Dannon wasn’t at school today.

I tried to convince myself that he was fine, that it was just the common cold or that he had an appointment.  But he hadn’t called, hadn’t reassured me that everything was fine.  And, what was worse, when I called him he hadn’t picked up; it had gone straight to voicemail.  There were many things that I could count on with Dannon, and picking up was one of them.  Out of all the times that we’d phoned each other through the course of our time together, not once had I ever reached his voicemail.  Ever.  It was so shocking to hear his voice with the message that he wasn’t there at the moment and to call back later, that the first time I almost dropped the phone.

Something was wrong.  So very, very wrong.

“Still can’t get ahold of him?” Kyla asked as I slammed my cell phone shut for the umpteenth time.  We were on our free period, sitting on a patch of grass right outside the school. 

I shook my head, my teeth digging anxiously into my cheek.  “Maybe I should go check up on him.”

It was crazy, I know, suggesting to skip school to check up on someone because they weren’t picking up their phone.  But this was Dannon.  What if he’d collapsed, or what if he was put into the hospital?  What if he was struggling to live, and I was just sitting here at school?  My stomach churned at the thought.  It felt so wrong—sitting here doing nothing.  I needed to see if he was okay.  Now.

“I don’t get it,” Kyla muttered, raking her fingers through her hair.  “Wasn’t he fine this weekend?  You said that you guys worked on the project.”

I let my head fall into my hands, squeezing my eyes closed.  “He seemed fine, but he could have just been faking it so I wouldn’t be worried.”

Dannon would do that without a doubt.

Kyla scowled up at the sky.  “Why is it always the good people that get hurt?”

I shrugged solemnly.  “I don’t know.”

I stared out at the parking lot in longing.  If only I had a car.  Without a second thought I would drive down to Dannon’s house and pound on his door until someone answered.  Not knowing what was going on with him was scary—really, really scary.  I was probably getting worked up over nothing, but there was nothing that could be done to stop that.  That was, unless I saw for myself that Dannon was okay.

“I have my keys on me,” Kyla said blankly, staring out at the parking lot along with me.

I slowly turned to face her.  “You do?”

Kyla nodded, smiling slightly.  “We still have a good hour left of free period.  Want to take a ride?”

She didn’t have to ask twice.  I stood up, patting my pants and waiting for Kyla to stand up and grab her bag.  Together we hurried into the parking lot and jumped into her car, not at all caring who could see us.  No one even cast us a glance as we pulled out of the parking lot and out onto the street.  Not that it would have mattered if they did.  During free period you were allowed to leave campus.  As long as you came back, the school didn’t have a problem with it.

The ride to Dannon’s was silent, excluding the times when I pointed out where Kyla had to turn.  Over time I’d learned the directions to Dannon’s house by heart.  It wasn’t really that hard.  Once we were driving past my church, all we had to do was take a few turns, deal with the dreaded long road of doom, and then we were there, parked in Dannon’s driveway.

“His car is here.”  Kyla was so soft that it could almost be classified as a whisper.

The sight of the silver Saturn in the driveway only set me on edge.  So he wasn’t at an appointment.  Why would he be skipping out on school unless he was ill?

I threw open the car door and jogged up Dannon’s porch.  I pounded on the front door as Kyla headed slowly toward the house, seeming self-conscious.  I didn’t quit understand why.  Like I said earlier: she was right at home the first time she went to Aunt Jill’s with us.  Maybe it was because there was a chance that Dannon wasn’t well. 

Hell, it wasn’t a chance that he wasn’t well—it was definite.  Cancer didn’t exactly make you well.

“Dannon, come on, answer the door!” I shrieked, becoming frantic as my hand continued to slam painfully onto his front door.  Gosh, I was becoming such a ninny.  Whatever that was. 

After what seemed like ages, the door opened and Dannon appeared.  I paused, mid-pound, completely taken aback.  His face was flushed, matching his irritated and rosy red nose.  He was sweating horribly, his hair clinging to the sides of his face as he breathed deeply, his breaths sounding labored.  He was the definition of ill-looking.  “Brianne,” he murmured, his voice sounding hoarse as though he was losing his voice.  “What are you doing here?”

Despite the fact that he was sweaty and clammy, I threw my arms over him, muttering profanities under my breath.  “You didn’t answer your phone!” I hissed, glaring at him.  “Why must you insist on worrying me to pieces?”

Dannon smiled, pulling away from me and turning to Kyla.  He looked between us, the smile growing on his face.  “Shouldn’t you two girls be in school right about now?”

I scowled, crossing my arms over my chest.  “You look like shit.”

Dannon chuckled.  “Why thank you.  I didn’t notice.”

Kyla stepped onto the porch, looking relieved.  She smiled slightly, her hands going into her jacket pockets.  “Why weren’t you answering your phone?” she asked, her eyebrows rising.

Dannon’s smile remained.  “It died and I can’t find the charger.  My dad cleaned the house, so I’m going to have to ask him where he put it.”  His eyes met mine.  “I’m sorry for worrying you.  It’s just the common cold.”

Common cold?  More like common cold on steroids.

I grumbled under my breath.  Dannon smiled, reaching out and patting my shoulder comfortingly.  Then he pushed open the door further as though inviting us inside.  “If you two want to come in you can,” Dannon said cheerfully.  “Beware, my germs are everywhere.”

Kyla and I stepped inside, and Dannon shut the door softly behind us.  I looked around, smiling at the familiarity.  Kyla’s eyes were devouring everything, seeming shocked at how normal his house was.  I knew I’d been shocked at his house, but she looked absolutely appalled.  If this were a cartoon, her eyes would be bulging from her skull.  She looked like she wanted to say many things to Dannon, but all she said was this: “There are a lot of pictures here.”

Dannon chuckled softly, squeezing past us and sauntering toward the living room.  I followed automatically, leaving Kyla to scurry after us.  “Yeah, my mom and dad liked photography.”

“They don’t still?”

It was then that I realized that in all of this time neither of Dannon nor I had clued her in on the fact that his mother was dead.  Suddenly I felt guilty—I’d completely forgotten to tell her.  I mean, I knew about it for so long that it seemed like everyone should have known, too.  My bad.

“Well,” Dannon said, his voice light, “my mom died when I was three, but my dad still likes photography.”

In an instant, Kyla flushed, looking completely and utterly embarrassed.  “I’m so sorry,” she squeaked out.  “I didn’t know—”

Dannon smiled comfortingly.  “It’s okay.”

I stepped to the side, moving past Dannon and into the living room.  I flopped on the couch, letting my head fall back.  The amount of relief I felt that Dannon was okay . . . I couldn’t even explain it.  But now all I wanted to do was sleep; the worry had worn me out. 

Dannon settled next to me, looking as tired as I felt.  I glanced up at Kyla, who’d continued to stand in her place next to the couch.  I knew immediately that she was thinking of going back to school.  I bit the inside of my cheek, knowing that I should go with her, but not at all enticed to.  “You can go back to school, Ky,” I assured with a smile.  “It’s okay.”

Kyla bit her lip.  “You’re not coming?”

I shook my head slightly.  “Nah, I’ll call my mom and have her call me out for the rest of the day.  You go on ahead.”

Kyla nodded and quickly said goodbye before turning and hurrying back outside.  I knew that it wasn’t the fear of getting caught skipping that sent her running—gosh, no.  Kyla didn’t really give a damn about the rules (as she put it).  What she cared about was the fact that Oliver was supposed to meet us during free period.  It just dawned on me that we’d probably left him waiting.

“You don’t have to stay,” Dannon murmured, glancing at me from the corner of his eye.  You could tell by the tone of his voice that he’d much rather me stay, but felt the need to tell me otherwise out of responsibility.  “I’m fine.”

I shook my head stubbornly.  “School’s no fun without you ticking me off during history anyway.”

Dannon smiled, seeming to be recalling the day he’d caused my test to be ripped.  I scowled at the thought.  No tape could repair the injury inflicted upon the poor paper.  It would always be tainted with his . . . I don’t know.  “Flattered,” he mused, smiling wider.  He paused before sighing.  “I was going to take a shower so I don’t feel so gross.  So, you can watch some TV or something.  I’ll be right back.”

I nodded, watching as Dannon sauntered out of the room.  After his disappeared behind the closing door, I twisted back around and grabbed the remote from the cushion beside me and turned on the television.  I flipped through the channels, not really caring what was on.  But when I landed on Everybody Loves Raymond, I decided to stop channel hopping.  What can I say?  I loved the show.

Ten minutes into the episode Dannon returned with a pair of sweat pants on, rubbing through his hair with a towel.  My eyes widened as I stared.  It wasn’t the darkness of his hair or how bright a blue his eyes were that caught my attention—not really.  No, what caught my attention was the fact that he had no shirt on.

Yeah, ladies, you heard me correctly: Dannon Barone was shirtless.

My eyes widened even further as they involuntarily scanned his bare chest.  I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.  It was like I was in a Hollywood picture—you know, the ones where all the guys’ abs are sexy no matter how old they were supposed to be?  Gosh, I was becoming such a hormonal teenager.  But, could you really blame me?  They guy had a six-pack going on there!  I didn’t even think that it was possible for someone of our age to have abs like that, but Dannon obviously proved otherwise. 

Dannon, catching my stare, glanced down at his chest before smiling apologetically.  “Sorry,” he muttered, “I got really hot in my shirt.  I could put one on if you’d like.”

“No, no it’s fine,” I said quickly.  A little too quickly, maybe.

Dannon chuckled, trotting into the living room and plopping down beside me on the couch.  He leaned back, a smile creeping onto his face when he saw what I was watching.  “Everybody Loves Raymond, huh?”  His eyes drifted from the television, to me, the smile growing.

“Shut up.”  I grinned, slapping him lightly on the shoulder.  I let out a small gasp when my hand collided with his skin, realizing how hot it was.  Like seriously.  His skin burned.  “Dannon,” I began, my eyebrows creasing, “did you check your temperature?”

Dannon shrugged.  “I think it’s pretty obvious that I have a fever.  What’s the point?”

I scowled.  “You don’t have a clue on how to take care of yourself, do you?”

Dannon’s eyebrows rose.  “Ah, and I suppose that you’re going to tell me?”

I scoffed, standing up and hurrying into the kitchen.  I grabbed a tablecloth from the drawer nearest to the refrigerator and drowned it under the faucet with freezing water.  We had to cool the guy down before he exploded.  Damn, it was like he took a one-hundred degree shower or something.  If I went out there and found out he took anything but a lukewarm shower, I was going to kill him.

After grabbing some medicine, a glass of water, and the thermometer, I headed back to the living room.  Dannon was laying on the couch now, my spot taken over by his legs.  In any normal circumstance, I would have been irritated.  But he was sick.  So I was going to cut him some slack.

“Ah, hon, don’t make me take medicine,” Dannon whined as I made my way around the couch.  He scrunched his nose up with distaste. 

I froze for a second, looking down at him in shock.  “Did you just call me hon?”

Dannon’s eyes widened as he realized what he’d said.  “Erm, I might have. . . .”

I stuck my tongue out at him before kneeling down on the floor beside the couch.  “Well, honey, you have to take the medicine to get better.”

Dannon grumbled under his breath, staring up at the ceiling as though saying, “Why does my girlfriend have to worry about me so?”

“Don’t give that look,” I said firmly.  “Now take the stupid medicine.”

Dannon smiled slightly, as though he couldn’t help himself.  “Fine.”

He took the two tablets from my outstretched hand and downed them with the water.  He even obliged when I insisted on taking his temperature.  Without even bothering to ask permission, I slapped the cold rag onto his head.  “Did you happen to take a hot shower?” I asked, smiling thinly.  “Or a freezing one?”

“Nope!”  Dannon grinned.  “I kept it lukewarm.”

Thank the Lord he has a brain, I thought lightly before cupping his cheeks with my hands and pouting childishly.  “My poor baby is sickly!” I cried out like a two-year-old.  I don’t really know why I did this, but at the time the temptation was too huge to ignore.

“Your hands are nice and cold,” Dannon murmured, his eyes closing.  He shivered slightly.

After a few moments of massaging his cheeks with my thumbs, I pulled my hands away, flopping onto the floor in front of him.  Dannon let his hand fall onto my head, playing with hair gently between his fingers.  He was tickling me, but I refused to let him know that.  He would use it against me for the rest of my life.

Dannon groaned slightly.  I turned, watching with concerned eyes as Dannon clutched his stomach.  He smiled reassuringly, but I could see the pain in his eyes.  I reached out, touching his arm lightly as I murmured, “Are you okay?”

Dannon nodded once and shivered.  “I’m burning up, yet now I’m freezing,” he muttered, shaking his head.  “This world never ceases to confuse me.”

He reached up, grabbing the blanket folding over the couch.  I shrieked as the blanket came down, whacking me on the head.  “Dannon Barone!” I yelled, scowling as Dannon fixed the blanket over himself.  He made sure to cover my face with it, by the way.  Everyone who thought that this guy was a perfect little angel was on something, they really were.  “You just ruined my hair, by the way.”

“Nah, I’m sure it’s still as beautiful as ever.”

I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest.  The blanket was still over my head, blocking my view from the TV.  I refused to pull it off, though.  Nope.  Dannon was going to have to do that himself.  “Take the blanket off my head,” I demanded, not bothering to say please.

A moment later the television came back into view.  My hair flew everywhere, and a scowl formed on the tip of my lips.  I wasn’t one of those girls who constantly obsessed over their hair, but I found it irritating when it was all over the place.  It made me feel like a crazed scientist who was going to butcher someone with their bare hands.  I flattened it with a glower, deciding that I would keep my mouth shut and not blow up over it.

However, after my hair was flattened, I decided that I wanted to make a big deal out of it.  Not in a serious argument kind of way; you know, just the bantering kind of way.  I was in the mood.  Yeah, I know, it was rude of me especially when the poor guy was sick and needed to keep his mouth shut so that he wouldn’t lose his completely, but we both knew I was kidding so it was all good.

“Seriously?” I muttered with a sigh as my eyes landed on Dannon.  “You can’t keep yourself conscious for ten minutes?”

He’d fallen asleep.

I chewed the inside of my cheek, refusing to acknowledge our conversation in the car when I found out about his condition.  I knew that he was steadily growing weaker, that he was steadily growing exhausted.  If I acknowledged this then I would only break down from anxiety.  I couldn’t go around acting paranoid all the time.  Dannon didn’t want that.  That’s why he hid it from me for so long.  If I acted like that he would only grow more apprehensive when getting ready to tell the others.

Though, I had to admit, getting a ride over here because of the lack of contact with him was rather paranoid indeed.

Dannon breathed deeply, his breath tickling my face.  I sighed, forcing myself to tear my gaze away from him.  He looked adorable when he was sleeping, especially curled up in a blanket like he was.

Damn my inner thoughts.

I stood up, grabbing my phone from my butt pocket and dialing my mom’s cell phone number.  I leaned against the head of the couch, the phone going to my ear.  It was as good a time as any to let her know that I was no longer on the school’s grounds.  Better now than getting called by the school.

“Brianne, why are you calling me at this hour?” my mom demanded briskly instead of greeting me like a normal person.  “Is something wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” I replied, glancing at Dannon on the couch.  “I just wanted to let you know that I’m at Dannon’s taking care of him because he has a high fever.”

“When did you go to Dannon’s?” my mom asked, her tone softening.  “And do you need me to come over there?  I could send Garrett!”

I inwardly shivered.  Garrett taking care of Dannon would have been hilarious, but it would not help Dannon’s health.  “I came during free period with Kyla.  She went back to school, but he seemed pretty bad so I stayed here.  And don’t send Garrett, we don’t need him drugging Dannon to death.”

“Okie dokie!” my mom said cheerfully, not at all fazed by me admitting that I’d skipped school.  “How’s he holding up?”

“Well, he’s burning up like crazy, he’s losing his voice, and he just fell asleep on the couch.”

“Poor baby,” my mom cooed.  She sighed deeply, and deep undertone of sadness as she continued.  “I just wish there was something we could do.”

I knew immediately that she wasn’t referring to Dannon’s cold.  She was referring to the monster within him, destroying him from the inside.  I glanced at Dannon, biting my lip.  He looked so peaceful.  How could someone look so peaceful when they were doing something that they hated?

I realized something then.  Dannon hated sleeping for one reason and one reason only: out of the fear that he wouldn’t wake up.

“Yeah,” I murmured softly, remembering that my mom was on the other line waiting for a reply.  “I wished so too.”

“Everything will be fine,” my mom reassured.  I knew that she was just trying to help, but I wished she wouldn’t.  I mean, what was the point of false hope?  Great.  Way to condemn him to death, Brianne.  “We just need to keep this situation in prayer and everything will be okay.”

Prayer.  God.  I felt my stomach clench.  Why would God do this to someone so sweat, so . . . pure?  I scowled.  Dannon didn’t deserve what God had presented to him.  I was pissed at God to be honest.  “Yeah,” I mumbled finally, knowing that I had to say something or else my mom would simply repeat herself.

“Brianne, you have to have faith.”

I settled back into my spot in front of the couch, leaning back.  “I know, Mom.  I’ll see you later.”

“Okay, hon.”

I hung up the phone, twisting around and glancing at Dannon’s face.  As though by reflex, I reached up and brushed his cheek with the back of my hand.  It was burning hot, almost searing my hand.  But I kept brushing his cheek as though unable to stop.  A tear slipped down my cheek and fell into my hand.  I quickly brushed it away.  No.  I refused to cry.  No, I was going to stay strong.  I was going to stay strong for Dannon.

Dannon groaned, his eyelids pinching in pain.  I moved my hand down to his arm, gripping it comfortingly.  “Dannon?” I whispered.

Dannon didn’t answer.  Well, of course he wouldn’t.  He was asleep after all.  He groaned again before falling silent, his hand falling down the side of the couch, onto my shoulder.  I leaned into it, closing my eyes.  “It’s going to be okay,” I mumbled to myself.  I tried to convince myself of the words my mom said so faithfully.  “It’s going to be okay.”

| It ♥ All ♥ Started ♥ With ♥ An ♥ Apple |

Three hours later Dannon’s eyes finally fluttered open.  Everybody Loves Raymond had ended and was replaced with another sitcom.  I couldn’t remember the name of it, or who the actors were, but I didn’t really care.  It was something to do while Dannon was passed out.  And now that he was awake I turned and watched as he sat up, throwing a shirt over his shoulders before stretching his arms and yawning.  He winced as he did so, his face pinching together in pain.

“You okay?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow as nonchalantly as possible.

“Yeah,” Dannon muttered tiredly, letting his hands fall carelessly to his sides.  “My throat hurts, that’s all.”

“Did you gurgle saltwater?” 

Dannon blinked, his eyes saying that I was crazy.  “But that’s yucky,” he whined, shaking his head as I immediately stood up and ventured toward the kitchen.

“You’re seventeen, get used to it.”

“But honey!” Dannon called hoarsely.  I heard footsteps from behind me.  I glanced back, grinning when I saw that Dannon was following me, coughing horribly into his shirt as he did so.  He winced with each cough, as though it killed his through every time.  Which was only proving my point.  The guy needed to gurgle saltwater.

“Don’t you ‘honey’ me!” I called back, rolling my eyes.  It was amazing how accustomed we’d already become to referring each other say “honey”.  “You need to get better.”

“But is saltwater the best fashion?”  Dannon inquired, leaning on the kitchen counter as I rifled through the cupboards in search for some salt.  I didn’t bother asking him where it was.  I knew he wasn’t going to tell me.  The little brat.  “I mean, couldn’t I just, you know, stop talking?”

I paused, my eyebrows rising.  I turned to him, my teeth digging into my lower lip to keep from laughing.  “You really think that you have the capability of being silent?”

As though to prove his point, Dannon nodded silently with a broad smile on his face.  He crossed his arms over his chest, his smile growing.  My eyebrows rose higher, my lips pricking up in amusement.  “Okay,” I said slowly, shutting the counter cabinet with my hip.  “All right.  But if you speak once—as in a single word—it is gurgling saltwater for you, got it?”

Dannon nodded vigorously, his smile growing even bigger—if that was even possible.

“Oh,” I added lightly, “and you have to direct me to the salt once you lose.”

I pranced out of the room, flopping onto the couch and watching the sitcom.  Dannon appeared a moment later, lifting my legs up from their spot on the middle cushion and plopping down on the couch.  He let my legs fall onto his lap, creating a footrest.  I resisted the urge to argue.  I felt guilty for making him sit up when he was the sick one.

It was silent.

Damn, it had never been so quiet around Dannon—ever.  I kept glancing at him, waiting for him to give in and open his mouth.  But even an hour later his mouth was clamped shot, his eyes bright with determination.  I had to hand it to the guy, he knew how to pull through with challenges.  Stupid, stubborn boyfriend of mine.

Suddenly, Dannon hopped up from the couch, almost making me topple to the floor.  “Dannon, what the hell!” I shrieked.

Dannon bit his lips to keep from laughing and grabbed my hand, tugging slightly.  I took the hint and stood up, following him toward the front door despite my confusion.  I paused as he put his shoes on, placing my hands on my hips.  “Yo, buddy, what are you doing?”

Dannon continued to put on his shoes, not looking up.

“Dannon, hello?”  I scowled as he glanced up, smiled, and then looked back down.  “What are you doing?”

He simply pointed to my shoes, obviously wanting me to put them on.  I huffed and complied, throwing my shoes onto my feet.  I crossed my arms over my chest, pursing my lips as Dannon grabbed his car keys.  “You are in no condition to drive,” I said sternly with a shake of the head.

Dannon answered by trotting behind me and pushing me lightly toward the door.  I grumbled under my breath, deciding that it was really no use fighting with him.  I followed him out to his car, questioning him the whole way.

“Seriously, where are we going?” I demanded yet again as we headed down the dirt road.

Dannon smiled at me—once again—without answering.

I really regretted placing that rule on him now.  Though, come to think of it, that was probably why he decided to do what he was planning now.  He had an excuse not to reply.

I muttered not-so-nice things under my breath, glaring at my feet.  I didn’t like being kept in the dark like this.  At all.  “Dannon!” I snapped finally, twisting to face him.  “Come on, tell me.”        

Dannon shook his head, turning on the music. 

Way to totally block me out, man.

Despite the countless times I attempted to get him to speak to me, his mouth stayed shut.  I finally gave up and listening to the radio, fuming silently.  Stupid Dannon and his stupid silence-ness.  Yeah, I just made up a word out of irritation.  No one really cares.

Fifteen minutes later we pulled up onto the sidewalk in front of the park that our relationship began at.  My eyebrows shot up.  I glanced sideways at Dannon confusedly.  “What are we doing here?”

Dannon smiled, showing his pearly whites before unbuckling and hopping out of the car.  I scowled before doing the same.  Dannon grabbed my hand as I met him in the front of the Saturn, and we began our journey down the little pathway around the park—just like the first time.

“Dannon, seriously tell me what’s going on!” I demanded a few minutes into the silent walk.

Another shake of the head.

I sighed heavily.  “You’re being a butthead, you know that?”

Dannon smiled before letting my hand go.  He ran ahead, his feet pounding on the grass as he rushed away from me.  Oh, so we were going to do this again, were we?  I groaned before chasing after him, shouting at him as I did.

“Dannon, really?  You’re sick, tired, and have no energy to run like this,” I panted as I caught up with him.  Like how I was telling him how out of energy he was when I was the only one out of breath?  Genius, I know.

Dannon smiled, leaning back on the tree he’d chosen.  I wasn’t even going to bother to try and figure out whether this was the original tree we shared our first kiss or not.  Knowing Dannon, it was, so why bother?

“Dannon, if you don’t tell me what’s going on, I’m going to shove a whole can of salt down your throat,” I threatened with a scowl.

Dannon was smiling practically ear-to-ear now, his eyes alight.  He reached out, grabbing my waist and pulling me to him.  He leaned forward, his forehead resting against mine.  And then his mouth finally opened, and he spoke:

“I love you.”