"You are my Future!" (Ashton Irwin)

Chapter 2 - I can't Remember

Saturday morning arrived with two extremely excited girls laughing at the bottom of my bed.

"Morning Katie!" Lauren exclaimed while Hannah carried on laughing, holding her stomach. I couldn't help but smile. Hannah's laugh could cheer me up on even the darkest of days. Lauren just shook her head, indicating that I shouldn't bother asking why she was laughing. We all got ready and sped to the centre of town to do some shopping in preparation for the concert later tonight. Most of the day was pretty unsuccessful as far as purchasing items was concerned. We basically just tried on outfits that we would never wear, just to see how they looked on. Eventually we all bought what we were looking for and went to get some lunch. Hannah thought that the items I had bought would make me a 'Luke girl' although generally I was more of a 'Michael girl'. Personally I didn't have a clue what Hannah was on about, but Lauren nodded along to agree. I had bought a pair of black ripped knee jeans, a pair of white converse and a loose white shirt to wear under my flannel shirt that I had at home. Lauren had bought a Red Dress in hopes that Michael will fall in love with her from the stage, and Hannah had bought a blue shirt and black skirt. We finished our lunch and headed back to my house with 4 hours to get ready for the concert - I don't know how but they needed it.

Since it was my house, Han and Lauren so graciously allowed me to shower first. I spent the majority of the rest of the afternoon making us a pizza and watching re-runs of Friends on TV. I quickly got dressed and did my make-up, settling for a simply smokey eye look and nude lipstick, before sitting with Hannah and Lauren to eat the pizza I had made - From scratch. At 6:15 we left my house and headed towards Sheffield Arena. The doors were already open when we arrived, meaning we didn't have to queue for ages before we even got in to the venue. Hannah and Lauren headed straight for the merchandise section Immediately getting their money out, despite not looking at what was available. I stood at the back against the wall, looking at the merch available. An annoying pain just above my temple reminded me that I didn't take any tablets before I left the house. I ignored the feeling and settled for buying a bottle of water in hopes to numb the pain. Hannah and Lauren caught up with me after they had bought their merch. The sound of cheering fans told us that the supporting act was starting as we headed down the stairs to the standing zone of the arena.

After around 45 minutes, 5 Seconds of Summer arrived on stage. I sang along to the songs that I knew, thanks to Hannah for playing them all day long. Three songs in and the pain above my temple had not subsided an inch. In fact, it was beginning to get a lot worse. I checked the set list that Lauren had downloaded on my phone. Another 15 songs to go. Lauren gave me a questioning look as I sighed and took a big gulp of water. I shook my head indicating that nothing was wrong as the fourth song began to play. I focused on the simple beat of the drums and the way the drummer moved his arms. Drums always fascinated me. I wondered how drummer remembered the beat they had to play for every song. They seemed much more complicated than knowing the chords and riffs on a guitar. Halfway through the set list, I was still paying attention only to the drummer. I didn't really know who was who in the band yet, even though some names had been thrown around between them. As the next song began to play I focused on the lyrics that the dark haired boy was singing. For a band so young, their lyrics were pretty deep. A piercing pain in my left temple knocked my concentration. At the end of the song the boys on stage were talking between themselves and the audience. "I'll be right back." I told Hannah before trying to fight my way out of the group of cheering girls. As I got to the exit of the standing zone, a security officer saw me trying to leave.

"Can I help you?" he asked noticing I was clutching my head. I spun around to face him and the stage.

"I just needed some fresh air. My head hurts." I replied, catching the eye of the drummer on stage. He almost looked concerned.

"Oh, come with me, I'll see if we can talk to the first aid advisers." The friendly security officer led me towards the back of the stage rather than up the stair like I had expected. The last thing I saw before blacking out was the security officer turning around to help me up the stairs ahead.

            * * * 

Muffled voices. That's all I could hear. Everything was still pitch black. Maybe I hadn't opened my eyes yet. I don't remember what happened. Th piercing pain in my left temple reminded me that I hadn't taken my tablet before I left for the concert. The Concert. I must have blacked out when I went with the security officer. Carefully, to make sure I didn't make my head hurt any more, I opened my eyes. I looked up to see two paramedics knelt beside me on the floor. They must have moved me from where I collapsed because I now lay on a sofa somewhere well lit. There was no pain on the back of my head so I couldn't have hit it when I fell. Did someone catch me?

"How are you feeling?" The male paramedic closest to me asked. when I didn't replied he asked the question again.

"My head.." I managed to mumble. My speech isnt how it should be, it was somewhat slurred. Not a good sign.

"Can you tell me your name, miss?" the other paramedic, a woman, inquired, getting a torch to test my eyes. Classic sign of a neuro check.

"Katie. Katie Jones." I mumbled. The male paramedic passed me a cup of water to minimise the dryness of my mouth.

"Katie, I'm Carol. This is John. We need to take you to the hospital to get checked over. You complained of a headache before you collapsed, is that right?" I nodded, not sure that I could do much more talking. "Okay. We're going to take you to the hospital now. You will miss the end of the concert I am afraid." Again I nodded, not sure that I had a choice to stay anyway. The paramedics began to collect their stuff and fill in a few forms. John passed me another cup of water and helped me to sit up a little straighter, while Carol fetched a wheel chair for me. I would have said I could walk on any other occasion, but the pain in my head made me second guess myself.

"Who's this?"

"What happened here?"

"Is she okay?"

Multiple australian accents spoke all at once, thankfully not to me directly. Carol and John explained the situation as one of them sat on the sofa next to me.

"You missed the rest of the concert you know." He exclaimed in mock horror. I hoped it was mocking anyway. "I'm Ashton." He held out his had for my to shake. I took it and glanced up to see the drummer from the stage. "You probably knew that though." Wow this guy was cocky.

"Actually, no. I came with my friends. I don't really know who you are." the look on his face would have made me smirk if I wasn't in as much pain.

"Katie, can you manage to sit in the wheelchair for me please, and we will head straight off." I had never been more thankful for an interruption in conversation. I nodded and attempted to get myslef into the wheel chair. I stumbled but was quickly caught by Ashton who helped me.

"Ash! We're back on!" Someone shouted from the staircase to the stage. Without a second glance Ashton ran off in that direction. Maybe now I have reason to not like this band.