The sun had barely risen when I arrived. It looked like Cody at least had arrived, with his car parked between two other cars. I yawned as I stepped out of the car. I opened the back door in order to let Killian out, and grabbed my bass while I was at it. Cold air hit my back as I closed the car door.
"Sam!" I could hear Cody's voice. I turned to see him approaching. His dark blue hair looked fresh- Cody must have gotten it redone.
Killian moved in front of me, blocking me before I could react. I didn't know what to say- Killian knew not to block any of the boys. I stopped in my tracks, mouth agape. "Killian, coi. Sorry about that Cody."
"Are you okay?" Cody asked, approaching me. The way he looked at Killian told me that Cody was really asking about him.
"Yeah, just confused honestly," I mumbled, gripping onto Killian's harness and pulling him gently towards the building.
Cody nodded, "That was weird. You said you have that appointment coming up, right?" His hands wrung together.
"Mhm," I mumbled, walking with Cody into the studio. Immediately the air around me warmed up.
"Oh!" Cody dug into his pocket, pulling out a piece of paper. He unfolded it, cringing at the wrinkles, "Here's the schedule for today."
I looked over the sheet, noticing that the last thing we had scheduled ended at midnight. "Busy day today."
"Yup, we're trying to get the whole shoot done today," Cody opened a door for me.
Shay sat at the table, a camera placed on the table in front of her. She looked up when the door opened and smiled.
"Morning, Shay," I smiled.
Shay stood, arms open for a hug. I hugged her and she gave a quiet reply- obviously still waking up.
After a moment I pulled away and looked around the room. I recognized the layout of the whiteboard across the room- it was a storyboard for the video. I smiled as I put a hand on Cody's back, "Cody Carson you are the most amazing person."
Cody laughed, "Zach reminded me to have one made for you. I was so caught up in everything else that I forgot."
"That's alright," I smiled, looking over the video. "Who'd we get to play that guy?" I pointed to the body labeled 'Rich Evil Guy'.
"Uhh, an actor named Cameron. We have Dre on hair and make-up as well." Cody was looking at me, arms encircling around Shay as she hugged him.
I looked down at the schedule in my hand, "Seriously, I appreciate all of this Cody."
A grin laced his features, "I know." Cody's chest puffed up a little, making me laugh. Shay gave a quiet chuckle as well.
I could hear footsteps coming down the hall, and turned to see Zach walking in with Maxx. Both were silent and looked like they had also just woken up. But Zach carried five coffees in a carrier- I couldn't tell where they were from. Max sipped an iced coffee, glaring at the floor as if it had threatened to fall out from underneath him.
"Oooh, coffee," Cody met Zach halfway through the room and grabbed the coffee. Zach's face contorted to sadness and he made grabby hands at the coffee. I laughed, walking over to Cody and grabbing the coffee labeled 'Sam'.
"I got your usual caramel macchiato," Zach pointed out, "Iced because I knew it would be warm in here with all the lights and stuff."
"Zach, you are my actual savior, holy shit," I sipped on the drink, shivering a little as it passed through my body.
"Oh," Cody cleared his throat, "We will be recording a behind-the-scenes vlog for this." Shay waved from her spot at the table, booting up the camera.
"Oh my fucking god, that pool is freezing," Zach grumbled as we pulled ourselves out. Maxx and Dan mumbled agreements, standing up and shaking off like dogs.
I pushed up against the edge of the pool, swinging my leg up. A hand wrapped around my arm and helped me stand. I looked to see Zach standing there, smiling. I offered a half-ass smile, rubbing my arms to try and get them to warm up. An odd emptiness filled my chest, and the shivering got worse.
"Hey, what's our next shot?" Zach asked. Maxx and Dan talked to each other, joking about something I couldn't pinpoint. One of the extras across the pool was talking about the Set It Off tattoo she had. Another one was talking about her pet dog. The sound began to fade away as my heart beat louder in my ears.
Something gripped onto my arm, snatching me back into my body as I was pulled away from the pool. It took me a moment to get my bearings, but soon I realized that Zach was pulling me into the hallway.
"Zach, what are you-?" I began, shivering violently again.
"You look like you're having a panic attack, I'm trying to get you to Killian," Zach looked back at me, "You're shivering much more than the rest of us, you zoned out pretty hard back there, and I can feel how fast your heart is beating." Zach held up my wrist in emphasis.
"But, they need us for the next shot," I heard the fear in my voice. I tugged against Zach, trying to go back in.
"They're doing a couple of shots with Cody and the extras, we have a few minutes," Zach stopped pulling, pulling the towel off his arm and wrapping it around me. "Here, this should help you not drip so much." He tightened it a little, looking over my body. He really cares. "Where's Killian?"
My mind blanked, "I think he's in the board room?"
Zach gently pressed my shoulders down, sitting on the floor with me, "Take some deep breaths while we wait on someone to grab him, okay?" He didn't move his hand off my bicep.
I nodded, pulling air into my nose. Now that we were away from the chaos, the panic felt amplified. It became the forefront of my attention, and it became harder to breathe through the lump in my throat. I pulled my knees up, wrapping my arms around them. Still, Zach's arm didn't move.
I could hear shouting in the pool area, about 15 feet from us at this point. Something about Killian and water. It made my heart beat faster. "Shit," I whispered, wiping furiously at my eyes. I couldn't tell if I was crying or if my hair was dripping onto my face.
Zach shifted to my other side, putting himself between me and the pool. He wrapped an arm around me I shut my eyes continued to try and breathe, gripping onto Zach's arm to try and help ground myself. I breathed in quickly- almost like a hiccup. Just the idea that I couldn't even control my breathing send a sob out of my mouth. I covered it, wanting nothing more than to hide.
Zach's arm moved, and I felt pressure all over the side of my body. My eyes shot open to see Zach's arm wrapped around me, soaking wet and cold. One hand rested on my shoulder, and the other on my arm.
"Deep breaths, Sam. You've got this," He whispered, squeezing my body a little.
I took a shaking breath in, moving my arms around his waist. I couldn't stop shivering, and just the idea that it was because of the panic attack scared me more.
As I breathed out, I heard Zach above me, "Good job. Keep going."
He continued to give quiet encouragement as I continued. I have to admit, it really helped. Zach even breathed with me a couple of times, reminding me to hold my breath as needed and to not breathe in or out so fast.
Cody rounded the corner with Killian after a few minutes. "Sorry, he was giving us shit." He dropped the leash, letting Killian jog lightly towards me.
"Killian, interfere," Zach commanded, pulling his arm back and pointing.
Killian nestled his head between my stomach and legs, forcing me to lay my legs flat on the ground. I shifted so that I could lay on the ground, and Killian laid on top of my legs and stomach.
"Cody, did you grab her meds?" Zach asked, shifting to let his foot barely touch the outside of my thigh.
"Yup, Maxx went to go grab her water," Cody came and sat by my feet, resting a hand on my leg.
I shut my eyes, taking more deep breaths. The towel laid awkwardly around my shoulders. I tried to ignore it as I rubbed my hands through Killian's fur. My brain couldn't decide if I should keep my eyes closed or open.
"I got her water," I heard Maxx say.
"I got more towels," Dan said from around Maxx.
Zach tapped my shoulder, "Sam, do you want to sit up and take the Ativan?"
I nodded.
"Killian, consurge," Zach commanded. Killian stood and moved to the side.
I sat up, and Killian laid his head on my legs. Zach passed me the already opened water bottle, and then the little white pills. I drank the water first, then placed the pills in my mouth and swallowed.
Zach rubbed my back as I continued to breathe. Killian sniffed at my face and I hugged him. Damn, he needs a bath.
"I mean, I wasn't gonna say anything," Cody said, laughing as he said it.
I laughed, "I did not mean to say that out loud."