The next day, Kate was walking through the mall with Alex. He had his arm around her and she had his head on her shoulder. She liked Alex a lot, he made her feel safe. Oh sure, he was a little overprotective, but that's just because he cared, or so Kate told herself. She smiled at him as they walked toward the car.

They drove, Kate totally zoning out, as Alex took some, 'inappropriate' glances at her.

"Hey Kitty..." he said, turning her head to look at her. "Wanna go somewhere more private?" he asked, grinning.

She smiled, as he took a turn onto a deserted dead-end road.

Lilly was sitting at home, her head in her hand, her fingers running tentatively over the lump on the back of her neck. She bit her lip, trying to fight the tears of fright from spilling over her eyes. The letter trembled in her hand before falling to the ground. She could hardly breathe, her world spinning before her eyes. Her entire life had come to a screeching halt as she had read the letter. It was all long medical words but she knew what it meant. The tests were positive, she had cancer.

She reached for the phone, hands shaking as she picked it up. Her fingers were oddly steady as she dialed the number. She raised it to her face, fighting the sobs rising inside of her.

"Hello?"
"Sand?"

"Yeah... Lil... is that you? You sound horrible!"

"Sandra, there's something I've never told you... Have you ever seen me with my hair up?"

"No... your silky locks look so good down!" Sandra said, smiling on her end, trying to cheer her friend up.

"That's because I have this... thing on the back of my neck, it's like... a lump sort of. I had all these tests, to see what it was. And we got one back today, it was positive. I-I have can-" and she began to cry.

Sandra's stunned silence on the other end was just enough.

Kate pushed open the door, looking at him, a mix of disgust and hurt streaming through her eyes.

"H-how could you?" Her hands covered her bra-clad chest and she bit her lip. "I-I never said y-you could"

"Come back here!" he cried, sitting up in the car, "Look Kate, I've been waiting for this for nine months! NINE! And I even got this..." he held up a condom.
She looked at him in disbelief as she turned and fled, tears streaming down her face. Her head could only process one thought. Run.

Lilly found herself able to breathe again.

"Lil?" Sandra asked, in a small voice. "Are they sure?"

"A-almost" she gasped, feeling the words almost float out. "Th-they want to do more tests..."

"Then you may be fine!" Sandra cried, relief shadowing her voice. "Come on, how about we both go early to school for band... than we can talk there"

Lilly slowly hung up the phone. Her silky tan hair brushing her shoulders as her flashing hazel eyes spilled tears over. Grandmom, she had it... and she didn't survive... thoughts swam through her head as she remembered the days of swinging and dancing and then the memories of the cold hospital and seeing her grandmother hooked up to all those machines, her young mind and thought that it was eating her grandmother, and she had just wanted to save her. Just wanted to save her.

Kate wasn't thinking clearly. She ran through the woods of Rehoboth that she knew all too well. He couldn't follow her that way. He was big and strong but not lithe enough to move in this thick brush. She had somehow put her sweatshirt on. She didn't know where she was going but soon found herself on the steps of the high school. She walked up the steps, her hair mussed from her high-speed chase through the woods and he experience in the car. Her head was fuzzy, her eyes swollen, and her cheeks tear-stained. She saw dimly, through half-closed eye-lids, a girl with jet-black hair about to walk through the doors.

Jen looked behind her and saw the girl and eyes opened wildly. "Are you okay?!" she called, a worried look crossing her eyes.

Kate sank to her knees.

"OH MY GOD!" Jen cried, dropping her saxand its caseand running.

"Thank you..." Kate murmured.

Sandra breathed heavily as she hung up the phone. She was always able to laugh things off, everything... except for... She shook her head and cleared it of the memories. This wasn't supposed to be happening. She didn't want Lilly to be sick. She just wanted to cry. But... she'd forgotten how to cry ever since, him. Seeing Lilly would make it better, it had to. God, everything was so confusing...