This is not a Henry/Jasper ship thing. I don't do shipping in this show. This just bros helping out bros. That is all! Enjoy :)
Jasper sat cross legged on the floor in front of Henry.
"What's going on?" Jasper asked quietly, though he didn't know why. There was no reason to speak so soft—they were the only ones left in the school. Maybe he thought speaking any louder would give their position away and they'd be caught. Maybe he thought any louder volume would send his best friend into another frenzy of uneven breathing and frantic pulling at his hair. Much like the situation, Jasper didn't understand why he did that.
"I don't know," Henry answered, just as quiet. He sat with his back to the wall, legs pulled to his chest. He pressed his forehead to his knees and closed his eyes. "My heart's racing and I don't know why."
Jasper gasped. "You're having a panic attack!"
"A what?"
The brown headed boy typed a question into his phone while explaining, "My uncle has them sometimes. My aunt says it's a side effect of PTSD or something."
Henry took a deep breath. He raised his head and watched Jasper. A scary thought formed in his mind—did he have PTSD? It was certainly possible. Some of the things he had helped Ray with as Kid Danger could certainly nightmare fuel… But they never haunted him after he fell asleep!
"Eleven Ways to Stop a Panic Attack," Jasper read aloud.
"Seriously?" Henry whined, though he couldn't help but chuckle.
"Stop whining—I don't know what I'm doing and neither do you."
"I'm glad we're the only ones around to hear that."
"Number one: Deep breathing." Jasper looked at Henry. "Do what I do!" He laid his phone on the floor and took a deep breath. He waved his hands at his best friend, signaling him to do the same. "Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. Henry, c'mon, you gotta at least try."
"This is weird," Henry mumbled. He pushed his bangs back; why was it so hot in there?
"Fine," Jasper sighed. "Number two: Recognize that you're having a panic attack." He chewed on his lip and looked at his buddy. "Henry, you're having a panic attack."
"I know that!" Henry snapped.
"Technically, it says recognize you're having a panic attack. You gotta admit it, buddy."
Henry swallowed. He tore his gaze from Jasper and stared at the floor tiles. "I'm having a panic attack."
Hearing it from his own mouth sounded weird. Panic attacks, to his knowledge, were for crazy people or war veterans. He wasn't supposed to be having them, not at seventeen!
Jasper nodded slowly and looked back at his phone. "Good. Number three: Close your eyes."
"Close my eyes?"
"It's what it says!"
"Is this website legit?"
"I don't have anything to compare it to—you're the first guy I've had to calm down with a panic attack."
"Stop saying it," Henry begged. It made the whole situation scarier than it probably was. If he was having panic attacks, he probably had PTSD. If he had PTSD, that meant his work as Kid Danger was doing more than just keeping him up late and making it harder to maintain decent grades, and that scared him. What if his parents found out about the panic attacks? Or Ray? What if he couldn't be Kid Danger anymore?
That sent a new wave of anxiety coursing through his veins. Henry rubbed his face, pushing his hair back. He couldn't breathe again, his throat closed up like clumps of cotton were caught in his pipes. Tears pricked Henry's eyes and he shook his head.
He hated the feeling, he decided. Henry had only experienced it for the first time fifteen minutes earlier and he already hated the feeling. The symptoms kicked in so fast, the pain pierced his heart stronger than he'd ever felt before; he thought he was dying.
Jasper scrolled through the page helplessly. "Practice mindfulness," he read, shaking his head, "muscle relaxation techniques, engage in light exercise, focus on an object… Oh, wait!" Jasper dropped his phone and didn't cringe when it probably shattered against the floor.
His eyes darted desperately around the hallway, searching for anything to draw Henry's attention. When he came up short, he tried a different method.
Jasper reached forward to grab Henry's shoulders then froze. He distinctively remembered his aunt warning his dad not to touch his uncle during one of his uncle's attacks. Apparently, it frightened the person even more.
"Henry," Jasper said, leaning back. "Hen, listen to me. You gotta calm down, buddy. What are you so afraid of? The fire is in the cafeteria. Though I guess if you were afraid of the fire, you would've left with the rest of the school…" He shook his head, getting back on track. "Henry, c'mon. Focus on me. Whatever you're scared of, whatever you're worried about, it's not gonna get you. Not now. Calm down, please. You're kinda scaring me."
The blond rubbed his eyes. He trembled as he took deep breaths. Tears stained his cheeks and he tried wiping them away before Jasper saw.
Whatever Jasper may or may not have seen, he didn't speak a word of it.
"What's the next one?" Henry asked, voice quiet again. He spoke soft and weakly, and he didn't meet Jasper's eyes. Henry's shoulders bounced with his rugged breaths and his heart still raced, but he tried focusing his attention on something else, like Jasper said.
"Uh," Jasper said, searching for his place. He went through most of the list already, so it took him a second to find one he hadn't seen. "Here we go. Number eight: Take ben-zohdiahz-eey-pines? What the heck is that?"
Henry laughed. "I think you just… Butchered that word."
"Me too. It's some kind of drug, whatever it is. Next! … Keep lavender on hand? Is this website legit?"
Henry laughed again; he could feel the pressure on his chest disappearing. "That's what I said!"
Jasper looked at him. "Are you okay?"
"I can breathe better… That's something. Thanks for giving me something to focus on."
His best friend nodded. "Yeah, of course. You wanna talk about it?"
The superhero shook his head slowly. "No."
"That's okay. We should probably head back outside before they send someone in after us. I'm surprised Ray hasn't come in, actually. He was just getting here when I snuck in." Jasper climbed to his feet and looked back at Henry, offering a hand.
Henry shook his head again. "Jasp, we can't tell Ray. Or Charlotte. Or anyone."
"Huh? Why?"
"What if they stop letting me be Kid Danger?"
"I'll keep your secret," Jasper promised.
The job was scary and dangerous. Jasper had witnessed a few of the threats first hand. If he didn't think Henry could handle it, he would've ran straight to Ray and demanded Henry be released from duty himself.
But he believed in Henry. He believed his best friend could handle nearly anything the job threw at him (maybe mostly because Henry could dodge anything thrown at him). He also believed in Ray protecting his best friend. They were a good team, the best Jasper had ever seen. He couldn't just split them up.
"Only," Jasper added, "if you don't keep it a secret from me. And you'll stop if this gets to be too much."
"That's a lot of conditions."
"It's only two!"
"I know." Henry chuckled. He grabbed Jasper's hand and climbed to his feet. "Sounds like a deal, buddy." He smiled and pat Jasper's back.
Jasper grinned in return. He and Henry headed out the front doors. Jasper watched Henry closely, ready to move if the boy collapsed again.
A swarm of police officers and firefighters met the boys outside. They were a mixture of furious and professionally concerned, asking if the boys were hurt and demanding answers to why they weren't outside with the rest of their class.
Jasper worried the crowd would set Henry off again (that's what happens to his uncle, anyways).
Thankfully, Captain Man pried the boys from the crowd. He walked them around the school to the meet with the rest of the classes.
"So, why weren't you two out there with the rest of your class?" Ray asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm pretty sure Charlotte's worried sick over there."
"The fire was only in the cafeteria," Jasper answered with a shrug.
"Yeah, we were fine."
Ray squinted, furrowing his eyebrows as he looked over his sidekick. Jasper held his breath. For a moment, he thought Ray had a secret hidden mind reading power and he saw straight through Henry's lie.
Henry reassured, "We're fine, Ray. Promise."
"Okay," Ray sighed. "Go make sure Charlotte's not having a panic attack or something."
"I've got a list ready if she is" Jasper said, waving his unbroken phone in front of his face.
Henry snickered and Ray stared, confused. The sidekick nodded at his boss. "We'll see you later, yeah?"
"Yeah, see ya."
As the boys walked toward their class, Jasper slung an arm around Henry's shoulder. "I can't believe I have to keep two of your secrets now."
Henry chuckled. "Deal with it."
Jasper smiled, shaking his head. He would deal with it, and every other secret Henry told him because they were best friends. And that's what best friends do.
I don't know if this was clear, but in case it wasn't: The fire alarm that was pulled for a kitchen fire triggered a panic attack for Henry, who had to stay indoors. When Jasper noticed Henry wasn't outside with the rest of his class, he went inside after him.
I had kind of a darker setting for this, but I found this list online and could just imagine two teenagers with no experience in dealing with this kinda thing trying to figure out what to do and it made me chuckle. So, here's a lighter, more positive take on the panic attack trope.
Thanks for reading! Tell me what you thought :)