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CHAPTER 5
Annie
FISHTANKS AND PICNICS
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<>Generation Why by; Conan Gray

THE NEXT MORNING, I LAID ON MY BED, ON MY STOMACH reading when my phone rang. I look at the caller ID and it reads, Julian. I playfully roll my eyes before answering, "Hi, what are you doing right now?" He asks, his eyes focused on something other than my face on the screen. "Reading. Why?" I ask, sitting up on my bed, crossing my legs.
"Come take a walk with me." He orders. "Alright, Mr. Bossy. I'll be down in the lobby in a few minutes." I say and we end the call. I get off my bed, fix my sweatpants, put on my Vans and grab my dusty rose sweater. I put my portable oxygen tank around me and grab my phone. I walk for a few minutes until I see him. He's wearing a black shirt, grey sweatpants, a dark brown sweater with one pocket on his chest and sneakers. Julian's looking down at his phone so he doesn't see me, when he does, he immediately tucks his phone in his sweatpant pocket and grins from ear to ear. «I cross my arms over my chest and raise one eyebrow before I say, "What?"
"Nothing, you just look nice." He replies. I playfully roll my eyes, "Come on." I giggle and take a hold of his hand. We walk around the hospital a bit, across the glass bridge, and pass the NICU. "So tell me about this singing thing your father used to do." Julian says, squeezing my hand tightly. "Oh, well when I was little, whenever I had trouble sleeping, he would sing." I look up at Julain and he smiles. "What?" I smile back and chuckle. "You're just cute." Julian says, smiling.
We walk through the doors, a large staircase looming in front of us. Julian gives me a sideways glance and sighs. Both of us have fear in our eyes. "Let's take the stairs." We start climbing and halfway up and we're panting and gasping, well mostly me, but still. I stop suddenly and lean over the railing, resting my forehead on my forearm, trying desperately to catch my breath.
"You okay?" Julian asks, worry laced in his voice as he rubs my back. "Yeah it's just... my lungs... and the... the walking and the... the stairs..." I say in between breaths. "It's alright. We can stop if you want. "No, it's... it's fine." I say and fix my bag strap.

<>Beige by; Yoke Lore

Finally we reach the top and enter the children's play area. We walk through, looking at all the little kids, some are by the ages of 5-10, some are even younger than 5. "Have you ever thought about having kids of your own?" Julian asks, breaking my concentration.
"Yeah, sometimes. Do you?" I ask nervously, putting a strand of hair behind my ear. "Yeah absolutely, all the time." He says, smugly. "There you go, with that smug attitude again." I laugh, walking away. We stop in front of a large fish tank, me on one side, and Julian on the other so we're looking directly into each other's eyes like Romeo and Juliet. My eyes follow a goldfish as it swims around the coral, I glance upa t Julian and we just stare at each other, as if we want every piece of us to hold onto this moment forever.

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I fix my ponytail on my head before dialing Julian's number on my phone. "Hello?" The voice sounds groggy but I can tell it;s Julian. "Did I wake you?" I ask. I hear shuffling around before, "No, what's up?." Julian asks. "Want to have a picnic?" I get right to the point. "A picnic?" He asks, chuckling. "What?" I ask. "Always looking for ways to spend more time with me aren't you Annie Grace?" He asks. "Bye." I say. <>What A Time by; Julia Michaels ft. Niall Horan I end the call and make my way to the elevator doors. I step inside and as the doors close, I pull out my phone and text Julian.
Annie
I'll be down in the lobby. Meet me there in 15 minutes.
Ps. bring the stuff.😘
I stand in the lobby by the doors waiting for a few minutes until the elevator doors open and Julian walks out carrying a picnic basket and a blanket is draped over his left arm. "Hi Annie." He says, smiling. "Hi." I said back. "I got the stuff." He says, motioning towards the basket and blanket, lifting them up slightly. Julian takes my hand and leads me outside. We walk up a huge hill and sit down on the blanket that Julian had laid out for us. "It's such a beautiful day." I say, looking up at the sky. "Yeah it is." Julian replies, looking up at the sky too. "So what's in the basket?" I ask, leaning forward to get a good look of what's inside. "Fruit. I didn't know what you liked so I just stuck to something casual." Julian says.
"Fruit is fine." I say, eating watermelon. We sit in silence for a moment, I can feel Julian's eyes on me as I take another bite from my watermelon. "If I asked to kiss you, would you let me?" He blurts out. I looked at him in shock, "Can I ask you a question?" I ask. "Uh-huh." Julian says, taking a sip from his water bottle.
"Is this a date?" I ask suddenly. "Do you want it to be a date?"
"We're just friends, Julian." I warn. "Well, I want to be the friend you fall hopelessly in love with. The one you take into your arms. The one who will memorize the things you say as well as the shape of your lips when you say them." Julian says grinning. "So basically friends with benefits?" I say. Both of us were laughing.

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I rest my head on my pillows, trying to let sleep overcome, I toss and turn before lying flat on my back. I turned to look out my window when I saw a bright light coming from outside of the hospital. I got out of bed, went to the window, pulled the curtains back and saw Julian sitting on the hospital roof drawing. He turns to look out at the scenery in front of him and sees me. He smiles and waves to me as I smile and wave back. I lay back in my bed and try to go to sleep.