The Unexpected

Now You've Hit A Wall

"Our next song is These Streets, and we have Emma Woods with us!" Will announced. That was my cue to walk onto the stage. I smiled shyly, ignoring my headache, and walked towards Dan. We nodded at each other, not looking overly excited as most people would be. Our hands lingered over the keys and Dan counted us off.

"These streets are yours you can keep them," Dan sang.

"I don't want them," I sang back, slightly cringing at loud speakers.

"They pull me back and I surrender, to the memories I run from." Dan looked at me as he sang.

"Oh we have paved these streets, with moments of defeat," we harmonized.

I couldn't help but think about our mothers talking about how our voices were made for each other. Between the memories and pain, I could feel the pressure of tears behind my eyes. I smiled and sang through the pain, managing catching Will's gaze.

"But even if we won't admit it to ourselves, we'll walk upon these streets and think of little else." By this point Dan and I were just in octaves.

After the song finished, Dan awkwardly side-hugged me. I rushed off the stage, brushing tears from my face. At the end of the song a few tears escaped from my eyes. I hoped nobody noticed.

Quickly, I ran towards the bathroom. It felt like someone had taken an axe to my head. I sat, hyperventilating, on the bathroom floor. My head was between my led and I felt like I could throw up.

I was weak when it came to headaches or migraines. I could take a hit and not cry, but this hurt worse than getting punched in the stomach.

It wasn't long before I heard multiple footsteps outside the door.

"Give her a minute! She's probably just overwhelmed right now," A girl, Annie, said to someone else. There was a loud knock on the door, making my head throb more. "Jesus, Lane! Give her some space! She's always okay!"

"I can't leave her to suffer in there! What if she has a headache and passes out? Or she has an anxiety attack with it?!" Lane yelled. "She's all alone, please Annie. We- I need to make sure she's okay," he pleaded, sounding quieter than before.

After a moment of silence, the door was softly pushed open. Lane rushed over to me, kneeling in front of me. "Annie, where's the ibuprofen?" I heard the rattling of a bottle being passed between them. Lane grasped one of my hands and pressed two tablets into my palm. Lane held my other hand.

"It's gonna be okay, Emma," he cooed. "It's okay."

When the pain started to dull, I dry swallowed the pills. I'm not sure how long we sat like that, no longer than thirty minutes though. I was thankful that I hadn't thrown up or passed out.

"Let's go back to the green room," Lane said, picking me up bridal style. I groaned and rested my head against his chest as he walked us back.

"Lane, you've gotta go for Pompeii, there's only four more songs and we can't have both of you missing," Dick said to Lane. "I'll watch over her until you get back." Lane nodded and ran off towards the stage.

Dick pulled up a chair besides the couch I was resting against. "Are you alright?" I nodded. "What happened?"

"I'm not really sure. I just started to feel light-headed halfway through These Streets. I didn't expect that to happen tonight," I told him.

"Do we need to stop at a doctors office?"

I shook my head. "I don't think it's that serious. I think if it happens again I should see someone, even if you guys have to go on without me. I know my band mates can carry on if I can't be at a show. I can't be the one to hold them back if this gets worse," I confided.