sturniolo triplets; brother one shots

panic attack - chris

The past few days have been pretty intense for the triplets. Their fan base continued to expand so rapidly it absolutely baffled them; of course they're grateful though. But the overwhelming amount of people who were watching them was beginning to spike Chris' nerves. Millions of people were watching his every move, anything he says or does will be out on the web, forever.

Matt was seated in his usual seat, driving his brothers to their usual location to film another Friday video. He had been chatting with Nick during the drive before he noticed Chris hadn't spoken as much as he tended to do.

"Chris, you doing okay?" Matt asked, gaining Nick's attention.

"What's wrong?" Nick replied from the back.

Chris turned to face Nick. "Nothing. I'm okay, just a little tired, I think."

Matt nodded and resumed to focus on the street. Once arriving at their usual parking, they bought snacks and set up the camera. They were filming another conspiracy theory video as the fans loved them, and so did they. This time about supernatural creatures. All three boys were ecstatic.

While filming, Chris was talking about vampires and his thoughts on them. "So I do believe the whole pointy teeth, but the onions, I don't know man. I think it's more like-"

"Shut up, Chris, you're talking forever. We need to move on." Nick cut over Chris and slapped his arm, who instantly shut his mouth.

"Sorry." Chris mumbled.

As the conversations continued to flow out, Matt read out a question a fan asked about werewolves. This peaked Chris' interest; he had been talking about werewolves with Matt and Nick just a few days ago!

"Oh my gosh, they're totally real! Like the whole full moon thing too!" Chris spoke, Nick agreeing with him.

After a few minutes of discussion, Matt said; "Okay, let's move on to the next question."

"Yeah, you're talking too much, Chris." Nick stated, leaning forwards to see Matt's screen.

Chris continued to speak; "Wait, but what if they-"

"Shut up, Chris!" Nick yelled, slapping his shoulder.

Chris inhaled sharply and covered his face in his knees, which he had brought up to his chest.

Immediately, Matt and Nick knew something was wrong; Chris wasn't acting normal.

"Hey, Chris, what's wrong?" Matt asked, resting his hand onto Chris' back.

When Chris didn't reply, Matt shut off the camera and grabbed Chris' hands. "You need to talk to us, bud. What's bothering you?"

Suddenly, Chris whispered out incoherently. "I can't breathe."

He was so quiet, it was barely audible to Matt, let alone Nick who clearly didn't hear him.

"What did he say?" Nick asked as Matt instantly peeled Chris' face away from his knees.

His face was as pale as snow, his eyes darting everywhere yet they also seemed dazed. Matt knew what was wrong. He brought one of Chris' hands to rest against his heart, and held the other one tighter, gaining Chris' attention.

"Listen on me. Focus on my breathing, Chris. You're okay. You just need to copy me, okay? Deep breaths." Matt instructed Chris while also trying to reassure him that he was okay.

Nick now knew what was wrong too. Chris was having a panic attack. Of course he should have realised it sooner, considering that Matt got them often. But then again, he never expected to see Chris having a panic attack.

Chris suddenly blurted out again. "I c-can't breathe!"

"Yes, yes you can, Chris. You need to copy exactly the same way I'm breathing. Alright? Deep breaths on three. One, two, three." Matt squeezed both of Chris' hands a little tighter, to ensure that he was paying attention to him. Chris was only making matters worse by freaking out more; he was also starting to stress the boys out.

Slowly but surely, Chris' breaths began to sound less like wheezes and soon enough he was breathing properly again. Nick signed in relief, thankful for Matt being there with them, as he rubbed Chris' back while Matt let go of Chris' hands and calmed himself down; Chris was okay.

After slightly regaining his composure, Chris could feel his eyes burn with tears, threatening to spill out.

Matt noticed and pulled Chris into a hug. "You're okay, you're okay, buddy. Promise. Just relax."

Nick was still rubbing circles onto Chris' back until he pulled away from Matt's embrace. Chris knew he'd have to tell them what triggered his panic attack. They sat in silence for a couple of seconds before Nick spoke;

"Would you be okay with telling us what triggered this?"

Chris sighed deeply before he spoke. "I've been feeling really overwhelmed with how fast we're growing and it just freaks me out that millions of people are gonna be watching my every move. It's stupid, I know. I don't know why I freaked out so much."

Chris was being truthful. He honestly had no idea why that was the main trigger to his panic attack. He never had really been affected by what people thought or said about him. Chris assumed it must have been an accumulation of worries he's had over the past few days that just had to be let out one way or another.

"It's not stupid, never say that again." Nick rejoinders. "And it's normal to feel this way. I'm also pretty overwhelmed by it too, and I'll bet Matt is too."

Matt nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it's okay to feel anxious, trust me."

"Exactly, no need to bring yourself down for feeling normal human emotions, love." Nick tried his best to comfort Chris, especially after yelling at him a bunch earlier.

Chris nodded. "Thanks guys, you're the best." He smiled before deciding to answer their unspoken question. "And when Nick yelled at me, I just felt like a rapid wave of panic hit me, I don't know why."

"I'm so sorry for yelling at you, I really didn't mean to upset you and be the one to trigger this, Chris." Nick apologised, feeling even more guilty after what Chris said.

"No, it's okay, it wasn't your fault anyways. I guess it was bound to happen." Chris replied with a soft smile. "I do feel better though, thank you so much."

Both Matt and Nick returned the smile as Matt spoke; "We're glad you're feeling better."

Nick nodded then snickered. "Yeah, let's go get some McDonald's now, I really want chicken nuggets."

The boys laughed as Matt started the car and drove off. They'd continue the video later, no big deal. Chris was more important than filming a video, and the fans would understand.

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tysm for reading!! let me know if you have any requests :))