AJR- Little Sister

Chapter 30-

April 4-  (wow I've forgotten to do the days the last few chapters. Sorry for anyone who was trying to keep track!)

After yesterday, they all were excited to do something today, like perform a show. It gave them something to get their minds off of what happened. Adam walks in to the dressing room to find Lilly having a panic attack. Lilly was sitting on the couch, crumpled in a ball, hyperventilating and shaking.
"Lilly!" Adam says running over to her. Adam sits beside Lilly, facing towards her, and rests a hand on her back.
"I can't breathe!" Lilly cries.
"Lil, it's ok. You know what this is. It's a panic attack, and it will end." Adam says.
"But I can't breathe!!" Lilly cries again.
"It's ok Lil. It will end, I promise. What can I do to help you Lil?"
"J-Jack and Ry-Ryan?" Lilly asks.
"They're on the bus right now. Want me to try calming you down?" Adam asks. Lilly shakes her head no.
"Lilly, you know I'm here to help you. You can trust me, ok?" Adam says, hoping that'll help.
"Can you please turn off the lights?" Lilly asks, getting overstimulated from the bright lights shining above her. Adam stands up and turns off the lights in the dressing room. He comes to sit back on the couch, and asks Lilly,
"Can I please try to help you calm down?" Lilly nods, so Adam pulls her into his chest and wraps his arms around her, allowing her to adjust. She squirms around for a moment, getting used to a new person, but finally relaxes a bit, accepting the comfort from Adam.
"See Lil, it's ok." Adam says, rubbing her back. A few moments later, Lilly melts into Adam.
"There ya go." Adam encourages. "Now, focus on your breathing. Control it and slow it down." Lilly does what Adam says, and her panic attack stops.
"Great job Lil!" Adam says. "I'm so proud of you." Lilly goes silent. They stayed on the couch for a bit until Lilly sits up.
"Thanks." Lilly says quietly.
"Of course Lilly!" Adam says. "How was that?"
"It was ok. It took me a second to be ok with it though." Lilly responds.
"Totally ok Lil. Are you ok if I calm you down now? Do you trust me enough?"
"Yeah." Lilly smiles.
"Awesome! Great job Lil. So, what happened? Wanna talk about it?" Adam asks.
"Well, yesterday Ryan and Cat went on a walk after my panic attack from Stella, but they got beat up, and so I was thinking about how it was my fault for them getting beaten up." Lilly explains, looking away from Adam.
"Lil... You know that's not true." Adam says.
"I know it's not, but why can't my brain know that." Lilly says.
"Come here Lil." Adam says, pulling Lilly into a hug.
"Wanna go find the others now?" Adam asks after a moment.
"Yes please." Lilly responds. They stand up and go to look for people. They start on the stage, but no luck. They go to the green room, and they find Jack, Ryan and Cat, along with a few crew members talking in a circle. Lilly and Adam walk over to them, but once they get close, Lilly hides behind Adam.
"Hey guys, what's up?" Ryan asks.
"Wanna tell them Lil?" Adam asks. Lilly shakes her head.
"Alright, I'll tell them. Lilly let me calm her down!!" Adam rejoices. Everyone claps and cheers.
"Woah!! Good job!" Jack says, kneeling down to talk to Lilly.
"But Evan's on the bus?! How did you do it?" Can mentions to Adam.
"I just did what we all do." Adam explains.
"So does she trust you now?" Ryan asks.
"Yeah! I asked her and she said yes, and I was able to calm her down without anything else, so I'm calling it a massive success."
"Why did she panic in the first place?" Cat asks.
"Oh, she was overthinking about yesterday and how she thinks it's her fault that you two got beaten up."
"Aww. Did you tell her it's not?" Ryan asks.
"Oh of course." Adam responds.
"Did she ask for Jack or Ryan in the process?" Cat asks.
"Yeah. I know I could've called you, but I wanted to try to calm her down, by myself, to build up that trust. And thankfully it worked." Adam says.
"Yeah. She did the same when I calmed her down during the show that one time." Cat explains. "She asked for Jack and Ryan and I explained they couldn't be there, then she resorted to me. Once she finds out her primary source of comfort is gone, she resorts to anything else, specifically something that she has a little bit of trust in."
"Yeah, that makes sense." Ryan says.
"I'm just excited we're making progress with this." Adam adds.
"Yeah! So wait, you calmed her down alone, and you calmed her down alone?" Ryan asks, pointing at Cat and then Adam. They both nod their heads in agreement.
"Sweet! This is cool. Our plan is working!" Ryan exclaims.
"You make that sound like a bad thing!" Cat says. They all laugh.
"Good job Lilly!" Ryan says, kneeling down to her.
"I'm so proud of you." Jack adds.
"So, are you guys ready for the show?" Cat asks everyone.
"Oh wait we should get ready." Adam says, noticing the time. They all run to the dressing room to change into their show outfits, then head to side stage. They brothers go on stage, Lilly and Cat waiting off to the side like normal. The brothers play through the first song, then move on to the second. Lilly freezes for a moment, getting lost in her own thoughts.
"C-Cat?" Lilly stutters out, starting her panic attack. Cat turns to Lilly and asks,
"What's wrong Lil? You having another panic attack?" Lilly nods in response, starting to hyperventilate.
"Come on Lil, let's go sit down." Cat says, pulling Lilly to the travel boxes. Cat rests a hand on Lilly's back, slowly rubbing small circles around it.
"I can't breathe!" Lilly cries.
"Slow it down Lil. Remember, this will end. You're ok, I'm right here." Cat says. Lilly covers her face and falls into Cat. Cat wraps her arms around Lilly and continues rubbing her back.
"Shhh, you're ok Lil." Cat says. Lilly takes a deep breath, and starts to relax.
"Good job Lilly. You're doing great." Lilly takes a few more deep breaths, and calms down, sitting back up from Cat.
"Th-thanks." Lilly says quietly.
"Of course Lil! You ok?" Lilly nods. "What's up?" Cat asks.
"I don't even know." Lilly responds.
"That's ok Lil. I'm glad I could help you calm down." Lilly smiles and relaxes.
"Yeah. I'm glad I'm not as scared for you to help now." Lilly says, looking down.
"Yeah! I'm super proud of you for that." Cat mentions. "We're just trying to build up the trust between you and me, and Adam, and you're doing really well Lil. I mean look, you let Adam, and me calm you down today, without Jack or Ry helping! You should be super proud of that!" Cat says.
"Yeah. I guess I am. Just still trying to recover I guess." Lilly laughs.
"I know Lil. I get it. You still wanna sing your song with the guys?" Cat asks.
"Yes. I think I'm just gonna stay here until they call me for it." Lilly says.
"Totally ok Lil. Want me to get you some water?" Cat asks.
"Yes please." Lilly replies. Cat stands up and grabs some water and brings it back to Lilly. They sit there for a bit until Lilly gets called by Dane that her song is next. Lilly stands up with Cat and they wait beside the stage to get called by Jack. Jack welcomes her on stage, and she sings her song with the guys. Lilly sings the song perfectly like normal, does her high five thing with the crowd, and goes off stage. Lilly immediately gives Cat a hug, taking Cat slightly by surprise.
"Great job Lilly!" Lilly pulls away from Cat, and Cat kneels down to say,
"You ok?"
"I don't know." Lilly responds. "The whole time I was up there I felt like I was gonna panic again. I wanted to run away but I also didn't. I don't know." Lilly says, starting to freak out a little bit.
"Hey, it's ok." Cat says, trying to prevent another panic attack. "Let's go sit down." Cat says. Lilly nods, and Cat grabs her hand and walks her over to the travel boxes again. Lilly sits down and grabs her water bottle from before, taking a long drink of water.
"Just keep breathing slow Lilly." Cat says. Lilly nods. Cat rests her hand on Lilly's back again, and Lilly rests her head on Cat's shoulder. Before long, the boys come off stage, and run over to Lilly and Cat.
"What's wrong?" Ryan asks.
"Another panic attack?" Jack adds.
"No, well, yes. Lilly had a panic attack before she went on stage, but she let me calm her down. Then she went on stage and came off and said she felt like she was going to panic again, so we sat down." Cat explains.
"But she didn't panic now?" Adam asks.
"No, not yet. I don't think she will either because well, you guys are here now, but I think she calmed down enough so it won't happen." Cat responds.
"Awesome. Hey Lil, you ok?" Jack says. Lilly nods, looking up at the guys, but not moving her head from Cat.
"Well, we can head back to the dressing room if you want Lil?" Ryan suggests. Lilly nods again, standing up. They all walk back to the dressing room, scattering around on the couches. They all eventually get bored of the dressing room, so they head to the bus, and scatter around there. They were all exhausted, so before long, they all went to bed.