beautiful

chapter 15: promise

By the end of Nina's first treatment, she was definitely feeling the side effects. I wrapped my arm protectively around her waist as we left the hospital after seven days of intense treatments. I felt tired for her.

The three weeks of recovery that followed were spent trying to forget about this whole thing; we were just enjoying our time together. The doctors said it was too early for a definitive prognosis, and even though Nina has a fighting chance, they can't be sure. Either Nina's Gran never conveyed this message to Nina, or Nina simply doesn't care.

The day before Nina's second round of chemotherapy happened to be July 7th, her birthday.

It was Joy's birthday as well, and I called her that morning before Nina woke up to wish her well. After this, I made Nina her favourite breakfast food: waffles. She didn't like pancakes, even though it was the same batter; she claimed waffles just tasted better. I brought this to her as breakfast in bed, along with hot chocolate.

"Hi," she greeted me with a groggy voice as I entered her room. I helped her sit up and placed the tray gently in her lap.

"Happy Birthday," I smiled at her as I said this, and she smiled gratefully back.

"Thank you," Nina gazed hungrily at the food. She began to devour it hungrily, and I chuckled.

"Slow down," I joked, "It's not going to disappear."

"It will when I'm through with it," she retorted playfully, causing chuckles to ring out from both of us.

That afternoon, Nina's American friends came to the house to celebrate her birthday. We ate cake and ice cream, then gathered in the living room to watch Nina's favourite movie, Mean Girls.

"Do you even go to this school?" One of the character's voices echoed from the television set.

"No," another character sobbed back, "I just have a lot of feelings."

Both Nina and Amber burst into a fit of giggles at this line, as did Courtney, Julie, and Veronica. Evan, Jake, and I were completely lost.

The movie ended, and the girls were still laughing.

"Okay, that is the best movie ever!" Nina enthused, and the other girls agreed wholeheartedly.

"It was…funny, I suppose," I mused, and Nina just looked at me before she replied,

"Well…it's more of a girl's movie, anyway."

"Oh, Nines!" Amber exclaimed suddenly, "You should open your presents!"

"Okay!" Nina smiled as Amber deposited a large, very pink, wrapped package into Nina's lap.

"Happy Birthday!" Amber gushed, and Nina tore through the pink paper. After discarding the packaging, Nina revealed a large scrapbook.

"Aww, Amber!" Nina said, "Thank you so much! This is amazing…it must have taken you forever!"

"But I love to scrapbook," Amber reminded her best friend, "It's every picture I could find from this past semester. I also dedicated a few pages solely to you and Fabian."

Nina blushed profusely as she turned to this specific section.

"Amber," Nina sounded concerned, "How did you get some of these pictures?"

"Umm…" Amber hesitated, "I…well…"

"You spied on us, didn't you?" I asked her, and she nodded her head sheepishly.

Nina just laughed, and hugged Amber, thanking her for the present.

"Mine next!" Courtney handed Nina a green bag with blue tissue paper.

"You girls wrap everything so neatly," Jake complained, "I wrapped mine in newspaper."

"I offered to wrap yours for you," Julie countered, "But you wouldn't have it."

Nina stopped the twins before they could begin bickering when she opened Courtney's gift. It was a shadow box style picture frame, with a picture of Nina with all of her American friends inside. Underneath, it read, "Friends Forever".

"Coco, it's so awesome," Nina gasped, "Thank you!"

Jake and Julie simultaneously offered their gifts next, so Nina opened them at the same time. Julie had given Nina a new set of perfume and scented lotion, while Jake gave Nina a copy of the newest book in her favourite series.

Veronica handed Nina a small box, which in turn contained a dainty charm bracelet. There were two charms already on it, but Veronica explained that more charms could be added.

Evan gave Nina a copy of a new album released recently by her favourite band. She was extremely excited, and couldn't wait to listen to it.

Finally, I handed Nina the small package containing my gift to her. Everyone held their breath as she opened it.

"Oh…" she breathed, smiling widely, "It's so…pretty." Other than these few words, she was absolutely speechless.

Eventually, Nina lifted it out of its box so everyone could see. It was a small silver locket hanging on a delicate chain.

"Fabian, did you pick that out all on your own?" Amber asked, astonished.

"As a matter of fact, I did, Miss Millington," I replied playfully, "I'm happy you approve."

We spent the rest of the night listening to Nina's new CD and talking about trivial things. Courtney and Julie were sharing the latest gossip with Amber, who was listening intently. Veronica and Jake were cuddling on the sofa, and Evan sprawled out quite comfortably on the adjacent armchair. Nina sat cross-legged on the floor across from me, her CD player between us, on a low volume.

"I love this album," Nina whispered as the final song drew to a close, "Can you see why they're my favorite band?"

"What're they called again?" I asked, only half-serious. My question drew a giggle from her as she shoved the CD case in my hands.

"Nickelback," Nina ran her finger over the name printed on the cover, "So many people hate them, and I have no idea why. Coco, Evan, and I grew up listening to them."

"I think they're pretty good," I replied, eyeing the cover more carefully. I looked up to meet Nina's eyes, and she looked worried.

"Are you okay?" I asked her softly.

"Yeah," she replied hesitantly, "I'm just thinking about tomorrow."

"Everything will be fine," I assured her with a smile, "I promise."

A/N: I apologize for the delay with this update. Nothing's been going on, other than lots and lots of tennis practice, and summer reading. The only reason this is going up late is because of my own laziness; this chapter wasn't finished in time to be posted on Monday. I promise I'll continue writing ahead for the rest of this week! Hopefully I finish writing the story before school starts so that everything is in the Doc Manager and I just have to add the chapters every Monday. If everything goes according to plan, the final chapter (Chapter 20) will be posted on September 26th. Mark your calendars! Again, I'm sorry this was late :[ I don't own House of Anubis or Nickelback (who, unfortunately, has yet to come out with a new album). See you next Monday! :]