The Sixth Sense but it's Karlnap

Muffin

cw panic attack, blood

Piles of dying leaf litter lay against walls and fences, pushed against the curb and bordering doorsteps, faint, short bursts of rustles sounded as droplets of cool rain began to patter against them. Clouds had darkened the sky a while ago, signalling a storm was on its way. The street was cold and empty, silent apart from the quiet tap of Sapnap's shoes. He came to the light blue door just as water started pouring from the sky, coating the concrete in a dull damp, quickly soaking through the thin fabric of his panda cap. He could feel bitter water dripping onto his shoulders from the ends of his hair, trickling beneath the collar of his dark coat, wetting the white t-shirt he wore underneath

Sapnap arrived at Karl's later than usual, forty minutes later to be exact; he had good reason though. The whole day he had been researching anything he thought may be even remotely related to Karl's condition - panic attacks, triggers, abuse, fetal alcohol syndrome, even looking over notes and files from a boy he'd helped before, and all he found between the two was similarities. Ant suffered from unexplained panic attacks and social anxiety as well. Sapnap also remembered that Ant had those dark lines on his arms, just like Karl did, but what they were from was still something he was looking into. Maybe it was their mothers, domestic abuse perhaps, after all, the only time he had seen Karl's mum she was screaming at him to get out of bed. He hoped it wasn't.

He knocked on the door, observing it's cracked paintwork and slight warp as he waited. The tops of the metal numbers were a little rusted, the fronts smeared and no longer shiny like they were 3 days ago, distorting the image of Sapnap's face instead of reflecting it. Yesterday he might have been able to see an excited man smiling back at him, but today he couldn't see the man, let alone the smile. He couldn't smile, not after what he'd read today, and that was what he saw in the smudged metal, a glint of sadness in barley visible eyes and the absence of a smile even where he could see lips. 

Slowly, very slowly, the pale blue door opened, a pair of scared, grey eyes peering around the edge. They looked sore and swollen, a deep shade of red painted over pasty skin beneath them. Dim light from outside shone on the watery tears threatening to fall, making pain and hurt stand out from the sorrowful smile on his thin lips, underlining a miserable feeling of despair. Karl didn't speak, he just stepped aside to allow Sapnap in, closing the door with an uneasy breath, a warm drop of grief running down his cheek. He turned, meeting the other's concerned gaze and began walking down the silent hall.

Sapnap followed, listening to the rain pour down outside, thunder rumbling loudly. Suddenly, everything went cold, like ice, and a bright flash turned everything yellow, illuminating the hallway for only a split second. Karl stopped. He stood, still as anything, holding his breath and squeezing his sore eyes shut. He was only a door away from his room, but he didn't move, not even a bit.

"Karl?" The voice was deep, gruff with malice and animosity. The sound rang through his brain like a wooden bell, shaking and hammering his bones, and it didn't stop. "Karl, come on.."

He felt a hand brush at his trembling arm, but he didn't dare move, keeping his eyes tightly closed and body as still as he could, fighting against his own fearful shaking. He heard a laugh. A laugh with intent to poison, it's hostility mocking his dread. He felt trapped under heavy fear and danger, and he couldn't escape.

Just like always, he couldn't stop shaking, he couldn't stop crying, he couldn't stop being scared. Every breath was a hard chore, his lungs unable to provide the air his thumping heart begged for, rapidly breathing in all oxygen he could. If anyone heard his quick, irregular breaths, they woukd think he was drowning; and he was. Drowning in a pool of dread.

"Karl." Sapnap. It was Sapnap. His sweet, calming voice and comforting touch, gently holding his shivering hands as he crouched in front of Karl, "Karl, listen to me. Breathe with me, okay? In and out. Copy me." Sapnap began a simple pattern of breaths, lifting Karl's hands up a little as he inhaled, and down as he exhaled.