Drunk Kiss-Lestappen

12- reallife

Tw: Panick attac

Max is lounging on the couch in their apartment, scrolling through his Instagram feed. His friends, Marie and Daniel, are chatting and laughing, but Max is only half-listening. He's too busy looking at pictures of Charles.

"Look at this picture of Charles. He's so gorgeous," Max sighed dreamily. He showed them a picture of Charles in his Ferrari driving suit. Marie and Daniel looked at the picture, understanding what Max sees in him. "I get why you like him, Max. He is indeed very pretty," Marie said.

"Don't you dare steal my man, Marie," Max commented, causing her to laugh. "Don't worry. He isn't really my type. I am more into older men." When she said that, Daniel's head slowly turned to her. "Really?" he asked.

"Yeah, blame it on the daddy issues." This caused them all to laugh.

A couple of minutes later, they had put on a movie and were peacefully watching it. Apart from Max, who kept scrolling, barely paying attention to the movie. Then, without thinking, he touched the heart icon under one of Charles's photos. As soon as he did, he realized his mistake.

"Oh no. I didn't mean to do that!" Max said panicking. He jumped off the couch and clicked on the heart to undo it, but it was too late. He had just liked a photo from a year ago.

"What's the matter, Max?" Daniel asked, looking at Max's phone. "Did you just like a picture of Charles?" Daniel joked, not thinking he'd be right.

Marie looked over her shoulder to see what happened. To her surprise, Daniel was right, he did like the photo. "Looks like it!" Marie laughed.

"Ne, nee, NEE, dit kan niet waar zijn. FUCK." While he said that, Daniel looked kind of confused about what his friend was saying, but in the context of what just happened, he sort of figured it out by himself. "Now he knows that I look at his insta. Maybe some fan saw it and starts rumors. Maybe someone thinks I like him." What is true, but that's not the point here.

"Everyone thinks that," Marie pointed out. "Yeah, Max, you're not fooling anyone," Daniel said. "Anyone with a pair of eyes can see that you like him."

Max's anxiety builds as his friends continue to tease him. He feels like he's losing control of the situation, and the panic sets in.

"Relax, Max. It's not the end of the world. You just liked a picture. He probably doesn't even see it with the amount of likes he gets," Marie said, trying to calm him down.

"Just breathe, Max. Everything will be okay." But Max can't seem to calm down. His heart is racing, and his hands are shaking. He can feel his throat tightening as he tries to suppress the panic. "I need to go... I can't handle this." Max breathed out, struggling to speak.

He jumps up from the couch, his hands trembling as he grabs his phone. He runs out of the apartment, leaving his friends behind. "Max, wait." Both of his friends scream. They try to run after him, but he's too fast, and on top of that, his location is off.

'I can't believe I messed up this badly. I don't know how I'm going to face Charles again.' He thought. As he walks down the street, he can feel his chest tightening and his breath becoming shallow. He tries to calm himself down, but the fear and anxiety won't go away.

Max was already two blocks away. He had felt the panic attack coming, but he'd managed to hold it off until he was in the alleyway all by himself. He leaned against the brick wall, trying to steady his breathing and calm his racing heart. He knew what was happening, but he didn't want to call for help. He didn't want anyone to see him like this.

Just then, Charles appeared around the corner. Max groaned inwardly. Of all people to find him like this, it had to be the person that caused it to happen. 'WHY' he screamed in his head.

"Max, what are you doing here? Are you okay?" Charles asked, shocked.

"I'm okay, Charles. I don't need any help." Max was able to breathe out.

But Charles could see right through Max's facade. He could see the way Max was holding himself, the way his breaths were coming in shallow gasps. He didn't look okay. "Hey, it's okay. I'm here to help if you need it."

For a moment, Max hesitated. He'd never heard Charles speak so kindly, so softly, at least not to him. But the panic attack was building, and he knew he needed help. Otherwise, this could end badly. "I... I don't know what's happening. I think I'm having a panic attack," Max trembled.

"It's okay, Max. We'll get through this together. Just focus on your breathing. In, and out. In, and out." Charles said, kneeling in front of him.

Charles guided Max through a series of deep breaths, helping him focus on each inhale and exhale. He had put Max's hand on his heart, so he could feel the way his heart beat. When Charles did that, he blushed at his touch. 'Please, don't feel how my heart is beating faster than it needs to.' Charles thought. All because of a touch. "In and out," Charles breathed with him. His words were gentle, his voice soothing.

Slowly but surely, Max's body began to relax. His breaths became deeper, less ragged. He leaned into Charles's steady presence, feeling very comforted by his touch.

"I'm sorry, Charles. I didn't want anyone to see me like this." Max said, embarrassed.

"Hey, you don't have to apologize. This isn't easy, but it's nothing to be ashamed of. We all have our moments, you know?" Charles smiled warmly, thinking back to his breakdown a couple of days ago.

"Thank you, Charles. I don't know what I would have done without you." He was still embarrassed about what just happened, even if he knew there was no reason for it.

"You don't need to thank me. Just promise me you will ask for help the next time. From me, or someone else."

"I promise."

Together, they walked out of the alleyway, both feeling nervous. They liked each other, but were too scared to say a thing. All of the things that could happen if they just spoke the truth.

As they went their separate ways, Max felt lighter, happier. He had Charles to thank for that.

A/N: Thank you all who are reading this book. We are at almost 2k in not even 2 weeks. It means a lot to me. If you have any requests for the book, please let me know.