((Sorry it's way later than I said it'd be out, and it's also a bit shit in my opinion :/ the chapter is a little everywhere, but we're slowly getting to the exciting part ;) Also, I don't think I've ever really clarified that two parentheses means an author's note/comment as opposed to just one. If it's just one then it's meant to be part of the narration.))

Everyone was about halfway done with their food, and Lachlan was still in the restroom. The other guys were fully engaged in conversation, so I doubted they were concerned in the least bit. I, on the other hand, stayed quiet and worried my ass off about him.

"I'm going to go check on Lachlan," I mumbled, getting out of the booth. I didn't wait for anyone to say a word of protest - or agreement or that matter - so I just headed towards the toilets.

My mind was racing. Was he okay? Was he just sitting in there? What if he left instead of going to the bathroom? He could have easily taken a cab home. He could've taken a cab to a hotel or something, rather than back to Mitch and Jerome's. Was it my fault?

I found myself staring into an empty bathroom. It didn't even look like there were people in the stalls. Anxiety settled into my gut. Lachlan left, didn't he?

"L-Lachlan? It's Vik," I stuttered out, quietly. It was pointless. If he was in here, why would he respond?

"In the fourth stall," a voice answered. Hesitantly, I walked over to the stall and slightly pushed open the door. There Lachlan was, sitting on the tank of the toilet, his feet on the toilet seat. I went in and closed the door behind me.

"What're you doing, just sitting here?" I questioned, leaning on the door. A sigh unintentionally escaped my lips out of relief. He hadn't left. Not yet, anyway.

"Just... calming down," he replied, looking at the ground.

"Calming down? Did what Jerome say piss you off? He's just-" I began.

"No, that's not it. I'm not angry or anything," he interrupted.

"Then what is it?" I pushed, confused. I mentally scolded myself for being so demanding, but I wanted him to be okay.

"Nothing big. I'm just...overthinking things, is all," he answered. I continued giving him a confused look, and he continued. "Have... do you... erm- Am I even really a friend to you guys?"

"What?" I breathed, completely taken aback. What kind of question was that? Of course he was a friend to us. No matter how much I wished it was more, he was still an amazing and supportive person. But none of what I was thinking was made it past my lips.

"I know - well, at least I think - that time zones are what makes me isolated when I'm in Australia. It just feels like I'm still isolated, even though I'm with you all in real life," he explained. "And it seems like you guys always do things without me. I have all these video ideas, but you guys have already done them, and I didn't even know."

"Y-yeah, but-" I started.

"Don't you know what it feels like to be paranoid? Feeling like the things that people do on accident are secretly intentional? Sorry, I don't know what I'm thinking... I've never really worried about losing people," he admitted. Then his voice got significantly lower as he continued, "I've never really had friends to lose before. So much of what I have right now seems to good to be true - there has to be some sort of catch."

"There is no catch. We're your friends, you're our friend. You mean the world to us, especially me," I told him. He gave me a sad smile and shrugged.

"Whatever the situation, I'm sorry for being such a shitty person. I'm not really good at helping you with the whole... Preston thing, am I?" he asked, hesitantly looking me in the eye.

"You're doing perfectly fine!" I quickly lied. It wasn't like he wasn't helping because if I actually did have a crush on Preston, then he'd be doing an amazing job. But in the process of him supporting me, I just continued to fall more in love with him and realise how perfect and happy he really was. "You're doing everything you can, okay?" He opened his mouth to talk, but he quickly bit his lip and nodded.

"Okay, then..." he breathed, obviously not believing me.

"Lachlan... What happened back there? Preston was just ordering you food. I know he was quite forceful about it, but you know he was only trying to be nice," I asked him. He stared at the ground and frowned.

"He's only wasting money... I hate eating out and, besides, I wasn't hungry even before I became the group's subject of humiliation." His tone had a bitter bite to it, taking me by surprise. Part of me felt like he was lying, too, but I couldn't really tell. His reasoning was valid enough.

"Bullshit," I stated, bluntly. Better safe than sorry, right? He looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"You reckon?" Amusement was laced into his voice, but his eyes stared straight into mine, a sort of seriousness on his face.

"Yeah," I challenged. He rolled his eyes and let out a half-hearted laugh, but it didn't last long.

"It's not hard to lose your appetite after you get made fun of. Not that I'm angry at any of you guys, I could never be. I'm just... I'm really insecure. Don't think I'm a porcelain doll, that just- what happened just hit too close to home." He sighed and slowly stood up. "Just... forget what I said."

"How much do you keep to yourself?" I mumbled, not intending die him to head. I knew he did, though. I noticed the half-a-second hesitation cross his expression as, I assume, he thought about whether to acknowledge what I said or not. Instead, he gestured for me to open the stall door. So, I did and we made our way out of the restroom.

"Hey, when we get home, do you want to play Pokemon? You brought your 3DS, I'm pretty sure." It was typical of Lachlan to ask me to play his favourite game against me. As much as I loved the game, I knew he just wanted to kick my ass in it. Not that I minded it. He can kick my ass anytime (insert winky face here).

"Erm, sure? That was random." I stopped walking to look at him as we reached the door.

"I just figured that Pokemon is a good break from... everything. We don't have to record it if you don't want to and it's something different from the blocks we stare at everyday. Plus, it's really the only game I'm good at." We both laughed a bit.

"Come on, you're good - well, not really good, but rather experienced - at Crazy Craft and stuff." I was half-joking, but still serious. Lachlan was too lazy to put in the effort of getting good at most games.

"Oi, don't challenge the Crazy Craft king." He nudged my side with his arm.

"Who appointed you king?" I nudged him back.

"It was a unanimous vote," he told me in a matter-of-fact tone.

"And who exactly voted for you?"

"Me, because at the end of, like, every season, I'm the last one standing. At the end of Crazy Craft 3.0, the elections for King of Crazy Craft were at the last episode and I was the only one there to vote, so..." I was about to reply, but we were getting close to our booth. The two of us quietly sat down where we were before. Almost immediately, Rob looked at Lachlan and smirked.

"Lachlan is bi, huh," Rob said, the smirk evident in his voice. Lachlan rolled his eyes.

"If you're thinking about making fun of me, please don't. I will genuinely leave this time," Lachlan mumbled.

"I wasn't going to make fun of you," Rob promised, "I just wanted to say that I'm not surprised. I thought you were gay as fuck when I first met you."

"I wish I could say that I'm offended, but I'm really not," Lachlan admitted. His smile quickly fell and he started poking his food with his fork.

After an awkward period of silence, Preston spoke up, "In Lachlan's defense, I don't think I've met anyone more homosexual than me." Everyone laughed, but Preston had a nervous look on his face.

"Preston, if you still think I'm homophobic, then you're blind," I spoke up. Everyone got silent in confusion.

"In what world would VIk be homophobic?" Lachlan asked.

"I don't know... Some of the Sidemen don't seem all that comfortable with the whole gay idea and I didn't want to expect any less from Vik," Preston quickly stuttered out. "Anyway... Erm- Lachlan, what do you have against your food?"

"Okay, seriously? I'm more than an excuse to change the topic," Lachlan sighed.

"But you're just so easy to pick on," Mitch whined. Lachlan frowned and looked away from us.

"Yeah, I mean, just think about it. There are all these failed past relationships we can make fun of, there's his impulsiveness... And, when you think about it, he probably has an eating disorder or something," Jerome explained, some-what in a teasing way, but nonetheless offensive.

I looked at Lachlan to see his lip bleeding from how hard he was biting it. His eyes were glaring at Jerome, but I could see tears welling up. Without saying a word, he stood up and walked towards the entrance.

"What the hell, Jerome? Is his life a joke to you? Are eating disorders something to make fun of, whether or not Lachlan has one? What the fuck is your problem?!" I growled at him. Jerome didn't know what to say, but, frankly, I didn't give a shit. As quickly as I could, I went outside to follow Lachlan.

Eventually, I found him sitting on the ground, leaning against Mitch's car. His knees were pulled up against his chest and his head was hidden by his arms. Quiet sniffles were just barely heard, as they were muffled by his limbs. I didn't want to speak, so I snuck my way towards him and sat to his right.

"Vik?" he breathed, slightly shifting his head so his eye was peeking out, just able to see me.

"This is why I hate restaurants. You feel like you need to talk, so conversation his forced out. It's not like this during recordings. Maybe afterwards, but that's not the point. What is Jerome's problem?" I spoke up, after a few moments of silence.

"It's not a big deal," he mumbled.

"You shouldn't be so used to Jerome treating him like that." I stared at his curled up body, hoping he'd turn his head the slightest bit so I could see his - usually - bright, blue eyes. He didn't, though.

"He's right, though..." he whispered, barely inaudible. I could tell that he hadn't intended on me hearing him, but he knew I heard.

"About what?" He shifted around slightly, before looking me dead in the eyes.

"It's nothing, nevermind. Forget I said anything. I know you'll bring this up late, but - please - not now." My breath caught in my throat when I got a clear view of the tears in his eyes. The hurt that was buried in his serious tone made me consumed with worry.

"Let's just... Let's just get a taxi and go back to the house."