AJR- Little Sister

Chapter 15-

A/N-I know none of this is true, and I know their parents are way more awesome then they are in this story. Hopefully you guys won't hate me for this.. anyways, happy reading!

On the way back up to the apartment, they were taking the elevator up, and it stops. Lilly starts panicking, but tries to hide it. Alba and Emily go to the call button to ask for help, and Lilly sits down against the wall of the elevator with her knees up, her arms folded across her knees and was starting to cry. Cat notices and sits down beside Lilly.
"Hey, Lil, it's ok." Lilly shakes her head.
"What's wrong?" Lilly was silent, other than crying.
"What's wrong Lil?" Alba asks while Emily is on the phone. Cat replies,
"Panic attack."
"Oh no! Lilly."
"You're ok Lil, we'll be ok. We will get out of the elevator soon enough."
"B-But what I-I-if we d-d-don't!" Lilly manages to say.
"Aww Lilly. We will, it's ok." Alba says.
"B-but what I-I-if I won't s-see them a-a-again!"
"Lilly, we will. I promise." Cat says. Lilly continues crying and starts shaking.
"Lilly, come here." Cat says. Lilly doesn't move, so Cat scoops her up and sits Lilly down in her lap. Cat was sitting criss cross and so Lilly sat sideways in Cats lap.
"Hey Alba." Cat says quietly. "Can you text Jack or Ryan and tell them about Lilly?"
"Yeah sure." Alba replies. Alba texts Jack and Ryan and tells them that they're stuck in the elevator and Lilly is panicking. They reply, 'ok, which floor are you on', and 'make sure Lilly is ok'. Meanwhile, Lilly buries her face in Cats chest. Cat starts rubbing her back and Lilly starts hyperventilating. Cat tries to calm her down.
"Lilly, it's ok, just breathe."
"I-I-I-I can't!" Lilly says.
"Lilly, just follow my breathing, ok? Breathe in, wait, breathe out." Lilly was starting to breath slowly, but went back to hyperventilating.
"Nope, close, try again Lil. Breathe in, wait, wait Lil, ok breathe out. Good job. Do it again." Lilly was getting close to calming down, but then went back to hyperventilating and shaking, when she realized she's still stuck in an elevator.
"They said it would be fixed in 10 minutes." Emily said.
"Ok." Alba replies.
"Lilly, it's ok, calm down." Cat says, trying to keep Lilly calmed down a bit. It wasn't working.

They finally get moving again and they get to their floor. Lilly stayed on Cats lap as the doors opened. Ryan rushed into the elevator while Alba and Emily came off. Ryan sits down beside Lilly and Cat, and pulls Lilly onto his lap, giving her a hug.
"It's ok Lil, I'm right here, you're ok now." Lilly started crying again, as she half-hugged Ryan back.
"You're ok, it's alright." Ryan says, trying to calm Lilly down again.
"Here let's get out of the elevator." Cat says. Ryan picks Lilly up and they move out into the hallway and sit against the wall.
"Shhhh, Lil, it's ok, we're out of the elevator now, you're ok." Jack, Alba, Adam and Emily went back to their apartment, to not overwhelm Lilly with people. Cat sat beside Ryan who was hugging Lilly, trying to calm her down.
"Lilly, settle down, you're alright." Ryan says.
"I-I-I c-can't!" Lilly says sparsely.
"Ok, Lil, just stop talking and try to relax. I've got you." Ryan held Lilly for what seemed like forever, not letting her go. After a really long time, Lilly settled down a bit, but didn't move away from Ryan. After Lilly started to calm down, Cat says,
"Hey Lil, guess what?" Lilly turns her head to the side, facing Cat.
"What?" Lilly asks quietly.
"I used to have anxiety too."
"R-Really?" Lilly asks.
"Yep. And the way I got out of it was reminding myself that my anxiety doesn't control me."
"R-Really?" Lilly asks again. "But what if-"
"The what ifs don't matter Lil. There are a billion what ifs that will never happen. You just have to keep telling yourself that, and it'll get better, I promise."
"But wait, how did you know I had anxiety?"
"I told her before you left." Ryan says.
"But you said-"
"Yes, I know. I told her so that in case you were to panic, like you did, someone would know and could help you, ok?" Ryan says.
"I-I guess so. Did you tell the others? Or did you tell her because she had it and could relate to me?"
"No, we did not tell the others. And no, I honestly had no idea that Cat had anxiety, I told her because she's your favourite out of the girls, right?"
"Yeah." Lilly smiles. They went silent for a bit.
"*gasp* and would ya look who it is!" Ryan says, looking at Jack.
"Hey, how's it going." Jack asks, sitting beside Ryan, rubbing Lilly's back.
"Pretty good I guess. Took her a while to calm down." Ryan says quietly to Jack.
"Yeah. Is she good now? Or-"
"She should be fine, she's probably not gonna leave me for a while though."
"That's ok. Lilly's allowed to have her Ryan, huh Lil." Lilly nods.
"But isn't he my Ryan?" Cat jokes.
"No he's mine!" Lilly says smiling, giving Ryan a big hug.
"I can be everyone's Ryan." Ryan says laughing.
"Ok, do you guys wanna head back inside now?" Cat asks.
"No, I'm ok out here." Jack responds.
"Yeah, I'm gonna stay out here for bit until she calms down completely." Ryan says.
"You can go inside though."
"Ok, see you guys in a bit." Cat says, and then leaves. Jack and Ryan stay out in the hallway for a bit, hugging Lilly and making sure she's calmed down. A while later, they hear the elevator ding, and their parents come out of the elevator. Lilly immediately tenses up around Ryan and doesn't look at them.
"What's going on out here?" Mom asks.
"We decided to have a hallway party." Jack says, hiding the facts.
"That doesn't seem right, Jack. What's going on?" Dad asks.
"And why is Lilly hugging Ryan? What's wrong?" Mom asks, almost demandingly.
"Lilly got stuck in the elevator today, and so we're just giving her hugs to make sure she's ok. That's all." Ryan says, hoping they don't question them any more.
"Alright fine. I should get dinner in the oven. Come inside people, it's cold out here." Mom says.
"We will in a bit." Mom goes inside but Dad stays out.
"I know you guys are hiding something. I don't know what, but I know you are." Dad says.
"Why would you think of that?" Jack says, trying to defend themselves.
"Lilly isn't usually clinging to Ryan. Come here Lil." Dad says, kneeling down. Lilly shakes her head against Ryans shoulder.
"Lilly, Come. Here." Dad says, more sternly, pulling at Lilly's shoulder. Lilly tenses up more and starts shaking.
"Dad, she doesn't need too. Why don't you go help mom with dinner?" Jack asks.
"Fine." Dad says. "Brat." Dad whispers under his breath. Dad goes into the apartment and Jack and Ryan go straight to calming Lilly down again.
"Shhhhh, Lil, he's gone now, it's ok." Lilly starts crying and shaking and Cat, Emily, Adam and Alba come back out.
"We heard something was wrong, what happened?" Adam asks, sitting in front of Ryan.
"Dad knows something's up and was trying to get it out of Lilly." Ryan responded. Lilly starts moving and squirming, and Ryan asks,
"What's wrong Lil?"
"Want to come over to Jack?" Jack asks. Lilly stopped moving, as if she was answering the question.
"Yeah, you wanna go to Jack, go ahead Lil." Ryan says, sitting up. Jack holds out his hands and grabs Lilly and hugs her into his chest. Lilly continues crying into Jacks chest as Ryan starts rubbing her back.
"Why were they trying to get something out of Lilly?" Emily asks.
"They know something is up with her, but they can't figure out what. Dad was trying to get Lil to come to him and she wouldn't move, so he was mad." Ryan answers. Cat scoots over to Lilly and puts a hand gently on her back. Lilly turns her head towards Cat and Cat whispers quietly, only so that Lilly could hear,
"Remember, Lil, anxiety doesn't control you. They had no right to get that out of you, ok? We're with you. It's ok." Lilly nods, and calms down a little bit. She's still shaking and crying, but got a little less tense.
"Why am I-I so s-scared of them?" Lilly stutters out.
"You have every right to be Lil. They haven't been nice to you, so you're allowed to be afraid of them." Adam answers.
"What's gonna h-h-happen when you guys l-l-leave again?"
"Guess what Lil." Jack said. Lilly is silent, waiting for the answer.
"You're coming with us."
"W-wait. What?" Lilly says, sitting up, looking Jack straight in the eyes.
"We asked our tour manager, and he says you can come along for tour."
"Wait what?" Lilly says, wiping off the tears with her hoodie sleeve.
"Congratulations Lilly!" Alba says. The girls start clapping for her. Lilly gives Jack a big hug and starts crying happy tears.
"Where's my hug Lil?" Ryan asks. Lilly jumps on to Ryans lap and gives him a big hug. Then jumps to Adam and does the same.
"What are mom and dad gonna say?" Lilly asks, sitting on Jack's lap. "They already hate me, so what's this gonna do? Plus my grades?"
"We will talk to them. We won't let you miss out, ok?" Jack says, rubbing her back.
"Ok. C-Can I not be there for that? I can't deal with the yelling anymore."
"Yep. We can send you somewhere with the girls. I don't want you in the apartment, just in case they were to do things or say things, I don't want you to be there." Ryan says.
"Yeah. That's probably a good idea."
"Ok. Are you ready to go back in Lil?"
"I-I don't know. I don't want to, but I kinda have to." Lilly says.
"It's ok Lil, we won't let them do anything to you, I promise."
"O-ok." Lilly says, taking a deep breath. The girls stand up, then the boys, then Ryan hold out his hand for Lilly.
"We'll go in together so they can't get mad at just you, ok Lil?" Adam says. Lilly nods.
"C-can I- never mind." Lilly says.
"What Lil?" Jack says, looking at his sister with concern, kneeling down to her level.
"What?" Jack says again, only to Lilly.
"C-can I hold someone's hand?" Lilly says quietly, only so that Jack can hear.
"Of course Lil!" Jack says. "Hey, come here." Jack says, wrapping Lilly in a hug.
"Alright. Ready then?" Jack says, grabbing Lilly's hand, squeezing it three times.
"Yeah. Adam, you and Emily and Alba go in first, then Jack and Lil, then me and Cat, good?"
"Yep sounds good." Adam responds.
"Ready Lil?" Jack asks again. Lilly nods and takes a deep breath. "Alright, lets go." Jack says, and Adam starts to lead the way. They open the door, and mom and dad are sitting at the table waiting for them.
"What took you so long?" Mom says, almost angrily. 
"Somethings up with them, I know it." Dad says. Lilly grips on to Jacks hand harder, and Jack rubs his thumb around the back of her hand. Lilly also hides more behind Alba, and tries to take a deep breath.
"What's for dinner tonight? And are the girls allowed to stay?" Adam asks, ignoring the questions.
"Lasagna, and of course." Mom says.
"Ooh yummy, thank you!" Emily says.
"Come sit down people." Dad says. They start walking and Lilly freezes for a second. Jack stops and squeezes Lilly's hand and she sits down at the table, still holding Jacks hand. During dinner, dad tries to get it out of Lilly, but Lilly doesn't respond. Dad said stuff like,
"So, Lilly what's going on?" And,
"How did you get stuck in the elevator Lilly?" Every time dad would ask a question, one of the girls would ask something else, and distract Dad from the questions. Finally, dad snapped.
"STOP DENYING THE QUESTIONS!" He screams, standing up. Everything goes quiet for a second, and then Lilly stands up and starts crying and screams back,
"SORRY I HAVE ANXIETY AND CAN'T!" Lilly runs to her room and slams the door. Ryan goes running after Lilly, but dad stops him.
"RYAN MET DON'T YOU DARE." Ryan freezes for a second, and then proceeds to Lilly's room. Jack tries to work it out with dad, saying,
"Hey, dad, stop. That's not fair.  Lilly has been so scared of the two of you, along with our grandparents, along with the bullies at school. It's not fair to her if you're mad at her." Dad tries to speak, but Adam cuts him off.
"She's been a mess ever since we got back. And if you took the time to notice, she was more of a mess when we were gone. So, for the next tour, we're taking her with us, no questions."
"You can't take Lilly! And she's fine! She's been perfectly fine since you've been back. Just like normal."
"Sure, believe whatever you want. I'm going to go calm her down now, and then we can talk." Jack says, and walks to his and Lilly's room. While the yelling was happening, Ryan walked in and saw Lilly having the worst panic attack he's ever seen her in. She was laying on jacks bed in fetal position, shaking like crazy, hyperventilating and crying. Ryan walks over to the bed, and lays down beside her. To try not to scare her, he lays a hand on her side for a second and then pulls Lilly into his chest.
"Shhhhh Lil, it's ok." Lilly was trying to fight it, but Ryan wasn't letting her win.
"Lilly, it's ok, just breathe."
"I-I-I-I-I-I c-c-c-c-can't!" Lilly stutters out.  "Shhhhh Lil, just breathe. In through your nose, out through your mouth." That's when Jack came in.
"Hey Lil." Jack says in a gentle voice. "Shhhh, we're right here, it's ok." Jack lays down behind Lilly, rubbing her side. Cat and Alba come in silently, and sit behind Ryan and Jack. There was something so calming about Jack and Ryan to Lilly, but she still couldn't calm down. Ryan turns to Cat and asks her to turn off the light, so Lilly can focus. Cat gets up and turns it off. Ryan starts singing Lilly's favourite song, turning out, really quietly, only so her and Jack could hear. Jack joins in, and Lilly starts to calm down. She was still hyperventilating like crazy, but stopped fighting to get away from them. It took until the bridge for Lilly to melt into Ryan. Once they were done the song, Ryan says,
"Shhhhh Lil, it's ok." Ryan has a hand on Lilly's side, and Jack put a hand on Lilly's back and said,
"Hey, slow down your breathing Lil." Jack said.
"Settle down, it's ok." Ryan added. Lilly closes her eyes and starts to relax, still hyperventilating a lot. Ryan turns to Cat and asks her to grab Lilly's blanket from her bed. Cat stands up on the bed and gets Lilly's blanket and puts it on top of her. Jack and Ryan move their hands to put the blanket on her better, and Ryan wraps his hands around her again.
"Hey, it's ok, settle down." Ryan says. Jack adds,
"Shhhh Lil, we're right here." Lilly finally calms down and falls asleep. Jack and Ryan gently leave Lilly lying there, Cat and Alba circling closer to Lilly, making sure she won't wake up.
"Tell us when she wakes up." Ryan said quietly.
"When she wakes up, she'll probably be super anxious and jumpy, so just be careful." Jack adds. Ryan and Jack carefully go out of the room, back into the kitchen. Adam sends Emily into Lilly's room to be out of the commotion.
"Ok, Lilly's calmed down for now, let's talk." Ryan said.
"She's fine. The kid has anxiety? So what. Who would've known. She's such a normal kid."
"That's the point dad. We've all figured this out, except you two. She's had anxiety for at least a year, and you would've noticed if you stopped yelling at her and took the time to watch her." Jack says.
"Getting mad at her about her grades is pointless. If you looked at her report card, you would've seen that her grades have been getting better since we've been back." Adam adds.
"She's already getting bullied in school, she was pushed in a fountain, she has no friends at school and the teachers all hate her. She has nightmares almost every night, so you guys getting mad at her isn't helping." Ryan says.
"So what are you trying to do here?" Mom asks.
"All we're trying to do its figure out why on earth you're mad at her, and put an end to the yelling and stop you guys from being mad at her all the time." Jack says.
"I'm only mad at her for the grades." Mom says.
"I'm mad at her because she's a brat."
"Lilly is so well behaved dad, what are you talking about?"
"I guess sometimes. But the grades!"
"Lilly's grades are getting better!" Ryan says.
"Stop comparing her to us, that doesn't help anyone." Jack adds.
"Alright fine. And I guess we can overreact sometimes."
"Also, taking away her form of communication with us while we're on tour is pointless. That's the worst punishment for her, and she doesn't deserve it." Ryan says.
"Ok, that's fair, I'm sorry."
"We don't need the apology, Lilly does!" Jack says.
"Alright." Dad says. Alba pops her head out of the bedroom and says,
"Lilly's awake."
"Ok. One second." Ryan says back and turns back to dad. "Ok, I'm going to go in, and make sure Lilly's ok, and then you can come in and apologize. Ok?"
"Ok, that's fine." Dad says. Adam adds,
"And no yelling while you're in there. That's not allowed." Dad nods and Ryan, Adam and Jack go into the room, Ryan leading them. Cat was on the bed with Lilly, Alba and Emily on the other side of Lilly. Lilly was laying on her back, and cat had a hand on her chest to keep her calmed down.
"Hey Lil." Ryan said gently, sitting where Cat was, Cat moving aside and Ryan putting his hand where cats was on Lilly's chest. Jack and Adam sit on the bed as well, Alba and Emily moving aside.
"Morning Lilly." Adam says.
"Hi." Lilly responds.
"Ok, Lil, here's what's going on. As soon as you're ready, Dad and Mom are gonna come in and apologize." Ryan says. Lilly sits up abruptly.
"Hey, it's ok, we'll be right here with you the whole time. They've promised they won't yell at you, ok?" Jack says. Ryan starts rubbing her back and Jack grabs her hand.
"I-I guess so." Lilly says.
"Wanna sit on my lap Lil?" Ryan asks. Lilly nods. Ryan and Cat switch places again, and Ryan pulls Lilly up in his lap, pulling the blanket around her. Jack moves beside Ryan, and Cat, Alba and Emily circle around them. Adam stands up and waits by the door to call Mom and Dad.
"Ok, just say whenever you're ready Lil." Jack says. Lilly freezes for a second, and then starts crying and curling up into a ball on Ryans lap.
"I-I-I-I-I c-can't!" Lilly says between tears.
"Hey, Lil, it's ok." Jack says, pulling Lilly into a hug. Ryan starts rubbing her back and says,
"It's ok Lil, we're right here, we're not going anywhere."
"Shhhh, it's ok." Jack adds, and Lilly starts to calm down.
"Wanna stay on Jacks lap then?" Ryan asks. Lilly nods.
"Ok. Let's put the blanket around you. Are you ready now?" Ryan adds. Lilly nods again, turning away from the door. Adam goes out and calls Mom and Dad in. They come in and the mood in the room changed.
"Ok, what do you want to say." Ryan says.
"I want Lilly to look at me when I'm talking to her." Dad says bluntly. Lilly tenses up around Jack and keeps looking the other way. Jack mumbles quietly,
"Hey, it's ok Lil, you don't need to."
"Ok, dad, she can't right now, so just keep talking." Adam says.
"Fine then." Dad said through gritted teeth. "Whatever you say." Jack could tell Lilly was panicking again, mostly by her heart rate beating on his chest, and the fact that she was shaking and breathing quickly. Jack looks at Ryan and mouths,
"Stop for a second." Ryan nods and says,
"Hey, we're gonna pause for a minute, Lilly can't take it right now, so please leave the room for a moment." Dad fights back,
"I can stay in here if I want to!"
"Dad, please, just leave." And Adam escorts him out. Everyone left in the room focused on calming Lilly down. They did their usual tactics for Lilly and she settles down.
"She's not gonna settle down for long. As soon as they come back in, they'll freak her out again." Cat says to Ryan.
"That's true. Maybe we can put you two on the floor behind the bed so she can't see them, and it's blocking out some of the light from the window." Ryan says.
"Good idea." Jack says, standing up with Lilly in his arms. Jack moves down on the floor so his back is leaning on the bed, and the girls circle around him. Lilly continues calming down as they call for Mom and Dad to be brought back in.
"Ok, alright. Lilly, I'm sorry." Dad says. "Good enough?" Dad adds.
"What are you sorry for dad?" Ryan asks, still being up on the bed. Lilly was very tense in Jacks arms but was otherwise ok.
"Fine. I'm sorry for not treating you fairly, and overreacting. Better?" Dad says.
"Alright. And what are you going to do to change it?" Adam asks all dad-like.
"I will stop overreacting and start treating her fairly." Dad says half-heartedly.
"Are you sure?" Ryan asks.
"Yes." Dad says.
"Alright. Now please leave again so we can calm down our sister." Ryan says, Adam escorting them out again. Adam closes the door and Ryan and Adam go down to where Lilly was.
"Her heart is still beating really fast." Cat said.
"Ok. Hey, Lil, they're gone now." Ryan said, rubbing his sisters back.
"Take one big deep breath for me Lilly." Jack said, trying to get her to settle down.
"Here, why don't we all do it with you Lil. Follow us, ok?" Adam says. "Alright, in through your nose, hold it, breathe out. Try again Lil. Breathe with us." They do it again and again until finally Lilly calms down.
"Good job Lil." Ryan says, Lilly turning to face him. "Hey Lil! You ok now?" Ryan asks. Lilly nods.
"Thanks guys." Lilly say quietly.
"Anytime Lil." Ryan responds.
"Well, it is getting late, Lilly you should go to bed." Adam says.
"B-but the nightmares?" Lilly says concerned that she'll have them again.
"It's ok Lil, we'll sleep in here tonight so if anything happens we'll be right here." Ryan says.
"Ok." Lilly says, and climbs up to her bed. "Night everyone." Lilly says, and lays down on her bed.
"Night Lilly!" They all say together.
"Alright, we should sleep too." Ryan says. "Big day tomorrow."
"What are you doing tomorrow?" Cat asks.
"Going to write for this one really big producer."
"Oh right! Have fun with that! I'm gonna head out though. Goodnight everyone!" Cat says, standing up, giving Ryan a hug, and then leaving.
"I should probably head out too." Alba says.
"Me too." Emily adds.
"Alright, see you guys later." Jack says as Emily and Alba stand up and give Adam and Jack hugs, and then leave. Once the girls left, Adam asks,
"When are you guys heading out tomorrow?"
"Probably around 7, why?"
"If Lilly doesn't wake up until 8, she won't see you guys and might panic."
"Oh, good point. Hmm. Well, I guess we can just hope she doesn't panic?" Jack says.
"Yeah." Ryan says. "You'll be here tomorrow though, right?"
"Yeah." Adam answers. "When do you guys get back?"
"Probably around 1 or 2" Ryan responds.
"Ok." Adam says. "Well, I know how to calm her down if she does panic, I'm just not nearly as good as you two."
"That's ok. She should be fine, but you can call us or text us if she does and that communication will probably help, both us and her." Ryan says.
"Ok. Good to know." Adam replies.
"Alright, bed time." Jack says. And they all fall asleep.