~Chapter 17~

A/N- Hey guys!

Changed my icon... what do you think?

Can't believe I have almost 7k reads, this is crazy, you guys are awesome <3

Thanks so much for reading.

Got my year 10 formal tomorrow, I'm pretty excited.

And then on Friday... DAT 5SOS MEGA BUNDLE ARRIVES.

You have no idea how keen I am Haha.

Thanks again guys, you're all beautiful, never forget that, and always smile, I believe in you <3 xo

-Steph x

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Something wasn't right. The temperature around me was increasing quickly, making me uncomfortable. I could smell something, and hear something too. And then it dawned on me, the house was on fire. Smoke was filling the rooms and we were both going to die.

That's when I saw Luke, on the other side of the room, standing in the archway between his kitchen and living room, just watching me with that gorgeous smile on his face. I panicked as he started waving to me, the smoke practically eating him up until he had vanished.

I screamed his name, running toward where he had been standing, groping the air in hope of finding him. But he was gone. I broke down, falling down onto the hard floor, the smoke around me getting thicker and thicker until it was hard to breathe.

"Lex? Wake up honey, shh it's alright."

I opened my eyes, taking in the perfectly normal surroundings of Luke's house. He had his arms wrapped around me, his head buried in my chest, rocking back and forth whispering comforting words. I noticed my cheeks were wet. I'd been crying in my sleep, great.

Luke suddenly noticed I was awake, and he sat up, looking at me worriedly.

"Nightmare..." I explained.

I felt like an absolute idiot. I'd probably carried on ridiculously in my sleep, and I mean who has nightmares like that at my age?

Embarrassedly, I turned away from Luke, sighing and turning my attention to my phone, which had a few missed calls and text messages waiting to be heard and seen.

My missed calls were all from Hannah, thank god. Thank god, because they weren't from Dad or Daniel. Dad knew I wouldn't be home till later anyway, because of the concert and what I liked to call "Post concert celebration" which was short for Luke and I having time alone.

Why Hannah texted me the same message six times I didn't know. All I knew was that she wanted me to turn the TV on. What could be so urgent about that?

I did as I was told, (I seemed to be doing a lot of that lately, like the good girl I am), turning the TV on.

I flicked through the channels, stopping when I saw a news program on. I moved, making myself comfortable on the lounge again, and noticed that Luke had left the room. I could hear the sound of glasses in the kitchen so I was guessing that's where he was.

Something caught my attention, bringing a smile onto my face.

"LUKE QUICK! OHMYGOD LUKE GET OUT HERE!" I squealed, as he ran into the room like someone had died.

"What Lexi? Oh god I thought you were hurt, what did you wa-" he shut up once he saw what was on the tv in front of him.

".... The boys, known as 5 Seconds of Summer, performed a concert today in Hyde Park, Sydney. Approximately 850 girls attended, packing out the surrounding area." The news reporter spoke.

Luke sat next to me again, and I pulled him close, taking his hand in mine.

"The concert featured the band's drummer's girlfriend of 10 months, and a passionate kiss was shared between the lead singer and his newly introduced girlfriend. "

Right there on the TV screen was footage of Luke kissing me, and the crowd going crazy. My cheeks went red.

"The band are reportedly taking a break now for a few weeks, and focusing on finishing school for the year. Sandra Herbert, Seven News."

And then the segment ended.

"Well, now that we've practically kissed in front of the whole state live on TV, kissing me now alone won't be a problem, will it?" Luke asked, a cheeky grin on his face.

"It never was a problem, Luke Hemmings." I replied.

Grinning, he started to play with my blonde hair, twisting it around his fingers.

"Good then, Lexi Reid"

The next news report flashed onto the TV, grabbing my attention.

"A bushfire has just broken out west of Sydney. At this stage fire-fighters have stated that it was most probably deliberately lit, but haven't confirmed anything. The fires are near properties, so we advise anyone living in the area to evacuate."

I looked at Luke, who looked pretty calm compared to me.

"Chill, we're fine."

I trusted Luke, so I didn't worry about it. we busied ourselves playing Monopoly for three hours, until Luke was bankrupt and I owned 90% of the houses. He had a bit of a whinge because he was losing and so we packed up, me promising I'd make him feel better later.

It was only then that I noticed the smell.

The same smell as in my nightmare.

Smoke.

Fear built up inside of me, I had a feeling that this was related to the doorbell and the phone call. The words "Leave the house or you and Luke Hemmings die." Rang in my ears. The voice had sounded familiar, though I couldn't pick who it was.

My phone buzzed. A text message from an unknown number.

"I told you so ;)" It read.

"Luke. We have to get out of here!" I shivered, standing up. The smell of smoke was getting stronger and stronger.

Too late. As we reached the front door I noticed the temperature rising. This was like a repeat of my dream. What the hell was going on?

Luke opened the front door, revealing the bush on either side of his house on fire. I could feel my eyes start to water.

Suddenly, a large tree came down in front of the house, not only blocking our exit, but setting the house alight.

"We have to go out the back."

How Luke was keeping calmer than me in this situation I didn't know. We ran to the back door of the house, which was filling with smoke.

Outside the back door was worse than outside the front. Multiple trees had fallen down, setting the whole backyard alight.

We were stuck in the house. And it was on fire.

For half a second, I swear I saw the fear cross his face, before his look of bravery and confidence returned. I admired him for keeping cool when the situation clearly was anything but.

The smoke was starting to get to him though, and he coughed, not getting enough oxygen to his lungs.

I ran and grabbed two large towels and two hand towels, dampening each in the bathtub.

Giving one small and one large to Luke and keeping the others for myself, we draped the large towels around our shoulders and tied the smaller ones around our faces. It helped slightly, but not much.

We had to focus on getting out, and getting out alive, now.

Some rooms had caught fire already, and were burning fast. We didn't have much choice.

"This way!" Luke yelled, dragging me up the hallway to their study. He was smart enough to stay downstairs, although we both knew the roof would collapse on us if we didn't get out soon.

Luke sat on the ground against the wall, coughing.

"Lexi...I...I can't....Breathe." he managed to whisper.

"No Luke! BREATHE. DON'T DO THIS, I'M SCARED."

"I'll look after....you...always."

The smoke was so thick it was getting harder to see.

The tears were pouring down my face, as I realized Luke was unconscious. I was practically alone, and I had to save my own boyfriend.

What happened next I will never fully understand.

You know those stories where a weak mother manages to lift a car off their own child, purely just from the adrenalin of the situation?

Adrenalin pumped through my veins, giving me the strength and courage to lift Luke over my own shoulder, and run toward the front door.

I couldn't see through my own tears, and the smoke wasn't helping. Everything was burning; I'm not even sure how the house was still standing.

It's amazing how fast fire burns, yet absolutely devastating at the same time. It doesn't give a person much time to save themselves.

I managed to find my way, flinging the door open and running down the porch steps to the fallen tree, which was still on fire.

There was part of the tree that had broken off, leaving it low enough for me to probably jump over. It was still blazing with fire, but I had no other choice. If it meant saving Luke, sacrificing myself, I'd do it.

I was starting to get dizzy from all the smoke that filled my lungs. My mind still functioned though, and I was preparing myself.

I knew if I didn't clear this tree I would burn, and roll Luke to safety, sacrificing my life in turn for his. He was the lead singer of a band, and who was I? Just Lexi Reid, no one special.

I took a deep breath, coughed a bit, and then took my chance.

I jumped through fire.

Once we were both safely on the other side of the flames, I laid Luke out on the ground, checking to make sure he was still breathing.

A wave of tiredness overcame me. I lay next to my unconscious boyfriend, breathing heavily, and when I finally heard the sirens, I allowed myself to fall into unconsciousness too.