Working on a couple new books :)

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"Where is he? He said he'd meet us here by now." Anxiously, he kept his eyes fixated on the building in front of him, wincing as it crumbled from the fire that had consumed it.

"Vanoss, he's fine. We're wasting our time here, he probably left ages ago without us." Wildcat said bitterly, not caring about how his friend felt at that point, he had never liked Delirious, he saw no reason for his position in the group. Even if he had saved Vanoss' life before.

"No, he's not fine, Wildcat. He wouldn't leave without us, he promised us he would meet us. He promised me...." Panicked thoughts ran through his head, consuming him with images of Delirious being hurt, dead, or laughing at them from a distance.

"He lied, Vanoss, okay?! He lied to you, he doesn't give two shits-Where are you going?" Wildcat snapped, noticing that Vanoss had made his way towards the entrance of the building. "Vanoss, get back here! We have to go!"

The other guys watched the ordeal from the safety of the van, worried that Vanoss might do something stupid.

He turned, looking at Wildcat with a look of pure determination. "I'm going in, I won't leave him."

"You're an idiot, let's go."

"No, he's in trouble, I'm gonna save him."

"Evan he doesn't care! No matter how many promises he makes you, he will not care! He probably even started the fire just to get away, okay?! Just get in the damn van and let's go home!" Wildcat snapped, hoping to knock Vanoss out of his delusional trance that Delirious was going to meet them.

Vanoss glared at him, visibly showing hatred for what his friend had just said. "Fine, go home then, Tyler. I'm rescuing him." And he ran into the building, leaving Tyler there with a shocked expression.

"No, he won't make it, he can't make it. Vanoss!" He called desperately, knowing it was no use since Vanoss was already long gone. He turned to face the van, his expression grim. They couldn't go home now, as much as he disliked Delirious he would never leave Vanoss.

~-~-~-~

Almost immediately Vanoss started coughing from the mass amount of smoke he had been hit with once he entered the building. Within a matter of five minutes, he was already starting to feel light headed.

"Delirious!" He called out repeatedly, coughing between them every once and a while. He searched everywhere, having to use the wall for support after a while, yet he still searched, determined to stay until he found Delirious.

After what seemed like forever, his lightheadedness was getting to him, and his eyelids suddenly felt extremely heavy, his calls were growing weaker, and his coughing was getting worse, his lungs felt like they weren't working anymore, burning with each breath he took.

"Del......" His voice had reached its weakest point, he was fully leaning on the wall, coughing violently as he held his side. "Delirious, where are you?" He pushed himself forward, refusing to give up now, he had to get Delirious and get back to the guys.

"Vanoss? Is that you?" He heard a voice from his right, it was strained and full of surprise, yet it made his heart leap. With a new found energy, he darted as fast as he could towards the voice.

"Delirious!" He cried as he saw who he was looking for, his body trapped underneath a pile of broken concrete. He moved forward, only to stop in his tracks because of a violent outburst of coughing.

"Vanoss, you should've stayed with the guys, you can't save me. Go while you still can."

He shook his head, refusing to accept defeat. "No, I can't leave you, Del. I am going to save you, if it's the last thing I do." He started pushing on the concrete, managing to push off a few small pieces before once again coughing. "C'mon Del, we have to get out of here."

"No, Evan, you should go while you still can, the guys need you. You know how much they hate me, they don't need me like they need you. No one wants me there." Delirious said, his heart aching as he saw how much Vanoss was straining himself to save him.

Vanoss crawled nearer to Delirious so they could speak without being so loud since his voice was basically gone. "I don't care if they hate you, they can kiss my ass. But we do need you, you're a part of the team, no matter what. Now help me, please."

"Evan, please just stop. You guys don't need-" Delirious was cut off by Evan pressing his lips against his, taking him by surprise.

They pulled away, staring at each other in silence for a few seconds before Evan spoke. "I need you, I can't live without you. I love you." His voice was barely above a whisper, it was hoarse and scratchy. "Please, don't make me live without you, Jonathan."

Jonathan smiled warmly at him, helping as he once again pushed against the concrete. Together, they managed to free him and they set off for the exit, Evan leaning against Jonathan for support as he coughed heavily, starting to stumble.

"Stay with me, Ev. Just a little longer, I promise." But it was no use, with a last burst of coughing and a couple more stumbles, Evan collapsed onto the ground, coughing in his sleep a couple more times.

Jonathan scooped Evan into his arms, ignoring his pained breathing as he frantically searched for the exit. He had just found out Evan loved him, he didn't want him to die.

Occasionally, Evan still coughed and Jonathan could tell how much weaker they were getting, he had to concentrate really hard to hear him after a while. He wasn't so sure Evan was going to make it.

"No, come on, Ev. It's gonna be ok, just hold on a little longer. We're almost there, I promise." He looked around frantically, until he could spot a small patch of natural light flooding into the building. Hope flared up in his chest as he made his way to the light as fast as he could, they were going to live.

He caught a glimpse of the van outside the door, the guys were stood around it, worried. He caught a piece of their conversation as he tried to figure out how to get around the debris that had fallen in his way, glancing worriedly at the unconscious man in his arms.

~-~-~-~

The sunlight was blinding, but Jonathan remained determined as he ran towards the van, where the guys had shocked expressions on their faces.

"Brock! He needs an oxygen mask, now!" He didn't hesitate to answer questions, his mind was still focused on Evan. Laying him down in the van, he sat beside him as Brock hurriedly pulled out an oxygen mask and put it on his face.

Jonathan bleakly watched the achingly slow rise and fall of Evan's chest, his pulse was barely there, but the oxygen was working. Slowly but surely, his breathing became a bit more normal, the clean oxygen causing him to cough every once and a while.

The guys had all gotten into the van without question behind Brock, Tyler took his position as the driver, Craig was right next to him, his laptop sitting in between them. They started the drive home in silence.

He couldn't tear his gaze away from Evan, who looked so tired and weak from all the smoke. His thoughts drifted back to when they had kissed, it had felt like they were transported to a safe place, the fire forgotten for just a few heartbeats, it was an experience he wanted to relive everyday of his life. Evan had said that he loved him, and Jonathan felt the exact same way about him.

But now that Evan had confessed his love for him, seeing him hurt, an oxygen mask the only thing allowing him to breathe normally and keep him alive, he felt a physical pain in his chest. And guilt, the guilt was weighing down on his like that pile of concrete had been a few minutes ago.

It was his fault Evan had come back for him, he didn't keep his promise and meet them, even though he couldn't have. He stayed with the guys, despite them hating his guts, because Evan had encouraged him, told him he was perfect for the team. And he stayed, because no one had ever told him he was perfect.

He could feel everyone's eyes on him for the majority of the drive, they were probably shocked that he had come back, that he had kept the promise he made to Evan. Tyler might have even hated him less now, because that was now three times he had saved Evan's life, but maybe he didn't care.

But for the first time since he joined the group, he didn't care what the others thought of him, he only cared about what Evan thought of him. And Evan loved him, which is more than he could ever ask for.