Requested by Shannon1300
"You sure you're feeling okay?" You asked your boyfriend Ashton in a hushed voice as you sat beside him on the couch of the green room as you waited for his call to stage.
"Yeah, babe. It's just a cold or something, I'll be fine." He promised, squeezing your thigh with his hand that was wrapped behind your waist as you cuddled into his side.
"I don't know, baby. You've been off all day. It's like you can't focus on our conversations and you're so zoned out. You sure you're good to go on stage?"
"I'll be fine, y/n." He says, his face growing red as his irritation rose. "I don't want to let everyone down."
"Okay, okay. I'm not trying to tell you what to do." You said, holding your hands up in front of you in mock surrender. "I'm just worried about you is all. This isn't like you. Do the other boys know you haven't been feeling well?" you ask.
"No, and I don't want to worry them. After the show I'll see the tour physician and get some meds or something and sleep off whatever this bug is. I have to get through the show first, okay?" He asked, searching your eyes for the agreement he was desperately seeking.
After a moment you conceded, nodding your head as he leaned over, pressing a kiss to your temple and tightening his arm around your waist.
The call for the boys to report to side stage came and you followed along with them, Ashton's hand tightly gripping yours. You noticed the unusual amount of sweat covering his palm but didn't say anything, not wanting to upset him further.
Ash had to go up before the rest of the boys so he detached your hands and gripped your waist, pulling your body flush against him, his hands trailing up to cup your cheeks as he pressed his lips to yours.
"I love you." He said, pressing another kiss to your forehead before turning to run up the stage steps, echoes of cheers covering up the 'I love you, too' you yelled behind him.
He began to play and the rest of the boys followed his path out onto stage as you nervously moved to stand beside Sierra who had also traveled to this show with the band.
"What's wrong?" Sierra asked softly. You'd each been dating one of the boys for a while now and had become friends in the time spent together supporting them. She knew you almost as well as anyone and she could tell something was off.
"It's just Ash. He's been off all day. I don't think he's kept food or water down and he hasn't been able to concentrate. I think he's got a bug or something and I don't know that he should be out there right now." You admitted honestly.
"He's stubborn." She agreed.
"Yeah, they all are, but he in particular."
You watched nervously as the boys set seemed to drag on, Ash seeming to grow weaker with each passing song. Where he normally came alive as their set progressed, today he seemed to be fading.
"Dang, I think you're right. I mean he's normally a mess on stage but in a good way. Today he looks like death warmed up." Sierra said to you in between songs and you nodded your head in agreement, searching the side stage area for the drum tech.
When you spotted him you rushed over.
"Does he seem off to you?" You asked quickly and he nodded.
"Yeah, I asked him if he was okay and he said he was fine though." The tech yelled back into your ear so that you could hear him over the song that had just started.
"He looks like he's about to faint, can you just stay close to him. Make sure he doesn't get hurt?" You asked and the man nodded, leaving the side stage and moving nearer to the rear of the drum kit where he could keep a better eye on Ash.
You retook your place next to Sierra, shaking off your nerves to the best of your ability as you wrung your hands and hoped for the best for Ash.
As they neared the end of their set, only four songs left before their encore, you saw it begin in slow motion. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, his entire body swaying slightly as he struggled to catch his breath. His eyes fluttered closed and he forced them back open, teetering again on his drum stool before his body went limp and he fell backwards.
You heard your scream seemingly from the outside of your body as the boys all turned at the sound of the commotion as he fell off his riser and thankfully was caught by the drum tech.
The boys abandoned the set mid song, all understanding that Ash's well being was most important at the moment.
Everything was moving at lightning speed but also in slow motion. Nothing made sense. A hand gripped tightly to your arm and you looked to the right and saw the grip belonged to Sierra as she steered you behind the boys as they carried ash back to the green room.
Shrieks from the crowd could still be heard form backstage everyone wondering what the hell was going on.
A mangled sob escaped your throat and you were allowed to sit at Ashton's side, holding tightly to his hand as the physician looked him over.
After only a few minutes of being fanned his eyes fluttered before he blinked hard several times and his eyes opened, adjusting to the light.
"Oh thank God!" You cried.
"What happened?" He asked, his voice sounding off.
"You blacked out." You replied. "I told you not to go out there."
"You were dehydrated, mate." Calum adds. "Y/n said you've been sick all day. Why didn't you tell us?" He asks, looking more hurt than anything else.
"I-I just didn't want to disappoint anyone. You guys. The fans." He says, his eyes downcast. "Now I have anyway though."
He turned his head, his eyes meeting yours and you saw the tears behind them.
"You haven't let anyone down, Ash." Luke said softly, the other boys agreeing.
"I have though." Ash argued, visibly upset.
"Everyone just wants to know you're okay, they don't care about the last few songs."
Ash stayed quiet, the boys talked amongst themselves for a moment before leaving to go and tell everyone the show was over for the night.
A few stray tears slipped from Ashton's eyes as you ran your hands through his hair.
"Come on babe. I got us a car to take us to the hotel. The doctor gave me some medicine for you to take and we're gonna get you lots and lots of fluids so you won't need an IV."
He followed along beside you still obviously dissapointed with himself as you loaded into the rideshare.
Once in the hotel and in the comfort of the hotel bed he allowed himself to be held and coddled by you.
"I hate disappointing people." He said into the darkness.
"You haven't disappointed anyone, love. Your fans are just worried about you, you should tell them you're okay at some point. You can only do so much and you pushed your body as hard as you could. No one can fault you for that. Now come here, you need your rest." You said, letting him settle his head against your chest as you kissed him, a sigh escaping his chest as he allowed his eyes to fall closed and slipped off to sleep.
