Having a big friend group was great, and it seemed to grow every year, but, this year was the year you all turned 16.
You knew how popular partying and… drinking… and smoking… were for people your age.. But you were terrified.
You had met the group through Darcy and Charlie, who then brought you into their friend group that included; Nick, Tao, Elle, Sahar, Tara, and Imogen.
They were all sweethearts, and you trusted them with your life… but they had no idea of your parents.. Issues.. With alcohol, or how it affected you to see them drinking
It was Charlie's birthday. You couldn’t NOT go. It felt rude, so you reluctantly came over.
When you got there, everyone else was already present, snacks, and unfortunately for you, ALOT of booze.
Everyone was drinking, to the point where you had to fake it multiple times by switching out the cup with alcohol in it with one that housed just water.
You were getting increasingly stressed, getting quieter and quieter, then suddenly running off
Everyone paused mid-conversation, your breath getting more shallow and frantic, your chest tight as you hid in the living room. Charlie followed immediately, concern in his eyes, even when drunk
“Hey.” Charlie paused when he realized you were panicked ** “oh, ok… I think.. I think you're having a panic attack..”** he says softly, crouching down to your level - Nick followed, but paused in the doorway, letting Charlie take care of this, while looking visibly concerned as hell
“It's ok. My-My therapist gave me some exercises to help clear my brain… Whenever I'm having thoughts that I can’t control…” Charlie says. You knew he had been in a mental facility for a few months a while prior for a few things, but was doing much better now.
“Lets do some deep breaths together,” He offers with a slight nod, then gently taking your hands in his
“Breathe in for 3… and breathe out..” He says, breathing with you as example “And breathe in.. and breathe out” he continued, leading you through it slowly
“Let's do it one more time, Ok?” he gives your hand a gentle squeeze “We’re in my house. We're chilling. We've had a few drinks - but everything's fine. Everything's good.” he explains - it being more of a promise than anything