HG AU Normal

Brandon's eyes widened a bit when Drake snapped at him. "Drake, please. I know this is huge, and I know this is hard on you, but we need to take a deep breath," he said, and he hugged his friend. He hated this for him so much. Maddox looked over at Annalise when she spoke, and he nodded. He drove as quickly as he could to get to Brandon's house. He soon arrived to see Angel pulling out. It must be serious or not serious if she left. He would just have to see. He parked the car and got out quickly.

Drake was shaking with the sobs. He had never cried so much; much less, he hadn't really cried much at all. "But...she is gone," he whispered in a cracked voice. He couldn't believe it, but he had to believe it. Annalise hopped out the moment the car came to a halt. She sprinted to the front door and threw it open. Normally she wouldn't have been so rude, but Angel made it sound urgent, important. "Where's Drake?"

Brandon hugged his friend tightly. "I know she is gone. Just let it out," he whispered, and he glanced over at the door. He heard the door downstairs open, but he didn't say anything. Not until a few moments later. "Ann is here. I'll go get her," he said, and he raced downstairs. Maddox followed her in, and he bit his lip when he saw Brandon running down the stairs. "He's in my room. You," he said, pointing to Maddox,"stay down here."

Drake was doing his best to mop up his tears. He could bet that he looked like a mess. When Brandon spoke, he only nodded as he watched him leave. Annalise bit her lip nervously and nodded slowly. "He is okay, right?" she asked. She didn't wait for an answer, however. She, instead, went to Brandon's room. She came to an abrupt halt when she noticed Drake crying. She ran to his side and hugged him tightly. Her attention moved back to Brandon, and she mouthed, "What happened?"

Brandon looked at the ground, and he bit his lip as Annalise walked in. She was probably shocked by the sight of her brother. "Your mother," he mouthed back, but he hated to admit it. It hurt to say it to Drake, but it hurt even worse to say it to someone else.

Her eyes widened at the news. Annalise had to fight the tears and nodded slowly. She had been pretty close with her mother, at least closer than she was with her father. But Drake...well no matter how jockey he may have seemed, he was definitely a momma's boy. When it came to their mother, Drake did whatever he could to make her happy. Drake managed to calm down enough to look to Brandon. "Can you...can you come with us to the hospital?"

Brandon looked down at Drake when he spoke, and he quickly nodded. "Yeah, no problem," he said, and he bit his lip. It was going to be hard to explain why Maddox was downstairs. He was sure that Annalise probably lied to him and told him that she was with someone else. It sounded like something Annalise would do.

Drake stood and rubbed the rest of the tears away. "Okay, thank you," he whispered as he stepped out of the room. Annalise quickly followed after him and threw a worried glance at Brandon. Drake would probably lose his nuts if he saw Maddox there. No, Drake would lose his nuts. She hadn't really thought it out when she told Maddox to take her to Brandon's. Drake came to a halt when he saw Maddox downstairs and instantly scowled. "Why are you here?"

Brandon came downstairs, and sure enough, Maddox was down there as well. Maddox looked up when he saw Drake, and his eyes widened. That part had slipped his mind. "Oh, sorry. I drove Annalise over here. i can leave if you want," he said. The guy looked part angry but part sad. It wasn't a good mixture to mess with, so he wasn't even going to bother.

"You did what?" Drake snapped, glaring at him. He then directed his attention to Annalise. "You told me Livia was taking you home," he muttered. Annalise was speechless. There was nothing she could do or say. Drake returned his glare to Maddox once more. He clenched his fists. "Why were you with her?" So much for trying to keep his cool.

Maddox's eyes widened even more when he started to look even more angry. "Livia did take her home. I just picked her up and took her to get some ice cream. We got the call when I was driving her so I went on and took her over here," he said, and he put his hands up. He didn't mean to make him angry or anything. It was all just a little fun. Wait, no. That sounded worse.

Drake scowled and glanced from Maddox to Annalise then back again. "You know how much I don't like him, Ann," he muttered, frowning at her. He then stepped up to Maddox and got in his face. "Never talk to my sister again, or we will have more problems than just your face, got it?" he snapped. He then turned on his heel and stalked out the door.

Maddox was glad that he at least seemed to buy the story. Maybe Livia would go along with everything as well. He just gave Drake a nod as he told him never to talk to Ann again, but he knew that wasn't going to happen. He felt something for Annalise, and he knew that. It was something greater than what he felt for just some pretty girl at school.

Drake climbed into his car and buckled up rather quickly. He was a mixture of plenty of emotions. Annalise watched her brother head out the door before she whispered, "Uh, thanks Maddox. I will see you later..." She glanced away and sighed softly. She had to wonder why her brother hated him so much. Moments later, a loud car horn blared. "I better go," she whispered as she waved one last time at Maddox then left.

Maddox looked at Ann, and before she could leave, he took her wrist. "Annalise, I will talk to you again, but for now, you should be with your brother. I just thought I should tell you," he said with a small smile, and he waved to her once more before she left. Brandon had rushed in the car with Drake, and he sighed. "I know you hate Maddox, but you should cut him just a little slack. He seems to respect your sister."

Annalise bit down on her lip nervously and nodded to him once. "Yeah, okay. Maybe we should lie low for a while," she whispered before she waved one last time to him and raced out to the car. Drake frowned and clutched the wheel tightly. "She is not going to date that jerk. Not under my watch," he grumbled under his breath. Once Annalise was in the car, he quickly backed out of the driveway and headed to the hospital.

Maddox gave her a small nod. it would be smart to just sit around and pretend like they didn't even know each other for a bit. or at least until Drake is over whatever was going on. Brandon sighed. He would have insisted more, but Drake just wasn't himself, and it wasn't worth it. He stayed quiet as he drove them to the hospital. This was going to be one long night.

Drake was doing his best not to speed, but he needed to get to the hospital as quickly as possible. He had to see his mom. He swerved, barely missing hitting another car. "Maybe I should d-" Annalise began but Drake cut in. "Shut up, Annalise. I am not in the mood for this," he muttered, and Annalise shut up mostly because she was scared. He rarely addressed her as Annalise. They came to a halt at the hospital, and Drake shot out of the car the moment it was off.

Brandon couldn't help but narrowed his eyes at his friend. He was being a real jerk, but then again, his mother did just die. He got out when they parked, and he looked down at Annalise. "Are you okay?" he asked her quietly. He hated to see her like that. She just didn't deserve it.

Annalise got out of the car and nodded slowly, letting out a shaky breath. "I am fine," she whispered quietly. She could understand why Drake was acting this way; she wished that he wouldn't, however. "He has just had a rough day..." Drake stumbled to the front desk and said his mother's name. He needed to see her; he had to see her.

Brandon sighed, and he gave her a simple nod. "if you need anything, please tell me," he said, and he guided her inside. He just wanted the two to be happy. The family was dysfunctional as it was. His mother dying was just going to make everything worse for them.

Drake was already heading towards the hospital room. He pulled a chair up beside his mother's bedside. If she was alive, she barely was alive. "Mom," he whispered as he took her lip hand in his own. He felt the tears stinging his eyes once more. Annalise nodded in agreement to his comment. "I'm scared," she whispered to Brandon as she headed toward the hospital room.

Brandon looked over at Annalise, and he gave her a small sigh. "I know you are," he said, and he followed her to the room, but he didn't walk in. "I am just going to stay out here. It's not my place to be in," he said before he opened the door for Annalise.

Annalise stopped by the door to turn to look to Brandon. "Are you sure? I think Drake needs a friend right now," she whispered, dropping her gaze to the ground. Drake was already going through a lot, and it didn't seem like she was helping too much. If anything, she had only made things worse. "Besides, you are about as close to her as Drake and I both."

Brandon sighed as he thought about it. He paused a moment before he walked in and whispered to her,"Fine, but if your father sees me, I'm dead," he said, and he pulled up a chair beside Drake. "Hey bud," he said after a moment, and he looked at his friend. He looked like a wreck to say it in a nice way.