chris - panic attack at a party

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by fanficsbymia11

by fanficsbymia11

3rd Person POV:
The Sturniolos were having a party for their 20th birthday, and everyone was going to be there, and I mean everyone. Matt was having a great day, his anxiety was at an all-time low, and Nick was feeling on top of the world, too. Chris, on the other hand, was feeling incredibly anxious, and this was unusual for him.
"Chris!!!" Matt yelled from downstairs. "GET DOWN HERE, DID YOU FORGET ABOUT THE FUCKING PARTY WE'RE HAVING?"
"Hey, Matt. Sorry." Chris muttered as he trudged down the stairs.
Matt glanced at him as if to say, are you good, bro?
Chris shrugged it off and walked to the kitchen to find Nick. "Hey." Chris cleared his throat. "Um, I feel kinda-"
"CHRIS!!! MY MAN!"
"Hey, Nick. Hi, Chris,"
Other voices flooded through the triplet's house, and Chris's anxiety flooded through him the same way.
People jumbled around, drinks were made, music was blasting, and Chris felt like he couldn't take a deep breath. His breaths came in sharp gasps, and everything was blurry. He needed to escape.

Chris's POV:

I stumble upstairs, away from the music, away from everyone at the party. I can't speak; I can't breathe. The heat of the room is unbearable. My whole body is itchy. What is happening to me?
I fall to the floor, sweat trickling down my skin and tickling my back. I yank my shirt off, gasping for air, anything to fill my lungs for just a second. But it doesn't work. The air rushes out as quickly as it flows in. My hands shake. I try to inhale through my nose and exhale through my mouth. In, out. In, out.
I sink to the floor, sobbing.

My body begins to relax when I feel a pair of hands grab my shoulders and turn me around. Someone is speaking to me, asking my name, asking me questions. Go away. This is embarrassing. Leave me alone.

I look up and see Matt. He's saying something, but I can't hear him. He looks worried, and that makes me cry harder. I latch onto my brother, sobbing into his hoodie. "Chris?" I hear my name again, from farther away. My eyes glance to the left and see Nick and Madi, standing in the doorway. I want to run, hide. This is so embarrassing. Matt picks me up and carries me to my bed. I wipe beads of sweat off my forehead as Matt turns on my fan. I still can't take a deep breath, and I start to panic more. "Chris, try to control your breathing," Matt says. "In for four, out for four,"

My mind and body slow down as the fan's cool air hits my bare skin. Matt runs his hand through my hair as I begin to regain feeling in my body. I cough, finally letting the air go deep into my lungs. "You coming back to me now?" Matt says softly, squeezing my hand.
"Mhm..." I hum. My words feel lost. I feel lost. "Wha-what was th-that?" I mutter. My voice cracks with worry.
"A panic attack," Matt says, finger tracing the details on my headboard. "What got you so scared?" he whispers.

3rd Person POV:
Chris just sighed. He felt panicky the whole night, but he was worried about telling Matt. What if he's mad at me? mad.at.me. mad.at.me. mad. at-
"Chris?" his thoughts were interrupted by Matt rubbing his shoulder. "Come on, talk to me, bub."
But Chris couldn't. He erupted into a full ugly-face cry. "Matt..." Chris sobbed, hot tears rolling down his face. "I'm scared." Chris held onto his brother, breathing in his cologne. "I want you to stay with me," Chris looked up at Matt. "I don't wanna be alone. Please don't leave me..."
Matt hugged Chris tightly. "I'm not going anywhere, I promise. Nick, Madi? Go tell everyone Chris is... um, sick. Tell them the party is over, okay?"
"Okay, Matt," Nick said.
Madi and Nick went downstairs. Chris's tears had slowed down, and he was breathing normally now. Matt snuggled close to him, whispering sweet nothings into his ears. Chris fell asleep, and Matt tiptoed out.

Everybody from the party left, and only Madi remained. She and Nick sat in the kitchen, cleaning up some things from the party. Matt came down and sat in the kitchen, his head in his hands. "Shit," he muttered.
"What the hell happened?" Madi asked. "I've never seen him so upset."
"He was, like, hysterical," Nick added. "Matt? What do you think caused that?"
Matt rubbed his sore head. "I have no fucking clue, but when Chris wakes up, just act like nothing happened until he feels ready to talk about it."

A few hours later, Chris came down the stairs. "Guys?"
Matt came over to him and hugged him. "Hey."
Chris hugged him back, and then they walked to the living room, where Nick and Madi were watching a movie. "Chris!" Madi sang.
"Hey, bub," Nick said.
Chris sat down gingerly on the couch. "I need to talk to you guys." he started. "I'm sorry that everybody had to leave-"
"No, Chris. You had a massive panic attack. That is not anything to apologize for, sweetheart." Nick interjected, and Matt and Madi agreed.
"Okay, I just, I don't know. It just felt, like, every-everything was, sort of suffocating? I guess?" Chris tried to explain.
"Take your time, Chris," Matt reassured.
Chris took a deep breath and continued. He described all of his feelings from the moment he woke up to the moment he fell back asleep. "...and that's what happened basically," Chris said after he was done. Madi was the first to react, coming over and hugging Chris tightly. "I'm always here for you, okay?" she whispered, and Chris nodded.
Matt and Nick followed suit, and then Matt went to grab his keys. "Let's go," he said.
"Go where?" Nick questioned.
"Let's go get food," Chris said.
"Exactly my idea," Matt replied.
"McDonald's?" Madi asked.
"Of course."
And that's what they did.
They were the Stromboli's of course. They would always be okay.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
oof, that was kinda long.
poor chris :((

i'm sorry for not updating im going
thru a lot rn.
i'm gonna try to update more, pinky
promise.

i love u
drink water
eat what u want
be safe

- mia xx