Nobody's Listening Pt. 2

After the show, Mike stepped backstage to see Jade smiling with a very close friend, Emily, showing her the diamond right that was now complimenting her left ring finger. He smiled at her. She didn't yet know that he was there. Ryu walked by him and patted him on the shoulder, grinning at him. Mike smirked at him, wiping sweat off his forehead with a white terry cloth towel. He took a long swig from hid water bottle and took a deep breath, walking over to Jade, finally. She saw him and smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck in a deep hug. She laughed.

"You're all sweaty," she complained. He smiled at her.

"Sorry," he muttered and pecked her on the lips. "So, were you surprised?" She laughed, grinning.

"Yes!" she cried. He beamed. A crew member walked past Mike.

"Hey, great show, Mike," she called, "Congratulations!" Mike smiled.

"Thanks," he grinned, sweat still dripping down his face. He took another drink of water.

"Mike," someone called. He turned to look at them. "They want you guys to fo a signing." Mike nodded.

"Okay," he said, "We'll be out in a little bit." The guy nodded. Mike looked at Jade.

"Come on," he smiled, "You can come out with me." Jade laughed. He'd said it like she was just some other person. It made her laugh more when quite a few of the fans getting autographs went to her first. She grinned at Mike, who just laughed and rolled his eyes. Many people congratulated them on their engagement, a few people giving Mike props for such a 'sweet' touch. After about an hour and a half, they said their goodbyes and left the venue in a black SUV. They got back to Mike's house around 2 am. It had been such a tiring night. Jade fell into the fluff of the bed, waiting for Mike to get out of the shower. They had a long day ahead of them the next day as well. They were going to work more on her new album and she had an independent show in the evening: her first one. She sighed, laying on her stomach and stared at the ring on her finger. She couldn't believe were she was. A year and a half ago, she was standing on a small, stupid night club stage singing roughing written songs. Now, she was one of the nation's strongest song writers, selling over 30,000 copies of her album within the first week of it release, and laughing in the bed and wearing the engagement ring of one of the most famous emcees in the world. She heard Mike open the bathroom door behind her. She was about to roll over to look at him when a mind numbing pain shot through her stomach. She moaned loudly and held onto her torso. Mike fell to the bed beside her.

"What's up?" he asked. She shook her head.

"Stomach hurts," she muttered. He sighed and pulled her hands away from her middle. He rubbed her stomach gently and looked at her.

"Better?" he asked. She smiled and nodded. He was so sweet. He smiled and kissed her.

"I love you," he muttered, laying his head on her shoulder. She smiled and rubbed his cheek.

"I love you, too," she smiled. He sighed and turned out the lamp, wrapping his arms around her, and they fell asleep.

~*~

After working in the studio for hours upon hours the next day, Jade was transported to the venue in LA for her show. Her stomach had been hurting all day. At one point in the studio, she'd run to the bathroom and thrown up. Mike was worried, but not SO worried. He knew about nerves. He'd had them enough starting his own career. She was feeling better once she was at the venue anyway.

Jade took a deep breath before getting ready to go out onto the stage. Mike looked at her, holding her face. He felt her forehead, putting his lips to her skin. She felt slightly feverish. He looked rather frantic.

"You're pale," he muttered, "Are you going to be okay?" She nodded.

"Yeah, I'm alright," she told him. He sighed and kissed her cheek. Jade stepped out onto the stage, waving to the crowd.

"Hey guys!" she called. They cheered loudly. She smiled, her stomach starting to hurt a little again. She sighed, sitting down at her piano. She had a new song to play. She had to ignore the pain. Mike watched her for a few moments, and then turned around to go backstage to talk to a few people. Jade started to play the piano and the crowd went wild. She smiled.

"This is a new song called, "Life, Love, and Music," she told them, "I hope you like it." She started to sing. Her stomach-ache started to subside a little. She hoped like Hell she wasn't getting the flu. She hated being sick. She finished the song.

"Did you guys like that?" she asked, getting up. The crowd roared. She grinned. "Good, 'cause that's going to be on my new album." She listened to the crowd cheer, and turned to talk to her guitar player. He nodded and started to play the intro to "Down the Road." She smiled at the crowd and started to dance around, singing loudly. She'd just hit the 2nd chorus when a pain that was so strong, it almost knocked her off her feet, hit her. She missed a few words, but shook it off, and continued to dance around. But the pain came back, worse. It was like white hot fire was burning through her. Her mouth hung open permanently. Her vision blurred with tears and pain. She groaned a bit. Her body started to shake a bit. Her bass player, Matthew, whom she was very close with, watched on in horror as her microphone tumbled from her hand, clattered across the stage, and she fell to her side, passed out from the pain. He immediately ripped the shoulder strap of his bass over his head and threw it heavily and carelessly to the side, where it banged loudly through the amp, skidding across the stage. He skidded to his knees beside her, rolling her onto her back. She was out cold, sweat pouring down her face. He spoke quickly and loudly into the walkie-talkie microphone hooked to the collar of his black t-shirt.

"Get security the fuck to the stage right now," he babbled, "Jade's down, and we need back up to keep this crowd back." At that moment, however, the stage had different plans for them. The most horrible sound in the world issued from above his head and he looked up to see a scaffolding of lights coming loose from the rafters.

"Matt, get the fuck out of there!" the drummer screamed, and Matt, who didn't have nearly enough time to pull Jade to safety, dove out of the way. The row of lights on their black rigging tumbled to the stage in an ear-splitting crash, missing Jade dead on by millimeters, and landing hard on her left hand.

Mike sat backstage, laughing with a crew member, when a sound like an explosion rattled the room. His gaze shot to the security guards beside him. A mess of noise and shouts came from the walkie-talkies they were holding.

"Get an ambulance!" one voice yelled, "She's bleeding, get a fucking ambulance!"

"Get security out here!" another voice screamed, "Keep the crowd back!" Mike's heart almost exploded through his chest. He didn't even hesitate. He burst past the crowd of people that were now working their way toward the stage. He pushed several people out of his way, knowing that he'd probably knocked a few of them down, but didn't care. He elbowed on person in the face for blocking his way to the stage door. When he looked out onto the stage, his knees almost buckled. It was like a scene from a fucking horror movie. Jade was laying in the middle of the wooden stage with a mess of shattered lights and twisted metal encasing her. And she wasn't moving. He noticed a fair amount of blood coming from her left hand.

"God dammit! Someone get a fucking ambulance!" he listened to the noise on the walkie-talkies. No one was fucking moving. Why were they being so slow? He shoved a security guard out of his way, and ran for the stage. The guard caught him around the middle.

"Mike! No!" he screamed, "You can't go out there! It's too damned dangerous!" Mike growled.

"Let me the fuck go!" he shrieked and turned, not really meaning to, but instinctually punching the guy hard in the jaw. He released Mike, grabbing his face, and Mike turned to run for the stage. He didn't even know where to start. If he got too rough with everything, he might hurt Jade. He took a deep breath, looking around, and finally just grabbed a hunk of metal and jerked it out of the way. It didn't free her, but it gave him a clear path to her. He fought his way through the wiring that had come down, and kicked broken lights out of the way. He fell down beside her.

"Jade," he muttered. "Oh God," he whispered. He didn't even know how to wake her. His mind was racing. She couldn't die. He didn't want to touch her for fear of hurting her, but he had to know she was okay. "Jade," he said more loudly. She opened her eyes and looked at him painfully. She took a deep breath.

"It hurts so bad, Mike," she muttered to him, tears springing to her eyes. He assumed she meant her hand.

"I know," he told her, "I know. We're going to get you out of this, and get you all fixed up." She looked at him oddly.

"My stomach, Mike," she told him, sobbing. He looked at her, realization dawning on him. He looked at her hand without meaning to. She glanced at it.

"Oh my God!" she cried, sobbing more loudly. She tried to pull it free from the scaffolding and cried out in pain.

"No, no!" Mike exclaimed, "Don't move! Don't pull!" She cried out in horror and fear. Mike turned his head.

"GET A MOTHERFUCKING AMBULANCE!" he roared at the people staring at them like idiots. A few of them ran away from the area. He looked back at her.

"They're going to get you out okay?" he said. She hiccupped. God, she was terrified. What the Hell had happened? She heard running footsteps on the stage. A few men in blue suits dropped bags of equipment beside her.

"Mike, you have to get back," one of them muttered, pushing him away. Mike immediately thought about fighting them, but knew that it was what was best for Jade. He stood up and backed off of them. He wiped his mouth with a shaking hand. They started to move the broken rigging away from Jade. She bawled. It hurt so bad. Mike turned away. He couldn't stand to hear her cries. Tears welled up in his own eyes and he angrilly and frustratedly wiped them away, covering his face with his dirty hands. Once there was a clear path, a gurney was wheeled in and Jade was lifted onto it. Mike tried to move forward.

"Just stay back," one of the EMTs told him again. He backed up, still frustrated. He wathched them wheel her away. They took her to an ambulance. He immediately rushed to the other side of the stage, crunching glass under his feet, and jumped off, running to the ambulance. He rode in the back with her to the hospital.

The only thing that they left behind were a few stunned fans that refused to leave, shatterd glass on a now beat up stage, and a puddle of deep red blood...