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Minghao had been almost eight years old when he started getting little tics. At first, they had been few and far between, only getting the occasional little jerk of his head and forced whistle. As he got older from eight to ten, it became much more noticeable, with Minghao blurting out the most random words in the middle of lessons, whistling loudly, his hands jerking out to hit the people sitting next to him.
Several times it had ended in Minghao getting screamed at by teachers, hit back by other students or even sent home for misbehaviour.
It was when Minghao was twelve that his tics got so bad one day that he couldn’t get out of bed. He had woken up just fine and had been getting ready for school when his tics suddenly started getting much worse until his head was jerking to the side every few seconds and his legs kept giving out. He had to lie back down in bed, yelling out random words and obscenities.
It was the yelling that attracted the attention of his parents, who ran upstairs thinking something was happening to their son, only to find that he was just having a tic attack.
His tics had never been as bad as that day, so his parents hadn’t felt the need to take Minghao to a doctor, but that day it got so bad they called an ambulance, who decided to give him some diazepam to calm his brain down and ease the tics.
Once the tics were eased enough, they got Minghao into the ambulance and took him for some scans or tests, the same scans and tests that diagnosed him with Tourette’s.
Putting a name to his ailment felt great for Minghao, as he finally had some proof that what he was doing wasn’t his fault.
Over the next three years, Minghao got along with his tics eased by medication, becoming a little advocate for Tourette’s in the school and the surrounding area. It really improved his grades too, as he wasn’t always being suspended for accidentally hitting someone or shouting something rude at someone.
Minghao knew he was unlucky to be part of the small percentage of people with Tourette’s who did have coprolalia but after a while, he learnt to just laugh about it.
People around the school, especially in Minghao’s grade, had become very used to seeing his tics and none of them picked on him for them, which Minghao was very grateful for.
Minghao’s overall view on his tics was that it had given him a great opportunity to get out there, talking at assemblies about bullying, mental health and how they relate to Tourette’s. He had even been offered chances to travel across the country to meet up with other people with Tourette’s and speak about it.
Of course, not all days were good, especially during his bigger tic attacks when he literally couldn’t move.
Recently Minghao had developed a tic which made his neck and shoulders lock up for a few seconds. It wasn’t the most pleasant of tics, what with making his muscles ache and hurt, but he had figured that it should either go away over the next few days or that he’d get better at repressing it.
Neither happened over the day, in fact, by lunchtime it was happening a lot more often.
Jeonghan had to carry his lunch tray for him because his tic would have made him drop it. When Minghao sat down he simply gave Seokmin a little look which told him he was struggling, and Seokmin was kind enough to help Minghao, lifting Minghao’s food to his mouth for him so he wouldn’t drop his fork or make a mess.
Mingyu sat close next to Minghao’s holding his hand and playing with his hair to try and get him to relax a little. Minghao’s tics did tend to get worse when he was stressed out, and the big pile of homework in his bag couldn’t have been helping.
It was in Minghao’s last lesson of the day that Minghao’s tics quickly got a lot worse and much harder to suppress. Junhui had the lesson with him and obviously noticed when the tics got worse. It wasn’t hard with the way Minghao’s whole body suddenly seemed to be set off, legs jerking, hands shaking and eyes rolling up every few seconds.
It looked like he was having a seizure.
Junhui quickly picked him up, one arm looped under Minghao’s shoulders and the other hooked under his knees, struggling with the way Minghao was moving.
“‘M sorry, Junnie,” Minghao said, voice quiet as he got a moment of relief before letting out a little yell, head jerking back.
Junhui just smiled softly, carrying Minghao down to the medical room so he could lie down. “It’s alright. Not your fault at all, honey.”
Minghao seemed to have gained a little more control, but his shoulders were still tensing every so often, and his hand was still shaking, still blurting out either little yells or random words.
Junhui knew he was having a tic attack, which normally happened when Minghao was completely stressed, which made sense. They were studying ions and their bonds in science, and Minghao had been complaining about how hard the work was up until the attack started getting worse.
When they got to the medical room, there was no nurse there, so Junhui just kicked open the door and placed Minghao down on a bed, sitting quietly beside Minghao to wait and see if the tics would calm down. Junhui only interfered when Minghao got too close to the wall for comfort.
At one point, Minghao threw out both of his hands, one hand hitting the wall with a nasty crack. That was the first time in the attack that Minghao started crying, clearly trying much harder to suppress his tics despite the fact it wasn’t doing much.
Junhui held Minghao close, not moving away when Minghao hit him or yelled loudly, but keeping him close and keeping him safe.
Junhui pressed a little kiss to Minghao’s forehead, trying to distract him from the painful swelling and bruising on his wrist.
It took almost ten minutes for the nurse to get back from her errand, quickly noticing Minghao and Junhui.
They had to call an ambulance in the end. When they arrived, they held Minghao down to give him some diazepam, which stopped all the painful complex tics. They also examined Minghao’s wrist and got it in a sling, telling him that it definitely wasn’t broken but that it was badly sprained and that he should keep it elevated for a few days.
Minghao listened as closely as he could, leaning against Junhui. He was so sleepy from the diazepam, still having a few little tics, whistling or jerking his head rather than kicking his legs or yelling words.
Minghao often made joked about how his tics could be really cute sometimes, and with the way Minghao was falling asleep from the drugs, he really did look adorable.
Once the paramedics left, Minghao quickly got settled down, curling up against Junhui. He knew he should have been getting back to class, but Junhui really didn’t want to disturb Minghao’s sleep, especially when he was drugged and waiting for his parents to come to pick him up.
Junhui got out his phone, careful not to move or disturb Minghao, choosing to watch TikTok until Minghao’s parents came into the room, looking worried when they saw how pale and sleepy Minghao was.
“The medics gave him diazepam, and I’m pretty sure he’s exhausted from suppressing tics all day but yeah. He’s fine apart from his wrist.” Junhui explained, giving Minghao a little shake to wake him up.
Minghao quickly shook himself awake, taking a few seconds to recognise when he was and then notice his parents walking towards the bed. Instead of getting up like Junhui thought he would, he put his head down on Junhui’s chest and pulled himself closer to the elder.
Junhui ruffled Minghao’s hair. “Come on, Hao. Your parents are here to take you home. You can go sleep in your own bed - which I’m sure is much comfier - and you can cuddle up with little Blitz.”
At the mention of Minghao’s dog, he lifted his head again, whistling softly as his shoulders tensed up like they had been doing all morning.
He was clearly still exhausted from the drugs, struggling to stay upright once he was standing up. Junhui helped him out to the car, making sure he got sat down properly in the back before waving goodbye and watching as the car drove away, out of the school gates and down the road.
———————
Minghao got back home soon after they left school, and he had never been more thankful for not having to walk home.
The diazepam was really making him feel awful, but he was glad the bigger tics had stopped.
As much as he loved to advocate for tics and how most of the time Tourette’s didn’t affect his life, sometimes it really brought him down, leaving him unable to do anything for the better part of a few hours.
Although it didn’t happen often, when it did, it really left Minghao upset. He would be scared to leave his room, curling up in bed with Blitz and telling his parents he felt too sick to return to school. Minghao spent most of his time crying, avoiding all interaction by turning off his phone and leaving it in his school bag across the room.
Junhui, Jeonghan and Mingyu quickly noticed Minghao’s absence from school. After a few days, they really started to get worried, especially since Minghao wasn’t answering texts or picking up phone calls.
It was day four when Junhui decided Minghao couldn’t hide in his room any longer, taking things into his own hands and turning up at Minghao’s house before school on Friday.
Mr and Mrs Xu quickly let him in, thankful that somebody else was going to try and get Minghao out of his room.
Junhui knocked quietly on Minghao’s bedroom door, letting himself in when he heard a quiet noise from within the room.
As Junhui stepped into the dark room, Minghao just glared at him from when he was curled up in bed on his own, blankets messed up, Minghao looking pale and weak.
“I didn’t say you could come in. It was just a tic.” Minghao whispered, voice sounding weak and exhausted.
Junhui sighed. “It’s a good thing I did come in. You don’t look like you can stand up right now.”
Minghao looked down at the floor. He clearly hadn’t been out of bed for days. The chances were he wouldn’t be able to get out of bed unless Junhui was helping.
“How about I help you downstairs, you have something yummy to eat and then maybe you could come to school with me?”
Minghao sighed, pushing himself to sit up more with a little, spoken, “Achoo.”
Junhui rushed forward to help him get out of bed, frowning at the way Minghao swayed once he was on his feet. As they were walking down the stairs, Minghao had another little burst of tics, rolling his eyes up and tensing up his shoulders with a quiet little whistle.
Minghao just stood still for a moment, Junhui holding his arm in case he had any more tics. Once Minghao seemed to be sure he wasn’t on the verge of another burst of tics, he carried on down the stairs, letting Junhui guide him to the kitchen.
Blitz was lying in his bed in the corner of the kitchen, looking bored. Minghao went to go sit beside Blitz’s bed while Junhui made him some toast.
Since Minghao’s big tic attack a few days ago, he seemed much better. His complex tics seemed to be calming a little, save for quietly mimicking a few things Junhui said as he was waiting for the toast to be ready. The worst of his tics today seemed to be whistling, which was mainly just annoying, and neck jerking, which could be painful for Minghao after a few hours.
After they’d eaten their toast, Junhui decided that Minghao going to school wasn’t the best idea, and Minghao agreed. Instead, the two got into Minghao’s bed, Junhui holding the younger close and pressing a little heat pack to the back of Minghao’s neck to soothe the ache from all the jerking.
It was only then that Minghao realised just how thankful he was that Junhui had come to check on him. He wouldn't have to stay alone all day while his parents were out at work, and he could still have someone he loved to help him through everything.