A/N: Okay everyone, I'm giving this a try to see what it's like. You guys have blown me away asking me to write stories for you, and I've been staying up at night trying to think of "never-before-seen" plotlines. On a fanfiction site, those are hard to come by. :)
This chapter is dedicated to, and written for, camirae. Thanks so much for trusting me with this! I own nothing, and the characters are once again OOC because I've never met them! On with the story! Enjoy!
"Ouch!" The ball had seriously come out of nowhere. It must have just appeared out of thin air because Cami had just looked up to see how the game was going, and the ball was not there. She rubbed the side of her head experimentally, wincing as she did so. It must have been her brother that kicked the ball.
Sure enough, it was her brother, Ryne. "Are you alright?" he asked, running off the field and kneeling next to her. "Are you hurt?"
Cami shook her head, feeling uncomfortable as she watched all her other friends start to drift closer, curious about this brother/sister exchange. "No, I'm fine," she responded. She grinned, marking the page in her book and closing it with a snap. "Was that my cue that I should get back to playing?" she asked teasingly.
Ryne looked relieved that his sister seemed back to normal. "No," he responded, and then grinned. "But it could be."
Cami extended her foot to hook the soccer ball and bring it closer. "Alright," she said, "I'm in."
Ryne turned around to shout at the other boys on the field, "Everybody take cover! Cami's back in the game!"
Cami smacked her brother's shoulder, glaring at him. "I am not that bad," she huffed, pushing her shoulder length wavy black hair out of her face. Ryne glanced down at his petite sister, smiling as he watched her eyes soften. She could never stay mad at him for too long. "Well," she amended, "maybe I am that bad."
"Yeah, you're probably right," Ryne teased, putting a hand on Cami's shoulder.
Cami flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Say what you'd like, brother of mine," she said, stepping forward onto the playing field. "Nothing can ruin this day for me."
"Ah yes," Ryne said as he watched his sister throw the ball back into play. "You and dad are going to that concert today, aren't you?"
"That concert?" Cami asked incredulously, forgetting where she was standing. "That's all you can call it? That concert? You make it sound like it's just some off the wall band! Ryne, they're the Connect 3 boys! They're not just that band!"
Ryne stepped in front of his sister, butting the ball away before it hit her once more in the head. "I think you've gone a little delusional," he replied. "If you keep playing with us, you might not make it to the concert."
Cami blushed, forcing herself to pay more attention. "Thanks," she said quietly.
Ryne smiled at her knowingly. "Don't worry about it," he told her. "And I really do hope that you have fun."
Cami smiled back and turned to walk off the field. "I think you can handle this game without me," she teased. "I can't concentrate today."
"Do you ever?" Ryne asked innocently, jumping out of the way of Cami's swatting hand.
Cami decided not to argue, and instead stuffed her romance novel into her bag, slinging it over her shoulder and waving to the other boys before she left for home. The short walk to her house gave her just enough time to plan her wardrobe for the concert, and think about where she wanted to go for dinner. After all, this was her birthday present from her parents. She could go wherever she wanted.
Once back home, she hurried to shower and dress for the concert. Painstakingly, she straightened her hair, making sure that every strand was straightened to perfection. She grabbed her messenger bag and slung it over her shoulder, making sure that her camera was safely tucked away in the side pocket. As an aspiring photographer, what better, and frankly, cuter, subjects could there be to experiment on than the Connect 3 boys?
"Cami! Are you ready to go yet?" her father called from downstairs.
"Coming!" she called, racing down the stairs as fast as she could. Normally, she would have teased him about not rushing perfection, but she took pity on him since he had just had back surgery and was really making an effort tonight to take her to the concert.
Her mom was there, waiting for her in the living room. "Have a wonderful time, Cami," she told her daughter, kissing her cheek delicately. "And happy birthday."
"Thanks, mom," Cami replied. She turned to hug Ryne, who was waiting there with an envelope. "By Ry," she said, hugging him tightly.
"Have fun," Ryne whispered back. He shook his head, disentangling himself from his sister's embrace. "I can't believe you're turning sixteen." He smiled and handed her the envelope. "From me."
Cami smiled. "Thanks," she said and followed her dad out the door.
The venue was huge! Cami followed her father shyly as he wove his way through the crowds. There were girls everywhere, screaming and laughing and chatting. Most of their conversations seemed centered around the boys they had come to see, and Cami forced herself not to roll her eyes at the shallowness of their exchanges. With so much going on around her, Cami barely noticed where she was. Her whole focus was centered on keeping her dad in sight, and not running into anyone.
Finally, she caught up with her dad. "Dad!" she called. "Where are you going?"
He turned and looked at her with a smile on his face. "I'm going to your seat," he responded. He handed her a ticket. "Would you like to find it by yourself?"
Cami's hand shook slightly as she took the ticket offered to her. Already, they were on the floor level. How much better could this get? Her parents had been very secretive about the tickets, and now she understood why. "Sure," she said quietly, ignoring the fact that her dad couldn't hear her over the noise.
She glanced down at the ticket, her eyes searching for a number. Her heart leapt as she focused on the words Row 1 Seat 15. She looked up at her dad, not quite able to believe what was written in ink before her. "No," she said.
"Yes," her father replied. "Happy birthday, Cami."
And then, for one moment, Cami became like all those other girls, and with a squeal, threw her arms around her dad. "Thank you! Oh my gosh! Thank you!"
Her dad laughed and glanced around. "Come on. Let's go find our seats. People are starting to stare."
Cami wasn't aware of much else as she waited excitedly in her front row seat, on Nate's side of course, holding her ticket and squirming happily in her seat. She was so excited that she didn't care about all the looks she was getting from jealous girls who wished they could be in the front row. When the lights dimmed, Cami felt her heart speed up to an even more accelerated rate, and when she first saw Nate step out onto the stage, she broke out into a huge grin.
The concert started, and Cami sang along with every song, having memorized all of the lyrics months ago. It was towards the middle of the concert when she began to feel slightly nauseated, and her arms and neck began to bother her. Not willing to let herself miss out on the rest of the concert, Cami tried to push the feelings away. She smiled as the soothing, quick beat of the bass reverberated through her body.
"How's everyone doing tonight?" Shane asked the audience. Cami was in so much pain now that the most she could do was clap and try to look happy as Shane scanned the audience. It might have been her imagination, but Cami thought that his eyes rested on her for a little longer than necessary. Upon hearing the crowd's excited screams, Shane turned back to his brothers and whispered something in Nate's ear.
Nate's head whipped around, and after a moment, his eyes landed on Cami. Her eyes widened as he looked at her for a long moment, and then nodded at Shane. The boys began to play, but the curiousness of the action, combined with the pain Cami was feeling, caused her to zone out for a moment. All of the sudden, she felt as though her heart had stopped. Cami's hand flashed out blindly to try and get her dad's attention.
He turned and saw her, gasping for breath and clutching her heart. "Cami!" he called over the noise. "What's wrong?!" His frantic question made Cami try desperately to formulate a sentence, but she couldn't. All she could do was groan. Was this what a heart attack felt like? Her dad must have thought the same thing, because he grabbed her arm and shouted, "Cough! Cough hard and deliberately!"
Cami did as she was told, and the first cough made her feel as though she was being ripped in two. A tear glistened in her eye, threatening to spill over. She coughed again, and the tear came, along with several others. She felt her dad leave, and realized that he was probably going to get help. Sure enough, a bodyguard soon appeared next to her, picking Cami up and rushing up the aisle.
Beyond the pain that she was feeling, beyond the sounds of the venue ambulance roaring to life, and even beyond the beat of the music, the last thing that she remembered seeing was Nate, looking at her worriedly from the stage. Then everything went black.