Music and Passion

Something was beeping. It was loud, annoying and reminded my of an alarm clock. But it wasn`t quite loud enough to be an alarm clock. But just like one, I wanted it to shut up. Ever heard the saying about how bad things come in three`s? Well so far it was in two`s. This time it came in the form of light. I think. What ever kind it was, it was bright and utterly blinding and I haven`t even opened my eyes yet. At first I thought it might of been sunlight filtering through the curtains but it was far too bright to be that. It was like someone was shining a light in my face. You know how in old cop movies or shows, when they would interrogate someone they would suddenly shine a light in the suspects face and they would wince and draw back or even shield their eyes? That`s what it felt like.

For a second I couldn`t figure out what the noise could possibly be from or why there would be such a bright light in the bus. And then everything from last night came flooding back to me.

My eyes snapped open and I immediately whined and squinted. Oh yeah, I`m definitely in the hospital. I looked around the best I could and thankfully found a blurry Nikki leaning against a window.

"Nikki?" I rasped, my throat incredibly sore and itchy.

"Sam? Oh thank god," Nikki breathed as he quickly made his way over to me. "You`ve been out for two days. We were starting to worry you wouldn`t wake up."

"What happened? Is the baby okay?" I asked.

He grinned and nodded. "The baby`s fine. Perfectly healthy and growing like crazy." His grin suddenly turned into a frown. "You passed out on us, Sam. The doctors chalked it up to stress, exhaustion and dehydration."

I nodded slowly. "Speaking if that, can I have some water?"

"Yeah. I`ll be right back." Nikki left the room only to return seconds later with a cup and Jeff trailing behind him.

"If you`re going to lecture me then you can leave the room," I rasped, taking the cup from Nikki and downing the water. "I don`t want to hear about how bad of a mother I`ll be."

"I`m not here to lecture you. Though I should," Jeff said, only to wince when Nikki shot him a look. "I wanted to apologize. I shouldn`t of yelled at you like that. I just want you to take better care of yourself."

"Lecture," I grunted.

"Right. Sorry," He muttered. "I`m just worried is all."

I nodded and took a deep breath. "I understand that. But what you said to me was not necessay. And don`t think I forgot them just because I passed out," I quipped.

"I`m sorry."

"Is she awake? Sam!"

I winced and raised a brow at the commotion coming from the hallway. What in the world was going on? Fortunately I didn`t have to wait long to figure it out. Die and Shinya burst into the room followed by Yutaka.

"Are so many people allowed in here at once?" I questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"We don`t know," Die said with a shrug.

"And we don`t care," Yutaka added.

"We`re all worried about you," Shinya spoke up.

"Thank you. But from what I understand I`m okay," I chuckled. I quickly looked at Nikki and asked, "I am okay, right?"

Nikki snickered and nodded. "Yeah. You`re fine. The doctors should let you out soon."

"Speaking of doctors," I muttered. "Where is mine?"

"I can go find him?" Jeff suggested.

"That would be great."

"I`ll go with you," Nikki volunteered.

The two quickly left the room and I turned my attention back to the other three. But not for long. Kyo suddenly stormed into the room. He looked both pissed and worried. He began ranting in Japanese before looking at me and switching to English.

"We were so worried about you. Do you know that? I thought we were going to lose you!"

I frowned. Did things get that bad? Did Nikki not tell me everything or was Kyo just exaggerating out of worry? "I`m fine, Kyo. I`m alive and so is the baby."

Kyo visibly winced and shook his head and muttered, "I was so fucking worried. I`m the reason you`re even here. If something happened to either of you..." He trailed off and gripped at his hair.

"Kyo!" Die and Shinya hissed.

"Wait a second. Rewind and freeze! What do you mean you are the reason we`re here?" I questioned.

Before he could answer a doctor walked in with Nikki and Jeff. I didn`t half pay attention to what he was saying. My focus was mostly on Kyo now as the wheels in my head began turning. Did he get Before Dawn booked on this tour? After all, we were never told why we were asked to tour with these people.

Because I wasn`t exactly paying attention, I missed my doctor telling me I could leave the hospital in the morning and that I had been prescribed vitamins. Nikki had to reexplain everything after the doctor left and he realized I wasn`t listening, instead staring at Kyo who wouldn`t look up from the floor.

"Nikki," I breathed, interrupting something he was rambling on about. "I need to talk to Kyo alone."

"Oh. Um, alright," He murmured, looking very confused.

Everyone slowly left the room, exchanging worried glances the whole time. Kyo never looked up from the ground. Not even once. I guess those ugly laminate floors became interesting.

"There is so much I want to say to you right now," I whispered. "But first, I want you to tell me why my band is on this fucking tour."

"The labels wanted something different. They thought the tour would go over better if there was an American act with us," Kyo answered slowly, still not looking up from the floor. "We were asked to research bands that might work. I found you guys on accident." That made me flinch.

"Is that all we are? A mistake?" I questioned, my tone becoming harsh and borderline shouting.

"No. You could never be a mistake. As soon as the others heard your music they wanted you."

"I`m going to ask you something and I want you to be completely honest with me. No more lies."

"If that`s what you want."

I took a deep breath and asked what had been on my mind the whole tour. "Do you even like me?"

Kyo`s head snapped up and a look that could only be described as shock crossed his features. "I..."