A/N: Remember when I said I was going to do a JohnDave next? Yeah well I decided to do a EqxNep instead! I hope you guys enjoy!

Chapter 1

I, personally, wasn't very good at this class.

I sat in my studio art class at the Alternian School for the Arts and Sciences next to my best friend, Nepeta. She was painting a very detailed picture of a cat, her favorite animal. I, however, was trying to paint someone with a robotic arm and leg. It wasn't turning out very well simply due to the fact that art was not my strong suit.

The teacher, Ms. Lalonde, announced that it was almost the end of class and we needed to clean up. I had Introduction to Robotics next, also with Nepeta along with Karkat, Terezi, and Gamzee, which came easily to me. My older brother, Horuss, taught the class. It was his first year, but he was doing a very good job. He also taught Advanced Placement Robotics, which I was taking next semester.

Nepeta fell into another coughing fit. She had been coughing for about a month now, but it seemed to be getting worse. She had started wheezing when she breathed, which was usually just short pants, about a week ago.

"Are you alright Nepeta?" I asked her when her coughing fit subsided.

She looked at me and nodded, a weak smile playing across her face, "Yeah I'm just purrfect," her voice was hoarse.

The sense of worry that sat in my chest grew when I saw her hand, which was coated in a bright red liquid.

Blood.

"Nepeta, I urge you to go to the infirmary. If you are coughing up blood then something is not right with your lungs and it must be evaluated," I said as she pulled her hand behind her back.

"I'm fine Equius, that's been happening for a few days now and I'm still okay I'm sure it's nothing," she looked up at me sheepishly, rubbing her chest with her fist. She was obviously in pain.

"A few days? Nepeta coughing up blood is a sign that something is very wrong and you must have it evaluated," I urged her.

She shrugged and stood to put her supplies away, wiping her hand on her pants. It left a dark smudge on her navy blue skirt.

We put away our supplies just as the bell rang, and as we walked out of the classroom to head to Robotics, Nepeta stumbled and caught my arm to keep herself upright.

"Are you alright?" I gently grabbed her other arm to help her stay standing. I looked her in the eyes to see her eyelids half shut and her face was deathly pale.

"Yeah… I'm fine…" she sounded ill.

"I'm taking you to the infirmary, you sound ill," I wrapped the arm she was holding onto around her waist to help guide her.

"I'm fine Equi…" she didn't get to finish her sentence because her eyes fluttered shut and she slumped against my arm.

"Nepeta!" I caught her as she fell. I picked her up and started walking quickly toward the direction of the infirmary.

~=====3=====~

I walked into the infirmary, carrying my unconscious best friend, and immediately a few of the nurses ran up asking me what happened.

"She's been coughing up blood. I was urging her to seek medical attention when she fell unconscious," I explained.

"Bring her over here, we'll take care of her," said a nurse with long black hair. Her name tag said June.

I followed her to a bed where I laid Nepeta down. The ASAS infirmary had their own doctors and nurses because we were so far away from the nearest hospital in Prospit, which was an hour drive from here. Skaia was too small of a town to have a hospital.

I remained by Nepeta's side while they hooked her up to all sorts of tubes and wires. The campus doctor, Doctor Egbert, came up to evaluate her.

Even though only a few minutes had gone by, it felt like it had been hours. The words from the nurses and Dr. Egbert seemed muffled, and I only hear bits and pieces of things. I heard something about lung cancer being a possibility. Nepeta didn't smoke…

But her father did. She grew up inhaling the acrid smoke of her father smoking 3 packs a day. Also, when we hung out with Gamzee at his parents' apartment, he chain smoked for hours on end.

One of the nurses tried to pull me aside and I cried out, "No! I must remain here!"

She shook her head and I managed to read her lips as she said, "I just need to ask you a few questions about her symptoms."

I nodded slowly, my hearing returning to me, "What do you need to know?"

"Has she been experiencing any shortness of breath?"

"Yes."

"Has she been coughing persistently? If so for how long?"

"Yes, and for about a month now."

"Has she been coughing up any blood?"

"Yes, for a few days now she told me."

"Has her voice been hoarse at all?"

"After a bad coughing fit yes, and I think you can hear her wheezing I don't know if that helps at all."

She nodded, "We can hear her wheezing. Has she complained about any chest pain?"

"I noticed her rubbing her chest earlier, she appeared to be in pain."

She gave me a grim look, "Thank you, I hate to tell you this but she seems to be experiencing symptoms of lung cancer, and she is most likely going to have to be transferred to Prospit Hospital for further analysis."

My blood ran cold. I know I had heard them say this before, but it didn't shock me any less after hearing it told directly to me.

"B-But she doesn't smoke, can you get cancer from second hand smoke?" I already knew the answer, but I had to have confirmation.

"Unfortunately yes. Do you know anyone that smokes around her that she could have gotten sick from?"

"Her father smokes a lot and our friend chains smokes off campus even when we're around…" a small spark of anger resonated deep inside my chest, but I tried to smother it. They did not intend to make her sick, but they did anyway. Even when I protested at Gamzee for smoking around us.

The nurse nodded and we walked back over by Nepeta's bedside. They had an IV in her arm with fluid dripping down into her arm.

I kneeled by her bedside and rested my arms on the bed, watching her, willing her to wake up.

A feeling of horror and anxiety had taken root in my chest. What if she did have cancer? Lung cancer was pretty much a death sentence. I couldn't lose my best friend, I just couldn't.

I was watching her eyes, willing them to open. Her face was too pale, there was a line of blood draining from the corner of her mouth, and despite that she looked oddly peaceful.

I realized just then that my eyes had welled up with tears and spilled over. I was suddenly glad that I always wore my cracked sunglasses because at that moment Nepeta's eyes fluttered open.