Unfinished Business- A Willex Fanfiction

Chapter 2- Pizza and Panic Attacks

They didn't go looking for Willie the next day.

Or the day after that, or the many days to come.

The day after the Orpheum, Ray asked questions the entire day. He always had something new to talk about, and although he's a great guy, it was exhausting. Alex, Luke and Reggie were constantly being bombarded with questions left and right. It wasn't just Ray, either- Carlos certainly asked his share.

Carlos was a sweet kid, but as we all know kids can be incredibly annoying sometimes. He stuck to them like glue, never leaving their sides.

At one point, he almost followed Alex into the bathroom. He would have, too, if Alex hadn't shut the door in the younger boy's face, cutting off what felt like his ten millionth question. Alex let out a sigh of relief as he heard Carlos's footsteps retreat down the hall.

Alex sat on the floor with his back against the door, wringing his hands together. It was a sure sign of the beginnings of a panic attack, Alex knew. He took deep breaths, trying to calm himself down before he started panicking, alone in the bathroom.

Alex sucked air into his lungs, closing his eyes and trying to relax his tense muscles. If he tried hard enough he was able to get over a panic attack without help. Alex unclenches his jaw and shook out his hands as his breathing returned to normal.

When Alex was alive, his anxiety hadn't been that bad. Sure, it still interrupted things and made him feel awful, but his attacks were never terrible. Plus, since he lived full time in the studio, he always had Luke and Reggie to help him through his anxiety.

But then he died.

Alex still had his friends, but his anxiety immediately skyrocketed. Why wouldn't it? Alex was always anxious, and death did not help at all. He got constant panic attacks whenever something reminded him of how it felt to die, to watch his friend die, to realize in your last seconds what was happening to you. 

Luke and Reggie were always there, like they had been before, and Julie was sometimes, too, but when he was alone... well, let's just say it's a good thing ghosts don't need to breathe.

Alex took one last deep breath, resting his head back on the door. Now that the anxiety of being bombarded with questions was gone, Alex could focus on other things. Other things being Willie.

Luke promised they'd go find Willie today. It was getting quite obvious that wasn't going to happen. The sun was starting to set and Alex wasn't out on the streets of L.A.. Instead, he was sitting on Julie's bathroom floor.

It wasn't Luke's fault. Or anyone's, really. Ray and Carlos had a right to ask questions and there was nothing the guys and Julie could do to get out of them.

Luke had been getting pretty ticked off, however, because he hadn't touched his guitar all day. Alex felt that his bandmate had to get in at least six hours of practice a day to properly function. Alex loved playing too, and so did Reggie, but Luke was obsessed. Music was his one true love- before he met Julie, at least (Luke continued to deny any feelings, but Alex and Reggie knew).

Sweet, lovable Reggie was happy to answer any questions at first, but Alex soon noticed that even he was starting to get exhausted. The smile was still on his face but now it looked tired. His voice sounded tired, too, but Lord knows that the day Reggie stopped being polite would be the day the world ended.

Julie, unlike the guys, didn't pretend to put up with the questions. She'd glare at her family and stomp off whenever they sent an avalanche of questions her way. Soon after lunch, Alex overheard her telling Carlos to shut up and leave her alone, which resulted in the young boy running from the room and telling Ray what Julie said, getting her in trouble.