Chapter 11

*Sydney's POV*

The Cheese Palace was a little hole in the wall fondue place that Adrian seemed to love. It was obvious he was there a lot when the waiter knew his name. Well, knew his other name.

"Hey Jet! Back so soon? You were here two days ago. And you brought a lady friend." I shot a look at Adrian that said 'you've-got-to-be-kidding-me'. Why can't he just say his name is Adrian, for god sake! Adrian's friend/our waiter for the evening was a tall, lanky teenager with very bad acne. His black hair either had way too much hair gel or he hadn't washed it in months.

"Andy, this is Sydney. I swear, you try and put the moves on her and I'll tie you up like a pretzel." Adrian joked.

"Why I would never do anything of the sort!" Andy chuckled. "Now what do you two lovebirds want to eat? Want me to bring out the usual?"

"We're not-"

"Yeah, bring the usual. And a glass of water for the lady." Adrian spoke up. I glared at him for not letting me say that we weren't a couple.

"Comin' right up!" Andy saluted and marched his way into what looked like a broom closet.

"Is that the kitchen?" I asked.

Adrian nodded.

"Dear God, help me." I murmured. I could already tell I would have food poisoning tonight.

"Relax Sage, you'll be fine. And if you get sick, I'll nurse you back to health." Adrian said with a smirk on his face. "Do you really think I would take you somewhere where you would get sick?"

I thought for a moment. "No, not purposely…"

"Then calm down. The food here is awesome."

"And a ton of calories…" I whispered. I could tell that between the extra cheese, bread, and whatever desserts I'll be given tonight, I'll have start going to a gym.

"Hey," Adrian said, playfulness gone. "You're beautiful Sydney. A few extra calories won't do anything to change you. You need some more meat on those bones." While he was talking, I didn't even notice he took my hand from across the table. I could feel the blood rush to my cheeks and I internally scolded myself for that reaction. I pulled my hand away from his and pretended to be engrossed in the menu.

A few moments later, 'the Usual' came out. The Usual was just a bowl of hot, melted cheese and some probably moldy bread. I could already feel my stomach churning.

"Um… I think I'll pass. I ate a sandwich a little earlier." That's a lie. I actually haven't eaten at all, but I'd rather starve then eat that.

"Come on Sage, just try some. It won't bite." Adrian put a piece of bread on the spear, dipped it in the hot cheese, and tried to feed it to me.

"Adrian, stop it! I won't eat th-" As I was speaking, he shoved the food into my mouth. I'll never admit it to Adrian, but it actually wasn't horrible. It wasn't good, but it wasn't horrible. I slowly swallowed the food and scrunched up my face. "Disgusting."

His smile faltered for a moment. "Oh well. More for me." He continued eating the fondue in silence. The awkwardness was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

"How much longer are we going to be here?" I asked softly, not wanting anyone else to hear me and think I'm being rude or snobby.

"What's the rush? Sale at Khakis-R-Us?"

"You know, that's the second time you've use that joke on me. I think you need to update your joke repertoire."

"Oh my God, Sage. Did you just… tell a joke?" Adrian said with a fake gasp.

"I don't know, did I? Maybe I'm the new jokester of the group." I mocked with a small smile.

"You just might be." He smiled in a way that made my breath catch. It was a mixture of pure happiness and something else. I don't know what else it was, but it was beautiful. Internally, I slapped myself. Stop thinking this was Sydney! He's a Moroi, you're an alchemist. You can't possibly like him.

"But really, when are we getting out of here?" All joking aside, I felt horrible. Back again was the headache that has been bothering me. Right now, it was manageable. I knew that later it would be 20x worse.

"I don't know. Why?"

"I'm just not feeling that good." I lied. I felt worse then I made it out to be.

"I thought you said you were fine though. The doctor –" Adrian was instantly serious.

"It's just a side effect of the medicine she prescribed." I said hurriedly before he freaked out. "And the smell of whatever is cooking back there is making it worse. Look, just pay the bill and I'll go start the car." I pulled out my wallet, put $20 on the table, and grabbed the keys to the Mustang from Adrian.

I bolted outside into the warm California air and sank to the ground a few feet from the car. The world around me was spinning. I attempted to push myself off the ground, only to fall again. My vision was blurring around the edges, but it was probably just in my mind. I tried once more to get off the hard concrete. I got to my feet for a second before I started to fall again, numbness overtaking my feet. I could tell I was about to hit the ground. I braced myself for the impact but nothing came. Instead, a pair of arms wrapped around me and lowered me softly to the ground.

"Damn, Sage. I leave you alone for 2 minutes and you self-destruct." That's when cold water was pour onto my face, drenching my hair and face. Despite the cold, it did help wake me up a bit. I opened my eyes and lifted my head off of Adrian's lap. "You told me you were okay."

"If I told you anything less, you would've worried about me." I said. I stupidly attempted to get up again, only for Adrian to scoop me up in his arms.

"No, no, no. You're not walking. I told you, if you get sick I'll nurse you back to health." I looked up at his face and saw the ghost of a smile. I closed my eyes and let Adrian sit me down in the passenger seat of the Mustang and buckle me up. He kept my hand in his as we drove, keeping me chained to consciousness.

"101.5 fever. Okay, something's up. Before we left, you were fine. Now, you can't even stand without keeling over. Tell me the truth, what's going on with you?" Adrian asked. I was lying on his plaid couch with a wet wash cloth.

"Why did you have a water bottle with you? Did you think I would almost pass out?" I asked, lamely trying to avoid the question at hand.

"Thought you might be thirsty, so I bought a water bottle." He said with a worried look on his face. "Can you please tell me what's going on? I… I'm really worried about you Sydney."

In the way he said those words, I knew I couldn't keep it away from him any longer. Either way, he would end up freaking out. He cares and deserves to know.

"Adrian… I'm not okay." That was all I could say before the tears started.

"Shh. Sydney, breath." Adrian moved my legs, sat next to me, and held me close. At that moment, I didn't even think about how he is a Moroi. I needed someone and he was here. "What do you mean by 'not okay'?" His voice shook.

"T-The case of SLE I have is m-mostly in my b-brain. It's advanced, much m-more than they t-thought. I-It could cause strokes, s-seizures, visual problems, some memory loss, and more." I tried so hard to stop crying, but it was impossible.

"Don't they have medicine for that?"

"I have m-medicine to relieve the pain. I-It can't stop anything." I could tell I was shaking as I tried to withhold the tears.

"There's got to be something. Something to make you better again." Adrian's voice was barely a whisper.

"I'm d-d-dying Adrian. In 6 months to 5 years, I'll be dead." I couldn't hold it back any longer. I let the tears fall. I buried my face in Adrian's chest.

Silence filled the room; the only sound was my sobs. Part of me was slightly happy, putting everything out on the table. Now he knew, no matter how horrible the news was.

"You know, there was so much I wanted to do. Go to college, see Rome and Greece, get married, actually settle down and maybe have a kid. I wanted so much in life and it's never going to happen. I'll most likely never get to college or go to Rome or Greece. And what guy would want to date or marry a dying girl? No guy would."

"Sydney," Adrian said, pushing me away and keeping one hand on my trembling shoulder. He tilted my head up with his other hand. "You won't die. I won't allow it. You will get everything you want in life." Tears were welling up in his emerald eyes. "And any guy would be lucky to marry you. I know you'll end up married one day and have tiny, little brainiac kids."

I snorted, wiping away a few tears. "Sure, right. It's nice to dream, but nothing will ever happen. I'll probably be stuck in bed so much that I'll never even get to date. I guess being alone will be fine."

"You'll never be alone Sydney. Never." A tear rolled down Adrian's cheek. Everything stopped for a moment. Adrian was crying. Adrian Ivashkov was crying because of me. Suddenly, his face changed. I could almost see the gears turning in his head. "Stay here." He jumped off the couch and ran off somewhere in the apartment.

I wiped the tears away from my eyes, trying to compose myself. I didn't have long to do so because Adrian ran back into the room like a bat out of hell.

"I knew I would do this eventually, but I thought I would have a few years to think of what the hell I would say. I thought we would even be together when I do it. But whatever, none of that matters anymore." Adrian was rambling, almost like when he was in his spirit induced rants. He was fumbling with something small in his hands.

"Adrian, what are you talking about?" I asked. My mind was reeling, unsure of what he was going to do.

Then he did something that I swear made my heart stop.

Adrian revealed what was in his hand. A ring. He got down on one knee and took one of my hands in one of his.

"Sydney Katherine Sage, I love you and want to be with you forever. I want to make you as happy as possible in the last bits of your life. I'll find a way to get you to college. We'll go on a trip to anywhere you want. We can have as many kids as you want. All you have to do is say yes to this. Will you make me the happiest man alive and marry me?"

Holy Cliffhanger! Mwhaha. Yup, Adrian just proposed! What do you think Sydney will say? What shall happen next? I am on Spring Break, so I have a lot of free time to write! Yay!

Love,

Kaitlyn xoxo