Today I was discharged from the hospital. I was only there for a few days, which was good news, but now I was bored as I am usually. In my room, all alone, I decided to read a book. I grabbed one from the shelf, one I've probably read a million times like every book that sits on the wooden board.

Before he'd left, Austin gave a little book full of quotes to keep me optimistic during times where I'm feeling depressed which was most days. He said his parents made them, and that he had many of them that he gave to people he met, but felt that I needed it more than many people he'd seen before.

So, instead of reading on of the many book I'd read before, I picked up the little book off the floor and opened the cover. In cursive writing, it read, 'Dear Allyson, I really, really hope you enjoy these cute quotes. They helped me go through treatments, so I hope they'll you too. Cancer sucks. I know. Try to stay positive, okay? Yours dearly, Austin Moon.'

It made me smile. How could someone care so much about someone they barely knew? The boy made me question all the negative attitudes I had towards everything. Maybe I was wrong about everything. Cancer sucks, and that's that, but I guess I could face it with a better perspective.

Mom walked in my bedroom. Her dark hair was pulled up. "Hey baby, how are you doing?"

I nodded. "Good, just a little headaches, that's all." I continued flipping through the book of quotes. Each one made me feel happier, and I'm pretty sure I had the biggest smile on my face.

My mom sat on the edge of my bed. "What's got you so smiley?" she asked, poking my feet. "You never smile like that."

"I met this guy-"

"Guy?" She cut me off with a loud clap of her hands.

"Mooomm," I groaned. "Yes, a guy. His name's Austin Moon. I met him at the hospital yesterday. He's got lung cancer, ya know, one of those kids who carries the oxygen tank around with the tubes in their noses. Must suck."

She laughed. "Poor guy. Well, it's good that you met him. It looks like he's already got a good affect on you. You should invite him over sometime. I'd love to meet this Austin kid."

I nodded. "Sure."

"Night, baby." She kissed my cheek and began walking out.

"Wait, Mom." She stopped and looked back at me with a questioning look.

"I love you, Mom." I sighed, and looked her in the eye. "I know I've been pretty sad and depressed recently, but I've realized that it's because I'm trapped in a tunnel. But what I've also realized is that negativity is gonna keep me here, with no light guiding me. If I have positive energy, I'll find the light and be able to get out of this tunnel that's holding me back. Mom, I don't know when this tumor in my brain is gonna kill me, but when I'm gone, I want to be known as a cancer survivor, not a cancer victim."

I watched as she brought her finger up to her eye and wiped a few tears away. "I love you, too," was all she could whisper before walking out of the room.

As I fell asleep, Austin's face kept appearing in my mind.

My phone rang early in the morning which woke me up. Without even checking who it was, I picked it up.

"Hello," I whispered.

"Good Morning Allyson. How are you on this fine morning?" Austin said.

I giggled. "I was having a good morning sleeping."

"Sorry." He chuckled. "Can you please, please, please come over? Pleassseee?"

Again, I giggled. I wasn't sure any boy had made me feel so happy before. "Okay. Let me get dressed and I'll be over soon."

"Yes!" He exclaimed and then coughed. "Got to go. See you soon."

As soon as I knocked on the door, Austin answered it.

"You look nice," he said, grinning at me.

I wore a green v-neck, grey sweatpants and vans. If he thought that was nice, what would he think if I wore a dress over here?

"Uh, thanks."

"Let's go to my room." He grabbed my hand and we walked over to the staircase. "Worst part of my day." He shook his head and pulled his tank up.

By the time I was on the tenth step, he was taking a breather on the fifth step. I felt really bad for him. "You need any help?" I asked.

"Nah, I've got it." A few minutes passed, and he made it up the stairs and we were in his bedroom. Okay, let me explain his bedroom to you. Blue walls, bed in the corner, tv across from the bed,(a very nice one, I must add)a desk that was very, very messy and clothes thrown on the floor. There was an acoustic guitar in the corner.

"You play?" I asked, strumming the old looking thing.

When he didn't answer, I turned to him and saw him leaning over, his hair flipping into his face and his hand over his lungs. I could hear his deep, uneven breathing and I suddenly realized how awful it'd be to have lung cancer.

"Sorry," he whispered. "Y-yeah, I, uh, I do." He was finally starting to get his breath back.

"That's amazing." It was silent for a minute. "Don't let your struggle become your identity."

He looked up and was beaming at me. "Hey, that's the first quote in the little quote book. It's true, you know. You should never let something you're struggling with take over your whole life. If I let my nasty, shitty lungs take over my life, I'd be laying in bed and crying right now."

"Why couldn't I have met you earlier? Seriously. I've been in such a negative mood since I've gotten this dumb tumor. I feel like I wasted so much of my life just being... sad."

"You see, we're both gonna be dead one day. Whether it's from our cancer, or natural causes, or because we got run over by a bus." He laughed. "I don't want to die with regret. I want to die happily, knowing that I made my one life worthwhile. If I sit and mope all the time, I'd just be a waste of space, time and money. I want to die knowing I changed someone's life greatly."

That boy would change my life. I was completely sure of it.

A/N: I'm really excited about this story. If you have an requests of anything you want to see, please take the time to review or pm me.

Thank you! Until next time.