Chapter Text
The 19 year old felt like he had just been promoted to the first team and now he is already making his full game debut against Cardiff City, not only that but it was away.
The CB felt nervous the entirety of the day that he was meant to be playing against the Welsh side. But he just thought that was being excited for his first game for the first team and to make your debut infront of a very vocal away end that were singing chants about sunshine and the blue and white army. Now the nerves were getting to him.
The coach ride on the way to Cardiff wasn't that bad, nobody really knew him on the first team so he could sit by himself in the peace and quiet and maybe get some sleep on the way there, maybe being tired was the reason he felt like his heart was beating out of his chest?
The only person that knew him to an extent was his fellow fullback, Jack Whatmough. Jack though, was sat with Aasgaard, Keane and Pearce so even if he needed help, which the Wigan born defender was too 'brave' to admit, especially when this was his first impression on most of the main squad.
He managed to get some sleep which calmed his nerves slightly but was suddenly awoken by the Scouse forward to tell him that they had arrived in Cardiff at the formely know Ninian. Maybe some food will help his nerves?
He talked to a few on the players while eating their lunch which took his mind of the almost relentless cycle of overthinking and then beginning to feel like you're having a heart attack.
After lunch, they were all in the stadium listening to the game plans and the lineups from Kolo. Charlie didn't really get much from the meeting but the one thing that his nerves subsided for , was for his ears to only hear the fact that Whatmough wouldn't be in the starting XI.
Jack was almost like his safety net on the pitch, if something happens who is he going to go to. What is he going to do?
All these questions kept circling through his head all through their training time, now the Wiganer's game plan was just to keep his head down for the rest of the day and pray that he can cope with all the rest of his matches the same way.
However though, in typical Wigan Athletic fashion, that plan failed miserably withing te first 10 minutes. They hadn't even finished their training yet, although it was coming to a close, and his heart was beating rapidly like it had been most of the day, but his legs felt like jelly and he felt like he couldn't get his breath back however hard he would try. He couldn't carry on like this.
All of the squad began to make their way back to the changing rooms as soon as that thought went through Hughes' mind. All that the CB knew was that he needed to try and find Whatmough and try and find a spot where hardly anyone would see him in the state that he was currently in.
That plan went a bit better that his previous one where he had attempted to keep his head down, he managed to find the No. 5 and said that he needs to borrow him for a minute. The second half of the plan was where it went a tad bit downhill, there wasn't a single private spot that he could find. Meanwhile his hands started to slightly shake and his breathing had got that heavy that Jack noticed and asked Charlie about it.
"I'm not sure what you were doing in U21's but you surely can't be that exhausted from a light jog and a few stretches like." Jack said that so cheerly but his cheeky smirk was washed away faster than the speed of light when he saw Charlie's hands shaking relentlesly and that tears that began to well up in his eyes.
"Jack I don't know what's happening but I feel like I can't breathe, my heart is gonna beat out of my chest." He managed to stutter out only between staggered breathes, gasping for the most air that they could get.
"You're okay Charlie, I'm gonna go get Pearce, trust me you're okay." Jack had try to sound calm to try and soothe the younger defender, but if he was going to be completely honest with himself he was freaked the fuck out.
Before Hughes could even object to the idea of bringing somebody else into the situation Jack was talking to Pearce and was already making their way back to him. Hughes saw a look of realisation on Tom's face as soon as he saw the state of this rookie. 'God let him know what is happening to me' Hughes thought to himself.
"Hi lad, come to toilets with me and Jack, trust us mate." Tom said with a weirdly reassuring tone, considering that sentence sounded considerably creepier than the Left Back meant, but Charlie was too busy thinking that he is dying than to worry about a certain tone in a sentence.
Charlie obediantly followed them along to the toilets, purposely not going to the ones in the locker room because they don't want them to think any differently of the new defender.
Once they eventually got to a random bathroom, Tom immediately sprung into action as if he had been waiting his whole life to do this one thing in a bathroom of the Ninian.
"Jack lock the door. Okay, Charlie, look at me, okay, I'm gonna ask you some weird questions but try to answer them. " It only took Jack a split second to lock the door and sit next to Charlie on the floor against the bathroom tiled wall, meanwhile Charlie is trying his hardest to focus on Pearce and not the fact that he was almost positive that these were the last moments of his life.
"Okay, mate try and tell me 5 things that you can see for me?"
"Light, toilet, door errm, and you and jack" Charlie replied, barely above a whisper, in contrast to him gasping for all the air in the room.
....
"Okay and the last question, what is one thing that you can taste mate."
"Taste? Probably Pasta from lunch."
"How are you feeling now, lad?"
"Shattered, not a clue how I'm meant to play a football game now," Charlie said with a sigh and wiped some tears from his face. "How did you know how to do that, and what even was that?"
"That mate was probably your first panic attack." Pearce hesitantly said with a slight wince on his face.
"It can't have been I don't have an anxiety disorder or anything. Anyway, how did you know what to do?"
"You don't need to have an anxiety disorder to have a panic attack, and I only know what to do because I also get panic attacks, but I get them quite oft-"
"Are you lads in there?"
"Who is it?" Jack replied not skipping a beat.
"Ben, KO is in 5, get a move on."
"Alright."
"Do you reckon you're still alright to play this match because I can come on in your need me?"
"I'm fine Jack, but I'm gonna have to tell Toure about this aren't I"
"It's okay I'll do that you need to get on the pitch"
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