"I feel like I've fallen into this really sad routine," Bryce informed me.

"What kind of routine?" I asked him, as I took a seat on top of the picnic table.

"I wake up about halfway through the day, I play some video games, I have PT and speech therapy, and then I take chemo and pass back out."

"Well you can't be expected to do too much," I pointed out. "You're on chemotherapy."

"I just don't want to be that guy that completely shuts his life down because of cancer."

I hate that word.

But I just nodded, because I know that Bryce needs someone to talk to. And I need to be that someone for him.

"Well let's do something spontaneous today then," I suggested.

"Getting into your car and coming down to the dog park today was literally the hardest thing I've ever had to do," he pointed out. "And I might actually barf all over you."

"Well you can't decide that you want to live a more exciting life and then change your mind because of the chemo," I pointed out.

"I don't want to change my mind because of the chemo," Bryce defended. "But it just shuts my body down."

"Has your speech therapist talked about discharging you at all?" I asked, changing the subject.

Bryce was getting heated. I hadn't meant to make him angry, but I realize that I could've probably worded my thoughts a little better.

Bryce shook his head. "When I really get going I begin to stutter over myself again."

I reached over and kissed him on the cheek. "Baby steps," I reminded him. "Look at how far you've come."

"Look at how far I want to be."

"Alright Oscar the Grouch, why don't you go hop in that trash can over there and come back with a little less sass?"

He chuckled, the first smile on his face all day. "Alright, alright, sorry."

"You're lucky I still love you."

"That I am." He leaned back on the picnic table, bracing his arms behind him. "But I am serious about this."

"About what?"

"I don't want to fall into a cancer routine," he reminded me. "I don't want to be that guy that lets the brain alien win."

I couldn't help but smile. "Then tomorrow night, you and me are going out."

~*~

"Is right here good?" Kylie asked me, as we came to a stop in the middle of the woods.

I feel like this is where all the horror movies happen. In just a couple of seconds, a guy with a chainsaw was going to jump out at us and hack us to pieces.

"I don't know if I can do this," I said, looking over at Kylie. "It's really creepy out here."

"We're going to make it really cute," she informed me. "As long as you feel like this is a good spot."

I looked around, shrugging. "We're surrounded by woods. What makes this piece of land different from that one over there?"

Kylie let out a dramatic sigh. "Clearly you are not the outdoorsy type."

"Clearly," I agreed, with a laugh.

"How did we ever become best friends?"

"Because you love me?" I suggested.

She just rolled her eyes, kneeling down to the ground to begin unpacking.

I began unpacking my gear as well, setting up a tent big enough to house a family and filling it with comfy blankets and fluffy pillows.

Kylie did all the hard work, setting up the projector and the screen.

"Watch this," I said to Kylie, as I leaned my iPad up against the side of the tent.

Kylie crawled inside the tent, plopping down next to me.

I wasn't risking starting an actual fire out here in the woods, because knowing my luck I'd burn the entire wilderness down.

So I opened up a fireplace app on my iPad, letting the fire burn inside the tent.

Kylie just rolled her eyes at me, laughing as she went back to putting the final touches on the technology.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay out here alone?" I asked her, for at least the fifth time.

"I'm going to be fine," she informed me. "Unlike you, my family goes camping out in the woods all the time. And I know you're going to find this hard to believe, but I've never once been bitten by a bear or a snake."

"Do not mention that awful animal around me," I snapped.

She just laughed. "Snakes are not awful-"

"Stop," I whined. "I don't want to be out here thinking about snakes when I should be watching the movie."

"Do you have the snacks?" Kylie asked me, still laughing at me.

I nodded. "Enough organic candy to last for days."

"But with Bryce, it's probably going to get you through the hour."

"He's been nauseous since he started this round of chemo," I informed her, as I climbed out of the tent. "So I don't know about that."

"I think that this is super cute," Kylie gushed. "And it'll be a nice getaway for Bryce, away from his house and his mom."

As if. He hardly ever sees his mom.

But I just nodded.

"What's he going to do about school?" Kylie asked me.

I let out a sigh, bending down next to her to watch her work her technology magic.

"He's thinking about finishing it out via virtual school."

"Ew, gross, no way!"

"I mean it's not like he really has a choice," I pointed out. "On the Chemo he can't get out of bed before noon hardly, and it basically just wipes him out. And his immune system is shot, so he's picking up everyone else's germs and grossness. Plus he's got his bronchitis thing he's still suffering from, on top of the Chemotherapy, and he's just having a really rough time."

"I feel like we moved away from the school topic and into a Bryce pity party," Kylie said, standing up.

I followed suit.

"I just feel so bad for him," I admitted. "He's been so down these past few days."

"The Chemo can cause mood swings," she pointed out.

"Yeah, but he has a very validated reason to be upset that he isn't playing baseball," I pointed out. "Or that he can't go to school and interact with his friends. Or that he's just miserable practically all the time."

"You can't think like that," Kylie said, shaking her head. "Bryce may be down, but you have to be there to pick him back up. Because if you go down with him, then what?"

I let out a sigh, nodding. "You're right, you're right. I'll stop having my own little pity party."

She wrapped her arm around my shoulders. "Good, because my masterpiece is completed. So go round up your cute little snickerdoodle and I'll keep eye on the campsite."

~*~

When I let myself into Bryce's house, I fully expected him to either be asleep on the couch or playing FIFA on the XBOX.

But I found him in his bedroom, Chemistry homework spread out around him as he worked on make-up work.

"Well this is a surprise," I stated, leaning against the doorway.

Bryce's head snapped over to me in surprise. "When did you get here?"

"A minute or two ago," I said, plopping down on his bed, careful to avoid his Chemistry work. "How's it going?"

"Pretty awful."

"What made you decide to do some Chemistry?"

"The fact that I haven't been to school in over a week and I have no idea what's going on in the real world."

"I could've helped you."

"I can do it," he argued. "I just needed to remind myself how Chemistry works."

I rolled my eyes, laughing. "Well take a break because you're coming with me."

"Yeah you mentioned that yesterday, but I'm knee-deep in this-"

"Nope," I interrupted, shaking my head. "We're breaking routine."

"I am breaking routine," he pointed out. "I'm doing Chemistry. When do I ever do any type of schoolwork?"

"Get dressed, we're going out."

He let out a sigh, casting me a glare as he slowly made his way over to his closet.

He was such a drama queen I swear.

I waited for him on his bed, sifting through his Chemistry review sheets and practice problems.

He's actually been working on this. Like really hard.

He came back out of his closet, a pair of jeans hanging low on his hips and a belt looped around his waist.

"Hello gorgeous," I said, flashing him a smile.

He smiled back, leaning over and pecking me on the lips before disappearing from his bedroom.

"He's a hunky piece of man," I said to Dawson, reaching over and scratching him behind the ears.

Dawson just wagged his tail, happy to get some attention.

Bryce came back a few minutes later, his hair styled and a flannel shirt hanging on his torso, still unbuttoned.

His hair was pretty much completely grown back at this point, just a faint outline of the scar visible.

"So where are we going?" Bryce asked, as he buttoned up his shirt and searched for his Vans.

"It's a surprise."

He gave me a look over his shoulder, clearly unamused.

"Don't be such a downer," I complained. "We're going to have fun."

He rolled the sleeves of his shirt up to his elbows, sliding his feet into his Vans. "I am not a downer."

I kissed the top of Dawson's head before hopping up off the bed. "You ready to go?"

He nodded, tucking his phone into his back pocket.

"Can I guess where we're going?" he asked me, as I pulled out of his driveway.

"If you really want to."

He reached over and plugged his phone into my Auxiliary cord.

"What are you doing?" I demanded, raising an eyebrow at him.

"One song," he bargained. "If I have to go on this mystery date, I get one."

"One song," I agreed, with a sigh.

He flashed me a smile before cranking up his music, jamming out in the passenger seat of the car.

Three songs later, I swung into the empty parking lot.

"Where are we?" Bryce asked, unplugging his phone.

"At our destination," I vaguely answered.

"Creepy," he muttered, stepping out of the car.

I led him back to the site where Kylie and I had set up camp in the woods earlier, Bryce following behind with a bewildered look on his face.

"Are we going hiking?" he asked me.

"Would I be wearing really cute skinny jeans if we were going hiking?"

"Maybe."

I shook my head at him.

"Then why are you leading me out into the middle of the woods?" He raised his eyebrows at me. "This is that horror movie where the girlfriend kills off the boyfriend isn't it? You make it look like an accident by having a black bear maul me to death, but you actually lured it to-"

"We're here," I announced, interrupting what I'm sure would be a never-ending story.

We stopped in the clearing, and Bryce looked around, taking in Kylie and I's masterpiece for a few moments.

Kylie was already gone. I'd asked her to stay and wait for us, so that Bryce and I could thank her for everything, but she'd already left.

That bitch.

"What is this?" Bryce asked me, his eyes locking with mine.

"This is our spontaneity," I informed him. "Because every relationship needs it."

"It's healthy," Bryce added, a smile spreading across his face.

He'd told me that not too long ago, before his surgery when we were out midnight bowling.

"This is our little tent where we're going to cuddle," I informed him. "And the projector is all set up to play 50 First Dates."

Bryce ducked inside the tent, where Kylie had left my iPad fire burning for us.

"What's this?" Bryce asked me, laughing.

"I didn't want to start a real fire, because knowing me I'd burn the forest down, so I thought that this would be a nice little alternative," I said, sitting criss-cross on the floor.

Well not on the dirty forestry floor, but on all the comfy blankets and pillows on top of the tent floor.

"And there's snacks," I added, pointing to the other corner of the tent.

"And you did all of this for me?" Bryce asked me, turning back to face me.

"Well Kylie did all the techy stuff. But yes, I pitched this tent and set up the fire app all for you."

He sat down next to me, taking my face between his hands and lightly kissing me on the lips. "This is too much."

I looped my arms around his neck. "Nothing is too much for the boy I love."

So what did you guys think about Bryce's routine statement? Do you think he's fallen into a little comfy routine? What about Sophie's little date night plan? Did you think Bryce was going to like it?

Teaser: Bryce's doctor tells him how he can attend his sister's wedding, and it's not a condition that Bryce likes all that much.