Katie turned around and faced Madeline. CRAP! Now Katie was going to have to tell her. What would she think? All the kids Katie had told had run away or avoided her as if they could catch it. Madeline stepped closer.

"What condition?" She repeated the question. She looked from Katie to Shawn, and then back to Katie.

"Madeline, I have to tell you something." Katie started. "Well, you see..." She paused and looked at Shawn for help. He shook his head and stepped back. "About 2 years ago, I was diognoised with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia" She said and paused, watching Madelines face.

"So you have cancer?" Madeline asked simply, Katie noted that Madeline deffinately had a way off speaking bluntly.

"Well, yes...well not anymore." Katie corrected. "Your cured, that's great!" Madeline said smiling, she went to hug her friend but Katie stopped her.

"Not quite." She said. "It's cancer, Madeline. There really is no cure. I'm in remission, yes but theres a chance it could come back." Katie said. "Yeah, but theres a chance that it wont." Madeline said. My how the tables had changed, Katie was the sarcastic, pesstimistic one now. Madeline had also taken Katie's place with the high spirits. It hit Madeline right then what Katie had meant when she had been telling Madeline to live her life while she could, stop worrying about the past or future. For all we knew, no one had a future. "Oh, Katie." Madeline hugged her friend tightly, understanding that Katie was scared to death that the disease might return. "Your scared aren't you." Madeline could feel Katie nodding. "Terrified." She said. "It's horrible Madeline, you miss school"

"Oh yes missing 7 hours of essay writing and work is so horrible." Madeline said sarcasticly, trying to lighten the mood. "Oh but it is. When you do get to go to school, once your better, everyone looks at you like your a monster." Katie said. "And you look like a monster Madeline! You lose your hair and you get real skinny and your face swells." Katie said.

"Cancer does all that to you?" Madeline asked as she sat back down on the bed.

"Oh no. It's the chemo, the drugs that are killing the cancer. Of course it feels like they're kill you." Katie answered. "I hate it." "I would too, I hate hospitals. They're so gross, smell horribly." Madeline said. Katie smiled,

"Try living in one for 8 months. Thats how long it toke me to go in remission."

"I'll take a rain check on that one." Madeline said. "Now, you can't get sick again ok? Cause if you do, I wont be able to see you very much, fat chance I'm hanging around a hospital for 8 months." Madeline said. "I've had enough of them." Katie gave her a confused look. "Well, about 4 years ago I was in a nasty car crash, anyways I was in the hospital for about a month. Hated every minute of it." Madeline explained.

Katie looked around, "Hey where'd Shawn go?" She asked.

"Must've snuck out while we were talking." Madeline guess. "Must've been too dramatic for him."

Katie nodded. "He hated it when I got sick. He ended up sneaking home from school and came to visit me."

"You two close?" Madeline asked. Recieving a nod for an answer. "Wanna put on some music?" Madeline asked and turned on the radio. To Madelines disgust, Katie put on some counrty music, the stupid stuff Madeline had to listen to when she was with her sister. But Madeline didn't protest, Katie had had a hard day, actually, a hard life.


Katie had just sat down from her turn of karioke, the next song on the radio was Madeline's to sing infront of only Katie, but still Madeline wasn't the 'sing infront of people' sort of person. The next song was 'Because of You' sung by Reba and Kelly Clarkson. Madeline groaned but stood up anyways. She waited for the words to start and then began.

"I will not make the same mistakes that you did I will not let myself cause my heart so much misery, I will not break the way you did, You fell so hard I've learned the hard way To never let it get that far." Madeline sang softly but loud enough for Katie to hear. Her voice was good, great actually. She sounded canadian when she sang, like Avril Lavigne. She quickly finished the song, "Because of you I never stray too far from the sidewalk, Because of you I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt Because of you I try my hardest just to forget everything, Because of you, I don't know how to let anyone else in Because ofyou I'm ashamed of my life because it's empty. Because of you, I am afraid. Because of you. Because of you" Madeline sat down on the bed and avoided Katie's glance.

"Madeline Louise Hellon!" Katie shouted. "How could you have such a good voice and not sing infront of people willingly?!" She was still shouting but had crawled up on the bed with Madeline and was practically strangeling her.

"Oh, I'm not that good." Madeline protested.

Katie rolled her eyes. "You should really sing more, I mean what if some record producer saw you and offered you a job or something?" Katie insisted.

"I'd put it down, I don't want to sing infront of people, plus I'm not a singer, I'm a guitarist." Madeline said.

"I'll tell you what you are, your nuts!"