"Oh fuck no." Harry muttered and quickly placed the boxes down before he started pressing different buttons to try and get us moving again.
I, on the other hand, was just watching him with wide eyes, not knowing what to do in this situation.
"Do something!" Harry suddenly said loudly as he turned around to face me.
"What on earth am I supposed to do, Harry?" I asked sarcastically since there basically wasn't anything to do right now.
"Just do something!" He repeated himself and I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion as I watched him freak out over this.
"Calm down, Harry." I said and pushed him aside to press the emergency button that would most likely call the elevator company.
I heard Harry mumble something but I couldn't quite figure out what he was saying so I didn't pay any attention to it as I waited for someone to pick up the call.
I turned to the side and saw Harry desperately trying to pull the door open and just when he did a tiny bit he let it slam back shut as he saw that we were stuck between floors so we couldn't actually just get out by pulling the door open.
I pressed the call button again until it finally connected.
"Hello?" I asked, hoping someone would answer.
"Hello, are you in an emergency?" The voice asked, calmly.
"Yea, we're stuck in an elevator at Clarens Magazine on Gilbert street." I answered, quickly.
"Okay, we'll get in touch with the office. No need to worry. If you need further assistance press the emergency button again. It shouldn't take too long to get you out of there."
"Okay, thanks." I said before the call disconnected.
When I finally stepped away from the buttons and turned around my eyes widened as I saw Harry sitting on the floor, breathing heavily.
"Hey, are you okay?" I asked, slightly concerned.
I didn't get an answer from him so I started getting nervous. What could I possibly do?
I looked at him for a couple more seconds and saw that he was shivering and gripping onto his knees as if trying to hold onto them with everything he could.
Could he be having a panick attack?
I took a deep breath before crouching down in front of him.
"Hey, look at me." I said, hoping that I could get his attention.
Never ever have I been in this position before and not knowing what to do to help him was freaking me out but I was trying so hard to remain calm.
"You're safe okay? I'm right here and they will get us out in no time." I said slowly, hoping that would somehow calm him down.
I considered holding his hand or hugging him but I was unsure if that would even help him.
Instead of overthinking everything I stepped over my own shadow and placed my hands slowly over his own as they were gripping onto his knees. His metal rings cold on my skin, sending a shiver through my body.
"You're safe." I repeated, rubbing the back of his hands with my thumbs.
He finally looked up at me and I gasped slightly as I took in his facial expression. I felt his hands slowly relax under my touch as he didn't look anywhere else but my face.
"I'm here." I said as his eyes bored into mine, making it hard to look away but I wouldn't have anyways. Not in this situation.
"Breath with me." I said and took a deep breath in, holding, and breathing back out. Harry mimicked my actions and it seemed to actually work as we repeated this a couple of times.
I noticed the sweat dropping from his forehead as he kept looking at me. He was so vulnerable and it made my heart ache as I tried my best to help him.
"Thank you." He breathed out, finally saying something and basically telling me that I did at least something right.
I sighed in relief, smiling at him as his breathing slowly but surely went back to normal.
I looked at our hands for a quick second, contemplating on whether I should let go of his hands or not.
As if he knew what I thinking he moved his thumbs up to cover my own in an attempt to leave my hands right where they are.
And so I did keep my hands on top of his, not retreating before I was completely sure that he was okay.
We stayed like this for a while.
He needed me and I needed him to know that I was there for him.
Just because we didn't get along very well didn't mean that I would just watch him have a panick attack instead of helping him. I wouldn't even be mad about it if after all this we would get back to the way we were before.
But in this moment, no matter who would've been in his position, I would've tried everything in my power to help.
I decided to stay quiet for a while as I watched him. He had his eyes closed now, leaning back against the wall and thankfully breathing normally again.
He was still shivering a little bit but I wouldn't have even noticed it if it weren't for me still holding his hands.
My gaze slowly wandered around his face and I saw that his eyebrows were slightly furrowed and his lips pressed together, hiding them almost. His forehead was still glistening from the sweat and I noticed a few hair strands stuck to his skin.
I didn't think I could handle him opening his eyes in that moment. Seeing the distress and angst in his eyes just a couple minutes ago was scary enough and I wasn't sure what I would see if he would open them now.
The aftermath of his panic attack had me just as nervous as I was during it.
Luckily, it was all over now and Harry was going to be okay.
______________
intense............