Inspired by this prompt

Trigger warnings for panic attacks, medication and claustrophobia. I based this on my own experience of panic attacks and phobias and I in no way intended to romanticise or sugar-coat what is to many a serious and life altering condition.

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In hindsight, they should have known it was a bad idea to play truth or dare with Sophie around. There was a reason people chose to leave that game to teenagers.

By the third round, Emmett and Alec had left, and Sarah had retreated to her room to watch a film. Never ones to back down from a dare, only Nellie and Peter remained to face Sophie's challenges.

"Okay, your turn Nellie! I dare you…" ever the drama queen, Sophie paused to build the suspense.

"Just get on with it!" Nellie snapped perhaps a little harshly, feeling a headache coming on.

"Alright, alright! I dare you to last five minutes locked in that cupboard with Peter without arguing!" she ended on a squeal, obviously delighted at herself for thinking of something she would surely fail at.

"What?!" Nellie and Peter screeched in unison.

"What are we, twelve?!" Peter laughed.

"Soph, that's ridiculous!" Nellie tried to ignore the way her chest tightened at the words 'locked' and 'cupboard'.

"Ah, ah, ah!" Sophie scolded them. "The dare has been set! Either do it or face the consequences!" She gestured at the shot glasses of vinegar beside her.

"Urh, alright. Come on, Nells." Peter groaned as he stood.

Nellie remained frozen in her seat.

"Nellie? Oh come on, don't tell me you're chickening out!" Sophie teased not so gently, snapping Nellie out of her trance.

"No, course not!" She swallowed hard and stood, telling herself she could put up with the tiny darkness inside the cupboard for a few minutes.

Brushing past Peter, she tried to appear confident as she opened the cupboard door and walked in. It seemed the cupboard was even smaller than when she'd last had to fetch something from in here for Sarah.

Peter slipped in beside her. The walls already seemed to be closing in on her as Sophie closed the door behind them and she heard the click of the lock sliding into place.

Peter sighed and leaned against the wall behind him, forcing their legs to tangle together in the process. He raised an eyebrow at her, obviously expecting her to snap at him and therefore lose the dare.

She managed to roll her eyes at him and see a frown crease his forehead at her lack of response before she screwed her eyes shut and fought the tears she could feel welling up, mentally scolding herself. 'Come on, don't be so stupid! Not in front of Peter, come on, you'll be out of here in a few minutes!'

Despite this, she still felt the familiar, terrifying sensation of tightness and fogginess start to cloud her head and chest. Opening her eyes again and fixing her gaze determinedly at a spot somewhere in the middle of Peter's chest, she tried to force herself to keep her breathing steady, but she knew it was a losing battle as her vision began to blur and her breathing turned short and harsh.

Somewhere through the haze Nellie heard Peter's voice.

"Nellie? Nell are you okay?!"

"Not. Good. With small. Spaces." She managed to gasp through her rapidly increasing breathing.

She distantly heard a sharp intake of breath that wasn't hers and felt him scrambling to right himself again the wall.

"Oh sh- what do I do? Nellie how can I help?" Peter struggled to stay calm as he saw her sway alarmingly.

Gasping a huge gulp of air, she stuttered "Di- Distraction!"

"Right! Distraction, distraction I can do that! Um…" He racked his brains frantically and he anxiously ran a hand through his hair. Why was it that in moments like this your mind suddenly decided to forget everything?!

Seeing her sway again and clutch at his arms to try to stay upright, he did the only thing he could think of. He grasped the back of her neck and pulled her lips to his with an almost bruising force.

Feeling her stop breathing, he was momentarily worried he traumatised her into fainting, but to his relief he felt her shakily exhale against his cheek and cautiously slid her hands up to rest on his shoulders. Moving his hands downward, he felt the muscles in her back easing under his hands as she relaxed slightly.

Pulling away, he saw rather than heard her gasp gently as she opened her eyes to stare at him in shock.

"It was the only thing I could think of." He near whispered in explanation, then winced at his wording, knowing she would tease him about that.

Coming back to her senses, she snatched her hands back and began wiping furiously at the tears staining her cheeks, but as she moved to step away from him, the wall behind her hit her back, reminding her where they were.

Seeing eyes widen again in distress, Peter's hands flew to her arms, bringing her gaze back to his. He swore his heart broke slightly as he saw fresh tears and utter bleakness brewing there. Following his instincts, he pulled her to him in a hug, feeling her struggle feebly before she nestled into him. Raising a hand to stroke her hair as he recalled her doing to Sarah several times in the past, he prayed Sophie's five minutes were up soon so he could ask Sarah what on earth he should do.