My Catastrophe ➳ Tyler Joseph [DISCONTINUED]

Prologue

August 5, 2012

It was a sunny day in August and I was in line for a Neon Trees concert with my best friend. We were at the House of Blues in Cleveland, where we had spent all nineteen years of our lives. As we were standing there, conversing with a few girls behind us, the doors to the venue burst open and the entire waiting line silenced.

I saw a man a little older than me burst through the venue doors, clutching his chest and gasping for air, tears flowing freely down his cheeks. Everyone else in the line looked shocked and confused, slowly edging toward the direction that the guy went.

I knew that would be no good, so I ran to the front of the crowd and spread my arms out, yelling, "Guys, he's sick. I know what to do, and I'm going to go help him. It's going to be alright, just remain calm and take your places back in line. Please!"

The group of girls and boys alike all stared at me in confusion and amusement before shrugging and turning around, heading back to their original places.

I hoisted my floral backpack higher onto my left shoulder, shouted to Harlyn to hold my spot, and made a run after the breathless man.

Luckily for me, he had only made it halfway down the alley next to the venue. He was doubled over and panting, each sob escaping his body with a shudder; his face was whiter than a sheet.

"Hey, are you okay?"

*gasp*

"Okay, that was a dumb question. Of course you're not okay. What can I do to help?"

*pant*

"Never mind, I've got this. You're having a panic attack. Look, let's sit you down. Lean against the wall and take deep breaths, okay?" I took hold of the man's shoulders and lead his back to the wall of the venue, where he slid down to the gravel covered ground. "Are you having trouble breathing?"

*gasp* He nodded.

"Right. Okay, do you have an inhaler?" The stranger shook his head in confirmation once more. "With you?"

He was hesitant but slowly shook his head as a no.

"I do. Here, breathe out for me. Now take a deep breath in. And one more time," I instructed him as I held the medicine to his lips and pressed the button. Once I noticed the slightly pink color start to return to the handsome man's face, I slowly slid down down beside his slumped over figure and began to gently stroke his back with my finger tips.

"Relax and take deep breaths. You're going to be fine, I promise."

After a few minutes of trying to comfort the sobbing man, I heard a low, choked up "thank you" escape his dry lips.

"It was no problem, really. I have anxiety too. I know an attack when I see one and I figured you could use some help."

"I want you to know that you probably just saved my life..."

"I doubt that; you would have been okay eventually. I just helped speed the process along," I smiled through the pain from my aching heart. "Do you want to tell me what caused you to freak out like that?"

"This is the biggest show I've played so far. Josh and I, we're getting more well-known. More people are recognizing our name. I'm reading more negative comments online. I know it sounds stupid but it's just getting to me. I can't handle it all," the man cried.

"Hey, shh. It's going to be okay. You're going to go in there and know that with more fame comes more support. And that means that more people have your back. I don't know you or your band, but I know for a fact that you're going to be incredible tonight. Don't let the pessimism get to you, okay? Don't forget why you started performing in the first place."