Chel was lying awake in bed, seeing the sun start to creep into the hotelroom window. She looked at the small alarm clock by her bed and groaned, seeing that it was only eight o'clock. This is not good, she thought. Kayla had been tossing and turning in her bed for the past hour and Chel was unable to get back to sleep. I know exactly how she feels, she thought as she watched her friend kick the covers off of herself. Over the last week and a half, a flu-type sickness was running its course throughout the Boys and the band. Kevin had been the first to come down with it and, although sick, had still performed. Howie, AJ, and Brian had also performed. The only one of the boys who was unable to perform was Nick, who had been hit the hardest. Chel thought back to three days ago and how bad she felt watching Nick, barely able to stand. Laughing, she remembered that he had acted, to quote his own song, like a child.
Three days earlier, Nick was lying on the tour bus, groaning and complaining. Chel had stayed by his side the whole time he was sick, but at this point in time, she was ready to give it up. "Nick, you have to get up. We are at the hotel. You cant just stay on the bus for the rest of the tour!!" She told him, only half kidding. "Chel, how can you make me get up? Everything hurts, they said i didnt have to go on tonight, cant i just stay here? Please?" Chel laughed at his best puppy-dog eye expression, knowing that it would work on her. Her laughter quickly turned to worry as he let out a string of coughs that seemed to consume his whole body. He was sitting up now, holding his head. "Dammit, this hurts!" Chel looked at him, saying, "Nick its a quick walk to the hotel, and its too cold out here for you to stay. Lets go."
Nick reluctantly agreed, knowing that Chel was right, he couldnt stay on the bus. Chel grabbed his arm and led him out the door of the bus. He had on a hooded sweatshirt and kept his head down as he walked. Chel knew that as much as he loved his fans, there was know way he could deal with them today. Feeling him leaning on her, they continued their brisk pace right through the hotel doors and into the elevator. Once in the safety of the elevator, Nick took his hood down and Chel saw that his face was flushed. She saw that he was sweating and wanted so much to help him, but she didnt know how. The elevator doors opened and Chel once again felt him leaning on her. She led him towards his hotel room, seeing Brian on the way. His expression was concerned as he looked at his friend. "Hows he doing?", he asked her. "Not so hot. I think he just needs to lie down for a while." Brian nodded and pointed towards what would be Nicks room.
Once in his room, Nick didnt hesitate, making his way for the bed. Chel sat down next to the bed, watching him. He looked up at her. "Im sorry chel. What if you get sick too?" She just shook her head. "Dont worry about that, i just want you to feel better! Now get some rest." She told him smiling. Noticing that he had already fallen asleep, she settled into the chair not about to leave his side.
Back in her hotel room, Chel thought about how the very next day she had started to feel the exact same way as him. The dancers had all considered themselves lucky that they had somehow avoided the bug. Until i caught it, Chel thought. Luckily, Chel wasnt the type to stay sick, so all she had left was a slight headache. She looked back over at her friend who was at the moment in the middle of a fierce coughing streak. Concerned, she sat up.
Kayla turned herself over in the bed for what seemed like the millionth time. Doesnt matter which way i turn, she thought, everything still hurts. Feeling a sharp pain run through her head, she sat up and was instantly hit with the urge to cough. After what seemed to her like hours, she stopped and saw that Chel was awake in her bed and looking at her, a worried look on her face. "Shouldnt you be asleep?" She asked her. Chel nodded, then said, "Yeah but i couldnt." She didnt want to tell Kayla that she was worried about her. "I was just thinking about when Nick was sick." Kayla groaned then started to laugh. She decided against laughing, as she felt the sharp pains go all through her body.
Kayla saw the concerned look on her friends face and reassured her. "Chel, Im fine, Im just a little....well, woozy." They both laughed at her choice of words, then Kayla continued, "Lets both try to get some more sleep. I wanna be fully rested for the show tonight." Kayla didnt even want to think about getting up out of the comfort of her bed, let alone performing a whole show. She also didnt want Chel or anybody to worry about her. Im fine, she thought to herself, as she looked back at her friend who had already fallen back to sleep. Settling her head back onto her pillow, she felt herself falling into a restless sleep.
~~Everybody...Yeah yeah....Rock Your Body....Yeah yeah...Everybody...Rock Your Body Right....Cause Backstreets Back Alright!!~~
It was later that night and Kayla was onstage performing. Although every inch of her body had protested, she decided that it was best if she went on. She had been allowed to skip the run through to get some extra rest and was actually feeling good right before showtime. She had seen AJ, who knew that Kayla was not feeling well. He asked her if she really wanted to perform, and told her she could take the night off if she wanted. "AJ, Im alright. I just have a cold. Dont worry!" She reassured him, smiling. She watched him shake his head and she knew he didnt fully believe her. "Alright, baby, be careful. And I love you." As she took her opening place, she yelled back, "love you more."
Thinking back, she was beginning to reconsider her decision to perform. Her head was spinning as she looked out at the crowd. Closing her eyes, she thought to herself, Come on Kayla, keep it together. She felt a strong wave of fatigue coming over her. Shit, she thought, its not much longer, only four more songs, let me make it. Kayla kept dancing, still feeling dizzy and tired. She looked out at the crowd again and everything began blurring together, the crowd, the fans screaming, the music, the lights and finally the pain. What the hell is going on, she thought as she stopped dancing for a second to try to stop the pain. She put her hands up to her head, which was throbbing beyond belief at the moment. She felt herself getting weaker and the last thing she remembered was the stage rushing up to meet her.
Chel was watching the monitor they had set up backstage. "Oh my god. Kayla!" she cried as she watched her best friend go down. She watched as Brad, one of the guys bodyguards, walk to where she had fallen and gently pick her up. She heard a commotion at the door and watched as Brad carried Kayla into the room and laid her down on the couch. She glanced back at the monitor and saw the worried look on AJs face as he exchanged glances with the other guys.
Chel ran to her friends side and saw that she was still not awake. She noticed that Brad was on his phone and listened to his end of the conversation. "We'll be there in about 15 minutes....set up a room....yes, A private room....thank you...." Chel gave Brad a questioning look as he began to explain. "Shes not doing so good right now, i can tell that her fever is rising. She shouldnt have been up there tonight. But thats not important right now. What is is that i have called the hospital and they are sending a car for us. You and I are going with her." Seeing Chel's shocked expression, he continued, "Dont worry, Im sure shes gonna be fine. But she had that cold, then caught the flu....it wasnt good for her."
"What?" Chel heard a faint voice and looked down, breathing a sigh of relief as she did. Kayla was beginning to come around. "Kay, dont try to get up, stay where you are. You need...." She was interrupted by the sound of a door being slammed open and a worried voice yelling, "What the hell just happened?" Chel watched as AJ looked towards the couch and his voice softened. "Oh god, baby are you alright?", he asked, dropping to his knees beside her. Still confused and unaware of what was going on, Kayla looked at him. "AJ?" He grabbed her hand, "Kayla, Im right here." She was happy to hear his voice, but she couldnt focus on it. Everything sounded far away and her head hurt. Feeling confused and a little scared, she tried to sit up but that made her feel worse. "Baby, stay where you are. Dont try to get up." Lying back down, she began to feel cold and felt herself beginning to shiver. "Kayla, Its alright. We're gonna get you to the hospital, alright?" Kayla smiled, not hearing the worried tone in his voice, as she listened to his voice while drifting back into sleep.
"Why the hell is she shivering like that? Somebody get her a damn blanket." Chel watched as AJ frantically searched for something that could resemble a blanket. She saw Kevin put his hand on his shoulder, and spun him around. "AJ, we have to get back out there." He said, pointing at the stage door.
" We have an encore, we cant let the fans down." AJ glared at him, then pulled out of his grasp. "Kevin, I am not going back out there. Not with Kayla the way she is." Chel watched as he grabbed something out of his backpack and saw that it was a pack of cigarettes. He drew one out of the pack, hands shaking, and lit it. Slowly taking a drag of the cigarette, he repeated what he just said, "I cant just go back out there and pretend that everything is fine." He looked at the guys, who seeing his pleading eyes, began to nod in agreement. "You can and you will." A voice from the doorway told him. Chel watched as AJ looked towards where the voice had come from. She recognized it as one of the people from the guys management firm.
Chel watched as the man walked over to AJ. "Put that thing out, you never know who could be watching. And get yourself back on that stage. Personal life never comes before professional, you know that AJ. The band is your main priority. Remember that." AJ was watching him digustedly, blowing smoke directly into his face. He looked first at the guys, then back at Kayla. Putting the cigarette out, he said, "Fine, but not because of you. Im going back for the fans." Chel could see that his eyes were blazing and knew he was pissed. Brad was telling him that as soon as the show finished there would be a car for the boys. AJ walked over to where Kayla was and bent down to kiss her on the forhead. "I love you." With that he followed the guys toward the stage to finish their encore.
About an hour later, Chel was sitting in the waiting room of the hospital, resting comfortably in Nicks arms. They now knew that Kayla had come down with the same flu they all had gotten, but it had magnafied due to the fact that Kayla had just gotten over a cold and was still recovering from that. The doctor had told them that her fever had gotten as high as 104 degrees, but was now at 102. They had given her antibiotics and she was resting comfortably. Chel was happy to hear that her friend was going to be alright.
AJ had gone straight to Kaylas room when he got to the hospital and was still there. That was forty-five minutes ago, Chel thought as she looked at her watch. She was still replaying the scene that had happened backstage and couldnt believe how heartless the management had seemed. As if to echo her thoughts, she saw another member of the management firm asking one of the doctors when they would be able to get back on the road. It was almost more than she could take as she began to get up. Her best friend was lying in the hospital sick and she wanted to give him a piece of her mind. She felt a pair of strong hands pull her back down from the waist. "Nick, let me go." She looked down and saw that he was shaking his head. "Its not worth it. They wouldnt listen anyway. To them, its all business." Chel couldnt believe what he was telling her. "Nick, thats wrong. It shouldnt be like that." She said, shaking her head, then yawning. "I know its wrong, but for now, theres nothing we can do." He saw that she was growing tired, as he himself felt the same way. "Come on, lets get some rest." He said, watching her settle her head down on his chest. He smiled and placed a kiss on her nose, then settled his head against the hard hospital chair.
Kayla opened her eyes and blinked back the harsh lights. God, i feel like ive been run over by a mack truck, she thought as she attempted to turn herself towards the door. She realized that she couldnt turn all the way because of the IV needle in her arm. "what the hell?" she muttered softly, as she tried to figure out exactly where she was. The last thing that she remembered was being onstage. As she tried to remember everything, she noticed somebody sitting in a chair by the bed. She smiled, realizing that it was a sleeping AJ. She watched him, saw his chest rising up and down with each breath, looked at his eyes with those beautiful eyelashes. She loved when she was able to see his brown eyes sparkle, especially for her. How did i ever get so lucky, she thought. She watched him for a few more minutes, then saw that he was beginning to stir.
"AJ?" She asked quietly. He looked up sleepily, and she saw a look of concern flash across his face. He sat up and asked, "How you feeling?" He reached for her hand and Kayla felt the warmth of his hand on hers. "Im...Im alright. Feeling better than before." She was trying to avoid his eyes. "AJ, I..Im sorry. I shouldnt have gone on tonight. I wanted to tell you how i felt, but i didnt want you to worry." She watched as he stood up and began to wrap his arms around her the best that he could. "AJ, you cant..." She said laughing, as she pointed at the IV. He laughed a small laughed, then his face turned serious. "Nothing can keep me from holding you in my arms. I was scared tonight, there was nothing i could do to help you." He paused smiling, "Im supposed to be your tour protector, remember?" They both laughed, remembering this. Kayla loved the comfort of his arms around her, and she looked up at him. Looking into his brown eyes, she rested her head back on the pillow. She heard him softly singing to her. "I love you AJ.", she whispered as she once again fell asleep.
Get your own Free Home Page