I didn't want to let Scarlett's words bother me any more than Jonah's already had, but I had already lost control. My mind swirled and I couldn't breathe right. Teddy was jumping and trying to pull me down, but I felt I would just collapse if I tried to sit down. He knew it wasn't working, so he started going and scratching at the door out of the bathroom, then would rush back to me. Nothing I had done with my therapist, Ella, was working to try and stop my mind and return back to reality. I felt my legs start to give out, so I was forced to lean against the counter and make it to the floor. Teddy was getting restless and barked. He only tried three times before someone pushed against the door and came in.

"Ash, oh my god." Someone appeared in my line of sight. It was Levi.

"Make it stop." I pressed my hands to my forehead as if that would shut it down.

"Hey, look at me, Ash, look at me." Levi grabbed my hands away from my head and pulled me to his chest, holding me tight. "Pressure?" He asked. I nodded into is chest as Teddy nuzzled his way in to sit on my lap. "Deep breaths, okay?" I followed his breathing as his chest raised and fell. Slowly, my mind calmed and my breathing steadied.

"Thankyou." I told Levi, not moving.

"Of course." He moved his hand to hold my head and stayed there for a while.

"Why were you out of the movie?"

"You were taking a really long time."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to worry you."

"I'd rather worry and make sure you're okay than let you get hurt. Can I ask what happened?" I lifted my head and slowly stood up, not facing him.

"Just me overreacting." I didn't want to concern him nor drag him into this situation with Scarlett and Jonah. I could handle it myself.

"I know that's not true, but you don't have to tell me." He looked at me with genuine concern and honesty as he stood as well.

"How did you know what to do?"
"I've been known to have the odd panic attack myself. Sometimes competition stress really gets into my head." He admitted. I didn't have anything to say so instead just hugged him. "If you're feeling okay now, we should really head back into the theatre before someone gets even more concerned." I nodded. "The girls bathrooms are actually quite nice." He smiled as he looked around.

"Levi?" I stopped him before he opened the door.

"Can we not tell anyone about this? Please."
He considered it, then nodded.

"Thankyou."

"We probably shouldn't go back in together. I don't want your brothers thinking anything."

"I'll go first."

I grabbed Teddy and left the bathroom, heading straight back into the theatre. I had missed a decent amount of the movie but knew Tate or Gabby would fill me in.

"What took you so long?" Tate asked.

"Got distracted. Sorry." I was glad they couldn't see my face in the dark room, otherwise they definitely would have sensed something off with my puffy eyes and lightly tear stained face.

The movie finished, but I hadn't really been paying attention. I'd been too busy thinking about Levi and how he helped me. He was so nice, and I was happy he had felt comfortable enough with me to share he also had panic attacks.

"Ready to go?" The subject himself interrupted me as I saw everyone else had already stood up to leave.

"Oh. Yeah." I shook it off and stood up, following everyone else out of the cinema.

"You sure you're alright?" Levi checked.

"I am." I nodded, smiling at him.

"How was the movie?" Dad asked everyone as we piled into the cinema foyer. The general response was 'good'.

"Why don't we go home and have some cake?" Mum suggested. We used 3 cars to take everyone back home. Me, Teddy, Levi, Tate, and Gabby went in my mum's car and the rest split between Nick's and Dad's.

I told them all what I'd been given for my birthday and all about Morgan. They agreed they wanted to write a card to her for me to take on my trip and were very jealous about Singapore. Gabby said she had been a few years ago and loved it, and Levi said his parents went for work often.

It didn't take long before everyone was home, and we were gathered around the kitchen table with the two cakes adorned with flaming sparklers. Everyone began to sing happy birthday and for a minute, I forgot about everything that had just been going on. I smiled at Austin and looked around at the others, holding eye contact with Levi. Everyone clapped 16 times for our age, and I couldn't stop grinning. Dad handed Austin and I each a knife so we could cut into our respective cakes.

"If it touches the bottom you've got to kiss someone." One of Austin's friends announced. Everyone laughed as we tried our best.

"Austin yours touched the bottom!" I giggled, looking at him with mischievous eyes.

"Go on Austin." That same friend smirked as Austin looked slightly flustered. He must have had a sudden burst of confidence though because he quickly walked over, kissed Gabby on the cheek, then walked away. Gabby looked stunned and embarrassed but also like she would let him do it again. Thankfully, in that time, no one had noticed that my knife had also reached the bottom and hit the plate, so I wasn't going to be put through that same situation.

Mum pushed us all out of the kitchen and ushered us outside as she cut slices of both cakes. They were then all brought out for us to eat, and I was in heaven. I think I ended up going back for three slices before Dad told me I should stop and save room for other foods later. He promised he would make sure a slice was saved for me to eat tomorrow.

We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening swimming, before it was time for dinner. We had pizza delivered and ate it outside on the deck, still all sitting around in our bathers. Before we knew it, it started getting dark and Levi had to leave. He had a surf tournament the next day and had to get up early so wasn't able to stay the night.

"I'll come out with you." I told him as he gathered up his stuff. He said thankyou to my parents and a last happy birthday to Austin before we walked to the end of the drive together.

"Thanks for inviting me, Ash. I had a really good time." He smiled, genuinely showing appreciation.

"I'm glad you came." I smiled. "Good luck for your comp tomorrow."

"Thanks. Happy birthday." He hugged me, then started to walk to his car. "Also, your knife touched the bottom too."