The next few seconds erupted into utter chaos as several things happened at the same time.
Clara flew into hysteria, screaming in desperation and sprinting out of the bathroom. Nate watched in stupefaction as she proceeded to begin attacking the door without holding anything back, trying to break through to get her best friend back.
"Nate, stop her! Panicking is the WORST possible thing to do in these situations" Devon said firmly, trying to get the feed from Hayley's camera working again or even getting a sound through her mic.
"What about Hayley? Clara isn't going to stop until we get her back" he replied, running towards the brunette.
"You can't do anything for her right now! Just pray that she is still alive while you get Clara away from the door and calm her down. If she dwells on this and doesn't start thinking straight, she will be left vulnerable for the killer and she will die" she insisted.
Clara began banging on the door with her fists, calling Hayley's name. She kicked the door every now and then, harder each time. Nate took a deep breath and pushed his heartache aside as he moved to Clara and gripped her shoulders tightly. "Clara, stop it now!" he said, trying not to sound fearful despite how freaked out he was.
"NO!" she shouted, tears now rolling down her cheeks. "Hayley, can you hear me?! Please, Hayley!" Clara shrugged his hands away and continued pounding the door with no mercy.
"Not that way. Just grab her by the waist or something, pull her as far away from the door as possible and keep her still until she calms down. Keep talking to her to make sure she's okay" Devon instructed, growing severely irritated and really wishing she was with her friends.
Nate huffed and locked both arms around Clara's waist, this time refusing to loosen his grip as he pulled her away from the door towards the stairs. This only aggravated Clara further, causing her to thrash around wildly.
"Let me go! I need to help Hayley!" she yelled, her own panic blinding her.
"Clara, stop struggling and work with me here! You can't help h-" WHACK! Nate was cut off by Clara's fist hitting him square in the eye.
Nate growled in pain, his patience wearing thin. He spun Clara around forcefully to face him, refusing to release her no matter how much she squirmed and cried. He kept one arm around her waist, lifting her chin with his other hand so she focused on him. This seemed to make a breakthrough, as her eyes focused on his now swollen eye and her shouts turned into jagged breathing and occasional sobbing.
"Listen, Clara, you are falling apart without even knowing what just happened. I need you to slow down and think, otherwise, we're all gonna die" he told her, looking into her teary eyes.
She held his wrists tightly, her knuckles white and shaking "N-Nate, this is too much... I didn't want anyone to die" she cried, sniffing and looking towards the bloody.
"I know" he replied calmly and quietly, pulling her into his chest, holding her tight until she stopped struggling.
She finally gave up on calling for Hayley and almost collapsed in his arms. Nate, not expecting her to fall, stumbled a little but regained his footing, not letting go of her for a second. Meanwhile, Devon was still trying to fiddle with Hayley's mic. She tried boosting the sound quality and rebooting the device. Loud static assaulted her ears suddenly, causing her to yelp and throw off her earpiece momentarily, cutting all her connections. Clara almost screamed from surprise but bit her own tongue to avoid it.
Devon slowly eased herself back into her desk chair, putting her earpiece back in "I'm sorry guys, I lost Hayley's signal. The mic was all static. It looks like her communicators have been shorted out" she said into the mic, making Clara gasp.
"Try replaying the footage," Nate told her, waiting as they listened to the surprisingly comforting keyboard clicks.
"I got the last half a minute. It looks like Hayley was dragged into the front room. From what I could see – cause this footage is dark as shit and I had no time to switch it to night mode from my end - she was forced into some sort of olden day torture chair. When she tried to scream and get out, there was a spark and then the footage just stopped. I heard someone whisper 'Lights out!' during that clip but that's all I got" Devon explained, before sighing. "You know, Hayley is most likely okay. If the killer lured you guys there in the first place then taking Hayley is just psychological manipulation to make you easier to kill..."
"Okay, so assuming she's just unconscious, we don't have to panic about anything... yet" Nate concluded, feeling a little more at ease.
Clara's breathing returned to normal again and she found herself looking into Nate's eyes, tears streaks glinting in the phone lights. "Nate, I can't bear to see anyone else get hurt. Just get out of here, I'll get Hayley out and you guys get away. This is my problem, not yours" she murmured.
He looked back at her, watching her features carefully. "Clara, I will never leave you. It's time you realize that it's not your fault if something happens to us. We decided to come on our own. I'm not leaving you, Clara. I..." he cleared his throat, already knowing the deadly consequences of his next actions. "Clara Lowell Evans, I love you too much to do that. I admit it, I've had a crush on you for so long now so I guess now couldn't be a better time to get everything off of my chest" he confessed, stammering on a few words.
Clara blushed and cupped Nate's chin gently, rubbing her thumb along his jawline. A new tear slid down her cheek, but this one wasn't for tragic reasons. "Nathan Kaspin-Hyatt, I love you too, and I've been waiting so long to hear you say that" she whispered, smiling softly.
"Oh please don't make out you two" Devon groaned, facepalming while watching the camera footage with disapproval. "You're both aware that you're not only being cliché and mushy, but also kissing during a time of crisis?"
Clara giggled and bit her lip gently, "sorry Dev, but sometimes the worst moments are the best. Just look away from the screen" she said in a hushed voice, her other hand creeping up behind Nate's neck.
The two inched closer together until their noses almost touched and feel each other breathing. Taking a chance, Clara closed the gap between their lips and closed her eyes as they fell into a passionate kiss. For a moment, the entire world around them disappeared and the two found peace in each other's arms. But love didn't spare anyone from danger, nor would a psycho let love survive.
Young love would die with them.