The One Where... Drew Gets Stuck

A/N:
Based off a dream I had, it's intense fluff and this would probably never happen but, you know, fan FICTION for a reason, right? :)

~

Believe it or not, but Drew Woolnough is actually a rather punctual person. The same could not be said, of course, for most of the other members of FVK, including myself. So when everyone but Drew had arrived for band practice, I couldn't help but wonder where Timid No. 1 had gotten to. Asking the guys had been a fruitless endeavour; it took me forever to get a response and when I did get one it was not at all a helpful one. The others would probably have also wondered about Drew, had they not have been deeply engaged in a sword fight.

We really need to stop keeping props in the practice area, they really do limit the amount of practice that actually gets done when Luke and Shane decide to battle it out.

Eventually, I got tired of watching Luke poke Shane and Kier shouting out encouragement and decided to call Drew.

The phone rang several times before I heard a click, signifying that Drew had finally answered his phone.

"Drew? Where are you?" I asked, holding one hand up to my phone-free ear to block out the noise that all the others were making.

I could only hear the rustling of leaves in the wind from his end of the call.

"Laurence?" Came the shaky response, though that may have just been because of the speakers on my phone and wind interference. "Um, I think I need your help" he told me, then I realised his first response probably sounded shaky because of fear, if the way he sounded so scared just then was anything to go by.

"Drew, what's wrong?!" I asked, alert and mentally prepared for the worst.

"I need you to come get me, I’m stuck..."

"Stuck? Stuck where?" Drew may be a master at getting himself into weird situations but where the hell could he have gotten himself stuck?

"...Up a tree" came the embarrassed reply after a brief pause. As I processed what he'd said, I didn't know whether to laugh, be scared for his safety or just shake my head in disbelief because really, only Drew could get himself stuck in a tree at twenty three years old. He sounded so scared though, that it just made my heart melt and brought out a strong desire to save him and be his hero.

"Tell me where you are, and I’ll be right there"

*****

If you happened to look across the park while walking by, chances were that you wouldn't have noticed a small blond boy in the trees. Probably due to the fact that he was actually quite far up and was clinging onto the trunk for dear sweet life. It took him yelling out my name for me to even locate where he was in amongst the mass of leave and branches. I noticed that there was a long string of ribbon dangling next to his face, though I had no idea what it was.

"Drew! Dude, you're pretty high up, actually, why and how did you get up there?" I asked, having to crane my neck up slightly to see him from my position at the large tree's trunk.

"Does it matter? It's kind of embarrassing..." he called down, even when he was so far above me I could tell he was probably blushing adorably.

"Just tell me, why did you climb a tall ass tree? I won't laugh, I promise!" I called back, earning myself a few strange looks from people walking by.

"Well...um...I was walking along and I saw this guy - he over there, actually - and he was selling big foil balloons. He had this awesome Spiderman one, and I couldn't help but buy it. Then though, I accidently let go of the balloon as I was walking along and it got stuck up in this tree. I'd only just brought it and I didn’t want to lose it, so I tried to get it back, but I didn't realise just how far up it was! Then, when I turned around to climb down, I realised I couldn't! Please, help me, Laurence!" he begged, shifting very slowly on the branch he was standing on, still keeping an iron grip on the thickest branches around him.

"Wait, so you're up in a tree, because you lost your balloon?" I clarified, raising an eyebrow even though he probably couldn't see it.

"...Yeah..." he mumbled, quiet enough that I could barely hear him. “Just please, Laurence, help me" he cried out, making me focus on the task in hand again.

"Yes, of course, um, I can't climb the tree and lift you down, that's not going to work, I guess the first thing we'll have to do is try and work out a way to get you slightly further down the tree, then we'll work from there, okay? Right, put your left foot on the branch just below yours, okay?" I yelled up, smiling as Drew complied even though he was obviously scared.

"Right, now move your right hand from the branch it's on to the large one with a bundle of leaves in the middle. Now move your left hand to the branch parallel from the right branch you're holding and then move your right foot down so it's wedged between that V shaped branch. There you go, now climb down a couple of the strong looking branches and see if you can move to the left in anyway. There are less little branches on the left hand side of the tree and more larger and more stable ones. Go on, you can do this, Drew!" I encouraged, smiling as he shifted around the trunk at a slow but steady pace.

"Is this okay, Laurence? Or do I need to move more?" he asked nervously, stopping at a sturdy branch.

He was doing well, but he still needed to move a bit further left.

"Just a little bit more, Drew! You can do it!" After a bit of hesitation, Drew started to move again.

Everything was going perfectly fine, until Drew reached up and grabbed a branch which wasn't strong enough. And as he tried to use it to hold part of his weight, it snapped, causing him to lose balance. My heart started beating frantically as Drew slipped off the branch, screaming slightly. His hands moved around frantically and thankfully he grabbed a branch, just before he was about to plummet to the ground. He dangled on the branch by his hands only and this made Drew panic like I’d never seen before.

"Laurence! Laurence help me! Please! Don't let me fall!" He shrieked. During his brief fall, he had gotten closer to the ground, but he was not close enough that he could just drop down on his own. I could see that he was crying slightly now, and it made my heart throb unexpectedly. I had to take action now, he was panicking.

"Drew, calm down, it's okay! Right, do you trust me, Drew?" I called out, hoping that what I was about to suggest wouldn't just panic him even more.

"Yes, of course" Drew choked out, his legs kicking out beneath him.

"Then, Drew, I need you to use that trust and let go of the branch, I'll catch you, I swear" As I said this, I moved beneath where he was dangling and held my arms out.

"But Laurence, what if I miss and just drop to the ground, I could break my neck and die!" he yelled back. I could see the muscles in his arms straining as he struggled to keep his grip on the branch above him. If we didn't act now, gravity was going to take effect.

"Drew, I SWEAR TO YOU, I won't drop you" I said, showing with my voice the best I could that I wouldn't drop him.

He remained silent for a couple of seconds, before replying.

"Okay, I trust you"

"Three... two... one...now!" As soon as I said now, Drew released his grip and fell through the air

...

and thankfully, straight into my arms.

I could hear him breathe deeply in relief as he tightened his arms around me.

"Laurence!" he whispered, burying his face into my neck. I slowly pulled him away and set him on the ground, so that I could check for any injuries on him. What? I worry about him!

"I'm fine, Laur" he sniffled, wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his jacket. "I just got a bit panicky, is all". I couldn't help but grin like a maniac when he stood on his toes and kissed my cheek.

"My knight in shining armour!" he exclaimed, wrapping his arms around my waist.

I couldn't help but make a joke "I thought I was The Prince, not a knight?" he started chuckling into my jacket before stepping back to take my hand.

"Come on then, Prince, let's get to band practice" he said as he started to lead us out of the park before suddenly stopping. "You know what I just realised? After all of that, I STILL didn't get my balloon!" I couldn't help but smile at the boy with the honey coloured hair as he pouted at me. Then I remembered earlier, when Drew was describing how he got into the predicament and he said that the man was still nearby. I looked over my shoulder to see that there was, in fact, a man standing at the edge of the park with a mass of balloons. While Drew was busy pouting at the tree, I quickly slipped over to the man and asked if he had any Spiderman ones left; thankfully, he had one. I paid the man and ran back over to Drew, just as he was turning around with a look on his face that signified he'd only just realised I was gone. As soon as he saw the balloon in my hand, he flashed me a megawatt smile.

"Aw, Laurence!" I reached out for his hand and lifted it up so I had access to his wrist. Then, I tied the ribbon of the balloon loosely around it, not enough that it would dig into his skin, but enough that it wouldn't fly away in the wind.

"There, hopefully you won't lose it this time" I giggled; and with that, I took his hand that wasn't occupied with the balloon and we made our way back to the van. As we walked, I felt my phone buzz in my pocket; one of the guys had finally noticed I'd gone. So, with a delightful text from Kier that read 'Da fuq did you go? are u with drew?' we decided to hurry back to practice. I think this little rescue mission went pretty successfully actually, I came back with Drew, a good story and a Spiderman balloon.

Just another oh-so-normal day in the life of a Fearless Vampire Killer.