As they step out of the car, George practically glued to him, Alex starts to tense up.
He feels frozen, eyes panning all over the place. Placing one foot in front of the other, he's unable to act on the impact.
Before he knows it, he's having a panic attack.
Cramps seize in his stomach and his insides feel like ice.
His heart is racing and he's becoming extremely dizzy, it's as if everything's spinning except himself.
He can vaguely make out the fear sweeping over George's face whilst all of his surroundings fold into one.
The bespoke wildlife area, while quite alluring, fades rapidly out of his vision.
Mildly aware that he's being dragged away into some room, chills sweep up his chest and then all over.
He can't control his own frame and George is long out of view.
In his head, he's screaming for him but to George it's nothing more than a whisper.
He can hear the faint noise of water filling a cup before the footsteps re-enter the quiet space.
In a matter of seconds, he's back at Alex's side, lifting it to his lips and watching as the cold water spills into his mouth.
He's gulped down the entire glass when George takes it away again.
Alex studies the wall for a bit, trying to re-gain focus, slowly returning his gaze to the concerned pair of eyes next to him.
George hugs him and all the tension in his trembling body settles, the fear shaken away.
"G-George." He can feel his face blazing with embarrassment.
"Hey, you're okay." He assures.
Alex nods, cuddling further into him.
He feels a strange mix of relief and dread. George has made him feel better, he always does but the thought of facing a large group of people and having to participate in conversation is suddenly a painful stab in the chest.
He starts fidgeting in George's arms.
"You okay?" He breathes, noticing the shift in Alex's body language.
He shakes his head,
"I'm not ready."
"That's okay." He smiles, bringing him closer to his chest.
"B-but the talk."
"You are more important than anything they have to say."
"George if we don't g-"
"You are more important!" He interrupts.
Alex just smiles at how patient his boyfriend is.
As the talk comes to an end, floods of creators pile outside the building again.
It was with the managers at YouTube, basically explaining everything they could do to improve their channels alongside brand deals and ways to entice a certain audience.
George lifts his head from Alex's chest at all the commotion and they move out onto the field.
"Do you think we'll get in trouble? Because we didn't go?" Alex stands still, cheeks flushed.
"We'll just tell the-"
He stops mid sentence as his phone vibrates in his hands, it's Will.
"Hello?" He answers.
"Mate." Will's voice sighs from the other end, "why don't you answer your texts?"
George puts him on speaker, realising he has multiple messages from Will and Fraser.
"Sorry, I didn't noti-"
"Where were you? And where's Alex?"
"Alex..I thought he was with you?"
"What? Did you not leave the house with him?"
"No, I thought he stayed at yours last night?"
"WELL HE DIDN'T!" Will yells.
"Oh." George hushes the boy laughing beside him.
"So you're telling me no one's heard from him? And he's been missing since last night?" His voice is bind with concern.
"What's going on?" He hears James through the phone line.
"George doesn't know where Alex is-"
James starts laughing too.
"It's not funny mate, he's been gone since last nig-"
"Will." James turns his head, "look over there."
"Oh for f**k's sake! One day I am actually going to kill them." He shakes his head at the pair now standing on the grass.
Will ducks around the bushes, James following suite.
