“Just a minute,” she said, slipping out of bed. 

“I’m coming!” she snipped with irritation.  She flung the door open to see a sleepy-headed Justin in front of her. 

“Sorry to wake you,” he said, in pajama pants with bags in hand.

“Justin?  What’s wrong?” she asked, covering her yawn. 

“He’s sick again.  I can’t take it!  I tried to see if Chris would let me bum with him for the night, but he’s passed out and won’t answer.  I need somewhere to sleep!”

“Oh,” she sighed.  “Just come in here.”   She felt his eyes slowly run up and down her body in response.  She put her hand out , “I...I’ll find somewhere else to stay; I’m sure one of the wardrobe ladies will take me in.” 

There was a flash in his eyes as he brushed past her and threw his bags down at the foot of the bed. 

She grabbed a sweatshirt off the chair in the corner and slipped it on.  “How bad is he?”

“Wouldn’t open the bathroom door, he’s been in there for over an hour.  Must be some weird 12 hour flu he keeps catching,” he shrugged as he plopped down on the bed. 

“Alright, I’ll see if I should get a doctor on my way,” she sighed, snatching the key card on the table as he headed towards the door.

“You sure you don’t want to stay here?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Goodnight Justin,” she groaned as she slipped out the door.  She headed three rooms down and stopped cautiously, leaning in to see if there was any noise coming from behind the door.  Not a peep.  She absentmindedly toyed with her hair, straightening her sweatshirt before knocking.  No response.  “JC?” she called out.  There was still only silence.  She knocked gently as she slid the card into the door.  “JC?” she whispered.  She crept in cautiously, the light from the hallway gently outlining the room until it shut behind her.  There was no sign of him until she heard faint noises from the bathroom.  It sounded like him groaning and heaving over the gentle water running from the sink.  As she was about to knock on the bathroom door, it suddenly flung open. 

She stared at him, dazed for a moment. 

“What are you doing?” he boomed, staring down at her with irritation.  That wasn’t like him.

“Well, Justin told me you weren’t feeling well, so I came to see if you…” she stopped as she met the cold stare of his bloodshot eyes, noting the line of sweat on his forehead.

She felt a shiver run down her spine as he quietly pushed past her to head back towards his bed.  “I don’t need a doctor, Sadie.”

She grabbed his arm, “Are you sure?   You’ve been getting sick a lot lately…”

He stared at her hand gripping his bicep, ignoring her and pulling away from her touch.  “Sadie, you can do something for me…”

She leaned in expectantly. 

“…you can get out!”  He groaned as he slipped under the covers, rolling over and turning his back away from her. 

She sucked in a breath at his cruelty, pausing for a beat before turning on her heels and slipping back out of the room.  As the door closed behind her, she realized she had nowhere to sleep for the night.  She sighed as she stuck her hands in her pockets and headed towards the elevator.  Just another night on the job.

***

The group was huddled together in the hallway of the hotel floor. 

“What are we going to do about this?” Justin asked, pointing towards the door. 

Johnny nodded, “We’ll take care of this.  We’re going to take him to a doctor – and, yes, we’ll have you bum with Chris in the meantime so you don’t catch whatever he’s got.”

Chris groaned, “If I have to share.”  Joey elbowed him in response. 

“Alright, everyone head off to the bus.”  The boys filed off with their bags.  “Sadie,” he stopped her in her tracks.  “You stay behind and take JC to the doctor – get all of this sorted out.  They can’t perform tonight without him.  Get him whatever prescription they can – he needs to be raring to go in a few hours.”

She nodded, plastering a fake smile on her face.  Once Johnny had disappeared in the elevator, she frowned and crossed her arms with irritation.  Her eyes landed on JC’s hotel room door.  Slowly, she made her way to it – pausing outside, running the scenario over in her head.  She was hoping to avoid him today altogether after his behavior.  Even now, her strategy was going to be to hail him a cab to a doctor’s office and let him fend for himself.  Well she knew that wasn’t going to happen.  The door suddenly flung open before she could bring her fist down to knock.

“Hi Sadie,” a bright-eyed fresh-faced version of JC stood before her. 

“Hey,” she said, eyes wide.

“Look, I’m sorry for the way I treated you last night – I wasn’t myself.  I was feeling terrible and I took it out on you and I hope you can understand.”  He slipped his bag over his shoulder and closed the door behind him. 

“Oh, okay,” she stared at him.  There was something different about his eyes.  “Well, I think that Johnny and the guys still want you to see a doctor and check everything out.” 

“No doctors,” JC said, shaking his head nonchalantly as they headed into the elevator. 

“You were up all night – this has been going on and off for weeks.  You need to get it checked out.”

He shook his head, “No doctors, Sadie.”

“Fine, we won’t go to the doctor,” she said, crossing her arms as the doors opened and they crossed the hotel lobby.

He groaned as they made their way outside to the parking lot.  “The sun is so bright,” he said, putting his hand up and sliding his sunglasses down in protest. 

***

“The doctor is here to see JC,” Lance yelled.  JC’s eyes flicked around the bus angrily until they landed on Sadie.

“Look, I said we wouldn’t go to the doctor – not that a doctor wouldn’t come to see you,” she said with a shrug, a half-smile forming across her lips. 

The other guys headed off for sound-check, leaving JC cornered in the bus with Sadie and the doctor and no exit strategy. 

“I’m really fine.  I appreciate you coming and all, but I don’t really need a doctor,” he said, blushing slightly. 

“I’m just going to do a routine check-up and make sure you’re all set for your performance tonight,” the doctor said, adjusting his glasses as he made his way over to him.  “Do you have any pre-existing medical conditions?”

JC drummed his fingers nervously, “I…I have anemia.”

Sadie was surprised to learn this new bit of information about him.  She had never heard him mention anything about it before. 

“Alright, do you take any kind of medication?”

“I take iron supplements,” he scratched the back of his neck nervously. 

“What sort of symptoms have you been experiencing lately?”

“Well, I have been waking up in a cold sweat and experiencing nausea and fevers.”

The doctor looked up from his notes, “Is there a history of anemia in your family or any other blood-related diseases?” 

JC coughed uncomfortably, “I don’t, um… I don’t really know.”

“Oh?” the doctor looked puzzled.

“I was adopted.  I don’t know my biological family’s medical history,” he explained.  Sadie heard the discomfort in his voice and felt for him.

***

After JC left the tour bus, the doctor turned to Sadie.  “You know, I think that you should have him go through a full psych-evaluation.” 

“I thought he just had an iron-deficiency?”

“Well, he seems to be exhibiting all the signs of depression.  Mood swings.  Distancing himself from the people around him – we see this commonly among celebrities, especially when they are traveling on the road.”

“Oh,” she bit her lip.  This was going to be a lot harder to fix than a prescription from CVS and him getting his own hotel room.  Seeing how hard it was to get him to see a medical doctor, she had no idea how she was going to convince him that he needed to see a shrink.

“When did you notice him exhibiting these symptoms?”

She started to run through her mental checklist.  “Well, he tends to keep to himself.  He likes to spend time alone writing music, he’s a creative-type.  I guess I never really noticed that he was symptomatic.” 

***

“How is he?” Johnny asked her, looking up from the paperwork in front of him.

“Well, they are increasing his iron supplements,” she said, leaning against the doorway. 

“Alright, is he going to be at full capacity for tonight’s show?”

“I suppose physically he’s fine…”

“But…?” he raised his eyebrows.

“Well, the doctor thinks that he should have a psych evaluation.  He’s exhibiting signs of…”

“Depression,” Johnny nodded, as he leaned back in his chair. 

“You think he is?”

“I don’t know if it’s depression.  But JC is a quiet guy, he likes to internalize everything, to feed off of his feelings creatively instead of dealing with them head-on.  It couldn’t hurt for him to talk aloud about whatever he’s feeling.  Sadie, just keep your eye on him until we get this all sorted out.  I need him in top-health, physically and otherwise.”

***

“Saaaadie!  I cannot find my left sneaker!  Saaaadie!”  She ran in response to Chris and his shrieks. 

“It’s over here,” she sighed, pulling out from under the sofa in the green room.

“You’re the best, Sade,” he grinned, giving her a playful punch in the arm.  “I don’t care what they say about you.” 

She rolled her eyes, gesturing for him to move it as the show was starting in moments. 

“You are the best,” she heard a whisper in her ear, startling her.  “Thanks for checking up on me today,” JC said, his piercing blue eyes burning into hers.  She felt slightly dizzy as his stare seemed to narrow.  He gently cupped his hands around hers, cocking his head slightly as he continued to stare.  “But,” he gripped her hands tighter, “I’m not depressed.”  She felt stunned as his stare focused deeper onto her.  She tried to speak, but swallowed and was at a loss of words as she felt dizzier and dizzier as his warm touch seemed to momentarily stun her.  He leaned in, pressing his lips against hers roughly, her knees shaking in response.    

***

She stood backstage, watching him from afar.  He would strip down for a quick wardrobe change, wiping the sweat from his face and neck with a towel and chugging as much water as he could.  She watched the water that missed his mouth run down his chin.  His hand ran through his hair as he tapped his foot, waiting for his cue.  Her eyes were glued to him beyond her control.  Her whole body was overheating in a dizzied frenzy and all she could think about was him.

As the show ended, she found herself following him back to the dressing room, almost mindlessly.  Her legs were moving with a mind of their own as she rounded the corner and saw him wiping himself down with a towel, changing into sweats.  The other guys had cleared out, leaving the two of them alone.  He seemed to feel her presence without even turning to look at her, a smile playing across his lips. 

“What brings you here, Sadie?” he asked, adjusting his shorts. 

She bravely approached him, placing her hand on his chest, looking up at him expectantly.  He ran a hand through her hair, toying with her long brown locks.  She closed her eyes, an expression of pleasure and want falling across her face.  He laughed gently to himself as he slipped his arms around her hips.  The blue of his eyes seemed to darken, dancing around the room for a moment ensuring they had complete privacy.  He leaned into her, kissing her gently.  She parted her lips, letting his tongue slide into her mouth.  Her pulse had quickened at the excitement and danger of the situation.  She let out a heavy breath before he pulled away from her.  She looked up expectantly, searching his face. 

“But Sadie,” he said, in a low tone, his eyes blazing. 

She looked up at him, meeting his lustful gaze with anticipation. 

“I’m a monster,” he whispered, as his fangs grazed her neck.