A dream.

I am currently having a dream. We are all sitting down on a beach, sipping on some wine and talking about life. My friends— they are all quite happy that we finally came to a beach.

"Venus?" I feel a hand caressing my cheek.

I look at them and they all have a smile on their face. A weird smile which I don't know what for. They keep repeating something which isn't clear to me.

"Venus, wake up," another voice calls me.

I am trying to. I am so hard trying to open my eyes and get out of this dream but I can't. I can hear, feel and sense everything happening around me in reality.

I can feel two hands holding onto mine in theirs. I can feel another hand caressing my cheeks, and another on my forehead.

"Venus?" A soft voice calls and pulls me back into reality and I gasp before waking up and noticing everyone surrounding me.

Cayson and Kate on either side of the bed. Ian next to my head and violet on the floor caressing my cheeks. Liam, Tyler and Chris, next to my legs while the quacking duck is standing at the door.

"Thank god," Ian mutters and they all take a deep breath of relief.

"What happened?" Chris asks, his voice full of concern, and I don't respond.

I look at Kate for covering this up with a lie and she shakes her head but continues. "Oh," she breaths out and smiles. "She told me about what's been happening. It's uh- it's her stomach you see. She hasn't eaten since morning so she's just out of energy."

I glare at Kate who just got me in trouble. She knows that if she says anything about eating, they all will be pissed.

"You didn't eat?" Tyler angrily asks.

"Since morning?" Violet mumbles and shakes her head in anger.

Oh goodness! I am about to be stuffed with so much food.

"I uh- I didn't have time...?" I reply back, more like ask and they all starts shuffling around.

Violet comes back with salad while Tyler comes back with orange juice. Chris and Kate try to make ramen for me while Ian gets me some water. Liam stands there with a smile on his face while looking at my friends.

"Eat this," violet demands and I out the bowl of salad on my lap.

"There is no—" I whine but before I finish, Chris comes and hands me a box of ranch. I smile and open it.

"Drink this," Tyler demands and I oblige.

After what seemed like hours of eating, I finally finish everything. There is this smile playing on Kate's lips and I know what's that about.

"I swear Venus, if you forget eating one more time, I will myself stuff you with all the veggies I can find," Tyler replies with a stern face.

"Remember in seventh grade how she didn't eat for the whole day because we wouldn't talk to each other?" Kate chuckles as all of us join her except Cayson.

Cayson sits next to me with a recurring smile on his face. There is finally a smile on my face, one on his and my friends.

"And also at the middle school graduation party," Ian adds and we all chuckle at how we pranked our teachers that night.

"And also freshm—" violet stops laughing and looks at me. There's is something about the way she looks at me. It's as if she doesn't believe what I did that night but still wants to believe it.

The laughter dies down and is taken over by awkward silence now.

"I'll uh- I'll run by the car for something," the quacking duck says and Cayson nods but she doesn't leave. She stands there at the door, looking at Cayson who's looking at me.

She wants him to go with her but poor her, he doesn't even know what to do. After Cayson didn't offer to go with her, she stomped her way out of the camp.

"I think she wanted you to go with her," I tell Cayson and his brows furrow in confusion.

"She didn't say anything," he innocently replies.

"She's not suppose to, you're suppose to understand it without her telling you anything," I say.

"Oh," is all comes out of his mouth. For a moment he looks between me and outside. He shakes his head in disbelief and runs out.

"Why did you do it?" Violet asks but now I'm too tired to even lie. "Venus I know you. You don't go around doing random shit, so I know there's a reason behind this one."

I sigh and look at her.

Her eyes are filled with hope that there is a reason behind what I did. There is. Of course there is.

"There isn't," I mutter back.

"Really?" She asks and I nod in return. "I really thought there was, Venus. I didn't believe Kate at first, you know? When Tyler, Kate and Chris told me about how you refused to give me your blood, I didn't believe them. Until I never saw you or heard from you again.."

I clutch onto Kate's hand and she nods slowly. "You do believe it now."

"I still didn't believe it, I pretended to. I just- you're not like that Venus, you do everything for a reason. I know you, and I know why you do what you do. Please Venus, I'm begging you to tell me the truth," she sits down on the bed. "Please."

I close my eyes shut and don't respond. On one hand I want to tell them and on the other I don't. I can't tell them the reason which will only make them sadder.

"So there isn't one," she says after I don't respond to her.

I open my eyes and nod in response.

"Wow. So, you are who you're entitled to: selfish," she coldly says and something aches in my heart. "I thought you were different, maybe you're not who we thought you would be. Nobody can be this selfish Venus, nobody."

"Selfish?" Kate scoffs. Here she goes again. I clutch onto her hand by she doesn't stop. "You don't even know the half of it Violet. She is more than who we thought she was."

"Of course, here you go siding with her again," violet rolls her eyes. "I can't believe you don't care about me either Kate. Venus never had the perfect family, but we took her in. We all took care of her as if she was a part of our own family. Then she goes around almost killing me."

"Perfect family," Kate repeats. "She has always thought of us as her family violet, us. We don't deserve her, don't you get it?"

"She doesn't deserve us, Kate. All while we cared for her and stood by her, she doesn't even want to give her blood," violet says.

"She wanted to but she couldn't," Kate blurts out and I clutch onto her hand harder.

"Kate," I interject. She looks at me but ignores what I'm trying to tell her.

"She regrets every single day about what happened that night, but she can't do anything about it either," Kate says. "She has a reason Violet, a big and valid one."

"Kate no," I interrupt her but she doesn't stop.

"No venus, these bunch of idiotic fools need to hear this. They have been going on and on about that night as if they know everything when they don't even know the half of it," Kate responds and now they are all waiting to hear what Kate has to say.

"You wanna know why she didn't give you her blood? You wanna know why she left New York? You wanna know why she's back? You wanna know why we are freaking camping in the woods? You wanna know why she fainted?" Kate continues but I hold my breath and just wait.

It's already too late to stop Kate. They know that she knows something and they won't leave her alone until they find out.

"It's because she- she—" Kate's voice breaks and a tear rolls down her cheek. "She has cancer."

I blink and tears roll down my eyes too. They all just look at Kate in disbelief. My eyes dart towards them but they don't look into mine.

"What?" Violet breaths out in shock.

"No," Ian says, like Kate he keeps repeating it.

"Venus, I- I—" Tyler starts but Kate doesn't let him finish.

"If that's a sorry Tyler, then kindly stick it up your ass," Kate boldly says and I smack her hand lightly and she makes a face.

"Don't say that," I reply back and she mutters 'sorry.'

"W-w-when did you know?" Ian stutters and I look at him.

"The night of your guys' accident," I answer back and tears start rolling down Violet's cheeks. "I was in the hospital, waiting for my results. It's- it's stage IV leukemia, that's why I couldn't give you my blood violet. Not because I didn't want to. It killed me to see you in that bed, needing my blood while I couldn't give it to you."

"Oh Venus," she cries, holding onto my hand. "I'm so sorry."

"I left New York to see the best oncologist in Washington state. I had treatment going on for these past three years. Chemo and radiation did take a lot of my hair, as you could tell," I chuckle softly and they all join me.

"I- I came back beca- because I don't- I don't have a lot of time," I stutter saying the last part because I'm so scared of their reaction.

Their eyes literally pop out of their eyes and more tears roll down their cheek. "All of these- these things are like my last wishes. I never thought I would be the one to create them but- but I do."

"No," Ian pulls me into a hug which slowly turns into a group hug.

I dreamt of this moment. I dreamt of them. I dreamt of this hug.

Today, my dreams came true.

I'm so happy that they did.

___