Chapter 3:

EDITED AND REVISED

Thanks for reviewing, guys!

Special thanks to my beta reader at the bottom of page!

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It had been three weeks since Vinnie had his first treatment. Now, instead of staying inside of the hospital for a few days after his dose of "poison", as he called it, he could go home as soon as they were finished with him. They would give him his dose and then, if he was feeling up to the ride, he could leave. Usually Doogie would drive him home, since he was at the hospital already and Vinnie's dad was usually at work, but Vinnie's mom would be home, waiting for him. As soon as Vinnie got home, he would head straight for the bathroom.

One night in particular, Mr. and Mrs. Delpino had to meet with Vinnie's doctor to discuss his condition. Doogie's dad was asked to watch over and take care of Vinnie because they thought it might be too much for Doogie to handle to see him this way. Doogie, however, persuaded his parents, and Vinnie's that he could handle it.

So, Doogie walked to Vinnie's house and walked right in. Mr. Delpino explained to Doogie that Vinnie was upstairs and that Doogie should just stay up there with him. Do whatever Vinnie needed him to do. Doogie nodded and watched as Mr. and Mrs. Delpino walked out the front door. Sighed, then turned around and walked upstairs. The door to Vinnie's room was cracked open. Doogie crept inside, afraid that if Vinnie was asleep, he would wake him. Vinnie wasn't asleep, though. He was sitting up against the headboard, pillows propped up behind him. His eyes were red rimmed from lack of sleep. He was pale, and he was very thin—thinner than usual. Though Vinnie was sick, he wore his lopsided smile when Doogie walked in.

"Heya, Doog," said Vinnie, waving slightly. He put down the magazine he was reading, but Doogie picked it back up.

"Hey, Vinnie...Playboy?" he chuckled. Vinnie just grinned.

Vinnie just grinned.

That's what concerned Doogie at that moment, that all Vinnie did was grin. His only reply. No smart-aleck remark, just his Delpino grin.

But that grin didn't last more than 10 seconds, because Vinnie suddenly grimaced and hunched over, grabbing his stomach.

"Bucket...get...da bucket," Vinnie managed to say. Doogie complied, getting the bucket at the side of Vinnie's bed and putting it up to his chin so he could vomit into it. When Vinnie was done, he leaned back into the bed. Doogie grabbed his friends hand.

"Its all going to be okay, Vin. I promise," said Doogie. Vinnie just closed his eyes and smiled.

"Hey Doog, 'member dose girls we met at da beach?" asked Vinnie, in an unusually soft tone.

"What about them?"

"'Member da one, her mom's a nurse a da hospital? Nurse Holden?"

"Yeah..."

"I met her."

"Really?"

"Nurse Holden. I don't think Margot ever mentioned me to her mother. I don't think Margot knows that I have cancer."

"She was bound to find out eventually," said Doogie, only trying to be realistic. Vinnie frowned.

"I really like her, Doog. I'm not going to tell her. I don't want her knowing just yet. I really like her," replied Vinnie, His eyes drooping a little. Doogie, then, noticed something as Vinnie slid deeper under the covers. He was shivering. It was 92 degrees outside and 81 inside because of the AC, and Vinnie was shivering.

Vinnie noticed Doogie staring and said, "Its one of da symptoms, I t'ink. Sometimes I'm hot, oddah times I'm cold."

Doogie nodded.

"I know. I went through the same thing once, remember?"

Vinnie nodded.

"Thanks for coming, Doog. I really needed a friend. Sometimes..." Vinnie drifted. Either he was dazed or he was pending on whether or not he should say something.

"Sometimes what?" asked Doogie.

"Uh-oh," said Vinnie. Doogie knew, immediatly, what he meant. Bucket. He grabbed the bucket again and put it under Vinnie's chin.

When Vinnie was done, he wiped his mouth and replied very quietly,"Just when ya t'ink there's notin' left in ya left to throw up, right?"

Doogie nodded, forgetting about Vinnie's unfinished sentence. He helped Vinnie clean up and put all the dirty towels and blankets in the hamper. Vinnie's fragile body just lay on his bed. Waiting. He looked as if he was waiting for something. For what? For freedom from this terrible disease? Doogie wanted that, too. He didn't like seeing his friend like this. He knew that Vinnie didn't like him seeing him like this, either.

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A few days later, some of the effects of the chemo wore off. Vinnie was losing his hair and never let anybody see his head. He very rarely let himself see his head. He still had some clumps, but it disgusted him so he just shaved his whole head. Even the closest shave revealed patches of where hair had been and where hair was shaved off. The parts he shaved that weren't already bald were just a slightly darker shade than his skin.

Vinnie always wore a hat or a bandana. There was nothing he could do about his eyebrows. The doctor told him that chemo may take all his hair. Now he was losing hair not only from his head, but his arms, and legs, eyebrows, etc.

Well, a few days after Vinnie had seen him on that dreadful night, he felt a lot better. He was having one of his better days, so he escaped from the confines in his room and was able to walk to Doogie's house and actually climb through the window. He struggled a lot, which surprised him, to climb onto the roof. He knew that Doogie was off for a little while, and thought he should bother him.

"Heya, Doog," said Vinnie, climbing through the window.

"What are you doing here, Vin? Shouldn't you be–"

"Dat's your hello foah me?" asked Vinnie in mock insult. Then he said, in a mocking tone, "'What are you doing here, Vin?' Huh? 'What are you doing here Vincent?' I am completely insulted."

Doogie smiled and shook his head at his friend. Vinnie laughed at his own comment, with his friend. He looked a lot better. His eyes still looked dull, and he still had dark circles under them. His form changed a little, too. His shoulders slouched a little more. His head would loll or nod a bit if he was tired, which came from doing things that were too strenuous on him, like climbing through windows.

"Doog, I need to ask you a favah," said Vinnie, looking more serious.

"Yeah."

"We need to go back to the beach. I wannah see dat girl again," said Vinnie.

"What if she's not there, Vinnie?"

"I don't know where else to try. I nevah see her at da hospital, which is fine, 'cause I don't want her to see me anyway. We just need to take dis chance. Please? Foah me? Would you do it foah me?" begged Vinnie.

"Sure, Vin."

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Ten minutes later, Vinnie and Doogie were parked in the street, ready to make there way up to the beach. They payed for their badges so that they could stay on the beach legally. Sure enough, there was Margot, running up to them and waving.

"Hey, Doogie! Hi, Vinnie! You guys come here for a swim?" she asked.

"Well, actually–"

"Of course!" exclaimed Vinnie, ignoring the look Doogie was giving him. "Doogie, isn't , dough. In all his excitement to come heah, he forgot to put on his trunks."

"Too, bad. Well, maybe we could play some volley ball," said Margot. "Oh, and Vinnie, I like the new look! What made you shave your head?"

Vinnie wore a bandana and a baseball cap over that, but you could still tell that he had no hair. Margot decided to not comment on the fact that he "shaved" his eyebrows.

"Oh, yeah, well...I'm supporting those who have cancer. It's foah a good cause," Vinnie lied.

"Wow. I have to admire you for doing that, Vinnie," said Margot. Then she took his arm and led him to the volleyball net. There was a bunch of her friends playing already. Suddenly Vinnie, involuntarily bent over, holding his head in his free hand.

"Vinnie?" asked Margot, concerned. Doogie, who had been lagging behind, rushed to his side.

"Just a dizzy spell. Maybe I should sit out. I'll watch you guys play," said Vinnie. He placed his hands on his knees and slowly eased himself up.

"Well, we don't have to play. Maybe hitting the water, will do you some good," she suggested.

"Actually, Vin, I think—"

"Yeah, that's a good idea. Lets go!" said Vinnie. Margot ran ahead. Vinnie didn't attempt to run with her, just walked behind.

"C'mon Vin," yelled Margot from ahead.

"I'm not gonna run! I just got a dizzy spell! Give a guy some sympathy here!" yelled Vinnie. Doogie took a good look at Vinnie and noticed that he was sweating, and wasn't flushed, so it couldn't have been from the heat. Of course, it might have been, but Doogie being Doogie, was concerned.

"Vin, maybe this isn't such a good idea. I mean, you're just out of bed. Give your body some time," suggested Doogie.

"Listen, Doog, yeah...yeah, I got a good chance of pullin' through, but there's always that chance that I might not. You saw how bad I was with the chemo," replied Vinnie.

"I know, Vinnie, but that just means it's working," explained Doogie.

"Yeah, but it's also a constant reminder that I might not...you know...anyway, I just want to live a little. I just want to use up the days that I am actually feeling good," said Vinnie. He lowered his head to look at his moving feet. It amazed him, for some odd reason, how he doesn't even have to think, really, to move his feet. They just move. Yet, when it came to math problems, Vinnie gets headaches from thinking too much. Why is that? Hmmm.

Then, he slowly looked up and saw Margot by the shoreline. She was waving at them and had taken off her denim shorts and now only wore a black one-piece bathing suit. It was so modest, yet she looked so...good in it. Vinnie stripped down to his own bathing suit, which Doogie hadn't even realized he had on. He kept his shirt on though. Doogie knew Vinnie was self conscious about his weight loss, and rightly so. Being small of frame to begin with, Vinnie was emaciated now.

Anyway, Vinnie walked ahead, leaving Doogie behind. Doogie waved and yelled over, "Yeah, I'll just sit here," then mumbled, "like I have another choice."

But he laughed. He saw how happy Vinnie was. He looked better, now that he was in the cool Pacific water. He was laughing and splashing Margot, and she was doing the same to him. Then, she tackled him, yelling something about him not calling her something like that again. Then, Vinnie yelled out his apologies, when he actually wasn't under water.

That day was fun. Vinnie didn't reveal, to Margot, his secret, but it didn't matter. Not now, anyway. As long as she didn't know, Vinnie finally felt normal. He finally felt as if there was nothing to worry about. No one was fussing over him.

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When Vinnie's parents got home from meeting up with the doctor, they noticed a note on the wall. All it said was, "Be back later! Don't worry, I'm with 'Doc Junior'!" They smiled and went to doing there daily duties. All the doctor had said to them was that it was too early to determine anything. That after six to eight weeks, if there was no improvement, they would have to increase the dosage. They also had to sign some papers, and that was it.They hoped. Vinnie was too young to be going through this. He was going through so much pain, just from the chemo alone.

That night, after Vinnie came home, he plopped right on his bed and fell right to sleep. It was only 9:00. When his mother was sure he was asleep she went to church to pray. To pray for her beloved son. Vinnie meant the world to her and she was not going to give up on him. Not now, not ever.

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thanks, again, for reviewing guys! And special thanks to my beta reader, Gamble7! Your advice and criticizm means very much! Thank you!

Stay tuned for the next chapter!