Howdy ya'll. Sorry, I'm feeling awfully country because my city is hosting a county fair that I just got back from. Enjoy. (not edited at all so beware)

Rin's POV

I gaze down at the beautiful silver-eyed girl that is sleeping. Her admirable, unusual, auburn hair shines brightly around her small face. Her wonderful, mysterious eyes are shielded by her eyelids. Her pink lips are slightly parted, moving every so often, as if she were talking to someone in her dreams. The delicate skin on her hand is bandaged, as is her stomach. Her unharmed hand lay in mine limply. She is sleeping now. After our kiss she had almost immediately passed out. Thinking back, I sigh in frustration and kick her trash bin in anger. The bin falls over with a 'thud' and I watch as multiple papers tumble out onto the floor.

Angrily, I let go of Winter's hand and bend down to pick up the papers. Without meaning to, I see something that catches my eye.

"You tested positive...Cancer…"

My eyes widen as I read the crumpled text sideways. Slowly, I reach down and pick up the paper before straightening out the crumpled edges and cautiously reading the black print.

" :

I am very sorry to inform you that you tested positive for Lung Cancer. You have been diagnosed with the most common case of Lung Cancer: Non-small Cell Lung Cancer. Luckily, we have caught this in one of the beginning stages and that is why you haven't shown most of the common symptoms. I suggest we start treatment, immediately. You had said that you rather not be admitted, but I deem that being admitted would be one of the wiser choices you can make. I am very sorry to have to break this to you on a piece of paper instead of in person, but you haven't come back to the hospital since your last incident. Any physical labor can be taxing now, so, please, if you are going to be out and about and not admitted, then try to rest as much as possible. I hope to see you in treatment.

Sincerely,

Confusion.

Confusion immediately hits me, followed by anger, fear, and sorrow. Winter is...Winter has cancer? No, not my Winter. Not my lively, beautiful Winter. She doesn't have lung cancer. She doesn't have cancer. She doesn't. Hurriedly, I stuff the papers back into her trash bin and sit back down beside her, taking her small hand in my larger one. I stare down at her delicate face and admire her undeniable beauty. Her skin is sparkling in the sunlight due to the cold sweat she just broke out in.

I wipe her forehead with a rag I kept nearby just in case and place a kiss to her nose. I watch as her lips keep trembling, moving ever so slightly. I watch as her eyebrows furrow and her eyelids flutter just a tiny bit.

"Winter?" I call to her, hoping that she wakes up at smiles at me and tells me that the note I just read is just a stupid joke she pulled.

Her hand twitches in my hand and I watch her fingers curl around mine and smile.

"Rin," she whispers my name, her eyes still closed. I lean in and plant a kiss on her hand. "Rin," she calls again and I look up at her face. I move up and plant a light kiss on her nice, lively lips. "Rin." This time, it is a sigh and look up to see her staring down at me tenderly.

"Hey, Angel."

She smiles at the nickname and attempts to sit up. Immediately, I push her back down and watch her as she struggles against my hold. Suddenly, she breaks out in a fit of coughs and clutches onto my arm tightly. I give her the water that I had set aside just in case and eye her as she takes slow, timid sips from the glass. She looks up at me and gives a small smile and hands me the cup.

"Rin, I'm not sick. I'm just sore and slightly injured. You don't have to act like a mother hen around me."

I look at her in shock and hide my sadness with a grin.

"I'm not a mother hen. I'm the boy just kissed you," I reply and grip her hand tightly.

She looks down at our hands and smiles a bit more, her beautiful silver eyes lighting up. "What happened?"

I look at her in surprise. "What?"

"What happened after you broke the door down?"

I rub my thumb over her knuckles and stare at our intertwined hands. "I kissed you and when you passed out, I had Shiemi bathe and change you."

She looks down at herself just to make sure I am telling the truth and I truly grin at her suspicious look. "Was it really Shiemi?" She asks, eyeing me, warily.

I roll my eyes and nod. "It was really Shiemi. I didn't see anything, I swear."

"Sure," she says slowly, grinning at me widely. I grin back even more and laugh when she makes a stupid looking face on purpose.

"So, now what?" She asks. "Training?"

"...any physical labor can be taxing…"

I shake my head and get up. "First, breakfast."

"Breakfast?" She asks in confusion.

I nod. "You've been out since yesterday. I told Yuki to piss off and that you were definitely not going to school now, regular or Cram."

She struggles to get back up again and I watch her as she does so, chastising myself for not noticing anything different. She eventually its up all the way and glances at me shyly. "Why are you staring at me?"

I shrug and look away. "I was trying to figure out what I was looking at."

I look at her and then away, arms crossed.

"You're an ass." She says, laughing before wincing. I'm immediately by her side, holding onto her arm. "You're a nice ass."

"I have a nice ass."

She rolls her eyes. "My stomach hurts," she admits and I nod.

"You did cute your stomach with a knife."

"I didn't-" She cuts herself off and takes a deep breath. "Carry me to the kitchen?" She asks and lifts her arms up to me like a child.

Rolling my eyes, I pick her up and we head to the kitchen together. In the back of my mind, though, one thought keeps repeating.

She has cancer.

Okay, this was sort of a bummer chapter. Honestly, I didn't really expect it to take a turn like this, but my fingers just started trying and I just went with it. I had to do a bunch of research and everything, but I think it was worth it. I believe that adding small twists, such as this, adds more to the story. I surprised even myself, but in earlier chapters, Winter does show small signs of cancer. I just made it where no one can really find them. Honestly, I wasn't going to make her have cancer, but it felt...right...in a way. Anyway, catch you guys later. Bye.

~TheLovelyWriter204