Chapter 21 - Meltdown

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The interview with Billboard that Arnold booked Leon in went smoothly without him bursting into his erratic behaviour, thanks to his painkillers, his desperation to bounce up from his financial troubles and of course, the elephant in the room.

Standing from afar next to Arnold was Sheldon in his sunglasses in folded arms, making sure he did not screw up a single bit. Sheldon hardly micro-managed his profitable veteran artistes, but this time it was different, which meant that this was serious. He made strict prior arrangement with the radio station that any interview with Leon must never make any mention to that fateful gala night nor about his former chef, except questions regarding his upcoming concert and his music.

With his new music now playing on radios worldwide, his album once again made it to the Top Ten, even though sales of his album were not impressive as the previous one. It was a common woe for every artiste that they cannot rely on music purchase alone when their music was freely available online once they were released. Events, shows, interviews and endorsements were areas where most of the money poured in, and a necessary evil to take even they were physically drained.

Months prior, Arnold booked him a slot to perform at a major open-air music concert with several other top acts, and it would be before a crowd of more than a 100,000 people in the wide-open city square.

Today was the day, but Leon was not feeling very motivated nor well.

Backstage, he grimaced and bend over with his hand on his stomach as he felt a searing pain in his stomach.

"You alright, Leon?" Ryan asked with concern. He managed to conceal his sickly countenance in thick makeup, but the appearance of Leon's eyes betrayed the true state of his health.

"I'll be fine. Vinny, my painkillers," he pointed at his bag with a shaky hand.

Immediately, she grabbed a bottle from inside the bag, opened it and passed him a few pills and a bottle of water. Leon swallowed the contents and continued grimacing until the pain subsided.

"You don't have to do this if you're not feeling well," Evan said with worry, but Leon shrugged him, "I've got to do what I've got to do."

"Your turn now, Leon! Get the dancers ready too!" announced a backstage crew member who was oblivious to Leon's state of health and mind.

The crowd could be heard chanting his name in excited anticipation.

"No turning back now, big guy," Arnold patted his back as Ryan helped Leon up. "Don't forget, the big boss is watching."

He knew whom he was referring to. Sheldon was seated at the front in the VIP area.

Leon and his dancers gathered in a circle as they always did before the start of a concert, stretching out their hands towards the centre and throwing them up in the air with cheers of encouragement to do their best. However, Leon's participation in it was half-hearted as he felt more lethargic than enthusiastic.

"Com'on, Leon. You can do it!" encouraged a cheery dancer who noticed his strange mood.

Leon returned a tired smile without a word and dragged his feet forwards towards the middle of a large, elevating platform. He steadied himself and tried hard to keep a mental focus. They had been rehearsing their dance steps many times now and this was his come-back moment. He could not afford to mess this up.

The dancers circled around him and the platform lifted them up to the stage. Screams from the crowd deafened the moment they appeared. The two large illuminating screens on either side of the stage showed the up-close shot of his face.

The music started, and with all the energy he could muster, Leon began singing and dancing to the beats of his latest hit single. The fans screamed and cheered frantically, seeing their handsome superstar live in person after so long. Placards of love and adoration flashed from the crowd, but there were awful placard messages from others who were booing him with their thumbs down. Leon ignored them and continued his performance.

Arnold was nodding and cheering for Leon - he was finally back!

"What do you think?" Arnold asked Sheldon.

"We'll see," Sheldon kept his arms folded to himself, reacting not to his performance but observing Leon's every step. This was his moment to repair his reputation and bring back the profits for Avon.

Halfway through the music, the sharp pain in his stomach returned, this time feeling much more painful than ever. Leon's singing voice broke and his dance moves jolted in a sudden halt. He placed his hand on his tummy while the music and his dancers continued.

Crying screams and jeers could be heard, and a sea of raised mobile phones was capturing the embarrassing scene. Members of his entourage were getting worried.

"Com,on, com'on...don't do this to us now," Arnold begged in a panic behind his clasped hands. It would be another big blow to Avon. Sheldon tightened his jaw and shook his head with stern eyes. He took out his phone and texted a short message to a crew member in the backstage.

With his lips pressing tight and his eyes squeezed shut before forcing them open, Leon pushed himself back to normal and resumed his singing and dance steps. Never mind the pain. The show had to go on. The crowd clapped and cheered for him once again.

But less than a minute from his rebound, his head began to throb with giddiness. His feet felt heavy and finally gave way, causing him to fall to his knees and cower as he gathered his hands to press on the unbearable discomfort in his stomach. Short breaths could be heard through his microphone as he tried his hardest not to scream.

Fans screamed, anxious that their idol had fallen. This was an unprecedented history. Phones were pressing forward to record the scene. Never once in Leon's career had he ever messed up his performance this bad. The worse recorded scenario was when he slipped on a cake which an audience threw on the stage, but he bounced back so quickly as if nothing happened and resumed his performance. This time, it was different. It was intolerable to the point that whatever energy he had left was sapped up by his shaky body breaking in a cold sweat.

"LEON WALTZ!! cried his fans, trying desperately to steer him up.

Leon tried to steady himself with his hands against the floor. His dancers continued without lifting a finger a help as the show must go on. Vinny, Ryan, Evan and the rest of the crew cringed as they watched helplessly from the backstage.

"He needs help," Evan stepped forward to go to the stage but was stopped by a crew member. "Sheldon texted not to step in but let Leon pick himself up instead."

"That's ridiculous! Can't you see he can't pick himself up?" Evan snapped.

"Sorry dude, it's the big boss's orders."

"Sheldon's NOT my boss, but Leon is! I'm to protect him at all cost!" Evan proceeded but was stopped by other crew members.

"Like I said, SHELDON AVON'S orders. He's your boss's boss."

Frustrated, Evan reluctantly stood back and watched helplessly.

The cries from the fans sounded like muffled echoes to Leon's ears.

Amidst the chaotic voices, a soft, calm and soothing female voice called out, "Leon." It did not sound like the dissonant echoes of the audience, but it was so close as if right in front of him, and so familiar.

He lifted up his head.

Standing so still and calm right in front of him on stage, she was donned in that elegant flowing floral dress that he kept seeing in his dreams, and he could see her warm smile dimly through the brightness of the stage light.

Was it really her?

"Ariel?" he stretched out his hand to reach her. Nothing around him mattered as her presence faded everything around.

His unexpected reaction shocked everyone in jaw-dropping gasps and reactions.

What was he doing? Did he see a ghost? Why did he suddenly call out her name which could be heard through the microphone attached to his face?

"Hopeless!" Sheldon remarked curtly. Arnold took no time to sort out the mess.

He rushed to the back room where the sound engineer was and grabbed his microphone piece to speak to Leon through his earpiece, "What'cha doin' man? Focus! The song's almost finishing!"

Leon snapped from his dream and she vanished instantly. He found himself back into pandemonium.

His mind continued to fall into dizzying disarray as the sea of people, flashing lights, and the cacophony of screams and jeers seized him in vertigo.

The nauseating agony within him was so excruciating that his breathing turned into desperate gasps, and his shaky body convulsed more violently as his vision got darker.

Without warning, he coughed out a surge of blood and he passed out.

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