Trigger Warning: Mentions Of attempted suicide, self harm, depression, anxiety etc.
Y/N's P.O.V.
Frank was right, he was no more than 10 minutes and when he got back, Gerard was physically shaking, tears staining his face as he sobbed.
Frank looked worried, really worried. He looked stressed and clueless.
"Hey, Gerard, sit down, okay?" I asked, taking the boy from Frank. Gerard sat down and Frank stood there as I took Gerard's hand in my own, moving his hair out of his face with my free hand. It was clear he was having a panic attack of some sort.
"Frank, can you get him a glass of water, please?"
"Uh, yeah." Frank disappeared and I sat next to Gerard on the couch, pulling him into a hug. I didn't know him well, but I did know how to deal with situations like this.
I ran my fingers through his hair and he leaned into my touch as he stopped shaking as much.
"Here." Frank passed Gerard the glass and he took a sip as his breathing calmed down.
"There we go, well done." I muttered and Gerard nuzzled his head against my shoulder. I gave Frank a small smile and it wasn't long, before the panicked boy fell asleep. I managed to detach myself from him and Frank passed me a blanket to cover him over with.
"You okay?" I asked, once we had moved into the kitchen.
"How did you calm him down so quickly?" Frank asked in an equally quiet tone.
"Let's just say I have experience in the area." I sighed.
"Though, panic attacks like that don't just happen. Someone had to have said or done something, anything. They might not have even realised."
"I have no idea." Frank shook his head.
"He's had them before, but they're rarely this bad. The last time it was this bad..."
"What?" I asked and he looked unsure, as if he was debating telling me something.
"Frank, I'm not going to mention this to anyone else. Just tell me, what happened last time?"
"About 4 months ago, Gerard tried to kill himself." Frank said and I could see the pain in his eyes.
"I found him, just before he could do anything. He saw me and broke down. If I was- If I was any later..."
"Don't think like that." I said and Frank nodded.
"When he wakes up, I'll talk to him. Does Mikey or anyone else know about this?"
"God, no. Gerard didn't want me to tell anyone, so I didn't on the condition that if he ever felt that bad again, he had to call me." I nodded in understanding.
"You need to do something."
"What?" Frank asked.
"Take a bath, a shower, whatever, then get some sleep. You've been dealing with this on your own for way too long. It's clear you're exhausted. Gerard will be sleeping for the next few hours, anyway. Once he's woken up and I've spoken to him, I'll come and wake you up then we can do something if you both feel up to it." Frank looked at me and blinked a few times.
"Why are you doing this? You don't have to?" He asked and I sighed.
"I know I act like I don't care about anything, but I've seen what stress can do to people and it's not pretty. You need rest and what Gerard needs is a little more complicated." Frank pulled me into another hug and I hugged him back.
"You're amazing. I owe you one." He muttered and I laughed a little.
"You don't owe me anything. You're my friend Frank. You said it yourself, 'friends help each other out'."
