Well, here's the second chapter of Because You Live. I'm not attatched to the title, so if anyone has any suggestions of a better one, they'd be greatly appreciated. My sister is a huge Jesse McCartney fan, so I just used the title of one of my favorite songs of his. So, anyway, please enjoy this chapter!

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Cindy stood in front of her mirror, examining herself. It had been a month since she'd been diagnosed. She was still trying to wrap her mind around the idea that she had cancer.

It wasn't that she was in denial. The day that she had found out, she'd went home and cried. And it wasn't that she was certain the cancer was going to take her life. She knew that there was a big chance she would make it.

She was just saddened at the thought of her appearences. There wasn't a large change yet but she knew there would be soon.

Her chemotherapy had started a few weeks earlier. The doctor had warned her that it would be painful. He was right. Her body hurt most of the time, especially right after her treatment. She was also noticing changes in her appearence. Her hair was growing thinner by the day. This was one of the things that had upset her most. Cindy had always prided herself at her hair, and now she was losing it.

She stroked the blond locks fondly, remembering when it was full. To her utter dismay, yet another chunk fell out into her hands. Cindy let the hair fall onto the floor, and sighed.

She was also dropping pounds. Her clothes were becoming too large. Sure, it made her happy at the beginning, because she'd managed to shed those extra few pounds. But then, it made her sick to look at herself after a while. Cindy turned away from the full length mirror, not wanting to look any longer.

Oddly enough, no one else had noticed the changes. Cindy didn't know exactly why she had told none of her friends. She knew that they would understand and would be supportive. She also knew that she would eventually have to tell them, especially Libby.

Cindy glanced at the digital clock on her night stand and realized that it was already past midnight. She sighed and lay down on her bed, thinking. Since finding out that she had leukemia, her schoolwork hadn't been so great.

School had always been her top priority, and since her chemotherapy had began, her grades had been suffering. Because of all the pain and tiredness, she didn't have much strength, nor was she interested in studying. This, ironically, her peers had noticed, especially Jimmy.

Cindy could sense that, although he acted as if it didn't bother him, that Jimmy was worried about her.

She knew that he found it extremely annoying not to have anything even close to competition. At first, Jimmy had ignored the fact that his rival's grades were slowly slipping, from high A's to low B's.

Then, Cindy noticed that he began stealing worried glances at her during class when she failed to fling her hand up in the air at every question.

That was the only positive thing that Cindy could find under the long days spent at the doctor's office, and tons of tests that still revealed a high white blood count.

The fact that Cindy felt that Jimmy was worried about her was one of the only things that helped her through it all.

Cindy smiled for the first time in a while, as she slowly sat upon her bed. Suddenly, she felt much better.

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Across the street, Jimmy sat alone in his lab. He was finishing up an experiment that he had been working on, despite what time the clock said.

"There!" he exclaimed, as he added his finishing touch and stood up to admire his work.

Goddard, who lay in the corner barked his reply.

"Of course I know what it does, I invented it, after all." said Jimmy, "It's called the Wish Synthisizer 200. Basically, it intercepts your thought patterns, and reveals your greatest wish."

Goddard gave Jimmy a questioning look.

"Well, tomorrow is show and tell, so I wanted to bring in something good."

Goddard's screen flashed - To compete with Cindy?

"Well, no."

Goddard hadn't been expecting that, so again, he looked curiously at Jimmy.

"I don't know, boy, but I think something's wrong with her. She's been acting strange in class. Like, she doesn't even care anymore."

Goddard may have been a robot, but he could sense when Jimmy was upset or worried. This was one of those times.

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Libby Folfax lay in a deep slumber. She was startled awake when the phone rang loudly.

She fumbled with the lamp on her bedside table. Eventually, she found the switch after knocking over a few photos, including one of Sheen. By the time she picked up the reciever, she'd decided to kill whomever was on the other end.

"What do you want?" she snapped, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Libs?"

"Oh, sorry Cindy." said Libby, deciding agains killing her.

"It's fine." said Cindy.

"What are you doing calling this late? It's like one in the morning."

"I have something to tell you. It's very important."

"Well, go ahead," said Libby, yawning, "I'm listening."

"No, you have to come over."

"Right now? Can't this wait till' morning?"

"It's really important." replied Cindy.

Libby sighed. Rarely did her friend ask her for much, so she figured once couldn't hurt.

"Alright, I'll be right over."

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Cindy had always loved the stars. They always brought so many questions into her head. They always made her feel so small. . .

When she had traveled through space, she'd been able to see them much closer. In truth, she liked viewing them more from the ground.

Cindy sat in her back yard, gazing at the sky. She was at the edge of her pool, with her feet dangling in the water.

She wasn't exactly sure what she was going to tell Libby when she arrived. Perhaps she would just flat out tell her.

Cindy was pulled from her thoughts when she heard the rustling of leaves and knew that it must be Libby. Sure enough, a few moments later, her best friend appeared still wearing her pj's.

"Hey, Libs." she said, looking at her friend.

"Can you please tell me why in the world you called me at one in the morning to come over. First of all, I got a splinter in a very uncomfortable spot while sliding down my roof, and then a stray dog chased me the rest of the way here! It better be good!" said Libby, sitting beside her friend.

"Well, it isn't exactly good." said Cindy, touching the water with her bare foot. She watched the ripples form as she waited for her friend to speak.

"What's wrong?" questioned Libby, as she placed her hand on Cindy's shoulder.

"Well, last month, when I went to the doctor's office, they found something wrong with me."

Libby furrowed her brows and asked what the doctor had told her.

"Cindy looked Libby squarely in the eyes and said simply, "I have cancer."

Cindy heard Libby's breath catch in her throat.

"Oh, Cindy." replied Libby, standing up. That's all she could manage to say, in her state of shock.

To diminish the silence, Cindy continued.

"He told me that I have leukemia, a very rare kind. They're not sure how I got it. I've been on chemo for the past month. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you. I just didn't want anyone to worry."

Libby turned around and looked down at Cindy.

"That's what I'm here for, to worry about you."

Cindy stood, and walked towards Libby, embracing her.

"Thanks, Libs, I knew you would understand."

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review! Oh, and I'd like to say that I know I kind of strayed away from J/Cness, but just because I figured Libby needed to know before Jimmy. But don't, worry the ultimate Jimmy/Cindy moments are coming up!