Hey all. I'm writing this from the Land of the Dead, because Sadie kind of killed me after that last chapter.

So. Anyway. For those of you who don't know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. So, I wrote this for all the people out there who know someone who has had breast cancer, or have even had it themselves. For the fighters, the survivors, and the lost.

Grandma, I'm happy I can call you a survivor :)

I do not own the Kane Chronicles.

O-o-O

"Zia!"

Anisa bounced in from the terrace, shoving her last bite of toast in her mouth. She held out a length of pale pink ribbon, saying, "Help me put this in my hair?"

Zia smiled a little. "I'm the wrong person to ask, Annie. Maybe Alyssa can help you."

Anisa sighed and bounded for the stairs, almost crashing into Walt as he reached the ground floor. He grabbed her arm to steady her, very carefully backing away as she ran up the stairs two at a time—quite impressive considering she barely cleared five feet. Carter hadn't believed her at first when she claimed she was sixteen.

Walt rolled his eyes and sank into the nearest couch, saying, "Just being near that girl wears me out. Who gave her sugar this morning?"

"I'm pretty sure she didn't have any," Carter said. "She's just hyper."

Walt started to say something, probably commenting on Anisa's constant state of super-activeness, but stopped, giving Carter a puzzled look. Then he broke out in a grin, saying, "That's a very manly shade of pink there, Carter."

He could feel his face turn red.

"Don't be so heartless, Walt," Anisa said, leaping down the stairs, bow now firmly affixed in her white blond hair. "Don't you know what month it is?"

"Is it not October?" he asked.

She planted her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes. "Yes, it is October."

"I'm lost."

Zia grinned at Walt. "October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month," she explained.

"That still doesn't explain why Carter is wearing a hot pink shirt."

Carter scratched the back of his neck, which felt hot. "My…mom had breast cancer," he said slowly. "When Sadie and I were really little. She was declared completely cancer-free ten years ago today."

Zia leaned over and rested her head against his shoulder. He had already told her everything: remembering his mom coming home some days and going straight to bed without even eating dinner, or her bad days when she couldn't make it out of bed to eat breakfast. He remembered watching her brush her hair, yanking patches of her curls out with every stroke. And he remembered the day she had run into the house from the driveway, crying, and crushed him in a hug tight enough to knock the breath out of him. "Mommy's going to be fine," she'd said, laughing for the first time in weeks. Sadie had been too young to remember it, and his memory of the whole event was a little fuzzy, but it still made him sad to think that she had fought her way through all of that only to die anyway.

"My whole cheer team at my old school had these," Anisa said, displaying her own pink T-shirt. She turned around and swept her hair around her shoulder, showing the back, which read OUR COACH IS A SURVIVOR!

Walt nodded as Anisa cartwheeled to the couch, falling into the seat next to Walt. "So you can stop teasing Carter," she finished with a glare, which was pretty amusing, when you compared the two; Walt, the huge dark basketball player, and Anisa, the tiny wisp of a cheerleader who could be mistaken for albino, with her milky skin and bright blue eyes.

"I can still tease him all I want, Annie," he said. She stuck her tongue out at him as he finished, "No matter how noble the cause, it's still a pink shirt."

"You still can't bother him, Walt," Zia said with a smirk.

"Why not?"

She beamed at Carter, saying, "Because real men wear pink."

O-o-O

How's that for a fast update?

Also, Anisa is also the chick that Walt tossed into the pool in chapter five. You'll be seeing more of her. Credit for the name goes to gingerroot15, without whom she would've remained nameless, faceless, and Walt would not have a future girlfriend…

Whoops. You didn't read that.

Anyway, reviews are welcome!