Read Me: Alright, So the one-shot became a story! (If you'd like to read the one-shot just go to all of my stories and find Look How The Stars Shine For You, the title did not change.) I did a lot of thinking and decided I would make this a story. And this will absolutely play out exactly like the one shot, obviously, I am just sharing the full story now. But I'd like to share a few words with you, if you don't mind.
Here it goes: I want to admit that I've never had Cancer. I'm very fortunate and my heart aches for those who have had to battle it. However, I do know what it's like to have Cancer in the family. My Dad actually passed away last year from a two year battle of Lymphoma Cancer, which is another Cancer in the blood, so I absolutely do know the pain of Cancer and what it's like to live with somebody who has had it and the pain it brings when you lose somebody to it. With this being said, I cannot guarantee that this story will be completed, I'll do my best, but writing about it brings back memories and I might just feel like I can't write about it anymore, though I'll try to complete it! I also want to add that this isn't meant to offend anyone or hurt anyone in any way at all, I am apologizing in advance if this touchy topic does happen to offend you or trigger awful memories. I mean no harm! I also wanted to come out and say that if you know anyone that is dealing with a family member, a friend, or even battling Cancer themselves, to just simply be there for them. There's not much you can say, I get that, but a lot of people kind of brush it to the side or get awkward, but please try not to. Let them know that you are there and willing to do whatever it takes for them to feel a little bit okay, help them carry the load. People often forget that when it comes to Cancer, metaphorically it's not just the patient that gets diagnosed, it's the entire family or friend group as well. It affects everyone. Cancer is a very hard, complicated, terrible thing and it should not be wished upon anyone ever, enemy or not. So, just be there for whoever it is. .There.
Thank you if you took the time to read that.
Chapter One.
Ally stared at the doctor on the opposite side of his desk. He was talking to her Mom speaking in all sorts of medical terms. The only thing Ally could think about was if she'd stayed in that Medical Studies class, she might've been able to understand what he was saying. But she did know it was bad. She knew that something was wrong. Why else would he have booked a consultation?
Ally forced herself out of her thoughts and focused on her doctor again. "...In this case, Ally's blood stem cells in her bone marrow created abnormal blood cells. We call them leukemia cells. The leukemia cells will crowd out all of the normal blood cells inside Ally's body, thus making it very difficult for red and white blood cells to do what they're supposed to." It was silent. "I apologize for being the one to have to tell you that Ally is being diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia, but we are going to give our all to fix her." The Doctor looked at Ally, smiling softly.
"I'm dying?" Ally blurted and ignored the broken weep that escaped her mother's mouth.
The doctor gave her a soft look, "We are going to make sure that doesn't happen," he replied.
"What are her chances to survive?" asked Penny, Ally's mother, pressing her lips together in a thin line, eyes watery.
"The chances are actually quite high and we can't guarantee anything, but generally around 80%," the doctor replied, "Although this may be beaten, there is a 40% chance that Ally could relapse and be diagnosed again."
"Can you prevent a relapse?" asked Penny.
"I'm sorry, but just as Cancer comes and goes, we have no control." the doctor answered. Ally's palms were clammy, her heart was racing, and her ear drums were throbbing. She was tired of listening to this.
Several questions later, they were finally leaving the office. Ally was holding a paper in her hands, one that proved to her that she could possibly die within the next little while. Ally couldn't believe this; she had so many dreams to accomplish yet. Austin's musical career could be threatened by this! If everything crashes and burns, it'll be her fault. She blamed it on her body, considering it doesn't know how to produce cells properly.
Ally slumped into the passenger seat of the car, her eyes staring down at the statement of her diagnoses. There were so many people to tell and also so many words she didn't want to repeat. "It'll only make it worse when you stare at it," said Penny, but Ally could see her wiping tears from her cheeks from the corner of her eye.
"I'm processing," Ally murmured. When Ally finished staring at the sheet and stopped thinking long enough to look around, she realized her mother had taken her to an ice cream shop. She wasn't in the mood for ice cream, but she orders a Fruity Mint Swirl anyways.
Penny is trying to help Ally feel better by discussing how awesome Ally's eighteenth birthday was, which had been yesterday. Ally nods numbly, but silently wishes she had never turned eighteen. She wants to be seventeen again.
Ally notices her ice cream is melting and a droplet runs down her cone and falls onto the piece of paper. She rubs the droplet off of the paper and her breath catches in her throat when the stain is highlights the words Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. Ally feels her stomach turn upside down but somehow she manages not to vomit in front of the everyone seated in the same ice cream parlor.
"We should go," Ally murmurs. Penny agrees, tossing her dirty napkin into the trash again.
"We should go to the mall," Penny grins at her daughter, nudging her arm slightly.
Ally's cupping her cheek in her hand with an elbow leaned up against the door while she watches the city pass by through her window. "We should just go home."
Penny doesn't say anything as she looks out the windshield and drives herself and her daughter home, both sitting in the car with aches in their hearts. They both wondered how Ally's father was going to react.
When Ally gets home she tries to bolt to her room, but she notices her Dad come to the entrance. "Hey, work ended early. How'd it go?" he questioned. Ally shares a glance with her Mother who sent her a look that told her Lester needed to know.
"Honey, let's take this to the living room," Penny said, watching her husband gulp. Penny led the way, Lester and Ally following behind. Ally dragged her feet, wanting to stop time.
Ally sat alone on one couch while Penny grabbed Lester's hand, holding it as she did her best not to tear up. "Lester, honey, I'm not sure how we can possibly tell you this," Penny couldn't help it, a tear rolled down her cheek. Ally sighed, dropping her gaze to her lap because she realized how much pain she was throwing upon everyone.
"Something's wrong, isn't it?" Lester said, his voice shaking fearfully. Ally looked up at her Dad and tears were already swelling her eyes. Ally nodded.
"Yes, Dad," Ally said. She stood up and hesitantly handed her father the paper. Lester's eyes coincidentally landed to the stain on the paper. He saw the three awful words and a palm went to his mouth as he tried to muffle a sob that slipped out his mouth before he could hold it back. Penny joined into the crying, rubbing her husband's back comfortingly but a backrub can't stop the pain, a backrub can't take away the fact that his daughter could die. Seeing her parents crying in front of her made tears moisten her cheeks, "I'm so sorry." Ally whispered, shaking her head as she apologized.
Penny and Lester jumped up from their seats, wrapping their arms around their daughter. "Don't you apologize to me, Ally-Cat," whispered Lester through his weeps. Ally nodded into his chest, accepting the hugs. She wondered if hugs cured Cancer.
Her parents continued to weep. Guess not, she thought to herself.
. . . .
"Are you going to tell her?" Trish questioned, excitedly. Austin laughed at the Latina.
"Next week," he admitted, "We always spend Wednesday's together, figured it would be the perfect time to tell her how I feel." He glanced over Trish's shoulder and a grin crossed his lips, "Ally!"
Ally's grin was big, "Hey!"
"How are you feeling today?" Trish asked, "What did that doctor want?"
Ally shook her head as she twisted numbers into her combination, pulling her locker open and grabbing her Science book, "Oh, he just said I need a lot of sleep. It's probably because I do homework and extra schoolwork all night."
"Extra schoolwork?" Trish grimaced at her, "Why are you my friend?"
Ally laughed softly, "You love me."
I know I do, Austin thought to himself. "Well, that's good it was nothing too serious." He thinks Ally freezes for a moment but when he checks again, she's still collecting stuff from her locker and nodding her head.
"Did I miss anything in Science yesterday?" she questioned Austin, shutting her locker.
Austin shrugged, "How should I know?"
"You're right. Why would you know? You never pay attention!" she mumbled. Austin smiled proudly. "You know, you should start paying attention," she told him, "sometimes I'm not going to be at school."
Austin had no idea what she really meant so he waved a hand dismissively at her, "I'll make do."
Ally murmured, "Yeah...You'll have to."
"I heard we have a substitute today," Austin commented, after they'd waved goodbye to Trish and made their way down the halls.
"Ugh," Ally grunted.
"What are you grunting about? This is great!" he grinned. His grin faltered as he added, "I hate Ms. Jackson."
"I love her!" Ally exclaimed, "She's been my science teacher since ninth grade! I buy her appreciation cards and bake her cupcakes every year," Ally said proudly.
"That's not something you should go around telling people," said Austin, "Nobody likes a teacher's pet."
Ally slipped a laugh and rolled her eyes. They walked into the classroom and took their seats at their lab table. Austin and Ally talk about random things starting with songwriting and ending with raccoons for an odd reason before the bell goes and class has begun.
The substitute has given instruction and Ally is instructing Austin how to do the experiment properly. "No, Austin!" Ally shrieked, before he was already backing away as the chemicals spilled over the table. She gave him a dark look.
"You said to pour it!" he shrieked.
"Not all of it! We still have four other test tubes to fill!" she shrieked. He shrugged, reaching over to grab paper towels and clean the table. The teacher walks over with her papers, gives both of them a look and marks something down on a paper before walking away. "If that was a bad grade...then I hate you."
"Nobody hates Austin Moon," he grinned teasingly at her.
"I just might," she replied. Austin scoffed. Ally took off her goggles for a moment when Austin started to laugh. "What?"
"You just...You have red welts in the form of lab goggles on your face!" he cackled, trying to contain it but he couldn't. Ally smacked him with her text book and he winced. "hey..." he whined, rubbing his arm.
The two are interrupted from their experiment when Ally is called down to the office. Ally frowns in confusion, she glances over at Austin who is confused too. "Looks like you'll have to make do sooner than you thought," she said slyly. Austin rolled his eyes, shoving her lightly. She giggled lightly before making her way out of the classroom. Austin cleared his throat and stared at the piece of paper that Ally had been holding.
"How do you.." he mumbled, rubbing fingers through his hair as he tried to figure the experiment out by himself.
Ally makes it to the office where the Principle guides her into her office. "Your mother phoned us just a few moments ago, Ally," she said softly. Ally's face paled and the confused look faltered. Ally played with her fingers. "The school is here for you and we want you to know you've got our support. You're a big part of Marino High School. You're a wonderful girl and student and I'm proud that you're one of our students." said the principle, smiling at Ally. "This a very difficult transition for you and we'll all be here. Would you like the students to know?"
Ally's eyes widened and she shook her head, "No, not yet anyways. I haven't even told my friends. I'm not ready yet." said Ally. The principle nodded understandingly.
"That's perfectly fine," replied her principle, "When are you due for surgery?"
"Two weeks," Ally mumbled, sighing slightly.
"I'm sure you'll be just fine. I believe in you. The school believes in you. Your friends and family do, too," the principle said. Ally smiled gratefully. "Well, I'll let you get back to class. Don't be afraid to tell your friends, they'll understand."
Ally nodded, thanking the principle before walking back to class. She thought about it as she travelled down the halls. How would they react? Austin would be devastated, Trish would be totally broken, and she's not close to Dez but she knows he'll be upset, too.
"What was that about?" inquired Austin when Ally came back, putting on her goggles.
"Oh, nothing. I just aced my math final and got 100% on an essay and she was congratulating me on it," Ally said.
"Of course," Austin grinned. Ally smiled at him, ignoring the guilt that was pulling on her heart.
Ally looked at the experiment, "Austin!"
"What!" he replied.
"You didn't do anything!" she shrieked.
"Well, of course not, you were gone and I don't speak French," he said, holding up the paper.
"It's written in English," she said confused, glancing at the paper.
"Doesn't look like it," he mumbled. Ally rolled her eyes.
"Great, now we've fallen behind. Why do bad things happen to me?" she grumbled. Austin rolled his eyes, laughing.
"Bad things don't happen to you," he said. Ally looked at him as he picked up his pencil, scribbling something down onto the paper. She stared at the side of his face, her heart saddening. He has no clue just how bad I have it right now, thought Ally.
She focused on the experiment, figuring Austin should just sit and watch, that way things would be done sooner. They got their results and scrawled it onto their papers. They cleaned up the station just in time to hand in their papers and leave class.
"I'll see you at my gig performance tonight!" Austin winked at her before bolting to gym class. Ally waved numbly, standing in the middle of the hallway and watching him leave. She had no just clue how she would tell her friends. Austin is optimistic and outgoing, the news of what is happening to her just might destroy that. She can't help but feel guilt.
. . . . . .
"How did your friends take it?" asked Lester, munching on his dinner.
Ally sighed, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "I didn't tell them."
"Allyson," Penny said, giving her a look.
"I know," Ally sighed, "I'm just not ready."
"They deserve to know," Penny said.
"Penny, leave the girl alone. She'll talk to them when she's ready to," Lester defended her. Ally smiled at her Dad before finishing her meal.
Changing the subject, Ally said, "I got an A on my calculus test."
"Again? That's awesome!" Penny praised her daughter.
"What's the difference between this test and the last hundred tests?" Lester abruptly asked.
"Just making conversation, Dad," Ally said. Lester shrugged, mentioning she's doing so well, and then continuing on his meal before going in for seconds.
The rest of the night was simple. Ally went out and watched Austin at his gig, she came back and did her homework, scribbled down a song, watched TV, and listened to music, but sleeping was hard tonight. She couldn't get to sleep and/or she couldn't stay asleep. She was constantly thinking through how she would mention the news to her friends. She kept analyzing over why it was her that had to destroy their happy lives.
"This sucks," she mumbled, combing her fingers through her hair as she stared at the ceiling. Tears rolled down her cheeks but she breathed through them, telling herself not to become negative. She didn't want this to change her. The doctor told her it would, but she was going to try her best to stay optimistic and happy.
But how?