Adam rested a hand on Lilly's back to keep her settled while they started working. It worked for a while, until they got to a certain part of the work that Lilly starts panicking. Her focus starts to go away, and she starts tensing up. Adam notices and pulls her into his chest like normal, trying to prevent a full blown anxiety attack.
"You're ok Lil, I've got you." Adam says. Lilly, unexpectedly, starts trying to pull away from Adam.
"Hey Lil, you're ok." Jack says, coming around the table to try to help.
"Woah, what happened?" Ryan asks, snapping into reality, realizing what's happening.
"She's having another panic attack." Adam says. Cat and Ryan hop up to go help Lilly. Lilly manages to pull away from Adam, and escapes to underneath the table. She curls up into a ball, rocking back and forth, continuing her panic attack. No one knows what to do now. She hasn't run away from them in ages. They need to figure out how to calm her down.
"One of us needs to grab her and calm her down." Adam says.
"I'll do it." Ryan offers.
"Wait Jack, grab her blanket." Adam adds, as Jack follows the instructions. Ryan kneels down to look at Lilly.
"Go slow. You don't want to startle her." Cat says, cautioning Ryan. Ryan nods, then makes his next move.
"Hey Lil, I'm gonna get you out of here, alright?" Lilly doesn't know what to do. She's way too out of this world to react to anything.
"Lilly, focus on my voice." Ryan starts. "I'm gonna grab your arm, ok?" Lilly flinches away.
"Lil, I'm only trying to help you. You're ok." Lilly freezes, allowing Ryan to continue moving.
"Alright, I'm gonna grab your arm." Ryan gently places his hand on Lilly's right arm, allowing her to get used to the feeling. Lilly's breathing seemed to be getting faster, and she was unbelievably tense.
"Now your other arm." Ryan says, gently grabbing her other arm.
"You're doing great Lil, now will you let me pull you out of there?" Lilly freezes, allowing Ryan to move. Ryan carefully pulls Lilly out from under the table, pulling her straight into his chest and moving his arms, one wrapping around her lower back, the other across her back, resting on her opposite shoulder. He quickly takes the opportunity to rest his back against the seat bottom, twisting around so Lilly was in mostly darkness. Lilly started balling. It was a mix of emotions, between pure and utter panic, extreme anxiety, and sadness and guilt from running away from her comfort. Ryan lifted his knees up, allowing him to be more balanced, sitting on the floor. Jack gently places Lilly's blanket over the pair, trying to relax Lilly. Ryan looks up at everyone's concerned faces, unsure of what to do next.
"Now just let her settle down." Cat says. "It'll definitely take her a while, but just let her relax into you." Ryan nods, and starts rubbing her back. Lilly switches her head around very quickly, burying it into Ryan.
"Slow it down Lil, you're ok." Ryan says to Lilly. "You're safe with me, settle down."
"I-I'm s-sorry!" Lilly cries.
"Lilly!" Jack sighs, kneeling down to rest his hand on her back. "Don't be sorry! Let's just settle you down, alright?"
"You're ok Lil." Ryan adds. Within a few minutes, Lilly settles down.
"Good job Lilly." Ryan mutters.
"I'm sorry." Lilly says again.
"Don't be sorry Lil!" Jack says.
"Here, let's go to the back lounge, away from everyone." Cat suggests. Ryan nods and stands up with Lilly in his arms. Ryan leads Cat, Jack and Adam to the back lounge and they sit on the couch. Lilly falls asleep pretty quickly on Ryan, leaving the rest of them in silence. After a bit Lilly wakes up again.
"Morning Lilly!" Jack says. Lilly doesn't sit up off of Ryan's chest.
"Morning." Lilly says.
"You doing ok?" Adam asks. Lilly nods.
"I'm sorry for running away." Lilly says.
"Don't be sorry Lil! I'm just glad you let me calm you down." Ryan says.
"Thanks for that. I wouldn't have been able to do it by myself." Lilly says.
"Of course Lil!" Ryan says.
"Wanna talk about what happened Lil?" Jack asks. Lilly shakes her head.
"You sure Lil? You know you feel better if you do." Adam reasons.
"Ok.." Lilly gives in. Lilly starts to explain.
"Well, it's flashbacks to that time in school...-" but then she stops. Lilly tenses up around Ryan and hides in his shirt.
"Lilly!" Ryan says. Lilly starts crying.
"It's ok." Jack adds.
"Hey Lil, wanna go to Jack?" Ryan suggests, offering another opportunity for continued trust building.
"Come here Lil." Jack says, pulling Lilly off of Ryan. Lilly shakes her head vigorously and clings to Ryan.
"You don't want to go to Jack?" Ryan asks. Lilly shakes her head and continues crying. "Alright Lil."
"Let's just get you to settle down, alright?" Jack says. Ryan wraps his arms around her and says,
"Big deep breaths Lil. You're ok." She calms down within a few moments.
"I-I'm s-sorry." Lilly stutters out once her panic attack had passed.
"Don't be sorry Lil. You're ok." Ryan says.
"How about we play a game or something to get your mind off of all this, yeah?" Jack suggests. Lilly nods her head. They go over to sit at the table in the back lounge, grabbing out apples to apples. Lilly stays put on Ryans lap as they go over to the table, Cat sitting beside them, Adam and Jack on the other side. Jack and Adam pass out the cards, Ryan and Lilly teaming up.
"I'll start." Jack says, pulling out a green card to be the judge. They play their game for a while, until everyone gets bored of it and they put it away. As they pull into the city centre for dinner, they all run out for food before hopping back on the bus to keep driving. Hours pass along, and by 9 o'clock, everyone was in their bunks, ready to fall asleep. By 9:30, everyone was asleep, until Lilly shoots awake at 2:30 am.
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AJR- Little Sister
FanfictionIn this story, AJR has a little sister, named Lilly. She is 11, but turns 12 in the story. She has anxiety and nightmares a lot. She has to deal with bullies, her brothers leaving for tour, and trying to keep her anxiety a secret. Her parents may no...
