, using the sink as his support from not falling down and smashing his chin on the edge of the sink. Slowly, he pulled himself back up to his feet and found firm footing as he slipped his phone into his pocket and walked out of the boys toilets.

There was no sense of direction as to where Clark wanted to go. All he knew was that needed to clear his mind and find something to distract himself with.

Clark ended up heading up to the boys dormitories to isolate himself from others and the support of his friends. He was yet to cross paths with a friendly face but there was no regard for that, for by the time Clark was in his room, he had already established the desire to not converse with anybody. He approached his desk drawer and stared down at a tape recorder he'd taken from home.

It had never been used by his family, only by Max when she left a message for he and his sister. What memories it brought back by staring at it made Clark all the more miserable. Especially when he hit 'Play.'

"Hey, Chloe, Clark... this is Max. I guess I just wanted to leave you one more message. Because I know this was the absolute worst time for me to go. I thought maybe... if you heard my voice, it could be a little bit like I was there. I don't know. Maybe this was a dumb idea. I would give anything to be there with you now. It's so hard, trying to say what I'm thinking. If I could just see you... But we'll get good at it, great at it! We'll write and talk all the time. And then you'll come visit and it'll be like I never left. I mean it, you don't have to worry about anything changing. You're dealing with so much other stuff. Neither of you deserve any of this. Guys, listen. Even if I never, even if we're moving for good, we're always together, okay? Even when we're apart. We're still Max and Chloe and Clark. I will always, always love you both. Goodbye..."

Tears streamed down Clark's cheeks as he punched the floor three times to express his pain before gently lying down on his side and wrapped his arms around himself.

"I need you, Chloe... I need you," Clark uttered to himself through mixed sobs and hiccups.