Hi! I was going to have this be a couple of chapters but I think I'm going to have it be a one shot. This is based on a true story. In loving memory of Mindy Johstyn. Although I didn't know her for very long she was a very dear friend. This is Kitty's POV by the way.

It all started about a year ago. Rogue and I signed Jean up for a modeling company for a magazine as a joke. We didn't actually think she would win. When we came home from school about a week later Jean looked really pissed off. The modeling company had called to tell her she had won the modeling contest. Rogue and I were in a state of shock. Jean was forced to do it though. We helped with photography, make up, clothes and all that jazz. She went to California for a couple of months and was known all over the world. She started going into modeling shows on TV. Rogue and I were there for her all the way. All three of us were having fun. It was the best moment of our life, well until a couple of months ago that is. It had all started shortly after Jean returned from a photo shoot that Scott proposed to her. Then about week later it happened……

I came home from school that day in a hurry. I wanted to get home as fast as possible so that we can help Jean out with picking out outfits. It was always a blast, usually it ended up in a war for outfits. I was surprised to not see Jean there waiting for me. Instead I found Storm.

"Oh hi Ororo, could you tell me where Jean is? Hey, what's wrong?" I asked as Storm's eyes grew misty.

"Kitty, Jean had a doctor's appointment today. They found something odd and they had to run a few tests. She has a really bad type of cancer, she's been there ever since. The professor left shortly after we got the phone call."

"She has cancer?"

"Yes, it's a very rare type, not many people have heard of it. Not even the professor knew about it."

I walked slowly up to my room. This can't be happening to me. There has to be a mistake. Jean can't have cancer. She's the sporty, popular, bubbly, friendly, caring type. This can't be happening to me, I'm having a nightmare this is happening to someone else. But I soon realized after a couple of days that my nightmare was coming true.

Jean came home three days later… "Hey Jean! I'm so glad you're back! You want to start doing a little modeling show for fun? We can wear wacky outfits."

"Not today Kitty." Jean said tiredly. My heart sank. Jean never turned down hanging out with us. Even if she was sick. At dinner Jean barely ate. She went to bed around six and didn't wake up until around noon. It was the weekend luckily . I knew Rogue was starting to feel guilty for treating her so rotten because she always locked herself in her room after I left. Kurt and Bobby sat in front of the TV all day, most of the other kids were arguing, the professors had seemed to have given up, and Scott just stopped talking all together. Jean and Scott had been so excited about the wedding. All the girls were going to be her bridesmaids. We were all so excited. Now it looked like that happy day would never come. Most of the girls cried themselves to sleep at night. Jean was mostly in the infirmary. Then one day we came home from school…..

"Ohmigod! There's an ambulance!" Tabitha screamed. We all quickly ran over and saw Jean on a stretcher being lifted up into the vehicle.

"What happened?" I stuttered.

"We're not sure. She kind of zoned out, and then all of a sudden she just passed out." Storm said.

"It seems like some type of stroke." The professor said. We all went to the hospital that night. Scott wouldn't stop crying, and Jean's parents and her sister had shown up. We didn't go to school the next day which I was happy about. One it was school, and two it was hard going there and seeing get well posters made for Jean and people coming up to say their sorry. They had found out on the news that she had to stop modeling because of cancer. I hated how they kept on saying that she might die any second. No one slept that night. Then Jean got better. At least that's what it seemed like. All of us kids went out to the mall for a break. We got a phone call from the professor saying that Jean had seemed to go into that stroke like state again. I was heart broken when I found out she had to stay in the hospital until she got better. I cried myself to sleep at night after that.

The professor decided that we needed a vacation and we went up to New Hampshire forthe weekend. Then we got the call that Jean's parents said she wanted to have her last rights. We came home after that.

One evening I was having a hard time falling asleep. I looked at the clock that read 5:30. Then the phone rang. My heart caught in my throat. I knew something was wrong. I raced down the stairs to find Ororo crying. The professor was crying too I had never seen them cry before. I knew that she had died. Apparently the doctors were having difficulty giving her her medicine. She wouldn't take it. Her parents told us later that Jean had been a Christian Scientist, who is someone who believes that just by reading the Bible they will be cleansed of sickness. We dressed all in black for the next couple of days and we were dismissed from school on the day of the wake.

I felt mad at Jean for being a Christian Scientist. I felt mad because she didn't try to get better. I felt mad because she seemed to have forgotten about us while she was sick. She just seemed to have given up. Logan had to help Scott call everyone to say the wedding was cancelled. Which would've been on the day of the wake. Ororo made a dress for Jean and she seemed so happy with it, and then she had to die, she never got to wear that beautiful dress for her wedding. Her parents, her grandparents, her sister, her cousins, all of her family members had been there to say good bye. I never had that chance because I kept on believing she would get better. I cried my heart out at the wake. Ororo was able to calm me down in time so I could recite this poem for her…

I'm looking for a friend today,

A friend who'll never stay away.

I want one friend, or maybe two,

But I want a friend who's just like you.

I'm looking for a friend you see,

A friend who needs someone like me.

I want this friend, I really do.

But I want a friend just like you.

I'm looking for a friend sincere,

A friend who will always bring me good cheer.

I want a friend, who wants me too,

But I want a friend just like you.

I'm looking for a friend who's good,

Who'll do these things a kind of friend should.

I want a friend who's happy too,

But I want a friend just like you.

I'm looking for a loving a friend,

Who will not let our friendship end.

I want a friend who's good and always true,

I think I've found my friend…..IT"S YOU!

I went off the podium crying and I cried an awful long time. Sarah sang To Say Goodbye To You. This was the first time that I had cried since I found out Jean had cancer. All those emotions bottling up inside of me let loose today. I said good bye to Jean and I said I loved her like a sister and I always would. Then on the funeral I saw her body one last time before it was buried and I cried so hard all my emotions running loose, I had finally set them free. Jean was in a happier place now. She was with God up in Heaven and she'll always have a special place in my heart. I'm so sad that she died. But I know she's my guardian Angel always watching over me, and she's always there for me. Scott left the X-men shortly after that. He committed suicide about a week after he left. So now he's with Jean. The professor died as well, and heis by Jean's side along with Scott. I still feel her presence with me today. I feel her right by my side on my special day even though she never got a chance to have hers. She's standing right next to me. I know she is. I feel her as she helps me into the dress that she never got to wear. I arrive at the church and feel her there walking along beside me. I approach the alter to face Lance who will become my husband in an hour. Jean softly kisses me and whispers "I'll always be there for you Kitty. Until we meet again in eternal life I'll be there for you every step of the way."

Well that's it. The only thing I knew about Mindy was that she had cancer and she died near the beginning of this month. I have faced death experiences like this before though. I do not own any of the things I mentioned and I hope you liked this story. This is the first real tragic story I've ever written. No flames please! R&R if you wish!