Chapter 5 We didn't realize…
The next two days are a little strange for the people in 2J. It's quiet and a little boring. Carlos isn't coughing as much, thankfully, but it's also weird. He is still tired though and doesn't have the energy to do a lot. Kelly has insisted to Gustavo that they get plenty of rest before the concert, so they only had to do the dress rehearsal, which went okay. Gustavo wasn't happy to say the least, but Carlos seemed a little better and he promised he would be fine for the concert the next day.
The guys are making sure he really does get enough rest, meaning they let him sleep a lot. It seems to be helping. But it doesn't make him any less grumpy. He still hasn't apologized to Logan, whom spends a lot of time in his room as well, looking through medical books. Whenever they are in a room together, tension builds up, making the others flee. Logan tries to help Carlos and keeps a very concerned eye on him. But this only aggravates Carlos more and makes him even angrier with Logan than he already was.
Truthfully, he isn't mad at Logan. He feels guilty for saying what he said when they got back from the doctor. But he just feels so frustrated. He wants to be energetic and jump around, like he always does. And joke around and make people happy. But he feels so tired and weak all the time. Not that he lets the others see that. He tries to make it seem like he's doing better. It does help that the coughing has basically stopped. No idea how that is possible, but he's grateful for it.
He is also grateful he was able to put up such a good act during dress rehearsal. It didn't go as perfect as he had hoped, but they were happy with him and he was able to convince Gustavo he would be better the next day. They didn't see him rush off stage and into the bathroom, where he nearly collapsed out of pure exhaustion. They didn't hear or see him throw up and thank god they didn't seem to notice how much out of breath he was.
He's also getting better at hiding how he's feeling from Mama Knight and making everyone believe he's fine when they're eating. He's been able to keep it down mostly, thankfully. But every time he takes a bite of whatever they're having, his stomach feels like it's doing summersaults. It's horrible and cruel to him, because food has always been important to him. He loves to eat, but now he feels so sick, he wonders if he'll ever love it again. Next to that, he has been feeling a sharp pain in his side now and then. Probably has to do with all that dancing lately and not eating enough.
The guys all head to bed early Thursday night, but no one gets any sleep. They're too excited for the concert. They're dying to show the fans their new choreography to their new songs. Well, three of them are. Logan can't help but feel something is going to go wrong tomorrow. With Carlos not talking to him, he is able to quietly observe the Latino and feels more and more worried about him. He tosses and turns, sighing when another bad image pops into his head.
"Can't sleep either, huh?" Kendall's voice quietly asks from across the room.
"Not exactly…" Logan responds.
"I know, I'm so excited. I can't wait for the fans to see our new dance moves. How do you think they'll react? Do you think they'll like it?" Kendall excitedly ponders.
"I think we should cancel." Logan quietly answers. The room is hulled in complete silence for a moment, before he feels Kendall shifting in his bed.
"Wait, what?" The blond asks in the dark. Logan sighs.
"I just… I've got a really bad feeling about tomorrow. I know we've practiced everything plenty, but what if it doesn't go so well tomorrow? And Carlos is still sick…" He starts to ramble, when Kendall interrupts.
"Whoah, whoa… Logan, relax. It's okay to be nervous. I mean, hell, I'm nervous too. But you need to get these doom scenarios out of your head. Nothing bad is going to happen. It's going to be fine. We're going to have the time of our lives and you saw Carlos during rehearsal today. He looked fine." Kendall assures him.
"But…" He argues.
"No buts, Logan. Everything is going to be fine. Just enjoy it, all right? Stop worrying and have fun tomorrow. You'll see, it'll be the best day of our life!" Kendall gushes so excitedly, it makes Logan smile. "Now get some sleep, we've got a busy day tomorrow!"
"Okay. Thanks Kendall. Goodnight." He softly calls out. But the light snoring from the other side of the room tells him Kendall has finally fallen asleep. He chuckles to himself and puts his hands under his head.
Maybe Kendall is right. Maybe he should stop worrying. He always worries so much, that he can't enjoy things like he wants. He should enjoy life more.
The thoughts put a smile on his face. He closes his eyes and is about to fall asleep, when he hears a faint cough in the distance. The smile fades and the worry comes back full force. It's not the concert itself he's worried about…
The next morning Logan suddenly finds himself waking up to an empty room. His eyes widen as he tries to shake the sleep from his body. He doesn't even remember falling asleep, but is glad he did. He slowly gets up and heads into the living room, where everyone is already happily munching away on breakfast.
"Hey, there he is." Kendall announces.
"Dude, we thought you'd never wake up. You were more out of it than Carlos." The Latino in question glares as James ruffles his hair.
"Yeah, well, I guess I was more tired than I thought." He answers with a smile.
"You're not getting sick, too, are you?" Kendall asks worriedly with a frown. Logan just shakes his head and goes into the kitchen to grab himself a glass and bowl for breakfast. "You okay?" Kendall suddenly asks beside him.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Logan quietly answers.
"Still worried about tonight?" Kendall asks low enough that the others won't hear.
"A little." He admits. Kendall puts an arm around his shoulders.
"Don't worry. It'll be fine, remember? Best night of our lives!" Kendall reminds him with a big smile. Logan just smiles back. It fades a little when he eyes Carlos, slowly nibbling on a piece of toast. Again. "And don't worry about him either. I'm sure things will be good between you two before the concert even starts." Kendall tells him with a wink.
Logan frowns a little at him, but then follows him to the dinner table to eat.
After breakfast, the guys are hyped up on nerves and energy. They get ready and head for the venue for last minute rehearsals with the full stage set up. (A/N Just think of the BWU stage set-up ;))
As they get to the venue, they smile as they already see some fans lined up outside. They drive around to a different entrance and get out of the car. James and Kendall rush inside right away. Logan is about to follow them, when a hand on his shoulder stops him. He turns around and finds Carlos nervously staring at his shoes.
"I just uh… I wanted to… Good luck tonight." He mutters. Logan nods.
"Right. You too." He answers and goes to walk away again.
"No, wait." Carlos calls out and he turns around again. "I'm sorry, Logan, for what I said. I know it's always been your dream to become a doctor and what I said was totally uncalled for. I shouldn't have said that. You were just trying to help." He tells his friend.
"It's okay, Carlos. I guess I was a little jealous of that guy." Logan admits with a small smile.
"You are happy with being in the band, right? I mean, I don't want you to be unhappy just because you want us to be happy." Carlos asks him, sounding genuinely concerned. Logan can't help but smile wider.
"Don't worry, Carlos. I am happy with being in BTR." He assures, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder.
"Okay, good." Carlos says with a sigh of relief. "So, are we okay?" He innocently asks, pointing between Logan and him. Logan chuckles.
"Yes, 'Litos. We're okay. Now let's go and have the time of our lives!" he shouts out with glee, before rushing off inside. Carlos laughs and tries to run as well. But the minute he does, a sharp pain hits his side. He winces and stops. He rubs his side a little and frowns. He looks around to find out if anyone saw him. When he sees no one, he just shakes it off and heads inside as well.
The guys enjoy every minute of getting ready for the concert. They especially love the sound check with the small amount of fans surrounding them. They goof off and are happy being themselves, even if Gustavo is growling at them from the side.
Afterwards they head for their dressing rooms to get dressed and ready for the actual show to start. They all feel the butterflies in their stomach. But the closer it gets to the concert, the more Logan's feelings are changing. He wants to shake it off, but again he feels like something is going to happen. The minute the stage manager calls them to the stage, he s full-fledged panicking. He joins the other guys, who still look excited as ever.
He stares at Carlos, trying to see any sign of the boy still being sick. But either he can hide it really well or he's fine now. Logan is practically shaking as they stand backstage, ready to stand on their elevator to lift them up.
"Dude, isn't this awesome?" Kendall asks him as he puts an arm around his shoulder again. The guys can hear the girls screaming for them and are jumping with excitement. Logan just shakes his head. "Enough with the worrying, dude. I told you, it's going to be fine. Just enjoy it!" Kendall tells him, before letting go. "Here we go." He says with a wink.
Logan tries to smile, but can't seem to do it. His heart is thumping so loud. They've had concerts before, he has felt nerves before. This isn't the same. He quickly puts a hand on Kendall's arm.
"We can't go on. We need to stop the concert." He says, before walking backwards.
"Logan, what are you talking about? We're about to go on. We can't stop now." Kendall tells him as he follows him with a frown. He grabs his arm and tries to pull him back. Logan just shakes his head in refusal.
"What's going on?" James asks as he and Carlos have followed them.
"Logan wants us to stop the concert." Kendall informs them. Their eyes widen.
"What?" James asks in bafflement. "Dude, what is wrong with you? Do you not hear all those screaming girls? They're here for us. We can't just bail."
"Logan, it's okay to be nervous." Carlos quietly tells him. "I mean, I feel really nervous too. It's normal."
"No, these aren't nerves. I've felt nerves before. This is different, this is me sensing something bad is going to happen if we get up there." Logan tells them.
"Hey, what is going on? The fans are getting restless." Luke, the stage manager asks them.
"We'll be right there." Kendall tells him with a smile. The guy just rolls his eyes and rushes off again, shouting in his mouth piece.
"Come on, dude. Nothing is going to happen. We have security guards surrounding the stage, we have practiced everything a thousand times. Everything will be fine." James tries to assure Logan. Carlos squeezes his shoulder affectionately.
"But…"
"Guys, we can't wait any longer. You have to get up there, now!" Luke yells at them.
Kendall nods quickly. They all look at Logan desperately. He sighs and reluctantly nods, the feeling only growing stronger every minute.
The guys smile and cheer, before they step onto the lift together and listen as the first song starts to play.
Logan feels more energized when the first two songs have gone on without a hitch. He gets more into it and smiles more and more, jumping around the stage with his friends, indeed having the time of his life. He looks around and breathes a sigh of relief when he sees all three of the others having just as much fun.
All four of them stand on a different height as they stand on the platforms of the stage. They all dance and sing and act crazy. Logan is standing on a platform on the left side of the stage, while Carlos is standing on the same height platform on the right side. They meet each other's gazes and grin excitedly.
Logan turns his direction back towards the screaming crowd, when he hears a cough in his earpiece. He turns his head and sees Carlos with his back to the crowd, coughing into his hand. He frowns a little, but the moment passes and they continue to dance. He tries to catch Carlos' gaze again, but his smile fades right away when he notices his Hispanic friend on the other side of the stage.
His eyes seem a little glazed over. He is breathing hard and sweating a lot more than he should. As he watches his friend wipe the sweat of his brow, he can't help but notice that his hands seem to be shaking slightly. He is so concerned; he almost misses his cue to sing. He quickly gets back into the song, sneaking occasional glances towards his friend.
Carlos is trying his best to keep up with the fast pace of the show. But he can feel his body slowly turning against him. It's so hot, yet so cold at the same time. His hands have started to shake and he feels slightly lightheaded. He can feel Logan staring at him and tries to shake it off. But he feels so tired. He nearly stumbles over his feet when they do a fast paced dance move. His chest is heaving and he feels out of breath so quickly. He's longing for a small break. But one more song to go.
They run down the platform and onto the main stage again when the dance break for Love Me, Love Me comes on. Carlos is having fun and keeping up, when the sharp pain in his side almost makes him stop. He tries hard not to let it show, but the pain doesn't just ebb away this time. It seems to get worse with every movement he makes.
The guys jump and run around like crazy and while Carlos hasn't missed a single cue, it's getting harder and harder to stay on his feet. The pain is increasing, sweat is dripping down his face, while the stage seems to move on its own. His chest is starting to burn as he tries to dance, run and sing at the same time.
It's when he's back on the middle platform that he notices it. He keeps on dancing, but the sharp pains in his side are killing him. A hand naturally shoots towards it and grabs his side as he scrunches up his face in pain. He tries to keep singing, but it's starting to hurt to breathe. His throat is burning and his stomach turns.
Everything hits him at once all of a sudden; one sharp pain has him nearly crying out, when he suddenly finds he can't breathe properly anymore. He shuts his eyes because of the pain in his chest and his side. His knees are wobbling and he nearly falls down.
The other guys are so busy dancing and reacting to their fans; they haven't noticed the suffering going on behind them. But the fans have. They can see Carlos paling more and more and grabbing his side and chest in pain. A couple of fans scream and even point towards him to get the other guys' attention.
Carlos tries to sing, but breathing is becoming harder and harder. He hears some fans' screams sounding a little different. He opens his eyes and tries to locate them. But his vision starts to swim right away. He shakes his head to get rid of it, making it much and much worse.
Then his verse comes up. But instead of his angelic voice sounding through the speakers, an awful wheezing is heard.
The guys immediately turn towards him. Their eyes widen in shock at his ashen face. They rush forward and Kendall is barely able to reach him in time when his knees buckle and he falls forward.
Fans scream in horror as Carlos collapses in Kendall's arms. The music stops right away as the guys surround their friend.
"Carlos, can you hear me?" Kendall questions, his voice full of worry.
"Someone call an ambulance!" James calls out and a band member runs off right away.
"Carlos?" Kendall calls out again.
"It hu-hurts…" Carlos weakly rasps as he wheezes.
"We have to get him backstage." Logan calls out.
Security tries to keep the fans under control, while the guys rush Carlos towards the back of the stage and towards the lift to get them down and backstage.
"Don't worry, buddy, you're going to be fine." Kendall tries to assure him, while Carlos moans and clutches his side. His eyes are scrunched up in pain.
"H-Hu-hurts…" He wheezes.
"Don't talk, okay, you're going to be fine." Logan tries to assure and puts his head on Carlos' chest suddenly. The other guys frown.
"The ambulance will be here in five minutes." Luke informs them. "We're sending everyone home." He explains right away. "How is he?"
"His breathing sounds really bad. I can hear rattling, meaning there might be fluids in his lungs or something." He tells them. Kendall gets on his knees and puts Carlos' head in his lap.
"Come on, buddy. Just try to breathe." He tries to coax, to ease his mind a little and make him feel that he's doing something at least. "Dude, the heat is radiating off of him." He worriedly says as he holds the now more and more paling boy.
Logan quickly puts a hand on his forehead and pulls it away just as fast. He shakes his head.
"I can't believe this. I thought he was fine, that he was feeling better. There is no way he could catch a fever that high in such a short time." He tells his friends, seemingly angry and somewhat guilty as well. "Where is that ambulance?" He says, frantically looking around.
"Logan, this isn't your fault." Kendall tells him.
Suddenly, Carlos cries out in pain. The guys whip their heads around to him. Kendall tries to soothe him, while Logan kneels next to him. He frowns at the trembling hand that clutches Carlos' side.
"H-how come he's in so much pain?" James quietly asks, his voice slightly shaking.
"I'm not sure…" Logan answers quietly. He goes to lift Carlos' hand and carefully lifts his shirt. He frowns again when he can't see anything. He hesitates for a moment, but then lifts his own hands towards the spot Carlos was holding. He carefully touches the spot. His hand is pulled back as if burned, when Carlos screams.
"What was that?" Kendall asks him as he holds his friend down, who has begun to trash around.
"I hardly touched him." Logan says, seemingly pondering on what is happening. Just then, Carlos starts to gasp. His eyes open wide and panicky.
"Carlos, Carlos, what's wrong?" Kendall asks, also sounding panicky. But Carlos doesn't answer, he just lays there, gasping, body trembling. "Logan, what's happening?"
Logan's eyes widen as well. But he doesn't answer Kendall, instead he moves forward quickly, putting his face into Carlos' line of vision.
"Carlos, try to stay calm. Just focus on your breathing." He tries to coax, but with every gasp, Carlos winces and he panics more and more. "Carlos, come on, buddy, in and out, in and out…"
"I c-ca-an't br…" Carlos gasps loudly.
"Don't talk, just focus on your breathing. I know it hurts right now, but you have to try." Logan tells him, practically pleading. He looks up again and frantically looks for any sign of paramedics.
Then he turns around and angrily looks at all the crewmembers that are standing around them, staring.
"What are you all standing around for? Go and see if that ambulance is here yet!" He yells at them.
"Carlos? Carlos!" Kendall suddenly calls out from behind him. He turns back and pales when he sees Carlos is suddenly eerily still. Kendall is trying to shake him and then looks up at Logan with frightened eyes. "I don't hear the wheezing anymore…"
"Put him down on the floor." Logan tells him quickly. Kendall carefully lifts Carlos' head out of his lap. Logan rushes over and puts his head to the boy's chest. When he comes back up, the others stare at him questioningly. "He's not breathing…" He mutters.
A/N Hi! Here's another chapter! Sorry if it's bad, I'm starting to get writer's block :/ Hoping it won't go on. Been trying to write this chapter for about a week now, so yeah…
But let me know what you guys think Reviews make me happy!
Still trying to get over all these vacation pics of the guys. Really, Carlos? A speedo? I mean, the guy looks hot and only gets hotter, but never ever wear a speedo again. It doesn't look good on any guy!
And James, flaunting those amazing Cabo pictures in my face. Ugh, I've never wanted a vacation more…
Am feeling slightly mad at all these 'fans' threatening Halston now. I mean, come on. Did you really think you'd stand a chance with him? They've been together for like a year, just like Carlos and Sam. Why can't the guys just be happy? And then you wonder why they won't come out and admit they have girlfriends. Hello?
Sorry, had to get that out. Anyway, please enjoy my story and I'm going back to edit my Carlos video, hoping to be able to post it this week. It's taking up so much time :P
Thanks guys for your support and hoping for some more reviews this time. But glad you're liking it
Love, Baxxie