"Chloe?" Beca asked, her voice shaking.
"Yes?" Chloe absentmindedly answered, too focused on the movie she'd made Beca watch.
"I feel funny." Beca whispered.
Chloe's attention was violently ripped from the laptop screen on their laps and towards the shaking woman next to her. Beca looked back at her and immediately burst into tears, leaning into Chloe's embrace.
"Can you tell me what feels funny?" Chloe asked. She'd never seen the smaller woman look so vulnerable.
"Ev-verything." Beca whimpered, "My bones are sh-aking. I don't like it."
Chloe kissed her forehead and stroked her hair, completely unsure what to do. She continued for a few minutes before she heard the smaller woman start struggling to breathe.
"Ch-Chlo-e!" Beca breathed out as she clawed at the older woman's arms.
Chloe squeezed the brunette, keeping her close. Beca stopped scratching at her arms, instead opted for squeezing her back, but continued to hyperventilate.
"I don't know what to do, Bec." Chloe whispered, "I don't know what's happening."
Beca only cried harder, increasing her inability to breathe.
Chloe released the girl so she could pause the movie and place the laptop on the bedside table. She laid down on her side and helped Beca do the same, pulling her into a hug.
"I'm going to rub your back, I want you to try and match your breathing to it." Chloe said, loud enough to be heard over Beca's cries.
She felt Beca nod into her chest and started stroking her back. She was sure her shirt would have holes in from the way the smaller woman was grabbing at it.
Chloe listened to Beca's poor attempts at breathing, proud of her for trying, but knew it wasn't working.
"What do you need?" Chloe asked, desperately. She let her own tears slip out as she heard Beca sob into her.
Beca groaned as she tried to force air in and out of her lungs, clutching hold of Chloe to make sure she didn't go anywhere.
Chloe kept hold of her and continued to rub her back. "I'm sorry this is happening, Bec."
Beca looked up at Chloe, eyes unfocused and glossed over. She was scared and confused and gave into the floating feeling as she watched her vision fade.
Chloe was almost relieved when she felt the girl go limp. She listened as her breathing returned to normal. She slipped out of Beca's grip and wrapped her up in the comforter.
She left the room and headed straight to Aubrey's room.
"Chlo!" Aubrey smiled, happy to see her friend. Her face immediately fell when she saw her disheveled friend.
"What do you need for that feeling you have before you vomit?" Chloe asked, "Not the nausea, but the…panic?"
"A hug." Aubrey answered immediately.
"That didn't work." Chloe said.
"Why? What happened?" Aubrey pushed.
"I don't know." Chloe cried.
Aubrey rushed over to her friend to give her a hug and let her cry into her shoulder.
"Is it Beca?" Aubrey asked, knowing there was only one person Chloe cared so much about. Chloe nodded.
Both girls' heads shot towards Beca's door as they heard the click of the lock. Chloe let go of Aubrey and tried to let herself in.
"Beca?" Chloe called through the door, "Beca, you know I'll break the door if you don't open it."
Behind the door, Beca's head was between her knees as she cried out of pure exhaustion. She listened to Chloe through the door, it being the only thing to ground her.
"Beca, today I woke up at 5am." Chloe said, grasping at straws to make sure Beca had something to listen to. She knew Beca better than she'd let anyone know. "I think waking up before 7 is ludicrous. I didn't have class until ten. It's ridiculous that my body woke me up for no reason, right?"
Chloe paused and listened through the door. She didn't hear anything, but that meant she couldn't hear Beca crying.
"When I was younger, I'd sit and color for hours when I woke up too early. Something to pass the time, you know?" Chloe paused, continuing to listen for any signs of Beca, "Have you ever colored? I think you would enjoy it, but I think you'd have trouble staying in the lines."
Chloe smiled as she heard shuffling and things knocking as Beca went through a drawer.
"One time I lost my grey pen, so I ended up with a purple elephant, because that's obviously the closest I could get. I was so proud of my elephant that my mom hung it up on the fridge." Chloe told.
The sound of the lock clicking made her jump, but she immediately let herself in. On the floor was Chloe's 'adult coloring' book and a handful of felt tip pens. Chloe watched as Beca paced the room, her hands tangled in her hair.
Chloe closed the door, not seeing Aubrey watching with a small smile on her face.
"Bec." Chloe said as she lightly held Beca's left wrist.
Although Beca's breathing was more controlled, the rest of her wasn't. Chloe guided her back down to where she'd left the coloring' book. Chloe let go of Beca and let her sit, and started coloring. She handed Beca a green pen and picked up a pink pen.
She smirked at herself as she started coloring a tree trunk, knowing Beca couldn't suspend reality enough to consider a pink tree. She was almost shocked when she watched Beca start coloring in a green tree trunk.
"What color will the leaves be?" Chloe asked, smiling.
"Blue." Beca answered.
Her hands shook as she colored, meaning Chloe was right; she can't stay in the lines.
They stayed coloring for half an hour, with Chloe listening closely to Beca's breathing. She felt herself gradually relax as Beca returned to normalcy.