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Academic Panic (Peter Parker x fem!reader)

(WARNINGS: panic attack!)

You felt it coming. You always could, but stopping it was a different story. You'd tried every technique that had been suggested to you and nothing worked. Your chest always tightened, your breathing picked up, you vision blurred. A panic attack.

You'd think an Avenger would be able to handle something so simple, but as your symptoms started again, you remembered that you weren't an ordinary Avenger. You were the only teenage girl Avenger. You could use your unique skills to help save the world. The catch? You had to do well in school. Tony Stark and Steve Rogers' orders. Thus your current situation.

You and Peter, the other teen Avenger, had a huge project due the next week and you were severely stressing out about it. The two of you were sitting in Peter's apartment when you felt the first wave of panic. Luckily for you, Peter seemed to notice it too. You sucked in a deep breath as your hands started shaking.

"Y/N," Peter whispered, scared to send you over the edge. He'd seen one of your worst panic attacks before and he didn't want a repeat of that. You felt your heart start pounding and it began to feel like the walls were closing in around you. Your shaky breaths had turned into frantic ones, almost to the point of hyperventilation. "Y/N, come on. Breathe. In....Out." You wanted to, really you did, but you were suddenly very hot.

You bolted up from the couch and ran to the nearest window, Peter hot on your heels. You were shaking so much, you could get the window open. You hands kept slipping from the sill and you started crying. You were so hot and felt like you were suffocating. Peter gently took your hands and pulled them away from the window. "Ssh," he cooed, "I'll get it." He opened the window and moved so you could stick your head out.

Peter reached over and ran his hand up and down your back. "It's okay, Y/N." You shook your head, your breathing too labored to speak. Peter continued to try and talk to you, never once using the phrase "calm down" because he knew it would only make it worse. He was a little scared, but he knew he had to get you to relax and comfort you.

"Do you want me to leave you alone for a minute?" he asked after a few minutes. You brought your head back inside the window and shook it again. He nodded and smiled. You were slowly calming down. "You okay to talk now?" You took another shaky breath. "I'm s-sorry, Peter," you muttered and Peter shrugged. "It's okay. What happened?"

You sank down on the nearest seat. "It's just so much. I don't think I'm cut out for all this. Being a high school student and an Avenger. I'm struggling to stay awake in classes after training with Captain America, or I have to skip training because of assignments. And this project is due in a week and we've barely started." Peter could see you were getting worked up again, so he tried to cut it off.

"We can do it, Y/N. I know we can. But...maybe a break wouldn't be a bad idea. How about some pizza?" You smiled and nodded. Peter breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. It was either that or Aunt May's cooking when she gets home." You grimaced a little. You loved Peter's aunt, but the woman couldn't cook for anything.

You moved back to your spot on the couch while Peter ordered the pizza. When he finished, he came back into the living room and grinned. You were asleep. Your panic attacks almost always left you feeling drained so Peter wasn't surprised. Kissing your forehead, Peter grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch and covered you up. He'd let you nap until the pizza arrived.