just take it easy

Haidee was woken by the sound of her fire alarm going off, having been in a deep sleep because of how exhausted she’d been lately. Her brows furrowing, she opened her eyes and she should have just been staring into darkness, but instead the room was lit up in a red hue that came from under her door, and she could see the smoke in her room, causing her to panic. Climbing off the bed quickly, she went to the door, trying to open it, only to hiss out in pain with how hot it was. Seeing smoke still filtering into the room, Haidee could feel her lungs burning, causing her to cough and she quickly ran to the window, trying to open it, but the latch wouldn’t unlock. “Shit,” she hissed out before rushing to her phone to call for help and, while she was assured help would be there soon, she wasn’t sure soon would be soon enough and her hands shook as she ended the call and tried to find a way out. Trying the door one more time, she used one of her discarded shirts to try to open it and managed to, but, looking to the stairs, there was no way to escape - the flames were strong and everywhere already.

Michael was getting home after a long day of working at the studio with his friends and bandmates. Scrubbing at his face, he focused on the drive, tired but excited to get home to relax, because the day had been a good one, in terms of music. As he approached his neighborhood, though, he frowned when he saw flames coming from his neighbor’s house, his brows furrowing. Before he could stop to really think, he parked his car in his driveway before he rushed to his neighbor’s house, not even sure she was home but worried about her safety. He could see a few other people standing around, watching, not doing anything, a few on their phones with who he assumed must be firemen, but who knew how long it would take for them to get there? Moreover, how long had the fire even been going already? How much damage had it caused - how strong was it? His concern growing, he couldn’t help but to rush into the house, ignoring some of the other neighbors calling out to him to stop. Opening the door, he was immediately overwhelmed by the heat in the house and he lifted his shirt to cover his mouth to make it a little easier to breathe. “Hello?!” he called out as loudly as he could, “Is there anybody home?!”

Luke was content. He'd had a great day at the studio, he and the guys got a demo on each new song they'd written over the past month, and musically, everything was falling into place beautifully - he couldn't wait for the fans to hear the finished product. Still, as he turned into his steet, Luke's happiness instantly turned to fear when he saw his neighbour's house, alight with flames. "Shit," he murmured, parking his car on the street instead of her usual spot in the driveway. Luke looked around, seeing that there were one or two people on the opposite side of the street watching, talking frantically on their phones - one was even recording. Frowning, Luke shrugged off his jacket and opened the front door, smoke and heat hitting him directly in the face. Coughing, Luke held his jacket over his nose and mouth. "Hello?!" He called, seeing the whole downstairs was engulfed with flames, and looking to the stairs, he saw the fire was spreading at an alarming rate. "Anyone here?!" He pulled his jacket away from his face so he could easily be heard, anxiety growing in his chest that someone was upstairs and helpless, the anxiety growing when he realised the fire could of been burning for longer than he had anticipated. Listening out for a response, Luke, without thinking, made his way to the stairs, his adrenaline helping him to ignore the intense heat.

Lexi had woken up to the smell of smoke and the fire alarm beeping frantically, telling her she needed to get out as soon as she could. Lexi was usually a collected person, she very rarely got anxious, or scared, but when she opened her bedroom door and felt the intense heat coming from downstairs - seeing her path to safety wasn't all that safe, she couldn't ignore the tears that burned in her eyes. Slamming the bedroom door shut as her lungs burned with the smoke, Lexi moved to her window, trying to open it with shaking hands as she grabbed her phone from the bedside table, dialling the emergency services, who assured her they'd be there soon. Throwing her phone back onto the bed in frustration, Lexi coughed as she tried to force the window open, crying out as it refused to budge, although she was unsure if it was frozen or if she was shaking too much. Yanking the pillow case from her pillow, Lexi held it over her mouth and nose, instinctively knowing that the fire crew wouldn't get there in time, and this wasn't how Lexi thought she'd die. Hearing a voice though, Lexi tried to steady her breathing through her coughs, feeling her consciousness beginning to fade. Going to the door, Lexi opened it. "Up here!" She cried, ignoring the burning in the back of her throat, her voice already hoarse.

Haidee coughed into her sleeve, holding her hand over her face to try to block out the smoke, though te smoke was burning her eyes, and her lungs felt like they were on fire themselves with how hard it was to breathe. Seeing the fire raging, she could feel her panic rising, her vision blurring - and she wasn’t sure if it was from the tears, the panic, or the fact that oxygen wasn’t getting to her lungs and brain properly, - and she stumbled a bit as she tried to focus. Hearing somebody’s voice over the fire alarm, she could feel a small amount of hope build in her. “I’m up here!” she called out as loudly as she could, though she wasn’t sure it would do much good - or that whoever was in her house could get to her. Her vision blurring more, she could feel her consciousness failing and she gripped to a hallway table to try to steady herself.

Michael froze when he heard a voice coming from upstairs, and he felt his concern for his neighbor growing. The fire was already going up the stairs. “Stay put!” he called out, “I’ll get to you, I promise!” Quickly, he looked around for a way to get past the fire and, spotting a coffee table, he moved to knock everything off of it and he grabbed the table, thankful it wasn’t metal so that it wouldn’t burn him. It wasn’t a huge table, but that was better, because he could carry it wihout much of a problem. Moving to the stairs, he quickly turned the table over and threw it onto the fire, thankful the fire didn’t immediately catch on it, and he quickly climbed over the table to get up the stairs. “I’m coming!” When he reached the part of the stairs the fire hadn’t reached, he quickly got off the table and went to find his neighbor, spotting her, but she seemed unfocused and like she was struggling. Without having to think about it, he quickly rushed to pick her up bridal style, holding her close. “I’ve got you, you’re gonna be okay,,” he told her quickly, coughing because he wasn’t able to hold anything over his face now, but he quickly headed back to the stairs, using the table again to get down the stairs, and made his way to exit the house with her.

Luke heard a voice coming from upstairs, and he wasted no time, knowing that his neighbour was trapped upstairs with her whole life at risk. Grabbing the leather armchair, Luke set it on top of the flames at the foot of the stairs, noticing that leather seemed to be the least flammable material out of the things she had in her living room - Luke couldn't help but wonder what started this in the first place. Climbing over the chair, Luke rushed upstairs, coughing into his hand as he did. "Hey!" He called, seeing Haidee struggling to steady herself. Rushing to her, Luke picked the beauty up bridal style, handing her his jacket to hold over her nose and mouth, leaving himself exposed, but not giving a damn, because she was his priority. "We're gonna get you out of here, okay? You're gonna be okay, I promise." Working quickly, knowing the ground beneath them could cave in at any moment due to the intense heat, Luke made his way down the stairs, holding Haidee close as he carefully climbed over the chair, making his way out of the door, grateful to see an ambulance and a fire crew approaching. As a paramedic took Haidee from Luke's arms, Luke sat on the pavement, breathing heavily and coughing, accepting the drink of water as it was offered to him, reassuring the crew he was fine - wanting them to focus on Haidee.

Lexi heard Michael's words, but couldn't process them, long past the point of trying to push the tears back as they ran down her cheeks. Still holding the pillow case to her face, Lexi tried to steady her coughs once more, her vision in and out as she heard someone coming up the stairs. Lexi felt herself being lifted, and she heard her neighbour, the man to the left of her, speaking to her, and without really thinking, she buried her face into his shoulder, using the last of her remaining strength to hold the pillow case of his mouth and nose to protect him - it was the least he could do, he was risking his life to help her. Squeezing her eyes shut as her neighbour carried her out, Lexi was already half-unconscious by the time they'd reached the front garden, having not noticed the sirens of the emergency vehicles outside.

A paramedic approached Michael, taking Lexi from his hold to get her connected to oxygen as quickly as he could, his colleague offering a mask to Michael, along with a bottle of water.

Haidee had barely been able to understand what Luke had said, and, even then, her panic made it seem foggy, unreal, and she could feel herself fading by the time she was in his arms, her coughs racking her body. When the paramedic took her away, she could feel the oxygen mask being placed over her mouth, just barely acknowledging it, her hand lifting weakly to touch it for a moment, but she focused on trying to breathe in the clean oxygen, waiting for her lungs to clear up.

Michael was mildly surprised when Lexi had lifted the pillow case to his face to protect him, his heart aching, because it put her in more danger - she’d been in there longer than he had, she would be affected more than he would. It drove him to quicken his pace, though, and he coughed once he was outside, watching Lexi as he was taken from him as he took a sip of the water and breathed through the mask for a moment before pulling it back to look at the other paramedic. “Is she gonna be okay?” he asked with concern.

Luke watched as Haidee was taken from him, and he sipped his water, almost anxiously. She was in a bad state, but God, at least she was alive. Watching as an oxygen mask was placed over her face, Luke shifted, making sure she was receiving the best care she could be getting. "Will she be okay?" Luke asked, his voice hoarse as he coughed a little bit, prompting him to take a large gulp of water. Looking over his shoulder for a brief moment, Luke felt his heart ache within his ribs when he saw that the house was too far past repair, but it was alright - Haidee could stay with him.

Lexi blinked slowly as she felt an oxygen mask being placed over her mouth, and she focused on her breathing, trying to focus on inhaling and exhaling. Although she should of looked to her home, knowing everything she'd ever called hers was now gone, her first instinct was to make sure that Michael was okay, and as she looked over to him, she saw him breathing through his own oxygen mask, and she felt influenced to do the same: she wanted to be conscious enough to thank him.

The paramedic who was studying Lexi looked to his colleague upon hearing Michael's question and gave a thumbs up. "She'll be fine, she just needs some air." He looked to the house as the brigade worked to put out the inferno. "Same can't be said for the house though."

The paramedic looked to Luke when he heard his question but he nodded slowly. “She should be just fine with the oxygen,” he assured. “Just gotta let her recover a bit.”

Haidee lifted her hand to the oxygen mask, her fingers curling around it as she took a few deep breaths, coughing on occasion while she waited for her lungs to clear out, but she peered over towards Luke with concern, hoping he was okay. It was still a shock that she’d woken up to the fire, but she considered herself lucky that she’d woken up at all, but she knew she wouldn’t have made it out of there if it hadn’t been for Luke, so she wanted - needed - for him to be okay after he’d put himself in danger to help her.

Michael listened to the paramedic, though his gaze didn’t quite leave Lexi and he nodded slightly as he listened to the paramedic, relieved to hear it, and he sighed quietly. “I’m glad she’ll be okay,” he said honestly, clearing his throat, coughing a bit, before he pulled the mask away so that he could take a sip of water to soothe his sore throat. But, his gaze went to the fire when he heard the paramedic’s words about the house and he frowned slightly, watching, because Lexi was losing her home, everything inside, and his heart ached for the girl. “I’ll let her stay with me, if she feels up to it,” he told the paramedic, looking back over at Lexi, wanting to make sure she was okay, always.

Luke nodded with the paramedic's words, thankful that Haidee was going to be okay. Taking a sip of the water that had been handed to him, Luke's gaze didn't leave Haidee once, concerned for the beauty. Turning to look at her house, in ruins as the fire was extinguished, Luke felt his heart ache for the girl. Everything she'd owned and loved and cherished was in that house, and it was destroyed. Standing to his feet, Luke coughed with sudden movement but made his way to Haidee, taking her hand. "Hi there," he offered her a smile - no matter how dire the situation was, Luke wanted to be Haidee's light in the darkness, because no doubt, when she saw the extent of the damage, she would be sad. "How're you feeling?" He asked gently, running his thumb across her knuckles.

Lexi sat up when she felt able to, her hand still holding the oxygen mask to her face because whenever she thought she was ready to take it off, the burning in her lungs was enough to change her mind. When she heard Michael cough, she looked to him with concern, but she was grateful to see he had water. If it wasn't for him, Lexi wouldn't be alive to tell the tale, and she was so grateful, she was unsure how she'd repay her handsome neighbour. Taking the mask off, at last, Lexi coughed into the sleeve of her shirt, taking a sip of her own water, thanking the paramedic as he handed her the bottle.

Haidee looked over when she heard Luke’s voice, though her attention had been claimed first by the feeling of him taking her hand, and she watched him, feeling herself relax a little. “I can’t believe this happened,” she said quietly, coughing into her mask, her voice raspy from the smoke inhalation. Breathing out, she rested her head back on the stretcher.

Michael blinked when he heard Lexi coughing, and he felt a panic flooding through him. Quickly making his way over, he watched her with concern. “You okay?” he asked her with a small frown, though he was relieved to see that she was handed some water. His eyes ran over her features for any sign of injury. “You didn’t get hurt in there or anything, did you?”

Luke felt Haidee relax beneath his touch, and he couldn't help the relief that flooded through him. She was alive, she'd be okay, and that knowledge helped Luke release his shoulders from the tension he'd been keeping in. "Accidents happen." Luke offered, mentally facepalming at his stupid excuse of reassurance. "But how are you feeling?" Luke asked, taking a small sip of his own bottle of water. "Listen... I know this might sound sudden, but if you need somewhere to stay, I have a free bedroom while you get back on your feet." He offered, his own exhaustion catching up to him now. Rubbing at his eyes, Luke looked down to Haidee, wanting to scoop her into his arms and protect her. "I've got a dog, too. She'll cuddle you all day."

Lexi peered to Michael with a soft gaze as he approached her, gulping down more water as her throat craved for more. "I'm okay," Lexi breathed as she pulled the bottle from her mouth, her voice raspy from the smoke inhalation. "All thanks to you." Lexi outstretched her hand to him, wanting some sort of physical contact, wanting him to know that she was so grateful to him. "I'm okay, I promise." Lexi offered a small smile, weak and tired. "Are you okay?" Lexi asked then. "You were really brave back there..."

Haidee looked over to Luke as she listened to him, surprised with his offer. “Are you… Sure that’s okay?” she asked quietly, “I don’t wanna impose in any way, and I don’t… I don’t wanna be any trouble…” And, she didn’t want to be in the way or for Luke to feel like he had to make an offer like this.

Michael watched Lexi for a few moments, concerned, but he eventually offered a small nod. “If you’re sure…” he murmured, unable to help but to still be worried. Still, he offered a small smile and nodded. “I’m okay, I just… I’m glad you’re okay.” He chewed on his lip as he watched her. “Do you have anywhere to stay? If not, you can crash at my place for a while.”