"So food loaded with sugar and food chemical feed cancer cells," I informed Bryce, as he sorted his laundry.

"They feed cancer cells?"

I nodded. "As does the acid from soda."

Bryce abandoned his laundry, taking a seat next to me on his bed.

"GMOs cause rapid tumor growth," I pointed out.

"What contains GMOs?"

"Most foods."

"Well that's incredibly unhelpful."

I kept researching, my laptop resting on my lap as I surfed the Internet.

"Top ten foods that feed cancer," Bryce said. "Click on that."

And so I did.

"GMOs are at number one," I stated.

"Well damn, am I expected not to eat food?"

"Processed meats."

"Like hot dogs?"

I nodded. "Especially like hot dogs."

"Boo."

"Microwave popcorn at number three."

"Well that's okay, microwave popcorn isn't that great."

I rolled my eyes. Bryce has always preferred cracker jacks to microwave popcorn.

"Soda at number four."

Bryce clutched his hand on his heart, falling back on his bed. "Not my coke."

"Diet foods and beverages?"

"Those are gross anyways."

"Refined white flours."

"What are those?" Bryce asked, cracking open an eye.

"It's a common ingredient in processed foods," I recited.

"Basically we're back to the whole GMO thing. This website is telling me I can no longer consume food."

I rolled my eyes, scrolling down the webpage. "Dirty fruits."

"Dirty fruits?" Bryce couldn't help but smile. "Those fruits need to use protection."

"It just means fruits that aren't marked organic or pesticide-free you dork."

"This is depressing me."

"Farmed salmon is number nine on the list."

"Who the hell eats fish?"

"And coming in at number ten are hydrogenated oils."

"The fuck are those?"

"Commonly used in processed foods for shelf-life," I recited.

Bryce let out a long groan, staring up at his ceiling.

"You asked me to look this up," I reminded him.

"Well I don't want to feed the cancer cells," he defended. "But I need to eat to live."

"I'll do some more research, you finish up your laundry so you don't stink you when you take me out tonight."

"Take me out to the ball game," Bryce sang, as he hopped up off of his bed. "Take me out with the crowd!"

I rolled my eyes, opening up a new tab as I continued my cancer research.

"You can't lie on my laundry," Bryce informed Dawson, nudging him with his foot.

Dawson had made himself comfortable on Bryce's regulars.

"Move," Bryce complained.

Dawson picked himself up, making his way to his bed in the corner of the room.

Bryce tossed him a treat before returning to sorting his laundry.

"Okay," I said, after a few more minutes of research. "So I have some news, but I don't know if you're going to like it."

"I pretty much already know what it's going to be," Bryce informed me, before leaving his room with a pile of clothes.

Once he came back, he plopped down next to me on his bed.

"So organic foods are the way to go," I informed Bryce.

"I got that much on my own."

"They make lots of foods organically," I encouraged. "And there's a cute little mom and pop produce stand right down the street."

"This is the worst."

"It's not forever," I reminded him. "Just until we can get you better. And while we're getting you better, we don't want to be feeding the cancer cells. That's pretty much like taking one step forward and two back."

"Why do cancer cells even like coke? They need to like broccoli and asparagus."

I kissed his cheek before passing my laptop off to him, letting him read the articles for himself.

"Where's your mom?" I asked Bryce, as he surfed the Internet for himself.

"Work," he responded, clicking on a new page.

Of course she is.

"You know my mom," he continued, scanning the webpage. "She buries herself in her work when she's upset."

She buries herself in her work regardless of her emotions. That's just who she is.

"And how's Kayla?"

"Just as Kayla as always."

I couldn't help but laugh.

"Kayla was already booking a flight down here while I was on the phone with her," Bryce informed me. "I had to talk her out of it. I mean, all I'm doing is lying in my bed watching Hairspray like it's nobody's business."

"That's true. I think you've watched Hairspray more in these past few weeks than you have in your entire life."

He jumped up off of his bed. "I'm Amber! Brad! Fender! Brenda!" He paused for a moment. "Those two names that I'm going to avoid for now! IQ! Ann! Joey! Mike! Vicki! Becky! Jesse! Darla! Paula! Noreen! Darleen! And I'm..." He paused, doing a spin and then smiling. "Link."

"You're a freak," I informed him, laughing.

"I love that movie."

"I know you do. It's borderline creepy, but I guess I'll still love you for it."

He leaned across the side of his bed, kissing me on the lips. "That's nice of you."

"I try."

"What movie are we going to see tonight?" Bryce asked me, as he headed over to annoy Dawson.

"It's oldies night," I reminded him, stretching out across his bed.

"Oh yeah," he agreed, looking over at me. "What's the name of that awful movie you're making me watch?"

"Breakfast at Tiffany's," I informed him. "And it's not awful."

"The name already tells me I'm going to hate it."

I shot him a smile. "But you're going to suffer through it because you love me?"

He stuck his tongue out at me. "Not like I have a choice."

~*~

"You two have fun tonight," mom said, taking a seat on my bed.

"What's that code for?" I asked her, as I twisted a curl around my finger, letting it softly fall against my sweater.

I was wearing a pair of dark wash skinny jeans and a blue button-up with a gray v-neck sweater over the top, rolling up the sleeves to three-quarters. I'd softly curled my hair, putting on some light make-up.

I stepped into my black and gold Tory Burch flats and looked into the mirror. But I still felt like the outfit was lacking something.

"Just be careful," mom said, handing me a chunky gold necklace. "Drive-in theaters make me nervous."

"Thanks," I said, looping the necklace around my neck. "And we will, I promise. We always are."

"Just be aware of your surroundings and don't leave the car battery running," she instructed. "And if the car dies, call your father or me so we can come wait with you."

"I promise that it won't happen, but if it does I'll call you," I said, kissing her cheek as the doorbell rang.

"He's picking you up?" she asked, surprised.

"He's not supposed to."

I headed downstairs, my dad already at the door.

Bryce was standing at my door, holding in his hand a bouquet of sunflowers.

I love that boy.

"Hey," I said, stepping around my dad.

He smiled at me.

"Did you drive here?"

"Kind of," he said, looking over his shoulder.

His mom's Escalade was in my driveway, an incredibly bored looking Clayton behind the steering wheel.

"He's bailing when we get to the drive-in," Bryce promised. "But I wanted to at least kind of pick you up."

I accepted the sunflowers from him, kissing his cheek.

"What time is the movie over?" dad asked me.

"Have fun," mom said, pulling dad inside.

"Let me put these in a vase," I said, quickly heading inside.

"Don't stay out too late," dad said, as I filled the vase up with water. "And call me if you need a jump. Or if you feel unsafe. Or-"

"We'll be fine daddy," I promised, kissing his cheek before leaving.

Bryce and I took the backseat of his mom's Escalade.

"Do I look like a fucking chauffer?" Clayton asked.

"You owe me," Bryce reminded him.

"What'd you do for him?" I asked.

"Bro code," Clayton reminded Bryce.

Bryce just shot me a smile.

Fuck bro code.

"You look beautiful by the way," Bryce said. "In case I didn't tell you."

I couldn't help but smile.

"Barf," Clayton muttered.

Bryce chuckled, wrapping his arm around me and pulling me close to him.

"You smell nice," I commented. "Are you using that cologne I gave you for Christmas?"

He smiled. "I've always used it."

"First time out of the box?"

"Maybe."

Bryce was wearing a pair of dark wash jeans and a short-sleeve gray button-up, along with a pair of white Vans and his white beanie.

"We look like we coordinated," Bryce commented.

"We do," I agreed. "I think we look cute."

"I think we look goofy."

I chuckled, snuggling in close to his side.

We pulled up to the drive-in, and Bryce paid for three tickets.

"I thought you said he was leaving," I said, shooting Clayton a look.

"He is," Bryce said. "He's leaving for another car."

That's better than nothing.

"You're so ungrateful," Clayton informed me, as he backed into a parking spot at the drive-in. "You're welcome by the way."

I stuck my tongue out at him.

Bryce hopped out of the car, thanking Clayton before opening up the trunk.

In the trunk were a couple of blankets, a battery-powered radio, and some snacks.

"What happened to organic?" I asked Bryce, laughing as I climbed into the backseat.

"That begins tomorrow," he informed me, snuggling up next to me. "Tonight I get to enjoy one last night of freedom."

I leaned into him as he powered up the radio, tuning it to the drive-in station so we could hear the movie.

Then he wrapped his arms around me, adjusting himself so he was comfortable.

"If this movie is the worst, you have to watch a movie of my choice tomorrow," Bryce said to me.

"You've already made up your mind that you hate it," I pointed out.

"Okay, I'll watch it with an open-mind," Bryce promised.

I nodded. "Deal. But it can't be Hairspray."

"I wouldn't waste my night of torture on a movie you'd watch with me anyways."

As we waited for the movie to start, a few kids from school came up and greeted Bryce, asking him a few questions.

Bryce kept his answers evasive.

He wasn't quite ready to tell people he had cancer yet.

"What's going to be your story when you come back to school on Wednesday?" I asked him, once the people were out of earshot.

"I haven't gotten that far yet."

"You were upfront about the brain alien," I pointed out, rubbing his bicep. "Why lie now?"

"Because cancer is another ball game," he said, quietly.

I reached up and kissed his cheek, letting my lips linger there for a few moments.

"You shouldn't be embarrassed love," I said, looking into his eyes. "You have my support, and the support of those who truly care. And that's all that should matter."

And then the screen flickered to life, the opening credits rolling for Breakfast at Tiffany's.

So what did you guys think about Sophie & Bryce's research? Did any of the foods surprise you? What about the drive-in movie? And Sophie's advice to Bryce?

Teaser: Bryce resumes going to school. And starts chemo. And things sort of start going south from there.

FUTURE RACHEL HERE: I realize that some of the information in this chapter regarding diets and cancer is outdated. Please take this with a grain of salt.