Lukesse Oneshots~2018 Wattys

Burn

"Hey, hope you enjoyed the show! Come back to see even more astonishing acts!"

Lukas cast a bright smile to those who passed by him, kneeling down to ruffle a few kids' hair. They all had smiles on their faces and were laughing in happiness. Soren was right, the smiles made were real and that was what he loved about working with the circus. As the final people left, Lukas heard a voice from behind him.

"Hey, ringmaster."

The blond turned around to see a small group of men. They all had a smell of alcohol on them. "Excuse me, I'll have to ask you to leave. The show has ended," Lukas said. The leader of the group let out a dry laugh. "This here's our town, and we don't tolerate freaks or their friends in it. So I think you should leave," he replied, glaring down the blond. "Sir, leave," Jay said as he stepped to stand next to Lukas. The leader of the group started to turn around.

Until he whipped back and punched Jay in the face.

Instantly the others ran forward and an all-out brawl broke out. Lukas dodged and punched and kicked alongside the others, everyone determined to not let these men destroy what they had worked so hard to make. Axel flung one across the room into the backstage area, where the rest started to be driven to. Lukas chased after them, arriving in the archway just in time to see one man grab a lantern and throw it down at some rope and posters. The men ran away and Lukas turned to the others. "Everyone out!" he ordered. Upon seeing the rapidly spreading fire from the backstage area, the others instantly ran to the exit together.

Lukas was the last to run out, scanning the crowd to make sure everyone was there. "Is everyone here?" he asked. The others looked around for the others to make sure they were all safe. Everyone seemed to be there until Jay cried out,

"Where's Jesse?!"

The blue eyes of Lukas widened as he turned back to the building which was doused in flames. "She's still in there!" Olivia cried. The blond wasted no time in running back to the blazing building, throwing his jacket off as he ran through the doorway, ignoring the screams from the crowd behind him. He whipped his head around, looking for the familiar silhouette of the ebony-haired girl. "JESS!" he cried, continuing on to run. His head whipped back when he heard a creak, his normally gelled up hair falling down in his face. There was no one there, however, and he heard a loud crack from above him. Lukas looked up just in time to see a wooden beam break and start falling toward him. The blond tried to dive away, but his panic had blinded his judgment, and he crashed to the ground as the beam fell on his back. Everything went black.

Soren ran to the fallen beam where he had seen Lukas. He lifted the beam up and threw it off the blond before picking up the young man and start the walk back to the exit. The redhead's green eyes widened as he looked up to see the glass dome above him start to fall. He leapt to the side, rolling away and using his body to protect the blond. The dome crashed to the ground and instantly shattered, causing a round of horrified screaming to come from outside. Soren picked himself up, gritting his teeth together to put off the pain from a few shards of glass and roughly landing on the ground as he continued on. He walked around the dome and through the doorway, hurrying down the stairs as fast as possible. Only when he reached the others did he fall to his knees and carefully set Lukas on the ground.

"He took in a lot of smoke," he gasped out, his lungs burning from the smoke. Lukas let out a few weak coughs as a few paramedics ran to him and picked him up on a stretcher. Jay tightly hugged his sister as she watched Lukas be taken to the ambulance, tears falling down her cheeks as she violently shook. She broke from her brother's grip and ran to Lukas' side, gently holding her hand over his own. The blond's hand slowly moved to hold Jesse's, and the girl held it like a lifeline. She sent a pleading look to the paramedics and was allowed to stay with the blond as they traveled to the hospital, leaving the burning building behind.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Jesse waited by Lukas' bedside, holding his hand in her own. It had been a few days since the fire, and Lukas had not woken up yet. The blond bore many burn marks over his face and hands. Over those few days, Jay and the others had come to visit both her and Lukas, trying to cheer the midnight-haired girl up. Sadly, she refused to do anything but wait, only one thought in her head.

This is my fault.

If she had stayed with the others instead of getting lost in a different route, perhaps she could've avoided this ever happening. The building would still be burned down, yes, but at least Lukas wouldn't be in a state like this. Stuck in his sleep, burn marks all over his exposed skin, smoke slowly being filtered out of his lungs. The guilt was almost overwhelming. So when she felt the slightest movement from Lukas' hand, she instantly turned her gaze back to the blond's face, her hopes raised. Lukas didn't move for a moment, beginning to dash her hopes, until she noticed his lips quirk into a frown before his eyes slowly fluttered open.

Jesse smiled softly as tears started to form in her eyes. Lukas smiled back, raising his hand to carefully cup her cheek. The ebony-haired girl leaned down and pressed her lips to Lukas' for just a moment. When she pulled away, she rested her forehead against his, tears slowly falling down her cheeks. Lukas leaned forward and gently kissed Jesse, smiling against her lips.