~Chapter 18~

A/N – I’m hoping that this story hasn’t been too cliché. Even if it hasn’t been, things are still going to change! Expect the unexpected? Maybeeee!

7k reads? What can I even say? Just…thank you so much. For reading, for commenting, for voting and just pushing me to keep going. I write for you guys, and I appreciate you reading my work<3

Who wants to come up with a ship name for the Lexi/Luke and Hannah/Ashton couples? We can start a fan club ;)

#Team(Ship name) aw yeahh tweet your suggestions at me if you want. OR COMMENT ON THIS BECAUSE I LOVE COMMENTS ;)

And ohmygosh I had a major brainwave in this chapter because I was listening to the new EP for the billionth time (How amazing is it omfg, and OH Luke left out a word in my handwritten chorus oopsie Luke..) and it made writing this chapter so much easier aasdfghjfkjfdslfkg yeah. (This took me 2 ½ hours to finish instead of 23456543 million hours :D ) So that's why I'm uploading today, Monday, instead of Tuesday :3

You love me ;)

ANYWAYS.

Thanks again guys!

Enjoy

-Steph x

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The police office was buzzing with life, yet I sat alone on a hard plastic chair in the interrogation room. It was bland with nothing but wooden panel walls and hard concrete floor. I guess that’s so whoever is being questioned can’t be distracted in any way, but that didn’t stop my thoughts from wandering.

It had been a few hours since the fire, and I felt as though I was still in shock. Adrenalin was still pumping through my veins. Most of all, I longed to see my boyfriend. I woke up still sprawled out on the front lawn of Mr and Mrs Hemmings  burnt house and watched as Luke was carted off to hospital in an ambulance, but no one had given me any news since. Worried sick, I was trying to push these thoughts of him away and focus on what was happening right now, but it was extremely hard.

The door of the room opened, a Police officer entering alone. He smiled at me, and I smiled weakly back.

“Hi Alexis, my name is Officer Patrick McDonald. I just want to ask you a few questions and then you’re free to go, okay?”

I nodded.

“Okay, firstly, did you know about the bushfire and its whereabouts prior to the house catching on fire?” He asked, opening his notebook and clicking his pen, ready to write.

“Yeah, ah my boyfriend and I, we were watching the news, his band was on there, and then after that there was a report on a bushfire near us.”

I watched as he jotted down my response on the notepad.

My phone buzzed loudly against the plastic chair.

“You can get that, its fine.” Officer McDonald smiled.

*1 New Message From- Unknown Number*

- Tell the Police anything and you’ll regret it. –

I locked my phone and put it back in my pocket, trying to keep my face as neutral as possible.

“So the Police and Fire fighters are still trying to work out how this fire started, would you say there was any suspicious activity going on prior to it?” The officer asked, looking up at me.

I thought back to the phone call and the note at the door.

I almost spoke up, but the recent text message I had received scared me. How did this person get my number? How did they know I was speaking to police?  And who in the world could it even be?

Something in the back of my mind erupted, and I think in that moment I kind of knew exactly who it could be.

Stacie Brooks.

It all made perfect sense then. The warning at Hyde Park. The evil looks. Knowing where Luke lived. Knowing Luke’s home number. She was a fan.

An evil fan.

“Alexis..?”

“Oh. Right. NO… nothing suspicious at all. It all happened out of the blue.”  I replied, probably a little too fast.

He wrote my answer down once again.

“And just to clarify, you carried Mr Luke Hemmings out of the house before or after he collapsed?”

“After.”

“Alright. Thanks, that’s all I need. You’re free to go. Molly White is here to pick you up.” He said, dotting the full stop at the end of his last sentence on the notepad.

I thanked him and left the room quickly. All I wanted was to see Luke.

Just as the officer had said, Molly was there waiting for me. She stood, and we made our way out to her car in silence. Once we were inside and had our seatbelts on, she started the car up and drove out of the police station.

“You alright love?” She asked, her eyes never leaving the road.

“Yeah, I just really want to see Luke.” I fiddled with my seatbelt, even though there was nothing wrong with it.

“I know honey, I know. What you did there this afternoon, was so brave. You saved his life. I’m so proud of you.”

We pulled into the hospital parking lot. Thankfully the hospital and the police station weren’t far from each other.

“Your mother would be so proud too.” Molly finished, parking the car.

I almost burst into tears. Molly had practically been like a mother to me for the past five years. Sure, no one will ever replace my mother, but Molly did a great job of raising me and being there for me in times of need. I loved her. As strange as that sounds, it was true.

I thought of my mother, and hoped she was watching over me, guiding me in the right direction.

“Thank you.” I managed to choke out before I got out of the car and walked into the hospital.

After asking for directions and Luke’s room number from a receptionist, I made my way up to the third floor, 17th room. I stopped in front of the closed door, nervous but keen to see him. I took a deep breath, before turning the handle and pushing the door open.

Luke was upright in his bed, his eyes closed. He looked…peaceful. Like he was just having a nap.

I closed the door, and made my way over to the chair beside the bed quietly. It wasn’t until then that I noticed he had oxygen tubes running along his perfect slim cheekbones and into his perfect button nose. It broke my heart to see him like this. Yes, he wasn’t dead, and that I was grateful for, but he still ended up here, in a bed, in a ward, in hospital.

I stared at him a little longer, watching his chest rise and fall with every breath he took.

“…S..Stop staring at…me.”  He whispered suddenly. And then his eyes opened slowly, blinking multiple times as they adjusted to the light.

I grabbed his hand and laid my head down next to it, sobbing into the sheets.

“Wha…Why.. Why are you crying?” He asked, pulling my hand up, which made me lift my head. His usual smile was replaced with a frown.

“Luke… I was so..Worried.” I sobbed, the tears streaming down my face.

“Hey! Hey, I'm okay. Stop worrying babe. You can’t get rid of me that easily, okay?.” He laughed.

Good. He was okay, awake, and laughing. He was Luke, he was alive, and he called me babe!

I smiled, wiping the tears from my face. “Sorry, I'm just a mess.”

“Clearly.” He laughed again. “But don’t worry, a kiss will make you better!”

“Oh kisses make everything better!” I giggled, before leaning over the bed pressing my lips to his.

Suddenly Hannah, Ashton, Michael and Calum entered the room in a panic, but instantly calmed when they saw Luke and I smiling.

“Thank Maccas you’re okay Luke!” Michael sighed in relief.

“Ohmygod Michael, do you ever stop thinking about McDonald’s?” Hannah laughed.

Michael gave Hannah a look, which shut her up pretty quick. I moved away from the bed, letting the others say their hellos. Shortly after that, Luke was released. I held his hand as we walked out to the awaiting car, Molly in the driver’s seat.

“Luke, you’re staying at ours tonight!” She exclaimed the minute we got close to the car.

“MOLLY CAN I COME OVER TOO PLEASEEEEE?” Michael squealed from the road beside us, quite childlike.

“Sleepover at ours it is then!” Molly laughed.

Michael, Ashton, Calum and Hannah cheered as they walked past our car to Ashton’s. It was already 10pm, but I knew the night was only getting started.