The Show Must Go On (Jaythan)

Mystery Boy, Are You There?

{A/N A little Jay's POV while he's in a coma...again.

Also, I don't know how to dedicate chapters to people. But I want to dedicate this one to @TWSlashFanficList and @NattyTheWANTEDX :) You've been reading my stories for a long time and have always been very supportive and kind. Thank you so much!! :) xx}

Jay's POV

Hello?

Where am I?

Everything is all dark. I'm trapped in some kind of box. I can feel the walls, but I can't see anything.

I don't know where I am.

I think there's a monster in here with me. I sometimes hear growls or snorts. It scares me. I mostly just sit in the corner.

I don't sleep, but I'm not tired. I don't eat, but I'm not hungry. I don't drink, but I'm not thirsty.

I just...am.

I exist.

In a world of darkness.

Someone please help me. I don't know where I am.

I have vague memories. A few people. A few faces. A few names.

My family. My friends. My best friends, three lads who sing.

Then one boy with them. He's beautiful. Brown hair, hazel eyes, amazing voice. I can't quite figure out his name. I know he's the most important person to me. There's a ring on his finger. Is he my husband? Am I gay? I don't know. I can't remember.

I just know that if anyone can get me out of here, it's him.

Please, mystery boy, help me. Help me, please. I don't like it hear. It's dark and cold and lonely, and there's a beast I can't see. I can't even see myself.

Hello?

Mystery boy, are you there?

Please save me.

Nathan's POV

He won't wake up. I'm by his bedside every day, whenever the band isn't doing anything. They tell me he could wake up any minute now, but I don't think that's true. He's unresponsive, like he's trapped in his mind. Sometimes he shivers, or whimpers. I soothe him, and it goes away. But he doesn't wake up.

Dammit. It's just like the first time he was in a coma. But worse, somehow.

The boys are dragging me to the studio and gigs and things. I don't want to go. I want to be with Jay.

There's nothing I can do to help him. It tears me apart. I just have to sit here and wait for something that may not happen.

I voice these opinions to the boys one day.

Seev puts a hand on my shoulder. "Nathan, we all feel the same. I understand you're feeling it more than us, but don't give up hope."

I sniffles. He pulled me into a hug and let me cry into his shirt.

"Nathy..." I felt Tom's strong arms wrap around me too, then Max's. Soon we were all crying together.

"You know what they say, though," Max said quietly. "We may have a huge problem on our hands. But the show must go on."

"Why?" I croaked. "Why does it have to go on? Can't it just wait until everything is solved? It'll be better that way. Why keep going if it's just going to be bad?"

"Because life doesn't work that way. You could be suffering and life doesn't give a shit. The world turns past you, not bothering to stop and check if you're okay. If you don't keep up with it, you'll be left behind, trailing in the dust. And it's even harder to pick yourself up from getting kicked to the dirt. The show must go on, because...the world doesn't care," Tom replied.

"But I don't want to keep going like this. I want Jay," I complained.

"Keep going, Nathan. Do it for Jay. He'd want you to," Siva begged.

I sighed and closed my eyes. "Okay," I whispered.

I visited Jay later. I told him what the boys had told me. I also sang to him "I'll Be Your Strength." Because he and I wrote that one together.

Suddenly, he spoke. He didn't wake up. But he said five words.

"Mystery boy, are you there?"

I stared at him, confused, willing him to say more.

Nothing else left his lips that day.