Chapter 4

Selene:

I didn't go to school the next day.

I couldn't.

As soon as I saw myself in that nasal tube and the oxygen tank, strapped to the trolley, I broke down.

For two years I had been hiding my disease, the acute leukemia that revealed itself, broke my will, my short listed life span. Now, in that one day, I was about to unravel all that with just one piece of plastic tube and a metal tank.

Was that how life was going to be for me, until I was going to go?

I didn't want to reveal my feelings to my mother or father. Still, I could see how my actions were enough to show them everything.

The day after that, I picked up my bones and dressed in an oversized dark green sweater and tight black jeans. I snaked the plastic tube from under my sweater, starting from the hem and coming out of the neckline, before I settled the nasal tube in my nostrils. I stuck the silver oxygen tank, which looked like a large sports bottle, in the black trolley that was meant for that specific function.

When I stood in front of the full body mirror to check out my looks, I grimaced at the sight. I looked like a corpse. I decided to apply some foundation, some mascara and light lip balm on my lips before heading out. My brother, was at an advantage because dad decided to start dropping us to school. He wanted to do it permanently but after begging, I convinced him to only for the week.

"You okay, Enie?" Dad asked as I looked at my high school building with reluctance. I didn't want to do it.

But I had to.

My soul revealed to me.

"Yeah- um, yeah." I sucked in a sharp breath and pushed the door open of his black Audi.

"Kiddo, you can do this." My dad took my hand and kissed the back of it. There was no pity in his eyes, just a shade of pride.

"I love you, dad." My voice broke.

"I love you too." He kissed the air as he pinched my cheek and I turned to move out of the car.

Every step I took, every move I made, my heart threatened to give up as my breath deteriorated. I didn't even feel myself. I was so out of motion and thought. It felt like I was racing the most undefeated battle. I thought I was winning but on the contrary, I was the loser. Before I could even reach the three steps to the main doors of the school building, they burst open, revealing a panting Sean.

"Hey." I smiled.

"Hey?" He spat with utter disbelief on his face. He jumped down the steps to me and slapped my arm.

"You didn't text, didn't call, for two days and you say hey?" He scolded and I chuckled.

"How did yo-"

"Bumped into Allan, inside." He interrupted, his eyes travelled down my body and to the care I was dragging alongside me. He inhaled a deep breath and I licked my lips.

"Sean, I'm fine." I took his hand.

"I know." He hissed and wrapped his arms around me.

"Don't do this again, okay?" He muttered on my shoulder.

"Okay." I chuckled as he pulled away. Then, he walked up the stairs and I stared at him with raised brows.

"I am not picking you up." He shrugged with a cocked brows and I laughed. His eyes widened for a millisecond and he picked up the oxygen carry.

"I was kidding." I pushed him and he sighed.

The first place I decided to go was meet Mr. Tobias. I did have a class with him second period, but I figured I owed him some explanation.

I cleared my throat and knocked on his door with pain rising in my gut. Stress pain. I touched my nasal tube and drew in a long breath as the door opened, revealing Mr. Tobias.

His expression changed from normal to a frantic one.

"C-come on in." He waved me inside and left the door opened.

"Are you okay?" He questioned and I nodded.

"So, you finally decided to wear it on huh?" He looked at my face with a small smile.

"Yeah, well, I decided if imma go, imma go with style." I cackled and he frowned.

"Don't talk like that alright. I want to see you. Walking and talking and being annoying." He gently punched my shoulder nicely and I laughed as he shook his head. The bell rang, interupting our talk and I took in a small breath which came cool and crisp. Another funny feeling; cold nose.

"Go." He stood up from the table, he was leaning on, "I'll see you next period, alright?" He raised his brows, looking for an answer and I replied with an 'okay' before I left his room.

Mr. Lancaster was the only one in class when I entered and he gasped when he saw me. I didn't want that reaction but to be honest, he was human, I couldn't blame the man.

"I'm glad to see you here." He smiled and I nodded before I walked to my seat and threw my bag in my chair.

"I'm just gonna use the restroom." I uttered and he nodded before I left the class room.

Jace:

Dad mentioned Selene the other day and I was extremely curious as to why she was in the hospital with him. He didn't tell me why, saying it wasn't a big deal and that he wasn't allowed to give out personal information.

But, the fact that my dad was a neurosurgeon, ran a billion scary thoughts through my head. I just wanted her to be okay. She didn't come to school the next day and I couldn't help but feel extremely uneasy throughout the day. I was going crazy with the craving of my eyes landing on her.

I practically ran to my social class but as fate would have it, I was interrupted by Hailey. We talked for what felt like hours before she decided to drop me off to my class room.

"Bro, what took you so long?" William asked as I entered the classroom. Everyone started settling in their seats.

"Hailey." I shook my head and snorted.

In that moment, someone brushed up against me and I saw who it was. Selene. Her head was bowed and I couldn't see her face. I saw the black trolley she was dragging beside her. My heart constricted but refused to believe.

"Oh my God." Her friend gasped as she approached her and then the girl hugged her tight. William and I watched intently. When Selene turned to her other friend, who stood on her side, I caught a glance of the side of her face.

My heart dropped.

She was wearing... a nasal tube.

As my eyes trailed her body, I noticed how the plastic tube ran from beneath her sweater then popped out from under the hem, before connecting to the oxygen tank in the trolley. Many eyes turned to her and I dropped my head in a sigh. I wanted to get close to her, but I couldn't. Something stopped me and I knew what it was.

Guilt.

Gulit that I was so occupied in figuring out my feelings for her that I never paid attention to her decreasing health over the past months. I wanted to walk up to her and talk but was stopped by a hand on my arm.

Will looked at me with apologizing eyes.

"You'll freak her. Talk after." He pulled me and I sat next to him. Luckily, he sat in the same row as her but different columns.

As soon as she sat down, her face turned to my direction and our eyes connected. She gasped and touched the tube under her nose. Her cheeks reddened and she turned her head, before dropping her curls against her face, hiding it off.

I frowned.

"What is it?" Will asked as I pulled my eyes away from her direction.

"Nothing."

"Dude, you're pouting like a dog. Talk." He whispered, nudging my shoulder.

"She's hiding." I uttered with hot breath escaping my nostrils.

"Jace, there's a reason she's wearing this and she doesn't feel like showing it off." His voice grew heavy and gruff.

"Okay, but she better not think she ain't worth looking at because she's-" I paused as I realized what I was going to say.

I was going to confess something I hadn't even confessed to myself.

My liking for her.

"Jace?" Will tapped my shoulder.

"Nothing. I just want her happy, that's it." I uttered and diverted my attention to Mr. Lancaster. He was just teaching us something about the French Revolution.

After the class, I walked out the fastest and waited near the lockers outside the classroom. I wanted to talk to her. Our kiss meant something to me.

Everyone left but she didn't come out. I waited and the second bell rang. I didn't budge. She was going to talk and that was it.

Abruptly, she walked out, with her head bowed and her hair draping her face.

"Selene." I called as she turned in the opposite direction. It wasn't just Selene who looked at me, Mr. Tobias stood next to his class room door, couple feet away from Selene. She was headed to his class.

"Um, can I talk to you, please?" I asked nicely, keeping my eyes on her and then briefly on Mr. Tobias.

"Um-" she turned to look at him, he nodded, "-okay." She turned and came to me. I walked in the same direction leading her to the end of the hall, I made us turn and then stopped.

"Hi." She smiled, as if talking to some new person.

"Um, I, uh, my dad-"

"Oh, yeah. I met Mr. Anderson. He's really nice." She smiled and I took it.

"Selene, what's going on?" I asked, nicely.

"Nothing, nothing. Don't worry about it." She shook her head. I felt my blood rush.

"Um, okay. Can I, Um, ask you to come for a cup of coffee with me?" I finally uttered the question.

"Jace, it's fine, really, I-"

"Okay, cool, I'll come pick you up, outside your class. See ya." I smiled and before I knew it, I pecked her lips before moving away and leaving.

Selene:

Jace took me by surprise when he asked me out. I was expecting a conversation regarding his father and my new accessory but I was not expecting a date with him.

When he quickly landed a small kiss on my lips, I felt my heart leap in happiness at the feel. It was amazing but I was horrified.

Jace was an awesome guy but for me, maybe dream guy. I just couldn't keep a relationship with him.

I had too little to share and too little to live.

After Mr. Tobias' class ended, I felt literally afraid of leaving the classroom. I knew it was lunch, and I knew Jace said he was going to be waiting for me. Somehow my heart was convinced that he was.

"Selene?" Mr. Tobias called, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Huh?" I looked up to find him standing near my table with his hands in his pant pockets.

"You okay?" He asked with raised brows.

"Uh. Yeah, yeah. Of course." I smiled and frantically stood up. He smirked as I straightened my posture.

"What?" I questioned his expression. He shrugged as if he wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary.

I gulped in my nervousness and walked to the exit of the classroom.

My breath hitched as I found the handsome boy standing next to the door, holding a small bouquet of light pink roses. His head, bowing in his phone.

"J-Jace?" I brought myself to call him.

As soon as he looked up, I noticed a gentle smile form on his luscious pink lips.

"You look beautiful." He breathed, straightening up and looking at my face like it was the only thing he could see.

"What?" I chuckled as a deep blush threatened to design my cheek, "You saw me just about forty five minutes ago."

"Lucky me." He uttered huskily while forwarding his body, with flowers coming towards me. When I didn't raise my hand to take the bouquet, he held my right hand, caressed my cold fingers and curled them around the red bow that tied the packaging of the stems of the roses.

I gasped.

"You are just so breathtaking." He lowered in and whispered those words in my ear, almost kissing my earlobe.

"J-Jace." I whispered, closing my eyes and feeling him, so close to me.

"Selene." He uttered my name in such a sexy manner that I was forced to hold his bulky arm that held the flowers with my hand.

I felt his muscles flex under my touch. When I finally opened my eyes, his face was just inches from mine. His eyes, stared deep into my light brown ones.

"We have reservations at Magnolias and we need to be there in the next twenty minutes." He smiled brightly and I looked down to find his hand, that formerly held the bouquet, asking for my free one.

"Jace, that's a really expensive plac-" I shrugged my shoulders to show the tank in my hand.

"I know, but I have always wanted to crash that place. What say?" He cocked his brows playfully and I laughed. He took the bouquet from me and took my free hand with his.

"You wanna crash a lavish restaurant?" I asked in disbelief.

"Mhm. Now come on." Before I knew it, I was heading down the stairs, holding hands with the one and only; Jace Anderson.

Sean:

I had been calling Selene for more than an hour and I was getting impatient and worried by the second. It was almost ten minutes into lunch and Selene was nowhere to be seen.

I called Tane and he picked up on the first ring.

"Where's Selene?" I practically roared, not caring that I was in the student centre. Several kids turned their heads to me.

"I don't know. Where are you?" He replied.

"Student centre." I uttered and cut the call.

I dialled her number again and again but no reply was returned. Suddenly my phone beeped and I looked at it with astonishment.

It was a message from Selene. I smirked as I read the message.

'Out with Jace' -Selene

I laughed and shut my phone.

"Finally." I muttered and headed to the backyard.

Selene:

When we reached Magnolias, Jace asked the front desk receptionist for our tables to which she called a tall and blonde woman. My heart was pounding out of my chest the entire time; not because of the historical French paintings on the walls of the entire hall, or the huge chandeliers that hung every three tables apart, or because of the sofa style chairs with clear and dark brown tables, but only because of where my hand was.

In Jace's warm one.

"Here you go." The woman smiled and waved at our table which was almost in the middle of the huge hall but it was perfect. I noticed how there were white, laced napkins on the table with a wine glass set empty on top.

"Thank you." I smiled at her and Jace nodded appreciatively.

"I'll send someone with the wine, that is if you two can-"

"No, we can't. Can we please just get the drinks menu." Jace interrupted and she nodded before leaving.

"Come on." He smiled as he left my hand, walked around to pull the seat and helped me sit. As soon as I sat down, he bent down and came near my ear.

"Need help with the bag?" he whispered, I held myself from moaning and started taking off my bag. He placed it gently and in an unnocited manner, set my tank by me. Before he went back to his straight posture, I felt a kiss land on my cheek, sending off a billion butterflies to blossom. Then, he walked around the table and took his spot, right across the table, facing me.

He kept on staring at me and not in an uncomfortable manner. His stare was in the way that made me want to jump to him and kiss him harder and more passionately than my breath could allow me.

"What?" I smirked.

"You're so beautiful." He hummed.

"You just said that before we came here." I chuckled.

"Yeah but, I can't help it."

"You're weird." I laughed and he chuckled.

"I like you." He whispered, bowing down into the table and stealing my breath away.

"Why?" I whispered.

"Because..."

"Why do you like me, Jace?" I bit my lip, then rested my hands on the table in front of me, "I mean, two months ago, we didn't even know each other and now, all of a sudden, we are together, almost sort of dating... liking." I laid back in my chair and folded my arms.

"I don't have long." I whispered, "I have- I have a disease and it is bad. Your dad is great but I don't think that he can do anything either." I shook my head as tears gathered in my eyes.

Suddenly, he was the only boy I could see. His beautiful brown eyes, his wavy dirty blond hair that were risen but tousled, his sensuous lips and his cute nose. His tight cheeks and rough jaw bone.

I held my moan and looked at him. My eyes met his and he parted his lips. He took my hand on the table and squeezed it so gently that I felt my body tingle.

"Jace..." I started, feeling breathless all of a sudden.

He bit his lip and looked down at my hand.

"Jace, you have to listen..." I wanted him to not like me the way he was. I wanted to be with him but I knew all along that that wasn't possible.

"Jace-" I started again but before I could continue, he beat me with a sentence of words I wasn't ever expecting on my first date with the boy.

"I'm falling for you." He whispered.