^^Hospital private room

Andrew is as amazing as he looks.

The whole week, he helped me prepare for my makeup exams. After the classes every day, he sat with me in the library. He taught me maths which I was a little weak in and, to my surprise, Andrew was good at it.

He made me flashcards and help me remember the medical terminologies which I didn't realize I forgot. Even though Andrew hated history because it bored him out, he still listened to me when I read my notes to memorize them.

Andrew is a supportive boyfriend.

That is... if he's even my boyfriend.

I mean, we spent the entire week studying after our first date and never talked about it. Andrew was serious about me and my grades. I was really glad he was there to help and motivate me.

Monday came in a blur and my first makeup exam was history. This time I was guaranteed I'll get an A in it. On Tuesday it was biology, and I was frightened about it since I got a C on that paper. I remembered my invigilator for that exam was Miss Grace and I got distracted by her. But this time I gave the paper with full concentration. The next English Literature also went perfectly.

On Thursday, in the morning when I was at my locker, Louis came running toward me and extended a chocolate bar with a note.

"For you." He beamed.

Frowning in confusion, I took it from him and opened to note. I blushed when I read it and Louis snickered.

'From Andrew ;)'

"Uh... Thank you," I mumbled and was about to put it in my locker, but Louis stopped me.

"Open it."

"I'll eat it at lunch-"

"It will melt till then and I want a bite too." He pouted.

"Alright." I chuckled and opened it but instead of chocolate, it was a piece of cardboard.

"What-"

"Fooled ya!" Louis pointed at me and burst to laugh as he flew away and I slapped myself for forgetting.

It's April Fools today.

The whole day, everyone kept pranking each other.

Especially Louis.

He planned with two different classes, and they switched the classrooms for the day. When the teacher walked in, different teenagers greeted her in her class. Confused, she went out of the classroom to check if she had entered the right class. In and out she went twice while the students began laughing.

At lunch when I was outside with Chloe and Toby. Toby was covered in glitter. He tried so much to take it off, but in the end, he gave up. Louis placed an envelope in his locker that said 'From secret admirer' but it was a glitter bomb envelope with 'You have been fooled by Mr. Young' written inside.

Chloe cried out when she opened her lunch box and threw it away from her lap. I peeked at the lunch box and saw a fake snake in it. Out of nowhere Louis jumped and shouted April fools then sprinted away laughing like a madman.

"I love his enthusiasm." Chloe sighed dreamingly as she watched Louis and I smiled.

She's so in love with him.

"How was it?" Andrew asked when I stepped out of my class later that day.

Every day he waited for me to finish my exam and then drop me off at my house. I've refused so many times, but the guy is extremely stubborn.

"It was great." I beamed as we strolled through the hallway filled with students. "Thank you so much for helping me with math."

"No need for that." He waved his hand in dismissal and I giggled when I saw his cheeks tinted. "Was the paper that easy? You came out quickly today."

"The teacher called me early because she was afraid of the April fool's pranks the students will play on her." I chuckled.

"Louis is giving me a headache now." Andrew sighed.

"What did he do?"

"He has pranked everyone but me."

"What's the problem with that?"

"Wait is the problem." He groaned. "I know he's going to prank every one of us and the wait for what to expect is killing me. I just want him to be over with it."

"It won't be that bad." I giggled.

"Last year, he duct-taped harmonica underneath the front bumper of my car. When I sped up my car, it made whistling sounds. I got crazy and pulled over to check my hood, but everything seemed fine. I even got late for school and after an hour Louis called and screamed April fool on the speaker." He grumbled.

"He's a smart kid." I praised.

"He's an idiot." Andrew rolled his eyes, and I chuckled. We turned around the corner and saw Louis putting books in his locker. "The devil is here."

"Don't be mean." I looked at him sternly.

"I'm done waiting." He scowled and stood behind Louis. "Hey, Louis, how about you prank the f**k already so I can sleep in peace?"

"Yeah, about that..." Louis closed his locker and turned around. "I'm sleepy, so I'm just going home."

"You want me to believe that bullsh*t." Andrew scoffed.

"I'm done for the day." Louis rubbed his forehead and I observed him. He looked tired after all the pranking he did today. Louis's condition wasn't normal, so he gets worn out easily.

"Um... he looks tired-"

"Don't get trapped by him." Andrew cut me off and narrowed his eyes at him. "He's playing."

"I'm not." Louis shook his head and my eyes darted to his hands that were shaking.

Something's wrong with him.

"Louis listen-"

"Andrew please." I stepped between them, facing Andrew. "He's not joking."

"How do you know that?" He raised his brows at me. "Don't tell me you're pranking me with him."

"I'm not." I shook my head.

"I'm leaving," Louis mumbled and walked away.

"Is he serious?" Andrew frowned as he watched him and darted his eyes to me.

"He's been pranking everyone since the morning... Maybe he's exhausted."

"He's not an old lady." Andrew's face scrunched. "And I know he's acting."

"What if he has planned nothing for you?" I shrugged.

"It's Louis we are talking about." Andrew snorted. "Pranking is his middle name-"

A girl's shrill scream that echoed through the hallway cut Andrew off. We turned around and saw Louis's unconscious body on the floor, and my eyes widened in shock.

"Louis!"

"Louis!" Lillian screamed and ran towards his unconscious body and I rolled my eyes.

And the game has begun.

"Louis!" Lillian crouched next to him and patted his face. "Louis wake up!"

"Lillian please." I scoffed and ambled toward her. "I told you he'll do it."

"He's not acting, Andrew." Lillian gritted through her teeth and took her water bottle out of her bag.

"This is Louis Young we are talking about. The drama queen of West High." I pointed out, but Lillian remained unfazed and splashed his face with water.

Sighing, I looked around and saw everyone gathered around in a circle. They were laughing and watching in anticipation that what the great Louis was up to.

"What's going on here?" I heard Brittany's voice as she came in front.

"Louis and his prank." I rolled my eyes.

Brittany's sharp brows furrowed in confusion as she watched Lillian, who was still trying to wake Louis up.

"He's not waking up," Lillian put her ear to his chest. "His breathing is getting slower. Call the ambulance."

"What?" I watched her in disbelief. "Are you serious-"

"Call the ambulance for God's sake, Andrew!" She turned her head towards me and the worry written over her face dumbfounded me.

"I'll call it." I took my phone out of my pocket and dialed the number.

"I'll call everyone else," Brittany said, and I nodded.

What the f**k is going on?

"WHAT?!" all of us screamed when Mr. and Mrs. Young were done telling us about Louis's condition.

We were in the hospital, and Louis was still unconscious in the emergency ward. We called Mr. and Mrs. Young and they looked wreaked when they got here. Mrs. Young was crying her eyes out. We didn't understand what was going on and that's when Mr. Young told us about Louis.

And his brain tumor.

"No..." Chloe shook her head and slumped to the ground as she began whimpering. "It can't be... It can't be true."

"Chloe..." Lillian sat next to her and hugged her.

"But... How..." Nate uttered, and I leaned my back to the wall, still bewildered by the news.

"I think I'm going to vomit." Tiana gagged and ran away with David after her.

"Dudes..." Maddie scoffed. "I know it's in Young's blood to make everyone a fool, but don't you think this game has gone a little too far?"

"You think it's a prank?" Mr. Young raised his brows.

"Why would we joke about something this serious?" Mrs. Young sobbed. "He's our baby."

"Exactly. You shouldn't be jesting about it like that." Maddie rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Maddie, they are not joking." Toby sighed.

"Of course they are," Maddie growled. "Louis has been pranking since the day began. He sticks a 'Honk at me! Driver doesn't know it's April Fools' on the back of Jordan's car and the whole way people kept honking at us-"

"Maddie, that was a prank this isn't." Jordan put his hand over his shoulder, but she smacked it away.

"I don't believe this bullish*t." She growled and stormed away.

"Sorry about that, Mr. and Mrs. Young. She's just... Confused." Jordan apologized and followed her.

"Why didn't Louis tell us about this?" Brittany asked which was swirling in my head.

"He said he didn't want you guys to change your behavior because of his condition." Mr. Young gave us a sad smile.

"And we are responsible for it." Mrs. Young whimpered.

We were still confused and trying to process the information as Mr. Young told us he's been diagnosed with it for months.

After a while, the doctors came out and told us Louis's condition was stable now. He drained himself out, but now he was alright and there was nothing to worry about. They shifted him to the private room, which was the same room Louis is admitted to every month for his chemotherapy.

"Louis, my baby!" Mrs. Young squeezed him tightly. "I was so worried about you!"

"Mom, you're suffocating me." He grumbled and then notice us standing at the door. "And also embarrassing me in front of my friends."

"But my baby..." She sniffed and Mr. Young grabbed her shoulders.

"How about we let the kids talk?" He said, looking at our still stunt faces. She nodded, and they walked out, leaving us with Louis.

There was an awkward silence as we watched Louis. He sat on the bed, looking comfortable like he has done this so many times. My eyes wandered to the tubes attached to his hand and up to the drip. The machines were continuously beeping, and they wrote things on them that I didn't have a clue about.

"What are you guys doing here?" Louis asked after a few minutes with a beamed on his face and I frowned.

How could he smile so easily like that?

Chloe walked up to him and slapped his face, making us stunned.

"Chloe-" Lillian stepped but halted when Chloe raise her hand.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She whispered, keeping her eyes on Louis.

"I..." He gulped and averted his gaze. "I didn't want to."

"But why?" Chloe clenched her fists. "I'm your girlfriend Louis. Doesn't it have any value in your eyes?"

"It does-"

"Then why didn't you tell me about your tumor?!" Chloe sobbed. "Do you have any idea how miserable I feel at this moment? How stupid I was to get angry every time you skip our night calls, thinking your sleep was more important to you than I was. Never knowing how you felt from inside and always keeping that fake smile on your face!"

"Chloe-"

"Were you ever going to tell me?" She cut him off.

"After graduation." He mumbled.

"But why-"

"Because of this!" He shrieked. "I don't want to see that pity look on your faces. I don't want you all to think of me as weak or behave differently, like my family. They're always gloomy and hopeless and they make me feel like I'm already dead!" He finished and his chest heaving in anger.

"Louis..." Chloe watched him with bugged eyes as tears rolled off her face.

"Are you done, drama queen?" Brittany said out of the blue and I raised my brows at her.

"What are you doing?" Toby mumbled, but she ignored him.

"Can we cut to the chase already?" She glanced at Ben and his eyes lit up, understanding her twin telepathy.

"Louis, how are you feeling now?" Ben crossed his arms.

"Fine." He frowned.

"Are you dying?" Ben asked, and I smirked, knowing what they were doing.

Being normal.

"Not any moment now." Louis rolled his eyes.

"Then we have nothing to worry about." Ben patted his shoulder and gave him a smirk. "You're not dying today, but I'm not sure about tomorrow."

"What?" Louis's eyes widened at him.

"I haven't forgotten what you did with my car." Ben narrowed his eyes at him.

Louis placed a cracked sticker on his car and a brick on the hood that looked like his windshield was broken and Ben almost had a heart attack.

"Eh, about that..." Louis gave him a sheepish smile.

"I was planning to kill you." Nate cracked his knuckles as he stepped forward, making Louis shrink. "But I guess it'll have to wait."

"What did he do to you?" Toby asked, who I now noticed was covered in glitter.

"He placed googly eyes on every single thing in my President's room. It took me the whole day to take them out, but they still kept coming." Nate chuckled, shaking his head. "I can't believe you did that in this condition."

"A tumor can't stop me from my destiny." Louis smiled proudly.

"You haven't pranked me." I gave him a smug smile. "Guess Louis lost his title this year."

"The day hasn't ended yet, dude," Louis smirked.

"YOU ARE NOT DYING!" Maddie burst through the doors into the room with Jordan.

"Maddie-" Louis's eyes widened.

"Tell me you are not dying. Not until we all together see our grandchildren getting married!" Maddie pointed at him and narrowed her eyes.

"Fine. I won't." Louis rolled his eyes.

"Good." She huffed and crossed her arms. "And for your information. I'm going to name them."

"That's a future debate." Louis cackled.

"Now I understand why you get that ugly haircut." Jordan clicked his tongue. "But what I said remained intact. Girls don't dig for bald guys." Jordan smirked.

"I beg to differ." Louis gave him a lopsided grin. "I mean, I have a girlfriend and you don't."

Burn!

Everyone burst out laughing except Lillian and Chloe, who were sitting on the couch. Lillian was trying to calm upset Chloe.

"That was savage, bro." Nate snickered, patting Jordan's back. "Don't worry Jo, I'm sure there will be someone who will like your pony."

"Stop messing with my best friend." Maddie narrowed her eyes at us. "I like his pony."

"You do?" We asked, shocked.

"Yeah." She gave a half shrug. "Jordan is amazing. I'm sure he'll find someone for him soon."

"Right," Jordan grumbled, ducking his flushed face.

Chuckling, I shook my head and glanced again at Lillian. She was watching us with a sad smile on her face. Our eyes locked, and she darted her eyes to Chloe.

"Maybe we should give them some time alone," Lillian said, getting up from the couch.

Everyone nodded when they got her point, and we stepped out of the room. Lillian whispered something in Chloe's ear and hugged her.

"See ya at school Louis!" we waved.

"Bye guys!" He tried to sound cheerful, but it was a dead giveaway.

"This sucks," Maddie grumbled as we walked out of the hospital.

"Life sucks." Brittany sighed.

"I still can't wrap my brain." Toby scratched his head.

"Earlier I thought he was pranking me and I didn't take him seriously," I said.

"None of us would have taken him seriously," Jordan said, and Nate agreed with him.

"It's Louis we are talking about, and nothing is serious with him."

"I'm so glad that you were there." I glanced at Lillian. "You knew he wasn't acting, even though I was arguing about it."

"I... He looked tired and his breathing got slow..." Lillian adjusted her glasses.

"She's the future doctor, of course, she knew." Ben plopped his arm around her and smiled at her. "You saved him."

"I did nothing." She ducked her head, embarrassed.

"Lilly, you are a hero!" Maddie hugged her.

"Where are Tiana and David?" Brittany asked, looking around. "I've been calling her, but she's not picking up my phone."

"Tiana got sick and couldn't stop vomiting," Jordan answered.

"We told her to get checked, but she insisted on going home, so David took her," Maddie added.

"Why is everyone getting sick these days?" Brittany massaged her forehead and everyone went silent.

"Um... I'm going home now... I have to prepare for my exam...." Lillian waved at them, backing away.

"I'll drop you." She nodded, and we bid farewell to everyone and walked toward my car.

Quietly, we drove towards Lillian's house. I kept glancing at her and she looked distracted. When I parked my car in her driveway, she was about to open the door and I stopped her.

"Lillian." She turned towards me, and I pulled her into a hug. "It's alright. Louis is going to be fine."

"It's not that... I..." She began whimpering. "I felt like it was my fault-"

"It wasn't your fault, Lillian. It was the opposite. You helped him when everyone was standing there waiting for him to scream Aprils fool, but you helped him even though you didn't know what was going on." I murmured, rubbing her back.

"That's not true... I..." She clenched my shirt tightly.

"He's going to be fine." I kissed the side of her head. "We won't let anything happen to him." I grabbed her cheeks in my hands and wiped her tears with my thumb. "Please don't cry."

"I'm... I'm sorry." She sniffed and closed her eyes.

"You have nothing to apologize about. I should do that-"

"No-"

"I'm sorry for not listening to you and arguing. I would have never forgiven myself if something happened to him because of my stubbornness."

"Andrew..." Her lips began quivering, and I pecked her.

"Shh... How about you take some rest and clear your head?" I darted my eyes over her face. "You have your last exam tomorrow and you need to ace it."

She sniffed and nodded her head. I kissed her forehead and heard her sigh in relief. I let her go and watched her walk into her house, then I drove from the driveway towards mine.

When I reached home, I told my mom about Louis, and she was shocked to hear. She said she will visit them with dad in the afternoon.

Later that night I was lying on my bed wide awake thinking about Louis and how he was reacting since the first day of the new year. He got a haircut and was sleepy all the damn time and we never paid attention to him.

I got why he didn't want to tell us, but he should have at least given us a chance to help him and show how much we care for him. I thought of calling Lillian but stopped because I didn't want to disturb her studies.

Abruptly, I got out of my thoughts when I heard a noise coming from outside. I glanced at the time and it was eleven fifty. I walked to my window and slide it open to see what was it. My eyes bugged out when I saw my car wrapped in a plastic sheet in my driveway.

"What the f**k!" I shouted at the black hooded figure that was writing something on the plastic.