Author's Note: I would like say a very Happy Birthday to surfergal23 she is amazing and very talented. If you haven't read her work, I strongly reccomend you do.

Count On You

Chapter 18:

Fourteen year old Annabelle Peirce walked along side Kendall Knight in the town square.

Both the young teenagers felt awkward walking alongside each other. Both of them were best of friends, and like a lot of girl and boy best friends, they had to try dating at some point in their lives. Today happened to be that day.

"So, where are we going Kendall?" Anna asked, breaking the silence, her voice wavering a bit. She hadn't ever been on a date before, and Kendall had only been on two, so neither of them really knew what to do.

Kendall rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "A movie?" He said, sounding like he was asking her permission.

She nodded, biting her lip a bit, "Alright."

They walked in silence for a few minutes before they reached the movie theater. Kendall looked at the show times, "What do you want to see."

Anna looked at the titles for a second, "It doesn't matter." She replied.

He glanced at the list once more before turning back to the movie attendant, "Two tickets to…" he glanced at the titles, "Whatever movie I guess."

The lady behind the glass gave him two tickets to a movie, "Enjoy your movie."

Kendall paid for the tickets before leading Anna inside and getting some popcorn for them.

"You feel really weird too, don't you?" Anna blurted out.

He smiled sheepishly, nodding, "Yeah, a little bit." He agreed.

Anna rolled her eyes, "You weren't exactly supposed to answer."

Kendall chuckled at her, "Why did you ask me then?" He replied as they sat in the front of the theater.

She looked down, popping a piece of popcorn into her mouth, "Just didn't like that awkward silence between us. I've never had that around you before, the silence I mean." She said, shifting in her seat a bit and glancing over at him.

He stopped looking at the rolling commercials and previews to look at her, "I does feel weird, doesn't it?"

Anna laughed a little bit, "Just a bit." She replied nonchalantly.

The lights began to dim, and Anna asked quietly, "What movie are we watching?"

Kendall shrugged, trying to put it off, "No idea, I didn't even look at the title of it." He replied, "I've probably never heard of it before now anyways."

Once more, she laughed, and this time Kendall joined in with her. A few of the other people in the theater glared at them from behind, but the two didn't see or care.

Maybe it was possible for them to have a relationship without ruining their friendship. Granted, it would be awkward at first and there would be a silence between them, but that was natural for any relationship.

They didn't have to go through their first date trying to find out what the other person liked. Hell, they knew each other just as well as they knew themselves. And it seemed that in stories and movies the best friends always fell for each other. Why would it be different for them?

Since they were five they had known each other –nine years ago. They knew each other's secrets and their fears. The whole point of dating was to find someone you were in love with –they already loved each other. They loved each other's as friends, but the line between friendship and a relationship is small and blurred.

Both Anna and Kendall watched as the movie titles started on the screen, and the beginning scene began to play.

After twenty minutes, Kendall subconsciously took hold of Anna's hand. Of course, neither thought much of it –they were close friends and held hands all the time.

Anna watched the movie, noticing that there were many people kissing in it.

Losing interest in it, she glanced over at Kendall. His eyes were no longer focused on the movie –had they been in the first place- and were looking off in the corner of the room, finding the lit up exit sign more interesting.

She squeezed his hand, catching his attention from the wall. Kendall looked at her, and Anna leaned over and whispered, "You're not that interested in this movie either, are you?"

Kendall shook his head, "Not really."

"I think that everyone in the theater is kissing." She mumbled back, "Mind if we leave? This is really weird."

He sighed in relief, "I've been waiting for you to ask that since the movie started."

Kendall stood up, pulling her up with him, keeping their fingers laced together. Exiting the theater, they started to walk down the street.

Anna started to laugh, "I can't believe that we were watching a kissing movie –and you picked the movie."

He rolled his eyes, the green orbs landing on her, "I didn't pick the movie –I just said any movie. How was I supposed to know we were going to a chick-flick?"

"I was just kidding Kendall." Anna chided, giggling at his face.

He looked at her, "So, what do we do?"

She thought, trying to find a way to salvage there date. They were fourteen –they didn't want to see a kiss-flick. At that age, kissing wasn't much of a concern or need. What could they do now: they were out of money from paying for the movies.

Giving up on trying, Anna said, "It doesn't matter."

Kendall unlaced his fingers from hers, making her frown. But then he wrapped that arm around her shoulders, "I've got an idea, we could just talk and hang out." He said quietly, turning directions.

They walked down the roads, just talking for the next hour. They relieved memories from before and laughed.

It was better than any first date Anna and Kendall could have asked for.

Kendall's car didn't pull up to the local diner, or a restaurant outside of town. He only drove for a minute before stopping the car.

"Where are we?" Anna asked, the night making it hard to see her surroundings through the glass window of the car. But she couldn't see any big silhouettes that looked like a building –she couldn't see any real landmarks actually.

Kendall smirked at her confused expression, "I think you'll recognize it when we get there."

Raising an eyebrow at him, she asked, "We're not moving though. Where could we possibly be going if the car is in park?"

He smiled, "The car isn't moving because we have to walk the rest of the way."

Opening his door, Kendall walked around the car to open hers as well. Anna climbed out slowly and looked around.

Her eyes adjusted to the darkness, but she still couldn't make anything out other than the snow and the trees. "Kendall, there's got to be two inches of snow on the ground and it's freezing outside. What could be that important out there?"

Kendall merely smirked, "It's pretty important." He grabbed two jackets from the backseat, handing the smaller one to her, "I hope it fits, I borrowed it from Camille." He explained as she pulled the black coat on.

Sliding his own coat on, Kendall held out his hand, wondering if Anna would respond.

Slowly she grabbed his hand, "Please tell me you at least have a flashlight if we're wandering through the woods at night."

"That reminds me." He said, reaching back into the seat and grabbing a flashlight. "Come on."

Tugging her lightly by the hand, Kendall led Anna into the trees. "We're going to get lost." She chided lightly, feeling a bit of snow on her feet. "Remind me to wear sneakers next time."

Kendall couldn't help but smile at the thought of a 'next time'.

"We're almost there." He promised, pulling her farther along in the trees.

Anna looked at him as they walked on, "What happened to going to dinner?"

Kendall shrugged, "Change of plans." He said nonchalantly, guiding her farther into the forest, "We're almost there though."

The two of them walked farther and farther, the flashlight's glow the only source of light in the dark and condensed forest.

Finally, Kendall stopped, pulling Anna to a stop. "Wait here." He said, handing her the flashlight.

"What are you-?" She started to ask, but he continued to walk forward, only turning back once to smile at Anna before continuing forward.

Anna watched as he disappeared into the next patch of trees. There was a sudden sound of a twig snapping made her jump. "Kendall!" She yelled. Anna had hated being in the woods alone at night after getting lost once when she was ten, and since then she didn't going into the woods at night.

"I'm coming back, just hold on a second." Kendall replied calmly.

She tried to just do something to distract her, like looking up at the stars, but the tress blocked her view.

There was the crunch of leaves from behind her, and Anna nearly screamed when she felt someone touch her shoulder from behind.

"Calm down Anna, it's just me." Kendall voice said from behind, turning her to face him.

Turning to face him, Anna asked incredulously, "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

He chuckled at her, "Sorry, I couldn't find you. You're wearing black in the middle of the forest at night, it's not that easy to see you."

She raised her eyebrows, "Maybe if you told me we were going in the woods I would have worn something more appropriate." She replied sarcastically.

"And you call me sarcastic." Kendall mumbled, reaching out for her hand, "Come on, I've got something to show you."

Taking his hand, following his lead into the trees ahead, Anna asked, "Where are we going?"

He didn't reply to the question, simply saying back, "Trust me, it'll be worth it." Helping her over a fallen tree.

They walked for another moment before Anna started to feel a sense of déjà vu. Why did the middle of the woods seem familiar to her? Something seemed noticeable about it, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

For a second, she looked up at Kendall, seeing those green eyes shining with anticipation. The eyes she had known for so long, the eyes that would never change.

"My name's Kendall. What's your name?"

"Mommy told me not to talk to strangers."

"Well, I'll tell about me, and then I won't be a stranger. My name is Kendall Knight, I love hockey, my favorite color is green and I like pizza. Now I'm not a stranger."

"I'm Annabelle, but I like Anna better."

Anna looked up from the ground, trying to see father into the tree's.

In the process, her heel caught on a twig in the ground, concealed by the snow. Stumbling, Anna fell forward.

A pair of arms caught her, and Kendall smiled, "You're such a klutz sometimes, Belle."

"Come on Belle, you can hold my hand for support, I won't let you fall."

Anna stopped walking for a second, "What did you call me?" She asked carefully, not sounding mad, but rather surprised.

"Belle."

"That's what I thought that I heard."

Kendall bit the inside of his cheek, "Sorry, I won't call you that if you don't want me to."

She laughed for a second, "No, it's fine. I was just surprised at it; I haven't been called that in ages."

There was a silence, and Kendall randomly blurted out something that had been bothering him for a while, "What do I do about my mom? And Katie?"

Anna stopped for a second. She didn't think of his family at all through all of this. He'd been keeping a secret from his mom and sister. She'd never had to keep a secret from her family, since her parents were dead and her aunt didn't speak to her. "I think that when and where you tell them is your choice. Your mom will be surprised, but she'll understand why you wouldn't have told her right away."

Kendall smiled a bit, "You wouldn't mind if I invited her and Katie up here and told them then?"

She rolled her eyes in the darkness, "Kendall, I don't have to approve of anything."

"You've got to be there."

Anna shrugged, "I would hope so. When do you want to tell them?"

There was another silence, but Kendall said, "Around Christmas, I told mom when I left we would still have Christmas together. I was thinking about telling them right before then."

She smiled at him, noticing how happy he seemed with the thought of his mom and sister meeting his daughter. "I think that's a great idea." She paused, "But, I think that we should concentrate on where were going –as we're in the wood in the night."

He chuckled, guided her into the last row of trees, "Close your eyes." Kendall whispered.

Anna looked at him, her eyebrows raised and she was looking at him with a shocked expression, "It's pitch black out, I can barely see anything anyways."

"Anna, just trust me."

Sighing, she mumbled, "You are going to get me lost in the middle of the woods." But she complied, closing her eyes and letting him put his arm around her waist and lead her the small distance further.

Finally, they came to a stop, "Alright Anna, you can open your eyes." He said, hearing a relieved sigh from her.

Letting her eyes flutter opened, Anna tried to have her eyes adjust to the small amount of light in front of her.

Finally she recognized the place that they were; surprised that she could have missed it before. A park: their park to be exact. The bench wasn't cover with snow, rather cleaned off with a blanket drapped over it. In the middle was a flashlight, with a small basket behind it.

"Kendall…" She trailed off, being at a loss for words.

He frowned slightly, "I know, it's really terrible. We can go get a bite to eat at the diner if you want; this was a really bad idea." Kendall mumbled, cursing himself under his breath, turning his head away.

Anna reached up, forcing him to face her. "Kendall, you've got to learn to read emotions better." She looked once more at the bench, "I think it's amazing. A candlelight dinner is cliché, I'd rather this… besides, the park is special to me, it's the place I first met you. I'd take being with you here over a fancy dinner every day." She reassured.

Kendall smiled, "Seriously?"

She rolled her eyes at him, "Of course, how about we go sit before I get frostbite on my toes." She offered.

He laughed a bit, leading her onto one side of the bench and sitting at the other.

Anna peeked at the basket, "What is in the basket?"

Kendall reached under the small blanket on top of it, grabbing something, "Dinner." He replied cheekily.

She rolled her eyes at him, "You never lose your sarcasm, do you?"

He pulled out two wrapped sandwiches, two containers with hot chocolate in them and something wrapped in foil. "Nope, never." He replied.

Anna looked at the sandwich as he passed her one, "I feel like we're doing our first date all over again." She laughed lightly.

Kendall shrugged, "It is our first date again, in a weird way."

She smiled at him, "Nearly nine years ago… it feels so long since then."

He nodded in agreement, "It has been, I mean, we've grown up."

Anna smiled, "I think I like this first date better." She admitted, "Because we know what it feels like to date each other, and we don't have to worry about being stupid."

He rolled his eyes.

Whether fourteen or twenty three, Kendall and Anna would always be the same. They would go through hard times, and they would hurt each other and their friends, but for this day –this moment- it could be just them.

With no worrying on what would happen tomorrow or a week from now, they could enjoy being together.

Like they should.

Author's Note: I feel really bad to say this, but this is actually the last chapter. I didn't ever plan on ending the story here, but I've gotten bad news in the last week and I can't really concentrate on writting now.

As some of you may know, my sister and I have been through a number of surgery's and have been in hospitals over and over. On Monday we are going back into the hospital for more testing and possibly another surgery. I feel bad leaving this story out without an ending, since I don't know how long I'll be in the hospital.

Saying that, I am going to end the story here. I know that there were alot of loose ends that I needed to tie and cracks to fill, but I don't really think I'll be able to clear them by Monday.

I really hope you guys understand.

Saying that, I understand if you don't review, and I wouldn't blame you.