Twenty Øne Piløts||Imagines

Nightmares//Tyler

Word Count:1304

[!!Trigger warning!!] This imagine focuses mostly on someone that is going through a panic attack.

Stay Alive ||-//

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The relatively cramped tour bus was parked in the back corner of some parking lot in who-knows-where. The rest of the passengers were all woken up by Y/N's screams. When Josh scrambled quickly to her to find out what was wrong, he found her thrashing in her bunk, eyes squeezed shut as she flailed around. Tyler soon ran up behind him, standing back timidly, concern written all over her face as he watched Josh lean into the bunk, holding her shoulders tightly as he tried to shake her awake.

It takes a moment, but she finally wakes up, trying to push away the arms holding onto her. Josh takes a step back, giving her space as she pants heavily, eyes wide as she darts them back and forth between him and Josh.

Y/N immediately scrambled out of her bunk, noticing Mark and several others peeking their heads out from behind the curtains of their own bunks.

"Hey, are you okay?" Josh asks, taking a cautious step toward her.

She took a step back, shaking her head as she stutters for a moment and says, "I just... I just need some fresh air," quickly slipping her tennis shoes onto her bare feet, practically running out of the bus.

The cool air hits her skin, chilling the thin layer of sweat that had coated her body. Her breaths were heavy, and she could feel the start of a panic attack as the tension in her chest rose, causing a sick feeling to settle in her gut. She crouched down, head in her hands as she tried to steady her breathing, rubbing her eyes with her palms. Nothing was working. Usually, Tyler or Josh would help her calm down in times like these- but that wasn't an option right now. Not after what she had just seen so vividly in her mind.

The tears pricked her eyes, threatening to spill over and she crouched on the ground. She heard a faint noise, thinking nothing of it until she felt a hand on her back. This immediately sent her back into a panic, pushing the arm away from as she sprung up, backing away. Tyler stood there, looking terrified as ever.

"Y/N, it's okay," he tried to soothe her. "It just me. It's just me." He took a step toward her, to which she responded by taking two steps back. "Hey, what's going on?"

"Please don't-" she sobbed, her breathing becoming shallower and more ragged. "Don't touch me please."

He was shocked by the statement, and she felt a twinge of guilt as she saw the pained look on his face. This took him by surprise because when she was having a panic attack, she wanted nothing more to be held close to someone she could trust.

Her lungs were on fire at this point. Everything felt too hot despite the cool temperature outside and the pair of shorts she was wearing.

"Y/N it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you," he spoke slowly, hands raised in defense. "I don't know what you saw in that dream, but it wasn't real. I only want to help you."

"You- you hurt me, Tyler! You hurt me so much, and Josh, he- he just watched and- and he laughed!" Tyler's heart sank at her words. He knew how her nightmares could be. Though she knew they weren't real, she couldn't help but fear them as though they were real.

She'd never had one about Tyler, though. And now that she had, that hurt him more than anything else.

She was sobbing wiping her eyes on her sweatshirt, shaking her hands, trying to find some way to get rid of the anxiety building up in her chest. Her breaths were so shallow, and her mind was going fuzzy from the lack of oxygen. The tears streamed freely down her pale cheeks as she moved frantically.

Tyler took cautious steps toward the girl, afraid to make her situation worse. She didn't back away, which was a good sign.

When she stumbled forward, Tyler caught her in his arms, slowly settling down into the pavement with her in his arms.

He placed a hand on each of her cheeks, lifting her face to look him in the eye. Her breaths were choppy and she looked at him, his touch already calming her ever so slightly.

"Hey, hey, look at me," he spoke softly. "Y/N, it's okay. I know that was really scary, but it was just a nightmare. Josh and I love you more than anything, and we would never do anything to hurt you, okay?" She nods in response. "We love you. Josh loves you. I love you."

Her breaths were still short, and the panic attack didn't show any signs of stopping.

He pulled the girl into his lap, rubbing gentle circles over her back. "I need you to breathe with me, okay? Can you do that?" She nods, gripping tightly to his shirt.

He lets out a small, "ok," and then takes a large, deep breath, inhaling as far as he can, holding it as he waited for her to follow suit. She did, doing her best to inhale deeply before she was cut off by a sob, holding on to Tyler more tightly.

"It's okay. It's okay. You can do it." She nods at him again, as he takes another deep breath. This time she takes a full, jerky breath, exhaling with Tyler slowly. That one breath does wonders for the spinning feeling in her head. They breathe together again, this time hers is more controlled.

He wraps his arms fully around her once her breathing has mostly slowed down, and she leans her head into his shoulder, face buried in his neck and they continue to breathe together.

Finally, she can breathe normally on her own. She's no longer shaking, and she's left feeling completely drained.

"I'm sorry, Tyler," she mumbled, tears still spilling down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry. You shouldn't have to deal with me, and I woke everyone up, and-"

"Hey, hey, hey. Stop. You have nothing to be sorry for. It wasn't under your control. Don't blame yourself," he cut her off. "You're not bothering me when I need to calm you down like this. Don't worry about it, alright?" She nods.

After a few minutes, he asked, "Are you ready to go inside?" She nodded, the tears having finally stopped. He helped her stand up from their place on the ground, and he stood next to her, wrapping an arm around her as they walk back to the bus door.

She opened it slowly, doing her best to keep quiet as they go inside. They found Josh sitting on the couch, bouncing his leg as he sat there nervously. His head snapped toward them when he heard them step inside, and immediately he rushed over pulling Y/N into a tight hug. Tyler notices her flinch as he moves toward her, but she quickly settled into the hug, burying her face in his shoulder. He asked if she was okay, to which she assured him she would be fine.

She eventually worked her way back to her bunk, feeling exhausted as she slipped off her tennis shoes, and slowly crawled in, settling into the somewhat stiff mistress. Tyler followed her to make sure she would be okay, planting a kiss on her forehead before he straightened up to head to his bunk, but she took a firm hold of his hand.

"Please stay," she pleaded. "I don't want to be alone." He nodded, slowly crawling into the small bunk beside her. They lay with one of his arms under her head, her laying on his chest while his other hand stroked her hair gently. The position put the girl to sleep almost instantly, and Tyler heard her heavy breathing as he lay there holding her.

He placed one last gentle kiss on her forehead before laying back on the pillow.

"Goodnight, Y/N," he whispered. "Sweet dreams."