Liam has anxiety, Zayn is the only one who keeps him calm
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It didn't take long for the boys to figure out about Liam's anxiety
It would have helped if Liam hadn't left his medicine out on the first week of X-Factor
When they confronted him, he promised that he knew how to keep it under control
He didn't
~•~
If the boys weren't careful around Liam in the first place, they were after they found out
They tried to keep stress off him but failed when they couldn't be bothered to do their work when they were supposed to
The first time they saw Liam panic was the fourth week
He hurt his leg and they had to completely change choreography the night before the show
Liam didn't know what to do
The boys didn't really notice when his hands started to shake a bit
When he missed his cue is when they realized
They also realized that none of them had ever seen anyone have a panic attack, and didn't know how to help Liam
Zayn, being the one he was closest to, immediately kneeled next to Liam and grabbed his hands
They were shaking so badly that they made Zayn's hands look like they were shaking
"Liam look at me, look at my eyes" he said softly and Liam did
"It's fine okay? you're fine. Just breathe"
It took a few minutes but Liam slowly relaxed
He took a sip of his water and thanked Zayn before going to bed, feeling drained
~•~
The next day, Liam was a bit timid, but still did amazing
He apologized, but the boys just hugged him and promised that he didn't ever have to be scared with them
~•~
After X-Factor, Liam started dating Danielle
Zayn always felt jealous around her
But the one time he didn't feel jealous is when he got a call in the middle of the night, Danielle saying they were at Liam's and he was freaking out and she didn't know what to do
He quickly rushed over and saw Liam on his couch, head in his hands, with Danielle trying to calm him down, but failing
Zayn quickly sat down next to his best friend and grabbed his wrists
Liam trued to grab his hands desperately and Zayn just pulled him closer, making Liam look into his eyes
"It's okay Liam. Everyone's okay"
"Zayn" he sobbed, trying to escape Zayn's tight grasp
"Liam breathe, you're gonna hyperventilate"
Zayn realized that was the wrong thing to say, as Liam started hyperventilating a few seconds later
"Danielle get a paper bag quickly" he commanded and Danielle returned with one ten seconds later
Zayn put the bag to Liam's mouth
Liam slowly started to calm down and after another minute, he fell into Zayn's arms and pushed his head into Zayn's shoulder, clutching his t-shirt
"C'mon, let's get you to bed" Zayn suggested and Liam agreed with a shaky nod
Zayn got him to his room and made sure he was warm enough before turning out the light and walking out to where Danielle was standing, looking scared
"Zayn is he okay? I've never seen that happen before"
"He'll be fine. I've seen it before. Are you staying here tonight?"
"Yea. Why?"
"Make sure he stays warm and help him out if he needs anything. He should be okay in the morning, just keep him calm yea?" Danielle nodded and thanked Zayn before he went home
~•~
The next morning Liam called and thanked him
~•~
The third time Liam had a panic attack was a few weeks after Danielle called it off
He had to get a blood test due to dangerous stress levels
The thing is, he's never had blood work done before
He was scared
He decided that holding his breath was the easiest thing to do
But trying to do so made him freak out
Luckily Zayn had brought him to the appointment and was just outside the door
When he heard the doctors talking about sedating him to calm him down, he immediately ran in
He saw Liam sitting on the table, shaking like a leaf
He ran and pulled Liam into his chest and Liam squeezed him tightly
"Look at me Liam. The doctors are helping you. I promise you that you're safe" was all it took for Liam to take a deep breath and calm down
He held Zayn's wrist tightly when Zayn tried to leave
"Stay. I need you" Zayn nodded
~•~
Liam's anxiety calmed down for a bit after that
But of course it had to happen again
~•~
The worst panic attack Zayn has ever seen Liam have is when his grandad died
He wasn't just crying and shaking this time
He was screaming and clawing at his wrists
Zayn was terrified for his best friend
This time it took almost half an hour for Liam to calm down a bit
But he couldn't sleep, no matter how drained he felt
Most of the night Zayn just sat with Liam's head on his chest while he tried to soothe the boy to sleep
Liam panicked 3 times all night
~•~
Zayn could finally breathe a sigh of relief when Liam passed out of exhaustion at 5am
He hated seeing the boy he loved in pain like that
When Liam started to stir at 8am, Zayn turned all of his attention to the boy, realizing quickly that he was talking in his sleep, something Karen had told Zayn that Liam tends to do after he's had a really bad attack
"Thank you Zayn. I love you" he heard the sleeping Liam mutter
And Zayn slept soundly that night, because he knew Liam loved him
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Okay guys
You can shoot me now
IM SOOOOOOO SORRY
But if you haven't already, PLEASEEEE
check out my Ziam story 'Hospital Bed'
Thank You. I loveee you
