Why Don't We Sickfics

Zach-Nervous Breakdown

I want all of you to yell at me in the comments, right now. Right here in this paragraph->

An amazing person? @perfectlybroken requested this story about a year ago, and I just now got around to writing it. I have no excuses for why this took so long except that I had no motivation whatsoever.

Zach had an issue. A disorder really. Zach Herron had bad anxiety, and really didn't know how to deal with it. He had medication, but he didn't want any. The few times he's taken them, (he forgot to take them all the time) the pills never worked.

He would always freak out before shows, getting worked up to the point where he felt sick.

"Just drink a little water." Jonah had told him one day. Zach had tried the water trick, and it had helped. He'd gone on to do the show with the rest of the boys perfectly.

The next time the boys had a concert, Zach had tried the water trick again, a little more this time. Again, he had felt less anxious. Maybe the weight of the liquid in his stomach was what made him feel less floaty and dizzy? Whatever it was, it worked.

Zach had started using his water method for everything. He would always have a bottle of water in interviews, backstage at concerts, behind the curtain at Meet & Greets. His water went with him everywhere.

Drinking large amounts of water made the boy feel weighed down in a way, because he constantly felt like he was just going to drift off.

Zach's POV
It wasn't easy being the youngest in the band, I'll tell you that. It was stressful for everyone, more so to the youngest. Everybody expected me to be right up there with Jonah and Corbyn, singing my heart out at every concert, and barely getting tired.

There have been times where management has practically drained us of sleep, making us go, go, go 24/7. All the older guys would just chug a gallon of coffee and sugar and being ready to do anything. I'm only 18, and Jonah won't let me have any caffeine. He says it makes me jumpy.

But, I also don't like coffee. It tastes like bitter, liquefied cashews. It's gross. So being the little guy, I have nothing to lean on for energy except my bed and CLIF bars. Sometimes I'm running on nothing except willpower.

3rd POV
The boys were, for once in their life, not busy. They had to cancel their 2020 tour because of a virus outbreak. So they were all stuck inside until the pandemic was cleared.

Zach was getting ready to sleep, as he had already brushed his teeth and showered. He climbed into his bed, and turned off his light. He closed his eyes, but his body just didn't want to shut down. Why couldn't he fall asleep? Usually he'd be out by 9, but the clock was creeping close to 10:30. Zach grabbed his laptop, and typed 'YouTube' into the search bar. Once on the website, he pulled up one of his favorite accounts and clicked on a video.

A few hours later, Zach shut his computer off and tossed it somewhere on his bed. He laid down to sleep, but not before grabbing a water bottle from the kitchen. Zach didn't fall asleep straight away, but he was able to finally rest at about 2:20 in the morning. Typical.

THE NEXT MORNING

3rd POV
Zach woke up around 11:45, way later than usual. "Guys?" He yelled out through the house, getting no responses. Were they even home? Zach decided to check more thoroughly after going through his morning routine. Which consisted of basically emptying his body of all the water he drank the night before, and rinsing with mouthwash. After quickly putting together an outfit, Zach went downstairs to the kitchen. He would usually see Jonah guarding his precious coffee maker, Corbyn by the stove, and Janiel fighting over the cereal boxes.