Annie's POV

Summer was almost over, at least the part I was spending in Maryland. Hayley and I only had two more weeks left in Maryland before leaving back to California.

I was a little sad about leaving, but at the same I really wanted to go home; everyone I loved, besides my family here, is in California.

"You wanna do something tonight?" Hayley asked me on Friday afternoon.

I shrugged. "Sure I guess, I have no plans."

"Cool," Hayley grinned before skipping out of my room.

I was laying in my bed petting Georgie when my phone buzzed, and I got a text from Brennan.

He was asking me if I wanted to see a movie tonight, since we hadn't seen each other since last week after our "lunch date". I agreed, but remembered that Hayley wanted to hang out.

"Hayley?" I knocked on her door.

"Yeah?" she pulled out her earbuds.

"Um, I can't hang out with you tonight...Brennan wants to see a movie, if that's okay," I said quietly.

"Of course!" Hayley smiled.

"Wait what?" I asked.

"If it's for Brennan, it's definitely okay," Hayley said with a wink.

I laughed. "Thanks, Hay. I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"You can make it up to me by getting back with Brennan," Hayley said teasingly with a wink.

I gave her a look. "It's not like that."

"I know how you feel, Annie. He obviously feels the same way, so what are you two waiting for?"

"Hayley it's not that simple," I sat on the edge of her bed and sighed. "Yeah, maybe we both like each other—"

"AHA!" Hayley interrupted loudly before clearing her throat. "Sorry, my inner Brannie came out. Continue."

"Maybe we both like each other," I continued where I left off. "But it's complicated. We had. a rough breakup and we're still a little awkward around each other. Also we're going back to California soon, so what would be the point? It would end the same ways again."

Hayley frowned. "I'm sorry."

I gave her a hug. "It's okay. I'm going to start getting ready, the movie starts in an hour or so."

"Okay, have fun," Hayley winked before I left my room.

I changed into casual clothing and did my hair before getting ready to leave. I felt a little light headed, which has been happening a lot lately, so I took some Advil before leaving the house. I was probably catching a cold or something.

I drove over to the movie theater and pulled up at the same time as Brennan, coincidentally.

"Hey, it's good to see you," he said once we got out of our cars and hugged.

"You too," I replied with a small smile, enjoying the hug. I liked feelings his arms around me; I felt protected.

"You ready to go in?" he asked after he pulled away.

"Yeah, but I'm paying for my ticket and food since you bought food last time," I replied.

He let out a small laugh. "Okay then."

We paid for our tickets and got food before going into theater 7, which was a bittersweet feeling when I saw that number.

We sat towards the middle of the theater and it was mostly empty. There were a few other people but not many.

"What did you think of this movie when you saw the preview?" Brennan asked.

"Seemed interesting enough," I answered kind of dully. We were seeing some sci-fi, futuristic kind of movie.

Just then the lights dimmed and we were warned to silent our phones.

"Did you not want to see this movie?" Brennan whispered.

"To be truthful, no," I admitted.

"You want to get out of here then? Maybe sneak into a different movie?" he began to stand up and grab my hand.

"Brennan, we'll get in trouble," I protested.

"Look, we bought tickets to get in here and they're same price for every movie, so they're getting business either way. Please?" he gave me a pout.

I laughed quietly. "Okay fine."

He grinned that playful smile I was beginning to fall for again. He grabbed my hand and we ran out of the theater.

"Ah, wait," I said as we were running. I started feeling nauseous and dizzy again.

"Annie, you okay?" he asked, sounding concerned.

"Y-yeah, I th-think so," I said a little shakily.

"You don't look to good, you're getting pale, let's sit you down," he wrapped an arm around my shoulder and carefully took me to a nearby bench.

We sat down and the world around me was still spinning. "I felt like this earlier but I took medication and thought it would go away," I explained. "I'm sorry for ruining our date."

"It's okay, I just want you to feel better," he said with his arm still around me. After a moment he smiled. "You call this a date?"

"Don't push it," I said, which caused him to laugh.

We sat there for a little while as I waited for the dizziness to go away, but it wasn't. My nausea was getting worse, actually.

"I think I'm going to be sick," I shakily stood up and ran into the nearby bathroom.

I pushed open a stall door and threw up, but I saw that I threw up blood.

No, this can't be happening, not again.

"No," I muttered to myself. I felt tears pouring down my face; was this why I kept feeling bad lately?

I made sure I wasn't going to get sick again before leaving the bathroom.

"B-Bren," I said as I walked out.

"Jules, what's wrong?" he asked, noticing my tears.

"I...I threw up," I explained. "Blood."

His eyes grew wide. "Has this happened anytime recently?"

I shook my head. "No, not until just now," I started to cry again. "It can't come back, it can't..."

"Jules, I'm so sorry," he pulled me in for a hug. "We should call your dad or Skylar."

"Please do," I sat down as Brennan paced nervously while calling my dad.

"Mr. LeBlanc? Yes, it's me Brennan...yes I'm with Annie...no, actually, she isn't alright..." Brennan began to nervously explain the situation before coming back to sit next to me. "Your dad is on his way with Hayley. They're taking you to the hospital."

"No," I whined. "I don't want to go back."

"I know, but you need help," Brennan said as calmly as he could. He had an arm around my shoulder, but he was shaking; I couldn't believe we were going through this twice.

My dad arrived about five minutes later and rushed inside.

"Has she thrown up again?" Dad asked frantically.

"No, sir, but she's looking paler," Brennan noted.

"Come on," Dad lifted me up like I weighed nothing and ran outside. I looked over his shoulder to see Brennan standing by the bench looking scared; I hated putting him through this again.

Just as he comes back into my life, this happens again; why is the world against us?

•••

"Yes, unfortunately the cancer has recurred," the doctor confirmed later that evening.

I buried my face into my hands to try to hide my tears; I couldn't believe this was happening to me again. Skylar was standing next to my bed with Owen in one hand, the other rubbing my back.

"But we thought once she had the leg amputated, the cancer was gone," Dad said with Hayley in his lap.

"Cancer is almost never completely gone," the doctor explained. "She was simply in a remission state."

"Couldn't we have done something to get her in complete remission?"

"No, the best option was what you did for her, chemotherapy and having the leg amputated," the doctor replied to my father. "I'm sorry this had to happen again."

"What do we do now?" Skylar asked.

"Well, given her current condition, she's going to have to restart chemotherapy as soon as possible," the doctor explained. "Which means she will be here for a while, and she can't do any physical activities or traveling."

"But I'm supposed to go back to California in two weeks," I pointed out.

"Not like this," the doctor said. "You're going to have to stay here a while longer." The doctor then excused herself and left the room.

"How long do you think I have to stay?" I asked Dad.

"We don't know, sweetheart," he replied truthfully, "but you can stay as long as you want."

"But what about school? And dance? I do all those things back in California," I said. "Also half of my family and all my friends are there."

"I'm sorry," Dad said again.

"Annie, if you want, I can stay here with you," Hayley said quietly.

"No, Hayley, you should go home when we were supposed to. You shouldn't have to miss your friends and family just because I'm here," I said.

"But I want to be here for you," she came over and hugged me.

"Thank you, Hayley, but I've got Dad and Skylar here, I'll be okay," I replied. "We can FaceTime everyday until I come back, though, okay?"

Hayley nodded with a weak smile. "Okay," then she squeezed my hand. "I know you're going to get through this."

"Thanks, HayHay," I squeezed her hand back before she went back to sit next to Dad.

I then pulled my phone out of my pocket to see a bunch of texts from Brennan. He was asking where I was and if I was okay; he was really concerned.

I replied back to let him know what was going on. He said he was sorry for what happened, and he was wondering if he could visit me.

"Dad, is it okay if Brennan comes to see me sometime soon..?" I asked quietly.

"Of course," Dad smiled.

I texted Brennan he could come tomorrow, since I didn't feel like having company.

The doctors said they would start me on chemotherapy tomorrow, and I was not looking forward to that, but I hoped I would feel better soon.

But I guess something good came out of this; it let me stay in Maryland a little while longer, and I guess the world thought it was the perfect timing to bring Brennan back into my life.

•••

A/N: HEY GUYS SORRY I ROSE FROM THE DEAD AGAIN LOL

i was crazyyyy busy finishing up the marching season and now we have a parade tomorrow and next wednesday before it's officially officially over :') i've also had a lot of crazy things happen in my life recently

also how do you guys feel about liv coming back on social media? i missed her so it was good to see she was back, and she reunited with katie! now i'm just waiting for katie and annie to reunite :)

but how have you all been? did you enjoy this chapter?

also sorry for the crap quality picture, it's a picture of one of my local theaters i go to a lot and it's what the inside of the one i imagined brennan and annie going to :3

i'm also very sorry about the lack of updates, i had a major case of writer's block for this story (as you can tell with the last few boring, not necessary chapters) but last night i was working on this draft and the lightbulb turned on, and i have an ending planned that won't happen for a little while, but soon ;)

anyway i hope you enjoyed this chapter! if so please don't forget to vote comment and share because i love your feedback!

thanks, until next time ;)