Painkiller

19

    Within seconds of the first fan arriving, many more had flocked to the mall. They now surrounded Luke and his sister, screams escaping their lips and hands tugging at their limbs.

Elena gripped Luke's arm tightly, and although she managed to play it off to those around her, she was terrified. Luke knew, but Luke knew her better then anyone. He could recognise the tell-tale signs.

"Luke! I love you!"

"Marry me!"

"I think imma bouta die."

"Jesus Christ, fuck me sideways."

Elena giggled at a few comments - the girls saying them barely 13. The older fans were calmer, more relaxed, and seemed as if they understood the situation - Luke and Elena were humans too, and they need space.

Luke wrapped an arm around Elena's shoulder, bending down to whisper in her ear, "I gotta say hi, alright? But that'll only take a few seconds, and after that, we can go."

Elena nodded in reply, a weary smile on her lips.

    Luke began to grin at his fans and began speaking with them, resulting with more screams leaving the lips of the crowd. Phones were in the air, and Luke was being tugged in all directions to have his photo taken with those holding them.

    It was extremely claustrophobic, and as Elena attempted to move away from the eye of the storm, she only managed to be surrounded even more. Elena didn't mind - she had been stopped before by fans of her brother's band and they were usually friendly. Questions were being thrown at her from all directions and she tried her best to answer them.

    "What's it like to have Luke as a brother?"

    "It's pretty great. He's cool, most of the time."

    "Elena! What's your favourite song by the boys?"

    "Umm.... Jet Black Heart, so far, but I can't wait to hear the new album."

    "Have you heard anything from the new album?"

    "Nope! I get to hear it when you guys do!"

    "What was the car crash like?"

    Elena's eyes widened. Her head felt fuzzy and she seemed unable to move. She hadn't prepared herself for such a question. Her chest felt tight and she felt as if the oxygen had left her lungs. She breathed in heavily, hopelessly trying to stop the panic attack that was about to commence. She attempted the breathing techniques Ashton had taught her - feet flat on the floor, arms by her side, breath in for five seconds and out for five. Repeat.

    But it wasn't working.

    Elena began to panic as she realised that she was failing, once again, to control her breathing. She knew it would only worsen the panic attack, and she knew she needed to stop worrying. But she couldn't.

    A hand tugged on her arm, pulling her out of the group of people, who had now moved their attention onto Luke once they realised Elena was no longer answering questions. She was pulled towards a bench, before gently being pushed on it.

    "You need to put your head between your knees."

    Elena barely registered the words she was hearing, let alone who was speaking them. Somehow, she managed to follow the instructions given to her, and slowly but surely, her breathing evened out.  A sigh escaped her lips as she breathed heavily.

    She looked up to see a girl her own age, with brown hair and green eyes. Freckles danced along the bridge of her nose, and a pair of glasses had been placed on top of her head, pushing her long hair back.

    "Hey, are you okay?" She smiled, sadly. "I saw you were having a panic attack so I took you out of there. I'm really sorry, I just wanted to help-"

    She was cut of abruptly by Elena. "Thank you." Elena then frowned. "How did you know?"

    "My dad's a doctor, and I used to follow him around the hospital all the time." She stretched out the all, laughing as she did so. "I kinda learnt a lot by watching, yanno? It was super cool and I wanna be like him when I grow up but that means I gotta get good grades, but I hate school so... Oh god, I'm blabbering, aren't I? I always talk too much when I'm nervous. I'm sorry-"

    Elena laughed at the girl. "Sames." Am awkward silence fell between them, and Elena cleared her throat with a cough. "I didn't get your name. I'm Elena."

    "I already knew that! I'm a fan of your brother's band." The girl laughed back in reply. "I'm Olivia, but most of my friends call me O."