Rei adjusted his glasses and glanced down at his watch. Nagisa had asked to meet him and Gou at the station this morning, but each train that entered the station disappointed in producing their friend. He had texted Nagisa's phone several times to figure out what the hold up was, but got no response. Now the morning was slowly creeping into the afternoon, and Rei was getting annoyed. It was very bad manners to keep someone waiting as long as Nagisa had, but he and Gou couldn't bring themselves to just leave either.

So, they waited.

"What do you think he wanted to talk about?" the redhead asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"Who knows? Nagisa-kun hasn't exactly been acting like himself lately."

"That's true."

A short pause fell between them before she asked the question neither of them wanted to ask. "Do you think he's running away again?"

Rei's breath caught in his chest as he turned to face her fully. "I think he knows that he can't run from his problems after the last time."

Gou gave him a small smile and nodded, but then her smile faltered as she said quietly, "I hope you're right about that..."

Just then, the train pulled into the station and Rei and Gou moved their focus to the exiting passengers. This time the train gave them what they were waiting for, and Gou waved him over to the bench where they had been not-so-patiently waiting. As Nagisa walked up, Rei noticed he was walking a little slower than usual, and he had a serious look on his face. When he got to the bench, he gave them an awkward smile and thanked them for waiting.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! We've been waiting for you for hours," Gou demanded, making no secret of her annoyance.

"It really is rude to be so tardy, especially when it was at your request that we meet you here," Rei said, echoing Gou's frustration.

Nagisa brought a finger to his face and itched his cheek nervously. "Sorry, Gou-chan...Rei-chan."

She was tempted to revive their timeless bickering match about the pronunciation of her name, but decided to let it go this time. "So... what did you want to meet us about?"

Nagisa's smile faltered as he lowered his hand and stood as tall as he could. The time had come. Taking a deep breath, he put on a serious expression once again and faced his friends. "I didn't want you to hear this from anyone else but me," he began, scanning his teammates' faces for any reaction. When he saw them glance at one another nervously, he took a breath to try and calm his nerves and continued. "It turns out that I won't be in class for awhile, and I'll have to step away from the swim club as well."

Rei narrowed his eyes as he looked down at his co-captain. "Nagisa-kun, I don't like where this conversation is going. If you are planning to ask for help with running away again, you already know where we stand on the matter. Now, drop the drama and tell us why we're really here."

"That's what I'm trying to do!" Nagisa snapped back. Rei-chan thought I was running away?! As much as he wanted to, Nagisa knew that there was no running from this. Pushing his hurt and frustration back down, he let out a sigh and turned to Rei, a hint of desperation in his voice. "Please, Rei-chan," he pleaded, "just let me say this before I don't have the courage left to say it."

Surprised by the blond's response, Rei fell silent and allowed his friend to finish. Nagisa was being unusually serious, and he found it all a bit unnerving.

"I had to cancel our study session with you last night because I had a doctor's appointment," Nagisa said, now looking down at his shoes to avoid eye contact. "You guys remember how my hip has been bothering me since that first practice this fall?"

Rei and Gou nodded, not daring to interrupt again.

"Well, the pain hasn't been getting better, so my parents made an appointment and took me to get checked out. Our family doctor ordered a bunch of tests, and the results came back yesterday. He didn't want to discuss the details over the phone, so my parents and I had to go in and talk to him in person."

The more Nagisa talked, the tighter Rei's chest became.

Finally, Nagisa met his friends' gazes.

"Gou-chan... Rei-chan... I have Stage 2 bone cancer. I am starting my treatments on Monday."

Gou and Rei stood in shocked silence, struggling to believe that Nagisa was telling them the truth. Suddenly, Rei's voice pierced the heavy silence like a knife.

"That's hardly something to make light of, Nagisa-kun."

Nagisa's eyes grew wide. "Rei-chan..."

Rei pushed his glasses back up on his nose and flipped up his collar. "If you didn't want to come over, you didn't have to come up with such an elaborate excuse."

Tears began welling up in Nagisa's eyes as the realization of the situation hit him like a slap in the face. He doesn't believe me...

"I will see you at practice on Monday, Nagisa-kun." Before turning to walk away, Rei gave a small smile in Gou's direction. "See you, Kou-san."

Gou nodded in response, and with that the two watched as Rei turned and walked over to the train platform and stepped through the doors without looking back.

A movement in his peripheral vision forced his attention away from the departing train back to the swim club's manager. "Gou-chan, wait," Nagisa pleaded, grabbing her by the wrist. "You believe me, don't you?"

A look of sadness filled her eyes as she looked back at him. "It's Kou, and I'm honestly not sure what to believe, Nagisa."

Shock and hurt overwhelmed him, and released his hold on her wrist. Looking defeated, Nagisa lowered his gaze and clenched his fists.

"I hope that we will see you at practice on Monday," Gou said, hoping to get a smile out of him. When she came up unsuccessful, she smiled at him anyway and turned to walk to her station to go home.

You won't, he thought to himself as he slumped down on the bench to wait for the next train.