Chapter 1

When Adam woke up that morning after 5 hours of sleep -a record since 4 weeks- he was less rested than any morning before; he was totally exhausted. When he sat up, his head started spinning and he had to lay back down. After a few minutes, he was feeling better and decided to try to stand up. When he started to walk, it felt like he was drunk, even if he hadn't drunk alcohol in the last 24 hours. Despite his balance issues, he managed to walk to the bathroom. He turned on the water of the shower, emptied his bladder and entered in the shower. The water was warm, but Adam needed some help to really wake himself up, so he decided to take a cold shower. First, he tensed at the feeling of the water on his warm body, but after a few seconds, he was feeling better.

When he was done in the shower, he dried himself with a white towel and walked, naked, in the room to find something to wear. Heading to the corner of the room where he had left his bag the night before, he realized that he was feeling better. He was still really tired, but he wasn't feeling dizzy anymore. He grabbed a pair of black jeans, a dark blue shirt and black socks. He sat on the edge of the bed and began to dress. While he was buttoning his shirt up, he thought that he really needed a break. But he knew that tonight he was doing his last concert before having two weeks off. Two weeks without performing, two weeks without interview, two weeks without public appearance. He was looking forward to spending a lot of time relaxing in his house.

When he was dressed, he walked back in the bathroom to put some makeup on and fix his hair. He noticed that he had big shadows under his eyes, a sign that he really needed some time off. He had to use a lot of makeup to hide them. He added a thin line of eyeliner and a small amount of black eye shadow. He put some hair gel in his hair and slid his fingers in them to give a messy look. When he thought that his look was perfect, he put his boots on, took his sunglasses and his phone from the nightstand and got out of the room.

Outside his room, he noticed that the hotel corridor was really quiet. There wasn't anyone around and no sound at all. He began to walk down the empty corridor and stopped at the third door from his own. He knocked three times and heard a loud bang from the other side of the door, followed by a curse. After a few seconds, the door opened up on a half-dressed blond man, standing only on his right foot.

"Good morning, Tommy!" Adam said, letting himself in and sitting in a small couch. "What's going on with your leg?"

"I just knocked my big toe on that damned chair!" Tommy complained, pointing to the fallen chair a few meters away. "I don't know about you, but it feels like it's going to be a bad day!"

"Naw…You're a just as negative as usual. I think you are spending too much time with my brother…Nothing wrong will happen today," Adam assured, starting to stamp on the floor impatiently. "Can you just get dress so we can go eat a nice breakfast? I'm starving!"

"As you wish, boss!" the smaller man mumbled, wobbling toward the bed to take his t-shirt and hoody. He finished dressing and walked to the door. "So, are we going, rockstar?"

Adam looked at him and frowned; he didn't know why, but he hated it when his friends or family called him that. However, when it was coming from his fans, it was different. Wincing at his friend, the singer stood up and followed him outside the room.

"Where is Isaac?" Adam asked, pushing the button and waiting for the elevator.

"He left about an hour ago," Tommy said, absently. He was busy looking at his messages on his cell phone. "I think he went for a walk. He said he'll meet us at the restaurant."

The singer nodded and entered the elevator. When the elevator started to move down, Adam started to sweat. His ears were buzzing a little and he lost his balance. He had to lean against the wall to prevent from falling.

"Adam, are you okay?" Tommy asked, noticing his friend's state. "You are really pale."

"Yea…I just feel a bit weak," the singer explained, finding his balance and feeling a little better. "I think I really need to eat something," he added when the doors of the elevator opened.

"Are you sure?" the blonde asked, worried.

"Don't worry, I'm feeling better already," Adam assured, getting outside the elevator and walking toward the restaurant in the lobby of the hotel.

Tommy wasn't sure about what he friend had told him. The singer was not the kind of person who feels dizzy when he is hungry. He could stop eating for hours without feeling weak. He was not like Adam; he had to eat almost each hour to be sure to not starve. Sighing, he followed his friend and hoped he was wrong to have doubts about the singer.

A few times during the morning and the afternoon, Adam had some faintness. He didn't know why he was feeling so weak, but he supposed it was because he was really tired and he just needed a break. He was glad he was always alone when he got these weaknesses. The sound check went pretty well; he was tired, but he was not feeling really weak.

For diner, even if Adam wasn't really hungry, he decided to eat as much as possible; he needed to have enough energy and strength to do the show. After diner, he was feeling good, beginning to feel the excitement of his upcoming performance.

They arrived at the theater where the concert was being held about 2 hours before the show. Adam was in his dressing room with Sutan, his makeup artist and friend, and Clara his hairdresser. The singer sat in a chair for about an hour to let Sutan and Clara glam him up. When he stood up, his vision became fuzzy and his legs were limp. He had to sit back on the chair so he wouldn't fall on the floor. He was sweating a little, and he could hear something like a buzzing in his ears. Of course, the makeup artist and the hairdresser noticed that Adam wasn't feeling well.

"Adam, are you okay, honey?" Sutan asked, stroking circles in the singer's back.

"Yea, I think I'm just really tired," Adam explained, rubbing his temples; his head was beginning to hurt. "Can you bring me a glass of water and some aspirins, please? I don't want to stand up, yet," he added, hoping to feel better by taking deep breaths and keeping his eyes closed.

Clara nodded and walked in the bathroom while Sutan stayed with the singer. He was really worried about his friend. Even if the color was coming back to his cheeks, he was still pale. Instinctively, he gently pressed the back of his hand on Adam's forehead.

"You're not burning up," he said.

"I don't feel like I have fever; I'm just exhausted," the singer informed, leaning back in the chair. He was feeling better, but the headache was getting worst. "I think I'm going to be fine with the pills," he added when Clara came back and gave him 2 pills and a bottle of water. "Thank you."

"Are you sure?" Sutan asked, wondering if he should share a word with Lane about it. "If you're not doing fine, Adam, you have to tell us. You can't do the concert if you're too weak to stand."

"I know that, but I'm fine, I'm already feeling better," the singer assured, standing up slowly and hoping he was really okay. "Look, I'm just tired…I'll do the show tonight and I'm going to sleep for the next two weeks!"

"Okay, if you say so…I guess you know better than I do," the make up artist said, grabbing a leather jacket from a hanger and helping Adam to slip it on. It was true that he seemed to feel better now. "He's probably just tired," Sutan thought.

Adam did his warm up and finished preparing himself without feeling dizziness or anything. He was already feeling the high he felt just before, during and after a concert. He was so excited to go on stage that he was not thinking about his physical state anymore. He was in front of the mirror of his dressing room, giving the last touch to his hair when someone came to tell him it was time. He glanced one last time at his reflection, smiling, and he turned around and walked toward the stage.

The first part of the show went pretty well. The fans were amazing; they were singing and dancing with the music. When Adam came back on stage after the band had jammed a few minutes, he was beginning to feel tired again. He was still feeling the high, but he noticed that he had less energy. He had drunk half of a Red Bull can, and he had brought the other half with him on stage.

But after about 15 minutes, it was getting worst. He was beginning to sweat more than usual, and he had some trouble focusing when he moved too fast. Between two songs, he took a break to drink some water and his Red Bull. When he came back, he thought he was feeling a little better. Well, better enough to finish the show. But two songs later, he started to hear a buzzing coming from his earphones, so he took them off. But the buzzing was still there. The lights were starting to be too bright; he had to look toward the floor because it was hurting his eyes. Suddenly, he was completely lost; he forgot the lyrics of his song and what he was supposed to do. He turned to look at Tommy. He just had the time to hear the bassist pronounced his name, before he felt really hot and he saw something like a red veil covering his eyes. A second later, he felt himself falling and everything went black.

Everyone on the stage, back stage and in the crowd saw the singer falling on the floor, hitting his head on the lower stairs in the process. Adam fell on his right side, facing the public, his microphone rolling on the stage a few meters away.

While the fans were screaming, Monte dropped his guitar and knelt next to the unconscious singer. He was quickly followed by Lane, and the rest of the band.

"Adam, can you hear me?" he asked, worried.

He took the younger man's head in his hands to turn him on his back. But when he touched the back of Adam's head, his fingers felt something wet. He leaned forward to have a better look.

"Oh my god! Someone call 911, now!" Monte said loud enough to be heard by everyone around. The worry in his voice was obvious. He looked back at his hand, it was covered with blood.

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