~ Request from Shannon1300 ~
"Alright, you're on stage in five minutes!" a manager shouted as they glanced at their clipboard
Ashton nervously adjusted the sweatbands on his wrists before throwing them off altogether.
"What's up? I asked him softly.
"Why does something have to be up?" he replied, but he didn't look me in the eyes.
"Ash, c'mon, we've been dating for two years. I think I would know when something's bothering you."
He sighed, turning to face me. "I just don't feel that good."
"What hurts?" I asked, pressing the back of my hand to his forehead. "You don't have a fever."
"My head..." he mutters, a distant look glazing over his eyes.
I frowned, looking at him in concern. "Ash, I don't think you should go on stage-"
"No, no," he said quickly, his head snapping to me. "I have to go on. The fans paid to see 5 Seconds of Summer - that includes me. If my band is performing, so am I."
"But-"
"Y/N. Please. You know I love you, but please don't try to change my mind about this."
He leaned in to give me a quick kiss on my cheek, giving me a reassuring smile.
I nodded and stepped back to show him that I was done fighting. "If you need me, I'll be right here," I said simply.
Ashton gave me a sweet smile. "I know."
"On in thirty seconds!" the manager yelled.
Ashton took another step away from me, his eyes landing on his bandmates.
Calum was adjusting his bass strap, Michael bouncing a little on the balls of his feet.
Luke looked up from where he was putting on his earpiece. "Ready?" he asked.
Ashton nodded and they started toward the stage.
I watched Ash closely as they went on, nervously rolling his wrists as he waited for his his turn to go up.
The crowd cheered as Michael started introducing them, getting louder as they started to play the intro to one of their newer songs, Good Girls.
Halfway through the song, I noticed Ashton playing without his usual force and enthusiasm. Maybe he wasn't as ok as he said he was...
Calum looked over at me worriedly, his eyes asking me what was wrong.
I just shook my head.
The guitars faded as the boys looked to Ashton to sing his solo for the bridge.
"She's a good girl," he sang into the mic, barely hiding whatever pain is flashing across his face. "Hasn't been caught. She's a good girl..."
He couldn't finish the lyric before his eyes rolled up into his head and he passed out on the stage.
The boys immediately stopped playing and rushed to his side, a manager running onto the stage as soon they figured out what was going on.
"Ashton!" I exclaimed as they dragged him backstage to lay him on a couch, calling for paramedics.
"Ash!" Calum was saying, trying to shake his friend's shoulder to wake him up. "Ash!!"
Luke wordlessly pulled Cal off Ashton, shaking his head, a grim expression on his face.
Calum cast one more torn look at Ashton before burying his head in Luke's shoulder, clinging to the tall boy tightly.
Michael was yelling at the managers for not seeing that he wasn't ok, demanding where the paramedics were.
But I could see the flash of worry beneath all that anger.
I silently knelt by Ashton's side, pulling his unconscious body onto my lap and rocking him back and forth slowly.
"I'm so sorry," I whispered as I watched the chaos unfold around us. "This is all my fault."
We waited for the paramedics, Michael furiously pacing across the room, Calum holding on tight to Luke like his life depended on it, Luke's normally bright blue eyes cool and distant.
My attention flickered to Ashton as he gave a little gasp, his eyes flying open.
"Ash!" Calum breathed in relief, taking a step toward Ashton without ever letting go of Luke.
"What-what happened?" Ashton mumbled as he tried sitting up.
I gently pushed him back down. "You passed out. The paramedics will be in here in a second to make sure you're ok."
Ashton hung his head, a tortured expression on his face as he murmured, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ruin the show. I let the fans down."
He buried his face in my shoulder, letting me hold him while he cried.
"Shh, you didn't let anyone down," I assured him, brushing his hair away from his face.
"Mate, no one's mad at you," Michael added, his voice softer now.
"You can't control when you get sick," Luke threw in quietly.
Calum nodded in agreement, still a little rattled from the whole thing.
Ashton picked his head up. "But I messed up the whole show," he said miserably.
"The fans just want to make sure that you're ok," I said, kissing his forehead. "They're not upset."
"They're not?" he asked.
"They're not," I repeated with a smile. "And you can still give them the show they paid for. You're 5 Seconds of fricking Summer. This is what you were born to do."
