Room 21 - Calum Hood Punk -

Great News, Right?

- Calum's POV -


It's been a month since we found out Elena's dying, and that we sound great as a band. In that month, we've gotten our music heard, and we've been signed to a record label. I don't even know how it happened. We just posted covers online, and we got noticed! We're heading down to the hospital to see Elena now, because Dr. Johnston says he has more news on her progress. When we reach the hospital, he meets us almost straight away at the front desk. We stop outside the room Elena was first in, and she's back in there. "Why isn't she in intensive care anymore?" I frown. "Because, Mr Hood, the news I have is good news! She's made a lot of progress and she seems to be getting better. I'm not sure how, but the doctors swore she made a sound. So we've moved her back to her original room." Dr. Johnston explains.


"Thank you." I beam. She's getting better! Everything's gotten better this past month, I can't believe it! We go into her room and I sit down next to her bed like always, holding her hand in mine. "Me and the guys have some amazing news that we want to tell you! Wake up, beautiful, so we can tell you about it!" I say to her.
"It really is amazing news, Elena! You'll love it," Ashton says from the other side of the bed.
"You'll be so proud!" Michael and Luke say in unison. I give her hand a gentle squeeze, and then I feel a small bit of pressure on mine...


- Elena's POV -


"Me and the guys have some amazing news that we want to tell you! Wake up, beautiful, so we can tell you about it!" I hear Calum say.
"It really is amazing news, Elena! You'll love it," Ashton's voice speaks up.
"You'll be so proud!" Michael and Luke say in unison. News? I wonder what it could be... I can feel Calum squeeze my hand gently. I know it's him, because I recognise his touch. I use all my willpower to try and let him know I can hear him. I try hard, but it's difficult. I manage to use enough energy to gently give his hand a little squeeze back too. I hope he felt it...


- Calum's POV -


"Did you see that?!" I gasp, standing up.
"No, what happened?" Michael frowns.
"Sh-she squeezed my hand back!" I say in shock.
"She did?!" Ashton grins, standing up.
"She squeezed back, she can hear us!" I smile, getting excited. I rush out of the room and tell a nurse what happened, so they come in and note it down on Elena's progression clipboard. "Thank you for letting me know. I'll be sure to pass this news onto Dr. Johnston!" She smiles, leaving the room again. "I can't believe she squeezed my hand back! She must be trying to wake up," I ramble. Ashton takes her hand and smiles.
"I can't believe she hears us!" He says happily. Then she squeezes his hand. "Did you-"


"I saw!" I nod, getting excited. I can't believe she hears us! "This is amazing," I grin, kissing her cheek. But then her heart monitor makes that familiar long beeping sound that I know all too well... "NO!" I yell. I run out into the hall and shout for help, causing a group of doctors to come running to Elena's room. "I need to ask you all to leave." One of them says, grabbing the defibrillator. "No! I-I need to be with her!" I protest. Ashton pulls me out of the room and I watch as the doctors rush around to help her. "This can't be happening, she was getting better!" I croak as tears slide down my cheeks. Please, Elena... I watch them with a breaking heart as they use the defibrillator to try and shock hers to work again. They try over and over again, but nothing's happening. I start to feel dizzy. "Calum?" I hear Ashton, but he sounds so far away. I feel myself falling, so I try to grab something, but there's nothing in front of me. I collapse to the floor and I become unconscious...


*time skip*


I wake up and I'm lying down on a hospital bed, Luke and Ashton sitting opposite my bed. I slowly sit up and there heads snap up to look at me. "Are you feeling okay?" Luke asks.
"What happened?" I groan.
"You passed out," Ashton answers, looking worried.
"E-Elena! What happened to Elena?!" I begin to panic, my breathing becoming more erratic.
"Calm down, Cal, Michael's with her now! They managed to stabilise her heart." Ashton reassures. "She's alive?" I smile weakly.
"She's still in her coma, but yes, she's alive." Luke nods, answering my question.
"I want to go and see her," I say, standing up. Just as I'm doing this, a nurse comings into the room.


"Hello, Mr Hood. I see you're awake! How's your head?" She asks.
"It's fine," I reply, "can I go?"
"Of course! If your head starts hurting again, just come and let me know," she smiles. I thank her and we leave the room. When we get to Elena's room, Michael is sat next to her bed. "Hey, you okay?" He asks me. I nod, turning my attention to Elena. He gets up and lets me sit down on the seat he was sat in. "Thanks," I smile, sitting down. I take Elena's hand in mine, kissing it quickly. "Thank god you're still here..." I whisper to her. The boys don't hear me, as they're talking about the album that we're in the middle of writing and recording for. We've got a few songs written, but we can't think of any more for the album. We've released a few EP's, and they've been a huge hit. "We need a couple songs that we could do music videos to... I got a call from management last night and they need us to come up with something," Ashton explains to Michael and Luke. "We'll have to sit down and brainstorm later then." Michael suggests.


"I guess so," Luke nods. I put my attention back onto Elena. She has to wake up... '
"I love you." I whisper, kissing her cheek.
"Calum, do you fancy getting coffee?" Luke asks.
"Huh? Oh, no thanks. I'm gonna stay with Elena." I decline.
"Suit yourself." They shrug, walking off to get coffee. I decide to turn on the radio that's on the shelf in Elena's room, but it doesn't work. Jesus, this is so shit... I try to make it work, but the sound keeps getting interfered by bad signal. I hit it a couple times, and the sound clears for a few short seconds before being interfered again. "Fuck sake!" I growl, hitting it harder. The song American Idiot by Green Day starts clearly playing, and I quietly sing along to it.


"Don't wanna be an American idiot. Don't want a nation under the new mania. And can you hear the sound of hysteria? The subliminal mind fuck America." This song is one of my favourite songs. When the song finishes, I turn the radio off and quickly leave the room to get a cup of water from the machine just by the door. I drink the water and throw the cup in the bin, walking back inside Elena's room. I take my phone from my back pocket and see I have a missed call from management, so I ring them back. "What's up?" I ask when they pick up.
"I called Ashton, but he's not answering. Have you guys come up with a plan on what to do for music videos?" Adam, our manager, asks.
"The others were talking about having a brainstorming night soon. You know, so we can write lyrics and see if any are good enough?" I say, remembering Ashton and the others talking about it earlier. "Fantastic. I'm sure you lads will come up with something great! Gotta go, bye!" Adam hangs up and I sigh, putting my phone back in my pocket.


The boys come back from getting their coffee. "Where are your drinks?" I frown.
"We drank them already. We were quite thirsty," Michael chuckles.
"Adam called to ask about what we were doing for the music video situation. I told him about the brainstorming idea and he thought it was a good one." I tell them.
"Awesome! I don't know when you guys want to do this brainstorming thing, but it's going to have to be soon. We need to try and get it done. Otherwise, the label's just going to drop us." Ashton points out. He's right. "We'll do it soon." Luke nods.


"Do you not think we could just make a music video from one of the songs we've already written?" Ashton suggests.
"Exactly! I mean; English Love Affair or 18? They're good songs, and they'd make good music videos!" Michael nods.
"Management have already said the song doesn't give any good ideas for a music video," Luke reminds them. "We're just going to have to write some more songs. We've got about four, right? That means we'd have to write some more anyway. Otherwise it's just an EP. We need an album to release," I explain.
"We can do it. We've come this far, we can't back down now!" Ashton says firmly. We all nod in agreement. "What should we have for dinner tonight?" Luke asks.
"We could go to Starbucks and just have something from there. I'm not massively hungry today." Ashton shrugs. "Sure!" Luke nods at him.


"I think it's from all the coffee we're drinking," I joke. The boys all chuckle in agreement.
"I say we go to Starbucks in a short while. We've been here a few hours now, plus we've got to do this brainstorming thing," Ashton points out.
"Let's go now then," I say. We all get up and make our way to the door.
"We're stopping by Krispy Kreme on the way!" Michael shrieks. We all start laughing, but there's a softer laugh that makes us stop moving. "You and your obsession with doughnuts." I whip around and I feel my heart beat faster. No way... "Can I have a hug then, or not?" The other boys rush over to Elena, who's sitting up with wide eyes and smile, and hug her tightly. I stand there, full of surprise and shock. She's awake... "Hey Cal," she whispers, showing off her beautiful smile once again. I feel tears well up in my eyes as I rush over and engulf her in a hug. "I've missed you so much!" I cry quietly into her hair.
"I've missed you too..." She whispers, quickly kissing my nose.


"Elena, I see you're finally awake! That's great news," Dr. Johnston comes in.
"Yeah... What happened exactly? I can remember being hit by a car, but then nothing..." She frowns. "You've been in a coma for a very long time, Elena. I'm glad to see you awake though. I'll check with someone about when you can go home, and then I'll let you know!" The doctor smiles. "Thank you," Elena smiles back as he leaves. "So, what did I miss?" She asks us.
"Not much," Luke shrugs. It takes only a couple of minutes before the doctor is back again.
"Good new, you're able to be discharged now!" He smiles.
"That's so great!" She grins happily. I see a look of fear on her face suddenly appear, and she loses all colour in her face. "What's wrong?" I frown.


- Elena's POV -


I try to get myself off the bed, but my legs don't move. I can't feel them either... "What's wrong?" Calum frowns. I start to feel sick. "I-I can't... I can't feel my legs," I croak in fear, tears welling up in my eyes. "What do you mean? O-of course you can!" He shakes his head in disbelief, the happiness in his face changing to sadness and confusion. "I-I can't!" I feel the tears sliding down my cheeks. "I'll be right back," Dr. Johnston says, rushing out of the room. There's no point, I already know what's happened. I've lost the use of my legs...