Boundaries of Battle, a YouTuber Marvel Alternate Universe Story

The Fifth Year

🚨 Descriptions of a panic attack. The siren emoji will pop up again when it is over. 🚨

Ethan didn't want to worry Mark too much, but Mark was beginning to catch on to Ethan's feelings.

No, before you get excited, Ethan didn't have a crush on Mark. They were friends, that was all.

What Mark was beginning to catch onto was the depression that Ethan was getting. Depression, Anxiety... Maybe a few other things. Ethan didn't entirely know. 

Ethan didn't realize how bad things had gotten until he and Mark were watching some new movie that summer. 

The accident in the movie had taken the two completely by surprise, and Ethan couldn't stop the tightening he felt in his chest as screams rang out on screen. He couldn't breathe suddenly, and his hand flew to his chest as if hitting it would make him breathe again.

Mark noticed something was wrong as soon as Ethan's hand moved. He noticed the tears in Ethan's eyes, the gaping mouth. Mark stood, all but dragging Ethan out of the theater. Screw how much they paid for these tickets, Ethan needed help. 

Ethan was stumbling, unable to speak. He could feel tears falling down his cheeks, and felt horrible. How dare he cry this much in public! Why is he crying this much in public?

Mark dragged him into the family bathroom, putting their stuff down and making Ethan sit on the floor. All Ethan could see now was his own accident from years ago. The way his car flipped, and how his car was stuck... Ethan covered his face, sobbing loudly.

"Ethan, can you look at me?" Mark asked.

Ethan shook his head. He registered that he was trembling and that it was freezing in here.

"Ethan, I'm not going to laugh at you, I'm just trying to help," Mark said, wrapping his hands around Ethan's wrists. 

The smaller man sobbed again, removing his hands from his face.

"There you are. Look at how I breathe, I want you to copy me, okay?" Mark said. Ethan nodded, furiously wiping away his tears. Mark inhaled slowly, and Ethan began to copy him. But Ethan's lungs couldn't expand wide enough, and Ethan sobbed again.

"Hey, it's okay Ethan. Try again," Mark said. Ethan began to inhale and followed Mark as he exhaled. They continued this for a few minutes, just breathing. It took about half an hour, but eventually, Ethan was calm enough to stand up and wash his face in the sink with cool water. He felt hot and exhausted like he had just done the King's Fitness Test again. 🚨

"Do you want to go ahead and head home? I'll see what the ending to the movie was and we can talk about it after you get some rest," Mark offered.

Ethan flipped his watch up, checking the time, "Can we order pizza?"

"Yeah, man. Come on," Mark grabbed their things, wrapping his arm around Ethan as they walked out of the theater. They hadn't noticed it, but a small line had formed outside that bathroom. 

Ethan collapsed in the car, falling asleep curled under Mark's heavy jacket that he had left in there. He woke up later in his bed, the curtains closed and his lights off. Ethan flipped his blankets back to see that his shoes were missing as well. 

His door opened slowly to reveal Mark standing in the doorway, "Hey man, I was just about to come to wake you up. Pizza is here if you wanna come downstairs."

"What kind did you get me?" Ethan asked, sitting up slowly.

"Hawaiian," Mark answered, making a fake gagging noise and laughing a little. Ethan laughed, grabbing his sweatshirt and following Mark downstairs. He slid the thick item on, watching as Mark placed a couple of slices of pizza on his plate. Ethan took the one with pineapples, plopping over to the couch. 

"Ethan, I'm not trying to offend you with this, but maybe you should see a therapist," Mark mumbled, sitting next to him on the couch.

Ethan swallowed, "Yeah..."

"Do you want me to help you set one up?" Mark asked, looking at Ethan.

He nodded, "Please."

Mark pulled his laptop over, "Alright." 

The two men spent the next few hours looking for nearby therapists as Star Wars: The Last Jedi played in the background. The finally found one who also happened to be a YouTuber, Kati Morton. She was in Santa Monica, so it wasn't that far of a drive. Ethan set up his first appointment, scheduled for in a couple of months. He just needed to wait that long. 

October rolled around, and Ethan felt like he was barely making it through life. He'd had more panic attacks since then and found himself in bed gorging on ice cream more often than he'd like to admit. Unus Annus was about to finish, and he felt like he was beginning to lose himself. 

And it was terrifying. 

Mark and Ethan had just finished filming their last Unus Annus video for the month when the notification went off that they had an appointment. Since Ethan hadn't been to a therapist for a while, he wanted Mark there with him, just in case. They ran back to the house, grabbed the necessary paperwork, and then they were on their way. 

And so it went on like that for a few months. Every Thursday Ethan went in to see Kati, and eventually, he stopped bringing Mark with him. This was a huge step for his recovery since he hadn't driven since the day of the Blip. However, he was on his way to one of his latest doctor's appointments when the world was sent into chaos once more.

Guys, don't worry. The Marvel stuff is going to kick in again next chapter