ZOMBILLIES! (and panic attacks) OLD

this would be better written if wattpad didn't hate me

TW: mild depictions of violence, panic attacks 

originally posted in ao3 by me ofc

"Ah shit, I mean, I can probably fix it?" Deejay says, more to himself. The tour bus had sorta stopped in the middle of a gas station. Something in the engine burst while they were driving. Or something like that, Benatar didn't know as much about vehicles as Deejay did.

Deejay had turned to Puff telling him "Go into the convenience store and ask if they have a wrench, I don't exactly have one on me."

Puff nods attentively. "Sure, hey Tea and crumpets you wanna come with me?" The Keytarist shrugs his shoulders and follows him. Tea and Crumpets definitely had to be a new one.

The lead singer slings the doors of the store loudly. Making everyone in the area notice the two's presence. Or it should've, Benatar noticed that despite cars being parked and the lights being on, no one was in the store except the cashier.

Puff didn't seem to care however, nonchalantly walking to the cashier. "Hello- God you're ugly, do you happen to have a wrench lying around?" He asks. Benatar had never judged by appearance, but in this instance, he had to give his mate some grace. Mainly because the employee has sickly green skin and several gashes along his arms. Not only this but he smelled truly vile. But the blonde tried with every inch and fiber of his being not to cringe.

The man behind the counter grumbled and ground his teeth- did- did one of his teeth just fall out..? Puff backs away with noticeable unease. The cashier sluggishly puts his foot on the register and falls on his face in front of the two. "Benatar I know this may be a stretch, but I think that's a zombie." Puff murmurs. And Benatar hates how much that made sense, the guy was a textbook zombie. The man (Monster?? Zombie??) got up, unbalanced, and started limping toward them.

Before either could respond, a loud crash rang from behind them. Two shelves had been knocked over. Their heads shot over to the sound. Though the store looked barren to Benatar when he first walked in, there had two Zombies standing, well more like wobbling, and staring dead (literally) at them.

Benatar grabbed the nearest thing he could, which happened to be a broom. It was late at night so if he had to guess they were probably cleaning to close up shop. The monsters surrounded him, one even trying to bite at his ankle but he managed to kick it square in the face before he got bit. The blonde hadn't exactly planned to get surrounded by the undead, but with the fresh adrenaline rushing into his body he swung full force at the cashier. The Zombie instantly fell on its back with a brand new slice on its stomach.

This made Benatar realize something. Zombies are dead, like literal rotting corpses. And rotting corpses are known to smell abysmal, but they weren't exactly known for being strong.

He was, admittedly, still terrified, but he was relieved to know the redneck undead wouldn't be his cause of death. He pushes the second of the hoard onto the ground and stabs it in the eye, recoiling at the sight. Watching as the creature squirmed before going still. The last was simple enough, as it was already on the ground, he stomped on its head with his white dress shoes, akin to squishing a bug.

The keytarist's adrenaline rush slowly dialed down and he dropped the broom. He was definitely shaken by the events, but he kept himself level-headed. He took a deep breath in and out and ignored the new pattern on one of his shoes. But then something dawned on him. "Puff? Where did you go?" He calls out.

Benatar looked all around him and his attention was brought to the knocked-over shelves. He could see Puff's hair sticking out from behind. And as he drew near he could hear breathing, or more accurately hyperventilating.

"Puff..?" Benatar walks around the shelves to get to the same side as his friend. He could hear the breathing getting louder and faster. This made him more worried about Puff than he was before.

The blonde's eyes locked onto Puff, who had his knees to his chest and his hands pulling at his hair. Though he wasn't fully sure, he was able to recognize this as a panic attack as the signs were there. Benatar walks slowly and sits near him, but tries not to get too close, avoiding making Puff even more overwhelmed.

"Hey, Puff..." Benatar says to let Puff know he was there. The other went from having his eyes shut to staring at him, but still hyperventilating.

Benatar didn't entirely know what to do, but he wanted to help his friend.

"Can I hold your hand?" Benatar sincerely asks. Puff listens to this and moves his left hand to his chest and his right to Benatar's hand squeezing it. He had a strong death grip, but he'd rather that over Puff pulling his hair out. "Do you need anything?" He tries to sound as calm as possible.

Puff tries to breathe something out but it only makes him gasp more. Benatar actually takes this as an answer, to not ask him more questions that he probably didn't have an answer to. "I need you to try and steady your breathing," He pauses. "Please." He thought that might make things worse but Puff's breathing slowed down just enough to be noticed. "I know this feels awful, but it'll pass." Was that even the right thing to say?

"O-Okay.." Puff chokes out an answer. Benatar kept a reassuring smile. Talking had to be a good sign right? The brunette, though keeping the death grip on his hand, scooted closer.

His breathing slowed, more to panting like that of catching your breath. "I'm sorry." He mumbles. Benatar's taken off guard by this, not only is Puff apologizing rarer than pure diamond, but he was apologizing over something he couldn't control. His voice was hoarse and sorrowful giving the blonde a sharp pain in his heart.

"Don't say sorry Puff Puff, it's not your fault." The Brit says remorsefully. Puff looks away avoiding even the mere idea of eye contact. He looked like he'd come back down to earth, but he also looked ashamed. He moved his hands to his knees and Benatar gained the feeling back in hand. Benatar calmly gets up while the other doesn't budge. He walks over to the cooler which had a crack on the door, and grabs a bottle of water. Then he grabs a back of baked potato chips, he'd never tried them but they sounded healthy. The keytarist walks around the shelves with the permanently borrowed product and sits back down.

Putting down the bag and bottle on the floor, Benatar slides it towards his friend. He hesitates before grabbing the water and chugging a good third of it.

"How do you feel?" Benatar asks, sitting awkwardly crisscrossed. The silence was infinitely loud. "I don't know. Nauseous, tired." Puff responds. The blonde nods, "Has this happened before?"

Puffs eyes widen, staring like a deer in headlights then frowning. "Can we talk about this later...?" He whispers. "Of course," The other declares. "Are you ready to go back to the others?" The singer whispers a yeah, or a yes, though it was quiet.

The keytarist got up and offered a hand. Puff takes this and stands with wobbling legs. The brunette puts his arm around his friend for support and walks beside him. He looks upward toward the ceiling avoiding the 'pleasant scenery' of the floor. Though Benatar felt indifference towards it. Opening the door, a pleasant jingle of bells can be heard.

Outside, Deejay is putting the engine back into the bus saying something to Axel. "Hey, guys!" Deejay calls out, he shows off the wrench in his hand. "Turns out- Woah..." He trails off. As the two got close, it was clear that Puff didn't exactly look dashing, and Benatar still had blood on his shoe. "Holy shit, Puff you look like you got dropped in acid and hit by a speeding truck what happened?" Axel pipes up. "Axel! Don't be a dick, something could've happened." The turntablist scolds. "Seriously, are you two okay? Did something happen?"

Benatar doesn't know how to respond, it wasn't his business to tell. Though he wouldn't be lying, zombie attacks don't make for liable answers.

"Can we just go back on the bus?" Puff mutters. "Yeah, the engine's fixed, I can drive." Deejay responds with a voice gushing with worry. "But what happened? Did someone die? Did you guys kill someone?" The drummer remarks practically skipping through the doorway. Benatar follows with Puff behind him. "Just let it go, Axel.." The blonde grumbles. Axel sighs, "Fine, sorry." He sounded annoyed but apologetic.

"I'm going to my bunk. It's getting late." Puff says, then turns to Benatar directly. "And thank you, I'll talk to you tomorrow." He speaks with a quiet tone. He puts his hand in his pocket and walks into the bedroom, closing the door behind him.