Always There(Completed ✅)

Forty

After they were ready for the next session, they stood by her waiting for everyone to regroup. Jordan was the last one out and walked towards them this time instead of running. He was still sweaty and his face looked flushed.

Jon looked at Jordan , "You gonna be okay, dude?"

Jordan nodded at Jon . He didn't want to disappoint the fans if he didn't come back out. Jordan knew he only had to make it for 30 more minutes. As the band was starting the intro to the next song, the guys put their headsets back on and prepared to run out onto the stage. Unfortunately for Jordan , the song was one that he had all the primary parts. Shelly could see the worried look on his face as he ran past her. The band started playing "Quit Playing Games." Jordan took a deep breath as he ran out to the cheering audience. He was hoping that they would scream loud enough that they wouldn't hear the inconsistencies in his voice.

Shelly held her breath when Jordan started singing. She knew that he was worried about how he was starting to sound. By the audience reaction to the song, she could tell that they didn't notice any difference to Jordan 's voice. He could have talked his way through the song and they wouldn't of cared at all.

The guys were watching Jordan a little more closely when they did the final song, I Want it That Way. They could see that Jordan was exhausted and was getting weak singing his part, it was barely audible. They skipped doing anytype of dance moves and had told Jordan before hand that they wouldn't because they knew he would be beat by the end of the hour.

Thankfully, the song ended without anything happening. Jordan and the guys bowed, and where they would usually run off the stage, Jon and JOE walked on either side of Jordan to support him. Shelly made sure she stayed out of the way and followed them to their dressing room. The fans that had backstage passes had to be honored with their tickets so the show wasn't actually over yet. Shelly forgot about the backstage passes.

Jon and JOE led Jordan to a couch so he could sit back and relax. Shelly looked at Jordan 's face and could see how exhausted he was. His face was red from the heat. Jordan motioned for her to sit next to him. Shelly complied without any hesitation. She handed a water bottle to him as she sat down. Jordan looked as if he had a hard time uncapping the bottle. After he finally got it opened, he drank nearly 3/4 of the bottle without stopping. Shelly got up and grabbed another bottle before Jordan would have to ask for one.

"How ya doing, buddy?" JOE asked Jordan as he walked past the couch.

Jordan didn't respond, he just smiled. The fans that had the passes were starting to file into the room. Shelly leaned close to Jordan .

"Are you up to this?" She whispered in his ear.

"Got no choice, have to be." Jordan whispered back.

Some of the girls flocked around the couch where Jon had sat down next to Shelly . Jon sat back and guzzled his bottle of water, he was hot and sweaty like Jordan .

The girls stood in awe of Jordan and Jon , they did not say a word but appeared to be taking in every move the guys made, every word they spoke. Shelly always thought the backstage stuff was weird, the guys pretty much carried on as if no one different was in the room. If the fans asked them questions or wanted pictures taken or autographs signed, they complied without any questions.

Finally a girl directed a question to Shelly . "Are you Jon 's girlfriend, Leighanne?"

Jon chuckled. Shelly elbowed him in the side.

"And what would be so funny about that?" She asked Jon .

Jon wasn't expecting her to elbow him while he was drinking his water and some of the ice cold water spilled out onto his chest.

"Um, nothing, sorry?" Jon looked at Shelly and then decided to wink to seal the appology.

"No, sorry, wrong girl." Shelly answered.

"She belongs to Jordan ." Jon offered the answer to the girls. Shelly hated the way that sounded, it made her feel like a clothing item.

Jordan didn't say a word, he was still busy drinking his water. Shelly glanced over at him. He seemed to be okay but she could tell how tired he was. Shelly silently prayed that this would be finished soon so she could take him home to rest.

As the fans milled about the room, all of the guys carried on conversations amoungst themselves. JOE and Danny were talking about going golfing tomorrow and Donnie said that sounded good to him and that they should call him before they decide to leave.

Jordan was trying very hard to keep awake. It was getting more and more difficult with each passing minute. Shelly leaned over and whispered into his ear, "Is there anyway we can just leave?"

Jordan shook his head no. As much as he wanted to say yes, he knew he couldn't do it.

Shelly decided to ask Jon if he could do something about the lingering fans. She leaned over to Jon and whispered into his ear, "Jon , Jordan is getting so tired and I am getting worried, is there anything you can do to hurry the fans along?"

Jon listened to Shelly as he was drinking his water. "Yeah, I can talk to Steve." Jon got up off the couch and walked over to one of their body guards. After Jon sat down, the body guard clapped his hands several times and announced that it was time for the fans to leave.

All of the girls seemed to sound down and didn't want to leave. They had been backstage with the guys for over an hour and felt that they were entitled to more time with them.

After the last girl left the room, Jordan threw his head back and stared at the ceiling. He didn't know how or if he would be able to get up off the couch.

"Jordan , are you alright?" Shelly asked with a concerned tone in her voice.

Jordan didn't answer, he just kept looking up at the ceiling.

"Hey dude, I'm talking to you!" Shelly spoke up.

Jordan finally looked over to Shelly . He still didn't answer. Shelly looked at his droopy eyelids.

"Jordan old boy, are you ready to go home?" Jon asked.

Jordan smiled faintly. He really would have preferred to sleep where he was.

"Comeon, we'll help you out to the car." Jon suggested to Jordan .

Jordan reluctantly pulled himself up off the couch. When he stood up he took a couple of off balanced steps to the side. If no one knew better he looked like he had been drinking the way he stood. Jon quickly came to the rescue and stood on one side of Jordan and JOE came over to the other side.

"Jordan , put your arms around our shoulders," JOE directed.

Jordan complied without hesitation. Shelly followed them walking towards the garage where their vehicles were parked. She noticed that Jordan 's left leg was dragging behind him almost as bad as before he had his surgery. The concerts had always physically drained Jordan in the past, but with him just recovering from all that had gone on with him that summer, she knew it was too much for him to handle.