Warnings: Anxiety attack

Word Count: 1390

Author's Note: Just a small disclaimer, the instances of anxiety mentioned in this fic are all based off of my personal experience! I hope you guys like it 💕

"Deep breaths," you reminded yourself.

Buildings flew by outside the window of the car, leaving you just enough time to read the signs that hung above their doors. A few pedestrians on the street watched your car as it passed, although they couldn't see you looking back from inside. The tinted glass prevented that.

"I always forget how much I love the city," Tyler said. He was looking out his own window.

"It's nice," you answered.

Your hand found its way to the switch that controlled the window. It wiggled ever so slightly without moving the window itself, which proved nice to fidget with. You had never been one for sitting too still.

"Are you looking forward to the awards show?" you asked. The silence of the car had grown tiring.

"You know me, never been a big fan of awards shows," he sighed.

"I don't blame you."

"It is nice to see you all dressed up though."

You looked over to Tyler. His mouth was curved up into a partial smile as he held out a hand. You reached over and held it, rubbing circles onto his thumb.

"Thanks, Ty."

"We should be there in about three minutes," the driver said, interrupting the moment that you two had been having.

"Is my tie straight?" he asked.

You reached over with your free hand, adjusting it slightly, "There."

"Thanks," he smiled.

"How do I look?"

"Flawless."

You turned away from Tyler to hide the blush on your cheeks. He squeezed your hand.

"I'm going to drop you guys right in front of the venue. They said there's a lot of paparazzi, so be ready for pictures as soon as you step out of the car."

"Ok, thank you," Tyler answered.

You tapped your fingers against your knee to release the tension that seemed to be continuously building up. It would just be twenty minutes of pictures and interviews and then you would be out of the spotlight for most of the night. Tyler would be next to you the entire time. It was going to be fine.

At least, you hoped it would be.

"Here we are," the driver said.

"Thanks again," Tyler said as he opened the door.

"Yeah, thank you so much," you added.

Tyler grabbed your hand more tightly and helped you out of the car. Camera flashes surrounded you as you followed him towards the building. People were calling his name from all sides. He said something over his shoulder, but you couldn't make out what he was saying over the noise.

You finally made it inside. The noise calmed down significantly and the camera flashes were more contained. Your heart was pounding, but you took a deep breath and moved closer to Tyler, wrapping yourself around his arm. He reached over and rested his free hand on top of yours.

"You doing ok so far?"

"Yep," you answered, forcing a smile. "How about you?"

"I'm managing. I think we need to go this way," he said, leading you through the crowd of people.

You glanced around the room at all the other celebrities, allowing Tyler to guide you with his hand. Despite the fact that you had been dating Tyler for a number of years now, you still felt so out of place in these scenarios. After all, the only reason you were even slightly famous was due to the fact that your husband and best friend were super popular in the music scene.

"Are we taking pictures?" you asked, hoping that he could hear you over the crowd.

"Yeah, you alright with that?"

"Yep," you answered. This, of course, was followed with a muttered, "It's not like I have a choice."

You could feel your breathing getting shallow before you were even standing in front of the cameras. Each flash caused your shoulders to tense for a brief moment before they relaxed again. Tyler was so focused on everything else that he didn't notice how anxious you were.

"Ready?" Tyler turned back to you for a moment, a smile on his face.

You really wished that Josh hadn't been busy today so that he could have come instead of you.

"Yeah," you returned his grin.

He led you out in front of the cameras and wrapped his arm around your waist. You rested a hand on his shoulder and looked out into the sea of photographers, wearing your best smile.

Things were fine for about thirty seconds. Then the panic began to set in. Your grip on Tyler's shoulder grew tighter with each pounding beat of your heart. It was getting increasingly difficult to keep a calm expression on your face and you could feel yourself becoming lightheaded.

"Tyler," you said quietly.

He didn't hear you. The adrenaline was really beginning to kick in and you needed to get out of there. Fast.

You leaned over so that you could whisper into his ear, "I need to get out of here now."

Tyler wasted no time once he realized that something was seriously wrong. He waved to the cameras and immediately walked away from all the flashing lights, ignoring the calls of his name as he left. You closed your eyes and began to steady your breathing, allowing Tyler to guide you to a much quieter area.

"Hey, we're out of there. You can open your eyes."

You opened your eyes just long enough to see Tyler in front of you. He was holding onto your arms, but you were so full of adrenaline that you hardly felt them. The room was spinning, so you quickly shut your eyes again and took a deep breath.

"You're ok. Let's get you grounded, alright? Can you name some stuff that you feel or hear?"

"Yeah," you answered, letting out a shaky breath. "I hear your voice. Your hands are on my arms. There's a wall behind me."

"Ok, good. How's your breathing?"

"Too fast."

"Alright, can you try to match my breathing?"

You nodded and slowly opened your eyes, fixating them on only Tyler. Movement at the edge of your vision tempted you, but you knew it would only stress you out further. A small smile tugged at the corner of Tyler's lips.

"Ok, breathe in."

You studied Tyler's face as you breathed in, taking every little detail that you could find. The occasional freckle on his face, the way his eyelashes curled, and the stubble that was just visible on his chin.

"Breathe out."

You reached up for Tyler's arm, pulling it down so that you could lace his fingers with your own. He rubbed circles on the back of your hand as he looked at you, his eyes never leaving your own. Your breathing began to slow back down and your heart was no longer pounding in your chest.

"How are you doing?" he asked.

"Better," you said quietly, nodding your head slowly as you did so.

"Do you want to stay here for a little while longer?"

"Please."

Tyler slowly pulled you towards him so that he could fully wrap his arms around you. You leaned your head onto his shoulder, careful not to smudge the makeup that the artist had spent so long on. The extra adrenaline still sent the occasional shiver down your spine, but Tyler had helped calm you down significantly.

"Thanks, Ty," you murmured into his shoulder.

"For what?"

"Helping me. I don't know very many people that would drop everything to calm me down during an anxiety attack, much less during an awards show."

"Of course I'm going to drop everything. The most important thing to me is your safety and well-being. If that means that you need to be away from a situation, I'm going to get you away from that situation."

"I know, and that's why I love you."

"I love you too."

He turned and pressed a kiss to your temple. You took a deep breath and stepped away from Tyler.

"I'm ready," you said.

"You sure?"

You reached out and grabbed his hand lightly squeezing it, "Yes."

He pulled you into his side, wrapping an arm protectively around your waist, "Let me know if you need to get out of there again, ok?"

"I will, and that's a promise."

Tyler smiled and together the two of you walked back into the crowd of people.