John was jumping up and down when the cold breeze blew through his dark brown hair. It was a high school football game and Dylan just so happened to be on the football team. John and Jenny were hoping like mad. It was in the middle of winter.

"Why do they decide to have these football games in the middle of winter?" Jenny asked, facing the field.

"I don't know," John said. "I guess to keep the football players ready for anything."

"Yeah, I guess. Brr! It's freezing out here!"

"Do you want to sit down?"

"Why not?" John and Jenny sat on the cold, metal bleachers. The bleachers made the two friends even colder. "Do you have a blanket?" Jenny asked.

"Yeah," John said. He grabbed his knapsack and threw the blanket around him and Jenny. The blanket wasn't big, so they had to get really close. When their shoulder's touched, they looked at each other. "You okay?" Jenny asked.

"Yeah," John said. "I'm fine. I've never gotten this close to a girl before."

"Well, we're just friends," Jenny laughed. "Aren't we?"

"Yeah," John replied. "Just...friends." Jenny looked at John with a concerned look on her face.

"Are you okay?" she asked him.

"Yeah," John replied. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"The homeless man who begged for money."

"Jenny, that was two weeks ago."

"I know. It's just that, well, when I first got a homeless guy begging me for money, it was bothering me for a month!" Jenny paused and turned to her friend. "How did he die"

"Who?" John asked. John knew who Jenny was talking about, but he didn't want to catch on about his father.

"Your father. I know you might not want to talk about him, but, John..." At this point, Jenny placed her hand on his shoulder. "You're my best friend." John felt tears welling up in his eyes, but he didn't want to let them out. He knew that he cried in front of his friends before, but he blamed it on allergies. This time, his friend would catch on that it wasn't "allergies".

John didn't reply to Jenny. She squeezed his shoulder. "I know you don't want to talk about him," she kept on, "I don't blame you. You don't have to reply. But, I just want to let you know, my mom might die soon."

John turned and looked at Jenny. "What?" he asked surprised.

"John," Jenny said, tears welling up in her eyes, "my mom's diagnosed with breast cancer." John kept on staring at Jenny. Then, he saw something he never thought he would see from his best friend. She cried. John quickly wrapped his arms around Jenny and squeezed her.

As he cradled her, she threw her arms around his neck and cried on his shoulder. The wet tears were flowing John's shoulder. He cried with her. Why did John care so much about Jenny and Dylan's mom being diagnosed with lung cancer. In Chicago, a friend told him that his parents died in a car crash, and John didn't shed one tear. Not one tear. So why did he care so much about their mom?

Because they were his best friends. His friends in Chicago never did the things that Jenny and Dylan did for him. Jenny and Dylan were his best friends. And he was their's. As the two parted from the emotional hug, John put his arm around Jenny and wrapped the blanket around them once more.

"My dad was on patrol," John started. "They had a crime on Woodland Street, so he had to go check it out. There was a robbery at the gas station. A homeless guy was sticking up a robbery so he could get more money, for drinking, I guess. The man went crazy, he shot at my dad and his partner. My dad's partner was okay; he only got shot in the leg. But my dad got shot in the heart. My mom said that a beautiful angel came down and took my dad up to heaven, before he could feel any pain."

John turned to his best friend. "I hope that you don't loose your mom," he said. Jenny smiled and rested her head on John's shoulder. Half time was over. The football game had started again, for the third inning.

John walked into his house and threw his knapsack on the kitchen table. "I'm home!" he shouted.

"I'm feeding the dog!" John pulled a chair out from under the kitchen table and sat down. His mom came into the kitchen with her bathrobe on. "How was the game?" she asked.

"It was okay," John replied. "We lost by fourteen points."

"Oh well," Debbie said. "Better luck next time, huh?"

"Yeah," John replied. "I guess."

"Is something wrong?"

"No. I'm just really tired. I'm going to bed."

"Okay John. If there's anything wrong, you just tell me, okay sweetie?"

"Okay Mommy." John paused and looked at Debbie. He hadn't called her Mommy since he was ten-years-old. John stood up and started to exit the kitchen. "Night Mom!" he called.

"Night Sweetie! I love you!"

"I love you too!" When John entered his room, he threw his shirt off onto the floor, collapsed on the bed, and cried himself to sleep.

On Monday, John, Jenny, and Dylan looked up at the TV in the hallway, waiting for the hourly school news. Lizzie Campbell was on the screen, announcing the nominees for prom king and queen. "The nominees for prom queen are Olivia Underwood, Sarah Billings, and Jennifer Ann." Jenny jumped up and down and hugged Dylan and John excitedly.

"The nominees for prom king are Brad Connors, Dylan Ann, and Johnothan Crane." Dylan and John jumped up and cheered. John hugged Jenny and Dylan. John knew what would happen if both he and Jenny won. They would have to do what he had always wanted to do. They would have to dance with each other.