Work Text:
Claire left class to go to the bathroom but, as she was walking to it, the familiar figure of Brian rushed past her and into a nearby janitor's closet, which he had the keys to (likely a gift from Carl).
Concerned, she looked around to make sure no one saw her, and cautiously went over, opened the door, and shut it behind her.
"Brian?" she asked, getting a whimper in response. The light from the window revealed Brian curled up in the corner of the closet, rocking back and forth. "What's wrong?" Another whimper. "Are you hurt?"
Brian shook his head at this before taking a deep breath and forcing out short sentence fragments despite how much the act of talking hurt him.
"Too much... Loud... Class... Hide..."
"Overwhelmed?" Claire asked, getting a nod in response. She didn't understand why some noise would be bothering him so much, but that could wait. "Okay, uh..." she tried to think of a way to help him. "Do you want to hold my hand?" she asked, holding out her palm.
Brian wordlessly reached forward and held onto her hand, squeezing it tightly as he tried to calm himself down. It took a moment, but soon enough his rocking slowed and he leaned back, exhausted.
"I should... Go" Claire said awkwardly. "I was going to the bathroom and you know how these teachers get when you're out for too long" A nod. "Um... Are you okay?" Another nod. "Okay uh... Goodbye"
"Claire" Brian said in a small voice as the ginger turned to leave.
"Hm?"
"Thanks"
"Yeah" Claire smiled weakly at him as she opened the door to leave. "Don't mention it"