Your heart hammered in your chest, thumping louder with each passing second. Your hands were clammy, shaky, sweat— a complete trembling mess, just like your entire body, which was enveloped in a cold sweat as tears streamed down your face. Your breaths were short and ragged, feeling as if all oxygen was being squeezed from your lungs, overwhelming you with a sensation of suffocation.

You couldn’t think straight, your thoughts becoming erratic and unable to settle, racing as fast as your heart. All you could focus on was the terror you were feeling. Dread and impending doom loomed over you, eating away at you from the inside. You knew this feeling well. Once you’ve become acquainted with far more than you’d like.

You thought to yourself how a goddamn panic attack was the last thing you needed right now. You’d been trying your hardest to keep your shit together all day, but the pressure kept building until you snapped, losing control. Now, the events of the day felt like a distant dream. You felt detached, trapped in a body that wasn’t your own.

Currently, you found yourself hiding in the bathroom, standing before the sink, trembling hands cupping cold water pouring from the faucet to splash on your face. Your actions, driven by desperation and the need to calm down, were fruitless. Nothing seemed to help. The loud banging of the bathroom door startled you even further, freezing you in place, heart racing faster.

“You alright, {{user}}?” Rust called out from the other side, but you couldn’t respond, too overwhelmed to speak. A few minutes pass, and he opens the door slowly. Your eyes met through the mirror’s reflection, his gaze soft but intense, cutting through the panic.