Long Way Down // One Direction Sickfic

Niall Claustrophobic

Zayn POV
"Damn, a lot of fans out there" I thought aloud as I looked through the window of our fifth floor hotel room.
"Isn't it great?!" Niall exclaimed, peering out.
I always found it ironic how much he hated being in the crowds, and walking through them, but always got so excited whenever he saw them from a distance.
"I reckon Paul'll probably have to come up with one of his plans to get us outta here" Liam said as he joined Niall and I at the window.
The fans seemed to have clogged up the entire street,  and I knew there was no way, even with our entire security team, that we'd be able to make our way out to a car.

Sure enough, a little while later Paul knocked on our door and then entered.
"Alright boys, I assume you've seen the massive crowd you've all attracted" He began
"Here we go..." I muttered sarcastically, curious to see what type of plan he came up with this time.
In the beginning, the plans were as simple as going out the service entrance of the hotels - it didn't take long for the fans to catch onto that one. Now, our fans truly were unbeatable, and the majority of the time, our plans wound up foiled - no matter how complex they were.
"In twenty minutes, I'll bring all of you downstairs in the service elevator, which we will take down to the delivery room. We have a bread van waiting, and you five will all ride in the back"
"Oooh a getaway car" Liam joked
"A getaway bread van more like" I corrected
"Okay, well I'm going to head to Harry and Louis' room to fill them in. I'll meet you here in 20 minutes"
"Thanks Paul!" Niall called as he left the room, then he turned to us. "I don't like the sound of this"
Then it dawned on me that he was claustrophobic.
"It'll be fine, Niall. It isn't going to be that long a ride" Liam attempted to calm his nerves
"We're all gonna be there to help you Ni. You'll be alright" I said, though I knew no matter what we did, he still would not handle the ride well

Paul met us outside with Harry and Louis, and we went down to meet the van.
Before we got in, Paul pulled Louis aside to talk to him.
"How was Louis last night?" Liam asked Harry - as he and Harry shared a room.
"He hardly said a word to me. Dunno why he's acting so odd." Harry replied
"Yeah he's been the same around me too. Maybe I should try to talk to him later and find out why" Liam suggested
I shifted my focus from Liam and Harry to Niall, who was standing as far away from us and the van as possible while still staying in the room.
"You'll be fine, Nialler" I encouraged, and he just grunted in response, hardly making eye contact.

Management decided that this experience would make great entertainment for our fans, so a camera man would be joining us in the back of the van.
"We're about to head out now. We're going to see another wonder of the world, I think actually.
Uh, Christ the Redeemer in Rio. But there are so many fans outside, we're being smuggled out in a bread van" Liam explained to the camera.
We all climbed into the van, and the cameraman followed.
"It's like a little disguise. I like this. It's like a little adventure" Liam said.
Harry was the first in, and he climbed all the way into the back, and I sat on the side beside Liam. Niall was sat between Liam and Louis, though they did their best to give him some space, and Louis was closest to the door.
"The most important thing is that we're all in this together" Harry said as someone handed me a water bottle. "I used to be a baker, so I love a good bread van"
Once the doors to the van were shut, it was completely black, and Niall whimpered a bit. I reached around Liam and squeezed his shoulder, before Harry and the camera man turned on their flashlights.
"Now, Paul's decoys don't normally work, now this one, I have a bit more faith in. This is crazy" Louis told the camera as it filmed him.
I spent a minute or so trying to keep an eye on Niall, looking for any indication that he was going into a panic attack.
Then the cameraman pointed the camera at me.
"I really like it in here!" I said simply.
It wasn't a lie. The van was pretty cozy, and reminded me of a green van we used to have when I lived at home. We used to travel to Manchester and my friends and I would sit in the back like we were doing now. The smell of fresh bread was only a plus.

Liam POV
Just as the camera was back facing Louis, Niall, and I, I noticed that Niall had began to deteriorate.
His breaths were sounding more like wheezes, and I could see how much he was sweating.
"How you doing, Nialler?" Louis asked as the camera pointed at him
"Not good."
"Hey, um, can you turn off the camera for a moment?" I suggested as I turned my attention towards Niall
The camera man put the camera down.
"Niall, you gotta breath, okay? Not much longer now" I tried to soothe
"I-I can't" He gasped.
I remember once he told us that when he got claustrophobic, he felt like he was being suffocated, and I couldn't even imagine how scared he felt.
"It's alright," Harry said, reaching out to touch his shoulder
"Don't touch me" Niall snapped. I noticed that he was now crying too.
"Mate, you gotta take some deep breaths" Zayn said, scooting so he was facing Niall, but giving him about two feet of space.
"C-c-can't" Niall wheezed out
It was evident his panic was only getting worse
"How much longer?" Zayn asked
"Everything okay back there?" Someone called from the front seat
"No, how long?" Louis yelled
"Two minutes" They called back. "What's going on?"
"Niall's having a panic" I answered
"Two minutes Niall, you can make it" Zayn said
At this point, his breathing hardly sounded human, and I was beginning to worry if he was getting in any air at all.

Finally, we felt the van pull to a stop and the doors opened.
Niall practically fell out of the truck, and immediately dropped to his knees.
I crouched down to comfort him, and gently touched his shoulder.
"Don't touch me please. Please, it burns" He cried as Paul got out of a car and rushed over to us.
"Give him space, boys." He ordered and we all backed up
Paul knelt down about three feet away from Niall, as Niall began retching.
"It's alright, Niall. You're out now. Just try to breath" He said calmly. "Harry, can you go grab my medbag from the car?" He asked
Harry quickly scampered off to do so
"Okay, Niall. It's alright" Paul said as he took the medbag and unzipped it.
"Niall, take a sip of water," I said as I cautiously moved towards him, holding out a water bottle. "Dry gagging is only gonna hurt your throat"
It was concerning me how labored his breathing sounded. He was panting, retching, choking even, despite having been outside of the van for a few minutes now
"We gotta lay him down, Paul. He looks like he's about to pass out" Zayn said as he moved closer to Niall.
Together, Zayn and I situated Niall so that he was lying on his back, while Paul rummaged through the medbag.
Finally, Paul pulled out an inhaler, gave it a quick shake, and then put it into Niall's mouth, giving him two puffs.
"Breathe it in, Nialler" I said. Niall was squeezing his eyes shut, and I could tell he was doing his best to breath in the medication
"Alright Niall, one more" Paul said as he reached forward and gave Niall another puff.
After two or so minutes, Niall's breathing began to even out, and I let out a breath that I didn't even know I was holding.
"How are you feeling, Niall?" Paul asked and Niall's eyes fluttered open
"Stupid" He replied
"Niall, you're not stupid. It wasn't you're fault" I said as I brushed his hair off of his sweaty forehead
"Yeah but now I've made a scene and...shoot, are there any fans around?" Niall asked as he pushed himself upright. Paul was quick to give him a hand.
"No, Niall, nobody saw don't worry." Paul assured. He really was lucky that we were in the back of a utility parking lot right now, not out in a public area.
We let Niall have a few more moments to gather himself, and then Paul, Zayn and I helped him to his feet.

"Gave us a bit of a scare there, lad" Louis poked Niall's side, and Niall gave him a playful shove in return.
"Hey! Niall, careful" I reminded. We had enough excitement for one day, and none of us needed Louis falling.
Louis just looked back at me sheepishly, and then walked ahead towards Paul.
"What's going on with him, lately?" I asked Niall
"What do you mean, he seems fine to me" Niall chirped as the statue we were visiting came into sight.
Niall skipped ahead as our security tightened around us.

After we took some photos, we all stopped for lunch, and then spent the rest of the day touring Rio, anxious and excited for our upcoming concerts.