[DISCONTINUED] In The Crowd (Muke)

1.9 - Unexpected

Luke felt light headed as he stood two feet away from Michael, this time actually being able to see him up close. He subtly took a deep breath in, inhaling the scent he thought he'd never smell and realised how creepy he was.

"Who are you and why are you here?" Michael questioned.

"Luke and Ashton." Ashton spoke, slowly becoming more comfortable with the situation.

"Well, if you guys are just some fans, you can't be in here. Leave or we'll call a nurse." Michael spoke, annoyance in his voice. Luke's mouth went dry as he struggled to speak. Calum moved away from the door, going back to the cheap hospital bed, instantly passing out due to the slightly heavy dose of pain medication but Michael knew he wouldn't be asleep for long. Calum always slept for very short periods of time regardless of the situation.

"We're sorry-"

"I appreciate you guys coming and all, I love ya guys, but leave." Luke barely processed what was being said as he felt his knees buckle and he toppled to the ground, hyperventilating.

Luke's head was spinning. This isn't happening, they were not standing next to Michael Clifford. This is a dream, wake up Luke. Michael's not real. You're dreaming. He isn't standing there, okay.

Everything was happening so quickly, and so many things were happening too fast. Just a few weeks ago he found out about the concert in Sydney, but now the rest of the whole tour is cancelled, Michael and Calum are in the hospital, and just seconds before he was standing face-to-face with - in his mind - the possible love of his life.

Black spots clouded his vision and everything was going black as he tried to pull himself together while he was on his back trying to get his breathing undercontrol, but he was too weak to do so and he felt himself slip into unconsciousness.

Ashton and Michael gasped, bending down to grab Luke, Michael trying his hardest to keep his balance as he pulled the blonde boy up and into the hospital room. He put him on the bed and laid him down on his side, instructing Ashton to find a nurse or doctor or someone to help.

"Fuck." Michael whispered, looking around for a small dixie cup of cold water and gently tipping it into Luke's slightly open mouth, just enough so that he wouldn't choke on the liquid.

Michael was afraid of what had just happened with the unconscious boy in front of him, even though he didn't know him personally at all. Why is he letting this stranger stay in the bed he's supposed to be on? He knew that the doctors instructed he and Calum to stay calm and rest well so that they could get back to touring quicker, but he felt the need to help Luke first. Which was odd, since he was standing up with a fractured leg and helping someone who only fainted.

The older looking boy ran back into the room with a nurse to aid to Luke's current state, but she immediately looked at Michael with disbelief, shaking her head and instructing Ashton to get a chair from the hallway so Michael could sit down and rest his leg.

"What happened to the poor lad?" She asked with a strong aussie accent as she began to take his vitals, writing stuff down on the clipboard she was holding even though he wasn't a patient.

"He just kind of collapsed." Michael spoke, uncertainty in his voice. "I don't really know who-"

Ashton's eyes widened and he jumped up, raising his voice slightly. "This has happened before, he was overexhausted and yeah, he was fine afterwards."

"When was that?"

"About three or four weeks ago?" He shrugged and bit his bottom lip, shaking his head. "I'm not sure, I never keep track of a lot of things."