Lauren Jauregui Imagines |ABANDONED|

9/11

Y/N Y/L/N and her girlfriend's little brother were never late for work. Never, they were always early. One time, Y/N and Chris actually showed up to work and walked in on their coworkers planning a surprise party for the two; since they shared a birthday.

It was 2001, Y/N Y/L/N, her girlfriend; Lauren Jauregui, and her little brother all lived across the hall from each other, their apartments only a thirty minute drive from their workplace, which was Tower 2 of the World Trade Center. The morning of September 11, 2001, Y/N and Chris woke up with a sour feeling in their stomachs. Y/N had woken up to an empty bed for the seventh day because Lauren was in LA with her mom and little sister. As Y/N and Chris stepped out of their apartments, they looked at each other for a moment before Chris spoke.

"I'm not sure about today, Y/N/N." Chris said to his best friend, who sighed.

"Let's just go try. If by lunch time, you're still wary, we'll come home faking sick, okay?" Y/N asks and the younger of the two nods.

The two made it to the World Trace Center Complex and headed for the North Tower, having walked to work that day to see if that would rid the duo of the sinking feeling in the pits of their stomachs. They entered the lobby at exactly 7AM. The two best friends were greeted warmly by those who passed them as usual and Y/N seemed to relax a bit after that as they got into the elevator and went to their workplace on the 40th floor.

"Come on, man, relax a little bit." Y/N said as they got off the elevator on their floor.

"How? I just don't like the feeling I have right now."

After Chris and Y/N got to their workplace and got settled into the lull of their work, Y/N was called into her boss's office, something he wasn't exactly worried about because she's never done anything bad enough to get fired.

"Hey, Ron." She says, stepping into her boss's office after knocking.

"Y/N, come on in." He says and watches as the young woman sits down across his desk from him. Their conversation was relatively normal, Ron was praising Y/N for her superb attendance and work, then talking idly to kill time, that is until they felt a shock wave go through the floor.

"The fuck was that?" Both office occupants asked as they stood up, leaving Ron's office as another explosion-like vibration shook the building.

"Do we evacuate?" Y/N asks her boss, who nods. Alexis nods and jogs over to where Chis was standing, already panicking. "Chris, come on, we're evacuating." Y/N says and Chris looks over, watching his best friend shove pictures into a backpack she always kept in her desk. Y/N looked down when someone yelled that the door was jammed. "Chris, grab your shit. Now." She yelle before hogging to the door of their office and pulled a crowbar from her backpack, shrugging off the odd looks she got from her coworkers as she moved to pry open the door. "I'm always prepared." She grits out, prying the door open to let out her coworkers. "Use the stairs! We don't know what's going on!" She yelled after her retreating colleagues. When she turned around, she was met with stairs from her boss and best friend. "Let's go help who needs it." Y/N says before disappearing. Rob and Chris share a look before following the young woman, telling the people she frees to use the stairs. They made it to the 44th floor before deciding to evacuate themselves. As Chris, Rob, and Y/N left the lobby of the North Tower, the South Tower collapsed, so they ran, trying to escape the dust. The three had been separated, but as the North Tower collapsed behind Y/N, she rushed toward Chris, who she saw sitting on a street cornier, lifted the taller of the two by the armpit and dragged him into a nearby building people were retreating into and when they were safe, people looked at Y/N with wide eyes, their faces painted with astonishment at how she threw someone bigger than herself around like a ragdoll. It took a while for the dust to settle, but when it did, Y/N and Chris were the first ones out. On the exact corner Y/N found Chris as, they saw a firefighter using the hydrant to wash the dust off his face, and Y/N asks if her and her best friend could do the same, and took her backpack off when the man nodded. She washed the dust from her face and hair before moving so Chris could to the same, when Chris was on his feet beside Y/N, she looked up at him, and he looks down at his best friend and watches as she opens her mouth to speak, but is cut off by their boss's voice, they both look over and watch the man run to them.