#plucas

Roxy’s emotions had been all over the place lately, especially after finding Rufus’ letter in the box she kept of his things. She thought she’d been through everything, so finding it tucked away in one of his otherwise empty notebooks was a surprise. At first she wished she hadn’t seen it, because it made her feel even more upset than usual, but after reading through it a few times she realised it was actually a good thing. And after talking to her friends about it, she felt even more comforted and it even seemed to give her a more positive outlook on life.

Today was the day of her first scan and Roxy was actually feeling pretty excited. It was the first time she’d be able to actually get a glimpse of their baby and, even though she was still sad that Rufus wouldn’t be able to go with her, Lucas was coming and that made her feel happier about it. She arrived at the hospital right on time and signed herself in. She was a bit worried that the midwife would be the same as she’d had last time - she didn’t want to be faced with the embarrassment of being recognised, because a 17-year-old being pregnant twice in less than two years was just asking to be called a slut. But, luckily, the nurse was someone Roxy hadn’t met before so she smiled with relief. When she saw Lucas she walked over and hugged him, suddenly feeling very nervous. This was how she’d felt the first time she was pregnant, but this time it felt completely new again. As she walked into the room and lay down on the bed, the nurse set up the machinery and smiled. “Is this the dad?” she asked, and Roxy shook her head quickly. “No… He’s ma best mate.” She smiled and looked up at Lucas, reaching over and holding his hand. She was shaking a bit but she tried not to think too much as the nurse applied the cold gel to her belly and used the scanner.

Rufus charged up the stairs, smothered by the heat of the inferno. He ignored the fatigue he suffered; his weariness. Refusing to succumb to it. The only thing locked in his mind being the determination to save every person inside the house that was inevitable to fall. 

Rufus didn't see himself as a hero. This wasn't a façade of his used to appear brave. He'd studied to become a Doctor. Whilst Rufus had paid little attention to his University course; eventually failing it, it had one impact on him: it it had embedded an instinct in Rufus to help people; try and prevent awful incidents like this from happening. Stories of house fires; the harm reaped by them had stained Rufus' memory. During his training, he'd been told of such things, and trained to heal burns and handle the situation. It was against all his morals to turn his back whilst he could be doing something to help.

The main person he'd searched for was Roxy. Rufus didn't know whether she was trapped inside, and that thought alone pained him above all else. The only place left for him to check was where he stood- the top floor. If he didn't find Roxy here he knew she'd be outside. Safe. Keeping a hand over his mouth, precluding smoke from being inhaled, Rufus marched further into the landing. Checking every room he passed; making sure they were vacant from people who hadn't managed to escape. But most of all, making sure Roxy wasn't in any of them. Rufus had only checked two of the rooms when he sighted a familiar face. Though his vision was blurred, his eyes stinging from the smoke, he could tell that this person was Lucas. "Lucas?!" Rufus called, his voice demanding and lacking patience. "What are you still doing in here!?" It occurred to him that perhaps Lucas was there for a similar reason, but Rufus' inclination forced him into asking. As though Lucas was a fool for having not fled- just alike Rufus. Perhaps they were. 

Rufus' thoughts were cut off when he heard a loud crack. Arching his head back to stare at the ceiling, he saw that it was starting to disintegrate. They had to move before— "Lucas, move!" Rufus bellowed, grabbing the boy's shoulders and forcing him backwards into a room. Slamming the door behind them. The door was a frail barrier to separate them from the fire, but it was something, and it was all that they had. It was better to be in here than exposed amongst it. Rufus moved both of his hands to the back of his head, his arms spreading outward. "Fuck." The word was spoken harshly on an in-breath. Realising that the ribboned flames had moved right outside the door. Trapping them. If they tried to escape that way then they would find themselves confronted by the fire, with no way out. It seemed safest to stay in the room that was so far untouched by flames. But they had to find a way out before the fire got in. Rufus ran to a window, leaning out of it and shouting for help. A few people were scattered outside, all looking equally panicked. It wasn't long before he'd captured the attention of someone from the fire brigade, noticing that him and Lucas were trapped. 

6am: Get up and shower 6:20am: Eat small, yet nutritious breakfast 6:45am: Get out the door. No excuses 7:00am: Arrive at gym

The daily routine of Faye's was unusual for someone her own age, particularly on a Saturday morning like today. The gym got pretty busy at the weekend which is why she'd always chosen Saturday as swimming day. One of the two pools were out of use to anyone who didn't own a gym membership and all those under the age of sixteen, so there were only half a dozen people usually around at this time of the morning. There appeared to be a large mix between those who liked to swim professionally and those who just enjoyed doing the sport for exercise purposes. She was one of the latter.

Having got changed into her swimwear Faye walked along the chilly floors to reach the pool she spent her Saturday mornings in. Smiling to herself, she sat down on the pool's edge, dangling her feet into the warm water so her body could get used to the indescribable temperature.

Looking up from the blue water she noticed a recognizable man the other side of the pool. Go and speak. You promised you'd make some friends, her own-self told her. Faye pulled her feet up and walked across the slippery flooring to the blonde-haired man of whom she'd have a very brief conversation with recently.

Roxy was feeling a million times more nervous than she thought she’d feel, and she knew it was stupid anyway. It was only a scan - she had so much more to be anxious about down the line. She’d woken up at around 8am and, even though the scan wasn’t until 3 in the afternoon, she felt too scared to go back to sleep in case she overslept and didn’t have enough time to prepare herself. She’d borrowed several videos from the library that gave her some information about what was going to happen, but they weren’t enough to make her feel calm about the impending experience. After insisting to Rufus that he didn’t have to come with her and that she’d be absolutely fine getting there by herself, she set off for the clinic at precisely 2:30pm, aiming to meet Dean and Lucas at the front entrance.

Roxy had been bored out of her mind lately - all she had been doing was sitting around the house, occasionally doing her homework just for something to do. She'd been grounded so many times in the past few months that she'd found it difficult to maintain a social life with anyone other than Mila, and she decided that that had to change. She'd heard that most of the 'cool' residents of Lincolnshire sometimes hung out at the pub, so Roxy decided to head down there and see if she could find anyone to talk to and make her feel sane again. You couldn't spend too long holed up in your room in the Trussler household without feeling as though you were under house arrest.