Calum's throat hurt. Not just, 'I'll drink some tea and it'll go away' type of hurt. No it was, 'I'm gonna die today' type of hurt. It hurt to talk, it hurt to sing. Heck, it even hurt to laugh. This put Calum in a sour mood. Today, thankfully, was a kind of slack day. They had a few interviews and a soundcheck for the next day's concert but that was it and Calum was glad. He could probably slack in the interviews, as long as he told the boys about his throat.

"Luke, I'm not feeling the best." Calum croaked, plopping down next to Luke on the couch.

"What hurts?" Luke asked, not believing Calum much. He'd pulled a stunt like this before and Luke was wary when it Calum to letting Calum off.

"My throat is killing me." Calum admitted. Luke stared him down intensely before shaking his head.

"You pulled this stunt not too long ago Cal, don't expect me to fall for it again." Luke stated before standing up. Calum sighed, there was no point going to the other two if Luke didn't believe him, they were even harder to convince. So he decided not to say much and just try to deal with it on his own, in fear of making them mad at him.

He walked through to the kitchen to get a tea, hoping to somewhat soothe his throat, which was on fire. Once he had the hot drink in his hands, he sat at the table and took a few sips. It stung his throat as it slipped down but it tasted good.

"Come on! We have an interview!" Ashton shouted, his voice echoing around the place. Calum groaned quietly. An interview means he has to talk and he wasn't sure if his throat would handle it. They all climbed into the car, Calum taking a seat in the far back, on his own.

When they arrived there, the interviewer came to greet them, shaking their hand. He pulled back quickly from Calum, feeling the boy's clammy hand. He asked whether Calum was okay and Calum croaked out that he just had a sore throat, nothing huge. The interviewer promised not to make him talk too much.

The interview went okay, all except for the other three sending Calum some dirty looks, probably as he wasn't talking much. Calum tried not to make eye contact with the other three as the interview continued. He started agreeing occasionally with the lads, getting their glares off him momentarily.

When the interview had finished, Calum stayed behind the lads while they shook the interviewer's hand, thanking him. Once the three had left the room, Calum went over and thanked the interviewer as well as he could. The interviewer said it was not a bother, he saw the glares that the lads were giving him and he didn't think he deserved them. Calum apologised before he was taken away by one of his staff, off to the next destination.

The lads were already in the car and waiting for Calum. They had taken the middle seats, leaving the back free. Not wanting to be around them while they were mad at him, he climbed into the back and put in his earphones. He picked a song, then leaned his head against the window, ignoring his band.

They didn't talk to Calum for the journey, instead talking between themselves in low voices. When the car pulled up outside the venue, they all got out, still not talking to Calum. As he got out, they turned their backs. They were really mad at the bassist.

He decided to hang around and wait for them to go in before him, as he couldn't deal with walking right next to them, listening to them joke around, and knowing that he couldn't join in. So he stayed where he was while they walked into the building. The three boys didn't even notice Calum wasn't there.

The interview went similarly to the one previous, as did the one afterwards. The interviewer understood why Calum didn't want to talk right as he did, the lads still not picking up on it. The lads in fact, kept sending annoyed glares at him. He just wanted to go hide, but they still had quite the day ahead of them.

The only thing that had left that day was soundcheck, but it was more of a full rehearsal. They were doing a full run through of the show that they would be performing the next night. In the car, Calum drank as much water as was supplied to him, to try and soothe his throat enough to even attempt to sing.

When they got to the venue, Calum was extremely nervous. He wasn't able to soothe his throat at all, it was hurting even more than before. He knew the lads would be mad, they were all glaring at him as they walked through the backstage to collect their instruments. As he strapped on his bass, Calum felt like he wanted to disappear.

The lads were still mad at him, and it's going to get worse, because he won't be able to sing. He gulped- regretting it because it burned his throat- as he walked up onto the stage. He took his spot on the stage, feeling the glares sent at him. And it's not a pleasant feeling.

They began to run through it, starting with Invisible. Calum had to sing quite a bit in this one. Not good. The boys began to play the song, Calum shaking as he strummed the bass. He was terrified of this as they were already so mad at him. He didn't know exact how they would react, but it wasn't going to be positive.

"Another day..wal-" Calum tried to sing, but it hurt and he missed a little bit. When he tried to pick it back up again, his throat was dying and he couldn't do it. The boys carried on for a few seconds, then realised that Calum wasn't going to sing in this.

"Calum! You just ruine-" Michael began to shout at the kiwi, when he was silenced by Ashton., who jumped down from his kit and stood in front of Calum.

"Calum, why are you doing this? Do you really think we are stupid enough to fall for your tricks? You did this literally 2 weeks ago." Ashton spat, glaring at the boy

"I'm no-" Calum croaked, cutting himself off when his throat burned. Instead, he began to cough, and he couldn't stop. Ashton just stood there for a couple of seconds, before he realised that maybe Calum wasn't faking and they were just being dicks.

"Calum?" Ashton asked, starting to pat Calum on the back. "Mate? Are you alright?"

"No." Calum croaked out once he managed to stop coughing, gasping for air.

"What hurts, other than your throat?" Ashton asked. Calum opened his mouth to speak, but Ashton shushed him. "Save your voice, just point."

At this point, Luke and Michael had joined them, both of them feeling sorry for their friend and guilty over how they had acted previously that day. Calum pointed at his head, pulling Ash's hand up and placing it on his forehead. Calum obviously had a fever. Calum then started to take off his bass, it was starting to take a toll on him. Michael helped him, taking it back to the stands before signalling to Luke to go get a crew member.

"Do you reckon I could have a look at your throat, to see what is wrong?" Ashton asked. Calum nodded and opened his mouth. Looking inside, Ashton could immediately see two swollen lumps on either side of Calum's throat. He immediately knew what it was. "Calum, I think we need to get you to the hospital, I believe you have tonsillitis."

"Doesn't that mean an operation?" Luke piped up in the background. Michael shoved his hand over Luke's mouth, so the boy could say no more. He tried to speak but the words were incoherent beneath Michael's hand. However, Calum heard exactly what Luke said and began to freak out a bit. Ashton grabbed a hold of the boy and pulled him into a hug, feeling Calum shaking a little under his grip.

"No buddy, listen to me. Don't freak out okay? You might need an operation, but it will be fine. You will be fine. Yeah?" Ashton tried to calm Calum down. Calum shook his head rapidly.

"Let's get him to the car." Michael said quietly. He was trying to avoid Calum hearing him, but failed miserably. Calum pulled himself out of Ashton's grasp and made a dash for it, trying to get out of the room. Michael was too quick however, as he let go of Luke and grabbed Calum's wrist. Then he began to tug the sick boy to the car. Calum had to go with him, but he didn't make it easy. He was constantly struggling against Michael's grip on him, and trying to pull in the opposite direction.

When they finally got Calum in the car, he sulked in the back, arms crossed and a pout on his face. He looked like a three-year-old who didn't get the action figure that they wanted.

The car pulled up outside the hospital, and Calum refused to get out of the car, which meant Ashton had to carry him out. At long last, they got Calum out of the car and into the hospital, where they were directed to a waiting room. Calum sat in the hard plastic chair, still sulking silently, with the boys trying to hold him down so he didn't make a run for it.

After 15 minutes of trying to escape, Calum's name was called and now he had no chance of getting away. Just fabulous.

The doctor checked Calum's throat, confirming Ashton's diagnosis of tonsillitis. Then she explained to Calum that he would have to have an operation to remove his tonsils. That caused a sulk, and tears, and fighting. And a few more escape attempts when he thought the boys weren't looking. It didn't work.

Then Ashton explained to Calum properly what was going on, and why he needed this operation. After thinking about it for a couple of minutes, Calum reluctantly agreed to have it, and the doctor started to prepare.

After the surgery, which was a big success, Calum was wheeled back into the room where the lads were waiting. The doctor explained to them that he would be asleep for another hour or so and that when he wakes up he will be a little out of it, but they need to stop him from talking as it could reopen stitches. He explained that Calum would not be allowed to talk for about a week, as not to damage the abused skin further.

When Calum woke up, he was groggy and smiley, as the doctor had said. The lads quickly shushed him, calling the doctor back in to speak to him. The doctor explained to Calum what he had explained to the lads, adding on that he might get a little bleeding from where the incisions had been, but that was completely normal. The lads thanked the doctor once he told them that Calum was free to go, heading out and back to the tour bus.