Hijacked.

Bleak.

"Dylan! Take my picture here!" she screamed.

I grabbed my camera and photographed her. The sun was setting and an explosion of golden and orange hues and tints streaked the sky. She was beautifully placed above the rest of the island and beside the golden ball of fire.

"Move your hand a little higher."

She stood cupping the sun in her palms. The backlight highlighted her perfect silhouette and confirmed my thoughts about her being perfect. Annie had dyed the bottom of her hair a bright orange and had it a a neat bun. "Why not live life to the fullest?" she replied when I asked why she had done it. And so I made a mental note: living life in the fullest requires hair dye.

"How cute will this be?" she asked then pretended to kiss the sun. I couldn't help but think about how her skin glowed in the perfect light. No more pale looking skin and red rimmed eyes from the hospital.

"Come on! We will be late for the dive," she said and ran down into the yatch pulling me along. I ran into the boat but stopped to snag a few shots. I managed to catch the deep blue sea in all of it's beauty and Annie in midair as she leaped into the boat. She was full of energy and had a bounce in her steps.

After a few minutes of cruising around the captain decided we could get to swim with sharks at that particular place in the he sea. I smiled and quickly changed into shorts.

"Do you think this is too revealing?" she asked.

Annie wore teal blue shorts and a tank top over her Manolo Blank bikini . She always fussed about bikinis and modesty but she eventually managed to find a balance.

"It's perfect," I said staring into her green eyes, not imagining the moment getting any better. They contrasted with the ocean and those emerald seas refused to let me look anywhere other than her face.

"You weren't even looking at it. I guess it doesn't matter anyways, let's go!" She squealed as her body hit the water and sent drops of water everywhere.

"CANNON BALL!" I screamed following right after. We both laughed in the water as the captain shook his hand and hollered at us telling us it wasn't the 'proper' way to dive. Annie's came out more like a giggle and she gulped in a little water and then coughed. I quickly swam over to her.

"Breathe slowly. Slowly, okay?" I said holding her shoulders.

"I'm fine. Let's go!"

We swam below the surface and saw the little baby sharks. We swam around with them and their smooth, ash skin glided against ours as we swam. We got some perfect photographs taken by the professional divers and swam back to the surface into the yatch.

I snapped out of the trance. I had been shifting between real life and my sub-conscious for hours now each day. They mostly included Annie and things we were going to do on our bucket list. I guess it was my mind's way of dealing with the bleak days that drifted by. My past week was a series of me going through the motions. I never let anything sink in and affect me. I was going to church but I wasn't letting the message touch my heart, I wasn't singing along to the praise songs or dancing. I just sat there. I just sat there each day and drifted in and out of consciousness. That was until I gazed upon the cross at the center of the church with Jesus on it. Blood dripping down his sides and a crown of thorns laced on his head. It broke the deadly cycle and wore me down.

"God, I can't lose Annie again. Not now. Please not now Lord. I can't lose my trust in you either. I need you. Annie needs you in that hospital. I know she hasn't really spoken to you in a while but she does. Something is up with her and even though I don't know you know. She just got really concerned about the scars and didn't even let anyone say the word 'cut' before cutting them off. Please just help me. I'm sorry for being away for so many days please forgive me and help me. Help me...help me."

Flashes of the visit to see Annie ran through my mind. She just lay in the bed, eyes shut, with a steady heart beat. Her father sat on a chair beside the bed and looked like he hadn't shaved in a while. His wrinkles were pronounced and his shoulders drooped. I caught myself before I could think about the situation enough to make a tear slip.

I stood up from the wooden bench and spun around to find Cookie walking into the church. She had a bright red top they I think girls called 'peplums' and just stood there staring at me for a while.

"Uh, hi."

"Hi Dylan. I didn't expect to see you here." she replied.

"Well, neither did I."

We stood in silence for a moment and Cookie shuffled her feet.

"We never actually talked about our almost-relationship. Why did you just stop hanging out and replying my calls or showing interest in me. You can't just act like it never happened. So, can we talk?" she asked.

I stood there staring at my feet and felt myself almost slipping into a subconscious mode again till she added "We can talk at the cupcake café, if you want." I nodded in agreement and followed into her car.

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A/N: Look who showed up again: Cookie. How do you think this will go down? Will Annie's absence be Cookies opening? Kyle will be popping up soon too so added drama? Just comment & vote. Bye!