Skeppy's Pov:

Today Bad and I are out eating lunch at a restaurant with our friends. We're eating our food at a table outside, which we always do. Lately, I've been trying to lose some of my paranoia that I will be recognized by someone who used to work in the lab. So, I've been trying to get used to not wearing the hood of my hoodie when I'm in town.

As I'm eating my food, I let out a muffled giggle at a joke that Puffy just said. Everyone else is laughing along as well. There is a moment where I look beside me and lock eyes with Bad. The both of us are just smiling like idiots for no specific reason at all. Bad soon breaks the eye contact to respond to something Foolish said. But that's fine because something in the distance caught my eye. It's a person who I'm only to slightly see the side profile of. I already felt a sense of uneasiness as soon as I saw them. But now that I'm starting to make the connection in my head, I quickly get tense and panic starts setting in. Oh, f*ck. Please, no. Don't let this be who I think it is.

But it is. As soon as the person shifts, giving me a clear view of their side profile, I know who it is even without their lab coat. It's one of the main doctors at the lab. Along with Dr. Wastaken, he is someone who beat me a lot to collect my blood. I never knew his name. It just never got mentioned. But it's not like it mattered much. Now, I am starting to regret ever making the decision of taking off my hood.

As if my thought was heard, the doctor looks around the area, momentarily not paying full attention to a person whom I just noticed was there with them the whole time. As soon as his gaze starts nearing to where we are at, I immediately pull up my hood to hide my face and hair the best I can and I turn my upper body away so that he can only see my back. I mentally curse my panicked self for moving too abruptly. My sudden movements could've definitely caught his attention. I just hope that he didn't get a good look at my face and that I play off my body positioning as if I'm looking directly at Sapnap, who is seated at my other side, and listening to whatever the f*ck he's saying.

I just stay like this for what must be the longest minutes of my life. Thankfully, my sudden behavior wasn't called out by anyone. I did see out of the corner of my eye that Ant and Red noticed my abrupt movements. Even though there was some concern in their eyes, they somehow mutually agreed not to say anything about it after they looked beside me where Bad was sitting. Though, I'm not paying too much attention to that thought at the moment, as many things are scrambled in my brain right now due to my panic.

After waiting for a bit, I decide to release some tension in my muscles and slowly turn my upper body so that I'm properly facing the table again. I try to play it out as if I'm calm, but I'm actually freaking out inside because out of the corner of my eye, I can tell- feel that the doctor is still standing in the same place, though I can't tell from the distance if he's looking my way or not. But that's not the only thing I can feel. Only now am I acknowledging the concerned vibes that I'm getting from Bad beside me. But I don't dare look to my left. That way I don't risk the chance of meeting the gaze of the doctor and potentially confirming to them my identity, and locking eyes with Bad's concerned ones, which might just break me down on the spot.

But after very few minutes, I can't stand the pressure of the situation any longer. I quickly stand up and say with as much steadiness in my voice as possible, "Sorry- I need to go to the restroom."

I turn around and walk at a normal pace to make it seem like I'm calm. But once I'm inside the restaurant and have walked a good distance from the entrance, I rush over to the bathroom, desperate to get any watching eyes off of me. I swing the bathroom door open and let it get shut closed behind me as I make my way to one of various sinks. At this point, I'm starting to feel dizzy, so I slam the palms of my hands flat on the surface of the sink to keep myself from falling. My whole body feels weak right now, but I put as much strength as I can into keeping my arms straight so that I can stand as steadily as possible. I keep my head down, facing the sink, and I don't need to look up to know that I have a horrified expression on my face. One filled with dread and fear as awful memories rush into my head at once.

I'm pretty sure I'm on the brink of having some sort of panic attack, right? My arms are shaking, I'm gasping, and taking in shaky breaths of air. I feel like I can't move right now. I'm frozen in fear as anxious thoughts fill my head with worries. What if he noticed that it was me? What will they do to get me to go back to that lab? They'll punish me for sure once they take me back- have they come up with a new way to torture me? They'll have their security increased for sure after my escape- what if I never see Bad again? Will they do something to him once they find out that Bad has been sheltering me-?

So many scary thoughts fill my mind. I was so lost that I didn't even hear the bathroom door opening and closing. What managed to snap me out of my thoughts was a frantic yet gentle hand on my shoulder and Bad's concerned voice exclaiming, "Sk-Skeppy!? Oh my gosh- are you okay!?"

I look up beside me and lock my anxious eyes with Bad's concerned ones. The only thing I manage to say is "Bad-?"

I abruptly stop talking due to my unsteady breathing. Bad acts fast, placing both hands on my shoulders to make me face him. He says, "Skeppy, calm down. Just breathe. Here-"

He cuts himself off as he takes one of my hands, places it on his chest, and holds it there with both of his hands. It brings a tingly sensation to my stomach, something that has been occasionally happening to me these past few days. He says, "Close your eyes, and just try to follow my breathing, okay?"

I nod and do what Bad says, dismissing the feeling in my stomach. I try to relax and even out my breathing to match Bad's. Soon enough, I manage to breathe normally. I open my eyes to see Bad watching me closely. I'm finally composed enough to speak properly. I ask, "Bad... why- did you follow me?"

"I... noticed how tense and quiet you were back at the table. It looked like you were scared of something. I had the intention to ask you why you were acting like that, and then I found you having a panic attack... So... do you mind telling me what's wrong?"

"N-nothing. I just... want to hide in here for a little while."

Bad's concerned eyes look a tad sadder now, as if he's hurt. Hw knows I'm not telling him something. He asks, "Why do you want to hide, Skeppy?"

I don't speak. I can't. I don't want to. So, I finally break the eye contact and turn my head to the side. But Bad doesn't let that last long. He puts a hand on the side of jawline, finally taking it off my hand, which he is still holding up to his chest with his other hand. He gently turns my head so that I look at him again. I am met with a soft look in his eyes. He keeps his hand on my jawline as he gently says, "Skeppy, you can trust me. Remember, I'm always here for you. I want to help and support you, but I can only do that if you talk to me."

His words and actions just now must be quite overwhelming for my body because it immediately reacts in a way it has never before. I feel my cheeks get warm a considerable amount, I forgot how to breathe for a second there, and- did my heart just skip a beat?

...I really do trust Bad, but I guess it can still be hard for me to express my feelings or thoughts on certain things when they have been dismissed for almost my whole life. I suck in a breath and then say, "It's just that... back out there, I- saw one of the doctors who worked at the lab."

Bad goes stiff at that. He asks, "...Are you sure?"

I silently nod. Suddenly, Bad's eyes get darker, and I can quickly tell that it's anger brewing inside him. I know this because I have seen such anger before so many times. But for once, that anger isn't aimed at me. It takes a moment before he closes his eyes and sighs, trying to calm down. He opens his eyes and asks tentatively, "Skeppy... if you saw a doctor out there- ...could you show me who it is?"

My nerves immediately spiked up at that. I quickly say, "B-but- what if he sees me-!?"

Bad gently cuts me off, "He won't. We can... carefully look through a window, and you just point out who the doctor is."

I stay quiet for a moment, thinking. I don't... completely understand what we'll get out of doing that, but Bad probably has a good reason, right? Plus, as long as we're being careful, I guess it's fine... I finally say, "Okay, sure- we can do that..."

Bad gives me a reassuring smile. He stops holding my jawline and lets go of my hand, which he still had on his chest. He signals me to follow him, which I do, thought hesitant. We get out of the cautiously move towards a window at the restaurant, a bit slow in our movements. Once we almost get right next to the window, Bad says, "Go on, Skeppy. Check to see where the doctor is."

I nod and go up to the window, carefully peeking to see outside. From this window, I get a good view of our table and almost all of its surroundings. I look over to where I last saw the doctor, but I widen my eyes to see that he isn't there. I frantically look around the area outside to see if I catch a glimpse of him, but I just don't see him at all. Without looking away from the window, I mutter out, "He's not there anymore..."

I hear Bad move to stand right beside as he says, "What? Really?"

"Yeah... he was right across the road, almost placed straight ahead from the table."

We stand there in silence for a little while, I don't know how to feel about the doctor being gone. I feel like I should be relieved that he isn't around anymore, but then again, I don't have any idea of what he might think of me, if he even realized that it's me. Bad gently places a comforting hand on my shoulder and says, "Well... if he's not here anymore, then he probably didn't notice you. He's probably just going about his normal day right now."

"I... guess that could be true."

"...Do you think you're ready to go outside with the others again, or do you need some more time?"

I stay unresponsive for a moment before saying, "No, I think I'm fine... We can go with the others."

Hopefully Bad is right. That way, I won't have to worry about the lab or those doctors ever again.