Steph watched out the window across the room from her bed as the slowly rose, lighting the dim sky. The phone rang, ripping through Steph's concentration. She reached toward the phone beside her bed and picked it up. "Hello?" she said, her voice shaky with fear of who it might be and what they had to say.
"Hi," a familiar voice said. It was Steph's best friend, Amber. Steph didn't say anything, she just let Amber ramble on. "I just called to tell you to get out of bed. You've got to get up. Got to the playroom or something."
Steph hadn't left her hospital bed for two weeks, besides going for a shower or to go to the bathroom. She just sat there, staring at the wall or writing or sleeping.
As Amber continued, Steph let her thoughts wander. She didn't care what Amber had to say. She wasn't going to get out of bed. She didn't want to. Then, she heard Amber say goodbye. "love ya," Steph tried to day, but it only come out as a whisper. Steph quickly hung up.
Steph looked back out the window. The sun was up all the way now. She laid down, having nothing better to do, and rested her head on her pillow. Slowly, she drifted into a deep sleep.
"That's the Hansons' house!" Steph's friend Heather screamed. "Zac, Ike, and Tay are in there!"
Steph stared at the house before them. She'd wanted to meet Taylor, Zac, and Isaac Hanson for over two years, but something held her back from showing any emotions..happy or sad. Steph examined the house, looking inside its windows.
That's when she saw it...FIRE! Flames seemed to be engulfing almost half of the house. In one window, she saw a man. The Hansons' father! He was screaming for help. Heather screamed as the flames took over more of windows, more of the house. Steph dropped her stuff and ran to the front door. Heather followed.
Heather started crying as she struggled to open the door. Steph pushed her out of the way and quickly opened the door.
Steph and Heather broke into a heavy sweat as heat and smoke came at the from all directions. They could hear people screaming. The screams echoed in Steph's mind.
"Zac," Heather screamed as she ran into a room that was filled with flames and heavy, black smoke. Steph looked deep into the room. She could see Zac's face. It was slowly fading. He seemed to be melting! Steph held back her tears, she didn't want to cry. She knew that if she started crying, she wouldn't stop. It was hard, though. She had just lost a friend and a guy that she loved within seconds. She just followed other screams. Screams of young kids.
Steph flung open a door. Three kids were in the corner of the room, crying. She recognized them right away. They were three of Taylor, Zac, and Isaac's younger siblings...Avery, Mackenzie, and Jessica. Steph ran to them and knelt down, "Follow me," she managed to choke out. She grabbed Mackenzie, the youngest of the three, and, holding the boy in her arms, she led Jessica and Avery to the front door. "Go by that sign," Steph instructed, pointing to the "No trespassing" sign in the yard. They young children turned. "Wait!" Steph blurted out. "where's Zoe?"
"By Zac, I think," Jessica replied as she and two of her siblings ran away from the house. She ran back into the house. She began to tun around frantically, from door to door, looking for people that were still alive.
Finally, she found someone. It was Isaac. He was asleep on the couch, holding a baby...ZOE!!! Knowing they didn't have much more time, Steph ran to Isaac and shook him gently, "Wake up," pleaded.
Hie eyes shot open, "Who are you?" he asked, a little scared.
Steph coughed. "I'm Steph. We have to get out of here. There's a fire!"
"Where?" Isaac questioned.
"By Zac's room. The whole side of the house." Steph picked up the baby as Isaac jumped up off of the couch, realizing that Steph wasn't joking.
Once Isaac was standing up, Steph handed Zoe to him and they ran toward the front door.
Suddenly, flames shot at them. Someone grabbed Steph.
Steph sat up. She looked around. She was in her hospital room still. She looked at her bandaged hand and burnt arm. The fire had taken place exactly two weeks ago, but Steph's nightmares kept her remembering like it had just taken place a day before. A tear rolled down her face.
A nurse walked in. "Someone wants to see you." Steph looked at the nurse, a confused look painted on her face.
Isaac walked in. He was carrying roses. He walked over to Steph and sat down by her on her bed. "These are for you," he told Steph as he handed her the roses. A tear trickled down Steph's cheek. She took the beautiful red flower graciously and set them down by her phone. "Can you leave us alone?" Isaac asked the nurse. She smiled, shook her head, then left the room. Steph and Isaac stared into each other's eyes. Isaac could see the pain in Steph's eyes. "Thank you," Isaac said.
Steph looked away"For what?" she asked. "I should've saved your mom and dad and Zac and..."
Isaac interrupted her, "You couldn't have! You did what you could. You saved my life and Jessie's and Avie's and Mackie's and Zoe's!!!" He leaned over and wiped away the tear that was halfway down Steph's cheek. He moved closer to her. "They told me you haven't left your bed since that day."
Steph sighed. How could everyone expect her to just get up and forget about it?
Isaac looked at the young blond girl that he was quickly falling in love with. "Will you go to dinner with me tonight?" he asked.
Steph smiled for the first time in two weeks, "Yeah, I'd love to."
"Good," Ike said. "I'll pick you up at seven, okay?"
"If they'll let me leave."
"I already talked to the doctor. They were going to let you go home today anyway." Steph smiled as Isaac continued, "After dinner, I'd really like to bring you to my aunt's house. Jessie, Avie, and Mackie really want to thank you. So does my aunt. And, Zoe would too, but she can't exactly say thank you yet." He paused. "Can I hug you?"
Steph shook her head yes. Isaac wrapped his arms around her. She was glad that she hadn't got burned on her chest or stomach, then he wouldn't be able to hug her.
Suddenly, everything seemed right. Steph's retched memories of the fire were gone. She just kept thinking about her and Isaac future together.
P.S. Here's a really cool site with many, many Fan Fic links (including one to this and one to "Just A Kiss"):
