Anastasia frowned when she heard him and wanted to scream that she could. She could hear every single word that he was saying to her. She wanted to tell him that or give him a sign, maybe just maybe he would stay here with her. She knew he didn't want to go home just like she never wanted to go home to her mother and father. She wanted to stay close to him and she knew he was crying. She wanted to hug him and make him stop. But she couldn't, she was like a dead piece of meat here. A few more tears strolled down her cheeks as she ranted in her head.

Joey smiled a little. He knew that she could hear him. "You can hear me!" he said, smiling brightly. He hugged her as tightly as he could without hurting her and stayed there. 'Wait...she...can hear me...which means she heard everything I told her after she got hit by that car. I wonder if she will remember anything when she wakes up' he asked himself. "An, I know you're...dying and everything, but I really need you to try to keep your hopes up, because if you die, I die," he whispered. He wiped her tears and kissed her cheek gently.

Anastasia smiled inside when she heard him and felt like the sun was on her. She loved hte hug he had given her and wished she could hug him back but when she heard him say she was dying she didn't know what to say. She wasn't dieing, she was lively inside she just couldn't move. Her lips twitchs and a smile slowly form on her real face. She hoped that it told him she wasn't giving up just yet. She would never give up till he stopped coming to see her, she dought that she would be able to keep her hopes up if he stopped coming to see her.

Joey sighed. "You don't even know how hard it is for me to just watch you lay there, limp and lifeless, and not be able to do anything about it. I wish I could just snap and take you out of this. I'll talk to you for hours if I have to. I just really hope you wake up soon." he said. He turned his head away. "The worst part is that this is my fault. I started that fight and that's why you walked away." he sighed and hugged his knees.

Anastasia listened to him intencelly and knew that he would take her out of here. But she knew it was hard for him and hard for her, she could only listen to him and not touch him or anything. She was happy that he would talk to her for hours and she hoped she woke up soon too. But when she heard him beating himself up about this she didn't want it. It wasn't his fault and she couldn't tell him. One tear went down her cheek as she thought of this and wanted to hug him close but couldn't say or do anything.

Joey sighed. He wanted to take her away so bad and make her wake up. Mostly to apologize, but partially to just be able to talk to one of the few people who he actually had respect toward. He sighed and wiped her tears. "Visiting hours are almost over, so I'm going to go home now. I hate to leave you, but I have no choice. I'll be back first thing tomorrow." he said, smiling a little.

Anastasia loved the feel of his hand on her cheek as it wiped away her tears. It was amazing how the little things ment more to her now then anything else. She heard him and wished he didn't have to leave her. She didn't want to fall into the darkness again, she swore that if she ever got out of here she would sleep with the lights on.

The doctor came in and looked at Joey, "hey, visiting hours are just about up." he said and then walked over to Anastasia and started to check her over and make sure that she was healing okay. "looks like she is doing great but she still shows no signs of waking up. have you seen anything?" he asked as he looked at Joey.

Joey smiled a little at the doctor. "Actually, I have. She's showing a lot of emotions. Her lips curl up sometimes and she even cries a little. I'm so happy to see her making progress." he said, looking down at her again. He sighed and hugged her gently, then walked over to the doctor. "Gimme a call if you see anything happen," he asked. He handed him his number, then smiled and waved and walked away.

((I realize that Joey may seem gay now but giving the doctor his phone number is only meant to be used as the intention mentioned unless you choose otherwise lol))

Anastasia smiled inside when she felt his arms around her and wanted to stay like that. But she still couldn't move and it still sucked. She heard him and frowned insdie when she knew he was going to leave. She would be sucked into the darkness again, she might not get away this time. Fear struck her and she had no one to comfort her now. The docor smiled at Joey and nodded, "of course I will, you know she is lucky to have a friend like you." he said as he watched him go.

Joey laughed a little. "Thanks." he said quietly as he left the building. His smile quickly turned to a frown as he turned into Anastasia's driveway. He thought he might tell her parents what happened. Whether or not they would care, he didn't know.
He walked up to the door and knocked quietly. He was quite afraid of her parents because they always pushed him toward her in ways he didn't want.

Her dad opened the door and he glared at Joey. "hey, you seen Anastasia? I have been calling her for the past few hours and she wont pick it up. You took her away or somethin?" he asked and you could see he was a drugy. You could smell the smoke, alchohol and everything else as clear as day as he opened the door.

Joey coughed as little as possible and nodded. "Yes sir. She ran off and she got hit by a car..." he paused, then said, "she's in a coma now." he said, backing a way a bit. "But I assure you, she'll be okay." he said quietly. The man intimidated him so he didn't want to get too close.

The man growled, "of course, that girl would run off and get herself into a coma. She is a good for nothing." he said and he looked at Joey. "when she wakes up tell the girl to get her ass back home. I need her to give me some money and to do the house work." he said and then shut the door. He cared nothing for his daughter.

Joe sneered when her father slammed the door in his face. He had just saved his daughter, but yet, this man still had the audacity to turn away. He had to go back to Anastasia. There was a pounding in his head that refused to rest. He had just made his best friend flirt with the face of death, and he needed to make up for it.

On his way to the hospital, Joey realized what he needed to do. No one in this town cared about Joey or Annie. He loved her. More than anything in the world, that boy wanted to be with that girl. The scene of the accident kept replaying in his mind. Before he knew it, tears were flowing down his face again. He smashed his steering wheel in attempt to push the pain away. "Why are you so stupid?! You idiot! She's dying, and it's all because of you! You can't even tell the poor girl how you feel, you gutless freak!" Then, everything stopped. The tears, the fear, the anger, the memories, they all stopped. The only thing he saw then was his future life with Annie. As these scenes flashed in his head, his foot pressed harder and harder on the gas. He was determined to reach his love, no matter what cost.

He ran through the hospital, trying to reach Anastasia. Nurses tried to hold him back, but his tears and epiphanies pressed him forward. When he stepped foot in her room, he stopped running and smiled. He sat down beside her, and held her face in his clammy, shaky hands. He whispered, "Annie, baby girl, I know you can hear me. Just listen. Don't make any effort to show me your emotions. We don't need this town. I just need you. Your parents don't love you. I do. My brothers don't give a shit what I do, neither do my parents. I'm taking you away. There's nothing keeping us here. I need you, Annie. I want you to be mine forever. Only mine, all mine, forever mine. You and me. That's all I need. I want to run away with you and start a new life. I pray to god you'll be okay. It may be too late, but I need you to know how I feel. So, Anastasia Ivy, I love you, and I want to take you away. Twitch once to let me know you understand and agree." With every word, his smile, his hope, and his heart grew bigger. He knew this was what he was meant to do. He was quivering and crying, but he was also ecstatic. Everything he just said made him think his love would wake up sooner.

An thought she was going to go insane again. Each time he left she felt even more alone then the last time and it felt like a life time between those visits. But then she felt those hands. His hands. She wanted to move but nothing would like usual. Then she heard those words. All his words were true and struck her in the heart and the darkness. Slowly the darkness seemed to go away and she felt him with her. Slowky she managed to get her eyes to open and she saw him there. He looked so weak and yet hapoy. Slowly she reached out and touched his cheek. "d-don't leave me." she managed to say. Her voice sounded horrible, as if a can had been using her vocal cords as a toy. She wish she coukd of said more but she felt like someone had ran overher 29 times with a car and then beat her with a club. If she didn't have him she was sure she would be dead by now. Yet he was here and he loved her, that was more then enough to keep her alive.

"Annie, you have to stop," he whispered. He rubbed her cheeks and his smile turned to a frown. "Please," he begged. A nurse walked in and frowned. Her thick, southern drawl ran through his head like a rusty knife. "Darlin', I'm so sorry, but visitin' times are over. Come back at 8:00 tomorrow and I'll make sure you get in here to see your girl." Joey flipped his hair and sighed as he faced the nurse. "Just five more minutes..please?" he asked politely. The nurse looked around to see if any higher authority was watching, then she smiled and nodded. "Oh, and one more thing," he said. "She just spoke to me..she's still in a lot of pain it looks like, but she's making great progress, I think." The nurse just smiled again and let out a little giggle and sigh. She walked over to him and squeezed his cheek. "You're startin' to sound just like all the doctors, sugar. Now hurry, I can't get caught lettin' you be in here this late." The perky nurse's voice trailed off, as did she after she was finished. Joey blushed a little, but quickly turned pale again after he face Anastasia. He sighed. "Look, I know how hard it is to not be able to say anything, but you can't. You must be silent. I'm assuming that with the great progress you're making, they'll take you off of some of these stupid machines by tomorrow. You just rest up and make sure you'll be out in time for me to kick your butt in laser tag," he said, with a small giggle. He noticed some of the color was going back into her face, and it gave him even more hope. He smiled once more, then lifted Anastasia's head and kissed her. Their first kiss lingered for a while, then he gave his love a small, gentle hug, and left. He waved to the nurse on the way out.

When he got home, his brothers questioned him about where he had been. He just ignored his buffoons and went upstairs to his warm, comforting bed. He texted some of his friends about prom, first. They had asked him whether or not he would ask Anastasia, but he sadly said no. He told them he would have, but he couldn't. He refrained from telling them about his eventful day, though. Before he shut his eyes, he picked up a picture from his nightstand. The picture was of Anastasia on his back. They looked so happy. He missed those days, but he would have to live with it. He ran his fingers over the picture, then set it down and fell asleep.

An smiled when she heard his voice and wished she could always hear it. Leaning into his touch she frowned when the nurse came in and slowly looked over at her. Her eyes pleaded for just a few more minutes. If she could she would of talked yet when she left she heard Joey. Nodding slightly, she slowly moved her hand to his. Rubbing her cheek against his hand she wanted to just be like this for a while yet she felt herself started to drift off into sleep. Yet fear crept into her. She didn't want to go back into the darkness, she didn't want to go back to where there was nothing and no one. No Joey. She heard him say something about laser tag and smiled slightly even though fear encased her. But soon her lips were his and she kissed him back weakly. It had to be the best thing ever and she wanted to always kiss him. Yet as he pulled away and hugged her she felt herself drift off into sleep.

When she woke up it was in the middle of the night and she was breathing hard. Reliefe filled her as she realize she wasn't stuck in the darkness yet the fear wasn't gone. Joey wasn't here. Fear that he wouldn't come back filled her and she tried to move. yet her legs sort of hurt and wouldn't move. pulling the sheets off of her she saw that she had some stitches on her. She wondered exactly how bad the accident was and pulled herself down to the bed where her clip board was. Picking it up she could only stare and feel like she could cry. At the bottom of it it stated that she might never be able to walk again. Laying back down she curled up as much as she could and hugged hte pillow, wishing that joey was here. That was how she was till she fell asleep.

Joey woke up and stretched out his weak limbs. He threw his legs over the side of his bed and rubbed his inflamed eyes with a small yawn. He sighed, "Another day, another dawn, Blane, just push yourself for Annie." He went downstairs and grabbed a few slices of bacon. His mother shrieked,"Joseph! Get to school, young man!" Joey teared up. "Mom, she's dying," he whispered. His mother's angry, red face faded into an expression of love that only a mother could possess. "What's wrong, honey?" she said, running to him and giving him a gentle hug. "It's An, mom. We got in a fight and she ran off...she was hit...she broke a couple of bones in her pelvis and she's slipping in and out of a coma," he whispered. His mother teared up and said, "Go to her, sweetheart. One day won't hurt." Joey looked up at his mother and nodded. She smiled a tad when he shut the door behind him.

When Joseph arrived in Anastasia's room, he smiled at her. He tried to be silent as he snuck up on her and whispered, "Good morning, beautiful." He smirked a little and sat next to her. He had never felt, nor acted this way around a girl before. He knew it only meant his feelings were growing. He hugged her gently, then rubbed the back of his head. "So...An, about prom..." he said quietly. He feared this conversation. Senior prom. He only had one wish, and that was to take Anastasia with him. "I want to take you with me, but I don't know if you'll be able enough. I don't care, though, I'm taking you with me. I'll bring prom to you if I have to," he said with a small laugh.

Anastasia had been awake for a while, probably since the sun came up. Yet she didn't really move from the ball she had managed to the ball she curled herself into. The Nurse had been surprised when she came in but seemed to be glad. Two of the machines that they had to hooked up to where now gone yet she didn't seem to care. The news that she might never be able to stand on her own or walk had hit her hard. She felt like she was back in the darkness again yet everything was even worse. Closing her eyes tightly, she hoped that all of this was just a bad dream. Yet the more she had her eyes closed she ceared that she wouldn't be able to open then, letting her eyes fly open. It only made her feel even more pathetic. She couldn't stand and she was afraid to close her eyes or even sleep. Bringing her pillow closer, she buried her face into it and hoped that something good would happen to her.

Something did though, Joey came. She heard his voice yet she didn't move, not really sure if she wanted too.She felt him sit down next to her and let herself move closer to him. Then she felt hin hug her and closed her eyes. Yet was he brought up made her frown. Slowly she looked up at him and shook her head very slowly and sadly. "I cant dance." she said softly as she leaned against him. She sounded a hundred times better then the last time she tried to. "I would like to go but I cant dance, I cant even stand." she whispered sadly and felt a few tears run down her cheeks.

Joey sighed and wiped An's tears. "Don't get yourself get too upset. If anything, next year I'll get us both dates who are still in school, then we can just dance when we get there," he suggested. His eyes lit up with an excitement as he got an idea. "I promise you, the moment you stand, pick out a song, and I'll dance with you, baby," he said with a small laugh. He hugged her gently and whispered in her ear, "I'll never let go, and I'll never give up hope." He blushed a little then kissed her cheek. He sighed a little. "Would you mind if I left you for a while to go to school? We're getting study materials for finals today, and I don't want to miss it. I'll be here first thing after school, I promise," he said. He awaited her sad response, he sat in silence and thought about his plans for prom.

Joseph Andrew Blane. That name had been said by many girls in his school. But, all of those girls could see his heart belonged to Anastasia. They just sat in the shadows and awaited the non-existent day that his mind would change about her. So, Joey decided he would pick from one of these girls to take to prom. He knew Anastasia wouldn't mind much, but he just decided not to tell her so he didn't hurt her feelings. He looked at her and smiled a little.

An leaned into his hand when he wiped her tears and she nodded. Hearing his promise, she smiled up at him and you could tell that made her happy to hear. Hugging him back she nodded, "I would like that, I would really really like that." she said softly before she heard his whisper. She blushed a little bit and was glad that she had him. She was sure that if he had never come to check on her that she would of remained in a coma for a long time. Feeling his kiss she smiled and quickly leaned over, kissing his lips gently. Yet when she heard him she sighed and then nodded, "I understand." she said softly and then reached up and stroked his cheek. "and I will hold you to that promise. You better be here." she said as she looked at him. She had hoped to have more time with him yet she knew school came first.

After he left she just sat there for a bit and slowly a idea formed in her mind. Prom was soon and that meant she had time. Maybe she could learn to walk by then and surprise Joey. The next time a nurse came in she asked what she could do to strengthen her legs and get ready to start walking again. After being shown a few things An started to work on them, moving her legs with her arms and getting them use to feeling and being moved. Yet as the nursed walked by her room she frowned. "I am surprised at how determined she is, most people who are hurt like her can hardly stand." the one said before they dissappred. Looking down at her legs, she got a determined look and continued to work on them.

Joey smiled and kissed her gently. "I'll be here," he said. He hugged her, then left to go back to school. On his way out, he saw the kind nurse. "Hey, sugar!" she said with a wink and a flirtatious smile. Joey lifted his hands out of his pockets and sent a subtle wave her way. He slipped his hands back into his pockets, shrugged up his shoulders, then left for school.

Whispered whirled around Joey as he walked through the halls. Beautiful girls smiled to his face, then gossiped as he turned away. Everyone knew that something was going on with An, but no one knew what. Joey knew what was going on. He knew people were spreading rumors about him. He went to the office and asked the secretary to make a brief announcement. Minutes later, the bell rang for his next class. A few minutes into that class, the P.A system clicked on. With a sorrow tone and a few desperate sighs of hope, the nurse read,

"Good afternoon, Ridgeway High students.
I would like to inform you, that one of our students has been critically injured.
In order to stop rumors, I was asked to tell the real story.
This past Saturday, Anastasia stormed out of a car into the street.
She was hit.
The past few days, she has been in and out of a coma.
The future is looking bright, and she has been progressing.
But, nonetheless, we need to keep her in our prayers.
Please allow a moment of silence for Anastasia,"

Everyone was silent, but stared intensely at Joey. He twiddled his thumbs and stared at the ground. A few tears rolled down his cheeks.

"That is all, you may resume class,"

After school, on his way to see An, he pulled out his phone. On his social media page, he posted, "Looking for a date for prom...like or text me if you're interested," and with that, he knew it wouldn't take long. He walked into the hospital, got a visitors' pass, and made his way to Anastasia's room.

An smiled as she slowly started to move her toes, it was something she would never take for granted ever again. As the day went by she slowly began to move her whole legs and by the time lunch had passed she was able to wiggle her legs. It was something that she was loving, not feeling as if she was cut in half. Looking down at the floor she wondered if she could risk it. Slowly she slid to the side of the bed and let her feet hang off the side. Taking a few deep breaths she slowly slid herself off the bed. She smiled as she felt her feet on the floor yet didn't put all her weight on it yet. But her confidence grew and she decided to try to stand on her own. So she pushed herself off the table and managed a few wobbly seconds of standinb before she fell to the ground. Laying there on the floor she grinned to herself and muttered, "almost there." she then pulled herself over to the bed and managed to pull herself up onto it. She was going to try again when she heard someone coming down the hall and wondered if it was Joey.

When Joey finally made it to Anastasia's room, he ran to her and set her back on her bed. "What are you doing?!" he yelled in a hushed tone. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?! You can't walk on your own until you have physical therapy. There are people there who are professionals, and they will help you. You can't just get up and walk because you feel like it. Those people will help you slowly make your way to walking. You should start PT soon, anyway. So just wait a couple days, okay? I know it's tough but you have to do it. You're making amazing progress, but it'll all be shut down if you try to walk to fast, and re-break all of your bones. They're still healing. Please, for me, just wait," he begged. Joey felt horrible for leaving her. He felt like it was his fault. If he had been there, he would have been able to watch her and tell her she's not ready to do these things. "You idiot..." he whispered to himself.

Just then, the nurse popped in the room. Her springy curls made Joey's sorrow go away a little bit. She was such a bubbly, happy, bouncy person. It was hard for anyone to be depressed around her. "Well, hey, how are y'all doin' today? she asked, looking at the both of them. Joey smiled a little. "Well, I'm fine. But Anastasia was trying to walk. Do you know when she starts physical therapy?" he asked. The nurse sighed. "Hmmm," she said, looking at Anastasia's wounds. She saw her wiggle her toes. "I'm not too sure. Definitely within the next few days....maybe Friday at the latest," she said. That gave Joey a little relief. That meant Anastasia probably wouldn't be able to make it to prom.

Ana was surprised when he came into her room and picked her up. She thought that she had more time and would of gotten into her bed by now. Yet when he yelled at her softly she frowned and knew that he was just worried. Yet before she could tell him and talk to him at all the nurse came in. Hearing her say that she could start in a few days she smiled, "that is Great!" she said happily and bounced in her bed a little bit. She hated being stuck in this bed and not being able to do anything. It was just as bad as when she had been in the coma but slightly better since she coudl actually see joey. He was slowly becomeing everything to her, even more so then before all this.

Once she was gone she looked over at Joey and gently reached out and took his hand. "I am sorry about getting you worried." she said softly as she held his hand close to her chest. Now that he was close she didn't want him to let go. "it is just that I cant stand just sitting here. It is borning and ... I am really sorry..." she said as she looked down and knew that he was right about all this. Yet she couldn't stand just sitting here all day expecially since she couldn't sleep. She was afraid that if she did sleep she wouldn't wake up. If you looked at her eyes you could see the dark circled that were starting to form. She then looked up at Joey, "I promise you wont see me on the floor again." she said and then kissed his hand gently.