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The sound of laughter echoed through the backstage. The band huddled close together laughing, they’d all taken one too many shots before the concert. The speaker called out the band's name, and one of the boys turned around, winking to the group before heading onto the stage, his makeup catching on the spotlight as he ran forward. The crowd roared. The rest all followed suit running quickly behind. One boy stayed behind, he took an exit down and went into the crowd. The boy had blue jeans that flared at the end. He jumped up on the stage from the crowd. Everyone screamed. The boy who entered the stage first, started singing, and the boy in the jeans quickly ran to the drums at the back of the stage and started playing.
*
The smell of antiseptic stung at the nose. The hospital was busy, people and patients running around everywhere. People were chatting and the sounds of beeping from all the machines could be heard, screeching through the whole hospital. Bright lights blaring down, trying to blind everyone in the room. The blue chairs in the waiting room were a pale dark blue in colour and were sticky to the touch. A man sat in one of the blue chairs head in his hands. The chair seemed small in comparison to him. He sat at about 6 foot in height, although standing he was about 6’2. He had scruffy light brown hair and a mass of bandages on his face, his blue jeans dangling around the ankles. The boy, only a few hours earlier him and his band, had just finished their concert, now he was here in a dull hospital, hoping that everyone was alright, it was all he wanted at this point. For everyone to be ok.
‘Remus Lupin?’ A nurse stood in front of him. ‘Sirius Black has finished with his emergency surgery. I am pleased to inform you that the surgery was successful.’ Remus sighed with relief. ‘However, Sirius Black has shown no signs of waking up, and is in a coma as of right now. Until we run more tests, we can’t be sure how long it will last. I will come back later to inform you of the condition of James Potter.’ Remus disassociated, blood rushed to his ears and all he could hear was his own heartbeat. Tears threatened to spill from his eyes. All he could think about was Sirius. Remus didn’t know how long he spaced out for, but by the time he came to his senses the nurse was already back, this time with a grimmer look on her face.
‘Remus Lupin, I have some news about James Potter…’ The woman hesitated, Remus nodded at her, encouraging her continue. ‘The emergency surgery didn’t go as planned. We did all we could but halfway through the surgery we lost his heartbeat and weren’t able to regain it. I am so sorry for your loss.’ Any shred of composure Remus had fell apart, he burst into uncontrollable sobs. He wanted the band to be back together, he wanted this to be a bad dream, and when he woke up everyone was there alive and well. ‘Mr Lupin?’ The nurse was still standing there several minutes after she had told him the news. ‘Would you like to see Mr Black?’ Remus sniffed and nodded.
He followed the nurse diligently, through corridors and stairways, no matter how far they went the smell of antiseptic still lingered. They reached a door and the nurse stood to the side allowing Remus to open the door himself. Remus’s breathe caught on the way out, the handle felt cold to the touch. The door swung open with a slight creak. Remus stood staring; he wasn’t sure what he was expecting to see. He turned around and ran. He ran through the corridors and stairways, through the waiting room and out into the night air. It finally hit him. He was alone. For the first time since he could remember he was alone. Remus didn’t want to go back to the hospital, he didn’t want to go home either. So, Remus went to the only place he could think of.
The stadium was big, big enough to fit 100,000 people. Everything echoed on the stage, even the softest whisper. The stage was high off the ground where the audience usually would be, but the stadium was empty. Emptiness gave it a sort of eeriness; Remus had never been there alone. He did not know what he was trying to achieve by going there. Remus started to cry. He imagined the last time everyone was together, here. Doing what they loved. Performing. He wanted that night to never end, he wanted Sirius to continue singing, he wanted the band to be back together. That night, he dreamed of the band being together. he was alright. everything was alright, because they were all together.
Remus hoped Sirius would wake up, but after days, weeks, months the prospects became slim. Remus never gave up, because to give up would mean he would have to move on, he would have to leave behind everything. Remus didn’t want that. He couldn’t want that.
*
After months of trying, he succeeded in getting into the hospital and to the door of Sirius Black. For what seemed like the first time he opened the door. The same creak could be heard. Remus stepped in. He didn’t dare to look up from the ground until he was well into the room. Remus looked at Sirius and smiled sadly. He was turning off the life support. They’d done enough tests to now know that Sirius was never going to be able to wake up and at that point Remus knew he had to let go. Remus let out a few tears, he loved Sirius. So much. Saying goodbye was the toughest thing. Remus didn’t want to leave him, but he had to. He stood there like a statue staring down at Sirius for several minutes, reminiscing of when they would all perform, and Sirius would sing. Remus walked out the door with a sense of finality. Closing the door of the hospital room, felt like closing the door to his old life and the life he could have had. He was alright. In his dreams the band was altogether, singing. The song went forever.