^^Louis Young

"It's a bad idea."

"You'll be great." Andrew beamed.

"No, I won't." I shook my head. "I've only played soccer in video games."

"It's the same," Toby said.

"It isn't." I squinted my eyes at him.

"You'll be the goalkeeper. You just have to catch the ball if it comes to you," Ben argued.

"Easier said than done." I scoffed.

We were at the fan soccer ground to play the match, but LAFC was short of one player and the boys were forcing me to play.

"Relax Lillian." Andrew put his hands on my shoulder. "You just have to stay there only for fifteen minutes." I opened my mouth, but he continued. "And don't worry, I won't let anyone come near you." He winked.

I didn't know why, but my heart thumped at that.

"Do you have a player or not?" The registration guy asked for the nth time. "We have little time here."

The boys turned to me with puppy faces, and I sighed.

"Fine."

"Yes!" they cheered and registered us.

The rival team was ready, waiting for us at the mini ground. It was a street type of match, so no one was in gear. Most of the players were from my previous high school, including Mark. He became the captain of my previous high school after my brother graduated.

I swallowed hard and followed the boys. They formed a circle with other players and discussed their strategy, which flew over my head. Ben clapped his hands and everyone scattered while I stood there dumbfounded.

"Lillian," Toby whispered, getting my attention. "Go to the net."

"Oh..." I ran towards it and copied the rival team's goalkeeper as he jumped from one side to another for no reason.

This is awkward.

The whistle blew, and the game began. I watched as the ball got tossed from one player to another, ending on Andrew. As he did in the match at school, he rolled the ball towards the net, and divert everyone's attention to him. Then he passed the ball to Ben, who was on the other side and the goalkeeper rushed towards him. Ben lobbed the ball, and it flew over the goalkeeper, straight into the net.

"GOAL!" The crowd went wild and cheered. I jumped from my place and clapped for them. It was epic watching them play this close.

The game resumed and for the remaining time, no score was made. In the last few minutes, the ball ended on Toby. He tried to pass it to Ben, but Mark got in the way and caught the ball. I watched as Andrew tried to block him, but Mark said something, making him still.

My eyes bugged out when Mark crossed the players and got near to me. Ben shouted at Andrew, getting him out of his daze and he followed Mark, but he was far behind.

My body shook as Mark came in front of me. I took a step back and my eyes were glued to the ball. Mark stood a little left to the ball and after playing video games all these years, I knew he was about to throw a left curve. He kicked the ball, and I hopped to my left. My eyes automatically squeezed shut as the ball hit my stomach. I clutched it to me and a sharp pain shot up my left shoulder when I slide to the ground.

Wincing, I lay on my back and slowly opened my eyes at the roar of the crowd.

I caught it!

Sitting up, I adjusted my glasses and my eyes went straight to Andrew. He was staring at me with his jaw dropped. A grin took over his face when his eyes caught mine.

"You caught it!" He exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air. "Now throw it to me!" He said but darted his eyes to my left.

I knew he did that for diversion.

Quickly getting on my feet, I took the ball over my head and faced Andrew. My arm throbbed, but I ignored the pain. The players ran towards him. Instead of Andrew, with all the strength in me, I threw the ball toward Ben.

He jumped, and the ball hit his chest, then he did a backflip, passing it to another player. All the players ran after them while Andrew came to me.

"What are you doing?! The ball is that way!" I shrieked, and he shook his head.

"I know, but that was an epic catch." He praised making me blush. "Does your shoulder hurt?"

"A little," I mumbled, rubbing it.

"I'm sorry." He looked at me guiltily. "I told you I wouldn't let anyone near you and still that jerk passed me."

"What did he say?" I asked, and Andrew flinched.

"Nothing." He grumbled.

The bell rang, ending the game, and no one scored again. LAFC won by one goal.

"Let's go." Andrew wrapped his arm around me and took me to the bench. My heart furiously beat in my chest, maybe because of the adrenaline of the match.

Ben and Toby came to and started gushing about it. I ducked my head in embarrassment.

"You are making a big deal out of it," I whispered, and they teased me.

Andrew brought me an ice pack to put on my shoulder. I knew I scratched my arm, but because of my sleeve, it wasn't visible. They asked if I was alright and I smiled at them. The winning team got a signed T-shirt from the players and I thought of giving mine to my brother since he was a big fan.

We went to a stall and got some drinks and snacks, then walked inside the stadium to our seats. Toby and Ben sat on my right, and Andrew on my left. Around five the players came to the ground, and the match began. The crowd cheered in enthusiasm as both teams scored, but LA Galaxy was a point ahead of LAFC and won the match.

The boys cursed at the loss of their team and complained as we walked out of the stadium. The entire time, my arm ached, but I controlled it.

"How about we wait here," Andrew said to Ben and Toby. "And you guys get the car." They agreed and walked towards the parking lot while we stood behind. "How is your arm?" Andrew asked, jamming his hands in his pocket.

"Better." I smiled at him, but he didn't seem convinced.

"There they are!" I heard Maria's voice and turned to see Mark and others with her grinning. "Sad that you guys didn't win." She pouted.

Maria and I weren't exactly friends. We had a few classes together and were partners in them. Mark was her brother and a senior, so we talked a few times.

"Better luck next time." Mark gave Andrew a smirk.

"Not that bad." Andrew shrugged nonchalantly and gave them a lopsided grin. "The taste of kicking your a**es was more satisfying."

Their eyes widened, and embarrassment took over their faces.

"I mean come on." Andrew plopped his arm around my shoulder. "Even the newbie blocked your goal." Others snickered while Mark's face turned red. "You need to work on your game bruh." Andrew gave them a salute when we heard Ben's horn and we walked toward them.

"That was mean," I mumbled, and Andrew chuckled, letting go of me.

"That was needed." He winked and again my heart did a flip.

I'm blaming mom for putting ideas in my head.

We sat in Ben's car and drove towards his house. They complained about their team's loss but were happy to beat the Hidden Hills students. Ben suggested we should play soccer together, but Andrew and Toby shot each other draggers. Around seven, we reached Ben's house.

"You guys should stay for dinner," Ben offered Toby and me as we got out of his car. "Andrew is also staying the night here."

"Yeah, that's a great idea." Andrew agreed, watching me with his twinkling blue eyes.

I'm sure mom would be esthetic to hear that.

"I don't mind." Toby shrugged, and we walked towards the door but halted in our steps when the door jerked open and a furious Brittany walked out.

"Well, well, look who's here." She plastered a scary smile on her face and crossed her arms.

"Brittany..." Ben began, but stop when she snapped her gaze at him.

"Don't you dare speak to me! Going to the match was your thing." She pointed between Ben and Andrew. "You guys wouldn't even take me with you and now..." She darted her burning gaze to Toby and me, "... these two."

"We had extra tickets and didn't want them to get wasted." Andrew tried to calm her down.

"And you didn't even think to ask me?" She fumed.

"You don't like soccer-" Andrew said but was cut off by Brittany.

"For f**k's sake, I'm a soccer cheerleader!" She screamed, looking at him in disbelief.

"Listen-" Ben said.

"No, you listen! I'm not blind." She locked her eyes on me and Toby, making us gulp. "I can see what's going on here. Do whatever the f**k you want, I don't give a damn!" She flipped her blonde hair and entered her house, slamming the door in our faces.

"Uh... I don't think dinner is a good idea now." Toby mumbled, grasping my arm, and whispered. "We should leave." I bobbed my head and we walked back to his car.

"We'll talk to her," Andrew tried to stop us.

"It's fine." I waved my hands. "Maybe some other time."

Toby and I ran to his car when we heard Brittany shouting at someone inside. Ben and Andrew can handle her, but no way Toby and I were getting in the middle of siblings' and friends' war.

Toby drove me to my house and thanked me for giving him and Ben time. I told him it wasn't a big deal, and I also had fun with them. When I stepped inside my house, in an instant, mom was in front of me and inquired about what happened.

I told my parents everything from the fan fest to the soccer match and we ate dinner. After that, I went to my room to change my clothes. As I was taking my shirt off, my arm throbbed. I glanced at it to see a layer of my skin scraped off and dried blood on it; it was a turf burn. My brother used to have them when he played soccer.

I poured lukewarm water on it to clean the blood and it pained a lot then applied some cream on it. Taking some painkillers to help me with the soreness, I went to bed.

~•~ • ~•~ • ~•~

The next day I packed the signed T-shirt I won with a letter about how I got it and parceled it to my brother. I didn't text him about it because I wanted it to be a surprise. A few days in school passed with no drama. Except that Brittany was still angry, and the boys were busy making up with her.

The rest of the school was busy gossiping and planning about Valentine's day as it was the beginning of February. As for my arm, it wasn't getting better. The creams I was putting on it helped a little with it but the pain wasn't going away so I told my mom after a few days. She was angry at me why I didn't mention this to her before and now; I needed an injection for it. On Wednesday after school, she took me to her hospital, and now I was sitting in the small office.

"That was irresponsible of you young lady." She scolded me as she injected me. "What if this turned into something dangerous?"

"It's a scratch-"

"It's not." She fumed, making me shut my mouth. "Now take these, go home and rest." She extended some pills.

I nodded and waited for her to finish the bandage. When she was done, I got up and bid her bye since she had to stay for work. I stepped out of the small room into the lobby and examined the people.

It was my first time here since we moved to West High. I was strolling outside and observing my surroundings when my eyes landed on a familiar buzz cut. I changed my direction and followed him quietly.

What is he doing here?

He strode up the stairs to the second floor, whistling and oblivious of me trailing behind him. I watched as he knocked on a door to a doctor's office and entered. Stepping towards the room, I tried to peek inside through the square glass window on the door, but it was covered. My shoulders slumped and I read the tag on the room, frowning.

Neurosurgeon.

Leaning my shoulder on the wall, I waited outside the office. After twenty to thirty minutes, he came out with a file.

"Louis?" I called his name making him flinch.

"Huh?" In a swift motion, he turned around with his eyes wide. "Lillian? What are you doing here?!"

"I had a scratch because of the soccer match and came here to get medicine," I answered and crossed my arms. "What are you doing here?"

"The same as you." He said, and his eyes grew big when he saw the confusion on my face. "What I meant was..." He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "... I uh... My mother wanted some of her test files from the doctor so I came here to pick them up."

"You spend around thirty minutes in the office just to get the file?" I darted my eyes to the office and back to him.

"Y-yup." He bobbed his head.

"You are lying, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not." He cleared his throat.

"You won't mind if I look at those." I gestured towards the file in his hand.

He put them behind his back and forced a smile. "No, uh... they are confidential. I uh need to go so I'll see you at school tomorrow."

"Wait..." I stopped him. There was something odd about him and I needed to distract him. "Is that Chloe?" I cast my eyes behind him.

"What?" He shrieked and swung to look. Getting my chance, I snatched the file from his hand and ran in the opposite direction.

I ran around the corridor and passed the patients on my way. Nurses and doctors were yelling, and I knew I will get in trouble for this, but it was already done.

"Lillian, stop!" Louis shouted behind me, but I continued running.

My eyes went to the elevator in front, which was about to close. Rushing to it, I slid inside the empty elevator and furiously pressed the closing button. I saw Louis as his eyes widened and he ran to me, but before he could enter, the door closed.

"F**k!" I heard him curse.

Pressing the top floor button, I took deep breaths to calm myself. I glanced at the file and gulped. With shaky hands, I opened the file and read the patient's name.

Louis Young.

There were few brain scans in it. I read the file and my widened when I got the idea of what it was.

It can't be-

PING!

The lift doors opened, and I stepped out. Looking around to find a place, I heard Louis's voice as he ran up the stairs.

"Lillian!"

My eyes caught the saw the sign that led to the roof upstairs and went there. The chilly wind blew at the roof, making me shiver a little. I clutched the file to my chest and turned towards the door when I heard Louis.

"Stop, please. I'm begging you." He choked and fell to his knees.

I watched as he calmed his breath and felt guilty that I made him climb the stairs all the way up. He leaned to the wall beside the door and looked straight at me.

"You read it, didn't you?" I gave him a small nod, and he sighed. "Give it back to me."

"Not until you tell me the truth."

"There is nothing to tell. Be the good girl that you are and give it to me." He extended his hand, and I took a step back.

"You have a brain tumor." Saying the words out loud struck like a lightning bolt.

"How do you know that?" He asked surprised, and I gave him a blank stare. "Wait... you can understand what's written in there?" He questioned, pointing to the file in my hands.

"I'm an AP bio student planning to become a doctor someday and my mom is a nurse..." I gave him a half-shrug. "So yeah, I can understand it."

"Wow..." He whistled, tilting his head. "It took me weeks to understand that shit. You are smart."

"Don't change the topic, Louis." I squinted my eyes at him. "When did you find out about it? The file mentioned it's old."

"I found it last year..." He mumbled. "Before that, I frequently had headaches and nauseous but I thought it was because of the intense studies. I had a weak and blurry vision and that's why I wear contacts." He pointed towards his eyes. "But these were the symptoms that I never paid attention to. Then last year at Thanksgiving I was having dinner with my family and out of the blue everything started spinning around me and I fainted." He gulped and pulled his legs towards his chest.

Stepping closer, I sat crossed legs in front of him. "That's when you find out," I whispered, and he nodded.

"My family went crazy, and no one believed it. But it was all here..." he darted his gaze to the file in my lap and took a deep breath. "They said it's germinoma." He let out a chuckle, shaking his head. "Just because my germ cells couldn't reach down there when I was in my mother's tummy, I got this."

Germinoma occurs when germ cells fail to migrate to the ovaries or testes during development in the womb to convert into eggs or sperm.

"This is stupid logic." He laughed, but it was a miserable one. "This is all stupid."

"But you are getting treatment... right?"

"I need to get chemotherapy at the end of every month till the tumor shrinks."

"How many did you get?"

"This report is for the second one." He mumbled, running his hands over his face.

"That's why you got the hair." I pointed out.

"They eventually fall because of the chemo side effect. I got them cut early so no one will be suspicious." He shrugged.

"Wait... What do you mean by that?"

"It means no one knows about this... Except for my parents."

"This can't be true..." I stared at him in disbelief. "I get that no one at school knows about this but your friends...?"

"They don't know either."

"Why?!" I shrieked. "You shouldn't be going through this alone-"

"No!" He jolted up, and I also stood on my feet. "I don't want them to get bothered and think of me as a fragile kid who got a tumor." I opened my mouth, but he cut me off. "I like when I hang out with my friends and they tease me and all... And I know all of this will change when they'll find this."

"But-"

"You won't tell anyone." He put his hands on my shoulder and looked at me with his painful brown eyes. "Think of it as a dying person's wish."

"Louis-"

"Promise me, Lillian. I want to spend the remaining days I have at school happily and not with the same grief I have to face every day at home."

I squeeze my eyes shut and thought about it. It's awful that he had to go through this, but at least he was getting treatment.

"I won't tell anyone," I mumbled, and his face split into a huge grin.

"I knew you would understand."

"But this is unfair to your friends."

"Trust me, I hate it, but to cause someone sadness. I hate that more." He mumbled.

"How long are you planning to keep them in the dark?"

"Till I die, I guess." He shrugged.

"Tumor can be treated, Louis. You will not die-"

"You never know." We went silent.

After that, I gave him his file, and we went down. As we walked out of the hospital, Louis said. "You know there is one thing that I learned from all this."

"What?"

"You can either die from a tumor or a simple accident any time. You should live your life to the fullest so you won't have regrets later, because..." He beamed. "You only live once."

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