One night, as the two bands were performing, Paul did not tell his friends that he was in a lot of pain. He managed to make it through the pain with every song. The pain was in his right side. After the concert, Paul was shaking violently. Erin asked, "Paul, are you okay?" He said, "Yeah, I'm fine." Lola said, "No, you're not. You're shaking." John said, "She's right. You're sweating more than the rest of us, too." Carl felt Paul's forehead and said, "You're burning up, buddy. You look very pale, too." Paul admitted that he was feeling pain in his right side. Stan asked, "Why didn't you tell anyone?" Paul said, "I didn't want to cancel the concert. I don't like to disappoint the fans." Peter said, "But Paul, your health is important, too." Carl said, "Peter's right. We can always reschedule concerts." Erin then said, "We better get Paul to the hospital right now! It might be his appendix." Paul was rushed to the hospital. He was taken in right away. Erin, Carl, Lola, John, Allen, Peter, and Stan waited anxiously in the waiting room. Allen paced back and forth. Carl asked, "Does he always pace like that?" John said, "Only when he's nervous." The doctor came out and said, "It is his appendix. We're going to have to operate." Erin said, "Tell him to hang in there for me." The doctor said, "I will." While in his room, Paul was incredibly nervous. When the doctor came in, he said, "If I die during surgery, tell my friends that they don't need to cry for me. I'm going to be okay, because I lived a good life." The doctor said, "We'll cross that bridge if we get there. Besides, Erin said for you to hang in there for her." Meanwhile, Erin had gone off by herself. She sat outside the hospital, looking at the stars. She then heard a voice ask, "Are you thinking about Paul?" It was John. She said, "Oh, John, I can't lose him. He's my best friend." John hugged her and said, "It's going to be all right. Paul has a strong will. He's going to make it." Later, when they went back inside, the doctor came into the waiting room and said, "Paul is going to be fine. He hasn't woken up yet, but the surgery went well. He'll be back on his feet soon. You may go in and see him." While in Paul's room, Erin knelt down beside her best friend and said, "It's going to be all right, Paul. We're all here for you." After a pause, she said, "You're my best friend." Paul said, "You're my best friend, too." He then opened his eyes and smiled. Lola asked, "How are you feeling, Paul?" He said, "I'm feeling better now." John said, "The doctor said you're going to be back on your feet soon. Until you're all better, we'll cancel some of the tour dates." Paul said, "But the fans..." Peter interrupted him. "Your health is important, too, mate." Paul said, "You're right." Paul was kept overnight. Erin refused to leave him. The next day, he was released from the hospital. He soon made a complete recovery, and the two bands resumed touring.
TO BE CONTINUED
TO BE CONTINUED
After a long time of getting bullied, I began to consider self-harm. I confessed this consideration to Zoe and Gavin. Zoe said, "Please don't hurt yourself. It's not the answer." Gavin said, "Zoe's right. If you hurt yourself, you'll have to deal with all those scars. Why do you want to hurt yourself anyway?" I began to cry. He hugged me and said, "It's all right. You can tell me." I talked about all the bullying I was facing. Zoe said, "Alyssa, those bullies are just losers. You have family and friends who love you." Gavin said, "That's right. You don't have to hurt yourself. Any time something is bothering you, tell us." I said, "Okay." Zoe said, "If you hurt yourself, you won't be the only one who hurts. We'll be hurt, too." I said, "I don't want to hurt you all." We shared a group hug. Over the years, I gained some friends and lost some, too, but I still had Zoe and Gavin. They will be my closest friends until the end of time.
THE END
THE END