The Boy Upstairs (DanXReader)

Chapter 27: Becky

Preemptive A/N: Why do a pun title when you can fine a punny picture?

I woke up to the sound of shouting. That was weird enough on its own since I didn't even remember going to sleep. I couldn't quite make out what was being said but whoever was shouting sounded rather worried. I opened my eyes and looked around to figure out what was going on, my head hurting slightly as my grogginess started to fade.

Dan was pacing around the room, frantically talking into his cell phone as Phil seemed to be freaking out next to me. "O-oh my god! Dan, she's awake!" Phil said, looking at me with worry.

I looked between the two of them, completely confused to why they were freaking out. "Sh-she's just woken up!" Dan said into the phone, looking at me with teary eyes. "...O-okay, yea. I'll do that."

Dan quickly walked over and sat by me, putting his phone on speaker. "You're on speaker," Dan said, grabbing my hand and stroking it comfortingly.

"Hello? Can you talk to me, _____?"

It was a friendly and calm sounding lady on the other end. I didn't recognize her voice at all and I couldn't quite make out the number on Dan's phone from the angle he was holding it at. I looked at Dan with confusion. He nodded encouragingly towards me, the worry in his eyes making me feel like I should probably cooperate. "H-hi..." I said. "Who's this?"

"I'm Becky," the friendly lady said. "We have an ambulance on the way but I'd like you to talk to me, ____. How are you feeling?"

"Ambulance?" I asked, feeling even more confused. "Why would we need an ambulance!?"

"Please stay calm, ____," Beck said, her voice oddly soothing. "You fainted and your friend called for an ambulance. Can you please tell how you're feeling?"

"I-I..." I started, trying to find my words as I looked between Dan and Phil for some sort of explanation.

I'd fainted? I'd never fainted before. Other than my anxiety attacks and the occasional cold I was a fairly healthy person. Sure, I could've stood to exercise more, but randomly passing out seemed like kind of a big deal.

I quickly wracked my brain to remember anything that might have caused me to pass out. I remember lying on bed with Dan. We'd been playing truth or dare... I didn't quite recall what we'd been talking about. But Phil had suddenly come into the room, scaring Dan and me. Nothing past that was coming to mind though. Maybe I'd passed out from the scare... though that seemed unlikely.

I felt my phone suddenly vibrate, Becky asking me if I was okay. "Y-yea..." I said, grabbing my phone from my pocket and looking at it. "I just feel... a little... overwhelmed..."

I felt my chest tighten as I saw the push notification my phone screen. It was a Facebook message from an old high school friend.

YOU'RE DATING DAN HOWELL!? WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME??

Twitter and Tumblr notifications suddenly started popping up like crazy. All of them had the words Dan Howell, dating, girlfriend, or boyfriend in them. People knew? Or at least people were finding out fast by the looks of it. My mind raced to figure out how anyone would know.

"The live show..." I whispered in horror, Phil quickly taking my phone from me.

I looked at Phil, his expression as apologetic as I'd ever seen it. I quickly started to sit up, Dan and Phil both moving to stop me. "Don't get up, just lay down and try to relax," Phil said.

"It's going to be okay, just breath," Dan said as I found myself starting to hyperventilate. "Fuck..."

"Is everything alright?" Becky asked, her voice staying calm.

"Sh-she's started hyperventilating," Dan said as I found myself spiraling deeper and deeper into a panic attack. "I-I'm going to hand you over to my flat mate while I go grab a paper bag."

Dan quickly handed Phil the phone and raced out of the room. Phil and Beck spoke back and forth, Phil bringing to phone down to me when Becky asked to speak to me again. "Hey _____," Becky said gently. "It's going to be okay, just breath in and out."

Becky continued to coach me through my breath as Dan raced back in, a paper bag in hand. "Is it okay for her to sit up?" Dan asked, sitting beside me and gently grabbing my hands.

"Did she hit her head or anything when she passed out?" Beck asked.

"No, she was sitting on a bed when it happened," Phil said.

"Then it should be fine, just be gentle," Becky advised.

Dan gently and slowly pulled me up, putting the bag in my hands and bringing it up to my mouth. I was soon being held in Dan's arms as I breathed in and out of the bag, tears streaming down my face. "That's it, just breath. In and out," Dan coached me.

Soon I managed to regulate my breathing and shakily lowered the bag. I didn't feel like I needed an ambulance but the sound of sirens approaching was already there. It didn't seem worth it to argue it at this point. And it wasn't like Dan or Phil would listen, not after how severe my reaction to everything was. Honestly, it scared me to know that I'd even fainted.

"I'll go to let them in," Phil said, quickly standing up as Dan made me lay back down.

Dan nodded and took our phones from Phil. Soon Dan hung up on Becky, thanking her for her help. I was loaded onto a stretcher and put into the ambulance, Dan riding with me while Phil got a taxi. I tried my best not to think about everything as the ambulance took us to the hospital. But I was anxious and scared nonetheless.

Everyone knew and my anxiety only seemed to be getting worse. I'd thought I'd been doing so well recently. I'd been doing fairly well with people recognizing me and had even gone a couple weeks without having a full-on attack. Nut this felt like an unwanted and all too real wakeup call. I wondered if I should finally take Mum's advice and try taking medication again.

I'd tried for a while back in college but had never really found the right fit. I'd taken things that had made things worse or just left me feeling dead. I'd finally gotten tired of it and said that I wanted to stop. I'd wanted to deal with it on my own. And this is where it had gotten me. Maybe it was time to give medication another go...

A/N: True story though, the whole medication thing is what I went through my first year of college when I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression~ I never actually had any that made me feel dead though. Plenty that definitely made things worse. But you live, learn, and make choices based off of those lessons. I think it's great if people can find medication that works for them, but it never worked out for me. I've found other ways to help myself through it though :)